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The National Ranking Golf Tournament concluded in fine fashion at the Victoria Golf Resort in Rajawella, with Vijitha Bandara emerging as the overall champion after four intense rounds of golf. Bandara’s consistency across all days, with scores of 71, 77, 74, and 72, gave him a winning total of 294, two strokes ahead of the nearest rival.

Young Kaya Daluwatte continued her strong form this season, finishing runner-up on 296. Her rounds of 75, 75, 74, and 72 reflected remarkable steadiness under pressure, especially on the challenging closing day where he matched Bandara’s 72. She was the only girl in the tournament. Kaya with the current world ranking of 524 will improve after her master class effort among the boys.

In third place was the seasoned campaigner Chanaka Perera, who carded rounds of 73, 74, 78, and 75 for a total of 300, six strokes behind the leader. Despite a tough third round, his experience kept him among the top performers.

Reshan Algama and Kumar Danushan shared fourth place on 301, both displaying moments of brilliance during the week. Algama’s third-round 72 was among the best of the tournament, while Danushan remained consistent throughout.

More than 40 golfers teed off in the four-day event which saw top 15 amateurs featuring in the last two days.

The Junior National Ranking Tournament held at Victoria Golf Resort, Rajawella, saw a fine display of young golfing talent over two days of competition. In the boys’ category, Udeera Bandara produced consistent rounds of 86 and 82 for a total of 168 to secure the top spot, displaying remarkable accuracy and composure on the challenging layout. Meanwhile Sithara Lowrance won the girls’ segment with a total score of 189. (SJ)

The newly elected Small Hydro Power Developers Association (SHPDA) President Pathmanatha Poddiwala recently vowed to steer the association through a period of major structural and regulatory change, pledging stronger advocacy, innovation, and collaboration to ensure the continued growth of the country’s renewable energy sector.

Speaking after his election, Poddiwala said it was a great honour to lead one of the country’s oldest renewable energy associations, which currently contributes nearly 450 MW of firm power to the national grid at some of the lowest costs in the energy mix. .

He paid tribute to the outgoing President Thusitha and the executive committee for their ‘exemplary leadership’ through three consecutive and challenging terms marked by the pandemic and post-crisis policy transitions.

Poddiwala acknowledged that the renewable energy industry is facing an unprecedented set of challenges, describing the current period as ‘turbulent weather’ for small hydro power developers.

He pointed to several key issues, including the enforcement of the new Electricity Act, the restructuring and unbundling of the national utility, unconsented curtailments of power generation, termination of power purchase agreements (PPAs) for ongoing projects, and financially constrained tariff structures that have undermined project bankability.

‘These are challenges we are experiencing for the first time in our history. We must think afresh and set our strategies to face a new era. Despite the difficulties, what strengthens our resolve is the fact that renewable energy remains the cheapest and most sustainable source of power both locally and globally,’ he noted.

Poddiwala stressed that Sri Lanka’s indigenous renewable energy resources continue to be its greatest natural advantage and that the sector remains central to meeting future energy demand.

He observed that while investor interest has slowed due to tariff constraints, it also creates an opportunity to reposition the market through innovation and efficiency.

He highlighted the need for technological transformation, particularly through the integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) that would allow existing hydro plants to store energy during the day and release it during peak hours.

Poddiwala also pointed to the expected growth in the electric vehicle market, tourism and exports, which will drive up energy demand, further underscoring the importance of renewables as the primary source to meet the country’s growing needs.

Looking ahead, the new SHPDA President outlined his vision for a more strategic, inclusive, and outward-looking association.

Among the key priorities he announced were the formulation of a strategic plan to set clear long-term goals, the introduction of a more inclusive decision-making process that involves wider stakeholder consultation, and the expansion of relationships with global renewable energy forums, financial institutions, and development partners such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

He also called for greater public engagement and media visibility, proposing regular briefings and a stronger social media presence to raise awareness about the association’s contributions to the national economy. Additionally, Poddiwala announced plans to launch a membership drive that would introduce new membership categories and expand the association’s base to include a broader range of industry participants.

‘We will hold a strategic brainstorming session to set clear targets and align our actions with the evolving energy landscape. Each executive committee and working group will have specific tasks and timelines to deliver measurable outcomes,’ he said.

Poddiwala concluded by expressing gratitude to the association’s members for their continuous support and active engagement in promoting renewable energy in Sri Lanka. He voiced confidence that the new executive committee would work with full commitment to deliver results and meet members’ expectations.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, as designated by the World Health Organization (WHO). The month is spent creating awareness, honouring the millions of lives affected by breast cancer and reaffirming the global commitment to equitable access to care and improved survival for all.

This year, the theme of Breast Cancer Awareness Month is; ‘Every Story is Unique, Every Journey Matters’.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. In 2022, approximately 2.3 million women were diagnosed and another 670,000 died from the disease.

According to the WHO, while the five-year survival rates in high-income countries exceeds 90%, the figures drop to 66% in India and 40% in South Africa. These disparities are driven by unequal access to early detection, timely diagnosis and effective treatment. If the current trend continues, the incidence and mortality are projected to rise by 40% by 2050; hence the need for urgent and coordinated action. Indeed, where a woman lives should not determine whether she survives, the world health body states.

In Sri Lanka the available statistics are worrying. Approximately 15 new breast cancer cases are reported daily in the country, while about three women die each day due to the disease, health authorities have revealed.

National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) Director Dr. Shreeni Alahapperuma told a press briefing recently that 19,457 female cancer patients were identified in Sri Lanka in 2022, according to recorded data.

Out of these, 5,477 were breast cancer cases, accounting for 28% of all female cancers and of the 15,245 cancer-related deaths that occur annually in Sri Lanka, 798 deaths are due to breast cancer.

She said that while early detection of breast cancer leads to successful treatment, around 30% of cases are diagnosed in the late stages, making treatment complicated.

Each year Breast Cancer Awareness Month is commemorated in Sri Lanka with awareness programs.

This year the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has announced that all parliamentarians and parliamentary staff will be encouraged to wear pink on a selected day in the next parliamentary week to support breast cancer awareness.

They also agreed to request for a debate in Parliament on breast cancer to draw more public focus on this curable condition if there is early detection.

The Director of the National Cancer Control Programme, along with other medical professionals, briefed the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus on breast cancer prevention and emphasised that early detection and treatment of breast cancer can lead to a cure and stressed the importance of breast self-examination (BSE) in addition to medical screenings.

In Sri Lanka awareness programs have started at the school level across the country which is a good initiative.

One of the main problems in Sri Lanka, despite its good health indicators, is the reluctance of people to follow the age-old adage, ‘prevention is better than cure.’ Similarly with the State health services stretched to the limit, not enough money and time is spent on programs for early detection of cancers and educational programs. Whatever screening available is done at private hospitals at heavy costs and is beyond the reach of most women.

One of the most important steps the health authorities can take is to dedicate October for general screening for breast cancer. This should then become a more regular affair so that all women have access to proper care. The awareness programs should also not be confined to one month of the year but be made a regular affair so that there can be more awareness, more early detection, leading to better treatment thus leading to a higher survival rate.

Sri Lanka is moving to secure European Union Geographical Indication (GI) status for Ceylon Tea to protect its authenticity, curb counterfeiting, and boost export value, officials said yesterday. The certification, backed by a pound 1 million French-funded initiative, is expected to give Ceylon Tea stronger global recognition and legal protection.

Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Raaj Obeysekere said the move was a major step toward safeguarding the authenticity of Ceylon Tea and securing higher export prices.

Addressing a forum in Colombo on ‘Perspectives on Geographical Indication in Sri Lanka’, Obeysekere said the GI status would also help combat counterfeits and elevate the country’s tea in global markets. ‘The GI status of Ceylon Tea is a powerful tool that protects its original identity, combats imitation, and positions it at a premium in international markets,’ he said. ‘More importantly, it empowers our producers and brings long-term value to rural communities.’

The certification effort was supported by a pound 1 million grant from Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

AFD Country Director Yazid Bensaïd said the agency has funded GI initiatives in nearly 20 countries worldwide, promoting trade, quality assurance, and sustainability.

‘In a country where tea is the second-largest export and employs more than one million people, this initiative had to be participatory,’ he said. ‘Over 500 stakeholders took part in defining specifications for Ceylon Tea and creating a robust control system to maintain standards.’

The technical work was led by France’s Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), which also supported Sri Lanka’s earlier GI registration for Ceylon Cinnamon. CIRAD Legal Researcher Dr. Delphine Marie-Vivien said the process relied on collaboration.

‘It’s crucial to define together the rules that safeguard the name and reputation,’ she said. ‘This work has succeeded through strong local commitment and shared motivation.’

Plantations Minister Samantha Vidyaratne said France had supported the effort since 2021. ‘Ceylon Tea has been synonymous with Sri Lanka for 150 years,’ he said. ‘Given current market conditions, internationally recognised standards through GI certification are essential. We have now submitted the application and I am confident we will get it.’

French Ambassador to Sri Lanka Rémi Lambert said the registration, once approved by the European Union, would give Ceylon Tea stronger legal protection and consumer recognition.

‘Once registered, Ceylon Tea will join a global family of products whose quality and origin are celebrated,’ he said. ‘In France, we have Champagne and Piment d’Espelette, and we are proud to share our experience with Sri Lanka.’

The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday said that Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya visited her alma mater, Hindu College of the University of Delhi, during her official visit to India, where a new research facility was inaugurated in her honour.

The new ‘Harini Amarasuriya Social and Ethnographic Research Lab’ was opened in recognition of the Prime Minister’s contributions to education, social reform, and academia. Dr. Amarasuriya, who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Hindu College, was received by faculty, administrators, and students at the university.

During her visit, she reflected on her student days and how her time at the institution shaped her commitment to social justice, equality, and education reform. Addressing the students, she said, ‘Education is not merely about securing individual futures, but about equipping ourselves to transform the futures of others,’ while urging them to embrace curiosity, empathy, and critical thinking.

Dr. Amarasuriya also visited NITI Aayog, India’s national policy think tank, for discussions on education, innovation, and governance reforms. The talks focused on India’s transformation through initiatives such as the Atal Innovation Mission, as Sri Lanka advances its own education reform agenda.

Every Sunday morning, a group of runners gather inside the historic streets of the Galle Fort for something more than just a usual weekend workout – to foster camaraderie and friendship, and to give back something to Society.

The ‘Run for Coffee’ (RFC) Club commenced as a small local initiative in Sri Lanka, bringing together people who love running, meeting new friends, and supporting good causes. After each run, the group winds down over a cup of coffee at Barista in Galle Fort – for moments of laughter, connection, and enhancing community spirit.

The club also sells its own ‘Run for Coffee’ T-shirts, and all proceeds goes toward helping local schools and charitable projects. To date, the club has completed three charity initiatives, including their most recent contribution to Galbada Athuruwella Maha vidyalaya in Induruwa, where they donated a projector and fans for classrooms.

What started as a small Sunday fun run has become a beautiful reminder that a community coming together – even over a cup of coffee – can make a big difference to Society.

United States President Donald Trump’s deceptive 20 point plan to end his government supported Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza demands disarming of Hamas, representing Palestinians in Gaza, to ensure the security of the settler colonial state of Israel.

However there was no such security for Palestinians whose lands Zionist Jews robbed under British colonial rule to set up Israel which has been bombing and slaughtering Palestinians for more than three quarter century?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declared a war criminal by International Criminal Court, ICC, deserved to be tried in a Nuremburg type trial which punished German Nazi war criminals. Instead he was rewarded with a US plan to wipe out Hamas and eliminate Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.

Arab regimes support this sell out plan which eliminates Hamas and turn Palestinians into non entity.

It is worthy to note that this so-called peace plan comes from President Trump who together with former US President Joe Biden spent $ 30 billion American taxpayers’ money to fund Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and the destruction of Gaza. This comes while Netanyahu claimed that he feels ‘very’ connected to the vision of a ‘Greater Israel’, which includes occupied Palestinian territory as well as parts of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

UN Commissioner Navi Pillay who criticised Trump’s Gaza plan for its exclusion of Palestinians from transitional governance, said a ceasefire proposal does not alter the UN’s finding that Israel is responsible for genocide.

Who is capable of ensuring that Netanyahu doesn’t violate the ceasefire deal?

Questioning the credibility of the plan columnist Rifat Jawaid asked whether Benjamin Netanyahu can be trusted with the Gaza peace plan. Who is capable of ensuring that Netanyahu doesn’t violate the ceasefire deal once all the hostages are released just like he did in March this year?

Sick and tired of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s sell out agreements and compromises with Israel respected Islamic scholar Sheikh Yassin established Hamas organisation in 1987 during the first intifadas (uprising). As dedicated Muslims, Hamas’ roots are in the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and was supported by a robust sociopolitical structure inside the Palestinian territories. But US, hostile to Islam and Muslims, designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO).

Its 1988 charter states that Palestine which include Israel is an Islamic homeland that can never be surrendered to non-Muslims and that waging holy war to take control of Palestine from Israel is a religious duty for Palestinian Muslims. This position brought Hamas into conflict with Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which recognised Israel’s right to exist in 1988.

Hamas opposed the 1993 peace agreement between the PLO and Israel. In the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006 Hamas won and took control of the Gaza Strip.

Unable to put up with decades of extreme Israeli oppression Hamas attacked Israel in October 2003 and triggered the genocide which continues for two years. However according to American political scientist John Mearsheimer Israel killed Israelis and blamed Hamas to trigger this genocide planned ahead with US-European partners.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in Paris that there could be no future role for Hamas in Gaza while Qatar, Egypt and Turkey began putting pressure on Hamas to limit its objections to Trump’s plan to disarm them

The head of Hamas’s negotiating team Khalil al-Hayya said, ‘We are ready and positive to [work] towards an agreement that would see the end of the war, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza] and an exchange of prisoners so the war ends forever, and our Palestinian people may live in peace, in accordance with their legitimate aspirations, like all other peoples of the region live.’

Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit

On Monday, 13 October 2025, the city hosted an international summit titled ‘Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit’ co-chaired by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and US President Donald Trump, with the participation of world leaders from more than 20 countries aiming to end the war in the Gaza Strip.

There was no participation by Hamas and Israel. The summit was to discuss the next steps in the implementation of the Gaza peace plan and it was intended that the focus should be on the future governance of the Gaza Strip, security and humanitarian assistance

It was hosted by Trump and Egyptian dictator Abdel Fattah Sisi, installed in power by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait at a cost of 11 billion dollar, after crushing emerging democracy headed by Mohamed Morsy of Muslim Brotherhood.

Addressing the Gaza summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, President Donald Trump acknowledged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his ‘favourite field marshal from Pakistan’ before giving the floor to PM Shehbaz to deliver a speech.

In his speech Shehbaz said, ‘I would say this is one of the greatest days in contemporary history, because peace has been achieved after untiring efforts. ‘Efforts led by President Trump, who is genuinely a man of peace who had relentlessly and untiringly worked throughout these months, day in and day out, to make this world a place to live in peace and prosperity,’ he added. The PM reiterated that Pakistan nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize for his ‘outstanding, extraordinary contributions to first, stop war between India and Pakistan and then achieve a ceasefire, along with his very wonderful team’.

Shameful state of affairs of rulers in Muslim countries

This is the shameful state of affairs of rulers in Muslim countries. These treacherous sell out rulers will disappear but Palestinians will live to fight for their legitimate rights to ensure their dignity if not today but tomorrow or day after.

Summing up the situation Palestinian intellectual Azzam Tamimi said ‘lasting peace will remain elusive without an end to occupation’.

Citing the book ‘The War’ by American investigative journalist Bob Woodward’s one columnist had this to highlight Arab regimes’ hatred towards Hamas.

Anyone who reads the book and the conversations it documents between U.S. Secretary of State ‘Blinken’ and a number of Arab leaders will be shocked to discover that the stance of countries like Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia was not one of silence or abandonment of the people of Gaza, as was previously believed. Instead, the details presented in the book suggest that the governments of these countries are complicit in the destruction of the Palestinians, just like Israel.

Complete indifference to the scale of Palestinian bloodshed

The reader is astonished by the agreement of Arab leaders – from Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia Abu Dhabi and Bahrain on the necessity of waging war on Hamas and eliminating it, coupled with their complete indifference to the scale of Palestinian bloodshed. Blinken flew to Abu Dhabi to meet with the President of the UAE, ‘Mohamed bin Zayed,’ who was the most extreme among all the Arab leaders he met, insisting that the war must not stop until Hamas is eradicated in Gaza.

On the morning of the next day, 14 October, Blinken met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, who said: ‘Israel should not have trusted Hamas. We warned Netanyahu repeatedly. Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood.’

‘The Saudi Foreign Minister continued: ‘Terrorist groups are not only trying to destroy Israel but also to overthrow other Arab leaders. We are concerned about the repercussions of Israel’s actions in Gaza on our collective security, and what comes after Hamas could be worse. ISIS came after Al-Qaeda and is worse than it.’

The book says: Saudi Foreign Minister, told Blinken: ‘Hamas must be eliminated. We have repeatedly warned Israel that Hamas is the Muslim Brotherhood. We can give Israel the space and time to eliminate Hamas, but Israel must also help us by allowing humanitarian aid in so as not to provoke the Arab peoples.’

At that point, Blinken and his team realised the sincerity of the Egyptian regime’s desire to eliminate Hamas, and indeed, he conveyed the information about the Gaza tunnels and Kamel’s message to Netanyahu.

In this context how could Hamas, representing Islam and Palestinians, expect any support from the Arab regimes which openly support US-European backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians?