A new cruise service will travel between Colombo and Kochin in Kerala.

Luxury cruise liners from Colombo-based Herbilan Cruises Lanka Pvt Ltd will commence operations on October 2 and will go on till March 2017.

“The cruise ship will call on the Kochi Port on October 3. and it can carry 590 tourists and 260 staff.” the Chief Executive Officer, HCLPL, Ivan De Almeida, who was in the capital for discussions with the tourism officials, told The Hindu.

The shortest route to the island from India would be between the Tamil Nadu city of Rameswaram and Talaimannar in the Tamil-dominated North-East, however despite repeated demands, including by the Northern Provincial Council, a ferry service has not been started, after it was halted in the 1980s due to the escalating armed conflict between Tamils and the Sri Lankan government.

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.