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Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis plays a shot during the third Twenty20 match against Pakistan at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla Sunday. (AFP) Sri Lanka eked out a hard fought 14-run victory over Pakistan in the third T20 at rain-hit Dambulla Sunday, easing their batting jitters and squaring the three-match series 1-1.The series, a warm-up for the T20 World Cup with Pakistan set to play all their matches in Sri Lanka due to political tensions with nuclear-armed neighbours India, saw the visitors clinch the opener by six wickets before rain washed out the second game.“We were a bit worried about our batting and I’m glad we addressed that today,” said Wanindu Hasaranga, who walked away with both Player of the Match and Player of the Series honours.“The bowlers did a good job too. The ball was wet and it wasn’t easy. We tried to bowl wide and slow and asked them to take risks.”Hasaranga took four wickets in the game and in the process completed 150 wickets in T20Is.In a contest trimmed to 12 overs a side, Sri Lanka muscled their way to a competitive 160 before choking Pakistan to 146-8.Having been bowled out inside 20 overs in the series opener, Sri Lanka needed a statement with the bat and duly ticked every box after being put in. The top order laid the platform and the middle order applied the finishing touches.Wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis made hay under the Power Play, blasting 30 off 16 balls while Dhananjaya de Silva (22 off 15) and Charith Asalanka (21 off 13) kept the scoreboard ticking.Skipper Dasun Shanaka then swung the momentum decisively, clubbing 34 off just nine deliveries, peppered with five towering sixes. The sixth-wicket stand between Shanaka and Janith Liyanage produced 52 runs in just 15 balls and proved the turning point, shifting the game firmly Sri Lanka’s way.Pakistan came out swinging in reply, racing to 50 in just 19 balls with captain Salman Agha hammering 45 off 12 balls, including five fours and three sixes.But once the field spread, Sri Lanka tightened the screws, applied the choke and forced the asking rate to spiral.“It was a good game of cricket,” Agha said. “We conceded too many runs, but our batting effort was good. Unfortunately, we fell short. We know we are going to play all our World Cup games in Sri Lanka and it’s important that we played in similar conditions,” he added. Related…
Backed by the UN trade and development agency, UNCTAD and other partners, the “Beyond GDP” initiative acknowledges a warning from Secretary-General António Guterres that global policymaking…
Tens of thousands of people marched through Minneapolis on Saturday to decry the fatal shooting of a woman by a US immigration agent, part of more than 1,000 rallies planned nationwide this weekend against the federal government’s deportation drive.The massive turnout in Minneapolis despite a whipping, cold wind underscores how the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer on Wednesday has struck a chord, fueling protests in major cities and some towns.At the start of the protest, a voice called out, “Say her name!” The crowd shouted back: “Renee Good!” A woman with a sign beside her feet takes part in a protest outside the ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, US. – Reuters Her death has sparked strong emotions in this Democratic stronghold, and across the nation.”We got ICE shooting women in the face for self-defence. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Alex Vega, a protester in Boston. “Let them come around here with that, and let’s see what’s really going to happen to ICE.”Minnesota’s Democratic leaders and the administration of President Donald Trump, a Republican, have offered starkly different accounts of the incident.Led by a team of Indigenous Mexican dancers, demonstrators in Minneapolis, which has a metropolitan population of 3.8mn, marched towards the residential street where Good was shot in her car. People…
Mourners hug each other during the funeral of Palestinians who, according to medics, were killed in an Israeli strike yesterday, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis,…
Team Qatar Motor & Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) kicked off their 2026 campaign in spectacular fashion, claiming a double victory at the 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi, the opening round of the 24H Series ME-Trophy by Creventic on Saturday. The newly assembled QMMF driver line-up of Sheikh Jassim al-Thani, Faesal al-Yafei, and Ahmed al-Emadi dominated the Porsche 992 Cup category, securing both the overall class victory and first place in the 992 AM division at the demanding endurance event. The QMMF drivers displayed remarkable consistency throughout the six-hour race, combining strong pace with perfect execution and smart race strategy. Their performance in the highly competitive Porsche 992 Cup field demonstrated both individual talent and exceptional teamwork, allowing them to control the race and ultimately claim the top step of the podium in both categories. Related Story Source link
EU countries should weigh whether to set up a combined military force that could eventually replace US troops in Europe, the bloc’s defence chief said yesterday. EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius floated creating a “powerful, standing ‘European military force’ of 100,000 troops” as a possible option to better protect the continent. “How will we replace the 100,000-strong American standing military force, which is the back-bone military force in Europe?” he asked in a speech in Sweden. The suggestion comes as US President Donald Trump has heightened fears among Nato allies over Washington’s reliability by insisting he wants to take over Greenland. Worries over Trump’s commitment to Europe have already spurred countries to step up efforts to bolster their militaries in the face of the threat posed by Russia. Ideas about establishing a central European army have floated around for years but have largely failed to gain traction as nations are wary of relinquishing control over their militaries. The US has pushed its European allies to increasingly take over responsibility for their own security, and raised the prospect it could shift forces from Europe to focus on China. “In such times, we should not run away from the most pressing questions on our institutional defence readiness,” said Kubilius, a former Lithuanian prime minister. In his speech Kubilius also advocated for the creation of a “European Security Council” of key powers – including potentially Britain – that could help the continent take decisions over its own defence quicker.“The European Security Council could be composed of key permanent members, along with several rotational members,” he said. Source link
One person was killed in an Israeli entity’s airstrike on southern Lebanon, continuing its military escalation on the southern Lebanese border areas.The Lebanese Ministry of Health said in a statement yesterday that an Israeli airstrike on a car in the city of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon resulted in the death of one person. Earlier, the Israeli occupation launched new raids on southern Lebanon. On Nov. 27, 2024, a ceasefire agreement in southern Lebanon came into effect, stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the border villages and towns in southern Lebanon within 60 days. The Lebanese government agreed to extend the deadline until Feb. 18, 2025, but the occupation army remained in five points and continues its violations, which have exceeded 7,000 air violations and more than 2,400 military activities in the area of ​​operations of the UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon since November 2025. Source link
Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise scores against Wolfsburg. (Reuters) Michael Olise scored twice and set a Bundesliga assist record as Bayern Munich crushed Wolfsburg 8-1 to go 11 points clear at the top of the table.The Bavarians were ruthless in their return from the winter break, forcing the struggling Wolves into two own goals while Harry Kane, Luis Diaz, Leon Goretzka and Raphael Guerriero also got on the scoresheet.Unbeaten Bayern have now dropped just four points in 16 Bundesliga games this season, the best record in Europe’s top-five leagues. Olise’s two assists brought his tally to 25 in 50 league games, more than any other player to have played a half-century of Bundesliga matches.The victory extended Bayern’s dominant record against Wolfsburg, with 21 wins at two draws in their past 23 games in all competitions dating back to 2015. Bayern’s last league defeat against Wolfsburg came in January 2015, when a 23-year-old Kevin de Bruyne scored twice and laid on another in a 4-1 win for the Wolves six months before his move to Manchester City.Wolfsburg’s hopes of bucking the recent trend took an early hit when Killian Fischer deflected a Diaz cross into his own net. One-time Bayern academy player Dzenan Pejcinovic pulled one back for the Wolves but their celebrations were short-lived, with Olise assisting Diaz on the half-hour mark.Bayern continued the rampage early in the second half, with Olise scoring and forcing Wolfsburg’s Moritz Jenz into conceding another own goal inside the space of three minutes. Guerreiro, Kane and Olise all scored inside an eight-minute period midway through the second half while Goretzka added another with two minutes remaining to round out the rout.Goretzka’s goal was Bayern’s 63rd league goal this season, more than any other side has scored in the first 16 matchdays in Bundesliga history.Kane’s strike was his 20th in the league this campaign, keeping him on track to beat Robert Lewandowski’s record of 41 in a Bundesliga season. Earlier on Saturday, Haris Tabakovic bagged a brace as Borussia Moenchengladbach cruised to a 4-0 home win over Augsburg. Related Story Source link
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that the escalating conflict over Greenland could have direct reprecussions for NATO security, stressing that any threat to the self-governing territory would undermine the Alliance’s collective security that has been established since the end of the World War II. Speaking at a party leader debate at a political rally on Sunday, Frederiksen said that Greenland is going through a “fateful moment”آ amid escalating US pressure and President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose Washington’s control over the Arctic island. “There is a conflict over Greenland,” she said, adding “What is at stake is bigger than what the eye can see.”In posts on Facebook and Instagram, Frederiksen stressed that Denmark is “a historically close ally”,and said “we are ready to defend our values — wherever it is necessary — also in the Arctic. We believe in international law and in peoples’ right to self-determination”. In this context, the Danish Prime Minister announced that her country’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen will meet with his US counterpart Marco Rubio next week for talks on Greenland, following a joint request from Denmark and the Greenland government to initiate a dialogue with Washington. Frederiksen said that “Denmark stands at a crossroads”, without specifying a precise date or location for the meeting. This comes as the US President repeatedly emphasizes that US control over Greenland, which is rich in natural resources, is a matter of “paramount importance†for US national security in response to what Washington considers a rise in Russian and Chinese influence in the Arctic. In a New York Times interview published previously, Trump acknowledgedآ that “it may be a choice” betweenآ preservingآ theآ NATO alliance or acquiring Greenland. Greenland, which has a population of fewer than 57,000 and is covered by ice over roughly four-fifths of its territory, enjoys self-governance within the Kingdom of Denmark, a NATO member. The territory’s residents have repeatedly affirmed their opposition to joining the United States, while Copenhagen maintains its commitment to the principles of sovereignty and the right to self-determination under international law. Source link
Two people were killed and three others injured in an ammonia gas leak at a factory on the outskirts of Al-Khalis district, northwest of Diyala Governorate in northeastern Iraq.Iraqi security sources reported yesterday that civil defense teams rushed to the scene and rescued 19 people. The bodies were transferred to the forensic medicine department, and the injured were taken to hospital for treatment.The sources added that relevant authorities have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances and technical causes of the incident, and to take the necessary measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring. Source link