Thousands of protesters in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo have taken over the president’s residence, BBC reports. And the president is resigning: “Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has announced he will step down after protesters stormed his official residence and set the prime minister’s house on fire.”
They have been protesting for days now over severe economic paralysis in the Asia country. In Sri Lanka, even if you have money to buy fuel (assume you can find it) for your car, you are not permitted as the nation does not have enough fuel to power essential services.
As that mild fire was burning, some guys decided to check out the presidential swimming pool. We may not connect this directly to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but I can tell you that a global order is being distorted with many moving parts now.
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The world is sick now – and I make that point because the government of Sri Lanka has begged everyone to even supply it with fuel so that it could power hospitals, public transportation, etc, and none listened. Possibly, global leaders want a change in leadership before they move. But who knows? It is a big challenge with all the attention on Ukraine – many countries will fall by the flanks.
Neither the PM nor the president were in the buildings.
Hundreds of thousands descended on the capital Colombo, calling for Mr Rajapaksa to resign after months of protests over economic mismanagement.
Mr Rajapaksa will step down on 13 July. PM Wickremesinghe has agreed to resign.
Parliamentary speaker Mahinda Abeywardana said the president decided to step down “to ensure a peaceful handover of power”.
“I therefore request the public to respect the law and maintain peace,” he said
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