Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a nationwide state of emergency. The move comes just hours after president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his wife fled to the nearby Maldives on a military jet.
Fresh protests are taking place with police firing tear gas at a crowd outside the prime minister's residence. Demonstrators have been storming government buildings, demanding that both leaders step down immediately. The president HAD promised to resign today -- it's believed he left the country to avoid being arrested after losing his presidential immunity. Protesters blame him and his long-ruling family for Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis in decades with daily power cuts and shortages of basics like fuel, food, and medicines.