Terrorist who shot dead village head among 2 killed

Sri Lanka on Friday announced a two-week shutdown of government offices and schools, as public transport came almost entirely to a halt due to a lack of dollars to pay for imported fuel. The Public Administration ministry ordered all departments, public institutions and local councils to maintain skeleton services from Monday in this regard. “Due to scarce public transport as well as the inability to arrange private vehicles, it is decided to drastically curtail the number of employees reporting to work,” the ministry’s order said.

Two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, including one who was involved in the killing of a BJP sarpanch and his wife last year, were gunned down by security forces in Kashmir’s Anantnag district, police said on Friday. Basit Wani was involved in the killing of Ghulam Rasool Dar (68) and his wife Jawhara Banoo (60) on August 9 last. Wani and Junaid Bhat were killed in an encounter at Hangalgund in Kokernag area late Thursday after a 12-hour operation, Kashmir IGP Vijay Kumar said. The encounter broke out after security forces launched the operation on the basis of inputs about the terrorists’ presence in the area.

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal said Friday he intends to play at Wimbledon later this month when he will attempt to win a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title but his final decision rests on how his troublesome left foot feels after training. “My intention is to play at Wimbledon,” Nadal said at a press conference in Mallorca, after going “a week without limping” thanks to a new treatment. Nadal said last month that he played Roland Garros with pain-killing injections prior to each match, but does not want to repeat it at other tournaments.