Ukraine says Russian forces cross border in tanks, armored vehicles

By Annie Gowen and Karoun Demirjian August 25 at 12:35 PM

KIEV — Ukraine charged that Russian forces crossed into eastern Ukraine early Monday with tanks and other military vehicles, as Russia vowed to send in a second humanitarian aid convoy to deliver emergency supplies to areas held by pro-Moscow separatists later this week.
Ukraine Says Russian Forces Cross Border in Tanks, Armored Vehicles by Thavam

No let-up in Gaza war, Israel moves to protect its economy
Palestinians stand in a badly damaged house as they look at rescue workers searching for for victims from under the rubble of a neighbouring house, which witnesses said was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip August 25, 2014.

BY NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI AND JEFFREY HELLER-GAZA/JERUSALEM Mon Aug 25, 2014 

(Reuters) - Israeli air strikes killed at least eight Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and militants kept up their cross-border rocket fire on Monday as Israel moved to cushion its economy against the effects of a war now in its seventh week.

Egypt pressed on with efforts to broker a durable truce, and the Bank of Israel, fearing the conflict would slow economic growth, cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to 0.25 percent, its lowest level ever.

Gazans said they received new recorded messages on mobile phones and landlines saying Israel would target any house used to launch "terror attacks" and telling civilians to leave areas used by militants.

Israeli aircraft attacked four homes in the town of Beit Lahiya, near the Israeli border, killing two women and a girl, witnesses and health officials said.

Locals told Reuters a member of the Hamas militant group that dominates Gaza lived in one of the dwellings. Five other Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes, including three men in an attack on a car, officials said.

More than 80 rockets were launched at southern Israel on Monday, causing no casualties, the army said.

Palestinian health officials say 2,122 people, most of them civilians, including more than 400 children, have been killed in Gaza since July 8, when Israel launched an offensive with the declared aim of ending rocket fire into its territory.

Sixty-four Israeli soldiers and four civilians in Israel have been killed.

Gazans said they had received messages on their phones for several days, with a new recording on Monday ending with the words: "To Hamas leaders and to the residents of Gaza: The battle is open and you have been warned."

INDEFINITE CEASEFIRE PROPOSED

Qais Abu Leila, a senior Palestinian official involved in Egyptian-mediated talks to reach a truce, said Cairo had proposed an indefinite ceasefire.

Cairo's latest initiative calls for the immediate opening of Gaza's crossings with Israel and Egypt to aid reconstruction efforts in the battered coastal strip, to be followed by talks on a longer-term easing of the blockade.

"Egyptian efforts are continuing. The ball is in the Israeli court, and they have not responded to this proposal 36 hours after it was referred to them," Abu Leila told Reuters.

Hamas has said it will not stop fighting until the Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the enclave of 1.8 million people is lifted.

Both Israel and Egypt view Hamas as a security threat and are demanding guarantees that weapons will not enter the economically-crippled territory. Israel recalled its negotiators from Cairo last Tuesday after a ceasefire collapsed.

Announcing its surprise interest rate cut, the Bank of Israel said it was too soon to assess precisely the loss of economic growth that will derive from the fighting.

But it said the war could shave half a point off GDP, which is forecast at 2.9 percent in 2014, as tourism and consumer spending are hit.

In Gaza City on Sunday, an Israeli strike on a car killed Mohammed al-Ghoul, described by the Israeli military as a Hamas official responsible for "terror fund transactions".

Israel later bombed and destroyed Ghoul's house. He was targeted three days after Israel killed three top Hamas commanders in the southern Gaza Strip.

Thousands of homes in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed or damaged in the conflict. Nearly 500,000 people have been displaced in the territory where Palestinians, citing Israeli attacks that have hit schools and mosques, say no place is safe.

Israel has said Hamas bears responsibility for civilian casualties because it operates among non-combatants. The group, it said, uses schools and mosques to store weapons and as launching sites for cross-border rocket attacks.

(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta and Noah Browning in Ramallah and Steven Scheer in Jerusalem; Writing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Israeli stealth drone downed at nuclear facility, Iran claims

Revolutionary Guard hails act against 'warmongers' as incident reported at major uranium enrichment plant

Iran's Natanz nuclear facility is the country's main uranium enrichment site. Photograph: Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA

Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem and Saeed Kamali Dehghan in Boston-Sunday 24 August 2014

Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed on Sunday that an Israeli stealth drone had been brought down above the Natanz uranium enrichment site in the centre of the country.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Iran's elite forces had intercepted and brought down an unmanned aircraft belonging to "the Zionist regime". The news was announced in a statement published by the guards, but it was not clear when the incident, if true, happened.

"This mischievous act once again reveals the adventurist nature of the Zionist regime [of Israel] and added another black page to this fake and warmongering regime's file which is full of crimes," said the Revolutionary Guards' statement.

The state news agency ISNA reported that the aircraft was "of the stealth, radar-evasive type and it intended to penetrate the off-limits nuclear area in Natanz … but was targeted by a ground-to-air missile before it managed to enter the area."

A spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards later told Iranian television that parts of the aircraft had been retrieved. Iran claimed to have reverse engineered a drone after capturing an American RQ-170 Sentinel in 2011.

"Major parts of the devices of the drone are intact and have been received by our friends that can be used for further information," said General Ramazan Sharif. He did not say when the aircraft was shot down, but said it was "identified upon arrival in Iranian airspace". He said authorities allowed it to fly for a short time to determine its destination.

Israeli political and military officials said they never respond to such claims. They have repeatedly threatened to take military action against Iran's nuclear installations, but have been reluctant to do so without US backing or participation.

Natanz is Iran's main uranium enrichment site, housing more than 16,000 centrifuges. About 3,000 more are at the Fordo plant, buried inside a mountain and hard to destroy.

Israel says Iran is developing nuclear weapons at the sites which it intends to use in attacks on the Jewish state. The Israeli prime minister,Binyamin Netanyahu, has repeatedly said the Iranian nuclear programme is an existential threat to his country. Iran insists it is enriching uranium is for civilian purposes.

Iran and the P5+1 powers – Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany – reached a six-month interim agreement under which Iran suspended part of its nuclear activities in return for a partial lifting of international sanctions.

In July, that deal was extended by four months until November to give the two sides more time to negotiate a final accord aimed at ending 10 years of tensions over Iran's nuclear programme. The sides remain split on how much uranium enrichment Iran should be allowed to carry out.

Washington wants Tehran to slash its programme by three-quarters, but Iran wants to expand enrichment tenfold by 2021, chiefly to produce fuel for its Bushehr nuclear power plant.

Israel opposes any agreement allowing Tehran to keep part of its uranium enrichment programme.

Islamic State's crimes are 'appalling and widespread'

MONDAY 25 AUGUST 2014

A former UN war crimes judge says Islamic State's actions in Iraq and Syria are "appalling and widespread" and may contribute to "war crimes and crimes against humanity".
Islamic State's Crimes Are 'Appalling and Widespread' by Thavam

The self-declared republic's economy is based on remittances from abroad -- which are good business, too. So why is the money-transfer industry under threat?

BY MICHELA WRONG-AUGUST 25, 2014

HAREISA, Somaliland — Halima Mohamed, an expert on infectious diseases, was working on a primary-health project in the town of Erigavo in eastern Somaliland when she began feeling ill. "I realized I'd caught pneumonia," she says. "The drugs I needed were available, but expensive, and I didn't have the cash on me."
The Self-Declared Republic's Economy is Based on Remittances From Abroad -- Which Are Good Business, Too. S... by Thavam

Cancer diagnosis can lead to financial crisis for some

Nine out of 10 Canadians touched by disease report some form of financial challenge

Ontario covers the cost of cancer drugs if they are administered in hospital, but once a patient goes home, that support ends

By: Jennifer Barry Special to the Star Published on Wed Jul 02 2014

A cancer diagnosis isn’t just an emotional shock, it can send sufferers into a financial tailspin resulting in debt, bankruptcy and even a lifetime on social assistance, according to the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS).

Research by the CCS has shown that nine out of 10 Canadian families touched by the disease report some form of financial challenge as incomes decline and household costs rise.

It’s an issue that’s all the more acute in Ontario, which lags behind Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia — all of which have comprehensive provincial programs providing full coverage for eligible cancer drugs taken at home.

While Ontario covers the cost of cancer drugs if they are administered in hospital, once a patient goes home, that support ends.

Kelly Gorman, senior manager of public issues at the CCS, says it’s costing some people in recovery thousands of dollars.

“If your drug is intravenous and administered in a hospital or clinic then it’s covered, but if it’s at home, things change,” she says.

“We were working with a family whose child had cancer, and one of the medications had to be taken at home. It was a couple of thousand dollars for the course of treatment,” she said.

“People are trying to cope with the diagnosis, wondering how they are going to deal with it and fight this disease,” she says, “to learn there might be a might be financial component to worry about is anxiety at a scary and stressful time.”

There are a few ways people in Ontario can recoup costs, through things such as the Ontario Drug Benefit, work programs, or funding through the Trillium Drug Program, for example, but many still fall through the cracks.

Even with benefits or funding programs, there are a lot of administrative steps before they can access the medication, Gorman says.

Often, people have to take a leave of absence from work, creating an additional financial burden. Some turn to fundraising to help fund their treatment.

Research suggests it would cost $93 million annually for Ontario to pick up the tab.

The CCS and other groups are continuously working to raising awareness, and lobby Ontario politicians to follow the lead of other provinces and fund all cancer drugs.

“The government is well aware of it,” Gorman says.

“We hope when they are looking at Ontario issues, and how they will improve outcomes and quality of life, they will consider this.”

Wigneswaran seeks Treasury approval for CM’s fund

By Chris Kamalendran-Sunday, August 24, 2014

The Northern Provincial Council has sought Treasury approval to operate a ‘Chief Minister’s Fund’ despite objections by the Governor, a spokesman for the Chief Minister’s office said. The Council had granted approval for the establishment of the fund which hopes to attract aid from foreign donors and well-wishers. Similar funds have been set up in three provincial councils — the Southern, Sabaragamuwa and the Uva PCs.

The proposal was sent for endorsement by the Governor, Major General (Retd) G.A. Chandrasiri, but he turned it down on the basis that a ‘Governor’s Fund’ was already in operation, the Chief Minister’s Coordinating Secretary M. Manmadaraja said. “Though we sent the request to the Governor it was not mandatory to get his approval. The Chief Minister has now sent the request to the Treasury to operate the fund,” he said.

The move to establish the fund came after a provincial minister obtained Rs. 5 million from well-wishers in Australia for public use but deposited the money in his personal account. The Province’s Health Minister, Dr S. Sathiyalingam, had collected the money from the Tamil diaspora in Australia promising it would be used to take care of handicapped people and others in need.

However, Chief Minister Wigneswaran this week told the council meeting that the Government was closely monitoring the financial transactions of the council and therefore establishing a ‘chief minister’s fund’ would be important to maintain transparency.
He said that under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution such funds could be set up.

Sri Lanka’s Intransigence


THE EDITORIAL BOARDAUG. 22, 2014

Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, said Tuesday that his government would not cooperate with the United Nations investigation begun last month into suspected human rights abuses, including possible war crimes, committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war. Mr. Rajapaksa’s intransigence puts Sri Lanka in the company of North Korea and Syria, two countries that also barred access to United Nations human rights investigators. 
FULL STORY>>>

Visa for US journalist ‘put on hold’ says Sri Lanka

24 August 2014

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs ministry has confirmed that a visa for US journalist Gardiner Harris has been “put on hold” following advice from the Sri Lankan High Commission in India, reports the Sunday Leader.

Harris, South Asia Correspondent for The New York Times, tweeted that he had applied for a visa more than 50 days ago, yet was still waiting to hear from Sri Lankan authorities.

Gardiner Harris @GardinerHarris Follow I applied for a J-visa to Sri Lanka on June 30. 50 days later, still no word. Press freedom? @Abeynayake @tingilye @CHOGMSriLanka 6:17 PM - 18 Aug 2014 20 RETWEETS 10 FAVORITES

“The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said it was the opinion of the ministry that allowing foreign journalists to visit Sri Lanka to report against the country at this particular time cannot be allowed,” said The Sunday Leader.

Earlier this month an editorial from the Sri Lankan state-owned Daily News called for authorities to reject Harris’ visa application, labelling him an "inveterate liar" with “vituperative and sinister intent”.

See the full piece, entitled "They are welcome to keep out", here.

Sri Lanka Now In The Company Of North Korea And Syria – New York Times Editorial

AAugust 24, 2014 

Following Sri Lankan President’s gloating comments last week on barring access to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) investigators into the country, the New York Times has noted the remarks have placed Sri Lanka right alongside North Korea and Syria.

In a strongly worded editorial published on Friday titled “Sri Lankaís Intransigence”, it has been pointed out that refusing access to the UNHRC investigations carrying out the probe on Sri Lanka has placed the country in the company of North Korea and Syria – two countries that also barred access to UN human rights investigators.

The editorial board has expressed doubts on the comments by President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka being able to handle the inquiry on its own, as it was the failure to do so ,that prompted the request for a comprehensive investigation into the alleged abuses during the final phases of the conflict in Sri Lanka, by both sides.

Furthermore, it has been noted that the safety of witnesses who would be providing evidence to the investigation is a major concern against the backdrop of threats that have been levelled at people demanding accountability for those who disappeared and the Prevention of Terrorism Act being used to detain people without a trial.

ìIf Mr Rajapaksa’s goal is truly, as he claims, truth, justice and reconciliation, he should cooperate with the investigation,” the editorial board notes adding that failure to do so will only feed international suspicions on the fact that the Rajapaksa-regime has much to hide.

NYT Correspondent refused visa by the GoSL

[Harris wanted to report on Aluthgama riots too]
South Asia Correspondent for The New York Times, Gardiner Harris has been refused visa by the government of Sri Lanka, without giving any reason.
But the state controlled the Ceylon Daily News in its editorial, endorsing the visa refusal has provided some reasons.

The CDN editorial says that ” The vituperative and sinister intent of the NYT team’s reportage on Sri Lanka is obvious from this fact alone. Why would any government want to grant a visa to a man who is an inveterate professional liar? At least that’s our view — though whether a visa would be granted or not in the future, would be entirely the government’s own decision.

”It was the New York Times, denigrating the May victory parade which was a tribute to the gallant soldiers of Sri Lanka, that claimed in the same article written under the above named individual’s hand, that the UN has estimated that 40000 civilians had perished in the last stages of the hostilities in 2009.

The Sunday Leader report on the visa refusal follows:

Visa On Hold For US Journo

By Easwaran Rutnam

Gardiner Harris

The External Affairs Ministry says a request for a visa by a Delhi based US journalist has been put on hold as the time is not conducive to approve his visit. South Asia Correspondent for The New York Times, Gardiner Harris, had tweeted saying he had applied for a Journalist visa in June to visit Sri Lanka but he is yet to be granted the same. When The Sunday Leader made inquiries in this regard, a spokesperson at the External Affairs Ministry confirmed that a request had been received from Gardiner Harris to visit Sri Lanka to report on some local incidents including incidents related to Aluthgama.

He also said the Sri Lankan High Commission in India had been advised to put the visa request on hold. The government is currently preparing for the visits of the President of China and the Prime Minister of Japan, both of which have been scheduled for next month. The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said it was the opinion of the ministry that allowing foreign journalists to visit Sri Lanka to report against the country at this particular time cannot be allowed.

However, he stresed that the visa had not been rejected, and the ministry will reconsider the request at a later date.
http:

The Asian Human Rights Commission - Impunity to do wrong..!

(Lanka-e-News- 24.Aug.2014, 7.00PM) Information has been received that the executive director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, a regional NGO based in Hong Kong, has been telling falsehoods to members of his staff with regard to payments and other matters and that the management and chairman of the board have offered him impunity.

This is of particular concern as the issue of impunity has been at the forefront of the AHRC’s attacks on the Sri Lanka Police Service and other branches of the government, including ministers at high levels, for many years. It is therefore shocking that this organisation is hypocritical enough to allow the same impunity to its own executive in order that he can do as he wishes with his staff.

The information, as we have received it concerns three issue; the first was an application of a salary advance by one of their staff. In February of this year he applied for a salary advance from Bijo Francis, the executive director and was informed that he (Francis) was no longer in a position to grant such advances. He actually used the wording, “ it is no longer within my remit”, and that he would have to seek the approval of the board. However, within weeks of making this statement and in the full hearing of other members of staff he granted such an advance to one of his cronies, thereby proving that his earlier comments were obviously false. If Francis did not want to grant the salary advance he could have simply informed the staff member that, in his capacity as executive director, he had elected not to do so. However, that would have been an inconvenient truth. Sadly, he found it more convenient to tell a convenient lie.

The second incident involved a letter purported to be from the management committee in which he informed a member of staff that he was being reprimanded and that the committee had agreed on the content and the issuance of the said letter. However, inquiries made with two members of the management committee confirmed that neither of them had knowledge of either the contents of, or the issuance of the letter. If Francis had omitted the part about the letter being approved by the committee there would have been no problem. However, that would have been an inconvenient truth. By hiding behind the management committee Francis committed another convenient lie.

The third incident involved the long term service award of an outgoing member of staff. In the Hong Kong SAR there are two sums of money involved when an employee leaves a comany. One is the long term award and the second is the Mandatory Provident Fund which all employers are required to contribute to. The staff member was informed of the amount that he was to receive as a long term award and was surprised as the employer has the right to deduct any contributions to the MPF. After making inquiries of Francis in the presence of the Admin manager he was told that his MPF award would NOT be affected. However, upon receipt of the payment by the relevant bank he found that the sum of HK$ 88,000 (USD 11,000) had been deducted. The staff member gave Francis every opportunity to explain the situation but the latter dodged the question and left the matter to Mr. Basil Fernando to explain. In an obviously contrived letter Fernando informed the staff member that they had done all in their power to pay the person everything he was entitled to. What he failed to explain was why Francis had once again been permitted to lie to a member of staff with impunity. 

Sadly the matter did not end there. It was shocking that Mr. John J. (Jack) Clancey, the chairman of the board of directors, having been made aware of the actions of his executive director, would take his side after being presented with documentary evidence. 

Another matter was raised personally with Clancy a few weeks later but, as it was of a very sensitive and personal nature involving several members of the staff, it cannot be revealed here for fear of causing embarrassment to the innocent persons affected. Suffice to say that rather than be concerned at the information presented to him so that he might take some form of action to avoid the potential of embarrassment to the AHRC, Clancy threatened the informant with legal action.

It is appalling that despite their very public stand for over 15 years on the issue of impunity for wrongdoing, the management and directors of the Asian Human Rights Commission are prepared to turn a blind eye to the actions of their own executive director.
-By a special correspondent-

The Nudge From Delhi

| by Tisaranee Gunasekara

“All neighbourly and easy talk are gone…..”

Yeats (The Curse of Cromwell)

( August 24, 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Narendra Modi has spoken. And his words are no different from Manmohan Singh’s. 

During his meeting with the TNA Mr. Modi has laid down the parameters of his administration’s preferred solution to the Lankan ethnic problem. A political package which builds on the 13th Amendment, within a united Sri Lanka ; meaning, in essence, 13+ up to federalism; not 13-, which is the status quo; and not confederation, let alone separation.

The Nudge From Delhi by Thavam

VIEW FROM SRI LANKA: MODI AND POPULISM MODIFIED – OPED

Modi addressing his first rally after being declared as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the NDA at Rewari, Haryana. Source Wikipedia Commons.

By Dr Kumar David-AUGUST 23, 2014

Nehru in his first broadcast to the people of India as Prime Minister on 15 August 1947 began with the words: “Today I address you for the first time officially as the First Servant of the Indian people, pledged to their service and their betterment. I am here because you willed it so and I remain here so long as you choose to honour me with your confidence”.
View From Sri Lanka Modi and Populism Modified – Oped by Thavam