Daily Star Bangladesh
Department of State Washington File: Byliner: U.S. Military Provides 'Logistical Backbone' for Tsunami Relief
In order to more effectively support the multi-nation relief effort, CSF 536 established Combined Support Groups (CSGs) in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Aceh, Indonesia, headed by one-star officers, to coordinate with local agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and to coordinate the efforts of their own Disaster Relief Assessment Teams and USAID’s DARTs. The CSGs were designed “to minimize loss of life and mitigate human suffering, while the resources of other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, and international and regional organizations were brought to bear in the affected areas.” They were there to “support host nation-led efforts,” but in most instances provided invaluable managerial and coordinating expertise that might otherwise have gone lacking, while augmenting overstretched local assets. Under Secretary of State Alan Larson, in describing the Pacific Command’s on-scene efforts, praised “the remarkable things they accomplished to establish the logist ... [Read More]
Burma
The country has a total area of approximately 251,000 square miles and a population of approximately 50 million persons. The majority of the population is Theravada Buddhist, although in practice popular Burmese Buddhism includes veneration of many indigenous pre-Buddhist deities called "nats" and coexists with astrology, numerology, and fortune telling. Buddhist monks, including novices, number more than 300,000 persons, (roughly 2 percent of the male Buddhist population), and depend on the laity for their material needs, including clothing and daily donations of food. There is a much smaller number of Buddhist nuns. There are Christian minorities (mostly Baptists as well as some Catholics and Anglicans), Muslims (mostly Sunni), Hindus, and practitioners of traditional Chinese and indigenous religions. According to official statistics, almost 90 percent of the population practices Buddhism, 4 percent practices Christianity, and 4 percent practices Islam; however ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Premium service offers Star Movies, live Fox News, Star Sports and a few other channels. A live Philippine channel is also available for additional $10 monthly charge. ... There are daily flights on Continental Air Micronesia to Guam. Twice weekly Continental flies directly to Manila. There are also direct flights to and from Taipei a few times each week. There are plans for a new airline based in Palau to start flying regionally in 2004. Communications Telephones and TelecommunicationsLast Updated: 4/14/2004 2:14 AM ... [Read More]
Burma
Members of the Bengali Muslim (Rohingya) minority in Arakan State, on the country's western coast, continued to experience severe legal, economic, and social discrimination. The Government denied citizenship status to most Rohingyans on the grounds that their ancestors allegedly did not reside in the country at the start of British colonial rule, as required by the country's highly restrictive citizenship law. Muslim Rohingya minority returnees from Bangladesh complained of severe government restrictions on their ability to travel and to engage in economic activity. Although essentially treated as foreigners, these Muslims are not issued Foreigner Registration Cards (FRCs). Instead the Government gives them "Temporary Registration Cards," which give them status preferential to a foreign resident. They are required to obtain permission from the township authorities whenever they wish to leave their village area. Authorities generally do not grant permission to Rohingya Musl ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Mumbai. Delta Airlines provides daily service to the U.S. via Paris. Both Lufthansa/United via Frankfurt and Northwest/KLM via Amsterdam have daily service. British Airways also provides daily service via London with onward connections on United and other American carriers. ... Delta Airlines provides daily service from Mumbai to the U.S. via Paris. Both Lufthansa/United Airlines via Frankfurt and KLM/Northwest via Amsterdam have daily service. British Airways also provides daily service via London with onward connections on United and other American carriers. ... [Read More]
Ralph A. Cossa, "South Asian Tsunami: U.S. Military Provides 'Logistical Backbone' For Relief Operation" , eJournal USA: Foreign Policy Agenda, November 2004
Six Maritime Preposition Ships from Guam and Diego Garcia also were dispatched to the area to provide critical drinking water: each can store about 90,000 gallons of fresh water and is capable of producing 36,000 gallons daily. Adequate fresh water supplies helped prevent widely-predicted, but largely avoided, outbreaks of malaria and other diseases. ... In order to more effectively support the multi-nation relief effort, CSF 536 established Combined Support Groups (CSGs) in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Aceh, Indonesia, headed by one-star officers, to coordinate with local agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and to coordinate the efforts of their own Disaster Relief Assessment Teams and USAID's DARTs. The CSGs were designed "to minimize loss of life and mitigate human suffering, while the resources of other U.S. government agencies, NGOs, and international and regional organizations were brought to bear in the affected areas." They were there to "support host nation-led efforts," but in most instances provided invaluable managerial and coordinating expertise that might otherwise have gone lacking, while augmenting overstretched local assets. Under Secretary of State Alan Larson, in describing the Pacific Command's on-scene efforts, praised "the remarkable things they accomplished to establish the logistical backbone for th ... [Read More]
O - Appendix C: Background Information on Other Terrorist Groups
Clandestine leftist extremist group that appeared in the Friuli region in Italy in 1995. Adopted the class struggle ideology of the Red Brigades of the 1970s-80s and a similar logoan encircled five-point starfor their declarations. Opposes what it perceives as US and NATO imperialism and condemns Italys foreign and labor polices. ... Clandestine leftist extremist group that appeared in Rome in 2000. Adopted the logo of the Red Brigades of the 1970s and 1980san encircled five-point starfor their declarations. Opposes Italys foreign and labor polices. ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
There are five major English-language daily newspapers in Bangladesh. The Independent has the most international news and articles from foreign newspapers. The Daily Star is considered to have the most unbiased reporting. The Bangladesh Observer also publishes a fairly good daily edition. Other English-language newspapers include The Financial Express and New Nation. Most are about 16 pages long and cost about 7 Taka. The quality of writing and reporting varies as widely as can be imagined. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
On July 22, the Bangla-language daily Janakantha accused the Government of trying to suppress its reporting. The statement noted that soon after coming to office, the Government stopped placing advertisements in Janakantha. It then threatened to file a treason case against the daily for publishing a report about transfers in the police. ... The hundreds of daily and weekly publications provided a forum for a wide range of views. While some publications supported the overall policies of the Government, most newspapers reported critically on government policies and activities. In addition to an official government-owned wire service, there was one private wire service affiliated with overseas ownership. ... [Read More]
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