How Sri Lanka spiralled into its current economic crisis: An explainer

Analysts say that economic mismanagement by successive governments has weakened Sri Lanka's public finances, leaving national expenditure in excess of income

Sri Lanka's economic crisis looks to have finally toppled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
 

Rajapaksa has not commented directly but he plans to step down on July 13, the country's parliamentary speaker said on Saturday, bowing to intense pressure after a violent day of protests in which demonstrators stormed the president's official residence and set fire to the prime minister's home in Colombo.
 

Anti-government protesters angry over power blackouts, shortages of basic goods and rising prices have long demanded that Rajapaksa steps down, but the retired military officer has for months resisted the demands, invoking emergency powers in an attempt to maintain