Ravindra Jadeja to undergo knee surgery, could miss T20 World Cup

Ravindra Jadeja will have to undergo a surgery on his injured right knee, which is expected to keep him out of action for an indefinite period. India head coach Rahul Dravid, though, said* it would be too early to rule him out of the T20 World Cup, to be played in Australia in October-November.

"Jadeja has injured his knee; he is obviously ruled out of the Asia Cup," Dravid said ahead of India's Super 4 match against Pakistan. "He is under the care of the medical team, he is going to see the doctors, see the experts. The World Cup is still a fair bit away, and we don't want to jump to any conclusions and rule him out or rule him in. We'll see how it goes.

"Injuries are a part of the sport; it is part of our job to try to manage them. A lot will depend on rehab and the severity of the injury. I don't want to rule him out or don't want to make too many comments until we have a much clearer picture and a better idea, especially because the World Cup is six or seven weeks away from now."

An unnamed BCCI official, meanwhile, told PTI that Jadeja's injury was "pretty serious". "He is supposed to undergo a major knee surgery and will be out of action for an indefinite period of time," the official said. "At this point, if one goes by the assessment of the NCA's medical team, one can't put a timeline on his imminent international comeback."

Jadeja, who played the first two games of the Asia Cup against Pakistan and Hong Kong, provides the team the requisite balance - along with Hardik Pandya - with his all-round abilities and his absence will come as a blow for Rohit Sharma's side.

Jadeja was a key performer in both of India's matches at the Asia Cup so far. Against Pakistan, he bowled two economical overs before being promoted to No. 4 in India's chase of 148, specifically since he was the only left-hand batter in India's top seven. He steered India towards victory with a 29-ball 35, and ensured that Pakistan held back left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz's fourth over until the final over of the match. Against Hong Kong, he dismissed top-scorer Babar Hayat and only gave away 15 runs in his four overs.

This is not the first time Jadeja has been troubled by his right knee. An injury to the same joint had forced him to miss the ODI leg of India's tour of the West Indies in July.

* This news article was updated at 3.15pm GMT on September 3 following Rahul Dravid's statement to the press.

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Iran boosts civil defence in 51 cities, lifts anti-aircraft readiness

Iran equips dozens of its cities and towns with civil defence systems to thwart any possible foreign attack, officials say, amid an escalation of tensions with Israel and US.

A drone is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Reuters Archive)

Iran has equipped 51 of its cities with civil defence systems and boosted readiness at air defences to thwart any possible foreign attack, military officials said, amid an escalation of tensions with Israel and the United States. The civil defence equipment will enable Iran to "identify and monitor threats by using round-the-clock software according to the type of the threat and risk," deputy defence minister Brigadier General Mehdi Farahi was quoted as saying by Iranian media on Saturday. "These days, depending on the strength of countries, the form of battles has become more complicated," said Farahi, adding that hybrid forms of warfare including cyber, biological and radioactive attacks, have replaced classical wars.  He did not name the countries that could threaten Iran. Meanwhile, Brigadier General Qader Rahimzadeh, commander of Iran's air defence headquarters, said readiness was at its highest among his forces. "The country's airspace today is the safest for licensed flights and the most insecure for would-be aggressors," Rahimzadeh was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency. US-Iran tensions Iran has accused Israel and the United States of cyber attacks in recent years that have impaired the country's infrastructure.  Iran has also accused Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, of sabotaging its nuclear facilities. US-Iran military tensions have also long dogged the region. In the latest incident, Iran seized US military sail drones in the Red Sea earlier this week –– even as both countries pursue nuclear talks. Source: Reuters

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Germany promises $199M in aid for Ukraine IDPs

Fast News

Critical nuclear power plant in Ukraine again loses external power, heightening concerns as energy battle between Moscow and West ramp up amid the ongoing fighting – now in its 193rd day.

Ukrainian servicemen fire a mortar on the front line, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Donetsk region. (Reuters Archive)

Sunday, September 4, 2022 Germany to provide more aid for displaced Ukrainians Germany will provide Ukraine with an additional $199 million to fund aid programmes for those internally displaced as a result of Russia's offensive, Development Minister Svenja Schulze has told Funke Media group. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal will visit Berlin on Monday where he will meet German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. "I will speak to Prime Minister Shmyhal about how we can continue to support the Ukrainian government in caring for the displaced people," Schulze said. "The money is intended to help the displaced people in Ukraine to continue to be able to provide for themselves with the essentials." For live updates from Saturday (September 3), click here Source: TRTWorld and agencies

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Senegal president performs Umrah after visiting Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah

Sat, 2022-09-03 00:07

RIYADH: Senegalese President Macky Sall performed Umrah at the Grand Mosque in Makkah on Saturday. Sall was received in Makkah by senior officials from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. Earlier on Saturday, he traveled to Jeddah from Madinah, arriving at King Abdulaziz International Airport, when the president was received by Jeddah Gov. Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Jalawi, Jeddah Mayor Saleh Al-Turki, and several other Saudi officials.

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Toll beyond 1,260 as dozens more die from 'catastrophic' Pakistan floods

Toll rises with 57 more deaths, 25 among them children, and officials say floods inundating a third of the South Asian country were preceded by four heatwaves and multiple raging forest fires provoked by climate crisis.

Pakistan army helps flood-affected people at a makeshift camp after heavy monsoon rains at Sohbatpur in Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province. (AFP)

The toll from cataclysmic floods in Pakistan continues to climb with 57 more deaths, 25 of them children, as the country grapples with a relief and rescue operation of near unprecedented scale. A high-level body set up to coordinate the relief effort met in Islamabad on Saturday for the first time, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to take stock of the disaster. Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains brought floods that have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,265 people, including 441 children.  The inundation, blamed on climate crisis, is still spreading. The proportion of children's deaths has raised concern.  On Friday, the United Nations children's agency (UNICEF) said there was a risk of "many more" child deaths from disease after floods. The floods that have inundated a third of the country were preceded by four heatwaves and multiple raging forest fires, the disaster management chief told the high-level meeting, highlighting the effects of climate crisis in the South Asian nation. "The year 2022 brought some harsh realities of climate change for Pakistan," the chief of the National Disaster Management Authority Lieutenant-General Akhtar Nawaz told a briefing for the country's top leadership. "This year we did not witness a spring season –– we faced four heatwaves which caused large-scale forest fires across the country," he said. READ MORE: Why Pakistan suffers from climate change despite minimal carbon footprint? Hard-hit southern regions The fires were particularly severe in the southwestern province of Balochistan, destroying swaths of pine-nut forests and other vegetation, not far from areas now underwater. Balochistan has received 436 percent more rain than the 30-year average this monsoon. The province has seen widespread devastation, including a washing away of key rail and road networks as well as breakdowns in telecommunications and power infrastructure, the meeting was told. The country has received nearly 190 percent more rain than the 30-year average in the quarter through August, totalling 15.38 inches.  Sindh province, with a population of 50 million, was hardest hit, getting 464 percent more rain than the 30-year average. Aid has flowed in from a number of countries, with the first humanitarian assistance flight from France landing on Saturday morning in Islamabad.  But Pakistan's largest charity group has said there were still millions who had not been reached by aid and relief efforts. Initial estimates of the damage have been put at $10 billion, but surveys are still being conducted along with international organisations. The United Nations has appealed for $160 million in aid to help tackle what it said was an "unprecedented climate catastrophe" as Pakistan's navy has fanned out inland to carry out relief operations in areas that resemble a sea. READ MORE: Aid pours into Pakistan as death toll from floods crosses grim 1,200 mark Source: Reuters

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Manchar Lake starts overflowing, residents ordered to evacuate

Manchar Lake started overflowing from its embankments, posing a serious threat to nearby localities. Screenshot of a Twitter video

SEHWAN: Manchar Lake's water level has risen to a dangerous level, giving rise to the fear of the dyke breaking down at any moment. The city administration has ordered residents of nearby localities to move to safer areas.  Capt. (Ret.) Farid-Uddin-Mustafa, Deputy Commissioner Jamshoro, said that the water level in the Manchhar lake is steadily rising. He warned that the lake's embankment may collapse at any time. As a result, he advised that the union councils of Wahar, Bobak, Jaffarabad, and Chana be vacated. Manchar Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in Pakistan and is one of the largest lakes in Asia. It is situated west of the Indus River, in the Jamshoro and Dadu Districts, 18 kilometres from Sehwan Sharif. The Deputy Commissioner further directed the people to avoid visiting Manchar Lake unnecessarily as its dyke, RD54 to RD58, is withstanding huge pressure.
The official said the dyke will not be breached and a last-ditch effort will be made [to keep the embankment intact]. "The next 24 to 48 hours are crucial for the Manchhar Lake," he cautioned. According to a Geo News correspondent, the water has started overflowing from the lake's banks at some points, triggering panic among the local population of Sehwan. Citizens in Bobak and surrounding areas of the lake demand the city administration breach the embankment at Yousuf Bagh so that hundreds of villages can be saved from inundation. 

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NASA delays Artemis I moon rocket launch

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen atop the mobile launcher at Launch 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 26, 2022. Steve Seipel | NASA

NASA postponed its Artemis I moon mission again on Saturday, after making a second attempt to get the uncrewed launch off the ground. The space agency is working toward the debut of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule, for what would be a more than month-long journey around the moon, but is now facing a delay of at least several weeks. As NASA was filling the rocket on Saturday morning, the agency's team detected a hydrogen fuel leak from the engine section. NASA made several attempts to fix the leak, but time ticked away ahead of the launch window that was set to open at 2:17 p.m. ET. NASA called off a first launch attempt on Monday after it was unable to resolve a temperature problem identified with one of the rocket's four liquid-fueled engines, discovered with less than two hours to go in the countdown. NASA said later Saturday it would not attempt another launch during the current period, which ends Tuesday. The agency said it will need to roll the 32-story tall rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida before another attempt. The next available launch periods begin Sept. 19 and Oct. 17 and last about two weeks each.

The uncrewed launch is set to mark the debut of the most powerful rocket ever assembled, and kicks off NASA's long-awaited return to the moon's surface. It's the first mission in NASA's Artemis lunar program, which is tentatively planned to land the agency's astronauts on the moon by its third mission in 2025.

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