President's Counsel Romesh De Silva, Chairman of the Law Commission told Ceylon Today that the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), which was amended so as to protect human rights was handed over by the Commission to Minister of Justice and Buddha Sasana Dr. Wijedasa Rajapaksa. President's Counsel De Silva also said in addition, the amended Act was also sent to Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera and Minister of Strategic Development and International Trade Affairs Malik Samarawickrema.

He further said the PTA was amended in a manner that would not be a hindrance to Police investigations being carried out in Sri Lanka and in a way that suited the country.Meanwhile, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) emphasizes that, the basic core of the Prevention of Terrorism Act is against the Constitution.The Secretary of the BASL Ajith Pathirana told Ceylon Today that the BASL proposed to the Law Commission that initially the right that has been granted to the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence through the Prevention of Terrorism Act to detain an individual for three months should be removed from the Act.The authority to detain a person, limiting his personal freedom should be granted only to a judiciary established based on statutory injunctions, he said.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved drafting a new bill to combat illegal and unregulated poaching in Sri Lankan waters, replacing the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act No. 2 of 1996.

Sri Lanka Police has suspended its annual transfer orders for 2025 for six months. The suspension was based on a directive from Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya on 24 December.

The National People's Power (NPP) is to contest the upcoming Local Government (LG) and Provincial Council (PC) Elections under its current structure, with the groups currently aligned with them.

The government is yet to assign vehicles to the MPs of the new Parliament though it has taken a policy decision to do so. Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Daily Mirror yesterday that the government is currently in the process of auctioning luxury vehicles. He said most of the MPs were using their own vehicles at the moment.

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna had decided to go to court over reducing the strength of security provided to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that it would disclose details about Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s planned official visit to China in mid-January “in a timely manner.”

The government will conduct fresh probes into the scams involved in the import of a stock of biofertilizer from China and in the introduction of organic farming during the time of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a minister said yesterday.

Cabinet spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said today that the people will know whether the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MPs had sought assistance from the President’s Fund as claimed by SJB MP Dayasiri Jayasekara when the rest of the list is released soon.

The circular issued by the Western Province Education Zonal Ministry prohibiting private tutoring classes for students by school teachers, along with the letter issued by the Education Ministry regarding modulators, has been withdrawn, Parliamentarian Mahinda Jayasinghe said.

Adding further controversy to the misuse of the President’s Fund, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dayasiri Jayasekera yesterday said some of JVP members also sought assistance from the President’s funds prior to 2010.