Aloysius paid Ravi’s penthouse lease rental: Anika 

2017-07-24

Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and his family leased out a penthouse at Monarch Residencies for eight months with the monthly lease rental Rs.1.45 million being paid by Arjun Aloysius, a key witness revealed at the PCoI proceedings yesterday.

Testifying at the PCoI, Construction Company Director Anika Wijesuriya said she had owned a Penthouse at Monarch Residencies in Kollupitiya which she wanted to rent-out during December, 2015.

Subsequently, in early January, 2016, former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake and his wife Mela had inquired from the witness' brother about renting the apartment. Later the witness contacted Ms. Karunanayake and carried out initial negotiations about renting the apartment.

It was revealed that the Karunanayake family was looking for an apartment to stay during the renovations being carried out at their residence in Rajamalwatte, Kotte.

Ms. Wijesuriya had later asked Ms. Karunanayake to visit the apartment to examine it. It was revealed that during the examination Perpetual Treasuries Ltd. owner Arjun Aloysius had also arrived at the apartment and had assured the witness that he would lease out the apartment.

Ms. Wijesuriya said she was aware at the time that Mr. Aloysius would be the lessor while the Karunanayake family occupied the apartment.

The witness also explained that she developed a friendship with Mr. Aloysius and his wife before the lease agreement was signed.

When questioned by the PCoI, the witness said the apartment was leased at a monthly rental of Rs.1.45 million.

The lease agreement amounted to Rs.7.3 million while an additional Rs.1.4 million was paid to the witness by cash.

Ms. Wijesuriya said she entered into a lease agreement with the Company called Walt and Row Pvt Ltd, to which the Rs.7.3 million was transferred by the Perpetual Capital Holdings Pvt Ltd, to be paid to her.

The witness confirmed that the Karunanayake family occupied the penthouse.

In July, 2016, there was news published on websites regarding the incident highlighting the Karunanayake family occupying an apartment, with the rental paid by Mr. Aloysius.

In the wake of media reports, the witness revealed that Mr. Aloysius had asked her to destroy the lease agreement.

“He said he destroyed his copy of the lease agreement and asked me to do the same, but I was confused with the request because the documentation would generally be available at the public records room and did not do what he asked me to do,” the witness said.

She said she also contacted Ms. Karunanayake afterwards and talked about the media reports and their negative impact on her as the owner of the apartment.

The witness said she had asked Ms. Karunanayake to either purchase the apartment or vacate it considering the circumstances.

However, the witness said she allowed the Karunanayake family to occupy the apartment for another two months allocating the refundable deposited money into it because the renovations of their residence were not concluded.

Then the witness had called Mr. Aloysius and informed about the extension of the lease agreement.

The witness said the Karunanayake family later conveyed their willingness verbally to buy the apartment and settled on a price of Rs.165 million.

She said a Company known as Global Transportation and Logistics Pvt Ltd, in which Ms. Karunanayake and her daughter Onella were directors, purchased the apartment in September 2016.

When questioned by DSG Yasantha Kodagoda who led the evidence in chief, the witness revealed that Ravi Karunanayake had phoned her father last Saturday prior to testifying at the PCoI.

President’s counsel Kalinga Indatissa also crossexamined the witness. (Shehan Chamika Silva)

'Unprecedented' outbreak of dengue fever plagues Sri Lanka

A Sri Lankan health worker sprays a neighborhood with a fog used to ward off mosquitoes in Biyagam, on the outskirts of Colombo in January 2017.

Tue July 25, 2017

(CNN)Sri Lanka is facing an "unprecedented" outbreak of deadly dengue fever, with 296 deaths recorded and over 100,000 cases reported in 2017 alone, according to the Red Cross.

The international aid organization, formally known as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is increasing its emergency assistance across Sri Lanka to help contain the spread of the mosquito-borne disease, a press release says.

As many as 103,000 cases have been reported in the island nation this year -- almost twice as many as were reported in all of 2016 and more than 4.3 times higher than the average number of cases for the same period between 2010 and 2016.

 

Hospitals across the country are at breaking point and have been forced to turn away patients suffering from the disease as they struggle with the intake. Particularly hard hit is the country's Western Province, which accounts for almost half of Sri Lanka's infections.

More than 1190 Army personnel have been deployed in response to the outbreak.

"Island-wide Army troops will continue the campaign throughout the month until the incidence of Dengue is eradicated from all corners of the island," said a press release from the Sri Lankan militray.

Delayed medical attention has been the leading cause for deaths arising from dengue, Ali Akram, of the National Hospital in Colombo told CNN earlier in July.

The spread of the deadly viral disease is attributed to heavy monsoon rains, piles of rain-soaked garbage, standing pools of water and other mosquito larvae breeding grounds, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

 

A Sri Lankan man throws trash onto garbage piled on a street in Colombo on June 26, 2017.

More than half of the country's districts have been affected by heavy rains and flooding, and impoverished areas are most at risk, says Gerhard Tauscher, IFRC's operations manager in Sri Lanka.

"Dengue tends to seek out the poor who live in densely populated places where sanitation is inadequate, rubbish piles up, water pools and mosquitoes thrive," he said in a statement.

 Floods devastate Sri Lanka 01:03

Growing problem

Dengue is endemic in Sri Lanka, and the last major outbreak -- in 2009 -- saw 25,000 infections and 249 deaths.

Priscilla Samaraweera, of the Sri Lankan National Dengue Control Unit, told CNN earlier that healthcare workers are struggling to combat the virus, which is more infectious and fatal than other strains that have hit the Asian nation in previous years.

The disease, which is mainly transmitted by a type of mosquito (Aedes aegypti) -- the same type of mosquito that carries the Zika and Chikungunya viruses -- is found in tropical and subtropical climates worldwide. Symptoms include fever, severe headache, rashes and pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain.

World's first dengue fever vaccine given to children 01:17

The spread of the disease, which manifests itself in flu-like symptoms and can develop into a deadly complication called severe dengue, also known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, has grown "dramatically" in recent decades, according to the WHO.

Over half of the world's population live in dengue endemic areas and there are as many as 390 million infections annually.

Major contributing factors to its rise include climate change, urbanization, poor sanitation control, according to Kym Blechynden, Regional Emergency Health Coordinator for IFRC Asia Pacific.

Higher humidity and temperatures mean mosquitoes can survive longer, increasing the likelihood for transmitting diseases and being able to travel to a wider geographic range.

It is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children in some developing countries, and half the world's population is at risk.

Inside China's 'mosquito factory' 01:40

Dengue vaccine could instead cause more cases, experts warn

Prevention

In Sri Lanka IFRC teams have been assisting with hospitalizations, and also by providing public education on the causes and prevention of the disease.

"But the disease can be stopped in its tracks when affected communities are informed about prevention and treatment, have access to medical care and mobilize to clean up their environment. That's what our teams are focusing on," Tauscher added.

The IFRC focuses on community education and prevention -- teaching communities how to destroy breeding sites and avoid bites, as well as making sure vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women are educated and protected, said Blechynden.

In addition to the ideal conditions for dengue-carrying mosquitoes to thrive, the virus is the Dengue Serotype Two, a strain that is uncommon in Sri Lanka, according to Blechynden.

First reported in Sri Lanka in 2009, it has been detected only infrequently since, meaning that the population hasn't been exposed to it as much as other strains.

Dengue fever: How a mosquito infected millions, and not with malaria

A government-backed four-day intensive clean-up drive, involving "tens of thousands of volunteers and security personnel," is scheduled to begin Friday, according to the state-owned Daily News.

Cabinet to decide today fate of Rs. 193b costing, Rs. 47b loss making Hambantota Port

Tuesday, 25 July 2017

Cabinet is scheduled to decide on the future of the Hambantota Port, built by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa through a loan costing Rs. 193 billion, which has since accumulated a loss of Rs. 47 billion.

Following many rounds of negotiations as well as months of scrutiny and revisions due to concerns, a restructure of the Hambantota Port has been proposed under a public-private partnership whereby the

Government via the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) becomes the public equity partner and investor, becoming the private equity partner with China Merchants Ports Holdings Company Ltd. (CMPort).

For this, the SLPA is to incorporate two special purpose companies each carrying out port-related activities. All assets of the Hambantota Port, including the land belonging to the port, are to be transferred to the two companies, capitalising the two companies to a value of $ 1.4 billion, which is the transaction value.
One company is Hambantota International Port Services Co. Ltd. (HIPS), with a $ 606 million capitalisation, which will undertake the management of the common user facilities and services of the Hambantota Port such as port security, navigational services, pilotage, anchorage, the provision of aids to navigation, dredging, widening (capital and maintenance), emergency responses, pollution control and other port services. The shareholding of this company will be SLPA 50.7% (42% of shares directly by the Ports Authority and a further 8.7% of share indirectly through (HIPG) and CM Port 49.3%.

The other company is the Hambantota International Port Group Ltd., (HIPG) which, with a $ 794 million capitalisation, is to undertake the management of operational assets of the port, further development of the Hambantota Port, its infrastructure and commercialisation of cargo handling and related operations.

The composition of shareholding will be identical to the terminal operation projects at the Port of Colombo i.e. the South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) and Colombo International Container Terminals

(CICT), which means SLPA will hold 15% and CMPort 85%.

Based on this composition of shares, the overall shares held by CMPort will be 69.55%, while the overall shares held by Ports Authority will become 30.45%, as opposed to the initially proposed 80:20 split.

Since such a split in shares will result in a deficit of $ 146 million from the agreed investment value of $ 1.12 billion, CMPort, abiding by the framework agreement already executed, will be required to bring the deficit of $ 146 million for investment in the Hambantota Port area simultaneously without reducing the initially agreed investment value.

As per the proposed move, CMPort agrees to sell to the SLPA a further 20% equity of the HIPG within a period of 10 years at a value to be determined by an independent valuer.

The term of the concession agreement is 99 years with provisions with the right for the Ports Authority to purchase the shares upon the expiry of 70 years or the transfer of majority (60%) ownership to the Ports Authority in 80 years. CMPort and SLPA will be strictly required to prevent engagement by the two companies in any form of military-related activities. This is because the sole responsibility and authority for such activity and national security of the Hambantota Port lies with the Government.

The Government will also have the authority to grant permission, clearance and approval to berth naval vessels at the port on mutually agreed payment terms.

For managing security within and outside the port, an oversight committee convened by the SLPA, which includes the Sri Lanka Navy, Sri Lanka Police and a representative of the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, will be set up by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping.

All personnel involved in security services and related matters of the two companies will be Sri Lankan nationals.
The Government has previously stated that a further investment of around $ 600 million is needed to equip the Hambantota Port and make the port fully operational. The annual loan repayment commitment for SLPA on a past project loan is around Rs. 9.1 billion.

The Hambantota Port commenced its commercial operations in November 2011 and at the end of

2016 its accumulated loss amounted to over Rs. 46.7 billion.

The PPP mooted by the Government was ascertained after the port’s severe underperformance, coupled with the heavy burden of the repayment of the loans and the impact on the country’s macroeconomic stability.

However, based on what was proposed, shipping industry experts were wary.

They claimed that by creating two companies the public has been hoodwinked to show Sri Lanka owning 50% of one company, which is not true. The SLPA will have less than 50% as the majority of HIPG control will be with China, hence HIPS will be technically controlling the operations of HIPS.

Their other reservation was that the most valuable business of shipping, which is the terminals, has been given to China on 85% and SLPA 15% which means in the medium to long run China will control the proposed 33 berths in Hambantota and three in CICT in Colombo.

Another aspect is CMPort has been given controlling power of both companies which is non-existent in the Colombo Port.

The 99-year lease period remains but SLPA has been given a buyback arrangement only starting at 70 years and 80 years with the terms of the total valuation at that time.

“Anything over 30-35 years is detrimental to the country’s interest as the port business circle has to be re-valued at least every 30 years and renegotiated at a new valuation,” said analysts.

It was also opined that the transaction value does not include land valuation for 99 years as agreed. Only the cost of construction is $ 1.5 billion and transaction value is $ 1.4 billion and this agreement is not a landlord model but a split of assets into two companies.

SLFP and UNP discussed their future government

Jul 24, 2017

Government sources said that some joint opposition members are in talks to join the government. According to government sources, the joint opposition members will cross if anyone from the SLFP in the government is taken to the joint opposition. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, meanwhile, said that the SLFP will begin preparations to face the Local Government elections from this week.

A group of disgruntled Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Parliamentarians met President Maithripala Sirisena last week and discussed their future in the government.
Deputy Minister Nimal Lanza told the Parliamentarians who met the President want to sit independently in Parliament and take independent decisions.

Lanza, who was among those who met the President, said that they would hold discussions with all SLFP members and decide on the future of the SLFP marriage with the United National Party (UNP). He said that the President was told the unity government had failed to meet the expectations of the public.

Some senior SLFP members have decided to submit a letter to President Sirisena outlining the reasons for the need to withdraw from the government. United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) General Secretary and SLFP member Mahinda Amaraweera said that no SLFP member has formally indicated they will be leaving the party.

AshWaru Colombo

Israel to remove al-Aqsa metal detectors, leave security cameras

Israel will replace the metal detectors with 'advanced technologies' and other security measures, Netanyahu's cabinet said

Israeli security forces remove metal detectors in Jerusalem's Old City, 25 July (Reuters)

Tuesday 25 July 2017

Israel’s government has decided to remove the metal detectors at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, which have caused Palestinian protests, replacing them with other security measures.

Israel's security cabinet accepted "the recommendation of all the security bodies to change the inspection with metal detectors to a security inspection based on advanced technologies and other means," a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said.

The cabinet voted to remove the metal detector gates after a meeting lasting several hours convening for a second time since Sunday.

However, the director of al-Aqsa Najeh Bakirat said that keeping the cameras does not satisfy Palestinians’ demands.

Details of the advanced technologies the cabinet spoke of were not immediately clear, though cameras were installed at entrances to the site earlier this week.

"This movement is a movement of the street," said Sheikh Raed Dana of the Islamic Waqf organisation, which administers the holy compound.

"We as the Waqf listen to the street. The street says yes and we say yes; if the street says no to the measures, we will say no."

Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to al-Aqsa mosque after two police guards were shot dead on 14 July. Since then, Israeli forces and a settler have killed three Palestinian protestors, and three Israeli settlers in the West Bank were killed by a Palestinian.

Installation of the metal detectors were considered by Palestinians as a declaration of sovereignty by Israel over Islam’s third holiest site. They have refused to enter through the gates, praying in the streets instead as a form of protest.

International calls to resolve the crisis intensified on Monday, as UN envoy to the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov warned of "potential catastrophic costs well beyond the walls of the Old City" if the issue is not solved.

Removing the metal detectors came hours after an Israeli embassy guard, who was involved in a shooting that claimed two Jordanians in Amman, returned to Israel.

The guard had fatally shot a Jordanian who attacked him with a screwdriver at the embassy compound in Amman on Sunday, while a second Jordanian was accidentally killed, officials and a security source said.

Jordan wanted to bring the guard in for questioning, but Israel said he had diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention.

The Israeli government said Jordan did not bind the guard's return with the removal of the metal detectors at al-Aqsa.

These are the Israeli leaders who want to destroy al-Aqsa

Temple Institute head Yisrael Ariel, who has called for the destruction of churches and mosques and the mass slaughter of those who refuse to accept his extreme version of Judaism, at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in June. (via Facebook)

Dan Cohen-24 July 2017

Since the gun battle at the al-Aqsa compound on 14 July that ended in the deaths of three Palestinian citizens of Israel and two Israeli police, Israeli media have largely focused on outrage that anyone would carry out an attack at a holy site, while praising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s collective punishment against the Palestinian population.

These are the Israeli leaders who want to destroy al.docx by Thavam Ratna on Scribd

Kushner’s damning account: At the very least, he’s in over his head

 Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr. and Paul Manafort are scheduled to appear before Senate committees next week. Here’s what’s at stake for them. (Video: Bastien Inzaurralde/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

By Jennifer Rubin July 24 at 10:31 AM

The Post reports: “Jared Kushner, President Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law, plans to detail four meetings he had with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign and transition period — including one set up by Donald Trump Jr. with a Russian lawyer — but will deny any improper contacts or collusion in testimony to a congressional panel on Monday.” Of most interest, he describes the meeting with Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian attorney, former Russian counterintelligence agent and Russian interpreter:

Kushner also describes attending a June 2016 meeting organized by his brother-in-law, Donald Trump Jr., with a Russian attorney. He says it was listed on his calendar as “Meeting: Don Jr. | Jared Kushner.” He writes that he arrived at the meeting late, and when he got there the Russian lawyer was talking about a ban on U.S. adoptions of Russian children.

“I had no idea why that topic was being raised and quickly determined that my time was not well-spent at this meeting,” Kushner writes. “Reviewing emails recently confirmed my memory that the meeting was a waste of our time and that, in looking for a polite way to leave and get back to my work, I actually emailed an assistant from the meeting after I had been there for 10 or so minutes and wrote, ‘Can u pls call me on my cell? Need excuse to get our of meeting.’ ”

Kushner, in this telling, is a distracted, unobservant rube. He apparently did not recall the email heading that initiated the meeting (““Re: Russia – Clinton – private and confidential”). We are asked to believe that he did not understand that the issue of Russia’s ban on adoptions by Americans, a petty act of retaliation for the U.S. passage of human rights sanctions (the Magnitsky Act), was a way to pressure U.S. decision-makers. (Lift the sanctions, and adoptions can resume.) Kushner is not the worldly Boy Wonder in his version, but a distracted dilettante.

[Jared Kushner just threw Donald Trump Jr. under the bus. Bigly.]

As for the discussion with Russian banker Sergey Gorkov, Kushner says he agreed to sit down only after the urging of Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Was there any consultation with U.S. authorities? Any research into the identity of Gorkov and/or his sanctioned bank? If so, Kushner does not say. And — weirdly — he claims nothing much was discussed.

The meeting at which Kushner suggested use of Russian facilities to transmit information is even odder:

Kushner writes that Kislyak addressed U.S. policy in Syria and wanted to “convey information from what he called his ‘generals,’ ” but that they could not come to the United States and “he asked if there was a secure line in the transition office to conduct a conversation.” 

Kushner continues that he or [Michael] Flynn explained there were no such lines, and that Kushner asked Kislyak if the Russians had “an existing communications channel at his embassy we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General Flynn.” He writes that Kislyak said “that would not be possible” and they agreed to wait until after the inauguration to receive the information.

None of this makes much sense. Kushner could have gone through official U.S. channels if he needed a secure line. He could have told Kislyak that any information could be relayed through Russian diplomats like himself. Was Kislyak trying to play Kushner — to get Kushner to operate far from the eyes of intelligence agencies — or was Kushner trying his best to avoid established lines of communication?

“With the Trump team, Russia saw not only a candidate and President-elect open to their views but a campaign and transition team ripe for penetration by diplomatic, intelligence and economic levers,” says Clinton Watts, former FBI special agent and now senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. “Kushner’s friendly relationships with Russian business interests and inexperience in foreign policy and governance brought about multiple, unprecedented meetings with a nation that simultaneously attacked American elections on behalf of Trump.”

Collectively, one certainly gets the impression that Russians were trying to pressure and influence the political neophyte, playing to his ego as a solo operator and on his unfamiliarity with how national security matters are normally discussed. His defense appears to be that he was so naive and oblivious he didn’t know what was going on — and then so memory-challenged and sloppy that he did not fill out his security clearance forms accurately. “Kushner’s explanations are plausible and reveal what may be even worse than collusion ultimately: incompetence,” Watts says. “Assuming Kushner’s accounts are correct, these Russian meetings point to the worst fears about a President relying on family loyalty rather than experience to pursue America’s best interests. They are in over the heads, unaware of how American adversaries exploit their vulnerabilities and completely lacking in strategic policy direction.” He adds, “Trump isn’t making America great again, he’s making Russia great again as he unwittingly bows to Russian mastery.”

The danger for Kushner — aside from embarrassment — is that he could be contradicted by one or more witnesses or by electronic surveillance. As for failure to complete his security form accurately, one former intelligence operative says, “Perhaps one time [he makes an error or omission] but multiple times is also ludicrous. The form states at the bottom … you swear all of the above information is true.” He adds, “I’m sure he gets some leeway but I feel that by the time the executive assistant is pulled in to testify we will get an entirely different story.”


If not evidence of malicious deception, the story reveals a young man who is in over his head and out of his depth to such a degree that he does not know he is in over his head and out of his depth. The thought of summoning people who actually knew what was going on, checking with the administration as to the background of people with whom he was communicating or showing healthy skepticism about the people who were approaching him never occurred to him? Possible, but what a damning alibi.

Foreign governments must 'pressure South Sudan to end epidemic of rape'

NGO urges donor countries to speak out about sexual violence in South Sudan, following Amnesty report detailing scale of atrocities

Thirteen-year-old Batista was drugged and raped in the middle of the night. Photograph: Bruno Bierrenbach Feder/AP

Ruth Maclean in Dakar-Tuesday 25 July 2017

Donor countries should be pressuring the government of South Sudan to end the sexual violence being carried out on a mass scale and with impunity in the country, say campaigners
Karen Naimer, a director at advocacy group Physicians for Human Rights, said countries that give aid must hold the recipient government’s “feet to the fire”by speaking publicly about atrocities and insisting they do the same.

A report published on Monday by Amnesty International found sexual violence in the world’s newest country was rampant, and catalogued a litany of rape, sexual slavery, torture and castration perpetrated by South Sudan’s government and the opposition.

The documented cases represented premeditated sexual violence on a massive scale, said Amnesty’s Muthoni Wanyeki.

Thousands of people across the country have been raped since conflict broke out in December 2013, according to the report. The scale and brutality of sexual violence in the country echoes the situation in its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where an epidemic of rape began in 1998.

The South Sudanese government had failed to hold perpetrators to account, Amnesty said, and many survivors were reluctant to report what had happened to them, particularly if it had involved a government official.

Sukeji was gang-raped by three government soldiers in Kajo Keji in August 2016 in front of her two children. “I do not want to remember but sometimes it just comes in my mind and I cry,” she said. “Sometimes I wonder whether my children have this in their memory. When they grow up, what will they think of their mother?”

Nyagai lost her religious faith after being gang-raped by government soldiers in Juba in July last year. She said she stopped going to church after she was raped and no longer prayed. “Satan went through me the day I was raped,” she said.

“These indefensible acts have left the victims with debilitating and life-changing consequences, including physical injuries and psychological distress,” said Wanyeki. “Many survivors have also been shunned by their husbands and in-laws, and stigmatised by the wider community.

“Some of the attacks appear designed to terrorise, degrade and shame the victims, and in some cases to stop men from rival political groups from procreating.”

The threat of mass starvation is hanging over South Sudan and there has been a recent escalation of fighting in the Equatoria region.

Many victims of sexual violence have been targeted because of their ethnicity.

James, a Dinka, was forced to watch as nine Nuer opposition fighters broke into his home and took turns gang-raping his wife, Acham, before killing her. “Don’t you know that Dinka and Nuer are fighting and that many Nuer were killed by Dinka in Juba?” the attackers told him.

Naimer said that while sexual violence had been a feature of many conflicts through history, it had not been recognised as a grave crime until recently. One of the things that shocked the world into recognising it was the brutality of the sexual violence in the DRC, which was similar to that in South Sudan. The two countries also shared a lack of accountability, she said.

“In the fog of war, in the conflict, they take advantage of the lawlessness, the chaos,” Naimer said. “They will perpetrate sexual violence in that context because they have the opportunity and they know that there’s a limited likelihood that they may be held to account.

“The outrageous situation in South Sudan [follows] a familiar pattern for sexual violence in conflict, where there is an utter breakdown in societal structures that support mechanisms for accountability of perpetrators. When those structures don’t exist and there is deep crisis and conflict in the community, sexual violence is often used as a mechanism to humiliate and destroy vulnerable groups.”

Naimer added: “It’s a cheap option and it is one we see in wide use in multiple conflicts. You can use your body to really harm whole communities. It doesn’t cost a lot and the impact is awful.”

She said that the international community had lots of leverage and that it should use it to pressure governments to act. They should also “ensure that while aid is implemented, justice processes are being supported as well”.

Polish President Vetoes Controversial Court Reforms

BY EMILY TAMKIN-JULY 24, 2017


After a week of protests across the country, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced he will veto legislation that critics say would have effectively brought Poland’s supreme court and National Judiciary Council under the control of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS).

“I have decided to send back to parliament – in which case to veto – the law on the supreme court, as well as the law on the National Council of the Judiciary,” Duda said in a televised statement.
The Polish president added that the laws would not bolster the “sense of justice in society” and needed to be amended.

The president’s move comes as a surprise, but signing the bill would have tested the patience of the European Union, weakened Polish currency, and threatened a constitutional crisis. Vetoing the law signifies the president’s first public split with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the PiS party.

Kaczynski maintained the laws were necessary for judicial reform, and, last Tuesday, blamed the parliamentary opposition for the 2010 plane crash that killed his twin brother, Lech Kaczynski, who was president at the time.

President Duda had previously proposed his own legislation, which would have required a three-fifths parliamentary majority, which PiS doesn’t have, to put judges on the National Council of the Judiciary. But PiS spokesperson Beata Mazurek said parliament wouldn’t consider Duda’s bill if he didn’t sign theirs first.

Some fear that Duda’s statements and amendments to the legislation will fail to address the issues most concerning to protesters.  But his veto was greeted as a victory for those who took to the streets.

“Ever since Law and Justice started its crusade against democratic institutions in Poland, the youth were largely absent from the protests,” Mateo Mazzini, a Warsaw-based academic told Foreign Policy. “… Now they joined the protests en masse, largely as these demonstrations were in defence of values, not pro or against a given political option.”

Protesting in defence of independent courts became a fashionable thing,” said Mazzini, “but young Poles must and will not stop here.”

Photo credit: JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Jeremy Corbyn is wrong. You don’t have to be a member of the EU to be part of the single market.

By Georgina Lee-24 JUL 2017

Jeremy Corbyn said on Sunday that a Labour government would leave the single market because remaining in it is ‘dependent on membership of the EU’.

Commentators have been quick to point out that there are four countries in the single market that are not members of the EU. But is there more going on here for Labour?
FactCheck investigates.

What is the single market?

The European single market allows free movement of goods, services, money and labour between member countries.
‘Free movement’ means that things and people can cross borders without paying tariffs.

Many of those who campaigned for Leave in the EU referendum said that single market membership means no control over immigration and being subject to too many EU rules and regulations.

Although a number of pro-Brexit campaigners – including Daniel Hannan, a senior figure in the Vote Leave organisation – said before the referendum that they wouldn’t want the UK to leave the single market after Brexit.

But after the referendum, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that full membership of the single market ‘substantially reduces the cost of trade within the EU’, which they say in turn leads to higher living standards for people in the UK.

Four countries are single market members but not in the EU.

On Sunday, Mr Corbyn said that membership of the single market is dependent on membership of the EU. But the status of four European countries suggests that’s not the case.

The single market is bigger than the EU. It has 32 members: the 28 EU states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Would campaigning for single market membership be politically feasible for Labour?

On that technical point, then, Mr Corbyn is wrong. Based on the experience of the four non-EU members of the single market, there’s no reason why the UK couldn’t leave the EU but remain in the single market.

But recent comments by his shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, suggest that Labour may have rejected single market membership because they think the alternative is too politically challenging.
In June, Mr McDonnell said that the party would seek ‘tariff-free access to the single market’ (it’s worth noting that ‘access’ to the single market is not the same as ‘membership’ of it).

He went on to say, when pushed on single market membership, that Labour ‘are respecting the decision of the referendum […] I think people will interpret membership of the single market as not respecting that referendum’.

Could Labour’s rejection of the single market alienate its own members?

From Mr McDonnell’s comments, it seems that senior figures in Labour fear that staying in the single market will alienate pro-Brexit voters, and might be seen as a rejection of the referendum result.

But Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, said in June that he wouldn’t want to take single market membership ‘off the table’.

And after Mr Corbyn’s interview on Sunday, Chuka Umunna, Labour MP for Streatham and Chair of the organisation Vote Leave Watch, was quick to point out that there are four non-EU members of the single market. Mr Umunna later said that ‘Taking Single Market and Customs Union membership off the table in the Brexit talks is the Tory position, it should not be Labour’s’.

Recent polling by the Party Members Project suggests that Mr Umunna may be onto something. According to that data, two-thirds of Labour party members think Britain should definitely stay in the single market. Just 4.2 per cent said they thought the UK should give up single market membership after Brexit.

What does the EU make of the UK’s future in the single market?

So there’s some disagreement within Labour’s ranks on whether the UK should stay in the single market. But perhaps more important is what the key figures on the other side of the negotiating table think.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, said in January that the UK could not ‘cherry-pick’ the terms of its future relationship with the EU after Brexit. And the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has said that it won’t be possible for the UK to achieve the ‘frictionless trade’ for which the government has advocated if we leave the single market.

FactCheck verdict

Jeremy Corbyn is wrong that single market membership is ‘dependent’ on being in the EU – there are four countries in the single market that are not part of the Union.

On a political level, Labour seem conflicted on this issue. Senior members of the party apparently fear that staying in the single market will alienate pro-Brexit voters and might look like they are rejecting the referendum result.


But if that really is Labour’s assessment, it’s a big gamble: many of its own members want the UK to stay in the single market after Brexit.   

Free Jio Phone Offer of Reliance Group is Suspect

In the past, in India, we have heard many stories about several individuals and private organisations enticing gullible people with various attractive offers, collect huge money and then fade away.

by N.S.Venkataraman-Jul 24, 2017

( July 24, 2017, Chennai, Sri Lanka Guardian) At the 40th annual General Body Meeting of the largest Indian organization Reliance Industries , it’s chairman Mr. Mukesh Ambani ,who is said to be the richest man in India today, has announced that Reliance would launch a 4G feature phone in September, 2017 that would be given free to the customers. It was further reported that the announcement was received with huge cheers by the share holders.

So far, in India , products and services are offered free (which go by the name freebie) to the citizens belonging to lower income group ,mostly by the governments. To get the resources for such freebies , the governments would increase it’s income by imposing additional taxes in variety of ways. For the first time, a private sector organization is offering such freebie ( free jio phone) on a massive scale.

In the past, in India, we have heard many stories about several individuals and private organisations enticing gullible people with various attractive offers, collect huge money and then fade away.

We have heard cases about individuals offering to multiply currency notes and people succumbing to the temptation and handing over hard earned money and finally getting cheated. We have also seen several financial companies offering huge interest on deposits , collecting crores of rupees from gullible people , paying interest for a few months and then fading away from the scene. Several police cases are under investigation all over India. While a few culprits have been arrested and punished, most of them roam free by prolonging the cases in the courts by using the loopholes in the law.

When the free jio phone offer of Reliance was made , the carefully thinking people are bound to doubt as to whether such scheme is genuine and feasible or have hidden elements in them that cannot be seen by the gullible and innocent people, who may fall prey to such schemes without investigation and succumb to the temptation.

While it is said that Jio phone will be provided free, the users are asked to pay a security deposit of Rs. 1500/- that is refundable after three years, when the phone would be returned back. Nothing has been said about the acceptance of the phone that would be returned back after three years, irrespective of it’s condition.. In all probability , phones used for three years may have developed some problem, parts may have been replaced and would not be in the optimum standard. Will Reliance guarantee that security deposit would be paid back irrespective of the condition of the phone that would be returned?. The multi millionaire chairman of Reliance is conspicuous by silence on this point so far.
Of course, if Reliance would sign up 250 million customers and put their security deposit collected in the bank, it would earn around 460 million dollar as interest per year. This could be even much more, if Reliance would use the funds to invest in various other projects that provide high rate of returns.

Today, the cheapest 4G phone available in the Indian market cost around Rs.3000/-. It is not clear as to what would be the cost of production of Jio phone that would be produced by Reliance for free distribution. It is said that Jio phone has been developed in house by Reliance but the actual phones would be made by third party equipment manufacturers like Foxconn and Flextronics . It is also not clear as to what extent the phone would be manufactured in India or abroad. This may not fulfill the objective of the Make in India campaign,as claimed by Reliance..

There is a catch in the scheme in that, Reliance insists that the phone will be locked down to work only on R jio’s 4G network . In other words, the users are denied the privilege of opting for any one of the multiple networks .

Further, it is claimed that Jio phone will offer the users unlimited voice and data just for around Rs. 153 per month . There is no sanctity about this tariff, since Reliance can always increase the tariff over a period of time after ensuring that the targeted number of consumers would be brought in it’s fold, who would have paid security deposit Rs. 1500 and do not have the option of using other network with Jio phone. There is no assurance from Reliance that the tariff would not be increased atleast for a period of three years.

If a consumer would be dissatisfied with the performance of Jio phone or would be unhappy in the event of Reliance raising the tariff after a few months, then what are the options left for the consumer ? In such a case, he will have no alternative other than spending more money to move on to some other feature phone and network.

It is naïve to believe that an organization like Reliance which has been extremely clever and tactical in the past in it’s choice of projects, managing government machinery to it’s advantage and have multiplied it’s profit and income several fold , would just offer free services without huge and commensurate benefits to it ,that may not be visible for the gullible public.

Possibly, Reliance must be calculating that with it’s free phone strategies , it can eliminate the competitors in the market and become a near monopoly and then have it’s way and dictate the market.

Obviously, Reliance commands huge resources built over several years by operating projects with huge margin and without passing on the benefits to the consumers by price reduction for it’s products. One can expect that Reliance would continue to adopt such practices and ultimately it will have the last laugh.

The faith of Reliance Chairman in the gullible nature of Indian consumer, who fall flat for any freebie scheme ,is immense.

Japan: New images likely show melted nuclear fuel under Fukushima waters

By Sharyl Kaur | 25th July 2017

TOKYO Electric Power Company (Tepco) has released new images they believe likely to show melted nuclear fuel inside Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, which was destroyed during the 2011 tsunami.

According to The Guardian, Tepco says an underwater robot it sent into the submerged nuclear reactor found solidified lava-like rocks and lumps in layers underneath the Unit 3 reactor on Friday. The three-day investigation of the reactor ended on Saturday.

 

The debris still needs to be analysed, but if confirmed, it could mark the first discovery of fuel that melted the triple reactor meltdown. It will also help Tepco come up with a way to remove the highly-radioactive material.

Only specially-designed robots can examine the reactor as there is high radioactivity there.

SEE ALSO: Japan’s nuclear dilemma: The search for energy security post-Fukushima

Stopping cholesterol-lowering drugs could be deadly

The Dangers of Cholesterol-Lowering (Statin) Drugs

Andrew M. Seaman-JULY 24, 2017

(Reuters Health) - Stopping a cholesterol-lowering drug because of a muscle ache or stomach pain can be dangerous in the long run, suggests a new study.

Researchers found that people who stopped taking statins after reporting a side effect were 13 percent more likely to die or have a heart attack or stroke over the next four years than people who kept taking the drugs.

Statins include the drugs atorvastatin, known commercially as Lipitor; rosuvastatin, also known as Crestor, and simvastatin, or Zocor.

They work by inhibiting the liver's ability to produce cholesterol while also helping the organ remove existing fats in the blood, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The drugs are almost universally prescribed to people with heart disease. Additionally, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends the drugs to people ages 40 to 75 years without a history of heart disease who have one or more risk factors and a 10-year risk of a heart attack or stroke of at least 10 percent.

Despite the overwhelming evidence in favor of statins, a quarter to a half of patients stop taking the drugs within six months to a year, Dr. Alexander Turchin, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and colleagues write in Annals of Internal Medicine.

To see whether people who continue taking statins - including those who switch to a different type or a lower dose - end up with better outcomes than people who stop taking the drugs, the researchers analyzed data drawn from two Boston hospitals between 2000 and 2011.

During that period, more than 200,000 adults were treated with statins. Nearly 45,000 of them reported a side effect they thought might be related to the medication - usually muscle or stomach aches.

From those 45,000 with possible side effects, the research team focused on 28,266 people. Most of them - 19,989 individuals - kept taking statins anyway, with nearly half continuing to take the same drug.

Roughly four years after the side effects were reported, 3,677 patients had died or suffered a heart attack or stroke.

Among those who continued to take their statins, 12.2 percent fell into that group, compared to 13.9 percent of those who stopped statins after a possible side effect.

Overall, the researchers found that people who stopped taking statins after a possible side effect were 13 percent more likely to die or have heart attack or stroke during the study period than people who kept taking their medicine.

The new findings expand on previous studies showing people benefit when they continue to take their statins, said Dr. Robert Rosenson, a professor of cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Rosenson, who was not involved with the new study, said it's important for patients to tell their doctors about any possible side effects from statins, because there may be other options.

"There are many different generic statins that can be tried," he told Reuters Health.

Alternatively, he said, doctors may try giving a smaller dose of the drug.

Turchin told Reuters Health that doctors do sometimes take people off statins, depending on the severity of the side effects, the person's risk of cardiovascular disease, and other factors.

"All of these different aspects should be taken into account in the discussion between patients and their physicians," he said.

In an editorial accompanying the new study, Dr. Steven Nissen of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio writes that some people may steer clear of statins due to misinformation published online or promoted in fad diets.

"We must work together to educate the public and enlist media support, and we must take the time to explain to our patients that discontinuing statin treatment may be a life-threatening mistake," he writes.

SOURCE: bit.ly/2gY8TM9 and bit.ly/2gXM8Ix Annals of Internal Medicine, online July 24, 2017.