Sri Lanka's president and its new prime minister have agreed to resign after protesters stormed their homes in anger over the government's handling of the nation's severe economic crisis.
But protests have been going on for months.
Let's quickly recap why Sri Lanka's economy is in crisis and have a look back at the events that lead to this conclusion.
Why has Sri Lanka's economy tanked?
Economists say the crisis stems from years of mismanagement and corruption — with conditions deteriorating for the past few years.
In 2019, Easter suicide bombings at churches and hotels killed more than 260 people, hurting the tourism sector.
In that same year, the government pushed through the largest tax cuts in Sri Lankan history.
Those tax cuts were recently reversed, but only after creditors downgraded Sri Lanka's ratings, blocking it from borrowing more money.
Then tourism was hit hard yet again during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government banned imports of chemical fertilisers in April 2021, which caught farmers by surprise and decimated staple rice crops, driving prices higher.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has recently pushed prices of food and oil up even higher.
How bad is it?
The Sri Lankan government owes $51 billion and is unable to make interest payments on its loans, let alone put a dent in the amount borrowed.
The currency has collapsed by 80 per cent, making imports more expensive and worsening inflation, with food costs rising by 57 per cent, according to official data.
The result is a country hurtling towards bankruptcy, with hardly any money to import fuel, milk, cooking gas and toilet paper.
What happened in the build-up?
March 31:
- The nation's statistics department says retail inflation hit 18.7 per cent and food inflation hit 30.2 per cent
- Demonstrators march to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's private residence in Sri Lanka's capital city Colombo
April 1:
April 3:
- Sri Lanka's entire cabinet of ministers resigns — including the president's brother Basil Rajapaksa, who was serving as finance minister
- Another of the president's brothers, the prime minister, continues on
- A nationwide social media ban is introduced, blocking access to platforms like Facebook and Twitter to stop protesters organising rallies — it lasts for nearly 15 hours
April 9:
- Protests escalate, with sit-in demonstrations outside the president's office calling for his resignation
May 6:
- Thousands of shops, schools and business close and commuters were stranded as workers go on strike, demanding the president and the government step down
- The president declares a state of emergency
May 9:
May 11:
- Sri Lanka's defence ministry orders security forces to shoot anyone causing injury to people or damaging property
- The former prime minister is moved to a naval base for his safety
May 13:
- Ranil Wickremesinghe is sworn as the new prime minister — he's a political veteran who has been Sri Lanka's prime minister five times before
June 22:
- Mr Wickremesinghe says Sri Lanka's economy "has completely collapsed"
- The PM says the country is unable to purchase imported fuel, even for cash, due a $700 million debt owed by its petroleum corporation
July 5:
- Mr Wickremesinghe announces the government will stop printing money and inflation is expected to reach 60 per cent by the end of the year
July 8
- Police impose a curfew in Colombo, which was later lifted after lawyers and opposition politicians denounced it as illegal
July 9:
- Protesters storm the official presidential residence
- The president informs the parliamentary speaker he plans to step down on July 13
- The prime minister says he will step down once a new government is in place
ABC with Wires
