Four gunmen and two guards were killed when unidentified militants attacked an Indian Air Force base near the Pakistan border on Saturday in an apparent challenge to attempts to revive a dialogue between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Officials said the gunmen, wearing army fatigues, managed to enter the Pathankot air base in India's northwestern state of Punjab before dawn on Saturday. Once inside, they opened fire indiscriminately. They had earlier hijacked a police officer's car and driven it to the heavily guarded base - tactics used in earlier attacks believed to have been perpetrated by Pakistani-trained militants, Punjab's police chief Suresh Arora told Reuters. The four gunmen and two guards were confirmed killed, according to a home ministry official.

Sporadic gunfire and helicopters flying overhead could still be heard as an operation to comb the base in search of any more gunmen continued, police said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The attack came a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an impromptu visit to Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, in a bid to revive bilateral talks that had previously been derailed by militant attacks. "The moment that Modi touched down in Lahore (and probably even before), something like this was doomed to happen," said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Wilson Center think tank in Washington.

"At this point, there's sufficient goodwill in India-Pakistan relations to weather this attack. Saboteurs won't win this one," he said. Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh told ANI, a Reuters affiliate: "Pakistan is our neighbor and we want peace, but any terrorist attack on India will get a befitting response." His comments were interpreted by Indian analysts as showing restraint and indicating that New Delhi wanted to continue talks with Pakistan.

(Reuters)

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.