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and the heat is on the met office says today could be the hottest day of the year so far. some parts of the uk will be hotter than athens and ibiza today. what s it like where you are and how are you coping? get in touch @annitabbc and use the #bbcyourquestions. also coming up, birth control for grey squirrels as scientists hope to control an expanding population and save our native reds. hello and welcome to bbc news. the foreign secretary, liz truss, is the latest senior cabinet member to enter the conservative leadership race. ii contenders are now in the running. conservative backbenchers will meet later this afternoon to finalise the contest s rules, which will aim to thin the field quickly. my colleague ben brown is live in westminster for us this morning and we canjoin him now. another very busy day in politics. on that number could grow further still? .. , ., , still? exactly. the weather is heatina still? exactly. the weather is heating up still? exactly. t ....
But where does this leave the future of the island? the man who once lived here, president gotabaya rajapaksa, has now fled and is expected to step down this week. a lot of the people here need to also witness the fact that how rich and wealthy and luxurious their lives are. even this place, how grand, how big the house is. various people have been dying and have been suffering to fight for their basic necessities. as they look around the lavish rooms, sri lankans continue to contend with a deepening economic crisis. is this the right thing to do? is this the right way to go about it, storming the presidential palace? well, the people have been demanding for the president to step down. we ve asked him to step down multiple times. ....
Keep on coming. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, colombo. our correspondent anbarasan ethirajan is in the sri lankan capital colombo and gave us this update. this morning, the sri lankan prime minister s office said the president gotabaya rajapaksa informed him that he would step down as announced earlier, on the 13th ofjuly, this wednesday. and this, according to the prime minister s office, looks like the direct communication from mr rajapaksa to the prime minister s office. now, what has happened to this country, the economic crisis has turned into a political crisis. as you have seen in the earlier report, as well as behind me, thousands of people are now wanting to see the symbols of power, the state power, the president s official residence, the president s office and also the prime minister s residence down this road, now they are going and having a look and i can see the queue in front ....
We are going to talk to the secretary of state for the environment. he is supporting grant shapps. i environment. he is supporting grant sha s. . environment. he is supporting grant sha . s, ., , , ., ., environment. he is supporting grant sha s, ., , , ., ., , ., , shapps. i have spent over two years around the shapps. i have spent over two years around the cabinet shapps. i have spent over two years around the cabinet table shapps. i have spent over two years around the cabinet table with - shapps. i have spent over two years around the cabinet table with grant| around the cabinet table with grant shapps including the cobra crisis committee as we considered problems with logistics and ferries and all things during covid 19 in the run up to brexit. i think he has got good judgment, i have seen that over the last two years, at this juncture, changing prime minister midway through a parliament, you need someone with experience and he has had that under three different prime minist ....
Of me all the way at the end of the road. people are coming with their families, men, women, children, they all want to have a look at how the state functions, how the president lived in his residence, and i was in the residence yesterday and people are talking about the lavish life because the country is facing a huge shortage of fuel and food. people are struggling to make a living and that s what has brought these people to the streets and they have been protesting for months, but unless the president resigns, unless it happens, the country will continue to face a political crisis. joining us now from the institute of development studies at the university of sussex, professor mick moore. thanks forjoining us today. first question, what do you think is going to happen over the next few days? do you think the president is going to ....