Sri Lanka president to step down, parliamentary speaker says, amid storm of protests

Police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators near President's residence during a protest demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid the country's economic crisis, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down, 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.

The announcement, following the dramatic escalation in months of largely peaceful anti-government protests over a dire economic crisis on the Indian Ocean island of 22 million people, triggered an eruption of celebratory fireworks in the city.