to damage anybody's chances by offering my support, i just have to not get online. i have to get on. meanwhile, the opposition is picked up on the generous promises of tax cuts. conservative leadership hopefuls are falling over themselves to make and found them laughable. the almost fantasy economics is well under way over which can the contenders of make more than 200000000000 pounds worth of funding spending commitment to hon. you get that same kid. that's all the annual bunch of chess splunk on the page of the sunday papers without a word on how it will be paid. fantasy will soon meet reality galloping inflation, economic stagnation, and a major war in europe was just a few problems from the prime minister's intro. it may be scorching now,

but for whoever wins, things will only get hotter, will reach helen's al serra london. ah, this is al jazeera, these, your top stories. private funeral has been hell for japan's former prime minister sions, obey crowds of people lined the streets to pay their final respects. he was assassinated while campaigning at an election rally on friday. tony chang has moved from outside the temple in tokyo, where the funeral took place. a large crowd of people waiting outside, wanting to pay their respects, but also very silently with no sort of spontaneous shows of grief or emotion. i think to a certain extent, people here are still very stunned. this has happened so quickly to a prime minister that although he had stepped down by the time he was assassinated, still loom very large on the political stage and had had such

a profound impact on japan for the past decade, inter lanka, basil budget parks are the brother of the president has been prevented from leaving the country as an airport in colombo. it comes as anger against the countries leader, breach boiling point. the speaker of parliament says a new president will be chosen next week. a protest is occupying the official residence of refusing to leave until it got to by a rush of packs that steps down. the small pacific olive nation of kit abbas has withdrawn from the crucial fiji base regional block and says, my canadian countries have been sidelined in the leadership of the pacific island. foreign ukrainian forces say they've destroyed a russian military ammunition dep home in the castle region neighbor, residential buildings have also been damaged. he was called on civilians to leave parts of the region as it plans to recapture some areas last to moscow. the, as president says he's determined to ban assault weapons that are often used in mass shootings. j biden said the u. s. is

a wash in weapons of war. he was showcasing a new cross posse law aimed at reducing gun violence. the british olympic champion mo, far, has revealed he was a victim of child trafficking. he says he was smuggled into the u. k, from ditch beauties and 9 year old and forced to work as a domestic 7th. or a says he was given his name by women who took him from his family. that is the headlines coming up next inside story. al jazeera correspondence bring you the latest developments on the war in ukraine. we have to take cover. this is happening on a daily basis. the medics is a he is incredibly lucky. those coming out across the lines and no, no man's land where one of the few to gain access to this embattled count. they take us to their basement, where we find others sheltering from the shelling police about 2 weeks now, 3 days journey devastated buildings are now a grim reminder that the russians were here to learn. can protest is occupied the

homes in the president and prime minister, but neither men has officially resigned their on negotiations to form a unity government. but will they have answers to the huge economic and social focus? this isn't fun story. ah, i walk into the program. i'm in ron con people in syr lanka say it's time to take back control of their country. they protested for months against the nation's worst economic crisis in 7 decades. many blame at present go to buy a raja parks and his family for years of corruption and mismanagement. events escalated on saturday when demonstrates his storm the homes of the president and prime minister. they're refusing to leave until both men officially resign. present

raj packs and prime minister running with graham a singer. i promised to step down, but they haven't done so. the governor of the central bank says if the political instability drags on it could delay towards the international monetary fund for a bailout. now we'll bring it, i guess in just a moment, but 1st this update from an l. fernandez in columbus. as you can see around me, the party atmosphere continues. i'm at the presidential secretary at the president office. obviously present gotta be roger pox. i had to move out of here about 3 months ago when that campaign gotta go home began continuously just outside the visa fences. and just on the 9th of july, you had that big march, tens of thousands of people converging on colombo, overrunning the president's official residents. also the prime minister's residence of the burning of the prime minister's residence. now you have

a long stream of people coming in to visit all these properties. as you can see, they're taking a chance to come in and see how their leaders functioned. but obviously a huge challenge ahead of sri lanka, r as a we see this prospective change of, of power. obviously that has to be formalized, but we've got a massive economic crisis. unprecedented since the independence in 1948, there's fueled food medicine shortages because the country has no money to buy these things. the central bank governor has said that there has to be political stability very quickly in order to have the international community, the international monetary fund with whom negotiations are taking place in order to ensure that that support comes in, that that must happen, political stability. and that issue lancoste challenge right now. minute fernandez

for inside story. now the raj parks of family has been in politics since the 1930s may hinder roger parks or 1st became president in 2005. he appointed his brother, got the buyer as defense, secretary and placed other family members in senior positions. but of our one the presence in 2019 and appointed. his brother may hinder as prime minister a year later. it's believe the brothers control up to 70 percent of so long as budget a one point. the family denies this, but inflation is now have 55 percent and could rise to 70 percent in a few months. and the government's run out of foreign reserves to buy fuel and medicine. ah, let's bring in our guests. they're all joining us for mr. lunk, his capital columbia mission to mill is the economist and executive director very to research garrison wagner. roger is a senior research associate for the overseas development institute

o d i global and vena conner, v j were dana is a former deputy governor of the central bank of se lanka and economists for the daily financial times. a warm welcome to you. all. i'd like to start with the ignition collision. we, we are, we have a situation where the prime minister and the president are, have disappeared affectively. we don't know where they are. exactly. they have said they're going to resign the under sir language constitution. they can't resign until they give a letter to the speaker, the parliament. so effectively, they're still in charge of a banking on the fact that these prep, these protests may, will dissipate and they can remain in charge. i don't think so. i think we have now a process where these leaders are exiting the scene and we will have a new government, an intern government that should be formed, hopefully on the 28th of this month. and that will be a president hopefully coming through election from parliament and then some sort of a jane cabinet. my hope is that this is

a very slim down cabinet that will stay in power for a limited period after which we will have some elections and a new mandate for government for a long period in the enter in this in government must continue with the program which is essential for sri lanka to come out of this crisis and ensure that we have a proper democratic transition with a respect for the rule of law. well, let me bring in no vehicle here. this is something that susan can have been worried about for many decades now. this idea of corruption, this idea of a financial mismanagement of the chickens coming home to roost effectively. it was this always on the cards. yeah, i think the, the son didn't realize that he had just described it's a very accurate situation and all really loud to look for if restoring all months to be caught. and that could be

a big task for the new government. that is to be fog because they like to start from scratch from, from their way. and that's the retarded be they hold the people are so he would, in the country they may not be able to meet both expectations. and i see them too. clearly pre announced plan, now i think i'm laying for people to understand that that's what, what kind of delivery would be made by the new government. so that must be a necessity for that new and driven continuous dialogue with the people of the country. and also keep them into confidence with the new government plan. so these are the new when driven government will increase the next 6 months time period

until the conduct a another election. busy enable the people to their own nissan, the mill via con is talking about there seems to be managing expectations. often we have protest movements doesn't matter where they are in the world. the protesters expect a magic bullet and for everything to change overnight, that never happen. so managing expectations is absolutely crucial, but what are the challenges for this incoming government? so 2 things i think are quite critical. liam brown, thank you for bringing a thing. one is of course, dealing with the immediate shortages of poor, ah, and the power cuts that are in the country that's really causing difficulty for people's lives. and i think the failure in the current government is not only that they isn't adequate supply, but there isn't adequate belief that the available supplies are being given out in a rational or uncorrupted manner. so simply managing it to well and telling people

the truth and setting proper systems of distribution is already going to be an improvement. the 2nd, the most important challenge i think is to deal with the deepening poverty. we expect poverty in sri lanka to rise above 50 percent by the end of the year. and it is imperative that trend and can look at cash transfers for the poor and fine mechanisms to target the poor properly. we think that looking at electricity consumption is a great way to do that. and the technology is available to directly to deliver support to people. and these are solutions that are available. and i think the comment government's a sense of mismanagement and corruption, but preventing even possible solutions from not being implemented at the, at the proper time. and a change in government will build a kind of credibility and hopefully a little more competence at to,

to help sri lanka move in the right direction. even though the results are still slow and long time coming regulation or what we're talking about now, then seems to be this idea that there are, there are concrete steps you can take this idea of managing expectations, communicating with the country and having some easy fixes, but there is a fly in the ointment we have these talks going out with international monetary fund right now. whenever the international monetary fund get involved with, well, bank get involved in a crisis. they often introduce austerity measures, which actually impact the most pool of that country. and again, the anger rises. where does the i am effort into all of this. so essentially the i'm, if team was here a couple of weeks ago and have left and a staff level program needs to be worked out. we understand that some of the details of this program ought to have tax raises across the board. a 2nd lead to make sure that the interest rates are much more realistic,

which means i'll put pressure on interest rates to try to reduce inflation. and a 3rd measure is anti corruption measures to ensure that the administration works better and state enterprises are more counter. but now one very important aspect of design that program is that they're not trying to think of too much with state expenditure, which will stay at quite a reasonable level. doesn't showing that the anti poverty program that the country has a will be maintained. it's not a perfect program to some of the program, but can give us some relief to the pool. on top of that, we have to have what nisha was talking about, which is what they call a conditional cash transfer or to the point of people. and that should come through with some assistance from other multi lateral donors. now, i believe that it is hard to target this kind of program on the porters because our targeting mechanisms on perhaps so well developed. and so if we do these things

right and gradually get the economy on some stable, fucking a, some kind of return to growth may occur this year. we will have negative growth, which would be a terrible phenomena for us. but hopefully next year in the year after we have some kind of growth and growth is a very powerful mechanism for this country to gradually create the jobs it needs for its youth. and also gradually create some kind of return slowly to of sort of a prosperous country. and i think this is do it, but if they do the right things right now. now of course, political really is essential. this new government will have huge expectations. a point this government will have huge expectations upon us, quite a strong statement there from national. let's just talk to veer con at the moment. often when the i m f get involved in this. of course i do want to ask you because you were the deputy governor, the central bank, austerity measures are brought in. we're talking about taxwise is there and things of that nature. it's often the middle class that get hit with those things. earth

link is middle class is already under attack and has been for certain, you know, several years now because of the corruption in the country. how much of this is going to impact them and how much of this is going to be unpopular amongst voters? of course, not only the mediocre from the the p but or, or a company well in p, long would be affected by the new or steady to progress each or you may peak. glad . mean, please give me as i mentioned earlier, it is necessary for that they will go on monday to communicate with the people the correct you sure. get the views at the new method that they're going to give back and put that up there to get a job. but now the why not very little bit respect getting we get to be

prepared to determine for the out. but there are any other requirements we stand on. one important thing is that the money should buy good, which means that the buy board when affordable by increasing that renewal as well. let me explain what these well, the poor be. now in this case, in the new government, that is to be on october 20th. hopefully we'll get dark because our quick 30 east is empty. actually empty. it isn't a good point. but for the constitution of 3, we have a consolidated finding. delete all the money of the government would be credited and all it could be done by that particular conflict with that particular contingent upon negativity, it's all drawn to the extent to be paid out, got to be united, had to that dad is again, me,

i mean why don't be 1000000 that would be had to be, hadn't been overdrawn by the government by the overdraft of the blues did bad at all to get that the government off you pack good deal and there the new government would start for the negative again and can you look it up what to do, please? yes. and the biggest got that they have to accomplish during that period. i have to say all 3 of you sound like your very realistic about what the future holds. buroso require health hopeful if you know the government can manage expectations of it, communicates if it takes certain measures, then perhaps this is a crisis the, the government can get itself out of the new incoming of move and get herself out of. but i want to talk about the old government mission, the mil. how did the roger paxis managed to mess up? what was quite a strong economy so spectacularly? so i think that what we can see and learn from sri lanka,

experience is that a few wrong moves unchecked. can lead a country into very dangerous irrevocably downward spirals in terms of its economics. take one example, are the president band chemical fertilize all the night and claimed that he was going to make agriculture based exclusively an organic on organic fertilizer in one year. that was a crazy policy by any account. and i think the an accountability of the president that he ruled as if he was running at authoritarian state, allowed him to take a very bad policies and prevent the democratic mechanisms to correct them. we know that, you know, one of the things that democracies are good at is preventing extremely bad policies . that's why famines never occur in democracies. and i think the unchecked bad

decision making on tax cuts on continuing to pay creditors while reserves we're going to 0 on banding chemical, 30 lives, then destroying productivity and agriculture sector. all these things compounded add to bring st lanka into this disastrous economic state, that it is now an undergirding. there is corruption, an out one of the things we must ask of the i m f. is that it is macro critical. i to deal with corruption if you want to fixed the sri lankan economy or we will be back where we are in a few years time. ah, the attorney general approved and reliable and in political capture by reversing much of the indictments against politicians that were already in court. and so we need an independent corruption. prosecuting office asset declaration cannot be secret the i m f in many countries has asked for them to be transparent as

a condition of support. and 3 lanka will need a like this is the last thing i'll say, an antique corruption office that is supported by an external agency such as the united nations because 3 lankton politicians on both sides have so far proved and reliable when it comes to taking action and corruption and taking action on corruption is a fundamental part of the fits, but the strength and economy going forward. good ocean, seeing the roger perks is in the dog, seeing this anti corruption called to take place. people held accountable court cases happen is that a dreamed you think that can happen? no, i don't think so. i think it's possible to change institutions and structures as we have seen in other carts of east asia on this issue of foreign aid and assistance that we are going to get both humanitarian and i m f. we have to make sure we do 2 things to ensure that this is properly effective. the 1st is we must make sure that

all of this aid goes right throughout the country that it goes right from jeff nanna to the east coast to the deep south to the central partnership. again, shouldn't just be provided to colombo and gunpowder, which is the central part of the country with economic center. the 2nd very important thing, as the sean has said, is that the aid should be fully accounted for. every dollar that is given to she lanka should be properly accounted for and looked after and there should be very, very low admin overhead on that money. and certainly the siphoning off, which had occurred in the past should be very carefully check the risk if we do not do this properly, is that countries where taxpayers are providing money for she lanka will get fed up with us and they will not be so generous and that will be a humanitarian disaster for sri lanka and the people of felucca. so one expects this new government to have very, very strong anti corruption policy. and be very honest with the people about how it's spending 40 need, not just for the people, if she lanka, but also for foreigners whose taxpayers are providing funds for sri lanka to rescue

it from this calamity that we ourselves had brought upon us, at least partly vittacore, we're talking now about a strong and t corruption policy. surely a part of that is holding the people who were corrupt to account putting the roger paxis on trial. do you think that could ever happen? where, of course, you're not. there is another day, me just mike, for the becky that you are in relation for me, the message about a week ago or had a know that there are 3 should be satisfied by 3 love to get this one. they look at their back to be maybe number 2, what, what got it. and then you can have been explained to good one is be the, that's would be the one they have

to be implemented by 3. you know that what you pay or that, you know, so what it means is that the new choice, what would that be? if you got that they would, they would have got what and i legally fall, as you found they had, they had been kept good by the politician in the past that yet it should be pretty that the time the noise was, but they just need to be pretty and be caught up to what did that you know, what had been the power to be diluted by that will be an amendment to do said which more time than that. so all these things like he was very quickly in order to enable a lot of that door. not because that that isn't, has very correctly did that. in addition to the i even money, we need to do what they did it or if these,

these things are not. i don't think that you may be an aide. we're going to create a mission. i've covered the middle east and south asia for many, many, many years. i've seen what the m s can do when they do come into a country. they come in with everything that you guys have just said they come in. they'll start, as you mentioned, and corruption, me as the promise of a lot of money coming in. and then they are faced with a government that simply doesn't che range. now your thesis seems to be that this next incoming government, although as challenging as items can change. but there's a lot of people that are looking at sir lankin now going. it's still a lot of the same faces that will be in charge. can this govern change? thank you in bran, and it is a very serious concern that sri lankan, i don't trust whilst parliament koreans. and i think for the sake of the credibility of government, it's not enough for the government to change leadership, enhanced a dare we need an election and we need it as fast as possible. it is only

a newly elected government in which new people were part of the protest can also compete and come in to parliament. that will finally have adequate legitimacy in sri lanka. don't drive the reforms as well as the measures that are needed, fatal nomic recovery going forward. i think that the house of our politics, which has been seeped in corruption incompetence is what young people have decried to day and day need a chance to exercise their what to say and say we want something different and, and that is the cry of the people which i think has to be heeded as soon as possible aggression. there is the argument who made this her lanka is a robust democracy. it does have democratic procedures. institutions in place. is it robust enough to do what the 3 of you are saying needs to be done?

i think my sense is that we have to at least try to try to create a new beginning for sri lanka. and i personally see street and guys a kind of a post conflict state which is still having the legacy of a long 30 year old conflict and its institutions have been affected by this long conflict. and we are now trying to rebuild going forward. and in that process, we're going to have to do something very rapidly. you know, one of the really terrible things that i'm seeing is these long queues at the passport office where the young people have sri lanka. want to leave. i mean, there are those protesting but most of the skilled on leaving, and that's a terrible tragedy for a country that has an aging society. and if this continues, we will be much poor in the future. so i think there is no choice but for us to actually begin to reinvent. and i think we need to have a smaller government in the future. a government that's much more capable of delivering public services, providing the rule of law and proper macroeconomic management. and the private sector will have to also play a much more responsible role going forward and then have to be

a lot of emphasis on corporate government and corporate social responsibility. so i think we need to begin to think about a new social contract and also enforcing the democratic principles that we want. and we have to avoid capture either tony capitalism or a governmental capture in the way that we've had in this last period. the roger puts the family basically who being the roost. our thank all our guests nation and devel. again, national roger and your acount v j were then a and thank you to for watching. now you can see the program again, any time by visiting our website i would, is there a dot com for further discussion? go to our facebook page at facebook dot com, forward slash ha inside story. and you can also join the conversation on twitter. handle is at a j inside story. for me, i'm wrong on in the entire team here and i for now,

african countries have struggled to reclaim many of the artifacts taken by european colonizers. this is our experience of our identity. in the final part of this new series, museums and collectors still hold precious assets like the bin rooms. few have been returned, but there's still a long way to go. and progress is painfully slow. restitution africa stolen all the pottery ation on or 0 from the world's most populated region in depth stories from across asia and the pacific with diverse coaches and conflicting politics. one 0, one east on al jazeera, i will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election. if i win. a lot of people tell their world was being turned

upside down. the way dad has been manipulated by populace, like donald trump playing on racial anxieties. one person that citizens have political and of course in the united states, as in many other parts of the world that remains an ideal, but not a reality runs a farmer for you. we're may be able to sit down for debit of the table of brotherhood. our dream, my dream is that people may my daughter, the young people just have a full voice and don't feel targeted because of their race or ethnicity. ah.