Sri Lankans are going to the polls in a general election, with former President Mahinda Rajapaksa aiming to return to office as prime minister.

A 26-year-old has been arrested for taking a picture of his ballot paper at Buddhist junior school polling station at Lunuwila in Wennapuwa this morning (17).

Prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and his wife Maithri, cast their votes at the polling station at College House, Colombo University.

Sri Lanka will go to parliamentary elections on Monday, but the build-up in the last few days was unusually anodyne, apart from a few public rallies and politicians expending their throat boxes.

A Sri Lankan prisoner has appeared in court accused of lighting a fire in his cell.

Andy Murray ended an eight-match losing run against Novak Djokovic, beating the world number one for the first time since 2013 to win the Montreal final.

Sri Lanka votes on Monday to pick a new parliament for the second time since the end of a bloody civil war that deterred investors and tourists.