Sri Lankan photojournalist Eranga Jayawardena, who works for The Associated Press, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award in the world of journalism.
Eranga and his AP colleague Rafeeq Maqbool were nominees in the breaking news category for their coverage of the Aragalaya, the people's struggle in Sri Lanka.
The winner in this category was also a team from The AP, which covered the siege of the city of Mariupol in the Ukraine War.
Both photojournalists who covered the Aragalaya were nominated for the final round due to the manner in which they captured the public outrage and the people's struggle that arose with the economic crisis in Sri Lanka.
Eranga Jayawardena captured the full range of human emotion – protesters pumping their fists in the air shouting anti-government slogans, and also shielding themselves from tear gas and water cannons.
Jayawardena has covered the photography of nature, socio-political events and entertainment for over 20 years.
He joined The Associated Press in 2002 and has been responsible for covering stories in Sri Lanka and the Maldives as well.
