An ethnic Tamil woman draws water from a well built on a piece of land, which was recently vacated by government forces, in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, May 5, 2024. Sri Lanka's Tamil people still live in the shadow of defeat in the civil war that tore the country apart until it ended 15 years ago. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





A boy plays with an inflatable rubber tube in a flooded street in Biyagama, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, June 3, 2023. Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday as heavy rains triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation, killing at least 10 people while six others have gone missing, officials said. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





A man rides a motorbike through a flooded street after heavy rains in Colombo on June 2, 2024. Flash floods, mudslides and falling trees have killed at least 14 people in Sri Lanka as the island nation is battered by monsoon storms, the country's disaster centre said. (Photo by Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP Photo)





A man wades through flood waters in Kelaniya, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, June 3, 2024. Sri Lanka closed schools on Monday as heavy rains triggered floods and mudslides in many parts of the island nation, killing at least 10 people while six others have gone missing, officials said. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





People wade through a flooded street in Biyagama, a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, June 3, 2023. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





A flood victim hangs on a light post to receive lunch packets for his family on a flooded road from Sri Lankan army members in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka on June 4, 2024. (Photo by Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters)





Yoga enthusiasts participate in a yoga session organized by the High Commission of India to mark the International Day of Yoga at the Galle Face seafront in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 22 June 2024. International Day of Yoga is celebrated annually on 21 June, and has been recognized worldwide since 2015. The United Nations declared Yoga a practice of physical, mental, and spiritual exercise originating in ancient India. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the annual event, and the theme is “Yoga for Self and Society”. (Photo by Chamila Karunarathne/EPA)





Police use water cannons and tear gas to disperse teachers and principals protesting against salary anomalies during an anti-government demonstration in Colombo on June 26, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Estate workers reacts as they gather to protest outside the office of Kelani Valley Plantations to assert their demands for fair wages in Colombo on July 9, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Elephants bathe in a river at the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka, August 11, 2024. Established in 1975, Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage is the first one of its kind in the world, home to 69 elephant orphans today. The World Elephant Day falls on Aug. 12 each year. (Photo by Xinhua News Agency/Rex Features/Shutterstock)





Commuters ride past posters of Sri Lanka's President Ranil Wickremesinghe, ahead of the country's presidential elections in Colombo on August 14, 2024. Sri Lanka's first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said on July 26. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Supporters of Sri Lanka's President and United National Party presidential candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe (not pictured), cheer as he leaves the Election Commission office after filing his nomination papers for the upcoming presidential elections, in Colombo on August 15, 2024. Sri Lanka's first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said on July 26. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Decorated elephants walk past the historic Buddhist Temple of the Tooth as part of celebrations to mark the Buddhist festival of Esala Perahera, in the ancient hill capital of Kandy, on August 19, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP)





In this photograph taken on September 1, 2024, tea pickers carry sacks of harvested leaves at a tea estate in Hatton. The backbone of the economy, Sri Lanka's tea pickers are determined to use their powerful vote to choose a president this month who will change grim working conditions for good. The pickers' main political party, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), are backing the incumbent Wickremesinghe. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





In this photograph taken on September 1, 2024, a tea picker shows her hands whilst she reaps leaves at a plantation in Hatton. The backbone of the economy, Sri Lanka's tea pickers are determined to use their powerful vote to choose a president this month who will change grim working conditions for good. The pickers' main political party, the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), are backing the incumbent Wickremesinghe. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





People walk past election propaganda of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, top, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, September 16, 2024. (Phoot by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





A Buddhist devotee offers prayers on the occasion of 'Poya' a religious festival to mark the full moon, at a temple in Kelaniya on September 17, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Supporters of National People's Power cheer their leader and presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake during a public rally in Dehiowita, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, September 17, 2024. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)





A supporter (C) of National People's Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, holds the party symbol during a rally ahead of the upcoming presidential elections in Colombo on September 18, 2024. Sri Lanka's presidential hopeful Anura Kumara Dissanayaka wants a peaceful revolution after his Marxist party failed to seize power in two uprisings that left more than 80,000 people dead. The cash-strapped nation will vote for its next president on September 21. (Photo by Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP Photo)





Election officials leave a distribution center after collecting polling material for the upcoming presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, September 20, 2024. (Photo by Eranga Jayawardena/AP Photo)