Wednesday, September 02
Sri Lanka's death toll from Cyclone Ditwah climbed to 212 with 218 missing, officials said on Sunday, as flood waters breached a dam and rescue operations continued into a fourth day. Nearly a million people are impacted by heavy rains and floods that swept through large parts of the south Asian island nation forcing nearly 200,000 people into 1,275 shelters, the Disaster Management Centre said in a statement. Record rains lashed the country from last Thursday causing multiple landslides in the hilly central region while overflowing rivers submerged entire towns nationwide. Over 24,000 police, army and air force personnel are still trying to reach families stranded by floods, authorities said. More than 120 people were airlifted to safety in helicopters by the air force after water breac
At least 400 Indian nationals stranded at the Colombo airport following the extreme weather conditions in cyclone-hit Sri Lanka, were sent back home on Sunday. Around 150 of them were sent back to Delhi aboard flight C130 while 250 of them were sent to Trivandrum on flight IL 76 from the Bandaranaike International Airport, Sri Lankan officials said.Also read: Cyclone Ditwah Tracker Live UpdatesBoth the aircraft had arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday carrying food and humanitarian aid for flash floods victims. As Sri Lanka battled the aftermath of the powerful cyclone Ditwah, Acting High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, Dr Satyanjal Pandey, met stranded compatriots at the Colombo airport on Saturday. The Indian High Commission provided food and water to those who needed it, and also assure
Who would have thought that a century old Chinese game of tile and tactics would find a chic resurgence in urban India? What began as a casual curiosity for a few has turned into a full-blown cultural moment. Mahjong is no longer a quiet pastime but an obsession and, surprisingly, a restorative form of self-care. No matter how long the day or how loud the mental clutter, I’m never too tired to play. There’s something self-soothing about sitting at the table, running my fingers through the cool, smooth tiles and letting their rhythm reset my mind.At its heart, mahjong thrives on contradictions. It demands focus yet rewards intuition, encourages patience but punishes hesitation. Each game unfolds across four “winds” —East, South, West and North— with the rules shifting subtly acr
