2022-09-10

Published

3 years ago

2022/09/10

Thilina Walpola

All News Advertisement

Latest News

Nepal election 2026: When will we get the results?

Published

49 mins ago

2026/03/5

Priyan

Getting ballot boxes and election officials to all corners of the Himalayan republic is a logistical challenge [BBC]

Nepalis go to the polls today [5 March] to elect a new government.

The general election is the country’s first since deadly youth-led anti-corruption protests toppled the government in September 2025.

The Himalayan republic has since been led by an interim government under former chief justice Sushila Karki, which promised to hold fresh elections and hand over power within six months.

The election commission has promised to release the results of the 165 directly elected seats within 24 hours from when counting starts, but the process of collecting ballot boxes from across the mountainous country and delivering them to count centres typically takes at least a day.

It could take another two to three days to tally the results of the proportional representation vote, officials said.

So if the election commission keeps its word it would be a huge departure from how long it typically takes for results to be released in the country.

Ram Prasad Bhandari, the chief election commissioner, says he is committed to finish counting by 9 March.

During the last election in 2022, it took nearly two weeks for results to be released.

This is because some polling stations are located in difficult, hilly terrain – more than 80% of Nepal is mountainous – which makes the collection of ballot boxes a challenging logistical exercise.

Some need to be carried down by hand, for instance, while others have to be airlifted in and out of polling stations.

Planes and helicopters are also not allowed into some remote areas after dark, which often means collection can begin only the next morning. Bad weather also interferes with the collection process.

[BBC]

Foreign News

‘It’s so good to be home’ – passengers on Dubai-Dublin flight

Published

56 mins ago

2026/03/5

Priyan

Elaine Gleeson welcomed her sister Norita Geary home from Dubai at Dublin Airport [BBC]

“It’s so good to be home.”

The statement sums up how almost 400 people felt after their flight from Dubai arrived in Dublin on Wednesday night.

The Emirates flight was the first in a number of days after the United States-Israeli attacks on Iran led to the closure of nearly all airspace in the Middle East.

One of the passengers, Norita Geary, said: “Everyone clapped when the plane landed and we all cheered.”

“It was unreal. I mean you see these things on television, you see them in movies but you just don’t think you’ll end up there yourself,” she added.

A second flight directly to Dublin from Dubai is scheduled for Thursday, with a further 400 passengers on it.

Rushali Lakhani has long dark hair and black glasses. She is wearing a black top.

Rushali Lakhani said she is feeling “very happy” to be back [BBC]

Rushali Lakhani said she is “very happy” and “very grateful” to be back.

“It was quite a stressful time but grateful and thanking our lucky stars really.”

She said was “it was quite nerve wracking, we couldn’t really sleep much”.

“A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of bangs. There were no airplanes flying so whenever we heard some noises we knew that it wasn’t good news.”

Susan and Monica standing beside each other. Susan has brown hair tied back and a white jacket. Susan has short blonde hair and is wearing a white top and jacket. — *Susan and Monica Miller were in the airport “when it all kicked off” [BBC]*

So far 25,000 Irish citizens in the region have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs – 2,000 of them have said they want to leave.

The Irish government has chartered a flight for Irish citizens from Muscat in Oman on Friday.

The Irish Embassy in the UAE thanked all those had registered but warned that registration is not an expression of interest in a flight.

Meanwhile, a flight chartered by the UK government which had been due to bring back some Britons stranded in the Middle East on Wednesday night did not take off as scheduled..

British citizens stuck in the Middle East have told the BBC there has been a lack of information about available routes to travel home.

The Foreign Office said two more chartered flights would depart by the end of the week.

Foreign Office officials said 138,000 British nationals in the Gulf had registered their presence, of whom 112,000 were in the UAE.

[BBC]

Latest News

India’s momentum meets Wankhede’s memory in big semifinal bout

Published

1 hour ago

2026/03/5

Priyan

India have a bunch of players who call the Wankhede Stadium 'home' during domestic cricket or the IPL [Cricbuzz]

A World Cup semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium has, historically, not been kind on India, the 2023 game against New Zealand aside. They’ve lost two of their three ICC knockout games at this venue, one of them to England in 1987, the very opponents awaiting them tonight. If there is any equilibrium to be found, it lies in the present: Harry Brook’s England have appeared just as fragile in this tournament as Suryakumar Yadav’s India, making this less a clash of invincibles and more a test of which side can steady itself under the heaviest lights.

India have leaned heavily on individual brilliance rather than collective cohesion to reach the last-four stage. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (vs USA), Ishan Kishan (vs Namibia and Pakistan), Shivam Dube (vs Netherlands and South Africa), the Abhishek Sharma-Hardik Pandya combine (vs Zimbabwe), and most recently Sanju Samson (vs West Indies) have each stepped in to rescue the side at different moments. As a unit, however, India have not quite lived up to their ‘favourites’ tag.

India’s struggles have largely been down to some key players blowing hot and cold – Abhishek Sharma with the bat and Varun Chakaravarthy with the ball. Even skipper Suryakumar, barring the opening game, has not delivered in the manner expected of him. More gallingly, fielding – particularly catching – has been awful.

Jasprit Bumrah’s mastery has often come to India’s aid when the situations were seemingly slipping away. At times, Arshdeep Singh with his wide yorkers and Hardik Pandya with his slower bouncers have delivered in crunch moments, but their effectiveness with the ball has been rather sporadic. India will be hoping for a more collective output – shared heroics rather than individual brilliance – to administer the coup de grace against England and book the March 8 date at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

“That is something we haven’t really spoken about, about the perfect game. I think the quality of this team has been shown that, on the day somebody can put their hand up and put up a performance. And then hopefully now in the last two games, especially now tomorrow night, we can put that special performance in,” Morne Morkel, India bowling coach, said on the eve of the match.

“Unfortunately we all know how the game goes, that success is never guaranteed. But if we can give ourselves the best chance to go out and perform. That is what we strive for. And a big occasion tomorrow night here, semifinal, a great stadium to play a great game of cricket. So hopefully the boys can rock up tomorrow and just be calm and execute those skills.”

Thursday’s face-off may be India’s first designated knockout match for them, but they have already overcome two knockouts situations – against Zimbabwe and West Indies in the Super Eights. On both occasions, they raised the bar, momentum they’ll hope to carry into this high-stakes contest.

Another advantage for the hosts is their familiarity with the Wankhede Stadium, which serves as a home ground for several Indian players, starting with Suryakumar himself. Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Shivam Dube and Ishan Kishan have all represented Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, or both here.

If India have struggled into semifinals, England have been no showstoppers, although Harry Brook oozed extreme confidence on the eve of the contest. “We don’t feel like we’re ever out of a game so far. All it takes is one of the top seven to get a decent score or one of our five or six bowlers to have an amazing day out there. And all of a sudden you’re walking away with a victory and that’s what we’ve done so well so far,” the England skipper said.

England needed an extraordinary century from the skipper himself to get over the line against Pakistan and were on the ropes against New Zealand before being bailed out by a superb cameo from Rehan Ahmed. They won a low-scoring thriller against Sri Lanka and were nearly upset by Nepal before West Indies humbled them here in Mumbai, incidentally on the same pitch that will be used today.

The pitch carries a tinge of grass, but Morne Morkel anticipates a high-scoring contest. It was against this very opposition, at this very venue, that Abhishek Sharma blazed a stunning century a year ago. India will hope for a similar explosion from their opener, although this World Cup has already reinforced a familiar truth – ICC tournament games are a different beast altogether from bilateral contests.

Having comfortably beaten West Indies in their last outing, India are unlikely to tinker with their XI, despite murmurs advocating for Rinku Singh to replace Abhishek Sharma

England drafted in an extra spinner in Rehan Ahmed last time and he repaid the call with a decisive all-round performance against New Zealand last Friday. But that was at the R Premadasa Stadium, a surface that offered significant grip and turn. Conditions this time are unlikely to demand a second leg spinner, especially against a batting line-up stacked with left-handers.

England already possess three contrasting spin options – a leg spinner in Adil Rashid, a left-arm orthodox bowler in Liam Dawson, and an offspinner in Will Jacks, the latter particularly handy against an out-of-form Abhishek Sharma at the top and as a tactical match-up option through the line-up. All of which is set to open the door for the return of Jamie Overton.

India Probable XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy

England Probable XI:Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid

[Cricbuzz]