Monthly archive

Commentry by L. Jayasooriya

Already one government minister has suggested that Prabakaran should write his Last Will. That means the prognosis for Prabakaran is not good but it is also most unlikely that Prabakaran will commit suicide because he has so much wealth and his family and he also loves the desires of the sense pleasures as you can see by looking at the man. He will therefore hold on praying to his God to protect him till Solheim and the IC nations save him for another assignment. If he is caught alive India will want him not for killing Rajiv Gandhi but to make further use of him for her benefit even though it will be an impossible task. Prabakaran has already put India on notice.

By Farzana Shah – Asian Tribune correspondent in Pakistan

President Asid Zardari, on Monday , signed bill for Nizam-e-Adal Regulations 2009 to implement Qazi courts system in Malakand division. President approval came just minutes after national assembly passed the bill with consensus in parliament. Much talked Nizam-e-Adal Regulations 2009 promise a speedy justice system as there is a time limit now for courts to meet while prosecuting any legal appeal. Maximum time limit is 6 months. A major change from previous system is formation of Qazi courts system where having a lawyer is not necessary and application can be submitted directly to the Qzai (judge) of a court.

By Thalif Deen - Inter Press Service

The president of the 192-member U.N. General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, dismisses the G20 bloc of economically advanced countries as unrepresentative of the international community "Despite their good intentions," he scoffs, "the Group is still a minority on an international level" because it shuts out more than two-thirds of the membership of the world body. "The most democratic way to discuss issues that affect all of us is by doing so at the United Nations," he argues. And so, with the unanimous support of the General Assembly, he is planning to hold a high-level meeting of all 192 U.N. member states to discuss the global financial crisis.

President Barack Obama today (April 13) lifted a number of restrictions on money transfers, travel, and other links between Cuban Americans and their families in Cuba. In doing so, he kept a campaign promise to roll back tight restrictions imposed by the former George W. Bush. The broader trade embargo launched by President Eisenhower and expanded by President Kennedy remains in place. Its removal requires Congressional action. Monday's new rules permit Cuban Americans to travel without restrictions to and from Cuba; to send additional financial support to family members, and to send them a number of previously prohibited items including fishing equipment and clothing.

M.A. Kader-Asian Tribune Correspondent in Bangladesh

Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon at an unannounced visit in Dhaka on Monday proposed Bangladesh for sending a delegation to see the planned Tipaimukh dam, which environmentalists fear would ultimately dry up the Meghna river in the greater Sylhet region of Bangladesh. The proposal came at a meeting in Dhaka between Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon in Dhaka. Menon came to Dhaka on Sunday night in an unannounced visit with a short notice to take part in an "ongoing dialogue between friends, between neighbors".

Kosh Raj Koirala – Asian Tribune Correspondent in Nepal

National Planning Commission (NPC) in Nepal has claimed that the national poverty level has gone down to 24.8 percent. A National Development Strategy Paper (NDSP) prepared by the advisory body for formulating development plans and policies of the country has also set an objective to lower the poverty level to 21.5 percent over the next three years. This will require an additional investment of over $ 15.43 billion. Some 31 percent people in Nepal lived below extreme poverty line according to a National Living Standard Survey conducted in 2004.

By Swarnajith Udana

One reason of this LTTE evilness is to continue this long is that our ambassadors are appointed for extended holidays, expenses paid by the public purse. So mostly they enjoy their time serving the LTTE by indirect or direct means. (In Saudi Arabia, Saudi Nationals say to their Sri Lankan maids "Your embassy is worse than our toilets." The reasons for this magnificent credential is that the ambassadors and their officers have a balance view on the money offered to them to look other way and for not standing to protect Sri Lankan citizens form injustices and cruel treatment by the Saudi Nationals. This should not go against all Saudis, though. Also, please pardon me, the diplomats who work hard to counter vicious propaganda of the LTTE.) This is the part that we would have been able to control and neutralise but more significantly there was another reason; the international community wants to appear as being impartial.