At least 113 people missing after Uganda landslide – police

Published

5 months ago

2024/11/29

Priyan

At least 113 people are missing, and at least 15 people are known to have died after a landslide in eastern Uganda, the police say.

The landslides triggered by heavy rainfall affected multiple villages in the Bulambuli district, about 280 km (178 miles) from the capital Kampala.

A rescue operation is underway after at least 40 houses were swept away, the Ugandan Red Cross Society said on X.

The Ugandan police said that as well as the 15 bodies, another 15 injured people had been rescued and admitted to hospital.

At least six of the bodies recovered have been children, the Ugandan Red Cross Society told the BBC.

Heavy rainfall has inundated the East African country for the last few days.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja issued a disaster warning on X.

“People are suspected to be missing and some feared buried by slides,” her statement said.

Rivers have burst their banks, flooding schools and churches, destroying bridges, and isolating communities.

The military has been deployed to assist with search and recovery efforts.

On Wednesday, the defence forces said on X that two boats had been deployed during an operation to rescue a taxi stuck on a bridge near the town of Pakwach.

One of the boats capsized and an engineer died.

In parliament on Thursday, the speaker, Anitah Among, expressed her condolences to the relatives of those who have lost their lives in the flooding across the country.

This is not the first time that eastern Uganda has been hit by floods and landslides.

In 2010, a landslide in Bududa killed about 300 people. This was one of the most devastating natural disasters in the country.

The region is mountainous with arable land which is good for farming – one of the reasons people are reluctant to move away, alongside their attachment to their ancestral land.

But this year alone, the heavy rainfall, flooding, and landslides have forced thousands of people to leave their homes, according to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

[BBC]

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NPP wins Tangalla Urban Council

Published

6 hours ago

2025/05/6

Priyan

The National People’s Power (NPP) polled 2,260 votes (46.18%) to secure 9 of the 19 seats in the Tangalla Urban Council at todays. Local Authorities Election.

THe Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJ) polled 1,397 votes to secure five seats while the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) polled 795 votes to secure 3 seats.

The United National Party (UNP) and the Sarvajana Balaya secure one seat each.

Kagiso Rabada cleared to play again after serving doping suspension

Published

12 hours ago

2025/05/6

Priyan

Kagiso Rabada had left the IPL after playing two matches to serve his suspension [Cricinfo]

South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has served a one-month ban, commuted from three months, for drug use during the SA20 earlier this year.

A statement issued by the South African Institute for Drug Free Sports (SAIDS) confirmed Rabada had failed a doping test on January 21, after the match between MI Cape Town and Durban Super Giants, and he was notified of the result on April 1 when he was in India for IPl 2025. On April 3, his IPL franchise Gujarat Titans (GT) said Rabada had returned to South Africa for personal reasons after playing only two matches this season.

According to SAIDS, Rabada has since participated in an education and awareness programme to prevent further substance abuse. He can resume playing immediately and could return to action as soon as Tuesday, when GT play Mumbai Indians (MI).

Rabada’s sanction is in line with the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) punishment for use of a recreational drug – including cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine or diamorphine. A similar punishment was handed to New Zealand’s Doug Bracewell last year after he tested positive for cocaine during the Super Smash.

However, there are instances of longer suspensions, which are up to individual boards. Last year, Zimbabwe’s Wessley Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta were banned from playing for four months each and fined 50% of their salaries for three months after testing positive for a recreational drug. In that instance, Zimbabwe Cricket chose to impose a sanction longer than the WADA recommendations.

It is not expected that Cricket South Africa will impose further punishment on Rabada after it issued a statement on Saturday afternoon calling the incident “regrettable”. CSA is satisfied with Rabada’s “commitment to upholding professional standards” after he apologised through the South African Cricketers’ Association when news of his positive drug test broke at the weekend.

“I am deeply sorry to all those that I have let down,” Rabada said. “I will never take the privilege of playing cricket for granted. This privilege is much larger than me. It goes beyond my personal aspirations.”

With the matter considered closed, Rabada will be available for South Africa for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia next month, where he is crucial to their chances. Rabada was South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in the 2023-2025 WTC cycle with 47 wickets at an average of 19.97.

However, not everyone considers the case to be as open and shut as CSA.

Speaking to SEN Radio, former Australia captain Tim Payne was critical of the statement initially issued by GT to explain Rabada’s absence from the IPL.

“It stinks. I don’t like this use around ‘personal issues’, and it being used to hide stuff that isn’t a personal issue,” Paine told SEN Radio on Monday. “If you have a professional sportsman that’s tested for recreational drugs during a tournament in which he is playing, that doesn’t fall under personal issues for me. That falls under you have broken your contract.

“That is not a personal issue, that is something that is happening in your personal life. Taking drugs – recreational or performance enhancing – is not a personal issue that can just be hidden for a month. A guy can be taken out of the IPL, moved back to South Africa, and we just let it slide under the rug. Then we will bring him back once he’s already served his ban.”

ESPNcricinfo contacted CSA and SACA officials multiple times after Rabada returned home from the IPL and were told he was dealing with a “personal issue”, while some officials claimed not to know anything about why he had come home.