along with other members of his family — 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. the race begins in earnest to be britain's next prime minister — eight candidates prepare for the first round of voting. and the first extraordinary images from nasa's new telescope — distant galaxies and light from 13 billion years ago.

welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. 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. 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. i want to show you some pictures from the presidential office itself in colombo. people expect a resignation to be announced. we have heard

that the speaker of parliament saying nothing yet, but there should be something official by this evening colombo time. quite a few hours still to wait if that is the case, but crowds expectant in anticipation of the president's resignation. they blame him for the economic crisis which has crippled the country, and it has left it short of funds for critical issues, buying medicine, fuel and food. 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. demands protesters had was 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 in 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. immense anger towards him 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 io%, 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, sri lanka was in an imf programme because they recognised 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. one other point, with regard to president rajapaksa again, a lot of people feel they have been let down by this government, and they want somejustice. can you see rajapaksa being held accountable for the way he has run the country, given that he is now in the maldives? i don't think so, and this

is one of the reasons the protesters are upset with the current prime minister wickremesinghe. there is a belief he has shielded the rajapaksas from prosecution. when he was prime minister, after the former president mahindra rajapaksa lost his re—election bid, there was a time they could have prosecuted the rajapaksas for their war crimes especially, but he refused to go ahead with that. on social media, people referring to him in a generally angry way... they believe he has a propensity to shield the rajapa ksas from justice. 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. well, earlier i spoke to the us presidential historian allan lichtman and asked him if any new information or accusations levelled at trump by the congressional committee will actually stick. i think it does stick to some extent. . , , u, ., extent. certain republican on the committee _ extent. certain republican on the committee would - extent. certain republican on the committee would have i extent. certain republican on - the committee would have turned it into a circus rather than this carefully prepared presentation. secondly, president trump can say what he wants, he always does, but the facts speak for themselves. and the telling thing here, it's not his critics presenting these facts, it is trompe l�*oeil lists, including his own white house counsel, who said these theories about a stolen election... —— trump loyalists.

at any time during this bloody insurrection, trump could have walked to the podium and called upon his followers to stop. instead he delayed more than three hours. this is something that hasn't been said very much. the tremendous human damage trump has done, not to advance a principle, but to advance a principle, but to advance his own selfish will to stay in power. we've talked a lot about the damage done to police officers, 140 injured, several deaths resulting. we haven't talked enough about the damage done to his own followers. that, to me, was the telling point of mr ayres' testimony, an ordinary guy who went to the capitol and had his life ruined because he was indicted. multiply that many hundreds of times.-

indicted. multiply that many hundreds of times. that raises the question — hundreds of times. that raises the question about _ hundreds of times. that raises the question about what - hundreds of times. that raises | the question about what trump supporters make of what they are hearing, when their hero says, these people are turncoats. i stand by my position, the election was stolen... what is the general view now among his supporters, that support base, as to where mr trump really stands? 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, 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.

tensions in the west bank — palestinian militant groups are on the rise as israel increases its military raids. 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 this 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 has 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 world 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. israel has been carrying out military arrest raids in the occupied west bank this week — a near daily occurrence since a wave of deadly attacks by palestinians against israelis in the spring.

the focus has been on the city ofjenin where palestinian militant groups have been rearming, as our middle east correspondent tom bateman reports. a mother's grief echoes around the grave of her daughter. "you burned my heart", she says. "i didn't believe you'd be buried before me." hanan was hit by a bullet as she headed home from an english class. 0ne among dozens of palestinians killed in the west bank this year. translation: when the taxi driver saw the israeli - army deployed, he asked the girls to duck. the bullet hit her here. it left five holes in her body. her schoolwork full of promise for her family. now all they have left are the fragments of a life. and few answers about her death. translation: as long

as there is occupation, | there are stories like hanan's and every day there is a story. hanan's taxi was hit during an israeli army raid intojenin. there were gun fights with militants. the army says it is examining the case. it's not clear how the vehicle was struck. as the raids have stepped up, rights groups accuse israel of using excessive force. the army says it doesn't intentionally target civilians and they respond to a lethal threat. it follows a series of deadly attacks by palestinians. this was tel aviv in april. a gunman opened fire at a packed bar, killing three israelis. it was one in a string of attacks in which 18 people were killed. israelis were facing the worst spate of violence on their street in years. meanwhile injenin refugee camp, there militants have been rearming.

shows of force on a scale not seen in two decades. a huge amount of weapons, m—16s, automatic assault rifles. people are letting loose. gunfire. it really feels like, and you can hear that, things are ramping up because of the situation at the moment. we were taken to the home of these so—called jenin brigade. it's part of the palestinian armed groups — all listed by israel and the west as terrorist organisations. but in the camp their recruits are growing. translation: we got out as| armed resistance in the camp. when we find the soldiers, we shoot at them. the west sees groups in the camp as terrorist organisations so why are you doing this, why don't you leave it to the official palestinian authority? translation: the palestinian authority sold us out _ from the beginning. we don't see them as brothers.

they allowed the israelis to raid nablus, they don't protect us. they want to wipe out the resistance. during a raid in may, the veteran palestinian journalist shireen abu akleh was killed. evidence suggests she was hit by an israeli bullet, something the army dispute. her case has become a symbol for palestinians. these raids are happening so frequently now that much of the time they are simply just not well documented. so when a journalist like shireen is killed, you simply see the risk, the dangers involved. the same month, an israeli officer was shot dead injenin. there's been no let—up in the raids and many fear of in the raids and many fear a further descent into violence. "hanan, i cannot reach you", her mum cries. her daughter tried to get to a class and never came home. just having hope here meant paying with her life.

tom bateman, bbc news, jenin. to the uk now, as eight contenders have made it to the first round of the leadership race to become britain's next prime minister. the first round vote happens on wednesday. candidates with fewer than 30 votes will be eliminated. here's more from our political editor, chris mason. please welcome rishi sunak. the early skirmishes in this contest have felt like all the other candidates against mr sunak. he pointedly repeated his critique today of what he sees as their wild promises to cut taxes now. we need a return to traditional conservative economic values. and that means honesty and responsibility, not fairy tales. once we've gripped inflation, i will get the tax burden down. it is a question of when, not if.

so many of your colleagues have sought to demolish your record as chancellor. do you have the stomach for what's to come? chuckles i'm standing here today surrounded by friends and colleagues. cheering chris, that's what gives me the optimism, the confidence, to do this. thank you all very much. here's one of the reasons mr sunak sounds chipper — tempting a fellow candidate to give up and back him instead. while two senior ministers dashed out of the meeting to here, to endorse rishi sunak, another two cabinet ministers left downing street and straight away endorsed liz truss. i've sat with liz in cabinet for some long time. very aware that she's probably a stronger brexiteer than both of us. she's consistently argued for low tax policies. liz was always opposed to rishi's higher taxes. that again is proper conservatism. from barbs in downing street

from backers of the foreign secretary to cheers down the road from those supporting the former minister kemi badenoch. i tell the truth, i fight for change, i stand up for people and i stand up for the causes and the country i love. some might say this is no time for novices. i think this is no time for steady as it goes sinking into decline. it's time for change. kemi is bright, brilliant and brave. it's only very rarely in politics you come across talents like that. kemi is undoubtedly, ithink, a phenomenon. she's got the right stuff. to another lectern, more applause and another cabinet endorsement, this time for tom tugendhat. it's time for tom. we've retreated into the pettiness of politics that is more about personality than principle. when our nation needed our party to function, we retreated into faction.

when the moment demanded service, we delivered scandal. also on the ballot paper tomorrow, the new chancellor, nadhim za hawi. suella braverman, the attorney general for england and wales. and former cabinet minister penny mordaunt, whose launch event is in the morning. and if you'd like to find out more about those candidates, then do head over to the bbc news website, as you can see there's plenty of coverage and analysis there. that's also where you'll find the results of those ballots when they take place — bbc news online and the bbc news app. you might remember we told you about the james webb space telescope, and some of its latest achievements on tuesday. we now have the second batch of

photos released. 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, 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 6.5m—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. some bad luck for kids in mainland china who love spending all their time playing online video games. tech giant tencent says it

won't relax its restrictions on the hours children in china can play games — even during their summer break. at the moment, they're only allowed to play for an hour a day between friday and sunday. just time for a reminder of our top story. 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 departures ends the rajapaksa political dynasty which has ruled the island for decades, and who sri lankans blame for mismanaging the economy, leaving millions struggling to buy food, fuel and medicine. we have heard from the speaker of parliament saying he expects to get that resignation letter from the president by the evening. 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, 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 a 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 — has fled the country with members of his family —