Suspected rebel attacks in December and January all but destroyed a Norway-brokered 2002 ceasefire, but violence fell after the two sides agreed to meet in Switzerland. The rebels said that did not mean the country was further from a return to a two-decade civil war.

"That is totally dependent on the outcome of this meeting," S.P. Thamilselvan, head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), told Reuters in an interview late on Wednesday. More...

Discuss this story Published: Wed Feb 15 23:54:18 EST 2006

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka left the repurchase rate at which it drains money from the banking system at 8.75 percent, the monetary authority said in a statement today. Five of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the Colombo-based bank to keep the rate unchanged.

Central bank Governor Sunil Mendis and his fellow policy makers increased the rate by 1.25 percentage points last year to curb inflationary pressures arising from increases in bank lending and oil prices. Inflation slowed to a 10-month low in January, allowing the bank to keep borrowing costs steady More...

Discuss this story Published: Wed Feb 15 23:34:15 EST 2006

The government wants to develop both community-based development projects and mega projects concurrently to achieve the target, Jayasundara said.

He said the government have brought all critical components into an integrated system to create a favorable investment climate in the country.

He also said to accelerate the economic development, the government has given emphasis on infrastructure development. He said the Southern highway development has been expedited.

The government has planned to construct two coal power plants in Trincomalee and Puttlam and its connected roads will be developed to high standards, he added. More...

Discuss this story Published: Wed Feb 15 23:35:37 EST 2006