U.S. to start talks with Cuba to normalize ties

American Alan Gross poses for a photo during a visit by Rabbi Elie Abadie and U.S. lawyer James L. Berenthal at Finlay military hospital. (James L. Berenthal/AP file)

By Brian Murphy December 17 at 10:13 AM

The United States and Cuba will begin talks to normalize relations, including opening an embassy in Havana and putting to rest one most enduring Cold War standoffs, news reports said Wednesday.

U.S. officials announced that Cuba has released American aid worker Alan Gross after five years in prison. (Reuters)

U.S. to Start Talks With Cuba to Normalize Ties by Thavam Ratna

Apple closes Russian website because of rouble crisis

An Apple store in New York. This is the second time the company has closed its Russian website. Photograph: Carlo Allegri/Reuters

Jennifer Rankin-Wednesday 17 December 2014

Apple has stopped selling products on its Russian website because of massive fluctuations in the rouble.

The Russian currency has lost 20% of its value against the dollar since the start of the week, smashing records for all-time lows on Monday and Tuesday.

As Russians rushed out to spend their roubles before prices went up on imported televisions, washing machines and smartphones – Apple announced it was closing its online store.

“Due to extreme fluctuations in the value of the rouble, our online store in Russia is currently unavailable while we review pricing,” the company said in a statement. Visitors to the site were greeted with the message “we’ll be back” in several languages.

Apple does not have stores in Russia, although it does sell its tablets and smartphones through local retailers. This is the second time the California-based tech company has closed its Russian website. At the end of November the site was shut for about 24 hours, before reopening with prices 20-25% higher.

Russians are big fans of Apple’s gadgets and before the latest currency crisis were ready to pay about a third more for the latest iPhone model than customers in the US.

Apple sold 1.57m iPhones worth $1bn (£630m) in Russia 2013, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the story. But Apple is not the most popular brand in Russia – Samsung sold six times more handsets in 2013, according to market researchers IDC. But Apple has more cachet among Moscow’s modish cultural elite.

Dmitry Medvedev, the Russian prime minister, who served as president in 2008-12, was known for his love for Apple gadgets. He was given an iPhone by the company’s founder, Steve Jobs, while on a visit to Silicon Valley in 2010, using it to send his first tweet. Medvedev has since had to swap his iPad for a Samsung device, since the Russian government switched from Apple to the South Korean firm earlier this year, citing security concerns.

One person unlikely to be fazed by Apple’s decision is Vladimir Putin. Russia’s president does not send text messages and rarely uses the internet.

Some car dealers were reported to have stopped all sales of foreign brands. The head of the dealers trade body, Vladimir Mozhenkov, told the Russian daily Kommersant that members selling brands including BMW, Ford, Honda, Škoda and Nissan had stopped sales.

One source at the Major Auto group of car dealers told the paper that when the euro reached 99 roubles, the sales team were forbidden to complete sales, even for people who had signed a prepay agreement.

Narendra Modi orders party to rein in pro-Hindu agenda

Modi under pressure over minister's tirade against non-Hindus

Indian Parliament shuts down after minister's derogatory remarks>

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally at Kathua, south of Jammu December 13, 2014.

BY RUPAM JAIN NAIR AND ANDREW MACASKILL

-NEW DELHI Wed Dec 17, 2014 

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned his lawmakers for the first time to stop promoting controversial issues such as religious conversions and to focus on economic reforms as he struggles to pass legislation needed to kickstart the economy.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a right wing Hindu group, called off a plan to convert thousands of Muslims to Hinduism this Christmas, which had threatened to stir fresh religious discord, after Modi's intervention.

But opposition politicians continued to disrupt parliament on Wednesday, saying they were not convinced the ruling group had given up its partisan agenda.

"The prime minister feels that we should not deviate from our agenda of economic reforms and development," said Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu priest-turned-lawmaker who has been running Hindu reconversion campaigns, a sensitive issue.

Modi, who was elected in May with a mandate to provide jobs and economic growth, has already seen his reform agenda stymied by inflammatory statements by members of his Hindu nationalist party. With a week left before the session of parliament ends, he risks ending the year without passing a single major reform.His election raised hopes that the right-wing leader would build on the economic transformation that began in the 1990s. Instead, efforts to overhaul the tax system and lift caps on foreign investment have been derailed by deadlock between the government and opposition parties.

"The problem with Modi is not the opposition, it is fringe elements within his own party," said S. Chandrasekharan, director of the South Asia Analysis Group, based in New Delhi.

Modi's rise to power has emboldened right-wing activists to openly declare India a nation of Hindus, posing a challenge to its multi-faith constitutional commitment. About a fifth of India's 1.27 billion people identify themselves as belonging to faiths other than Hinduism.

Niranjan Jyoti, a member of Modi's council of ministers said non-Hindus were "bastards" at an election rally and another party MP said the man who killed freedom fighter Mahatma Gandhi was a patriot.Even the right wing Hindu group Dharam Jagran Samiti, which called off the mass conversions planned for Dec. 25 in Aligarh, said it had only paused its campaign to bring Muslims and Christians back to its fold.

"We have suspended our plans but this is just a suspension not a ban," leader organiser Satya Prakash Navmann, who stands accused in six communal riot cases, told Reuters. "No one can stop us from making India a land of Hindus."

(Additional reporting by Sharat Pradhan; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Edmund Klamann)

Opinion: Post-coup oppression teaches Thais a lesson in human rights

Pic: AP.

By Saksith Saiyasombut & Siam Voices Dec 17, 2014 -By Thitipol Panyalimpanun

In the past several weeks Thailand has witnessed a series of incidents that altogether signal the beginning of the public’s shift in perception. Slowly, Thais are becoming more and more concerned about the abuse of human rights, freedom and democracy. Now, Thai liberals have a reason to be optimistic despite the continuous oppression by the junta. A whiff of change is in the air.
Opinion Post-coup Oppression Teaches Thais a Lesson in Human Rights by Thavam Ratna

Age of First Menstruation Linked to Heart Disease in Women

FILE - Heart disease is world's number one killer.

Jessica Berman

December 15, 2014 5:09 PM

Most women begin their menstrual cycles at around the age of 13. A new study suggested that those who start menstruating a few years before or after that average appear to be at increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

The study by researchers at Oxford University in Britain analyzed data collected from 1.3 million mostly white women - ages 50 to 64. They noticed a pattern among women who had their first menstrual cycle at age ten or younger, or 17 or older.

During the more than 10 years the women were followed, those two groups had a 27 percent increased risk of hospitalizations or death due to heart disease. There were 16 percent more hospitalizations or deaths from stroke among those groups, and high blood pressure led to a 20 percent increased likelihood of hospitalizations or related deaths.

Dexter Canoy , the study’s lead author, is a cardiovascular epidemiologist at the University of Oxford’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit within the Department of Population Health.

He said there is a strong association between the age of menarche, when a woman’s first period occurs, and heart disease and stroke risk.

If plotted on a chart, he says it would look like the letter U, with the highest risk of cardiovascular disease among those who started menstruating at a very young age at one tip of the U, and those who began later on in their teens at the other.

Women who begin menstruating around age 13, which is typical, were seen to be at the lowest risk, according to Canoy, at the bottom of the U.

"Whether or not you are lean, overweight or obese, we found the same U-shape association, even if we take into account, let’s say, you are taking medications for high blood pressure, or high cholesterol or have diabetes. It seems the association is robust," he said.

Canoy does see a link between menarche and weight. Obese girls tend to start menstruating at a younger age. They also often become obese adults, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Canoy says it may be possible to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke in women by fighting obesity in children, which might also increase the age at which girls start to menstruate.

"Children who are obese can develop heart disease in the long run. But one aspect that can potentially be prevented is through the mechanism that might involve early-onset of menstruation."

Canoy says late-onset menstruation has historically been linked to malnutrition.

An article on the link between age of menarche and cardiovascular disease is published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.

Our children were killed by the Army - Tamil mothers testify

15 December 2014

Two Tamil women have testified that their children were shot and killed by the Sri Lankan Army, as the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (PCICMP) began to collect testimonies from Vavuniya on Sunday.

Uthayan reports the two mothers describing to the Commission how their children failed to return home from a visit to the Chettikulam hospital, and were shot dead near an army camp three days later.

“We were scared because we were under army control, but we couldn’t search for them at night,” the women said.

When the mothers tried to file a police complaint the day after the disappearance, they were told that their children had probably gone somewhere of their own accord, and to return to file a complaint in three days.

The following day the women accompanied by their village people went to inquire after their children at an army camp in Vaarikuttiyoor. They were intercepted near the camp and questioned by soldiers, who sent them away saying “your children are here, they will come.”

“The next morning, our children were shot dead and left on the streets of Vaarikuttiyoor,” the mothers testified.

A court case looking into the shootings was launched and an investigation carried out but no soldiers were summoned to court or brought to justice.

Uthayan reports that 33 people attended the session on Sunday to give testimonies, and a further 36 people registered with the commission as new witnesses.

யாழ். பல்கலைக்கழக மாணவர்களுக்கு மிரட்டல் 

15 டிசெம்பர் 2014, திங்கள்

அரச புலனாய்வு பிரிவுனர் என அடையாளம் காட்டிக்கொண்ட நால்வரால் யாழ். பல்கலைக்கழக மாணவர்கள் நேற்றிரவு 1௦.௦௦ மணியளவில் அச்சுறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளதாகத் தெரிவிக்கப்படுகின்றது.

சம்பவம் தொடர்பாக தெரியவருவதாவது, தாம் ஊரெழு இராணுவமுகாமை சேர்ந்த அரச புலனாய்வு பிரிவினர் எனக் கூறி யாழ், பேருந்து நிலையத்தில் வைத்து இரண்டாம் வருட மாணவன் ஒருவரை கைது செய்த இவர்கள் பல்கலைக்கழகம் முன்பாக கொண்டு சென்று தாக்கியுள்ளனர்.

அதன் பின்னர் மூன்றாம் வருட மாணவன் ஒருவருக்கு தொலைபேசி மூலம் அழைப்பினை மேற்கொண்ட புலனாய்வாளர்கள் என தம்மை அடையாளப்படுத்தியோர், உமது நண்பர் ஒருவரை நாம்கைது செய்துள்ளோம். உடனடியாகப் பல்கலைக்கழகத்துக்கு வருமாறும், அவ்வாறு வந்தால்தான் நண்பனை விடுதலை செய்வோமெனவும் அச்சுறுத்தியுள்ளனர்.

அதனைத் தொடர்ந்து புலனாய்வாளர்களால் அழைக்கப்பட்ட மூன்றாம் வருட மாணவன் தனது பல்கலைக்கழக நண்பர்களுடன் அங்கு சென்றுள்ளான். அப்போது அங்கு புலானய்வுத் துறையினர் இவர்களைத் தாக்க முற்ப்பட்டனர்.

இந்தநிலையில் குறித்த மாணவர்கள் யாழ். பொலிஸ் நிலையத்திற்கு சம்பவம் தொடர்பில் தெரியப்படுத்தியதுடன், புலனாய்வு துறையினரில் ஒருவர் வங்கி ஒன்றில் கடமை புரியும் ஊழியர் எனவும் அடையாளம் கண்டு அவரின் பெயரை தெரியப்படுத்தியிருகின்றனர்.

சம்பவ இடத்திற்கு இராணுவத்தினரும், பொலிசாரும் வந்ததும் இவர்கள் NP.WF.7043 என்ற இலக்க மோட்டார் சைக்கிளில் அங்கிருந்து தப்பிசென்றுள்ளனர்.

இதனையடுத்து நள்ளிரவு 12.3௦ மணியளவில் தாம் யாழ். பொலிஸ் நிலையத்திற்கு சென்று முறைப்பாட்டினைப் பதிவு செய்துள்ளதாகக் குறித்த மாணவர்கள் உதயன் அலுவலகத்திற்கு நேரில் வந்து முறையிட்டனர். 

இந்த நிலையில் சம்பவம் தொடர்பில் யாழ். பொலிஸ் நிலையத்திற்கு தொடர்புகொண்டு கேட்டபோது  விசாரணைகளை முன்னெடுத்து வருவதாக தெரிவித்தனர்.

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=345733728316168415#sthash.BRMW8OqW.dpuf

FMM Presents Media Reform Proposals To Common Presidential Candidate

16/12/2014  

The Free Media Movement (FMM) of Sri Lanka today ( 16th Dec 2014) handed over its short term proposals for re-establishing freedom of expression rights in Sri Lanka. The document says that ‘Free Media Movement expects to bring forth long term proposals related to Freedom of expression rights Sri Lanka to be implemented by the proposed national Government after the Hundred-Day-Reforms under the new President. FMM hopes to formulate and submit such set of proposals in collaboration with other media and civil society organisations in Sri Lanka.’

The FMM document follows:

Presidential Election 2015 08 January 2014
Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Expression Rights in Sri Lanka

Short term proposals submitted by the Free Media Movement to to the common opposition and its presidential candidate .

Free Media Movement has already expressed its support to the common opposition candidate, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, who will be contesting at the upcoming presidential election with a mandate to abolish executive presidency, reinstate the 17th Amendment, establish an electoral system more suitable and provide concessions to economic difficulties being experienced by people; these measures are included in the First Hundred Days Programme of the Common opposition.

The Free Media Movement is also a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding signed with common presidential candidate, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena.

Over the past several years freedom of expression rights in Sri Lanka has been on a steady decline. The Free Media Movement has repeatedly requested the present Government led by President Mahinda Rajapakse to protect freedom of expression rights of all Sri Lankans which is based on people’s right to information. However, since our requests have been completely neglected by the Government headed by the President, Free Media Movement does not think that another plea to Mr. Rajapakse, who is contesting for the third term, will bring any result.

Therefore, Free Media Movement submits following short term proposals to the common opposition and its presidential candidate Mr. Maithripala Sirisena to be implemented within the first hundred days of winning the presidential election in order to ensure media freedom in the country to some extent.

1. Freedom of Information
Enforce the Freedom of Information Act approved by the Cabinet of Ministers under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe in February 2004 as aninitial and symbolic gesture to express the respect for people’s inviolable right to freedom of information which is recognised by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of Sri Lanka. In this regard, Free Media Movement further requests the interim government of common opposition to work in collaboration with Sri Lanka Press Institute, which represents journalists’ associations, Newspaper editors and media proprietorsand relevant civil society organisations.

This step will be a due recognition of the various campaigns carried out by the media community and civil society groups in defence of people’s right to information.

FMM presents its short term proposals to Common candidate Maithripala Sirisena

2. Abolishing Impunity
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC-SL) which should be transformed to an independent institution after reinstating 17thAmendment should immediately initiate investigations in to killings of and attacks on journalists and media institutions during the last ten years; for this purpose a special division of Human Rights Commission should be established with necessary infrastructure and financial allocations. The HRC- SL should be allowed access to information already collected regarding such incidents by the state intelligence services.

3. Independence of Media
People’s right to information could only be realized through the existence of a media culture which is ethical, truthful, fair and diverse. In this regard, as a symbolic and initial step, state controlled print and electronic media should be de-politicised and should be transformed in to public service media.It should be ensured that the state controlled media precisely follows the recommendations and guide lines of the Commissioner of Elections at the general elections to be held following constitutional reforms.

4. Abolishing Censorship
It is a known fact that over the past years Sri Lankan media drowned in a formidable self-censorship. At present investigative and truthful reporting has become an invitation to death-threats. As a symbolic and immediate step towards changing this situation, all websites officially and unofficially censored by the present Government should be lifted.

5. Social Responsibility
Free Media Movement acknowledges that media freedom should be accompanied by the social responsibility. In general, social responsibility is expressed through journalism ethics. Free Media Movement considers defaming individuals based on untrue facts and unsubstantiated reporting to be a cancer that decays media freedom from within. To pave way for justice for persons and institutions so prejudiced, Free Media Movement requests all news media including the websites to voluntarily join the Press Complaints Commission of Sri Lanka (PCC SL)which functions on the code of professional ethics formulated under the direction of Editors Guild of Sri Lanka with the participation of Free Media Movement.

In case of unwillingness to associate with the PCCSL FMM requests those news media to establish their own self-regulatory mechanisms.

Free Media Movement expects to bring forth long term proposals related to Freedom of expression rights Sri Lanka to be implemented by the proposed national Government after the Hundred-Day-Reforms under the new President. FMM hopes to formulate and submit such set of proposals in collaboration with other media and civil society organisations in Sri Lanka.

On behalf of the Free Media Movement

[This is a translation of the original Sinhala document]

Read the document as a PDF    FMM proposals to Common opposition Dec 2014

Presidential Election And The TNA

By S. I. Keethaponcalan -December 16, 2014 

Dr S.I. Keethaponcalan

The ongoing presidential election campaign in Sri Lanka seems to have downgraded the Tamil community, or to be precise, their main political party the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to the status of an outcast.

Both major political formations, the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) headed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the National Democratic Front (NDA) headed by common opposition candidateMaithripala Sirisena, are not interested in a formal alliance with the Tamil party, despite the fact that Tamil votes are a crucial factor in the electoral equation.

President Rajapaksa knows very well that a majority of the Tamils will not vote for him and the TNA cannot formally endorse him. He openly maintains the position that the government will not seek an alliance with the TNA. However, he does not want to completely give up on the Tamil votes. The president understands that a small number of votes could be salvaged. In this election any number of votes, however small they are, could be of value. Therefore, the strategy is to focus on the Sinhala votes, while trying to maximize support within the Tamil community. Rajapaksa is investing heavily on the Sinhala-Buddhist votes using nationalism as the main mantra, while enticing the Tamil votes through roads, buildings and return of their gold jewelry. This plan might work for him.

Opposition Alliance

The realities of the opposition alliance are different. Sirisena cannot win without substantial Tamil votes. It would have been easy to mobilize Tamil votes through an understanding with the TNA, which has the overwhelming endorsement of the Tamil people. Hence, the opposition alliance and Maithripala Sirisena should have been very serious about the Tamil votes and they should have had a strategy in place. Despite the opportunity to earn Tamil votes, even the opposition coalition was not interested in a formal and open alliance with the TNA. The TNA could be frustrated and feel isolated and marginalized. It won’t be surprising if there is a nexus between the present casual attitude of the TNA towards the election and this frustration.Read More

அடியாட்களுடன் வந்த டக்ளஸ் ; விக்னேஸ்வரன் குற்றச்சாட்டு 

16 டிசெம்பர் 2014, செவ்வாய் 3

யாழ். மாவட்ட ஒருங்கிணைப்புக் குழு கூட்டத்தில் ஈபிடிபி கட்சி உறுப்பினர்களால் தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பின் மாகாணசபை அமைச்சர் மற்றும் உறுப்பினர்கள் தாக்கப்பட்ட சம்பவம் தொடர்பில் ஊடக அறிக்கை வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

                          

தாக்குதல் சம்பவத்தையடுத்து முதலமைச்சர் அலுவலகத்தில் இடம்பெற்ற தமிழ்தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பின் உறுப்பினர்களுக்கும் முதலமைச்சருக்கும் இடையிலான சந்திப்பையடுத்து இந்த அறிக்கை வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

முழுமையான அறிக்கை வெளியீடு :-

                                                  

- See more at: http://onlineuthayan.com/News_More.php?id=497763731316891897#sthash.uGuDM7c1.dpuf

RWB PUBLISHES 2014 ROUND-UP OF VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS

TUESDAY 16 DECEMBER 2014

Reporters Without Borders is today publishing its round-up of abuses against journalists in 2014. According to RWB’s tally, 66 journalists were murdered this year, bringing to 720 the number of journalists killed in connection with their work in the past 10 years.

A total of 119 journalists were kidnapped this year, an increase of more than 35% on last year’s figure. Forty journalists are currently being held hostage.

RWB PUBLISHES 2014 ROUND-UP OF VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS.pdf by Thavam Ratna

Does Gotabhaya Drag Military Into Politics?

| by Laksiri Fernando

( December 16, 2014, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) It appears that the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, is openly taking inspiration from ‘terrorism.’ He at least defends his actions on the basis of terrorists. According to the lead story of ‘The Island’ newspaper yesterday (15 December 2014), reported by Shamindra Fernando, he has said, “If terrorists can enter politics, why not forces personnel?” 

Does Gotabhaya Drag Military Into Politics by Thavam Ratna

Gota to plunder 42000 votes of gramaarakshaka (civil force) officers: illegally instructs Rear admiral Peiris

(Lanka-e-News- 16.Dec.2014, 7.30PM) Rear admiral Ananda Peiris , the commanding officer in charge of the gramaraksha niladharis (civil security officers ) had summoned all these officers Islandwide (42000 in number) to come to their forces headquarters in Colombo and cast postal votes on 22,23 and 24 th December 2014 instead of casting the votes in their electorates.

Most of these officers are not in the permanent cadre and are therefore in fear of losing their jobs. Exploiting their plights ,even for the elections meetings of MaRa they have been used to swell the crowds.

Gotabaya had instructed Ananda Peiris to enlist 4000 gramaraksha officers in civil attire for every meeting .

This summoning of these gramaarakshaka (village security) officers to Colombo and making them to compulsorily cast postal votes is an absolutely illegal order .In addition , Ananda Peiris had unlawfully told them in plain language brazenly that the votes shall be cast to their commander in chief , that is Mahinda Rajapakse , and none other. If and when the polling cards are examined later , and discovered that any gramaaraksha officer had voted against Mahinda , which he can easily detect , stern action will be taken against them , and they will be sacked from their jobs, Peiris had pointed out .

In the best interests of the country ,it is the duty of the Elections commissioner and the election monitors to pay special and urgent attention to these serious and grossly illegal instructions and actions of the Rear admiral acting on Gota’s instructions.

---------------------------
by     (2014-12-16 14:45:28)

I Am Sick And Tired …

By Emil van der Poorten -December 16, 2014

Emil van der Poorten

….of the never-ending, refrain that we “should be eternally grateful toMahinda Rajapaksa and his family for putting an end to the Tamil Tigers and bringing Sri Lanka out of (enter your figures) years of terror.”

Let’s get this straight, in no way can Mahinda Rajapaksa or his acolytes make ANY claim to single-handedly destroying the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, “Tigers”) and its vicious war machine.

What I am about to say is no way hindsight because I went on record in Montage Magazine (in 2007, long before the final denouement at Nanthikadal) describing what was as obvious as the nose on one’s face: the Tigers were “done” long before the war was officially ended with the wholesale butchery in that tiny North East corner of Sri Lanka and a useless loss of service lives in a stage-managed ending to a horrible conflict, meant simply to provide a crescendo ofkiribath-and-kavun celebration which, in turn, was to herald the wholesale destruction of every vestige of democracy, decency and the rule of law in the name of the Second Coming of a 21^st Century Dutugemunuand his hegemonic rule, parading as some particularly peculiar brand of “Sri Lankan Democracy.”

The Tigers’ supply lines had not just been disrupted, they had been completely severed by the interception and sinking of ships bringing in huge loads of explosives, armaments and other supplies essential to their war effort.  This was done thousands of miles outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters and  was possible onlybecause of intelligence supplied by the current “enemies of 2500 years of Sinhala Buddhist civilization,” the so-called “western democracies.”  Yes, it wasn’t China or Russia that supplied Sri Lanka with the intelligence that enabled the total destruction of the Tigers’ supply lines – it was those “western democracies” that have become, oh so handily, the whipping boys of the current bunch of self-identified geniuses parading as representatives of the “master race.”Read More