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Israeli air strike kills top Hamas official in Gaza
An Israeli air strike on the southern city of Khan Younis in Gaza has killed top Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel, a Hamas official has told the BBC.
Locals say the air strike killed both Bardaweel, regarded as Hamas’s highest-ranking political leader, and his wife. Israeli officials had no immediate comment.
The total death toll in Gaza since the war began surpassed 50,000 on Sunday, its Hamas-run health authorities said, with least 30 people killed in Khan Yunis and Rafah so far on Sunday.
Israel resumed heavy strikes on Gaza earlier this week – in effect ending the first phase of a ceasefire that lasted almost two months. It blamed Hamas for rejecting a new US proposal to extend the truce.
Hamas, in turn, accused Israel of abandoning the original deal – mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the US. It envisaged the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the subsequent release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners – in addition to negotiations to end the war entirely and reconstruct Gaza.
In a statement on Sunday, Hamas said Bardaweel, 66, had been praying along with his wife when an Israeli missile struck their tent.
A father of eight, Bardaweel was one of Hamas’s most prominent political figures.
Born in Khan Younis refugee camp, he was known to be close to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and is considered part of the second generation of Hamas leadership, following the movement’s founders.
He headed the political wing of Hamas’s parliamentary bloc and was re-elected to the group’s political bureau in 2021.
Following the killing of Sinwar and Rawhi Mushtaha during the ongoing war, Bardaweel was regarded as Hamas’s highest-ranking political leader.
The air strike that killed Bardaweel was part of one of the most intense waves of aerial bombardment in southern Gaza since the collapse of the ceasefire agreement last Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent Society told the BBC that Israeli forces were surrounding several of the organisation’s ambulances as they attempted to reach an area hit by an Israeli strike in Rafah.
He added that several paramedics were wounded, and contact had been lost with one of the trapped teams, which has been besieged for hours.
The Israeli military issued evacuation orders for residents of the Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah after the area was hit by heavy shelling and a limited ground assault.
The attack included tank fire from Israeli forces positioned along the Philadelphi Corridor on the border with Egypt, and helicopters also took part in the assault.
Alaa al-Din Sabah, a resident of the neighbourhood, said in a voice message to the BBC: “Bullets are raining down on us like it’s pouring. A woman was shot and is bleeding. Ambulances couldn’t reach her. I can see one of the paramedics lying on the ground, screaming.”
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 49,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says, and there is large-scale destruction to homes and infrastructure in the Strip.
[BBC]
The Prime Minister, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, paid a solemn visit to the Embassy of the Vatican in Colombo today (25) to offer condolences on behalf of the Government and the people of Sri Lanka on the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis.
During the visit, Dr. Amarasuriya signed the book of condolence, expressing deep sorrow over the demise of the beloved spiritual leader and extending heartfelt sympathies to the Catholic community both in Sri Lanka and around the world:
The Prime Minister was received by the Archbishop Brian N. Udaigwe, Apostolic Nuncio of the Apostolic Nunciature, the Vatican Embassy in Colombo and other officials.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
President Anura Kumara Disanayake visited the Chief Prelates of the Malwathu and Asgiri Chapters of the Siyam Nikaya today (25) and received their blessings.
The President first visited the Malwathu Maha Viharaya and held discussions with the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Nayaka Thera, Chief Prelate of the Malwathu Chapter, regarding the “Siri Dalada Wandanawa” and related matters.
Thereafter, President Disanayake proceeded to the Asgiri Maha Viharaya and engaged in a brief discussion with the Most Venerable Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Nayaka Thera, Chief Prelate of the Asgiri Chapter.
The President also met with the Venerable Urulewatte Dhammarakkhitha Thera, Asgiri Vihara Senior Karaka Sangha Sabhika, in charge of Theva (Daily Services) of the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic.
Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa Nilanga Dela and Acting Inspector General of Police, Priyantha Weerasooriya, were also present during these visits.
[PMD]
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IPL 2025: Kohli and Hazlewood break Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home duck as Rajahstan Royals botch another chase
At some point, you’d think the toss gods would show Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) a little mercy at home. But once again, the coin turned its back on Rajat Patidar. This time, though, the bad luck ended right there as they posted 205 for 5, their highest total at home this season. For all that, another heartbreak loomed, but RCB turned it around sensationally to clinch their first home win – and perhaps their most dramatic win at any venue – of IPL 2025.
The losing side were Rajasthan Royals (RR), who came into this contest having let back-to-back games slip out of their control in the final over. Their tension seemed to have defused when Dhruv Jurel , having scratched his way to 18 off 23, found his hitting range, and when he and Shubnam Dubey ransacked 22 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 18th over, the equation came down to 18 off 12.
Then came Josh Hazelwood. He was ice-cold in the moment, producing a masterful 19th over of unhittably steep bounce – conceding just one run and taking two wickets, of Jurel and Jofra Archer in successive balls.
It was left to Yash Dayal, the same man who had held his nerve in a now-legendary last over to deliver their previous home win, against Chennai Super Kings last season. And he delivered as RR lost by 11 runs after having the chase in their grasp for so long.
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium erupted. RCB had finally found their voice at home and, with it, a long-overdue win that put them in the top three. For RR, this was a fifth straight loss that left them on the brink.
With 17 needed off ten, Hazlewood conjured a moment of magic – a pinpoint wide yorker that Dhruv Jurel shaped to scythe but appeared to miss. With little conviction, Patidar opted for a caught-behind review. Technology confirmed what only Jurel might have known – a faint under edge that carried low to Jitesh Sharma. A seemingly innocuous dot turned into a game-changing strike.
Jurel, who had weathered a slow start and was just beginning to ignite, walked back, and with him went RR’s best hope. But Hazlewood wasn’t done. He cranked up a hard-length ball next that cramped Archer for room. It was as if Archer had been served a dish of his own, cold. The ball ballooned to cover, where Patidar pouched it gleefully.
If Hazlewood’s final over, the 19th, was theatre, his penultimate over was no less telling. Having seen balls angled across the left-handers disappear, he went around the wicket to Shimron Hetmyer and pounded the surface with venom. Hetmyer tried to nudge him away but only managed a feather of an inside edge through to Jitesh. Only six runs came off that over, the 17th, and RCB’s grip got firm.
Long before the chaos of the death overs, RR were cruising. Yzshaswi Jaiswal had lit the Chinnaswamy up with a power-packed 49 off 19, and Nitish Rana was stroking it with finesse. At 110 for 2 in nine overs, the chase seemed to be on autopilot.
It’s here that Krunal Pandya was summoned and he delivered a breakthrough first ball when Riyan Parag, looking to muscle a slog sweep, only managed a top edge that settled into Jitesh’s gloves.
At the other end, Suryash Sharma was equally impressive. Mixing up quick, skiddy legbreaks with the odd wrong’un, he kept the pressure on. RR managed just one boundary from the tenth to the 13th overs. Under rising pressure, Rana went for a release shot in the 14th, only for Bhuvneshwar to pluck a catch on the second attempt at short fine leg. Krunal now had figures of 3-0-19-2. The strangle was on.
Half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal laid a strong foundation after Phil Salt’s scratchy 26 off 23, while a late dash from Tim David and Jitesh lifted RCB to 205 for 5. Kohli overcame a streaky start to get to a composed fifty in 32 balls. His early duel with a fiery Archer was, in particular, thrilling. Meanwhile, Padikkal made the most of two dropped chances to notch up a second straight half-century.
Just as the platform was set for a lift-off, RR struck back, removing Kohli, Padikkal, and Patidar in quick succession. But David and Jitesh picked up 42 runs in just 19 balls to cap the innings with a flourish. In a match that swung wildly from one side to the other, those closing overs turned out to be the difference between a defendable total and yet another heartbreak.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 205 for 5 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 26, Virat Kohli 70, Devudutt Padikkal 50, Tim David 23, Jitesh Sharma 20*; Jofra Archer 1-33, Sandeep Sharma 2-45, Wanidu Hasaranga 1-30) beat Rajasthan Royals 194 for 9 in 20 overs (Yashaswi Jaiswal 49, Vaibhav Suriyavanshi 16, Nitish Rana 28, Riyan Parag 22, Dhruv Jurel 47, Shimron Hetmyer 11, Shubham Dubey 12; Josh Hazlewood 4-33, Bhuveneshwar Kumar 1-50, Yash Dayal 1-33, Krunal Pandya 2-31) by 11 runs
[Cricinfo]
PM pays condolence to pope Francis at the Embassy of the Vatican in Colombo
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