Columns

Following criticism of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake by Buddhist monks as well as others for his remarks in Jaffna last week, where he said those gathering every full moon (Poya) day at certain disputed sites in the North were driven not by devoutness but by hatred, the government is keen to win back its detractors over the issue.

As a first step, the President will hold a meeting in Colombo on Monday where he will announce generous funds for the rebuilding of over 1400 temples that were damaged by Cyclone Ditwah. The money for the reconstruction will be disbursed through the respective Divisional Secretariats within the next few days, while the government also plans to assist Buddhist temples that are in need of repairs.

It seems, however, it’s not only that government that is keen to assist the temples. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa and Sarvajana Balaya MP Dilith Jayaweera have all announced they plan to assist the temples affected by the cyclone.

Had constructive talks with President: Former Treasury Sec posts on X

Former Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, who, along with Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe and foreign financial advisers under the leadership of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, got the country out of the economic crisis, met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday and says he had a constructive discussion on Sri Lanka’s economy. “We exchanged views on challenges, opportuities & pathways from ADB, to strengthen resilience and sustainable growth,” his X post says.

Mr Siriwardana, who retired as finance secretary in mid-2025, now serves as an Alternate Executive Director at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Manila. There was no word if he also met former President Wickremesinghe.

From ABBA to Paudwal, comrades certainly appear to have an ear for music

While the JVP comrades like to keep their private lives under wraps, one thing is clear that some of them at least have an ear for music. Soon after taking power in December 2024, the Party’s General Secretary, Tilvin Silva, along with a few others, was seen enjoying an ABBA concert. This week many were in attendance at the concert by the Padma Shri award-winning veteran Bollywood singer Anuradha Paudwal titled ‘Timeless Bollywood Melodies” held at the Nelum Pokuna in Colombo. Before the concert, Ms Paudwal, was invited to the JVP head office at Pelawatte, where she was received by Tilvin Silva and presented a token of appreciation.

The Buddha understood human mind long before AI: Ranil

Former President and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe this week told several of his confidants about his experience of being engaged in a conversation with the Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbot, ChatGPT. The subject of their dialogue was a point of the Dhamma.

“I asked ChatGPT about the first line of the first stanza of the Dhammapada. Based on that, I inquired whether the superior
intellect belonged to the human mind or Artificial Intelligence. After taking a moment to study the matter, ChatGPT conceded that the human mind is superior. It admitted that AI is limited. “The Buddha stated this fact long before any of them,” the former president explained.

Marbles and catapults, Namal takes on Lal Kantha

SLPP National Organiser Namal Rajapaksa took a swipe at Agriculture Minister K.D. Lal Kantha’s alleged “threats” against the Buddhist clergy and others when he addressed journalists recently. “If Lal Kantha believes he can govern through threats and intimidation—by disrespecting the Maha Sangha, frightening public officials, and bullying the Attorney General’s Department and the judiciary—then he is living in a dream world,” he said.

“Lal Kantha has also said that they won’t use artillery for targets that can be hit with a catapult. Well, I have to tell him: we don’t even use a catapult for things that can be dealt with using a marble,” Mr Rajapaksa quipped.

Magistrate given marching orders after auctioning off court productions to his own sister!

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has sacked a magistrate from the Batticaloa district after an inquiry found him guilty of having installed windows and windowpanes that were being kept as court productions at a house he was constructing.

The inquiry revealed that the magistrate had organised an auction for the windows and windowpanes being held as court productions at his court premises. Normally, such auctions need to be publicly advertised. However, the magistrate had not done so, and only one bidder had turned up for the auction on the day it was held. This person had thereafter purchased everything that was being auctioned.

The JSC’s inquiry had established that the lone bidder who turned up at the auction and purchased all that was on offer was the sister of the magistrate. It was established at the inquiry that the magistrate had used his sister to buy the court productions at the auction he organised and then had the windows and windowpanes purchased promptly installed at the house he was constructing.

Delegation of SJB and SLPP members off to Odisha for India Republic Day

At the invitation of the Indian government, a delegation comprising politicians from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is scheduled to depart for the Indian state of Odisha to mark India’s Republic Day on January 26.

The delegation comprises SJB MPs Chitral Fernando, Chamidrini Kiriella, Chatura Galappatti, and Prasad Siriwardena; SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa, former MPs Indika Anuruddha, Sanjeewa Edirimanna, and Sampath Athukorala; and Political Bureau member Milinda Rajapaksa.

During the visit, the group is set to conduct an observation tour of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority, recognised as one of the world’s leading disaster management centres. Furthermore, they will participate in a tour of Buddhist archaeological sites dating back to the era of Emperor Ashoka.

A discussion regarding this visit was held recently at the official residence of the Indian High Commissioner.

This follows a tour of the judges to India.

Bring on the investments, Vijitha tells diaspora

The Northern Investment Summit 2026 was held this week, where members of the Tamil diaspora attended in large numbers with pledges to invest in projects for the long-term development of Northern Sri Lanka. It brought together government, business, and academia.

As part of the investments, the groundbreaking ceremony of the AUREUM luxury hotel complex under an investment of Luxembourg, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held. Foreign Affairs and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath, who attended the event, invited Sri Lankan expatriates to bring in new investment into the tourism industry, citing the country now has both economic and political stability.

Harini headed to parliament from Davos to face the music, but nothing happened, quips Vijitha

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya flew to Davos, Switzerland, this week to lead the Sri Lankan delegation attending the World Economic Forum. Among those she met were the European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, and the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Masato Kanda. She also held discussions with Hassan El Houry, Chairman of Menzies Aviation, regarding the aviation sector.

In many aspects Dr Amarasuriya’s visit to Davos was one the National People’s Power (NPP) government has been keen to highlight. She returned to the country on Friday. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said the PM came directly to Parliament with the aim of facing the No-Confidence Motion (NCM) the opposition had been claiming it intended to submit against her in her capacity as Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. Yet, the motion is yet to even be handed in. “The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) had earlier said it intends to submit an NCM against the Speaker, then they wanted to submit one against the Deputy Defence Minister, and now they are saying they want to submit one against the PM, but none of these things has happened,” Mr Herath quipped.

Trump’s takeover threats of Greenlands and Iceland send shock waves here!

Sri Lankan defence agencies were on full alert this week as there was widespread speculation among many patrons of the popular GREENLANDS at Bambalapitiya serving popular south Indian fare like masala thosai and succulent ulundu vadai following an announcement that US President Donald Trump was preparing to take over Greenlands. The red alert was then removed after the US President announced he was prepared to negotiate the takeover of the hotel with the proprietors, who he thought was owned by Denmark.

The proprietors were also relieved when the European leaders said they would defend Greenlands with all their collective might.

Meanwhile, the shock announcement spread to whether the US President was also targeting the ICELAND building in Colombo, because of his fascination with ‘ICE’, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the US Federal agency that is even arresting 5 year old kids in making America Great Again.