The UNP and the UPFA have announced their final nominations for the general elections, to be held on August 17.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest for the UNP led alliance from Colombo, alongside finance minister Rav Karunanayake, Harsha de Silva, Mano Ganeshan and the head of the JHU, a party led by Buddhist monks, Champika Ranawaka.

For President Maithripala Sirisena's UPFA, the capital will be contested by party heavyweights and Mahinda-loyalists, General Secretary Susil Premajayantha, chief whip in the last parliament, Dinesh Gunawardena and Wimal Weerawansa of the NFF.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says the German car giant Volkswagen is planning to build a plant on the island.

The plant will purportedly placed in Kurunegala in the South, the prime minister said at a rally on Saturday.

A coalition party called the United National Front (UNF) for Good Governance was formed between the United National Party (UNP), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and some members of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), reports Ceylon Today.

The Sri Lankan army's 651 brigade facilitated a visit by children from an orphanage in Jaffna to another orphanage in Mulankavil.

The commander provided lunch for 40 children and staff of the orphanage at the brigade's headquarter and distributed text books among them.

Sri Lanka paid $51mn per year in loan repayments for the first phase of the Hambantota Port,  between 2007 and 2012, Sri Lanka Ports Authority said according to LBO.

The first phase of the project cost over $500mn of which 90 percent was granted by the Chinese EXIM Bank.

“Proper feasibility studies were not carried out regarding the viability of re-paying the large loan re-productively,” the Ports Authority said.

The European Union will provide €1.2million as part of an 18 month initiative to support the upcoming Sri Lankan parliamentary elections, reports Colombo Gazette.

A Tamil doctor has returned safely to the US after being detained upon his arrival in Sri Lanka last month.

Francises Gerard, a medical practitioner and US citizen, was detained  upon arrival in Sri Lanka on June 18.

Dr Gerard was visiting Sri Lanka with his two sons to spend time with his father who lives in Trincomalee.

After contacting his wife, who stayed in the US to manage the medical practice whilst he was away, the US Consulate sent an officer in Sri Lanka to secure the release of Dr Gerard.

Dr Gerard and his two sons were detained and interrogated for 6 hours reports, Liz Allen at Times-News.

Upon reaching Trincomalee, the family was once again visited by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID), causing the US consulate to intervene in procedures for a second time.

The formation of an alliance led by the UNP and including Sinhala-hardliners the JHU, and some members of the SLFP, was approved earlier today at a special convention in Colombo.

Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the new alliance, named United National Front for Good Governance, would take steps to develop the country and fight corruption when in power.

“We will provide one million job opportunities within five years and create 48 economic zones,” he said.

The prime minister further said a new government would devolve powers to the provinces.

Mr Wickremesinghe said that he believes every community in every part of the country should be able to enjoy equal rights and that land acquired during the war will be returned to the rightful owners in the North and East, as well as in the South.

A fleet of 17 MI17 helicopters from Sri Lanka's air force has been deployed in South Sudan as part of the UN mission in the (UNMISS).

A total of 104 personnel are deployed in the permanent base of the Sri Lanka aviation unit in Bor, alongside the aircraft.

The UN continues to employ peacekeeping troops from Sri Lanka on its missions, despite the credible reports of mass atrocities committed by the forces during the armed conflict on the island and the reports of sexual abuse during a mission in Haiti.

A UN review recently called for a ban on countries to serve as peace keepers if their troops were involved in the sexual abuse of children.

Sri Lanka has lowered its economic growth rate of 2014 to 4.5 per cent from the earlier 7.4 per cent.

The change in the base year from 2002 to 2010 and the methodology of calculation, according to a release issued by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) caused the drop.