Cabinet Approved A Proposal To Change The Name Of "Divi Naguma" Programme

The Cabinet has approved a proposal to change the name of " Divi Naguma"programme implemented during previous government to "Samurdhi" according to the Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Gayantha Karunathilake.

The Minister has informed on this during the Cabinet Briefing held at Government Information Department today(19).

Thajudeen's Murder Case- Colombo Additional Magistrate Has Ordered To Further Remand The Imprisoned Former DIG Anura Senanayake and Crimes OIC Sumith Perera

The Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Pieris has today(19)ordered to further remand the former Senior Deputy Inspector General Of Police (DIG)Anura Senanayake and former Crimes OIC in Narahenpita Police Sumith Perera until 02nd of November over the murder of former Sri Lankan Rugby Player Wasim Thajudeen.

As the suspect former DIG Anura Senanayake currently in a paying ward attached to the Colombo National Hospital ,The Colombo Additional Magistrate has today ordered him  to go back to Welikada Prison.

The Additional Magistrate has also directed the Sri Lanka Medical Council to hand over him the report regarding the investigation carrying out against  former Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer Ananda Samarasekera who is charged for transporting several parts of Thajudeen's body to the Private Medical Collage in Malabe before 30th of November.

Colombo District Court Has Extended The Interim Injunction Issued Against Short Documentary Film"Usaviya Nihandai"

The Colombo District Court has today(19) extended the interim injunction issued against screening the short documentary film "Usaviya Nihandai"(Silence In the Court)directed by Award wining Sri Lankan film maker Prasanna Witahanage when the petition filed against the film was taken up for consideration today.

 Former Magistrate Lenin Rathnayake had filed the petition at Colombo District Court against the short documentary film by stating that the film is based on a false news report claiming he had sexually abused a female in June 1996.

After considering  the petition filed by former Magsitrate ,The Colombo District Court has issued an interim injunction order on 05th of October by preventing the screening of the 57 minute  short film which scheduled to be released to the local theaters on 06th of October.

However the film was screened recently in India International Center in New Delhi.

The case is due to hear again tomorrow(20).

 

HEALTH TIP

Health benefits of Tamarind

• Tamarind fruit contains certain health benefiting essential volatile chemical compounds, minerals, vitamins and dietary fiber.
  
• Its sticky pulp is a rich source of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) or dietary-fiber such as gums, hemicelluloses, mucilage, pectin and tannins. 100 g of fruit pulp provides 5.1 or over 13% of dietary fiber. NSP or dietary fiber in the food increases its bulk and augments bowel movements thereby help prevent constipation. The fiber also binds to toxins in the food thereby help protect the colon mucus membrane from cancer-causing chemicals.
  
• In addition, dietary fibers in the pulp bind to bile salts (produced from cholesterol) and decrease their re-absorption in the colon; thereby help in expulsion of “bad” or LDL cholesterol levels from the body.
  
• While lemon compose citric acid, tamarind is rich in tartaric acid. Tartaric acid gives sour taste to food besides its inherent activity as a powerful antioxidant. (Anti-oxidant E-number is E334). It, thus, helps human body protect from harmful free radicals.
  
• Tamarind fruit contains many volatile phytochemicals such as limonene, geraniol, safrole, cinnamic acid, methyl salicylate, pyrazine and alkyl­thiazoles. Together, these compounds account for the medicinal properties of tamarind.
  
• This prized condiment spice is a good source of minerals like copper, potassium, calcium, iron, selenium, zinc and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Iron is essential for red blood cell production and as a co-factor for cytochrome oxidases enzymes.
  
• In addition, it is also rich in many vital vitamins, including thiamin (36% of daily required levels), vitamin-A, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin-C. Much of these vitamins plays antioxidant as well as co-factor functions for enzyme metabolism inside the body.
  
  
  Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is a leguminous tree in the family Fabaceae indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus Tamarindus is a monotypic taxon, having only a single species.
  The tamarind tree produces edible, pod-like fruit which is used extensively in cuisines around the world. Other uses include traditional medicine and metal polish. The wood can be used in carpentry. Because of the tamarind's many uses, cultivation has spread around the world in tropical and subtropical zones.
  

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Authorities Requested Motorists To Drive Their Vehicles At A Control Speed On Expressways

The Road Development Authority has today(19) requested the Motorists who are using Expressways switched on the headlights of their vehicles when traveling through  Expressways amidst heavy showers.

Due to the  heavy showers prevailing in the country at present the Express Operational Authorities too advised Motorists to travel at a control speed to avoid accidents when they are using Expressways .

Colombo High Court Remanded Former UNP General Secretary Thissa Attanayake Until 05th Of December

The Colombo High Court has today(19) remanded the former General Secretary of the United National Party(UNP) Thissa Attanayake until 05th of December for allegedly preparing fraudulent documents with fake signatures of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wikramasinghe when he was the Health Minister of previous government.

The former UNP General Secretary has been remanded when he appeared before the court this noon following a court notice issued for him.

The Attorney General has indicted him over the charge on 09th of September.

Foreign News-Study :How the sugar industry lied about heart disease

Internal documents from the 1960s show a Harvard coronary heart disease study was probably skewed, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine Monday.

The report by researchers at University of California, San Francisco, reveals the Sugar Research Foundation sweetened research in its favor — to blame fats, instead of sugars, for high rates of coronary heart disease.

 

In the 1960s, physiologist John Yudkin said added sugars were to blame for the upward trend in heart disease. Physiologist Ancel Keys pointed to total fat, saturated fat, and dietary cholesterol. Shortly after the two revealed these findings, the Sugar Research Foundation (now called the Sugar Association) funded a study to elevate Keys’ research.

SRF’s vice president and director of research John Hickson said the Sugar Research Foundation “could embark on a major program” to squash “negative attitudes toward sugar.” His plan was to review the existing reports, find “weak points” and “replicate the studies with appropriate corrections” to argue against critics of sugar consumption.
Hickson hired Harvard nutrition experts to put together a fresh, well-crafted 1967 study.
Monday’s report cites the industry continued to fund research that sidestepped sugar’s effects on health, including a 1970s review influencing the 1976 US Food and Drug Administration evaluation of the safety of sugar. Studies available today say sugar does plays a role in heart disease.

USA TODAY

Cutting saturated fat doesn't necessarily reduce heart disease risk

“The industry may have a long history of influencing federal policy,” the JAMA report says.
The coronary heart disease report ultimately published with no indication it was funded by the sugar industry. In 1984, NEJM began requiring authors to disclose all conflicts of interest.