Is the Ship of State listing to Port?

Friday, 16 December 2016

SHIPWRECK? – Between the Scylla of statesmanship turned sour and the Charybdis of allegations of corruption and politicisation, the ship of state is floundering in troubled waters. But it doesn’t have to end in tears; for those helmsmen once seemingly committed to sailing perilous seas under the steam of principle rather than the sails of pragmatism can still take the rudder before the vessel founders – leagues short of its destination, fathoms beneath its enterprising potential

I thought the war was over. But military matters are much in evidence seven years after the last battle’s last barrage ended with a bullet-ridden body beside a bloody lagoon.

Is the Ship of State listing to Port.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Patients seeking hospital admission be wary -Padeniyas who betray fledgling doctors on the prowl !

(Lanka-e-News -16.Dec.2016, 11.00PM)  This a story revolving around  the brainwashing by ‘Padeniyas’ and the weakness of the administration .It is a pity that the students of all the medical faculties in Sri Lanka fall prey to the Doctor Mafia of Padeniyas from the beginning of their medical studies .

To the medical students he  is ‘Padeniya Sir.’ Though they address him as  sir, many of these students do not know to say what syllabus he teaches and follows . During the GMOA elections , the students do all the sordid biddings of Padeniyas from publishing posters , releasing videos of Padeniyas in the face book to counting of the votes. This is because the ‘disciples’ are brainwashed systematically and insidiously  by the Padeniyas.

At the end of  the medical course  of every medical student he /she has to undergo an internship. This is the most difficult period  of the lives of  these students which  consumes  their whole  time even without a weekend vacation or a holiday  .18 hours of the day they have to remain in the wards , and every other day they have  to spend their night in the ward. This is a period when the students have to face all the trials including getting scolded from  senior doctors, enduring   nurses’ indifference etc. In fact this period of suffering is almost life  in hell to these students.

The lodging facilities , food , transport and even basic security of these doctors who are appointed as interns are neglected by the hospital administration  . It is the fairer sex among the interns who face the greatest hardships. They are denied even the basic labor law rights   . Yet  these are lapses which have been ignored by self seeking  selfish Padeniyas  over a long period and not   over a period of a day or two.

In the wards , often it is just a single male or female intern (doctor) who does  the ward rounds  in the night. The other ‘big’ doctors and registrars do not even visit, and a novice  who has no experience has to shoulder the entire responsibility in respect of the patients. Even what duties a  registrar has to discharge  in those wards are  all looked after by the intern or novice  alias H.O. 

Very often we have heard of patients dying  when their illness takes a turn for the worse because of the inept  medical treatment given by inexperienced H.Os. It is an open secret among doctors that during the early internship of the doctors , that is every year ,in November , December and January , the death rate of patients in hospitals is on the increase  .The main reason for this is the medical  treatment  given by inexperienced doctors. Though this does not apply to all hospitals , it  is because  the administration  and management of the patients is not adequate . This lapse  directly puts in peril the lives of the patients. 

The Padeniyas who parade as heroes promoting  trade union  rights are deaf and blind to all these lapses like newly  born kittens .  Padeniyas after fastening all these responsibilities on the new doctors , wash their hands of those tasks so much so they are not only deaf and blind but also heartless. Some doctors who cannot adjust  themselves to face these acute  sufferings have  even contemplated suicide , while the ignoble Padeniyas are behaving like brutes and beasts but  professing to be  practitioners of the noble profession.  This deplorable situation in hospitals with reports of patients dying due to medical misadventures is now a matter of routine for the doctors. For three days prior to the appointment of interns , what the heartless Padeniyas do is deliver ‘ sermons’ to the interns  while unendingly insisting that ‘ you too must suffer the tribulations we faced.’ This is their  warped mentality. No wonder the new doctors owing to the uncivilized  conduct and heartless nature of Padeniyas , decide to leave the country having got   disgusted of government hospitals. 

This is a most pathetic situation of which the sole architect are the Padeniyas.

The Padeniyas  who belong to a most noble profession  should be ashamed to demand perks and privileges from the government while at the same time  placing the lives of innocent  patients in jeopardy , when  it is their paramount duty to take measures to rectify  the weaknesses and faults of the senior doctors who are members of Padeniya’s association .  

The Padeniyas must accept the blame fully for making the profession in which doctors who were treated like deities to degenerate to this  level . The doctors who were most respected and revered  are  now incurring   the wrath of the people.

We therefore urge every senior doctor of Padeniya’s association, if they are truly acting in the best interests of their ‘disciples’  to cast aside their political agendas which are  courting disaster , and get to the virtuous track as honest dedicated  doctors and set an example .

By a group of fledgling patriotic doctors 

---------------------------
by     (2016-12-16 18:51:12)

Ruwan refutes MR’s accusation over Navy

2016-12-16

State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene today refuted former President Mahinda Rajapakse's accusation that the navy was sent to sabotage the Hambantota protest and it was a deliberate act to tarnish the Navy's image. 

“I completely refute former president Mahinda Rajapakse's accusation,” State Minister Wijewardene said. 

He said that the Navy was deployed to the Hambantota port to secure and release two ships that were held captive by the protesters. The ships were of Japanese and Singaporean origin. “When ships are held captive, that amounts to piracy and the navy has the right to use the appropriate force needed to secure the ships in such a situation,” he said.

 He also said there was a genuine threat of sabotage not only to the two ships but also to the oil tanks situated near the port.

 “The protesters had already damaged the gantry trains, tug boats, pilot boats and generators. The total cost of damages are more than Rs. 15 million, excluding the 400,000 US dollars we have to pay as damages for the ships,” he said.

 “Does the former President want Sri Lanka to be branded as a safe harbour for pirates like in Somalia?" he questioned. The reputation of Sri Lanka was at threat and the Navy's action protected the image of our country. 

“This is all a political game played by the Joint Opposition. These employees were not at any point employed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), but were hired through a manpower company during the time of the former regime. If they are so concerned about these protesters why did they not employ them directly to the SLPA labour force at that time?”

 “Such actions and statements are not only disrespecting the navy but also creating a bad image of Sri Lanka to the rest of the world,” the State Minister added. 

How Did Sajith Premadasa Amass So Much Wealth? Petition Seeks To Clarify

December 17, 2016

A petition against Minister of Housing and Construction and MP of Hambantota Sajith Premadasa‘s accumulated wealth has been finalized to be submitted for investigation by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

Sajith Premadasa

Minister Sajith Premadasa’s recent spending habits and doling of massive amounts in cash donations to temples has raised suspicion as to how he had accumulated such wealth despite being a mere politician. The petition is also been made to investigate those that may gifted monies to Minister Sajith Premadasa over the years.

According to public knowledge his father the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa was a career politician who did not amass wealth prior to his murder on the 1st of May 1993 .

Before entering into politics the former President’s only business dealings were to have sold a traditional sweetmeat as a street vendor called lavaria during his youthful days.

A group of lawyers,retired politicians and concerned citizens have now convened to compile a dossier of information pertaining to the mass of wealth acquired by the current Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa and will be submitted to the Bribery Commission for investigation shortly.

It is still to be established if these monies now lavishly been spent are black monies that belonged to his late father or if they are the ill gotten wealth that Minister Sajth Premadasa has acquired since entering into politics in 1994.

Colombo Telegraph reliably learns that there are many other petitions currently being compiled for submission regarding other politicians currently in service.

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Higher tax on cigarettes yields desired results:CTC admits fag price hike hurts, won’t give money to President’s Fund 

Michael Koest

by Shamindra Ferdinando-December 16, 2016, 12:00 pm 

Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) yesterday said it wouldn’t provide funds to the government outside the current tax regime under any circumstances.

Asked whether the government had sought funds from CTC to the tune of Rs. 500 mn to be utilised by the President’s Fund as envisaged in Budget 2017, Michael Koest, Managing Director and CEO of CTC told The Island that the government hadn’t asked for any such sponsorship; nor would the company part with funds even if such a request was ever made.

Koest took over operations here in March this year.

Acknowledging that there had been an on-going debate over whether the government could obtain the same amount of revenue from CTC by way of a special tax, Koest reiterated that the company would abide by current tax regime.

Finance Minister Karunanayake recently requested the CTC to donate Rs. 500 mn to the Presidential Fund to be utilized by the Presidential Task Force for the anti-smoking campaign. The UNP heavyweight incurred the wrath of the anti-tobacco lobby for seeking CTC support in contravention of Article 13 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). Sri Lanka is one of the key signatories to this convention.

Responding to another query, Koest stressed that the CTC wouldn’t seek the intervention of the British High Commission in Colombo on its behalf, a member of the British-American Group.

Commenting on the status of the local operation in the wake of latest hike in cigarette prices due to enhanced excise duties, VAT as well as gains made by the beedi industry, Koest asserted that there would be a sharp drop in taxes paid by the CTC to the government in 2017. According to him, the CTC estimated taxes to be paid approximately at Rs. 85 bn whereas the government foresaw Rs 122 bn in tax revenue.

Excise tax amounting to Rs 7 and 15 per cent VAT imposed on Oct. 4 and Nov 1, 2016, respectively, on the sale of a cigarette had caused a massive slump in sales According to figures made available by

the CTC, during January-September, 2016, the average monthly sale of cigarettes had been approximately 330 mn. The sales had dropped to 150 mn cigarettes each in October and November though the CTC expected an increase to the tune of 30 mn cigarettes in December.

Finance Minister Karunanayake is on record as having said that revenue would surpass recurrent expenditure from 2017 onwards. He said that it would be a notable shift from the past.

Having considered current situation, the CTC had closed four depots, Koest said, adding that one distributor had gone bankrupt. Depending on the developments, the CTC would decide next course of action, Koest said that a further sharp increase in prices and resultant decline in sales would certainly make the local operation vulnerable to closure.

US accuses SL investor of money laundering

2016-12-16 17

A Sri Lankan investor Rienzi Edwards was charged by the US Justice Department in connection with a fraudulent high-yield investment scheme that resulted in the theft of over $50 million from investors in the United States and around the world, the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.

 Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Edwards and his co-defendants allegedly concocted and carried out an audacious scam, promising investors exponential returns on investments they claimed were overseen by the New York Federal Reserve and backed by the US government. In reality, it was all a lie; there was no government-backed programme and no plan to invest, only an alleged plan to steal the investors’ money.” 

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment: From at least June 2013 through August 2016, Rienzi Edwards, Michael Jacobs, Ruby Handler-Jacobs, F.K. Ho, Lawrence Lester and Rachel Gendreau orchestrated and executed a fraudulent high-yield investment programme known as the “Cities Upliftment Programme,” or CUP, which the defendants falsely told investors was operated by the New York Fed. The scheme was principally designed and operated by Edwards, with the assistance of Jacobs and Handler-Jacobs, and was marketed to investors around the world through brokers, including Ho, Lester, and Gendreau.”

The statement also said that, Michael Jacobs, Handler-Jacobs, Lester and Gendreau were arrested by the US law enforcement authorities. It also said that Edwards and Ho are currently at large. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe. Arraignment is scheduled for December 20, 2016, in federal court in Manhattan. 

“Edwards, 55, of Sri Lanka, Jacobs, 64, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Handler-Jacobs, 64, of Albuquerque, New Mexico are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of conducting monetary transactions in unlawful funds, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of conspiracy to impersonate employees of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years; one count of impersonating employees of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of three years; and aggravated identity theft, which carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.” 

Meanwhile, online edition of our sister paper The Sunday Times quoting Rienzie Edwards said that he rejected accusations against him by the US Justice Department of involvement in swindling investors to the tune of over US$50 million. 

“In the first place, no one has informed me from the US or the US embassy (here) of these charges. Furthermore I am an investment banker and advises clients (from many parts of the world). I don’t make any investments,” he told Times On-line in a telephone response in Colombo.

 Mr. Edwards said he didn’t know the other accused, four of whom have been arrested. 

Accordingly, Rienzie had been previously under investigation in Sri Lanka by the Financial Crimes Investigations Division (FCID).

One year to decide to Investigate removal of Rs.18000 million from CB

December 16, 2016 by

The government has decided to investigate how Rs.18000 million was removed from Central Bank of Sri Lanka before the presidential election says the Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayaka.

The Minister of Finance speaking at a media conference held yesterday (15th) said it has been decided to find out how the money was removed from the bank and how and where it was circulated.
He revealed that the relevant investigations would be carried out by the police and the FCID.
Meanwhile, the COPE report on the bond fraud committed by the former Governor of Central Bank Arjun Mahendran and his son-in-law has been released more than a month ago but so far no action has been taken regarding the recommendations in the report.

No need backup vehicles-President for MPs and Ministers - President

- Dec 16, 2016

At a time where there is ongoing war there is necessity for ministers and Members of parliament to travel accompanied by backup vehicles was lamented by President Maithripala Sirisena..The President had added that it is sufficient to travel in their vehicles with the head lights on..It should also be done without causing inconvenience to the general public.This view had been lamented by him publicly.He had added further that the fine of Rs 25000/ was imposed for drivers of vehicles for not abiding for seven road rules was to cultivate discipline and to avoid accidents.

It was said that from earlier days to date the laws enforced have been broken by Ministers who represent the government.President had added that when the Ministers travel with head lights on with three or more backup vehicles they tend to break many road rules.During such times they tend to break road rules and meet with accidents.

 

Along Galle -Dickwella road how a row of VIP vehicles drove on the 13th instant  are seen in the photograph.The vehicles had been driven breaking the lane rule and the double line markings they had overtaken one another.The numbers of these VIP vehicles were #WPKX5292,#WPCAD0223,#WPGC9714,#NWCAT2929#WPKX2389,#WPCAJ5292

Israel among world’s worst jailers of journalists

Palestinian journalists take part in a protest on 10 September in Hebron, demanding the release of their colleagues from al-Sanabel Radio, who were detained by Israel the previous month.Wisam HashlamounAPA images

Ali Abunimah- 16 December 2016

As of 1 December, there were 259 journalists jailed worldwide, according to the annual census conducted by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) – the highest number on record.

By far the largest group, 81 journalists, are detained in Turkey, followed by China (38) and Egypt (25).

Israel is holding 7 journalists, according to CPJ, which puts it on a par with Syria and Bahrain, just behind Iran (8) and ahead of Saudi Arabia (6).

Among those currently detained is Omar Nazzal, who was arrested by the Israeli military in April at the crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan as he was en route to a meeting of the European Federation of Journalists in Sarajevo.

Since then, Nazzal has been held without charge or trial. “In the weeks before his arrest, Nazzal shared statements on Facebook criticizing Israel’s crackdown on Palestinian media, including the closure of Palestine Today, an Islamic Jihad-affiliated TV channel” that was raided and shut down by the Israeli army in March 2016, according to CPJ.

In November, Israel renewed Nazzal’s administrative detention for another six months.

Imprisoned for reporting

Four of the journalists currently detained by Israel are Ahmad Darawish, Muhammad Imran, Muntasir Nassar and Nidal Amro, who work for al-Sanabel Radio. All were arrested by Israeli forces during night raids on their homes on 31 August in the occupied West Bank village of Dura, near Hebron.

The Israeli military indicted the men for “incitement” – an accusation frequently leveled at Palestinian journalists, social media users and even university professors and poets who express criticism of or report on Israel’s occupation.

According to CPJ, examples of such alleged incitement cited by Israel included live reporting on night raids by the army and playing certain songs.

“No examples of employees using language that directly incited imminent violence are provided in the indictment,” CPJ states, but there were examples of the lyrics of songs aired by al-Sanabel Radio that the Israeli military called “incendiary.”

The two other currently detained journalists named by CPJ are Adib al-Atrash, a writer for the online publication Palestine Post, who has been held without charge since July, and Ali al-Iwiwe, an on-air host for Palestinian Radio 4, arrested from his home in Hebron in October 2015.

“On the evening of al-Iwiwe’s arrest, Radio 4 covered the shooting of Bashar and Hussam al-Jabari, teenage cousins who were killed by the [Israeli army] in Hebron after a soldier was wounded,” CPJ states. “Israeli authorities circulated images showing the bodies of the boys next to knives. Palestinian residents disputed the authenticity of the images, saying the knives had been planted.”

Human rights investigators reported that the two boys had been seeking Israeli soldiers’ help to let them pass through a checkpoint to go home when they were shot dead.

Jailed for attending a conference

CPJ acknowledges that its census is “a snapshot of those incarcerated” on 1 Decem

In June, Palestinian prisoners’ rights group Addameer reported that 21 Palestinian journalists were behind Israeli bars.

Since then a number have been released, including Samah Dweik, who completed nearly six months in prison in September for writing a status and sharing an image on her Facebook page in support of Palestinians who had recently been slain by Israeli forces.

Sami al-Saai, a correspondent for Alfajer TV, was arrested in March and spent 9 months in prison, accused by Israel of “incitement” on Facebook.

Mujahid al-Saadi, a correspondent for Palestine Today TV, was arrested in the West Bank town of Jenin in January 2016. In July, an Israeli military court sentenced him to seven months in prison and a fine of $1,300.

Al-Saadi, who reportedly suffers from multiple health problems, had previously spent a total of five years in Israeli prisons.

But at least one other media worker who remains in Israeli custody is not on CPJ’s list of those currently detained.

Hassan Safadi, 24, was arrested on 1 May while returning to the West Bank from an Arab youth conference in Tunisia, via Jordan. He was harshly interrogated for 40 days.

Safadi is the Arabic media coordinator for Addameer. Colleagues and friends had expected him to be released this month.

But instead, Israeli authorities extended his detention without charge for another six months.

Fear of the truth

In 2014, Israel was the second most lethal country in the world for journalists after Syria. At least 15 media workers were killed during Israel’s assault on Gaza that summer, seven of them while they were on the job.

“You might think that Israel, allegedly the most democratic state in the Middle East, would allow freedom of expression, but its violations of press freedoms are alarming,” Gaza journalist Mohammed Omer, currently in the United States, told The Electronic Intifada. “Attacking journalists and media crews is the act of cowards. No one should fear the truth.”

Palestinian journalists also continue to face harassment or arrest by the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank and Hamas authorities in Gaza.

Among the seven journalists CPJ lists as detained in Syria is blogger Tal al-Mallohi, who was arrested in 2009. In February 2011, she was sentenced to five years in prison by a state security court, allegedly for disclosing state secrets, but was ordered released in October 2013.

Al-Mallohi was never released, however. “It is not clear why al-Mallohi remains in custody despite the court order for her release,” CPJ states. “Her sentence would have expired by early 2016.”

CPJ adds that al-Mallohi’s blog “was devoted to Palestinian rights and was critical of Israeli policies. It also discussed the frustrations of Arab citizens with their governments and what she perceived to be the stagnation of the Arab world.”

PLO chief warns of chaos and extremism if US moves embassy to Jerusalem

Palestine Liberation Organisation's secretary general says Trump's embassador to Israel will destroy the peace process

File photo of the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Saeb Erekat (AFP)

Friday 16 December 2016 

A senior Palestinian official warned US president-elect Donald Trump on Friday that moving the American embassy to Jerusalem would destroy prospects of peace with Israel and push the region into turmoil.

The remarks by the secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Saeb Erekat, came as Israeli officials praised Trump's decision to nominate hardliner David Friedman as envoy to Israel.

The Palestinians regard east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. 

Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv before a final agreement on the conflict "will be the destruction of the peace process," Erekat told journalists.

He also warned of a change in the "longstanding position" of the United States that considers "the settlements as illegal".

"I look David Friedman and Trump in the eye and tell them - if you were to take these steps of moving the embassy and annexing settlements in the West Bank, you are sending this region down the path of something that I call chaos, lawlessness and extremism," he said.

Friedman, a bankruptcy attorney, supports settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, characterised by successive US administrations as an "obstacle to peace" with the Palestinians.

In a Trump transition team statement on Thursday announcing his appointment, Friedman said he wanted to work for peace and looked forward to "doing this from the US embassy in Israel's eternal capital, Jerusalem".

Widespread condemnation

Liberal Jewish-American groups have raised objections over his previously stated positions, including support for Jewish settlement building and advocacy of Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

"If he is confirmed, it will be very hard for Israelis, Palestinians, Arabs, Europeans and others not to conclude ... that the United States is no longer on board with a two-state solution," said Khaled Elgindy, a former adviser to the Palestinian leadership who is now at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.

The Palestinians, however, were not entirely convinced Trump's administration would indeed live up to its election promise of moving the embassy, and allow its ally Israel to move forward with settlement activity.   

Pushed on whether he thought Trump would indeed move the embassy and allow the annexation of West Bank settlements, Erekat said, "I don't think they will do it."

"The United States at the end of the day is a country of institutions, and they are guided by their national interests," he said.

'Great friend of Israel'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his right-wing government welcomed Friedman's nomination on Friday.

A source in Netanyahu's office said the premier was "pleased" with the appointment.

"He knows David Friedman has the full confidence of President-Elect Trump and looks forward to working closely with him," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely called the appointment "good news for Israel", while Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home said that Friedman was "a great friend of Israel".

The left-leaning Israeli daily Haaretz was less welcoming.

"By Israeli standards, Donald Trump's designated Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, is an extreme right-winger," it commented. "He makes Benjamin Netanyahu seem like a left-wing defeatist."

The United States and most UN member states do not recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and the city's status is one of the thorniest issues of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel captured Arab east Jerusalem in the Six Day War of 1967 and subsequently annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

The Yesha council, which represents the more than 400,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, praised the new ambassador-designate.

"Friedman has a deep love for all of the land and people of Israel, including those in Judaea and Samaria," the group's foreign affairs envoy Oded Revivi said in a statement on Friday, using a biblical name for the West Bank.

"His knowledge and wisdom of the issues will strengthen the bridge between our great nations."

Trump may not formally abandon US support for an eventual "two-state solution" but Washington will likely not press its Israeli ally to make difficult concessions to revive the moribund peace process.

Trump's spokesman Jason Miller made clear on Friday that Friedman has the president-elect's full support and that the plan to move the embassy will stand.

Channel 4 News filmmaker among thousands trapped in rebel-held Aleppo

Channel 4 News filmmaker Wa’ad al Kateab, her doctor husband and 11-month-old baby girl are among up to 50,000 people still trapped inside the ever-shrinking enclave of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

16 DEC 2016

Channel 4 News filmmaker Wa’ad al Kateab, her doctor husband and 11-month-old baby girl are among up to 50,000 people still trapped inside the ever-shrinking enclave of rebel-held eastern Aleppo.

They are stuck in Aleppo’s last functioning hospital along with a small handful of other medical staff, a few dozen activists and dozens of injured people who are sprawled across the floor in an extremely perilous state, some said to be slowly dying.

The last convoy that attempted to leave this morning with 400 people in 20 vehicles seems to have passed through a Russian checkpoint before being stopped by Shia militia fighters with tanks.

The accompanying representatives of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were apparently forced to leave. Young men of fighting age were picked out from the convoy, buses were searched and mobile phones, valuables and documents confiscated.

There are unconfirmed reports that up to three of the men pulled from the buses were killed on the spot, and that the pregnant wife of one of those who was killed was dragged away and arrested after putting up “resistance”.

After four hours, the buses were sent back to eastern Aleppo. Since then, no other convoy has left and Russia has declared that all those who wanted to leave have done so, despite thousands who are still awaiting safe passage out. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has called for a resumption of the evacuation.

France’s Ambassador to the United Nations says his country and Germany have called an emergency meeting of the Security Council to consider the situation in Aleppo.

Watch all the reports filmed by Wa’ad al Kateab at InsideAleppo.com

Obama to Moscow: ‘We Can Do Stuff to You’

BY ELIAS GROLL, ROBBIE GRAMER-DECEMBER 16, 2016

President Barack Obama defended his hands-off response to Russian hacking that appears to have influenced the U.S. election in Donald Trump’s favor and reiterated a vague warning first issued Thursday night that Moscow will face U.S. reprisals of some sort for its unprecedented interference in the vote.

“Our goal continues to be to send a clear message to Russia or others not to do this to us, because we can do stuff to you,” Obama said.  “Some of it we do publicly, some of it we will do in a way that they know but not everybody will.”

Obama, speaking in his final year-end press conference, just over a month before Trump’s inauguration, catalogued a litany of administration achievements, from lowering unemployment to boosting the number of people with health insurance. But Friday’s hour-plus news conference served as a painful summary of Obama’s tumultuous final year in office, and was dominated by Russian hacking, the ongoing slaughter in Aleppo, Syria, and rising Chinese belligerence in Asia.

Despite plenty of frustration among Democrats who feel that Russian interference — abetted by a passive administration and an FBI busy investigating old Hillary Clinton emails — cost the former secretary of state the election, Obama defended his actions.

He said that his first concern was to ensure that “the election went off without a hitch,” and that no attacks materialized on voting machines or during the vote count itself. “We allowed law enforcement and the intelligence community to do its job without political influence,” Obama said.

Before he leaves office in January, Obama said his administration will finish a review of the Russian hack, with an eye toward making it harder for other state actors to interfere with U.S. political institutions. But on Friday, Obama remained coy about releasing any of the intelligence that forms the basis of the intelligence community’s assessment, and said that a forthcoming review will try to make public as much information as possible without disclosing “sources and methods.”

Saying “this shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Obama also backed the idea of a bipartisan study into Russian mischief during the campaign.

Trump compared the CIA’s assessment that the Kremlin intervened in the election on his behalf to misleading claims in the run up to the 2003 Iraq War. Obama on Friday reiterated the intelligence community’s “high confidence” in their conclusions of Russian involvement, and fingered the Russian president by name.

“This happened at the highest levels of the Russian government,” Obama said.  “Not much happens in Russia without Vladimir Putin.”

He lit into Republican lawmakers — and Trump — who have suddenly reversed decades of GOP orthodoxy on the threat posed by Moscow to now turn a blind eye to the U.S. intelligence community’s findings. More than one-third of Republican voters support Putin, Obama said.

“Ronald Reagan would roll over in his grave,” Obama said.

The president sought to defend his legacy in Syria as well, where this week the country’s second-largest city, Aleppo, fell to a combined assault by Syrian government forces backed by Russian airpower. Anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 civilians are still trapped in the city as attempts to evacuate amid a fragile ceasefire stall, start, and stall again.

Obama defended his hands-off approach during the almost six-year old civil war. “I’ve taken the best course I can,” he said, adding that a full-scale intervention to stop the slaughter in Syria was “impossible to do on the cheap.”

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates 312,000, including over 90,000 civilians, have died since the Syrian civil war began in March, 2011. Obama placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russia, and Iran.

“The blood and these atrocities are on their hands,”he said, adding that “over the long term, the Assad regime cannot slaughter its way to legitimacy.”

An increasingly belligerent China also barged into Obama’s year-end press conference, largely because of heightened tensions after Trump’s unprecedented phone call to Taiwan’s president earlier this month. On Thursday, a Chinese naval vessel snatched a U.S. underwater drone and refused to return it to the Americans, prompting a diplomatic spat. Trump and his advisers have pushed for a more confrontational line with Beijing diplomatically, militarily, and economically.

Obama, who came into office hoping to pivot the United States away from the Middle East and toward the growing economies of the Asia-Pacific, acknowledged that a fresh policy to deal with China could be welcome. But any new approach to Beijing, he said, should be well thought-out and part of a national strategy, rather than shoot-from-the-hip policymaking. That is especially true regarding the issue of Taiwan, Obama said.

“The idea of ‘One China’ is at the heart of their conception as a nation,” he said. “And so if you are going to upend this understanding, you have to have thought through whatever the consequences are, because the Chinese will not treat that the way they treat some other issues.”

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images