for the country s woes. we got here because of sheer incompetence, mismanagement, and greed. and the rajapaksa family embodied that. they embodied three things that have brought sri lanka down the first is authoritarianism, the second is corruption, and the third is ethnic chauvinism. and all of this came to a head when gotabaya rajapaksa became president. as sri lanka 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
this is bbc news. welcome if you re watching here in the uk or around the globe. i m gareth barlow. our top stories: sri lanka s president, gotabaya rajapaska, 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, they want a new beginning for sri lanka, a new beginning for sri lanka, a new political culture so they will not face the similar economic crisis in the country. as japan grieves for the former prime minister shinzo abe, voting begins in elections for the upper house of parliament. uk chancellor nadim zahawi has added his name to the conservative leadership contest, joining a field of eight, including sajid javid and jeremy hunt.
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 day today in sri lanka. we saw thousands of people peacefully coming out and protesting, and then, saw the shift in terms of breaching the official residence of the president and his office. but, unfortunately, violence has been seen in the last few hours, as you saw, the private residence of the prime minister was torched. and, so, there remains a lot
beaten in the final two last time round, pitching now to win back trust. jonathan blake, bbc news. 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. as japan grieves for the former prime minister shinzo abe, voting begins in elections for the upper house of parliament. each year a number of countries in southeast asia are at risk of being covered in a smoky haze which is caused by people using fire to clear land. for the last two years this hasn t been an issue with pollution levels much lower than usual. however, a new report says that the haze could return this year, driven by an increase in land clearing to grow food as commodity prices soar. well for more on this let s hear from associate professor