Sri Lanka began advertising for hangmen this week, as the country's president pushes ahead with a hardline policy, modeled on the Philippines, to combat drug trafficking.

Australia thrashed a disappointing Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs in the first day-night Test in Brisbane on Saturday.

Bank of China, the country's fourth-biggest lender by assets, has offered a loan of $300 million to Sri Lanka which can be raised to $1 billion, a source in Colombo with direct knowledge of the matter, told Reuters on Tuesday.

Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has completed a project to establish a residential village for 800 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's sacked prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was reinstated Sunday, his party said, ending a 51-day crisis that had paralysed the island nation and pushed it towards debt default.

Sri Lanka's crisis looked over on Saturday as strongman Mahinda Rajapakse bowed out of a power battle that had crippled the strategically located island for seven weeks and sent it heading for a possible debt default.

Sri Lanka's strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse will step down on Saturday from his disputed position of premier, his son said on Friday, signalling an end to the seven-week long power-struggle that threatened to shut the government.

A Sri Lanka court on Monday suspended Mahinda Rajapakse's powers as prime minister and ruled that his cabinet could not function until its legitimacy was established.

Sri Lanka Saturday slashed a tax on sugary drinks in a controversial reversal of an anti-diabetes policy that attracted immediate criticism.

A group of Tamil lawmakers Thursday threw their support behind Sri Lanka's ousted prime minister, cementing his parliamentary majority in a surprise move that emboldens his stake to lead the country.

President Maithripala Sirisena on Sunday reignited the power struggle that has crippled Sri Lanka's government for more than a month, vowing never to reappoint arch-rival Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister.

Sri Lanka's newly appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who lost two motions of no confidence last week, may lose his government's budget even as he clings to power.