Hamas leader in West Bank dies in Israeli custody; Sri Lanka sets first presidential vote since unrest

Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara | REUTERS

JERUSALEM—A Hamas leader in the West Bank died in Israeli custody, Palestinian authorities and the militant group said on Friday. Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara, 63, died after being moved from a prison in southern Israel to a hospital, according to a joint statement by the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners affairs body and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club watchdog.

“We mourn the passing of the leader and prisoner Sheikh Mustafa Muhammad Abu Ara and hold the occupation responsible for his assassination through deliberate medical neglect,” Hamas said in a statement. Abu Ara was arrested in October while suffering severe health problems, the Palestinian body and the watchdog said. During his detainment he was subjected to torture and starvation, they added. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. —AFP

Sri Lanka sets first presidential vote since unrest

COLOMBO—Sri Lanka’s first presidential elections since an unprecedented economic crisis spurred widespread unrest will be held in September, the election commission said on Friday. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has steered an effort to repair the island nation’s ruined finances, will face at least two rivals campaigning against austerity measures imposed under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout plan.

The commission said in a gazette notification that candidate nominations will be accepted on Aug. 15 for a Sept. 21 poll. Its schedule sets out a five-week campaign in a country still struggling with a fragile economic recovery and endemic discontent over cost of living issues. More than 17 million Sri Lankans over the age of 18 are eligible to vote. Opposition parties have vowed to renegotiate terms of the $2.9 billion IMF bailout Wickremesinghe negotiated in early 2023. Economic reforms are expected to dominate the campaign as the country emerges from its worst-ever recession in 2022, when the GDP shrank by a record 7.8 percent. —AFP

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