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.
Trump says Gaza ceasefire holds, Israel has right to hit back if attacked
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that a US-backed ceasefire in Gaza was not at risk after Israel launched airstrikes in the enclave, which killed 26 people in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier.
Cyclone Montha lashes India's east coast; kills one
One person was killed on India's eastern coast after Cyclone Montha made landfall around midnight, with heavy rain and gusty winds also damaging crops and utility poles, officials said on Wednesday.
At least 9 killed, 5 missing in central Vietnam floods
Floods triggered by record heavy rains have killed at least nine people and left five others missing in central Vietnam, the government said on Wednesday.
Jamaica's strongest-ever storm, Hurricane Melissa, turns to Cuba
Hurricane Melissa churned toward Cuba's second-largest city with the force of a powerful Category 4 storm on Tuesday, hours after making landfall in neighbouring Jamaica as the strongest-ever cyclone on record to hit that Caribbean island nation.
Arab League warns of war escalation, Israeli occupation practices
The Arab League has warned against the escalation of wars in the region and the continued practices of the Israeli occupation in the Arab territories in posing a real threat to the region's development and human resources.
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