India’s Union Minister Piyush Goyal told an audience in Tamil Nadu that the country would become a US$30 trillion economy “very soon” as it looks to “capture the world market”.

“In all sectors, we want to become a global industry,” Goyal said at an event in Coimbatore.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted his government’s support for Sri Lanka during its ongoing economic crisis whilst speaking at the G7 meeting.

Commenting on aid provided by India, Modi stated:

US President Joe Biden announced US$20 million in “additional assistance to strengthen food security in Sri Lanka” which will reportedly feed over 800,000 children, as Colombo desperately looks for international assistance in the midst of its economic crisis.

Tamil National Alliance MP S Sritharan delivered a scathing address to Sri Lanka’s parliament last week, where he denounced the army’s attack on Tamils at a petrol station in Mullaitivu and state-sponsored Buddhist colonization of the North-East in defiance of court orders, and called for justice for both.

Outside the European parliament in Brussels, hundreds of Tamils gathered to demand an end to Sri Lanka’s ongoing military occupation of the Tamil homeland.

Sri Lanka has shut down non-essential services until July 10th as the bankrupt nation's fuel supply runs dry amidst its worsening economic crisis. 

With Sri Lanka’s fuel shortage grinding the island to a halt, Colombo has sent a high level delegation to Russia in the hope of securing more fuel supplies despite the risk of international sanctions.

International fuel suppliers and foreign banks are now rejecting Sri Lankan backed letters of credit admitted a minister this morning, as fuel supplies look set to run dry this week with no new shipments incoming.

Sri Lankan police have reportedly arrested two women in Amparai under the country’s archaic anti-LGBT laws that continue to criminalise homosexuality across the island.

The two women, an Indian Tamil woman and a local Muslim woman from Akkaraipattu have subsequently admitted into Kalmunai Base Hospital where they will reportedly be subjected to a “psychiatric evaluation”.

As anti-government protests in Colombo continue, senior US officials from the State Department and US Treasury met with embattled Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa today, to discuss the island’s worsening economic crisis.

At least one teacher and as many as six male students belonging to a school in Mullaitivu have been arrested on charges relating to the sexual abuse, extortion, and exploitation of underage school girls. 

The disgraced teacher served as the designated Development Officer at the school. He now stands accused of coordinating several acts of sexual violence against underage school girls. The teacher reportedly wielded his influence to encourage male students, aged 17-18, to develop intimate relationships with young school girls. The boys were able to acquire nude photos and videos of the victims, which then appear to have been shared with the teacher. 

The Fitch Ratings credit rating agency has issued another downgrade for the Bank of Ceylon’s (BOC) Long- and Short-Term Foreign Currency (FC) Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'RD' (Restricted Default) from 'CC' and 'C', respectively.