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PM participates in innaugural session of SAARC Heritage Forum 2025
The Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya participated in the inaugural meeting of the SAARC Heritage Forum 2025 for promoting Regional Art, Culture, Heritage Sites, Museums, and Archives organized by the Cultural Center (SCC) with the support of the Government of Sri Lanka on Tuesday (Sep 30) at the National Museum, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The forum which commenced on 30th of September will conclude on 2nd October.
SAARC Heritage Forum 2025 aims to bring together experts, professionals, and scholars in the field of Archeology, Cultural Heritage and Museums to foster dialogue, share knowledge, and explore innovative approaches towards the preservation and promotion of South Asia’s rich cultural heritage by strengthening cooperation, establishing the SAARC Heritage List with its Operational Guidelines and creating Cultural Trails that connect major Buddhist historical sites and facilitate access to sacred sites associated with Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and other faiths.
Addressing the inaugural occasion, the Prime Minister emphasized the government’s commitment to call to action and call to reaffirm the shared vision of regional unity, regional vitality, and diplomatic renewal in preserving the cultural heritage and strengthening cooperation with SAARC. The Prime Minister further stressed the committed to supporting the institutionalization of the Forum as an annual event, with rotating leadership and inclusive participation.
Reaffirming Sri Lanka’s commitment to achieving the purpose and outcome this forum, the Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi stated that our cultural assets must be protected not only as the relic of the past but as resources that contribute to the identity, dialogue and inclusive development.
The event was attended by Minister of Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, High Commissioner of Pakistan to Sri Lanka Major General (Retd) Faheem-ul-Aziz, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka Andalib Elias, High Commissioner of Maldives, Masood Imad, Ambassador of Nepal, Purna Bahadhur, delegates representing SAARC, the Director of the SAARC Cultural Centre (SCC) Dr. Kaushalya Kumarasinghe, representatives of the European Union and Embassy of America and professionals, scholars and experts in the field.
(Prime Minister’s Media Division)
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More than 360 dead, 1,400 missing in Nepal and Tibet after Himalayan floods
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
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
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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