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Five Iranian footballers granted Australian visas after anthem protest

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Five members of the Iran women's football team are understood to be claiming asylum [BBC]

Five members of the Iranian women’s football team have been granted humanitarian visas in Australia after their elimination in the Asian Cup, the government in Canberra says.

Immigration Minister Tony Burke said the women “were moved to a safe location” by Australian police. He said other squad members had been told they are welcome to stay in the country.

The women had been due to fly home, but supporters had raised fears for their safety after the team declined to sing the national anthem ahead of their match against South Korea last week.

This prompted criticism in Iran, with one conservative commentator accusing the team of being “wartime traitors” and pushing for harsh punishment.

Australia’s humanitarian visa programme grants permanent protection to refugees and people in humanitarian need. Visa holders can live, work and study in the country.

Speaking early on Tuesday, Burke said the five players were happy for their names to be confirmed as Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramazanzadeh, and Mona Hamoudi.

“They want to be clear they are not political activists. They are athletes who want to be safe,” he said, adding that talks had been going on over several days.

He said that on Monday “it was made clear that there were five women who wanted to be able to stay in Australia”.

The group left their hotel the same day and were moved to a safe location by police.

Burke said he met the women at that location and then signed off for their applications to go onto humanitarian visas – a process completed at about 01:30 local time on Tuesday (15:30 GMT Monday).

“I say to the other members of the team, the same opportunity is there. Australia has taken the Iranian women’s soccer team into our hearts. These women are tremendously popular in Australia.

“But we realise they are in a terribly difficult situation with the decisions that they’re making,” the Australian minister said.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later confirmed that the five players had been given humanitarian visas.

On Sunday evening, hundreds of supporters surrounded the Iranian Lionesses’ coach as it left the stadium on the Gold Coast, with chants of “save our girls”.

On Monday, the BBC witnessed dramatic scenes inside the team’s five- star hotel when several players left the lobby in a group after speaking to activists.

Shortly after they departed, a second group – including a translator and the head coach – burst in looking panicked, and rushed through the hotel before returning to their rooms.

A family member of one of the women – speaking on condition of anonymity – told Australian news site ABC they were being protected by police, and intended to claim asylum.

“I want to kiss the hands of everyone who helped,” the unnamed relative told ABC.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social platform to demand action.

Australia should “give asylum” to the women, Trump said in his initial post. “The US will take them if you won’t,” he added.

Around an hour later, Trump posted again to say he had spoken to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and “five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way”.

Trump’s post appeared to also suggest some of the team feared for the safety of their families back in Iran and so felt they must “go back”.

“In any event, the Prime Minister is doing a very good job having to do with this rather delicate situation. God bless Australia!” Trump said.

The Trump administration put all asylum decisions on hold at the end of last year, and has stopped issuing immigrant visas for citizens from dozens of countries including Iran. It has said the administration wants to bring “an end to the abuse” of the system.

Last year, two groups of Iranians – including people whose asylum applications had been unsuccessful – were deported from the US back to Iran. The groups reportedly included members of the LGBT community,who face severe legal and social repercussions in Iran.

[BBC]



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Sameer Rizvi aces another tricky chase as Delhi Capitals floor Mumbai Indians

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Sameer Rizvi was afforded a slow start by a blazing Pathum Nissanka [Cricinfo]

Sameer Rizvi picked up his second Player-of-the-Match award in as many games in IPL 2026, this time scoring 90 off 51 balls to help Delhi Capitals [DC] seal a tricky chase against Mumbai Indians [MI] with six wickets and 11 balls to spare. If you include his Player-of-the-Match award from DC’s last game of the 2025 season, it makes it three in a row. Only seven others have done so, and no one has gone beyond.

Before the Rizvi show, the DC bowlers restricted MI to 162 for 6 on a slow, black-soil pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. With Hardik Pandya unwell, Suryakumar Yadav captained MI and top-scored with 51 off 36 balls. But most other batters struggled to play their shots. In fact, the first six of the MI innings came on the last ball of the seventh over.

DC, too, lost KL Rahul and Nitish Rana early in the chase but Pathum Nissanka’s counterattack kept them going. Nissanka made 44 off 30, after which Rizvi, coming in as DC’s Impact Player once again, ran away with the game.

Mukesh Kumar started waywardly, and Ryan Rickelton made him pay with two leg-side boundaries. From the other end, Rohit Sharma did the same against Lungi Ngidi. But Mukesh bounced back in his second over. He had Rickelton miscuing to mid-off and then caught and bowled Tilak Varma off a knuckleball.

With two right-hand batters, Rohit and Suryakumar, in the middle, Axar immediately brought himself on and sneaked in a three-run over. Rohit did hit two fours off Ngidi’s slower ones in the sixth over, the first a streaky one but the second a caress through covers, to take MI to 41 for 2, but it was a six-less powerplay for them. The last time it happened for MI was in 2023, against Chennai Super Kings in Chepauk.

Axar had a good match-up against Rohit coming into this game and he improved it further by having the batter caught at cover in the tenth over. Rohit made 35 off 26 balls. His match-up against Axar in the IPL now reads 77 balls, 67 runs, four dismissals.

Sherfane Rutherford didn’t last long and holed out to deep square leg against Vipraj Nigam, but Suryakumar kept MI going. He attacked the spinners and hit Kuldeep for two sixes. In the company of Naman Dhir, he brought up his fifty but was lbw to Ngidi off the following delivery. In Hardik’s absence, MI could score only 38 runs in the death overs.

Against Lucknow Super Giants, Rahul was out for a first-ball duck. Here he lasted three balls and made 1 before being caught down the leg side off Deepak Chahar. Rana was run out in the next over when Jasprit Bumrah, after fielding the ball off his own bowling, nailed a direct hit at the non-striker’s end.

At 7 for 2, Nissanka decided to take the attacking route. In the fourth over, he picked up back-to-back fours off Mitchell Santner, the second of which came via a reverse-hit over a leaping Rohit at cover. In the following over, he smashed two fours and a six off Shardul Thakur. Nissanka got a life on 41 when Dhir dropped him off Corbin Bosch but he fell to Santner three runs later.

After ten overs, DC were 73 for 3 – the exact score MI were at the same stage of their innings. The game was in the balance. Rizvi was batting on 25 off 23 but shifted the momentum in just one over. He flayed Bosch over mid-off, ramped him to the deep-third fence, cut him over deep point and launched him down the ground for 20 runs in all.

To ram home the advantage, he used his feet against Mayank Markande in the following over for back-to-back sixes. The first of those took him to his fifty off 31 balls. Such was his dominance that when the fifty stand for the fourth wicket came up, David Miller’s contribution in that was 1 off five balls. He was more of a bystander than a partner.

By the end of the 15th over, the result was a foregone conclusion. The only real interest left was whether Rizvi could reach his hundred. DC needed 25 to win, Rizvi needed 17. On 90, he attempted yet another big hit off Bosch but holed out to long-off.

Brief scores:
Delhi Capitals 164 for 4 in 18.1 overs (Sameer Rizvi 90, Pathum Nissanka 44, David Miller 21*; Deepak Chahar 1-20, Mitchell Santner 1-22, Corbin Bosch 1-39) beat Mumbai Indians 162 for 6 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 35, Suryakumar Yadav 51, Naman Dhir 28, Mitchell Santner 18*, Corbin Bosch 11*; Mukesh Kumar  2-26, Lungi Ngidi 1=34, Axar Patel 1-22, Vipraj Nigam 1-24, T Natarajan 1-24) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]

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Sun directly overhead Dodanduwa, Rathgama, Yakkalamulla, Akuressa, Mulgirigala, Ranna, Kalamatiya and Ussangoda at about 12:13 noon today (05th April)

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On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka during 05th to 15th of April in this year.

The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (05th) are Dodanduwa, Rathgama, Yakkalamulla, Akuressa, Mulgirigala, Ranna, Kalamatiya and Ussangoda at about 12:13 noon

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 3.30 p.m. on 04 April 2026, valid for 05 April 2026

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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