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Orange Sahara dust haze descends over Athens

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Despite the beauty of the orange hue over Athens, the clouds of dust left many Greeks suffering from respiratory problems (BBC)

A dramatic orange haze has descended over Athens as clouds of dust have blown in from the Sahara desert.

It is one of the worst such episodes to hit Greece since 2018, according to officials.

Greece had already been struck by similar clouds in late March and early April, which also covered areas of Switzerland and southern France.

The skies are predicted to clear on Wednesday, says Greece’s weather service.

Air quality has deteriorated in many areas of the country and on Wednesday morning the Acropolis in Athens was no longer visible because of the dust. The cloud has reached as far north as Thessaloniki.

Greeks with respiratory conditions have been urged to limit the time they spend outdoors, wear protective masks and avoid taking physical exercise until the dust clouds clear.

AFP People sit on Tourkovounia hill overlooking the city of Athens, as southerly winds carry waves of Saharan dust to the city, in Athens, on April 23, 2024
Despite the beauty of the orange hue over Athens, the clouds of dust left many Greeks suffering from respiratory problems (BBC)

The Sahara releases 60 to 200 million tonnes of mineral dust per year.

Most of the dust quickly descends to Earth, but some of the small particles can travel huge distances, sometimes reaching Europe.

The atmosphere especially in southern Greece has become stifling because of the combination of dust and high temperatures.

Meteorologist Kostas Lagouvardos compared the view from one weather station to the planet Mars.

The fire service on Tuesday reported 25 wildfires in the past 24 hours. One fire broke out near a naval base on the island of Crete – where temperatures soared above 30C (86F) – and homes and a kindergarten had to be evacuated, according to local reports.

AFP via Getty Images A man takes a photograph of the city of Athens

Dust plumes from the Sahara are not uncommon across Europe and can vary in intensity, however, they tend to occur most often during the spring and autumn.

This current event across the Eastern Mediterranean was caused by an area of low pressure over Libya that brought strong southerly winds, drawing in high concentrations of dust and sand from North Africa into Greece, particularly on Tuesday. The southerly winds also brought hot desert air with them. Temperatures rose to well above the average for late April across the Greek mainland and islands, with 36.6C recorded in the Chania region of Crete.

The highest concentrations of dust will be focussed further east on Wednesday as a cold front with cleaner, fresher air continues to sweep in from the west. By the end of the week fresher, cleaner air will return to the Eastern Mediterranean with temperatures also back closer to normal for the time of year.

(BBC)



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More than 360 dead, 1,400 missing in Nepal and Tibet after Himalayan floods

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A drone view shows mud covering buildings and property following devastating floods at Trishuli in Nuwakot district, Nepal, on August 27, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Some 360 bodies have been recovered and more than 1,400 people are missing across Nepal and China’s Tibet region after a huge collapse of mud and rock into a Himalayan river triggered catastrophic flooding across local towns and valleys, authorities have said.

Rescue teams waded through mud on Thursday searching for the missing, as authorities in Nepal said at least 359 people have been killed there.

At least three people have died in the neighbouring Tibet region.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang arrived at the mudslide site in Tibet on Thursday afternoon to “guide emergency rescue and relief work” a day after the disaster, state media reported.

Nepalese police and tourism officials said that more than 500 foreigners were among 910 people missing in Nepal.

Among the missing are tourists from more than two dozen countries: 177 are from India, 63 from the United States, 34 from Australia, 33 from the United Kingdom, and 25 from Canada.

Beijing’s foreign ministry also said nearly 100 Chinese nationals were among the missing in Nepal.

In Tibet’s Gyirong county, 558 people are reported missing, including 260 foreign nationals, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

Search and rescue operations are proving to be a “massive challenge” as just simply “getting to the affected areas … to try and recover the survivors”, is proving to be extremely difficult as the roads and bridges there have suffered extensive damage, said Al Jazeera’s Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.

[Aljazeera]

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Unyielding Dinusha, spirited tail hold off India to save Colombo Test

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Dinusha hit his second century of the Test to wear out India [SLC]
Sonal Dinusha put up an impressive resistance to keep the Indian bowlers at bay on the final day, helping Sri Lanka save the second Test in Colombo after they were asked to follow-on. In a seven-hour vigil, Dinusha remained unbeaten on 133 and, with handy lower order support, ensured that India didn’t bat a second time in the Test. This was the first time in nine occasions that India failed to secure a victory after enforcing a follow-on against Sri Lanka.
Needing only four wickets on the final day in order to begin the chase, the Indian bowlers had to toil hard on a surface which offered a bit of turn, but largely predictable pace and bounce. Overnight batters Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha kept the Indians all through the morning session even though the new ball was taken within the first half an hour of play.
The seventh-wicket stand stretched to 88 runs, consuming more than 40 overs, which also ensured Sri Lanka cleared the first innings deficit. The first strike of the day came soon after the lunch break when Manav Suthar got a delivery to spin in sharply and took the outside edge of Nuwantha’s bat to the second slip.
Prabath Jayasuriya continued to remain defiant, resisting for 28 balls before his attempted drive off Ravindra Jadeja took the outside edge to Dhruv Jurel at second slip. Even as the lead swelled past the 150-run mark with only two wickets remaining and nearly a session and a half to play, the Indians had enough incentive to go for the kill.

However, Lahiru Kumara provided much-needed support to Dinusha as the duo put an end to India’s hopes. The southpaw used the sweep to good effect to counter the turn. The duo chewed up 169 deliveries for 47 runs in a period of attritional batting, during which Dinusha brought up his century. Kumara did provide India a chance when he attempted a slog sweep which fell in front of Jurel at deep mid wicket soon after Dinusha reached his century. But that was a rare opportunity.
Kumara eventually departed on 12 when an inside edge was pouched at short leg by Yashasvi Jaiswal. Nonetheless, which the number of overs reducing, Dinusha took Sri Lanka till the end of day without any further trouble and helped avoid a whitewash.
Brief scores:
India 503/9 decl (Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115; Asitha Fernando 4-106, Prabath Jayasuriya 2-132) drew with  Sri Lanka 290 (Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80; Prasidh Krishna 3-52, Manav Suthar 3-85) and  429/9 f/o (Sonal Dinusha 133*, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92; Ravindra Jadeja 3-94, Manav Suthar 3-121)
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UAE’s Asif Khan handed 15-month ban for using a banned substance

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Asif Khan turned out in 94 internationals for UAE [Cricinfo]

Asif Khan the UAE batter, has been banned for 15 months after admitting to having tested positive for a banned substance – “a metabolite of mesterolone” – in an out-of-competition test conducted in September 2025, the ICC said in a statement on Thursday.

The statement said that Asif, 36, “had admitted the violation” of Article 2.1 of the ICC’s anti-doping code and accepted the period of ineligibility “pursuant to a case resolution agreement entered into with the World Anti-Doping Agency and the ICC”, which means there is no right to appeal on the part of the player.

The sanction is effective from September 8, 2025 and will run until December 7, 2026.

“Asif may return to training with a team or use the facilities of a club or other ICC Member organisation from 8 October 2026 but will only be eligible to play from 8 December,” the statement added. “The player’s individual results from 8 September 2025 until his provisional suspension on 29 December 2025 have been disqualified, along with all resulting consequences, including the loss of any medals, points, prize money or prizes.”

Asif, a former Pakistan Under-19 cricketer, made his UAE debut in March 2022 in an ODI against Oman in the ICC’s Cricket World Cup League 2. He turned out in 38 ODIs and 56 T20Is between then and September 2025.

The last three of those T20Is, against India, Oman and Pakistan in the T20 Asia Cup in 2025, came after September 8, and will be removed from his record.

[Cricinfo]

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