News
All Island Senior Citizens’ Tournament 2025 – A Celebration of Passion and Perseverance
The ‘All Island Senior Citizens’ Tournament 2025’, organised by the Sri Lanka Association of Senior Citizens, was held recently at the Hilton Colombo. Open to participants aged 55 and above, this event has, for over two decades, showcased the skill, camaraderie, and competitive spirit of Sri Lanka’s vibrant senior community.
This year’s tournament featured two competitive categories — Championship and Plate. Players with Scrabble ratings above 550 battled it out in the Championship category; while others – both rated and unrated, competed in the Plate division.
Kumari Goonesekere, a key member of the organizing team, ensured a seamless and stylish event. The tournament was directed by Raashid Sudin, President of the Scrabble Academy. Tournament officials Ramith Siriwardana and Ms. Zainab Sultan also played vital roles in ensuring the day’s success.
Adding prestige to the occasion was the Chief Guest — Professor Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, an acclaimed poet and recipient of both the Gratiaen and SAARC Poetry Awards, who works as a lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka.
Kumari Goonesekere emerged victorious in the Championship Category, claiming her first-ever All Island title — a well-deserved win after facing strong competition from a former national and open champion and several podium prize winners in International Scrabble Tournaments . Wimal Fernando secured the runner-up position, while Shaila Amalean finished as second runner-up.
In the Plate Category, Zora Wahab triumphed as the winner, followed by Lilanthi Jayaratne as runner-up and Muthalif Jabeer as second runner-up.
A heartfelt tribute goes out to Ms. Indrani Atukorale, who has dedicated over 20 years to organising this prestigious tournament, from 1999 to 2019. Now in her 90s, Indrani continues to inspire — finishing in an impressive 9th place in the Plate Category this year. Tournament Director Raashid Sudin fondly recalled how, over two decades ago, Indrani invited him to officiate at the tournament — and at the end of the day, gifted him a Parker pen as a token of appreciation.
The post of Justice of the Peace will no longer be granted on political grounds, Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara said in Parliament on Friday (6).The Minister told the House that a mechanism had been introduced to receive complaints regarding Justices of the Peace (JP) and that an islandwide database of JPs was being developed to enable verification when certifying documents.
He said future appointments to the post would be limited to persons below the age of 75.
Nanayakkara said a system had also been introduced requiring bio-data updates every two years, along with certification through the Grama Niladhari Division – Sri Lanka and the Divisional Secretariat – Sri Lanka.
He added that contact channels, including a WhatsApp number, email address and telephone line, had been established to facilitate the reporting of any JP who commits an offence.
The Minister said authorities had not yet considered cancelling the appointments of existing Justices of the Peace en masse, noting that some had served in the role for five to ten years and had gained experience.
He said a committee had recommended the age ceiling, citing the need for appointees to possess adequate physical and mental capacity to comprehend and certify legal documents.
“I have not received any fair or justifiable reason to reconsider the age limit of 75 years,” he said.
The proposal to extend the State of Public Emergency was approved in the Parliament of Sri Lanka by a majority of 100 votes.
A total of 108 members voted in favour of the proposal, while eight opposition members voted against it on Friday evening.
Speaker Jagath Wickramanayake informed the House that the proposal submitted under Section 81 of the Public Security Act had been approved.
Meanwhile, the proposal under the Essential Public Services Act was also passed as presented.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka official reserve assets have surpassed the USD 7 billion mark for the first time since August 2020.
At the end of February 2026, total reserves stood at USD 7,284 million, a 6.6% increase from USD 6,832 million recorded in January.
Foreign exchange holdings accounted for the largest share of reserves, rising from USD 6,687 million in January to USD 7,057 million in February.
The Central Bank’s gold reserves also recorded a significant increase, rising 83.4% from USD 109 million to USD 200 million during the same period.
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