Editor's Pick: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya resigns

Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary Speaker informed on Saturday that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign on July 13, facilitating the formation of an “all-party government”. The decision was taken at an urgent party leaders’ meeting convened by the Parliamentary Speaker to quell public protests that have been ongoing for over three months now owing to a severe economic downslide. The protests began in April when the country’s economic crisis deepened following a severe balance of payments problem leading to a dollar crunch, in turn spiralling into shortages of basic amenities (particularly fuel) and soaring living costs. The task of forming an all-party government would not be without its challenges. The Sri Lankan opposition is in fragments and all parties put together would not be able to acquire a parliamentary majority. Even if they are able to acquire support from the incumbent MPs, they would have to deal with a struggling economy. A credit line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also expected to take longer for it would gauge the stability of the new arrangement, thus, prompting dependency on unwilling bilateral lenders. About Saturday, despite public transport being hit, protestors reached the country’s capital in large numbers, travelling in overcrowded buses and trains. They stormed into the Presidential Secretariat as well as the official and private homes of Mr Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Despite being heavily guarded, the angry protestors set on fire Mr Wickremesinghe's private residence. Video footage of demonstrators showed them taking a dip in the swimming pool of the Presidential Secretariat, cooking in the kitchen, and occupying the plush bed of the top administrator of the country. The Prime Minister’s family was not at the residence at that time and no causalities have been reported. Additionally, The Hindu has learnt that President Rajapaksa is presently “at a safe location within the country” - as a “precaution”. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu Explains What is causing a surge in COVID-19 cases? Who is responsible for the Manipur landslide? The Hindu’s Daily Quiz In a landmark step, which country has decided to pay its male and female cricketers equal match fees from August, both at the international and domestic levels? Australia England New Zealand West Indies To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 10 JULY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Sri Lankan President Gotabaya resigns Sri Lanka’s Parliamentary Speaker informed on Saturday that President [Gotabaya Rajapaksa would resign on July 13]( facilitating the formation of an “all-party government”. The decision was taken at an urgent party leaders’ meeting convened by the Parliamentary Speaker to quell public protests that have been ongoing for over three months now owing to a severe economic downslide. The protests began in April when the country’s economic crisis deepened following a severe balance of payments problem leading to a dollar crunch, in turn spiralling into shortages of basic amenities (particularly fuel) and soaring living costs. The task of forming an all-party government would not be without its challenges. The Sri Lankan opposition is in fragments and all parties put together would not be able to acquire a parliamentary majority. Even if they are able to acquire support from the incumbent MPs, they would have to deal with a struggling economy. A credit line from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is also expected to take longer for it would gauge the stability of the new arrangement, thus, prompting dependency on unwilling bilateral lenders. About Saturday, despite public transport being hit, protestors reached the country’s capital in large numbers, travelling in overcrowded buses and trains. They stormed into the Presidential Secretariat as well as the official and [private homes of Mr Rajapaksa]( Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Despite being heavily guarded, the angry protestors set on fire Mr Wickremesinghe's private residence. Video footage of demonstrators showed them taking a dip in the swimming pool of the Presidential Secretariat, cooking in the kitchen, and occupying the plush bed of the top administrator of the country. The Prime Minister’s family was not at the residence at that time and no causalities have been reported. Additionally, The Hindu has learnt that President Rajapaksa is presently “at a safe location within the country” - as a “precaution”. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more.  [Click here]( The Hindu Explains [Arrow][What is causing a surge in COVID-19 cases?]( [Arrow][Who is responsible for the Manipur landslide?]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz In a landmark step, which country has decided to pay its male and female cricketers equal match fees from August, both at the international and domestic levels? - Australia - England - New Zealand - West Indies To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today’s Best Reads [[The reluctant Sainik: The rise and fall of Uddhav Thackeray] The reluctant Sainik: The rise and fall of Uddhav Thackeray]( [[Radical Radhas: of Bangalore Nagaratnamma and Muddupalani] Radical Radhas: of Bangalore Nagaratnamma and Muddupalani]( [[Re-wilding red pandas: Darjeeling zoo attempts country’s first augmentation of endangered mammal in the wild] Re-wilding red pandas: Darjeeling zoo attempts country’s first augmentation of endangered mammal in the wild]( [[G-20 | A multilateral platform in a polarised world] G-20 | A multilateral platform in a polarised world]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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