Minister – LSD News

Govt. committed to protecting all Sri Lankans, Minister affirms

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 13:40:16 +0000

Ensuring the safety and security of all citizens, regardless of ethnicity or religion, is a key responsibility of the government, the Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ananda Wijepala stated.

A newly constructed state-of-the-art building for the Kopay Police Station was officially declared open today (14), by Minister Ananda Wijepala.

Constructed at a cost of nearly Rs. 40 million, the facility was completed within approximately one year and is expected to enhance the efficiency and quality of services provided to the public.

During the ceremony, the Minister also oversaw the symbolic return of the land on which the former police station building had been located to its owners. House keys were presented to seven beneficiaries in recognition of the restoration of their property rights.

Addressing the gathering, Minister Wijepala stressed that providing efficient, reliable and high-quality services to the general public remains a core responsibility of Sri Lanka Police.

The event was attended by Northern Province Governor N. Vedanayagam, Jaffna District Parliamentarian Karunanathan Ilankumaran and other representatives of the political leadership.

U.S. and Iran have ‘final, agreed upon text’ of a deal, Pakistan prime minister says

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 21:34:19 +0000

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said that a “final, agreed upon text” of a deal between the U.S. and Iran “has been reached.”

Pakistan, which has acted as a mediator between the two countries throughout their war, “is now working closely with both sides to finalize the next steps,” Sharif said in an X post.

“Peace has never been this close as it is now,” he wrote.

Sharif’s announcement aligned with those of other officials, including President Donald Trump, who have said that a deal to end the more-than-three-month-old war is closer to completion than ever.

Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon that the U.S. had “just made a great settlement of the war with Iran,” subject to the “finalization of documents.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X prior to Sharif’s post that a preliminary deal with the U.S., known as a memorandum of understanding, “has never been closer.”

All three officials have also pushed back on information that has been shared publicly about the contents of the apparently forthcoming deal.

Iran’s Mehr News Agency earlier Friday reported 14 purported provisions in the draft deal, including commitments from the U.S. to lift oil sanctions, end its Naval blockade and release Iran’s frozen funds.

Trump wrote in an angry Truth Social post later Friday morning that the public reporting about the deal has “NOTHING to do with the terms that were agreed to, in writing.”

Source: CNBC

–Agencies

QR-based fuel quota system to be strictly enforced in future Minister

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:57:58 +0000

The Minister of Ports, Civil Aviation, and Energy, Anura Karunathilaka, stated that the QR code-based fuel quota system currently in place is expected to be strictly enforced in the future.

He made these remarks today (01) while participating in a press conference.

The Minister further noted that the objective of this measure is to regulate and limit fuel consumption to a certain extent during the ongoing crisis.

He also added that it is anticipated that this approach will help mitigate the impact on the economy to some degree.

China calls for APEC cooperation as commerce minister skips opening over ‘urgent official business’

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Fri, 22 May 2026 08:40:48 +0000

SUZHOU, China — Li Chenggang, China’s international trade representative, opened the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers’ meeting on Friday with a call for regional economies to “send a strong message to the world” in support of cooperation.

Li said he was chairing the opening meeting in place of China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who had “urgent official business,” according to a CNBC translation of his remarks in Chinese.

China’s Commerce Ministry and APEC did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment.

Li is a full minister in his role as the trade representative, and also serves as China’s vice commerce minister.

The APEC trade ministers’ meeting, set to conclude Saturday, comes about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing. China agreed to place its first major order of Boeing aircraft in nearly a decade, and buy $17 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually through 2028.

“Even though APEC isn’t a venue for negotiations, it should play a guiding role in economic and trade discussions,” Li said.

“For consensus that has already been achieved, [APEC] should accelerate implementation and see results early,” he said.

Ambassador Rick Switzer, Deputy United States Trade Representative, is the head of the U.S. delegation for the meeting.

The U.S. is one of the 12 founding members of APEC, which was launched in 1989 in Australia as an informal forum for discussions on free trade and economic cooperation. The multilateral trade organization now has 21 members, including China, Hong Kong and “Chinese Taipei,” which joined the forum in 1991.

John Swinney re-elected as Scotlands first minister

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Wed, 20 May 2026 04:25:51 +0000

Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney was re-elected as Scotland’s first minister on Tuesday after three rounds of voting in the Scottish Parliament.

Swinney secured 56 votes, defeating candidates from five opposition parties, and is set to be formally appointed through a Royal Warrant issued by King Charles and sworn in on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Scottish Parliament after his electoral success, Swinney vowed to be “a first minister for all of Scotland.”

A member of the Scottish Parliament since 1999, Swinney has led Scotland’s government since 2024, after taking over as SNP leader.

The SNP won 58 of 129 seats in the Holyrood elections held on May 7, remaining the largest party but falling short of the 65 seats required for a majority.

Source: Xinhua

–Agencies

Water tariff revision on June 30: Water Supply Minister

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 11 May 2026 09:09:35 +0000

The next revision of water tariffs will take place on June 30, the Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, (Dr.) Susil Ranasinghe has stated.

Speaking on the matter, Minister Ranasinghe noted that water charges are reviewed twice a year in line with existing conditions.

He said accordingly the upcoming water tariff revision will be implemented based on the situation prevailing by June 30.

Meanwhile, the electricity tariff revision for the second and third quarters of this year is scheduled to be implemented from today (11).

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) recently approved the implementation of the electricity tariff revision for the second quarter of 2026, with effect from April 1.

Accordingly, steps were taken to increase electricity tariffs by between 8% and 14.4%.

Subsequently, a revised cost estimate for the second quarter of this year was submitted once again to the PUCSL by the National System Operator (Pvt) Ltd on April 27.

It was stated that the request for the tariff increase was prompted by the rise in the cost of electricity generation due to increased fuel prices.

However, the government has agreed in writing to the PUCSL to provide a subsidy of Rs. 15 billion to prevent electricity consumers from being affected by the increase in electricity tariffs.

Accordingly, the latest electricity tariff increase will not apply to 95% of the country’s electricity consumers, the PUCSL noted.

There will be no increase in tariffs for domestic consumers using between 0 and 180 units per month.

However, households exceeding the 180-unit threshold will face increased charges depending on their level of consumption.

Vijay appointed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, to take oath tomorrow

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sat, 09 May 2026 16:57:41 +0000

Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Saturday appointed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader C Joseph Vijay as the new Chief Minister of the state and asked him to prove his majority in the state assembly before May 13.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Nehru Stadium, Chennai on May 10 at 10 am.

Vijay, an actor-turned-politician, met the Governor earlier in the day and gave him letters of support from Congress, CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), VCK and IUML. The TVK, which created record by winning 108 seats in its debut assembly polls, now has support of 120 MLAs in the 234-member assembly. The majority mark in the assembly is 118.

Vijay won from two seats in the assembly polls and will resign from one seat.

‘‘Thiru C Joseph Vijay, called on the Governor of Tamil Nadu today at Lok Bhavan and submitted a letter informing about his election as the leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam Legislature party.

He has also submitted the letters received from the Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi and Indian Union Muslim League, extending their support to form the Government under his leadership,’’ Lok Bhavan said in a press release.

‘‘The Governor of Tamil Nadu has appointed Thiru C. Joseph Vijay as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and invited him to form the Ministry.

The Governor has directed the Chief Minister designate to seek the vote of confidence of the Assembly on or before May 13, 2026. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Nehru Stadium, Chennai on 10th May 2026 at 10 am,’’ the release added.

After he takes the oath, Vijay will become the first leader outside the DMK and AIADMK formations to head the Tamil Nadu government since 1967.

Source: ANI

–Agencies

Israel awaiting US green light to return Iran to Stone Age: defence minister

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 20:17:18 +0000

Defence minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel was “prepared to resume the war against Iran”, adding that his country was awaiting a green light from the United States to return Iran to “the Stone Age”.

“The IDF is ready both defensively and offensively, and the targets have been marked,” Katz said in a video statement.

“We are awaiting a green light from the United States – first and foremost to complete the elimination of the Khamenei dynasty… and additionally to return Iran to the Dark Age and the Stone Age by destroying key energy and electricity facilities and dismantling its national economic infrastructure.”

Source: AFP

–Agencies

Anura Karunathilaka sworn in as Energy Minister

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:06:23 +0000

April 20, 2026 05:30 pm

Anura Karunathilake has been sworn in as the Minister of Energy before the President.

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More than 30 Iranian universities have faced direct attacks, Minister says

LSD News Szerkesztőség — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 14:48:28 +0000

Iran’s science minister said more than 30 Iranian universities have faced “direct attacks” so far during the war with the US and Israel, according to the state-aligned Iran Students’ News Agency.

Hossein Simaei Sarraf, Iran’s minister of science, research and technology, said “non-military sites and essential infrastructure for education and research have been targeted,” ISNA reported. “Today, millions of schoolchildren and university students have been deprived of education and research.”

Buildings at the Shahid Beheshti University, a prestigious university in Tehran, were damaged by a US-Israeli strike yesterday, the Iranian Red Crescent and local media said.

Iran says the attacks on its universities are an attempt to weaken the country’s scientific and cultural foundations.

Israel frames the attacks as part of a broader effort to degrade Iran’s nuclear program. The United States maintains that its forces do not deliberately target civilians.

In retaliation for these attacks, Tehran has threatened to target American and Israeli-affiliated universities across the region.

Source: CNN

— Agencies