Monthly archive

M.A. Qader-Our Correspondent in Bangladesh

Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said that her government would form an all party committee to report on the proposed Tipaimukh barrage in India, prior to taking a decision on the disputed project. The prime minister told the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarti, about the plan when Chakravarti visited Hasina, her press secretary told reporters after the meeting. Tipaimukh is located 500 metres downstream from the confluence of the Barak and Tuivai rivers and lies on the south-western corner of the Indian state of Manipur.

By Farzana Shah, Asian Tribune Correspondent in Pakistan

Terror strikes again in Lahore as a devastating suicide blast imploded Rescue-15 building adjacent to CCPO Lahore office. Death toll has risen to 24 in this stern incident, in provincial capital of Punjab, and 286 injured are lying in hospitals in Lahore. Many of the injured were buried under rubble of imploded building of Rescue-15 and were recovered from debris after hours of search and rescue work. Blast occurred at 10:17 AM yesterday, when terrorists stepped out from a car and opened fire on police personnel present at traffic barriers just outside the Rescue-15 building, police opened a retaliated fire on terrorists who were trying to enter Rescue-15 building.

By Gopal Ethiraj

The freshwater fishes of Vembanad Lake in Kochi (Kerala), was assessed for its “species diversity” and “population density”. The survey focused on the lake at the southern side of Thanneermukkam bund. Three cruises were organised on Wednesday and fishing using various gears carried out to collect fish samples, said Latha Bhaskar, coordinator of the project. Jointly organised by the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment; the Kerala State Biodiversity Board; Regional Agricultural Research Station of Kerala Agricultural University; Vembanad Nature Club and the Kayal Samrakshna Samithis, this is the second edition of Vembanad fish count.

Hilary Rajakarunanayake, Editor – Sri Lanka, Asian Tribune

The expanded draft resolution, “Assistance to Sri Lanka in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,” co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, was adopted with 29 votes in favour at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session yesterday. However, 12 countries, including the EU, Mexico, Japan and Chile, voted against the resolution, while 6 countries abstained. Among those 29 countries which voted in favour of the Sri Lankan resolution were China, Russia, India, Indonesia and other Asian countries. Countries in the African bloc also supported the Sri Lankan resolution.

Gopal Ethiraj from Chennai

Slumdog makers"Slumdog" director Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson flew in here to Mumbai today as soon as they heard about their child stars’ plight. Last week, Rubina Ali and Azhar were thrown in the street when their shanty homes were demolished by the city authorities as part of pre-monsoon clearance drive, and it created a big hue and cry, and got full media attention. Two child actors from the Oscar-winning film "Slumdog Millionaire" will soon get permanent homes, officials said on Wednesday.

Hilary Rajakarunanayake, Editor – Sri Lanka, Asian Tribune

ThamiliniThe LTTE’s women’s political wing head Subramaniam Shivathai, alias Thamilini, was taken into custody giving her a surprise yesterday (27), by a special police team, at the Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Vavuniya, while she was in the camp with her mother and sister, pretending to be an ordinary civilian, a senior police officer said. Thamilini had come to the government controlled area with the people escaping from Puthumathalan which was a No Fire Zone at the time. She had told the police that she threw away her cyanide capsule and her pistol and passed off as a displaced person.

Sri Lanka has vehemently condemned the attack by a group of unruly demonstrators on the Canadian High Commission in Colombo on Wednesday (27th May 2009). In a Statement, Foreign Minister, Rohitha Bogollagama has called the attack on the Canadian Mission as a "senseless and unlawful act of violence", which he deplored in the strongest possible terms. The Minister stated that this attack has taken place at a time the Government had implemented special measures to provide adequate security to diplomatic missions in Colombo in the aftermath of similar attacks on its own missions abroad.

By Raj Gonsalkorale

The UN Human Rights Commission has given legitimacy to the LTTE by suggesting that the Commission should examine possible human rights violations and war crimes committed by the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE during the recently concluded battle between the two parties. A legally elected democratic government which has the right to defend its sovereign territory has been pitted alongside an illegal terrorist outfit that occupied the sovereign territory of that country by force. This is probably the first time in the world that a country that fought to regain its own territory taken by force by terrorists is being hauled before a UN agency for alleged human rights violations and war crimes.

By Quintus Perera – Asian Tribune

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, in association with Parkway Group Healthcare Pte Ltd. of Singapore and Colombo, has organized to conduct a discussion on Breast cancer and Gynecology cancer at the Chamber Auditorium and is the first of a series of such discussions to create awareness and businesses on the advantages of having a healthy workforce. Adults with multiple risk factors for disease are more likely to be high-cost employees in terms of healthcare use, absenteeism, disability and overall productivity. Healthy employees – and those with healthy families are likely to incur lower medical costs to self and the Employer and be more productive.