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Stinging Response
Sri Lankan authorities Monday sought divine intervention to calm a colony of venomous wasps who stung more than 200 tourists at the fifth-century rock fortress of Sigiriya, a World Heritage Site.Cultural ministry officials said they offered alms and cash to gods at the foot of the 180-metre (600-foot) fortress, 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of […]
Sinhala Code
Ensuring the life of the Sinhalese language in the computers era, a fresh draft font standard is now in circulation for public comment. This proposed standard provides a coding of the set of Sinhala characters for use in computer and communication.rn rnThis standard character code set specifies a 7-bit code table (out of 16 bits […]
Soft Stand
Sri Lankas Tamil Tigers told Norwegian peace brokers Monday they were willing to resume talks based on their plan for self-rule, but warned the new government here not to support renegade rebels.rn The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) told a top Norwegian envoy the rebels were ready to open negotiations with the Sri Lankan […]
VAT an Act!
The government is expected to amend the Value Added Tax Act to legalize the introduction single tax rate despite opposition to the amendments on political platforms. The combined rate for VAT has been effective since the beginning of the year but the amendments to the Act are yet to be approved by parliament.rn rnExperts say […]
Growing Pains
Central Bank says the economy will grow at 5.5 percent this year if fiscal discipline is maintained.rnrn Governor A.S.Jayawardene said that ceasefire and strict fiscal discipline helped boost growth to 5.9 percent in 2003 while other economic indicators also improved.rn rnInitially predicted GDP growth rate for 2004 was six percent. However the Central Bank has […]
Reverse Gear
The Finance Minister toned down talk of increased spending and a bigger budget deficit, as financial market players expressed concern about the possible economic fall out. rnThe minister pledged policy continuity and said he will keep a close eye on the deficit while emphasizing the need to meet the government revenue targets.rn rnExperts say the […]
Freedom Day
Police raided a Tamil journalists home in Colombo Monday night, asrnjournalists around the world celebrated World Press Freedom Day.rnrnThe journalist, Sivaram Dharmeratnam writes the popular lquote Taraki, Tamil affairs column for The Daily Mirror, and also contributes to several Tamil publications. At the time of the raid, only his wife and children were in the […]
African Roots
rnThe Sri Lankan business community will take lessons from its South African counterparts on how the sector can contribute towards national economic growth while improving social standards. rnA 15-member business delegation will visit South Africa on May 1st on a study tour to examine the South African Business Trust.rnrn rnThe South African Business Trust is […]
Good Job
Early last year, the government had forecasted a 5.5 percent economic growth. The 5.9 percent year on growth for 2003, is the highest since 2000, when the economy expanded by 6.0 percent.rn rnAfter contracting by 1.5 percent in 2001, the government is forecasting gross domestic product to touch 5.5 percent in 2004.rn rnBut private sector […]
Reality Check
Treasury Bond yields touched 8.06 percent at this weeks auction for paper maturing in 316 days.The yield is slightly above one-year treasury bill notes which slipped to 7.71 percent at Wednesdays auction.rn rnThe Central Bank said it accepted bids for Rs. 1.5 bn though receiving offers for Rs. 3,160 mn.rn rnThursdays short-term issue carries a […]