Newly engaged 19-year-old shot dead by Israel

An image of Muhammad Abu Latifa circulated on social networks.

Relatives mourn during the funeral of Muhammad Abu Latifa, 27 July, in Qalandiya refugee camp, near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian youth was killed as he ran from Israeli occupation forces who raided his family home.

 Oren ZivActiveStills

The Electronic Intifada

Budour Youssef Hassan-29 July 2015

Muhammad Atta Abu Latifa had only been engaged to his fiancée Nour Taha for little more than a month. But they had been in love for years.

The couple — aged 19 and 18 respectively — had encountered opposition to their relationship from family members. They nonetheless decided to persist and succeeded in overcoming that opposition. They were looking forward to moving into their new home, which was under construction.

Newly Engaged 19-Year-old Shot Dead by Israel by Thavam Ratna

Israeli government sanctions force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners 

Palestinians hold portraits of detainees during a demonstration in Jerusalem in June 2014 (AFP)

Shira Rubin-Thursday 30 July 2015

The Israeli medical community has vowed to prevent the implementation of force-feeding 

JERUSALEM – A law passed by the Knesset on Thursday with a majority of 46 to 40 will formally legalise the highly controversial medical treatment of force-feeding for Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike.

Israeli Government Sanctions Force-feeding of Palestinian Prisoners by Thavam Ratna

Vladimir Putin’s Good-Cop, Bad-Cop Act

Russia's leader wins President Obama's praise for his role in the Iran nuclear deal. But ongoing disputes from Syria to Ukraine raise doubts about the prospects for truly friendly relations.

 

BY COLUM LYNCH-JULY 29, 2015

Two weeks ago, President Barack Obama expressed rare praise for President Vladimir Putin, thanking the Russian leader for his role in securing the Iran nuclear deal and expressing hope that cooperation could spill into other contentious areas like ending the conflict in Syria. “We would not have achieved this agreement had it not been for Russia’s willingness to stick with us,” Obama said in an interview this month with New York Timescolumnist Thomas Friedman.

Vladimir Putin’s Good-Cop, Bad-Cop Act by Thavam Ratna

Hard-Hitting Nature Valley Ad Shows The Terrifying Side Of Kids Addicted To Technology
Nature Valley Canada recently sat down three generations of families and asked them one simple question, “What did you like to do for fun as a kid?” Take a moment to see how they responded, then grab your kids and go rediscover the joy of nature.

Political gridlock holds up India's landmark tax reform

A labourer pushes a handcart loaded with sacks containing tea packets, towards a supply truck at a wholesale market in Kolkata, India, June 26, 2015.REUTERS/RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI

 BY MANOJ KUMAR AND RAJESH KUMAR SINGH-Thu Jul 30, 2015

Parliament is unlikely to approve a landmark tax shakeup in its current sitting, a new setback for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reform agenda that makes it harder to meet a deadline to launch the new levy by next April.

Failure to pass the bill for a nationwide goods and services tax (GST) in the "monsoon" session will further erode investor confidence, already hurt by the slower-than-expected progress on economic transformation since Modi took office a year ago.

The opposition Congress party has disrupted the Rajya Sabha every day of the current session, which ends on Aug. 13, in protest at alleged corruption linked to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Senior members said that in its present form the party will not support the GST bill, which is a constitutional amendment and requires a two-thirds majority to become law. In the Rajya Sabha, Congress and allies control more than a third of votes.

The cabinet on Wednesday approved a minor amendment to the bill suggested by a select committee but did not address Congress' main issue - a 1 percent additional levy that businesses warn undermines the spirit of the tax.

"If the government wants Congress support for the GST it should accommodate our suggestions," Anand Sharma, Congress' deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha told Reuters.

His sentiments were echoed by Congress veteran Mani Shankar Aiyar, who sat on the select committee.

The GST seeks to turn India into a common market, harmonising a slew of state and central levies into a national sales tax. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley calls it the biggest reform since independence in 1947 that could add up to two percentage points to overall economic growth.

Parliament's approval will set in motion steps towards a rollout of the new tax but several more hoops must be passed before it can be implemented. Officials say it will take at least six months for India to be ready for its formal launch.

"Any further delay will make it be very tough to meet the April 1 deadline," said Rashmi Verma, a senior official in the finance ministry's revenue department. "We can still meet the deadline, but it will be a very tough ask."

Months of parliamentary opposition forced Modi to focus on the GST in this session, scaling back earlier ambitions to make progress on land and labour reforms before Aug. 13.

On Thursday, Jaitley implored Congress to help pass the tax bill. "These kinds of disruptions hurt the economy," he said.

(Editing by Frank Jack Daniel/Mark Heinrich)

UN paid millions to Russian aviation firm since learning of sex attack on girl

Exclusive: Documents reveal United Nations unit uncovered possible ‘culture of sexual exploitation and abuse’ after 2010 attack by UTair crewmember, but permitted company to continue receiving millions in contracts

A United Nations helicopter carrying a high level delegation travels to the town of Kiwanja in Congo. Photograph: Pete Muller/New York Times/Redux/eyevine

Paul Lewis in Washington,Oliver Laughland in New York and Roger Hamilton-Martin in London-Thursday 30 July 2015

The United Nations has spent half a billion dollars on contracts with a Russian aviation company since discovering one of its helicopter crews in the Democratic Republic of Congo drugged and raped a teenage girl in a sexual attack.

UN Paid Millions to Russian Aviation Firm Since Learning of Sex Attack on Girl by Thavam Ratna

Venezuela's hospitals on life support

Venezuela's hospitals are in disarray. Betty Zapata reports on a country where inflation is forcing doctors' salaries below $10 a month and patients are forced to buy life-saving drugs on the street

WEDNESDAY 29 JULY 2015

Last year I returned to my native Venezuela to document life and death in the country's public hospitals, writes Betty Zapata.

Venezuela's public healthcare is in disarray. Long term underinvestment and neglect has meant that doctors are warning of a serious crisis in its public hospitals. I wanted to try to photograph the reality of what was happening from the inside.

It's not a story the government in Venezuela wants told.

There is almost no official information available about waiting lists, operating times, or treatment. The government argues that its critics simply distort any figures they release to make them look bad. Opposition politicians say this lack of information means they are hiding the truth.

Like everything else in Venezuela, even healthcare has become polarised.

With so few figures available, doing my own research was the only way to build up a picture of what is really happening. I interviewed doctors, nurses, patients, administrative staff and ambulance drivers.

Few were able to talk to me openly, or felt comfortable giving me their names, for fear of losing their jobs for talking without official permission. But the situation they described was shocking.

In some hospitals, they had less than a third of the medical supplies they require. Almost every patient told me they had to buy at least some of their drugs on the street.

Oncologists said that people who were diagnosed with breast cancer sometimes had to wait more than 18 months for treatment, while surgeons said that other patients often die while waiting for operations.

It's not just a lack of medicines that is making life difficult. Spiralling inflation, which topped 600 percent in July 2015, has meant that doctors' salaries are now worth less than £10 per month.

The NGO Venezuelan Medical Societies Network estimates that in the last few years approximately 10,000 medical graduates have left the country.

The government hasn't been short of revenue however: Venezuela made £1.2 trillion in oil exports in a decade.

Few images and little video from inside the hospitals have been seen by the public, so I spent two months shooting in several public hospitals to document this issue properly.

Under the government of the late President Hugo Chavez, the authorities did invest enormous sums of money in a pioneering health project called Barrio Adentro.

They built thousands of small clinics in low income areas, bringing free basic healthcare to large numbers of impoverished people who had never had any. It was a pioneering project, with limited impact.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's public hospitals remain forgotten, under-resourced and now on the brink of collapse.

First reports of robotic surgery for advanced vena cava tumor thrombus due to kidney cancer

Inferior vena cava control for which individualized surgical planning is necessary. Note various locations of Rummel tourniquet placement for achieving proximal control of IVC as dictated by thrombus level (Mayo classification). Credit: The Journal of Urology

July 30, 2015

Surgery is required when cancer of the kidney causes a Level III thrombus, or clot, to develop in the major vein leading back to the heart. Traditionally this complicated procedure, inferior vena cava (IVC) thrombectomy, is performed using a large open incision, primarily because the vein is often difficult to reach. In an article published in The Journal of Urology, a team of surgeons describe the first cases in which this procedure has been successfully performed robotically, using only seven small incisions and four robotic tools.

"Level III IVC tumor thrombectomy for renal cancer is one of the most challenging open urologic oncologic surgeries," explained Inderbir S. Gill, MD, of the USC Institute of Urology, part of Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles, CA. "While IVC tumor thrombus occurs in only 4-10% of all patients with otherwise organ-confinedkidney cancer, surgery is the only cure. The ability to do this complicated procedure in a minimally invasive way represents a major advancement."

The authors report on nine patients with renal cancer and Level III thrombi treated with robotic IVC thrombectomy. After about seven months of follow-up, all have survived and eight show no evidence of disease. One patient had a spinal tumor and has since undergone further surgery.

This report also details seven additional robotic surgeries on patients with smaller thrombi (Level II), and compares tumor sizes, operating room times, blood losses, length of hospital stays, and other details for Level III and Level II cases.

Because the surgery involves removal of the thrombus as well as removal of the diseased kidney, the surgeon must remove the clot first to prevent it from breaking off and causing a potentially fatal embolism. This requires many blood vessels to be clamped as shown in the diagram. This diagram also indicates the extent of Levels I, II and III thrombi, and the relative sizes of the obstructions.

"All necessary surgical maneuvers could be performed completely robotically without open conversion or mortality. This demonstration of efficient robotic performance of the challenging vascular, oncologic and reconstructive procedures inherent herein opens the door for major renal, caval, and hepatic robotic surgeries in the future. Although our experience is yet initial, we believe that robotic IVC thrombus surgery has considerable potential for the future," commented Dr. Gill and the team.

More information: "Robotic Level III Inferior Vena Cava Tumor Thrombectomy: The Initial Series," by Inderbir S. Gill, Charles Metcalfe, Andre Abreu, Vinay Duddalwar, Sameer Chopra, Mark Cunningham, Duraiyah Thangathurai, Osamu Ukimura, Raj Satkunasivam, Andrew Hung, Rocco Papilla, Monish Aron, Mihir Desai, and Michele Gallucci. DOI:dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2015.03.119. Published online in advance of The Journal of Urology, Volume 194, Issue 4 (October 2015) 

Human Rights Challenges in Asia-Pacific: Does Sri Lanka Show a Way Out?

by Laksiri Fernando

( July 28, 2015, Sydney, Sri Lanka Guardian) Let me begin by briefly overviewing the general status of Asia-Pacific on key issues of human rights. This region with 45 countries and territories is home to over 4.3 billion people, and is most complex in terms of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity. Therefore, any attempt to generalize is not an easy task. Depending on their priorities or the way they perceive human rights, different international human rights organizations appear to differ on their assessments. Among these organizations are Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the Freedom House. Let me first quote what the Freedom House has to say about the human rights situation for the past five years.

Human Rights Challenges in Asia-Pacific Does Sri Lanka Show a Way Out by Thavam Ratna

The Death and Rebirth of the Sri Lanka Model

29/07/2015 

In the early part of this decade the phrase “the Sri Lanka model” gained popularity among both Sri Lanka watchers and influential figures in the security forces of nefarious regimes. It doesn’t get thrown around as much these days, but nor has it entirely disappeared. Meanwhile the ideas that inspired the term have certainly not gone away. In fact, they have developed in an unsavoury direction.

The Death and Rebirth of the Sri Lanka Model by Thavam Ratna

President circumvents 'Central Committee' trap

R. Sampanthan-C. V. Vigneswaran-Nimal Siripala de Silva-Hirunika Premachandra

Vigneswaran skips TNA election manifesto launch

President's post-election plans may block MR's path

Sirisena loyalists get appointments as new SLFP organizers

Rasika Jayakody-Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The Tamil National Alliance, the largest Tamil political party in the country is expected to play a crucial role in the new Parliament over the next five years. Political observers have already predicted that the party will obtain nearly 15 seats from the North as the party has hardly any competition in the province. The TNA's share in Parliament will play a pivotal role on deciding the ruling party of the country if mainstream parties fail to secure a simple majority in the legislature.

President Circumvents 'Central Committee' Trap by Thavam Ratna

BASL, calls upon all to ensure free and fair elections

Monday, July 27, 2015

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is committed to the rule of law and democracy. In keeping with its objectives, the BASL calls upon all persons to ensure a free and fair Parliamentary Election to be conducted on August 17, BASL said in a media statement.

It said: "We call upon all citizens of Sri Lanka as persons of one united country, to exercise their right to vote and not to go by default even though there could be a tendency to apathy and lack of interest. Do exercise the fundamental rights given to you and exercise it meaningfully and responsibly to ensure a clean, decent and democratic country free from lawlessness and arbitrariness.

"We call upon all citizens to be vigilant and to act responsibly against all forms of election violations such as thuggery, intimidation and any form of illegal influence or acts of bribery or threatening and to think independently and objectively. We call upon the public to report without fear, to the authorities including the Commissioner of Elections and the Police, all forms of violations of election laws, especially the abuse of state resources and the media."

The BASL also commended the Elections Commissioner and his staff for steadfastly upholding the law and called upon public servants including the Elections Commissioner and his staff, the Inspector General of Police and his officers, the District Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries and their officers and all Grama Sevaka Niladaris to carry out their duties by the country and its citizens without fear or favour so that the country will have a free and fair election.

"The BASL will freely assist and defend everyone including government officials who may face any consequences or pressure on account of their having responsibly and steadfastly upheld the law in the interest of good governance, democracy, our country and its people.

"The BASL will take immediate steps to address issues of violations of election laws, especially of unlawful activities including bribery posters/banners, hoardings, cutouts and to prevent the abuse of State property and resources.

"The BASL will advice the public on the availability of its members throughout the country towards assisting them in all matters related to the elections and or acts of violation of election laws.

"The BASL also requests and call upon all Professional Organisations to support and assist it in this endeavour." 

- See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=political/basl-calls-upon-all-ensure-free-and-fair-elections#sthash.hutNcvRM.FwL6PoYa.dpuf

Will Maithri make Mahinda prime minister?

All these days Mahinda used the SLFP to establish a ‘Family Kingdom’ and then throw away the party men curry leaves. Maithri and all others fell into the category of curry leaves under Mahinda. In everything the saying goes that every dog has its’ day. Who knows that this is the time that Mahinda would be used and thrown away like curry leaves?

by Upul Joseph Fernando

( July 29, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This is guessing time in the SLFP. All keep their fingers crossed. Some look up the sky wondering while others seem to be at crossroads. Their guess is; who would be the next Prime Minister in case the SLFP/UPFA wins. Many voices are heard within these two entities. Who decides? Who is the final authority? A glance to the past would provide the answer.

‘President Maithripala Sirisena should appoint the Prime Minister who commands the majority in Parliament…’ This was the legal argument Professor G.L. Peiris to counter Maithri’s position that he (Maithri) will not appoint Mahinda as Prime Minister. Editor of ‘Ravaya’ newspaper, Victor Ivan wrote an article on how the People’s Alliance (PA) struggled to get the premiership in 1994 after wining only 105 seats. G.L. Peiris entered politics in that year.

As the election results were being released, the then UNP Minister Ronnie de Mel visited President D.B. Wijetunga and argued that the President should appoint Ms. Sirima Bandaranaike as Prime Minister and not Chandrika Kumaratunga. De Mel pointed out that Ms. Bandaranaike was planning to abolish the Executive Presidency and set up the independent commissions before retiring from politics.

SLMC support

While De Mel was making such moves with Wijetunga, Gamini Dissanayake was busy talking to M.H.M. Ashraff of the SLMC to get his support to form a government to become the Prime Minister.

Wijetunga sought time to appoint a Prime Minister in order to give space for Gamini’s plan. Ranil who opposed the move to give the Premiership to Gamini packed his bags and left Temple Trees. Whilst these developments were going on, Victor Ivan in his article stated that well known business magnate Thiru Nadesan married to Nirupama Rajapaksa had gone to see J.R. Jayewardene to convince Wijetunga to offer the Premiership to Chandrika. JR had a fear that if Ms. Bandaranaike was made the Prime Minister she would take revenge on him for having deprived her of her civic rights. Chandrika assured that she would not take revenge from JR. So Victor Ivan in his article stated that JR pressurized Wijetunga to name Chandrika as Prime Minister. Ranil had also told JR to pressurize Wijetunga to do the same. That was how Chandrika who had the majority became Prime Minister after almost kneeling before President Wijetunga. The President engaged in this game of chess being the leader of the defeated party at the elections.

However, Maithri does not stand in the position Wijetunga stood at that time.He is the leader of the SLFP. If the party leader is the President and his party wins, it is he who decides who would be the next Prime Minister. A journalist asked Maithri in 2010 from Maithri the following question; “In this document it is stated that the JVP proposed your name as Prime Minister in 2004. Do you think that you would get that post deprived then after the 2010 election?” Maithri replied, “The SLFP is a democratic party. The Premier will be chosen by the Party Leader who is the President. We will accept his decision”. Furthermore, following is a statement made by Nimal Siripala de Silva about the post of Prime Minister; “The post of Prime Minister will be offered by the President at the right time to the right person. That is a right and prerogative of the President. We in the party should not battle over that issue.” Both Maithri and Nimal are correct on the issue.

Advent of DBW

In 1989, though Gamini Dissanayake and Lalith Athulathmudali obtained higher preferences, Premadasa gave the Premiership to D.B.Wijetunga. In 1993, Wijetunga overlooked seniors in the party and made Ranil Wickremesinghe the Prime Minister. Chandrika made Ms.Bandaranaike the Premier in 1995. After the 2000 general election, Chandrika removed her mother from that post and gave it to Ratnasiri Wickremenayake. In 2001, Chandrika offered it to Ranil as the UNP gained the majority seats in Parliament to form a government. In 2004, after merging victorious, Chandrika appointed Mahinda as Prime Minister even before the Cabinet was sworn in. She did it violating the agreement reached with the JVP to appoint Lakshman Kadirgamar as Prime Minister. In 2019 while Maithri, Nimal Siripala and Basil Rajapaksa looked contenders for the post of Premier, Mahinda gave it to D.M. Jayaratne.

History depicts that Chandrika and Mahinda executed powers as privileges as SLFP leaders and Presidents to decide who would be made the Premier. Hence, Maithri also enjoys the same powers and privileges. If the UNP gets the majority in August, Maithri would follow the precedence set by Wijetunga and Chandrika to empower that party to decide on the person to the office of Prime Minister. If the SLFP gets the majority Maithri will handle it himself.

In such event, none in the SLFP could oppose Maithri if he appoints a person of his choice as Premier from the party. If the Mahinda loyalists oppose, it would not be difficult for Maithri to form a government with a section of the SLFP and the UNP. Some went with the concept ‘Let’s get up with Mahinda’ in order to protect their positions as parliamentarians to contest and form a government. Though they become MPs from Mahinda’s merit, they would clamour for a ministerial office. In that struggle they would not be concerned as to who would be the Premier. If Maithri does not offer the Premier post to Mahinda, the latter cannot get the support of the UNP and the minority parties.

All these days Mahinda used the SLFP to establish a ‘Family Kingdom’ and then throw away the party men curry leaves. Maithri and all others fell into the category of curry leaves under Mahinda. In everything the saying goes that every dog has its’ day. Who knows that this is the time that Mahinda would be used and thrown away like curry leaves?