Sri Lankan President appoints new ministers

Colombo, May 2: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday appointed new ministers, a day after he reshuffled his cabinet. Eighteen ministers — 10 deputy, eight state — took oath before Sirisena, reports Xinhua news agency. The reshuffle took place after the defection of six ministers from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) to the opposition last month. The defected ministers had voted in favour of a no-confidence motion on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe when it was taken up in Parliament. The reshuffle is seen to bring in unity between the SLFP and the United National Party (UNP), who are coalition partners. (IANS)