Australian Federal Police have arrested and charged two men with attempting to bribe Sri Lankan government officials with hundreds of thousands of dollars, in order to win multi-million construction project contracts.

The AFP alleges that between 2009 and 2016 the men conspired to arrange the payment of more than AU$304,000 to bribe foreign government officials.

More than half of Sri Lanka’s crude oil imports have come from Russia, reports the Financial Times, as cash-strapped Colombo looks for cheaper sources of fuel globally.

As over 140 countries condemned Russia’s illegal annexation of regions of Ukraine, Sri Lanka abstained on the UN General Assembly resolution.

UN General Assembly Resolution ES-11/L.5 condemned Russia’s "attempted illegal annexation" and called on member states to not recognise the move, furthering Russia’s international isolation. The resolution was passed with 143 votes in favour and reaffirmed support for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.

Responding to a question raised by the Chair of the International Development Committee, Sarah Champion, on the travel options afforded to migrants accompanied on Diego Garcia, British Minister of State, Jesse Norman, asserted that they were “not in detention and are free to leave at any time”.

Sri Lanka’s president claimed that protestors are taking children to demonstrations as “human shields”, comparing it to Sri Lanka’s military offensive in 2009 that killed tens of thousands of Tamil civilians.

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s comments came in the wake of Sri Lankan police violence against protestors in Colombo on Sunday, including incidents captured on camera of children caught in the melee.

The Sri Lankan government has been accused of doing “very little to assist” a group of Eelam Tamils who were captured by Russian forces in Ukraine and tortured for months, after a senior Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry official slammed the group as “illegal migrants”.

Research from the University of Peradeniya has revealed that close to half of Sri Lanka's population, 42% (9.6 million people), are living under the poverty line.

Speaking to reporters, Economic professor Wasantha Athukorala of Peradeniya University, explained that this is a dramatic increase of over three-hold across the past three years. In 2019, nearly 3 million people lived below the poverty line, but that number has increased to 9.6 million in October 2022, he explained.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet has reportedly approved a proposal to downgrade its economic status to "low income country" whilst the president's office claimed Sri Lanka will remain a middle-income country, as the government continues to tackle a deep economic crisis.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet spokesman initially said on Tuesday that the move to downgrade the island to "low income" on the World Bank list, would ensure that “access to funding would be easier”.

Tamils in Vavuniya complained that the Motor Traffic Department office in the city continues to be staffed by officials who speak Sinhala only, leaving many local residents frustrated.

With a lack of Tamil speaking staff, or policies in place, locals face severe difficulties with routine tasks such as renewing driving licenses and other services.

Despite repeated complaints, including from local politicians, Sinhala only services remain in place across the North-East.

The former Norwegian peace envoy to Sri Lanka Erik Solheim has taken up a new role in Sri Lanka, having been named “International Climate Adviser” to current president Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Solheim tweeted photographs of a meeting with Wickremesinghe, claiming “the President has a great vision for green economic revocery (sic) and for Sri Lankan climate leadership!”

He went on to add that he was “proud” to be appointed to the role.