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Sunday Island’s Zanita Careem honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
Senior Journalist of The Sunday Island Zanita Careem was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Journalism Awards for Excellence 2023 held at the Mt Lavinia hotel on Tuesday (07) night.
Zanita has been in journalism since 1970 after graduating from the University of Peradeniya with a bachelor’s degree in political science. She began her journalistic career at the Sun Newspaper as a Parliament Reporter and joined The Island Newspaper when it was launched in 1981. At present she is the Features Editor of The Sunday Island.
The oil anointing ceremony for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year was held on April 16 at the historic Rajamaha Viharaya in Kolonnawa, with the participation of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
Following the chanting of pirith, the oil anointing ritual was carried out at the auspicious time of 9:04 a.m., by the Chief Incumbent of the temple, Venerable Kolonnawa Dhammika Thero.
Speaking after the ceremony the Prime Minister said that:
“The Sinhala and Tamil New Year is one of the most important festivities in our country. It is a celebration with our families, reflecting our traditions and customs while strengthening the ties.
This festival leads the path for renewing unity, love, and bonds stronger. These values enrich a country. Development of a country is not limited by one-dimensional; a true development includes spirituality, relationships, and connections. The reason why we uphold these customs in such ceremonies is to remind ourselves of the significance and to pass on their value to future generations.
Therefore, today marks a significant day. Throughout this week, we came together and engaged in various activities. Followed by, the next event will mark the leaving for employment at the auspicious time and we should start working collectively to rebuild the country.
I wish everyone a New Year that is prosperous, peaceful, joyful, full of strengthened relationships, and most importantly, safe for all.”
The ceremony was graced by the presence of the Maha Sangha, and attended by the Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs Eranga Gunasekara, Divisional Secretary to Kolonnawa Priyanath Perera, Municipal Secretary Nelum Kumari Gamage, and the residents of the area.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
India’s opposition Congress party has said it will organise nationwide protests on Wednesday after the country’s financial crimes agency charged senior leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi and others with money laundering.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) presented its findings in a Delhi court on Tuesday, accusing the Gandhis of forming a shell company to illegally acquire assets of the National Herald newspaper worth more than 20bn rupees ($233mn; £176mn).
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh called the charges “politics of vendetta and intimidation” by the government.
The Gandhis who have previously denied any wrongdoing have not commented on the charges.
The investigation also names other members of the Congress party, including its overseas chief Sam Pitroda, according to news agency ANI.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) began investigating the case in 2021 after a private complaint filed by Subramanian Swamy, a member of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Swamy alleged that the Gandhis used party funds to take over Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper, and illegally acquired properties worth millions through AJL.
The Congress maintains that it bailed out the publisher due to its historical legacy and had lent more than 900m rupees to AJL over the years.
In 2010, AJL became debt-free by swapping its debt for equity and assigning the shares to a newly created company called Young Indian, which the party says is a “not-for-profit company” with no dividends paid to its shareholders and directors.
Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are among Young Indian’s directors and they each own 38% of the company. The remaining 24% is owned by Congress leaders, including Motilal Vora and Sam Pitroda.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate said Young Indian had acquired AJL properties worth 20bn rupees for just 5m, significantly undervaluing their worth.
It also served several notices to seize assets worth 6.6bn rupees across several Indian cities – including Delhi and Mumbai – which are connected to Young Indian.
The case is scheduled to come up for hearing on 25 April.
In recent years, the opposition has repeatedly accused the Narendra Modi government of weaponising the Enforcement Directorate against its political opponents.
According to data compiled by Reuters in 2024, the agency has summoned, questioned or raided around 150 opposition politicians since Modi came to power in 2014.
Last year, the ED arrested former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with an alleged liquor scam just a month before key general elections. He spent five months in jail before being freed on bail.
What is the National Herald?
The National Herald newspaper was founded in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister and Rahul Gandhi’s great-grandfather.
It ceased publication in 2008 after running into financial troubles but was later acquired by the Congress in 2010 and relaunched as a digital news outlet in 2017.
It was published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which was established in 1937 with 5,000 freedom fighters as shareholders. AJL also published Qaumi Awaz in Urdu and Navjeevan in Hindi.
The National Herald became known for its association with India’s freedom struggle and its nationalist stance.
Nehru often wrote strong-worded columns, which led to the British government banning the paper in 1942. It reopened three years later.
After India gained independence in 1947, Nehru resigned as chairman of the newspaper to become prime minister.
But the Congress continued to play a huge role in shaping the newspaper’s ideology.
In a message to the National Herald on its silver jubilee in 1963, Nehru spoke about the paper “generally favouring Congress policy” while maintaining “an independent outlook”.
Over the years, the National Herald grew to be a leading English daily, supported by the Congress party, until it shut down in 2008 after years of financial troubles.
[BBC]
The ICC have welcomed the announcement that the Fairgrounds in Pomona, Southern California, will host cricket at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Excitement around cricket’s Olympic comeback has been building since it was confirmed that the sport would return to the Games.
On 9 April, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed the player quotas and number of participating teams for cricket at the 2028 Olympics.
Both the men’s and women’s T20 competitions will feature six teams each, with a 90-player quota allocated per gender, allowing each nation to field a squad of up to 15 players.
The full tournament schedule will be finalised closer to the start of the Games.
“We welcome the announcement of the venue for cricket at Los Angeles 2028 as it is a significant step towards the preparation for our sport’s return to the Olympics,” ICC Chair Jay Shah said.
“Although cricket is a hugely popular sport, it will be a fantastic opportunity to expand traditional boundaries when it features in the Olympics in the fast-paced, exciting T20 format that should appeal to new audiences.
“On behalf of the ICC, I want to express my gratitude to LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for their support and look forward to collaborating with them and ICC Members in preparing for LA28 and making cricket a huge success there.”
Cricket’s return to the Olympics was confirmed in October 2023, alongside the inclusion of five additional sports for the Los Angeles Games – baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.
The T20 format has previously featured in multi-sport events, with both men’s and women’s competitions held at the Asian Games in 2010, 2014 and 2023. The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham featured a women’s T20 tournament.
[ICC]
We should start working collectively to rebuild the country -PM
India’s Gandhis charged in money laundering case amid opposition outcry
Venue announced for cricket’s Olympics return at LA28
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