Disappearances increase in Asia, rights group says
Several hundred people in Pakistan have disappeared, apparently taken into detention in connection with the war on terrorism, the human rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
So called enforced disappearance has long been a problem in strife-torn countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka, but new patterns have emerged in South Asia related to the war on terrorism, such as the Pakistani cases, it said.
Whilst many of those have eventually been acknowledged as being held in Guantanamo Bay, others are believed still to be held in Pakistani detention although their precise whereabouts remain unknown, the rights group said, referring to the U.S. prison in Cuba.
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CENTRAL ASIA: US human rights report needs to inform policy - HRW
The US State Department's annual report on human rights needs to inform Washington's policies in Central Asia, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday.
"The report is strong, and it is generally strong every year. What concern me are the next steps; how does the US use the report when formulating policy towards Central Asia? With growing repression and no independent investigation of the Andijan massacre [where up to 1,000 civilians were killed by Uzbek security forces in May 2005], I believe the EU [European Union] has taken significant action,
CENTRAL ASIA: Human rights situation remains poor
Human rights abuses throughout Central Asia remain common despite some positive developments towards reform, a new report by Amnesty International (AI)said on Tuesday.
There are still a lot of serious issues remaining, Maisy Weicherding, a researcher for the watchdog groups Eurasia team, covering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, said from London, citing issues of freedom of expression, slander, libel and arbitrary detention.
In the name of the war on terror, we are seeing more vulnerable groups, including ethnic minorities, asylum-seekers, refugees, as well as suspected members of banned Islamic groups or those perceived to
Asia-Pacific aviation on the increase
Despite concerns over terrorism and bird flu, people in the Asia-Pacific region are continuing to fly, statistics show.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), an international trade group, has released figures covering both passenger and freight air traffic for the last financial year.
IATA said passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific region was up 4.4 per cent and freight work was up 3.5 per cent.
Despite the good news, the association's director general, Giovanni Bisignani, said continued threats to the aviation industry along with global political tensions meant there was no room for complacency in the industry.
More : theage.com.au
India leads Asia-Pacific wage increases
SINGAPORE, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- India reports the highest average salary increase at 13.9 percent and information technology workers received the highest increase at 17.9 percent.
The annual Asia-Pacific Salary Increase Survey, conducted by Hewitt Associates, polled more than 1,500 foreign firms in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, reported Xinhua, China's main government-run news agency.
The average overall salary increase ranged from 3.4 percent to 4.3 percent surveyed for 2005, and from 4 percent to 4.3 percent for 2006.
The Philippines recorded an average overall salary
India tops salary hike in Asia: Hewitt
NEW DELHI: Average salary increase in India in 2005 is the highest in Asia, and this trend will continue in 2006, said HR consultancy firm Hewitt Associates in its annual study. In 2004 too, Indian companies were on top in terms of salary increase in Asia.
In 2005, the average increase in salary of employees of Indian companies was 13.9%. Employees in the IT-enabled sector received the highest hike at 17.9%.
Philippines recorded an average salary increase of 8.2%, followed by China at 8.1% and Thailand at 6.3%.
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