Homagama Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake yesterday ordered the Army Commander to hand over all documents belonging to Sri Lanka Army in connection with the investigations into the abduction of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.The Army Commander was also ordered not to destroy the documents maintained at Giritale Army camp where Ekneligoda is suspected to have been detained.The Magistrate issued this order after considering a request by ASP Shani Abeysekera of the Criminal Investigation Department. The CID filed a further report containing eight pages with regard to the ongoing investigations.

ASP Abeysekera told court that that a proper investigation has not taken place with regard to the incident till 2015. He said with the CID taking over investigations, evidence are surfacing that Ekneligoda had been murdered.The ASP told court that the investigators obtained a voice record with regard to the investigations from the Army as ordered by the court. He said that the Army had sealed the voice record and handed it over to the CID investigators. ASP Abeysekera said that the CID officials did not listen to this voice record.

ASP Abeysekera informed the court that there is a serious issue with regard to the confidentiality of this voice record as it is available on several websites. He said that details on the mobile phones of the suspects revealed that they had gone to Akkaraipattu from Giritale Army camp ASP Abeysekera told court that the investigators need personal details of the suspects and sought a court order. Magistrate told police to expedite the investigations into Ekneligoda case and ordered to further remand the suspects. The case was fixed for March 15.

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.