… yet another robbery..! Mohan Peries ex CJ and Gota jointly spirit away SC multi million electric bulb circuit system

(Lanka-e-News- 07.June.2015, 11.30PM) During the period when Late J R Jayawardena was the president of the country , the Chinese government gifted the buildings of the supreme court (SC) complex and the ministry of justice that were constructed, to the government of Sri Lanka . However the bulbs circuit system worth many millions that was  installed in the buildings has gone missing by now, according to reports.

This system that was in the hall of the fifth floor of the SC complex where functions are held , had been robbed during the period of Mohan Peiris when he was the chief justice (CJ), it has come to light.

Recently when a meeting was held chaired by the chief justice K. Sripavan of the apex SC management council , this robbery was discovered, it is learnt.

The president of the SC management council is CJ Sripavan , while others in the council are : president of the appeal court , a superior officer of the presidential office , an officer of the finance ministry and  an officer of the Urban development authority.

When it was inquired as to how this robbery took place , it had been revealed because ex defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse  wanted it , the electric bulb system was removed, and thereafter nobody knew what happened to it.

The SC management council had instructed the SC complex marshal to conduct a comprehensive investigation into this disappearance of the system and forward a report thereof.

By T. Jayakumar 
Translated by Jeff 

Another Crisis in Physics!

"Most theorists working in particle physics are in a state of confusion"

June 6, 2015

Standard Particles constitute the known "stuff" of matter and force.
SUSY (supersymmetry) is extra "stuff" that physicists desperately believe MUST exist.

by Kumar David

A wonderful thing about science is that the greatest and best take time off to write popular books and articles, conduct seminars, or go on lecture tours to take science to the people, especially school and college kids. Einstein and Edington popularised Relativity from early days. The former’s "Relativity: The Special and General Theory", was in the words of the author, "intended to give an exact insight into the Theory of Relativity to readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but not conversant with the mathematical apparatus" and was written in December 1916 just 13 months after presenting General Relativity to that historic meeting of the Prussian Academy in Berlin. From 1920 to 1927 Edington wrote five popular books with titles like "Space, Time and Gravitation", "Stars and Atoms" and his acclaimed "The Theory of Relativity and its Influence on Scientific Thought".

Another Crisis in Physics! Most Theorists Working in Particle Physics Are in a State of Confusion by Thavam Ratna

Pitipana Committee Unknowingly Exposes Arjuna Mahendran

By Hema Senanayake –June 7, 2015

Hema Senanayake

In this analysis, I use Pitipana Committee report. Also I use the Minute Paper of Monetary Board and Minute Paper of the relevant Tender Committee of Central Bank which have been attached to the said committee report. I use nothing else.

On February 27th of this year, Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued a certain amount of Treasury bonds in order to raise funds for the government. Many people, including opposition politicians, a good segment of economists and some analysts & dealers in the financial market alleged that the government has to incur heavy losses in terms of interest payments due to the acceptance of some bids submitted with disadvantageous price and yield rates. Such criticisms created a huge uproar in the country.

Especially, certain bids submitted by the company (Perpetual Treasuries) which is owned by the son-in-law ofthe Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) were required to pay higher cost of interest than the prevailing rates. Accepting those bids by CBSL would cause the government to pay excessive interest up to 30 years which is the maturity time of those bonds.

The Central Bank Governor – Arjuna Mahendran

Further, the government would have to incur additional losses in relation to the Treasury bills, notes and bonds issued from that day onwards, due to the reason that the interest rates went up after the acceptance of bids with higher yields on 27th February 2015.

Are all these allegations true? If true, is the Governor of CBSL responsible personally? In regard to these two questions my answer is “YES.” Perhaps you may wonder if I declare that I am going to submit undeniable evidences from the Pitipana Committee report itself in support of my above conclusion even though you may rightfully think that the Pitipana Committee was appointed as a cover up; the cover up was very clear from the three mandated terms of references listed for the Committee by the appointing authority.

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Four killed, 13 injured in Matale accident

June 7, 2015  05:42 pm

 

Four persons including two women were killed and 13 others were injured after a speeding van veered off the road and fell into a precipice, this afternoon (7), the police said.

The accident occurred on Sembuwatta area in Matale, the police added. The wounded persons have been rushed to the Kandy Teaching hospital for treatments.

 

India, Bangladesh sign historic land boundary agreement

Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka June 6, 2015.-REUTERS/RAFIQUR RAHMAN

 BY SERAJUL QUADIR-Sat Jun 6, 2015

India and Bangladesh signed an agreement on Saturday to simplify their 4,000-km border and clarify the identities of 52,000 living in enclaves, over four decades after the neighbours first tried to untangle complex territorial rights set down in 1713.

Under the deal, signed in Dhaka in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, the two countries will swap some 200 tiny enclaves dotted around the border. Their inhabitants have been deprived of public services and living in squalid conditions.

A string of trade and investment agreements accompanied the land deal, with $4.5 billion of investments in power and a $2 billion credit facility for Bangladesh unveiled on Saturday.

Established by a treaty between two former princely states, the 106 Indian enclaves in Bangladesh and 92 Bangladeshi enclaves in India are islands of foreign territory inside each country.

Under the pact, each country will take over most of the enclaves on its territory and residents will have the right to stay where they are or move to the other side of the border.

"We have shown political consolidation and goodwill with the signing of this deal," Modi, who arrived Bangladesh on a two-day state visit, told a joint news conference.

Hasina said: "I salute all the citizens of India for supporting this bill in parliament."

The land accord was originally agreed in 1974 by Indira Gandhi of India and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman of Bangladesh. Progress stopped for a long time, however, after Mujibur was assassinated in 1975 and subsequent governments failed to agree on the transfer of enclaves.

Dhaka's Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has described the deal, which has since been updated, as "a historic milestone in the relationship between the two neighboring south Asian countries."

The two prime ministers, along with the chief minister of West Bengal, India Mamata Banerjee, also inaugurated bus services along the border.

INCREASE IN TRADE

The two countries are looking to boost trade and security along the border and to fight human trafficking.

India's announcement of a $2 billion new credit line to Bangladesh follows a $1 billion assistance it provided in 2011 for infrastructure development.

Among other investments, Adani Power Limited of India and Reliance Power Limited of India signed deals worth over $4.5 billion with state-run Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) to develop six units of power plants to produce 4,600 MW of electricity.

Reliance will invest $3 billion to produce 3,000 MW power, while Adani will set up two coal-fired plants with a total capacity of 1,600 MW, costing more than $1.5 billion.

"Bangladesh will be able to more than double power imports from India to 1,100 MW from 500 MW at present," Modi said.

Aggregate trade between India and Bangladesh stood at $6.9 billion for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. However, trade is heavily in favour of India with its exports to Bangladesh at $6.2 billion.

India has accorded Bangladesh the status of zero-tariff imports for all but 25 tariff lines.

"India will invest more as Bangladesh today offered an exclusive economic zone for India and this investment will help to narrow the gap," Modi said.

Cumulative Indian investments in Bangladesh stood at $2.5 billion in 2012-13.

(Additional reporting by Krishna N. Das from New Delhi; Editing by Clelia Oziel)

Doubling Down on a Doubtful Strategy

Why the current U.S. plan to win back Iraq only guarantees the Islamic State won’t be defeated.

BY MICHAEL KNIGHTS-JUNE 5, 2015

In Paris this week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Tony Blinken gave us his vision of the war effort: It will be a long war, but the right strategy is in place, and Washington is going to “redouble our efforts.”

Doubling Down on a Doubtful Strategy by Thavam Ratna

For some Filipinos, the South China Sea dispute is personal

MASINLOC, THE PHILIPPINES (May 16, 2015) -- The Marvin-1, a fishing boat, sits on the shore, unused since the Chinese barred it from Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. (Will Englund/The Washington Post)

By Will Englund-June 7

MASINLOC, Philippines — When nations duel over reefs, rocks and islets, people are going to get hurt, and in the South China Sea dispute that means the fishermen here who once wrested a living from the contested waters.

For Some Filipinos, The South China Sea Dispute is Personal by Thavam Ratna

Cameron's crusade to wipe out 'cancer' of corruption

SATURDAY 06 JUNE 2015
Spurred on by recent allegations against Fifa, David Cameron will urge the G7 group of world leaders to target corruption in business and government around the world.

Cameron's Crusade to Wipe Out 'Cancer' of Corruption by Thavam Ratna

Cameron's Crusade to Wipe Out 'Cancer' of Corruption by Thavam Ratna

Saudi supreme court upholds jail, lashes for blogger

Raif Badawi was flogged in public 50 times in January. He has 950 lashes and nearly a decade in prison left to serve for blogging about free speech

People demonstrate in support of Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes for "insulting Islam, on May 7, 2015 in Paris (AFP)

Sunday 7 June 2015 

Saudi Arabia's supreme court has upheld a sentence of 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes against blogger Raif Badawi on charges of insulting Islam, his wife said on Sunday.

The judgement came despite worldwide outrage over his case and criticism from the United Nations, United States, the European Union, Canada and others.   

"This is a final decision that is irrevocable," Ensaf Haidar told AFP in a telephone interview from Canada. "This decision has shocked me."  

Badawi received the first 50 of the 1,000 lashes he was sentenced to outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on January 9. Subsequent rounds of punishment were postponed on medical grounds.

Amnesty International slammed the "abhorrent" decision to uphold a "cruel and unjust sentence," describing it as a "dark day for freedom of expression."

"Blogging is not a crime and Raif Badawi is being punished merely for daring to exercise his right to freedom of expression,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa director.

Ahmed Al Omran 

✔@ahmed

Saudi Supreme Court upholds 5-year jail and 1000-lashes flogging sentence against @raif_badawi: newspaper http://www.okaz.com.sa/new/mobile/20150607/Con20150607776172.htm …

2:20 AM - 7 Jun 2015

Badawi's wife expressed fear that the implementation of the flogging sentence "might resume next week."

"I was optimistic that the advent of (the Muslim fasting month of) Ramadan and the arrival of a new king would bring a pardon for the prisoners of conscience, including my husband," she said. 

Badawi co-founded the Saudi Liberal Network Internet discussion group.

He was arrested in June 2012 under cyber-crime provisions, and a judge ordered the website shut after it criticised Saudi Arabia's notorious religious police.

The co-founder of the online  venue, Suad al-Shammari, was released from jail in February. But Badawi's lawyer, Walid Abulkhair, who is also a rights activist, remain behind bars. 

Badawi and Abulkhair have been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize by Norwegian member of parliament Karin Andersen.

His supporters have launched a campaign on Twitter using the hashtag #backlash that has gathered momentum, and posted pictures of people with lashes drawn on their backs with red lipstick.

Saudi Arabia in early March dismissed criticism of its flogging of Badawi and "strongly denounced the media campaign around the case".

In his first letter from prison published by the German weekly Der Spiegel in March, Badawi wrote how he "miraculously survived 50 lashes".

Badawi, 31, recalled that he was "surrounded by a cheering crowd who cried incessantly 'Allahu Akbar' (God is greatest)" during the whipping.

"All this cruel suffering happened to me because I expressed my opinion," Badawi wrote.

Badawi's wife and their three children have received asylum in Quebec, in Canada.  

Quebec's Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil said in March that her government would "continue its defence of Mr. Badawi," saying this was a "clear case of human rights violation."

Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Canada, Naif Bin Bandir Al-Sudairy, complained officially.

"The kingdom does not accept any form of interference in its internal affairs and rejects... the attack on the independence of its justice system," he wrote in a letter sent to authorities in Canada.

Developing countries continuing to live dangerously

June 3, 2015, 8:01 pm 

It needs to be noted that economic strength continues to be assessed by global opinion, generally, on the basis of a country's material growth and is not predicated on the degree to which a country practises redistributive justice; that is, on how evenly and justly goods and services are distributed among a country's population. Accordingly, even within countries noted for their 'vibrant' economic growth, there may exist poverty of immense proportions. This is true of many of the BRICS. On the other hand, even within 'advanced Western economies' poverty and deprivation could be considerable.

Developing Countries Continuing to Live Dangerously by Thavam Ratna

Hundreds of migrants rescued from people traffickers in Mediterranean

Italian and Irish naval ships save more than 800 from smugglers’ boats, while British warship helps, as waves of people set sail from Libya

The crew of the Irish navy ship LÉ Eithne rescued 113 people from aboard a small craft north of Tripoli, on Friday. Eithne rescued a further 310 people off the Libyan coast on Saturday. Photograph: Irish Defence Forces/PA

Associated Press-Saturday 6 June 2015

Naval vessels from Italy and Ireland rescued hundreds of migrants from smuggler boats in the Mediterranean on Saturday as ships from several countries, including Britain, coped with waves of people setting sail from Libya in human trafficking operations.

An Italian ship, Driade, rescued 560 migrants, including women and children, in an hours-long operation after a smuggler’s boat ran into problems, the navy said.

An Irish vessel, LÉ Eithne, rescued 310 people, including 39 children, who were on a barge about 30 miles (50km) north of the Libyan coast, the Irish Defence Forces said. Eithne had already rescued 113 people on Friday.

Among ships charged with rescue duties was a British warship, HMS Bulwark, which was travelling towards the area to help a number of migrant boats during the search and rescue mission, the Ministry of Defence said. Two British helicopters helped pinpoint migrant boats in distress.

Italy has pressed European partners to do more to help it rescue and shelter masses of migrants fleeing poverty, persecution and conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Last year, Italy brought 170,000 rescued migrants to Italian ports.

Tens of thousands of migrants have already arrived in Italy this year, with many rescued by vessels from Ireland, Malta, Britain and elsewhere. Italy’s coastguard frequently sends nearby cargo ships to the rescue. Humanitarian organisations also help with rescues at sea, which often occur when smugglers dispatch a dozen or more boats when seas are calm.

Earlier on Saturday, police in Sicily detained a suspected migrant smuggler who they said had tried a new tactic of putting only a few passengers aboard a small boat in a bid to land undetected on Italian shores.

Ragusa police said a Tunisian man had been detained on suspicion of smuggling after 12 fellow Tunisians aboard a wooden boat told authorities he had promised to sail them to an isolated beach near Trapani, western Sicily, at night so they could slip away undetected. Police said the suspect had bungled the route and was spotted by an Italian naval vessel.

Separately, a Gambian skipper suspected of smuggling 116 African migrants was detained by Italian police.

New blood test can detect every virus a person has had

(AP Photo/Duke Medicine, Shawn Rocco)

FoxNews.com-June 05, 2015

A new DNA-based test may be able to detect a person’s entire viral history by analyzing a single drop of blood. Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School believe that VirScan will help lead to early detection of illnesses like hepatitis C, while also opening the door to finding a possible explanation for what triggers autoimmune diseases, the Washington Post reported.

VirScan screens the blood for antibodies against the 206 species of viruses known to affect humans, the report said. When the body’s immune system detects a virus, it creates specific antibodies that it then continues to produce for decades. VirScan identifies them and uses it as a blueprint to compile a list of viruses a person has contracted, The Washington Post reported.

Researchers published their results Thursday in the journal Science. The study involved 569 people in the United States, South Africa, Thailand and Peru. Through VirScan, researchers found the average person had been exposed to 10 of the 206 species of viruses, while others should exposure to closer to 20.

“Many of those [people] have probably been infected with many different strains of the same virus,” lead developer Stephen Elledge, a professor of genetics and medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told the Washington Post. “You could be infected with many strains of rhinovirus over the course of your life, for instance, and it would show up as one hit.” They also found differing results depending on geographical location. 

Elledge also told the Washington Post that the results showed certain viruses were more common in adults than children. VirScan also detected that people infected with HIV had more antibodies against more viruses than others. Elledge said one hope is for VirScan to be able to help detect illnesses like HIV and hepatitis C which patients may harbor for years before experiencing any symptoms.

Researchers also believe VirScan may help determine what kind of role viruses play in later development of autoimmune diseases, The Washington Post reported.

Elledge said the VirScan analysis is currently available for $25, but the price may increase if it becomes commercially available. Patients can expect their results within two to three days.

The Promise and the Pathos of the Law in Sri Lanka - Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena

Saturday, 06 June 2015 

Paper delivered by Sri Lankan lawyer, columnist and author Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena  at the plenary sessions ‘Does Law’s Global Pretensions Offer Hope to the World?’ of the American Law and Society Association (LSA), 2015 held at Seattle, 28-30th May. The sessions were presided over by Prof. Malcolm Feely, Claire Sanders Clements Dean's Professor of Law and a senior faculty member in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy Program, University of California, Berkeley.

Arrests at Protest Against Army-built Vihara by Thavam Ratna

Arrests at protest against army-built Vihar

05 June 2015

Sri Lankan police arrested the owners of land which was grabbed by the army to build a Buddhist vihara after they held a protest at the location in Kokkilaay, Mullaitivu.

The owners, Thirugnanasambanthar Mannivannathas, Katharkamu Sivayogeswaran and Loganathan Jude Nimalan, held a symbolic fast outside the vihara, which is being constructed by the military, earlier today.

Police arrested the men and pressured them to abandon their protest, before releasing them a few hours later.

The Mullaitivu district, along with most of the northern districts is virtually entirely Tamil. The government was recently accused by a US think-tank of conducting a "silent war" through Sinhalisation, including by the building of Sinhala Buddhist temples in Tamil areas.

Silent war against Tamils through Sri Lanka's military occupation finds US think-tank (28 May 2015)

Arrests at Protest Against Army-built Vihara by Thavam Ratna

More Electoral Surprises in Sri Lanka?

The timing of Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections has significant ramifications for the country’s domestic politics and Colombo’s relationship with the international community.

BY TAYLOR DIBBER-JUNE 5, 2015

Sri Lanka’s transfer of power in early January came as a surprise to many, although the lasting effects of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s electoral defeat are far from clear. Newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena promised to implement bold, ambitious reforms. The new government is off to a decent start, although Sri Lanka’s political situation is likely to remain precarious until Sirisena dissolves parliament and holds parliamentary elections. Additionally, the timing of that election has significant ramifications—both in terms of the country’s domestic politics and Colombo’s relationship with the international community, not least because a long-awaited report, focused on wartime abuses during the country’s civil war, will finally be released during the 30th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, which runs from September 14 to October 2.

During a speech in Colombo last month, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry alluded to parliamentary elections being held in the near future. During his prepared remarks, Kerry said, “We want to help support you in the upcoming electoral processes. Timely elections will be yet another sign of the government following through on its commitments.”

In April, June had been floated as the most likely time for that election. The Economist recently reported that aides of Sirisena have intimated that elections would likely be held in August. In late May, a leading Sri Lankan weekly cited August 27 as the likely day that elections would be held. How much does the timing of a parliamentary poll matter? What’s really going on here?

First, let’s briefly consider why the U.N. report’s release was delayed from March until September. The delay was requested officially by the newly elected Sirisena administration. More specifically, it was due to a confluence of factors: namely, Sri Lanka’s precarious political situation, the Sirisena administration’s own promises about a domestic accountability mechanism (and heightened engagement with the U.N. more generally), and the fact that a parliamentary election was supposed to happen in April (or shortly thereafter).

During Kerry’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, he brought reassurance that the warming of U.S.-Sri Lanka ties was genuine, but the Sirisena administration must follow through on at least some of its promises. Indeed, Kerry’s brief reference to “timely elections” was most likely borne out of Washington’s sincere desire for that to actually happen—not least because it’s hard to argue that the current parliament most accurately represents the will of the people.

Sirisena is a longtime member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), although his rise to power would not have been possible without the support of the rival United National Party (UNP). Sirisena challenged Rajapaksa because he had grown tired of the corruption, nepotism and centralization of power that had become trademarks of Rajapaksa’s tenure. During the presidential campaign, Sirisena was supported by a broad alliance, although most members of the SLFP did not support his candidacy. Yet it is the SLFP that currently holds the most seats in parliament. Moreover, like the coalition that brought him to power, the“national government” that Sirisena formed in late March (when Sirisena gave many cabinet positions to SLFP members) is an unsustainable, awkward alliance. Finally, dissolving parliament had always been an important part of Sirisena’s plan—a promise (among others) which he’s already fallen behind on.

For now, the plan appears to entail getting the 20th amendment to the constitution (which deals with electoral reforms) passed, after which Sirisena would dissolve parliament. If it happens at all, getting the 20thamendment passed could take time, yet it’s hard to tell with accuracy how much time. A detailed agenda for the U.N. Human Rights Council’s 30th session hasn’t been released, though if elections are not held by the end of July, one of the key reasons for delaying the forthcoming U.N. report could again rise to the forefront. (Let’s keep in mind that the report is expected to be delivered to the Sri Lankan government in August and it is almost certain that a copy would be subsequently leaked to the media.)

And while some observers may feel that further delays regarding parliamentary elections would compel Washington (or others) to encourage another delay of the U.N. report, this line of thinking is misguided. Furthermore, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, has made it clear that there will be no further delays.

Since Sirisena was elected on a wave of UNP support, the UNP is likely to benefit if elections are held sooner rather than later, especially since the 19th amendment—which trims presidential powers—was passed in late April. Right after that legislation was approved, the UNP called for Sirisena to dissolve parliament. Sirisena, understanding that postponing elections would probably help his party, could decide to delay the vote indefinitely. Besides, the SLFP remains deeply divided and Mahinda Rajapaksa’s political future is still uncertain. What has become increasingly clear is that the recently ousted authoritarian remains a force to be reckoned with, and Sirisena continues to have trouble controlling his party. In that context, it’s understandable that the majority of the SLFP would prefer that elections be delayed indefinitely.

This is an awkward state of affairs.

Sirisena would strongly prefer that the SLFP perform well in the elections, something that becomes more likely if polls are delayed. On the other hand, Sirisena doesn’t want to backtrack on too many of his promises, and refusing to hold a parliamentary vote promptly would undermine his legitimacy internationally. International approval is important to Sirisena and he’s made it clear that he wants the country to pursue a more balanced foreign policy and improve ties with Washington and New Delhi specifically.

Regardless, Sri Lanka’s political situation will remain delicate as long as a general election is looming. Even though Sirisena promised to dissolve parliament and hold elections in late April, the current parliament could run until April of 2016.

The release of the forthcoming U.N. report is a significant event, one that will test Sirisena’s leadership skills, foment tension within Sri Lanka, and probably compel the government to show some progress regarding its own domestic accountability mechanism.

Nonetheless, it would be unfortunate if elections are not held before that report is released. After all, such a scenario could open the door to a resurgence of more hardline elements within the country. It also has the potential to further weaken Sirisena’s grip on his own party, result in heightened polarization during a forthcoming electoral campaign and make the prospects of dealing with the most controversial issues surrounding accountability, devolution and reconciliation even more remote. Lastly, it would be a notable setback for Colombo’s rapprochement with Washington and other members of the international community. As a longtime member of the SLFP who held a position in Rajapaksa’s cabinet, Sirisena is no stranger to politics, and a degree of skepticism regarding how much the country will change under his watch is still warranted. Nevertheless, the challenges before him remain immense and would test even the shrewdest of politicians.