wednesday, FEBRUARY 3, 2010 magh 21, 1416, SAFAR 17, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

5th amendment
SC dismisses leave petitions against HC verdict

BSS, Dhaka

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed the petitions seeking leave to file regular appeal against a High Court verdict that declared illegal the 5thh Amendment to the constitution.
The amendments brought in 1979 had allowed the religion- based politics and legitimated the post 1975 regimes after a coup in 1975 toppling the country's post independent government.
A six-judge bench of the Appellate Division headed by the Chief Justice Md. Tafazzul Islam pronounced the order Tuesday morning after hearing the petitions for six days.
"The petitions are dismissed with modifications and observations," the Chief Justice delivered the order, which took only two minutes.
The other judges of the bench are Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim, Justice M A Matin, Justice Bijan Kumar Das, Justice Md. Mozammel Hossain and Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha.
The BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain and three other advocates of the Supreme Court brought two separate leave petitions as interveners while the present government sought permission to pick up its earlier petition seeking leave to file the regular appeal against the High Court verdict.
A two-member High Court bench comprising Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice ATM Fazle Kabir on August 29, 2005 pronounced the verdict declaring the 5th Amendment to the constitution illegal while disposing of a writ petition challenging the government authority to declare the Moon Cinema hall as an abandoned property.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam, after pronouncement of the order expressed his reaction to the press saying, "it (order) is no doubt a great victory for the country's judiciary".
"The full picture will be clear after getting the full judgement, but we can assume that the four pillars of the 1972 constitution-democracy, socialism, nationalism and secularism- will be restored as the leave was not granted on an unanimous decision," Alam said.
Replying to a question, Attorney General said the High Court judgement was absolutely not based on political considerations, but it was fully reflected the constitutional prospect.
Petitioners' counsels Advocate TH Khan and Barrister Moudud Ahmed said, "it was our hope that the leave will be granted which will pave the way for elaborate discussion on the subject, as it is a very important issue".
"In any way the Appellate Division in its order mentioned that modifications and observations will be laid down in the judgement and this is in-fact indirectly accepting our arguments submitted before the court which we think were proper in seeking the leave to appeal."

 SC verdict paves way for restoring 1972 constitution: Shafique

BSS, Dhaka

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed Tuesday said the Supreme Court verdict on the fifth constitutional amendment has paved the way for restoration of the basic principles of the 1972 constitution that was based on the ideals and spirit of the Liberation War.
"This verdict would remain a milestone in building a democratic and non-communal state," he said when US Ambassador James F Moriarty called on him at his secretariat office.
During the meeting, they discussed various issues of bilateral interest. The minister appraised the envoy of the ongoing activities and future plans of his ministry, said an official release.
Barrister Shafique said the 5th amendment had validated the changes which were carried out through military proclamation after August 15, 1975. But there is no provision to change the constitution though military proclamation, he added.
The law minister said the government has taken initiatives to improve case and court management to mitigate sufferings of the people.
Steps have been taken to introduce compulsory Alternate Dispute Resolution and strengthen National Human Rights Commission.
The US envoy lauded various programmes undertaken by the government for development in different sectors, including the judiciary.
He said the US government would continue the partnership in development activities in Bangladesh.
Parliamentary Affairs Division Secretary Mo-hammad Shafiqul Haq, Law and Justice Division Secretary Anowarul Haq and US Embassy Resident Legal Adviser Robert H. Gerdi were present in the meeting.

 SC modification to help remove causes of anarchy: Moudud
UNB, Dhaka

BNP front ranking leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed MP who vainly fought against the High Court decision on the 5th amendment to the Constitution Tuesday hoped that modifications and observations by the Supreme Court in the High Court verdict will help remove the causes of anarchy, unrest and confrontations in the country.
He further hoped that the Supreme Court would make appropriate amendments and remove the inconsistencies in the HC verdict on the Fifth Amendment.
Engagement of the highest judiciary in the political issues might turn unfortunate to the nation, said veteran lawyer Moudud, in an apparent veiled caution. "We hope the highest judiciary will maintain its respectability."
Moudud was speaking at a function in the city in the afternoon arranged by Dhaka based Senbag Jatiyatabadi Forum to accord reception to opposition chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farooque on his assumption as Publicity Secretary of BNP.
A former Law Minister, Moudud expressed disappointment at the Supreme Court dismissal of his petition to appeal against the High Court verdict that held the 5th amendment illegal and unlawful.
The High Court decision might lead to the Constitutional complexities, he added.
He said the modifications in and observations upon the High Court verdict, to be given by the Supreme Court, showed the High Court decision was not correct.
"So, we think the arguments we placed had logic and the court accepted them."

  Bangabandhu murder
AI deplores execution of five condemned convicts

UNB, Dhaka

In a significant development, Amnesty International condemned last week's execution of five military men found guilty of killing Bangladesh's founding leader, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
In a press statement issued on Monday, the London-based human rights watchdog noted that six other men sentenced to death in their absence in the same case are living outside. Bangladesh government is seeking their extradition.
"The execution of these five men will make their extradition highly unlikely. There is a high risk that they, too, might be executed," the Amnesty International said.
It observed that family members of the convicts also live in fear of being attacked by political activists of the ruling Awami League party. Quoting media reports, it said Awami League activists led by a local AL leader attacked the house of Aziz Pasha, one of a total of 12 persons sentenced to death for killing Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Tetra village in Harirampur Upazila in Manikganj on January 31.
The Amnesty called on the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to establish an impartial and independent investigation into this attack. "The government should publicly condemn any such attacks and bring anyone involved to justice," it said.
The international HR agency said Amnesty International opposes the execution of these five men, which "should never have taken place". It added: the haste in which the executions were carried out raises serious questions about the timing and procedures for these executions. It called on the government to ensure transparency about its handling of this case.
In Bangladesh, the Amnesty said, it is standard practice for mercy petitions calling for the commutation of death sentences to be considered by the President after all judicial remedies have been exhausted.
However, it said the President dismissed the mercy petitions of three of the condemned prisoners, before the Supreme Court's final review of their sentences.
"The mercy petition of one of the condemned men was considered after the Supreme Court's final decision was announced on 27 January, but it was dismissed within hours of it being sent to the President," the Amnesty said.
The HR watchdog said the August 15, 1975 killings of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and his family members were grave human rights abuses, and those who committed them should be brought to justice.
"However, bringing people to justice must not in itself violate the human rights of the accused," said the Amnesty International opposing the death penalty in all cases "regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner".

   Brahmaputra, Teesta drying up due to climate changes: Experts

BSS, Rangpur

Experts and environmentalists Tuesday said the adverse impacts of global climate changes (CC) have forced the mighty Brahmaputra and Teesta to dry up abnormally much ahead of the dry season now like every year in recent times.
The Brahmaputra has now the lowest water flow in some narrower channels that caused emergence of hundreds of shoals hampering navigability throughout its courses both in the up- stream and downstream, officials, experts and the riverside char people said.
On the other hand, the Teesta has dried up almost completely throughout its courses in Bangladesh portion and its vast bed has worn a deserted look with only sands and many of the landless riverside distressed people have cultivated various crops on its bed.
As a result, the century-old civilizations on the river basins, traditional irrigation, navigation, ecology, climate, environment and bio- diversity have been posed to a formidable threat causing grave concern to the habitations in the river basins.
Besides, the drying up of these great rivers has also caused abnormal lowering of the underground water levels and also seriously affected the traditional irrigation for lack of adequate water flows, they said.
The landless char people are now cultivating maize, Boro, ground nut, 'china', 'kawn', pulses, mustard, 'gunji till', wheat, tobacco, watermelon and many other crops on vast tract of the sandy bed of the dried-up river this year.
The crop farming began long ago as the rivers dry up abnormally every year during the dry season in Kurigram, Gaibandha, Nilphamari and Rangpur districts, said Nurul Amin Sarker of Chilmari in Kurigram and Abdul Wahed of Kawnia in Rangpur.
"It takes four hours in crossing the 25 km river-route from Chilmari to Rajibpur or Roumari by an engine driven boat as the water vessels are slowly moving through huge zigzag channels due to appearance of hundreds of submerged shoals," Amin added.
Locals said, there were incidents of collisions between boats carrying passengers and goods and hundreds of passengers were stranded on the Brahmaputra as their boats were hit by the submerged shoals especially at nights amid foggy weather and cold recently.

  ECNEC okays 8 projects involving Tk 1,532 crore
UNB, Dhaka

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council Tuesday approved eight development projects with a cost of Tk 1,532 crore, including Efficient Lighting Initiative for Bangladesh scheme aimed saving some 500-megawatt electricity by June 2011.
Of the total project costs, Tk 830 crore will come as project aid while Tk 702 crore from government exchequer. The approval was given at a meeting of the ECNEC held in the NEC Conference Room with its alternate chairman Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the chair for the first time.
The Efficient Lighting Initiative for Bangladesh (Part-1 & Part-II) project under the Power Division will be implemented at a cost of Tk 279 crore, including GoB amount of only Tk 3 crore. The rest of the project cost of around Tk 276 crore will come from the World Bank as soft loan. The Rural Electrification Board (REB) is the lead implementation agency of the project while PDB, DESCO, DPDC and WZPDCL are the other implementing agencies. Under the first part of the project (August 2009-June 2010), some 1.05 crore Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) will be distributed free of cost among the PDB, DESCO, DPDC and WZPDCL residential consumers replacing their incandescent lamps, which is expected to save around 200MW power in the evening (6 pm to 10 pm).
In the 2nd part of the project (July 2010 to June 2011), some 1.75 crore CFL bulbs will be distributed among the PDB, DESCO, DPDC, WZPDCL consumers, which is also expected to save around another 300MW electricity during the evening peak hours.
Planning Division Secretary Habibullah Majumder disclosed the details while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Answering to a question, he said, "There would be one-year guaranty for the CFL bulbs and disposal policy would also be taken for the bulbs to avert environmental hazard." He said that under the 'Urban Public and & Environmental Health Sector Development Project' under the Local Government Division at a cost of Tk 555 crore, normal and medical wastes would be disposed in all the six city corporations of the country.
Besides, five city canals-Chutibhola, Katasur, Baunia, Kalyanpur and Ramchandrapur-will be re-excavated to solve the water-logging problem in the city. The works will be done under the 'Water Logging Eradication (phase 2) project in Dhaka Metropolis' under the Local Government Division at an estimated cost of Tk 181 crore.
The other approved projects include 'Comilla University Establishment 1st phase (2nd amended) project' under the Education Ministry at a cost of Tk 55 crore, 'Establishment of Cantonment Public School and College at Artillery Center & School, Halishahar, Chittagong & Rajshahi Cantonment Project' under the Defense Ministry estimating Tk 48 crore, 'Bangladesh Institute of Textile Technology (2nd amended) Project' under the Jute and Textile Ministry at a cost of Tk 67 crore, 'Up gradation of road to four lanes from Bahaddarhat to Third Karnaphuli Bridge' under the Roads and Railways Division at a cost of Tk 142 crore and the 'Greater Rajshahi Division coordinated Rural Development (1st amended) project (Rajshahi, Natore, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj' under the Local Government Division involving Tk 205 crore.

  20 hurt in BCL factional clash at DU
UNB, Dhaka

Over 20 people were injured, including students, police and a reporter, in a fierce clash between two factions of Bangladesh Chhatra League at Sir AF Rahman Hall of Dhaka University early Tuesday over establishing supremacy.
Campus sources said the clash ensued at about 1:45am when hall-unit BCL president Saiduzzaman Faruk was trying to board a student in the room of its general secretary Mehdi Hasan Mollah. The two groups of BCL, the student front of the ruling Awami League, attacked each other and pelted brick bats, leaving a number of students injured, including the BCL hall-unit president and the general secretary.
DU Proctor Dr Saiful Islam, who himself was wounded amid a recent violent clash between two factions of opposition pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), along with police force rushed to the scene and tried to pacify the feuding groups.
"But, as he failed to bring the situation under control, police fired teargas shells to disperse the rioters," says a spot report by the UNB DU correspondent.
A number of panic-stricken general students were also injured during the clash as they jumped onto the ground from different floors of the hall.
The injured are Uzzal, Shuvo, Shawon, Shakil, Hafiz, Faruk, Rahul, Tapu, Amriul Islam, Zahid, Abu Bakar, Abu Bakar Siddique, Omar Faruk, Salehin and BCL hall president and general secretary Faruk and Mehedi Hasan respectively.
Two of the injured, Uzzal and Abu Bakar Siddique, were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) where condition of them was stated "critical". The former jumped from the dormitory floor while the latter was hit by tear shell.
The others injured in the massive violence were admitted to the DMCH and the University Medical Centre.

Back Page

Tenders for nine power plants of 4000 MW likely this month
UNB, Dhaka

Under a mega plan to bring the country to a zero load shedding level from nagging crisis, the government is likely to invite tenders within the current month to set up more than nine power plants having total capacity of about 4,000 MW.
The proposed plants are: Meghnaghat 300-450 MW phase-2 (dual fuel), Meghnaghat 300-450 MW phase-3 (dual fuel), Meghnaghat 500-650 MW phase-4 (coal-fired), Bhola 150-225 MW (gas-fired), Saver 100-150 MW (dual-fuel), Kaliakoir 100-150 MW (dual-fuel), Chittagong 1000-1300 MW (coal- fired), Mongla 1000-1300 MW (coal-fired) and Jajira 500-650 MW (coal-fired).
As the country has been experiencing severe gas crisis, only one of these nine plants will be gas-fired, four will be dual-fuel and the other four will be coal-fired plants.
According to official sources, all these power plants will be set up in private sector or under the public private partnership (PPP) as independent power producer (IPP) plants.
The Power Division of the Power and Energy Ministry has almost finalized the procedures to invite the international tenders to set up the plants. At present, the country's power generation is about 3,600-MW against a demand of more than 5,000 MW. In the coming summer, the demand will be rising by about 1,000 MW. After assuming office, the present Awami League-led government had announced a mega plan to generate 7,000 MW power in next five years. Under the plan, it has already invited tenders for 1,800 MW. Of this, contracts have been finalized to set up five rental power plants in private sector, having total 330-MW capacity.
Bids for another 10 plants of total 830-MW capacity, which will be set up in public sector, are in the evaluation stage. Process is under way to invite the qualified bidders to submit their final offers for a large plant - Bibiyana 450 MW combined cycle.
Prior to inviting these tenders for the plants, the government policymakers, including Prime Minister's Adviser Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, are now busy holding road-shows abroad to attract bidders to participate in the tenders.
They already held a road-show in London in December last while another road-show is now taking place in New York and another will be held in Singapore shortly.
Power Division officials said these tenders will be floated one after another from February to October this year and then tender evaluation process will be completed by the middle of next year. They said, as per plan, the contracts will be awarded within the next year and the bid winners will be asked to complete installation of their plants by 2014.

   Bangladesh wins two golds in shooting
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladeshi shooters clinched both the team and individual gold medals in the women's 10-meter Air Rifle shooting of the 11th South Asian Games on the opening day of the competition at National Shooting Complex, Dhaka on Tuesday.
Bangladesh shooting team comprising Sharmin Akhter Ratna, Syeda Sadia Sultana and Tripti Dutta grabbed the team event's gold medal scoring total 1191 out of 1200.
Sharmin Akhter Ratna scored 398, Syeda Sadia Sultana scored 397 and Tripti Dutta scored 396 on the way to win the team gold.
India team consisting of Mampi Das (394), Shruti Tushar Bhatepatil (391) and Tejaswini Manojrao (390) secured the event's silver medal scoring 1175 while Pakistan team comprising Nazia Khan (386), Nosheen Maqsood Ali (382) and Naheda Naqvi (379) got the bronze medal scoring total 1147.
Sharmin Akhter Ratna also grabbed the individual gold medal of the same event scoring 499.4 out of 500 - the best ever score by any Bangladeshi shooter. Her teammate Syeda Sadia Sultana earned silver medal scoring 498.3 in a keenly contested event.
Indian Mampi Das got the bronze scoring 496.9.
After winning the first shooting gold, Sharmin Akhter Ratna said, "I am very much happy to win the gold. We proved our potential in shooting, now we are looking for the Olympics gold."
Sadia said, "I am so happy. It gives me immense pleasure to bag the gold in the event. Now it is time to look forward."

   OMS of rice to be introduced in all divisional cities
UNB, Dhaka

The government will expand the Open Market Sale (OMS) of rice to the country's all divisional cities as an interventional measure to stem an upturn in the market prices.
Officials said the decision came from a high-level meeting of Food and Disaster Management Ministry Tue-day with Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque in the chair.
"The meeting decided to kick-start OMS programme soon in six divisional cities plus Rangpur city," said one official. Rangpur has just been declared a division.
At present, the rice rationing under OMS is going on in the capital at the rate of Tk 22 per kg. Under the operation, the government will sell a total of 25 tons of rice everyday through 25 dealers in every divisional city. The meeting decided that the number of dealers would be increased across the country to run the operation smoothly, if necessary.
In the meeting, the government also decided to expand the ongoing OMS operation in Dhaka city. Following the expanded OMS activities in the capital, the OMS operation will be carried out through 100 trucks instead of 70 trucks from today (Wednesday).
The meeting also decided that a list of 4,000 hardcore poor people of each ward in the capital would be made to provide rice at the fixed price to those families at the rate of 20 kg each a month.
It was informed that the authorities have already sent selected charts to every district to make the list of destitute and helpless poor people across the country. The meeting directed the authorities concerned to make the list without delay.
At the meeting, Abdur Razzaque observed that the open-market sale has already influenced the price of coarse rice to get a downtrend on the local market.
"The OMS programme would be continued until stabilization of rice price on the local market," he said.
Razzaque said the government has adequate stock of rice to run the operation till the next Boro harvest.
Besides, the minister told the meeting, about 4.5 lakh tons of wheat import has been finalized.
The government is importing about 3 lakh tons of the wheat from Russia under a government-to-government agreement.

   Amar Ekushey Book Fair wears a festive look
BSS, Dhaka

The month-long Amar Ekushey Book Fair, that began on the Bangla Academy premises on Monday marking the historic Language Movement, wore a festive look Tuesday as thousands of book-lovers thronged the fair.
The book fair seemed pulsating with life as a large number of people, including writers and publishers, visited the fair. Several publishers have expressed their satisfaction over the sale of books. A total of 59 new books, 18 of those novels, made their way into the Bangla Academy Ekushey book fair Tuesday.
Strict security measures have been enforced inside the fair as well as the adjoining areas. Law enforcers including the RAB personnel and police were seen on guard at the entrance of the book fair.
The fair features 505 stalls of 356 publishing houses. The number of stalls was 460 by 297 publishing houses in the 2009 fair.
This year the fair has been extended beyond the academy premises like last year, with stalls on both sides of the road stretching from the Institute of Nutrition and Food Sciences and the Atomic Energy Commission. The month-long fair will remain open to the visitors between 3pm and 9pm everyday except for public holidays when it will remain open between 11am and 9pm. A seminar was held Monday on the academy premises on the Language Movement as part of a month-long programmes.

    FF public servants to retire after 59 years of age
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Estab-lishment Ministry Tuesday placed its report on the Public Servants (Retirement) (Amendment) Bill 2010.
Committee Chairman Khandakar Asaduzzaman placed the report in the House with recommendation for passage of the bill in an amended form.
Earlier on January 27, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury, on behalf of LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, who is in charge of Establishment Ministry in the House, placed the bill proposing amendment for enhancing the retire age of the public servants who are Freedom Fighter. The bill said a public servant, who is a Freedom Fighter, shall retire from the service on completion of the fifty-ninth year of his age.
While placing the bill, the minister said the bill would give legal status to the Public Servants (Retirement) (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 proclaimed by the government on December 13, 2009. The bill said a Freedom Fighter public servant, who already went on Leave Preparatory to Retirement (LPR) immediately before this law, would be re-employed in the service.
The bill also proposed for amending section 7 of the Public Servants (retirement) Act 1974 which proposed for reading the Leave Preparatory to Retirement (LPR) as the "Post Retirement Leave".

    Sheikh Selim demands DNA test to confirm Zia’s body in Chandrima grave

BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

Awami League Presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim Tuesday demanded DNA test to prove whether late Ziaur Rahman's body was inside the coffin, which was buried in Chandrima Udyan here in 1981.
"This will remove confusion from the minds of the people," he said also calling upon the main opposition BNP to publish the photographs of dead Ziaur Rahman, if taken before his burial, within the next two days.
On June 20, 1981, as a parliament member, I dema-nded in the House to show Zia's body to us before its burial, but our demand was not accepted, he said while participating in the thanksgiving motion on the President's spe-ech in the House.
"Thereafter, we requested the then Speaker to publish the pictures of Zia's body in the newspapers. But, the demand was not also accepted at that time by the then government," he told the House.
Sheikh Selim said the then BNP government neither showed the body to lawmakers of that parliament, nor released any picture of his body, creating confusion about the presence of Zia's corpse inside the coffin.
"I am confirmed that there was no human body inside the box, which was buried at Chandrima Udyan where a tomb was built spending croes of Taka from the government exchequer," he said.
"We would have no question if the box contained the body of Zia. But if the box is empty, it should be removed from the grave", he said alleging that BNP is pursuing the politics of 'dead body' occupying the Chandrima Udyan to capitalize the peoples' sentiment.

Editorial

Expanding higher education

President Zillur Rahman on Monday laid emphasis on increasing number of seats for the students at the country's universities for expanding opportunities of higher education. The President made the remarks while a three-member delegation of Khulna University called on him at Bangabhaban.
President Zillur Rahman has rightly stressed the need for expanding opportunities of education in the universities as those are inadequate. On several earlier occasions also, he laid emphasis on expansion of educational facilities. The President urged the universities to increase the seats for admission of students to meet the growing demands . He also expressed concern over the fall in ranking of the country's universities and urged the Education Ministry and the UGC to take proper steps to find out why the universities are falling behind the international standard and to take measures to ensure quality education in the universities. He said, there is no alternative to quality education in facing global challenges.
Meanwhile, the UGC has recommended for immediate setting up of an 'Accreditation Council' to ensure quality education in the country's universities. The UGC in its annual report said, It's essential to set up an accreditation council to develop and control the standard of university education, keeping pace with other developed countries. UGC officials said the role of the proposed 'Accreditation Council' will be to monitor the curricula of both the public and private universities so that the standard of education in the two sectors does not make asymmetrical difference.
Education at university level in the country is in a shambles. The public universities are unable to accommodate the growing number of students. Moreover, studies in public universities are hampered by sudden closures, session jam etc and engagement of teachers outside in part time jobs or consultancy. Taking the chance of this situation there has been a mushroom growth of private universities. But a section of them are allegedly involved in malpractices like sale of certificates. These universities are also alleged to have been engaged in education business to earn quick money and imparting substandard education.
In fact, the state of country's universities -both public and private- is far from satisfactory as most of them are failing in imparting quality education properly. The most alarming aspect is that many students are being deprived of higher education due to shortage of seats in the public universities and exuberantly high cost at private universities. The number of country's population is rising, the number of students seeking higher education is increasing, but unfortunately the scope for higher education is not expanding to cope with the situation.
Against this backdrop, necessary steps must be taken to increase the number of seats in the universities and also to make essential arrangements so that the students of our universities get education of international standard. To ensure quality education necessary steps must be taken on urgent basis.The anomalies must be removed and corruption must be dealt with severely. More attention should be given to impart good and proper education at all levels. Besides 'education business' must be stopped. And most importantly all out efforts must be made to expand higher education.

  Easing traffic jam

The cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for dividing the Dhaka city into seven zones and staggered weekly holidays for markets, shopping malls and commercial organizations in those regions. The cabinet took the decision at the regular weekly meeting presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the secretariat for resolving the nagging traffic problem in the city. Those in administration also hope that the move will contribute to reducing the electricity crisis and loadshedding in the capital.
Traffic congestion is a major problem the city dwellers have been facing for long. In the recent past a number of measures have been taken to resolve the traffic jam crisis, which include re-fixing office timings, rescheduling school hours, introduction of automatic traffic signalling system and the three- lane traffic system. There have been some initial success, but by now the city has returned to the old terrible situation. The attempts to bring some respite for the city dwellers from tailbacks seem to have gone in vain. Now traffic jam is the common scene in almost all the busy roads of the city. And the city dwellers are suffering as before. Against this backdrop, the government has now decided to divide the city into seven zones and introduce staggered business holidays as the new formula to ease the traffic congestion.
Meanwhile, within hours of the announcement of the government decision to divide the city into zones doubts have started to be expressed by many about the success of the latest move to ease the traffic jam. It is being said that the traffic jam crisis is deep-rooted and it is unlikely to be resolved suddenly by such measure. The situation may improve temporarily in the zone under business holiday on a particular day, but the crisis will persist in other areas of the city as usual. So, attempts should be made to find out ways to resolve the traffic jam crisis permanently. As the traffic jams are created mainly due to the overcrowding of the roads by excessive number of vehicles, unauthorised parking of vehicles and criminal violation of traffic rules, these problems are needed to be addressed extensively to ease the situation.

Analysis

Courting the Taliban

As the Afghan peace process in its present shape is a non-starter, one should expect the opening of one more source of corruption in Afghanistan.

Rahimullah Yusufzai

As parties to the conflict in Afghanistan plot their next move following the international conference in London, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have come under focus as the two countries best placed to bring the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table.
However, there is a crucial difference in the roles that Afghanistan and the US and its allies want to assign to Islamabad and Riyadh. While Saudi Arabia has been requested to mediate between the government of President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban, Pakistan among other neighbours of Afghanistan was asked to back the Afghan peace process. Islamabad was hoping to play an important role in resolving the Afghan conflict through its contacts with the Mulla Mohammad Omar-led Taliban, but it seems it isn't seen as a neutral player by the parties to the dispute and, therefore, unacceptable as mediator.
Saudi Arabia didn't offer its services as a mediator and even then Karzai urged Saudi King Abdullah to guide and assist the Afghan peace process. It is not the first time that Riyadh's services are being sought not only by Karzai, but also some of the Western powers for leading the peace process. Its possession of Makkah and Madina, two of Islam's holiest places, and its wealth derived from oil have placed Saudi Arabia in a unique and powerful position in the Islamic world. The Saudis, however, won't get involved in the complex task of mediation unless they are assured of cooperation by all sides. This was the reason for Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal to put two conditions before his country agreed to mediate. One, he wanted an official request from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia. Second, he wanted the Taliban to give up their ties to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The first condition will be met soon when President Karzai visits Saudi Arabia in keeping with the already announced plans and officially requests King Abdullah to guide the peace process.
It is the second condition that will determine if any peace initiative can be undertaken. It would be unrealistic to expect the Taliban to abandon bin Laden after having sacrificed everything, including their rule and lives, for his sake and those of his al-Qaeda colleagues. This would require a fundamentalist shift in Taliban policy from being an al-Qaeda ally to becoming a partner for peace with Saudi Arabia and eventually sharing power with Karzai. This cannot happen just like that because the Taliban know they are being courted after having been shunned on account of their exploits on the battlefield. Besides, why would the Taliban accept this condition just for joining the Saudi-led peace process that would primarily promote the interests of the US and its allies? In fact, the Taliban aren't even ready to talk to Karzai, who in their eyes is no more than a US 'puppet'. They continue to demand withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan and insist that this matter is non-negotiable.
There have been no known contacts between the Saudi government and the Taliban during the last eight years. Those contacts were broken shortly after 9/11 and before the October 2001 US invasion of Afghanistan when Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal, brother of Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, visited Kandahar to meet Taliban leader Mulla Omar in a final effort to persuade him to expel bin Laden from Afghanistan. The meeting ended on a bitter note when Mulla Omar told the visiting Saudis that the Taliban cannot act dishonourably by delivering bin Laden and other Muslim guests who had sought refuge in Afghanistan to their enemies.
As for Pakistan's role, it was interesting to hear Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, his ministry's spokesman Abdul Basit and others pleading that Islamabad were in a unique position to promote peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan. They said Pakistan had approached the Afghan Taliban at all levels of leadership and was able and ready to involve them in peace talks. While it is a good idea to help establish peace in Afghanistan, it was strange for Pakistan to argue in support of talks and reconciliation with the Afghan Taliban at a time when it is waging an all-out war within its borders to eliminate the Pakistani Taliban. More military operations are possible and those ongoing have no timeline. Pakistan, it appears, is still looking for temporary gains instead of formulating a long-term policy in line with its future needs and its place in the world. The Taliban, whether Afghan or Pakistani, have the same worldview and are spiritually and strategically linked to each other. Return of the Afghan Taliban to power, whether by force or some peace process, would definitely raise the spirits of the Pakistani Taliban and likeminded jehadis and thus can lead to fallout on the situation in Pakistan.
While on the question of the 'fallout', one cannot help but recall the amusing statement by Foreign Minister Qureshi that Pakistan wanted that there shouldn't be any fallout of the 'surge' of the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Except for the minister, perhaps every person in Pakistan is aware of the Afghan fallout on Pakistan for the last three decades and is pretty sure that the 'surge' would further destabilise the country. There is bound to be fallout on Pakistan when the world's most powerful armies are involved in the longest war in the US and NATO history in neighbouring Afghanistan. And the fallout is to be expected because the US and NATO consider Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas as theatres of the same war and have thus deliberately named their strategy to deal with the challenge as Af-Pak.
Those offering peace dialogue or 'reintegration' to the Afghan Taliban seem to be ignorant of the motivation that drives the young militants to take on the world's only superpower. Though there are definitely fighters in Taliban ranks who may be fighting for reasons other than faith and a higher cause, the idea that most of them could be bought-off is absurd. The terms "Taliban for sale" and "pay for peace" are good for creating a dramatic effect, but such words don't explain the reality. It is possible that the Taliban would face big human and material losses and also lose control of their strongholds as the 'surge' intensifies and money is doled out to recruit anti-Taliban militias, but none should expect them to surrender, sell-off their souls en masse or agree to a peace and power-sharing accord that clashes with their stated goals and principles.
As the Afghan peace process in its present shape is a non-starter, one should expect the opening of one more source of corruption in Afghanistan. The $500 million pledged for this effort is quite a huge amount and it could be doubled if the early results of the campaign to buy-off Taliban fighters show promise. There is every possibility that a substantial number of armed men introduced as Taliban fighters would be paraded before the media and declared as the ones willing to lay down arms in return for jobs and money. Many of them could be fake Taliban and the weapons they surrender would be old and largely unusable. Those familiar with the failed Japan-funded demobilisation and disarmament programme that was supposed to rid Afghanistan of gunmen and weapons would tell you no project could be executed without allowing for some corruption in a country that is the second most corrupt in the world and where according to conservative estimates almost $2.5 billion are paid in bribes annually.


The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar. Email: rahimyusufzai @yahoo.com

  Absence of dialogue is hurting India

The IPL fiasco shows it is impossible to maintain cordiality or rationality at the level of civil society when the government lacks the will to engage with Pakistan.

Siddharth Varadarajan

When the Angels who rule India say they favour dialogue and peace with Pakistan but then fear to tread, is it any surprise that fools would rush in to destroy that virtuous path? We will never know whether somebody from our shadowy security establishment whispered something dark and fanciful in the ears of the owners and managers of the Indian Premier League as they went in for the player auction last week and if so, for whom he was batting.
Certainly, the manner in which every Pakistani cricketer was boycotted despite the initial expression of interest by the teams smacks of considerations other than sports, business or common sense. Most of all, the decision betrays such a poor understanding of the geographies of market development, brand building and soft power that its net effect will be to undermine India's interests in the widest possible sense.
My own view is that the boycott was not ordered or engineered by the Government of India or any of its agencies acting on instructions from the top. But that does not free our leadership from the vicarious responsibility of needlessly perpetuating a bilateral vacuum that has produced one of the most spectacular self-dismissals sub-continental cricket - and diplomacy - have ever seen.
In the face of a popular backlash across the border, the Ministry of External Affairs rightly noted that the government had nothing to do with the IPL selection. But instead of expressing regret over an outcome that it played no direct role in producing, the MEA statement threw a heap of salt on the wounded national pride of all Pakistanis. "Pakistan," the Ministry smugly declared, "should introspect on the reasons which have put a strain on relations between India and Pakistan and adversely impacted on peace, stability and prosperity in the region."
If anything, a little introspection on the Indian side may have been equally appropriate, since some senior Ministers - including P. Chidambaram - later went out of their way to say the exclusion of Pakistani cricketers was indeed unfortunate. Apart from reflecting badly on India, the insulting exclusion has allowed reactionary, extremist elements in Pakistan to seize the moral high ground. And it has pushed Pakistani public opinion and civil society further into the embrace of those who would like to perpetuate a climate of hostility with India and who have more than a soft spot for terrorism.
When terrorists from the Pakistan-based group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, attacked Mumbai in November 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh decided not to repeat the mistake the Vajpayee government made in December 2001 of cutting off transport and people-to-people relations as part of its strategy of coercive diplomacy. Dr. Singh's advisers knew they were dealing with a fractured polity and society across the border. They knew India needed a differentiated approach that would help isolate those elements in the Pakistani establishment with connections to jihadi organisations while strengthening those who had realised the damage state sponsorship of extremism was inflicting on Pakistan itself.
Within this framework, suspension of official dialogue was seen as a way of putting pressure on the Pakistani military and the Inter-Services Intelligence directorate, a strange conclusion given that the army and the ISI were never too hot on talks in the first place and used the resulting tension to rally the nation behind them. The civilian leadership, which managed to get a reluctant establishment to accept that Pakistani soil had indeed been used to plan 26/11, needed the limited resumption of dialogue to strengthen itself for the larger domestic battle against military dominance and jihadism. The arrest of senior LeT operatives should have occasioned some let up from India, at least by the time their trial got under way last year. But the hysterical cries of sell-out which greeted the July 2009 Sharm el-Sheikh summit stayed the Manmohan Singh government's hand. As for civil society, New Delhi believed it would be possible to push ahead with people-to-people relations despite the freeze that had set in at the official level. Subsequent events have shown that belief to be slightly misplaced. The problem was not with the willingness of Pakistani businessmen, cricketers, artists and others to engage with India but the corrosive effect the suspension of dialogue would have on the capacity of the Indian system to use soft power to its advantage.
The IPL fiasco is one example of the negative externalities generated by the lack of official contact between the two governments. But there are others. During the India International Trade Fair in 2009, several container loads of Pakistani products got held up in lengthy customs clearance procedures. Needless to say, this petty if unscripted harassment of traders and exhibitors from across did nothing to enhance India's national interest. This year, many Pakistani publishers and book distributors have been unable to obtain visas for the Delhi book fair.
Instead of people-to-people relations influencing official relations in a positive way, the freeze in official ties has inevitably begun to cast a chill on all forms of interaction. Businessmen, who should be looking to exploit opportunities for mutual gain, have become infected with the same hard-line pathology that our security establishment suffers from. Last year, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Task Force on National Security and Terrorism came up with a report so strident and hawkish that it provoked an unhelpful backlash from traders in Pakistan. Among the "hard options" the FICCI task force said India could take against Pakistan in the event of another major terrorist attack were "surgical" strikes, covert retaliation inside Pakistani territory, the blocking of imports, all-out assault and "leveraging the water issue" to pressure Pakistan.
Like nature, the relationship between the two countries abhors a vacuum. India held back the tide of dialogue in the hope that Pakistan would permanently dismantle the infrastructure of terror on its territory and a more fertile ground for bilateral progress results. The strategy might have worked up to a point but diminishing returns set in a long time ago. Today, India is acting as if the continuing suspension of dialogue is buying it security and that the resumption of dialogue would be a concession to Pakistan. In fact, dialogue is nothing other than a mechanism for advancing one's own goals. In the hands of a skilled diplomatic establishment, dialogue, even on a range of difficult issues and disputes, can be used selectively to harvest gains. New Delhi has talked to Islamabad for decades about Kashmir without conceding an inch of territory and there is no reason to fear what might happen if talks are resumed. Especially if the same dialogue process also allows bilateral trade to increase beyond the current annual level of $2 billion and allows Indian soft power to create a wider constituency for peace and good relations in Pakistan.
It goes without saying that Pakistan needs to do more to demonstrate its willingness to crack down on extremist elements that continue to plan attacks on India. On its part, India needs to realise that engaging with Pakistan will be a more effective way of driving home that point than trading statements and insults every few weeks and refusing to sit down at the same table. A new start must immediately be made with the convening of a meeting of the two Foreign Secretaries. Neither side should stand on ceremony as far as the venue is concerned. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram should make it a point to visit Islamabad for the Saarc Home Ministers meeting later this month and meet his Pakistani counterpart to review not just the Mumbai case but other subjects of mutual concern. The Saarc summit in Bhutan in April will provide another occasion for bilateral interaction at the Prime Ministerial level though careful preparation is needed to ensure a productive and implementable outcome. In the meantime, a moratorium on sound-bites, especially by those who are not in the loop or in synch with Prime Minister Singh's thinking, is essential.

The writer is an eminent Indian journalist.

Viewpoints

Obamanomics - year one and beyond

But Obama needs to provide stronger leadership on financial reform, where, as with healthcare, there is a welter of conflicting proposals.

Barry Eichengreen  

President Barack Obama has not had an easy first year economically. He inherited a financial system on the verge of collapse. He was bequeathed an economy in recession and an unemployment rate destined to rise. And he faced a Congress and an economics profession with a tendency to confuse these real demons with imaginary ones.
His strength has been not to allow the perfect to become the enemy of the good. His $787 billion fiscal stimulus was good. To be sure, it was based on unrealistically optimistic assumptions about the depth of the recession, the strength of the recovery, and the level at which unemployment would peak. It was too heavily tilted towards tax cuts that would tend to boost saving rather than consumption. And, unaccompanied by a credible medium-term fiscal strategy, it unnecessarily excited the apostles of fiscal doom. But, having said all that, the stimulus package gave the economy a necessary shot in the arm.
Obama's efforts to stabilise the banking system, it almost pains me to acknowledge, succeeded despite themselves. I would have preferred bigger capital injections. I would have liked to see his administration use its leverage to replace the management responsible for creating the financial mess in the first place.
But the stress tests and targeted TARP money, the path of least resistance taken, enabled the banks to earn their way back to solvency. However distasteful the uses to which those earnings have been put, they at least prevented the financial system from falling off a cliff.
Finally, Obama's Quaker-meeting approach to legislating healthcare reform has produced, of all things, healthcare reform. For the end of the story we will have to wait and see what emerges from the House-Senate reconciliation process. But it will certainly prevent the insurance companies from denying coverage on grounds of preexisting conditions. It will address adverse selection by including an individual mandate. And it will subsidise insurance coverage for the poor.
While it will presumably lack the public option many of us prefer, this is still a real achievement.
The same middle-of-the-road approach can be taken in the second year to address the still-outstanding fiscal issues. Obama can use his State of the Union message to flesh out a bipartisan strategy for narrowing the budget deficit to sustainable levels.
This would entail reinstating pay-as-you-go rules and establishing an independent commission to submit to Congress amendment-proof (and filibuster-proof) recommendations for tax and expenditure reform.
But Obama needs to provide stronger leadership on financial reform, where, as with healthcare, there is a welter of conflicting proposals.
There are two reasons to doubt that the light-touch approach used in the case of healthcare is appropriate to reforming financial regulation.
First, unlike healthcare, where we can afford to proceed incrementally, the need for comprehensive financial reform is pressing. If health insurance exchanges don't work, we can always reconsider the public option. But if the initial approach to financial reform doesn't work, we face the prospect of another financial crisis every bit as serious as the last.
Second, healthcare had effective proponents - in Congress, among consumers, and even among some of its providers. Medium-term fiscal reform, for its part, will be pushed by bond-market vigilantes.
But financial reform is too technical for non-specialists. And the specialists, the financiers themselves, prefer a status quo that rewards them lavishly.
This is one area where Obama's consensual instincts do not serve him well. He needs to use his bully pulpit. He needs to mobilise the general interest effectively.
Finally, in his second year, Obama must, as he put it last summer in a speech to the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), "aim higher".
He was elected not simply because he is a cool crisis manager, but because he had a vision for a more economically just society. Now that the time for crisis management is, one hopes, over, he needs to flesh out and implement that vision.
The time for any old kind of public spending simply to support aggregate demand, if not already over, soon will be. The need then will be for more spending on education and training - the only thing that in the long run will make American workers more productive and reduce income inequality.
Similarly, the United States needs more productivity-enhancing infrastructure - roads, bridges and ports - and not frills such as high-speed trains between Sacramento and San Diego.
Only measures like these can create the good jobs that will reduce income inequality and make America again resemble a normal advanced economy, not one where inequality approaches Latin American levels. But more spending on these items will require less spending on other things - or higher taxes. America's consensus-oriented president needs to make that case.


The writer is professor of economics and political science at the University of California, Berkeley. Project Syndicate, 2010. www.project-syndicate.org

  The executive-judiciary tussle

The confrontation between the executive and the judiciary, not to mention within the legislature, is poised to begin.

Ayesha Ijaz Khan  

Since the judicial verdict on the controversial NRO became public, there has been constant debate on a confrontation between the executive and the judiciary in Pakistan. Of interest in this context is President Obama's comment at his first State of the Union address, in which he criticised the US Supreme Court for its recent ruling whereby corporate campaign spending limits were removed. Obama derided the decision as opening "the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections".
Predictably, Obama's opponents have pounced on the statement, going so far as to say that he insulted the justices sitting in robes before him. Noteworthy was the reaction of Justice Samuel Alito who shook his head as Obama made his remarks and mouthed the words "not true" and as the camera caught him, "simply not true", he mouthed.
Justice Alito, a President Bush appointee, had voted for the recent controversial decision that President Obama criticised. In fact, the character of the US Supreme Court has been considerably altered during President Bush's eight years in office. Appointments like those of Justice John Roberts to replace the respected Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who had asked for retirement for personal reasons, allowed President Bush to pack the Court with judges whose views tilt far more to the right than President Obama's.
Although President Obama has managed to appoint Justice Sonia Sotomayor (the first Hispanic on the US Supreme Court) in the one year that he has held office, it has not offset the tilt of the Bush era Supreme Court, which recently passed a landmark ruling in a 5-4 vote, overturning laws that had been in effect for decades and thus allowing corporations to use their own money to support or oppose candidates for public office. President Obama has pledged to work with Congress to "develop a forceful response" to the Court's ruling.
To reform-minded individuals, American democracy has had a history of being beholden to lobbyists and special interests and the Supreme Court has enhanced the potential influence of these powerful groups at the expense of the ordinary person. Representative Alan Grayson described it as follows: "It basically institutionalises and legalises bribery on the largest scale imaginable. Corporations will now be able to reward the politicians that play ball with them - and beat to death the politicians that don't...You won't even hear any more about the Senator from Kansas. It will be the Senator from General Electric or the Senator from Microsoft."
The British press, always quick to point out flaws in the American system, ran an article by Johann Hari in The Independent (January 29, 2010) entitled, 'This corruption in Washington is smothering America's future'. In the piece, it is argued that funding by special interests is the main reason that the US has not provided healthcare to its poorest. As an example, Joe Lieberman's case is cited. Senator Lieberman has, according to the article, taken $448,066 in campaign contributions from private healthcare companies. In addition, his wife has earned $ 2 million in her capacity as one of their chief lobbyists. As a result, Senator Lieberman has blocked any attempt to broaden healthcare coverage.
It remains to be seen whether or not President Obama will be successful in taking on the special interests that represent healthcare, big corporations and banks. As his opponents on Fox News remind us, President Obama too was the recipient of funding from many bankers and hedge fund owners. George Soros, a well respected Wall Street financier, was instrumental in organising campaign contributions and thus carried weight in the Obama campaign, even if he did share much of Obama's liberal agenda.
Nevertheless, the confrontation between the executive and the judiciary, not to mention within the legislature, is poised to begin. This is not a bad thing. This is the nature of democracy. It is only through such struggles, resistance and defiance that the ideas of checks and balances and the separation of powers came into being.
What is happening in the US can also be educational for us in Pakistan. If the executive feels the judiciary is overstepping, or as has been said in some circles, conspiring against it, then the proper way to respond is by working with parliament. If the Supreme Court has transgressed by citing the controversial provisions of Articles 62 and 63, and it can be argued that it has, then the appropriate response is to do away with the problematic aspects of those provisions by rallying the legislature to this cause.
In the tussle between the executive and the judiciary, or indeed between any two branches of government, it is important to remember that at the end of the day it is popular support that establishes legitimacy and thus the authority to govern or even function at a high office is greatly dependent on the sentiment of the people. Although this too may have its shortcomings as not every populist measure is the right one; it is nevertheless too important a principle to ignore.
And while President Obama is speaking out against special interests that the Court is allegedly protecting at the expense of the common man, in Pakistan, it is largely believed that it is the Court that is standing up for the common man while the executive is interested in self-gain. Unless steps are taken to alter this perception, the executive will find it difficult to win this tussle.
President Obama wisely commented that a trust deficit is more crucial than a financial deficit. Trust deficits become more acute in recessions and times of crises, even if they are not of the current government's making. As President Obama remarked, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the financial crisis were well under way before he "walked through the door". President Zardari would be well within his rights to say the same in Pakistan. The war in Afghanistan, terrorism at home as well as the electricity and sugar crisis were not of his making. These were issues he inherited. But unless efforts are made by him to address the trust deficit, even the deference that is his due will not be forthcoming. Leadership is about setting examples, sacrifice, and leading from the front. If that is done, he may be surprised at how forgiving our people can be.

The writer has worked for American and Pakistani law firms and currently writes as a political analyst based in London. Website: www.ayeshaijazkhan.com

  West for China playing a bigger leadership role

The West is keen on China to play a bigger leadership role. It may even secretly envy China’s command economy.

Natsuko Waki & Tamora Vidaillet

The world turned its spotlight on attention-shy China at this year's gathering of business chiefs and policymakers, pleading it to lead a global recovery and wave its wand to solve economic imbalances. It got a halfway positive response.
China sent its biggest ever delegation of 54 executives to Davos, with a keynote speech from Vice Premier Li Keqiang and panel appearances from the deputy central bank governor and the head of the country's biggest investment bank, symbolizing its status as a fully-fledged member of the world economy. Despite that, the Chinese did their best to keep a low profile at the World Economic Forum, while firmly saying they would move at their own pace and on their terms and demanding the rest of the world pull its weight too.
China is trying to be a good citizen. Vice Premier Li and Deputy Central Bank Gov. Zhu Min both pledged that Beijing would stick with moderately easy monetary policy even as the world's third largest economy is growing rapidly. By not curbing its runaway growth too aggressively, China is keeping the engine of world growth running and trying to spur domestic demand - a move which will help to correct global imbalances.
This stance won praise from senior officials, including the Group of 20 envoy from South Korea, this year's chair of the global forum, and International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. But China does not want to rush. Asked about Beijing's credibility given that it made the same promises of addressing imbalances four years ago, Zhu Min said: "It's a long process, it's not an overnight thing. It will probably take another 5 years or 4 years. You will see improvement day by day, year by year.
"We need global coordination on structural change ... for us to increase consumption and for others to increase consumption or to increase savings," he said.
The West is keen on China to play a bigger leadership role. It may even secretly envy China's command economy. "The world wants to hand the baton off to China," said Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone. "One reason why the West looks at China and perhaps overvalues its ability to be a global leader is simply the fact that it can make decisions when other parts of the world know what the problems are but can't quite get there in terms of making decisions." China has started taking a role not just as the world's growth leader but also with other pressing global issues, such as climate change.
Li said China would tackle climate change and ensure that economic growth became more efficient with regards to the use of resources and environmental concerns. "The Chinese position has been quite positive and even in the climate change area it became more flexible," Il Sakong, South Korea's chief G20 envoy and presidential adviser, said.
But despite its meteoric growth, rural parts of China are still struggling with poverty and underdevelopment, suggesting that Beijing will want to focus on problems at home first and foremost. Li Daokui, Director of the Center for China in the World Economy at Tsinghua University, said China was like the 16-year-old prodigy basketball player Yao Ming - who is already two meters tall but very young and going through growing pains. "The height is there. However, the muscle isn't there. The skills, the capacity isn't there and moreover, the reading ability of the rules of the game isn't there," Li said. "We are very busy dealing with domestic issues."
The power shift toward the East will also transfer decision-making authorities away from the G7 to G20. However, the consequences might not be all good, with power more evenly distributed in a multipolar world. "One must expect in such a situation there will be more consolidation but more difficulty to arrive on any consensus. Therefore economic growth will slow down," Tony Tan, chairman of Government of Singapore Investment Corp, said. "It's not a very optimistic prospect. When countries are rising, developing, it's not a stable situation and I think the world will be forcibly a more uncomfortable place in years ahead."
Any number of potential flare-ups - such as recent rifts between Beijing and Washington - could also jeopardize the willingness of China and the West to work together. China threatened on Saturday to impose sanctions on US arms firms and cut cooperation with Washington unless it cancels a newly-announced $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan, in an unprecedented move signaling China's growing global power. The dispute deepens a rift with Washington, which already encompasses trade, currency, Tibet and the Internet. 

International

Pakistan seriously concerned over Indian influence in Afghanistan

APP, Islamabad

Pakistan Defence Minister Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar said on Tuesday Pakistan is seriously concerned about the growing influence of India in Afghanistan, and is strongly averse to any Indian role as it would not be in the interest of Pakistan. He said this during meeting with the visiting Naval Chief of Staff of United Kingdom, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, who called on him here Tuesday.
The meeting discussed Pakistan's anti-terror contribution, co-operation between the Navies of the two countries and the security situation in Afghanistan.
The Minister apprised the Naval Chief of remarkable achievements made by the security forces of Pakistan against the militants in Swat, Bajaur, South Waziristan and other terror-stricken areas.
He said Armed Forces of the country succeeded in clearing these troubled areas from the terrorists with the strong backing of whole nation.
Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope deeply appreciated the sacrifices being made by the Armed Forces of Pakistan while combating the terrorists.
The meeting also exchanged views on the London Conference on Afghanistan.
Commenting on the conference, the Minister said international community ultimately agreed and endorsed Pakistan's stance, which had been telling the world to open dialogue with the moderate Taliban into the mainstream which could help bring peace and stability to the war-torn country.
He reiterated Pakistan's commitment to promote and achieve durable peace and stability in Afghanistan which is imperative for the regional peace and security.
He said Pakistan is a nuclear country and the international community particularly the developed world should recognize it as a nuclear state. The meeting also emphasized the need for closer collaboration between the Navies of the two countries.
Maritime security of Indian Ocean and role being played by Pakistan Navy as part of CTF 150 and CTF 151 was also discussed.
In order to check drug/human trafficking and ensure security at high seas, the meeting stressed the need to evolve a coordinated mechanism to exchange information and fight against human and drug trafficking as well as other terrorist activities.

  Human,economic losses haven't dented resolve of nation, Armed Forces to fight terrorism: Gen. Kayani

APP, Islamabad

Pakistan has suffered the maximum in terms of human and economic losses due to terrorism and violent extremism, but it has not dented the resolve of the nation and its armed forces to fight and finish terrorism in accordance with own national interests." This was stated by Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Monday, while talking to a group of foreign correspondents on his return from Brussels, where he had participated in the conference of NATO commanders on special invitation.
The COAS said he has conveyed the concerns, challenges, contributions and constraints of Pakistan in its fight against the terrorists. He said he had highlighted the key issues of the conflict that needed to be fully understood and addressed. He drew the attention of the forum towards the huge sacrifices made by the people of Pakistan and its armed forces, due to the effect of 'Blow Back'.
While referring to Afghanistan, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said that our objective is to have peaceful, stable and friendly Afghanistan. "We cannot wish for Afghanistan anything that we don't wish for Pakistan". He reaffirmed that geography, culture and history can neither be separated nor wished away. He emphasized that our operations in 2009 have helped improving the situation in Afghanistan in terms of squeezing of spaces, better control of areas and continuous logistic flow.
The COAS identified five fundamentals that helped in turning the tide and must not be lost sight for future operations. In his words these fundamentals include public opinion, media support, army's capability and resolve, 'our war' was not 'US war' and a comprehensive strategy based on four different phases namely clear, hold, build and transfer.
For the way forward, he said that fundamentals should remain strong and intact, short and long term interests be reconciled, strategic direction should be maintained and coordination be effect based.

  Karzai to talk Taliban reconciliation with Saudis
AP, Kabul

Afghan President Hamid Karzai left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss his reintegration plan aimed at persuading Taliban militants to switch sides.
Saudi Arabia was one of the few countries that recognized the Taliban's hard-line Islamist regime before it was ousted in 2001, and Saudi leaders have acted as intermediaries previously.
The U.S.-backed Afghan leader, who was heading a delegation that includes new Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoul and key religious leaders, planned to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, then meet with King Abdullah. The two leaders will discuss Afghanistan, the region and possible "solutions for reconciliation," according to a statement from his office.
The Afghan government has announced plans to offer jobs and other economic incentives to militants willing to "cut ties with al-Qaida and other terrorist groups and pursue their political goals peacefully."
The Taliban have dismissed the offer, saying fighters won't be swayed until foreign troops leave the country.
Taliban fighters have repeatedly attacked government buildings and officials in their campaign to undermine the Karzai administration. In the latest violence Tuesday, gunmen killed two men in Kandahar city who are known acquaintances of Karzai's brother, who is also the provincial council chief in southern Kandahar province. The attackers drove by the men's car on a motorcycle and opened fire, provincial police chief Gen. Sardar Mohammad Zazi said.
Karzai has said Saudi Arabia and Pakistan - which worked together to facilitate the rise of the radical Islamist movement in the 1990s - would play a key role in the reintegration process. The kingdom pledged an additional $150 million in aid to Afghanistan at last week's London conference..

  Shutdown paralyzes life in India-controlled Kashmir
Xinhua, Srinagar, India-controlled Kashmir

A complete shutdown was observed by Muslim majority areas in India- controlled Kashmir Tuesday to protest the killing of a boy in police action Sunday evening in Srinagar, officials and witnesses said.
Business and shops remained shut and traffic was off the roads in Srinagar and other major towns of the region.
The call was given by separatist factions of Hurriyat Conference to protest the growing human rights violations in the region.
In the several parts of city youth clashed with the contingents of police and paramilitary troopers.
The irate youth hurled stones and brick pieces on them, while police was firing tear smoke shells to chase them away. At least a dozen protesters including some policemen sustained injuries in the clashes, health officials said.
On Monday also 36 people, including nine policemen and six paramilitary troopers of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured in the clashes. The protests broke out following the killing of 16-year-old Wamiq Farooq in police action in Srinagar Sunday.
Farooq was hit by a tear smoke shell fired by Indian police. At several localities angry youth had blocked the roads and lit the bonfires on used tyres.
The month of January has witnessed four civilian killings in the region.
Police spokesman in Srinagar said the police official held responsible for firing the tear smoke shell negligently has been suspended.
However, the local people refuse to acknowledge the police action and demand severe punishment to the accused policeman.

  South Korea says North is stalling on nuclear talks
AFP, Seoul

North Korea Tuesday repeated calls for a peace pact on the Korean peninsula, days after it fired its artillery near the tense border, but Seoul said Pyongyang wanted a pretext to shun nuclear negotiations.
"We and the United States still remain technically at war. Nobody can guarantee that there will be no artillery fired in a war on the Korean peninsula, where (only) the armistice continues," said the North's communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
"The United States should accept our (peace treaty) offer sincerely," it said, according to a Korean-language report on the official news agency.
Tensions rose last week when the North-in what it called a routine exercise-fired around 370 shells over three days near the disputed maritime frontier with South Korea after declaring "no sail" zones.
Seoul's military was watching Tuesday for possible short-range missile tests after the North banned shipping from several more coastal zones elsewhere. Related article: SKorea watches for new NKorea missile tests. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North had declared five new zones effective until 8:00 pm (1100 GMT) on Tuesday.
"We are closely monitoring North Korea to see if it is conducting short-range missile tests or further artillery fire," a spokesman told AFP.
Several analysts believe the North is raising tensions to support its claim that a formal pact is necessary to end the 1950-53 war, which ended only in an armistice.

  Anwar to call Malaysia PM as witness at sodomy trial
AFP, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday he would call the prime minister and his wife as witnesses in his sodomy trial, accusing the couple of a conspiracy to end his political career.
Anwar, who was sacked as deputy premier and jailed on similar charges a decade ago, criticised the case, which has major implications for Malaysia's turbulent political scene, as "the machinations of the dirty, corrupt few". He said he had evidence that his accuser, 24-year-old former aide Mohamad Saiful Bukhari Azlan, had met Prime Minister Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, at their home shortly before lodging an explosive police report.
"We want to subpoena Najib and Rosmah as witnesses because they were personally involved in the conspiracy and frame-up," Anwar told reporters at the High Court, which is hearing the case. "They must have the courage to come."
"It is politically motivated," he said of the trial, which he maintains is a plot to neutralise the threat he poses to the coalition government. Razak's government has ruled Malaysia for half a century but suffered its worst results in 2008 polls, when Anwar rallied the opposition to seize a third of parliamentary seats.
The trial was scheduled to start on Tuesday after months of delays caused by defence manoeuvres, including bids to strike out the charges and obtain prosecution evidence such as medical reports and CCTV footage.
High Court judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah rejected a defence application for another postponement until outstanding hearings are resolved, and said the proceedings would begin in earnest on Wednesday afternoon.
However, Anwar's lawyers are hoping they can secure a delay in a meeting Wednesday morning with the president of the appeals court.
"In the interests of justice, the appellant should be given every opportunity to exhaust his rights to appeal," defence lawyer Karpal Singh told the court.

  Amnesty urges S Lanka to end post-poll ‘clampdown’
AFP, Colombo

Rights monitor Amnesty International urged Sri Lanka on Tuesday to end what it described as a post-presidential election "clampdown" on the media, political opponents and human rights activists.
Pressure on government critics has been mounting since President Mahinda Rajapakse was re-elected on January 26, defeating his former army chief Sarath Fonseka, the London-based human rights group said.
"Victory against the Tamil Tigers followed by a historic election should have ended political repression in Sri Lanka, but instead we have seen a serious clampdown on freedom of expression," said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty's Asia-Pacific Deputy Director.
Amnesty cited the post-poll arrests of opposition supporters and journalists, death threats against several prominent newspaper editors and the harassment of trade unionists.
A pro-opposition newspaper was raided, several websites supporting Fonseka were blocked while Prageeth Eknaligoda, who wrote for the Lanka e-news website, disappeared on his way home from work two days before the election.
Sri Lankan journalists have given Amnesty a list of 56 of their colleagues who face serious threats, including some attached to state-run media organisations.
The independent Centre for Monitoring Election Violence reported more than 85 post-election incidents, including two murders and several assaults.

 US missile system meant to sow Gulf division : Ahmadinejad

AP, Tehran, Iran

Iran said Tuesday that the strengthening of U.S. missile defense systems in Gulf Arab countries is aimed at sowing regional divisions and that Tehran's neighbors should not be drawn into believing the country poses a threat.
U.S. military officials said over the weekend that the systems - involving upgraded Patriot missiles on land and more U.S. Navy ships capable of destroying missiles in flight - is intended to counter a potential Iranian missile strike.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Tuesday with the crown prince of Qatar, one of four Arab nations were the U.S. has based Patriot missile systems, and told him the West was seeking to divide them. "Westerners do not want friendly relations between countries in the region. Their life is dependent on rifts and insecurity," the president told the visiting crown prince, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani. "The enemies intend to extend the fire of war in the entire region to solve their own political and economic problems," state TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in their meeting.
Ahmadinejad said Iran and Qatar should build closer links and develop a common understanding of what he called plots by enemies.
The predominantly Sunni Arab Middle East - and Gulf nations in particular - have been wary of the growing influence of Shiite Iran, especially because of international suspicions that its nuclear program has a military dimension.
Iran insists its nuclear work only has peaceful aims like energy production, but the U.S. and its allies in Europe are considering new sanctions to pressure Iran to make concessions meant to ease their concerns.
Iran's missile program has also generated worries. Iran has missiles with ranges of more than 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) that are capable of hitting Israel and U.S. bases in the region, as well as parts of southeastern and eastern Europe. The U.S. Patriot missile systems, which originally were deployed in the region to shoot down aircraft have now been upgraded to hit missiles in flight.
In a January speech, Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. Central Command chief who is responsible for military operations across the Middle East, said the U.S. now has eight Patriot missile batteries stationed in the Gulf region - two each in four countries. He did not name the countries.
A military official said over the weekend, however, that the countries are Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because some aspects of the defensive strategy are classified.
In another speech, Petraeus said Aegis ballistic missile cruisers are now in the Gulf at all times. Iran's parliament speaker, Ali Larijani, warned nations in the region not to be "deceived by U.S. anti-Iran policies" and talk of a growing Iranian threat.
"When in the past 31 years has Iran attacked any of its neighboring states or any other countries in the region?" Larijani said, referring to the length of time that the country's Islamic leadership has been in power. Emphasizing the point, he noted that the 1980-88 war with Iraq was in defense against an attack launched by Saddam Hussein.
Larijani said the strengthening of the missile defense system would only bring more trouble for U.S. forces.
"Regional countries should know that this puppet show by the U.S., while claiming to create security in the region, is nothing except a new political ploy to increase the (American) military presence at the expense of others," Larijani said in a parliament session. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters that Iran believes the U.S. missile systems to be "ineffective," though he did not elaborate. At his weekly news conference, Mehmanparast also denied claims by Thailand that a planeload of North Korean weapons seized there in December was headed to Iran.
"There is no link between the aircraft and our country," Mehmanparast said. He said Iran had no need to import such arms due to its own weapons production, which includes rockets, tanks, jet fighters, light submarines and missiles.
Thailand said Monday that the aircraft, which was seized on a refueling stop, was heading to Iran, though it did not know the ultimate destination of the 35 tons of weaponry. The shipment, which violated U.N. sanctions against North Korea, reportedly included light battlefield arms such as grenades - hardly the ones Iran's sophisticated military would need.
From the start there has been speculation that the weapons were to be shipped on to some of the radical Middle Eastern groups supported by Tehran.
The plane's chief pilot, among five crewmen detained in Thailand, maintains that the aircraft was headed for Kiev, Ukraine.

  Washington DC transit system holds anti-terror drills
AFP, Washington

Dozens of police officers swarmed one of Washington DC's busiest stations with dogs and bomb technicians during Tuesday's morning rush hour, to demonstrate that the US capital city's transit system can thwart possible terror attacks.
At around 7:30 am (1330 GMT), some 50 officers from various Metro police units-including its new anti-terror team, special response teams and criminal investigators-began their work at the Union Station subway stop near the US Capitol building that houses Congress.
"The event is meant to remind riders that Metro remains vigilant against terrorist activity," Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority spokeswoman Cathy Asato said in a recorded statement.
"It is important to remember there is no current threat to the transit agency or any elevated threat level."
Washington's rapid transit system serves hundreds of thousands of passengers each day and is one of the largest in the United States.
The security exercises kick off a series of broader emergency response exercises that will bring together participants from local law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services departments, federal agencies and multiple Metro departments.
Those tactical exercises in the US capital city, which aim to avert disasters on the scale of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the London Underground bombings in 2005 and the Madrid commuter train attacks in 2004 -- are scheduled for February 12, 13 and 24. They will be followed by two tabletop drills with emergency managers and senior leadership executives.
In a bid to help bolster its defenses against a potential attack, the city transit agency formed a 20-member anti-terror team in December through a 9.6-million-dollar grant from the Department of Homeland Security.
The team also conducts random patrols on the transit system with higher visibility of uniformed officers and more frequent security sweeps of the system's facilities and tunnels. Metro services subway and bus passengers in Maryland, Virginia and the nation's capital.

  China takes swipe at US over Tibet, Taiwan
AFP, Beijing

China warned President Barack Obama Tuesday not to meet the Dalai Lama and threatened diplomatic reprisals over US arms sales to Taiwan, opening a new front in an escalating feud between the world's top powers.
Beijing's tough rhetoric piled pressure on a crucial relationship already severely strained over Google's threat to halt operations in China, which sparked a row over Internet freedom, and a host of trade and currency disputes. China and the United States are working together on several pressing international disputes, including fraught negotiations aiming to curb the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran.
But Beijing hinted on Tuesday that it may no longer be willing to play by US rules on such key foreign policy issues, and blamed Washington for any negative consequences. Related article: For Obama on China, no more Mr. Nice Guy?
"China-US relations, in important international and regional issues, will inevitably be influenced (by the Taiwan deal) and the responsibility completely lies with the United States," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.
Ma also called on US companies selling arms to Taiwan-corporate giants like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon-to back away from the arms deal, after earlier warning that Beijing could impose sanctions.
China is now the largest holder of US government debt, and some analysts have suggested that its economic clout has emboldened leaders of the world's most populous nation to take on Washington in a more forceful way.
The sanctions threat was indeed a new step by Beijing, which has always strongly opposed US arms sales to Taiwan and also cut off military and security contacts with Washington in retaliation for the deal. Related article: US urges China against sanctions amid Taiwan spat.

  WHO predicts drastic rise in cancer deathes in next 20 years

Xinhua, Manila

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Tuesday that without urgent action, global cancer deaths would increase from 7.6 million this year to 17 million by 2030.
Cancer is a major killer in both developed and developing countries, and accounts for one eighth of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, Manila-based Regional Office of Western Pacific said on the eve of the World Cancer Day, which falls on Feb. 4 each year.
But, WHO said, more than 30 percent of all cancers can be prevented through simple measures such as no tobacco use, a healthy diet and exercise, limiting alcohol consumption, and protection against cancer-causing infections. Some cancers can be detected early, treated and cured.
The campaign slogan for this year is "Cancer can be prevented too" .
In the Western Pacific region, it is estimated that in 2008 close to 3.7 million new cases occurred--2.2 million in men and 1. 5 million in women. Nearly 2.6 million people in the Region died from cancer that year.
"There is a universal fear of cancer," said WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Shin Young-soo. "But, with the right frame of mind, and by taking appropriate action, some cancers can be averted or cured."
For instance, smoking is the single largest preventable cause of cancer. By avoiding this risk factor and encouraging healthy behavior, such as regular exercise and eating healthily, people can significantly reduce the risk of developing the disease.
Each year, over 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer. If no action is taken, WHO warned that the worldwide cancer burden is projected to grow significantly, with the most rapid increases occurring in low- and medium-income countries.

  Ex minister slams Blair argument for Iraq war
AFP, London

Clare Short, a former British minister who resigned over the 2003 Iraq war, on Tuesday dismissed then premier Tony Blair's claim that Saddam Hussein was linked to international terrorism.
Short told a public inquiry the US-led invasion had made Iraq more dangerous, saying the chaotic aftermath had allowed Al-Qaeda to take root in the country.
The outspoken former international development minister branded as nonsense Blair's claim-repeated to the inquiry last week-that the need to take action against Saddam increased as a result of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
"Tony Blair's account of the need to act urgently somehow because of September 11 doesn't stack up to any scrutiny whatsoever," Short said.
She said there was no evidence that Saddam was linked to Al-Qaeda-and the American people had been "misled" over the claim.
"There is no doubt that by invading in this ill-prepared, rushed way, not only did we cause enormous suffering and loss of life, we made Iraq more dangerous and unstable and spread Al-Qaeda's presence in the Middle East," she said.
Short poured scorn on the British government's pre-war claims that Saddam was developing weapons of mass destruction, saying he "didn't have the means" to develop a nuclear threat.
She said that while it was believed Iraq scientists were working in chemical and biological laboratories, there were doubts over whether they could have "weaponised" the substances.
Short also said Blair's cabinet, of which she was part, was "misled" by the government's chief legal advisor, Attorney General Peter Goldsmith, into thinking the war did not contravene international law.
"I think he misled the cabinet. He certainly misled me, but people let it through," she said.
Short has previously said Blair dissuaded her from resigning after the war started with the promise that her department would play a leading role in Iraq's reconstruction.
But the invasion plans failed to include planning for the post-invasion situation and Iraq was left in a chaotic state, she said.
"I am saying we could have gone more slowly and carefully and not had a totally destabilised and angry Iraq into which came Al-Qaeda that wasn't there before, and that would have been safer for the world," Short said. She suggested that the military option could have been avoided.
Saudi Arabia and Jordan had been discussing offering the Iraqi president exile and he "wasn't popular in his country", Short told her panel of questioners.

Business/Economy

Regulators target Dhaka’s overheated bourse
AFP, Dhaka

Bangladesh's stock exchange regulator sought Tuesday to rein in the country's stock market, which has soared 20 percent in the past month.
The Dhaka Stock Exchange has been on record-breaking Bull Run with the benchmark DGEN index gaining around 1,000 points since the end of December to hit a new high at 5,502.37 points at the end of trading on Tuesday.
The regulator tightened credit rules, reducing the amount banks can give as loans to investors buying shares, as part of its bid to keep a lid on the market's gains.
It also said 62 out of 236 companies listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange could be bought only for cash, saying the share prices were overheated.
"We have to step in as there is an excess of liquidity. Investors are buying shares without thinking about the fundamental value of the stocks," said Securities and Exchange Commission executive director Anwarul Kabir Bhuiyan.
Speculative trading had pushed capitalisation of the market up by five billion dollars in the past month to 32.40 billion dollars, he said. Market capitalisation grew 85 percent to 27 billion dollars last year.
"We took the measures to send a message to investors: don't burn yourself, please make prudent decisions and please check the fundamentals of a share before buying," Bhuiyan said.
But the market shrugged off the warnings and new restrictions, gaining 52 points or nearly one percent from Monday. Share turnover also hit a record at 16.90 billion taka (245 million dollars). Aims fund manager Yawar Sayeed said the market was witnessing new cash infusions daily.
"I don't think the latest measures will curb investor interest... It's very overheated and curbing loans alone won't rein in the market," Sayeed said. The stock market's main benchmark index rose by 62 percent last year. Sayeed said part of the money coming into the stock market was being sent home by non-resident Bangladeshis.
"Last year Bangladesh received 10.5 billion dollars of remittance and a big chunk of it is being invested in stocks. A slowdown in industry has also prompted some banks to invest in the capital market," he said.
Although nearly 40 percent of its population lives on less than a dollar a day, Bangladesh's share market has made steady gains with its economy posting annual average six percent growth over the past seven years.

 BGMEA sees no adverse impact on RMG sector after port transit facility

BSS, Chittagong

BGMEA leaders here on Tuesday said transit facilities to neighbouring countries would usher new prospects in the country's economic progress and it could be considered as a milestone for the country's economy.
" Country's economy is possibly going to new height of progress through optimum utilization of the capacity of our seaports that remained unutilised for a long," Nasiruddin Chowdhury , First Vice President of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) replied to a query at a press conference on CAFAXPO-2010 scheduled to begin from Thursday here. The Chittagong Apparel, Fabric, and Accessories Exposition-2010 (CAFAXPO-2010), the annual textile, machineries and accessories exhibition to introduce local stakeholders with the latest tools and logistics from home and abroad for readymade garments and textile sectors is being arranged under the auspices of BGMEA.
Incumbent and former BGMEA leaders including Ershad Ullah, S M Abu Tayab, Moinuddin Mintu, Helaluddin Chowdhury were present at the meeting. BGMEA First Vice President Nasiruddin Chowdhury said we should see transit from economic point of view rather than political one and none can drop the idea of such a deal among the countries concerned in this age of global connectivity.
" Moreover there is no scope of (living) shutting doors and windows in this time of rapid globalisation," he pointed out reiterating the welcome note from BGMEA to the government's bold and pro-economic deal with India during Prime Minister's Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to New Delhi.
Replying to another query, he said what most required is now to increase the capacity of Chittagong port and other infrastructures so that country could reap maximum benefit from the transit facilities to its neighbours.
He ruled out any possibility of adverse impact on country's garments sector after introduction of transit facility to India cashing the cheap labour in India's North-eastern states called "seven sisters".
Nasiruddin Chowdhury said the country's Readymade Garments (RMG) sector started rebounding at the end of last year from negative export growth the sector witnessed in mid last year at the impact of worst global meltdown. It saw 15 percent positive growth in October while 6 percent negative growth in November and December last year.

  US firms eye Asian market as China threatens sanctions
AFP, Singapore

US firms remained bullish on the Asian market as an international aerospace trade show opened Tuesday under the shadow of a US-China spat over Washington's arms sales to Taiwan.
More than 100 firms led by Boeing and Lockheed Martin-which are at the heart of the weapons controversy and expected to be hit if Beijing imposes sanctions-are part of the largest contingent at the Singapore Airshow. "We see growth in Asia-Pacific as being the kind of stimulus really for the world economy and for American producers," Marion Blakey, chief executive of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), told journalists.
"The pent-up market here is enormous and the fact that most of the countries in this region have turned to the United States for technology... I think there is going to be a very strong market for a good long time to come," she said.
Blakey, whose group represents US firms in the civil and military sectors, expressed hope that Washington and Beijing would be able to sort things out. "Those discussions are really left best to government to government, and we will certainly see that they undoubtedly will discuss the ramifications, but there is nothing really unusual about this," Blakey said. Boeing also maintained that the 6.4 billion-dollar Taiwan arms deal announced last week by the Pentagon was a matter for officials of both countries, not the private sector, to address.
"I believe it's too early to speculate on what the impact might be to the industry and to us," Boeing's vice president for marketing Randy Tinseth said.
US Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force Bruce Lemkin, who was also attending the aerospace show, said Beijing's reaction to the Taiwan arms deal was "unfortunate" and described Washington's decision as based on "principle" and its commitments to help protect Taiwan.
Lemkin was speaking hours after China warned the United States that their cooperation on international and regional issues could suffer.
"We strongly urge relevant US companies to stop pushing forward and taking part in the arms sales to Taiwan," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in Beijing. China earlier said it would suspend military and security contacts with Washington and threatened to impose sanctions on US firms involved in the deal.
Boeing is one of the companies involved, through its McDonnell Douglas unit.
Lockheed Martin is providing Patriot anti-missile batteries, and United Technologies unit Sikorsky Aircraft is supplying Black Hawk helicopters.
The US aerospace association's Blakey said Asia's stellar economic growth and its efforts to upgrade domestic aerospace-linked infrastructure were key factors behind the strong US presence at the show, held every two years.
"With all that, it will be a strong, strong aerospace market," she said.

  China faces risks from bank lending surge: OECD
AFP, Beijing

Surging bank lending could threaten the stability of financial institutions in fast-growing China, the OECD said Tuesday in a report that urged more market reforms to help reduce such risks. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its first China survey for five years that while Beijing's policies had helped shield the country from the world slowdown, excess government controls were a problem.
It recommended China loosen its grip on the value of the yuan and further accelerate other market-based economic reforms, including allowing greater foreign access to its financial markets.
The report identified the recent surge in new lending as a key problem facing the nation's economy and financial system. "While Chinese banks have so far weathered the global slowdown well, the acceleration in new lending since early 2009 raises the risk of a renewed surge in non-performing loans (NPLs) in the years ahead," the report said.
The lending binge has emerged as a key concern for China's economic policymakers, with Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, saying last month the government would rein in credit. His comments come after the central bank moved to hike the minimum amount of money that banks must keep in reserve and took other steps analysts said were meant to curb lending amid fears of bad loans, asset bubbles and overheating.
Chinese state media also has reported major banks were verbally ordered by authorities to cut new lending, although Liu denied such a move. Some analysts have said they expect Beijing to go even further by raising interest rates, but most have said such a move is unlikely before mid-2010, as it could fuel inflation. "We welcome measures recently taken by authorities to deal with inflationary pressures, but we think this will have to be carefully monitored," OECD Chief Economist and Deputy Secretary General Pier Carlo Padoan told reporters.
"Inflation risks are coming up in a way that is a source of concern."
The OECD report said recent "sharp increases in land prices" stemmed partly from excess liquidity and it warned financial institutions could be stuck with bad loans if property prices fell. Property prices in Chinese cities have soared, rising in December at the fastest pace in 17 months, according to official figures. Senior OECD economist Richard Herd said wage increases had outpaced the spike in housing costs nationwide, but noted the huge rises in Beijing, Shanghai and southern China.

  CAFAXPO-2010 kicks off from tomorrow in Ctg
BSS, Chittagong

A three-day Chittagong Apparel, Fabric, and Accessories Exposition-2010 (CAFAXPO-2010) will begin in the port city on Thursday next.
Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) is arranging the annual textile, machineries and accessories exhibition to introduce local stakeholders with the latest tools and logistics from home and abroad for readymade garments and textile sectors.
The CAFAXPO-2010, 8th time in row will be held at CJKS Indoor Stadium with the participation of 52 reputed local and foreign enterprises of textile, garments, garments accessories, financial institutions and service sectors.
Apart from inaugural and concluding ceremonies, seminars on three separate subjects related to the current state of country's garments sector and subsequent global trend, live fashion show everyday at the exhibition venue and colorful family night with cultural function at the participation of noted artists is the main features of the CAFAXPO-2010.
Commerce Minister Lt. Col. (retd) Muhammad Faruk Khan will attend the function as the chief guest; Mayor of Chittagong City Corporation ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury will be the special guest while Minister Councilor of Japan Embassy in Dhaka Mr. Takanori Uehara will attend as guest of honor in the inaugural ceremony.
Chittagong BGMEA leaders at a press conference here on Tuesday hoped that CAFAXPO-2010 would be a center place for reunion of local and foreign importers and exporters involved with the trade and the event would also play a key role in increasing further the growth of the industry.
BGMEA First Vice President Nasiruddin Chowdhury , former first vice presidents- Ershad Ullah , M A Tayab , Moinuddin Ahmed Mintu were among others spoke at the press briefing held at a local hotel.

National

‘Female UP members can play vital roles in building digital BD’

BSS, Rangpur

The process of building a developed digital Bangladesh could be expedited through ensuring rights of the female union parishad members and empower them in the local public bodies at the grass roots level of the country.
At present, sustainable and balanced social and national developments are being hampered and repression on women and children continues for unabated deprivation of the female members of their proper rights.
As a result, the government's steps to strengthen local government bodies for ensuring smooth development, human rights and justice, women empowerment, institutionalizing democracy, are yet to be effectively implemented to achieve the long cherished goals.
Over 102 elected female union parishad members and 26 elected female federation chairmen of RDRS from Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and Dinajpur districts recently expressed the views.
The female union members and human rights activists narrated to BSS correspondent their field level bitter experiences about deprivation of the female members and stressed on ensuring their rights in making local government bodies more effective.
They said relaxations of administrative control in the activities of union parishads and due constitutional empowerment of female members are must to give democracy at firm footing and ensuring women empowerment for uniform developments.
They stressed on local participatory work- plans, preparing policies and allocation of funds and just facilities to the female members and properly involving then with the development activities of the local government institutions for sustainable developments.
Expert of RDRS Manjushree Saha, female members Rokeya Begum, Kulsum Begum, Delwara Begum and Rahela Begum told that women empowerment and sustainable developments could get a strong footage if the female members' rights were ensured. Citing their practical field level examples, they narrated to BSS as how they are being deprived of their rights as elected public representatives because of the attitudes of the male union parishad chairmen and existing social discriminations towards the women.

  RAKUB disburses Tk 10cr fish farming loan in N-dists
BSS, Rajshahi

The Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has disbursed loan of about Taka 10 crore among 500 fish farmers in the northwestern Bangladesh during the first six months of 2009-2010 fiscal. According to the officials concerned, the RAKUB has launched the special loan programme styled "RAKUB Fisheries Village" for extensive fish cultivation to increase employment opportunities, fulfill protein deficiency and to alleviate poverty and create more jobs through extension of fish farming for economic growth in the northern region in the country.
The main thrust of the programme is to encourage the small farmers in fish farming with loans on easy term so that they could produce more fish in the small ponds and other nearby closed water- bodies after using modern and scientific technologies.
The programme has been giving emphasis on forming each fisheries village with at least 10/12 small ponds and other nearby water bodies at potential places. It is creating opportunities for the farmers to get fish- farming inputs like feed and marketing of the produced fish without any hindrance.
RAKUB Managing Director Fazlul Hoque told BSS that there has been a bright prospect for increasing fish production in all the northern districts with best uses of the existing natural resources. Taking advantages of the situation, he said the bank has selected the fisheries sector as priority one for supplementing the government's efforts to attain the millennium development goals (MDGs). At the preliminary stage, the RAKUB chief said 55 upazila and union-level branches of the bank in Rajshahi, Natore, Pabna, Sirajganj, Naogaon, Dinajpur, Bogra, Rangpur and Kurigram districts were given power to disburse the credit. After assessing the success, the credit programme is being expanded gradually everywhere in the northern region.
The RAKUB has established an easy process for extending necessary credits to small and medium fish farmers so that they can contribute a lot to the economic growth side by side with making the region free of poverty.
In addition to creating new efficient fish farmers, the scheme will help increase fish cultivation providing them with special facilities so that they could be brought to the mainstream of the national economic development activities.
Headquartered in Rajshahi, the RAKUB, in addition to crop loans, has been providing credits for the fish culture through its 364 branches in all the 16 districts under Rajshahi division since its inception in 1987. It has achieved a significant success in making the region surplus with food through quality consumer services.
Cultivation of various fishes, especially pungus, carp, monosex tilapia and thai koi, has been selected for investment in the first phase.
The programme has a provision for sanctioning the loan up to Taka 5 lakh in different potential and prospective fields. The farmers having experiences of fish farming and at least four-week training on improved fish cultivation would be given preference for getting the loan.

   Government to take specific plan to raise fish production
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Minister Abdul Latif Biswas told the House Tuesday that the present government would undertake a specific plan to raise fish production to meet protein demand in the country.
"To this end, the sixth five-year plan is being implemented side by side with Vision-2021," he said in reply to a written question from BNP lawmaker AM Mahbub Uddin Khokan.
Under the sixth five-year plan, he said, a plan has been undertaken to increase fish production by 25 percent more in the country by 2015.
The minister also said that a target has been fixed to boost fish production by 34.87 lakh tonnes within 2013 and 41.39 lakh tonnes within 2021.
Responding to another question from treasury bench member Apu Ukil, the minister informed the House that there are eight government dairy farms under the Wildlife Resources Department.
Besides, he said, the country has 44,278 dairy farms at private level, registered under the Wildlife Resources Department. "Each registered private dairy farm has three high quality cows," he added.
Answering to a scripted question from Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Hamidur Rahman Azad, the minister said there are 10 zoos in the country. Of them, he said, Dhaka Zoo and Rangpur Zoo are being run under the government management.
"There are 2,090 species of animal in Dhaka Zoo. But rearing, management and treatment of the wild animals is very difficult," he said.
The minister also said that rearing and providing treatment to animals and birds are being done through skilled manpower in the developed world. "But there is no such system in our country," he said.

   Prospect of broccoli farming bright in northern districts
BSS, Rajshahi, Feb-2

Agronomists, scientists and researchers revealed that there has been a bright prospect of broccoli farming commercially everywhere in the northwestern region of the country.
They said the prolonged winter climate being experienced in the region is suitable for cultivation of the non-conventional crop that is commonly known as green cauliflower.
Its plant and flower are similar to the cauliflower and its green leaves can be consumed directly. But price of broccoli in the markets is three times more than cauliflower.
The unusual vegetable is gradually becoming popular among the urban people and in recent time, the Chinese restaurants are using broccoli for making soup and other delicious foods creating demand for the vegetable.
Joint director of Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) Sarder Salahuddin told BSS that the crop is unfamiliar to the farmers and consumers of the rural areas.
He said the horticulture improvement centers under BADC have taken initiative to make farming of the crop popular among the growers level.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has also grown the crop in projection plots aimed at encouraging the farmers towards boosting its production commercially.
In terms of nutritive aspect, Salahuddin said the vegetable should be added to the diet list of the common people as it is very advantageous as vegetable.
He said the vegetable could easily be cultivated in the normal farming field as it is more tolerable to high- temperature than cauliflower and cabbage.
District training officer of DAE, Rajshahi Anwarul Azim said nutritive value of the crop is more than any other winter vegetable including cabbage and cauliflower.
It contains antioxidant and anticancer ingredient that can enhance resistance of various diseases. Besides, he said many people consume it directly or boiled as it could be digested easily. So, he said commercial farming of the crop is very potential.
In this context, he said, importance should be given on encouraging the farmers through providing them with necessary financial support and inputs.
He said the farming method is almost similar to the cabbage and cauliflower. At least 40,000 to 50,000 plants could be produced from per hectare of land in 65-70 days.
On the other hand, farmer Rahim Uddin of Naohata under Paba upazila alleged that farming of the prospective cash crop could not be expanded among the farmers level successfully due to lack of proper initiative by the field level officials concerned.
"If we get adequate support and other updated technological knowledge we obviously are interested to boost the farming and its yield," he said adding that the laboratory based research outputs must be disseminated timely among the growers level to uplift the agriculture sector and its sub-sectors.

 Surge of water bursts riverbanks, floods 20 villages in Khulna

UNB, Khulna

A surge of seawater into coastal rivers burst riverbanks and flooded 20 villages under Kamarkhola and Sutarkhalia unions in Dacope upazila till Tuesday morning.
Sources said 13 villages under Kamarkhola union were inundated as 210 yards of the cross-dam on several rivers were washed away from Kamargoda and Saharabad areas by high tide sent in from the Bay of Bengal since Monday afternoon till 8am Tuesday.
Another seven villages of Sutarkhali union were also flooded as 230 yards of the cross-dam were damaged in Gunari and Golbunia areas.
The 13 villages of Kamarkhola union are Sreenagar, Parjoynagar, Saharabad, Jaliakhali, Bhetedanga, Rajnagar, Rekhamari, Joynagar, Chanirchack, Kalinagar, Satgharia, Shibnagar, Fakibaranga while the seven villages under Sutarkhali union Gunari, Katabunia, Madyam Gunari, Kalibari, Purbo Gunari, Golbunia and Naliyan.
"At least 15,000 people of these villages have been marooned in the flashflood. They are passing hard days," says a report from the area, quoting the affected villagers.
Local people blamed the authorities for not repairing the embankments which were wrecked by the devastating cyclone Aila in 2009.
However, deputy assistant engineer M Anwar Hossain of Water Development Board said they have made a plan in this regard and sent to the authority concerned asking financial assistance for the repairs. 

 Thai princes to pay visit to Gaibandha this month
BSS, Gaibandha

Princess of royal family of Thailand and members of advisory board of Bloomberg School of Public Health of John Hopkings University, USA will pay a visit to Gaibandha this month to see for herself the rural life and the activities under Jivita project.
Sources said princes of royal family of Thailand Maha Chakri Sirin will visit Bangladesh to see the lifestyle and culture of the rural people and ongoing activities of Jivita project here. She is coming Bangladesh in the middle of this month, they said.
During the visit the Thai princess, she will visit the char lands and witness the livelihood of the char people. She has a plan to stay at a thatched house at a Brahmaputra char near Balashi Ghat under Fulchhari upazila in the district to express her solidarity with the char people.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Thai Embassy in Dhaka are jointly working to make her visit a success.
District and local administration have been taking necessary measures in this regard. ' Jivita is a maternal and child health and nutrition research project under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and being conducted in 19 unions under Gaibandha and Rangpur districts since 1999.

Sports

Bangladesh looks for win
Cricinfo Online

Bangladesh begins its tour of New Zealand with a Twenty20 fixture in Hamilton and, despite the gulf between their respective standings in the pecking order of the game, both sides will look forward to the face-off as an opportunity to settle nerves and fire a strong opening salvo.
It can be argued that Shakib al Hasan's young Bangladesh side is cut out for the Twenty20 format. In the recent Tests against India there were passages of play where their batsmen combined premeditated aggression with caution, often several times in the same over. The newest format of the game, however, gives them the license to not have to shoulder arms, and to throw the kitchen sink at everything - something that their cavalier batting line-up will fancy. Add the attraction of a smaller ground and the absence of Shane Bond, and Bangladesh emerge as serious contenders for the solitary Twenty20 fixture at Seddon Park.
Even as the higher-ranked teams struggled to come to grips with the format, Bangladesh got off to a strong start in Twenty20s, winning three of their first four matches, including one against West Indies in the inaugural World Cup. Reality has caught up with them since, and the next nine matches ended in defeat.
The hosts have their own problems to address, and will hope that Mark Greatbatch's appointment as coach will end a tumultuous period that began with Andy Moles' resignation in October. One of the biggest problems New Zealand have faced in recent times, albeit in the longer formats, is their misfiring top-order. Greatbatch has already identified it as a priority area and will hope his batsmen use this platform to ease back into form.
The hosts are expected to exclude Gareth Hopkins from the twelve, leaving Brendon McCullum to handle duties behind the stumps in addition to opening the innings. He is most likely to be accompanied at the top by Peter Ingram, who is set to debut at the age of 31.
Bangladesh announced their side a day early, leaving out Imrul Kayes and Junaid Siddique. Aftab Ahmed comes back into the picture, and could share opening duties with the in-form Tamim Iqbal. The promotion to Mohammad Ashraful and the lower-order firm of Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, augurs well for the visitors.
Bangladesh (probable): 1. Tamim Iqbal, 2. Mohammad Ashraful, 3. Aftab Ahmed, 4. Raqibul Hasan, 5. Shakib al Hasan (capt), 6. Naeem Islam, 7. Mahmudullah, 8. Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 9. Shahadat Hossain, 10. Shafiul Islam, 11. Nazmul Hossain.
New Zealand (probable): 1. Brendon McCullum (wk), 2. Peter Ingram, 3. Martin Guptill, 4. Ross Taylor, 5. Jacob Oram, 6. Daniel Vettori (capt), 7. Nathan McCullum, 8. James Franklin, 9. Ian Butler, 10. Daryl Tuffey, 11. Tim Southee.

  Pakistan overpowers Bangladesh 3-0
TBT report

Pakistan brightened its hope to reach the final of the 11th South Asian Games hockey competition defeating the host Bangladesh 3-0 at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Wasif Siddique scored two penalty corner goals after Abdul Qayyum opened scoring to give the winners a 1-0 lead before the break.
Pakistan, which defeated Nepal 19-0 in the first match, dominated the midfield and carried out more attacks in the opponents' territory.
Pakistan shot into the lead after 19 minutes when Abdul Qayyum hit the net with a deft reverse shot following a combined move.
Bangladesh also went on to attacks and forced seven penalty corners but their forwards failed to convert their chances that came their way.
Russell Mahmud Jimmy wasted the easiest chance for Bangladesh when he failed to connect a cross from Kamruzzaman from the left on 57 minutes.
Pakistan mounted pressure to increase the lead after the change of ends and Wasif Siddique scored from penalty corners on 47 and 68 minutes to make the game safe for Pakistan.
However, Bangladesh coach Gerhard Petter Rach thinks his charges played well and dominated against the defending champion Pakistanis.
"We played well, created scoring chances and earned seven penalty corners but our players just failed to score. The only difference between the two teams was that they scored goals but we could not," Rach told the reporters after the match.
Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Butt won the 'Player of the Match's award.
Today's Match: Bangla-desh vs Nepal (1:00pm) and Pakistan vs India (3:00pm).
The teams
Pakistan: Imran Butt (Goalkeeper), Mohammad Khalid, Wasif Siddique, Zeeshan Ali, Mohsin Bilal, Aamir Shahzad, Waqas Akbar, Abdul Qayyum, Abdul Khaliq, Sabtain Raza (Captain), Naghman Ah-med, Kashif Javid, Abdul Ghaffar, Mohammad Wa-qas, Zubair Ahmed and Tasawar Abbass.
Bangladesh: Mehrab Hossain Kiron (Goal-keeper), Mamunur Rahman Chayan, Aasaduzzaman Chandan, Moshiur Rahman Biplob, Imran Pintu, Taposh Barman, Russell Mahmud Jimmy, Sheikh Nannu, Abdus Sajjad John, Moha-mmad Kamruzzaman, Pushkar Khisha, Zahidul Islam, Golam Mustafa, Mosharraf Hossain Kuti, Mohammad Ashiquzza-man, Moshiur Rahman Feroze.

  Bangladesh loses to Pakistan in men's kabaddi   
TBT report

Bangla-desh men's kabaddi team suffered a shocking 11-17 defeat against Pakistan in the 11th South Asian Games at Dhaka Kabaddi Stadium on Tuesday.
Bangladesh players battled hard to subdue the Pakistanis but could not bring the result in their favour.
Bangladesh was 3-6 behind in the first half against the well-built Pakistanis. Bangladesh team, which won its previous two matches against Sri Lanka and Nepal, made its way difficult to win silver.
The teams
Pakistan: Muktar, Abrar, Akhlaq, Wahid, Ibrar, Irfan, Maksud, Ershad, Khalid, Ershad (2), Nasir, Wajid.
Bangladesh: Al Mamum ©, Kamal, Enamul, Abu Musa, Mojammel, Mosha-rraf, Maftun, Arduzzaman, Raju, Tipu, Sadequl,
Kamal (Jr.).
Nepal confirms bronze
Nepal men's kabaddi team scored an effortless 26-16 win against Sri Lanka to confirm a bronze medal in the South Asian Games.
Nepalese, who earned two lonas in each half, led the first half 15-7 at Dhaka Kabaddi Stadium.
With the win, Nepal ensured its fourth-place finish, eventually the bronze as both third and fourth teams are entitled for the medal.
Sri Lanka is yet to win a match in this discipline.

  Murray, Del Potro confirmed for Marseille
AFP, Marseille

World number three Andy Murray and US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro will top the bill at the 512,750-euro ATP Marseille event on February 15-21, organisers announced on Tuesday.
France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, last year's champion, will compete alongside countrymen Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon, the 2007 winner, and Swedish world number eight Robin Soderling.
"We first chose young French players and we have the top three of the moment," said tournament director Jean-Francois Caujolle.
"Afterwards, we wanted the top five players in the world. Knowing that (world number one Roger) Federer is unavailable, we opted for Murray, who in my opinion is the best on this (indoor hard) surface, where he's better than (Rafael) Nadal.
"Del Potro is also very strong on this surface and he preferred to play in Marseille than in the Argentine Championship (in Buenos Aires)."

   Terry’s England captaincy in Capello's hands
AFP, London

England manager Fabio Capello alone will make a decision on John Terry's future as England captain, the Football Association (FA) said on Monday.
The 29-year-old Chelsea defender's position has been called into question following reports the married father of twins had an affair with the ex-girlfriend of former team-mate Wayne Bridge. There are now concerns the issue could have a damaging effect on England's bid to win the World Cup in South Africa later this year but the FA were adamant they would leave the matter to Capello. "Fabio Capello alone will make the decision about John Terry's position," said an FA spokesman.
"Fabio is fully up to speed with developments regarding John Terry.
"He spoke with our chairman Lord (David) Triesman and chief executive Ian Watmore today (Monday), who both backed him to make the best decision for England on footballing grounds. "Fabio is dealing with the matter in his own way using his extensive experience as a football manager."
Capello is due to return to England later this week from Switzerland, where he has been undergoing knee surgery, and will travel to Warsaw for the Euro 2012 qualifying competition draw this weekend.
Bridge, presently injured, was shown support from several of his current team-mates at Manchester City on Sunday. They wore T-shirts bearing the words "Team Bridge", revealed after their 2-0 Premier League win over Ports-mouth.
Terry is at the centre of a media storm after reports he cheated on his wife Toni with Bridge's former girlfriend, French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel.
City players' support for Bridge, England's second choice left-back, is unlikely to sway Capello either way but the Italian will be mindful of the effect any scandal could have on dressing room unity.
Bridge released a statement on Saturday when he refused to comment on the reports saying his primary concern was the welfare of the son he had with Perroncel. But Bridge - who tried to convince Terry to quit Chelsea for City before the start of this season - is said to be so upset by the scandal he has considered quitting the England team.

  Sri Lanka thrashes Nepal
TBT report

Sri Lanka bounced back from its first match defeat with a thumping 15-1 victory over Nepal in the first match of the day.
It was also a same old story for the Nepalese, which suffered defeats by huge margins against the two Asian giants India (21-0) and Pakistan (19-0) in its previous two matches.
Sri Lanka, which lost 3-1 to the host Bangladesh in its first match, pushed the Nepalese into their own half with their better, attacking display and did not allowed the vanquished any space to make any move.
Sri Lanka led the first half 9-0 and scored six goals more after the breather to seal a comprehensive victory. Nepal scored its only goal against the run of play in the last minute of the match.
Abeyarathne (3, 12, 23, 24, 38 56 minutes), Gazzaly (5, 49 minutes), Dissa-nayaka (10, 26 minutes), Hettiarchchi (17 mintue), Hewaje (69 minutes), Mulaffer (33, 68 minutes), Jayasundara (60 minute) scored for Sri Lanka , while Dipendra scored the only goal for Nepal (70 minutes).
Sri Lanka: Fernando (Goalkeeper), Karunara-then, Perara, Pandi-tharathne, Weera-sooriya, Hettiarchchi, Gazzaly, Hewage, Abeyyarathne (Caption), Dissanayaka, Sapuga-sgodage, Mulaffer, Mahesh, Wijeyakoon and Jaya-sundara.
Nepal: Chander (Goal-keeper), Prince, Hit Kumar, Ramjana, Amit, Samuyal, Dipendra, Ranjit, Rajandra, GH Kumar, Satyanar, BA Padma, Amit Kumar, Bikash, Devendra and Retesh.

  Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh by 18 runs
UNB, Rajshahi

Bangladesh's hope of reaching the final of the 11th SA Games T20 Cricket was almost shattered as they conceded an 18-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their 2nd league match at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium here on Tuesday.
Bangladesh made a flying start in the games' new sports, T20 Cricket, outplaying Nepal by eight wickets in the opening match at the same venue on Sunday.
In the day's match, Sri Lanka batted first after winning the toss and scored 165 for 6 in stipulated 20 overs with opener Dinesh Chandimali making team highest 34 runs off 24 balls that featured four fours and a six.
Skipper Ashan Priyanjan (25), opener Dilshan Munaweera (24), Thisara (21) and Angelo Perera (not out 20) were the other main scorers for the Lankans.
Pacer Shubhashis Roy grabbed two wickets for 43 runs while Asif Ahmed, Nasir Hossain, Sanjamul Islam and Nazmul Islam took one wicket each.
In reply, Bangladesh were all out for 147 in 19.5 overs with opener Anamul Haque contributing match highest 42 runs off 40 balls that included two fours and a six.
Nasir Hossain (28), Sabbir Rahman (14), Jubair Rahman (13), Emon Ahmed (13), Rony Talukder (10) were the notable scorers for Bangladesh.
Ishan Jayaratne picked up three wickets for 30 runs while Thirara Perera and Sachith Pathirana took two wickets each for 26 and 30 runs respectively.
Bangladesh will play their next match against Maldives on Thursday at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur.

  Nepal drubs Sri Lanka in women’s football
UNB, Rajshahi

Jamuna Gurung scored a brilliant hattrick as Nepal recorded its second successive win in the South Asian Games women's football crushing Sri Lanka 8-0 in its second match at the Bangabandhu National Stadium here Tuesday.
With this comprehensive victory, Nepal brightened their chance of playing the final after beating host Bangladesh by a lone goal in their opening match.
In the day's match, Jamuna made hattrick scoring three goals in the 46th 57th and 62nd minutes, Anu Luma struck twice in the 33rd and 40th minutes while Sajana Rana, Laxmik Paudel and Ranjana Darji netted one goal each for the winners.
Nepal will play their last league match against Pakistan on February 6 at the same venue.

  Gibson to take over as Windies coach
AFP, Bridgetown

Former England bowling coach Ottis Gibson will take over as head coach of the West Indies in time for the home series against Zimbabwe later this month, a cricket official said here.
"Ottis will begin his appointment from the start of the home series against Zimbabwe," Ernest Hilaire, chief executive of the West Indies Cricket Board, told CBC Radio in an interview on Tuesday.
Hilaire added that interim coach David Williams would remain in charge for the one-day tour of Australia before being appointed Gibson's assistant for the home series that starts with a Twenty20 international in Trinidad on February 28. "I think we need to take Ottis's appointment in stride. He will be the head coach of the WICB, and not just head coach of the senior team," Hilaire said.
Hilaire added that Gibson's appointment "has to be a long-term project. This is not a short-term project. We are not asking Ottis to turn around the West Indies fortunes and make them a winning team overnight. There has to be a gradual chain of development."