Sunday Observer

24 March, 2019 0

Yasantha gets green light to head Court of Appeal

Additional Solicitor General and President’s Counsel Yasantha Kodagoda is set to take oaths as President of the Court of Appeal, ending months of sparring and deadlock over the judicial appointment, the Sunday Observer learns.Kodagoda was nominated to head the Court by President Maithripala Sirisena. The Constitutional Council yesterday unanimously approved the nomination by the President.The nomination...

24 March, 2019 0

Basil approved Wilpattu clearance in 2012 – Kiriella

Leader of the House and Public Enterprises, Kandyan Heritage and Kandy Development Minister, Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament yesterday that the then Economic Development Minister, Basil Rajapaksa had given permission for Rishard Bathuideen to clear the Wilpattu Jungle in 2012.Minister Kiriella said this was in 2012. Basil Rajapaksa on the instructions of the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa had given 2,...

24 March, 2019 0

The Presidential Candidate Imbroglio

Speculations about the next presidential election became renewed and heated again last week. Among media reports about the forthcoming election, the most crucial was the news that a decision had been made by the Rajapaksa family that Gotabaya Rajapaksa would be the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate.This media report is important due to two other factors.The first is that the...

24 March, 2019 0

Roads not taken and their destinations

“Not only our actions, but also our inactions, become our destiny.” - Heinrich Zimmer (The King and the Corpse)On the night of January 2, 2006, five students were killed in Trincomalee. Shanmugarajah Gajendran, Lohitharaja Rohan, Thangathurai Sivanantha, Yogarajah Hemachandran and Manoharan Rajihar, all of them either engaged in or about to engage in higher studies, had gathered near the sea front to...

24 March, 2019 0

Lanka co-sponsors UNHCR resolution after ‘setting record straight’

The United Nations Human Rights Council 40th session ended last week, tying Sri Lanka to another procedural resolution which offered it two more years to implement the human rights undertakings it made before the International community in September 2015.Despite predictions by the Opposition for the worst and warnings against co-sponsoring a later resolution moved by five member states led by the UK, Sri...

24 March, 2019 0

Coaches should not win at any cost - Sanjeewa Ranatunga

Former Sri Lanka batsman and present Ananda College coach Sanjeeva Ranatunga said that everyone must keep in mind that it’s not winning or losing that matters but how one played the game.In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Observer, the former Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year said schoolboy cricketers must play only for the love of the game while coaches should refrain from trying to win at...

24 March, 2019 0

Demand to go up 40% in five years : Experts warn of serious water issue in Colombo

The current requirement of fresh water in Colombo will increase by around 40-50 percent in the next five years due to the rising number of hotels, home stays and apartments in the city, warned engineers and experts in water management at a water forum organised by the Institute of Engineers of Sri Lanka (IESL) in Colombo last week.According to water management experts, Colombo needs around 300,000 cubic...