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Ireland on top despite Zia-ur-Rehman’s heroics
Zia-ur-Rehman bagged a five-wicket haul but the advantage was still with Ireland at the end of Day 2 of the one-off Test at Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi. Ireland finished with a first-innings total of 263, thanks to Paul Stirling’s half-century and useful contributions from the lower order, to take a handy 108-run lead. Afghanistan came up with a better batting effort in their second essay as they ended the day at 134/3, leading by 26 runs.
Ireland began the second day’s play at 100/4, having bowled Afghanistan out for 155 on the opening day. They were put under more pressure when Naveed Zadran dismissed Harry Tector for 32 early in the day. Stirling was on 8 at that stage and he went on to make 52, which included eight fours. He received good support from Lorcan Tucker as they added 80 for the sixth wicket, spending more than 22 overs at the crease.
The partnership finally came to an end on the brink of Lunch when Stirling was bowled by Zahir Khan, with the ball spinning away from him to strike the stumps. Ireland’s lower order came up with stubborn stands to frustrate Afghanistan after the break. Tucker and Andy McBrine added 30 before the former fell four short of a half-century, becoming Zia’s third scalp. Zia also picked up the wickets of Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy to bag a fifer in his maiden Test. Andy McBrine was the last to depart after scoring 38 as Ireland finished with a 100-plus lead.
Mark Adair, Ireland’s star with the ball in the first innings, got an early breakthrough in the second innings as he ended Ibrahim Zadran’s stay and also picked up the wicket of Rahmat Shah to leave Afghanistan struggling at 38/2. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Noor Ali Zadran led the recovery with a 55-run partnership before the latter fell to McCarthy on 32.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz launched a counterattack, striking sixes off McBrine and McCarthy while Shahidi registered a patient fifty. Both batters were unbeaten at Stumps, having extended their partnership to 41, and will be the key on Day 3 as Afghanistan look to give Ireland a challenging target.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan 155 & 134/3 in 37 overs ( Hashmatullah Shahidi 53*, Noor Ali Zadran 32, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 23*; Mark Adair 2-23) lead Ireland 263 in 83.4 overs (Paul Stirling 52, Lorcan Tucker 46, Curtis Campher 49,Harry Tector 32, Andy McBrine 38 ; Zia-ur-Rehman 5-64, Naveed Zadran 3-59) ,by 26 runs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Malaysia’s King Sultan Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur as part of a regional push to shore up Beijing’s trade relationships.
The diplomatic stop on Wednesday marks the second leg of Xi’s three-nation tour, which also includes Vietnam and Cambodia, and comes amid sharp tariffs imposed by the United States that are reshaping the global economic landscape.
Sultan Ibrahim welcomed Xi in a colourful ceremony at the golden-domed Istana Negara palace before his meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at the administrative capital of Putrajaya.
Xi touted a “new golden era” of Chinese-Malaysian relations, following the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties last year. The king announced new cooperation between the countries in various fields, including artificial intelligence.
“This is a hugely significant visit,” said Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from Putrajaya. “It takes place during this unprecedented trade war that is developing with the United States, with both Malaysia and China finding themselves in the middle.”
Khoo Ying Hooi, an associate professor in the department of international and strategic studies at Malaya University, said the visit offered a chance to “test the waters for regional solidarity” amid the US trade disruptions.
“It’s not just about friendship, it’s about realigning the regional centre of gravity towards Beijing,” she said.
Malaysia is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, whose members are among the hardest hit by new US tariffs.
ASEAN member Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse, was slapped with 46 percent tariffs, and Cambodia, a significant producer of low-cost clothing for big Western brands, was hit with a 49 percent duty.
Malaysia, Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy, was hit with a lower tariff of 24 percent. Though the measures have been paused for 90 days, President Donald Trump has warned that no country is “off the hook”.
[Aljazeera]
Police urge motorists who intend to use the Ella – Wellawaya Road to use alternative roads as there is a severe vehicle congestion due to inclement weather condition.
The UK Supreme Court has unanimously backed the biological definition of “woman” under the 2010 Equality Act.
It marks the culmination of a long-running legal battle which could have major implications for how sex-based rights apply across Scotland, England and Wales.
Judges sided with campaign group For Women Scotland, which brought a case against the Scottish government arguing that sex-based protections should only apply to people that are born female.
Judge Lord Hodge said the ruling should not be seen as a triumph of one side over the other, and stressed that the law still gives protection against discrimination to transgender people.
The Scottish government argued in court that transgender people with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) are entitled to the same sex-based protections as biological women.
The Supreme Court was asked to decide on the proper interpretation of the 2010 Equality Act, which applies across Britain.
Lord Hodge said the central question was how the words “woman” and “sex” are defined in the legislation.
He told the court: “The unanimous decision of this court is that the terms woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex.
“But we counsel against reading this judgement as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another, it is not.”
He added that the legislation gives transgender people “protection, not only against discrimination through the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, but also against direct discrimination, indirect discrimination and harassment in substance in their acquired gender”.
Campaigners who brought the case against the Scottish government hugged each other and punched the air as they left the courtroom, with several of them in tears.
The Equality Act provides protection against discrimination on the basis of various characteristics, including “sex” and “gender reassignment”.
Judges at the Supreme Court in London were asked to rule on what that law means by “sex” – whether it means biological sex, or legal, “certificated” sex as defined by the 2004 Gender Recognition Act.
The Scottish government argued the 2004 legislation was clear that obtaining a GRC amounts to a change of sex “for all purposes”.
For Women Scotland argued for a “common sense” interpretation of the words man and woman, telling the court that sex is an “immutable biological state”.
Outside the Supreme Court, For Women Scotland co-founder Susan Smith said: “Today the judges have said what we always believed to be the case, that women are protected by their biological sex.
“Sex is real and women can now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women and we are enormously grateful to the Supreme Court for this ruling.”
A UK government spokesman said: “This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs.
“Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the ruling as a “victory for all of the women who faced personal abuse or lost their jobs for stating the obvious”.
But Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, a prominent campaigner for trans-rights, said: “This is a deeply concerning ruling for human rights and a huge blow to some of the most marginalised people in our society.
“It could remove important protections and will leave many trans people and their loved ones deeply anxious and worried about how their lives will be affected and about what will come next.”
The Scottish government has not yet commented on the ruling.
[BBC]
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