Asalanka heroics power Sri Lanka to 49-run win over Australia

Sri Lanka pulled off a stunning comeback against world champions Australia to clinch a 49-run victory in the first one-day international on Wednesday after a century by captain Charith Asalanka.Defending a modest target of 215, Sri Lanka bowled out the visitors for 165 inside 34 overs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.Asalanka smashed a career-best 127 before chipping in with the crucial wicket of Alex Carey, while Maheesh Theekshana took 4-40 to help scuttle Australia’s chase.”Really pleased with the knock,” Asalanka said. “It wasn’t easy batting out there… Had to settle in and then batting with the tail had to take a few risks, and glad it all paid off.”Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka found themselves in dire straits at 133-8 in the 33rd over, with Australia’s four-pronged pace attack running riot.Asalanka’s strike rate was just shy of a run a ball and included 14 fours and five sixes.His ninth-wicket stand with Eshan Malinga was a stadium record of 79, even though the tailender made just a solitary run from 26 balls.”He hung in there and all we wanted to do was to take the game as deep as possible,” Asalanka said. “If not for that partnership we wouldn’t have got over the line.”Asalanka refused to throw in the towel and was last man out when he was deceived by a cleverly disguised slower delivery from Sean Abbott (3-61).The packed crowd rose to their feet to see him back to the pavilion, while opposite number Steve Smith and wicketkeeper Alex Carey acknowledged his knock with a pat on the back.  Australia’s chase never really got going, with Asitha Fernando dismissing both openers cheaply before Sri Lanka’s spinners tightened the noose.Dunith Wellalage struck with his very first ball to clean up Smith, who had tormented Sri Lanka with back-to-back centuries in the Test series. Smith misjudged a slog sweep and was out before he had settled in, a huge breakthrough that sent the crowd into raptures.White-ball stalwarts Glenn Maxwell and Travis Head were rested to give other squad members match practice ahead of the Champions Trophy beginning in Pakistan and Dubai on February 19.Australia’s bid to win that tournament has been dealt a major setback with their formidable pace attack of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood all ruled out.Sri Lanka did not qualify for the Champions Trophy.

UAE to launch DeepSeek-inspired AI models: senior official

The United Arab Emirates is planning to launch new artificial intelligence models inspired by China’s DeepSeek, a senior official told AFP, calling the system’s disruptive emergence “fantastic news”.Faisal Al Bannai, the driving force behind the UAE’s Falcon large language model, said DeepSeek’s challenge to American tech giants showed the field was wide open in the race for AI dominance.The oil-rich Gulf monarchy is betting big on the transformational technology as part of its push to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels. Bannai said he was heartened by DeepSeek, a high-performing and apparently low-cost AI model that sent US tech stocks tumbling after its launch. “It’s fantastic news. Because it proves one thing: this game is at its beginning,” Bannai said at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on Tuesday.The UAE launched Falcon in 2023, a large language model that compared favourably with industry leaders including OpenAI’s ChatGPT.”What happened with DeepSeek was another proof that small teams, agile teams, agile countries, can move fast and can make an impact,” said Bannai, the UAE’s presidential advisor on advanced technologies. “So we are learning, I think, from what they showed. We are taking learnings, and we will be also launching other models in this regard. “And I think (DeepSeek gives) a serious sense of encouragement that you can punch way above your weight in this game, because the game is still starting.” – Country-regulated AI ‘delusional’ -Alongside Falcon, the UAE has developed Jais, an Arabic-language AI chatbot, while digitising and automating government services to a large extent.It has also been active in physical infrastructure, pledging tens of billions of dollars in recent weeks to build data centres in France and the US. Bannai, who is also secretary general of the Abu Dhabi-based Advanced Technology Research Council, said the UAE’s wealth, ability to attract talent and its top-down decision-making could make it a serious player in AI.”When the internet phase 1.0 or 2.0 happened, we were not necessarily ready,” he said. “Today we are in an amazing situation where we have such a diversified ecosystem as a country over here, talents from all over the place.”And we are in a fantastic position to move very fast in an age where sometimes people are taking time to decide… this is a time where countries or companies that can make good decisions… can move fast.”He was speaking on the same day that US Vice President JD Vance warned world leaders meeting in Paris against “excessive regulation” of AI. The United States and Britain also refused to sign a statement calling for regulation to ensure the technology was “open” and “ethical”.”Trying to assume any country can regulate AI, I think is delusional, because if you regulate, someone else is not regulating in the same way,” Bannai said. “When it comes to AI, I think regulation needs to start focusing on a few areas that matter but doesn’t stifle the growth,” he added.”Because, frankly, whoever puts the regulation, the other guy might be more practical, and life will move on.”

Gill ton helps India to 356 in third England ODI

Top-order batsman Shubman Gill kept up his good form to hit 112 and help India reach 356 all out in the third and final one-day international against England on Wednesday.Gill put on 116 runs for the second wicket with Virat Kohli, who hit 52, laying the foundation for a challenging total after they were put in to bat first in Ahmedabad.Shreyas Iyer also hit a 64-ball 78 as England’s bowlers struggled, apart from leg-spinner Adil Rashid’s impressive 4-64.Skipper Rohit Sharma departed for one, caught behind off Mark Wood in a disappointing outing after his 119 in the previous match gave India an unbeatable 2-0 series lead.Gill, who took back the opening spot from Yashasvi Jaiswal, raised his third successive fifty after scores of 87 and 60 in the first two wins.Kohli reached a run-a-ball fifty to get back among the runs after an inconsistent Test series in Australia.Rashid got Kohli with a delivery that pitched in the middle and spun sharply to take the bat’s edge and land in the gloves of wicketkeeper Phil Salt.Kohli was dismissed by Rashid in Cuttack and his latest dismissal was the fifth time he fell to the leg-spinner in 10 meetings.Gill, who leads the series batting with 259 runs, kept up the pace and put on 104 runs with Iyer before he was bowled off a googly by Rashid.Iyer reached his second half-century of the series but also fell to Rashid, who struck again when he bowled Hardik Pandya after being hit for two straight sixes.Wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul smashed 40 off 29 balls before late strikes finished the Indian innings, with number 10 Arshdeep Singh run out on the final ball.The series is a tune-up ahead of the Champions Trophy starting next Wednesday in Pakistan and Dubai.Brief scoresIndia 356 all out in 50 overs (S. Gill 112, V. Kohli 52, S. Iyer 78, KL Rahul 40; A. Rashid 4-64, M. Wood 2-45) v EnglandToss: England

Ouganda: l’opposant Kizza Besigye en grève de la faim, selon son avocat

L’opposant ougandais Kizza Besigye a commencé lundi une grève de la faim, a affirmé à l’AFP l’un de ses avocats mercredi, après des mois de détention consécutifs à son enlèvement au Kenya.Jadis médecin personnel du président Yoweri Museveni, Kizza Besigye, 68 ans, est dans le collimateur du gouvernement depuis son ralliement à l’opposition il y a 25 ans. Il s’est présenté quatre fois à la présidentielle, sans succès.Enlevé en novembre dernier lors d’un déplacement au Kenya, il encourt la peine capitale pour trahison devant une cour martiale, un procédure qualifiée de “simulacre” par son épouse Winnie Byanyima, directrice de l’ONUSIDA, le programme des Nations unies de lutte contre le VIH.Confirmant des informations diffusées dans la presse locale, Erias Lukwago, l’un des avocats de M. Besigye, a déclaré à l’AFP que son client a cessé lundi de s’alimenter parce qu’il “estime n’avoir plus d’autre option qu’une grève de la faim” pour dénoncer sa “détention illégale”. “Nous observons malheureusement l’impact de la grève de la faim sur sa santé”, a-t-il ajouté, notant que l’état de son client ne lui permettait pas de participer à certaines audiences. Fin janvier, la Cour suprême du pays avait jugé inconstitutionnel le jugement de civils par des tribunaux militaires mais M. Museveni avait contesté cette décision, évoquant un “instrument utile pour la stabilité”.L’armée avait de son côté annoncé qu’elle continuerait le procès de M. Besigye.L’ONU et plusieurs organisations de défense des droits humains ont exprimé leur inquiétude concernant la répression de l’opposition en Ouganda à l’approche de l’élection présidentielle, prévue en janvier 2026.

Stock markets gain before US inflation data

Asian stock markets rose and there were fresh record highs for leading European indices Wednesday as attention turned to upcoming US inflation data.Following days of attention on US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, traders switch focus to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) which could alter Federal Reserve thinking on the outlook for interest rates.”Bar a major surprise in today’s price data, one month’s worth of data is unlikely to sway the Federal Reserve,” noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “However, CPI is a major market release, and it can have a big impact on financial markets, at least in the short term.”Fed boss Jerome Powell on Tuesday reiterated that the US central bank was in no hurry to cut interest rates further.It comes as analysts warn that Trump’s tariffs — and plans to slash taxes, regulations and immigration — risked reigniting prices.”The impact could be higher inflation, higher (US) interest rates to combat that inflation, or higher taxes for households,” said Hetal Mehta, head of economic research at St James’s Place.Wall Street ended Tuesday on a mostly positive note, despite tech stocks dragging the Nasdaq into the red.Hong Kong led gains across most Asian stocks markets Wednesday thanks to another rally by its tech firms. In Europe, London and Frankfurt hit fresh record highs, with support coming from cuts to interest rates in Britain and the eurozone, as well as thanks to positive company earnings.Shares in Dutch brewer Heineken fizzed Wednesday as traders cheered better-than-expected beer sales.The stock surged almost 13 percent, making it the biggest gainer on the Amsterdam market, which was up slightly overall approaching midday.- Key figures around 1030 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 8,782.94 pointsParis – CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 8,047.61Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.3 percent at 22,104.52Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 38,963.70 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.6 percent at 21,857.92 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.9 percent at 3,346.39 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 44,593.65 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0373 from $1.0360 on TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2441 from $1.2446Dollar/yen: UP at 153.68 yen from 152.45 yenEuro/pound: UP at 83.38 pence from 83.24 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $72.47 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.0 percent at $76.24 per barrel

Uganda opposition figure Besigye on hunger strike: lawyerWed, 12 Feb 2025 11:02:36 GMT

Ugandan former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye has gone on hunger strike, his lawyer told AFP Wednesday, months into his detention by authorities after he was snatched from neighbouring Kenya.Besigye was once President Yoweri Museveni’s trusted personal doctor but has become a government target since joining the opposition 25 years ago and unsuccessfully running for president …

Uganda opposition figure Besigye on hunger strike: lawyerWed, 12 Feb 2025 11:02:36 GMT Read More »