A completed statue of Buddha is seen at a factory ahead of Vesak festival to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 4, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





Devotees hold up umbrellas and covers while they worship in heavy rain on Vesak day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, at Kelaniya Buddhist temple, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





Devotees walk past a statue of Buddha as they worship on Vesak day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, at Kelaniya Buddhist temple, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





A Buddhist nun worships in front of a statue of Buddha in heavy rain on Vesak day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha, at Kelaniya Buddhist temple, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





A Sri Lankan Buddhist devotee takes part in a religious observance on the Vesak full moon day at a temple in the Kelaniya suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 5, 2023. Vesak is the full moon day of the month of May and is the most sacred day for Buddhists in Sri Lanka and around the world. Buddhists commemorate the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death on the Veask full moon day, which falls on May 05 this year. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA/EFE)





Buddhist monks sit at a beach as rainy clouds gather above during the monsoon season, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 11, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





A monkey plays on overhead electric power cables in a street in the north-central town of Anuradhapura on May 18, 2023. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





A vendor pushes his cycle with toys while looking for customers, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on May 23, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





Elephants play at the Udawalawe elephant transit home in Udawalawe on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





A worker plucks tea leaves at a tea garden on May 31, 2023 in Ella, Sri Lanka. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka predicts the country's economy will shrink by 2 per cent in 2023, following an economic crisis which has pushed up the price of essential items, daily goods and transportation. (Photo by Rebecca Conway/Getty Images)





A vendor holds currency notes as he sells vegetables at a market place in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, June. 1, 2023. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka reduced its interest rates Thursday, June 1, 2023, for the first time since the island nation declared bankruptcy last year. Stern fiscal controls, improved foreign currency income and help from an International Monetary Fund program has resulted in inflation slowing faster than expected. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





This picture taken on June 3, 2023 shows a wild elephant eating rubbish mixed with plastic waste near cows at a dump in the eastern district of Ampara. Sri Lanka is set to launch a nation-wide clean up of plastic waste ahead of new laws banning the sale of single use plastics, the Environmental ministry said, after a spate of deaths of elephants and deer in the island's northeast after foraging at open garbage tips filled with plastic waste, whilst shrinking habitat has led to jumbos raiding villages looking for food. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





This picture taken on June 3, 2023 shows wild elephants eating rubbish mixed with plastic waste at a dump in the eastern district of Ampara. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Sri Lanka's LGBTQ community members take part in a pride parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 4, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





Sri Lanka's LGBTQ community members take part in a pride parade in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 4, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





Sri Lankan riot police disperse protesters during a university students protest, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 07 June 2023. Hundreds of university students took to the streets of Colombo demanding to secure their free education rights, as well as protesting against the government crackdown and economic crisis. Protests have been rocking Sri Lanka for over a year as the country faces its worst-ever economic crisis in decades due to a lack of foreign reserves. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA/EFE)





Tidal waves lap a a barrier to slow erosion in Iranawila, Sri Lanka, Friday, June 16, 2023. Much like the hundreds of other fishing hamlets that dot the coastline, the village of Iranawila suffers from coastal erosion. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





A Toque macaque (Macaca sinica) eats waste corn in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka, on June 17, 2023. Kurunegala is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th century to the start of the 14th century. There are many tourist attractions around Kurunegala city. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





A 29-year-old elephant named Sak Surin, an ailing male Thai elephant, which was gifted to Sri Lanka by the Thai government in 2001, rests in water while receiving medical help, before his departure back to Thailand for treatment and rehabilitation, at Dehiwala Zoological Garden in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 20, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





A 29-year-old elephant named Sak Surin, an ailing male Thai elephant, which was gifted to Sri Lanka by the Thai government in 2001, eats his vitamins, before his departure back to Thailand for treatment and rehabilitation, at Dehiwala Zoological Garden in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 20, 2023. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)