Tea plantation workers gather plucked tea leaves in a sack at Spring Valley Estate in Badulla, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, September 10, 2024. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





New Zealand's Tom Blundell (2R) plays a shot during the second day of the first Test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Galle International Cricket Stadium in Galle on September 19, 2024. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/AFP Photo)





Police commandos stand guard outside a ballot counting center in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, September 21, 2024. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardane/AP Photo)





People wait in a queue to cast their ballots at a polling station during voting in Sri Lanka's presidential election in Galle on September 21, 2024. Cash-strapped Sri Lanka began voting for its next president September 21 in an effective referendum on an unpopular International Monetary Fund austerity plan enacted after the island nation's unprecedented financial crisis. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/AFP Photo)





Buddhist monks chant religious hymns as they bless Sri Lanka's new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake after he took his oath of office at the Presidential Secretariat, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on September 23, 2024. (Photo by Sri Lanka President Media/Handout via Reuters)





A monkey is pictured outside the Rangiri Dambulla Cave Temple in Dambulla on October 14, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Buddhist devotees take part in a religious observance on a full moon day at a temple in the Kelaniya suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, 17 October 2024. Buddhism is the official religion of the South Asian island nation where the majority of the population customarily undertakes religious rituals on full moon days, known as “Poya”, in Sinhala. These days, Sri Lankan Buddhists gather in temples to perform religious rituals. Shops and businesses are usually closed, and the sale of alcohol and meat is prohibited. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA)





A farmer leads a herd of buffaloes to plough his field, in Biyagama on the outskirts of Colombo on October 29, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





A cotton candy vendor waits for customers in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Wednesday, October 30, 2024. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/NurPhoto via AP Photo)





A devotee prays during “Diwali” the Hindu festival of lights, at a temple in Colombo on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





A Sri Lankan Hindu devotee lights oil lamps during the Diwali festival at a Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 31 October 2024. Diwali is one of the most popular festivals in Hinduism and is celebrated by Hindus worldwide. Also known as the festival of lights, it symbolizes the victory of good over evil and commemorates Lord Ram's return to his kingdom, Ayodhya, after completing a 14-year exile. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA)





Polling officials and police officers carry election materials after collecting them from a distribution centre, a day before the Parliamentary Election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on November 13, 2024. (Photo by Thilina Kaluthotage/Reuters)





A policewoman keeps watch at a polling station as people queue before casting their ballots to vote in Sri Lanka's parliamentary election in Colombo on November 14, 2024. Polls opened in Sri Lanka's parliamentary vote on November 14, AFP journalists saw, the island's first election under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who came to power two months ago. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





People gather around the body of a stranded short-finned pilot whale that washed ashore on a beach in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 17 December 2024. According to the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), 5 pilot whales were stranded on a beach in Colombo on the night of 16 December. The Sri Lanka Navy, along with the NARA and the Department of Wildlife, drove them back to sea. However, one pilot whale died. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA/EFE)





Commuters ride a bus past an elephant along a road in Kataragama on December 17, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Fireworks explode next to the Lotus Tower during New Year's Eve celebrations in Colombo on January 1, 2025. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Devotees offer prayers during New Year's Day at a Hindu temple in Colombo on January 1, 2025. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





A Sri Lankan Hindu priest prays during the Thai Pongal harvest festival at a Hindu temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 14 January 2025. Thai Pongal is a four-day harvest festival and one of the first Hindu festivals of the year, celebrated by Tamils all over the world. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA/EFE)





In this photograph taken on January 25, 2025, Buddhist devotees visit the Kiri Vehera Buddhist temple in Kataragama. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Sri Lankan traditional dancers perform during the country's Independence Day ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, February 4, 2025. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)