The UNP will lead a new coalition with the JHU to take on the UPFA in the forthcoming general election on August 17.

The United Front for Good Governance will include several prominent politicians with the SLFP and the JHU and will contest under the elephant symbol of the UNP.

Sri Lanka’s President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces Maithripala Sirisena visited the main base of Sri Lanka’s Airforce at Katunayake.

Photographs: Colombo Page

Observing a guard of honour, Sirisena planted a tree sapling to mark his visit to the military base on Friday.

The victims of the Navaly church bombing were remembered on the 20th anniversary of the attack at a mass in the town’s St Peter’s Church earlier today.

Relatives of those who died were joined by other civilians and politicians in commemorating the dead. A traditional flame was lit and small lamps were placed in front of pictures of the victims by those attending the service.

The Indian government is working on a project to build transport links with the neighbouring island of Sri Lanka, which would see a road lead from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu across the Palk Strait to Talaimannar in the North-East.

Speaking about providing millions of jobs across India in the transport sector, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the project to improve connections with the island was in the planning stages, and that the Asian Development Bank had pledged Rs 220bn ($3.5bn) towards it.

"ADB (Asian Development Bank) is ready to finance a [Rs 220bn] project for providing connectivity to neighbouring Sri Lanka. I had a discussion with the Vice President of ADB and they are ready to finance," Mr Gadkari said.

He said the gap between the island and India was only 22km and the proposed project will be a combination of a bridge and an underwater tunnel, which will allow for the unhindered movement of ships.

Former commander of Sri Lanka’s army, General Daya Ratnayake, will contest the parliamentary elections in August for President Sirisena’s UPFA, after turning down a high-level diplomatic posting, according to reports.

“General Ratnayake has rejected the new government’s offer to be appointed as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner for Pakistan, because he wants to get into parliament on the UPFA ticket,” a ‘highly-placed sources’ told the Colombo Mirror.

Gen Ratnayake, who is suspected of having aided former president Mahinda Rajapaksa in planning a coup after his election loss, will stand in Kurunegala, the same constituency as Mr Rajapaksa.

Acknowledging the need for the UN to be resolute in protecting civilians at a UN Security Council meeting commemorating the Twentie

The Federation of National Organisations (FNO) in Sri Lanka warned that the country would be divided under a United National Party (UNP) government.

In a press statement released on Tuesday, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, Bob Dietz, questioning the new government’s agenda of reform said,

“The decision comes from a government that lifted Sri Lankans’ hopes that their country was ready to make a genuine effort to move away from the hostile environment that has surrounded the media for years. The move calls into question the government’s commitment to the reform agenda that carried it to victory in January’s elections.”

The Sri Lankan Press Council was initially dissolved by Maithripala Sirisena, who pledged to protect the independence of the media as part of his reform process.

Sirisena's reinstatement of Sri Lanka's regulatory Press Council condemned (06 Jul 2015)

Journalists removed from Jaffna public consultation on resettlement  (29 Jun 2015)

US State Dept official to study media in Sri Lanka  (11 Jun 2015)

'Where else should I die but here?'  (29 Apr 2015)

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena announced that all Sri Lankan soldiers who took part in the armed conflict are to receive government allowances for life, reports Daily News.

Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith P Perera claimed that it was the government’s improvement in human rights that led the United States to restore the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits programme.

Mr Perera told reporters in Colombo that the programme has been signed by US President Barack Obama and “would bring in billions of dollars to the country annually".

He went on to claim that it was due to the government’s human rights record and “stability in the North and East” that the concessions were renewed.

Mr Perera also said that discussions were underway with the European Union to restore the GSP+ programme, which was withdrawn due to the government’s human rights record in 2010.