Sri Lanka has been recently witnessing protests over the government’s handling of the country’s economic crisis, which is said to be the worst since independence. On Thursday, the protests heated up after hundreds of protesters tried to storm the home of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the capital Colombo, demanding his resignation.

News agency AFP reported that police resorted to the use of tear gas and water cannons to quell the protests. While Rajapaksa was not at home at the time of protests, a video shared on social media showed men and women shouting “lunatic, lunatic go home” and demanding that all members of the powerful Rajapaksa family step down.

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Here are five things you need to know:

a. Diesel, the main fuel for buses and commercial vehicles, was on Thursday went unavailable at stations across the island crippling public transport. Owners of private buses, which account for two-thirds of the country’s fleet, said they were already out of oil and that even skeleton services might not be possible after Friday.

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b. The state electricity monopoly said it had enforced a 12-hour power cut from Thursday as they did not have diesel for generators. The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said, “areas in the 20 power zones from ‘A’ to ‘S’ will experience a power disruption of 12 hours on four occasions from 4.00 am (local time) to midnight subject to a maximum of four hours for each interruption”.

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c. Early on Friday, police had also imposed an overnight curfew in several parts of Sri Lanka’s main city of Colombo after protests turned violent.

d. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will initiate discussions with Sri Lankan authorities on a possible loan program in the coming days, as the Asian country seeks to stave off a severe economic crisis.

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e. Sri Lanka’s predicament was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many economists also blame government mismanagement including tax cuts and years of budget deficits. The government has said it is seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund while asking for more loans from India and China.