but news of president gotabaya rajapaksa departure gota baya raja pa ksa departure from gotabaya rajapaksatry, that is still filtering in here. i spoke to one person who said he was relieved and pleased. another woman said she felt that she had been abandoned by the man she blame for this crisis who has gone without offering a solution. our solid agent correspondent talking us through that story. earlier i spoke to david brewster, a specialist in sri lankan politics at the australia national university, about the impact rajapaksa's departure will have on the country's political situation. there's extraordinary scenes of the last few days with the storming of the presidential palace and the attempts by the president to leave the country being blocked by other countries and his own officials. so we're not yet sure where he's going to or indeed what the procedure will be, the constitutional procedure will be in the coming days to appoint first of all, an acting president and a permanent president. but what is clear is that this instability is not short—lived, it's going to continue for months

they are asking for president gotabaya rajapaksa to officially resign.you will not, they want parliament to impeach him or abolish his executive powers. >> as you know, the prime minister is not the acting president and says he is the acting president. the tactics have been to create discord among protesters and create violent incidents, but that is not what the people who came here -- the people who came here with a july 9 event, of course, there will be elements trying to cause discord, but we will always fight against violent elements. >> in the past couple of days, thousands of sri lankans have visited this residence. you seen people in his pool and sitting in his fitness area, but it is a broad coalition of different groups, and they are worried that there will be splintering or cracks happening. that is why they are regrouping and packing up their stuff at the residence of the president and will continue somewhere else, but they hope that parliament takes the lead in impeaching or abolishing the executive powers of ranil wickremesinghe and gotabaya

sri lanka is president gotabaya rajapaksa has sri lanka is president gotabaya rajapa ksa has fled srias fled the country along with other members of his family following mass protests they are. 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. presidentjoe biden is travelling to israel for a series of meetings there and in the west bank, before heading to saudi arabia. his visit comes as 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. dozens of palestinians have been killed during army incursions this year with the un's human rights office raising concerns over excessive force and possible collective punishment — accusations rejected by israel. 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. "

president gotabaya rajapaksa fled the country in the wake of demonstrations. nationwide curfew has been imposed this thursday. >> there is a lot of confusion at the moment. first of all where the former president is. he is perhaps in singapore. also where the other leaders, former leaders of the country are including the menu referred to, gotabaya rajapaksa who is in hiding at the moment. he is issuing decrees and calling the army to take no -- take no prisoners are and ranil wickremesinghe's interim president, there is nothing illegal about the decision of outgoing president gotabaya rajapaksa appointing him as interim president because he is the former prime minister. where is the younger one, the finance minister? is he still in sri lanka? nobody knows. there is a vacuum of power. the people are on the streets. we saw them the last way for hours going into the prime minister's compound in colombo. at the weekend the prime minister's house was burned down. the presidential compound was stormed by the crowd. the situation is very confusing at the moment. ther

gotabaya rajapaksa to step down, not for us.r him?— you vote for him? yes, but we did not exnect — you vote for him? yes, but we did not expect this. _ you vote for him? yes, but we did not expect this. and _ you vote for him? yes, but we did not expect this. and it _ you vote for him? yes, but we did not expect this. and it is - you vote for him? yes, but we did not expect this. and it is not just l not expect this. and it is notjust not expect this. and it is not 'ust these crowds fl not expect this. and it is not 'ust these crowds who are i not expect this. and it is not 'ust these crowds who are trying h not expect this. and it is notjust these crowds who are trying to l not expect this. and it is not just - these crowds who are trying to leave these crowds who are trying to leave the country, the very people who are blamed for creating this economic crisis, president gotabaya rajapaksa and his family members, are also trying to flee the island. this video is believed to have been recorded at the airport as former finance min

sri lanka's president gotabaya rajapaksa has announced he will be stepping down.comes after protesters stormed his official residence and set fire to the prime minister's house. hundreds of thousands of demonstrators descended on the capital colombo after months of protests over economic mismanagement. sri lanka is suffering rampant inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel, and medicine. from the capital, colombo, our correspondent anbarasan ethirajan now reports. the barricades were meant to keep the protesters back, but they were no barrier for the furious and desperate crowds, all suffering the effects of living in economic collapse. police used water cannon and fired shots in the air, but the crowds were more determined. and they kept surging forward until eventually they converged on the presidential palace and took over the home and office of the man they want to force from power. he had already escaped. in extraordinary scenes on a tumultuous day for sri lanka, the protesters then cooled off in the president's pool after all the privations in this c

tonight, president gotabaya rajapaksa did.rotesters say they are celebrating what represents a victory for people power. it's the end of the rule of the rajapaksas, after a week of turmoil on the island. just yesterday at the prime minister's office, security forces were overrun by protesters. it was one of a number of government buildings taken over by the masses. today, protesters handed it back to the authorities, soldiers now on guard, authorised to use force to maintain order. sirens. a country under curfew, streets once packed with protesters, now patrolled by the military. elsewhere, tensions are running high. with the basics still in short supply, only a few weeks of fuel now left in the country. in an exclusive interview, the governor of sri lanka's central bank told me that without a stable government the suffering will continue. we don't see a way forward on how to get enough foreign exchange to finance essential petroleum for this country. if that doesn't happen, then it will be like the whole country will be close

we now know that president gotabaya rajapaksa has left the country.n 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 str

until gotabaya will continue. until gota baya rajapaksa will continue. raja pa ksa actually will continue. until gotabaya rajapaksa actually formally resigns so the protests will continue. his left the country, he's apparently bound for singapore on a private jet later tonight. bound for singapore on a private jet latertonight. but bound for singapore on a private jet later tonight. but he hasn't as far as we know or if he formally resigned he is not around to telling anybody. just resigned he is not around to telling an bod ., , ., resigned he is not around to telling an bod. , �* resigned he is not around to telling an bod ._ ., �* , anybody. just to say, we've seen the re norts of anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him _ anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him coming _ anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him coming to _ anybody. just to say, we've seen the reports of him coming to singapore | reports of him coming to singapore as well. we've not been able to confirm that at this point but we do have a team at the a

sri lanka's president gotabaya rajapaksa will step down after protesters stormed the palace and set fire to the prime minister's house. we report from the scene in colombo. these protesters want a new beginning for sri lanka, a new political culture so that they will not face a similar economic crisis in this country. as japan grieves for the former prime minister shinzo abe, voting begins in elections for the upper house of parliament. the uk chancellor nadim zahawi has added his name to the conservative leadership contest — joining a field of eight, including sajid javid and jeremy hunt. and in the tennis, moscow—born elena rybakina wins the women's singles title, representing kazakhastan. in the last hour, the united states has urged the sri lankan government to work quickly to address discontent in the country. discontent is putting it mildly — protesters have stormed government buildings, and the president and prime minister have pledged to step down. it's all due to to months of economic mismanagement. sri lanka is suffering rampant inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel

sri lanka's president gotabaya rajapaksa will step down, after protesters stormed the palace and set fire to the prime minister's house. we report from the scene in colombo. these protesters want a new beginning for sri lanka, a new political culture so that they will not face a similar economic crisis in this country. as japan grieves for the former prime minister shinzo abe, voting begins in elections for the upper house of parliament. ifeel very, very, very, very sad. and the sense of loss is just so great that i do not know how to overcome. the uk chancellor nadim zahawi has added his name to the conservative leadership contest — joining a field of eight including sajid javid and jeremy hunt. and in the tennis, moscow—born elena rybakina wins the women's singles title representing kazakhstan. sri lanka is in the grip of chaos and uncertainty after a dramatic 2a hours which has seen the country's president and prime minister pledge to step down. they were left with little choice after demonstrators stormed or set fire to to their official residences — a howl of anger after months

and all of this came to a head when gotabaya rajapaksa became president.s economic problems mounted and fuel prices rose, protests broke out earlier this year. ordinary people turning their fury on the government. on the 1st of april, a state of emergency was declared, but the protests went on. on 12 april, the government announced it was defaulting on its entire foreign debt after running out of money to import supplies. in may, mahinda rajapaksa resigned as prime minister and had to be rescued from his home after it was stormed by protesters. byjune, the un was warning of a humanitarian emergency. popular anger grew as inflation hit a new record this month, leading to today's dramatic events. whatever happens next, sri lanka's new leaders will inherit the worst economic crisis since the country's independence, huge popular discontent, and all the political challenges that will bring. caroline hawley, bbc news. earlier, we spoke to human rights lawyer and activist brahavani fonseka, who was at today's protests in the capital colombo. it's been quite the d

they don't just want president gotabaya rajapaksa to step down, they want the whole political class toge. and this is how they are pushing for that change. a mass movement born out of economic hardship, sending a message to those in power. we don't want violence and we don't want that prime minister trying to be a president right now, we only want, please, resign. but it didn't take long for security forces to use tear gas and water cannons. shrieking. explosions. well, theyjust fired tear gas and protesters tried to make their way to the prime minister's office, but as you can see, they didn't manage, there is a large security presence there, some protesters still trying to climb in. just over the gate, you can see inside there nowjust how many members of the security forces are in there, and we can feel the tear gas on our skin now. a lot of people here have been tear gassed, but they are not giving up, they still want to get inside. the protesters are getting closer now. there is a standoff. they are not giving up. you could see the police with guns. then a breakthrough. outnumberin

sri lanka's president — gotabaya rajapaksa — crisis.

tonight, president gotabaya rajapaksa did.rotesters say they are celebrating what represents a victory for people power. it's the end of the rule of the rajapaksas, after a week of turmoil on the island. just yesterday, at the prime minister's office, security forces were overrun by protesters. it was one of a number of government buildings taken over by the masses. today, protesters handed it back to the authorities, soldiers now on guard, authorised to use force to maintain order. sirens. a country under curfew, streets once packed with protesters, now patrolled by the military. elsewhere, tensions are running high, with the basics still in short supply, only a few weeks of fuel now left in the country. in an exclusive interview, the governor of sri lanka's central bank told me that, without a stable government, the suffering will continue. we don't see a way forward and how to get enough foreign exchange to finance essential petroleum for this country. if that doesn't happen, then it will be like the whole country will be c

gotabaya rajapaksa flew to the maldives around 2a hours ago. head of state while he was absent. the first round of voting to decide who will be the uk's next prime minister has reduced the field to six candidates without throwing up a clear favourite. the next vote takes place on thursday, and the process will take until september to come up with a winner. president biden�*s arrived in israel at the start of a landmark regional tour which will include a visit to saudi arabia. on his first trip to the middle east since taking office, he was met by israel's new prime minister.

this was president gotabaya rajapaksa in 2020, campaigning during parliamentary elections. mismanagement. protests have been going on for weeks, but today marks a dramatic escalation. translation: we must chase them. they must go. it's time for us to think of the country. translation: we have children. we are on the streets, leaving ourjobs, because we believe in the cause. as the protests continue, sri lankans don't know where their president even is, though one report says he's being protected by the island country's navy. it has been announced by parliament's speaker he will step down by wednesday. and this is said to be the prime minister's private residence. it was set on fire, even though he had earlier offered to resign. after a day of chaos, fury and confusion, the anti—government protesters here, they are celebrating the announcement of the planned resignations of president gotabaya rajapaksa and prime minister ranil wickremesinghe. and these protesters, they want a new beginning for sri lanka, a new political culture, so they will not face the similar economic cri

two candidates are out in front. ♪ the sri lankan president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has resned after daystigovernment protests. mr. rajapaksa sent his resignation late -- resignation letter from singapore, where he fled to. demonstrators are celebrating on the streets of colombo, defying a curfew. the governor the central bank says the country needs a stable government as soon as possible. we have this update from colombo. reporter: antigovernment protesters are celebrating the news of the resignation letter of prime minister gotabaya rajapaksa. these people have been here the last few months, demanding the resignation of prime minister rajapaksa and other cabinet ministers, accusing them of mismanaging the economy. the last five days come of the situation here was dramatic when crowds stormed the residence of mr. rajapaksa, about 100 meters from here. that forced him to flee to the maldives and thing -and then singapore. now, the prime minister assumes the position of acting president, needs to be sworn in and approved by parliament. if the parliament doesn't accept him, then there will

, bringing an end to the political domination of the gotabaya rajapaksa dynasty.me minister ranil wickremesinghe has been sworn in as the acting president. soon after taking over, mr. ranil wickremesinghe addressed the nation and appealed to political parties to form an all party interim government. >> after days of chaos, confusion, and political crisis, the action now here in sri lanka shrift -- shifts to this building, the sri lankan parliament. 225 members will choose the next president on the 20th of july. once the president is elected, many people here hope that will help the country get some political stabity. that is needed to solve the economic crisis. >> the developments in the past few days have been dramatic. some say, historic. after months of demonrations, activists here say people's power has one. have they achieved their objectives? >> not yet. but, part of it, yes. we have achieved part of it. also, our younger generation, we have not taught them to step back. they will move forward. they will be asking for all their demands. until then, the prote

now president gotabaya rajapaksa did.sters say they are celebrating what represents a victory for people power. it is the end of the rulof the rajapakksas. yesterday, security forces were overrun by protesters. it was one of a number of buildings taken er by the masses. today, protesters handed it back to the authorities, soldiers now on guard, authorized to use force to maintain order. a country under curfew. streets once packed with protesters, now patrolled by the military. elsewhere, tensions are running high with the basics still in short supply, only a few weeks of fuel left in the country. in an exclusive interview, the governor osri lanka's central bank said without a stable government, the suffering will continue. >> we don't see a way forward to finance essential petroleum for this country. if that doesn't happen, our whole country will be closed down a. >> the pace of the protests has slowed, a president gone, and a country still in limbo. i met this man as he stormed the prime minister's house yesterday. he wa

three candidates have been nominated by parliament to replace the outgoing gotabaya rajapaksa. vladimir putin travels to tehran to meet the leaders of iran and turkey and holds talks with turkey's president about restarting the export of ukrainian grain. live from our studio in singapore... this is bbc news. it's newsday. hello and welcome to bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. it's six in the morning here in singapore and ”pm in london, where the uk has recorded temperatures of more than a0 degrees celsius for the first time. the heatwave has caused widespread disruption on the railway network, and there have been a large number of fires in parks and grasslands. a major incident has been declared in london, where the mayor, sadiq khan, said fire crews were struggling to cope. this comes as the un's climate chief has warned that heatwaves such as the one currently gripping western europe are becoming more frequent. our first report is from our climate editor, justin rowlatt. with today's searing heat came fires, and lots of them. huge plumes of smo

the very people who are blamed for creating this economic crisis, president gotabaya rajapaksa and hisily members, are also trying to flee the island. this video is believed to have been recorded at the airport as formerfinance minister basil rajapaksa was stopped at immigration. he finally left, said to be heading to america. his brother, president gotabaya rajapaksa, has now also fled. a ruthless politician accused of brutality and corruption, part of a family dynasty which has ruled sri lanka for decades — once popular, now parodied. gotabaya rajapaksa is blamed for the country's economic woes. he's brought this country to its knees. we have no food to eat. we have no food. the basic, the basic human necessities are missing. and that's thanks to these people and this one family, which has been basically draining all the sources of income that we have. lining up for a peek inside the presidential palace days after gota baya rajapa ksa fled his home, he's now left the country. we will be live in colombo in half an hour to assess the political crisis and the economic consequences. cons

we do now know that president gotabaya rajapaksa - protesters.rajapaksa went protesters. we do now know that - president gotabaya rajapaksa went to the maldives with his wife and two security officials and sri lanka has always had close relations with the maldives which is a 90 minute flight away. the rajapaksa family have strong ties to the maldives. a source has told the bbc that the president plans to travel on to a third country. now let's take a look at what is behind this dissatisfaction with the president. they have been assured addition of fuel and medicines —— there have been shortages of fuel and medicines after the government ran out of foreign currency, schools are closed, hospitals are struggling, protests have been going on now for weeks but today marks another dramatic discussion nation, sri lanka is going to an unprecedented crisis —— marks another dramatic escalation. we can have a look at the worst economic crisis since its independence over 70 years ago. sri lanka blames the tome on government who won the election in 2019 and s

this was president gotabaya rajapaksa in 2020, campaigning during parliamentary elections. has family are accused by many of catastrophic economic mismanagement. as the protests continue, sri lankans don't know where the president even is, though one report says he is, though one report says he is being protected by the island country's navy. it has been announced by parliament speaker he will step down by wednesday. and this is set to be the prime minister's private residence. it was set on fire even though he had earlier offered to resign. after a day offered to resign. after a day of chaos, fury and confusion the anti—government protesters here are celebrating the announcement of the plan to resign by president gotabaya rajapaksa and ranil wickremesinghe. these protesters want a new beginning for salancik, a new political culture so that they will not face the similar economic crisis in this country. —— want a new beginning for sri lanka. voting has begun in elections forjapan�*s upper house of parliament, just two days after the assassination of the former prime ministe

anchor: breaking news the sri lankan president gotabaya rajapaksa, who had been in hiding since crowds his palace on saturday, has left the country. our correspondent joins us on the phone from colombo. officials appear to be confirming that he has landed in the maldives. what are you hearing about that? reporter: we have heard that the president [indiscernible] on the military, and basically there were four people who traveled on that flight, including the president, may be a military bodyguard, as well as one other individual. this obviously has been some time coming. the entire nation was following very closely, all the attempts by president gotabaya rajapaksa and his entourage to try and get out of the country. so it seems li after a number of failed attempts, he has managed to get out. anchor: to be clear, there has been a wave of opposition against him, mass protests over the cost-of-living crisis. we understand he tried to leave the country several times and failed? reporter: yes, that is correct. essentially, the whole of the last 24 hours and even prior to that, there were rep

we now know that president gotabaya rajapaksa has left the country.fled on a militaryjet with members of his family. we don't know where exactly he's headed to. 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 is 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 a

the president, gotabaya rajapaksa, has fled the country as sri lanka suffers from the worst economicrisis in decades. tens of thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against the president and administration, who are blamed for allowing the crisis to grow. sri lanka's economy is suffering shortages of food and fuel, and the currency has lost nearly half its value on the financial markets. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan, camera journalist jack garland, and producer scarlett barter have spent the day among the crowds outside the prime minister's office in colombo. their target heavily guarded. their mood determined. as news spread that prime minister ranil wickremesinghe had just been made acting president, crowds gathered in front of his office, one of the few government buildings not yet occupied by protesters. protesters are chanting that ranil wickremesinghe, the prime minister, is a thief. they don't just want president gotabaya rajapaksa to step down, they want the whole political class to leave, and they want a change. and this is how they are pushing for t

the movement is grappling with the political aftermath of gotabaya rajapaksa's departure., others feel the uprising still has a purpose. others feel the uprising still has a --urose. , , . ., purpose. the struggle must continue, we must learn — purpose. the struggle must continue, we must learn to _ purpose. the struggle must continue, we must learn to think _ purpose. the struggle must continue, we must learn to think a _ purpose. the struggle must continue, we must learn to think a little - purpose. the struggle must continue, we must learn to think a little more . we must learn to think a little more in detail of various aspects if they want to achieve something. the strenath want to achieve something. the strength of— want to achieve something. the strength of sri _ want to achieve something. the strength of sri lanka's uprising has been its leaderless organic nature. some people say it also makes it difficult to predict or control as was witnessed when crowds stormed government buildings. the protest leaders have difficult decisions to make, but for the moment, they a

more now on the political crisis in sri lanka — as you've been hearing president gotabaya rajapaksa hasrture early on wednesday morning comes just ahead of an expected resignation following months of demonstrations. archana shukla joins us live from the capital colombo. dramatic developments in the last few hours. where does this leave the political and economic situation? cecilie big olitical economic situation? cecilie big political developments - political developments overnight and since the small hours the crowds have gathered here. this is the president secretariat behind me, and protester5 and citizens have been lining up here with flag5 been lining up here with flags and slogans which roughly translate to "victory to our struggle". thi5 translate to "victory to our struggle". this is something protester5 have been demanding for a long time and a5 gotabaya rajapaksa and his brother have moved out of the country, it leads now to the next lead5 now to the next development which will be the formal resignation of president gotabaya rajapaksa, that will put the country understand to l

demonstrators also want president gotabaya rajapaksa to step aside.e fled the country before he was due to hand in his resignation. protesters blame hand and his long ruling family for sri lanka's worst economic crisis in decades. reporter: sri lanka is on the brink of change. a people's uprising has ended a family dynasty's long grip on power. after the president's sudden departure, angry protesters have now tured their focus on the prime minister, who is now the acting president. >> i have been informed by the president that, since the president is out of the country, he has appointed the prime minister under the constitution to carry out his duties. reporter: they tried to disperse the protesters with tear gas but the people are not going anywhere just yet. many are camped at the presidential palace. >> the president's house and the prime minister's recidence are maintained by tax money. the people did not understand when they were told. it is only now they realize the luxurious lives that they had paid for with tax money. reporter: demonstrations

is a half-won battle because since the beginning of the protest, their main demand was that gotabaya rajapaksaquit office, not only him, but his entire family. so they managed to do so. it looks like they managed to uproot the political dynasty of rajapaksas from the political landscape of sri lanka. so that is a huge achievement for them. but the struggle still remains for them to recover from this economic crisis. so they will only know in the coming days. mark: navodita kumari in colombo, thank you for joining us. we are watching the developments. while, suspending rotations of the u.n. peacekeeping mission. the leader says it is for national security reasons. this includes operations already scheduled. the suspension will last until a meeting is held to facilitate the coordination and regulations of the rotation of contingent, the words of the military june top. -- of the military junta. the mission was launched in 2013 to help one of the worlds worst countries cope with a bloody jihad this campaign. it is one of the u.n.'s biggest peacekeeping operations, with arou 12,200 soldiers, 1700 p

it follows weeks of unrest, with protesters calling for president gotabaya rajapaksa to stand down —t the prime minister, who was left in charge, immediately gave the police and security forces full authority to restore what he called "normalcy", which infuriated people. sri lanka's economy has collapsed, with food inflation running at 80% and transport costs up more than 100% because of record fuel prices. to make matters worse, sri lanka's tourism industry collapsed during the pandemic, meaning it now has no foreign currency reserves to pay for imported goods. 0ur correspondent rajini vaidyanathan is in the sri lankan capital, colombo. here at the protest tonight in the capital. they are celebrating, as you may hear, what they describe as a victory of people power. the man so many blame for this country's economic woes, president gotabaya rajapaksa, has fled the island but, in a development in the last hour or so, he issued a statement where, rather than actually resigning, as he promised he would, he made the country's prime minister, name—7—macro, acting president. that just leav

this is bbc news, the headlines: sri lanka's president gotabaya rajapaksa will step down after protesters stormed the palace and set fire to the prime minister's house. hundreds of thousands of demonstrators descended on the capital colombo after months of protests over economic mismanagement. sri lanka is suffering high inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel and medicine. as japan grieves for the former prime minister shinzo abe, voting begins in elections for the upper house of parliament, two days after his death. there are suggestions his murder could boost support for the governing liberal democratic party, of which mr abe was the leading statesman. the uk chancellor nadhim zahawi has added his name to the conservative leadership contest, joining a field of eight people, including two former health secretaries, sajid javid and jeremy hunt. the current favourite is the former chancellor rishi sunak, who resigned from his post on tuesday. now on bbc news, the travel show. this week on the travel show — i'm in the great american outdoors for a close encounter with some grizzly

protesters initially said they would not leave until president gotabaya rajapaksa and prime ministerowds to see this place have forced a rethink. , p, rethink. they arrived in their thousands — rethink. they arrived in their thousands but _ rethink. they arrived in their thousands but they - rethink. they arrived in their thousands but they just - rethink. they arrived in their| thousands but they just want rethink. they arrived in their. thousands but they just want to rethink. they arrived in their- thousands but they just want to see an but then they were taking stuff. we are no longer responsible. we are just trying to maintain stuff so we decided it's better to give it back. as a monument to the people so they can come back and enjoy it. 5tiiiil. can come back and en'oy it. still, there is no * can come back and enjoy it. still, there is no information _ can come back and enjoy it. still, there is no information on - can come back and enjoy it. still, there is no information on gotabaya rajapaksa's resignation letter, rajapa ksa's resignation letter, without rajapaksa's resignat

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this is bbc news, the headlines: sri lanka's president, gotabaya rajapaksa, will step down after protesters stormed the palace and set fire to the prime minister's house. hundreds of thousands of demonstrators descended on capital colombo after months of protests over economic mismanagement. sri lanka is suffering high inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel and medicine. as japan grieves for the former prime minister shinzo abe, voting begins in elections for the upper house of parliament, two days after his death. there are suggestions his murder could boost support for the governing liberal democratic party, of which mr abe was the leading statesman. the uk chancellor, nadim zahawi, has added his name to the conservative leadership contest, joining a field of eight people, including two former health secretaries. now on bbc news, it's time to click. this week, we're at wimbledon to find out if ai can predict the winners, although spencer's concentrating on the more important parts of the event. choose my blanket design. got to get the food sorted first. lara gets her trainers on

that new leader will replace gotabaya rajapaksa, who fled the country and resigned in the face of massiveunder kermani reports from the capital, colombo. tight security outside parliament this morning as politicians began the process of selecting a new president. this is the man it's most likely to be — ranil wickremesinghe, currently acting leader. he's an old political face and has been the focus of protester anger. the president's office is still under the control of demonstrators, though they've handed back other official buildings. a few metres away, the main protest camp, named the gota go home village — a reference to the ousted president gotabaya rajapaksa, who they forced to resign and flee the country. but those here have always also demanded ranil wickremesinghe, who looks likely to succeed him, should resign, too. we're halfway there with gota going home. it is a win. but ranil still being there, still being acting president, is a problem for us. we need him to step down as well. he is going the path that he's taking as we see it, is that he's going to be a failed leader, just

the man who once lived here, president gotabaya rajapaksa, has now fled and is expected to step down. a lot of the people here need to also witness the fact that — how rich and wealthy and luxurious their lives are. even this place, how grand, how big the house is. there is people who have been dying and suffering to fight for their basic necessities. as they look around the lavish rooms, sri lankans continue to contend with a deepening economic crisis. is this the right thing to do? is this the right way to go about it, storming the presidential palace? well, the people have been demanding for the president to step down. with respect, we've asked him to step down multiple times. so the people are realising that, well, unless we physically go and take him out of the chair, he's not going to leave. and when will your protests stop? when will you be satisfied? when will i personally be satisfied? if we go to a new election and hopefully people will vote for principles, morals, and ideals that the person running for the election holds and not the person itself — because when it comes to