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Department of Irrigation issues Critical flood warning to the Kelani river basin
The Hydrology and Disaster Management Division of the Department Irrigation has issued a critical flood warning to the Kelani river basin valid till 1.00 PM on 30th of November 2025.
Heavy rainfall is currently being experienced in many catchment areas of the Kelani River Basin.
Based on the prevailing rainfall conditions, the volume of water being discharged from reservoirs located in the upper catchment of the Kelani River, and the analysis of river water levels recorded by river gauging stations maintained by the Irrigation Department within the Kelani River Basin, it is hereby warned that from this moment and during the next 24 hours, a High-Risk Flood Situation, of a level not experienced in recent history, may occur in the low-lying areas of the Kelani River Valley.
The public residing in these areas are strongly requested to act with extreme caution in order to safeguard their lives, and to proceed as quickly as possible to the safest locations available to them.
The Disaster Management authorities are hereby requested to treat this matter with utmost priority and to take all necessary actions accordingly.
Gede Priandana, Indonesia’s 28-year-old right-arm quick bowler, has become the first to pick up five wickets in an over in an international T20I match (where ball-by-ball data is available), achieving the feat in the first T20I against Cambodia in Bali on Tuesday. He is the first man or woman to achieve the feat.
Indonesia had the upper hand in the game, but Cambodia were not out of it yet at the end of the 15th over of the chase of 168, the scorecard reading 106 for 5. Bowling his first over, Priandana struck off the first three balls to record a hat-trick, sending back Shah Abrar Hussain, Nirmaljit Singh and Chanthoeun Rathanak. A dot ball followed, after which Priandana got rid of Mongdara Sok and Pel Vennak to finish off the match, Cambodia getting just one run in the over, a wide between the last two wickets, to end 60 runs short.
Priandana had earlier scored 6 in 11 balls opening the innings alongside Dharma Kesuma, the wicketkeeper-batter, who led the batting show for Indonesia with an unbeaten 110 in 68 balls with eight fours and six sixes.
The feat has, however, been achieved twice before in men’s T20s. Al Amin Hossain took five wickets in an over against Abahani Limited playing for UCB-BCB XI in the Victory Day T20 Cup in 2013-14. The other was when Karnataka’s Abhimanyu Mithun dismissed five Haryana batters in the semi-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20.
While this is the first time a bowler has taken five in an over in an international game, there have been 14 instances of a bowler taking four in an over before today. The most famous of these was when Sri Lanka’s Lasith Malinga famously took four in four balls in the third over of a T20Is against New Zealand in 2019.
[Cricinfo]
Australia captain Pat Cummins won’t feature again in the Ashes and there is uncertainty about whether he will be available for the T20 World Cup in February, with selectors and medical staff unwilling to take any risks over his long-term health.
When Australia’s squad for the MCG Boxing Day Test was named on Tuesday morning, it was confirmed, as Cummins had flagged after Adelaide, that he would sit out the match. Head coach Andrew McDonald said a few hours later that Cummins’ series was over after one appearance, which helped secure the Ashes.
Cummins was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction after the tour of the West Indies, but following an aggressive rehab programme, he bowled brilliantly in Adelaide where he claimed six wickets as Australia won by 82 runs.
“He’s pulled up fine,” McDonald said. “He won’t play any part in the rest of the series and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return.
“We were taking on some risk and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We’ve now won the series and that was the goal. So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do and Pat’s really comfortable with that.”
Even though Cummins’ Ashes has been limited to one match, McDonald said it had been a huge effort from all involved to even get to that point.
“If he had any setback in the build as well, we would have shut him down straight away,” he said. “Everything went really smoothly and full credit to him [and] the medical team. To navigate through that risk profile to get him back and take six wickets in that game and nail the Ashes series was incredibly pleasing for everyone associated with that.
“If you look at the… decision sort of four months ago and the journey he went on to get to where he was to be able to play the third Ashes Test when people thought it was nigh on impossible, that took an incredible amount of work from our SSSM [Sports Science Sports Medicine] team.”
McDonald said that would be part of a discussion with the other selectors later on Tuesday about the T20 World Cup squad, which is due to be named soon, and indicated that further medical advice would be taken around Cummins’ participation.
Cummins has not played a T20I for Australia since mid-2024 at the previous World Cup in the Caribbean and the USA. Shortly after the upcoming edition takes place in India and Sri Lanka, IPL 2026 will begin, where Cummins is due to captain Surisers Hyderabad (SRH).
“That’ll be an assessment,” McDonald said of Cummins’ T20 World Cup chances. “I’m assuming he’ll have a check-in scan at some point and gather more information around where his back is at… looking forward to the World Cup, whether he’ll be there or not. I can’t really say. It’s quite grey at the moment. We’re hopeful.”
Cummins’ injury along with the one suffered by Josh Hazlewood, who won’t feature at all in the Ashes, and Sean Abbott, who was ruled out before the first Test, has tested the depth of Australia’s pace resources.
Mitchell Starc, led the attack superbly in the first two Tests before producing a series-clinching three wickets on the final day in Adelaide and has already stated his desire to continue through all five matches.
“Starc’s amazing, he’s pulled up fine, I don’t know how he does it,” McDonald said. “I walked into the physio room the other day and sort of just went through the body count and how we’re going. I won’t use exactly what [the physio] said, but he just said he [Starc] is a freak.
“He keeps running in, presenting the pace that he does. There’s a lot to be learned around preparing yourself and targeting the right matches at the right time. He’s given up a lot of IPL opportunities and you’re seeing a player that wants to play Test cricket and he’s still at his best. It’s an incredible story. Let’s hope it continues for a long time yet but he’s a freak, end of story.”
Australia have added Jhye Richardson to their pace options for the fourth Test at the MCG following his recovery from shoulder surgery. Richardson last played a Test during the 2021-22 Ashes.
[Cricinfo]
United States President Donald Trump has issued a new warning to Nicolas Maduro, saying “it would be smart” for the Venezuelan leader to step down, as Washington escalates a pressure campaign that has drawn sharp rebukes from Russia and China.
Speaking at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Monday, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Trump suggested he was prepared to further ratchet up the tensions after four months of mounting pressure on Caracas.
When asked if the goal was to force Maduro from power, Trump told reporters: “Well, I think it probably would… That’s up to him what he wants to do. I think it’d be smart for him to do that. But again, we’re gonna find out.”
“If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it’ll be the last time he’s ever able to play tough,” the US leader added.
Trump levied his latest threat as the US Coast Guard continued for a second day to chase a third oil tanker that it described as part of a “dark fleet” that Venezuela uses to evade US sanctions.
“It’s moving along, and we’ll end up getting it,” Trump said.
The US president also promised to keep the two ships two ships and the nearly 4 million barrels of Venezuelan oil the coastguard has seized so far.
“Maybe we’ll sell it. Maybe we’ll keep it. Maybe we will use it in the strategic reserves,” he said. “We’re keeping it. We’re keeping the ships also.”
[Aljazeera]
National progress can be achieved only when everyone fulfills the responsibilities entrusted to them with steadfast determination, unity of purpose and resilience in the face of any challenge – President
Indonesia’s Gede Priandana becomes first to pick five wickets in an over in T20Is
Ashes over for Cummins, uncertainty over T20 World Cup too
Trump warns Maduro not to ‘play tough’ as Russia, China back Venezuela
PM meets UN Resident Coordinator
Showers may occur in the Uva and Eastern provinces and in Matale, Nuwara-Eliya, Polonnaruwa and Hambantota districts.
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