- Public Security Minister Tiran Alles says some religious leaders & lawyers who may be having links with drug dealers & underworld leaders are trying desperately to thwart the “Yukthiya” programme launched by the Govt & Police to eliminate narcotics distribution & organized crime: asserts he & the President will not be deterred by such efforts: assures the Govt will relentlessly pursue the goal to rid the country of the menace of narcotics & organized crime.
- Ministry of Public Security says that during the islandwide operation over the 7 days ending 23rd Dec’23, 13,666 persons were arrested, while 9.8 kgs of Heroin, 4.6kgs of Ice, 272 kgs of Cannabis & 65,924 pills were recovered: also say that “ill-gotten gains” including properties & vehicles, valued at more than Rs.293mn have also been seized by the Illegal Assets Investigation Division of the Police.
- Police say bodies of 2 persons shot to death recovered from an abandoned land at Tunnana in Padukka: the dead persons have been identified as those of underworld figure Don Indika alias ‘Manna Roshan’ and his accomplice ‘Supun’.
- Dambulla Economic Centre Trade Assn Secretary I G Wijenanda says skyrocketing vegetable prices have driven traders to display prices for lower quantities (100g) of vegetables in order to sell their wares.
- Former Secretary to the Ministry of Education Dr Tara de Mel says the existing system of School and State university education is outdated and has ceased to be inspiring or capable of firing the imagination of students: asserts the system doesn’t adequately prepare students for newer jobs of the emerging decades of the 21st century.
- SL Banks Assn (SLBA) says banks exercise their legally-enshrined right to parate execution as a last resort: also says their objective is to protect depositors’ funds that had been lent to borrowers: asserts the parate execution remedy is aimed at recovering mortgaged assets from willful defaulters & businesses that are no longer viable.
- Veteran actor Rex Kodippili, 85, passes away.
- Statistics of SL Tourism Development Authority show that over 1,404,998 tourists visited SL by 21st Dec’23: in 2022, only 719,978 tourists visited SL.
- A 30 ft. high Christmas tree with 2,000 live vegetable plants grown & sent by people from all over SL, erected at the Presidential Secretariat roundabout in Galle Face Green.
- World Health Organization says SL ranks among the top 30 countries with the highest dengue endemicity worldwide: also says this year’s surprising spike in dengue infections represents a potentially high public health threat.
