Monthly archive

M.A. Kader-Asian Tribune Correspondent in Bangladesh

The Seventh Pay Commission of Bangladesh has recommended raising the maximum salary of the government employees to Tk 42,000 from Tk 23,000 and minimum to Tk 4,000 from Tk 2,300. The Pay Commission Chairman Mostafizur Rahman handed over the report to Finance Minister AMA Muhith Thursday morning. "The Pay Commission recommended forming a cell to adjust the salary structure every year with the inflation rate in the country," Mostafizur Rahman said.

By Wajid Ali Syed – Washington Correspondent for Asian Tribune

The United States has said that its deeply concerned over the existing situation in Sri Lanka and condemns the actions by the LTTE to hold thousands of innocent civilians hostage in this so-called safe-zone. According to the statement issued here, the US's Permanent Representative to the United Nations said, "we think that it is absolutely imperative that both sides cease the fighting and the heavy shelling that is putting many thousands of civilians in immediate danger."

Daya Gamage – US National Correspondent Asian Tribune

The Sri Lankan Patriots a Sri Lankan activist group headquartered in Los Angeles in California has written to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressing outrage at her remarks that military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam by Sri Lankan forces has caused 'untold suffering.' Sri Lankan Patriots (SLP) in a letter reminded Clinton that many Sri Lankan soldiers have sacrificed their lives to free Tamil civilians from the stranglehold of a 'Pol Pot type regime' run by the LTTE. Clinton told lawmakers in the U.S. Congress on Wednesday 22 April. "I think that the Sri Lankan government knows that the entire world is very disappointed that in its efforts to end what it sees as 25 years of conflict, it is causing such untold suffering."

The court released Sudar Oli Chief Editor N. Vidyatharan this morning (24).He was arrested by police while attending a funeral in Mount Lavinia last February 26th. Vidyatharan in his 40’s, was arrested on 26th February while attending a family funeral at Mount Lavinia on the outskirts of Colombo was released today by the Colombo Magistrate Court after the charges against him were dropped.

By M Rama Rao, India Editor, Asian Tribune

Severe heat wave sweeping through India limited the turn out to 55 per cent in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections covering 222,350 polling stations in 140 constituencies across 12 states. There were 2,034 candidates in the fray. The Thursday polling marked the mid-way mark for the Lok Sabha election as fortunes of candidates for half of the seats at stake have been sealed by now. With projections that the Congress may not be doing as strongly as pollsters expected at the very outset, though it is still going to be the front runner in seat sweepstakes, the Congress led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has come to resemble United Prime Ministers Alliance with so many contenders for the top job.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has praised the country’s armed forces for carrying out the largest hostage rescue operation in history by facilitating the flight to freedom of over 100,000 civilians who had been held captive by the LTTE in the no-fire zone (NFZ) on the Mullaitivu coast. The Minister remarked that 102,790 ordinary civilians by voting with their feet to free themselves from LTTE tyranny, have not only demonstrated their total rejection of the LTTE, but also signalled their clear endorsement of the underlying humanitarian objective of the armed forces.

By Habib Siddiqui

The subject of an old report by the International Committee of Red Cross and a newly released memo from the Department of Justice has recently become a hot political topic across America. These reports showed how the Bush-Cheney Administration had authorized brutal torture techniques over the last several years. Former Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee was the primary author of "legal" memos purporting to justify torture. He served from 2001 to 2003 in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel. Bybee's signature is on the August 1, 2002 memo that justified and authorized acts of torture by the CIA.

By Anjali Singh

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (India): A lone tear drop flowing down her faceless visage is the only indication of the pain and humiliation Saukari Devi has been forced to live with for so long. For forty four years, she has been living a life none of us can imagine even in our worst nightmare. Her ordeal began when she fell into the kitchen fire in her village home in Kinora, Tehri Garhwal as a six months old baby. Her face completely destroyed by the fire and with no specialized medical help available in village then, she had no option but live with a disfigured face.

By Wajid Ali Syed – Washington Correspondent for Asian Tribune

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has harshly criticized Pakistan's government saying it has abdicated to the Taliban, adding the potential collapse of the Pakistani state would pose a mortal threat to global security. The remarks, coming in response to questions from lawmakers on the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, are some of the sharpest words any US official has had for Pakistan. In her prepared testimony to the committee, Secretary Clinton said Pakistan "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world."