Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a state of emergency in his role as the acting president.
"The prime minister as acting president has declared a state of emergency (countrywide) and imposed a curfew in the western province," Wickremesinghe's media secretary, Dinouk Colombage, told Reuters.
The curfew comes into effect immediately.
It comes after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on Wednesday, leading to more protests amid an economic crisis.
At least 43 missing, 40 dead in Spain after high-speed train collision
A total of 43 reports of missing persons have been filed at police headquarters in Huelva, Madrid, Málaga, Córdoba and Seville on Tuesday, with at least 40 people dead after a high-speed train derailed and collided with an oncoming one on Sunday night.
Australia shuts dozens of east coast beaches after shark attacks
Dozens of beaches along Australia's east coast, including in Sydney, have closed on Tuesday after four shark attacks in two days, as heavy rains left waters murky and more likely to attract the animals.
Blast kills seven at Chinese-run restaurant in Kabul
An explosion tore through a Chinese-run restaurant in a hotel in a heavily guarded part of Afghanistan's capital on Monday, killing a Chinese national and six Afghans and injuring several others.
Death toll from high-speed train collision in Spain rises to 39, RTVE reports
The death toll from Sunday's collision between a derailing high-speed train and a second oncoming train in southern Spain has risen to 39, with 152 people injured, state broadcaster RTVE reported on Monday, citing police sources.
Dozens missing after massive Karachi mall fire, 21 killed
Pakistani firefighters began pulling bodies from the smouldering remains of a sprawling Karachi shopping mall on Monday where more than 60 people were still missing after a massive fire that killed at least 21.
