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Curran sends Royals crashing to fourth straight loss

Published

2 years ago

2024/05/16

Priyan

Sam Curran stayed unbeaten on 63 to take his team home (BCCI)

Form can change quickly in T20s, and in a league like IPL the non-stop action can quickly turn the tide too. Rajasthan Royals (RR) became the second team to prove that in this IPL after Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But unlike RCB, who have won five matches straight, RR have now lost four in a row after winning as many on the bounce to hurt their chances of a top-two finish.

The latest loss came in Guwahati, where Sam Curran and the rest of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) bowlers combined to first restrict RR to 144. Curran, who picked up 2 for 24, led PBKS’ charge with the bat with an unbeaten 63 to complete the chase with seven balls and five wickets to spare. That, after PBKS had slipped to 48 for 4 in eight overs.

Curran’s heroics spoiled local boy Riyan Parag’s day, who scored 48, exactly one-third of RR’s total.

Sanju Samson had opted to bat in the first game at the Barsapara Stadium this IPL. And after four overs, the game wasn’t going either ways, with RR on 31 for 1. Curran had Yashasvi Jaiswal chopping on off the fourth ball of the day after the first one was driven through cover for four.

Samson hit three boundaries off his first eight balls, with a punch off Arshdeep Singh from the full face of the bat. At the other end, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who came in for Jos Buttler, had started rather sedately.

Curran then introduced Nathan Ellis for the fifth over. Ellis bowled cutters on a slow pitch where the ball seemed to stop, and even banged some on a hard length to test the batters. And that is when RR slowed down. The next 3.2 overs went for only 11 runs, with both Samson and Kohler-Cadmore departing for 18.

PBKS bowled ten dot balls in three overs, starting with the sixth one. While Ellis and Harshal Patel used the variations to great effect, Rahul Chahar found turn. With two right-hand batters in Parag and R Ashwin at the crease, Curran gave the ninth over to left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar. But Ashwin managed a streaky boundary to get ten off the over.

RR had only 68 on the board after 11 overs, when Ashwin counterattacked. He slogged Chahar over midwicket for six, before reverse sweeping and lofting him over the covers for four. But Arshdeep ended Ashwin’s party in the next over by having him caught at deep point after an entertaining 28 from 19 balls.

Parag, though, continued to fight, even as RR were 102 for 6 midway into the 15th over. By then, Curran had removed Dhruv Jurel for a duck, while Chahar had Rovman Powell caught and bowled for 4. The death overs (17-20) began with RR on 113, before Parag walloped and sliced Arshdeep for consecutive fours.

PBKS denied Parag the strike in the entire 19th over. Come the 20th, Harshal trapped Parag for 48 with his trademark dipping, slow full toss, as the Purple Cap switched heads again, with Harshal finishing the day on 22 wickets, two ahead of Jasprit Bumrah.

No. 6 Jitesh Sharma had joined Curran at the crease after RR slowed the chase down. Despite Rillee Rossouw counterattacking after the early loss of Prabhsimran Singh – it was an IPL record 28th time that Trent Boult had struck in the first over – RR had PBKS at 37 for 3 after five overs. When Yuzvendra Chahal had Jonny Bairstow caught at long-on for a scratchy 14 off 22, PBKS were reeling at 48 for 4.

But Jitesh and Curran didn’t allow RR to run away with the game just yet. Jitesh pulled his second ball for six, before Curran managed a lucky four off the bottom edge off Chahal. They kept ticking over singles while also finding the occasional boundary, with Curran swiping Chahal wide of long-on, swatting Ashwin to deep extra cover, and whipping Boult behind square, all in consecutive overs.

The required rate had risen up to 9.33 an over with six overs left, when both Jitesh and Curran pumped a six each off Ashwin. But Jitesh was caught off Chahal in the next over, before PBKS brought on Ashutosh Sharma as an Impact Sub, and the match was soon over.

Ashutosh ramped Avesh for four, before Curran and Ashutosh smashed three sixes in the space of five balls to level scores and soon seal victory.

Brief scores:
Rajasthan Royals 144/9 in 20 overs (Riyan Parag 48, Ravichandran Ashwin 28; Sam Curran 2-24, Arshdeep Singh 1-31, Nathan Ellis 1-24, Rahul Chahar 2-26, Harshal Patel 2-28) lost to Punjab Kings 145/5 in 18.5 overs (Rileee Rossouw 22, Sam Curran 63*, Jitesh Sharma 22; Trent Boult 1-27, Avesh Khan 2-28, Yuzendra Chahal 2-31) by five wickets

(Cricinfo)

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Seven million cancers a year are preventable, says report

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/4

Priyan

Air quality around the Delhi region of India reached 'severe' levels in November [BBC]

Seven million people’s cancer could be prevented each year, according to the first global analysis.

A report by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists estimates 37% of cancers are caused by infections, lifestyle choices and environmental pollutants that could be avoided.

This includes cervical cancers caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infections which vaccination can help prevent, as well as a host of tumours caused by tobacco smoke from cigarettes.

The researchers said their report showed there is a “powerful opportunity” to transform the lives of millions of people.

Some cancers are inevitable – either because of damage we unavoidably build up in our DNA as we age or because we inherit genes that put us at greater risk of the disease.

But researcher Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram said “people are surprised to hear” that nearly four in 10 cancers can be prevented as it is “a substantial number”.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the WHO, analysed 30 preventable factors known to increase the risk of cancer.

These include smoking and ultraviolet (UV) radiation which can directly damage our DNA; obesity and too little physical activity which alter inflammation and hormones in the body to raise cancer risk; and air pollution which can wake up dormant cancer cells.

The agency’s report also looked at nine cancer-causing infections including HPV, hepatitis viruses which lead to liver cancer and the stomach bug H. pylori.

The team used data on cancer cases from 2022 and from the 30 risk factors a decade earlier – across 185 countries – to perform their statistical analysis.

The big three contributors to more than 18 million cancer cases around the world were found to be:

smoking tobacco which caused 3.3 million cancers
infections causing 2.3 million cancers
alcohol use leading to 700,000 cancers

Getty Images Nine people, mostly women, in a line at a bar, smoking cigarettes and holding alcoholic drinks. They all look dressed up for a fun night out. — *Smoking and alcohol were two of the main causes of preventable cancers [BBC]*

However, the overall figures mask a nuanced picture of cancer risk around the world.

There is a stark sex-divide with 45% of men’s cancers being preventable compared with 30% in women, partly down to higher levels of smoking among men.

In women living in Europe, the top three preventable causes of cancer are smoking, closely followed by infection and then obesity.

While in sub-Saharan Africa, infections dominate and account for nearly 80% of preventable cancers in women.

This means any measures to tackle these cancers would need to be tailored to each region or country.

“This landmark study is a comprehensive assessment of preventable cancer worldwide, incorporating for the first time infectious causes of cancer alongside behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks,” said Soerjomataram, the deputy head of the IARC Cancer Surveillance Unit.

“Addressing these preventable causes represents one of the most powerful opportunities to reduce the global cancer burden.”

The report, published in the journal **Nature Medicine**, showed lung cancer (linked to smoking and air pollution) stomach cancer (linked to H. pylori infection) and cervical cancer (linked to HPV infection) made up nearly half of all preventable cases of cancer.

Dr Andre Ilbawi, team lead for cancer control at WHO, said the study was “good news” as it showed something could be done and he pointed to the success of countries that have introduced policies to tackle smoking or vaccinate against HPV.

“The percentage of preventable cancers can change over time and our goal is to get it as close to zero as possible,” he said.

***[BBC]***

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Spain announces plans to ban social media for under-16s

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/4

Priyan

EPA/Shutterstock Pedro Sanchez, wearing a blue blazer and dark green tie, standing at the lectern at the World Government's summit. It's a bright blue background.EPA/Shutterstock Pedro Sánchez said the changes would protect children from the "digital Wild West"

Spain has become the latest European country to make plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16.

“We will protect them from the digital Wild West,” Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.

The ban, which still needs parliamentary approval, is part of a raft of changes that include making company executives responsible for “illegal or harmful content” on their platforms.

Australia became the world’s first country to bring in a ban last year, with others watching – and judging – its success.

France, Denmark and Austria have also announced that they are considering their own national age limits.

The UK government has launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s.

Social media companies have argued that the bans would be ineffective, difficult to implement and could isolate vulnerable teenagers. Reddit is challenging Australia’s ban in the High Court.

“Today, our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone,” Sánchez said, describing social media as a place of “addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence. “We will no longer accept that. We will protect them.”

Sánchez first mooted a possible ban in November, but on Tuesday, the plan was fleshed out.

Under the changes, social media platforms would be required to have effective age verification systems, “not just check boxes, but real barriers that work,” the prime minister explained, in a possible reference to the loopholes Australian children use to bypass checks – including simply using a photo of an adult.

The new laws would also criminalise manipulating algorithms to amplify illegal content.

“This is something created, promoted, and disseminated by certain actors whom we will investigate, as well as the platforms whose algorithms amplify disinformation in exchange for profit,” Sánchez said.

“Hiding behind code and claiming that technology is neutral is no longer acceptable.”

There would also be a new system designed to track “how digital platforms fuel division and amplify hate”. No further details were given on how this would work.

Another measure, Sánchez said, would be to “investigate and prosecute the crimes committed by Grok [X’s AI tool], TikTok, and Instagram”.

The European Commission has launched an investigation into Grok over concerns it was used to create sexualised images of real people.

The UK has announced its own investigation into Grok and on Tuesday in France, the offices of X were raided by the Paris prosecutor’s cyber-crime unit as it looked into allegations of offences including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.

X is yet to respond to either investigation – the BBC has approached it for comment. It has previously characterised the French investigation as an attack on free speech.

[BBC]

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Join hands in unity, determination and brotherhood to build the beautiful shared dream of ‘A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life’ – President

Published

3 hours ago

2026/02/4

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayaike in his Independence Day message called upon all Sri Lankans to join hands in unity, determination and brotherhood to build the beautiful shared dream of ‘A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life’

The full text of the President’s message:

“We commemorate the 78th National Independence Day at a historic moment when, despite numerous challenges, our country is moving steadily forward while regaining economic stability. As Sri Lankans, through our collective struggle, we have within a short period of approximately eighteen months succeeded in achieving tangible economic progress. Amidst adversity, acting collectively and with determination, we have been able to position Sri Lanka on the international stage as a nation branded by a clean and principled political culture, a beautiful country rising with integrity.

Our next foremost objective is to ensure that the macroeconomic gains we have achieved flow to communities of all ethnicities across all provinces of Sri Lanka. We firmly believe that without this, it will be impossible to realise the true rhythm and essence of the new development process we are building.

Recently, we were compelled to confront the largest natural disaster of our time. While the experience of this calamity was painful, the strong foundations we have built over the past eighteen months have enabled us, with the support of all stakeholders, to move forward successfully in the process of recovery and restoration.

Throughout the period since independence, our nation has often missed golden opportunities to steer the country in the right direction, to achieve our national aspirations, and to live together in unity. This time, however, we are determined not to repeat those mistakes. With unwavering resolve, we are striving to elevate our country into a more advanced, resilient and dignified State than it has ever been. I wish to emphasise that this endeavour is being carried out while safeguarding our proud culture, our ancient history and our invaluable heritage, standing firmly upon them.

I hold an unshakable faith that by realising in the twenty-first century, the dream of a proud nation that was born in the twentieth century but later became blurred, we can build Sri Lanka into the developed, prosperous and virtuous country that our people expect, and thereby certainly create the new era for which we have long aspired. In this endeavour, we place our firm confidence in the strength of all our citizens, in their collective spirit and in their unwavering character.

As we reclaim for our nation the victories that were lost in the past century, I once again invite all citizens to join hands in unity, determination and brotherhood to build the beautiful shared dream of ‘A Thriving Nation – A Beautiful Life’. With this call, I extend my warm wishes for a meaningful National Independence Day that inspires us all to advance towards the true objectives of freedom”.