In what seemed a marked turn of events, the government is to discuss with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) how to implement limited land powers enshrined in the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.“Not only land, but we will also discuss a number of other issues,” Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who leads the government delegation told the Sunday Times yesterday.

Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha is seeking a Treasury guarantee of US$. 10 billion to bail out the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) which is now in the red to the tune of Rs. 83 billion. The minister’s move came as a Finance Ministry official said plans by the CPC to increase its borrowing limit with the People’s Bank for fuel imports would have to be seriously re-considered given its high debt liability.