Latest News
Trump calls on Iran to ‘move quickly’ on nuclear proposal
United States President Donald Trump says that Iran has his administration’s proposal regarding its rapidly advancing nuclear programme as negotiations between the two countries continue.
Trump made the remarks on Friday on board Air Force One as he ended his trip to the United Arab Emirates. It is the first time he has acknowledged sending a proposal to Tehran after multiple rounds of negotiations between US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
“We’re in very serious negotiations with Iran for long-term peace,” Trump told a journalist when asked about the proposal. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran. I think we’re getting close to maybe doing a deal without having to do this,” he said. “But most importantly, they know they have to move quickly, or something bad is going to happen.”
On Thursday, Araghchi spoke to journalists at the Tehran International Book Fair and said that Iran had not received any proposal from the US yet.
Araghchi also criticised what he called conflicting and inconsistent statements from the Trump administration, describing them as either a sign of disarray in Washington or a calculated negotiation strategy.
Witkoff at one point suggested that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67 percent, then later said that all Iranian enrichment must stop.
“We are hearing many contradictory statements from the United States – from Washington, from the president, and from the new administration,” Araghchi said.
“Sometimes we hear two or three different positions in a single day.”
Araghchi later stressed that Iran will not give up uranium enrichment. “Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes,” he wrote in a social media post.
Iranian diplomat Kazem Gharibabadi also reiterated on Friday that the right to enrich uranium is Tehran’s “absolute red line”.
Iranian and American officials have met in Oman and Rome in recent weeks for the negotiations mediated by Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, a trusted interlocutor between the two nations.
The talks seek to limit Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the US has imposed on the Islamic republic.
Trump has previously threatened to launch attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme if a deal isn’t reached.
Some Iranian officials have warned that Tehran could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.
Separately on Friday, Iranian officials also met officials from Britain, France and Germany in Istanbul to discuss their nuclear negotiations with Washington.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, who attended the talks in the Turkish city, said in a post on X: “We exchanged views and discussed the latest status of the indirect nuclear negotiations and the lifting of sanctions.”
Gharibabadi added that if necessary, Tehran would meet with the so-called E3 – the European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal, along with China, Russia and the United States – once again to continue discussions, after several meetings since last year.
Trump had effectively torpedoed the deal during his first term by unilaterally abandoning it in 2018 and reimposing sanctions on Iran’s banking sector and oil exports.
A year later, Iran responded by rolling back its own commitments under the deal, which provided relief from sanctions in return for UN-monitored restrictions on Iran’s nuclear activities.
[Aljazeera]
A train driver has died and at least 40 people have been injured in a head-on rail collision near Peru’s most popular tourist attraction, Machu Picchu.
Two trains collided on the single track leading to the ancient Inca town on Tuesday, according to a statement from the local government.
It said that 20 ambulances had attended the scene and that injured people had been transferred to medical facilities in the nearby city of Cusco.
The US embassy in Peru said that US citizens were injured in the crash, while the UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting a number of British nationals involved”.
Local media outlet Peru21 reports that hundreds of tourists remain at the scene awaiting evacuation, which has been hampered by difficult terrain around the crash site.
At least 20 of the injured are in a serious condition, a health official told the Reuters news agency.
The collision occurred on the track linking Ollantaytambo Station and Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. The journey between the two stations usually takes around 90 minutes.
The two trains involved in the accident were operated by PeruRail and Inca Rail respectively.
“We deeply regret what has happened,” PeruRail said in a statement, adding that its staff had “immediately” provided first aid to the train driver, the train conductor and the passengers involved in the incident.
The cause of the accident has not yet been made clear.
(BBC)
Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya in her New Year message invited all Sri Lankans to step into 2026 with renewed energy, hope, and determination.
The PM’s New Year message:
“As we move forward to the New Year of 2026, it is timely to reflect on the year 2025 that has passed. The year 2025 can be granted as a year having made a number of decisive and progressive steps with a people oriented government.
I am confident that, within a new political culture, we were able to strengthen transparency in state governance and lay the foundation for an efficient and corruption free public service.
We can be satisfied with the progress achieved in several key areas during 2025, including economic stability, the increasingly positive and optimistic international perception towards our country, the establishment of transparent systems of governance, and the strengthening of the sovereignty of the legislation system.
However, the unfortunate disastrous situation we experienced towards the end of 2025 was a challenging period for our nation. While it deeply moved us all, the spirit of solidarity, compassion, and collectivity shown by Sri Lankans during that difficult situation received admiration across the world.
As we step into the New Year 2026, we hold commitment to overcoming those challenges, healing from the disaster, and restoring the lives and livelihoods that were affected.
Moving forward with the goals such as initiating qualitative and sustainable transformation in the education sector, digitalizing all sectors of the public service, creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs, artists, and creators with innovative ideas to rise on the global stage, and building a compassionate, environmentally friendly society free from drugs and harmful substances I would like to remind, at this moment, that the responsibility of rebuilding this nation rests upon the entire nation, together with the government, transcending differences of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation, and united by a strong Sri Lankan identity.
Transforming all the challenges we experienced in the past year into sources of strength, I invite you to step into 2026 with renewed energy, hope, and determination.
I extend wishes for a victorious New Year filled with peace, happiness, and prosperity.”
Latest News
58,454 International aircraft movements in Sri Lanka in first 11months of 2025 – Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation
According to figures released by the Ministry of Ports and Civil Aviation there have been 58,454 international aircraft movements in the first 11 months of 2025 in Sri Lanka. [An aircraft movement refers to the count of take offs and landings at an airport]
The figures also confirm that tourist arrivals via air stands at 2.1 million.
Machu Picchu train crash leaves one dead and dozens injured
I invite you to step into 2026 with renewed energy, hope, and determination – PM
Fairly heavy showers about 75 mm are likely at some places in the Central and Uva provinces and in Batticaloa and Ampara districts
National Audit Office reveals NHSL lapses
NPP’s CMC budget passed after four Opp. members switch allegiance
600MW hit to national grid as two Norochcholai units go offline
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News6 days agoStreet vendors banned from Kandy City
-
Sports3 days agoGurusinha’s Boxing Day hundred celebrated in Melbourne
-
News6 days agoLankan aircrew fly daring UN Medevac in hostile conditions in Africa
-
News1 day agoLeading the Nation’s Connectivity Recovery Amid Unprecedented Challenges
-
Sports4 days agoTime to close the Dickwella chapter
-
Features6 days agoRethinking post-disaster urban planning: Lessons from Peradeniya
-
Features2 days agoIt’s all over for Maxi Rozairo
-
Opinion6 days agoAre we reading the sky wrong?