Novartis touts new T-cell therapy data in race for FDA approval

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG is seen at its headquarters in Basel, Switzerland January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

By John Miller | ZURICH-Wed Jun 7, 2017 

Novartis on Wednesday touted new data from its T-cell therapy CTL019, saying it is on a par with results of experimental molecules from Kite Pharma and Juno Therapeutics that also target aggressive blood cancers.

Three months after infusion, the overall response rate (ORR)among 51 adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) was 45 percent, Novartis said, with 37 percent complete responses (CR), or no sign of disease.

Novartis aims for $1 billion in annual sales for CTL019, a drug made by taking T cells from a patient, reprogramming them in the lab to fight cancer, and re-infusing them. The field is crowded, with Kite and Juno also hunting for approval for drugs whose per-patient costs could top $500,000.

"When you look across the three competitors' data sets, they're all in a similar range of responses," Novartis drug development chief Vas Narasimhan said in an interview. "What's critical is to see the data sets fully mature... and look at the overall safety profile."

Narasimhan said no deaths were linked to CTL019, though three patients died from disease progression within 30 days of infusion. Seven suffered severe neurological events.

While so-called "CAR-T therapies" from Novartis, Kite and Juno are now last resorts for patients who have failed other treatments, more doctors are growing convinced they have promise. Globally, there are some 183 CAR-T trials underway.

In March, Novartis filed CTL019 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for fast-track approval in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in young patients. The FDA has scheduled a July 12 public meeting for that.

Novartis could file for FDA approval in DLBCL, the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in adults, around October, with European filings planned about the same time.

Rival Kite Pharma's experimental drug axi-cel is also under expedited U.S. review against advanced NHL, with additional trials underway in leukaemia patients.

Kite has said 41 percent of NHL patients responded to axi-cel treatment at the six-month cutoff, with 36 percent in complete response.

Though Juno Therapeutics has suffered significant setbacks -- patient deaths forced it to abandon its lead CAR-T molecule this year -- the company released fresh data last week on another drug, JCAR017, against NHL.

Novartis is studying why some patients respond to CTL019 while others' cancers avoid detection.
Additional trials are planned, including with newer CAR-Ts combined with other drugs.

"There's just a lot of science that's yet to be understood," Narasimhan said. "I hope we have better answers next year ... for what's going on in the non-responders."


(Reporting by John Miller, editing by Louise Heavens)

Over 121, 000 affected by drought in Jaffna

 6 June 2017

Over 121, 000 persons from 33, 000 families in the Jaffna district have been severely affected by the prevailing drought situation, Jaffna District Secretary N. Vedanayagam said.

According to the District Secretary, Kayts, Maradankaini, Karainagar, Sangilipaai, and Chelanai are among the places which have been severely affected by the drought. 

There are severe water shortages in Punkuduthivu and Mandathivu in Jaffna, with many water sources have already dried up. Many people have been forced to wait by the roadside hoping to collect some water. Action has been taken to provide people of these areas water with the aid of bowsers. 

However, Mr Vedanayagam acknowledged that should the rains continue to be delayed, the situation may get even worse. 

Story and Pix by Romesh Madushanka

Officials’ dedication wasted due to government’s impotency

June 6, 2017

“It should be said that disaster management institutions of the government are listless. There is no administrative leadership. Despite officials work hard, no proper management could be seen in these institutions. They are at a very run down stage. People are severely distressed. Now, it is necessary to go beyond providing emergency relief services and plan to prevent disasters occurring in the future. The President has appointed disaster agents for districts. We have a doubt where some of the ministers were appointed to create disasters rather than prevent them. The minister who mediated in Kegalle District has said after the meeting the reserve of 1500 acres that was spared should be distributed among farmers to cultivate minor export crops. As such, these politicians cannot prevent disasters. The government, despite talking about protecting environment, attempts to clear a large number of acres in Bibile to plant sugarcane. It avoids talking about the destruction of Uma Oya. When it comes to these projects the government forgets environmental destruction,” says the Member of the Political Bureau of the JVP Bimal Rathnayaka.

He said this at a press conference held at the head office of eh JVP at Pelawatta today (4th). The Member of the Political Bureau of the JVP Sunil Handunneththi too participated.

Speaking further Mr. Rathnayaka said, “Eight days have gone by since the flood debacle. The situation confronted by the masses in areas that were flooded and landslides occurred is very pathetic. Destruction in certain areas in Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Rathnapura districts are so severe that they cannot be brought to a normal state even if relief groups work for several more weeks say relief groups and officials. The situation has become worsened due to political pageants of the government that has no plans for rescue work.
The main reason for landslides and flooding is the destruction of central hills. Imperialists had their plantations in hill areas above 3000 to 5000 feet above sea level. The development process in our country was carried out for more than 2000 years protecting the central hills. As springs are the sources of rivers they were protected. The river was dammed, a tank built and cultivations were carried out in the plains. However, white imperialists deforested mountain regions and planted tea. They named plains as reserves. They did not conserve the areas that should have been conserved.

 This destruction began after 1815. This destruction cannot be reversed instantly. The rulers who came after the imperialists continued the destruction stared by imperialists. They continued to destroy the hills. Companies destroyed the environment to boost their profits. Even the government going behind companies destroyed the environment. People too in various ways contributed to this destruction. However, the destruction by the government and the companies is larger than the destruction the people could commit. This is why a disaster situation has occurred at present. Water doesn’t easily flow out to the sea from the rivers. The water that spills onto the plains doesn’t subside due to the improper ‘development’ of the rulers. However, there are several measures a government could take to prevent disasters. This is why a ministry of disaster management exists.

Harm to the country and the people from disasters have escalated. Our country was confronted with disasters due to floods in 1956, 1969, 2003, 2005, 2016 and in 2017. However, during the past 1 ½ to 2 decades the disaster situation has escalated. Environmental destruction, irregular development and inability to prevent disasters have aggravated the situation. One of the main reasons is inability to predict correctly. A newspaper had reported that the south west monsoon had taken 91 lives. It is not correct. We all know south west monsoon brings rain. By making correct predictions people could be evacuated from the dangerous zones. Now predicting weather conditions have come down to the level of soothsaying. Predictions could be made using technology. However, a fraud has been committed regarding the Doppler radar that was bought by the country. With this machine the exact rainfall for various areas could have been predicted. However, predicting in our country is at a very low level. It is reported that 212 people have lost their lives and more than 90 have disappeared. Property worth billions has been destroyed. As such, the government should be held responsible for the weakness in predicting.

Also, the government should have a plant to provide disaster relief. Parliamentarians and members of our party not only did relief work with the ‘Red Star’ Relief Service Brigade of the JVP but several MPs also participated in administrative meetings of the government. What we came to know at these meetings is that the government did have neither a long term national plan nor an emergency plan to confront a disaster. Many beautiful plans had been presented also at meetings the President participated. However, the information in such plans was archaic. They had not been updated. There were no plans to prevent disasters. When we were children May and June were ‘Wesak and Poson’ months. Now they have become ‘disaster months. We all know May and June receive a lot of rain. However, the government does not have a plan to prevent disasters that would occur during these months.

It should be said that disaster management institutions of the government are listless. There is no administrative leadership. Despite officials work hard, no proper management could be seen in these institutions. They are at a very run down stage. People are severely distressed. Now, it is necessary to go beyond providing emergency relief services and plan to prevent disasters occurring in the future. The President has appointed disaster agents for districts. We have a doubt where some of the ministers were appointed to create disasters rather than prevent them. The minister who mediated in Kegalle District has said after the meeting the reserve of 1500 acres that was spared should be distributed among farmers to cultivate minor export crops. As such, these politicians cannot prevent disasters. The government, despite talking about protecting environment, attempts to clear a large number of acres in Bibile to plant sugarcane. It avoids talking about the destruction of Uma Oya. When it comes to these projects the government forgets environmental destruction.

Also, it should be mentioned about the reinsurance programme of the government. Due to this reinsurance programs the government should get about Rs. 10,000 million. The government pays only Rs.100,000 when a life is lost. However, according to budget proposals Rs.2.5 million should be paid. As such, we remind the government to pay this amount immediately. Also, there are houses and properties worth more than Rs.2.5 million that have been destroyed. We ask the government to pay a justifiable compensation for the people.

People who were brought down to the bottom have been pushed to the bottom again. The government should mediate immediately to bring their lives to normalcy soon. People do not get a just compensation from certain insurance companies. Hence, the insurance benefit the government should be given to the people.

Also, a national institute should be established and it should be given powers to take action in a disaster. Countries like Japan, the USA, Italy and India have prevented or minimized disasters by establishing such institutes and long term programmes.

Sri Lanka: Finance Minister Mangala — New Opportunities

The Government has no room to cut tax – yet, but they do need to send a strong message that it is serious about controlling expenditure.

by Ravi Ratnasabapathy-Jun 7, 2017

( June 7, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Following the Cabinet reshuffle, Sri Lanka now has a new Minister of Finance. The reshuffle was timely, there is widespread disillusionment amongst the public who keep repeating that “nothing seems to be happening”. The Government now has the opportunity renew itself in the public eye, what should our new Minister of Finance do?

The macroeconomic indicators are improving: government revenues are up, expenditure is stable and the fiscal deficit targets look likely to be achieved for the current year.

Growth has slowed a little to around 4-4.5% but this is only to be expected and caused by the drought and tax increases, which are also the factors that have pushed up inflation. The impact of the floods will add to these pressures but macroeconomic fundamentals are stabilising and things should improve.

Yet why is there such intense annoyance amongst the public and the business community? This is partly a problem of perception and partly due to the painful measures imposed to sort out the fundamentals.

Business community

Public anger is driven by the cost of living while the business community is left bewildered by the perceived instability in the tax and policy environment. It is a tall order, but if both can be fixed he will be hailed as a success.

For the public, the problem is that the Government has achieved its macroeconomic stability at a cost: by imposing a huge tax burden on the public. Getting the macro fundamentals right is necessary and some tax increases are unavoidable but this cannot be a one-way process. The Government cannot expect to tax punitively, spend ostentatiously and expect the public to grin and bear the spectacle of ministers living in luxury while they are cutting back on staples.

The cost of living has risen sharply over the past two years because of taxes (VAT, excise duty, PAL and others) and the depreciation of the currency. Over the past two years the combined impact of VAT, PAL and the currency has added around 25% to the cost of imported items. Considering most of our basics are imported the impact on household budgets is heavy.

This is excluding the impact of any increases in duty and excise. While some duties have been cut others have risen, adding to the burden. Naturally, there is unhappiness when people have to cut back on their lifestyles; when ministers are seen to be living luxury this unhappiness morphs to real anger.

What should the minister do?

The Government has no room to cut tax – yet, but they do need to send a strong message that it is serious about controlling expenditure.

It cannot be only the public who bear the burden of closing the deficit, the Government must be seen to be doing something about cutting their own expenditure. This cut back needs to be visible and lead from the top: which means no new vehicles, no fancy offices, fewer overseas jaunts, no large entourage of security/staff. It must be visible, even if the impact on cutting back on ministers privileges yields comparatively small savings, they need to be seen to be tightening their belts to win public support.

Corruption and waste

Citizens are wearied by the sight of ministers scrambling for plum positions leaving a distinct impression is that their sole interest is in feathering their own nests and enjoying the perks of office.

The minister should launch an economy drive eschewing extravagance, the elimination corruption and waste through increased transparency and open processes. Sri Lanka’s leaders frequently cite the example of Singapore. Fiscal prudence has been a hallmark of Singapore’s governing philosophy and successful management of the economy; an ethos that must become a watchword for Sri Lanka’s rulers.

When faced with a crisis Singapore set up a “Cut Waste Panel” headed by members of the public and private sector, to receive suggestions from the public on where the government can cut waste, remove frills and make savings in the delivery of public services. The minister could set up a similar panel and in addition to suggestions from the public actively seek other opportunities to reduce costs.

For example, moving to daylight saving time will save money for the CEB and reduce household electricity bills. It is a simple measure that can bring benefits at almost no cost and should be implemented immediately.

There needs to be a tightening of belts but we must all be seen to be doing it together.

In parallel, there needs to be a comprehensive review of spending, reviewing not only the scale of spending but also the scope of Government. The Government should not expend any further funds expanding the SOE’s and should restructure these to cut waste and losses. Privatisation can have a threefold benefit:

a) raise revenue which will supplement tax revenues,

b) obviate the need to fund losses (in the case of loss-making entities), and

c) open new opportunities for private sector participation in the economy.

For example, plans to add 500 new outlets to the loss-making Lanka Sathosa chain at a cost of a billion rupees need to be shelved. Many SOE’s serve as vehicles for patronage and are dens of corruption. Lanka Sathosa which is mired in corruption scandals (one involving a Rs.15bn consignment of rice) and has not submitted an annual report since 2012 is a prime example.

Illiberal trade policies protect businesses close to politicians and raise the cost of living. There are many such instances but to cite just one example, the import of wheat flour is taxed, ostensibly to support paddy farmers but increases the price of bread. Bread is subjected to price control – to “protect” the consumer but why the local price of bread is rising even while world wheat prices have collapsed by 50% since 2013 is a question that needs to be asked. Liberalising the import of wheat flour could reduce prices significantly and thus the cost of living.

There are other sectors such as dairy, (milk powder attracts a duty of Rs.225/kg, butter Rs.880/kg), fruit (oranges Rs.65/kg, grapes Rs.130.kg, apples Rs.45/kg), cooking oil (Rs.130/kg) sugar (Rs.30.kg) and meat (taxed at 30%). The cost of living can be brought down if more sectors of the economy are liberalised.

New opportunities

These are short-term measures that can bring relief to the public while the private sector will welcome the new opportunities for trade that this opens.

The government’s fiscal position must sustainable over the medium and long term.

If this is not properly planned periodic fiscal crises will recur pushing the Government to resort to ad-hoc, short-term measures to deal with them creating the volatile business environment that destroys confidence.

The Prime Minister has already announced a medium-term economic framework. This, a good starting point. Budgets and policies must now fall within this framework. Policy making must be evidence based, with adequate consultation through the use Green and White papers, as in the UK.

Green Papers set out for discussion, proposals which are still at a formative stage. These detail specific issues and point out possible courses of action in terms of policy and legislation. Once an issue is debated, White Papers are issued as statements of policy, and often set out proposals for legislative changes, which may be debated further before a Bill is introduced.

The process of consultation minimises the need for later changes and results in stability in the policy environment which means business confidence will rise.

The minister has a huge task ahead of him, these are only a few preliminary ideas to explore and we wish him all success.

Ravi Ratnasabapathy is a management accountant by training and a fellow at the Advocata Institute, a free-market think tank based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Oceans and Sri Lanka’s future: Towards a blue economy 

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

All nations around the globe are celebrating World Oceans Day on 8 June under the theme of ‘Our Oceans, Our Future’. While the action focus of this year’s Ocean Day is the prevention of plastic ocean pollution through events organised in several countries, it is more opportune in the Sri Lankan context to take a broad look at the overall theme in light of the growing interest in the Blue Economy as a prospective agenda for exploring our future opportunities in oceans.

Oceans cover two-thirds of the earth’s surface and over three billion people are estimated to depend on marine and coastal systems for their livelihoods, directly and indirectly. Important maritime activities such as fishing, sea transportation, tourism, offshore mining and energy generation play a significant role in the national economies of many countries, including Sri Lanka. The expansion of marine economic activities can be considered as one frontier of globalisation. Unfortunately, growing human activities in the oceans, while helping to increase prosperity all over the world, are also responsible for the degradation of marine ecosystems.

Marine ecosystems fulfil environmental functions that are essential for the survival of humans and other living beings. The oceans absorb a major share of carbon dioxide emissions that humans produce, play an important role in the stability of global climate systems and accommodate and protect a major part of global biodiversity, making the world habitable for all of us.

These global ecosystem services of the oceans have come under threat as a result of human activities such as the over exploitation of resources, illegal-unreported-unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, marine and coastal pollution, habitat destruction and anthropogenic climate change. The impacts of such actions have become increasingly visible.

It has been estimated that over 30% of global fish stocks are being overfished beyond their sustainable limits. The ocean acidity has increased by about 25% compared to the pre-industrial era.

Marine pollution has reached alarming levels, making oceans the largest waste dumping site globally. In this backdrop, the emerging concept of the Blue Economy provides a way for balancing competing demands and lays the foundation for the sustainable future of the oceans.


Blue Economy

The origin of the concept of the Blue Economy is often traced to a book titled ‘The Blue Economy: 10 years – 100 innovations – 100 million jobs’, written by Gunter Pauli, first published in 2010. However, Pauli’s concept refers to a business model aimed at transforming society from scarcity to abundance, with the help of locally available resources through adopting innovative measures to address environmental and related problems. It does not essentially imply ocean-based economic prospects.

Despite Pauli being credited with coining the term, the concept of a Blue Economy is now being widely used to refer to human activities based on oceans, taking them as one entity. Unfortunately, it carries many meanings and interpretations, creating doubts in the minds of the interested public on the subject.

It appears that some parties are trying to emphasise the ecological perspectives, while others are considering it merely an umbrella term for all economic activities in the maritime sector, carried out using ocean resources, without any reference to sustainability aspects.

To avoid such misconceptions some international agencies have come forward with interpretations that are aimed at introducing a balanced view on the concept, emphasising its economic, social and environmental dimensions.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has defined a ‘sustainable’ Blue Economy as a marine-based economy that provides social and economic benefits for current and future generations while restoring, protecting and maintaining the diversity, productivity, resilience, core functions and the intrinsic value of marine ecosystems being based on clean technologies, renewable energy and circular material flows keeping within the limits of one planet.

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) promoted the idea that a Blue Economy is a marine and coastal analogue to the Green Economy (GE). In essence, it implies that the Blue Economy is applying the concepts of the Green Economy to the unique and irreplaceable role of marine and coastal ecosystems.

These definitions help to dispel misunderstandings, emphasising the sustainability dimension. In the final count, a Blue Economy should essentially be a Green Economy. The legitimacy of the concept was further enhanced due to the adoption of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) by world leaders at the UN General Assembly in 2015.

Goal Number 14 of the SDGs, ‘Life below Water’, is aimed at enhancing conservation and the sustainable use of ocean-based resources through the wise management of resources and the protection of marine and coastal ecosystems from pollution, including the impacts of ocean acidification.

Prospects for Blue Economy in Sri Lanka

Being an island nation located in a central position of the Indian Ocean, adopting a Blue Economy strategy is not optional but mandatory for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has advantages, but also faces challenges due to its position. The major advantages for a Blue Economy include a unique geographical position, high accessibility to ocean resources from a lengthy coastline around the country, closeness to major sea lanes, sovereignty over a significant area of sea compared with the country’s land resources, a diverse range of coastal and marine ecosystems and a high potential for tourism and recreation industries.

However, these opportunities also have challenges attached to them. The oceans around the country are highly contested by global powers and being a small player in a global political arena, Sri Lanka has to take a cautious path.

The Government of Sri Lanka has promoted a Blue Economy initiative under the ‘Sri Lanka NEXT’ program in October 2016. This can be considered a timely effort. In addition, the country aspires to become a maritime hub in the region, taking the advantage of its central geographical position and the closeness to major sea lanes. There were some steps taken in this direction, with mixed results. The country has been promoting its image as a tourism destination, with unique marine and coastal attraction, with some success.  Despite these ad hoc efforts, however, Sri Lanka is yet to come up with a viable Blue Economy strategy that combines the strength of these efforts.

(The writer is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS). To view this article online and to share your comments, visit the IPS Blog ‘Talking Economics’ http://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/)

Occasional Stories: Battle For ‘Territory’

By Laksiri Fernando –JUNE 4, 2017

Dr. Laksiri Fernando

I was in serious trouble when I tried to buy a piece of land to build a house to live at Peradeniya. That time I was working at the University of Peradeniya and had some money at hand after coming back from my first academic sojourn in Canada. This was not immediately after my return, but after two years. At the beginning, I or we didn’t care for having our own house being somewhat ‘socialist minded.’

Why do you need to accumulate money or property? That was our thinking. But when we were in Canada, we made it sure that we save enough money at least to bring a good car. All the ‘socialists’ in the university system used to have very good cars. A good car was an ‘intellectual symbol,’ but a house a ‘bourgeois deviation.’ We were rather comfortable in our university quarters. 

Things changed dramatically after the open economy in 1977. There was a mad rush to buy land and build houses and our juniors were more prone to this indulgence than our generation. Our seniors were more ‘socialist’ than us and many of them died even without a house and rather destitute.

Let me make the long story short.

No sooner than I passed the message that I am looking for a piece of land somewhere in Peradeniya, Wimaladasa approached me. He was a ‘hall servant’ so to say. Because of our working-class sympathies, we knew them very well. One Saturday morning he was at our door step. He was holding a file.

“Sir, good piece of land, Sir.”

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Monsoonal rains may signal an increase in dengue patients

2017-06-07

The record number of dengue patients and deaths recorded up to May this year mayincrease with the onset of the monsoonal rains. According to a Daily Mirror report last month, Dr. Prachila Samaraweera of the Dengue Control Unit of Colombo, has said some 44,000 dengue patients had been reported countrywide with 115 deaths. The number is massive compared to the previous year’s figure where some 55,000 dengue patients were reported with 97 deaths for the entire 2016. The increase in dengue patients is scary when considering that in 2015 there were only 30,000 dengue patients with 54 deaths.

  

While round table discussions are continuing and major campaigns including a three months dengue control programme has been launched, some important insights and simple and practical methods to control the spread of the mosquito breeding sites seem to have been ignored. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s former Engineer Ranjit Seneviratne has recently revealed some myths and ineffective practices that were being followed specially by state institutions to control the epidemic. He gives some enlightening information and practical methods which are useful to both ordinary citizens and authorities in their battle against dengue.

  
“Various efforts are being made by the authorities and the Colombo Municipality personnel who are going around clearing plants and insisting that people who grow useful food plants like banana, Aloe Vera etc. should remove them – as well as flowering plants so useful to encourage bees and butterflies that are scarce in the city. This appears to be a sort of “knee-jerk” reaction, because if it were plants that harboured dengue-carrying mosquitos, then dengue should be rampant in villages with so much of vegetation there,” Mr. Seneviratne argues. “The reason for this is perhaps because plants are known to exude oils and bio-chemicals (much like humans exude salty sweat from the skin’s surface) and the dengue mosquitoes normally do not breed in such polluted water.”   

He says, on the contrary, dengue is rampant in cities that are densely populated and near schools – in other words where there are people and children who throw plastic yogurt and ice cream cups and plastic bags all over the place, as well as Thambili and coconut “shells”.   He emphasises the need for the authorities to insist that ice cream, yogurt, etc, should only be sold in paper cups (that could be easily torn to prevent water collection) and king coconut (Thambili) sellers should collect their “shells” in gunny bags – and be fined if they left them around.  

“Another source of clean water favoured by the Anopheles Aegyptus Mosquito (implicated in the spread of dengue) are plastic bags. Therefore it is in everyone’s interest that the authorities should eliminate plastic bags and insist that only paper or cloth, jute-hessian or woven leaf (Dumbara Mat “Pang” and Palmyrah leaf) bags be used,” Mr. Seneviratne said.  

 
He also points out that public places where water collects are roads, because in Sri Lanka, people allow water from their properties to flow into the road, causing the road to break up and water to collect in small pot-holes. This is contrary to what happens in other countries where owners would be fined for such offences.    The other place where water collects is public drains, because we the uncaring public, carelessly throw rubbish into drains, blocking the flow of water. The present practice is to spray toxic chemicals into these drains. As the drains are not water-tight, these harmful chemicals leak into ground water and could poison us. The effect is not immediate, but these chemicals are known to gradually accumulate especially in the fat cells and over time could cause cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).  

The FAO expert says a simple and inexpensive solution is to spray used engine oil (most of the harmful additives in the oil are “burnt up” in used oil). “The oil forms a film on the surface and the larvae of the mosquitoes during the pupal stage (when they are shaped like “commas”) are air breathers and come to the surface to breathe. The oil chokes the breathing tube and kills the pupal stage mosquito larvae.  

Mr. Seneviratne also submits a more technical solution that could be implemented by the authorities to control dengue mosquitoes. He encourages the use of the “Sterile male” technique which was successfully used by the FAO to eliminate the “New World Screw Worm” (whose larvae bore into living flesh killing their host). This was done when there was an outbreak in North Africa from meat imported from South America and also from a West Indian Island that was infested, to prevent it from migrating to main-land USA.  

CIABOC awaits AG’s decision-Bond scams 

by Shamindra Ferdinando-June 6, 2017, 10:21 pm 

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) will not act on its own findings in respect of Treasury bond scams in Feb 2015 and March 2016 until the Attorney General makes known his decision on the presidential probe report.

The CIABOC initiated inquiries into bond scams in early 2015 during Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe’s tenure as the Director General of CIABOC. Last year Sarath Jayamanne succeeded Wickramasinghe following the former’s resignation in protest against President Sirisena’s outburst at her institution. They are both Additional Solicitors General.

The three-member presidential commission of Inquiry commenced sittings this year.

An authoritative official told The Island that CIABOC would await the AG’s decision though its own investigations were almost complete. "We are of the view that a decision to move court should be taken following discussions between the AG and the CIABOC." A hasty move on the part of the CIABOC would be detrimental to the overall investigation, the official said, adding that the AG could decide on the report without calling for a fresh police investigation.

Responding to another query, the official said that the Presidential Commission Act had been amended to enable the AG to decide on the basis of evidence gathered by a Presidential Commission.

The official pointed out what he called a significant role played by the AG’s team assigned to the ongoing Presidential CoI. As the Presidential Commission of Inquiry had been able to establish vital information pertaining to the unprecedented case, those handling investigations expected legal action on the basis of its recommendations.

Sources said that co-ordination among various agencies was essential in case they conducted simultaneous investigations into a case. Sources said that the criminal investigation Department (CID) too, had been directed to probe alleged bond scams.

Former Central bank Governor and Singaporean national Arjuna Mahendran and primary deader Perpetual Treasuries are under investigation as regards their alleged involvement in bond scams in February 2015 and March 2016. Among others under investigation are senior officials of the EPF as well as some state and private sector banks.

Secretary to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry Sumathipala Udugamsuriya said that their report could be handed over to President Sirisena next month. The official said that Deputy Minister Dr Harsha de Silva, summoned by the Commission on Monday, wasn’t one of those who volunteered to appear before the Commission.

The Presidential Commission is yet to record Mahendran’s statement though the CIABOC questioned him in April 2015, just weeks after Minister Mahinda Amaraweera on behalf of the SLFP lodged a complaint with it. Mahendran has also appeared before the parliamentary committee on public enterprises (COPE).

Attorney-at-law Chrishmal Warnasuriya told The Island that had President Sirisena appointed a Special Presidential Commission comprising three Supreme Court judges instead of two Supreme Court judges and a former Inland Revenue Department deputy to probe bond scams, it could have recommended punitive measures. A Special Presidential Commission had the authority to punish those who were found guilty whereas the appointed body, a Commission of Inquiry lacked such powers.

Security of India and Sri Lanka ‘indivisible’?

It was probably then that India sought to destabilize Sri Lanka by encouraging Tamil separatism and later Terrorism, providing training, succor and money, since late 70s.

by Gamini Gunawardane-Jun 7, 2017

Jun 7, 2017

( June 7, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recent Vesak visit to Sri Lanka had stated in his speech made at the BMICH to celebrate the International Wesak Day, among other things that “Whether it is on land or in the waters of Indian Ocean the security of our societies is indivisible.” This idea deserves scrutiny. Is it in fact so? Not from Sri Lanka’s point of view. It reminds use of one of those de Lanerole’s plays (‘Ralahamy Rides Again’ (?) ) where the Ralahamy in his pretended exuberance of good will said “Your house is my house etc., and goes on nearly to say, “your wife is my wife” but stops half way!

But this statement is not a laughing matter, coming from the Indian Prime Minister, and hence calls for a serious scrutiny. Is Sri Lanka’s security indivisible from that of India? It never was nor is. These two neighbouring sovereign countries have existed side by side down the ages, for over two and half thousand years of known history. We have been two separate and independent countries not really depending on each other for security. In fact, a country called ‘India’ came into existence only in 1947 after being unified for the first time as ‘British India’ during the British times and after the partition of Pakistan, also in 1947. Sri Lanka on the other hand, has existed as a single political and geographical entity surrounded by sea all round her, with a culture of her own together with a highly developed hydraulic-engineering civilization and as a well-known center for Theravada Buddhism, well known in the then known world by the name Seehaladweepa both in the East and West. She was governed by an unbroken line of kings until as late as 1815A.C.

However, another aspect from the historical point of view is that down our history is that, there have been several invasions to this country by Southern Indian powers in different times upto about the 13 the Century, emanating from Chola, Pandya and Chera kingdoms who plundered the splendor of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa Kingdoms. One such invasion lasted for 40 years while the other 70 years after which the invaders were driven back. Some Anuradhapura Kings had their troops stationed in Mannar area to counter any sudden invasions from South India. Thus, it will be seen that the security threat to this country came from nowhere but from the Indian Sub-continent until the European invasions since 1505. The important thing to note here is that, if there ever was any security threat to Sri Lanka it was from India, besides the Western countries.

Despite all this, both Sinhalese and Tamils looked at India as a friendly neighbour. In fact, the Sinhala Buddhists looked upon India with affinity as the country of the Buddha and Emperor Asoka as the great friend who sent his own son Mahinda Thero and later his daughter, Sanghamitta Theri carrying the bring the message of the great Teacher, the Buddha. Later, the left Tooth Relic was sent to this country by the Royalty of Kalinga when their security became threatened. Since then the possession of the Tooth Relic became the symbol of political power in this country. And thousands of Buddhists go on the great pilgrimage to visit the sacred places where Buddha traversed. That pilgrimage is not referred to as a trip to India but to the revered Jambu Dweepa or better in Sinhala as ‘Dambadivu Thala Uthum’ todate. Thus, it was the consensual belief of the Sinhala Buddhists in this country that India was the country of our spiritual relatives and it was unthinkable that any harm or hostility would come from that friendly country until they were rudely awakened to the existential reality that the Tamil Terrorists had descended here with Terrorist training and succor from this would be ‘unfailing friend’.

Till then, this comfort zone was further cushioned by the happenings in the early 20th century when Sri Lankans were looking up to India with fresh fascination with their robust Anti-British patriotic movement that was an inspiration, the young intellectuals’ admiration for great men like Rabindranath Tagore, his Shanthi Nikethan where young and up an coming literati rushed in droves; Satyajith Ray’s and his films, and then the Hindi films and film songs while the Tamils were head over heels with the south Indian films and those film stars and later Bharaha Natyam and much later, admiration of our cricketers by the Indian cricket fans. all factors on which a great relationship between the two countries could have been built and flourished.

Mr. Modi has referred to the Indian Ocean around our two countries. Although it is called Indian Ocean by the British as much as they called Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, it does not really belong to India as such. It is the Ocean that covers Pakistan, Iran and Eastern African continent and Madagascar in the West, the Malayan Peninsula, Myanmar and Thailand to the East and Maldives to the south. In fact it is only the islands of Sri Lanka and Maldives that have this Ocean surrounding all of it. And under the provisions of the Law of the Sea, the Ocean surrounding 8 times the size of Sri Lanka including parts of the sea between her and India too belongs to her. That includes a part of the southern Bay of Bengal.

During this long period of history of over two millennia, neither country depended on each other for their security. Of course whenever the Portuguese were about be thrown out of this country by Rajasinghe the Great in his campaigns, the embattled Portuguese were rescued by their re-enforcements that came from Goa. During the 1915 riots too the British brought down Marati troops to quell the same. Much later, during the 1971 JVP rebellion India sent a troop of Gurkha Regiment followed by a stock of ammunition for Sri Lanka government to meet the emergency, on request. This was due to the excellent relationship that Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had with the Nehrus and later with the Gandhi family who were family friends. It was based on mutual respect. This relationship was so intimate that when Indira Gandhi came here to attend the Non-aligned Nations’ Conference in 1976, she resided nowhere but at Temple Trees itself. Similarly, Mrs. Bandaranaike maintained a close relationship with Gen. Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan, Gen. Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and Chou en Lai, the Chinese PM and also Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia among others . These friendships had been so close that the Late Stanley Jayaweera once told me that Mrs. B. was in the habit of sending a sack of mangoes from the first pluck in her Horagolle estate to Gen. Zia-ul-Haq by Air Ceylon.

Pursuant to the same kind of healthy relationships Mrs. Bandaranaike was able to obtain from the then Indian leaders a satisfactory agreement of sharing the stateless Indian Plantation workers left behind by the British and also on the ownership of the Kacchathivu Island. This did not mean that Mrs. Bandaranaike compromised her independence regarding the security of Sri Lanka vis-à-vis India when it came to her stand during the Indo-Pakistan war over East Pakistan that led to the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, even after India had supported her to face the JVP insurrection. When a request was made of her by Pakistan for re-fueling facility for her war planes on their way to East Pakistan because they could not fly across India, she permitted Pakistani war planes to land in Katunayake for refueling. Whether she consulted India before doing so is not known, but this gesture on the part of Mrs. B is a significant to the pointer to the independent position Sri Lanka enjoyed and exercised especially against the latest claim that the security of Sri Lanka and India was ‘indivisible’. This would show that historically and even in modern times it was not so. She did not stop at that. If my memory is correct, she proceeded to act as a third party intervener to get the two warring parties to talk to each other, to usher peace between them. Subsequently she went on to declare Sri Lankan ports a War Free Zone by denying entry to war ships carrying nuclear weapons. This, it would be seen as quite in contrast to the short sighted indiscretion on the part of Mahinda Rajapaksa to permit entry of Chinese submarines to the Colombo Port.

This beautiful relationship despite the minor ups and downs, were maintained in a lively spirit till the end of the Bandaranaike era and to the accession of J.R. Jayewardene. He quite unnecessarily is alleged to have made some disparaging remarks on Indira Gandhi and her son Late Sanjay,that naturally irritated Indira. Then JR took a more pro-America stand as against India which then was more pro-Soviet Union. JR went on a further irritant step of acceding some land for the communication base for Voice of America (VOA). India became restive with the suspicion that this step may give a facility to the US to monitor Indian communication systems. This behaviour on the part of JRJ gave rise to the suspicion to India that Sri Lanka might afford the use of Trincomalee Harbour by the US.

It was probably then that India sought to destabilize Sri Lanka by encouraging Tamil separatism and later Terrorism, providing training, succor and money, since late 70s. In hindsight it is now suspected in some quarters, that the ’83 Riots were triggered by remote control by the RAW in instigating the young and up and coming LTTE to set off the successful land mine on the army patrol at Thirunavelly that incensed the Sinhalese. For, till the widespread violence that it sparked off set the Tamils against the Sinhalese per say, as till then, the support of the Tamils,especially in Colombo and other areas was lukewarm for the Terrorist project. It also now again the brain child of RAW who was not satisfied with the response of the Sinhalese into violence, by challenging their religious susceptibility. Their strategy in all probability was to really set the Tamils and Sinhalese against each other, irreversibly. In that sense both the Sinhalese and Tamils fell victim to the RAW’s sinister strategy.Now India had created a playing field to justifiably and continuously interfere in Sri Lanka.

To Be Continued

Namal indicted

Hambantota district MP Namal Rajapaksa

Lakmal Sooriyagoda-Wednesday, June 7, 2017

The Colombo High Court served indictments on three persons, including Hambantota district MP Namal Rajapaksa for their alleged involvement in laundering money amounting to Rs.30 million through Gowers Corporate Services between 2013 and 2014 yesterday.

Three accused Namal Rajapaksa, eldest son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Nithya Senani Samaranayake and Sujani Bogollagama who functioned as the directors of Gowers Corporation were ordered to be released on a cash bail of Rs.100,000 with four sureties of Rs.10 million each by Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga.

This case is to be taken up before the permanent High Court Judge on June 28. The Attorney General filed indictments against Namal Rajapaksa, Indika Karunajeewa, Sujani Bogollagama, Iresha Silva, Senani Samaranayake and Gowers Corporate Services on 11 counts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act for their alleged involvement in money laundering amounting to Rs.30 million in a company (Gowers Corporate Services) owned by Namal Rajapaksa.

It was reported that Gowers Corporate Services of Colombo 5, is providing coordinating services to Sri Lankan Airlines.

However, the second, forth and sixth accused Indika Karunajeewa, Iresha Silva and Gowers Corporate Services were not present in Court but represented by attorneys. President’s Counsel Jayantha Weerasinghe with Gamini Marapana PC and counsel Sudantha Bandara appeared for Namal Rajapaksa. The FCID had initiated investigations into this matter following a complaint by Voice Against Corruption Convener Wasantha Samarasinghe.

Samarasinghe alleged that MP Namal Rajapaksa had bought shares of a company named Hello Corp and set up a company called Gowers Corporate Services while being an MP from the Rs.125 million earned through illegal means. 

June, national nutrition month

Jun 05, 2017

The Health Ministry declared this month as the national Nutrition Month under the theme `Taste without sugar', Health Education Bureau sources said.

According to the sources, the World Health Organization guidelines said that the energy obtained from sugar, per person, per day should not exceed more than five percent of the total energy intake, which amounts to 25 grams of sugar (six teaspoons of sugar) for better health status.

During the National Nutrition Month, it is expected to reduce consumption of sweetened beverages among all age groups, to create awareness among the general public regarding addiction to sugar sweetened beverages and the resulting detrimental health effects, to promote consumption of clean drinking water and other naturally available healthy drinks, to promote a conducive environment for consumption of safe drinking water and other natural drinks by strengthening multi-sectoral coordination and participation through advocacy, the sources said.  

High sugar consumption is a major cause of weight gain leading to overweight and obesity the Health Education Bureau sources said.

Costly economic and social consequences of overweight and obesity are made manifest in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, disability, chronic kidney disease, musculoskeletal conditions and psychological problems, among others. In addition, excess weight can lead to reduction in productivity, poor quality of life and shortened life span, the sources added.
- http://dailynews.lk-

Sri Lanka’s social dichotomy and its micro-effects

2017-06-07

“In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.” -Confucius  

In a desolate landscape, orphaned by any promise of rain or wind, in a still gloomy surrounding of trees and shrub, a lone farmer is tilling his land until sunset.

 

 Sunset in this arid zone is a spectacle of rioting colors, all the colors of the rainbow, from crimson red to violet and orange and blue, all dancing to a riotous order. But our farmer is woefully oblivious of that brilliant splendour. Far out on the horizon, a hazy column of clouds deters any human eye from seeing the fine line that divides land and the skies. But the hoeing goes on for it is the season for preparation of the soil before rains arrive, filling the manmade tank allowing the field channels to gush along the precious waters to the land of the farmer.  

 
Bare-bodied and exposing a half-starved, an almost emaciated figure of man, our farmer’s daily life is made up of physically tiring tasks. Whether driving a heavy digging hoe into a hardened earth and turning it around, one hammering after another, with sweat pouring down from his frail shoulders to his hollow parts of the outer stomach, or finishing flimsy repairs to a worn-out thatched roof of his old shack of home, he is not impeded by rain or shine. Demands on his labour are not foreclosed.  

We have not yet arrived at the doorstep of a total disarray of our economic life.   

We hope that where administration of Governmental affairs are in tatters, the economy collapsing, where all vital indices are showing an alarming downward trend, men, women and children drifting on the streets like ants without a queen-ant, will not arrive soon.   

Today there is no foreign enemy to point the finger at or as against a target to galvanise a hapless army of unarmed men; instead we have wretched politicians taking credit for an 
unknown accomplishment.  

• There is a palpable feeling especially among the business leaders and academics that the Government is not competent. That is a very shameful badge to wear.
• Today there is no foreign enemy to point the finger at or as against a target to galvanise a hapless army of unarmed men; instead we have wretched politicians taking credit for an unknown accomplishment.   
• This is the broad overview of Sri Lanka’s plight today. Politician on the one hand and bureaucrat on the other have played out the common man.   
• We hope the day that where administration of Governmental affairs are in tatters, the economy collapsing, where all vital indices are showing an alarming downward trend, men, women and children drifting on the streets like ants without a queen-ant, will not arrive soon.     

 The farmer had gone through this worthless terrain of early-twenty-first-century-politics. Snaking from one selfish leader to another, he has gone weary of the journey. The social burden he carries is enormous and his knees are buckling down- one physically and the other spiritually. Physically it’s emaciating him beyond recognition. The strapper of a man at the time he married his village sweetheart, is now a mere skeleton with some occasional flesh here and there. Our farmer was never affiliated to any political school of thought nor was he attached to any political organisation at village level.  

This great human odyssey is being played in every corner of our rural hamlets and villages. Their inhabitants’ inexorable struggle to keep their families contended and their stomachs full and spirit breathing, is a hard daily routine. To relieve their melee of cruel hardships imposed by their own lack of education, their being born with no bequest of land from their parents and with many mouths to feed, their being exploited by the village lender and a heartless system that keeps trampling the poor and rewarding the rich and avaricious is a great story to tell. It is a great tale to chronicle.   Successive Governments have failed to do the bare minimal for the poor, except perhaps the exception of R. Premadasa, despite his dubious record in the exercise of Governmental power, somewhat dictatorially- as argued by some, in a Stalinist-fashion. Premadasa is one political leader who has no match when determining to accomplish quite difficult tasks for the poorest of the poor. When Premadasa spoke for the poor, no political leader doubted his commitment. No organisation doubted his authenticity.  

Ranasinghe Premadasa did not hail from those exalted halls of urban sophistication. In fact he did not pay any respect for that class, which was rich in snobbery and miserably deficient in real commitment to alleviation of poverty.   

The real issue with the current rulers, among others, is their lack or inability of fighting back in the pages of print media or on the wide screens of television. Strong criticism, in the most severe form and fashion without any mercy is the only answer.   

Classified as belonging to déclassé, Premadasa is one leader who commanded the respect of those so-called sophisticated class to an infinite degree and at the same time treated them like mere mortals whose riches were mainly owing to the closeness of connection they enjoyed with those in power.   

I have written extensively on the subject of ‘Premadasa Exceptionalism’, but that was principally limited to his social and political milieu.   

Premadasa’s accomplishments in the field of economic development are creditworthy to say the least. Although his Executive Presidential tenure was slashed down way before he completed his full term, his term as Prime Minister, as second-in-command in the J. R. Jayewardene Government was the one that brought much fame and praise. As Minister of Local Government, Housing and Construction, Premadasa’s contribution to the massive development programme undertaken during that time was not second to the stupendous accomplishments of Gamini Dissanayake in the Lands and Mahaweli field and Lalith Athulathmudali’s achievements in the development of the Port.  
When one looks at the present set of politicians, one does not find another R. Premadasa. R. Premadasa’s rivals were not limited to the traditional Opposition. Late in his career they came from within. And he did not handle that with prudence and wisdom. With the departure of Premadasa, the destiny of the United National Party also took a nasty twist. Seventeen years in power is too long for any party to be holding reins of power.  

The Governments that succeeded did everything for their cronies and friends in the upper class of society and neglected the poor. That is one reason, among many, that our farmer is in this stifling cycle of poverty, whose constant struggle for survival is just another sad chapter in the worsening human saga in the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.  

This is the broad overview of Sri Lanka’s plight today. Politician on the one hand and bureaucrat on the other have played out the common man.   

Farmers, manual labourers, office peons and clerks, who are now known as management assistants, all low and middle-level workers both in the public and private sectors have become collectively subordinated to the massive mega-deals the politicians and officials are trapped in.  

In a land totally barren of decent cultural practices and creative art, completely devoid of financial integrity, yet thirsting for accountability and transparency from the Government sector, which was the promise that was held in the hustings, the people’s wishes have taken a back seat.    It is not because the Government is otherwise engaged in massive development undertakings. There is a palpable feeling especially among the business leaders and academics that the Government is not competent. That is a very shameful badge to wear.   Whether it is incompetence or lack of motivation or even deliberate disregard for the promises held out during an election campaign, masses cannot be patient beyond average human endurance.    Why the Rajapaksas score all points in the media is directly ascribed to this lack of action by those in power. How can anyone justify Mahinda Rajapaksa’s criticising the current Government and writing to the media under the heading, ‘Irregular Appointment of High Court Judge Threatens Independence of the Judiciary’?   

What does he think about the voter public?   

True, our people have a very short memory. Yet, for the person who abused the country’s Judiciary to such an unprecedented degree by removing the then Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake in the most disrespectful manner, sending the real war hero General Sarath Fonseka behind bars under the most flimsy charges, after using the then Chief Justice Mohan Peiris like a doormat, to hurl stones at the current regime is laughable.  

The real issue with the current rulers, among others, is their lack or inability of fighting back in the pages of print media or on the wide screens of television. Strong criticism, in the most severe form and fashion without any mercy is the only answer.   

Mahinda Rajapaksa, as Donald Trump in the USA is living in his own universe of alternative facts.    Mahinda Rajapaksa simply cannot relate to the reality of being out of power. His daily routine of getting ready in the morning, setting his red shawl (Satakaya) around his neck, arriving at his ornate Presidential desk and shouting orders at his security staff, receiving visiting foreign dignitaries is irreversibly changed.   

His present routine might be totally different. But getting used to that routine where there is no ‘power’ is a very hard thing to digest. But his unlimited wealth apparently has the capacity as well as enormity to sustain a planned campaign against a ‘media-unsavvy’ administration.  

But in the midst of this brutal conflict between two antagonists, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithri/Ranil combination, we should not forget our farmer, who was sweating it out far out in the lost land of the arid zone.   

His day is not yet over. After finishing the day’s work in the field, he is eagerly trekking towards his home where his wife and child await, not particularly with any hope or optimism. Yet, when the family’s breadwinner reaches home in his usual depressed state of mind, the whole panorama of the human drama becomes visible to the discriminating eye.   Now, his landscape is a shack of home. The roof is leaking and the cow-dung-floor is uneven and rough to the feet of his little child. His plight is pathetic and his future is gloomy. This is the story of our rural folks. It is more cruel than sad.  
The writer is available on vishwamithra1984@gmail.com