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 f
his formal resignation is expected to be announced at some point today. the bbc understands the president s military jet has landed in male, the capital of the maldives. he had been in hiding after protestors stormed his residence on saturday. 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
so let s get down to business. and we begin with president biden s trip to the middle east. when he arrives in israel today he will be the first us president to visit the middle east since 9/11 without american troops engaged in a combat mission there. the white house has said the visit s aims include expanding regional economic and security cooperation . israel s finance minister says its hoped the visit will lead to a common middle east market that includes saudi arabia. with businesses on all sides poised to make the most of the opportunities. well, let s go live tojerusalem and discuss this withjon medved chief executive and founder of our crowd a global equity funding platform for investors. orwarm or warm welcome to the programme. what are your hopes for this visit? i programme. what are your hopes for this visit? for this visit? i think it is incredible for this visit? i think it is incredible that for this visit? i think it is incredible that the - for this
is unshakeable as he arrives in israel at the start of his first middle east tour. a judge tells amber heard she has no grounds for a retrial after her ten million dollar defamation trial againstjonny depp. welcome to newsday. it s six in the morning in singapore, and three thirty in the morning in sri lanka where president gotabaya has not honoured his promise to resign. he flew out of the country, to the maldives, about 2k hours ago. but in a public letter, he said he was appointing the prime minister to be the acting head of state while he was absent. that s led to anger among protestors, who wanted both men to quit. meanwhile, a curfew is in force and the prime minister and now acting president ranil wickremesinghe has told the military to do whatever is necessary to restore order. from colombo, our south asia correspondent rajini vaidya nathan reports. their target heavily guarded. their mood determined. as news spread that prime minister ranil wickremesinghe h
is sweet for novak djokovic, who wins his seventh wimbledon men s singles title. live from our studio in singapore. this is bbc news. it s newsday. it s 6am in singapore, and 3.30am in colombo, sri lanka where protestors have been celebrating what they believe to be the toppling of the country s leadership. president rajapaksa whose family has dominated sri lankan politics for the best part of two decades has announced he will step down on wednesday after demonstrators stormed his official residence and set fire to the prime minister s house. our south asia correspondent rajini vaidyanathan reports from inside the presidential palace, which is still overrun by protesters. 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