Meanwhile reports indicate that Rajapaksa is leaving the Maldives for another country, possibly Singapore, and his whereabouts remain unknown. The developments have left a power vacuum in his wake as demonstrators continued to seize government buildings in a push for new leadership.
Key Developments:
Rajapaksa Awaits Private Jet for Singapore
Talks were underway for Rajapaksa to secure a private aircraft bound for Singapore, Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror reported, without saying where it got the information from.
Rajapaksa Misses Wednesday Resignation Deadline
Sri Lanka’s Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena hasn’t announced Rajapaksa’s resignation, which means the leader missed a planned deadline to step down on Wednesday.
Wickremesinghe Seeks Nomination of New Premier
Sri Lanka’s Acting President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe asked the parliament speaker to nominate a new premier “who is acceptable to both the government and opposition."
Sri Lanka's Central bank warns public on possible risks in crypto trade
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has put out a warning of the possible exposure to significant financial, operational, legal, and security-related risks posed by investments in virtual currencies, essentially cryptocurrencies, while asking them not to fall prey to such types of virtual schemes offered through the Internet.
Sri Lanka Ministers hold party leaders' meet to resolve ongoing crisis
In order to tackle the ongoing political crisis in Sri Lanka, leaders of political parties met and decided that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe should resign immediately to resolve the current situation in the country.
Peaceful transfer of power within Sri Lanka is essential: US
Amid the unrest in Sri Lanka, US Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung has urged for the peaceful transfer of power within the country's constitutional framework and said that the US condemns all violence and calls for the rule of law to be upheld in the crisis-hit island nation.
President flees and ire turns to PM
Sri Lanka’s president fled the country Wednesday, plunging a nation already reeling from economic chaos into more political turmoil. Protesters demanding a change in leadership then trained their ire on the prime minister and stormed his office.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife left aboard an air force plane bound for the Maldives, and he made his prime minister the acting president in his absence. That appeared to only further roil passions in the island nation, which has been gripped for months by an economic meltdown that has triggered severe shortages of food and fuel.
Sri Lankan political party pledges support for 'immediate establishment' of law and order in country
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party on Wednesday urged for the "immediate establishment" of full law and order in the country and pledged its full support.
"We strongly request the Acting President and the security forces to immediately establish full law and order in the country and we emphasise that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna is ready to provide full support for that. Our opinion is that the behaviour of the violent groups facing the country should be taken seriously," the statement read.
Sri Lanka's Army Chief requests citizens to support armed forces to maintain law and order
Amid ongoing protests, Sri Lanka's Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva requested all citizens to give their support to the armed forces to maintain law and order in the crisis-ridden country.
"Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva requests all citizens to give their support to armed forces & police to maintain the law & order in the country," tweeted Daily Mirror.
Sri Lankan troops stand by as protestors occupy PM's office
Sri Lankan troops stood with their weapons lowered in the grounds of the prime minister's office Wednesday, doing nothing to halt the huge mass of people wandering through the compound, despite orders to "restore order".
Some of the civilians sang or waved the Sri Lankan flag, with its motif of a golden lion brandishing a sword, after they lobbed back tear gas canisters and pushed past elite commandos on Wednesday to occupy the premises in the capital Colombo.
