he'd promised to resign today. demonstraters blame him for the economic crisis that's crippled the country, leaving it desperately short of funds to buy medicines or fuel. the committee investigating the storming of the us capitol lays out how president trump incited extremists, in a last—ditch bid to remain in office. and as europe bakes in the sun, are we taking the heatwave seriously? an issue we'll explore in our climate critical series. sri lanka's president gotabaya rajapaksa has left the country amid mass protests

over its economic crisis, and he's landed in the maldives. mr rajapaksa left aboard a militaryjet, ending a family dynasty that has ruled the country for decades. he had been in hiding, after crowds stormed his residence on saturday. they are still there. sources have told the bbc his brother, former finance minister basil rajapaksa, has also left the country. the president had promised to resign, but by remaining in position, he kept his immunity from prosecution. many sri lankans blame him for the economic crisis which has crippled their country, leaving it short of funds our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan was with protestors outside the presidential palace in colombo when the news of president rajapaksa's departure was made public. there is a real party atmosphere here at colombo seafront, which has been a protest site for many

weeks, one of the main demands protesters had was for gotabaya rajapaksa to go. their slogan, their chant was "go home, gota". we now know that president gotabaya rajapaksa has left the country. he fled on a militaryjet with members of his family. he'd been in hiding for the last few days, ever since his home, his official residence, was overrun by protesters. it wasn'tjust his official residence, in fact over there his presidential secretariat, his offices, that was also overrun by protesters. you can see the aftermath now. days on, the protesters here are sleeping on the grounds and on the steps. we also know that the president's brother the formerfinance minister basil rajapaksa has also left the country. he's believed to be heading to america. now, where does this

leave the president? he still hasn't as of now stepped down from his post. he's due to hand in his resignation, that being expected on wednesday. if he does, then that will create a vacancy for a president to run this country, and there will be a process in parliament to decide who his replacement is. all of this is part of a wider concern, we are still in the middle of an economic crisis in sri lanka where people are struggling for food and medicines and fuel. this queue, you can see it going all the way down here, people here are queuing up forfree bread and curry because they are struggling to get a hold of the basics. but news of president rajapaksa's departure from the country, that is still filtering in here. i spoke to one person who said he was relieved and pleased. but another woman said she felt that she'd been abandoned by the man she blamed for this crisis, who has gone

without offering a solution. earlier, i spoke with akhil bery, director of south asia initiatives at the asia society. i began by asking him how sri lankans have reacted to gotabaya rajapaksa's departure from the country. tremendous anger about the mismanagement of the economy and to the family for taking advantage of ordinary sri lankans. people are frustrated with the economic crisis is not improving, and they sought to push him out of power. we have heard time and again from a variety of people saying, look, wejust want a handful of honest politicians to take this on and start making a difference. how realistic is that, even as an idea, given the dynasty of the rajapaksas, the nature of the political establishment in sri lanka?

it's going to be difficult for anyone, any politician to navigate sri lanka out of this economic crisis. because a lot needs to be done in orderfor sri lanka to be on a pathway to fiscal solvency. so even if the person rumoured to be the next president when parliament reconvenes to elect someone, don't forget, in 2019, that person lost by 10%, so he's not very popular with the general populace. it's not going to be easy for any politician to garner the support of the people needed to implement the reforms necessary to get sri lanka back to fiscal solvency. and presumably they will have to do the bidding of the imf if they want funding. are they the right people to do that? all politicians and political parties are in agreement that the imf is needed, and that will unlock further multilateral financing which

sri lanka desperately needs. sri lanka it's estimated needs $6 billion in additional finance this year to bridge the current account deficit, and that won't come unless they agree terms with the imf. does sri lanka have the sort of technocrats who might be best placed to fill the role of complying with the likes of the imf? do those people exist? yes, sri lanka has been in the imf programme before. the previous prime minister and president, under him, they recognise they needed to implement the reforms to gain access to more foreign exchange to be able to pay off their debts, and also afford the imports sri lanka needs. in washington, the committee investigating the storming of the us capitol last year has heard how donald trump incited far—right extremists in a last—ditch bid

to remain in office. members of his inner circle explained how mr trump ignored their advice to concede the election, and instead summoned a mob to washington. our correspondent nomia iqbal has been following the hearing. there were two parts to today's hearing. the first part revolved around something that was referred to as an unhinged meeting which happened in mid—december, in which donald trump's advisers were telling him to concede the election, but he was listening to a group of unofficial advisers who were telling him to continue with his baseless claims the election was stolen. the next day, which is where we get into the second part, he put out a tweet in which he said to his supporters to come and protest onjanuary 6th — "be there, will be wild" is what he wrote. and then the committee focused on people that did turn up. one of them was a man called stephen ayres, who has now pleaded guilty to obstruction charges that day. he talked about how he deeply regretted listening to donald trump. we also heard from a former

member of the oath keepers, an extremist group which the committee says turned up that day, along with another group called the proud boys, who fomented the chaos that happened. donald trump has criticised this committee, he's criticised the hearings, he described them as a witch hunt and called the panel, which is made up of seven democrats and two republicans, a bunch of thugs and hacks. well, earlier, ispoke to the us presidential historian allan lichtman and asked him what the general view was among trump—supporting republicans over where the former president now stood. you know, it's remarkable. in seven years, trump's approval rating hasn't moved an inch. for all respondents, it's generally in the low 40% range, as it was in a poll today,

and very high among republicans. but we have seen some erosion of republican support for donald trump running again. a lot of republicans are now getting tired of his act. they don't want to run in 2024 on grievances about 2020. they want to run on the economy and biden�*s leadership. we can now speak to us conservative talk show host jake smith, who joins us from delaware. thanks for your time. we will get to the validity of the hearing in a moment, ijust wonder what you made of the testimony we heard today? well, it was more _ testimony we heard today? well, it was more of _ testimony we heard today? well, it was more of the _ testimony we heard today? well, it was more of the same. - testimony we heard today? well, it was more of the same. most i it was more of the same. most of my listeners, myself included, trump supporters, people who generally vote here in the us as conservatives see this entire charade as president trump says, as a witchhunt. it has no validity in us law. the fact of the matter is, what nancy pelosi who runs the ruling junta in

washington, what she has done is put together a committee of people who tried to get president trump twice through phoney impeachment, and now they are trying the january the 6th fast. it has two purposes. first, donald trump's endorsements, i saw the professor, and everything he said to you was total rubbish. he even insisted that the people who went to the capitol on january the 6th were responsible for several police officers being killed. there were no police officers killed, but they killed a protester, an air force veteran who was shot in the head. air force veteran who was shot in the head-— in the head. sorry, jake, i think there _ in the head. sorry, jake, i think there is _ in the head. sorry, jake, i think there is a _ in the head. sorry, jake, i think there is a point - think there is a point nonetheless that there was a storming of the capitol, and there are those prepared to speak up now to say donald trump incited that, and isn't that the gist of what they are trying to get to?—

trying to get to? well, yeah, obviously — trying to get to? well, yeah, obviously that's _ trying to get to? well, yeah, obviously that's what - trying to get to? well, yeah, obviously that's what liz - obviously that's what liz cheney, a phoney republican, is trying to say. i was in washington onjanuary trying to say. i was in washington on january the trying to say. i was in washington onjanuary the sick, i was there with close to a million people they say, i don't know, i couldn't say, but everyone there was peaceful. but not everyone. everyone would accept that a large demonstration, even a million people, if carried out peacefully, that's their protest, it's a democracy, that should be allowed, but there were hundreds of people who stormed the capitol building and surely that is a moment or shame for any democracy? well, here's the _ shame for any democracy? well, here's the thing. _ shame for any democracy? well, here's the thing. i _ shame for any democracy? well, here's the thing. i heard - here's the thing. i heard president trump say, go to the capitol peacefully. what they are trying to say by this tweet that president trump was inciting violence, it wouldn't hold up in a court of law because president trump cannot even have his own legal representatives present to cross—examine any of these

witnesses. that would not pass muster in any us court, it wouldn't pass english courts, english law, nor scottish law. so why is president trump allowed to be destroyed like this when he has no legal representation present to cross—examine witnesses who are claiming all types of things? is it your view also that the election, still, was stolen? because many electoral officials have been pretty adamant that that had simply not been the case. er. adamant that that had simply not been the case.— not been the case. er, i believe _ not been the case. er, i believe the _ not been the case. er, i believe the election - not been the case. er, i | believe the election was stolen, i would say 99% of my listeners think the election was stolen. many of them question the election credibility going into our mid—term elections on november the 8th. and that's not a good thing for a democracy, to have an election system that is suspect, and the people who had to go and vote, from the electorate. it to go and vote, from the electorate.— to go and vote, from the electorate. . , , , electorate. it remains deeply divisive as — electorate. it remains deeply divisive as an _ electorate. it remains deeply divisive as an issue. - electorate. it remains deeply divisive as an issue. thank i electorate. it remains deeply. divisive as an issue. thank you forjoining us.

divisive as an issue. thank you forjoining us— forjoining us. have a good morning- _ let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. two people have died after a boat capsized in new york's hudson river. the victims are believed to be a seven—year—old boy and a woman in herfifties. around a dozen people were on board the boat near manhattan, a number of them are being treated in hospital. president biden has boarded air force one at the start of his first tour of the middle east as president. he travels to israel and the occupied west bank before heading to saudi arabia on friday. while previous presidential visits focused on the israel—palestinian conflict, this one is likely to draw attention to a recent shift in regional alliances. twitter�*s filed a lawsuit against billionaire elon musk to try and force him to go ahead with a deal to buy the social media platform. the documents filed to a court in the us state delaware calls the billionaire's exit strategy "a model of hypocrisy" and has asked for a four—day hearing in september. mr musk pulled out of the deal citing concerns about fake accounts.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come. as europe bakes in the sun, are we taking the heatwave seriously? an issue we'll explore in our climate critical series. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the euro zone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the euro zone has been averted. emergency services across central europe are stepping up their efforts to contain the worst floods the century. nearly 100 people have been killed. broadway is traditionally called the great white way by americans. but tonight it is completely blacked out. it is a timely reminder to all americans of the problems the energy crisis have brought to them. leaders meet in paris- fora summit on pollution, inflation, and third world debt. - this morning, theyjoinedl the revolution celebrations for a show of military might

on the champs—elysees. . wildlife officials in australia have been coping with a penguin problem. fairy penguins have been staggering ashore and collapsing after gorging themselves on huge shoals of their favourite food — pilchards. some had eaten so much they could barely stand. this is bbc news, the latest headlines. sri lanka's president has arrived in the maldives after fleeing the country following weeks of protests. the committee investigating the storming of the us capitol lays out how president trump incited extremists, in a last—ditch attempt to remain in office. every week at this time, we focus on an issue affecting the state of our planet, and in climate critical this week, you may have noticed that europe is in the middle of an extended heatwave,

with temperatures set to reach a0 degrees celsius even here in the uk this weekend for the first time. so how are we meant to feel? it used to be that sunny summer weather was a cause for celebration, and people made the most of it, cooling off in the sea, or in fountains, or relaxing with ice creams. these images still appear in the media, but now there are warnings that extreme heat comes with great costs. not only are there potentially serious health risks, the heat brings with it the danger of wildfires — the combination of dry vegetation, strong sunshine and hot winds. the number of severe wildfires is expected to increase by a third within the next two decades, with human—caused climate change triggering other extreme weather events like droughts and floods. max boykoff is professor of environmental studies at the university of colorado. he's been looking into how media images of warming global temperatures

influence people's attitudes. that influence people's attitudes. is perhaps one of the questions that is perhaps one of the key questions of our time, are we to endure the climate change moments or enjoy them? people seem to find that a very difficult conundrum to resolve. yeah, thank you so much for having me, david. there are those who continue to frolic in the sun, go to the sea, find a fountain to cool off, but when we focus on those media images solely through mainstream media, television and newspaper photographs, we actually overlook some of the very damaging and dangerous features of heat waves. such as the high night—time temperatures, and those that are vulnerable, the elderly and children, in homes that don't cool down at night. when we also look at those

bikinis and children having fun, we are not taking a look at those at the forefront of climate impact, those suffering in these conditions.— in these conditions. there is a sense, i in these conditions. there is a sense. i mean _ in these conditions. there is a sense, i mean we _ in these conditions. there is a sense, i mean we are - in these conditions. there is a sense, i mean we are getting| in these conditions. there is a l sense, i mean we are getting it this week in the uk, but if you look at france, where they almost have like a psychosis about heat waves, given what they have experienced in the 90s in particular... a lot of people dying. there is something changing, there is a story now about, this is extreme, this is dangerous... you would welcome back? yes, absolutely. _ you would welcome back? yes, absolutely, 2003 _ you would welcome back? yes, absolutely, 2003 was _ you would welcome back? 1a: absolutely, 2003 was traumatic in continental europe. in the last handful of years, through research i have done more broadly, sasserand research i have done more broadly, sasser and 0'neill at exeter university in the uk, a lot of important work on climate imagery, there has been a shift away from the solely

positive imagery associated with heatwaves and extreme events. in with heatwaves and extreme events. . , , with heatwaves and extreme events. ., , , ., . events. in that sense, how much is that tilting _ events. in that sense, how much is that tilting the _ events. in that sense, how much is that tilting the general - is that tilting the general public perception that climate change is real? this is another conundrum, isn't it? we have extreme heat, temperatures, weather, and that link directly to climate change is always one we are very sensitive to.- we are very sensitive to. yeah, climate change _ we are very sensitive to. yeah, climate change is _ we are very sensitive to. yeah, climate change is real, - we are very sensitive to. yeah, climate change is real, it's - climate change is real, it's here, it's serious. what a lot of work is being done to alleviate those dangerous conditions. and when you point to those conditions, there is increasing research being done increasing research being done in attribution science. we can detect a heatwave, we know it's going down, we can feel it. but to link it to human contributions to climate change has improved considerably in the last handful of years, that allows us to make the connection between these

extreme events and the probabilities of it being attributed to human activities. can i throw one thing back, not particularly at you, max, but the scientific community and the scientific community and the ability to communicate some of these messages? there is a major gap between what the public can understand and what scientists like to explain. absolutely. 0ne scientists like to explain. absolutely. one of the arenas where i do my research and where i do my research and where i do my research and where i work is to open up our registers of knowing and understanding and learning about the changing climate around us. it's not merely a scientific issue, about reading the most recent peer—reviewed literature, the un ipcc report, it's about experiencing these things. it can be visceral and emotional, our hopes and dreams, ourfears and concerns. it can be through the aesthetic and the arts, understanding the climate is changing around us. one need not be a card—carrying phd scientist to have something to say and understand what's

going on around us. i to say and understand what's going on around us.- to say and understand what's going on around us. i think i'm riaht in going on around us. i think i'm right in saving _ going on around us. i think i'm right in saying you _ going on around us. i think i'm right in saying you were - going on around us. i think i'm right in saying you were an - right in saying you were an adviserfor right in saying you were an adviser for don't look up, the satirical movie effectively about climate change. what is the role of that side of mass media, perhaps even of comedy, in waking people up?— in waking people up? yes, i worked more _ in waking people up? yes, i worked more on _ in waking people up? yes, i worked more on the - in waking people up? yes, i. worked more on the platform that followed up on the field, a lot of ways in which individuals and collectives can find guidance, important actions that can be taken, and ways to engage. but absolutely, again, in those spaces of climate science and policy, the bridge to everyday is not through peer reviewed literature and reports, the bridge is through media representation through the news, and through entertainment media. films like don't look up have made an impact reshaping these considerations, putting it on the table. in the us,

unfortunately, just 35% of us american adults talk about climate change occasionally to their family and friends. so these conversation pieces that prompt considerations and prompt considerations and prompt discussions are ways in which we can open a pathway... 35% is not a lot, a long way to go. thank you very much. 3596 is not a lot, a long way to go. thank you very much. thank ou, go. thank you very much. thank you. have _ go. thank you very much. thank you. have a _ go. thank you very much. thank you. have a good _ go. thank you very much. thank you, have a good morning - go. thank you very much. thank you, have a good morning overl you, have a good morning over there. if you're a regular watcher of newsday — you might remember we told you about the james webb space telescope, and some of its latest achievements on tuesday. well, here are some of the first images released by nasa, european and canadian space agencies from the world's most advanced telescope which was launched into space last year. extraordinary images — the deepest, most detailed view of the universe we've ever seen. our science editor rebecca morelle reports. the beauty of our universe as never seen before, captured by the james webb space telescope.

these are the cosmic cliffs of the carina nebula. amidst the dust, stars are being born. this is a new view of stephan�*s quintet, 300 million light years away, where vast galaxies are caught in a celestial dance. and the deepest ever view of space. it's teeming with galaxies. some from just a few hundred million years after the dawn of the universe. to have worked on a mission for this long, to be able to finally see it come to fruition, to do what it's supposed to do, is just absolutely incredible. the images are amazing, themselves, just as images, but the hint of the detailed science we're going to be able to do, and what we can learn from these images, is what makes me so excited. the telescope blasted off last year on christmas day, and over the last six months, it's been getting ready for its mission. the james webb space telescope

is an engineering marvel. at its core is a 6.5—metre wide mirror made up of 18 hexagonal segments, each perfectly aligned to act as a single surface. it also has a sun shield the size of a tennis court to protect it from the heat and light of the sun. the telescope will look back further in time than ever before, showing us the light from the very first stars to shine. we'll also be able to see how they came together to form the earliest galaxies. and it will study other planetary systems, revealing whether life could exist beyond our world. it's almost like a time machine. you're looking back into the far distant past and so we can begin to answer those questions about how did the first galaxies and stars form. the hope with this telescope is that we see almost in real time, as it were, a history of the universe playing out. the telescope also captured this. 2,000 light years away, it's a star going through its death throes.

in some strange way it is a pretty view of something decaying and dying but we're able again to look at the material as it flows away from the star and understand something about the evolution of the star, so going from star birth in the star—forming regions, all the way through to star death. but this is just the start for the telescope. over the coming days and months, more and more images will be captured. our knowledge of the universe and our place in it is about to be transformed. rebecca morelle, bbc news. sri lanka's president has arrived in the maldives after fleeing the country following months of mass protests over the island's economic crisis. his departure ends the rajapaksa political dynasty which has ruled the island for decades. hello there. for most of the country, tuesday was a slightly cooler day.

we had much more cloud around. it was thick enough even to give a bit of rain here and there. but despite the cloud, here in london, it was hot. temperatures over 30 celsius again. much further north, preparing for the open at st andrews, it's cooler. temperatures were in the low 20s despite the sunshine. that cooler, cleaner, fresher air is moving down from the north, following this band of cloud that's still bringing one or two spots of rain. so, for much of the country, it will be a more comfortable night. these are the temperatures by the morning. still, that uncomfortable warmth, though, in the southeast of england. and across southern parts of england, could start quite cloudy in the morning, even one or two spots of rain left over. that's slowly moving away. we will see one or two showers for northern ireland and mainly in scotland, sunny spells too. much more sunshine, though, arriving across england and wales than we had on tuesday. those temperatures continuing to slide away ever so slowly, but still another hot day in the southeast and east anglia, and in london 30 degrees not out of the question. heading into thursday, we've

got this west—northwesterly breeze bringing more cloud and more showers to northern ireland, scotland, perhaps a few into northern england, but further south across england into wales, it is still sunny, it is still dry. but those temperatures continuing to just drop away a little. highs of the more manageable 27 celsius in the southeast of england. this area of high pressure is tending to build in across the uk, where we've got this weak weather front arriving from the atlantic, and that will be responsible for more cloud and maybe a bit of rain for northern ireland pushing across scotland, perhaps northern england, that should move away, skies will brighten. once again across more southern parts of the uk, it is going to be fine and dry with light winds. still pretty warm out there, those temperatures typically into the mid—20s. still only around 19—20 through the central belt of scotland. it's into the weekend that really things start to warm up, not so much for scotland and northern ireland, and the far north of england, temperatures typically into the mid—20s, but for many other parts of england and into wales, we are going to find some extremely high temperatures developing over

the weekend into the start of next week. we've got that extreme heat warning from the met office. so in the strong sunshine, those temperatures will really be shooting up. 36 celsius there in london. temperatures could even get higher than that.

gotabaya rajapaksa — this is bbc news. the headlines...

sri lanka's president — crisis.