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.

Deputy Economic Policy Minister Harsha de Silva said in January that Volkswagen was trying to set up a plant on the island since 2008, but, for unspecified reasons, had not succeeded.

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 three organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Temple Trees on Sunday.

The demonstrators form the Naam Thamizhar Katchi and Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) called on the release of all political prisoners that have been imprisoned for over 23 years, release of all political prisoners detained without charge for over 10 years and the closure of refugee camps for Tamils who fled Sri Lanka with permission for them to join their families.

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.

The project, being held by the European Union and Transparency International Sri Lanka, will see training and support being given to civil society organisations on how to register as voters, particularly focussing on marginalised groups such as the Tamils on the island.

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.