A family member of a missing garment worker pays tribute Tuesday (May 21st) to the victims of a building collapse that killed over 1,100 people. The head of a government-appointed probe says owner Sohel Rana bears responsibility for the disaster, due to construction code violations. [Munir uz Zaman/AFP]
2013-05-23
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (third from right) and Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov (third from left) witness the signing of agreements in New Delhi in May 2011. Indian Vice President M. Hamid Ansari is on a four-day visit to Tashkent to discuss counterterrorism and development issues. [AFP/Press Information Bureau]
2013-05-22
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (centre) and Lovely Professional University chancellor Ashok Mittal (right) present an honorary degree to Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai in Jalandhar on Monday (May 20th). Karzai held talks Tuesday with Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. [Narinder Nanu/AFP]
2013-05-21
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (front) observes troops at a Colombo Victory Day parade on May 18th, marking the fourth anniversary of the military defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). A recent Human Rights Watch report says Rajapaksa's government failed to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by both sides. [Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP]
2013-05-18
In April 2012, posters erected by the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action (FSD) warn civilians about types of mines scattered along the mine-infested jungle near the northeastern town of Mullaittivu. On Thursday (May 16th), Sri Lankan military officials announced mines are cleared from all re-settlement and farming areas in the island's former war zone. [Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP]
2013-05-17
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt (centre) surrenders at the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) court in Mumbai on Thursday (May 16th). Dutt will begin serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for illegal possession of weapons, linked to deadly bombings in Mumbai 20 years ago. [Punt Paranjpe/AFP]
2013-05-16
A child wipes tears from her mother Monday (May 13th) who lost relatives in the collapsed eight-storey garment complex in Savar, near Dhaka. On Wednesday, labour activists in Bangladesh lauded plans to improve safety standards in the nation's garment factories. [Munir uz Zaman/AFP]
2013-05-15
India's Asghar Ali Engineer (centre) and Swami Agnivesh (right) receive The Right Livelihood Honorary Award from Jakob von Uexkull in December 2004 at the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm for their strong commitment to promote religious harmony in South Asia. A noted scholar, author and humanitarian, Engineer died Tuesday (May 14th) in Mumbai after a prolonged illness.
2013-05-14
Pakistan's incoming Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif speaks to journalists at his farmhouse in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore on Monday (May 13th). Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated his Pakistani counterpart Sunday on his "emphatic victory" in elections on Saturday. Sharif said that he would be "very happy" to invite Singh to his swearing-in ceremony. [Roberto Schmidt/AFP]
2013-05-11
Bangladeshi rescuers retrieve garment worker Reshma from the rubble on Friday (May 10th) in Savar, 16 days after the eight-storey garment complex collapsed. The death toll from the worst industrial disaster in the world has risen past 1,000 and is feared to go up further. [AFP/Stringer]
According to renowned scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, "extremism is not admissible in Islam". In your opinion, have Muslim clergy done enough to educate the faithful about the true nature of Islamic doctrine?
New infrastructure projects boost Sri Lankan economy
Since the end of its civil war in 2009, Sri Lanka and other nations have invested heavily in repairing the country's economy and infrastructure. In 2011 and 2012, Sri Lanka posted the highest economic growth rate of any country in South Asia.
![Bangladeshi rescue personnel carry stretchers with the remains of garment workers from the site of a collapsed building in Savar on May 9th. With a death toll of at least 1,127 workers, the April 24th collapse ranks as the world's worst industrial disaster in recent history. [AFP]](/shared/images/2013/05/14/130514_TASHFIN_BD_COLLAPSE-100_67.jpg)
![Here, Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen (centre) and Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Minister Douglas Devananda (right) open the 2013 Jaffna International Trade Fair on January 18th, aiming to inject more energy into the economic revival taking place in the former war zone. [Photos by Nilupul Perera/Khabar]](/shared/images/2013/02/26/130226_LK_ESSAY1-270_180.jpg)