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Sri Lankan authorities issued fresh landslide warnings on Sunday with rains lashing areas already devastated by a powerful cyclone, as the death toll rose to 618.More than two million people — nearly 10 percent of the population — have been affected by last week’s floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, the worst on the island this century.The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said monsoon storms were adding more rain and making hillsides unstable, including the central mountainous region and the north-western midlands.Helicopters and planes were being used on Sunday to supply communities cut off by landslides in the centre of the country.The Sri Lanka Air Force said it had received a planeload of relief supplies from Myanmar on Sunday, the latest batch of foreign aid.The government has confirmed 618 dead — 464 from the lush tea-growing central region — while 209 people remain unaccounted for.The number of people in state-run refugee camps had dropped to 100,000 from a peak of 225,000 as floodwaters receded across the island by Sunday, the DMC said.More than 75,000 homes were damaged, including close to 5,000 that were completely destroyed, it added.The government on Friday unveiled a major compensation package to rebuild homes and revive businesses wiped out by the natural disaster, which hit the island as it was emerging from its 2022 economic meltdown.A senior official earlier said recovery and reconstruction might cost up to $7 billion.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday it was considering Sri Lanka’s request for an additional $200 million to help with rebuilding.The money is on top of the $347 million tranche due later this month, part of a four-year, $2.9 billion IMF bailout loan agreed in 2023.President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told parliament on Friday that Sri Lanka’s economy had made a significant recovery, but was not strong enough to withstand the latest shock alone.Survivors will be offered up to 10 million rupees ($33,000) to buy land in a safer location and build a new house, the finance ministry said in a statement late on Friday.One million rupees is being offered in compensation for each person killed or left permanently disabled.The government did not say how much the package would cost, raising concerns given the country’s recent economic turbulence.The central bank has ordered commercial lenders, both state-owned and private, to reschedule loans.

A  fire that ripped through an Indian nightclub in the popular tourist resort region of Goa killed 25 people, the state’s chief minister said Sunday.Tourists were among the dead in the blaze, which broke out at about midnight at a club in Arpora in the north of the coastal state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a statement that the deaths were “deeply saddening”.Goa, a former Portuguese colony on the shores of the Arabian Sea, lures millions of tourists every year with its nightlife, sandy beaches and laid-back coastal atmosphere.”Today is a very painful day for all of us,” Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said in a statement, saying that “25 people have lost their lives and six have been injured.”Sawant told journalists that “three to four” tourists had died, without giving their nationalities.”I have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the entire incident to identify the cause and fix responsibility,” Sawant added.- ‘Fire show’ -Video images from the Press Trust of India news agency showed rescuers carrying the injured or dead on stretchers down the narrow stone staircase of the Birch nightclub.”Most people died due to suffocation in the basement and kitchen area,” Nitin V. Raiker, Goa’s fire chief, told Indian broadcaster CNN News18.”I received information that there was a club party going on, and a fire show was organised in the club. The wooden parts of the club caught fire, and smoke spread throughout the building.”Fires are common in India due to poor building practices, overcrowding and a lack of adherence to safety regulations.In May, at least 17 people died after a fire ripped through a three-storey building in the Indian city of Hyderabad.A month before that, a fierce blaze broke out in a hotel in Kolkata, killing at least 15 people. Some people clambered out of windows and onto the rooftop to escape.And last year, at least 24 people died after a fire broke out at a packed amusement park arcade in the western state of Gujarat.

Virat Kohli on Saturday said a free mind helped him push limits after his stellar batting led India to a 2-1 ODI series victory over South Africa on Saturday.The 37-year-old amassed 302 runs including two centuries and one fifty  in three matches to dispel any doubts over his enduring quality as a top-order batter.Kohli capped off the series with an unbeaten 65 off 45 balls in the deciding ODI in Visakhapatnam as India bossed their chase of 271 to win with 61 balls and nine wickets to spare.”Honestly, playing the way I have in the series is the most satisfying thing for me,” Kohli said after being named player of the series.”I don’t think I have played at this level for a good two-three years now and I feel really free in my mind. Just the whole game is coming together nicely.”Kohli hit six fours and three sixes to tear into the opposition attack as he drove and flicked with ease to roll back the years.”When I play freely, then I know I can hit sixes,” he said.”So, I just wanted to have some fun because I was batting well. Just push my own boundaries and see where we go, you know. There’s always levels you can unlock and you just need to take a risk.”Kohli hit a match-winning 135 in the opener in Ranchi for his 52nd ODI ton and followed it up with a 102, albeit in a losing cause, in the second ODI.- ‘Standards’ -In the decider, Kohli came out to bat with India on course after a 155-run opening stand between Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made an unbeaten 116, and fellow stalwart Rohit Sharma, who hit 75.He entertained the crowd with his attacking strokeplay and finished the match with two boundaries.”I’ve tried to maintain my own standards that I have set for myself and play at the level that I can make an impact for the team,” said Kohli.”I know when I can bat like that in the middle, it helps the team in a big way. And just being confident makes you feel any situation in the middle. I know what it takes to handle that and bring it in favour of the team.”Both Kohli and Rohit, 38, play just the ODI format after they retired from Tests and T20s and the two greats have been under constant pressure to perform and stretch their careers until the 2027 50-over World Cup.The two once again stood up with half-centuries in the decider and Kohli said they have always relished pressure situations.”That’s what we’ve always done over so many years and that’s why we’ve been able to play for so long because we’ve always been aligned to what the team needs and what we can do with our skill sets according to the situation,” said Kohli.”And yeah, just happy that both of us continue to do so even now and help the team.”

Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal hit his maiden one-day international century as India clinched the three-match series 2-1 with a crushing nine-wicket win over South Africa on Saturday.Chasing 271 for victory, India rode on Jaiswal’s unbeaten 116 and his opening stand of 155 with Rohit Sharma, who hit 75, to achieve the target with 10.1 overs to spare in Visakhapatnam.The left-handed Jaiswal reached his hundred in 111 balls as he jumped in joy and raised the bat to soak in the applause in just his fourth ODI since his debut earlier this year.”I really enjoyed and I’m really grateful and blessed,” said player of the match Jaiswal.”(The) Last two games I couldn’t convert and I was thinking how I can balance the innings. Sometimes I was thinking of attacking, then run the singles. I have to control my thoughts on what shots I can play.”Virat Kohli, who struck back-to-back hundreds in the previous two matches, hit the winning boundary to finish 65 not out from 45 balls.The 23-year-old Jaiswal, who now has tons in all three international formats, struggled at the start with Rohit leading the batting charge to raise his 61st ODI half-century.Rohit got past 20,000 international runs during the knock to be only the fourth Indian after Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli and Rahul Dravid to achieve the feat.Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj cut short Rohit’s innings after seven fours and three sixes in his 73-ball knock.Jaiswal switched gears after his fifty and hit a string of boundaries to ease into the target.In-form Kohli bossed the opposition bowling with six fours and three sixes to end the series with 302 runs and the player of the series award.- Toss jinx -The bowlers set up victory after left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and fast bowler Prasidh Krishna took four wickets each to bowl out South Africa for 270 in 47.5 overs.With the series level on 1-1, India finally won an ODI toss after losing 20 in a row as skipper KL Rahul broke the scarcely believable jinx and put South Africa in to bat.Opener Quinton de Kock made 106 off 89 balls and put on 113 runs with skipper Temba Bavuma, who made 48, as South Africa looked set for a big total at 168-2 but the batting collapsed.”We probably should have been smarter as we gifted wickets,” said Bavuma. “The Indian team showed their quality, kudos to them.”Left-handed De Kock raised his seventh ODI ton against India with a six off Harshit Rana and finished his knock with eight fours and six hits over the fence.Krishna struck twice in one over including Matthew Breetzke for 24 and Aiden Markram for one, before he bowled De Kock soon after the batsman’s attacking hundred.Dewald Brevis, who hit 29, and Marco Jansen (17) attempted to rebuild the innings in their stand of 35 but Kuldeep sent the two back in the space of three deliveries to swing the momentum once again in India’s favour.Kuldeep (4-41) and Krishna combined to bowl out the opposition with Maharaj unbeaten on 20.The ODI series win is some consolation for the 2-0 Test whitewash by the Proteas although it was achieved after the team was boosted by the presence of veterans Kohli and Rohit who now play just the 50-over format.The two teams now head into five T20 matches starting Tuesday in Cuttack.

Disaster-hit Sri Lanka has unveiled a major compensation package to rebuild homes damaged by a deadly cyclone, even as the island prepared on Saturday for further landslides and flooding.The government has confirmed 611 deaths, with another 213 unaccounted for and feared dead, in what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called the country’s most challenging natural disaster.The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) issued fresh landslide warnings in several areas of the worst-affected Central Province, with the northeast monsoon gathering over the island and bringing more rain.More than two million people — nearly 10 percent of the population — have been affected by last week’s floods and landslides, the worst this century.Survivors will be offered up to 10 million rupees ($33,000) to buy land in a safer location and build a new house, the finance ministry said in a statement late on Friday.They will also receive livelihood support, including cash to pay for children’s school books, kitchen appliances, bedding and rent if they are not given accommodation by the state.The government did not say how much the bold package would cost, a concern given the country’s recent economic turbulence. A senior official earlier said recovery and reconstruction might cost up to $7 billion.The central bank has ordered commercial banks, both state-owned and private, to reschedule loans of affected people and not to impose penalties on defaulting borrowers.The government is also offering one million rupees in compensation for each person killed or left permanently disabled.The DMC said nearly 75,000 homes were damaged, including close to 5,000 that were completely destroyed by last week’s disasters.Around 150,000 people remain in state-run shelters, down from a peak of 225,000.The air force said it was still using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft on Saturday to supply communities cut off by landslides in the centre of the country.- IMF request -The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Friday it was considering Sri Lanka’s request for an additional $200 million, on top of the $347 million tranche the country was already due to receive this month.”The IMF remains closely engaged with the Sri Lankan authorities… and is committed to supporting the country,” the Washington-based lender said.Cyclone Ditwah devastated swathes of Sri Lanka as it was emerging from its severe 2022 economic crisis, following a four-year, $2.9 billion bailout loan agreed with the IMF in early 2023.Dissanayake told parliament on Friday that Sri Lanka’s economy had made a significant recovery, but was not strong enough to withstand the latest shock alone.Despite assistance from the military and volunteers in flooded communities, fresh rains have hampered clean-up operations.Residents evacuated from the landslide-prone central hills have been told not to return immediately, even if their homes were unaffected by the slips.

Ruinous floods and landslides have killed more than 900 people on Indonesia’s island of Sumatra, the country’s disaster management agency said Saturday, with fears that starvation could send the toll even higher. A chain of tropical storms and monsoonal rains has pummelled Southeast and South Asia, triggering landslides and flash floods from the Sumatran rainforest to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.More than 1,790 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over the past week.In Indonesia’s provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, floods have swept away roads, smothered houses in silt, and cut off supplies. Aceh governor Muzakir Manaf said response teams were still searching for bodies in “waist-deep” mud.However, starvation was one of the gravest threats now hanging over remote and inaccessible villages.”Many people need basic necessities. Many areas remain untouched in the remote areas of Aceh,” he told reporters.”People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation. That’s how it is.” Entire villages had been washed away in the rainforest-cloaked Aceh Tamiang region, Muzakir said. “The Aceh Tamiang region is completely destroyed, from the top to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea. “Many villages and sub-districts are now just names,” he said. Aceh Tamiang flood victim Fachrul Rozi said he had spent the past week crammed into an old shop building with others who had fled the rising waters.”We ate whatever was available, helping each other with the little supplies each resident had brought,” he told AFP.  “We slept crammed together.”Aceh resident Munawar Liza Zainal said he felt “betrayed” by the Indonesian government, which has so far shrugged off pressure to declare a national disaster. “This is an extraordinary disaster that must be faced with extraordinary measures,” he told AFP, echoing frustrations voiced by other flood victims.”If national disaster status is only declared later, what’s the point?”Declaring a national disaster would free up resources and help government agencies coordinate their response. Analysts have suggested Indonesia could be reluctant to declare a disaster — and seek additional foreign aid — because it would show it was not up to the task.Indonesia’s government this week insisted it could handle the fallout. – Climate calamity -The scale of devastation has only just become clear in other parts of Sumatra as engorged rivers shrink and floodwaters recede. AFP photos showed muddy villagers salvaging silt-encrusted furniture from flooded houses in Aek Ngadol, North Sumatra.Humanitarian groups worry that the scale of the calamity could be unprecedented, even for a nation prone to natural disasters. Indonesia’s death toll rose to 908 on Saturday, according to the disaster management agency, with 410 people missing. Sri Lanka’s death toll jumped on Friday to 607, as the government warned that fresh rains raised the risk of new landslides. Thailand has reported 276 deaths and Malaysia two, while at least two people were killed in Vietnam after heavy rains triggered a series of landslides. Seasonal monsoon rains are a feature of life in Southeast Asia, flooding rice fields and nourishing the growth of other key crops. However, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly throughout the region.Environmentalists and Indonesia’s government have also suggested that logging and deforestation exacerbated landslides and flooding in Sumatra. 

An overnight exchange of gunfire and shelling at a major Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing killed four civilians and one soldier, Afghan officials said Saturday, the latest flare-up of fighting between the two countries despite a ceasefire since deadly clashes in October.Five other civilians were wounded, an Afghan government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said in a video statement. The local hospital at the Pakistani border town of Chaman said three people suffered minor injuries during the fighting.Each side accused the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks at the crossing between Chaman and Spin Boldak, in southern Afghanistan.”Unfortunately, tonight, the Pakistani side started attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate were forced to respond,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X late Friday.Pakistan said Afghan forces fired first.”A short while ago, the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing” along the border, Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, said on X.Ali Mohammed Haqmal, head of Kandahar’s information department, said that Pakistani forces attacked with “light and heavy artillery” and that mortar fire had struck civilian homes.- Houses hit -Residents on the Afghan side of the border told AFP the exchange of fire broke out around 10:30 pm (1800 GMT) and lasted about two hours.”Light and weak firing started then the tanks started firing and the mortars hit our houses,” said Mahmood Khan, adding that a niece and two cousins were wounded.Another resident, Shamsullah, who declined to give his last name, said his brother was killed by a mortar when trying to reach another room of their home.”We couldn’t pick him up because more mortars were coming,” he said, adding that he was later taken for treatment in Kandahar but died soon after he arrived.On the Pakistan side, Muhammad Naeem, a labourer at the border, said that as the fighting intensified, “mortar shells began landing on houses and in the surrounding areas”.”Many people fled their homes, but because the gunfire was so heavy, we had no choice but to stay inside.”- UN aid deliveries? -Afghanistan and Pakistan have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.Security issues are at the heart of the conflict, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), that launch attacks on its soil.The Taliban government in Kabul denies the allegations.More than 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded in the October clashes, which ended with a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey.But several subsequent rounds of talks in Doha and Istanbul have failed to produce a lasting deal, and the border between the two South Asian neighbours remains closed.Kabul accused Islamabad last month of air strikes in a border area that killed 10 people, nine of them children. Pakistan denied the claim.Pakistan’s foreign ministry warned on November 28 that in light of “terrorist attacks” on its soil, “the ceasefire is not holding”.Pakistan said earlier this week that it would partially reopen the frontier for aid deliveries, with the crossing at Chaman expected to be used by United Nations agencies.It was not clear when the deliveries will begin, but Zaidi, the Pakistan prime minister’s spokesman, told AFP that “aid deliveries are separate” and the latest clash would have “no impact on that decision”.

India finally won an ODI toss after losing 20 in a row as stand-in skipper KL Rahul broke the scarcely believable jinx against South Africa on Saturday.Visiting captain Temba Bavuma called heads but the coin came down as tails for Rahul to celebrate with a fist bump as India’s curse of a million-to-one ended in Visakhapatnam.It was more than two years since India won the toss in a one-day match.The crowd roared and a smiling Rahul elected to bowl in the deciding third match of the series, which is level at 1-1.India’s players were quick to congratulate Rahul, who is leading the ODI team in place of the injured Shubman Gill.Rahul credited presenter Murali Kartik for his presence as a lucky charm as India won their first ODI toss since the World Cup semi-final in Mumbai against New Zealand on November 15, 2023.”You should do more tosses for us,” a beaming Rahul said.Former India batter Sanjay Bangar said Rahul’s ploy of flipping the coin with his left hand instead of the usual right did the trick.

Further heavy rain threatened Indonesia’s flood-ravaged island of Sumatra on Saturday as the governor of one hard-hit province warned that the death toll could climb beyond 883 because of starvation.A chain of tropical storms and monsoonal rains has pummelled Southeast and South Asia, triggering landslides and flash floods from the Sumatran rainforest to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.Some 1,770 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam since last week. Indonesia’s national weather agency said rain could return on Saturday to the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra, where floods have swept away roads, smothered houses in silt and cut off supplies. Aceh governor Muzakir Manaf said response teams were still searching for bodies in “waist-deep” mud.However, starvation was one of the gravest threats now hanging over remote and inaccessible villages.”Many people need basic necessities. Many areas remain untouched in the remote areas of Aceh,” he told reporters.”People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation. That’s how it is.” Entire villages had been washed away in the rainforest-cloaked Aceh Tamiang region, Muzakir said. “The Aceh Tamiang region is completely destroyed, from the top to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea. “Many villages and sub-districts are now just names,” he said. Aceh resident Munawar Liza Zainal said he felt “betrayed” by the Indonesian government, which has so far shrugged off pressure to declare a national disaster. “This is an extraordinary disaster that must be faced with extraordinary measures,” he told AFP, echoing frustrations voiced by other flood victims.”If national disaster status is only declared later, what’s the point?”Declaring a national disaster would free up resources and help government agencies coordinate their response. Analysts have suggested Indonesia could be reluctant to declare a disaster — and seek additional foreign aid — because it would show it was not up to the task.Indonesia’s government this week insisted it could handle the fallout. – Climate calamity -The scale of devastation has only just become clear in other parts of Sumatra as engorged rivers shrink and floodwaters recede. AFP photos showed muddy villagers salvaging silt-encrusted furniture from flooded houses in Aek Ngadol, North Sumatra.Humanitarian groups fear that the scale of calamity could be without precedent, even for a nation prone to natural disasters. Indonesia’s death toll rose to 883 on Saturday morning, according to the disaster management agency, with 520 people missing. Sri Lanka’s death toll jumped by more than 100 on Friday to 607, as the government warned that fresh rains raised the risk of new landslides. Thailand has reported 276 deaths and Malaysia two, while at least two people were killed in Vietnam after heavy rains triggered a series of landslides. Seasonal monsoon rains are a feature of life in Southeast Asia, flooding rice fields and nourishing the growth of other key crops. However, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly throughout the region.Environmentalists and Indonesia’s government have also suggested logging and deforestation exacerbated landslides and flooding in Sumatra. 

Disaster-hit Sri Lanka has unveiled a major compensation package to rebuild homes damaged by a deadly cyclone, even as the island prepared Saturday for further landslides and flooding.The government has confirmed 607 deaths, with another 214 people missing and feared dead, in what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has called the country’s most challenging natural disaster.More than two million people — nearly 10 percent of the population — have been affected.Survivors will be offered up to 10 million rupees ($33,000) to buy land in a safer location and build a new house, the finance ministry said in a statement late Friday.The government is also offering one million rupees as compensation for each person killed or permanently disabled.The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said more than 71,000 homes were damaged, including nearly 5,000 that were completely destroyed by last week’s floods and landslides.Around 150,000 people remain in state-run shelters, down from a peak of 225,000.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it was considering Sri Lanka’s request for an additional $200 million, on top of the $347 million tranche the country was already due to receive this month.”The IMF remains closely engaged with the Sri Lankan authorities during this challenging period, and is committed to supporting the country as it undertakes urgent efforts to recover, rebuild and promote resilience for the future,” the Washington-based lender said late Friday.Cyclone Ditwah devastated swathes of Sri Lanka as it was emerging from its worst economic crisis in 2022, following a four-year, $2.9 billion bailout loan from the IMF agreed in early 2023.Dissanayake told parliament on Friday that Sri Lanka’s economy had made a significant recovery, but was not strong enough to withstand the latest shock alone.Meanwhile, the DMC said more rain was expected in many parts of the country, including the worst-affected central region, triggering fears of more landslides.That has hampered clean-up operations.However, residents evacuated from the landslide-prone central hills have been told not to return immediately to their homes, even if they were unaffected by the slips.A fresh landslide alert was issued on Friday for areas not covered by previous warnings.