Capital Gazette shooting suspect held without bond on five counts of murder

The Annapolis community reacts to the loss of five people who were killed when a shooter opened fire at the Capital Gazette on June 28. (Allie Caren, Jordan Frasier/The Washington Post)

By Dana Hedgpeth and Ashley Halsey IIIJune 29 at 4:23 PM

The man accused of killing five Capital Gazette staff had threatened the newspaper in 2013 but then “went dark,” police said. Until Thursday.

Shortly before Jarrod Ramos blasted out the glass doors of the newsroom near Annapolis at about 3 p.m., he sent another threat on social media, police said, and then unleashed his rampage, shooting with a legally purchased 12-gauge pump-action shotgun until he finally laid it down and hid under a desk as police arrived.

Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Wes Adams said Ramos’s actions, including barrricading a back door so people could not escape and his “tactical approach of hunting down and shooting the innocent victims,” was evidence of a “coordinated attack.”

On Friday, a judge ordered Ramos of Laurel to remain detained and ordered him held without bond on five counts of murder as Ramos appeared via a video feed from a detention center.

At the bond hearing, Adams called Ramos an “overwhelming threat and danger to our community.”

The Capital Gazette and its lawyer had reported the May 2013 threats and spoke with a detective who investigated. The newspaper decided not to pursue criminal charges because it might “exacerbate” the situation, Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy J. Altomare said Friday during a news conference.

The threats came amid a lawsuit Ramos filed accusing the paper of defaming him through a column describing his guilty plea to harassing a woman over social media. He lost the defamation case.

Adams said Ramos worked his way through the office, shooting victims along the way. “There was one victim that attempted to escape through the back door but was shot,” he told the judge. He also used smoke grenades, police said.

Four journalists and a sales associate for the Capital Gazette died and two people suffered what police called minor injuries. The shootings are believed to be the deadliest attack on journalists in the United States in decades.

Ramos appeared in the video feed in court in a blue, v-neck prison uniform. He said nothing and was expressionless. He stared at the camera.

Ramos is unemployed and lives alone, according to testimony presented at the hearing.

John Cusumano described his neighbor, who opened fire at the staff of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis June 28, as "quiet." (Joyce Koh/The Washington Post)

Police said that after a search of his Laurel apartment Thursday, they found evidence, which they did not detail, showing he had planned the attack.

Ramos acted alone and drove a rental car to the newspaper office, police said. Within about a minute of entering the newsroom, police found Ramos beneath a desk, authorities said. No shots were exchanged, they said.

According to Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh, the social media message Ramos allegedly posted shortly before the attack said “something like ‘leave me alone’ or ‘leave me the hell alone.’”

He said it was not clear if that message from Ramos was directed at the Capital Gazette or “at the world.”

On Friday, the opinion page of the Capital Gazette read, “Today we are speechless.”

It went on, “This page is intentionally left blank today to commemorate victims of Thursday’s shooting at our office.”

The victims were Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters. Fischman and Hiaasen were editors, McNamara was a reporter, Smith was a sales assistant and Winters worked for special publications, according to the newspaper’s website.

The two people injured were likely hit by broken glass, according to officials.

[The lives lost in the Capital Gazette shooting]

Schuh said in an interview Friday that Ramos had a “long-standing grievance” with the newspaper and had filed lawsuits against the paper and “lost them all.”

Ramos lost a defamation case against the paper in 2015 over a 2011 column he contended defamed him. The column provided an account of Ramos’s guilty plea to criminal harassment of a woman over social media.

Ramos had not been cooperative with investigators and “hasn’t said much the whole time,” Altomare said Friday. He had no wallet or other identification on him at the time, according to the charging documents filed against him.

Officials said Ramos was identified using a facial recognition system after he was in custody .

President Trump addressed the shooting Friday calling it a “horrific, horrible thing” that “shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief.”

“Journalists, like all Americans, should be free from the fear of being violently attacked while doing their job,” Trump said.

The president has previously called the news media “the enemy of the American people.”

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) commended the quick police response. On Friday, he ordered Maryland flags to be flown at half-staff.

“It’s a tragic situation, but there were some very brave people who came in and kept it from being worse, and the response time was incredible,” Hogan said. .

The Capital Gazette, Annapolis’s daily newspaper, is widely read in Maryland’s capital and in surrounding Anne Arundel County. The paper promotes itself as one of the oldest publishers in the country, with roots dating to the Maryland Gazette in 1727.

The paper has 31 people on its editorial staff and had a daily circulation of about 29,000 and a Sunday circulation of 34,000 as of 2014.

[Rebecca Smith, sales assistant remembered as an upbeat colleague]

On Friday’s edition of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Keith Cyphers — whose sales office is across the hall from the Gazette’s — recalled the shooting scene.

He said he was on the phone with a client and heard an “incredibly loud noise” and thought it was possibly an explosion.

When he leaned from his desk and looked out into the hallway and into the Gazette’s office and lobby, he saw that the newspaper office’s glass door was gone, he said.

“It was broken into a million pieces in the hallway,” Cyphers said. Then he saw the gunman “holding a black shotgun.”

“It was up against his chest,” Cyphers said. “He was moving through the lobby” of the Gazette. “He was moving while aiming deeper into the office.”

[Annapolis residents read — and mourn — their hometown paper]

Ramos seemed to carry a grudge for years against the Gazette after he was the subject of a column describing how he harassed a former classmate from Arundel High School, first on Facebook and then through emails. Ramos pleaded guilty in July 2011 to harassment. In a column written by Eric Hartley several days later, the woman described how Ramos had stalked her online and perhaps caused her to lose her job.

Ramos then apparently created a website that detailed his complaints against Hartley and the newspaper. Hartley is no longer at the Gazette and now works as an editor at the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va.

The chief told reporters the decision not to pursue charges against Ramos at the time was not a misstep by the department.

“Every day we talk to people who don’t want to make charges,” Altomare said. “I don’t feel the department was negligent in any way.”

[Rob Hiaasen, a ‘great colleague and real craftsman,’ slain in Maryland shooting]

A spokesman for the Department of Labor said that Ramos worked as a contractor for an IT company hired by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and that he was terminated in 2014. The spokesman did not know if he was terminated by the contractor or the bureau, or how long Ramos had worked there. Ramos’s lawyer said in 2011 that he had been working at the bureau since 2005.

Ramos graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Capitol College, now Capitol Technology University, in Laurel.

Investigators are still piecing together exactly how Thursday’s shooting unfolded.

The shooting began about 3 p.m. in a brown five-story office building just outside downtown Annapolis. It sits about four miles west of Maryland’s statehouse.

The newsroom is on the first floor of the office building and is easily accessible from the main entrance, according to a local politician.

[John McNamara, killed in Maryland shooting, remembered as a mentor to young journalists]

Shortly after the attack, Gazette reporter Phil Davis posted this message on Twitter: “There is nothing more terrifying than hearing multiple people get shot while you’re under your desk and then hear the gunman reload.”

[Gerald Fischman, editorial page editor, known for dedication and quiet demeanor]

Police carrying automatic weapons rushed about 170 office workers with their hands above their heads out of the building to a department store across the street.

Sgt. Amy Miguez, an Annapolis Police Department spokeswoman, said that early on Thursday she received a text message from Davis and that she referred the reporter to county police when he said he was working on a story jurisdictional lines between city and county police and needed help to get it straight.

At 2:41, Davis texted Miguez again and wrote: “Help. Shooting at office.”

Miguez initially thought it was a joke and again referred him to call county police, because they have jurisdiction at the Gazette offices.

Davis quickly responded that he couldn’t call and that he was trying to stay as quiet as possible.

[Wendi Winters, killed in Maryland shooting, devoted more than two decades to community journalism]

Miguez said she immediately dialed 911 and gave the location of the paper to report the shooting.

[Rebecca Smith, sales assistant remembered as an upbeat colleague]

Michael Brice-Saddler, Lynh Bui, Paul Farhi, Joe Heim, Peter Hermann, Arelis R. Hernández, Reis Thebault, Rachel Weiner and Clarence Williams contributed to this report.

Exclusive: Russian Foreign Minister accuses UK of ‘extermination of the evidence’ in Skripal case

Cathy Newman-29 Jun 2018Presenter
In an exclusive interview with Channel 4 News, Russia’s top diplomat said he would not rule out the possibility that the UK was engaged in a cover-up. Sergey Lavrov also claimed that “all kinds of tricks” had been used to change the rules of the OPCW, the international chemical watchdog.

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has accused Britain of an “extermination of the evidence” in the Skripal poisoning case.

In an exclusive interview with Channel 4 News, Russia’s top diplomat said he would not rule out the possibility that the UK was engaged in a cover-up.

Speaking in Moscow this morning, he also claimed that “all kinds of tricks” had been used to change the rules of the OPCW, the international chemical watchdog.

Mr Lavrov claimed there had been a “violation” of the chemical weapons convention, and said that if the OPCW was not repaired then “the days of the OPCW would be counted, at least it would not remain as a universal organisation”.

Accusing the US, Britain and EU of always believing that Russia was guilty without the evidence, he said: “In my view, rule of law means that unless proven guilty, you cannot sentence people. And that’s what’s happening with Skripal.”

A senior Foreign Office source responded to Mr Lavrov’s claims about the Skripal case, saying: “This is so blatantly concocted, it’s on the verge of being stupid.”

Skripal case

Discussing the nerve agent attack in England on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, earlier this year, Mr Lavrov said the situation was “looks very weird”.

“The inconsistencies in the situation with Skripals are very troubling,” he said. “We never managed to get consular access to our citizen – in violation of all international conventions, diplomatic and consular relations. We never got any credible explanation why the nephew – or aunt – of this Yulia Skripal is not given visa.

“It all looks like consistent physical extermination of the evidence. Like the benches in the park were removed immediately and of course the video images when the policeman or special forces in special attire go to take a look at this bench there’s people without any protection moving around.”

Asked whether he was accusing the British government of a cover-up, he said: “I don’t exclude this, as long as they don’t give us information.”

He added: “Certainly, the UK has benefited politically from what is going on and it’s an interesting situation whereby a country that is leaving the EU is determining the EU policy on Russia.”

Relations with America

Allegations that Russia interfered in the last US presidential elections were being “used to ruin the Russia-America relations,” Mr Lavrov said.

He said the way that Rex Tillerson, the former US Secretary of State, dealt with the situation was “not mature” and “very childish”, because he refused to share evidence apparently uncovered by investigators.

He also dismissed the idea that his country may hold compromising material on President Trump, saying that – without proof – the accusations were “shameful”.


“I don’t know what people can invent,” he said, adding that claims about Russia’s interference in the 2016 US elections were “a manifestation of deep domestic controversy because the losers don’t have the guts to accept that they lost the elections.”

Edward Snowden describes Russian government as corrupt

Whistleblower’s comments a risk given his sanctuary in the country since 2013
 Edward Snowden in 2018. Photograph: Lindsay Mills

Ewen MacAskill-Fri 29 Jun 2018 

National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden has delivered his most trenchant criticism yet of the Russian government, describing it unequivocally as “corrupt”.

His comments mean the proposed US-Russia summit in Helsinki on 16 July is potentially risky for him if Donald Trump was to request Vladimir Putin to hand him over.

Snowden is wanted in the US on three charges under the Espionage Act, carrying a minimum of 10 years each in jail. Putin could balance the propaganda value of having Snowden in Russia against providing Trump with an easy gift.

In an interview with the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Snowden, who has lived in Russia since 2013, said: “The Russian government is corrupt in many ways, that’s something the Russian people realise. Russian people are warm. They are clever. It’s a beautiful country. Their government is the problem not the people.”

Snowden faced criticism in the first couple of years after he arrived in Russia of not criticising the Putin government but he has gradually become more outspoken, including in his defence of journalists.

Russia is the only safe haven in the world for Snowden. China would not allow him access to the mainland when he was in Hong Kong in 2013. Neither Germany, where there is strong public support for Snowden, nor any other European country appears willing to fall out with the US by offering him sanctuary. If he made it to Latin America or anywhere else in the world, the US could apply economic pressure or send in a CIA team to kidnap him.

He said: “I’ve already accepted that I am going to spend my life dealing with enormous consequences for my decision to tell the public what I know. But if not for me, by all means, Germany should pass the necessary laws to allow future whistleblowers to find a safe harbour.”

Snowden said if a Russian whistleblower was to turn up on chancellor Angela Merkel’s doorstep, she would protect them. “But if an American whistleblower shows up on Merkel’s doorstep? That question has not been answered,” Snowden said.

He expressed disappointment with Merkel’s public position on whistleblowers. “We’ve talked so much about Russia today and the disappointments and the challenges that the public is facing because of the problems of their government. What would it say to the world if the only place an American whistleblower can be safe is in Russia?”

Asked about WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange, with whom he is often compared, Snowden said:
“I’m a reformist, he’s a revolutionary. I don’t want to burn the system down, if I believe it can still be saved.”

Although Assange helped organise Snowden’s escape from Hong Kong, the two hold many different views, including how much classified information should be published, with Snowden favouring a more selective approach.

Millennials are ‘uneasy’ about the future, have dim view of employers

29th June 2018

YOUNG people across the world are increasingly taking a pessimistic view of business, with most believing that their employers do not behave ethically and that most business leaders are not truly committed to diversity.

Global consultancy Deloitte’s 2018 Millennial Survey looked at the views of 10,455 people born between January 1983 and December 1994 – millennials who already have university degrees, are employed fulltime and work primarily in large, private-sector organisations.

The survey was conducted across 36 countries including China, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand and South Korea.

SEE ALSO: Mumbai and Melbourne the best Asia Pacific cities for poor millennials

It also looked at the views of 1844 Gen Z respondents born between January 1995 and December 1999 who are currently studying or have already obtained a degree.

It found a majority of millennials are “uneasy about the future” and feel unprepared for economies to enter Industry 4.0 – the shift to “smart factories” in which robotics and automation is already transforming manufacturing.

Only 36 percent of respondents said that their organisations were preparing them for the changes of Industry 4.0.

Source: Deloitte

Most millennial workers highly valued diversity and flexibility in the workplace, with employers demonstrating these characteristics attracting greater loyalty. People working for organisations they perceived as diverse were much more likely to say they wanted to work there longer than five years.

Financial reward was still the primary consideration in choosing employment, however, being part of a “positive work environment” was the most important factor for new graduates.

“Millennials aren’t naïve—they realise profits are both necessary and a priority. But they believe that corporations should set out to achieve a broad balance of objectives,” including making a positive impact on society, creating innovative products and services, job creation, and diversity in the workplace, said the report.

Around 69 percent of employees who believed senior management teams were diverse saw their work environments as motivating and stimulating – compared to just 43 percent of those who don’t perceive their leadership as diverse.

“To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society,” according to the CEO of investment management firm BlackRock Larry Fink.

SEE ALSO: Women, ethnic minorities most likely to lose jobs to robots

“Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers and the communities in which they operate.”

But ultimately, Deloitte found, most millennials continue to believe employers were “prioritising the bottom line above workers, society and the environment, leaving them with little sense of loyalty.”

“The message is clear: Young workers are eager for business leaders to be proactive about making a positive impact in society – and to be responsive to employees’ needs.”

'We’re so happy': Hundreds of Syrians refugees return home from Lebanon

As Lebanese politicians increasingly call for refugees to return to Syria, hundreds have begun to return to their war-torn country

Syrian trucks leaving Lebanon for Syria (MEE/Sunniva Rose)

Sunniva Rose-Friday 29 June 2018 

ARSAL, Lebanon - Hundreds of Syrian refugees left northeast Lebanon yesterday morning in pick-up trucks jam-packed with their belongings: mattresses, gas stoves, crockery, children’s toys as well as the occasional bird cage.

They were headed for the Qalamoun region of Syria, just a few hours drive from the camps they had lived in for the past few years in Arsal, a Lebanese border town.

All of them reported having fled the intense fighting back in 2013.

According to one of the organisers, Khaled Abdelaziz, there are roughly 20,000 people from Qalamoun in Arsal, out of the 50,000 to 60,000 refugees in the area.

Relatives and friends waved tearful goodbyes. “I hope you arrive safely and that we’ll see each other soon in Syria," sobbed an elderly lady as she embraced Hajer Darwish, a young mother of two sitting in the front of a pick-up truck driven by her husband. “She’s crying because we’re leaving and she’s staying,” explained Darwish, smiling.

“We’re so happy to go back to our country. I haven’t slept all night.”

Darwish’s sons, who were born in Lebanon, will be seeing their parents’ country for the first time. They have high hopes.

“In Syria, there are sheep, cows, chickens, swimming pools and water,” lists one of them. Water and electricity cuts are common in the camps surrounding Arsal, where living conditions are rudimentary.

'Look at those leaving: they’re mostly women, children or men who are too old for the army'

- Oum Hussein, refugee

Standing on her balcony to watch the trucks waiting to leave, one Lebanese woman seemed relieved.

“A few hundred people is not many, but it still means fewer refugees in Arsal."

The town has suffered from severe spillover from the Syrian war. The departure has been months in the making.

“Following a reconciliation deal, two traders from the town of Fleeta living in Arsal started circulating lists of names of refugees who were interested in returning to the Qalamoun area,” explained Mireille Girard, the UNHCR representative in Lebanon, in an interview mid-June.

The names were handed over to the Lebanese General Security, a branch of the intelligence services, who sent them to Damascus for approval. Over 3,000 people registered, but only 360 left yesterday, according to a Lebanese army colonel who was coordinating their departure on the ground. Later in the day, General Security announced that actually only 294 people made the trip back to Syria.

The Lebanese army check the names of Syrians who were approved by Damascus to return to Syria (MEE/Sunniva Rose)

In many cases, the only person to be approved in the family was female. As a result, the entire family stayed in Lebanon. Hayla Jassatir, a 29-year-old mother of six, had packed her truck together with her husband, Muhammad Kanaan, hoping that he would be able to leave with her. But it was not to be.

“Who will drive us to Fleeta if he can’t come?” she complained. Like a dozen other people in the same situation, Jassatir kept asking a harassed-looking young man carrying a long list of names to double check whether her husband’s name might be on it.

A widow from Yabroud, who wished to remain anonymous, was caught in a similar bind. “I have been approved, but not my daughter and her husband,” she explained. “I thank Lebanon for hosting us, but I cannot be happy until I go home. The first thing I want to do is paint and fix the house."

Those watching their relatives leaving were uncertain whether they would be following them soon. Samira Boutara’s father and his pregnant second wife left yesterday for Jrajeer to scout the town.

“We haven’t registered yet. We don’t know if it’s safe enough back home,” said Boutara.

“We’ll just go back to our nylon bag now," she laughed, referring to her tent in one of Arsal’s camps.

READ MORE ► 

Syrians describe 'unbearable' situation as pro-government forces bomb Daraa

“We hate the camp here," one of her sisters chimed in, more seriously.

“We might be too poor to rebuild our houses in Syria, but we’re happy to just cover the holes and windows and live like that.”

Overall, the Syrians who left yesterday represented only a small portion of the refugees in Arsal, and their number is insignificant when compared with the number of Syrians in Lebanon - over one million. The UNHCR identified 11,000 spontaneous departures last year.

Returnees must meet several conditions. First, cooperate fully with the Syrian authorities, which means openly stating their support for Bashar al-Assad. Second, they must be willing to send the young men of the family to the army, as military service is obligatory for men aged between 18 and 42.

“Look at those leaving: they’re mostly women, children or men who are too old for the army,” observed Oum Hussein, who stood by the side of the road waving goodbye to a friend leaving for Fleeta.

She is too afraid to return to Syria. Her family is strongly associated with the opposition: her husband died in anti-government demonstrations back in 2011, and her son deserted the Syrian army before being killed.

She now lives in Arsal with three of her children. Only one member of her extended family has dared register his name to return to Syria. 

“It’s only because he thinks that he might lose his house in Damascus. He has another house in Yabroud but he’s less worried about it. The regime is mostly interested in demographic change around the capital,” says Oum Hussein.

Land seizures

A law issued in April allows the Syrian government to seize land for developments. Syrians have a year to present their deeds to local council offices in the country. By “demographic change”, Oum Hussein was referring to a common fear: that Assad is trying to destroy former opposition bastions and replace them with pro-government populations.

However, many Syrian men who volunteered to return home from Arsal argued that they were not worried at the prospect of having to join the army. “I’ll go back to my country and fight armed groups,” claimed 28-year old Mohammad Ramadan, sitting in his tent in Arsal last week.

“But first, I’ll be allowed a break of six months to a year,” he added.

His family has heard that Syrian men who returned last summer to the small town of Assal al-Ward, near the Lebanese border, still haven’t been summoned by the army.

Ramadan has registered to leave but has not been approved yet.

People ready to leave Arsal on their tractor (MEE/Sunniva Rose)

Lebanon has every interest in making sure that voluntary departures such as the one that took place in Arsal run smoothly. The foreign minister’s chief of cabinet, Hadi Hachem, told Reuters this week that “for us, this group of people will be like a pilot project” to encourage other Syrians to go home.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun frequently repeats that Syrians should return to their country irrespective of progress on a political solution there.

His son-in-law, caretaker foreign minister Gebran Bassil, is at war with the UNHCR since he froze the renewal of visas for foreign UNHCR staff in Lebanon earlier this month. The minister accuses the UN – and the rest of the international community – of discouraging Syrian refugees from returning to their country.

The possibility of a permanent settlement of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is a highly sensitive topic in Lebanon and brings back memories from the civil war, which was in part triggered by the presence of Palestinian refugees.

Mireille Girard, UNHCR representative in Lebanon, flatly denies this claim. “We are not opposed to the return of those who want to,” she said.

The organisation did not participate in the coordination of the refugees’ return, as it does not deem Syria safe enough. But it accompanies refugees through the final administrative steps that are necessary before leaving Lebanon.

“They give us their address in Syria and then, if we get the permission to visit the area, we try to find them again,” adds Girard. In the case of the town of Assal al-Ward, the UNHCR was allowed to visit the returnees, but it is still waiting for permission to visit Fleeta and its surrounding villages.

BURMESE SECURITY FORCES SHOT A ROHINGYA BOY TO CRITICAL INJURIES

By Rohingya Vision TV Correspondents | 29th June 2018

Tongbru: A Rohingya boy was shot by Burmese security forces, while playing at no man land between Burma-Bangladesh border, yesterday (28th June, 2018), report sources.

A 10 years old boy was shot on his thigh while playing at the border area between Burma-Bangladesh at 4:00 pm by a Burmese Luien Thein (security force).

He was identified to be Ansar Ullah S/O Zamir Hussain, 11 originally hailing from the Raimmurhali (Rein Chaung) village track of Mauangdaw Township.

Ansar Ullah was shot while he was playing along with other 15-10 children at the border area, where 1000s of Rohingay are sheltering since late 2017.

Read more on gunshots at border area:

 

Breaking News: Military Started Gun Fire at Zero-Line

By Rohingya Vision TV Correspondents | 1st March 2018 Zero-Line: Burmese military started gunfire at no man land by invading the area through the border barricades since late evening today (1st March), leaving sheltering Rohingya in extreme panic. According to sheltering Rohingya since 07:00 PM military vehicles entered the area and started random firing all … Continue reading

Rohingya News, Analysis, Documentaries & Videos from Rohingya Vision

According to a community leader at zero-point, immediately after he was shot, he was rescued by Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members. After that he was taken to Kutupalong Red Crescent Hospital and is heard to be treated there.

Dil Mohammad, a Rohingya community leader, told the correspondent of the daily star that a patrolling Burmese security force from Myanmar territory opened fire on a group of 15-20 Rohingya children, who were playing football at Konapara in the no man’s land.

 

Rohingy boy Ansar Ullah, 11 shot by Burmese security forces on 28th June 2018. Image: RVISION TV

Burmese forces brutal clearance operation have forced more than 800, 000 Rohingya to neighboring Bangladesh. Those tortures left no choice for other 7000 Rohingya as well, whom are sheltering at this no man land. There they are constantly tortured, harassed and threatened by the Burmese forces on regular basis, where they are already lingering for a daily meal.

To send reports and feedback, please email editor@rvisiontv.com

Singer James Arthur urges more mental health support in music

Lisa Keddie- JUNE 29, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) - More support should be given to music artists dealing with mental health problems and singers, DJs and musicians should talk more openly about their concerns, British singer-songwriter James Arthur has said.

The 30-year-old former “The X Factor” winner, who has previously spoken about his battle with anxiety, said awareness of the pressures facing performers has increased.

“Mental health ... is of paramount importance in the music industry I think and maybe there should be more (help) in place,” Arthur, an ambassador for British mental health charity SANE, told Reuters in an interview.


“It’s very important that people speak out and ... aren’t condemned for cancelling gigs,” he said.
The death of 28-year-old Swedish DJ Avicii in April shocked the music industry. His family said the performer, whose real name was Tim Bergling, had struggled with life and “could not go on any longer.”

“People are definitely more aware of how demanding it is to be a superstar DJ for example like Avicii - a tragic thing happened there,” Arthur said.

“It’s tough ... you don’t have time to really embrace a lot of stuff, and especially in the DJ world. It’s like sometimes they do two New Year shows, they have to fly from Australia to New York in the same night ... I mean I struggle with three gigs in a row.”

Arthur, known for ballads like “Say You Won’t Let Go” and “Naked”, was catapulted into the spotlight when he won the 2012 edition of British talent show “The X Factor” and topped the charts with single “Impossible”.

FILE PHOTO: 2017 MTV Video Music Awards – Arrivals – Inglewood, California, U.S., 27/08/2017 - James Arthur. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo

The singer, who said he was now “in a good place”, added he is now branching out into different genres, such as his latest more up-tempo “You Deserve Better” song and collaborating with DJ Marshmello and rapper Juicy J for the track “You Can Cry”.

“I’m about trying lots of different things and being versatile,” he said.

Reporting By Lisa Keddie; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Ms Eknaligoda asks President to protect her and her sons’ lives

June 28, 2018 

Sandhya Eknaligoda, the wife of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda, speaking at a media meeting has asked the President to affirm the safety of her and her two sons.
Ms Sandhya Eknaligoda states a group including Ulapane Sumangala Thera, who acts as an adviser to President Maithripala Sirisena is threatening her and her sons through social media. She says the person who directs threats against her and her sons also performs as an advisor to the President.

She says fabrications are being spread involving the Ambassador to the USA which is harmful to the country diplomatically.

She further asks the President to take measures to stop the ignominious act being carried out by certain members of the Maha Sangha and protect her and her sons’ dignity and lives.

Verdict At Large 

By K. Balendra –JUNE 28, 2018

K. Balendra

I have been hopefully waiting for approximately 2 years for a verdict on a Fundamental Rights Petition, hearing of which was concluded in June 2016. As a layman, I am now, compelled to bring to light the details of my case to enable the public in general and the litigants in particular (existing and would be) to understand the Judicial System prevailing in Srilanka and be prepared for the worst. 

Various articles and news items have been published in the press with regard to the overall delays experienced by the litigants. Unfortunately, no definite attempt has been made by the Judiciary nor the successive Ministers of Justice to remedy the situation, except to issue decorative statements on their assumption of office, to hoodwink the members of the public, that ‘delays will be a thing of the past’. 

However, the past appears to override the promised present, because it seems that Justice System itself is politicised beyond redemption and considered a money-making concern similar to that of the private hospitals and medical consultants. Unfortunately, the members of the public are caught up in the tentacles of both. A ‘Necessary Evil ‘

I have written a few letters to the press with regard to particular reference to my case. In fact, I compiled a book let consisting of three letters, two from The Sunday Times (6/7/14 &15/3/15) and one from Colombo Telegraph, under the caption ‘Deformed Judiciary’ and forwarded few to the lawyers, Judges, including Chief Justices past and present to enable them to understand the plight of the litigants who climb the steps of the courts up and down, of course, some with the help of the walking aids, on numerous occasions, hoping against hope to receive Judgements expeditiously. When they commenced their cases, they may have been ‘young and handsome’ and walking aids may not have been necessary. But with the long passage of time the walking aids became an integral part of their body, as much as the Lawyers and Judges have become an integral part of their mind. The writer himself may have to seek aids soon, to walk about.

This letter is in respect of unexpected delay of over two years in receiving judgement on conclusion of the hearing of a FR petition in June 2016. Two of us appeared in person in all the institutions.

A concise history of the case may give all a food for thought. If a simple case like ours takes over 12 Years in all, to seek remedy, what could you expect with regard to other cases which are deliberately Implicated by the police and Complicated by the lawyers and the Judges who may succumb to it, willingly or otherwise.

The crux of our case was with regard to a developer cheating the purchasers with regard to providing adequate parking space for the 33 apartments.

In the first instance we referred this matter to the Condominium Management Authority. But there was no response. Thereafter it was referred to the Consumer Affairs Authority, on whose intervention the Condominium Management Authority half-heartedly initiated an inquiry. Instead of directly ascertaining the position they invited the CMC and UDA to participate in the inquiry.

According to the prevailing law in 2003 we should have been provided with a minimum of 24 parking space taking into consideration the square area of each apartment. However, as part of the ground floor area reserved for parking, as per the initial plan, was converted to a restaurant by the developer who was greedy for money. our parking space was reduced to 17. Even, the 17 spaces are enough only to park the cars as in the car sales premises.

All what the Condominium Management Authority should have done was ascertain for themselves the position and come to conclusion. Even if CMC and UDA had turned a blind eye to the law, the CMA, considered the Guardian Angel of the apartment dwellers, should have cried halt to the illegal accommodation of the restaurant. It appears that the three law enforcing authorities for obvious reasons were reluctant to do so. It may be mentioned even with the space occupied by the restaurant the total parking space would still be short by two spaces.

It is evident that the trio was trying to take shelter behind each other.

It is similar to a murder by poisoning, but the JMO gives a certificate to state that the death was due to natural causes and the Judicial verdict given accordingly unless challenged by interested parties. 

This inquiry at the CMA commenced in 2005 and went on till 2011. As there were no signs of conclusion of the inquiry, we filed a Fundamental Right   petition. But again till 2015 there were no signs of conclusion. It was just dragging on.

In fairness to the Acting Chief Justice Mahroof  who sat on the bench once, (Now Retired) it must be said that he made an order to CMA to conclude the inquiry within 6 months and submit their findings. CMA, instead of submitting their findings submitted an order (another delaying tactic to hide the facts). Once again, we had to insist that the findings of the inquiry should be submitted and the Judges made an order to submit the findings, which was submitted in December 2015.But the findings did not address the issues raised by us appropriately, for fear of confronting the developer and the other two CMC and UDA.

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