The blanket ban imposed by the Sri Lankan government to restrict indiscriminate use of polythene bags at groceries and retail outlets will come into effect from January 1, 2016. According to the government, the directive is aimed at minimizing the effect of the disposal of the polythene bags on public health and protecting the environment. The use of polythene bags with less than 20 microns will be prohibited from January 1. Violators will be fined up to Rs. 10,000 or face imprisonment according to a Presidential directive.

The Local Government and Provincial Councils Ministry expects to enact amendments to the local government electoral system before the expiry of office of remaining 23 local government bodies by April 2016, enabling the government to call local government polls in June, a senior official source said yesterday. Secretary of the Local Government and Provincial Councils, Kamal Pathmasiri while expressing his deep satisfaction over the government

The Chief Minister of Sri Lanka

Minister of Public Enterprises Development, Kabir Hashim will be appointed the Finance Minister in the coming Cabinet reshuffle at the end of January 2016, Ceylon Today reliably learns. Meanwhile current Minister of Finance will be made either the Minister of Trade or Water Supply and Drainage. Portfolios of about 10 ministers will change and it is also believed that Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe will be removed from the post of Minister of Justice.

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) had commenced investigations regarding the hacking into their official website. Last weekend, an unidentified group had logged in to the SLA official website without any permission and had proceeded to distort the information on the website. Apparently, the website was hacked by a group operating from abroad and the SLA was able to restore it after the cyber attack. When contacted, Army Media Spokesman, Brigadier Jayanath Jayaweera said, the Army is closely monitoring more possible cyber attacks and is ready to take necessary action to prevent any damage that could occur due to such cyber attacks.