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HIGH JUDICIARY AND POWER POLITICS
Anti-BKSAL coup leaders hanged
Sadeq Khan
In course of the hearing of petition for leave to appeal against the High Court verdict on Moon Cinema Hall ownership case, wherein the Bench declared the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution void and illegal, Barrister Moudud Ahmed as the counsel for the petitioners avowing public interest was making some political arguments. The Chief Justice is reported to have thrown back a question to the counsel: "Can we accept marital law? Measures are needed to prevent martial law in the future...[ FULL STORY ]
Suranjit, Oli, others for obedient media
Special Correspondent
This time, the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Planning has come up with a unanimous recommendation for formulating law to make the media accountable.
The parliamentary panel on Wednesday recommended for the law to consider publishing of news items without accurate information a punishable offence.
The standing committee -- which has no direct relevance to journalism -- observed that the media have been publishing or broadcasting news stories against different institutions and individuals without giving accurate information...[ FULL STORY ]
AFGHANISTAN NEEDS UN PEACEKEEPERS
Regional peace hinges on wooing Taliban
M. Shahidul Islam
The precise correlation between war and economic recession may be debatable, but studies show war often causes recession, despite many 'military Keynesians' arguing that it also stimulates the economy.
Evidence shows, the stimulation of the economy occurs for a short while during war, resulting in lingering recession as the 'unproductive expenses' keep growing during prolonged hostilities. The worst happens when war continues during ongoing recession, something the occupation forces in Afghanistan have begun to realize belatedly...[ FULL STORY ]
REDEFINE O.D.A., W.T.O. ROLES
LDCs should befriend NGOs, civil society
Faisal Rahim
The number of the LDCs has grown from 24 in 1970 to 47 now and observers wonder why the list is growing instead of becoming shorter over the past 39 years. Moreover, why international efforts to drastically reduce global poverty is failing despite so much critical voices raised against it and so many international commitments and high profile conferences are routinely held dealing with the global poverty phenomenon.
The first UN conference on LDCs was held in Paris in 1980 and in every subsequent decade the event was repeated but only to preside over the larger number of the LDCs under the nose of the global community. This is a point to seriously ponder over.
People fighting the LDCs' cause, such as the LDC Watch blamed lack of sincere commitment of the world's developed nations to bring down the global poverty level...[ FULL STORY ]
How President Zia was killed, exhumed and buried
Shahriar Noori
The autopsy of President Ziaur Rahman was carried out by a team of army doctors led by Lt.Col. Tofail Ahmed at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), Chittagong, on 1 June 1981, two days after a rebellion which led to his assassination.
Earlier, on the same day the body of the slain president was exhumed from an unidentified mass grave along with two officers Lt. Col. Moinul Ahsan, chief security officer to the president, and Captain Hafiz of President's Guard Regiment from Rangunia, 17 miles from Chittagong Circuit House (CCH) and was brought back to CMH, Chittagong...[ FULL STORY ]
Nepal crisis: No end in sight
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Earlier this month, Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna has returned from Nepal after talking tough to the Maoists and asking them to stop the anti-India campaign. Barely two days later, India's Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor dashed to Kathmandu on January 19 and confronted greetings with black flag by thousands of Maoist cadres. His visit came amidst reports of Indian arms supply to Nepal and rumours of an Army taking over in Nepal to silence anti-Indian campaign and end lingering political crisis.
At the same time New Delhi dispatched Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai to Myanmar seeking cooperation in dealing with insurgency that gripped the Northeast Indian states. Indian media attached significance to Pillai's visit in the wake of Arunachal Pradesh Home Minister saying that ULFA leader Paresh Barua and his associates have been shuttling between China and Myanmar and intelligence officials claims of China's arms supply to insurgent groups and Maoists who are holding a lengthy corridor from Bihar on the south to Andra Pradesh in the north...[ FULL STORY ]
PEOPLE REJECT ARMY GEN.
Rajapaksa re-elected
Jehan Perera in Colombo
Sri Lankan election pitted longstanding president Mr. Rajapaksa, 64, lauded as a hero and worshipped by the Sinhalese population of the south as a Buddhist saint for defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam last year in the violent end of a war that cost 100,000 lives over 26 years, Fonseka who is widely recognised by Sri Lankans as the military architect of that victory.
Opposition leader former General Sarath Fonseka -- his hotel surrounded by military personnel loyal to the government - on Wednesday morning, told reporters that he rejected poll results which showed a 57.8 per cent majority for current president Mahinda Rajapaksa. It is the most recent blow in the electoral face-off that began soon after the polls closed the preceding night, when President Rajapaksa's ministers announced that they would seek to disqualify General Fonseka, using the courts to prevent him from gaining the presidency should he win...[ FULL STORY ]
Risks remain though global economy recovering
Fazle Rashid in New York
Global banking behemoths sounded a strong warning stating that unless the countries concerned adopted a coordinated approach to banking reforms, their ability to lend would be damaged and the financial system would revert to the pre-crisis level of reckless lending.
With the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meet in Davos in sight, senior bankers deplored the fragmentation of global regulatory initiatives that have seen taxes on bonus introduced in Britain and France and a US levy on banks. They have warned "time is running out," the Financial Times in a report said. Bill Rhodes, Vice Chairman of Citigroup and Vice-Chairman of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), a body made of the largest banks in the world, said unilateral actions by the countries would damage the financial system. He reminded the G20 leaders of their commitment to coordinated regulation...[ FULL STORY ]
Nepali journos under threat: AJA condemns attacks
Holiday Report
Asia Journalists Association Nepal (AJA Nepal) last week expressed its concern on the growing threats to working journalists in Nepal. AJA urged the local authority to ensure the proper safety and security to journalist and punish the guilty at the earliest.
AJA also urged the government to investigate the incident in transparent manner and assure that suck incident don't recur in future. AJA Nepal also asks everyone to respect press freedom and freedom of expression...[ FULL STORY ]
NEW LAW ABOLISHES IMPRISONMENT
Owners' mindset causes frequent unrest in RMG factories
Abdur Rahman Khan
The very feudal mentality of the country's garment factory owners are the main reason behind frequent unrest in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. The factory owners do not show respect to the existing law. The major export earning sector suffers also due to Government's undue favour to factory owners and lack of proper enforcement of factory and labour laws.
Law ignores workers' rights
Moreover, the recent amendment to Labour Law of 2006 is encouraging the factory owners to ignore and violate the rules frequently keeping the workers deprived of their legitimate rights and dues...[ FULL STORY ]
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