Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Dematagoda Chaminda a living key witness in Bharatha murder and Rajapakse era murders shot at within prison van !

(Lanka-e-News -02.March.2016, 11.30PM) An underworld leader and notorious drug peddler Sirinayake Pathiranage Chaminda Ravi Jayanath alias Dematagoda Chaminda alias kudu Chaminda alias Moda Chaminda alias ‘Mola,’ a prime accuser in the Bharatha Lakshman murder was today brutally shot at by a gang when he was being taken back in the prison van to remand prison after attending court in connection with the Bharatha Lakshman case. It is noteworthy that Kudu Chaminda is also a witness in several cases of crimes committed during the Rajapakse era.

Near the Samantha cinema hall , Dematagoda, after blocking the prison van , the group that came in a black hybrid car KE- 2018 and in another motor bike had fired at the prison van , and then after entering it has fired at Chaminda.

The firing by the brutal group had hit the stomach of Chaminda and injured three others. Four victims were admitted to hospital. The prison officers too have retaliated . The police are of the view several members of the brutal gang also would have been victims of the retaliatory shooting. A cartridge of the brutal group had fallen on the ground , and the police had found it.

History..

It is significant to note that when Duminda R . Silva ex M.P. , a close crony and stooge of Gotabaya Rajapakse who orchestrated the murder of Bharatha Lakshman was being taken to hospital at that time following the shootout , Duminda’s close ally and assistant Dematagoda Chaminda was in the vehicle transporting Duminda to hospital.That vehicle was driven by another drug peddler cum Chaminda’s assistant Thilan.

When Thilan was taken into custody with one and half kilos heroin , he escaped from Ragama hospital. Thereafter he tried to leave the country under disguise but was arrested by the anti terrorism division at Katunayake airport. Now he is again in remand custody.

Dematagoda Chaminda after the Bharatha shooting fled to India . He was however deported to Sri Lanka by India. He was arrested at the Katunayake airport when he returned, but at that time , the Gotabaya security division publicised that Chaminda was arrested in India and brought back to SL.

Prior to the arrest of Dematagoda Chaminda and Karate Dhammika following Bahratha’s murder , both these underworld criminal leaders conducted themselves as the unofficial murder squad of Gotabaya Rajapakse. Specially Dematagoda Chaminda posed and bragged openly that he was working in the ‘ Lokka’s unit’at Temple Trees.

Believe it or not , it was Dematagoda Chaminda the underworld criminal who functioned as the Dematagoda organizer of BBS (Bodu Bala Sena) , another Gotabaya’s subservient and supporting violent organization . Recently , when BBS leader Galagodaathe Gnanassara was in remand custody , it was Dematagoda Chaminda who had bathed him and washed his clothes, a media that is close to him reported.

When these underworld criminals were taken into custody following Bharatha Lakshman murder , Gotabaya harbored fears that they would divulge information regarding the murders they committed for and on behalf of the Rajapakses. Gotabaya therefore used the armed division of his to murder these criminals. Accordingly , using another very special dependable murder team comprising three STF members, three Gajaba soldiers and three naval soldiers provided by Thisara Samarasinghe , they caused Karate Dhammika’s disappearance. However because Dematagoda Chaminda had links with India and was officially in custody ,Chaminda could not be murdered. Though several attempts were made to kill him while taking him to discover weapons, because these attempts came to light beforehand, the murder could not be successfully carried out. Interestingly, Gotabaya finally chased away ASP Samudrajeewa of the CID who took Dematagoda Chaminda into custody.

No matter what , it is a well and widely known fact that Dematagoda Chaminda is a main witness in many crimes committed during the Rajapakse era. The attempts made by the Rajapakse godfathers to kill him and wipe out evidence was not begun yesterday or today , it was begun long ago .

Based on reports reaching Lanka e news inside information division ,it is being supected , this shooting today was done by Bloemendhal Sanka an assistant of ‘Army Sampath’ on a contract basis.

Photos – courtesy Lankadeepa.

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by (2016-03-02 19:18:03)

Young Gaza couples start marriage in debt

Palestinian grooms at a charity-funded mass wedding for more than 50 couples in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, in 13 August.Abed Rahim KhatibThe Electronic Intifada

Yousef M. Aljamal-

2 March 2016

Bilal al-Jamal, 27, sat on a chair in his office in al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip sipping coffee. It was an unremarkable scene except for those who came to seek his professional advice.

Al-Jamal — full disclosure: he is a cousin of the author’s — is a marriage facilitator. His Dream Institute is part of a new crop of businesses that have emerged in Gaza in an effort, they say, to help young couples get married when they otherwise cannot afford the cost.

A majority of Palestinians in Gaza are young. Many are keen to get married. But in a moribund economy, few can now afford the cost, which can run into a prohibitive thousands of dollars.

“Thus, came the idea of marriage facilitation institutions,” said al-Jamal, a law graduate, who himself could not find work after graduating.

“We provide young couples with services and all the necessary items for a successful wedding day,” he said, all the while jotting down notes. To this end, he said, his institute has signed contracts with a number of relevant businesses and shops. He provides the upfront costs and the couple pay him back within 15 months.

Controversial practice

The practice has not been without controversy. Mostly, critics charge that the marriage facilitation business is exploitative, taking advantage of young couples’ impatience and desperation to marry for an outsized profit.

Al-Jamal conceded that facilitators are also looking to make money but denied that profits were remarkable. “We are registered under the Ministry of Economy and we pay taxes. We are not a charitable organization. But the profits aren’t big,” he said.

Khalil Yousef, of the four-year-old Faraha Institute, also rejected the criticism. “This is not exploitation.

We provide a service,” he said. “We help young couples and reduce the pressure they are exposed to … We get some money in return, but the offers we provide are cheaper than the local market.”

According to the Ministry of Economy in Gaza, there are currently seven marriage facilitation centers registered as profitable organizations at the ministry. Just one institution is registered as a charity, reports the Palestinian news site Al Quds.

There is certainly a market. The year 2015 saw the highest number of marriages in Gaza since records began, with nearly 20,778 couples getting married. The previous year, the number of marriages dipped due to the Israeli assault on Gaza that summer at the peak of the marriage season.

“I resorted to marriage facilitation because the situation in Gaza is tough,” said Mahmoud al-Beiruti, 23, from the Maghazi refugee camp near Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

Al-Beiruti works at a food processing factory. He recently secured a loan from a marriage facilitation institution and will get married in March. “Young people are jobless and they can’t afford all these expenses. They have to look for help,” he said.

A battered economy

Al-Beiruti’s loan stands at $2,140 and he is supposed to pay it back within 15 months. The package includes furniture, food, use of a wedding hall and a bridal dress. The monthly repayments, he said, are not too high. He said he happily recommends the facilitation service to friends who can’t afford a wedding.

Summer is approaching, and more young people are projected to seek help from marriage facilitators, increasing competition between them and for the services they provide.

They will have little alternative. Gaza, according to the World Bank in 2015, suffers the world’s highest unemployment rate at 47 percent and youth unemployment is above 60 percent.

Under Israeli siege for nine years, the Strip is crumbling. Houses destroyed in successive Israeli aggressions have been left in ruins with neither the money nor the raw materials to rebuild available. With improbable Israeli restrictions on imports and exports industry is in tatters, and the World Bank estimates that the siege alone has shrunk GDP by 50 percent.

Need of course creates opportunities for some. New jobs — like generator repair specialists — have sprung up realities on the ground where electricity supply, dependent on Israel, is sparse and unpredictable.

Marriage facilitators are a part of this phenomenon.

But critics also suggest that pressures on married couples in Gaza are already high and starting out with debt will only increase them.

Recently, local authorities in Gaza have begun a test run of couples’ counseling courses aimed at, according to the authorities, reducing divorce rates that have been increasing with the worsening economic, social and political situation. The courses have been implemented in other Muslim-majority countries like Malaysia, where they have proven effective.

Depression and despair

Ibrahim Isleem, a sociologist at the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza, argued that a service like facilitating marriage might better be left to charitable institutions.

“We have charitable organizations to help those in need, and they could help based on the economic circumstances. The other type of institution is not charitable and they seek profit,” he said.

Options, he conceded, are limited. In the past, “people would borrow money from their friends and relatives, which is not possible now due to the economic situation,” he noted.

But starting married life in debt will only increase pressures on newly married couples. While people outside Gaza think about their honeymoons, young Palestinians in Gaza think about paying back their bills.

This is not a phenomenon restricted to Gaza, but Gaza also suffers a “man-made disaster,” said Isleem, of such proportion that it has “pushed many of Gaza’s young people into depression and despair.”

Some international organizations provide financial gifts to help young people get married. But there isn’t enough assistance to meet demand.

With no sign of any letup in the Israeli siege and improvement in the Gaza economy, young people will likely continue to turn to marriage facilitators.

It’s either that or give up their dream to be married.

Yousef M. Aljamal is a writer based in Gaza.

Detained Ukrainian Pilot’s Lawyer Lobbies Washington for New Sanctions

Nadiya Savchenko’s lawyers want the U.S. to punish Russia for its alleged show trial. But Moscow doesn’t look ready to bend.

BY REID STANDISH-MARCH 2, 2016

In July 2014, Ukrainian military pilot Nadiya Savchenko — who had taken leave from the army to fight for a volunteer battalion — mysteriously appeared in Russian custody. Moscow accused her of calling in an artillery strike that killed two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine. But Savchenko’s lawyers say she is innocent and is being used as a political pawn in the Kremlin’s wider standoff with Ukraine and the West.

Since then, a high-profile court battle has unfolded in western Russia over Savchenko’s fate. A decision is expected at the end of March, and a guilty verdict is almost universally expected. But her legal team is preparing to hit back: They are pushing Washington to sanction Russian officials whom they accuse of abducting Savchenko, as well as officials in Moscow for allegedly fabricating the case against her.

“We need to keep the pressure on the Russian government,” Ilya Novikov, one of the head lawyers representing Savchenko in Russia, told Foreign Policy in a recent interview. “A strong message needs to be sent to the Kremlin: Either release Nadiya or face sanctions.”

Novikov is calling for Russian officials involved in Savchenko’s case to be sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act, an American law passed in 2012 requiring the U.S. government to freeze assets and deny visas to Russian citizens guilty of gross human rights violations. Novikov told FP he met with State Department officials in Washington last week and called for at least 30 people who were involved in the alleged kidnapping and prosecution to be included on his so-called “Savchenko list.” He said the list could contain up to 100 names if it included Russian officials who have called for the Ukrainian pilot to be sent to jail or even executed.

The Magnitsky Act was named for Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in custody in 2009 after he accused Russian officials of a massive tax fraud scheme. The law not only requires the State Department to identify and sanction Russian individuals it judges specifically responsible for Magnitsky’s death, but also other Russian citizens “responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights” in other cases.

“Savchenko’s lawyers need to show that she is unfairly detained and make it pretty clear that there are a number of Russian officials responsible for her detention,” Bill Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and anarchitect of the Magnitsky Act, told FP.

Browder was Magnitsky’s employer. He called the law a powerful piece of legislation — not only because it names human rights violators publicly and blocks them from coming to the United States, but also because it serves as a U.S. Treasury blacklist for banks worldwide.

“The moment they are on a Treasury list, there is no bank in the world that will do business with them,” said Browder. “Every bank is worried about being under pressure from the U.S. Treasury.”

A State Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity declined to comment on potential future sanctions but told FP that the United States “remains deeply disturbed by the Russian Federation’s decision to move forward with this baseless case.”

JNU student held on sedition charge bailed after free-speech protests

Supporters of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) walk in front of a banner featuring Kanhaiya Kumar, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student union leader accused of sedition, during a protest demanding the release of Kumar in Kolkata, India, February 21, 2016.REUTERS/RUPAK DE CHOWDHURI

Wed Mar 2, 2016

The Delhi High Court granted bail on Wednesday to Kanhaiya Kumar, head of the student union at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, arrested for alleged sedition in a case that led to mass protests and accusations the government is trying to stifle free speech.

Kumar, 28, was arrested last month at a rally to commemorate the anniversary of the execution of a Kashmiri separatist.

The court granted the student six months bail on a surety of 10,000 rupees ($150), defence lawyer Vrinda Grover said.

Kumar's detention -- under colonial-era laws once used by India's British rulers to jail nationalist heroes including Mahatma Gandhi -- exposed deep ideological differences over freedom of speech in India.

The case became a cause célèbre among opposition parties and free speech activists, who say India has become increasingly intolerant since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government was elected two years ago.

Although Kumar attended a rally questioning the execution of the separatist convicted for an attack in parliament, his lawyers say he rejected the use of violence and he made no incendiary comments.

Instead, his supporters say he criticised a right-wing student fraternity and a Hindu-nationalist umbrella group to which Modi's ruling party belongs.

The police and government say the student's jailing was justified because witnesses said he made anti-national comments.

Kumar's last appearance in court last month led to chaotic scenes as lawyers and supporters of the ruling party assaulted students and journalists.

Some commentators and legal experts fault the government for exploiting the sedition law to silence its opponents, arguing it should instead have left college officials to manage what they say was no more than an exuberant student debate.

($1 = 67.5418 rupees)

'Work till you drop' warning on pensions

Some people may have to work till they are 81 to build up a decent pension pot, according to a report.

WEDNESDAY 02 MARCH 2016

With the government carrying out a review of the state pension age, research from Royal London says an average earner who starts saving for an occupational pension at 22, and makes the minimum statutory contributions, would need to work until 77 if they want the sort of "gold standard" pension enjoyed by their parents.

Royal London defines this "gold standard", which includes the state pension, as two thirds of pre-retirement income.

For those living in high-income areas, such as Westminster and Wandsworth in London, achieving a pension pot of this size would take till 80 or 81, assuming contributions are not increased.

At the same time, a review for the Labour party has concluded that employees should double their contributions to workplace schemes, with a target of 15 per cent of earnings going into pension pots.

Traditionally, the state pension age was 65 for men and 60 for women. This is being equalised and in two years' time it is due to rise, reaching 67 by 2028.

This could rise again as a result of a government review, amid warnings that those starting work today could have to wait until their mid-1970s before they receive a state pension.

Royal London's research shows that how much people need to save in occupational schemes, if they want a "gold standard" pension, varies according to where they live.

Variations

While someone in Westminster who makes minimum monthly contributions would have to wait till they are 81, a worker in Boston, Lincolnshire, where incomes are lower, would build up a big enough pot by 73.

Ages for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are 77, 76 and 76 respectively.

Former pensions minister Steve Webb, who is director of policy at Royal London, said: "It is great news that millions more workers are being enrolled into workplace pensions, but the amounts going in are simply not enough to give people the kind of retirement they would want for themselves, and certainly not the sort of pensions that many of those retiring now are enjoying.

"Even in lower wage areas, people face working into their early seventies to get a comfortable retirement.

In higher wage areas, the state pension makes a much smaller contribution, so workers in those areas face working well into their seventies."

Mr Webb said the answer was to start saving early and increase pension contributions.

Candidates asked to appear for Army recruitment exam in underwear

Around 1150 candidates had appeared for the exam on Sunday when they were ordered to take off their clothes and sit in only underwear in an open ground. (ANI)

HT Correspondent, Muzaffarpur- Mar 01, 2016

Candidates appearing in army recruitment examination in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur District were asked to sit in their underwear to prevent cheating.

Around 1150 candidates had appeared for the exam on Sunday when they were ordered to take off their clothes and sit in only underwear in an open ground.

The examination was being conducted for the recruitment of clerks in the army.

According to a report in the Indian Express, candidates were asked to remove their clothes to “save time on frisking so many people.

The director of the army recruitment board defending the outrageous order by saying, “We earlier had a bad experience while conducting exams. This has been done to avoid cheating.”

Last year, photographs of the mass cheating in Bihar – parents climbing the wall of a school building trying to pass on chits to their wards in the exam hall — grabbed eyeballs because of the spectacle it was.

But the reactions it elicited were mostly pretentious – “all this” happens only in Bihar or “What kind of parents are these… They want their wards to cheat?” or, lastly, “What will these kids grow up to?”

Large scale cheating was also reported in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind town only a few days before the Bihar incident. There too relatives of candidates gathered at examination centres to help them submit a perfect answer-script.

A detailed story by the Los Angeles Times, documents how, in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal cheating in school exams is a very common phenomenon. The report showcases practices of writing formula on classroom walls, teachers being bribed to allow copying in exams, students breaking CCTV cameras to avoid being caught on camera cheating, and even parents tossing chits wrapped around small stones through windows into the exam halls.

With inputs from Agencies

The 5,000th baby was just born in this Syrian refugee camp

Baby Rima and her sister with her mother, Kholoud Suliman, and father, Mohammed Salameh, in their home at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. (Lorenzo Tugnoli for the Washington Post)

By Adam Taylor-March 2

ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP, Jordan — As the Syrian conflict approaches its fifth anniversary, not far across the border in Jordan an altogether more hopeful milestone is being celebrated.

The Zaatari refugee camp has just seen the birth of the 5,000th baby at its U.N. Population Fund-supported clinic. As aid workers, government officials and family members gathered Tuesday to mark the occasion, baby Rima Salameh watched the events quietly in the back of the room, swaddled in a colorful blanket.

While she was the camp’s 5,000th baby, Rima was her parent’s second. “It was easier this time than the first,” her mother, 21-year-old Kholoud Suliman from Daraa in southern Syria, told reporters.

Rima may be just a week old, but her presence in Zaatari is being taken as a sign that life is indeed continuing for Syrian refugees in the camp. In a speech at the party, Edward Kallon, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator, had dubbed her birth an “auspicious occasion,” while Population Fund officials had used it to highlight the fact that there had been no maternal deaths in all these childbirths.

[Syrian refugees are pawns in a wider war]

Rima’s parents are clearly grateful for the help: After they were informed their daughter was the 5,000th child, they named her after their doctor in the clinic.

As dramatic as it may sound, the 5,000 figure may understate just how much life is going on in Zaatari. U.N. officials estimate that the total number of births for those in the camp is closer to 10,000; a number of nongovernmental organizations offered childbirth facilities before the clinic opened in 2013, and over 1,000 cases that required more advanced medical techniques have been referred to a nearby hospital run by the Moroccan military.

Zaatari’s population surged in the early years after the fighting started, at one point soaring to more than 100,000 people — enough to make the camp the fourth-largest “city” in Jordan.

After many families moved to escape the crowding and live outside the camps, the population dropped to around 80,000. Now, many argue that the camp is getting better and better — and that it may even evolve into a real city within a few years.

“They have created something that is approaching normalcy,” Aoife McDonnell, the U.N. refugee agency’s Jordan spokeswoman, said of the refugees in the camp.

At the event Tuesday, Rima’s father showed off some of that normalcy, bringing plates of falafel from the restaurant he works at in the camp to pass out to guests. Mohammed Salameh, 22, argued that the falafel is the best in Zaatari. He may well be right, but there is plenty of competition: Zaatari’s central street, dubbed the Champs-Elysees, is full of places to eat. There are estimated to be thousands of small businesses operating in the camp, with shops selling wares as varied as wedding dresses and bicycles.

[In a besieged Syrian town: ‘We’re still starving, and it’s getting colder’]

A visual guide to 75 years of major refugee crises around the world

Back in a small trailer that Salameh shares with his extended family, it is clear that while things may have stabilized in the camp, the problems are far from over.

Salameh says he earns just five Jordanian dinar a day for a 12-hour shift at the restaurant, barely $7. Over the course of the month, he makes around $210, a figure that is stretched extremely thin as he is the sole bread winner for his large extended family.

Despite the new start in Zaatari, the family still faces daily challenges. Salameh’s father, who suffered a stroke, needs medical attention. One of his daughters was killed in a barrel bomb in Syria. Her infant son, Fahad, now lives with Salameh in Zaatari; the family says he survived in the rubble for hours before being found. Another of Salameh’s sisters has a young child named “Sham,” an Arabic word that refers to a part of Syria — the homeland where new mother Kholoud Suliman’s entire family remains, despite the risk and the distance from their daughter.

In the end, Salameh explained, the hope is that Rima and her sister won’t go through all this. What he and his wife want for their daughters is just “a better chance than we did in our lives.”

Nearly a third of Japan's women 'sexually harassed at work'

Survey showing women were touched inappropriately and pressed for sex deals blow to efforts to support female workers

Commuters in Tokyo. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

Justin McCurry in Tokyo-Wednesday 2 March 2016

Almost a third of Japanese women have been sexually harassed at work, according to a government report that deals another blow to attempts to boost women’s role in the workplace.

More than half of those women said they had been subjected to casual comments – mostly by male colleagues – about their appearance, age and physical features.

In the most serious cases victims said they had been repeatedly asked out, pressed to have sex or been touched inappropriately.

In the first survey of its kind in Japan, the health, labour and welfare ministry said 30% of respondents in full- and part-time employment reported being sexually harassed at work. Among full-time workers, the figure rose to 35%.

The survey of more than 9,600 women aged 25-44 who are currently working or were previously employed found that 40% had been touched in an unpleasant way while 17% had been “asked or pressed to have a sexual relationship”.

The most frequent perpetrators – in 24.1% of cases – were the women’s bosses.

The survey also revealed a general reluctance among women to lodge official complaints about their treatment: 63% said they had suffered in silence, while about one in 10 who did complain said they had been given an unsympathetic hearing or been demoted.

Japan is struggling to raise the profile of women in the workplace, particularly in senior positions. While they are well represented in the part-time, low-paid economy, only a tiny number of executives at Japan’s 3,600 listed companies are female.

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has set an ambitious target to fill 30% of leadership positions with women by 2020 – an aim many experts believe is unattainable.

At present, women account for just 8% of senior roles in companies employing 100 people or more, compared to a global average of 22%, according to the Grant Thornton International Business Report 2015.

Abe’s “womenomics” programme also calls for an increase in the size of the female workforce to encourage growth. Economists have warned that without them, the country faces economic decline as its population falls and its workforce continues to shrink.

The treatment of women at work gained widespread attention in 2014 after male members of the Tokyo metropolitan assembly shouted sexist abuse at Ayaka Shiomura as she questioned the city’s commitment to helping pregnant women and young mothers.

Many working women in Japan also report being harassed when they become pregnant.

A health ministry survey last year found that almost 50% of women sent to corporate clients by temp agencies encountered victimisation ranging from dismissal and demotion to unfair treatment and verbal abuse.

The survey found that just over a fifth of full-time employees were also subjected to “maternity harassment”.

Japan performs poorly in international gender equality comparisons. In the World Economic Forum’s 2015 global gender gap index, it ranked 101st out of 145 countries.

If you’re South Asian, take steps now to prevent a heart attack

South Asians are at a much greater risk than Caucasians of developing diabetes and heart conditions.

Sonal moved to Toronto from India several years ago. Lately, she’s noticed some weight gain around her stomach, but her overall weight hasn’t increased much. She hasn’t seen the doctor recently but knows that her blood sugar and cholesterol were a little elevated at the last visit. But she’s not worried, figuring that’s just part of getting older.

Sonal may be surprised to learn she’s on track to have her first heart attack nearly a decade earlier than the average Caucasian — and that South Asians have double the rate of heart attacks overall. As physicians, and the children of South Asian immigrants, these are issues we grapple with both personally and professionally.

Cholesterol and high blood pressure are important risk factors for heart disease in everyone, but research has shown that for South Asians, diabetes plays an especially important role. In South Asians, rates of diabetes are two to five times higher than for Caucasians and the unexpected and alarming part is that South Asians develop these conditions at lower body weights.

There’s a growing recognition in medicine that the Body Mass Index (BMI), the standard way we determine if a patient is obese, doesn’t work as well for South Asians. In fact, BMI likely underestimates risk in South Asians because we tend to gain more fat in our abdomens and have less muscle than Caucasians.

And abdominal fat has been linked to metabolic disturbances that can contribute to diabetes and heart disease. This means that the typical South Asian like Sonal has an elevated risk of health complications, even though her BMI is “normal.”

All of this leads to a situation where South Asians have heart attacks more frequently and at a younger age than Caucasians. One need only walk through the cardiology wards and coronary care units in our hospitals to see the preponderance of patients with South Asian names and faces.

South Asians may have a genetic risk for heart disease and diabetes, but many things still can be done to improve our health. Most importantly, we must recognize our increased risk and take steps towards prevention and treatment.

Groups such as the Canadian Diabetes Association and the South Asian Network Supporting Awareness and Research are trying to improve community awareness and knowledge. For example, the diabetes association provides culturally appropriate dietary advice and sample meal plans for South Asians on its website.

Move more

South Asians are much too sedentary and research suggests we are less active than other ethnic groups.

Our ancestors evolved in environments that demanded a lot of physical activity just to survive, a different world from our increasingly desk-bound jobs and couch-bound evenings. Life in the modern society is easier and more convenient, but this means we must put some effort into making physical activity a part of daily life.

Whether this involves talking walk breaks at work, climbing stairs or making time to go to the gym, pick something fun that can become a habit. Getting and staying fit, both through strength training and aerobic exercise, is an important part of healthy aging and reduces the risk of many diseases.

Eat better

Making our diet healthier can be a challenge, especially as some of the tastiest foods in the South Asian diet are rich in refined carbohydrates and saturated fat.

If you are unsure what to eat, ask your doctor for help finding a dietician who is comfortable with South Asian foods. Keeping weight down through exercise and good food choices is crucial — and don’t be reassured by a “normal” BMI.

See your doctor

Being aware of the symptoms of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease is important, as are regular visits to the doctor for screening for these conditions.

If you have family members who have any of these conditions, be sure to tell your doctor, as that further increases your risk.

Modern medications for conditions such as diabetes are incredibly effective, but research suggests South Asians aren’t as diligent at taking medication compared to other groups. We must improve this.

Canada is home to one of the largest South Asian populations outside of the subcontinent. Improving the health of our community is something we can achieve together.

Dr. Fahad Razak is an internist at St. Michael’s Hospital, a scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. He is an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of Toronto.Dr. Eshan Fernando is a resident in Internal Medicine at the University of Toronto. Doctors’ Notes is a weekly column by members of the U of T faculty of medicine. Email doctorsnotes@thestar.ca .

Heart failure in need of increased services

CLOSER LOOK: Border Heart Specialist Cardiologist Dr Kugan Nadarasa wants to see a specialised clinic on the Border. Picture: ELENOR TEDENBORG

By Ellen Ebsary-Feb. 28, 2016

An Albury cardiologist wants to see a specialised clinic on the Border solely dedicated to heart failure.

Border Heart Specialist’s Doctor Kugan Nadarasa said an increased services was crucial to bringing down rates of hospitalisation.

“The hospital admission rate is very high, they will go again and again – so if we want to cut down the cause we have to prevent admission,” he said.

“If you want to prevent admission, you have to manage them properly before they develop acute heart failure.

“A multi-disciplinary team includes a specialist nurse trained in managing heart failure patients and a specialist looking after the echocardiogram.

“There’s a rehab nurse, a lot of psychology involved with the patients, and dietitians and a exercise physiologist.

“We know that multi-disciplinary team management improves their outcomes.

“There should be a heart failure clinic somewhere that patients can access.”

“We know that in tertiary centres the optimisation of evidence-based is much better compared to regional centres,” he said.

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Dr Nadarasa’s call for better services comes after the NSW Heart Failure Snapshot Study analysing 24 hospitals found important medication was not being used to full potential.

“For heart failure, it’s well established over the last 20 years, medical therapies are important,” Dr Nadarasa said.

“Even though your heart muscle is damaged, there are medications confirmed, as established in prospective studies, that will improve not only symptoms, but also lifespan.

“Topping the list is ARB blockers.

“Ever patient should be on ARBs, but as you can see in the study there are under-utilised.

“It’s not only they should be on them, but they need to be on a maximum dose so that we get maximum benefit.”

Heart Foundation chief executive Kerry Doyle said the study provided evidence to push for better treatment.

“Despite significant advances, prevalence of chronic heart failure remains high and clinical outcomes are poor,” Ms Doyle said.

“With funding from the NSW Cardiovascular Research Network, these findings can be used to develop strategies that are more responsive to improving access and increasing the uptake of evidence-based care.”

Dr Nadarasa said prevention was most important and urged residents to look out for symptoms.

“If you have chest pain, shortness of breath or leg swelling, those are the early signs of significant heart issues and you should go and see your doctor,” he said.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Scientific Contribution:- Ancient Tamils

Mar 01, 2016
Once an interesting true story appeared in a popular English magazine where a fourth generation lady in a family wants to know why the Easter Turkey was always cut in three and cooked where as in all other homes the Easter Turkey was cooked whole. The lady in question goes to her mother, who tells that that was how it was always done in the family, and that she had learnt it from her mother “ then the inquisitive lady goes to her grandmother who also tells her the same story.

Then she goes to her great grandmother where she is told by the great grandmother that cutting the turkey into three was the ONLY way that the turkey was going to fit into the (great grandmother) cooker! Observing this practice, the family had for generations been following the practice of cutting the turkey into three until our inquisitive lady showed up.

See full text of report here

ScientificContributionsAncientamils.pdf-The Ancient Tamil Traditions & Customs.pdf by Thavam Ratna