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Rabeya and Murshida break Bangladesh’s losing streak
Bangladesh ended their 10-match losing streak in T20Is to collect their first two points in the Women’s Asia Cup, in Dambulla. They bounced back from the opening game defeat to Sri Lanka with a convincing seven-wicket victory over Thailand and kept their hopes alive for a semi-final spot.
Legspinner Rabeya Khan’s four-wicket haul and pace-bowling allrounder Ritu Moni’s two scalps helped Bangladesh restrict Thailand to a below-par 96 for 9 after being asked to bowl on a spin-friendly surface. Nattaya Boochatham top-scored for Thailand with a 41-ball 40, but it wasn’t enough to challenge Bangladesh. In reply, Murshida Khatun, after missing the opener, notched up 50 to take Bangladesh home in 17.3 overs as they registered their first win of the year.
Sri Lanka lead Group B with four points after two matches and are assured of a semi-final spot because of a higher net run rate following a massive win over Malaysia earlier in the day. Bangladesh and Thailand have two points each, and their last group games on Wednesday will decide which team from this group will advance to the knockouts.
Rabeya started her first over with a double-strike to remove Suwanchonrathi and Koncharoenkai, for a duck. Bangladesh understood early in the game that Thailand found it difficult to score against full-length deliveries and tossed up the balls. The batters were deceived by the turn, drift and bounce that the spinners got on the surface.
At the midway stage, Nigar Sultana threw the ball to right-arm seamer Moni, and she struck immediately. She hit the hard length and got the ball swung back in to remove Phannita Maya to leave Thailand 38 for 3. In her next over, Moni went for a pace-off delivery to bowl Chanida Sutthiruang out for a 10-ball 8.
Rabeya came back after the 13th over and picked up a wicket each in her third and fourth over. The legspinner went fuller again, and Suwanan Khiaoto couldn’t read her wrong’un and was eventually bowled out. Bangladesh did not let Boochatham take off at the death as Rabeya cleaned her up for a 41-ball 40, in the 17th over, with a full-length ball to clean her up.
Debutant left-arm spinner Sabikun Nahar Jesmin, after conceding 23 runs in her first three overs, scalped two off two deliveries in her final over to sink Thailand further.
Aphisara Suwanchonrathi, Thailand’s No.11 player, was promoted to open with seasoned opener Boochatham. It was after their wicketkeeper Nannapat Koncharoenkai top-scored for the team with 40 against Malaysia. But the move backfired as Suwanchonrathi struggled to get going. She took 12 deliveries to get off the mark and eventually fell for a 20-ball 6 in the seventh over. Thailand could only post 25 for 0 in the powerplay.
Brief scores:
Thailand Women 96/9 in 20 overs [Nattaya Boochatham 40; Sabitkur Nahar Jesmin 2-28, Rabeya Khan 4-14, Ritu Moni 2-10] lost to Malaysia Women 100/3 in 17.3 overs [Murshida Khatun 50; Thipactha Putthawong 1-18, Phannita Maya 1-08] by seven wickets
European leaders, including in France and Germany, have announced they are working on a plan in the event the United States follows through on its threat to take over Greenland as tensions soar.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio on Wednesday that while nations want to act if the US moves to seize Greenland from an ally, Denmark, they want to do so “together with our European partners”.
“I myself was on the phone with the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday. He discarded the idea that what just happened in Venezuela could happen in Greenland,” Barrot said.
On Saturday, the United States – using fighter jets, attack helicopters, and special forces – abducted Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, bringing him to New York City to be tried for alleged drug trafficking.
US President Donald Trump’s decision to greenlight the abduction of Maduro led to widespread condemnation and fear that Greenland, which the president has previously said should be part of Washington’s security apparatus, could be forcibly taken.
But since then, European allies have rallied behind Greenland’s sovereignty, saying the country belongs to its people.
Johannes Koskinen, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Finland’s parliament, called for the issue to be raised within NATO.
“[Allies should] address whether something needs to be done and whether the United States should be brought into line in the sense that it cannot disregard jointly agreed plans in order to pursue its own power ambitions,” he said.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart, Vivian Motzfeldt, requested an urgent meeting with Rubio to discuss the situation.
“We would like to add some nuance to the conversation,” Rasmussen wrote in a social media post. “The shouting match must be replaced by a more sensible dialogue. Now.”
Denmark has warned that any move to take Greenland by force would mean “everything would stop”, including NATO and 80 years of close security links.
Greenland’s government will join a meeting between Rubio and Danish officials next week following renewed US claims on the Arctic island, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.
The European Union will support Greenland and Denmark when needed and will not accept violations of international law no matter where they occur, European Council President Antonio Costa said.
“On Greenland, allow me to be clear: Greenland belongs to its people. Nothing can be decided about Denmark and about Greenland without Denmark or without Greenland,” Costa said in a speech.
“The European Union cannot accept violations of international law – whether in Cyprus, Latin America, Greenland, Ukraine, or Gaza. Europe will remain a firm and unwavering champion of international law and multilateralism.”
Greenland – the world’s largest island, with a population of 57,000 people – is located between Europe and North America. Since 2019, during Trump’s first term, the president has raised the idea of controlling Greenland, saying it would benifit US security.
So far, Trump has not ruled out using force to take the island.
Rubio told reporters on Wednesday that Trump’s intention is to buy Greenland. “That’s always been the president’s intent from the very beginning.”
House US House Speaker Mike Johnson said he hasn’t heard talk of sending the military into Greenland and the US is “looking at diplomatic channels”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump and his national security team have “actively discussed” the option of buying Greenland.
“He views it in the best interest of the United States to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic region. And so that’s why his team is currently talking about what a potential purchase would look like,” Leavitt told reporters.
Neither Leavitt nor Rubio ruled out the use of force. But Leavitt said, “The president’s first option, always, has been diplomacy.”
[Aljazeera]
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Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya
The Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya for the next 24 hours commencing at 1200hrs today [08]
Accordingly
LEVEL II AMBER landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Ududumbara in the Kandy District, Wilgamuwa in the Matale District, and Nildandahinna and Walapane in the Nuwara Eliya District.
LEVEL I YELLOW landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Meegahakiwula, Welimada, Kandaketiya, Lunugala, Badulla, Passara, Uva Paranagama and Hali_Ela in the Badulla District, Ambanganga Korale in the Matale District, and Mathurata and Hanguranketha in the Nuwara Eliya District.
Greenland allies vow action if Trump moves to seize world’s largest island
Landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Badulla, Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya
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