Latest News
Malaysia green-lights new MH370 search in Indian Ocean
The Malaysian cabinet has approved a fresh search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, more than a decade after the aircraft vanished.
The search will cover a 15,000 sq km area in the southern Indian Ocean, under a “no find, no fee” agreement with the exploration firm Ocean Infinity.
The company will receive $70m (£56m) if the wreckage is found, transport minister Loke Siew Fook announced.
Flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Its disappearance is one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries, which continues to haunt the families of the passengers.
Despite extensive searches in the years since it vanished, no wreckage has been found. Previous efforts, including a multinational search that cost $150m (£120m), ended in 2017.
The governments of the three nations involved – Malaysia, Australia and China – said the search would only be resumed “should credible new evidence emerge” of the aircraft’s location.
A 2018 search for the wreckage by Ocean Infinity under similar terms ended unsuccessfully after three months.
In December, Malaysia’s government agreed in principle to resume the search. However, the final negotiations were not completed until March.
Malaysia’s final approval on Wednesday will now allow the search to begin.
Loke said in a statement: “The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers.”
Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of 8 March 2014. Less than an hour after takeoff, it lost communication with air traffic control, and radar showed that it had deviated from its planned flight path.
Investigators generally agree that the plane crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, though the reason for the crash remains unclear.
Pieces of debris, believed to be from the plane, have washed up on the shores of the Indian Ocean in the years following its disappearance.
The aircraft’s disappearance has given rise to a host of conspiracy theories, including speculation that the pilot had deliberately brought the plane down and claims that it had been shot down by a foreign military.
An investigation in 2018 into the aircraft’s disappearance found that the plane’s controls were likely deliberately manipulated to take it off course, but drew no conclusions behind it.
Investigators said at the time that “the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found”.
The passengers included people from more than a dozen countries: just under two-thirds were Chinese nationals, followed by 38 Malaysians, with others from Australia, Indonesia, India, France, Ukraine, the US and several other nations.
Family members of missing Chinese MH370 passengers met with officials in Beijing earlier in March to discuss the renewed search for the wreckage and express their hopes for an independent search. Some relatives voiced their frustration over a lack of direct communication from the Malaysian authorities.
“It was promised that we would be informed immediately [but] we can only find out about this kind of news online,” said Li Eryou, a 68-year-old father who lost his 29-year-old son. “Many families don’t even know how to access this information, so they are completely unaware,” he told AFP.
Grieving families gathered outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing on the eleventh anniversary of the flight’s disappearance earlier this month, chanting: “Give us back our loved ones!”
Cheng Liping, whose husband had been in Malaysia for a film shoot and had been returning to China on MH370, said she hoped Beijing would communicate more with Malaysia to uncover the truth. “Everyone has been left trapped in pain,” she told reporters. “What exactly happened is still unknown.”
The fresh search prompted mixed reactions from the families of passengers when it was announced in December – with some calling it a step towards closure, while others describing the news as bittersweet.
[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]
Latest News
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
President conducts an inspection tour of Kandy city
Sri Lankan delegation meets with US Trade Representative
-
Business7 days agoDIMO pioneers major fleet expansion with Tata SIGNA Prime Movers for ILM
-
News6 days agoFamily discovers rare species thought to be extinct for over a century in home garden
-
Features4 days agoRuGoesWild: Taking science into the wild — and into the hearts of Sri Lankans
-
Foreign News6 days agoChina races robots against humans in Beijing half marathon
-
Editorial7 days agoSelective use of PTA
-
News3 days agoOrders under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruptions Act No. 9 of 2023 for concurrence of parliament
-
Features5 days agoNew species of Bronzeback snake, discovered in Sri Lanka
-
Features6 days agoThe ironies of history