Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe was elected as the new President of Sri Lanka in an election held in parliament on Wednesday. Soon after winning the election, Wickremesinghe addressed the parliament, calling on all legislators including the opposition parliamentarians to unite and work together with him to lead Sri Lanka out of the current economic crisis.
JULY 15: Mr Rajapaksa quit after fleeing to Singapore amid mass protests over his mismanagement of the economy.
Sri Lanka is in the grip of economic chaos as it faces an acute shortage of food, fuel and other basic supplies.
Mr Rajapaksa's resignation paves the way for the country to begin the process of electing a new president.
Sri Lanka's speaker of parliament, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said on Friday that he accepted Mr Rajapaksa's resignation, which he received late on Thursday.
He has called for parliament to convene on Saturday to start the process of electing a new leader.
PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed as acting president by Mr Rajapaksa before he fled, will be sworn in as interim president later on Friday.
Parliament has up to a month to elect a new leader, who could be Mr Wickremesinghe.
Mr Rajapaksa fled to Singapore on Thursday from the Maldives, as huge protests roiled Sri Lanka. He is believed to have wanted to leave Sri Lanka before stepping down in order to avoid the possibility of arrest under a new administration.
The embattled leader arrived in Singapore earlier on Thursday after first flying to the Maldives on Tuesday night. Reports say he is accompanied by his wife and two bodyguards.
Singapore's foreign ministry said Mr Rajapaksa had not asked for asylum or been granted asylum. "Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," it added.
Jubilation in the streets
In the capital Colombo on Thursday, delighted demonstrators greeted news of the president's departure with dancing.
"We are beyond happy, but also beyond relieved so we can take a break and go back to our lives," Viraga Perera told the BBC.
But the crowds appeared smaller than before after Mr Wickremesinghe imposed a fresh round of curfews on Thursday to quell protests.
The streets of Colombo were calmer as anti-government demonstrators began leaving some of the official buildings they had occupied.
"We are peacefully withdrawing from the presidential palace, the presidential secretariat and the prime minister's office with immediate effect, but will continue our struggle," said a spokeswoman for the protesters.
One person died and 84 others were injured during Wednesday's protests, which took place at key landmarks around the capital, Colombo, including the prime minister's office.
Protesters broke into the presidential palace on Saturday and set fire to the prime minister's private home.
Police fired tear gas at protesters attempting to break down the gates of the prime minister's office in Colombo, before finally forcing their way in. They later headed for parliament but did not get in.
Wednesday saw some of the biggest demonstrations since the protests first began in April.
A resignation that took days to come
The resignation letter Sri Lankans have been waiting for since people power toppled Gotabaya Rajapaksa has finally arrived.
The letter does several things. Firstly, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's position as acting president is legitimised. Under Sri Lanka's constitution the prime minister becomes caretaker leader in the event of the president resigning.
Secondly, it clears obstacles blocking the holding of an election in parliament for a new president. MPs had been due to meet on 15 July and start this process, with a vote promised a week later. That was delayed by the lack of a resignation letter but now it has arrived the Speaker will be able to reconvene parliament.
The two main candidates so far are likely to be Mr Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. But given the governing party has a majority, its MPs are likely to back Mr Wickremesinghe - who has close links with the Rajapaksas. Whether Sri Lanka's public would accept this is another matter. The prime minister's resignation, along with that of Mr Rajapaksa, has been a key demand of protesters.
Thirdly, the resignation means Gotabaya Rajapaksa no longer has legal immunity as a head of state and his position is now more precarious as he tries to find a safe country to shelter in.
By Thursday, protesters had handed back the president's official residence to the authorities when the BBC visited. There were no protesters at parliament on Thursday afternoon, a BBC correspondent confirmed.
"We captured this building to show people power. We give it back the way we captured it and leave. We will come back in the next minute if needed," Danish Ali, a protester at the prime minister's office, told BBC Tamil.
With inputs from BBC
JULY 15: He is believed to have wanted to leave Sri Lanka before stepping down in order to avoid the possibility of arrest under a new administration.
The cost of food, fuel and other basic supplies has soared for Sri Lankans.
In the capital Colombo, delighted demonstrators greeted news of the president's departure with dancing.
"We are beyond happy but also beyond relieved so we can take a break and go back to our lives," Viraga Perera told the BBC.
"At this stage we are so exhausted because of all the flip-flopping, that we consider this moment substantial enough as a victory."
Mr Rajapaksa arrived in Singapore earlier on Thursday after first flying to the Maldives on Tuesday night. Reports say he is accompanied by his wife and two bodyguards.
Singapore's foreign ministry said Mr Rajapaksa had not asked for asylum or been granted asylum. "Singapore generally does not grant requests for asylum," it added.
The acting president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, does not formally become interim president until he is sworn in.
After that, Mr Wickremesinghe - who was appointed acting president by President Rajapaksa after the latter fled - has 30 days for parliament to endorse him. If they do not, MPs need to hold a vote for a new president.
The resignation letter was sent by email to the speaker of parliament, who said he would complete legal processes and announce it officially on Friday.
It has left some confused as to where they stand.
"Earlier they fooled us [in saying] that he would go. It's the same thing happening now, they have received the resignation letter but the speaker says they have to legalise it. I don't know what there is to legalise. So it's really crazy," said Suzette Fernando, who was among the crowds celebrating.
However, the crowds appeared smaller than before: Mr Wickremesinghe on Thursday imposed a curfew for a second day to quell protests.
The streets of Colombo were calmer as anti-government demonstrators began leaving some of the official buildings they had occupied.
"We are peacefully withdrawing from the presidential palace, the presidential secretariat and the prime minister's office with immediate effect, but will continue our struggle," said a spokeswoman for the protesters.
One person died and 84 others were injured during Wednesday's protests, which took place at key landmarks around the capital, Colombo, including the prime minister's office.
JULY 14: The 26-year-old man died from breathing difficulties after police forces lobbied tear gas at protesters.
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed acting president after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.
But the decision triggered further protests demanding that he also resign.
Hospital officials at the Colombo National Hospital said the injuries came from protesters who were outside the prime minister's office as well as those who were outside parliament later in the evening.
Police had fired tear gas at protesters who attempted to break down the gates of the prime minister's office in Colombo, before finally making their way in. They later made their way towards parliament.
A military spokesperson told the BBC said that a soldier and police officer were amongst the injured, and alleged that an assault rifle with ammunition had been stolen by a protester and had not yet been recovered.
Early on Thursday, Sri Lanka imposed a new curfew, which would be in place from 12:00 on Thursday till 05:00 on Friday, said the government in a statement.
The protests come as Sri Lanka has been suffering from its worst economic crisis in decades.
Many blame the Rajapaksa administration for the crisis and see Mr Wickremesinghe, who became prime minister in May, as part of the problem.
In a television address late on Wednesday, Mr Wickremesinghe had called on protesters to leave his occupied office and other state buildings and co-operate with authorities.
He also told the military to do "whatever is necessary" to restore order.
His statement came hours after Mr Rajapaksa had fled to the Maldives - days after his official residence was stormed.
Mr Rajapaksa had pledged to resign by Wednesday, but is still yet to submit a formal letter of resignation.
The leader, who has enjoyed immunity from prosecution as president, is believed to have wanted to flee abroad before stepping down to avoid the possibility of arrest by the new administration.
The president's departure threatens a potential power vacuum in Sri Lanka, which needs a functioning government to help dig it out of financial ruin.
Politicians from other parties have been talking about forming a new unity government but there is no sign they are near agreement yet. It's also not clear if the public will accept what they come up with.
In a press statement on Wednesday, Mr Wickremesinghe's team said he had asked the speaker of parliament to nominate a new prime minister "who is acceptable to both the government and opposition".
Earlier on Monday, the main opposition leader Sajith Premadasa told the BBC he would be tilting for the presidency. But he - like Mr Wickremesinghe - lacks public support. There is also deep public suspicion of politicians in general.
The protest movement which has brought Sri Lanka to the brink of change also does not have an obvious contender for the country's leadership.
JULY 10: Neither the PM nor the president were in the buildings at the time.
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.
The speaker of parliament said the president decided to step down "to ensure a peaceful handover of power" and called on the public to "respect the law".
The announcement triggered an eruption of celebratory fireworks in the city.
After Saturday's events, the United States appealed to the Sri Lankan leadership to act promptly to resolve the country's economic crisis.
One protester, Fiona Sirmana, who was demonstrating at the president's house, said it was time "to get rid of the president and the prime minister and to have a new era for Sri Lanka".
"I feel very, very sad that they didn't go earlier because had they gone earlier there wouldn't have been any destruction," she told Reuters.
Dozens of people were injured in Saturday's protests, and a spokesperson for Colombo's main hospital told AFP news agency that three people were being treated for gunshot wounds.
Sri Lanka is suffering rampant inflation and is struggling to import food, fuel and medicine amid the country's worst economic crisis in 70 years.
It has run out of foreign currency and has had to impose a ban on sales of petrol and diesel for private vehicles, leading to days-long queues for fuel.
The extraordinary events of Saturday appeared to be the culmination of months of mainly peaceful protests in Sri Lanka.
Huge crowds converged on the official residence of President Rajapaksa, chanting slogans and waving the national flag before breaking through the barricades and entering the property.
Footage online showed people roaming through the house and swimming in the president's pool, while others emptied out a chest of drawers, picked through the president's belongings and used his luxurious bathroom.
The contrast between the luxury of the palace and the months of hardship endured by the country's 22 million people was not lost on the protesters.
"When the whole country is under such strain people have come here to release that pressure. When you see the luxuries in this house it is obvious that they don't have time to work for the country," Chanuka Jayasuriya told Reuters.
Ousted in a day of fury
These are some extraordinary times for Sri Lanka.
After a day of fury and violence, the two senior leaders of the country have agreed to step down.
The news triggered jubilation at the main protest site in Colombo. Firecrackers were set off in many parts of the city.
I am at the Galle Face protest site - many protesters have started returning home, thousands are still present. Some have been singing and playing musical instruments, celebrating.
What a turnaround of events. A few days ago a photo of President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe smiling in parliament was widely shared on social media.
Many vented their anger, saying the two men appeared to be happy while millions were struggling to eat three meals a day. But a week is a long time in politics.
Mr Rajapaksa vacated his official residence on Friday as a safety precaution ahead of the planned protests, two defence ministry sources said, according to Reuters.
Although it is Mr Rajapaksa's official residence, he usually sleeps at a separate house nearby.
The BBC has been unable to confirm the president's whereabouts.
Protesters also set fire to Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's private home in an affluent neighbourhood of Colombo.
He said earlier that he was willing to resign to ensure the safety of civilians and to make way for an all-party government, but soon after his announcement videos started circulating of his house up in flames.
The prime minister lives with his family in the private home and uses his official residence for official business only.
Whether or not the president's and the prime minister's planned resignations will be enough to appease the protesters is not yet clear.
"Just two resignations alone will not satisfy the demands, the demand of a system change, but at least this is a start if the president and the prime minister depart," said Bhavani Fonseka, a prominent human rights lawyer in Colombo.
"There has to be a peaceful transition of power which is yet to be seen," she warned.
With inputs from BBC
MAY 19: While popular perception indicated China had outpaced India, the recent economic and political turmoil in Sri Lanka seems to have given India's foreign policy a fresh lease of life in the island nation.
Sri Lanka is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948. The country has been rocked by protests as people seethe with anger over soaring prices and shortages of food and fuel.
Last week, Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned as prime minister after his supporters clashed with peaceful protesters, sparking a deadly night of violence on 9 May.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who took over as PM, said the country's economic problems would get worse before getting better.
He appealed for outside financial help, including from India.
India has never been a major lender to Sri Lanka, unlike China which by the end of 2019 owned a little over 10% of Sri Lanka's outstanding foreign debt stock.
In early 2021, with the economic crisis looming, the Sri Lankan government had also obtained a 10bn yuan ($148m; £119m) currency swap facility from China to tackle its foreign exchange shortage.
But now, India is slowly emerging as one of the biggest providers of aid to Sri Lanka.
Colombo has racked up $51bn (£39bn) in foreign debt. This year, it will be required to pay $7bn (£5.4bn) to service these debts, with similar amounts for years to come.
The country is also seeking emergency loans of $3bn to pay for essential imports such as fuel.
While the World Bank has agreed to lend it $600m, India has committed $1.9bn and may lend an additional $1.5bn for imports.
Delhi has also sent 65,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 400,000 tonnes of fuel, with more fuel shipments expected later in May. It has committed to sending more medical supplies too.
In return, India has clinched an agreement which allows the Indian Oil Corporation access to the British-built Trincomalee oil tank farm.
India also aims to develop a 100MW power plant near Trincomalee.
Mixed feelings over Indian help
Many in Sri Lanka feel that India's growing presence in Colombo could mean a "dilution of sovereignty".
"For the past year and a half, there has been a crisis in Sri Lanka and we believe India has used this to serve its own interests. Yes, they gave some credit, some medicines and food but [they are] not being a friend. There is a hidden political agenda," said Pabuda Jayagoda of the Frontline Socialist Party.
But others are more accepting of Indian help.
"Let's not blame India for our woes," says V Ratnasingham, an onion importer in Colombo. "We are still getting onions from India at a decent price and they are giving us credit in times of crisis. It's the Sri Lankan government's failure that onion prices have trebled."
The suspicion over India's intentions right now comes against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's ties to China.
After Mahinda Rajapaksa took charge as president in 2005, Sri Lanka's drift towards China was believed to be a preference for a "more reliable partner enabling domestic economic development".
More and more infrastructure projects - including the multi-billion dollar Hambantota port and the Colombo-Galle expressway - were awarded to China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's maiden visit to Colombo in 2014 was also a clear diplomatic signal to Delhi.
Hambantota is nowadays commonly referred to as a "white elephant" which bled Sri Lanka's economy. So are several other expensive projects which led Sri Lanka into a huge Chinese debt-cycle.
Many anti-government protesters at Colombo's Galle Face Green are convinced that this push to modernise fast led Sri Lanka to its current situation.
The country owes China $6.5bn and talks are being held on restructuring the debt.
While China had earlier agreed to bolster Sri Lanka's foreign currency reserves by swapping the rupee for the yuan, it has since signalled displeasure over Colombo approaching the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help.
Noora Noor, 44, has been camping at Galle Face along with her family, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the younger brother of Mahinda, resign.
"All Chinese money that came in was never accounted for, right? Why else would my country have defaulted on payments? Now all supplies are coming from India, so my question is who should we trust - China or India?" she asks.
Still, there are some optimists who feel diplomacy will help.
"Is Sri Lanka being placed on a collision course with China? If so, we need to avoid such an eventuality due to other negative situations that may arise. Balancing relationships is a must," Austin Fernando, Sri Lanka's former high commissioner to India, wrote in The Island newspaper.
India's efforts
India has tried hard to match up to the growing Chinese clout in what it sees as its neighbourhood.
After President Xi's visit in 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only visited Colombo the next year but also claimed to be "the best of friends" while addressing the Sri Lankan parliament.
Arjuna Ranatunga, a former Sri Lankan cricketer who went on to become a cabinet minister, recalls India being generous when he was in office.
"I was handling both the petroleum and port ministries in 2015 and we were struggling to construct the Jaffna airport for a lack of funds. I went to Delhi seeking help. PM Modi's government offered a subsidised loan and later converted it into a grant. What else do you want from a neighbour?"
The return of the Rajapaksas to power in 2019, this time with Gotabaya president and Mahinda prime minister, also made India realign its foreign policy options and new agreements over oil and food commodities were signed hastily.
State visits followed between Colombo and Delhi without eliciting much response from China.
The question of Sri Lanka's Tamil minorities and their demand for rights has been at the forefront of the diplomatic negotiations with India.
After the civil war ended in 2009, India extended support to the Sri Lankan government.
Sri Lanka is, however, yet to implement the 1987 India-Sri Lanka Peace Accord which promised to devolve powers to all provinces, including where the Tamils were in a majority.
The current economic crisis, however, has certainly leapfrogged over any other political concerns between the two nations.
There has been a shift in public perception in Sri Lanka - which was seen as anti-India and pro-China - thanks to consistent supplies from India of essential commodities.
"India did lose out to China about 15 years ago but is trying hard to make a decent comeback," says Bhavani Fonseka, a senior researcher at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo.
"Ethnic minorities in Sri Lanka have always looked up to India to champion their demands for equal rights, whereas the Sinhalese majority still has a mixed perception," she says. "Some also worry over India's interference in internal matters. But I feel the last few weeks have changed this completely."
With inputs from BBC
MAY 13: Senior opposition MP Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in to lead a proposed cross-party government.
The move came after the president ignored calls to resign, and vowed to restore order in a national address.
Nine people have been killed and 200 injured in unrest since his brother resigned as prime minister on Monday.
During his nationwide address, Mr Rajapaksa said he would appoint a new prime minister who commanded the majority of support in parliament, as well as a new cabinet.
Mr Wickremesinghe has been on Sri Lanka's political scene for decades - this will be his sixth stint as prime minister, although he's never seen out a full term.
He is seen as being close to the Rajapaksas, and experts believe he has been chosen because he would be likely to guarantee their security and any safe passage they might request.
But he does not currently command much support within the opposition or among the public.
Sri Lanka's economy is in freefall and people are desperate as basic items like food and fuel run out or become unaffordable.
How is the appointment being viewed?
News that Ranil Wickremesinghe is the new prime minister has been largely met with dismay and disbelief in Sri Lanka.
Mr Wickremesinghe, once a skilled tactician, has seen his public appeal steadily plummet over the years. In the last election, his once ruling United National Party managed to scrape together just one parliamentary seat, leaving him its sole representative in parliament.
One major reason for that has been his perceived closeness to the Rajapaksa family despite being in the opposition. Many people believe he helped shield them when they lost power in 2015 - his appointment now is seen as a way for the president to defy protesters' demands that he quit.
It is being seen as yet another arrogant response to weeks of protests.
With inputs from BBC
In a speech on Wednesday, President Rajapaksa offered to cede some of the presidency's power to parliament, but set no timetable.
Those calling for him to resign were unimpressed and many said the speech failed to address the real issues.
"Where were you for the last 30 days? People don't have medicine, people don't have food, the entire country's at a standstill," Kavindya Thennakoon, a protester in Colombo, told the BBC.
"The reforms he's suggesting are not what we need. What we need right now is for [the president] to resign from office... It baffles my mind that Gotabaya Rajapaksa doesn't understand that."
Shoot on sight orders
Peaceful protests against the government turned violent on Monday, after supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked anti-government demonstrators and destroyed two protest sites where thousands had gathered.
Though the older Rajapaksa brother quit as PM shortly after, angry mobs have since been targeting property belonging to the family and other politicians supporting them.
Violence was reported on both Monday and Tuesday nights. Shops near Colombo were torched, as well as a resort owned by one of Mahinda Rajapaksa's sons.
The former PM, who twice served as president, remains holed up in a naval base in the north-east of the country for his own safety, the military has confirmed.
A court has banned him, his son, and 15 of his allies from leaving the country.
Security forces have been deployed across Sri Lanka with orders to shoot looters on sight. People have also been subject to daily curfews.
Why are people angry?
The country's dire financial situation has caused the Sri Lankan rupee to plunge, provoking severe shortages of basic items such as food, fuel and medical supplies.
The government blames the Covid pandemic, which all but killed off Sri Lanka's tourist trade - one of its biggest foreign currency earners.
However, many experts say economic mismanagement is to blame.
While the pandemic hit the vital tourism sector and shrank Sri Lanka's earnings and foreign exchange reserves, there were populist tax cuts in 2019 and a disastrous ban on chemical fertilisers in 2021 that devastated crop yields.
There is a great deal of anger against the Rajapaksa family. Many people believe Mahinda Rajapaksa paved the way for his relatives to plunder the country's wealth for their own financial gain.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa had earlier said he was holding talks with other political parties in an attempt to forming a unity government. But the main opposition said it would not be part of the interim administration unless the president stands down.
Sri Lanka needs to iron out a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the island's $81bn economy is near bankruptcy.
It has suspended its foreign debt payments, largely because it cannot service loans from China that paid for massive infrastructure projects.
Three new mutations of the Delta variant have been identified in Sri Lanka. The country has launched an investigation to identify the implications of the three new mutations to see if it is more contagious than the original Delta variant.
COLOMBO, Aug. 20: Sri Lanka's health experts on Thursday said an investigation had been launched to identify the implications of three new mutations of the Delta variant found mainly from capital Colombo to see if it is more contagious than the original Delta variant.
State Minister of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Channa Jayasumana said in the parliament earlier this week that three new mutations of the Delta variant had been identified in Sri Lanka, which might explain why the virus was spreading rapidly in the country.
Head of the Department of Immunology and Molecular Sciences of the Sri Jayawardenapura University Professor Neelika Malavige said the three variants had been found from gene sequencing done by health experts around 10 days ago, and they were now probing to identify its implications.
The three new mutations had mainly been identified in Colombo which has been identified as the epicenter of the Delta variant.
Sri Lanka's total COVID-19 patient count reached 372,079 after 2,720 patients tested positive for the virus earlier in the day, statistics showed.
The present active patient count in the country increased to 46,761. The death toll from the virus reached 6,604.
Sri Lanka presently has imposed a curfew from 10:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. local time and public gatherings remain banned until further notice.
