Live NewsNews Just In

The ICC Women's T20 World Cup was launched in stunning fashion on Sunday as London's famous Waterloo Bridge was transformed into a massive cricket pitch for the first time.

All 12 captains were in attendance at the famous London landmark ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup in England and Wales, which begins June 12, with the world's best players taking part in the Captains' Carnival high above the River Thames.

It was the first public gathering of all 12 captains ahead of the T20 World Cup and served as a powerful symbol of the global growth, visibility and appeal of women’s cricket in front of well-known London landmarks that included Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral and the London Eye.

The famous Waterloo Bridge was turned into a vibrant celebration of cricket and culture as anticipation builds for the upcoming event that promises to redefine what is possible for women’s cricket on the global stage.

“This is a landmark moment for women’s Cricket and a fitting way to launch what we believe will be the most exciting and ambitious ICC Women’s T20 World Cup ever staged," ICC Chairman Jay Shah said.

"This will help elevate the buzz and excitement around the event, providing the final boost to the anticipation for the tournament before the first ball is bowled on June 12 in Birmingham. 

"This event is another expression of the ICC’s commitment and belief linked to the agenda of building a more inclusive, global game.”

With ticket sales already around 200,000 – a record-breaking figure achieved before the tournament has even begun and comfortably eclipsing previous ICC Women’s T20 World Cup benchmarks – even more records are set to be smashed when the action gets underway in less than a week.

“Seeing these 12 captains playing cricket in a global first on an iconic London stage is a sign of how far the women’s game has come and where it’s headed," ICC Director and England Cricket Board Chair Richard Thompson said.

“With just five days to go until the opening game, this landmark captain’s event sets the scene for what promises to be the most attended and most widely covered Women’s World Cup ever.”

Source: ICC

– Agencies

While hailing Sri Lanka javelin thrower Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage's Diamond League Rome heroics, which have placed him amongst Indian icon Neeraj Chopra and Pakistan's current Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem as another star of this sport from the Indian subcontinent, the World Athletics vice-president Adille Sumariwalla cautioned putting any "unnecessary pressure" on Neeraj, instead letting him enjoy the sport after having achieved everything in the sport.

Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage came within touching distance of Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem's Asian record while clinching the men's javelin throw title at the Rome Diamond League 2026 on Thursday night. 

Pathirage produced a stunning throw of 92.62m at the Stadio Olimpico, finishing just 35 centimetres shy of Nadeem's Asian record and Olympic gold medal-winning mark set at the Paris 2024 Games, as per Olympics.com. Now, with Pathirage producing magic at Rome and Arshad having captured the Olympic gold last year, Neeraj, who lost his World Championship crown in Tokyo with an eighth-place finish while battling back injury, faces plenty of competition from his region. 

After years, Neeraj is perhaps not exactly the undisputed best javelin thrower from Asia, and his best throw of 90.23, his sole 90 m-plus throw, has been outdone twice. The 28-year-old superstar will start his new season and road to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics with these two new rivals chasing his long-established legacy. 

Speaking to Olympics.com, Sumariwalla does not want the Indian superstar to face any pressure, saying that the priority should be to have him stay healthy and in happy spirits to enjoy competition at the highest level.

"Let Neeraj enjoy the sport. There is no need to put unnecessary pressure on him regarding which events he should compete in. He has already achieved so much for Indian athletics. The important thing is that he remains healthy, enjoys competing and continues performing at the highest level," he said. In January, the two-time Olympic medalist Neeraj parted ways with Czech coach Jan Zelezny. The 28-year-old ended his ties with coach Zelezny after a year-long stint that was marked by mixed competitive results.

Neeraj and Zelezny were originally slated to work together until the end of the 2026 season. Neeraj was earlier coached by German biomechanics expert Dr Klaus Bartonietz, who guided him to the gold medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and a silver at Paris 2024 as well as the World Championships title in 2023, the report said.

During his stint, Zelezny made a few technical adjustments to Neeraj's technique, which helped the Indian star to breach the 90m mark for the first time in his career at the 2025 Doha Diamond League in May. Under him, Neeraj also won the Paris Diamond League, Ostrava Golden Spike and the inaugural NC Classic at home. Chopra also finished second at the Janusz Kusocinski Memorial and Diamond League Final.

Neeraj had a disappointing eighth-place finish at the Tokyo World Championships. The Indian was competing at the tournament with a back injury. Neeraj ended his season to focus on his recovery. 

Source: ANI

– Agencies

Emeritus Professor Prema-chandra Athukorala has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours List for significant service to tertiary education and to international trade and development economics.

Athukorala is among 948 Australians recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours List, which includes recipients from public service, academia, science, the arts, sport and community life.

Announcing the honours, Governor General Sam Mostyn said: “Our honours system recognises outstanding people who contribute so much to Australia. In our communities, in workplaces and across the country, recipients have made an exceptional contribution to Australia.”

“Just like those honoured across the past 50 years, their service and achievement in the community and public service, industry and academia, science, the arts and sport help shape our nation,” she added.

Based in Canberra, Athukorala is an Emeritus Professor at the Australian National University, where he served as Professor of Economics in the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics from 2001 to 2020.

Before joining ANU, he taught at La Trobe University between 1985 and 1994 and began his academic career at University of Sri Jayewardenepura in Sri Lanka.

Over a career spanning more than five decades, Athukorala has built an international reputation in trade and development economics, with research focusing on trade policy, globalisation, international production networks, economic growth, financial crises and labour migration.
His work has informed policymakers, researchers and international institutions across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

In addition to his academic contributions, he has served as a consultant to organisations including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Labour Organization and the Government of Sri Lanka.

Athukorala has also held visiting academic appointments at the University of Manchester, Copenhagen Business School, Hitotsubashi University and Johns Hopkins University.

A Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia since 2003, he has also contributed to the field through editorial roles with leading international economics journals, including Asian Development Review and Asian Economic Papers.

His appointment recognises a distinguished career dedicated to advancing economic scholarship and understanding of international trade and development.

– With Agencies inputs -- 
 

A sharp increase in dengue cases has been recorded in 14 districts across the country, the National Dengue Control Unit said, prompting authorities to strengthen inspection and prevention activities.

The Director of the National Dengue Control Unit, Dr. Kapila Kannangara said future dengue control operations will be carried out more strictly, and legal action will be taken against individuals who obstruct or fail to cooperate with public health inspectors.

He stressed that full public cooperation is essential for ongoing dengue prevention efforts.

Health officials said the recent increase in cases has been largely attributed to persistent rainy weather conditions since January, which have created favourable environments for mosquito breeding.

According to the latest data from the National Dengue Control Unit, 36,168 dengue cases had been reported as of June 5, with the highest number recorded in the Western Province.

In addition to the Western Province, significant numbers of cases have also been reported from Matara, Galle, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Puttalam and Kandy districts.

Officials further said that 20 dengue-related deaths have been reported so far this year, including three children.

Meanwhile, health authorities have launched a special three-day dengue control programme beginning tomorrow (June 8) and continuing on June 9 and 10.

The programme will be carried out in 72 Medical Officer of Health (MOH) divisions across 14 high-risk districts where dengue transmission remains high, officials said.

At least one person was killed and five others wounded in multiple shooting attacks in Israel on Sunday (Jun 7), authorities said, with one of the perpetrators killed.

Israel's emergency service Magen David Adom said a man about 35 years old had died of gunshot wounds.

The service also "provided medical treatment and evacuated to hospitals five injured people, including two in serious condition and three in moderate condition, with penetrating injuries to their bodies", it added.

Police said they had located a vehicle suspected of involvement and killed a suspect believed to be responsible near the town of Kokhav Yair, a few kilometres away from the occupied West Bank.

Rescuers said attacks also took place in the nearby towns of Tzur Natan and Tzur Yitzhak.

Israel's military told AFP that one perpetrator had been killed and searches were ongoing for a second.

The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had "held a situational assessment and is monitoring the deadly shooting attack".

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on X that "if the terrorist is caught alive - he will be executed".

He was referring to a recently approved Israeli law that imposes the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of terror charges for deadly anti-Israeli attacks.

"Jewish blood is not cheap. Whoever murders a Jew will see the hangman's noose," Ben Gvir said.

Source: AFP

– Agencies