made it clear that it has no need of such a bridge. Minister of Highways and University Education, Lakshman Kiriella, addressing the media said that Sri Lankan Government did not have any discussion with India regarding constructing a bridge linking two countries. "We had no discussion with Indian Government regarding constructing Hanuman Bridge. However, Opposition tries to mislead the public claiming that we support this project. Prime Minister also made it clear nothing was discussed regarding the Hanuman Bridge during his official visit to India few months back," he added.

Kiriella while recalling failure of the proposed Sethu Samudram project which was cancelled due to the protests in India said that the project Hanuman Bridge would face the same fate. Recently, Economic Times of India reported that the Indian Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said that India is set to build a sea-bridge and tunnel, connecting Sri Lanka while a pact has been linked with Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal for seamless flow of traffic and passenger vehicles.

It was further mentioned that Minister Nitin Gadkari in a suo motu statement in the Lok Sabha had said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to fully finance a bridge building project connecting Rameshwaram to Sri Lanka. According to Economic Times of India, the project was also discussed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his counterpart during the latter's recent visit.

Accordingly, the project plan is to construction of a sea bridge and an underwater tunnel linking 22-km stretch between Talaimannar in the island nation and Dhanushkodi in India, However, DNA India yesterday reported that the Indian Government is looking at the possibilities of linking India and Sri Lanka.

While refuting claims by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe that his government had allocated funds required to increase public sector salaries, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that no such funds had been allocated.

A Fundamental Rights petition has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking an order preventing Ranjan Ramanayake from contesting the parliamentary election scheduled for November 14.

Claiming that Sri Lanka has come a long way in terms of undertaking reforms which have led to some hard won gains, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)said they could move fast towards the third review which will come up soon.

The Election Commission has decided to mark the voters' index fingers for this year's general elections, Commissioner General Saman Ratnayake announced. He said the elections are scheduled for November 14, 2024.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is set to hold a series of meetings with the High Commissioners of South Africa and New Zealand, along with the Ambassadors of Iran and Myanmar, as well as a delegation from the European Union today (25) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with the security threats to Israeli nationals in the Arugam Bay area, Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Sri Lanka should get its foreign policy right in the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahman said today.

The Canadian government has issued a travel advisory urging travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Sri Lanka due to demonstrations, the threat of terrorist attacks and crime, particularly in the Arugam Bay area.

Sri Lankan security forces have been alerted to a potential attack on Israelis in the Arugam Bay area by Indian intelligence agencies. According to intelligence information, the threat is believed to be targeted at foreign nationals.

Former Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara asked why the government did not take action to beef up security for foreign tourists in advance if it had received information on a possible threat on October 7, according to the statement made by Acting Chief of Police.