our south asia correspondent, rajini vaidyanathan, reports from colombo. these scenes would have been unthinkable days ago. sri lanka's seat of presidential power — now a sightseeing destination. security nowhere to be seen, as thousands push their way into a palace taken over by protesters. this is a really surreal moment for sri lanka. a building that is normally heavily fortified, now a free—for—all. at president rajapaksa's private pool, we meet carpenter ruan chiminda, who's taking a dip, a moment of relief after he walked hours to join the protests. translation: my kids are hungry- _ we don't have fuel. we don't have cooking gas. we don't even have fuel to do ourjobs properly. how does it feel to swim in the president's personal pool? translation: i'm happy. i'm so happy- _ moments ofjoy and curiosity. but where does this leave the future of the island? the man who once lived here, president gotabaya rajapaksa, has now fled and is expected to step down this week. a lot of the people here need to also witness the fact that — how rich and wealthy and l

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.d at the age of 73 at her home in new york. she was born in what was then czechoslovakia and became a fashion model, designer and businesswoman. she was married to the former us president between 1977 and 1992 and they have three children together. president biden and the israeli prime minister have signed a a joint declaration to stop iran from developing nuclear weapons. washington says it will use all the elements of us power to prevent it, but mr lapid said only a credible military threat would work. president biden was injerusalem to meet israelis and palestinians before moving on to saudi arabia. from jerusalem, our middle east editorjeremy bowen reports. not the wild west, but the middle east. for all its power, america's ability to control middle eastern turbulence is limited. joe biden and israel's acting prime minister, yair lapid, signed a declaration billed as historic. in fact, it had all been said before, but israel needed him to say it again. i made it absolutely clear w

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.lier i spoke to asanga abeyagoonasekera, who is a sri lankan political analyst, and currently a senior fellow at the millennium project think tank in washington dc. i asked him whether president rajapaksa's resignation will help to stop the protests. this will be a key factor to de—escalate the political tension. for three months the protesters were asking for the right resignation it's a huge victory for the protesters, a nonviolent revolution. we have seen a fair amount of protests and some violence on the streets and just looking back at the events of the last few days, there hasn't been a sort of definitive leader in this protest movement. going forward, how do you see the political situation playing out? according to the constitution the acting president should be appointed. and now the prime minister, the one who is there acting, he's planning to be the acting president. but the constitutionality and legitimacy is in question because had only one seat in parliament and he was not

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. information on the situation in sri lanka on the website. president biden has 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 new israeli prime minister, yair lapid. mr biden will also meet the palestinian president during his trip, before heading to meet leaders of the gulf states, for discussions about the global supply of oil. here was his message on arriving in tel aviv. every chance to return to this great country, where the ancient roots of thejewish people date back to the biblical times, this is a blessing because the connection between the israeli people and the american people is bone—deep, it is bone—deep. generation after generation, that connection grows. we invest in each other. we dream together. mr biden will become the first us president to fly directly to saudi arabia from israel. this is seen as a small, but significant sign of riyadh's gr

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.or more on this i'm joined now by asanga abeyagoonasekera, who is a sri lankan political analyst, and currently a senior fellow at the millennium project think tank in washington dc. thank think tank in washington dc. you forjoining us on i very thank you forjoining us on this very dramatic set of developments that we've seen just in the last few hours. finally a resignation. that we've seen just in the last few hours. finallya resignation. do that we've seen just in the last few hours. finally a resignation. do you think this will help to stop the protest permanently? definitely. this will be _ protest permanently? definitely. this will be a _ protest permanently? definitely. this will be a key _ protest permanently? definitely. this will be a key factor - protest permanently? definitely. this will be a key factor to - this will be a key factor to de—escalate the political tension. for three months the protesters were asking for the right resignation it's a huge victory for the protes

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. let's get some of the day's other news.directly to germany through the baltic sea pipeline, nord stream 1. the pipeline�*s russian—backed operators say it's because of standard summer maintenance that will take ten days. although some gas will still get to germany via ukraine, usually most russian gas comes through this pipeline. the former formula one boss, bernie ecclestone, is to be charged with fraud by false representation following an investigation into overseas assets believed to be worth more than 400 million pounds. mr ecclestone, who's 91, said he had yet to see the details and couldn't comment. twitter says elon musk�*s reasons for not going through with his deal to buy the company are �*invalid and wrongful�*. he pulled out of the agreement saying he had not been given enough information about fake accounts. shares fell 11% on monday. britain will have a new prime minister by 5 september. that's a full eight weeks away. anyone who wants the job — and there are currently 11 possible candidates — will have to firs

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. you're watching newsday on the bbc.onty norman, the composer of the james bond theme, who's died at the age of 94. after months of talks and missed deadlines, a deal has been struck to keep greece within the eurozone. the immediate prospect of greece going bust in the worst crisis to hit the eurozone 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's completely blacked out. - it's a timely reminder to all americans of the problemsj that the energy crisisj has brought to them. leaders meet in paris for a summit on pollution, inflation and third world debt. this morning, theyjoined 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 a hu

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. let's get some of the day's other news.horities in colombia say three children have been killed after a mudslide buried a school in the andes in the country's northwest. military officers and members of the public helped emergency workers in the rescue effort. the mayor said 17 children and a teacher escaped the landslide. the japanese prime minister has called for more nuclear power plants to operate next winter to counter possible energy shortages. fumio kishida said the country needed a balanced mix of energy sources. but the japanese public has been wary of atomic power since the fukushima nuclear disaster. one of the sons of a former honduran president and three other young men have been killed by unknown gunmen as they left a nightclub in the capital, tegucigalpa. police said that the attack appeared to be well planned and had probably targeted said lobo bonilla, who worked with his father, porfirio lobo. the actor kevin spacey has pleaded not guilty to sexual assault charges dating back seventeen yea rs. the five all

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.'s take a look at some of the other stories in the headlines in the uk. train drivers at eight rail companies have voted in favour of taking industrial action over pay. the union, aslef, hasn't yet named any dates for strike action to take place. a week of very high temperatures ahead, for much of the uk, as the met office issues an extreme weather warning for the weekend. the rare amber alert covering much of england and wales is used to warn people of potential health and transport issues caused by the heat. the former formula one boss, bernie ecclestone, is to be charged with fraud by false representation following an investigation into overseas assets believed to be worth more than 400 million pounds. mr ecclestone, who's 91, said he had yet to see the details and couldn't comment. parts of pakistan's biggest city karachi is under water — as heavy rainfall continues to lash the port city. showers over the past week have inundated parts of the city, flooding homes and shops. two mor

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.nt mahinda yapa abeywardena spoke to bbc radio in the last few hours. he insisted that president rajapaksa would return by wednesday, when he's promised to resign. at the moment, he's, er, he's somewhere out in a nearby country. he will come back on tuesday — wednesday, he will be here. he told me he would be here. there's going to be a vote in the house. the international monetary fund said it was closely monitoring the situation and was prepared to help the cash—strapped island weather its deepest economic crisis. earlier, i spoke to shanta devarajan, a professor at georgetown university. he's former acting chief economist at the world bank, now an adviser liaising between international financial institutions and the sri lankan government. he gave me his take on the situation. it's extremely serious, in economic terms. and that is why the people are so angry — because the reason why sri lanka has no foreign exchange at the moment is because of the misguided policies of the rajapaksa

from colombo, rajini vaidyanathan reports. music. a moment to savour, after months of struggle.here's joy. these demonstrators had one key demand, that the man they blame for their economic woes resign. tonight, president gotabaya rajapaksa did. protesters 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

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.adian space agencies from the world's most advanced telescope — the james webb space telescope — which was launched into space last year. the extraordinary images are the deepest and most detailed view of the universe ever seen. they contain light from galaxies that has taken billions of years to reach ours — as our science editor rebecca morelle explains. 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

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.e analysis, we will later speak to dr paikiasothy sarava namuttu, political commentator and founder of centre for policy alternatives in colombo. let's take a look at some other stories in the headlines. the italian president sergio mattarella has rejected the prime minister's resignation offer. mario draghi had said he was no longer able to continue in office, after losing the support of the five star movement, a key party in the governing coalition. but the president has instead invited him to appear before parliament, to gauge political support. ivana trump, the former wife of donald trump, has died at the age of 73, at her home in new york. she was born in what was then czechoslovakia, and became a fashion model, designer and businesswoman. she was married to the former us president between 1977 and 1992, and they have three children together. the japanese prime minister has called for more nuclear power plants to operate next winter, to counter possible energy shortages. fumio kis

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.s we've been hearing, this week's demonstrations in sri lanka follow months of economic turmoil, which has brought misery to millions across the country. our diplomatic correspondent james landale is here to explain more about what's led to the chaos of recent days. huw, sri lanka is in real difficulties at the moment. first of all, there is almost complete economic collapse. inflation is more than 50%, food prices are soaring, up 80%, transport costs more than doubling, and that's having a real impact. there are about 22 million people in sri lanka and the un world food programme says more than 6 million of them don't know where their next meal is coming from. so why�*s the economy in such dire straits? well, tourism — a major source of foreign revenues — has been devastated, first by terrorist bombings in 2019, and then by the covid pandemic. the war in ukraine has added to rising food and fuel prices and the global downturn has meant sri lankans living overseas have sent less money

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.ve to columbo later on this programme to discuss in more deal tail what the outlook is for this country, extraordinary scenes there, so more on that, a little later. much of europe has been experiencing a sweltering heatwave. in spain, temperatures have hit 43 degrees celsius. that's more than a 100 degrees fahrenheit. the heat in neighbouring portugal has led to dangerous wildfires, while there have also been temperatures nudging a0 degrees in france. here's tim allman. in madrid, the sun shines down without mercy. the whole city bakes. just being outdoors can be a traumatic experience. "it's deadly," said this woman. "we are all melting and i'm carrying bobby because it's too "hot, it's unbearable. " it's a similar story further south in seville. umbrellas, even though there is no drop of rain, so intense is the heat. "the truth is, it's been hell," said this man. "walking around, it's unbelievable. " high temperatures and a lack of rain can be a dangerous combination. in portugal, w

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. let's get some of the day's other news.ice in el salvador have raided the offices of the country's football federation as part of a money laundering investigation. agents have also seized computers and documents from the home of the federation�*s president, hugo carrillo, who said he was cooperating with the investigation and denied any wrongdoing. one of the sons of a former honduran president and three other young men have been killed by unknown gunmen as they left a nightclub in the capital, tegucigalpa. police said that the attack appeared to be well planned, and had probably targeted said lobo bonilla, who worked with his father, porfirio lobo. authorities in colombia say three children have been killed after a mudslide buried a school in the andes in the country's northwest. military officers and members of the public helped emergency workers in the rescue effort. the mayor said 17 children and a teacher escaped the landslide. spaniards are used to hot summers, but the searing temperatures of the heatwave currently sw

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.ation over an alleged failure to declare overseas assets worth more than £400 million. the crown prosecution service said the move followed an investigation by hmrc. our sports correspondent laura scott is with me now. tell us a little more about bernie ecclestone the man and how this came about. , , ., ., ., �* about. just a reminder of who bernie ecclestone is- _ about. just a reminder of who bernie ecclestone is. he _ about. just a reminder of who bernie ecclestone is. he was _ about. just a reminder of who bernie ecclestone is. he was the _ about. just a reminder of who bernie ecclestone is. he was the head - about. just a reminder of who bernie ecclestone is. he was the head of. ecclestone is. he was the head of formula i for 40 years before being removed as its chief executive in 2017. now 91, he was ranked 74th in the most recent sunday times rich list, with an estimated net worth ofjust under £2.5 billion. but today came a joint announcement from the cps and hmrc that he will a

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, sri lanka.levels continue to rise following days of torrential rain. parts of the city have received about eight months of rain in just four days. roads have been cut off, many building are underwater, and thousands have been left without power. our correspondent shaimaa khalil has this report. in some parts of windsor, roads have turned into small rivers. a once—in—a—century weather event has now happened twice just this year. melissa and her family have been without power for nearly 24 hours. now they've been told to evacuate. this time because the water is over the road now, yeah, i'm a little bit worried, but, yeah. and soon as the power cut off yesterday as well, that was, yeah, had to go because we had no power. some residents in this neighborhood have been rescued by the emergency services and others have evacuated. some are waiting in their homes, praying that they don't get stuck and that the water doesn't rise even further. the thing you keep hearing time and time again is how exhausti

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. astonishing scenes there.dent mahinda yapa abeywardena spoke to bbc radio in the last few hours. he insisted that president rajapaksa would return by wednesday, when he's promised to resign. at the moment, he's, er, he's somewhere out in a nearby country. he will come back on tuesday — wednesday, he will be here. he told me he would be here. there's going to be a vote in the house. the international monetary fund said it was closely monitoring the situation, and was prepared to help the cash—strapped island weather its deepest economic crisis. shanta devarajan is a professor at georgetown university, a former acting chief economist at the world bank, now an adviser liaising between international financial institutions and the sri lankan government — hejoins me now. it's great to get you on the programme, professor. just to say looking at the scenes that we've seen and my colleague's report, it is increasingly delicate and very precarious time in sri lanka. what is your advice, in terms of the economy and how t

from colombo, rajini vaidyanathan reports.de the prime minister's office, sold us back on guard, authorised to use force to maintain order. —— soldiers back on guard. a day ago, it was different. security forces were overrun by protesters, who stormed the gates and entered. 0ne stormed the gates and entered. one of a number of government buildings taken over by the masses. the streets outside the presidential palace are now virtually deserted. it's a contrast from a few days ago, when this place had been occupied by protesters. they have now handed it back to the authorities, and while there is a sense of calm here right now, this is problems are farfrom over. death make this is problems are far from over. over. death make this is problems are farfrom over. tempers over. death make this is problems are far from over. tempers are running high as the basics are in short supply. 0nly running high as the basics are in short supply. only a few weeks of fuel now left in the country. in an exclusive interview, the governor of sri lan

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.sia correspondent anbarasan ethirajan was outside the prime minister's office. he's been looking at what's behind the dissatisfaction with the president. there have been shortages of fuel mark and medicine, and the foreign currency. schools are closed, hospitals struggling. protests have been going on for weeks, and today marks another dramatic escalation. sri lanka is going through an unprecedented crisis. lots more scores on the website. now to other news. president biden has 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 new israeli prime minister, yair lapid. mr biden will also meet the palestinian president during his trip, before heading to meet leaders of the gulf states, for discussions about the global supply of oil. here was his message on arriving in tel aviv. every chance to return to this great country, where the ancient roots of thejewish peopl

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.or more, we can now speak to bhavani fonseka, an activist and human rights lawyer. shejoins us now from colombo. it is great to get you on the programme, and what astonishing scenes we are seeing outside sri lanka. in that report that we are hearing that the president pledged to resign by wednesday. that hasn't happened yet. there is now that interim president, and acting president in power, how other people taking it? well, the president did promise to resign on wednesday 13, it is thursday the 14th entry lankenau and we have not seen a resignation, so we basically have a president that has fled sri lanka and basically in exile. i mean, we don't know exactly where he is. it is reported he is heading your way. we do have an acting president indistinct speech in sri lanka. as you point out, those reports that president gotabaya roger pascoe is on his way here, but there is a state of emergency in the country and a pledge to elect a new president byjuly 20, is that going to happen in thi

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. a possible shortage of electricity to keep air conditioners going. tokyo reported record breaking temperatures on thursday, making it the worstjune heatwave injapan since records began nearly 150 years ago. rupert wingfield—hayes reports. in this town, it is another blazing hot day. at 11am, the temperature is already somewhere north of a0 celsius. for masaya, his wife and brother, working outside in these conditions isn'tjust hard, it's dangerous. masaya shows me the electric fans in his jacket, designed to keep him cool, but they hardly seem up to the task. "it went up to 47 degrees on the car's thermometer yesterday," he tells me. "is it dangerous?" i ask. "yes, it's dangerous. "we've never had temperatures like this before injune. "usually, it's raining now." a week ago, most people had never heard of this little city, izizaki, 100 km north of tokyo. now, it's suddenly famous. this is now officially the hottest place injapan. it's been above a0 degrees twice already this week, and

our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan was with protestors outside the presidential palace in colombonews 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 h

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. round of voting to decide who will be the next prime minister of the uk 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. with the latest, here's our political editor, chris mason. the first moment of decision in determining who might be our next prime minister, and who definitely won't be. two candidates will be eliminated, jeremy hunt and nadhim zahawi. the chancellor and the runner—up in the last conservative leadership race beaten by borisjohnson, both out. tonight, i spoke tojeremy hunt about, crucially, who he'll support now, and another failure to secure the leadership. i recognise that you probably only get one chance to do that and chance was really in 2019, and so politics moves on. we now that you won't be our next prime minister. who should be? i'm supporting rishi sunak. this is someone of formidable ability who has been thinking about t

our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan was with protestors outside the presidential palace in colombon 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 have 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. 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 pres

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.weekend of more than 4,500 taliban leaders and clerics has been criticised for not addressing the question of when girls can return to secondary school. it's been nearly 10 months since the taliban stopped teenage girls from attending secndary education, making afghanistan the only country in the world to enforce such a policy. yalda hakim has been to a secret school, where girls are taking matters into their own hands. hidden away on the outskirts of kabul, a secret school. around 60 girls usually come here daily, desperate to learn. today only a handful show up, afraid of our cameras and worried about their identities being revealed. they've been locked out of their classrooms for almost 300 days by the taliban. simply because of their gender. despite the risks and fear, these brave girls tell me they have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. they are nervous to speak about their new rulers. translation: it's speak about their new rulers. translation:— translation: it'

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.k's demonstration should this week's demonstration should those months of economic turmoil which is brought misery to millions in the country. james mandel explains more of what led to the chaos of recent days. shri micah isn't real difficulties at the moment. first of all, almost complete economic collapse, inflation is more than 50%, food prices soaring up 80% and transport costs. that's having a real impact. there are about 22 million people in sri lanka for them and the un programme says that more than 6 million of them don't know where their next meal is coming from. why is the economy in such dire straits? tourism, a majorforce to enact source of foreign revenue, the terrorist bombings in 2019 and then by the covid pandemic. or ukraine is also added to rising food and fuel prices. the global downturn of sri lankans leave overseas ascent less money home. but the protesters all saying this man, the outgoing president gotabaya rajapaksa, part of a family dynasty that dominated polit

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.g in the military training area. residents in parts of wiltshire have been advised to stay indoors and shut their windows due to smoke. the ministry of defence has apologised for causing the fires. now it�*s time for a look at the weather. it will still feel hot in the sunshine in southern areas but temperatures are down in recent days and cooler in the north. from the midlands northwards we will see more cloud, chance of a few showers, northern ireland brightening up through the afternoon, shell mainly across scotland and eastern england, as far south as east midlands and east anglia later. in the sunshine further south temperature is 24—27 closer to the july average, further south temperature is 24—27 closer to thejuly average, a bit below elsewhere, high teens and low 20s. showers this evening, eastern areas fading away, dry and clear for areas fading away, dry and clear for a time but more crowd into northern ireland, outbreaks of rain and drizzle and more extensively wetter condit

our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan report5 from sri lanka's main city colombo.ntinues. police powerle55, as the people's movement picks up pace. well, things feel very different here to what they were a week ago when i was in the city, when you had armed police guarding the entrance to the prime minister's official residence. and now, as you look around, it feels like i'm in a public park, familie5 here for a day out. as this nation tries to find a way out of an economic crisis, a moment to savour — the president they blame for their troubles expected to quit this week. i'll feel better only after wednesday, after the president walks out. you know, still there is this question mark, right? so i still have goosebumps, but i can't celebrate because he has to walk out. he has to go. and what about the prime minister? all of them have to go. we just need 15 good, honest politicians who will run this house — the parliament, and the country. president gotabaya rajapaksa has already fled his palace after it was stormed by protester5 at the weekend — his whereabouts sti

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.17 years. he pleaded not guilty to the offences which are alleged to have taken place in london and gloucestershire between 2005 and 2013. the double oscar winner "strenously denies" the charges. the trial date has been set forjune next year. the first of the money from the government to help with soaring energy bills will start hitting bank, building society and credit union accounts from today. 8 million households getting means—tested benefits will get £326 by the end ofjuly. a second payment will come later this year. pressure on nhs emergency services is getting worse, with patients in england waiting longerfor ambulances, many staff off sick and record numbers of people going to a&e. the royal college of nursing says the situation is bleak. our health editor hugh pym has been looking at the latest figures. a&e at a surrey hospital this morning. hello, how are you? the challenge, as usual, is finding new space for new patients and transferring those who need it to the wards. we ar

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.ust as we got that news confirming president rajapaksa's resignation we spoke to the protester, film—maker and director, king ratnam. here's his reaction. it brings me mixed emotions. on one hand, i'm very happy that, you know, people in sri lanka are, for the first time, realising that they can in fact make a difference and democracy can prevail. you know, we've been involved in this protest over the last 3—4 months — in a peaceful protest, you know, avoiding all opportunities of violence, avoiding violence and keeping it peaceful. and i think the people of sri lanka have finally realised that it is possible to actually win democratically. and this is a big victory. on the other hand, i am saddened that this had to come to this level and our leaders had to bring us here, and install this process so much. you know, even though people are in urgent need of change, directional change in every sense, economically, politically, and so on, they are still managing installing it, just as the

our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan sent this report from colombo. many sri lankans feel that leaving is their only option, in a crisis defined by endless waits. hundreds queue for passports. a chance to leave their troubled homeland in search of something better. many trying to make it to the middle east, like vasana, whose hoping she'll find work as a cleaner to support her six—year—old. how do you feel about wanting to leave sri lanka? your heart is in sri lanka? she says she's going because she's struggling to even get food and that's one of the reasons why she's trying to find work in kuwait. me, i'm planning to go to uk. we don't see any future. so that's basically we want to move on this country for our kids, not for us. there's been a lot of pressure for president rajapaksa to step down. did you vote for him? vote for him. and we never expected this. actually, we thought he's our saviour. and it's notjust these crowds who are trying to leave the country. the very people who are blamed for creating this economic crisis, president gotabaya raja

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.et's talk to a political economist at the university in sri lanka. a warm welcome to the programme. there is an incredible political turmoil at the moment, the prime minister is telling to do what i think the first thing is that the prime minister has to resign. last saturday there were major protests both the president and the prime minister agreed to resign. but they have yet to hand in the resignation letters. and that has created a lot of anger among the protesters because they feel betrayed. the prime minister was appointed by the president two months ago and it was seen as a deal to protect the regime. yesterday he has appointed him his acting president. so as long as he is there, they are going to see further protests and a lot of instability in the country. so the first thing is they want him to resign, there is very little support for him, the thing he can handle this move by trying to put use the constitution to put himself in power for the next three years, and thatjust isn'

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. such a difficult time for so many people in sri lanka.an—american journalist shireen abu akleh was gunfire from israeli army positions. she was shot dead while reporting an israeli raid in the occupied west bank earlier this year. shireen's family said it was incredulous that the american investigation was not able to determine for sure who had fired the fatal shot. at least seven people now known to have died in an avalanche sparked by the collapse of a glacier in the northern italian alps on sunday. a search operation is under way, with 14 people still missing. prime minister mario draghi said the incident was without doubt linked to climate change. the man believed to be the suspect of the shooting at a shopping centre in copenhagen had uploaded this video on social media a day before the attack. he is known to have had a history of mental health issues, and has been charged with murder and remanded to a psychiatric unit. the fame islands, off the north east coast of england, are home to several species of birds including puffins and k

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.d now byjonathan spencer, who is the regius professor of south asian language, culture and society at the university of edinburgh. he's written a number of works on sri lanka, and the country's civil war. great to get you on the program. astounding scenes in sri lanka from my colleagues report. an astonishing letter from gotabaya rajapaksa letter from gota baya raja pa ksa himself, letter from gotabaya rajapaksa himself, everyone is expecting him to resign but he still tried to cling to some semblance of power. how might this be viewed by protesters, do you think? i how might this be viewed by protesters, do you think? i have to sa . i protesters, do you think? i have to say- i don't — protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have _ protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have quite _ protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have quite the - protesters, do you think? i have to say. i don't have quite the same i say. i don't have quite the same reading of the co

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.tiwakes and guillemots. but an outbreak of bird flu has been sweeping through the colonies and now the authorities have taken the unusual step of banning visitors from the tiny islands altogether to try to stop the virus spreading. 0ur correspondent, danny savage, reports. at this time of year, a visit to the farne islands is one of nature's wonders. 0utcrops which should be teeming with bird life. not this year, though. look closer and you can see numerous dead chicks. it's believed bird flu is sweeping through the colony. i've never seen anything like it, it's horrible to see. it's when you get into the birds, you feel for the birds, it's terrible. you worry about next year. it's the first time in 30 years this has ever happened. seeing dead birds like this, and it's extreme numbers. nathan is one of the crew. over the last few weeks, he's taken pictures of the effects the virus is having. we've seen thousands of dead birds. we have just seen dead guillemots floating around like raft

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.this morning, the sri lankan prime minister's office said the president gotabaya rajapaksa informed him that he would step down as announced earlier, on the 13th ofjuly, this wednesday. and this, according to the prime minister's office, looks like the direct communication from mr rajapaksa to the prime minister's office. now, what has happened to this country, the economic crisis has turned into a political crisis. as you have seen in the earlier report, as well as behind me, thousands of people are now wanting to see the symbols of power, the state power, the president's official residence, the president's office and also the prime minister's residence down this road, now they are going and having a look and i can see the queue in front of me all the way at the end of the road. people are coming with their families, men, women, children, they all want to have a look at how the state functions, how the president lived in his residence, and i was in the residence yesterday and people a

meaning it now has no foreign currency reserves to pay for imported goods. 0ur correspondent rajini vaidyanathan 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 leaves more uncertainty when it come to this island's political future, an island which is deep turmoil. their target, heavily guarded. their mood are 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. a tense stand—off now outside the prime minister bottom office in colombo. protesters lined up all the way along this avenue and, on the other side, you can see security forces

our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan gained access to the prime minsiter�*s office as protestors tookfter many hours of trying. there has been tear gas fired by security forces. people are celebrating here. it is another extraordinary moment here in shrill anchor. the prime minister 's office and palace have already been overrun by protesters. the question is, what comes next for sri lanka? just look at this. our correspondent there in sri lanka. sir mo farah has said he is "relieved" that the home office will not take action against him after he revealed he was trafficked into the uk. he told the bbc he was born hussein abdi kahin, but was given the name mohamed farah by those who flew him from eastern africa with fake documents when he was 9 years old. he's been speaking to amol rajan. welcome. thank you. yeah, just there. sir mo farah is not the man millions think they know. now i'm coming to terms with it, talking about it, let alone, you know, coming to tell the public and tell people. i didn't even have the courage to talk to my own members of family. i was only tanya really kne

rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo.elp change transport policy in london. in meetings which were never declared, uber�*s lobbyists met george osborne when he was chancellor and a number of ministers, including conservative leadership candidate sajid javid. the documents were leaked to the guardian newspaper and shared with the international consortium of investigativejournalists and bbc panorama. uber denies its lobbying was secret and the ministers say rules were followed. richard bilton has more. when uber arrived in london, there was chaos. black cab drivers weren't happy and blockaded the capital. then london mayor, borisjohnson, set up a review which could have limited uber�*s expansion in the capital. the leaked documents show uber was on a secret offensive, a concerted campaign to influence policy. george osborne, the then chancellor, went to a private dinner in california with uber�*s chief exec, travis kalanick. an internal uber e—mail says... it's better than a meeting in london because this is a much more pri