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.

For the first time in Sri Lanka, the government is to establish a mechanism to supervise and advice ministries in the implementation of policies, a source said.

A tense situation was reported at the UNP party headquarters in Sirikotha when a group of UNP supporters arrived to hand over a document on reviving the party.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Harsha de Silva said today that an NPP MP has told him that the Parliament canteen will not be closed but the government will see that no one will abuse the facility.

Two fishermen were seriously injured and hospitalised after a parcel floating on the sea exploded while they were checking it off the coast of Mannar.

The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) and the Examinations Department have initiated a joint programme to mitigate potential disasters during the 2024 Advanced Level examinations.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake addressed the inaugural session of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka today. Following are 11 key points from the President’s Government Policy Statement;

Speaker Dr. Ashoka Sapumal Ranwala informed Parliament that nomination of Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), has been accepted as the Opposition Leader of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka.

Jaffna District Independent MP Archuuna Ramanathan refused to move away after he sat on the Opposition Leader's seat inside the chambers despite requests by Parliament staff to move.

National People's Power (NPP) Gampaha MP Dr. Ashoka Sapumal Ranwala was elected as the Speaker of the 10th Parliament of Sri Lanka a short while ago. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya proposed his name, and the nomination was confirmed by Vijitha Herath.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake adjourned the Sri Lankan Parliament until 9:30 a.m. on December 3. The adjournment followed the President’s delivery of the government’s policy statement during the inaugural session of the 10th Parliament earlier today.