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At least 93 killed, many trapped after landslides hit India’s Kerala

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Rescuers and others inspect the spot after landslides hit hilly villages in Wayanad district, Kerala state (Aljazeera)

The death toll from landslides in India’s Kerala has reached 93, with 128 others hospitalised, the southern state’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has told reporters.

“93 dead bodies have been found so far,” Vijayan said on Tuesday. “128 people are under treatment in hospitals… This is one of the worst natural calamities that our state has seen.”

Landslides triggered by relentless monsoon rains struck tea plantations in the district of Wayanad at about 2am on Tuesday (20:30 GMT on Monday), as heavy rain collapsed hillsides and triggered torrents of mud, water and tumbling boulders.

INTERACTIVE-INDIA-KERALA-Hundreds trapped in landslides -JULY 30-2024 copy (1)-1722342280

The landslides cut off at least four villages in the district, with rescue efforts hampered by continued rains and blocked roads. Most of the victims were tea estate workers and their families who were asleep in makeshift shelters.

Wayanad is famed for the tea estates crisscrossing its hilly countryside which rely on a large pool of casual labourers for planting and harvest.

Television images showed rescue workers scrambling through uprooted trees and flattened tin structures as boulders lay strewn across the hillsides and muddy water gushed through. Rescuers were being pulled across a stream, carrying stretchers and other equipment to rescue people.

One man was stuck in chest-high mud for hours, TV pictures showed, unable to free himself until he was finally reached by emergency workers. At least 100 families were stranded after the landslides, local Asianet TV reported.

India landslides
Rescuers carry the body of a victim after multiple landslides in Wayanad, Kerala [Aljazeera]

Nearly 350 families lived in the affected region, mostly given over to tea and cardamom estates, and 250 people had been rescued so far, state officials said.

Army engineers were deployed to help build a replacement bridge after the one that linked the affected area to the nearest town of Chooralmala was destroyed, the chief minister’s office said in a statement.

The weather office said there had been extremely heavy rainfall over north and central Kerala on Tuesday, with more rain predicted through the day.

Kerala landslides
An animal carcass lies amid logs of wood after landslides hit Wayanad in Kerala [Aljazeera]

“My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones and prayers with those injured,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media platform X, adding that families of victims would be given a compensation payment of $2,400 (200,000 rupees).

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who until recently represented Wayanad in parliament, told lawmakers that the scope of the devastation was “heartbreaking”.

Intense monsoon storms battered India earlier this month, flooding parts of the financial capital Mumbai, while lightning in the eastern state of Bihar killed at least 10 people.

India’s worst landslide in recent decades was in 1998, when rockfall triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 220 people and completely buried the tiny village of Malpa in the Himalayas.

(Aljazeera)



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UAE keep semi-final hopes alive after convincing win over Indonesia

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Five different UAE bowlers took wickets on Friday evening (Asian Cricket Council)

A complete performance from UAE’s bowling unit kept their semi-final hopes alive at the 2026 Women’s T20 Asia Cup,  skittling Indonesia  for 73 and then completing the chase with six wickets to spare. They now have to beat Bangladesh on September 8 and also hope other results go their way.

UAE were on top right from the first ball courtesy offspinner Suraksha Kotte,  who starred with 3 for 16. Kotte struck with the first two balls of the innings, dismissing Indonesia opener Maria Corazon and No. 3 Ni Luh Dewi for first-ball ducks. UAE captain Esha Oza (2 for 11) then dismissed the other opener Rahmawati Pangestuti in the fourth over.

Indonesia captainN8 Puu Ayu Nanda Sakarini  top-scored with a lone hand of 39 off 52 balls, with four fours and a six, accounting for 53.4% of Indonesia’s runs. But with little support, they could not find a way back in and were bowled out for 73.

Slow left-arm spinner Heena Hotchandani (2 for 6) and seamer Samaira Dharnidharka (1 for 12) also got among the wickets. Legspinner Vaishnave Mahesh struck twice in the 20th over to clean up the tail.

UAE openers Theertha Satish and Oza put on 17 for the first wicket. After losing Theertha in the fifth over, Oza hit two boundaries in each of the sixth and eighth overs. No. 3 Rinitha Rajith then hit three fours off Sofia Velic in the ninth over.

A brief wobble followed for UAE as they slid from 62 for 1 to 68 for 4. Oza fell for a 29-ball 30 at the start of the 11th over to Ni Ariani and Velic grabbed two wickets in the 12th. However, with only six runs needed, UAE wrapped up the chase at the start of the 14th over, the tournament hosts securing two points with 41 balls to spare. This was also Indonesia’s final match of the campaign, bowing out with losses in all three games.

Scores:

UAE Women 75 for 4 8n 13.1 overs  (Esha Oza 30, Rinitha Rajith 22; Ni Riani 1-10, Sang Maypriani 1-17,  Sofia Velic 2-25) beat IndonesiaWomen  73 in 19.4 overs (N8 Putu Ayu  Nanda Sakarini 39, Desi Wulandari 12; Suraksha  Kotte 3-16, Heena  Hotchandani 2-06, Esha  Oza 2-11, Samira Dharnidarkha 1-12 ) by six wickets

(Cricinfo)

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Sun directly overhead Moratuwa, Kesbewa, Handapangoda, Idalgashinna, Yudhaganawa, Kotiyagala and Panama about 12.08 noon today (05)

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The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is
overhead today (05) are Moratuwa, Kesbewa, Handapangoda, Idalgashinna, Yudhaganawa, Kotiyagala and Panama about 12.08 noon

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Kusal Mendis, Binura Fernando ruled out of T20I series in England

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Kusal Mendis hasn't played competitively since July 19 (Cricinfo)

Kusal Mendis and Binura Fernando have been ruled out of Sri Lanka’s upcoming T20I series against England,  with the SLC saying that the two were “still undergoing rehabilitation” after injuries picked up at the 2026 Lanka Premier League.

The update came just over a day after the two were named in the 16-member squad, with Kusal retained as captain of both the T20I and the ODI sides.Charith Asalanka, who had returned to the vice-captain’s position for the series, will now lead the side in the T20Is. Though Kusal hasn’t been ruled out of the ODIs just yet, were he to miss out, Asalanka, as the designated vice-captain, might step in there too.

Kusal has been out of action since July 19 with a right hamstring injury, while Binura hasn’t played since August 5, SLC putting his absence down to a back injury.

Pavan Rathnayake, the 24-year-old top-order batter, has replaced Kusal in the T20I touring party, while Dilshan Madushanka, the fast bowler who was in the squad for the Tests against India recently but didn’t get to play, has come in for Binura.

Asalanka returned to the leadership group three months after being deposed as ODI captain and six months after being sidelined from the T20I unit. He last played a T20I in February this year, but is currently part of St Lucia Kings’ line-up at CPL 2026. His returns have been mediocre, though: 93 runs at a strike rate of 124 from six innings.
The T20Is will be played on September 15 (Southampton), September 17 (Cardiff) and September 19 (Manchester), while the ODIs will take place on September 22 (Chester-le-Street), September 24 (Leeds) and September 27 (The Oval).
Sri Lanka T20I squad for the tour of England
Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara (wk), Lahiru Udara (wk), Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (capt), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Rathnayake, Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Tharindu Rathnayake, Dushmantha Chameera, Eshan Malinga, Nuwan Thushara, Dilshan Madushanka

(Cricinfo)

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