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Leading News
Curfew
clamped for 2nd day in Khagrachhari
Tuku warns stern govt action against troublemakers
UNB, Khagrachhari
As army troops patrolled the hill-district town to calm
ethnic strife, State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul
Haque Tuku Wednesday urged the indigenous community and
Bengali people to live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts
maintaining peaceful coexistence shunning the path of
violence.
"The government is committed to maintaining a peaceful
order in the region so that both the Bangalee and tribal
people can live here upholding their own traditions and
cultures," the minister said at an exchange-of-views
meeting at the local circuit house in the afternoon.
Several days' clashes and arson attacks left at least
three people dead, scores injured and many homes looted
and burnt in Khagrachhari and Rangamati hill districts
following a land dispute. The administration re-imposed
the nighttime curfew in the municipal area of Khagrachhari
on Wednesday evening to keep the rioters disengaged and
maintain peace.
Terming the incidents heinous and anti-humanity the
minister said any man of conscience can't accept such acts
of violence.
Tuku alleged that a certain quarter is trying to fish in
the troubled waters creating unrest between Bangalee and
tribal people and destabilizing the CHT region, where a
relative calm had prevailed since the 1997 peace accord
between government and tribal insurgents. Suggesting
people to be aware of the evil quarter, the minister
sought cooperation from the inhabitants of the region in
building CHT as an abode of peace foiling all
conspiracies.
He also asked the law-enforcing agencies to maintain law
and order in the region "at any cost". The state minister
also said stern action would be taken against those who
will be found involved in the recent violent incidents.
Earlier, the minister visited the violence-stricken
Maha-janpara, Rupalipara and Schoolpara under the Sadar
upazila and assured the affected people of providing
relief goods and cash from government fund.
Meanwhile, normalcy started to get back in the district
after a spell of violence between the indigenous and
Bangalee communities that erupted when activists of United
People's Democratic Front (UPDF) and Parbatya Chattagram
Bangali Chhatra Parishad staged demonstrations Tuesday in
the town over the Baghaichhari incidents.
District administration sources said the situation in the
troubled areas is getting back to normal as most of the
victims who had fled homes started returning to their
areas.
Army troops, BDR jawans, RAB and police personnel were
seen patrolling the town and trouble-torn areas today to
maintain law and order and stave off further flare-ups.
Peelkhana
massacre day today
Government will track down provocateurs of carnage: PM
BSS, Gazipur
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said her
government would track down the provocateurs of the
February 25-26 BDR carnage to be exposed to justice along
with the massacre culprits as the country observes first
anniversary of the carnage today ( Wednesday ) .
"We will find out the provocateurs of the gruesome
killings inside the BDR headquarters and expose them to
justice along with the killers," she said while addressing
a public rally at Nawzor here after formal inauguration of
Dhaka bypass road.
She said that whoever would be found involved in the BDR
carnage inside Pilkhana must be tried.
In an apparent reference to the main opposition BNP, the
premier alleged that when all the partners of the Awami
League- led grand alliance joined the rescue efforts, they
were not found at the scene while Begum Khaleda Zia too
had deserted her cantonment residence for three days to
take refuge at an unidentified location.
The Prime Minister's comments came as the Criminal
Investigation Department (CID) of police said they were
ready to submit the chargesheet against the massacre
culprits at the BDR's Pilkhana headquarters detecting the
suspects after one year's of thorough investigations.
Under a government decision the culprits would be tried
under the fast track Speedy Trial Tribunal which is
obligated to complete the trial in 135 days while the
trial of the ordinary mutineer soldiers who did not take
part in offenses like killing were being tried under the
BDR Act in Dhaka and four other places at special BDR
courts.
A large number of people joined the rally organized to
mark the opening of the 48 kilometre bypass road for
traffic as it linked Nawzor of Gazipur with Madanpur of
Narayanganj.
Officials said the bypass road was constructed at a cost
of Taka 281.60 crore to connect the country's north and
southern regions as part of efforts to ease traffic loads
on the capital city.
The newly constructed road will reduce traffic congestion
of the capital and ease sufferings of the passengers
visiting between north, northwest and south, southeast
regions.
Political
connection in Peelkhana carnage yet to be found: IO
UNB, Dhaka
After a long-drawn investigation into the BDR carnage, the
IO Wednesday disclosed that political connection with the
incident could not yet be found other than individual
links of Awami League leader Torab Ali and BNP leader
Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu.
Briefing reporters at the CID Headquarters, the
investigating officer of the BDR carnage case, special
super Abdul Kahar Akand, disclosed that the February 25-26
mutiny was "preplanned".
And Torab Ali and Pintu knew about it and, at one stage,
they had involvement in the incident that left many army
officers in command of the border force dead and the BDR
headquarters ransacked apart from other felonies.
"It (mutiny) was the manifestation of pent-up grievance of
BDR jawans and also an attempt to tarnish the image of the
government," said the investigating officer of the BDR
carnage case.
A total of 74 people, including 57 army officers and three
women, were killed in the Pilkhana carnage that also sent
a ripple of revolt through other garrisons of the
Bangladesh Rifles across the country.
Asked about involvement of Jamaat leader Barrister Abdur
Razzak who was interrogated in this connection, he said
Barrister Razzak was interrogated but his involvement was
not found.
Asked about the time for submitting charge sheet in the
BDR killings case, Kahar said the investigation is at the
final stage. "It takes little bit time to complete the
inquiry so the accused cannot escape through the loopholes
of law."
He said the charge sheets will be submitted accusing
nearly 900 persons. Kahar said that, so far, 2,205
persons, mostly BDR jawans, have been arrested. Of them,
523 BDR men gave their confessional statements to the
Magistrates under Section 164 of CrPC. Some 7,974 persons,
including BDR men, their relatives, Ministers, MPs,
victims and their family members, police, RAB, army,
newsmen and local residents, were interrogated.
Besides, 3,700 alamats (evidences) were seized from the
place of occurrence and other places. He said at the time
of the mutiny about 11,000 BDR men were present inside the
BDR headquarters. There are 100 establishments inside the
headquarters and offences were committed in almost all
those places amid the mayhem.
Bomb blasts outside Khaleda’s Gulshan office
BNP to stage protest demonstration today
UNB, Dhaka
Opposition BNP will stage demonstrations at district
headquarters across the country today (Thursday) to
protest the bomb blasts outside BNP chairperson Khaleda
Zia's Gulshan office in the city.
Besides, the BNP standing committee will sit today
(Thursday) to take stock of the evolving situation and
future action programs, BNP senior joint secretary general
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told a rally in front of the
party central office at Naya Paltan Wednesday afternoon.
Addressing the protest rally, BNP standing committee
member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain described the "bomb
attack" as a cowardly act and strongly condemned it.
"They want to silence the voice of Khaleda Zia by
launching bomb attacks," he said, adding that they are
also trying to erase the name of Ziaur Rahman.
About the trouble in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Dr
Khandaker Mosharaf said the implementation of the CHT
peace accord led to the eruption of violence. The unrest
was created in one-third area of the CHT as Awami League
is implementing what they had committed to their bosses.
About the BDR carnage, he said the government has not yet
published the full inquiry report on the mutiny and a
farce is being staged in the name of the BDR mutiny trial.
The BNP leader alleged that the government has not been
able to implement election pledges and said "people
throughout the country are aggrieved due to soaring prices
of essentials and deals with India."
He said that to overcome the situation, a united movement
will have to be built up under the leadership of Khaleda
Zia.
Chaired by BNP vice-chairman and Dhaka city mayor Sadeq
Hossain Khoka, the protest meeting was also addressed by
BNP leaders Mirza Abbas, Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mia, Dr A
Moin Khan, Abdullah Al Noman, Shamsuzzaman Dudu,
Barkatullah Bulu, Fazlul Huq Milan and Moazzem Hossain
Alal.
Defamation suit
HC dismisses Gen Moeen’s plea for exoneration
UNB, Dhaka
Former army chief general (retd) Moeen U Ahmed is to face
a Tk 100-crore defamation suit pending with a lower court
as the High Court Wednesday summarily dismissed his plea
for setting aside the lower-court order.
The retired general, filed a revision petition with the
High Court against the January 10 order of the Third Joint
District Judge of Dhaka that had rejected his plea for
dismissal of the defamation case filed by former state
minister for energy Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku of BNP.
After hearing on the revision petition, an HC division
bench comprising Justice Abdul Awal and Justice M A
Razzaque summarily dismissed the plea.
When contacted over cell phone, Tuku, expressing his
satisfaction, told UNB that the Third Joint Judge's court
had earlier set March 15 for hearing on confiscation or
attachment of Moeen's property.
On July 12, last year, a Dhaka court upon Tuku's Tk
100-crore defamation case asked the former army chief to
explain why his property situated at house No. 106,
northern road, Baridhara DOHS in Dhaka, should not be
attached. The court had also imposed injunctions on sale
and handover of Moeen's property at the DOHS.
Plaintiff Tuku in his petition alleged that the former
army chief had said that 'Tk 20,000 crore was
misappropriated or smuggled abroad from the power sector'
during the BNP-led four-party alliance government.
Tuku pointed out that Gen Moeen had made the remark at a
reception programme for the freedom fighters at the
National Parade Ground on March 27, 2007, which "tarnished
my image in society as well as in the political arena".
Advocate Quamrul Haque Siddique appeared for general Moeen.
Power supply severely disrupted as storm sweeps the
city
UNB, Dhaka
The power supply in the capital was severely disrupted by
the season's first nor'wester that hit the city late in
the afternoon Wednesday.
According to official sources, vast area of the city
plunged into darkness with the collapse of the power
supply system as soon as the rainstorm started at 5:20 pm.
The tempest continued for about 15 minutes, but many areas
of the city had experienced blackout for hours together.
They said the electricity cables in different areas
snapped on to the streets failing to withstand the fury of
the nor'wester. The electricity system in the city's
north-eastern and central parts, which are controlled by
the Dhaka Power Supply Distribution Company Ltd (DPDC),
had to suffer the most from the nor'wester. The city's
south-western part, which is controlled by the Dhaka Power
Supply Company Ltd (DESCO), was relatively less affected
by the storm.
"About 50 percent of our power sub-stations broke down by
the storm, but now those were being repaired and power
supply restored gradually," DPDC managing director Ataul
Masud told UNB.
DPDC, which replaced the defunct DESA, is responsible for
power distribution to major parts of the city including
Dhanmondi, Tejgaon, Lalbagh, Narayanganj, Keranigani,
Demra and Ramna area.
Masud said they have 33kV grid substations at 34 locations
across the city. But half of the substations tripped with
the hit of the storm.
"We've already restarted operation at some of the
collapsed substations. But it will take another hour to
get the whole system fully restored," he said at 7:07 pm.
DESCO managing director Saleh Ahmed informed that a few of
their 11 kV substations went off after the nor'wester had
hit. But most part under the DESCO remained as usual as
none of our 33 kV grid substations were affected," he
said.
DESCO is responsible for power distribution to the areas
including Gulshan, Baridhara, Mirpur, Uttara and Tongi.
Saleh Ahmed noted that two of the 15 feeder substations in
Tongi west area were shut down while six out of 17 in
Tongi east area, 12 out of 35 in Uttara, 24 out of 57 in
Mirpur, and seven out of 30 substations in Baridhara went
off after the storm hit those areas.
"But almost all the shutdown substations were restarted
and power supply was restored in those areas within few
minutes after the rainstorm had stopped," he said.
Back Page
President asks PSC to check BCS
question leakage
BSS, Dhaka
President Zillur Rahman on Wednesday asked the Public
Service Commission (PSC) to take strong steps for
permanently checking question leakage of BCS examinations.
"I don't want to hear anymore that BCS question has been
out before the examinations," the President said while a
16-member PSC delegation led by its chairman Dr Sadaat
Hossain presented the commission's annual report of 2009
to him at Bangabhaban.
During the meeting, the PSC chairman apprised the
President that they have already taken firm measures to
check question leakage. "Question will never be out," he
assured the President.
The delegation said a special circulation could be made to
appoint candidates under the quotas of freedom fighters'
children, women and tribal people for filling up the
vacant posts.
The members of PSC also sought the President's cooperation
in increasing their professional facilities.
President Zillur Rahman gave them a patient hearing and
assured of his allout support in this regard.
Secretaries to the Pres-ident's Office were present at the
meeting.
Govt seeks donors’
help to reach electricity to rural areas
UNB, Dhaka
State Minister for Power and Energy Mohammad Enamul Haque
Wednesday sought donors' help to reach electricity to the
rural people.
Addressing a seminar on "Draft Financial Report on Current
Organizational and Management Strengthening of REB" at
Sonargaon Hotel in the city he said the government needs
cooperation of the development partners to expand
electricity services to rural areas.
"Only 47 percent people have access to electricity. Our
development partners' help is imperative to increase the
rural peoples' access to electricity," he told the
seminar, organized by Rural Electrification Board (REB).
The call came at a time when many of the REB projects
remained suspended for lack of funds. He said external
assistance is required to revive the projects.
The function was also addressed by Power Secr-etary Abul
Kalam Azad, World Bank official Macgroye, Power Cell
acting Director General Mostafa Kamal and REB Chairman
Bhuiyan Shafiqul Islam. World Bank and Power Cell jointly
presented a draft report on the issue of REB
organizational and management strengthening at the
seminar.
REB is responsible for providing electricity to the
country's rural areas. It has been operating in the rural
areas with about 70 rural electricity cooperatives which
are formed by the elected representatives of the local
electricity consumers. These cooperatives are known as
Palli Bidduyt Samities (PBS).
The report emphasized the need for strengthening REB
management through some reforms and restructuring. Three
options are proposed in the draft report to bring about
reforms.
The report suggested for corporatisation of REB management
to make it dynamic. The state minister said the and its
PBSs are a nice blending of management which should be
more active and efficient to implement power distribution
projects. "Any reforms in REB have to be home-grown and
useful for the local development," said the state
minister.
Power Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said there will be no
compromise in maintaining transparency and accountability
in carrying out any reform.
BNP casts doubt over
Mirza Azam’s movement
UNB, Dhaka
Opposition BNP has apparently cast doubt over the movement
of ruling Awami League leader and Whip Mirza Azam on three
occasions in front of Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office after
explosion of bombs there on Tuesday night.
The party, however, did not directly blame Mirza Azam or
indicate his invol-vement behind the two bomb explosions
in front of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office.
It demanded fair investigation into the bombs-throwing
incident.
The apparent doubt and demand came from a press briefing
addressed by BNP senior joint secretary general Mirza
Fakhrul Islam Alamgir at the BNP's Nayapaltan central
office Wednesday morning.
Fakhrul said they have noticed that the ruling Awami
League's whip Mirza Azam had moved three times by car in
front of BNP chairperson's Gulshan office after the bomb
explosions took place there.
Replying to a question, he said they are not indicating
his (Azam) involvement in the incident, but just mentioned
what they have noticed. He, however, told the reporters
that "you know about his (Azam's) previous activities."
The BNP senior joint secretary general strongly condemned
and protested the bomb explosions in front of Khaleda's
office at 10:15 pm on Tuesday in what he said aiming to
kill her.
He said miscreants had thrown two bombs to kill Khaleda
Zia.
The bomb explosions seriously injured Abdul Hamid Paban,
son of BNP secretary general Khan-daker Delwar Hossain,
and created panic in the area.
Fakhrul said conspirators and a certain quarter planted
bombs few days back in front of Khaleda's Gulshan office
in "an attempt to kill Begum Zia" and similarly Tuesday
night's incident was designed to accomplish the mission.
He demanded arrest of and punishment to the terrorists
involved in the bomb explosion incident.
War-crime trial
process could open next month
UNB, Dhaka
Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed Wednesday said
forming tribunal along with the appointment of
investigating officers and prosecutors for trying the war
criminals is possible next month (March), as setting the
stage for the trial is all but complete.
He made the remark after inspecting the infrastructure to
set up tribunal in the old High Court building. He told
reporters that construction of infrastructures for
tribunal, investigating agencies, prosecutors, registrar,
hajotkhana, observers, media and security personnel are
"almost complete". The Law Minister said names of the
investigating officers and prosecutors are now in the
final stage of selection. Requisite number of manpower for
conducting the trial will be appointed at the same time.
He said the number of accused in the war crimes will
depend on investigations. The trial cannot start until the
investigation is completed. The trial will start after the
filing of the charge sheets. Shafique said the trial will
be conducted in one tribunal which will be formed with one
chairman and two members.
He said it is the responsibility of the Home Ministry to
appoint the investigating agencies and carry out the
investigation while the Law Ministry will do the job of
appointing prosecutors, chairman and members of the
tribunal and requisite manpower.
"Those who will be made accused on evidence and documents
will be tried. The trial must be held to establish the
rule of law," he said about the coming major event in
Bangladesh's baroque political scene-hot on the heels of
the trial and execution of five of the former army
officers convicted of killing the country's independence
leader, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The Law Minister said the International Crime Tribunal Act
has been amended and Tk 10 crore earmarked in the budget
for staging the trial.
During the visit, Planning Minister AK Khandaker, Home
Minister Sahara Khatun, State Minister for Housing and
Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan, State Minister for Law
Qamrul Islam, State Minister for Liberation War Affairs AB
Tajul Islam, President of Sector Commanders Forum Maj Gen
(retd) KM Shafiullah, its member-secretary Lt Gen (retd)
Harun or Rashid and Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee
secretary-general Kazi Mukul were present.
Govt to enact
time-befitting law for private university: Naheed
BSS, Dhaka
Education Minister Nurul Islam Naheed on Wednesday said
the government is going to formulate a time-befitting law
for private universities to ensure quality education.
The process of a new law for private university is nearing
completion and it will be finalized by the Jatiya San-gsad
very soon, he told a function on the occasion of 9th
Foundation Day of Daffodil International University (DIU)
at Kalabagan play ground in the city. Chairman of
Univ-ersity Grants Commi-ssion (UGC) Prof Nazrul Islam,
Vice-Chancellor of DIU Prof Dr Aminul Islam, Adviser of
Faculty of Business and Economics Prof M Sahjahan Mina,
Dean of Faculty of Humanity and Social Science Prof Sushil
Kumar Das, among others, addressed the function with
Chairman of Board of Governors of DIU Md Sabur Khan in the
chair.
Naheed said the private university law should favour the
students and the government is working to formulate the
law keeping in mind the objective of building skilled
young generation.
Many private universities are not following the existing
private university law, Naheed said adding, "We are
seriously contemplating bringing all private universities
under a disciplined system for better future of our
students." The minister called for ensuring quality of
education to improve the lot of the people. The present
government is formulating a national education policy for
bringing about a significant change in education sector,
he said.
He said, "We would not allow any irregularities in
education sector. That is why, we are working to build a
corruption-free and efficient education administration."
Prof Nazrul said nearly 1,75,000 students are now studying
in over 50 private universities in the country.
Referring to the Private University Law, he said a private
university should have a campus on five acres of land.
Most of the private universities could not yet build
campuses on five acres of land as envisaged in the law, he
added. The government is ready to provide financial
support and other assistance to private universities for
ensuring quality education in the country provided they
ensure independent campuses on five acres of land, Prof
Nazrul said.
76 people arrested in Khagrachhari
during night curfew
UNB, Khagrachhari
Police and RAB arrested 76 people from different parts of
the district town during the curfew that was slapped on
Tuesday night for 10 hours in the wake of Bangalee-tribal
clashes.
The district administration imposed curfew in the
hill-district town and its suburbs from 9 pm to avoid any
untoward incident at night.
The curfew was lifted at 7am Wednesday but section 144 was
still in force in the district town. A Banglee settler was
killed and at least 50 houses were burnt in arson attacks
in seven localities of the district town amid clashes
between indigenous people and Bangalee settlers Tuesday in
fresh violence in the hill tracts.
The district administration on Tuesday imposed ban under
section 144 on gathering in the entire area of Sadar
upazila for an indefinite period to avert further outbreak
of clashes that left here over 30 people wounded,
including five newsmen. Bangalee Chhatra Parishad and
United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) activists had
locked into clashes that triggered massive violence in the
hill-district headquarters Tuesday, leaving over 30 people
injured.
Two tribal people were killed and 15 others injured in a
clash between the indigenous community and Bengali
settlers at Gangarammukh village in Baghaichhari upazila
Saturday. Tension is prevailing in the town with most
people remaining confined in their houses and transport
movement to and from the district town was almost halted.
Editorial
The Peelkhana carnage
Today
(Thursday) -February 25 -is the first anniversary of the
dreadful Peelkhana carnage of 2009. On February 25-26 last
year misguided Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) jawans in course of a
mutiny for realizing certain demands committed pre-planned,
deliberate and cold blooded murders of 57 brilliant officers
of Bangladesh Army then deputed to BDR apparently to cripple
the army. Besides, a number of other people were also killed
on that day including some BDR men who tried to save the lives
of the army officers and also three civilians. Today is the
day for recalling them and paying tributes to their memory.
Even without questioning in any way the justification of the
longstanding grievances of the BDR members, it must be said
that the bloodshed at BDR headquarters at Peelkhana in
February 2009 was nothing short of a tragedy. Because, what
had happened at Peelkhana is most unfortunate and unpardonable
as it could have been averted had those involved applied
restraint and reasoning.
After reported refusal by the BDR DG, a senior army officer,
at the 'Durbar' on 25 February morning to accept various
demands of the jawans, they staged a mutiny and took hostages
a number of army officers holding commanding positions in BDR
and the bloodshed followed. Fifty-seven army officers have
been killed including the BDR DG and a number of other army
officers and some civilians while a good number of army and
BDR men were reportedly injured. The family members of the
army officers on deputation in BDR had to spend hours of
nightmare in fear and agony. The report of the BDR mutiny and
the bloodshed shook the country and worried the nation as well
as the government.
In the given circumstance there were only two options left for
the government to bring the situation under control -using
force and holding negotiations. The government followed the
second option and arranged a series of discussions between the
government representatives and the representatives of the
mutineers. Even a meeting was held between the Prime Minister
and the mutiny leaders. Consequent upon the talks, the Prime
Minister declared general amnesty for the mutineers and
assured of the implementation of their demands in phases. In
return, the mutineers agreed to surrender arms and return to
barracks.
But the process of surrender was delayed as the mutineers
backtracked from their pledges. They, rather, completed their
remaining killing mission and resorted to torture the family
members of the army officers in a barbaric way. By the time
the mutineers surrendered, a black chapter of massacre and
barbarity had already been added in the history of BDR.
Those BDR men responsible for the mutiny and killings are
being brought to justice. The trial of mutiny is going one
while the trial of those accused of killing and other crimes
will be held soon after framing the charge sheet. The nation
wants the perpetrators to be awarded due punishment through
the legal process.
Today is a black day. On this sad day we recall the brilliant
army officers who were killed, pray for the salvation of their
departed soul and convey our sympathy to their bereaved
families. Let us pray and hope that such dreadful incident
will never happen again in the country.
Cleaning
river-bed
The
government is procuring a modern excavator from the United
Kingdom to remove piled up waste on the beds of the Buriganga,
Turag, Shitalakkhya and other much-used rivers. Bangladesh
Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) would procure the
modern excavator from the UK at a cost of Taka 10 million from
the Climate Change Trust Fund. The drive to remove polythene
and other waste from the bed of the Buriganga started on
January 6. The first phase of the drive would conclude in the
first week of March. A total of 0.3 million cubic metres of
waste would be revolved in the first phase. BIWTA officials
said the heap of waste on the beds of the rivers Buriganga and
Turag is 10 to 12 feet high. The government has undertaken two
types of projects to increase navigability of the rivers and
make those habitable for aquatic creatures. The BIWTA can lift
waste from 50 feet under the water using local technology. But
the modern excavator is required to go deeper.
It is encouraging that the government has started cleaning the
river-bed and it is also good news that a modern excavator
will be brought from UK for the purpose. But the problems
remains that dropping of industrial and domestic wastes into
the rivers in and around the capital still continues while the
government is cleaning up river-beds of the Buriganga and the
Turag. If the dumping of wastes continues at the same time,
all attempts to protect the rivers will go in vain. So, such
activities must be stopped. If necessary the administration
will have to be tough in this regard.
Analysis
Coming out of the Nuclear Cold
Since 1974 India has tested six times and has
an inventory of 60-70 Nuclear Weapons. Without testing a
nuclear device, Israel is believed to have about 100 nuclear
devices.
Ikram Sehgal
The
9/11 atrocity fueled fears of nuclear terrorism, this has
become a potent weapon of choice in the new "great game". The
invasion of Iraq on the pretext of going after WMDs is a case
in point. If Iraq and Afghanistan had not proven so
intractable, Iran could now have been in the crosshairs.
Pakistan has been systematically smeared by a targetted
campaign, duly orchestrated by interested party India, about
viz (1) the AQ Khan Network (2) the safety of Pakistan's
nuclear assets, and linking these with (3) nuclear terrorism.
This was seen in stark relief when Talibaan in Swat took over
adjacent Shangla District, "terrorists only 60 kms from
Islamabad" the headlines screamed. Distance being the measure
of apprehension, how far are militants from Israel's nuclear
assets? Indeed how many Indian nuclear sites are in close
proximity to areas controlled by hard-core terrorists, these
include die-hard Naxalities dominating nearly 70 out of the
600 or so districts in India?
As one of the steps to curb nuclear terrorism, the US Senate
passed the "Nuclear Forensics and Arbitration Act" on Jan 5,
2010, "to strengthen efforts in the Department of Homeland
Security to develop nuclear forensics capabilities to permit
attribution of the source of nuclear material, and for other
purposes", to quote the preamble, "Congress finds the
following: (1) The threat of a nuclear terrorist attack on
American interests, both domestic and abroad, is one of the
most serious threats to the national security of the United
States. In the wake of an attack, attribution of
responsibility would be of utmost importance. Because of the
destructive power of a nuclear weapon, there could be little
forensic evidence except the radioactive material in the
weapon itself (2) Through advanced nuclear forensics, using
both existing techniques and those under development, it may
be possible to identify the source and pathway of a weapon or
material after it is interdicted or detonated. Though
identifying intercepted smuggled material is now possible in
some cases, pre-detonation forensics is a relatively
undeveloped field. The post-detonation nuclear forensics field
is also immature, and the challenges are compounded by the
pressures and time constraints of performing forensics after a
nuclear or radiological attack (3) A robust and well-known
capability to identify the source of nuclear or radiological
material intended for or used in an act of terror could also
deter prospective proliferators. Furthermore, the threat of
effective attribution could compel improved security at
material storage facilities, preventing the unwitting transfer
of nuclear or radiological materials", unquote.
Pakistan had no choice but to have a nuclear deterrent after
the Oct 1974 blasts by India. Pakistan was in good company
operating illegally, alongwith India and Israel to get access
to nuclear knowhow and material. This would have been
impossible without AQ Khan's logistics team operating in the
nether world of the nuclear blackmarket. Since 1974 India has
tested six times and has an inventory of 60-70 Nuclear
Weapons. Without testing a nuclear device, Israel is believed
to have about 100 nuclear devices. Starting 1998, Pakistan
equals India in tests carried out but has a larger inventory
of about 79-80 devices (figures taken from - Bulletin of
Atomic Scientists- November/December 2009). Not being
signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of Nuclear
Weapons, these three nuclear weapon states are outside the
flawed Global Nuclear Non-Proliferation Regime. The NPT cannot
be complete without the accession of these States. What will
the effectiveness of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
if these States are not party to it? With four preparatory
Conferences failing to agree on an agenda for discussion in
the May 2010 Review Conference, the NPT is already in trouble.
If we continue with this rather lame non-existent regime
against proliferation of Nuclear weapons, is the May 2010
exercise likely to be meaningful?
A better way must be found to control (or "manage") the three
non-signatories to the Nuclear Controls Regimes. With access
to nuclear fuels and peaceful nuclear technology, India's
needs for its Nuclear Power Stations has been taken care of by
access given to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) legalized in
the UN Security Council Resolution 1540. The quid pro quo is
that India has had to define which nuclear power plants are
outside the purview of IAEA and which will fall within. Those
within the IAEA's ambit will receive nuclear fuels, with India
using its scant Uranium sources for its ongoing nuclear
weapons program. All future India civilian nuclear power
plants will also be under IAEA purview, this was considered a
fair trade off. Since Israel is not producing nuclear weapons
any more, and is known to be pliant and conforming to US
diktat, Pakistan is the odd one out.
With all three civilian reactors, KANUPP, CHASHNUPP-1 and
CHASHNUPP-2 allowed IAEA's scrutiny, Pakistan has clearly
demarcated its civilian nuclear program from its nuclear
weapons program. Like India, Pakistan's military nuclear
program is outside the IAEA's monitoring. Unlike India it has
more than adequate Uranium for its needs and can easily create
without any help a hydrogen bomb/fusion bomb (which India
indicated in 1998 it was creating with the failed Pokhran
test). Pakistan faces financial constraints because no country
will extend suppliers credit for nuclear power plants without
Pakistan signing the Additional protocols of the IAEA. Not
being a recognized nuclear weapon state Pakistan would have to
permit IAEA supervision of its full nuclear program. Pakistan
therefore has no choice but to buy new and untried civilian
technology like Chashnupp-1 and Chashnupp-2 from China, with
330 mw capacity. While Chashnupp-I is the largest nuclear
power plant operating in South Asia, it is the only one of
this type presently in use in the world. The Chashnupp-1 three
years trial period having gone off well, Chashnupp-2 will
likely come on line in 2011-2012. Pakistan would certainly
like larger capacity nuclear power plants from western sources
but should it fail to procure them, it has the knowhow to
develop and/or expand its capacity and potential itself, ie.
Chashnupp-type power plants.
Pakistan has the nuclear bombs and the means to deliver them
many times over. It has warded off dire warnings of terrorists
taking over our nuclear assets rather well, no interference
was permitted. What would be the quid pro quo for Pakistan to
get larger nuclear power plants which it desperately needs to
overcome its severe-energy shortages? The US-India Nuclear
Accord has created a dangerous imbalance in nuclear détente
with India that Pakistan has to address. When it has already
voluntarily subjected itself to IAEA monitoring of its
civilian nuclear assets, why deny it access to nuclear
material and force it to depend on the nuclear black-market, a
two-way street which is dangerous for Pakistan, and for the
world?
Technologically un-doable presently, the Senate Bill on
"Nuclear Forensics", should eventually help locate the actual
source of terrorist devices. Nevertheless, it is in Pakistan's
interest not to remain susceptible to possible accusations
about a future terrorist incident being attributed to
proliferation from this country. Why not narrow down this
"window of doubt" by ensuring Pakistan gets a deal similar to
the one India got? The world should have a vested interest in
bringing Pakistan out of the nuclear cold (acknowledgement is
made with gratitude to research assistance by Mr Fazal
Curmally).
Ikram Sehgal is an internationally renowned columnist and
the Editor of the Pakistan Defence Journal
The
game-changer
Mullah Omar, raising the telescope to his blind eye, is
telling the world through his spokesman that the horizon
holds no danger for the Taliban.
Zafar Hilaly
Except
Obama, just about every American who has anything to do
with Pakistan and could find a seat on a plane or hitch a
ride has been here to cajole, prod, threaten, and inveigle
Pakistan to do America's bidding in Afghanistan. Even
Richard Armitage was fished out from some think tank or
another.
Such saturation tactics have paid off. An army that has
been assigned the near-impossible task of fighting on two
fronts, at opposite ends of the country, while keeping an
eye on the squabbling politicians, has decided to bite the
bullet. Recent developments suggest that we are now
squarely in the American camp despite ostensible
differences and the reservations of many on America's
Afghan policy.
There were indications, which some of us missed, that
conjoining with the Americans was in the works. The arrest
of Taliban high-ups, the near-perfect targeting of
militants by American drones in Waziristan revealed the
quality and depth of the intelligence cooperation that now
exists. Likewise, the remarkably successful operations in
the two Waziristans, although an exclusively Pakistani
affair, were much aided by devices not obtainable earlier.
All of which also explains why the American lexicon has
changed in the depiction of Pakistan's current role in the
war. Even the abrasive Holbrooke was over the moon in his
praise of Pakistan, and Hillary Clinton likewise. The
Pentagon quartet of Gates, Mullen, McCrystal, Pertraeus
are no less profuse, and so too the ex-Pentagonian Jones,
now advising Obama.
We expect quick release of Coalition Support Funds of
almost $2 billion that are due, beginning next week, with
an instalment of $360 million. Sixteen F-16s are expected
by July and perhaps more to follow. Drones of a type more
potent than what were on offer are on offer now. And, just
possibly, down the road, a civilian nuclear cooperation
agreement similar to that concluded with India; at least,
that is what Christiane Fair, who in her earlier
incarnation was a Pakistan-basher, has proposed.
Meanwhile, the civilian package will be speeded up with
the visa issue close to resolution, and perhaps augmented
with dollops of dollars.
Such good news was accompanied by caution from American
ambassador, "Nanny" Patterson, who (talking to the FCCI in
Karachi) could not resist scolding us for our overreliance
on foreign assistance, but that is her wont. She once
insinuated to a Benazir Bhutto who was justifiably alarmed
about her security that she should calm down and get on
with the business of cooperating with Musharraf.
Never downcast, Mullah Omar, raising the telescope to his
blind eye, is telling the world through his spokesman that
the horizon holds no danger for the Taliban, though
inwardly he must be seething at the arrest of his henchmen
in Karachi and Quetta. It marks a turnaround from earlier
policy which, even by Afghan standards, must appear
stunning. The fact that there may have been an unspoken
agreement from the Musharraf era allowing the "friendly"
Taliban unmolested access to Pakistan no doubt compounded
Mullah Omar's rage.
Actually, the recent arrests of Baradar and the shadow
Taliban governors Salam and Mir Mohammad may prove
game-changers. Some say that it is a ploy meant to appease
the Americans and to convey to the Taliban the message
that in the current attempts to broker a settlement
Pakistan means to be heard by themm or else; and that
eventually the arrested officials will be released.
Be that as it may, it is unlikely to succeed. The
Americans will want us to "catch more" and will keep an
eye on Baradar. Besides, the blow to Taliban vanity will
not be easily appeased. The Taliban only forgive an enemy
against whom they cannot strike back, whereas Pakistan is
an easy target. In any case, for them war is just God's
way of teaching them geography. They will not stop warring
or seeking revenge for their imprisoned countrymen.
Talk of Pakistan retaining a mediatory role after the
arrests appears overly optimistic, perhaps even naive; and
so too our policy of treating the TTP and the Afghan
Taliban as distinct entities; or, for that matter, the
Jaishes and Lashkars and Al Qaeda as being apart from the
Taliban. Just as we have conjoined with the Americans,
notwithstanding important differences in perceptions, so
will these groups conjoin with each other, despite their
contrasting agendas.
Increasingly, it appears, McCrystal's desire, expressed to
the media in January that Pakistan and America "develop a
joint campaign plans so that we approach the entire
problem together," is being realised. So too his
conviction that they undertake "joint military action
against the Taliban (by) launching coordinated attacks on
both sides of the Pak-Afghan border"; such as, presumably,
the successful air strike by the PAF against militants on
our side of the border on Feb 20, which reportedly
accounted for thirty of them.
India must be delighted that the Americans have finally
managed to pit Pakistan against the Afghan Taliban. And,
because America, Karzai, India and Pakistan now have a
common enemy, logically Pakistan cannot object to India
being allotted the task of training Karzai's army. Of
course, Pakistan will object; and also because logic is
often the first casualty when it comes to handling India.
A pity; because. given the volatile ethnic composition,
divided tribal loyalties and a rate of desertion that is
the highest in the world, training the Afghan army seems a
Sisyphian labour which one could only wish on an enemy.
Now that we seem embarked on a war that may well span a
generation, and have unpredictable and unintended
consequences, one can only hope that those who have
brought us to this pass have not only the measure of their
enemy but also of their ally. It is not that America will
cut and run, although America has announced that it will
begin to withdraw soon, and often that amounts to much the
same thing. But, more importantly, whether the American
commitment to fund the war and provide the weaponry
required, and share the long-term economic cost that it
will entail for Pakistan, will be honoured by a Washington
that is becoming increasingly mired in debt. On that score
one can only hope that our leaders have read the tea
leaves correctly.
The consequences of a war that has every possibility now
of intensifying and spreading could be traumatic for
Pakistan. Terrorism has virtually destroyed Pakistan's
economy. It is conceivable, therefore, that as the energy
shortfall and water scarcity take hold, food prices soar
and joblessness grows and poor governance continues,
public disquiet, already fairly high, will spill over on
to the streets, in which case the mix of our travails
could prove lethal.
Most wars have an outcome. There is a victor and a
vanquished side, except in Afghan wars. In these wars the
enemy will flee when confronted by an overwhelming force
but will return to attack when the odds are better. One is
never able to say whether one is winning the war or not.
But assuming we prevail, our victory will be of little
consequence unless the Taliban and their murderous allies
are defeated not only in Pakistan but also in Afghanistan.
And, frankly, it is impossible to countenance a Taliban
defeat in Afghanistan at the hands of the ragtag army
Karzai will have at his disposal. Actually, what is more
probable, nay, certain, is the defeat of Karzai's forces
at the hands of the Taliban once the Americans depart.
Where does that leave Pakistan? Stuck between an
unfriendly Afghanistan under the Taliban and a hostile
India which is precisely where we do not want to be. Hence
the reason why, some felt, that a negotiated settlement in
Afghanistan, preceded by an American withdrawal, was the
best solution for all concerned especially Pakistan.
We have made this task infinitively more difficult for
ourselves by aligning so closely with the departing
Americans and seemingly unable to resist their urgings for
joint action against the Afghan Taliban. Our only
alternative now, it appears, is to decisively win the
ideological and military battles against the united
Taliban and other extremists at home and hope that someone
will do the same in Afghanistan. And, meanwhile, to
rethink the basis of our six-decades-old mindset towards
India, which has thus far been, but can no longer be, our
sole strategic preoccupation.
The writer is a former ambassador
of Pakistan. Email: charles123it@hotmail.com
Viewpoints
Forms of dialogue
They meet in
an atmosphere charged with distrust and expectation. Their
task is to revive a process which was interrupted just as it
began to yield results.
A.G. Noorani
The
foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan face a challenge,
when they meet on Feb 25, which hardly any of their
predecessors did in recent years.
They meet in an atmosphere charged with distrust and
expectation. Their task is to revive a process which was
interrupted just as it began to yield results. Their
perspectives differ; but not their objectives. Both sides
desire the resumption of a dialogue.
Understandably, Pakistan seeks revival of the composite
dialogue. Understandably, also, India seeks to focus the talks
on terrorism. It is pre-eminently possible to reconcile the
differences by a reference to the charter of the composite
dialogue, the Islamabad joint statement of June 23, 1997.
"Peace and security" as well as Kashmir were to be "dealt
with" by the foreign secretaries who would also "coordinate
and monitor the progress of work of all the working groups on
other matters". "Terrorism and drug-trafficking" were among
them. All the issues listed were to be addressed "in an
integrated manner".
The Agra summit collapsed in July 2001. But the draft
declaration is not doomed to irrelevance. Para 3 recorded
agreement by both sides to "resume a sustained dialogue at the
political level" on three matters - Kashmir; peace and
security, and "terrorism and drug-trafficking". Summits would
be held every year. Foreign ministers would meet every six
months; and the foreign secretaries, as required. Talks on
Kashmir and terrorism were raised from the official to the
political level.
Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to Prime Minister Khwaja
Nazimuddin on April 6, 1953, "I am told that it has been
suggested on your government's behalf that the officials
should discuss the Kashmir issue also. I have no objection …
but it is obvious that much progress cannot be made at an
official level in regard to the Kashmir issue." In a note to
the cabinet secretary on the same day Nehru explained "the
only possibility is (the officials') noting down various lines
of approach without commitment".
Does that not apply also to other major issues like Siachen,
the Wullar Barrage and Sir Creek on all of which talks have
made progress? Only a political decision at the highest level
is required. This is not to suggest that composite dialogue
should be rejected; it is only to invite attention to some
fundamentals which we would have had to face even if 9/11 had
not taken place. Composite dialogue was born in murky
circumstances with grave reservations by Prime Minister Inder
Gujral. He met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at the Saarc summit
in Male on May 12, 1997 when they agreed to set up working
groups on various matters including Kashmir. He developed
second thoughts on his return to New Delhi. The Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Behari Vajpayee objected and
Gujral wilted.
The result? Calculated ambiguities in the composite dialogue
charter of June 23, 1997 - "to set up a mechanism including
working groups". The foreign secretaries ended their talks in
failure in New Delhi on Sept 16, 1997 because Gujral refused
to set up the working groups. When they met in New York
shortly thereafter, Nawaz Sharif responded to Gujral's quibble
with the retort "Lafzon mein mut pariye" - don't parse the
words. Sharif had creditably fought the 1997 election on the
plank of peace with India. At Dhaka on January 14-15, 1998 all
that Gujral could offer was that all the subjects would be
taken up at the same venue, on the same date. Anything to
avoid discussing Kashmir specifically.
Talks in New Delhi in November 1998 were disastrous - the BJP
regime resiled from a fundamental on Siachen on mutual troops
withdrawals. The composite dialogue acquired life only in 2004
when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided to parley in
earnest with Pakistan. Kashmir is now a subject for serious
talks at the summit.
This, then, is the reality about a dialogue with the past and
a constricted future. The major issues require a political
decision. The rest can be tackled by the Indo-Pak joint
commission set up by an agreement signed on March 10, 1983. It
went into hibernation. Vitality was restored only after 2004.
The foreign secretaries cannot wipe out the record. They can
only build on it. They should draw up an agenda for the
foreign ministers to work on and thus put the dialogue back on
the rails. The joint statement issued by Indian and Pakistani
intellectuals on Feb 9 in Bangkok at the end of a Track II
interaction has sound suggestions. "Progress made in previous
rounds of talks should be carried forward in the official
dialogue. Terrorism is of deep concern to India and Pakistan.
The memory of the Mumbai attacks is still alive and continues
to inform public opinion in India. Today, terrorism and
extremism pose an existential threat to Pakistan. ...India and
Pakistan should seriously consider initiating an
institutionalised, regular but discreet dialogue between the
intelligence chiefs (the heads of RAW, IB and ISI and IB
Pakistan) of both countries. The back channel on Jammu and
Kashmir must be resumed at an early date keeping in view the
fact that all stakeholders, particularly the people of J&K
have to be consulted at some stage."
India and Pakistan face the perennial problem of reconciling
the claims of democracy and sound diplomacy.
The foreign secretaries must evolve a common ground between
the positions on terrorism vs the rest and leave it to the
foreign ministers to build on it. No interaction with the
media is called for at this stage beyond the traditional joint
statements of the foreign secretaries' issue in turgid prose.
Their task is to enable the principals to meet. On this, they
can and must announce success. It is the substance not the
form that mattes. No subject should be excluded.
The writer is an author and a lawyer.
A First Step
Towards Democracy?
The Burmese
writer Ma Thanegi, who spent three years in prison after
working as Aung San Suu Kyi's assistant, was blunt. "Yes,
elections would represent a step forward - what other
choice is there?"
Stanley A. Weiss
When
British forces first floated up the Irrawaddy River in
1885 to depose King Thibaw of Burma, locals were startled
to see a Burmese prince, in full regalia, sitting on the
deck of one of the steamers. His presence reassured locals
that the British planned to seat a new king, not overthrow
the kingdom.
As Thant Myint-U recalls in his book, "The River of Lost
Footsteps," it was only when a young student talked his
way onto the ship and came face-to-face with the royal
prince that the truth was discovered: The "prince" was an
imposter, a former classmate of the student's. By then, it
was too late - the telegraph line to the palace in
Mandalay had been cut.
The question, 125 years later, is whether the Burmese
military junta is about to pull its own version of
bait-and-switch. For the first time since 1990 - when
officials arrested 2,000 people, including the opposition
leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after the last general
election - the ruling generals have announced that
parliamentary elections will take place this year.
Reportedly, the generals are preparing to switch their
uniforms for longyis and run for office - the equivalent
of Fidel Castro swapping his army greens for guayaberas
and hitting the campaign trail. Many in the West are
disposed to see the election as a fraud, since the junta's
Constitution reserves 25 per cent of the seats for the
military and bars Mrs.Aung San Suu Kyi - imprisoned for 14
of the past 20 years - from running.
Still, the question remains: Even if the election is
stage-managed by the military; even if Mrs. Aung San Suu
Kyi's National League for Democracy chooses not to
participate; and even if Senior General Than Shwe selects
the next president; if the election occurs without
violence or repression, will it represent a step forward?
The answer seems to be: Yes. "I don't know if the
elections will have legitimacy in the eyes of the West,"
said the Myanmar scholar Robert Taylor. "But they will
have legitimacy in Asia, and that is all the regime is
worried about."
I asked an official of the junta how the West should
regard this election. "This is a first step toward
democracy," he tells me. "After ruling the country for 48
years, the military needs some mechanism to safeguard the
interests and safety of persons. This is also an exit
strategy for older leaders, because in five years, the new
generation will take over, not only the military but
civilian politics. They will work to change the military
role in politics."
The Burmese writer Ma Thanegi, who spent three years in
prison after working as Aung San Suu Kyi's assistant, was
blunt. "Yes, elections would represent a step forward -
what other choice is there?" she asked. "If the West
really wants to help the people, they should accept the
new government as no longer the military rule, and give
?it a chance."
"What America should do," a prominent businessman told me,
"is shift the conversation from sanctions to engagement,
from scolding to giving, and find soft steps to help bring
about outcomes that will be beneficial to both Myanmar and
the US." The Obama administration so far has sought to
engage the junta, urging a dialogue between the regime,
the National League for Democracy and other opposition
parties, while calling for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.
Where should the US focus its efforts? Here are three
ways:
It should provide opportunities for students to attend US
universities, to build ties to the next generation. It
should start a program of cultural, educational, and
sporting exchanges, including a new program to send
teachers to Myanmar. It should review its current
sanctions policy.
No nation in Asia - from South Korea to Taiwan to
Indonesia - has made an easy transition from dictatorship
to democracy. But change needs to start somewhere. As the
United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, recently
said, "2010 will be a very critical year for Myanmar."
There may yet be light at the end of the Irrawaddy.
Stanley A. Weiss is the founding chairman of Business
Executives for National Security
How real is British outrage
over “killer” passports?
The Guardian pointed out that Mossad agents “routinely
use…. forged western passports and when caught doing it
Israel give assurances they will not do it again.”
Hasan Suroor
It
was billed as the moment when, we were told, Britain would
read out the riot act to Israel over Mossad's suspected
link to the abuse of British passports by the killers of
Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai last month.
But the first thing that the Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor
did as he emerged from a meeting with the Foreign Office
chief Sir Peter Ricketts last Thursday was to clarify to
waiting journalists that he had come in response to an
"invitation" and not summons - making a pointed
distinction between being "summoned" (as in the "Iranian
envoy summoned for a dressing down") and being simply
called for a coffee.
The message Mr. Prosor wanted to get out - commentators
noted - was that his meeting with Sir Peter was a routine
diplomatic drill and there was no need to get too excited,
or read too much into it. In other words, Britain was
simply going "through the motions" to calm public opinion.
A similar line was coming out of Israel where ministers
were said to be "confident" that for all the tough talk
Britain would "do nothing" to damage its "strategic"
alliance with Israel.
"The U.K. is going through the motions of outrage, but our
assessment is that they will do nothing," The Daily
Telegraph reported an Israeli government source as saying.
The British government, clearly embarrassed first by the
disclosure about the misuse of its passports and then by
Israeli bid to play down its fallout, insists that it is
taking the issue "very seriously" and has ordered an
investigation by the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Foreign Secretary David Miliband described the theft of
identities of six Israel-based British citizens and their
use in the cold-blooded murder of Mahmoud as an "outrage."
"We want to get to the bottom of the issue of the
fraudulent passports," he said.
He also sought to counter the impression given by Mr.
Prosor that his meeting with Sir Patrick was just a
fireside chat.
"Sir Peter made clear to Mr. Prosor how seriously we take
any suggestion of the fraudulent use of British passports
- he also explained the concern we have for British
passport holders in Israel,'' he said adding that Britain
expected Israel to cooperate with its investigations.
On the face of it, the British government appears to have
hit all the right buttons to express its outrage and, in
fact, there is speculation that it might even scrap its
intelligence-sharing arrangement with Mossad if it is
found to have been involved in the Dubai affair.
So, what's going on? Is British anger just a lot of hot
air as Israelis seem to suggest? Or, is the anger real?
The cynical answer is that, actually, we'll never know
simply because we'll never know the truth about Mossad's
involvement. For, notwithstanding the Dubai police claim
that they're "99 per cent" sure it was a Mossad operation,
Israel alone knows the truth and nobody seriously believes
that it is going to accept responsibility.
"Policy of ambiguity"
Nor is the British investigation likely to go far without
Israel's active and honest cooperation. But Israel has
already made clear that it should not be expected to
answer any questions saying that it has a "policy of
ambiguity" on intelligence matters, and firmly rejecting
any suggestion of Mossad's involvement.
"There is no reason to think that it was the Israeli
Mossad, and not some other intelligence service or country
up to some mischief," Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman said.
This is not the first time that Mossad has been involved
in a row over British passports. In the 1980s, its U.K.
operations were shut down by the Margaret Thatcher
government after its agents were caught with British
passports. It then gave an undertaking of good behaviour
in future, though as The Times recalled : "No one really
believed that Mossad would honour its pledge."
The Guardian pointed out that Mossad agents "routinely
use…. forged western passports and when caught doing it
Israel give assurances they will not do it again."
"Evidently these diplomatic assurances are worthless," it
said branding the Dubai incident as a "breach of trust
between two nations who are ostensibly allies."
The government has been accused of acting in a "supine"
manner in dealing with Israel. There have been allegations
of a possible cover-up with media reports claiming that
Britain had advance knowledge of a Mossad plot involving
British passports. It has also been reported that Britain
knew two weeks ago that British passports were used by the
killers of Mr. Mabhouh but kept quiet.
Predictably, the Government has rejected such reports as
"completely untrue" and "nonsense" but it is under growing
pressure even from uber Israeli loyalists to take a
tougher line. Talk to sceptics, though, and they are
likely to tell you to go and brush up your history of
British-Israeli relations before entertaining such
thoughts.
International
NAB stopped from
contacting Swiss govt directly
Dawn Online, Islamabad
The ministry of law in Pakistan stopped the National
Accountability Bureau on Tuesday from directly approaching
the Swiss government for reopening of money laundering
cases against President Asif Ali Zardari in compliance
with the Supreme Court order.
In a letter sent to NAB Chairman Naveed Ahsan, the
ministry said since the bureau acted as a prosecuting
agency while pursuing cases in another country, it could
not ask for reopening of such cases on its own or without
permission of the government.
"The reopening of Swiss cases is one of such matters that
require state-to-state dealing," a source said quoting
from the letter.
However, the ministry's letter is a clear contradiction of
a section of the NAB Ordinance of 1999, which empowers the
NAB chief to approach any foreign country in connection
with its cases.
Section 21 of the ordinance says: "The Chairman (of) NAB
or any officer authorised by the federal government may
request a foreign state to do [any or all of] the
following acts in accordance with the law of such state:
To have evidence taken, or documents or other articles
produced; to obtain and execute search warrants or other
lawful instruments authorising search for things relevant
to investigation or proceedings in Pakistan believed to be
located in that state, and if found, seize them; to freeze
assets, by whatever processes are lawfully available in
that state, to the extent to which the assets are believed
on reasonable grounds to be situated in that state; to
confiscate articles and forfeit assets to the extent to
which the articles or assets, as the case may be, are
believed to be located in that state; to transfer to
Pakistan any such evidence, documents, things articles,
assets or proceeds realised from the disposal of such
articles or assets; to transfer in custody to Pakistan a
person detained in [that] state who consents to assist
Pakistan in the relevant investigation or proceedings;
notwithstanding anything contained in the Qanun-i-Shahadat
Order 1984 (P.O. 10 of 1984) or any other law for the time
being in force all evidence, documents or any other
material transferred to Pakistan by a foreign government
shall be receivable as evidence in legal proceedings under
this Ordinance; and notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained hereinabove, the Chairman NAB may, on
such terms and conditions as he deems fit, employ any
person or organisation, whether in Pakistan or abroad, for
detecting, tracing or identifying assets acquired by an
accused in connection with an offence under this
Ordinance, and secreted or hoarded abroad, or for recovery
of and repatriation to Pakistan of such assets."
The ministry wrote to the NAB chief in reply to his letter
in which he had sought advice whether or not the bureau
could directly approach the Swiss government under the
Supreme Court directives.
Army ready to respond to
misadventure: Kayani
Dawn Online, Islamabad
Pakistan Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez
Kayani has said the army is fully prepared to give a
befitting response to any misadventure from the eastern
border and there is no possibility of the adversary
catching Pakistan unawares.
Responding to questions raised by members of the Senate
standing committee on defence during a briefing at the
General Headquarters, he said that India's cold start
doctrine based on hegemonic designs had not been taken
lightly and the armed forces were capable of responding to
the challenge and safeguarding the country's geographical
frontiers.
According to a participant, Gen Kayani said Pakistan had
played an important role in the global war on terror and
remained committed to combating the menace. But he added,
long-term national interests would never be sacrificed on
someone else's short-term interests.
The Senate committee recently received briefings at the
naval and air headquarters, but this was possibly its
first meeting at the GHQ.
Director-General Military Operations Maj-Gen Javed Iqbal
gave a detailed briefing to the committee on the role
functions and organisation of GHQ, the state of
preparedness in the wake of internal and external threats
and counter-insurgency operations in the NWFP and Fata.
Gen Kayani made some brief remarks which were followed by
a question answer session.
Although most of the members praised the army's role in
combating terrorism, according to sources, some of them
expressed concerns over what they called an extension of
the US-led war on terror and said that Pakistan was paying
a heavy price for it.
The sources said that Prof Khursheed Ahmed of
Jamaat-i-Islami said that time had come for Pakistan to
review its policy on cooperating with the US in the war on
terror.
Some members said there was a perception that the
operations in the NWFP and Fata had been launched under US
pressure.
28 civilians killed in
Marjah: Afghan rights body
AP, Kabul
The Afghan human rights commission reported Wednesday that
28 civilians have been killed so far in NATO's offensive
on the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, and urged
pro-government forces to take greater care in
distinguishing between civilians and militants.
NATO and Afghan forces are in the 12th day of the
offensive, the largest military operation in Afghanistan
since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001. Planners
see it as key to taking on the insurgents in their
southern heartland and turning around the war. NATO has
stressed the importance of protecting civilians as part of
their counterinsurgency campaign, boosted by extra U.S.
forces sent by the Obama administration.
But military officials say that despite the care taken -
which has slowed the assault on Marjah in volatile Helmand
province - the offensive has still been marred by civilian
deaths, including a rocket attack last week that hit a
house and killed 12 people.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission said
in a statement Wednesday that it had confirmed 28
civilians deaths in the Marjah fighting, based on witness
reports. Thirteen children were among the dead. About 70
civilians have been wounded, 30 of them children, the
commission said.
46 likely dead in
Indonesian landslide
AP, Ciwidey, Indonesia
Rescuers used heavy digging equipment Wednesday to move
tons of dislodged clay strewn with splintered remnants of
upended houses after a mudslide on Indonesia's main island
of Java buried dozens, leaving at least 46 dead or
missing, officials said.
Officials had earlier said 72 had probably died but later
revised the figure down. At least 17 bodies have been
pulled from the rubble, but many more are believed
trapped.
"It seems there is no possibility of anyone among those 46
surviving," said National Disaster Management Agency
spokesman Priyadi Kardono. The true toll could be higher.
Days of heavy rain prompted the landslide Tuesday at a
mountainous tea plantation near the village of Tenjoljaya
in Ciwidey district of West Java province.
Some village houses and plantation buildings survived
unscathed above where terraced rows of tea plants cleaved
off the hillside and slid to a plain below.
Scores of houses as well as the plantation office and
warehouse were rolled and crushed as they slid down the
hillside with a swath of top soil and mud hundreds of
yards (meters) wide.
Around 600 terrified survivors fled their hillside homes
for tents on safer ground, fearing more of the
mountainside would collapse under the continuing soaking
rain, Kardono said. Soldiers carried victims in orange
body bags back up the hill through the tea plants to be
identified. By late Wednesday, 17 bodies had been
recovered, Kardono said.
Many of the victims were plantation laborers who lived in
huts on the plantation.
Most of the recovered bodies of men, women and a child
were dug up from the residential area.
Villagers unearthed the first victims late Tuesday using
farm tools and bare hands.
More than 100 soldiers, policemen, and Red Cross
volunteers joined the search effort on Wednesday supported
by two excavators. But the search was postponed Wednesday
afternoon due to heavy rain.
Japan verifies secret
nuclear pact with US : Nikkei
Reuters, Tokyo
Japan has verified the existence of a 1969 agreement with
the United States that would allow Washington to deploy
nuclear weapons in southern Japan in the event of an
emergency, the Nikkei business daily reported on
Wednesday.
The agreement could put Japan's government in a bind by
forcing it to choose between scrapping the pact with its
top security ally and watering down its self-imposed ban
against the possession, production or import of nuclear
arms.
The pact allows the United States, after discussions with
Japan, to deploy nuclear weapons on the southern island of
Okinawa where the bulk of U.S. bases in Japan are located,
the Nikkei said.
Foreign ministry officials were not immediately available
for comment.
The newspaper quoted a draft of a report expected next
month by a government panel of academics looking into
diplomatic agreements suspected to have been kept under
wraps by previous Japanese governments.
The investigation was launched after Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama's Democratic Party took power last August, ending
decades of conservative rule with pledges to make policies
more transparent.
An analyst said Hatoyama could choose to annul the 1969
agreement, but debate over a nuclear deterrent would
likely be an issue as Japan and United States discuss ways
to review their alliance this year.
"Before talks on deepening the alliance, the U.S. will
want to see Japan set a clearer picture on where it stands
on issues ... such as its three non-nuclear principles,"
said Katsuhiko Nakamura, director of research at think
tank Asian Forum Japan.
Envoys in China for North
Korea nuclear talks
AFP, Beijing
Top US and South Korean diplomats were in Beijing for
meetings with Chinese officials on Wednesday as part of
the latest efforts to nudge North Korea back to stalled
nuclear disarmament talks.
China, host of the six-party talks and the communist
North's only major ally, has said the future of the on-off
talks depended on the willingness of Washington and
Pyongyang to work together.
The talks began in 2003 and have been on hold since the
North stormed out 10 months ago. Washington's special
North Korea envoy Stephen Bosworth was to discuss the
disarmament issue with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu
Dawei in Beijing later on Wednesday, Chinese and US
officials said. South Korean chief negotiator Wi Sung-Lac
also met Wu as part of a two-day visit that began on
Tuesday.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted Wi saying his talk
with Wu was "constructive" but that the future remained
unclear.
"We need to watch further," he was quoted saying, adding
it remained uncertain how the various discussions would
turn out. The Chinese deputy minister briefed Wi about
North Korea's preconditions for a return to the six-nation
forum as outlined by its chief nuclear negotiator Kim
Kye-Gwan during a visit to Beijing two weeks ago.
Bosworth, who was travelling with US chief nuclear
negotiator Sung Kim, was due to visit Seoul-where he will
meet Wi-and Tokyo after his stop in Beijing.
Media reports have said the North is insisting on two
conditions for returning to dialogue: the lifting of UN
sanctions and a US commitment to discuss a formal peace
treaty on the Korean peninsula.
Diplomats urge Nepal to
strengthen adoption controls
AFP, Kathmandu
Diplomats in Nepal on Wednesday urged the government to
tighten controls on international adoptions after the
parents of a child put up for adoption said they had not
given their permission.
In a statement issued by the US embassy, diplomats from 14
countries urged the government "to act swiftly" to
implement safeguards contained in a 1993 Hague convention
on international adoption.
These include "implementing measures aimed at ensuring
authenticity and accuracy of documents, promoting family
preservation and, most importantly, safeguarding
children?s well-being," they said.
The warning came after a US couple trying to adopt a young
Nepalese girl discovered that the child's biological
parents were not only alive but were actively searching
for her.
Authorities reportedly only became aware of the parents'
existence when they turned up at the ministry for women
and children to seek help in finding their daughter.
Nepal introduced new legislation in 2008 to try to prevent
such abuses, and only restarted international adoptions
last year under the new system.
But campaigners say widespread problems persist and
earlier this month, a team of legal experts from The Hague
called for international adoptions of Nepalese children to
be suspended.
They said their investigations found documents were
routinely falsified and children's homes were largely
unregulated, with the interests of the child often not
considered at all.
Iran
says any atomic fuel swap must be on its soil
Reuters, Tehran
Iran said on Tuesday that any exchange of nuclear fuel
must take place on its soil, underlining its rejection of
a plan to ensure it does not amass possible atom bomb
material.
In a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency, its
first official reply to an IAEA-brokered fuel swap
proposal, Iran said it would prefer simply to buy the fuel
but would accept a simultaneous exchange on its territory.
That would be unacceptable to the United States and
European allies, which hope to get new sanctions imposed
in the coming weeks after failing to reach agreement on
the fuel exchange. But China expressed reservations over
sanctions again, saying greater diplomatic efforts were
needed. Western countries fear Iran wants to stockpile
uranium to enrich it to levels that could be used for
nuclear weapons. Iran says its sole aim is to run nuclear
energy plants to generate electricity and produce isotopes
for medicine or agriculture.
Chinese Resistance
China, which has faced Western sanctions itself in the
past, has resisted calls for tough measures against
Tehran.
"We hope relevant parties can show flexibility to create
conditions for completely and properly solving the Iran
nuclear problem through diplomatic efforts," Foreign
Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.
Russia says won’t back “crippling”
Iran sanctions
Reuters adds: Russia will not support "crippling"
sanctions against Iran, including any that may be slapped
on the Islamic Republic's banking or energy sectors, a
senior Russian diplomat said Wednesday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Moscow
last week to press the Kremlin to back tougher sanctions
against Iran over its suspected nuclear weapons project.
This week, Netanyahu called for an immediate embargo on
Iran's energy sector.
"We are not got going to work on sanctions or measures
which could lead to the political or economic or financial
isolation of this country," Oleg Rozhkov, deputy director
of the security affairs and disarmament department at
Russia's Foreign Ministry, told reporters.
"What relation to non-proliferation is there in forbidding
banking activities with Iran? This is a financial
blockade. And oil and gas. These sanctions are aimed only
at paralyzing the country and paralyzing the regime."
Turkish court charges 7
officers in coup plot
AP, Ankara,
Turkey
A Turkish court on Wednesday formally charged and ordered
jailed seven senior Turkish military officers for
allegedly plotting to overthrow the Islamic-leaning
government.
Prosecutors were questioning several other high-ranking
officers, including former chiefs of the Navy, Air Force
and Special Forces.
About 50 commanders were detained Monday in the highest
profile crackdown ever on the military after wiretap
evidence and the discovery of alleged military plans
drafted in 2003 to overthrow the government. The Turkish
military has ousted four governments since 1960.
The crackdown dramatically escalated tensions between
Turkey's military-backed secular establishment and Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has strong
electoral backing and the European Union's support. It
also signaled that a major political shift in Turkey,
NATO's sole Muslim member and a U.S. ally. The country's
stability is crucial for Washington and the EU, which want
Turkey to develop into a mature democracy.
"Obviously, we're aware of what has transpired in Turkey
and we want to see this proceed in a transparent process
in accordance with Turkish law," U.S. State Department
spokesman P.J. Crowley said in Washington.
The court in Istanbul ordered that four admirals, an army
general and two staff colonels be jailed Wednesday. It
released six other officers, but it was not clear whether
they were freed pending trial.
The military on Tuesday issued a brief statement, saying
top generals and admirals discussed "the serious
situation" regarding the investigation.
Son of Hamas founder was
top Israeli agent
AP, Jerusalem
The son of one of Hamas' founders served as a top
informant for Israel for more than a decade, providing
top-secret intelligence that helped prevent dozens of
suicide bombings and other attacks against Israelis, a
newspaper reported Wednesday.
Mosab Hassan Yousef, dubbed as "the Green Prince" by his
handlers, was one of the Shin Bet security service's most
valuable sources, Israel's Haaretz daily said. His reports
led to the arrests of several high-ranking Palestinian
figures during the violent Palestinian uprising that began
in 2000, according to the newspaper.
Yousef's father - Sheik Hassan Yousef - was a founding
member of the Islamic militant group Hamas in the 1980s.
He is currently serving a six-year sentence in an Israeli
prison for his political activities.
The younger Yousef converted to Christianity and moved to
California in 2007.
If the Haaretz report is true, the revelation would deal
another setback to Hamas, which is reeling from the
assassination of a top operative in Dubai last month.
There have been reports that a Hamas insider assisted the
killers. Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri told a Gaza Web
site that he would not address the younger Yousef's
claims, and accused Haaretz of "fabrications and lies."
Yousef's memoir, "Son of Hamas," is being published next
week in the United States by Tyndale House Publishers.
Yousef could not be immediately contacted for comment, but
an excerpt from the book on his Facebook page plugs it as
"a gripping account of terror, betrayal, political
intrigue, and unthinkable choices." It describes Yousef's
journey as one that "jeopardized Hamas, endangered his
family, and threatened his life."
Clashes break out at Greek
protests
AP, Athens
Police have fired tear gas at demonstrators in central
Athens as clashes broke out during a large protest march
against government austerity measures.
Police clashed with scores of violent protesters who
hurled rocks and plastic bottles near parliament, but the
violence remained fairly limited. More than 30,000
protesters took part in the march Wednesday, as unions
staged held a general strike which grounded flights, shut
schools and crippled public services in a show of strength
against the government.
The 24-hour walkout comes amid reports Greece is
considering tougher austerity measures, including deeper
salary cuts and drastic reforms of the civil service and
pensions system, to pull the debt-ridden country out of
financial crisis.
Chanting "Billions for the rich, but nothing for us,"
demonstrators marched to parliament, as riot police
maintained a discreet presence. Musician Dimitris
Petridis, banging a snare drum along with colleagues to a
funereal rhythm, said a spike in unemployment had hurt
business.
"We're all here for the same reason: the measures the
government is taking. They have to listen to us," Petridis
said, while keeping up the drum beat. "The rise in
joblessness has really hurt us. The daily wage for working
at a nightclub, for many of us, is the same as it was 20
years ago."
Demonstrations, part of the first general strike held by
unions since the center-left government's election in
October, were held also in cities around Greece.
WHO to assess whether H1N1
has peaked within weeks
Reuters, Geneva
Health experts will review the status of the H1N1 pandemic
in a few weeks to decide whether it has peaked but it is
already clear that it is less severe than previous
outbreaks, the World Health Organisation said.
The WHO's emergency committee decided on Tuesday that it
was premature to declare the pandemic, which was declared
in June and was the first in more than 40 years, was past
its worst.
The 15 members of the body that makes confidential
recommendations to WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan
deliberated for two hours but decided there were too many
uncertainties about how the pandemic was behaving, even if
it appeared to be subsiding in North America and Europe.
Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's top influenza expert, told
reporters on Wednesday that rising levels of infection in
West Africa and the risk posed by the winter months in the
southern hemisphere were the dominating concerns of the
committee.
"We have some reason to be concerned about what may
develop as half of the world goes into its winter months,"
Fukuda said.
Google execs convicted in
Italy for Down syndrome video
Reuters, Milan
A Milan court convicted three Google Inc executives on
Wednesday for violating the privacy of an Italian boy with
Down's syndrome by letting a video of him being bullied be
posted on the site in 2006.
Google said it plans to appeal the six-month jail terms
given to senior vice-president and chief legal officer
David Drummond, former Google Italy board member George De
Los Reyes and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer.
The court acquitted Google's senior product marketing
manager, Arvind Desikan.
"A company's rights cannot prevail over a person's
dignity. This sentence sends a clear signal," public
prosecutor Alfredo Robledo told reporters outside the
Milan courthouse.
The complaint was brought by an Italian advocacy group for
people with Down's syndrome, Vivi Down, and the boy's
father, after four classmates at a Turin school uploaded a
clip to Google Video showing them bullying the boy.
China envoy says deep
divides threaten climate talks
Reuters, Beijing
Rich and developing countries have little hope of
overcoming key disagreements over how to fight global
warming, China's climate change ambassador said on
Wednesday, warning of a year of troubled negotiations.
China's Special Representative for Climate Change
Negotiations, Yu Qingtai, said as nations seek a new
global treaty on climate change by the end of 2010, major
players are unlikely to budge on the issues that stymied
stronger agreement at the contentious Copenhagen climate
summit in late 2009.
"There may be some adjustments and shifts in the positions
and tactics of the various sides, but I personally believe
that on some core issues, the positions of the major
parties will not undergo any substantive changes," Yu said
at a meeting in Beijing on China's climate change
policies. After they failed to agree on a comprehensive
pact at Copenhagen, negotiators now hope to put together a
binding treaty through meetings culminating in Mexico late
this year.
Yu was not hopeful.
"We can expect that in the coming year, there'll still be
a mix of consensus and conflict, of cooperation and
struggle, on the stage of climate diplomacy," he said.
"The progress of the international negotiations faces very
many difficulties."
Yu's comments added to recent gloomy forecasts for the
climate negotiations, an issue that could add to tensions
with the United States.
Business/Economy
President urges SKorea to recruit more manpower
BSS, Dhaka
President Zillur Rahman on Wednesday urged South Korea to
recruit more manpower from here as they could contribute
to the economies of both the countries. The President made
the call while outgoing Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh
Suk Bum Park paid a farewell call on him at Bangabhaban.
During the meeting, the President also sought duty and
quota free access of Bangladeshi products to South Korea
for reducing trade imbalance between the two countries.
Mentioning Bangladesh greatly values its close and
friendly relations with South Korea, President Zillur
Rahman expressed his satisfaction at the excellent
bilateral relation existing between the two countries.
However, the President observed that there are still ample
scopes to further increase the bilateral relations between
Bangladesh and South Korea in the sectors of trade and
investment, energy, power and mineral resources. The
President also thanked the outgoing ambassador for his
significant contribution during his tenure in
strengthening bilateral relations between the two
countries. The Korean envoy apprised the President that
his country has recruited 3000 Bangladeshi manpower and
would recruit 5000 more in the next year.
"We will increase the number gradually as the Bangladeshi
workers had attained high reputation in Korea for their
honesty, hard working nature as well as disciplined
lifestyle," he said. On the trade issue, the ambassador
apprised the President that Korea has already reduced 80
percent tariff on many Bangladeshi products and is
considering waiving more.
Expressing gratitude to the President for giving support
to discharge his duty in Bangladesh, the outgoing
ambassador hoped that the bilateral relations will be
further strengthened in the days to come.
Concerned secretaries of the President's Office were also
present on the occasion.
BD-India
Trade Fair begins today
UNB, Dhaka
A three-day Indian trade fair, with a focus on promoting
business and investment between Bangladesh and India's
Northeast, begins in the city Thursday with a target of
exporting goods worth one billion US dollars by 2011 to
India.
"The fair will also attract 100 joint-venture investments
into Bangladesh in the next three years to 2013," said
Abdul Matlub Ahmed, president of the India-Bangladesh
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IBCCI) in Bangladesh, at
a press conference at a city hotel.
The business magnet appeared upbeat about the outcome of
the 'India Trade Fair (ITF) 2010 and Bangladesh Northeast
India Trade and Investment Conclave', being held against
the backdrop of major developments in relations between
the two neighboring countries who have just struck broad
accords on wider areas of cooperation-in trade,
transportation, transit, investment and so.
He noted that the Indian government has waived duty on a
couple of Bangladeshi products at entry point, but, still,
there is duty in action in different Indian states.
"If the local tax is removed on garments, knitwear, woven
wears and shirts, we will be able to achieve our target of
exporting goods worth US$ 1 billion soon," said Matlub,
who mainly deals in Tata vehicles in Bangladesh.
He hoped that the political leaders and ministers from
Bangladesh and different Indian states would meet in the
Conclave where Bangladesh could get a chance to make
duty-free their exports to different Indian states if
their counterparts agreed.
"The Indian economy is worth around three trillion
dollars. If we could trade 5 percent of that amount, there
would be huge business for Bangladesh," he told the
newsmen. Answering to a question, he said that the
situation regarding the mindset of the Indian government
towards promoting trade is changing.
Nakib Ahmed of Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) hoped that
the fair would further strengthen the relationship between
Bangladesh and the Bengali community in India.
IBCCI secretary-general Shyamal Ghosh emphasized the need
for making Bangladesh manufacturing base and said,
"Bangladesh could be a very good investment destination."
WB economist urges continued
stimulus
AFP, Seoul
The World Bank's chief economist urged countries on
Wednesday not to abandon their stimulus policies, citing
the risk of a second dip in the global economy. Justin
Yifu Lin, who is also senior vice-president, said the
global economy is showing signs of recovery but there
remain a "lot of uncertainties."
"Yes, we have a recovery but the foundation for recovery
is still quite weak," Lin told journalists on the
sidelines of Global Korea 2010, an annual international
forum in Seoul.
He said one of the main challenges the world faces now is
excessive production capacity, which raises the risk of a
double dip.
"To avoid that, (countries in the world need) to maintain
fiscal stimulus," he said.
"We can turn this crisis into an opportunity to promote
long-term, sustainable growth... for that, it's very
important for governments to use stimulus funds in areas
like green economy and infrastructure," Lin said.
"Those kind of stimulus, in the short run, may accumulate
public debts, but in the long run you will have more
long-term higher growth, government revenues will increase
and debts will be serviced." Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard
University economics professor and former IMF chief
economist, called for global uniform standards for
regulating capital markets to avoid another financial
crisis.
Global recovery doubts send Asian
markets lower
AFP, Hong Kong
Weaker-than-expected data from the United States and
Europe triggered fresh doubts about the pace of global
recovery Wednesday, with Asian markets trading broadly
lower. February US consumer confidence data released
Tuesday eroded expectations for sustainable consumer
spending and a quick economic recovery in the United
States, prompting a risk-averse reaction across Asia.
"The market is looking for signs of economic recovery and
growth," said analysts at IG Markets. "The latest set of
consumer confidence figures isn't helping this view." A
surprise decline in business confidence in Germany,
Europe's biggest economy, also indicated sluggish recovery
and hit sentiment towards the euro in overnight trade,
before the single currency rebounded in Asia. The euro
fetched 1.3543 dollars in Tokyo afternoon trade from
1.3509 in New York late Tuesday. It rose to 122.20 yen
from 121.87.
Tokyo fell 1.48 percent, or 153.27 points, to 10,198.83
with the relatively strong yen denting exporters'
profitability, sending related shares lower. Shares of
Toyota were down 1.50 percent, hours before its president
Akio Toyoda was set to testify before US Congress on the
carmaker's safety problems that have prompted global
recalls of more than eight million vehicles. Worries about
the US economy saw Hong Kong close down 0.75 percent, or
155.26 points to 20,467.74, but developers were boosted by
plans to cool the territory's red-hot property market
which were more benign than expected. China's banks led
losses on concerns Beijing will tighten monetary policy.
ICBC shed 1.6 percent, China Construction Bank was down
1.5 percent and Bank of China lost 1.3 percent. Sydney
dived 1.48 percent, or 69.8 points, to close at 4,648.5,
dragged lower by mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto
on lower commodity prices.
"Negative sentiment from the US session overnight flowed
through to Australian trade, with the cyclical material
and energy sectors leading the market lower," IG Markets
analyst Ben Potter said. Heavyweight stock BHP Billiton
slipped 2.92 percent while Rio Tinto shed 3.23 percent.
However, Shanghai bucked the trend, adding 1.33 percent,
or 39.60 points to 3,022.18 on bargain-hunting following
recent falls, boosting banking stocks.
The region mainly took its cue from Wall Street, where US
stocks slumped 0.97 percent overnight in reaction to the
disappointing data and on a report showing a rise in the
number of problem banks being followed by regulators.
The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence
index plunged to 46.0, its lowest since April 2009, from
56.5 a month earlier as Americans became more pessimistic
about job prospects.
Traders were also waiting for scheduled comments from
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on the state of the
economy to panels of the House of Representatives and
Senate.
He is expected to shed light on the central bank's sudden
decision last week to hike interest charged on short-term
emergency loans given to banks.
G20's future in question amid new
challenges
AFP, Washington
Five months after the G20 took over as the world's
official economic forum, experts are asking whether it can
confront new and more pressing challenges grappling
nations emerging from financial crisis.
Leaders of the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging
economies have worked to address the worst financial
crisis in decades but with the meltdown easing, they face
challenges such as establishing a new global financial
system, debt turmoil and the gradual shift in the world's
economic balance of power.
"The G20 has achieved a tremendous amount in a short time
but the big question is are they are going to be able to
move forward from crisis mode," asked Uri Dadush, a former
director of the World Bank's global economy group.
A problem of immediate concern to the G20 is the sovereign
debt crisis, stemming from Greece's battles to stop its
public finances from drowning in debt that were preceded
by similar problems in Iceland and Dubai.
"This problem is not confined to these economies but
involves big players," Dadush, now head of the
international economics program of the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, said at a Washington forum.
Greece's debt woes highlight the problem in several bigger
nations in Europe, while the United States and Japan also
face sovereign debt level concerns, said analysts at the
forum, "What will the G20 look like in 2050?"
The G20 summit was convened for the first time in
Washington in 2008 after a US home mortgage meltdown sent
a financial tsunami across the globe.
A year later, in a dramatic shift, G20 members decided to
turn their group into the premier economic forum,
replacing the Group of Eight (G8) comprising Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the
United States.
Malaysian economy out of recession
AFP, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia's economy has recovered from the global crisis
and could expand by 5.0 percent this year, premier Najib
Razak said Wednesday after announcing strong growth in the
three months to December. The fourth quarter expansion of
4.5 percent was much healthier than expected, and
represented a rebound after three consecutive quarters of
contraction.
"Overall, the Malaysian economy has turned around and
recovered from the implications of the global crisis,"
Najib told a press conference.
The premier credited stronger external and domestic
demand, stimulus spending, measures to ensure access to
financing, and "accommodative" monetary policy for the
resumption of growth.
"For the year 2009, the economy contracted by 1.7 percent,
lower than negative three or four percent that was
projected earlier," he said.
"The accelerated implementation of the government's two
stimulus packages has been a key factor in contributing to
the economic recovery."
Asked whether Malaysia can achieve 5.0 percent growth for
2010, Najib replied "Yes".
"We are quite bullish about it. Earlier we forecast 4.0
percent, I hope we can achieve 1.0 to 2.0 percent above
it. I'm going all-out to generate confidence and speedy
implementation of projects," he said.
National
BDR mutiny trial court sets April
15 to frame charges against accused
UNB, Dhaka
A special court, with BDR Director-General Maj Gen Mainul
Islam presiding, on Wednesday fixed April 15 for framing
charges against the accused in the BDR mutiny case.
The special court-5, which resumed at 10:35am Wednesday,
continued its proceedings for over one hour and adjourned
till 9am on April 15 when the charges will be framed and
read out against the accused.
Some 84 accused were brought to the court at the BDR
Darbar Hall Wednesday morning. Of them, 83 were put on the
dock while another accused suffering from chicken pox, was
kept in an ambulance outside the court room. As the court
resumed, prosecutor Maj Matiur Rahman, who is acting
Commanding Officer (CO) for BDR Dhaka Sadar Sector, gave
an account of the BDR mutiny staged on February 25-26 last
year.
He narrated the allegations
against the accused and said
they have committed punishable offences under the
Bangladesh Rifles Order, 1972 section 10A (1).
Maj Matiur said he has 30 witnesses as well as video
footages and other evidences against the accused persons.
The court said this is for the first time such trial is
being held in a special. In the future, similar trial will
not be held as existing law will be changed.
The court told the accused that they would get at least 27
days to prove their innocence as per the BDR act.
An accused, if he so wants, will be given the opportunity
of appointing 'a friend of the accused' from among the
officers of his own battalion to seek legal aid. An
accused can also hire a private lawyer at his own expense
but 'a friend of accused' or a private lawyer cannot
cross-examine a witness. Only an accused can examine a
witness.
Maj Gen Mainul Islam said the court will take lenient view
about punishment if an accused confesses his guilt on the
day of charge-framing.
An accused will get the right to self-defence under
section 3 (V) of the BDR Act. All the 84 accused will be
brought to court on April 15 to hear the charges.
Maximum punishment of an offence under the BDR Act is
seven years.
The court asked the prosecutor to issue warrants against
the absconding accused within 15 days. If the absconding
accused does not appear before the court, they will be
prosecuted in absentia.
The court also asked the prosecutor to publish notice in
two Bangla newspapers within 15 days for the surrender of
the absconding accused. If they do not surrender, their
movable and non-movable property will be confiscated.
The Special Court-5 began functioning from Feb 23 at the
Durbar Hall of the BDR Pilkhana headquarters, where a
massacre of its top orders took place on February 25-26
last year.
The special court-5, formed under the Bangladesh Rifles
Order 1972, is trying the BDR members of Dhaka Sector
headquarters who allegedly took part in the mutiny inside
the BDR headquarters. BDR Director-General Maj General
Mainul Islam presided over the three-member special trial
court. Two other members were Lt Col AKM Gulam Rabbi and
Maj Sayeed Hasan Taposh.
Major earthquake might
kill 88,000 people in capital
BSS, Dhaka
A major earthquake 7.5 on the Richter scale might kill
about 88,000 people and demolish 72,000 buildings and
damage 86,000 others in the capital Dhaka.
Such devastation in the port city of Chittagong could be
more fatal claiming the lives of nearly 95,000 people and
razing to the ground 1,42,000 buildings.
This awful information was revealed by Bangladesh
Earthquake Society President Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury
while presenting a keynote paper at a seminar on 'Risk of
Earthquake, Tsunami and Strom Surge in Bangladesh,'
organized by JICA Alumni Association on Tuesday night.
Prof Chowdhury said the aforesaid prediction about loss of
lives and damage to properties was made three months ago
under the initiative of Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme (CDMP).
He said review of the available data shows that
considerable seismic hazard exists for major parts of
Bangladesh. According to seismic zoning map, About 25
million people, representing one sixth of the current
total population of the country mostly live in Sylhet,
Mymensingh and some parts of Rangpur districts are
classified as 'liable to severe damage'. On the other
hand, 75 million people, the half of the total population
of the country, mostly live Dhaka and Chittagong are under
moderate damage, he said. Prof Jamilur Reza said an
earthquake preparedness master plan must be prepared for
the cities and towns of Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet,
Mymensingh and Rangpur districts. The government should
strictly implement building codes as well as identify and
retrofit the vulnerable buildings.
"The government should retrofit all public buildings as
soon as possible and can offer soft loan to the people as
they could retrofit their old buildings," he said.
Prof Chowdhury said experience in many of the past
earthquake in different countries suggests that
significant damage to life and property can be caused by
fires originating from short circuits of power lines or
from gas lines. "There is a need for carrying out a
vulnerability analysis of these utilities and lifelines,"
he said. Moreover, the antennas of mobile phones and their
network operating centers are located on the top of
existing buildings, many of which may collapse in the
event of earthquakes.
The seminar was also addressed by State Minister for
Housing and Public Works Advocate Abdul Mannan as chief
guest and Chief Representative of JICA Bangladesh Dr Takao
Toda and Environment and Forests Secretary Dr Mihir Kanti
Majumder as special guests. The State Minister said the
government is working to turn the existing building code
into a law which would be passed by the parliament soon.
"We must impose the law strictly for ensuring safety of
the public life," he said. Dr Toda said Japan government
is keen to transfer its earthquake preparedness technology
to Bangladesh government.
"We have already taken initiative to transfer our seismic
resistance building retrofitting technology to the
Bangladesh government for the public buildings," he said.
20 Islamic
zealots, police injured in Ctg clash
Riot police deployed to tackle violence
UNB, Chittagong
At least 20 people, including five cops, were injured in a
clash between police and a neo-Islamist group in the port
city on Wednesday afternoon, hot on the heels of
Bengali-tribal rioting in the CHT hills close by.
Witnesses said trouble erupted at about 2:30pm as police
prevented the activists of Hefazat-e-Islam from entering
the city to attend a rally on which a ban had been imposed
beforehand.
Hefazat-e-Islam, a coalition of Quomi Madrasas'
representatives, was to hold a rally at Laldighi Maidan at
3pm Wednesday to press home their 4-point demand.
A chase-and counter-chase incident took place between the
police and the Islamist zealots at the city's entry point,
leaving 20 injured, including five law-enforcers.
Three police were admitted to the Police Lines Hospital
while the rest policemen and the religious-group workers
given first aid.
Meanwhile, tensions mounted in the port city following the
ban on holding the rally.
"The ban was clamped as the organization called the
gathering without prior permission of CMP," said Kazi M
Helaluddin, assistant commissioner of Chittagong
Metropolitan Police (CMP) Kotwali Zone.
Meanwhile, Hefazat-e-Islam office secretary Mohammad Shafi
told UNB that the rally was organized after taking
permission. But police informed them that a ban was
imposed following "orders from higher authorities".
Huge contingents of plainclothes and riot police have been
deployed in and around Laldighi Maidan.
The Islamic organization erected a stage at Laldighi
Maidan on Tuesday night and announced over microphone
their holding the rally. But, police pulled down the dais
Wednesday morning after the imposition of the ban.
Interest-free agri-loans
distributed
BSS, Lalmonirhat
The Janata Bank Limited (JBL) distributed interest-free
agri-loans among 22 landless sharecroppers including eight
women at a ceremony on its Aditmari Branch Office premises
in Aditmari upazila recently.
Chaired by manager of Aditmari branch of the JBL Afzal
Hossain, the ceremony was attended by assistant general
manager (AGM) of Kurigram Regional Office Mohammad
Akhteruzzaman as the chief guest.
Vice president of Lalmonirhat district unit of Awami
League, director of FBCCI and Aditmari Upazila Chairman
Sirajul Haque, senior JBL Official Moynul Haque, attended
as the special guests.
Later, the chief guest distributed a total Taka about two
lakh with Taka 5,000 to Taka 10,000 to each of the
beneficiary landless farmers on the occasion.
The speakers urged the beneficiaries for maximum
utilization of the loans and added that the present
pro-people and pro-farmer government led by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina will do everything for farmers' welfare and
ensure country's food security.
Getting the interest-free loans, Rafikul Islam and Amena
Begum told the national news agency that the assistance
would help them a lot in successfully farming Boro paddy,
producing more food grains.
Electrification of Dahagram-Angorpota
DC level Indo-Bangla meeting held
UNB, Lalmonirhat
A deputy commissioner level bilateral meeting between
Bangladesh and India was held at Tin Bigha Corridor here
Monday for electrification of Dahagram-Angorpota enclaves.
Deputy Commissioner of the district Alauddin Fakir led the
five-member home delegation while the Indian side was
headed by Koochbihar district magistrate Sharaki Mohapatra
in the four-hour meeting held from 11am.
After the meeting, Alauddin Fakir told the journalists
that a fruitful discussion was held for electrification of
the two enclaves. The meeting decided that work on
installing under ground cable would start from March 1
which would be completed within 15 days. Long standing
demand of 15,000 people of the two enclaves would be
fulfilled with the completion of the works, the DC said.
The Tin Bigha Corridor was formally handed over to
Bangladesh on June 26, 1992 following a DC level bilateral
meeting between the two countries.
Trustee Board of Buddhist Religion Welfare Trust
reformed
UNB, Dhaka
A seven-member Board of Trustee of the Buddhist Religion
Welfare Trust has been reformed for the welfare of the
country's Buddhist community.
The Board of Trustee was reformed on Wednesday at a
meeting of the Religious Affairs Ministry with Minister
Advocate Shahjahan Mia in the chair.
Headed by the Religious Affairs Minister as board
president, the other members are Sajan Talukder of
Chittagong, Gyanendrio Chakma of Rangamati, Gyan Bikash
Chakma of Khagrachhari, Kew Ching Chowdhury and Supta
Barua of Bandarban Hill District Council and Aungshit of
Barguna district.
The State Minister also allocated Tk 15 lakh for the
renovation of Buddhist temples and vihars.
Cash, foodgrains, CI sheets sanctioned for
relief, rehabilitation in CHT
UNB, Dhaka
Government has allocated Tk 37 lakh in cash besides 645
ton rice and 600 bundle CI sheets as relief to the victims
of ethnic violence in Rangamati and Khagrachhari
districts.
Rangamati will get Tk 6.23 lakh, 307 metric ton rice and
500 bundle CI sheets while Khagrachhari will get Tk 6.80
lakh, 336 metric ton rice and 23,86,500 CI sheets, says an
official handout.
Another Tk 23.86 lakh has been sanctioned for
rehabilitation of the victims.
Of the total relief, Disaster Management Ministry has
given Tk 13.64 lakh, 645 metric ton rice and 23,86,500 CI
sheets.
The Food Minister Abdur Razzaque has assured of more
relief, if necessary.
Man commits suicide after
slaughtering wife in Manikganj
UNB, Manikganj
A young man allegedly committed suicide after slaughtering
his newly-wed wife at Irta village in Singair upazila on
Tuesday night.
Police on Wednesday recovered the body of Shiplu Khan, 28,
son of Abdur Rahman Khan, from a residential hotel in
Dhaka and of his wife Sharmin Akhter, 20, from her
in-law's house at Irta village.
Police said Shiplu and his family members used to torture
Sharmin, daughter of Abdur Rahim of Ramkantapur village in
Singair, due to dowry demand since their marriage that was
solemnized 10 months ago.
On Tuesday night, Shiplu, his father and some other
relatives hacked Sharmin and then slaughtered her, said
police.
After the incident, Shiplu fled the scene. Police
recovered his hanging body from a hotel in city's Darus
Salam area Wednesday morning.
A murder case has been filed with Singair thana accusing
five people, including Abdur Rahman Khan.
Litterateur Abu
Rushd passes away
UNB, Dhaka
Noted litterateur Abu Rushd Motinuddin Ahmed died on
Tuesday night at the age of 91.
He left behind his wife, one son, one daughter and host of
relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death.
Abu Rushd was born on December 25 in 1919 in Kolkata. In
East Pakistan he taught at several colleges before leaving
for Oxford for an Honours degree in English. In 1971, he
was posted as Educational Counsellor at the Pakistan
Embassy in Washington. When the Liberation War started he
swore allegiance to Bangladesh.
Abu Rushd's first publication was a collection of short
stories in 1939.
His famous novels included Elomelo (This and That, 1946),
Samne Notun Din (A New Day Ahead, 1951), Doba Holo Dighi
(Pool becomes Lake, 1960)Nongor (Anchor, 1963), Onishchito
Ragini (The Unsure Tune, 1969).
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith expressed deep
shock at the death of the renowned author.
In a condolence message he said," We have lost a bright
star of Bengali literature and a brave freedom fighter at
his death." He conveyed sympathy to the bereaved family
members and prayed for the salvation of the departed soul.
Emergency meet on law and
order held in Rangamati
BSS, Rangamati
The deputy commissioner (DC) of the district asked the
concerned officials to deal the affairs related to law and
order with iron hands to contain discipline.
The DC gave the directive at an emergency meeting held in
the evening amid continued troubles at places in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts.
He sought cooperation of officials, political-social
leaders and elite to stop recurrence of any unwanted
incidents those took place at Baghaihat under Baghaichhari
upazila of the district, Khagrachhari and elsewhere in the
CHT recently.
Superintend of police, Rangamati Sadar Upazila Nirhabi
officer, officer-in-charge of Rangamati police,
political-social leaders and local elite attended the
meeting in the auditorium of the DC office with DC
Saurendra Nath Chakravarty in the chair.
Participants at the meeting expressed concern over the
incidents and termed those as a part of conspiracy to
malign the image of the government.
Members
of three services leave for India to attend Military
Festival
UNB, Benapole
A 50-member cultural delegation Wednesday left here for
India to attend the Military Festival of the three
services of SAARC countries.
The delegation, consist of 30 members from the Army and 10
each from the Air Force and Navy, left the country through
the Benapole Check Post in the afternoon.
The Bangladesh team, led by Major Sayeed Akram, was
received by the 36 BSF Battalion at Petrapole point.
The programme has been arranged in the Indian capital of
New Delhi for strengthening the bonds of friendship and
fraternity between the Army, Navy and Air force members of
the SAARC member countries.
Sports
SA Games
BCB to award Tk 50,000 each member of gold medal winning
circket team
UNB, Dhaka
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided to award Tk
50,000 each to the players and team officials of the 11th
South Asian Games gold medal winning Bangladesh cricket team.
The decision came from the 16th meeting of the BCB board of
directors held at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium
with its president AHM Mustafa Kamal MP in the chair.
The meeting also approved that the GP-BCB National Cricket
Academy will award 30 scholarships this year to the talented
cricketers. It further decided to involve former Bangladesh
fielding coach Mohammad Salahuddin as a coach with the GP-BCB
National Cricket Academy.
The BCB board decided not to renew the contract of National
Team Operations Manager Shafiq-ul Haque Heera, which will
expire on March 31, 2010. Meeting sources said that the Board
will, however, seriously consider utilizing the vast
experience and knowledge of former national captain Heera in
some other suitable capacity within the BCB.
A decision regarding the contract of Bangladesh bowling coach
Champaka Ramanayake, which is set to expire on February 28,
2010, will be taken after discussion with Head Coach Jamie
Siddons on his return from Australia.
The Board has decided not to renew the contract of GP-BCB
National Cricket Academy Head Coach Ruwan Kalpage, which
expires on March 31, 2010.
The Board had very fruitful and cordial discussions with
National Team Captain Shakib Al Hasan and members of the Team
Management and National Selectors concerning the team's recent
tour of New Zealand.
The BCB Board decided to initiate the appointment of a sports
psychologist who would work with all National Selections. It
sanctioned Tk 100,000 to former Bangladesh Test player
Mushfiqur Rahman Babu for treating his back injury.
 India
v South Africa, 2nd ODI
Tendulkar scores 200 to create ODI history
Cricinfo Online
Sachin Tendulkar has become the first batsman in the history
of one day internationals to score a double century.
The Little Master achieved the astonishing feat on Wednesday
during the 48th of India's innings against South Africa in
Gwalior, in the process helping his side to cross 400.
Tendulkar reached the milestone when he scored 195 in the
second one-dayer against South Africa in Gwalior.
Finally he remained 204 not out at the end of the Indian
innings after 50 overs as India scored 401 runs losing only
three wickets.
Former Pakistani opener Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwean Charles
Coventry had jointly held the previous record of 194.
After 40 years of one-day international cricket, Sachin
Tendulkar rewrote history by breaking the 200-run barrier on a
day when batting records and the South African bowlers took a
beating, in Gwalior. When he turned Wayne Parnell to square
leg for two in the 46th over, Tendulkar eclipsed Saeed Anwar
and Charles Coventry's record for the highest individual score
of 194, but his muted reaction on reaching that milestone
confirmed that he had his sights set on a bigger
accomplishment.
It was that kind of day - the way Tendulkar started gave the
impression that he was in the zone. Virender Sehwag perished
early, but Dinesh Karthik settled into the support role
perfectly. Karthik brought up his personal best, and helped
Tendulkar add 194 for the second wicket, before Yusuf Pathan
and MS Dhoni played destructive cameos to torment the
visitors. Dhoni brought up his 50 off 28 balls with a violent
hoick over long off in the penultimate over, with Tendulkar
still one run away from the 200, but the special moment came
in the final over of the innings from Charl Langeveldt.
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to bat after
winning the toss. South Africa made three changes from the
team that lost the opening match by one run in Jaipur on
Sunday, bringing in Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy and Roelof
van der Merwe in place of Loots Bosman, Albie Morkel and Johan
Botha.
Australia's Lee follows
Flintoff to Test exit
AFP, Sydney
Australia's feared fast bowler Brett Lee quit Test cricket
Wednesday after a run of injuries, following Andrew
Flintoff as the latest player to give up the tough format
in a bid to prolong his career.
Lee, 33, who is slated to play in India's lucrative IPL
Twenty20 competition next month, said the long-expected
decision was a "cricket choice and it's a lifestyle
choice."
"To me, Test cricket is my favourite part of the game,
wearing the baggy green cap," he told Sky News. "But if
I'm going to keep playing cricket for another few years,
something had to give."
Lee took 310 wickets in 76 Tests since making his debut in
1999, making him Australia's fourth most successful Test
bowler behind Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Dennis Lillee.
However, the tall, blond paceman last played a five-day
match in December 2008 when he suffered a severe foot
injury during the Boxing Day match against South Africa in
Melbourne.
Lee, who has a young son from a failed marriage, has since
battled ankle and rib problems, keeping him out of last
year's Ashes series, and said he had been considering his
decision for months. An earlier report said he finally
decided to quit after talking to England all-rounder
Flintoff, who retired from Tests last year. New Zealand's
Jacob Oram has also walked away from Tests to focus on
one-dayers and Twenty20s.
"It's been about a three- to four-month decision that I've
made and finally I went with it." Lee's intimidating
physique and pace made him a terror among batsmen as he
lined up alongside Warne and McGrath in Australia's
all-conquering side of the 2000s, when they dominated the
Test rankings.
Wisden magazine's 2006 Cricketer of the Year lays claim to
cricket's second quickest recorded delivery when he bowled
at 99.9 miles (160.8 kilometres) per hour in 2005, a speed
bettered only by Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar.
Barcelona boss demands more from
champions
AFP, Stuttgart
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has demanded his side
improve if they want to retain their Champions League
title after being held to a 1-1 draw by Germany's
Stuttgart in the last 16 clash.
"We had to fight, it was a hard game," Guardiola said
after Tuesday night's match at Stuttgart's Mercedes-Benz
Arena.
"In the second half we were able to free ourselves up and
it was a good result. But if we want to go for the title
in this competition, we are going to have to work hard and
get better."
Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, scorer of Barca's crucial
second-half equaliser, agreed that it was a hard game, but
predicted an improved performance in the second leg at
their Camp Nou fortress on March 17.
Stuttgart goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, who was famously sent
off in Arsenal's ill-fated 2006 Champions League final
against Barca, said there might be an upset.
"Maybe we'll score a goal. And then they will have to come
back, and then it will be a hectic English style game.
That would be nice," the ex-Germany star said.
But Stuttgart's coach Christian Gross, who has turned his
side's fortunes around after taking over from the sacked
Markus Babbel in December, was under no illusions.
"Now we have to go and get a result in Barcelona. We can't
be too optimistic," he said.
The German side gave all they had on Tuesday night,
particularly in a high-tempo first half, but they managed
to convert only one of their many chances when
Brazilian-born striker Cacau struck in the 25th minute.
Stuttgart's goal came when a perfectly delivered cross
from Timo Gebhart found Cacau on the far post, fresh from
scoring four goals against Cologne on Saturday, who headed
past Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
A string of other chances followed as the home side ran
rings around the ragged-looking Spanish league leaders,
but the German underdogs were unable to capitalise.
The tide turned as Barca's class came through in the
second half when Stuttgart began to tire. Swedish striker
Ibrahimovic broke Stuttgart's resistance on 52 minutes,
equalising by slotting the ball underneath Lehmann at
close range after the German managed to block his first
attempt.
Stuttgart only really looked dangerous again on 63 minutes
when Sami Khedira, like Cacau a member of the Germany
squad, had a chance to put his side ahead, but his shot
went wide. Barca never looked like losing as their
all-important away goal knocked the stuffing out of
Stuttgart who became increasingly desperate.
In the last 10 minutes, Barca closed the game down and the
tired Germans hardly got a look-in. "Hats off to
Stuttgart, they played a very good match," said Barca's
French star Thierry Henry.
No regrets turning pro at early
age, says Wie
AFP, Singapore
US golf star Michelle Wie said Wednesday she made the
right decision to turn professional at the age of 16 and
could not have envisioned a different path for her career.
"I don't imagine my life any other way. You know, I turned
pro young, I do realise that, but I like my life like
that," said Wie, when asked at a media conference in
Singapore if she had made the right decision.
The onetime child golf prodigy, who turned 20 in October
last year, turned professional with great fanfare at 16
but her insistence on testing herself against men's fields
drew criticism as well as attention.
She suffered through highly public struggles with her game
as well as a debilitating wrist injury in 2007, but
finally earned her LPGA Tour card in qualifying school in
December 2008.
Wie's long wait for her first LPGA title ended when she
triumphed at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational tournament in
Guadalajara, Mexico with a two-shot victory. It was a
long-awaited milestone for Wie, who shot to prominence
when she qualified for a US Golf Association event at the
age of 10 and played an LPGA tournament when she was 12.
Since joining the women's tour she has gone from strength
to strength and has also emerged as a star at the Solheim
Cup, where she was unbeaten in four matches.
Wie, who is making her first appearance at the HSBC
Women's Champions tournament in Singapore starting
Thursday, said taking a different approach to the game has
helped her mentally. "Well, two years ago, I wasn't really
healthy. So I think it's just changes in the mental
attitude in how I approach the game in general," said Wie.
"I feel like I was so stuck in the past and the
future-where I was worried about what I did in the past
and worried about where I was going to be in the
future-that I was so lost.
"I think now I'm just trying to focus on the present and
what I can do right now. And I think that it changed a lot
of how I see the game."
Kramer disqualified after posting best time
AP, Vancouver
The biggest blunder of speedskater Sven Kramer's career
cost him a second Olympic title and handed South Korea's
Lee Seung-hoon the most unexpected gold medal of the
Vancouver Games on Tuesday.
The world champion was disqualified despite posting the
fastest time in the 10,000 meters after failing to switch
lanes properly, an elementary error that was unprecedented
for a skater of his stature at the Olympics.
At Whistler, Switzerland's Carlo Janka celebrated an
Olympic giant slalom gold medal to go with his world
championship title with a combined two-run time of 2
minutes, 37.83 seconds. Norway
collected silver and bronze with Kjetil Jansrud finishing
0.41 seconds behind Janka in second place and Aksel Lund
Svindal completing a full complement of Vancouver medals
by taking bronze to go with his gold in the super-G and
silver in the downhill. Russia had earlier secured the
first gold medal of Day 12, with Olga Zaitseva finishing
off victory in the women's biathlon relay in 1 hour, 9
minutes, 36.3 seconds to beat France and Germany.
Rajshahi takes lead over Khulna; Ctg over Dhaka
UNB, Dhaka
Rajshahi Division took command over Khulna Division taking
overall 247 runs lead on the 3rd day in the rain-marred
EBL four-day National Cricket League at the BKSP on
Wednesday.
Resuming the 3rd day today with overnight score of 50 for
1, Rajshahi Division in their second innings, scored 221
for 6 in 67.4 overs.
Two down Sabbir Rahman contributed 76 runs off 143 balls
with seven fours and a six while nightwatch batsman
Jahurul Islam made 54 runs off 60 balls with eight fours.
Middle orders Anisur Rahman (24) and Farhad Hossain (23)
were the other notable scorers for Rahshahi Division.
Nasir Hossain and Suhrawardy Shuvo were batting on 7 and 6
runs as abrupt rain halted the play.
Dollar Mahmud and Syed Rusel captured two wickets each
conceding 32 and 56 runs respectively.
In another match, Nazimuddin's ton guided Chittagong
Division to take a massive 398 runs lead over Dhaka
Division on the 3rd day at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in
Khulna.
Chittagong Division started their second innings today
after taking 73 runs first inning lead over Dhaka Division
and piled up 325 runs for 8 wickets in 90 overs at stumps.
Two down Nazimuddin contributed 136 runs off 214 balls
with 12 fours and a six while number three batsman Faisal
Hossain made 59 runs off 119 balls with five fours and two
sixes.
Besides, openers Gazi Salahuddin (20) and Mahabubul Karim
(19) were the other notavble contributors for Chittagong
Division.
Tail-ender Elias Sunny and Kazi Kamrul were batting on 25
and 1 as the bails were drawn for the day.
Ronny Talukdar, Ashraful and Nadif Chowdhury scalped two
wickets each for 27, 32 and 64 runs respectively.
Earlier, Dhaka Division in their 1st innings, were
dismissed for 239 runs in reply to Chittagong Division 1st
innings total of 312.
Aussie champ Green to fight
Siaca in Perth
AFP, Sydney
Australia's IBO world cruiserweight champion Danny Green
will have the home town advantage when he takes on Puerto
Rican Manny Siaca in April.
The fight, the first for Green since he scored a stunning
first round TKO of the eight-time world champion Roy Jones
Jr in December, was originally scheduled for Sydney.
But it will now take place at Perth's Challenge Stadium,
Green's base for the majority of his fights since his
professional career took off in 2002, the Western
Australian government said.
"Danny Green is a proud Western Australian and I believe
our investment to promote a Perth-based international
sportsman who is passionate about Western Australia and
Perth and uses every opportunity to promote it is a sound
one," State Premier Colin Barnett said. Green said he was
looking forward to fighting in front of his home crowd.
"I am rapt the State Government has thrown its support
behind the defence of my world title here in my home
town," Green said.
The 36-year-old is to fight Siaca after being rebuffed in
attempts to line up Americans Bernard Hopkins and Antonio
Tarver following December's shock win over Jones. "Siaca
is a tough and experienced fighter who has fought some of
the world's best so I certainly won't be taking him
lightly," he said.
Canada, Russia poised for
heavyweight clash
AFP, Vancouver
The race to Olympic gold for superstars Sidney Crosby and
Alex Ovechkin heats up Wednesday as Canada and Russia
renew their long-standing rivalry in a heavyweight
quarter-final clash.
Second seeded Canada beat Germany 8-2 to set up a clash
with Russia as Jarome Iginla scored twice and Shea Weber
powered a shot clear through the net that was later ruled
a goal at Canada Hockey Place arena on Tuesday.
Form held as the top eight teams in the tournament
advanced through to the quarter-finals as Canada, the
Czechs, Switzerland and Slovakia made is safely out of
Tuesday's qualifying stage. They will join defending
champions Sweden, Russia, USA and Finland in the round of
eight.
In Wednesday's quarter-finals, the Czechs will face
Finland, USA plays Switzerland and reigning gold medallist
Sweden has booked a date with Slovakia. Canada and Russia
met in the most exciting game of the 2006 Turin Olympics
with Russia coming out on top 2-0. Another memorable
encounter took place in 1992 in Albertville when the
Unified Team rallied in the gold medal game to win 3-1.
The entire nation stopped to watch the 1972 Summit Series
which featured four games in Canada and four games in the
Soviet Union before being eventually won by Canada.
Crosby, Joe Thornton, Mike Richards, Rick Nash and Scott
Niedermayer also scored on Tuesday for Canada who have
little time to rest up as they bid for the final four.
Eric Staal had three assists for Canada who outshot the
Germans 39-23, including 14-4 in the first period.
Canadian coach Mike Babcock continues to tinker with the
lines as he paired Crosby with Iginla and Staal on Tuesday
and it paid big dividends with the trio combining for six
points, including three goals.
In the late game Tuesday, Miroslav Satan got the game
winner to break the tie in the third as Slovakia survived
a scare from world number 11 Norway to win 4-3 and reach
the quarter-finals.
Ratna win silver in C’wealth
Shooting in New Delhi
UNB, Dhaka
Sharmin Akhter Ratna, who won gold in the just concluded
11th SA Games and also in the ongoing 8th Commonwealth
Championship in New Delhi, earned a silver medal today
(Wednesday).
Ratna grabbed the silver medal in the individual event of
the women's 10 meter air rifles in the Commonwealth
Championship scoring (394+100.5) 494.5 while another
Bangladesh shooter Syeda Sadia Sultana finished 7th in the
event scoring (392+98.4) 490.4.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Bangladeshi shooters Sharmin Akter
Ratna and Syeda Sadia Sultana clinched the gold medal in
the pair event of the women's 10-meter air rifles scoring
(396+394) 790 points. Ratna (396) clinched the gold and
Sadia (394) bagged silver in the batch competition.
Bangladeshi shooters will be given reception on arrival at
the Shahjalal International Airport from New Delhi on
Sunday.
United defender Ferdinand to miss
League Cup final
AFP, Manchester
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will miss
Sunday's League Cup final against Aston Villa due to a
back injury.
Ferdinand's injury stopped him taking part in United's 3-0
league win over West Ham at Old Trafford on Tuesday and
boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the England captain won't
be fit in time for this weekend's match at Wembley.
"He felt a twinge in his back this morning (Tuesday) when
we did a warm-up at (United's training ground) Carrington.
We can't take any chances. He won't be playing on Sunday,"
Ferguson told Sky Sports News. "Rio has been training
great too. There have been no mishaps at all. But when you
get these twinges you can't take a chance." The former
Leeds star has played just three times in 2010 as a result
of injury and suspension.
Ferdinand's injury also casts doubt over his ability to
play in England's friendly against Egypt at Wembley on
March 3, which was due to be his first international
outing since replacing John Terry as England captain.
Ferguson could also be without Brazilian midfielder
Anderson for the Villa clash after he limped off with a
serious knee injury during the win over West Ham.
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