Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed in parliament today that the Value Added Tax (VAT) should be increased to 15 per cent considering the current global economic situation and shortcomings in the methodology of collecting tax. The Prime Minister making a special statement in parliament said that tax concessions granted on Telecommunication services, private education and health services would be removed. He said VAT would not be imposed on Essential commodities and electricity while it would be imposed only on selected non essential commodities.

Sri Lanka has welcomed its 2 millionth tourist who arrived from Bangkok this year, at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), after a five-year gap. This marks the fourth time in history that annual tourist arrivals have surpassed 2 million, with previous instances occurring in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

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.

In response to queries about the potential introduction of new taxes on imported vehicles, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayathissa said today that the Finance Ministry will make an official announcement regarding taxes in the future.

In response to widespread concerns regarding the alleged presence of Israeli soldier Gal Ferenbook in Colombo, police said that they have not received any verified information on the matter.

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is set to add one of its overhauled and upgraded Kfir multirole combat aircraft to its fleet within the first three months of next year, the Daily Mirror learns.

The tri-forces security provided to former Presidents will be removed from today as announced by Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala. The Defence Ministry said instructions regarding the matter have been issued to the Commanders of the tri-forces. The Defence Ministry said only police security will be assigned for the security of former Presidents.

The Ministry of Education announced that the second stage of the third term for the 2024 academic year in all government and government-approved private schools will commence on January 2, 2025. The term is set to run for three weeks, concluding on January 24, 2025.

A female student and another woman were killed after being struck by an express train at the Anuradhapura New Town Railway Station. The victims were part of a group from Ratnapura attending a taekwondo tournament at the Anuradhapura Public Ground.

A 30-year-old man was injured in a shooting by two unidentified assailants who arrived on a motorcycle in Koskandawala, Weeragula this afternoon.

Sri Lanka and India will jointly collaborate to expedite the implementation of the Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identification (SLUDI) project to aid the country in its efforts to improve the delivery of state services to the people.

There’s good news for the season for many here who have loved ones overseas, as Canada Post announced that it will resume its air mail services from tomorrow, Monday, December 23. However, Superintendent of International Postal Services Samanmalie Perera said that they anticipate some disruption in services due to a backlog of mails.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake will travel to the island’s largest bilateral lender China for talks in January, he said on Saturday, days after completing a long-delayed foreign debt restructure.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy hospital ship ‘Peace Ark’ arrived in Colombo on a formal visit yesterday. ‘Peace Ark’ is a 178-meter-long hospital ship, crewed by 310 personnel under the command of Captain Deng Qiang.

A total of 2,243 people have died in road accidents this year, police said. They reported that 22,967 road accidents, including 2,141 fatal accidents, occurred between January 1 and December 13, 2024. Police said 6,500 serious accidents and 9,127 minor accidents were reported during this period.

Two writ petitions have been filed in the Court of Appeal requesting the court issue an order disqualifying Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment Dr Upali Pannilage and Jaffna District Independent MP Dr Ramanathan Archchuna as MPs.

The Western province continued to lead the provincial gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, albeit slipping from the 2022 levels while the North Western and Central provinces following as the distant second and third in the provincial distribution of Sri Lanka’s total economic output.

The government is hoping to initiate discussions with India to update the Free Trade Agreement between India and Sri Lanka, which was signed several decades ago, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said. He told a news conference that the FTA with India needs to be updated and continue as the market has expanded now.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe has clarified in a statement that during his tenure from 2022 to September 2024 all private requests for medical assistance from public representatives were handled under the standard administrative procedures of the Presidential Fund.

Three people have died and at least 30 others injured in an accident that occurred this morning (21) when a bus veered off the road on the Hatton-Kandy main road.

The Colombo Lotus Tower Management Company (Private) Limited has announced extended operating hours for the festive season. The tower will be open to the public on December 25 and 26 from 9 a.m. to midnight. On December 27, it will operate from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Additionally, the tower will remain open on December 31 and January 1, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on January 2.

The deadline for rice imports permitted by the government expired at midnight on Friday (Dec 20) with private importers bringing in 67,000 metric tonnes during the period. Sri Lanka Customs said that it collected Rs. 4.3 billion in taxes on these imports.