Women in Sri Lanka who were formerly employed in the textiles and garment industry are being forced to turn to prostitution and sex work, as an economic crisis on the island continues to impact on livelihoods reports The Telegraph.

“Poor politics has shattered my life and this is my only hope to put food on the table for my children,” on sex worker told The Telegraph.

The government of Tamil Nadu will see 10 stolen artefacts, that were retrieved from Australia and the USA, returned from New Delhi next week.

According to The Indian Express, the artefacts were reclaimed from Australia in 2020-2022 and six were retrieved from America in 2021. 

Tamil press clubs in the North-East launched a book in Batticaloa and Jaffna to mark the 18th anniversary of Tamil journalist Aiyathurai Nadesan's assassination. 

The book is a collection of essays by Nadesan's family, colleagues and friends, compiled to remember Nadesan's work. 

Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced today that the 21^st Amendment will be passed and will strengthen parliament however the leader of Sri Lanka’s opposition, Sajith Premadasa, denounced the move.

In a meeting with US Ambassador, Julie Chung, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris thanked the US for its continued support whilst claiming that the government was “fully committed to addressing reconciliation-related issues” and would respect “rights of all to the freedom of expression and assembly”.

Amidst Sri Lanka’s ongoing political and economic crisis, Tamil National Alliance MP, MA Sumanthiran, has demanded the dissolution of parliament and for fresh elections.

“Even though there has been a change in the individual who is holding the post of Prime Minister, the Rajapaksas are very much in the governance. They haven’t gone anywhere. They are showing Ranil Wickremesinghe as PM and he is also happy to do so. Unless this situation is changed, the country cannot come out from the economic crisis,” Sumanthiran told reporters yesterday.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the British Foreign Office, Vicky Ford, admitted that the UK’s Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) had been used to fund police training in Sri Lanka whilst also highlighting Britain’s condemnation of the attacks on peaceful protesters.

Responding to a question posed on the current political and security situation in Sri Lanka, Britain’s Minister for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations, and the Commonwealth, stressed that “fundamental rights including the right to peaceful protest, must be protected”.

From May 22 until May 27 in 1958, Sinhala mobs began to attack, rape and murder Tamils across the island, in what was to become another in a series of deadly anti-Tamil pogroms.

Estimates range from between 300 and 1,500 Tamils murdered in the days of violence which resulted in many more injured and the arson, looting and destruction of Tamil homes and businesses.

Speaking virtually at the 27th International Conference on the Future of Asia conference held in Tokyo, Japan, Sri Lanka’s President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, pleaded for financial assistance but his call comes amidst a low point in Sri Lanka Japanese relations.