Latest News
At least 66 dead and dozens missing in Nepal floods
At least 66 people have died and 69 others are missing, officials say, after intense rainfall in Nepal caused flooding and landslides.
The death toll in the central Asian nation is likely to rise as the rains – which have predominantly affected the valley surrounding the capital, Kathmandu – are expected to persist through to Tuesday.
Thousands of homes situated near rivers have been flooded and most highways have been blocked, while video footage has emerged of people stranded on rooftops.
The volume of rainfall within a short timespan – over 200mm (7.9in) since Friday evening – has inundated almost all rivers in the Kathmandu valley, where many of the deaths have occurred.
Landslides have also caused a number of the fatalities.
Five people, including a pregnant woman and a four-year-old girl, died when a house collapsed due to a landslide in Bhaktapur, to the east of Kathmandu, state media reports.
Two bodies have been removed from a bus buried by a landslide in Dhading, west of Kathmandu. Twelve people, including the driver, were said to be onboard.
Six football players were also killed by a landslide at a training centre operated by the All Nepal Football Association in Makwanpur, to the south-west of the capital.
Others have been swept up in floodwaters.
In one dramatic scene, four people desperate to be rescued were washed away by the Nakkhu River in the southern Kathmandu valley.
“For hours, they kept on pleading for help,” Jitendra Bhandari, an eyewitness, told the BBC. “We could do nothing.”
Three of those people were rescued downstream, but one is still missing.
Hari Om Malla lost his truck after it was submerged by water in Kathmandu. He told the BBC that water had “gushed” into the cabin as the rain intensified on Friday night.
“We jumped out, swam, and got away from it – but my purse, bag and mobile have been swept away by the river. I have nothing now. We stayed the whole night in the cold.”
So far, more than 2,000 people have been rescued from floodwaters, while at least 200 houses have been damaged, according to the state-run Radio Nepal.
The Nepalese home affairs ministry said that as of Saturday, 60 people had been injured.
Private houses, offices, shopping centres, hospitals and police posts were seen inundated in videos posted in social media.
Government spokesperson Prithvi Subba Gurung told the state-run Nepal Television Corporation that the flooding had also broken waterpipes, and affected telephone and power lines.
According to state media, 10,000 police officers, as well as volunteers and members of the army, have been mobilised as part of search and rescue efforts.
The Nepalese government urged people to avoid unnecessary travel, and banned road travel at night in the Kathmandu valley to minimise road accidents.
Most highways – including the ones connecting Kathmandu valley with the rest of the country – have been blocked in several places.
Air travel was also affected on Friday and Saturday, with many domestic flights delayed or cancelled.
Monsoon season brings tragic floods and landslides every year in Nepal.
Scientists say, though, that rainfall events are becoming more intense due to climate change.
A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, while warmer ocean waters can energise storm systems, making them more erratic.
(BBC)
If India defied losing the toss and getting the worst of the conditions, theoretically, in Cuttack, South Africa did the same in New Chandigarh to come roaring back into the T20I series, which is now locked 1-1 with three matches to go.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav noted at the toss that the outfield was already dewy when the players were going through their pre-match warm-ups. It was a no-brainer to chase. But Quinton de Kock put India under pressure with a 46-ball 90 studded with seven sixes, and Donovan Fererrira finished brilliantly with an unbeaten 16-ball 30, taking South Africa to an imposing total of 213 for 4.
Imposing, but not dew-proof; certainly not given how India’s bowlers had struggled with the conditions and bowled 15 wides — including seven in one Arshdeep Singh over — and 13 full-tosses.
But the dew never got a chance to test South Africa, as their new-ball bowlers made the best possible use of early movement to take three wickets in the first four overs. These included the Test-match-style dismissals of both India openers.
It was all steeply uphill from 32 for 3, and India never really challenged the visitors, with Tilak Varma’s 34-ball 62 standing out for its fluency and enterprise on a difficult night for his team. South Africa bowled India out with five balls still remaining, with Ottneill Baartman hastening their end with three wickets in the 19th over.
This pitch wasn’t a complete featherbed, with the ball occasionally stopping on the batters and making them mistime shots. Two members of South Africa’s top three, Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram, scored 37 off 36 balls between them.
The other member, however, was in an entirely different mood, taking full toll of anything remotely too short, too full, or especially too straight. De Kock kept clearing the ropes whenever he had half a chance, particularly with his pulls and pick-up shots square and behind square on the leg side.
This put India’s bowlers under tremendous pressure. They couldn’t attack de Kock’s stumps, because that ran the risk of being whisked over the leg side, and they couldn’t afford to give him width either. This pressure led India to attempt yorkers and wide yorkers frequently, and the pressure combined with the dew to produce errors in the form of wides and full-tosses.
Arshdeep suffered the most from this, sending down seven wides in the 11th over — all to de Kock – and nine in all.
Jitesh Sharma’s alert run-out of de Kock — who wandered out of his crease instinctively after bottom-edging the ball towards the keeper — in the 16th over, followed by Axar Patel’s dismissal of Dewald Brevis in the 17th threatened to stall South Africa at a critical stage of their innings. But Ferreira and David Miller made sure they cleared 200 by a good margin, putting on an unbroken 53 off 23 balls for the fifth wicket.
The highlight of the partnership was an 18-run final over during which Ferreira hit Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes: a full-toss drilled straight, and a good short ball that followed the batter’s premeditated movement pulled authoritatively over the leg side.
In all, Bumrah conceded four sixes, the most he has gone for in a T20I.
Given all the dew around, it was imperative that South Africa made the new ball count. They did that emphatically. Ngidi set things in motion with a first-over jaffa to Shubman Gill, squaring him up in defence with one that straightened from a good length and having him caught at slip. Jansen followed up in the next over with the mirror-image dismissal of Abhishek Sharma; angling in, straightening, squaring up the batter and catching the outside edge.
Abhishek’s wicket was particularly crucial, since he’d already hit two sixes, in just eight balls.
Suryakumar followed the openers to the dressing room in the fourth over, sending a thin edge to the keeper — confirmed after South Africa reviewed the not-out decision — while looking to steer Jansen behind point.
India never threatened to make a match of it, particularly with Axar Patel — promoted to No. 3 — and Hardik Pandya struggling for fluency, scoring 41 off 44 balls between them.
But there was one bright spot for the home team in the form of Tilak, who looked in excellent rhythm right from the time he walked in, and combined that with his awareness of the field to find the boundary frequently even while his partners got stuck. Against Ferreira’s 110kph offspin rockets, for example, he made room to use the pace and steer him behind point, off the stumps. Then, against George Linde’s left-arm spin, he collapsed his back knee smartly to reverse-sweep over backward point for six. A slog-swept six off an Ngidi slower ball took him to a 27-ball half-century in the 14th over.
Jitesh, who came in at No. 7, also made good use of the V behind the wicket, scoring 27 off 17, but the result was already certain by the time he walked in, with India needing 96 off 34 balls at that point.
Brief scores:
South Africa 213 for 4 in 20 overs (Quinton de Kock 90, Aiden Markram 29, Dewald Brevis 14, Donovan Ferreira 30*, David Millerr 20*; Varun Chakrawarthy 2-29, Axar Patel 1-27 ) beat India 162 in 19.1 overs (Abhishek Sharma 17, Axar Patel 21, Tilak Varma 62, Hardik Pandya 20, Jitesh Sharma 27; Ottneil Baartman 4-24, Marco Jansen 2-25, Lungi Ngidi 2-26, Sipamla 2-46) by 51 runs
[Cricinfo]
Jacob Duffy, who had to wait until his 31st birthday for a Test debut earlier this year, claimed his second five-wicket haul of the series as West Indies folded tamely on the third day in Wellington. Bowled out for just 128, West Indies left New Zealand a target of 56, which was knocked off before tea for a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with one game to go. It was New Zealand’s first win of the 2025-27 World Test Championships [WTC] cycle. West Indies, meanwhile, have now lost six of their seven outings in this cycle and remain winless.
The collapse began with Brandon King’s run-out for 22 in the morning session. After a careful start with overnight partner Kaveem Hodge (35), King set off for a risky single in the morning’s eighth over. Sent back and left stranded, he was gone once substitute Michael Bracewell’s sharp throw was relayed on to the stumps by debutant wicketkeeper Mitchell Hay.
Shai Hope fell in the same over after closing the bat face in an attempt to work Michael Rae to the leg side, offering a simple return catch. Roston Chase, averaging under 16 as Test captain, then nicked a rising delivery from Duffy through to the keeper.
Hodge and first-Test hero Justin Greaves (25) attempted to stabilising things, with Hodge unfurling crisp strokes through the covers and square leg. But in the 31st over, one of those well-struck pulls picked out substitute fielder Will Young, who held a superb rebound catch at midwicket.
At 88 for 6, with the lead still below 20, the match was effectively gone, and Duffy accelerated the finish. He trapped Greaves lbw with a full delivery that jagged in, a decision first turned down but later overturned on review. In his next over, Duffy drew Tevin Imlach into a loose drive away from his body for an edge to second slip. Rae added his third by removing Jayden Seales caught behind, before Duffy completed his five-for by going short to No. 11 Ojay Shields, who miscued a leg-side swipe to fine leg.
Duffy walked off to applause with the innings ball raised, and openers Tom Latham and Devon Conway dashed away to pad up with an hour left before tea and a small target in front.
The pair added 26 in seven overs before Latham got a leading edge off Anderson Phillip to third slip. Conway held fort, attacking with six fours in his unbeaten 22-ball 28. Kane Williamson, with 16 off 12 balls, wrapped up the match with back-to-back boundaries in the tenth over.
Earlier in the Test, Blair Tickner’s first-innings four-for and Rae’s three wickets dismissed West Indies for 205. New Zealand replied with a disappointing 278 for 9 declared, with Tickner unable to bat after picking up a shoulder injury. But half-centuries from Conway (61) and Hay (60) ensured a meaningful lead, which, combined with West Indies’ limp second-innings effort, set up a comfortable win.
After the game, New Zealand captain Latham said they got “better and better” as the game progressed. “We took a little bit to get into the game, morning of day one, potentially some heavy legs. But we adjusted things and we bowled better and better in the second innings. And obviously Duffy on the back of that [five-wicket haul] and some of our substitutes coming on and getting on the board was pleasing.
“Mitch Hay played beautifully in the first innings coming under pressure. The way he played was pretty much the way he plays for Canterbury and that’s what we asked of him. And Michael Rae picked up some really important wickets on day one, trucked into the wind all week. All those efforts do not go unnoticed. We probably weren’t where we wanted to be with the bat but we can look into that over the rest of this week.”
Chase said West Indies’ batters didn’t make the most of the conditions on offer: “Batting is a bit of a concern, after coming from the first Test, that beautiful second innings [in Christchurch]. But we came here and our batters never really capitalised. Initially we thought the pitch would be similar to Christchurch. But this pitch was a lot easier for batting. The scores didn’t reflect that. There is still one Test match left and we can still level the series. That can help motivate the guys further.”
The third Test begins on December 18 in Mount Maunganui.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 278 for 9 dec (Mitchell Hay 61, Devon Conway 60; Anderson Phillip 3-70, Kemar Roach 2-43) and 57 for 1 (Devon Conway 28*, Kane Williamson 16*; Anderson Phillip 1-17) beat West Indies 205 (Shai Hope 47, John Campbell 44; Blair Tickner 4-32, Michael Ray 3-66) and 128 (Kaveem Hodge 35, Jacob Duffy 5-38, Michael Rae 3-45) by nine wickets
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2025 is not a single person.
Instead, the magazine has recognised the year’s most influential figure as “the architects” of artificial intelligence (AI).
Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, Meta head Mark Zuckerberg, X owner Elon Musk and ‘AI godmother’ Fei-Fei Li are among those depicted on one of the magazine’s two covers.
Experts say it highlights how quickly AI, and the firms behind it, are reshaping society.
It comes as a boom in the technology, ushered in by OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, continues at pace.
Its boss Sam Altman said in September its chatbot is used by around 800 million people every week.
Big tech firms are pouring billions of dollars into AI and the infrastructure behind it in a bid to stay ahead of rivals.
There are two covers this year – one a piece of art depicting the letters AI surrounded by workers, and another a painting focused on the tech leaders themselves.
The cover references the classic New York photograph “Lunch atop a Skyscraper” – but with tech figures in place of ironworkers [BBC]
At Meta, Zuckerberg has reportedly focused the firm around the tech, including its AI chatbot, which it has embedded in its popular apps.
He, along with Huang, Musk, Li and Altman, appeared on the cover alongside Lisa Su, boss of chipmaker AMD, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, and Google’s AI lab lead Sir Demis Hassabis.
“This year, the debate about how to wield AI responsibly gave way to a sprint to deploy it as fast as possible,” Time said as it announced its new covers.
“But the risk-averse are no longer in the driver’s seat.
“Thanks to Huang, Son, Altman, and other AI titans, humanity is now flying down the highway, all gas no brakes, toward a highly automated and highly uncertain future.”
And the magazine’s editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs said “no one” had as great an impact in 2025 than “the individuals who imagined, designed, and built AI”.
“Humanity will determine AI’s path forward, and each of us can play a role in determining AI’s structure and future,” he said.
Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said 2025 could be seen as a “tipping point” for how frequently AI is now used in our day-to-day lives.
“Most consumers use it without even being aware of it,” he told the BBC.
He said AI is now being crammed into hardware, software and services – meaning it its uptake is “much faster than during the Internet or mobile revolutions”.
Some people now choose chatbots over search engines and social media to plan holidays, find Christmas gifts and discover recopies.
Others, such as those worried about its energy use, training data and impact on their livelihoods, are opting-out entirely.
Nik Kairinos, founder and chief executive of lab Fountech AI, said the covers were “an honest assessment” of the tech’s influence, but he felt “recognition should not be confused with readiness”.
“At this moment, AI can still be a saviour or scourge to humanity,” he said.
“We are still in the early stages of building AI systems that are dependable, accountable, and aligned with human values.
“For those of us developing the technology and bringing AI tools to market, there is huge responsibility.”
This isn’t the first time the Person of the Year has been a large group, with Ebola fighters being handed it in 2014 and whistleblowers in 2002.
Previously, in 1982, it recognised the computer, with the magazine saying Americans had a “giddy passion” for the device.
Time called it “partly fad”, but said it was also “partly a sense of how life could be made better”.
The computer was represented by a number of tech entrepreneurs of the time, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and IBM president John Opel.
Then in 2006, the Person of the Year was given to “You” – intended to represent the power of individuals online.
Wikipedia contributors, early YouTubers and MySpace users were noted as examples of “the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing”.
It continued: “That will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.”
[BBC]
Quinton de Kock’s 90 powers South Africa to massive win
Duffy five-for triggers West Indies slide to give New Zealand first win of WTC cycle
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Northern, North-Central, Eastern and Uva provinces and in Puttalam, Matale and Kurunegala districts
Rs 1. 3 bn yahapalana building deal under investigation
SL Railways suffers staggering losses; more than 2/3 of rail tracks out of service
US, SL advancing free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific region: Embassy
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News4 days agoOver 35,000 drug offenders nabbed in 36 days
-
Features2 days agoFinally, Mahinda Yapa sets the record straight
-
News3 days agoCyclone Ditwah leaves Sri Lanka’s biodiversity in ruins: Top scientist warns of unseen ecological disaster
-
Business6 days agoLOLC Finance Factoring powers business growth
-
News6 days agoCPC delegation meets JVP for talks on disaster response
-
News6 days agoA 6th Year Accolade: The Eternal Opulence of My Fair Lady
-
News4 days agoRising water level in Malwathu Oya triggers alert in Thanthirimale
-
Features5 days agoThe Catastrophic Impact of Tropical Cyclone Ditwah on Sri Lanka: