Colombo Chinese Embassy’s Pro MR propaganda

(Lanka-e-News- 06.July.2015, 11.30PM) Recently, the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka has embarked on a propaganda campaign to support Mahinda Rajapakse.  The Embassy has used the mobile number 0776706560 to send bulk SMS messages especially to the business community and Government officials in Sri Lanka supporting Mahinda Rajapakse. One of the SMS messages sent by the Chinese Embassy on 02 July 2015 is given below.

“Chinese funded projects created 100000 job opportunities to SL in the past five years. 90% workers in Chinese funded projects are Sri Lankans. Spokesperson Chen Chuan of China Chamber of Commerce at Sri Lanka told media today. Chen mentioned that for example, A9 road construction in the north hired 4500 Sri Lankan staff including 2800 Tamils, only around 50 Chinese working on the project, account for only1.5-2 % of the total. Chinese funded projects created at least 100000 direct job opportunities to SL people in the past five years and trained many Sri Lankan young people to master new technologies which not only benefit them but benefited SL’s future development. One Minister figure’s allegation of only Chinese workers lost jobs at Chinese Funded projects is totally wrong. We suggest politician check facts and figures before make remarks and stop misleading people.”

Sending these SMS the Chinese Embassy has directly involved in political affairs of Sri Lanka. No Diplomatic Mission can intervene into internal affairs of the receiving country as per the Vienna Convention on Diplomacy. In this respect, Sri Lankan Government should summon the Chinese Ambassador in Colombo and question about this incident and declare him persona non grata. Sri Lankan should request China to recall their envoy.

It is clear that the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lankan is campaigning for Mahinda Rajapakse. The Embassy even paid some journalists to write articles in support of MR. These journalists have received various incentives from the Chinese Embassy including money, foreign trips, computers and training opportunities in China.

(said SMS in the picture)

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by     (2015-07-07 00:28:13)

Revoke his benefits as retired Head of State: Akila 

2015-07-07
The United National Party (UNP) today said benefits given to former President Mahinda Rajapska as a retired Head of State should be taken back if he makes a comeback to politics.

UNP Deputy General Secretary Akila Viraj Kariyawasam told a news briefing that the former President is no longer legally entitled to all benefits which a retired Head of State.

Mr. Kariyawasam said he will not be affected at all as a UNP candidate for the Kurunegala District, even Mahind Rajapaksa contests from the same district. “Former President will be welcomed to contest from Kurunegala District,” he said while charging that he is facing an issue contesting from the Hambantota District.

The MP said the former President cannot contest from Hambantota as his son, former MP Namal Rajapaksa would be defeated if he wins. “ If the father wins, the son will lose, and therefore, the father will not contest from Hambantota,” he added.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Minister Earn Wickramaratne said the theme of the UNP campaign will be ‘Enna' (come) which is a call for people to join in the journey towards freedom. (Yohan Perera) - See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/78727/revoke-his-benefits-as-retired-head-of-state-akila#sthash.zkRPPmWW.dpuf

MR’s Aide Faces Money Laundering Charges

CID files B report against Gamini Senarath at the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court

The Chief of Staff of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to face legal action shortly for alleged money laundering, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) said.

Highly reliable sources at the CID who wished to remain anonymous told The Sunday Leader that the CID has filed a ‘B’ report in the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court against former president’s Chief of Staff, Gamini Senarath.

Awantha Artigala Sri Lanka’s Quiet Cartoonist by Thavam Ratna

Court order to be sought against Maithri

Tuesday, 07 July 2015

The Mahinda Rajapaksa faction is preparing to challenge president Maithripala Sirisena’s leadership of the SLFP and the UPFA and obtain a court order if their attempts to get nominations for the ex-president fail, reports say.

They will try to obtain an order which will say his appointment as chairman of the SLFP and the UPFA was illegal.

As per clause 12-2(4) of the SLFP constitution, the winner of the presidential election automatically gets the leadership of the SLFP.

The Rajapaksa faction will argue that Maithripala Sirisena had not contested as the SLFP’s candidate.

A party convention should appoint the key positions if a non-SLFP candidate is elected president.

Elections commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said any issue with regard to the officials of a recognized party should first be referred to him before taking the matter to courts.

He said he could not comment on complaints to other parties, ‘Ravaya’ reports.
- SLM-

DEW is dodgy: PM

• Ranil accuses COPE Chief of breaching Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act
• Writes to Speaker and Secretary General of Parliament regarding breach
• DEW’s Jekyll and Hyde role must be exposed: PM
• There is no official COPE report or COPE interim report released: PM tells Speaker
• Says former COPE Chief had no authority to make statements about  Parliamentary documents
• COPE documents under lock and key in Parliament, PM claims
• Ranil allows media to sit in on briefing by UNP COPE members
• PM pledges full investigation into CB bond issue and other CB scandals within three months of assuming power

By Dharisha Bastians-8 July 2015

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday slammed former Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Chairman and MP D.E.W. Gunesekera for violating the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act and using his position as head of the legislative oversight committee to gain political advantage. 
Wickremesinghe has already written to the Secretary General of Parliament and the Speaker saying MP Gunesekera was in contravention of Section 22 of the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act by his conduct last week to make public documents under the purview of the COPE subcommittee probing the Central Bank bond issue.
“The Act prohibits the publication of any proceedings in any Committee of Parliament before they report to the House and also guilty of publishing a false and perverted report of the proceedings of a Committee of Parliament and punishable under Section 22 of the Parliament (Powers and Privileges) Act,” Wickremesinghe told the Speaker in his letter.
Wickremesinghe told reporters yesterday that with the dissolution of Parliament, Gunesekera had ceased to be a MP. “The only three positions still active and authorised to deal with Parliamentary matters are the Prime Minister, the Speaker and the Opposition Leader,” he explained. “Other than these three, no one else has the authority to release documents pertaining to Parliamentary matters,” Wickremesinghe said.
He said the documents released by the former COPE Chairman were put forward by Gunesekera himself, and were not official COPE reports.
“The Jekyll and Hyde role that D.E.W. Gunesekera has played here must be exposed,” the Premier charged.
The Prime Minister pledged to conclude a full investigation into the Central Bank bond issue within three months of the new Parliament sitting, and that the probe would cover other scandals dogging the financial regulator since the time of the previous regime.
“A Parliamentary Select Committee will be appointed to go into the bond issue and other Central Bank frauds. We must protect public funds, otherwise there is no point in us being here,” the Prime Minister said.
He said that if Perpetual Treasuries, the company linked to Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran’s son-in-law Arjun Aloysius was faulted, the company’s license could be cancelled.
Mahendran and the UNP are under a cloud over the alleged bond scam, which the Opposition is keen to make a key campaign issue at the forthcoming Parliamentary poll.
The Prime Minister accused the COPE Chairman of acting in haste to protect the former regime. “That is why I was not summoned before COPE to testify,” Wickremesinghe said.
“There have been a great many scandals at Central Bank during the previous regime, at all those times the Chairman of COPE was in deep slumber,” the Prime Minister charged.
He also slammed Gunesekera for saying COPE was not empowered to summon ministers.
“This is not the case. Select committees can summon any minister and even prime ministers – in fact if COPE failed to summon me, I would have told Parliament that I wanted to testify in the Central Bank bond probe,” Wickremesinghe said.
“D.E.W. Gunesekera has lied to the press,” the Premier charged.
Wickremesinghe also charged that COPE findings Gunesekera had made public were not part of an official report by the committee. “All COPE documentation were under lock and key in Parliament by the Secretary General,” he added.
The Prime Minister said that the COPE Chairman had hurriedly summoned meetings of the committee on 25 and 26 June in full knowledge that several members were involved in election work and also had been summoned for meetings with the President.
Wickremesinghe insisted that he had insisted on reverting to the auction-based sale of bonds, after the previous Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal had pursued the policy of direct placements in contravention of Debt Department manuals.
“In this bond sale there was one direct placement and I pulled the Governor up for that,” Wickremesinghe admitted. “I told him ‘what are you doing when we have promised to set up transparent government?’” the Premier claimed.
At the UNP’s Sirikotha Headquarters yesterday, the Prime Minister allowed reporters to observe a briefing he had requested from party members who also sat on COPE – Eran Wickramaratne, Rosy Senanayake and SujeewaSenasinghe.

---

UNP MPs in COPE speak up; vow to take legal action against DEW   At the UNP’s Sirik-otha Headquarters yesterday, the Prime Minister allowed reporters to observe a briefing he had requested from party members who also sat on COPE – MPs Sujeewa Senasinghe, Eran Wickramaratne and Rosy Senanayake. The MPs told the Premier at the briefing that the ‘report’ being circulated by Gunesekera was a document summarising nearly 400 pages of evidence gathered during the COPE probe of the Central Bank bond scandal.  Three drafts of the same document had been circulated among COPE members on Thursday 25 June, one day before Parliament was dissolved, Senasinghe told the Prime Minister.  UNP members in the Committee had challenged some sections of the document, but Gunesekera had been unyielding insisting that the report be tabled in Parliament, even though there was no agreement, Senasinghe claimed. He added that COPE sub committees could not report to Parliament but only to the main committee, which was empowered to put facts before the Members of the House. Senasinghe said he was planning to take legal action against the former COPE Chairman about his violation of proceedings and partisan conduct. Former MP Wickramaratne told the Prime Minister that several members of COPE had been absent at Friday’s meetings and never even saw the three drafts the Chairman had put forward. “In an investigation like this, there cannot be an interim report, because this is one issue we are going into and you can only issue an interim report based on completed facts,” the former banker told the Premier.

- See more at: http://www.ft.lk/article/442709/DEW-is-dodgy--PM#sthash.39Pl2uC5.dpuf

Judge Abrew files FR disregarding Judges ‘ boycott; goes into hiding when CID tries to arrest him

(Lanka-e-News- 06.July.2015, 11.50PM)  The Supreme court (SC) judge Sarath Abrew who is facing charges of attempted rape ; committing assault on his domestic (woman) by attacking her with a pistol ; and molesting her ,has within an hour of receipt of advice by the CID from the attorney general(AG) to arrest him , filed a Fundamental rights petition in the SC reqesting court to make a declaration to the police not to arrest him.The petition was filed by his lawyer Nimal Mutukumarana.

When the CID went to arrest him , he had fled from his residence and gone into hiding in some unknown place, based on reports.

At the special meeting of judges yesterday(05) chaired by the chief justice , Abrew was not allowed to participate , while a mjority of the judges refused to sit along with him.Yet Abrew the judge born without any sense of shame and a disgrace to his own profession has forcibly mounted the bench today. The other two judges , Ms. Rohini Marasinghe and Buwaneka Aluvihara who sat with him were also pro Rajapakse lickspittles like him.

Judge Buwaneka Aluvihara at the meeting however had said he does not wish to sit along with Abrew . It was only Ms. Rohini Marasinghe (a disgrace to her own  female race) who spoke on behalf of Abrew  when other judges were boycotting him. Another judge Ms. Eva Wanasundara too took a silent attitude despite belonging to the female race . It was Rohini;s contention that the CJ has no right to bar Abrew a judge from taking the seat .

The day prior to this meeting , Abrew and Rohini had met lawyer Tirantha Waraliyaddha to seek legal advice , when , the latter had told , the only way out for Abrew is to file an FR petition , while also advising them to engage the services of a reputed lawyer Romesh De Silva to speak on behalf of Abrew.They have then enlisted Tiran Alles towards this. Though Tiran had phoned Romesh , the latter had not answered. Therefore , today the FR petition was filed by lawyer Nimal Mutukumarana.

In Abrew’s petition he had averred that the OIC of the Mt.Lvinia police was deliberately acting hostile and is prejudiced against him , and that he has given undue publicity to this incident using the media.

In any event , the CID has furnished two medical reports against Abrew who is charged with heinous crimes.One report is from the judicial medical oficer (JMO) which give details of the physical assault launched and the forcible sexual assault attempted on the victim. The other report of the psychiatrist reveals that because of the attempted rape , the victim is in a state of mental depression.

Unbelievably even when there are two clear and cogent reports incriminating Abrew to arrest him , it is a crucial question why it took such a long time for the AG to proffer  his advice ? It  is being asked whether the AG who is part of the sacrosanct judiciary is practising double standards because Abrew is of his same ilk ?The AG’s delayed report was receieved by CID at 4.30 p.m. , and Abrew has filed his FR petition at 3.00 p.m. In the circumstances grave suspicions have sprung up among the legal circles whether the AG delayed his advice  in order to favor Abrew , and whether he acted partially towards a criminal.

Meanwhile the BAR Association has once again made separate written requests to the CJ and the other judges of the SC to boycott Abrew by not sitting with him on the same bench to hear cases. 

At the same time the Domestic labor Association staged a peaceful protest in front of the courts today demanding that maximum punishment is meted out to this criminal judge which will serve as a deterrent to the other judges too  who exploit their official position and powers to degrade the sublime judiciary.

(The photograph shows demonstrators staging their peaceful protest )

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by     (2015-07-07 21:26:09)

T-Bond fiasco: Malik Samarawickrama has his say

Tuesday, 7 July 2015

Special Advisor to the Prime Minister, Malik Samarawickrama, yesterday clarified his stance over alleged reports about his purported involvement in the 27 February 30-year Treasury Bond fiasco.

He told the Daily FT that during a subcommittee meeting on economic affairs, the Highways Ministry revealed that there were a large number of contractors who required longstanding and urgent payment for work undertaken by the previous regime. Some of these projects had Treasury guarantee as well.  
Thereafter, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requested a separate meeting comprising the Ministers of Finance and Highways, ministry officials and the Central Bank to look into the funding issue.

At this meeting the funding requirement was estimated at around Rs. 15-16 billion.

“At this meeting we informed the Central Bank of the immediate funding requirement but we didn’t suggest or request the method of fundraising. The discretion and responsibility was left to the Central Bank, which is the borrower on behalf of the Government,” Samarawickrama added.

He was responding to aspersions cast through an analysis published in yesterday’s Daily FT by the former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. Cabraal claimed that according to reports and statements made by various parties, a “sudden” fund requirement had surfaced just a day or two before the fateful bond issue at a Cabinet Subcommittee meeting, at which, as supposedly admitted by Governor Mahendran, the Chairman of the United National Party (UNP), Malik Samarawickrema, who is a very close confidant of Ranil Wickremesinghe, was present. It was at this meeting that the so-called “decision” to increase the bond issue the next day or the day after that from Rs. 1 billion to Rs. 10 billion was made. 

I Got Just Rs 1000 For My Share, Says Rāvaya Founder Director And Deputy Editor Colambage

July 7, 2015

Contradicting Ravaya Chairman and the former editor Victor Ivan’s claim about Ravaya employees’ share value, a founder director and the former deputy editor Upali Colombage said he was given only Rs. 1000 for his total of 100 shares (Rs 10 per share), when he was asked how much he was paid for his shares.

Victor

With the controversy surrounding Victor Ivan’s fraudulent pocketing of Rs 5 million of Ravaya’s collected funds Ivan wrote last week; “When an employee is retired the money he/she get for his/her shares is lager than the accumulated value of his/her ETF and EPF.”

Upali Colombage is a founder member of Ravaya and has been involved since the time it was even attached to the Sarvodaya movement which was led by Dr A. T. Ariyaratne.

After its breakaway from the Sarvodaya, the group formed Ravaya publishers (Guarantee) Ltd. and until his retirement Colambage served as a director of the company as well as the deputy editor of the Ravaya newspaper. He was also a co signatory for signing of Ravaya cheques.

“As far as I remember, according to the memorandum of articles of Ravaya, if in the event they wish to dissolve the Ravaya guarantee limited, all assets have to then be donated to a university (or a similar not for profit organisation or a charity according to the Companies Act). Not a single table or chair even can be taken home by anyone” Colambage told Colombo Telegraph.

Victor Ivan has pocketed Rs 5 Million out of a total Rs 12.7 million that had been collected to ‘keep Rāvaya afloat’, claiming that Rs 5 million is his for selling of his 20% of shares. He claims he is willing to sell his shares of 40% to the value of Rs. 20 million.

“I read the Ravaya story as well as the CT stories with the comments. Ivan does not have a leg to stand on where the law is concerned. There are strict consequences that follow under Section 34 of the Companies Act. This will have an impact on Ravaya itself and not only Ivan at a personal level. I hope that Udan fernando, Gamini Viyangoda, Kusal Perera, Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri are aware of this. This is a terrible situation. These are the very same guys who are preaching about good governance!” a Colombo based senior lawyer and a legal academic told Colombo Telegraph on the condition of anonymity as she did not want to get abusive emails and a defamatory attack from Victor Ivan.

Last week Ivan wrote in his Ravaya newspaper that all employees were paid EPF and ETF without delay. He claims his salary was Rs. 62,000. “Yes, Ravaya paid EPF and ETF for his salary, but others were not. Other staff members were under paid. Their EPF and ETF contributions were robbed according to Ivan’s plans. For instance when I joined Ravaya my salary was Rs 3900 and I was paid an allowance of Rs 2000 every month. In total I got paid Rs 5900 but my EPF/ETF was calculated on the sum of Rs 3900 only. I was cheated of my EPF/ETF contributions for the balance sum of Rs 2000. This is a fraud” said another employee.

Read More

TNA Casanova off the hook

No complaints against him -  police

 By Madura Ranwala-July 6, 2015, 9:58 pm 

No complaints had yet been made to the Mallawi police regarding a former TNA Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) member, who is alleged to have had sexual relationships with dozens of women in the area, Police Media Unit (PMU) told The Island yesterday.

Police, however, had been able to recover a video clip and some pictures of the said TNA PS member and also a statement from the husband of a woman who committed suicide in February, 2015, fearing that the video clip would reveal her clandestine tryst with the politician. 

The statement of the husband had helped the police to establish that there had been an issue of that nature, though no one had made a complaint thus far, the PMU said.

The PMU said the police had submitted a report to the Mallawi Magistrate on the revelation made by the husband at the inquest into his wife’s death.

Asked whether the police had taken any action to arrest him, the PMU said that the incident had allegedly occurred in 2013 with the consent of the women, but the exact number of women involved could not be ascertained.

Former TNA PS member had left the country before the issue was picked up by the media, the PMU said.

Mafia of Judges and AG’s department together rescue Abrew with 4 heinous charges; Judge Shahabdeen brazenly acts unlawfully !

(Lanka-e-News- 07.July.2015, 11.30PM) Supreme court (SC) judge Sarath Abrew who allegedly molested his maidservant , stripped her nude forcibly with intent to rape , attacked her with a pistol causing grievous injuries when she refused to give in , and threatened to kill her husband and children if she does not yield to his advances ,was just a while ago released on personal bail underlining the egregious  lawlessness in the country , and the travesty of justice that is being enthroned ruthlessly by those in the highest echelons of the judiciary , amidst a wave of rude shock that shook the country to its foundation. Lanka e news posts this news with deep sorrow  and grief after realizing to what extent the sacrosanct judiciary in Sri Lanka has descended, and the rule of law is eroded.

Though a government of good governance is in power , the vestiges of the lawless culture that was stoked by the Rajapakse regime still persists. As a result the  judges mafia and the Attorney general (AG) department mafia nursed and nurtured by the previous regime are still alive and most active , openly  practising double standards among other evils resorted to when dispensing law and giving judgments.

The conduct of the court and the AG’s department today(07)  clearly illustrated this truth in regard to the case of judge Abrew , a sex starved maniac exploiting his position and power to commit crimes on helpless hapless women domestics. The worst part ? both the AG and the court abetted in the criminal conduct of this scoundrel of a judge by releasing him on personal bail instead of meting out  exemplary punishment which would deter other judges of his same ilk  , now in the prowl after  the Rajapakse era. Whether these judges made a mockery of justice today or committed  the worst injustice, notwithstanding , the fact of the matter is judgment now in SL is delivered uncaringly like fecal matter is to the doorstep of enemies.

This helpless poor servant woman was subjected to this attempted rape on 27 th. It is very evident that the AG department delayed giving its recommendation for  three days to give time to Abrew to file a Fundamental rights petition to save himself. Yesterday(06) evening after the court sessions were over the AG department report was received by the CID. The latter then submitted the  report to Mt.Lavinia court magistrate Shahabdeen and requested for a warrant to arrest Abrew which warrant was  issued at about 5.00p.m. In the meanwhile in the night Abrew went into hiding.

This morning when the CID officers set out to arrest Abrew , Magistrate Shahbdeen phoned the CID and informed that the warrant was flawed, and called back the warrant. Later the warrant was cancelled with a CID officer as a witness.

This move is a flagrant violation of the laws. A warrant issued can only be withdrawn only on a motion filed by the individual against whom it is issued , and the judge cannot call back a warrant via a phone call according to his whims and fancy because it is tanatamount to the judge acting partially in favor of the individual on whom the warrant is issued. Shahbdeen who is a pal of Abrew disregarding all these laws and procedures has re called the warrant .( The Bar association is to make a complaint to the judicial service commission in this regard tomorrow(08) )

Subsequently the CID officers have carried out their duties in accordance with the powers vested in them. Legally in a heinous crime where a woman is  subjected to attempted rape and attacked by a firearm , the suspect can be arrested without a warrant.

This has been pointed out in the AG’s report yesterday. Accordingly, when the officers were on the way to arrest Abrew ,the AG’s department had phoned the CID and told , ‘don’t arrest him now , for Abrew is surrendering to Mt. Lavinia court.’ It is then the AG’s department’s petticoat dropped down exposing everything not worth witnessing. How can the AG ‘s department give such instructions is a crucial question?

Thereafter the arrest was averted. Sarath after surrendering before Shahabdeen, the two pals had had private secret  discussions and finally Abrew  the culprit who faced four  heinous charges which prohibits the granting of bail by a magistrate under any circumstance was released on personal bail in a most astonishing and suspicious manner , with no conditions attaching whatsoever. 

It is a well and widely known fact that Abrew on a previous occasion too faced charges of rape committed on another servant , and assaulting three police officers . Yet if in this case with that putrid antecedence staring in the face of the faceless judge , if Abrew is  enlarged on personal bail by a court , the people outside takng the law into their hands cannot be averted.

Now ,let us recall the history of Judge Shahabdeen.He was a defeated member  of the judges association under the Rajapakse regime. There were charges against him of financial fraud.

After his issuing the warrant , it was in the night of that day the conspiracy was hatched to call back the issued warrant , based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division. The parties to  the conspiracy are lawyer Tirantha Walaliyaddha , Shahabdeen and  Moratuwa magistrate Aravinda Perera , another notorious corrupt legal raven.

The most ludicrous part of this drama is , while the victim is the aggrieved party and who should receive legal redress, Abrew has turned the tables on her ,  gone to the SC and filed a petition which is to be heard tomorrow. With Abrew his black coated 

cronies are expected to be there at the trial. It is surprising that Abrew did not think of himself to act as  the counsel for him. The lawyer appearing on behalf of Abrew is lawyer Manohara De Silva.

Based on the decision given by the court today  the portentous message delivered via it is : the powerful (omnipotentates) have the license to commit rape , and if the helpless  victim (woman) goes before the courts for redress , that will only give cause for the powerful to claim their FR had been violated.

The law abiding citizens must rise against this mafia operated by the corrupt judges and the AG’s department . The rapists and those villains aiding and abetting them no matter how high their position is , must not be allowed to breathe freely or sadistically when the tormented women whom they have made victims are without relief and in absolute agony.If the people relax or relent, these immoral unscrupulous judges will start looking for more preys for their bed diet. If the laws are being abused by the very legal sentinels  to stoke rapes and crimes against the innocents and to favor rapists and criminals , the people taking the laws into their hands as a last ditch effort cannot be frowned  upon as unlawful. 

(The photograph depicts Abrew’s arrival for the case in Mt.Lavinia courts – courtesy Lanka deepa)

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by     (2015-07-07 21:21:40)

Former MP Thenuka remanded

2015-07-07
Former UPFA Parliamentarian Thenuka Widanagamage was remanded till July 14 by the Mahiyanganaya Magistrate after he surrendered to the Police for violating election laws in Mahiyanganaya.

Police said they arrested five persons and parliamentarian for allegedly assaulting supporters who were putting up posters in Mahiyangana town on June 29.

Four suspects were arrested previously for the incident while Widanagamage and another individual surrendered to the Police today. Individuals connected to the incident were remanded till July 14.(DS)


Pix by Rathnam Kogulan and Ranjith Karunaweera - See more at: 

America’s Endless Air Wars. Extensive US and Allied Aerial Bombardments across the Middle East

By Nicolas J. S. Davies- July 07, 2015

Image: F-15 Eagles from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, taxi to the runway during the final day of Anatolian Eagle June 18, 2015, at 3rd Main Jet Base, Turkey. The 493rd FS received the 2014 Raytheon Trophy as the U.S. Air Force’s top fighter squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Eric Burks)

America’s Endless Air Wars. Extensive US and Allied Aerial Bombardments Across the Middle East by Thavam Ratna

A Day in The Life of a Dictator ( Film)

by Hendrick Dusollier

( July 7, 2015, London, Sri Lanka Guardian ) How does a dictator live? What is daily life like for a monster in power? From when he wakes up to when he sleeps, what goes on in the life of someone who will decide the fate of millions of people? What are the mechanisms that lead an ambitious individual to a spiral of cruelty and excess?

“A Day in the life of a dictator” offers an immersion into the intimate life of the most emblematic dictators of the 20th century during the bloody period of their reign: Joseph Stalin, Idi Amin Dada and Muammar Gaddafi.

Our son died confronting occupation, teen’s family insist

Family mourn during the funeral of Muhammad al-Kasbeh, shot dead by an Israeli commander in Qalandiya refugee camp, 3 July.

 Oren ZivActiveStills

Electronic Intifada

Budour Youssef Hassan The Electronic Intifada 6 July 2015

A large picture of Yasser and Samer al-Kasbeh covers the wall of the living room at their family’s home inQalandiya refugee camp, between Jerusalem and Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Our Son Died Confronting Occupation, Teen’s Family Insist by Thavam Ratna

Afghans and Taliban representatives meet in Pakistan for peace talks

Afghan officials attend the opening of the Oslo Forum 2015 in Oslo on June 16. Representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban are continuing peace talks that occurred there. (Heiko Junge/NTB Scanpix via Reuters)

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Tim Craig July 7 
KABUL — Representatives of the Taliban were meeting with an Afghan government delegation Tuesday in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, in what Afghan officials hope will be a step toward negotiating a peace deal with the insurgent group and ending the country’s protracted war, according to Afghan and Pakistani officials.

Afghans and Taliban Representatives Meet in Pakistan for Peace Talks by Thavam Ratna

9 Ways the TPP Is Bad for Developing Countries

BY RICK ROWDEN-JULY 7, 2015

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) — a major new trade agreementunder negotiation among 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region — received a shot in the arm in the United States at the end of June when Congress voted to grant President Barack Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate it. The TPP has fueled considerable dispute. Reasons for this include the secrecy with which talks have been conducted, the agreement’spotential effects on U.S. jobs and growth, and its geopolitical implications. But one issue that has received comparatively little attention is how the TPP is likely to impact the developing countries slated to join.

9 Ways the TPP is Bad for Developing Countries by Thavam Ratna