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‘Largest Hajj pilgrimage in history’ begins in Saudi Arabia
The pilrimage of Hajj has begun as crowds of Muslims donning white robes circle the Kaaba, the cubed structure at the epicentre of Islam’s holiest site, their prayers ringing through the air.
The annual pilgrimage began on Sunday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia with the tawaf, the circling of the Kaaba, in an event that is expected to break attendance records.
“This year, we will witness the largest Hajj pilgrimage in history,” said an official at the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
More than 2.5 million Muslims are expected to take part, as coronavirus pandemic restrictions in place since 2020 have been fully relaxed. That year, just 10,000 people were permitted to participate; 59,000 in 2021; and last year there was a cap of one million people.
(Aljazeera)
President Ranil Wickremesinghe embarked on an official visit to Germany early this morning (27). During his absence, the responsibilities of the ministries under his purview have been temporarily entrusted to the respective state ministers.
As part of this arrangement, State Minister Pramitha Bandara Tennakoon will serve as the Acting Minister of Defence, State Minister Shehan Semasinghe as the Acting Minister of Finance, State Minister Kanaka Herath as the Acting Minister of Technology, State Minister Anupa Pasqual as the Acting Minister for Women, Children Affairs and Social Empowerment and State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya as the Acting Minister for Investment Promotion.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe left for Germany to deliver the opening remarks at the Leaders Dialogue session during the ‘Berlin Global Dialogue’ on September 28-29. Subsequently, he will join a bilateral session with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the officials of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Minister of State for Tourism Mrs. Diana Gamage at a press conference themed ‘Collective path to a stable country’ at the Presidential Media Centre today (27) announced plans to launch promotional campaigns aimed at attracting 1.5 million foreign tourists to Sri Lanka by the year’s end. She emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of tourists and mentioned initiatives such as establishing taxi associations to enhance the visitor experience.
Nepal’s batters smashed a number of records in the opening match of the Men’s Asian Games against Mongolia in Hangzhou, in a record 273-run win. Here is a quick look at some of the major records broken by them.
0 – Number of times a team had scored 300 in a men’s T20 innings before this. Nepal’s 314 for 3 against Mongolia in the Asian Games is the first such instance. Afghanistan’s 278 for 3 against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019 was the highest T20 total before this. These are also the biggest totals in men’s T20 internationals.
34 – Balls taken by Nepal’s Kushal Malla to reach his hundred, which is the fastest in T20Is. The previous record of 35 balls was jointly held by David Miller, Rohit Sharma and Czech Republic’s Sudesh Wickramasekara.9 – Balls taken by Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee to hit a fifty. Airee’s innings featured eight sixes and no fours. This is the fastest fifty in all T20s, beating the previous record of 12 balls, which was jointly held by Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle and Hazratullah Zazai. While Yuvraj’s fifty came in a T20I, the other two were scored in T20s.
273 – Nepal’s margin of win against Mongolia. This is the highest margin in terms of runs in all T20s. The previous biggest margin was Czech Republic’s 208-run win against Panama in 2021.
520 – Airee’s strike rate in his unbeaten knock of 52 off 10 balls. This is the first instance in T20s when a batter has scored at a 500-plus strike rate in an innings of 10 or more balls. The previous best was Malcolm Waller’s strike rate of 430 in a ten-ball innings agsinst Matabeleland Tuskers in 2016 Zimbabwe’s domestic T20 competition.
26 – Sixes hit by Nepal batters in this match – the most in a T20 international by a team. The previous highest were 22, by Afghanistan against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019 and by West Indies against South Africa in Centurion earlier this year. These are also the most in any T20 match, beating the 23 sixes hit by Balkh Legend batters against Kabul Zwanan in the Afghanistan Premier League in 2018.
19y 206d – Malla’s age on Wednesday, making him the second youngest batter to score a century in men’s T20Is. The youngest is Gustav Mckeon of France, who scored two centuries before turning 19 in July 2022.
56 – Percentage of Mongolia’s total to have come through extras – 23 of the 41 all out were extras. It is the highest proportion of team runs to have come via extras in a men’s T20I innings (min: five overs bowled). The previous highest was 34.6% for China, who had nine extras during their 26 all out against Thailand earlier this year.
(Cricinfo)
Acting Ministers assigned to oversee Ministries under the President
Campaign to attract 1.5 million tourists to Sri Lanka in 2023
Nepal smash records with fastest century and fifty in men’s T20Is
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