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Delhi Capitals look to tame Gujarat Giants when it matters most

Published

1 hour ago

2026/02/3

Priyan

Delhi Capitals have come up short against GG in the league due to Sophie Devine's magic (Cricinfo)

In what has been a tightly-contested tournament so far, easy wins have come far and few in the ongoing Women’s Premier League. Among those close matches, twice in two league games, Delhi Capitals slipped up in the run chase against Gujarat Giants, unable to hold their nerves against Sophie Devine’s experience.

Those twin losses in some ways separated the passage of the two teams heading into the Eliminator. While the Giants reached there as the second-best team in the competition after beating defending champions Mumbai Indians on the final day, Capitals had to wait till the last day of the league phase to secure their qualification.

Nonetheless, now that both teams find themselves in the same position irrespective of the journey to the point, Capitals have the opportunity to strike at the right time, and head into their fourth successive final.

Heading to the Eliminator, both teams have enjoyed a fair share of success over the past week: winning three of their last four games at the venue. It is a venue where not only has their combination worked, but also pushed the team management to fall back to Plan A after trialling out a few alterations.

What separates the two teams though is that DC, despite the stutter, have had contributions coming through the stretch of their line-up at different times, while Giants have continued to rely heavily on a few players. Will that over-reliance on a few finally catch-up with them or will Devine produce another special to take the side to their first-ever final remains to be seen.

Gujarat Giants:There wouldn’t be much reason for Giants to tinker with the team that has helped it secure victory in the last two games.

Probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Sophie Devine, Anushka Sharma, Ashleigh Gardner (c), Georgia Wareham, Bharati Fulmali, Kanika Ahuja, Kashvee Gautam, Tanuja Kanwer, Renuka Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad

Delhi Capitals:Ever since the caravan has moved to Kotambi, DC’s combination has proven to be more effective. Coming at the back of successive wins, they wouldn’t want to tinker much with it heading into another must-win game.

Probable XI: Shafali Verma, Lizelle Lee (wk), Laura Wolvaardt, Jemimah Rodrigues (c), Marizanne Kapp, Niki Prasad, Chinelle Henry, Sneh Rana, Minnu Mani, Shree Charani, Nandni Sharma

(Cricbuzz)

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Mrs. I.J. Aberathne appointed Director General of the Department of Trade and Investment Policy

Published

31 mins ago

2026/02/3

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution presented by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, to appoint Mrs. I.J. Aberathne to the post of Director General of the Department of Trade and Investment Policy with immediate effect.

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Renewable Energy Resources Development Plan 2025- 2030 approved by cabinet

Published

46 mins ago

2026/02/3

Priyan

In terms of the National Policy on Renewable Energy, it is essential to prepare a Renewable Energy Resources Development Plan for the fulfillment of 70% of the national electricity demand from renewable energy resources by the year 2030 and the achievement of carbon neutrality by the year 2050.

The Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority Act No. 35 of 2007 mandates the preparation of the aforementioned plan as well.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution presented by the Minister of Energy for the Renewable Energy Resources Development Plan 2025-2030, which has been prepared by covering the three main sectors, holding discussions with all relevant parties by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, identifying suitable lands and giving priority to them, and setting a time frame for the development of the Renewable Energy Map and Renewable Energy Gardens, including Floating Solar Panel projects as well.

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Crown Princess’s son arrested for alleged assault before rape trial in Norway

Published

8 hours ago

2026/02/3

Priyan

Marius Borg Høiby has now been arrested four times in 18 months (file picture) [BBC]

The son of Norway’s Crown Princess Mette-Marit has been arrested by police on suspicion of assault, before he goes on trial in Oslo on Tuesday on 38 charges, including the rape of four women.

Marius Borg Høiby, 29, was remanded in custody for four weeks. Police said the latest allegations against him involved wielding a knife and violating a restraining order, and there was a risk of reoffending.

His arrest on Sunday is the fourth time he has been detained by police since August 2024, when he was accused of assaulting a woman he had been having a relationship with.

He has denied the most serious charges against him but admitted some of the more minor ones.

It is the latest scandal to beset the royal family.

Norwegians are also coming to terms with revelations that his mother corresponded for three years with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein between 2011 and 2014.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit admitted “poor judgement” as her extensive contacts with Epstein became clear. She expressed her “deep sympathy and solidarity with the victims of the abuses committed by Jeffrey Epstein” and said her contact with him was “simply embarrassing”.

It has emerged she stayed at his Florida home for four nights, while he was not there, and asked Epstein if it was “inappropriate” for a mother to suggest to a 15-year-old son wallpaper showing two naked women carrying a surfboard.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said he agreed with her admission of “poor judgement”, and although he did not go further, his implicit criticism of her actions is highly unusual.

Questions are now being asked in Norway about her failure to realise the toxic nature of maintaining contact with Epstein, and about the role of her advisers when she was corresponding with him via an official royal email account.

“It seems that nobody has been thinking. Where are the counsellors, where’s the royal court and where’s the foreign office?” says Ole-Jørgen Schulsrud-Hansen, a historian and royal correspondent for Norway’s TV2.

He believes the monarch has managed to distance itself from the imminent court case, with the argument that the princess’s son is a private citizen, but that is not the case for Mette-Marit: “She’s never a private citizen, she’s always the crown princess and what she’s doing in a private capacity or official capacity it will always redirect back to Norway – or ricochet.”

Mette-Marit is the future queen of Norway, and she has a prominent role in society as patron of several organisations including the Red Cross.

She is also suffering from pulmonary fibrosis and her doctors are preparing to put her on a list for a lung transplant.

When Mette-Marit married into the family as a commoner, her son was already four years old.

Although Marius Borg Høiby is not a member of the royal family, he is still Crown Prince Haakon’s stepson.

The charges against him range from rape and abuse to violating a restraining order, transporting 3.5kg of marijuana and speeding.

When he was first arrested in 2024 he spoke of having several mental disorders and struggling with substance abuse. Since then he has spent only a week in custody, so the police request to remand him for much of the start of the trial is a change of stance on their part.

The Oslo District Court said in a statement quoted by Reuters news agency that it had agreed to the police request in order to prevent repeated offences.

The royal household has sought to distance itself from the trial, and in a statement last week, Crown Prince Haakon reached out to the women caught up in the case and their families, saying it was “a difficult time for many of you, and we sympathise”.

[BBC]