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Lebanon parliament elects army chief Joseph Aoun as president

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Lebanon's army chief General Joseph Aoun [Aljazeera]

Lebanon’s army chief Joseph Aoun has been elected as the country’s president after a second round of parliamentary voting, breaking a deadlock that has left the country without a head of state since October 2022.

Aoun only needed a simple parliamentary majority of 65 votes on Thursday afternoon to be elected as Lebanon’s new leader and members of parliament erupted in celebration as Aoun reached the number of votes required to be elected.

Earlier in the day, he fell short of the two-thirds majority of the 128-seat parliament to become president in the first round of voting.  During the first round, he received support from 71 parliament members, 15 short of the required 86 votes.

The Mediterranean country has been without a president since the term of Michel Aoun – not related – ended in October 2022.

Tensions between Hezbollah movement and its opponents scuppered a dozen previous votes.

But international pressure has mounted for a successful outcome with just 17 days remaining in a ceasefire to deploy Lebanese troops alongside UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon after a Hezbollah-Israel war last autumn.

[Aljazeera]



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Zimbabwe stun Sri Lanka to enter Super Eight unbeaten

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Sikandar Raza counterattacked to release the pressure [Cricinfo]

One time is a shock. Two times, and the second to beat hosts Sri Lanka at their own game, is Zimbabwe. Led by their canny bowling, Zimbabwe pulled Sri Lanka back from a flying start to keep them to 178 on a sluggish Premadasa track. Their opener Brian Benett, quickest scorer in their history, dropped anchor, stayed unbeaten like his team, and Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani did all the damage from the other end to seal their second-highest successful T20I chase.

Sri Lanka’s innings had three neat divisions: first 29 balls for 54 for 0, next 72 for 82 for 4 and then a finishing kick of 42 for 3 off the last 19 balls. Zimbabwe went Bennett and non-Bennett. Bennett scored 63 off 48; the other three combined for 102 off 64 balls. Raza was the decisive hand: 45 off 26 after the asking rate had gone past 11.

Brief scores:
Zimbabwe 182 for 4 in 19.3 overs (Brian Bennett 63*, Tadiwanashe Marumani 34, Ryan Burl 23, Sikandar Raza 45; Dasun Shanaka 1-26, Dushan Hemantha 2-36, Dunith Wellalage 1-27) beat Sri Lanka 178 for 7  in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 62, Kusal Perera 22, Kusal Mendis 14, Pavan  Rathnayake 44, Dunith Wellalage 15*; Blessing Muzarabani 2-38, Graeme Cremer 2-27, Brad  Evans 2-35) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Ex-UK Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office

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Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, the former United Kingdom royal, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to UK media reports.

A statement from Thames Valley police was released Thursday which said, “As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.

“The man remains in police custody at this time.”

“We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance. Please also remember that this case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid being in contempt of court, ” the statement added.

“Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.

“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.

“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”

Andrew, the former British prince, who was stripped of his title last year over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, should cooperate with the US authorities in their investigation, the UK Prime Minister Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said.

[Aljazeera]

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts

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Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre  at 12.00 noon 19 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 19 February 2026

The public are warned that thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in in the Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts after 2.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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