Friday, December 9, 2016

Sri Lanka’s Anti-Corruption Event Fetes Man Charged With Corruption

December 9, 2016

The man who bribed and attempted to bribe media has been invited as the chief guest of today’s “Abiman Pranama Award of Apparition” by the Anti-corruption Front.

As Colombo Telegraph had exposed, in the context of searching for a “common Candidate” against 2015 Presidential Elections, on October 23rd 2014, the current Speaker and then the UNP Gampaha District Parliamentarian and Chairman of the UNP’s Leadership Council, Karu Jayasuriya, telephoned Colombo Telegraph editor and offered him a monthly payment of Rs 50,000/- ‘in appreciation of the work that Colombo Telegraph does’. The editor politely declined the offer. One week after the aforementioned phone call, Karu Jayasuriya had been given a lot of prominence in several news websites. Colombo Telegraph was therefore compelled to ask Karu Jayasuriya whether or not he had made a similar offer to those who run these websites ‘in appreciation of the work they do’ or for any other reason. He had never answered our queries. Media outlets even carried so-called online option polls and concluded that Jayasuriya was more popular than the UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.

At today’s event, which celebrated “the UN International Anti-corruption Day,” the speaker Karu Jayasuriya was the chief guest and presented award of “Abiman Pranama Award of Appreciation ‘ to Lalith Ambanwel, Lasntha Ruhunage and Prasanna Vithange.

Speeking at the event President Sirisensa’s coordinating secretary Shiral Lakthilaka said that the politicians who were invited to this function were “දූශනයට රහසින්වත් සම්බන්ද නොවෙන දේශපාලනඥයින් විතරයි ” ( We invited only politicians who would not entertain corruption even in secret)

When asked who funded the event and how much was spent on it, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, an Advisor of the Anti-corruption Front said he did not know but promised to reveal sources and amounts tomorrow.

anti-corrution-day-2016-karu-champika-ambanwela

The theme for 2016 is “United against corruption for development, peace and security.”

Every year $1 trillion is paid in bribes while an estimated $2.6 trillion are stolen annually through corruption – a sum equivalent to more than 5 per cent of the global GDP. In developing countries, according to the United Nations Development Programme, funds lost to corruption are estimated at 10 times the amount of official development assistance.

Corruption is a serious crime that can undermine social and economic development in all societies. No country, region or community is immune. This year UNODC and UNDP have developed a joint global campaign, focusing on how corruption affects education, health, justice, democracy, prosperity and development.

The 2016 joint international campaign focuses on corruption as one of the biggest impediments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“On International Anti-corruption Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to ending the deceit and dishonesty that threaten the 2030 Agenda and our efforts to achieve peace and prosperity for all on a healthy planet.” said UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

December 9, 2016 by

The stock of cocaine seized from Colombo Harbour is said to be the biggest such stock seized in South Asia say police.

The market value of the stock of 800 kilograms of cocaine seized from Colombo Harbour is about Rs.12000 million stated DIG Ajith Rohana at a press conference held at Police Headquarters.

The chip containing the stock of cocaine has sailed from Ecuador to Belgium, Saudi Arabia and had reached Colombo Harbour yesterday (8th) on its way to India.

When Police Narcotics Bureau received information regarding the stock of cocaine the containers were searched on a warrant received from Court. The stock of cocaine was found hidden in a container of teak timber.

Japanese vehicle carrier, crew held at H’tota port

Protest against Sri Lanka-China joint venture takes ugly turn

By Shamindra Ferdinando-December 9, 2016, 12:00 pm

Hambantota port workers held a Japanese vehicle carrier Hyperion Highway and its crew for four days in protest against the proposed agreement between the government and state owned China Merchants Port Holdings Company Ltd to operate the port as a public-private partnership.

Hyperion Highway is one of the largest vehicle carriers in the world.

Ship’s owner Kawasaki Kisen Kiasha has sought immediate intervention of their local agents ABC Shipping to secure the vessel’s release along with its crew. Twenty five member crew comprised Bulgarians and Filipinos.

A senior ABC spokesperson told The Island that the government had been briefed on what he called an extremely volatile situation. "We are deeply concerned about the unexpected crisis involving Japanese K line vessel."

Both President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe have been briefed on the situation, the spokesman said.

Trouble erupted in the wake of a framework agreement outlining the understanding between Sri Lanka and Chinese State owned Corporate, China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited to revitalise the Hambantota Port as a PPP.

Government sources told The Island that the agreement had been executed in accordance with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers.

"A Concession Agreement would be executed upon completion of a due diligence to be performed by the China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited."

Workers have demanded that they be absorved by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) as part of the administrative arrangement with the Chinese. At the moment, Hambantota workers operate independently. They said that their employment would be in jeopardy if Hambantota port was brought under Chinese management.

Another senior employee with the local agents told The Island that they were suffering losses amounting to USD 70,000 a day due to the ship not being able to leave as previously scheduled. Having arrived on the night of Dec 5, the vessel had berthed on Dec 6, the ABC official said, adding that they never expected workers to seize the vessel.

Development Strategy and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema said that the government had no alternative but to set up a joint

venture with the Chinese. "Our objective is to make the Hambantota port an income generating enterprise retaining its ownership and leasing it on a 99-year lease agreement."

Due to the failure on the part of the local agents, Hambantota port management and striking workers to settle the dispute, Ports and Shipping Minister Arjuna Ranatunga visited the Hambantota port on Thursday. Minister Ranatunga hadn’t been successful in his attempt to resolve the issue, sources said, adding that the government had been reluctant to use force to take control of the port.

Although, both police and the navy had been alerted, the government continued to negotiate with striking workers.

Wartime Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday told The Island that seizure of a foreign vessel under whatever circumstances was a very serious matter. Bogollagama said that the incident at Hambantota port couldn’t have taken place at a worse time and certain to dent investor confidence.

Both Japanese and Chinese embassies in Colombo have been closely monitoring the situation.

Sources in Hambantota said that port workers had piled up a mountain of sand on the road leading to the port in a bid to thwart navy vehicles moving in. Responding to another query, sources said that the vessel had been scheduled to pick up some transhipment cargo (vehicles) from India to be taken to Sohar, Oman.

Shipping sources told The Island that the crisis at the Hambantota port would have a debilitating impact on the industry. They said that whatever their grievances, preventing a vessel’s departure wasn’t acceptable. Sources said that law enforcement and military authorities responded cautiously due to uncertain situation thereby delaying tangible measures to end the siege on the vessel.

Sources said that the owners had expressed their serious concerns to local agents in the strongest possible terms.

Some workers have threatened to jump to sea in case the navy intervened. Sources said that two dinghy loads of navy personnel approaching the vessel had turned back after workers threatened to jump into water, sources said.

Karannagoda plots to corner Welagedara!

Dec 09, 2016

A plot is underway to hunt down Lt. Commander Krishantha Welagedara, who has given evidence before courts to the effect that the then Navy commander Wasantha Karannagoda had knowledge about the abduction of six Tamil schoolboys from Colombo, their detention at the Trincomalee Navy camp, extortion of their parents and their subsequent murders during 2007-2008.

Karannagoda has influenced the defence secretary and got a court of inquiry appointed against Welagedara. The court of inquiry ordered Welagedara to appear before it on December 06 for an inquiry. The accusation against him is that he has revealed in courts details of internal affairs of the Navy without proper permission.

His lawyers say this court of inquiry is completely against the law. Based on the evidence given by Welagedara after turning state witness, the ex-Navy chief was summoned to the CID in October and a statement recorded. According to the legal principle that the criminal law supersedes any other law, it is totally against the law to conduct any other inquiry while a court is hearing a case under criminal law. But, disregarding that principle, Karannagoda has influenced the defence secretary to appoint this court of inquiry, which amounts to contempt of court. That is because, as per provisions in the victim and witness protection act, witnesses should necessarily be given due protection. Accordingly, Welagedara should be given immediate protection by courts, CID and the attorney general. Their failure to do so will be a bad precedence for many other criminal cases presently pending before courts, legal experts say.

200 legal scholars back right to boycott Israel

Palestinians say landmark statement by 200 European legal scholars will help protect against the repression of activists calling for boycott of Israel.Ryan Rodrick BeilerActiveStills

Ali Abunimah-8 December 2016

More than 200 European legal scholars have signed a statement affirming that the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality represents “a lawful exercise of freedom of expression.”

The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) is welcoming the statement as “a major blow to Israel’s repressive legal war” against the movement.

“This momentous statement by European jurists not only vindicates BDS human rights defenders who have insisted that BDS is protected free speech,” said the BNC’s Europe campaigns coordinator Riya Hassan. “It will undoubtedly add a crucial layer of legal protection for European BDS networks and citizens in their efforts to end European complicity in Israel’s regime of oppression, especially in military trade and research, banking and corporate involvement in Israel’s violations of international law.”

The BNC notes that the signatories include world-renowned legal figures, including South African jurist John Dugard, who serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice in The Hague; José Antonio Martín Pallín, an emeritus justice of Spain’s supreme court; British human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield; Lauri Hannikainen, member of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and Géraud de la Pradelle, who led the civic inquiry into the involvement of France in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

No exception for Israel

While the jurists do not take a position for or against BDS, they say that “states that outlaw BDS are undermining this basic human right and threatening the credibility of human rights by exempting a particular state from the advocacy of peaceful measures designed to achieve its compliance with international law.”

They point to France, the United Kingdom, Canada and various US states, where legislatures and executives “have adopted laws and taken executive action to suppress, outlaw and in some instances, criminalize the advocacy of BDS.”

By contrast, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, the European Union and even the US State Department have all recently affirmed that advocating for BDS is a protected right.

“States and organizations that view BDS as a lawful exercise of freedom of expression are correct,” the legal scholars say. “Whether one approves of the aims or methods of BDS is not the issue. The issue is whether in order to protect Israel an exception is to be made to the freedom of expression that occupies a central and pivotal place among fundamental human rights.”

“Defining moment”

“The right of citizens to advocate for BDS is part and parcel of the fundamental freedoms protected by the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights,” signatory Robert Kolb, a professor of international law at the University of Geneva and a former legal adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss foreign ministry, said in a statement from the BNC.

“No government ever attempted to outlaw or criminalize the anti-apartheid movement for advocating boycott, disinvestment or sanctions to compel South Africa to abandon its racist policies,” Dugard said. “BDS should be seen as a similar movement and treated accordingly.”

The legal scholars join hundreds of European human rights organizations and civil society groups that have called on governments to end repression of Palestine solidarity activism.

Speaking on behalf of the BNC, Ingrid Jaradat welcomed the statement as “a defining moment in the struggle against Israel’s patently repressive legal war on the BDS movement for Palestinian rights.”

Aleppo back under air attack as UN warns of missing civilians

Activist group says bombs have begun falling again in rebel areas, hours after Russia announced humanitarian pause

Syrian army fighter with civilians in Aziza on southwest of Aleppo (AFP)

Friday 9 December 2016

Syria's government resumed air strikes on remaining rebel-held territory in east Aleppo on Friday, a day after regime ally Moscow announced a "pause" in the assault, an activist group has said.

The apparent resumption came hours after Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said on Thursday that Syria's army was halting its three-week operation to recapture east Aleppo in order to allow the evacuation of civilians.

In the hours after the announcement, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and an AFP correspondent in east Aleppo said air strikes had halted, through heavy artillery fire continued.

But on Friday afternoon, the Observatory said the government's air raids had resumed, targeting several of the few districts in the east still held by the rebels.

There were no immediate details of casualties.

Lavrov on Friday specified that military activities in the Aleppo region were halted on December 8 only for a specific period of time in order to allow civilians to leave the city.

"I never said that military activities have been stopped completely. I just said that they were halted yesterday for a specific period of time in order to provide civilians with an opportunity to leave," Lavrov said, according to TASS.

"After these humanitarian pauses, military operations will go on until eastern Aleppo is liberated from militants."

Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation on 15 November.

Meanwhile, the UN human rights office said on Friday that hundreds of men may have gone missing after fleeing eastern Aleppo into government-controlled parts of the city.

"While it's very difficult to establish the facts in such a fluid and dangerous situation, we have received very worrying allegations that hundreds of men have gone missing after crossing into government-controlled areas," rights office spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.

"Given the terrible record of arbitrary detention, torture and disappearances, we are of course deeply concerned."

He added that there were around 150 activists inside east Aleppo who feared being detained by government forces if they attempt to leave.

The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted by a strong majority a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Syria and urgent deliveries of life-saving aid.

The measure, drafted by Canada, passed by a vote of 122 to 13 in the 193-nation assembly, with 36 abstentions. Russia has blocked all Security Council resolutions calling for the same.

MEE sources inside east Aleppo disputed that hostilities had ever stopped and said fighting was continuing inside the city. Footage has emerged of what is alleged to be a chemical weapons attack on Thursday:

Colville also warned that rebel forces were preventing civilians from fleeing besieged eastern Aleppo.

"Some of the civilians who are attempting to flee are reportedly being blocked by armed opposition groups," Colville said.

He said the civilians were being "used as pawns" by armed groups in the area.

Allegations that rebel forces in eastern Aleppo were preventing civilians from leaving the enclave have surfaced a number of times during the conflict - in July, after the negotiation of humanitarian corridors, governor of Aleppo province Mohammad Marwan Olabi claimed that the rebels were preventing civilians from leaving.

Sources close to Middle East Eye also confirmed that civilians were being prevented from leaving, with one activist suggesting that it would be seen as "surrender" if civilians were allowed to leave. He added, however, that medical evacuations were being allowed to leave and pointed out that government forces were blocking two crossings into west Aleppo.

'Wait and see'

The US had said it would "wait and see" if the the Russian statement on the cessation of hostilities was genuine.

"Our approach from the beginning has been to listen carefully to what the Russians say but scrutinise their actions," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

"So obviously that statement is an indication that something positive could happen, but we're going to have to wait and see whether those statements are reflected on the ground."

The State Department, meanwhile, said that Lavrov had agreed with his US counterpart John Kerry to "continue discussions about establishing a framework for a ceasefire that will allow the delivery of aid, as well as the safe departure of those who wish to leave the city".

The Russian claims came hours after the Red Cross said it had managed to evacuate almost 150 civilians, most of whom were disabled or in urgent need of care, from a hospital in the Old City of Aleppo where fighting had raged for days.

The evacuations were conducted with the help of members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.

Dar al-Safaa, originally a home for the elderly whose role expanded because of the crisis, had been accommodating patients with mental health needs or physical disabilities.

Three dozen other civilians, a number of them injured, had also sought refuge there.

Entering the Old City of #Aleppoyesterday to evacuate people. Ruins lined the narrow streets, making it nearly impossible to get through. pic.twitter.com/UEH2hJkrey

— ICRC Syria (@ICRC_sy) December 8, 2016

“These patients and civilians had been trapped in the area for days because of heavy clashes nearby and as the front line kept drawing closer,” said the Red Cross's head in Syria, Marianne Gasser, who is currently in Aleppo.

“Many of them cannot move and need special attention and care. It must have been terrifying for them. Our partners from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent had been trying to reach and evacuate them since Tuesday.”

IS advance towards Palmyra

Meanwhile, the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria attacked the Syrian army near the city of Palmyra on Thursday, killing dozens of soldiers and advancing to within 4km of the city, the Observatory said.

The Syrian army, backed by Russian jets, recaptured Palmyra, the site of a Roman-era city and spectacular ruins, from IS in March after the group seized it in May 2015.

On Thursday, militants gained control over Qasr al-Halabat, southwest of Palmyra; Jabal Hayan, to the west; South Sawamea to the northeast and the Hawaisis region to the northwest.

At least 34 Syrian soldiers were killed, including at least eight officers, and there were also deaths on the IS side, the Observatory said.

IS has been on its back foot in both Syria and Iraq since late last year, losing much of its territory in both countries, as some of its most senior figures have been killed in air strikes.

Philippines: Murder, kidnap complaints filed against Duterte, 27 others

Matobato during his September testimony at the Senate hearing in the Philippines. Pic: AP.

9th December 2016

SELF-confessed former assassin Edgar Matobato on Friday filed criminal and administrative complaints against Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte over alleged vigilante-style killings in Davao City, where the latter used to be mayor.

The complaints, filed through Matobato’s lawyer Jude Sabio before the Office of the Ombudsman, also names Davao vice mayor Paolo Duterte, Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa and 25 members of the so-called Davao Death Squad (DDS).

Local reports say Matobato accused the president of violating laws on murder, kidnap, torture and crimes against humanity.

Rappler in its report quoted Matobato as saying that the complaint was filed to seek “justice” for the alleged victims of the DDS, the so-called team of assassins that Duterte had purportedly used to summarily execute enemies and suspected criminals. It was said to target robbers, rapists and other suspects in Davao City, and was supposedly formed during the Duterte’s time as city mayor.

A page from Matobato’s affidavit filed Friday. Source: Rappler

In his affidavit, Matobato alleged that the squad was responsible for over a thousand murders in Davao City between 1988 and September 2013, which was when he left the group.

“Mayor Duterte is the leader of the DDS. The Lambada Boys’ code name for him is ‘Charlie Mike’ or ‘Harry/Hari’. Nearly all operations have to be cleared with Duterte,” Rappler quoted Matobato as saying in the affidavit.

According to Matobato’s previous claims, the Lambada Boys were the precursor to the DDS.

SEE ALSO: Duterte ordered critic, rival supporters killed, mosque bombed, Senate told

Again in the affidavit, Matobato accused the president of complicity in the killings carried out by the DDS, saying: “He ordered the killings.”

The 57-year-old Matobato first made headlines in September when he told a Senate hearing on extrajudicial killings that he had killed more than 50 people as a member of the DDS.

He also alleged then that Duterte had been behind the killings, claiming the president who was mayor at the time had ordered the group to pursue his rival supporters, bomb a mosque and kill Muslims, as well as set up an ambush for Senator Leila de Lima when she ordered a probe on the string of murders. De Lima is one of Duterte’s fiercest critics.

After his Senate testimony, De Lima and the rest of the Senate’s justice committee that was leading the hearing, were removed from the panel.

Among others, De Lima was accused of bias as well as complicity in the country’s drug trade, with Duterte’s supporters pointing out that Matobato had been presented to the hearing as her witness.

Duterte is currently facing international heat for his war on drugs, which has so far claimed the lives of over 5,000 suspected drug pushers, users and dealers, while hundreds of thousands more have surrendered voluntarily.

Despite his unorthodox and oftentimes violent methods, the tough-talking leader enjoys good support from his countrymen. An opinion poll by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) released recently said that the majority of Filipinos were satisfied with Duterte’s performance so far, giving the president a “very good” net performance rating of +64 percent.

SEE ALSO: Philippines: Wikileaks cable shows Duterte ‘admitted complicity’ in Davao murders

The score puts him above many of his predecessors, and second highest of all the presidents who served after the EDSA revolution in 1986.

This is what happens when Donald Trump attacks a private citizen on Twitter

At a bipartisan convention on Oct. 12, 2015, Donald Trump fielded a question from impassioned college student Lauren Batchelder about women's rights and equal pay. (No Labels Problem Solver Convention)

By Jenna Johnson December 8 at 8:21 PM

About a year ago, 18-year-old college student Lauren Batchelder stood up at a political forum in New Hampshire and told Donald Trump that she didn’t think he was “a friend to women.”

The next morning, Trump fired back on Twitter — calling Batchelder an “arrogant young woman” and accusing her of being a “plant” from a rival campaign. Her phone began ringing with callers leaving threatening messages that were often sexual in nature. Her Facebook and email inboxes filled with similar messages. As her addresses circulated on social media and her photo flashed on the news, she fled home to hide.

“I didn’t really know what anyone was going to do,” said Batchelder, now 19, who has never discussed her experience with a reporter until now. “He was only going to tweet about it and that was it, but I didn’t really know what his supporters were going to do, and that to me was the scariest part.”

This is what happens when Trump targets a private citizen who publicly challenges him.

When Trump tweeted about Batchelder in October 2015, he had fewer than 5 million followers; he now has more than 17 million and has bragged that having a Twitter account is “like owning the New York Times without the losses.” Twitter has become Trump’s cyber-magic wand, allowing him to quickly act on a fleeting idea, a fit of anger or something he sees on television. Now that he is the president-elect, the power of Trump’s tweets has only increased.

With one tweet, Trump can change headlines on cable news, move financial markets or cause world leaders to worry. With one tweet last week, Trump inflamed a conflict with China. With another tweet on Tuesday, Trump caused Boeing stock to plummet. With a third on Wednesday night, Trump prompted a series of threatening calls to the home of a union leader who had called him a liar.

[I’m the union leader Donald Trump attacked. I’m tired of being to lied to about our jobs.]

Although Trump said months ago that he was likely to give up Twitter if elected, he has shown little sign of doing so. He will soon inherit the @POTUS account, which has 12.5 million followers.

“I think I am very restrained, and I talk about important things,” Trump said during an interview with the “Today” show this week. “Frankly, it’s a modern-day form of communication. . . . I get it out much faster than a press release. I get it out much more honestly than dealing with . . . dishonest reporters. So many reporters are dishonest.”

For Batchelder, who studies history and gender studies at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H, the abuse continues more than a year later. Five days before the election, she received a Facebook message that read: “Wishing I could f---ing punch you in the face. id then proceed to stomp your head on the curb and urinate in your bloodied mouth and i know where you live, so watch your f---ing back punk.”

During her first semester at Saint Anselm in fall 2015, Batchelder decided to volunteer for former Florida governor Jeb Bush’s campaign, even though her views were much more liberal than his. To her, it was just an enjoyable opportunity to learn more about the Republican Party. She listed the volunteer position on her online résumé but later realized that she truly is a Democrat.

On Oct. 12, 2015, Batchelder attended a bipartisan forum in Manchester and said to Trump: “So, maybe I’m wrong, maybe you can prove me wrong, but I don’t think you’re a friend to women.”

The president-elect saluted workers at a plant where he says he saved more than 1,000 jobs, then went to Ohio.

Trump defended himself, saying he gave women positions of power at his construction sites, has influential women in his life and will fund women’s health initiatives.

“I love women, I respect women, I cherish women,” Trump said at one point.

Batchelder asked for the microphone again.

“I want to get paid the same as a man, and I think you understand that, so if you become president, will a woman make the same as a man, and do I get to choose what I do with my body?” she said, then threw her arms up in a questioning gesture.

Trump answered curtly: “You’re going to make the same if you do as good of a job, and I happen to be pro-life, okay?”

[The art of punching down: How Trump fights back]

CNN and other media outlets covered the striking exchange, which generated conversation online. But Batchelder went to bed that night thinking her moment in the spotlight was over.

After midnight, Trump’s director of social media tweeted out screengrabs of Batchelder’s social-media accounts. Trump’s supporters launched investigations of their own. At 7:39 a.m., Trump tweeted: “The arrogant young woman who questioned me in such a nasty fashion at No Labels yesterday was a Jeb staffer! HOW CAN HE BEAT RUSSIA & CHINA?”

Later that morning, Trump tweeted again: “How can Jeb Bush expect to deal with China, Russia + Iran if he gets caught doing a ‘plant’ during my speech yesterday in NH?”

Tim Miller, Bush’s former spokesman, said the campaign had nothing to do with Batchelder’s asking the question. While the staff was accustomed to Trump’s attacking Bush, they were stunned that he went after a college student.

“If I was going to plant a question, I would have planted a better question,” Miller said Thursday.

Batchelder agreed: “Why would they ever send me out to do a pro-choice question? Guys, [Bush] is pro-life, which was one of my biggest problems with the Republican Party. And so I was like: ‘Why would they ever send me to do that?’”

Logic doesn’t matter to online trolls, who rated Batchelder’s physical appearance, threatened to rape or otherwise hurt her and called her vulgar names. A photoshopped picture popped up online depicting her face covered in semen.

“I love social media, but I also saw the terrible side of social media,” she said. “I definitely tried to focus on something else because when you’re seeing your life being played out in front of you and people are judging it and people are making assumptions about you, you kind of just want to stay away.”

[In one tweet, Trump trashes two constitutional amendments]

Batchelder turned down interview requests, ignored the nasty messages and threw herself into playing rugby. She became even more interested in women’s issues and wants to be a human rights lawyer. She voted for Hillary Clinton for president.

Trump’s Twitter account says it was created in March 2009, but Trump really started to use the account as a key communication tool in 2012 when he seriously considered running for president, said longtime friend Roger Stone.

“He loves it,” Stone said Thursday. “This is what got him elected — being outspoken.”

Trump dictates many of his tweets to “one of the young ladies” who work in his office.

“So they’ll type it out for me, real fast, bring it in — I’ll be in a meeting. ‘Blah, blah, blah, boom!’ Put an exclamation point here, and they’ll send it out,” Trump said in a May interview on Fox News.

But on weekends, evenings and during early-morning hours — such as when the first tweet about Batchelder was posted — Trump says he writes and sends his own tweets. The messages will often come seconds or minutes after the topic is covered on a major news network. Melania Trump said during an April town hall with CNN’s Anderson Cooper that she has repeatedly told her husband to get off Twitter, especially after midnight.

“Anderson, if he would only listen,” she said. “I did many times. And I just say: ‘Okay, do whatever you want.’ He’s an adult. He knows the consequences.”

Batchelder hopes that Trump stops targeting people on Twitter, especially people such as she who are not public figures, and uses Twitter as President Obama has. She realizes that speaking out is likely to spark another wave of abuse, but she thinks it’s important for people to realize the harm that a single tweet can cause.

“Twitter is such a powerful platform. He can make a difference. He can change the world,” she said. “And, using Twitter, I think he should use it for good. I think he should use it to uplift others.”

India’s Rebuff to China on Arunachal Pradesh

In a typical arrogant tone that China is now known for, China has given unsolicited advice to India not to” complicate the boundary question”. China’s foreign ministry’s spokesman said with an air of false innocence that “we should ensure peace and stability of border areas and sound and steady development of bilateral relations serves the common interests of the two sides”

by N.S.Venkataraman-Dec 9, 2016

( December 9, 2016, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) The spiritual leader of Tibet His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje visited Arunachal Pradesh which is north eastern state of India, a few days back,. He was accompanied by a minister of Government of India, obviously indicating that the government of India recognizes and respects the position of 17^th Karmapa and his importance.

Unjustified objection

China, which is now known for maintaining abrasive relationship and over bearing attitude towards several of it’s neighbours, objected to the visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader to Arunachal Pradesh, as China claims that Arunachal Pradesh is part of China.

China’s false claims :

As in the case of China’s claims in other regions such as South China Sea and Senkaku island, China unjustifiably and unilaterally claims that Arunachal Pradesh in India is southern part of Tibet and belongs to it.

India has repeatedly rejected China’s claims on Arunachal Pradesh and conveyed it’s protest on various occasions but China has persisted with it’s claim that Arunachal Pradesh is part of Tibet. This is totally unacceptable, since Arunachal Pradesh has been part of India ever since India’s independence and much before that and has not been part of Tibet.

In any case, China itself has occupied Tibet forcibly, driving many Tibetans out of Tibet and making them seek asylum in other countries and living as refugees for several decades now. The world conscience is disturbed that violence and force appear to have won as China has been occupying Tibet and it’s aggression has appeared to have paid dividend to it. Apart from the fact that China itself is a occupier of Tibet , it’s claim that Arunachal Pradesh is also a part of Tibet amounts to adding insult to injury.

Massive reception to the Karmapa

His Holiness the 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh was the first to the area in the past 900 years, since the third Karmapa visited it. During his first visit to Arunachal Pradesh , he toured West Kameng district and preached to the Tibetans at Gyuto Monastery at Tenzingang before leaving for Kalaktang. Massive reception was accorded to the 17^th Karmapa and he spoke about the need for love and compassion.

Unsolicited advice from China :

“Superiority complex”

In the last few decades, it appears that China has developed sort of “superiority complex” in dealing with it’s neighbours and it is giving an impression that it thinks that due to its massive size, population and economy, the neighbouring countries have no alternative other than bowing to the dictates of China and succumbing to it’s pressure.

China’s occupation of Tibet several decades back and many countries meekly accepting China’s aggression in Tibet as a fact of life , appears to have given China confidence that it can have it’s way everywhere and at all times.Such attitude of China has already sent alarming signal amongst it’s neighbours, who have started thinking that some concerted efforts have to be made to put China in it’s place, so that China would deal with them in an appropriate manner. One only hopes that China would read the signal properly and reshape it’s policies which appear to be expansionism in style and substance.

Can be a turning point :

Modi government should be congratulated for standing up to China and permitting the visit of 17^th Karmapa to Arunachal Pradesh and also sending a minister to accompany 17^th Karmapa. This is a bold attempt by government of India to call the bluff of China and emphatically rejecting it’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh.

India’s rebuff to China by encouraging the visit of 17^th Karmapa to Arunachal Pradesh can be a turning point.

Muhammad Yunus: Bangladesh probes Nobel laureate's tax

David Bergman-DEC 7, 2016

Dhaka, Bangladesh - Authorities have launched a new investigation into the financial affairs of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, his family, and the micro-credit agency Grameen Bank which he founded.

Last week, the Central Investigation Cell of the National Bureau of Revenue sent notices to banks in Bangladesh requiring them to provide information within seven days about any accounts, loans, or other financial instruments held in the past seven years either by Yunus, his wife, the Yunus family trust, or Grameen Bank.

The notices, seen by Al Jazeera, were sent out a week after a tax commissioner had written to Yunus informing him that the NBR had also decided to audit the Nobel laureate's personal tax return for the current financial year, and asking for documentation to "verify" his income and expenditure.

Sabbir Osmani, media spokesperson for the Yunus Centre, said Yunus was "not in a position to comment" on the NBR notices sent to the banks.

In relation to the information sought about Yunus's own tax return, Osmani said at the time Yunus had lodged it he provided all the information now requested by tax authorities.

"Professor Yunus has always provided all information related to his taxes in a timely manner," Osmani said.

It was not the first time the NBR has shown an interest in Yunus' financial affairs.

In 2015, NBR filed a court case against Yunus for allegedly failing to pay $1.5m in tax - an allegation the Nobel Peace Prize winner called "baseless". The case was subsequently stayed by the High Court.

The latest inquiry is seen by some observers as a possible new step in the ruling Awami League party's ongoing feud with Yunus, which was initially triggered by his attempt in 2007 to establish a rival political party.

"The NBR has jurisdiction to make these kind of inquiries and if they are done to see if there is any tax evasion or irregularity, that is a good practice," said Dr Iftekharuzzaman, head of the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency International.

Bangladesh Grameen Bank customers fear government takeover

"But if it is politically motivated, to victimise a person, then it is a cause of concern. In the case of Yunus, his taxes have reportedly already been scrutinised in earlier years, including investigations into his accounts and those of Grameen Bank. And if this new inquiry is related to anything other than tax, then it is a matter of apprehension."

The campaign against the lauded economist started six years ago in November 2010, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina claimed Yunus was "sucking blood from the poor in the name of poverty alleviation".

In the following years, government authorities removed Yunus as managing director of Grameen Bank, filed a criminal case against him for food adulteration, and initiated investigations into the bank and its sister companies.

The prime minister has also accused him of lobbying the World Bank to stop its $3bn financing of the Padma bridge, and this year said "the conspirators" seeking to block the grant "will be prosecuted".

The prime minister's media adviser, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, denied that the new NBR inquiries involved any kind of harassment.

"These letters are just a question of a financial institution getting financial information which can happen to any citizen, including ministers and businessman," Chowdhury said.

"I do not think that this should be treated as new form of harassment. Yunus is a respected person and the government has not filed any case against him, and there is no question of harassment by the government."

The NBR letters were sent a couple of weeks after US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, a strong supporter of Yunus when she was secretary of state, lost the US election.

In a letter to president-elect Donald Trump, the Bangladeshi prime minister said he had shown "extraordinary leadership [in] serving the American people and also the global humanity".