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Budgetary allocations should be fully utilised within the respective financial year to deliver benefits to the public -President
A review on the implementation of the 2025 budget allocations for the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, together with preliminary discussions on the 2026 budget proposals, was held on Friday (15) morning at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
During this discussion, the allocations made in 2025 to eight institutions under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the current status of the related projects were reviewed separately.
The President pointed out that the long-standing issue in all sectors, including youth affairs and sports, is the failure to allocate budgetary provisions properly for their advancement. He further noted that although the last budget allocated the necessary funds for all sectors, there has been dissatisfaction regarding their proper utilisation for the relevant projects. The President emphasised that such allocations should be fully utilised within the respective financial year to deliver benefits to the public, treating this as a priority task.
During the discussion, the President stressed the importance of preparing the 2026 budget proposals with the objectives of creating a sports culture in the country, developing sports-related infrastructure, implementing programmes to identify athletes with international potential and elevating athletes to the global stage.
The President instructed that a plan be prepared to establish a sports culture and also advised that, in promoting sports, the maximum possible participation of sports associations should be secured and the necessary facilities be provided to them.
President Dissanayake also emphasised that the allocation of funds for this purpose is not merely an investment in sports development, but one that simultaneously achieves multiple goals such as improving the nation’s health, enhancing social welfare, reducing crime, combating drug use, fostering social cohesion and creating a dynamic workforce.
The President also stated that in sports, vigour alone is not sufficient; in this era, training and technology are decisive factors and therefore, providing athletes with the necessary opportunities in these areas should be a primary responsibility of the Ministry of Sports.
At this meeting, the President also instructed officials to expedite the renovations and construction of sports complexes for which funds have already been allocated, including the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo, those in the Kilinochchi and Mannar districts and others being built across the island.
The discussion also touched on the significance of employing experts for specialised construction in sports infrastructure development, establishing an advisory company under the government for this purpose and obtaining consultancy services at an international level.
The President instructed officials to focus on the development of school sports and expressed his readiness to allocate the necessary funds for this purpose.
Taking all the above points into consideration, President Dissanayake further instructed ministry officials to prepare and present a new integrated plan for sports development as soon as possible.
Attention was also drawn to the upcoming plans of the Ministry of Youth Affairs, which are to be implemented with the participation of the young men and women who took part in the 2025 National Youth Conference held recently.
The event was attended by the Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Sunil Kumara Gamage Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando, Deputy Minister of Youth Affairs Eranga Gunasekara and Deputy Minister of Sports Sugath Thilakaratne, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Dr Harshana Suriyapperuma, Senior Additional Secretaries to the President Russell Aponsu and Kapila Janaka Bandara and a group of senior officials from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, just over a week after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in joint United States-Israeli strikes that have.plunged the entire region into a sprawling war.
The 56-year-old, who will now be charged with leading the Islamic Republic through the biggest crisis in its 47-year history, was named by clerics as his father’s successor on Sunday.
Key leaders, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the armed forces were quick to pledge their backing to the new leader.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who has been tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy since the US and Israel launched their all-out offensive, called for unity around the new supreme leader.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomed the choice, saying that following the new supreme leader was a “religious and national duty”.
Mojtaba Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the IRGC.
In recent years, Khamenei has increasingly been touted as a top potential replacement for his father. His selection could be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations in the short term as the war enters its second week.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem described Khamenei as his “father’s gatekeeper”.
“He adopts the positions of his father with respect to the United States, with respect to Israel. So we are expecting a confrontational leader. We’re not expecting any moderation,” he said.
“However, if this war comes to an end and he is still alive, and he is able to continue running the country, there is going to be big potential… to find new routes for Iran,” Hashem said.
(Aljazeera)
Global oil prices have jumped above $100 (£75.11) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has fuelled fears of prolonged disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that a week into the conflict hardliners remain in charge of the country.
The US and Israel launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Iran over the weekend, hitting multiple targets including oil depots.
Major disruption to energy supplies from the region threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world.
Early on Monday in Asia, Brent crude was around 15.5% higher at $107.16, while Nymex light sweet was up by more than 17% at $106.77.
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply in early trading on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down by more than 5% and the ASX 200 in Australia more than 3.5% lower.
Many in the markets predicted that oil would hit the $100 a barrel mark this week.
In the event it took about a minute to jump 10%, and then another 15 minutes to rise a further 10% in early Asian trading.
Last week the markets had been relatively relaxed about the seeming nightmare scenario for millions of barrels of crude and liquefied natural gas trapped in the Gulf, unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
But the escalations over the weekend, alongside scenes of destruction of energy infrastructure both in Iran and across the Gulf, saw the markets take rapid fright.
The question now is where does this go? Some analysts argue that if the shutdown in the strait lasts until the end of March, we could see record oil prices above $150 a barrel.
The existing rise is likely to further increase petrol prices, and those of important derivative products such as jet fuel and vital precursors for fertilisers.
The physical supplies from the Gulf are mainly consumed in Asia.
Already however there are signs that Asian consumers are bidding up prices for US gas, with some tankers originally heading for Europe turning around in the mid-Atlantic.
US President Donald Trump responded to the jump in prices by saying that short term rises were a “small price to pay” for removing Iran’s nuclear threat.
His energy secretary told US broadcasters on Sunday that Israel, not the US, was targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, amid some concern about rising domestic pump prices caused by the war.
(BBC)
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