[Nimala Ruban, a Tamil detainee killed in prison in July 2012]-20/08/2014 SLB Three Tamil political prisoners detained in Anuradhapura prison, namely Jayaraj Anton Samson, Raghavan Suresh and Gopalakrishnan Gopi engaged in hunger strike for the fifth day, reports Global Tamil News. They are demanding that they be transferred to the ward that other Tamil political prisoners are being held.
The three detainees engaged in the protest have been detained for last six years without any charges.
The three detainees have complained that Sinhalese prisoners are harassing including assaulting them and even taking away their food rations. Prison authorities have not allowed their parents to visit them. Further they have told the parents that if the prisoners die as a result of the hunger strike their corpses would be sent to Anuradhapura Hospital and then parents will be able to see the bodies.
Terrorists resemble one another: state terrorists, respectable members of government, and private terrorists, madmen acting…. in the name of various gods, whether God, Allah, or Jehovah…. How much longer will we ignore that fact that all terrorists scorn human life and feed off of one another?
Eduardo Galeano (How Much Longer?)
( August 21, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian ) Zionist ultras, the sort who decry Binyamin Netanyahu for dovish tendencies, have a new role model: Sri Lanka. Mr. Netanyahu is being urged to learn from the Lankan example of ‘resolute use of military force’ and give Hamas ‘the thrashing it deserves’ . Rajapaksa Security; Lankan by Thavam
SL owes China Exim Bank US$ 2.6 B
BY ZAHRAH IMTIAZ AND SKANDHA GUNASEKARA-August 21, 2014 The government has borrowed a total of US$ 2.6 billion (US$ 2,665 million) from the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of China during the period 2009-2013 for various development projects in the country. This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Sarath Amunugama in Parliament yesterday. These funds were mainly utilized for the Hambantota Port, Katunayake Expressway, Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, Railway projects, Northern Province electricity and road development projects, Southern Expressway, electricity projects in the Uva and Eastern Provinces. While the first phase of the Hambantota Port and the Katunayake Expressway were given loans at an interest rate on average of 6.5%, the rest were borrowed at a rate of 2% per annum. The Opposition, meanwhile, questioned as to why the government had dealt exclusively with the EXIM Bank for all its major development projects and whether the government received a special commission for transacting with the EXIM Bank. Responding to the query, Deputy Minister Amunugama said, there were no such special considerations made towards EXIM bank and that all dealings were done after careful study and planning. He added that the government also dealt with the China Development Bank.
Lanka Teacher Services Union (LTSU) has challenged the Minister of Education Bandula Gunawardene that they are prepared to prove that questions in papers i and ii of the Economic question paper for GCE A/L examination have blunders and would be prepared to have a debate on this on any TV channel the Minister names. This was stated by the General Secretary of LTSU Mahinda Jayasinghe at a press briefing held today (21st).
In a programme telecast by a TV channel Minister Bandula Gunawardene had stated there were no mistakes in the Economic paper held on 05.08.2014 and if anyone could prove there were mistakes he would resign from the post of minister of education.
Mr. Mahinda Jayasinghe said questions 23,25,28,29 and 38 of the question paper have mistakes. Mr. Jayasinghe said Minister Bandula Gunawardene who speaks about human life in nine words out of the ten he speaks is playing with the lives of hundreds of thousands of children who sit the A/L examination which is a turning point in their lives and the only way to enter universities.
He asked the Minister and the government not to play with the children’s lives but to do justice to the students who have been handicapped due to the mistakes of the ministry.
Mr. Jayasinghe said without looking at the finger that points at the moon the Minister should act in a responsible manner and should stop destroying free education.
The firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough has picked up a new sovereign government as a client.
The firm will represent the government and embassy of Sri Lanka on a $35,000 per month contract that was once held by the firm Patton Boggs. It’s part of a major hiring spree by Sri Lanka in terms of beefing up the firm’s D.C. presence.
The country recently brought on the PR firm Burson-Marsteller and the lobbying shops Beltway Government Strategies, R&R Partners, Inc., and the Madison Group as part of a major new lobbying push in Washington. Lobbyists Vinoda Basnayake and co-chair of the firm's government relations practice Bob Crowe will work the account. Basnayake recently joined Nelson Mullins from Patton Boggs, which recently merged with Squire Sanders. He chairs the D.C. Government Relations Practice at Nelson Mullins
Badulla heats up - UNP office in Uva Paranagama attacked Vegetable shop an three wheeler destroyed-August 21, 2014 An election office of the United National Party (UNP) in Galahagama, Uva - Paranagama, was attacked around 3 am today. The office, situated near Dharmaraja Vidyalaya, Galahagama, was established in a section of a vegetable shop owned by RD Ariyadasa. A three-wheeler that was used by the UNP office was set on fire and completely destroyed.
UNP Badulla District candidate Jayantha Kannangara said that the attack was carried out by the supporters of United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidate AM Buddhadasa. "We held a successful meeting here with the participation of UNP's chief ministerial candidate Harin Fernando. After that the organizers have been continuously threatened by persons traveling in jeeps at night," he said.
So far there have been four instances of election related violence reported from Badulla, two from Haliela, one from Mahiyanganaya and one from Uva-Paranagama. Meanwhile one incident of election related violence was reported from Handapanagala, Wellawaya, Moneragala.(CaFFE Media Unit)
An additional secretary of the University Grants Commission (UGC), using fake documents to show that he is an acting vice-chancellor, toured France from 11th to 13th June reveals Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA).
The General Secretary of FUTA Prof. Rohan Gunaratna said they would meet the Chairperson of UGC today (21st) and ask her how this individual got permission from UGC to engage in the tour.
Normally, permission for such a tour should be obtained before a month and the approval of the Prime Minister’s office too should be obtained says Prof. Gunaratna. However, the UGC had given permission for this person’s tour within two days pointed out Prof. Gunaratna.
The UGC has spent over Rs.500,000 for the trip said Prof. Gunaratna and added that they would expect a direct answer from the Chairperson of the UGC to the question whether a session where vice-chancellors meet was really held in France.
The Chairperson of UGC is Professor of Plant Sciences Kshanika Hirimburegama.
A 20 year-old British female touring in Sri Lanka has been raped in the Kuda Kalli area in Arugam Bay, local media has reported. However, the Police Spokesman’s Office states that so far, the incident has not been reported to the Police.
File photo
According to LankaCNews – a news website run by government MinisterWimal Weerawansa, the woman had been walking along Kuda Kalli beach in Potuwil, Arugam Bay when she had been attacked and raped. She is presently receiving treatments at the Ampara hospital.
Although media reports state she has lodged a complaint with the Police and no one has been arrested as of yet, Police Spokesman’s Office stated that no such complaint has been lodged with the Potuwil Police.
Technology and Research Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka said the Sinhalese community will be a minority in Sri Lanka in the next century.
Addressing a function in Colombo, Minister Ranawaka has said the growth of the Sinhalese population in the country is slower than that of the population of Sri Lanka.
"It will take another 160 years to double the population of the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka" Minister Ranawaka said while adding that population-growth of different ethnic communities in Sri Lanka is asymmetrical.
Ranawaka, who is a stalwart of the Jathika Hela Urumaya, has said this is the last century in which the Sinhalese community remains as the 'majority' in Sri Lanka.
According to the statistics of the Census Department, The Sinhalese community makse up 74.9% of the population (according to 2012 census) and are concentrated in the densely populated south-west and central parts of the Island. The Sri Lanka Tamils, live predominantly in the north-east of the island forming the largest minority group at 11.2% (according to the 2012 census) of the population.
The Muslims, who descend from Arab traders that settled in Sri Lanka, form the third largest ethnic group at 9.2% of the population and are mostly concentrated in urban areas in the southern parts of the country with substantial populations in the Central and Eastern provinces.
August 20, 2014 US Insurance Group AIG Colombo Office, General Manager Baldev Singh in a letter stated, "After careful consideration and an in-depth review, we have decided to withdraw from the Sri Lanka market." He further states the decision was based on the assessment of current size, future potential cost of capital and various other performances and economic indicators. "The decision in no way reflects our view of Sri Lanka, its regulatory environment, or the quality of its employee base," he added. The AIG has stopped renewing client's monthly policy from August 1. However, the policy cover will remain active till August 31, the General Manager noted. AIG which serves more than 70 million clients around the world having its operations in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, deals with commercial, institutional, and individual customers through one of the most extensive worldwide property-casualty networks of any insurer. AIG companies are leading providers of life insurance and retirement services in the United States. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Refugee advocates are challenging the legality of the month-long detention of 157 asylum seekers on a customs vessel in June
George Newhouse said the UN and other human rights organisations were ‘following the case very closely’. Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP
The United Nations may become involved in the case of the Tamil asylum seekers who were detained on an Australian customs boat, with a court hearing to take place in Canberra in October.
A brief high court directions hearing in Melbourne on Thursday resulted in Justice Kenneth Hayne setting a date of 14 October and 15 October for the full court case.
Refugee advocates are challenging the legality of the month-long detention of 157 Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers on the vessel in June.
Legal action was originally launched to prevent the asylum seekers being returned to Sri Lanka. However, the Australian government moved the people to a detention centre in Western Australia and then on to Nauru.
Organisations that want to support the challenge to the right to detain the asylum seekers have until 2 September to do so.
The legal team representing the asylum seekers indicated that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Australian Human Rights Commission were looking to intervene in the case.
In July the UNHCR expressed “profound concern” over reports the asylum seekers were being sent back to Sri Lanka. It later emerged the group was intercepted after leaving Pondicherry in India.
The 157 people, including 50 children, then spent about 22 hours a day in windowless rooms on an Australian customs boat.
George Newhouse, a lawyer for the asylum seekers, said the UN and other human rights organisations were “following the case very closely”.
“What Australia does on the high seas does affect international law and the approach of other countries,” he said. “It’s likely we’ll see intervention from human rights organisations both here and internationally.
“It would be highly unusual for the United Nations to intervene in a high court case in Australia. It shows the high level of concern internationally over Australia’s treatment of vulnerable men, women and children. This is a very serious case where 157 people were effectively abducted on the high seas and that’s not the behaviour the United Nations wants to see.
“This case is about the legality of holding people prisoner like this and, furthermore, the legality of putting them on little red lifeboats and pushing them off to a third country.”
Newhouse said it was important to have clarification from the court about any limits to the government’s powers on the high seas.
“There are important and untested questions at the heart of the case which, given the government’s policy of boat turnbacks, may well have broader implications,” he said.
The asylum seekers may seek financial compensation from the Australian government due to their detention, but any claim would run separately from the current high court challenge.
The legal team also expressed concern about the manner in which the asylum seekers were transferred to Nauru.
The Human Rights Law Centre has spoken directly to a number of the asylum seekers. Its director of legal advocacy, Daniel Webb, said he was deeply concerned about the group’s wellbeing and the circumstances in which they were forcibly and secretively transferred offshore.
“They were together eating a meal, then suddenly they were rounded up, split into three groups and taken to separate locations. Once there, they were told they were going to Nauru and asked to sign forms. Many of them were crying and pleading to speak with their lawyers. Their requests were refused and they were told they were going to Nauru whether they liked it or not,” Webb said.
Webb said the ordeal had taken its toll on all members of the group but expressed particular concern for the children.
“There are 50 children in this group who have endured a truly wretched few months. First they were detained at sea. Then they were secretly and forcibly taken away to Nauru. Now they’re languishing in detention on a remote Pacific island in conditions the UN has described as inhumane and unsuitable for children. So obviously we’re extremely concerned about their wellbeing.”
Irom Sharmila Chanu is being force-fed through a pipe in her nose
Indian activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who has been on a hunger strike for 14 years, has been freed following a court order.
20 August 2014
Ms Chanu said she was happy to be freed but would continue her fast.
She began her hunger strike in 2000 to protest against a controversial law in the state of Manipur, which gave the Indian armed forces sweeping powers.
She was arrested shortly after her protest began and put in a hospital and force-fed through a pipe in her nose.
On Tuesday, a court in the state capital, Imphal, rejected the charge that she was "attempting to commit suicide" and ordered her release.
For nearly 14 years, Ms Chanu has been held in judicial custody in a hospital in Manipur's capital, Imphal.
As she walked out of the hospital on Wednesday evening, she was mobbed by a group of reporters who asked her how it felt to breathe fresh air after so many years.
"It's refreshing," she said, smiling.
Ms Chanu said she did not "want people singing my glory, I want them to support my cause".
The activist said she would not call off her fast until the government agreed to her demand to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which gives soldiers sweeping powers to arrest people without warrants and even shoot to kill in certain situations.
"It's a draconian law, there are lots of widows in Manipur because of this law," she said.
Ms Chanu began a hunger strike after 10 civilians were killed by Indian soldiers.
Her protest has won her worldwide recognition, with Amnesty International describing her as a prisoner of conscience.
Former international cricketer Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party, gestures to his supporters during a Freedom March to the parliament house in Islamabad August 19, 2014.
BY MEHREEN ZAHRA-MALIK AND SYED RAZA HASSAN-Thu Aug 21, 2014
UPDATE: Indonesia’s top court has rejected an appeal by losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto over alleged fraud in last month’s polls.
EARLIER: Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has said there is no proof to back presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s claims of “structured, massive, systemic” fraud in the July 9 election.
The court has also thrown out key parts of Subianto’s case ahead of today’s verdict, which is widely expected to go against the former general.
The list of people eligible to vote in the July 9 presidential election, one of the main points of contention in Prabowo Subianto’s lawsuit to dispute the result of the vote, was carefully composed and played no role in any alleged election fraud, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday.
“The Final Voter List [DPT] was a bottom-up list, composed from the lowest to the highest levels in a certain time frame,” court justice Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi said, adding that if the losing presidential candidate had any complaints about the list, he should have come forward in the period the General Election Commission (KPU) had set especially for that purpose.
But because Prabowo’s legal team complained after the period to fix any problems with list, the court considered their argument “irrelevant.”
Earlier, police fired tear gas to disperse Subianto supporters trying to get close to the court hearing.
Witnesses say police fired the tear gas when protesters tried to get past barbed wire blocking a road leading to the court. Several protesters were rounded up and taken away by police.
Supporters of Subianto have described the police actions as “repressive”.
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story which incorrectly stated that the court had ruled against Prabowo Subianto was credited to the Associated Press. We would like to clarify that the Associated Press were not responsible in any way for this error.
UPDATE: Indonesia’s top court has rejected an appeal by losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto over alleged fraud in last month’s polls.
EARLIER: Indonesia’s Constitutional Court has said there is no proof to back presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s claims of “structured, massive, systemic” fraud in the July 9 election.
The court has also thrown out key parts of Subianto’s case ahead of today’s verdict, which is widely expected to go against the former general.
The list of people eligible to vote in the July 9 presidential election, one of the main points of contention in Prabowo Subianto’s lawsuit to dispute the result of the vote, was carefully composed and played no role in any alleged election fraud, the Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday.
“The Final Voter List [DPT] was a bottom-up list, composed from the lowest to the highest levels in a certain time frame,” court justice Ahmad Fadlil Sumadi said, adding that if the losing presidential candidate had any complaints about the list, he should have come forward in the period the General Election Commission (KPU) had set especially for that purpose.
But because Prabowo’s legal team complained after the period to fix any problems with list, the court considered their argument “irrelevant.”
Earlier, police fired tear gas to disperse Subianto supporters trying to get close to the court hearing.
Witnesses say police fired the tear gas when protesters tried to get past barbed wire blocking a road leading to the court. Several protesters were rounded up and taken away by police.
Supporters of Subianto have described the police actions as “repressive”.
EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story which incorrectly stated that the court had ruled against Prabowo Subianto was credited to the Associated Press. We would like to clarify that the Associated Press were not responsible in any way for this error.
Thousands attend the funeral of three senior Hamas military commanders killed in the Gaza Strip.
THURSDAY21 AUGUST 2014
An Israeli air strike killed three senior Hamas commanders in Gaza on Thursday, a clear sign of its intention to hit the group's armed leadership days after a ceasefire failed.
Hamas, which dominates Gaza, named the men as Mohammed Abu Shammala, Raed al-Attar andMohammed Barhoum, the three highest-ranking casualties it has announced since Israel started its offensive six weeks ago.
Killed in the bombing of a house in the southern town of Rafah, all three had led operations against Israel over the past 20 years, the Islamist movement said.
"The assassinations of the three Qassam leaders is a grave crime," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said. "But it will not break our people and Israel will pay the price for it."
Hamas leader
The Israeli military and Shin Bet, the internal security service, confirmed it had targeted two of the men.
Following the collapse on Tuesday of a 10-day ceasefire, the military appears to have ramped up its efforts to hit the leadership of Hamas's armed wing.
Following that attack the Qassam Brigade posted a video online taunting Israel: "You've failed and you've missed. Time and again, you've proved you're a bunch of failures. In 45 days of battle, you've only managed to kill women and children."
Israel launched its offensive in Gaza on 8 July with the declared aim of curbing Palestinian rocket fire into its territory. Gaza health officials say 2,061 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed.
Israeli attacks have devastated many areas in the densely-populated enclave, home to 1.8 million people, with 425,000 of people displaced, according to the United Nations. Sixty-four Israeli soldiers have been killed in the conflict, as well as three civilians in Israel.
Hamas admits kidnapping
On Thursday a top Hamas official said members of his militant group kidnapped three Israeli teenagers whose deaths in June provoked a spiral of violence that led to the ongoing war in Gaza, the first acknowledgement of the movement's involvement.
Speaking at a conference in Istanbul, Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas official from the West Bank who lives in exile in Turkey, appeared to confirm Israeli allegations that the Islamist group was behind the teenagers' abduction.
"There was much speculation about this operation, some said it was a conspiracy," Mr al-Arouri told delegates at the meeting of the International Union of Islamic Scholars on Wednesday, a recording of which was posted online by organisers.
"The popular will was exercised throughout our occupied land, and culminated in the heroic operation by the Qassam Brigades in imprisoning the three settlers in Hebron," he said, referring to Hamas's armed wing.
Hamas officials have up to now refused to confirm or deny any involvement.
European governments pay millions of dollars in ransoms to free their hostages. The White House needs to decide whether it’s willing to sacrifice principle for people.
The bloodthirsty jihadists of the Islamic State (IS) have murderedJames Foley, an American journalist who was kidnapped in Syria in November 2012. They also have threatened the life of Steven Sotloff, another American freelancer, who was seized last August, and who has written for Foreign Policy onthreeoccasions.
Demonstrators gather in Brooklyn's Cadman Plaza Park as they prepare to march across the Brooklyn Bridge during a pro-Palestinian rally, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Published on Aug 20, 2014
NEW YORK (AP) — Pro-Palestinian activists marching along the Brooklyn Bridge were surprised when a giant flag in Palestinian colors was unfurled on the nearby Manhattan Bridge.
The flag had the words "Boycott, Divest, Sanction" on it and was lowered from a part of the bridge near the Manhattan side Wednesday evening. Activists on the Brooklyn Bridge met its appearance with cheers.
The BDS movement is an international effort to pressure Israel over the settlements.
The flag was taken back up a short time later. Police say no one was arrested in connection with its display.
It's the second time in recent months that flags have unexpectedly shown up on city bridges. In July, two white flags were put in the place of American flags on top of the Brooklyn Bridge.
[Nimala Ruban, a Tamil detainee killed in prison in July 2012]- 
The firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough has picked up a new sovereign government as a client.
Vegetable shop an three wheeler destroyed-
