Drug kingpin shot dead in Lanka courthouse
COLOMBO, Feb 19: A Sri Lankan man accused of being a top drug dealer was shot dead inside a courthouse Wednesday by a gunman disguised as a lawyer, police said. Ganemulle Sanjeeva was shot at close range as he entered the dock in a bail hearing at the Colombo Magistrates Court, police said in a statement. Sanjeeva was brought to court under a heavy armed escort by commandos from the elite Special Task Force, who handed him over to prison guards at the entrance. The gunman escaped as the critically wounded Sanjeeva was bundled into a security vehicle and rushed to hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. —AFP
Prosecutor charges Bolsonaro for coup plot
BRASÍLIA, Feb 19: Brazil's attorney general on Tuesday formally charged far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro and 33 others over an alleged coup attempt after his 2022 election loss. Bolsonaro, 69, and his co-accused were hit with five charges over the alleged bid to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office after a bitter election race. Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco filed the charges at the Supreme Court "based on manuscripts, digital files, spreadsheets and exchanges of messages that reveal the scheme to disrupt the democratic order," his office said in a statement. — AFP
Pakistan wants to expel Afghan refugees
ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: Pakistan wants to remove all Afghan refugees from the country and they face expulsion in the near future, the Afghan embassy in Islamabad warned Wednesday. The embassy issued a strongly worded statement about Pakistan's plans, saying Afghan nationals in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi have been subjected to arrests, searches, and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan. — AP
Kashmir police raid bookstores
SRINAGAR, Feb 19: Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir raided bookstores and seized hundreds of books linked to a major Islamic organization in the disputed region, where strict controls on the press have escalated in recent years. The raids began on Friday in Srinagar, the region's main city. Police said in a post on the social media platform X that they acted "based on credible intelligence regarding the clandestine sale and distribution of literature promoting the ideology of a banned organization" and seized 668 books. — AP
© 2025 - All Rights with The Financial Express
