Abstract

The Pakistani military has been repeatedly accused of gross human rights violations, including detainee torture and extrajudicial killings, during its operations against militants in Pakistan. As the military faces funding cuts from the United States under the Leahy Amendment, the Pakistani government must examine the root cause of such transgressions: the lack of an alternative, efficient, and just means by which to ensure that suspected militants are permanently removed from the fighting arena. Huma Yusuf evaluates Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act and

After hundreds of years as a Portuguese colony and then decades of Indonesian occupation, Timor-Leste (East Timor) finally became independent in 2002. Since then, Timor-Leste has been in the process of building itself as a sovereign nation, fighting to shake off its tumultuous past. Timor-Leste must now decide how best to resolve issues stemming from a brief civil war and Indonesian invasion and occupation (1975-1999), including grave human rights violations on all sides of the conflict. Human rights trials in both Timor-Leste and Indonesia have produced

Abstract

North Korea has suffered chronic hunger problems for two decades. A famine in the 1990s killed up to one million people and shortages have remained endemic. Most observers believe that the recent harvest is the best in years, but even under optimistic scenarios, food-related distress is likely to continue. Stephan Haggard and Marcus Noland discuss North Korea's current food situation and the prospects for the future.

This monograph examines the nature, extent, and causes of economic and social decline in Sri Lanka's Northern and Eastern Provinces-a region that has endured civil war between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the past quarter century. Based on analysis of primary source data, the study examines the economies of Northern and Eastern Provinces by district and sector; reveals the extent of the economic devastation, social marginalization, and poverty of the conflict region; and explores the challenges of reviving

KOROR (Palau Horizon, March 16) -- Palau Senators Alfonso Diaz and Joshua Koshiba handed over a check in the amount of US$4,000 to Philippine Ambassador Ramoncito Marino on Sunday night for the families of the landslide victims in southern Leyte province.

Diaz spearheaded a fundraiser in Palau, saying that the money came from the local and Filipino communities.

[PIR editor's note: Manam island is located just north of Madang province on the north coast of Papua New Guinea's mainland peninsula.]

The Red Cross and a number of other organizations

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (RNZI, Dec. 23) -- A water desalination plant is on its way to Vanuatu to help locals still without clean water almost a month following the eruption of Mount Manaro.

The volcano erupted on Ambae, one of Vanuatu's outer islands on November the 27th and displaced 3,000 people.

The New Zealand Red Cross' Operations Manager, Andrew McKie, says water is of greater concern than further eruptions

HONOLULU (Dec. 20) -- Within hours of last December's deadly and devastating earthquake and resulting tsunami in South and Southeast Asia, the East-West Center became involved. EWC