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Leading News
PM
dismisses allegation of signing secret deal with India
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina dismissed opposition
allegation of signing secret deal with India during her
recent New Delhi visit and asked them to divulge it if
they knew about any such covert agreement.
"I have not signed any clandestine agreement. The question
of signing any secret deal doesn't arise at all. If the
opposition knows anything about it, let them make it
public," she said in parliament on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister made the statement facing a
supplementary query over her answer to a question shot
from outside by truant opposition Jamaat lawmaker AHM
Hamidur Rahman Azad (Cox's Bazar-2).
Independent MP Mohammad Fazlul Azim (Noakhali-6) presented
the question for the Jamaat lawmaker and put the
supplementary question, as the opposition led by BNP has
long been abstaining from attending parliament sessions to
press their various demands.
Azim in his supplementary wanted to know if there was any
secret deal signed during her visit to India and if yes,
whether the government will disclose it in parliament
after maintaining state secrecy.
"We have made the visit, but we ourselves do not know
about any secret agreement. The joint communiqué has been
discussed in detail openly in the cabinet, and everything
of the joint communiqué is well known to all. But the
opposition is claiming that the government has signed a
secret agreement," the Leader of the House told the
lawmakers. The Prime Minister questioned why the
opposition party and its chairperson are "confusing people
making false and untrue statements'.
Hasina categorically said her government signed every
agreement and MOU with India during her visit upholding
the country's independence and sovereignty, the country
and the nation's dignity.
"As we have patriotism, we never forget to speak about the
country and its people's interests. We never forget to
safeguard the country' s hard-earned independence and
sovereignty," she said in her emphatic statement on the
floor of parliament to dispel the doubts over her
important India tour that resulted in numerous broads
accords aimed at boosting the bilateral cooperation.
Drawing attention of the independent MP, Fazlul Azim, a
former BNP lawmaker, the Prime Minister said his former
party chairperson also had visited India several times as
PM, but never raised the issue of fair water shares of
Bangladesh in the Ganges and 53 other common rivers.
"It is her and her party's character that when they remain
in power, they show friendliness towards India and when in
the opposition, they become anti-India," she said.
Willes
Little flower school boy killed by city bus
UNB, Dhaka
A minor student of Willes Little Flower School and College
in city's Kakrail area was killed and his mother wounded
in a road accident in front of the institution Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Hamim Sheikh, 7, a student
of KG-1 of school section. Witnesses said the accident
occurred at about 11am as the boy along with his mother
after school hours was walking near the school apparently
searching for vehicle for returning home in the old part
of the city.
"Soon, a bus of special city service Madhumoti Paribahan
knocked them, leaving the boy dead on the spot and his
mother wounded," says a spot account of the tragic scene
on the highly busy crossroads, which triggered an angry
protest.
The wounded mother was admitted to nearby Islami Bank
Hospital while the schoolboy's body was sent to Dhaka
Medical College Hospital morgue.
Angered by the accident, local people damaged four
counters of the special city-service bus near the school,
halting vehicular movement on the busy road.
Police later arrested the driver of the bus for rash
driving-one of many such cases of traffic mess.
Meanwhile, the school authorities suspended the second
shift of the school, which was scheduled to start at 12
noon Wednesday. Later, the authorities also declared the
institution closed for today (Thursday) to mourn the
tragic death of the student.
DU
student injured during BCL factional clash dies
UNB, Dhaka
A Dhaka University student died Wednesday from his fatal
injuries suffered during Monday night's factional fighting
between pro-government Chhatra League rivals, triggering
violent protests on the campus.
As the news of death of Abu Bakar Siddique, a meritorious
3rd-year student of the department of Islamic History of
the university, spread on the campus, angry fellow
students ran riot and damaged several vehicles and
ransacked proctor's office.
Police charged baton and fired 15 to 20 teargas shells to
disperse the unruly protestors, witnesses said.
Abu Bakar was hit in the head by tear shell during the
fierce clash between two rival groups of Bangladesh
Chhatra League at Sir AF Rahman Hall of the DU late Monday
night over establishing respective supremacy, sources
said. Over 20 people were injured, including students,
police and a reporter, in the late-night clash.
Bakar had been under treatment at Dhaka Medical College
Hospital since Tuesday morning and succumbed to his
injuries about 10:00 am Wednesday.
Campus sources said the students of Islamic History
gathered in front of the Arts Faculty building hearing
about the death of their fellow student.
"They got agitated and, at one stage, marched towards TSC
damaging vehicles on the street," says an eyewitness
account of the violent protest.
Additional police rushed in and tried to calm down the
agitated students. As the students locked in clash with
police, they charged baton and lobbed teargas shells to
disperse the unruly protestors.
Later, the students attacked the office of Proctor Dr
Saiful Islam at about 10:45 am. The Proctor was wounded in
a similar flare-up of clash between two factions of pro-BNP
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal at DU some days back.
Leaders and activists of BCL went to the spot and pacified
the agitated students at about 12:00 am. A tense situation
was prevailed on the campus.
Late Monday night, the clash ensued at Sir AF Rahman Hall
when hall-unit BCL president Saiduzzaman Faruk was trying
to board a student in the room of its general secretary
Mehdi Hasan Mollah.
Transparency of judiciary has become questionable:
Moudud
TBT Report
BNP standing committee member and former law minister
Barrister Moudud Ahmed said transparency of country's
judiciary has become questionable as the Supreme Court has
upheld the High Court verdict that the 5th amendment of
constitution was illegal and void.
He was addressing a rally protesting the recent custodial
death of Jasas leaders Amirul Islam Mintu organised by
Jatioyatabadi Juba Dal in front of party's Naya Paltan
central office on Wednesday.
Barrister Moudud Ahmed said a total of five parliaments
were formed under the 5th amendment of the constitution in
the country. Country's all official, political and others
activities were conducted under the amended constitution
but all have already been made illegal through the
verdict. The verdict was very sensitive as some important
political issues are directly involved in the 5th
amendment to the constitution.
"I had made a humble request to the Court during
announcing the historical verdict not to hamper
transparency of country's judiciary through declaring the
verdict without granting leave petition. I told during
argument that the Supreme Court is not a place to correct
or amend country's constitution that will be decided by
parliament as well as the countrymen. But the Supreme
Court did not grant my submission. Despite this, I had
tried to do my best," he said.
Moudud Ahmed said law and order situation throughout the
country has seriously deteriorated during the one year
rule of the present government. A number of people
including Amirul Islam Mintu have become victim of
custodial death. The country has turned into a safe haven
for committing criminal offences like killing, snatching,
mugging, extortion and others unlawful activities. He said
country's overall interest including Tipaimukh Dam project
has been sacrificed during the Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina's recent India visit.
BNP senior joint secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam
Alamgir said the countrymen are living in a criminalized
state as there is no assurance of normal death. The
politics of criminal activities like killing is being
materialised throughout the country. Now the country is
facing a constitutional crisis severely and thus the
ruling party has chosen the terrorist path to divert
people's concentration to another.
Juba Dal president Barkatullah Bulu presided over the
programme while standing committee members Mirza Abbas,
Goyeswer Chandra Roy and good numbers of leaders spoke at
the function.
Govt efforts to resolve power, gas crises may
fail
UNB, Dhaka
The government's efforts for resolving the nagging power
and gas crises may fall flat for lack of coordination
between Power Division and Energy Division under the
Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
According to official sources, the Power Division has been
taking up gas-based power plant projects one after another
ignoring the Energy Division's denial about gas supply.
Due to the severe gas crisis, the Energy Division has
already taken the decision that it would no longer give
any assurance to supply gas to any future power plants,
particularly in areas where industries are facing gas
crisis.
The Energy Division also suggested the Power Division to
take up power plant projects keeping provision for either
dual-fuel system or making those liquid-fuel based or
coal-fired ones.
The Energy Division's decision and suggestion were
communicated to the Power Division about two years ago
during the rule of the caretaker government.
But despite this, sources said, the Power Division has
been continuing to take decisions to set up gas-based
power plants.
A top official at the Energy Division noted that the Power
Division recently took up two power plant projects -
Siddhirganj 300 MW peaking plant and Haripur 360 MW
combined cycle project - both gas-based.
"But for both the plants, Energy Division has repeatedly
been requesting (Power Division) to make those dual-fuel
system or liquid fuel system as there is no gas available
to feed those projects. But they hardly heed to such
request," said the official.
When contacted, outgoing Energy Secretary Mohammad Mohsin
also admitted about the Power Division's move to set up
gas-based power plants despite the gas crisis. "We've
communicated our decision, but they have been moving on
their own. Now, we've nothing to do…" he said.
Trial
begins at Thakurgaon
39 BDR men arrested on mutiny charge
UNB, Thakurgaon
Thirty-nine BDR personnel of 20 Rifles Battalion stationed
at Thakurgaon were arrested Wednesday as the trial of 51
began by a special court on charge of February 25-26
mutiny last year.
The makeshift court in the battalion office headed by BDR
chief Maj Gen Mainul Islam ordered the arrest of 39
personnel as prosecutor battalion DAD Nurul Islam Fakir
submitted charge sheet against 51 personnel.
Caught unaware of the charge made upon secret
investigation within the battalion, most of the 39 BDR
jawans broke down in tears. Some of them questioned the
fairness of the investigation.
One of them, Saiful Islam, went on retirement barely four
or five months ago.
Earlier, 25 jawans were arrested and thrown into prison.
Thirteen of them dropped from the charge will be set free
if not involved in any other case.
The court ordered for producing all the 51 accused when it
resumes tomorrow for framing the charge.
Another report from Panchagarh said the BDR chief held a
similar court in the afternoon at 25 Rifles Battalion when
8 more BDR jawans were booked making the total to 29
persons charged sheeted for the mutiny. DAD Nazmul Huda
Chowdhury accused earlier has been dropped from the
charge.
Back Page
Pakistan’s
nuclear security has vulnerabilities: US
Reuters, Washington
The United States believes Pakistan can protect its
nuclear weapons but vulnerabilities remain, the director
of the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency said on Tuesday.
"We have confidence in Pakistan's ability to safeguard its
nuclear wea-pons though vulnerabilities exist," Lieutenant
General Ronald Burgess said in testimony to the Senate
intelligence committee, without providing details on what
those weaknesses were.
The Pakistani government has come under repeated attack
from Taliban extremists-including on the country's
military establishment in Rawalpindi late last
year-raising questions over the security of Pakistan's
nuclear arms.
Burgess said the tribal areas in Pakistan continued to
provide "valuable sanctuary" to al Qaeda and others and
while attacks on these groups had disrupted some of their
activities, they remained resilient.
"Pakistan's military has demonstrated increased
counterinsurgency training and doctrinal adjustments but
its priority remains India," he said, referring to the
bitter rivalry with its nuclear-armed neighbor.
At the same hearing, director of national intelligence,
Dennis Blair, pointed to what he said was increased
coordination among Pakistan-based militant groups and al
Qaeda in their attacks inside Pakistan.
"This tactical coordination across militant networks
probably is incr-easing and is an important factor in the
increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan," Blair said.
The United States has been critical of Pakistan's efforts
in curbing militants, particularly those seeking sanctuary
in the border areas who have launched attacks on
Afghanistan where U.S. and other forces are battling the
Taliban.
Blair said Islamabad maintained relationships with
Taliban-associated groups that supported and conducted
operations against U.S. and other allied forces in
Afghanistan.
Zia Orphanage
Trust case
HC asks both parties to get rule disposed of quickly
UNB, Dhaka
Keeping on record the trial-stay petitions filed by
ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and her elder son Tarique
Rahman in Zia Orphanage Trust fund embezzlement case, the
High Court on Wednesday asked both the parties to get the
pending show-cause rule disposed of through early hearing.
Earlier on October 15 last year, the High Court, following
the duo-petitions, issued separate rule upon the
government and the Anti-Corruption Commi-ssion (ACC) to
explain why the proceedings against the accused in the Zia
Orphanage Trust fund embezzlement case 'should not be
quashed'.
The quashing petitions were filed with the High Court a
week after a sessions' court took into cognizance the
charges brought against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia,
Tarique Rahman, now staying in London for treatment, and
four others in connection with the alleged fund
embezzlement.
A division bench comprising Justice MA Wahhab Miah and
Justice M A Razzaque passed the order on Wednesday for the
rule hearings.
Emerging from the court, Khaleda's counsel, Barrister
Moudud Ahmed, told reporters that the trial process would
not virtually continue following the HC order.
On the other hand, state counsel Advocate Anisul Huq said
that the trial process would remain functional with only
appearance of the accused in the court time to time, as
asked for. But the process of framing charges and
recording evidence of the prosecution witnesses would be
stalled during the rule hearing in the High Court as a
usual practice.
Meanwhile, the trial court has set March 3 for
charge-framing hearing in the case.
On July 3 in 2008, the ACC filed the case with Ramna
Police Station in the capital as there had been a purge
against graft under state of emergency at the time.
According to the case, while in power, Khaleda Zia and the
other accused persons through unlawful practices
"embezzled" over Tk 2.10 crore by establishing an
organization named Zia Orphanage Trust that exists "only
on paper".
Public procurement
creates temptation for corruption: AK Khandaker
UNB, Dhaka
Planning Minister Air Vice Marshal (retd) AK Khandaker on
Wednesday said public procurement is an area where greater
temptations and more opportunities for corruption or
misuse of funds are created either by design or by
default.
"Damage from corruption or otherwise is often as high as
40-50 percent of the contract value," he said while
addressing the first meeting of the Public Private
Stakeholders Committee (PPSC) at the NEC conference room
in city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Planning Division Secretary Habibullah Majumder and
Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED)
Secretary M Abdul Maleq were, among others, present at the
meeting organized jointly by the Central Procurement
Technical Unit (CPTU) and Institute of Governance Studies
(IGS) of BRAC University. The Minister further said that
public procurement is an area which is complex and
cross-cutting in nature involving large financial
involvement and also needs skill, expertise and
experience.
"We'll try to prevent this misuse of funds due to
corruption by our joint efforts and using our
experiences," he said, mentioning that a huge of amount of
public procurement is included in the development budget.
The PPSC was formed under the 'Public Procurement Reform
Project - II' implemented by the Central Procurement Tech-nical
Unit (CPTU), which was reconstituted last month with wider
coverage for effective and meaningful functioning of the
committee. One of the major tasks of the committee is to
develop and recommend to the government a programme for
the possible engagement of external stakeholders, which is
labeled as 'citizen engagement' in the monitoring of
procurement processes and outcomes and guidelines to
ensure transparency and accountability.
The PPSC has been reconstituted with representatives from
business community, think tanks, civil society
organisations along with government officials to
institutionalize external monitoring and citizen
engagement in different stages of public procurement. The
Planning Minister said that the PPSC stands out as a
unique expression of public-private partnership, which is
expected to devise ways for institutionalizing 'Social
Audit' in public procurement, "admittedly a sensitive area
in our strive for good governance."
Referring to the reconstitution of PPSC, he said this is a
step away from the traditional age-old practices, often
controversial and opaque. "We must begin, and the sooner
it is the better, for improving governance in public
practices in Bangladesh."
Plea for halting
Jamuna Future Park demolition rejected
UNB, Dhaka
The Rajuk notice for demolishing within a week four
unauthorized floors of Jam-una Future Park, an imposing
ten-storied shopping complex in the capital, stands valid
as the High Court Wednesday summarily rejected the owners'
writ petition.
"The petition is summarily rejected as it is not
maintainable and there are some disputed questions of fact
in the application," says the court order.
It further observed that there is an appellate authority
for considering the appeal against the notice of Rajdhani
Unnayan Kartripakkha (Ra-juk), but the petitioner has not
appealed to the appellate authority of the Rajuk. Before
passing the order, a division bench comprising Justice AHM
Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Borhan Uddin heard both
the sides. On January 13, Rajuk served the notice to the
JFP authorities having asked them to pull down the
unauthorized top four floors of the magnificent shopping
complex within seven days, as it had got approval for
constructing a six-story building but built it higher in
breach of the rules. Shortly after receiving the Rajuk
summons, the JFP authorities moved to the High Court with
a writ petition challenging the validity of the notice.
Finally, the big business group lost the legal battle.
Emerging from the court, AFM Mesbahuddin, the counsel for
Rajuk, told reporters that following the HC order the
Rajuk notice stands valid and "there is no bar to
demolishing the unauthorized floors of the shopping
complex".
Barrister Rafique-ul Huq appeared for Jamuna Future Park
shopping complex, while Attorney-General Mahbubey Alam
stood for the government side.
Former Canadian
minister not sure about Nur’s deportation to Bangladesh
UNB, Dhaka
Visiting Canadian MP and former minister Maria Minna here
Wednesday could not precisely say whether or not the
Bangabandhu's convicted killer Nur Chowdhury would be sent
back to Bangladesh from Canada.
Minna, former Minister for International Cooperation, at a
press conference at the Jatiya Press Club, said she heard
that Nur has filed an appeal, which is going through court
to grant his status as a refugee.
Narrating the complicated immigration and legal procedures
in Canada to grant refugee status to a person, she said
that sending Nur to Bangladesh would depend on the
negotiations between the governments of Bangla-desh and
Canada since there is no extradition treaty between the
two countries.
Asked how long it will take to settle Nur's appeal in the
Canadian court, the former Canadian minister said there is
scope for filing series of appeals and finally it goes to
the higher court. "It may take months and years."
Replying to a volley of queries about Nur Chowdhury, Minna
said that being in the opposition in Canadian parliament
she does not have detailed information about the killer.
Replying to a question, Minna said Canada opposes death
penalty and is working with other countries against the
capital punishment. The Canadian parliamentarian arrived
here on a 7-day private visit to Bangladesh and during her
stay here, she will call on the Prime Minister, the
Foreign Minister and a number of high officials. Minna,
also chairperson of Canada-Bangladesh Parliamentary Group,
will discuss how to strengthen trade relations as well as
cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.
She is interested in seeing the governance and functioning
of democracy and women empowerment in Bangladesh.
Barapukuria strike continues
UNB, Dinajpur
Bangladeshi miners at Bara-pukuria Coal Mine Company Ltd (BCMCL)
continued their strike for the second consecutive day
Wednesday demanding profit bonus.
Some 1,100 Bangladeshi miners enforced the strike Monday
midnight to press home their demand. The agitated miners
staged demonstration and sit-in at the main gate of the
BCMLC at about 9am. They also chanted slogans against the
authorities. They said they are being deprived of profit
bonus although they work putting their lives at risk. The
miners demanded profit bonus of Tk 30,000 for each worker
every year. M Qamruzzaman, Mana-ging Director of the coal
mine project, termed the indefinite strike "illogical".
"They (miners) do not deserve the profit bonus as per the
rules …we proposed them to give Tk 4,100 each, but the
workers didn't respond to the proposal." He also said some
625 miners, including 270 foreign ones, are working for
lifting coal from the mine.
Editorial
OMS of rice
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.
The decision came from a high-level meeting of Food and
Disaster Management Ministry on Tuesday with Minister Dr Abdur
Razzaque in the chair. The meeting decided to start OMS
programme soon in six divisional cities plus Rangpur city.
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. In the meeting, the government also
decided to expand the ongoing OMS operation in Dhaka city.
It may be recalled, as the prices of rice continued to rise,
the government started OMS of rice in the city from January19.
As per the OMS rules, each customer can buy a maximum of 5 kg
of rice a day. This is a welcome move of the government as the
prices of rice along with some other items have shot up
alarmingly. It is good that the OMS of rice is being extended
to all divisional cities. It would have been better, had it
been decided to introduce OMS of rice all over the country as
the people are hard hit by rice price hike both in urban and
rural areas alike.
Mysteriously, despite good harvest, the price of fine rice
soared by Taka 7 to 8 per kg in recent days. Worse still,
coarse rice of various varieties is selling at Tk 26 to Tk 28
per kg causing immense sufferings to the poor people. The
fruits of bumper crop did not reach the people. The main
reason of this unfortunate develop-ment is the hoarding of
rice and manipulation by business syndicate which could not be
broken by the government. Unfortunately, the government is
appa-rently moving slowly in dealing with the rice price hike
issue. It is time for them to try desperately to bring down
the prices of rice and as part of the efforts to this end OMS
of rice should be introduced throughout the country.
An order ignored
The
Prime Minister is the highest and most powerful executive of
the country. If her orders are not executed with right earnest
the country cannot run properly. But it is strange and
disappointing that an order of the Prime Minister on
resumption of jute export has allegedly been ignored.
According to a report published in a national daily on
Tuesday, in a file relating to jute export Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina wrote on January 5 in her own hand, " There is
no justification in retaining suspension on jute exports.
Exports may be resumed." But this order is yet to be
implemented. Why the Prime Minister's order continues to be
ignored by the Jute and Textile Ministry remains a mystery.
The ban on jute export was imposed on December 7 to ensure
adequate availability of raw jute for local mills to keep them
running. But the ban sparked protests from the jute traders
specially the exporters. The government was rather forced to
ban export of raw jute as the local mills were facing problems
in procuring the raw material due to shortage of stock of raw
jute in the country and their high prices.
Raw jute production this year is estimated at 55 -60 lakh
bales. 32-33 lakh bales of jute are needed to run the jute
mills while the rest are exported to different countries
including India, Pakistan and China.
Media reports indicated that there was no adequate stock of
raw jute in the hands of the farmers and as a result
production in the jute mills was apprehended to be hampered.
Against that backdrop, the government had banned raw jute
export. But under continued pressure from the jute exporters
the government on January 3 lifted the ban on raw jute export
. However, the withdrawal order was made effective only for
the export of jute awaiting shipment. Later, the Prime
Minister on January 5 ordered for the resumption of raw jute
export. The Jute and Textile Ministry owes an explanation to
the people regarding their reluctance or failure in
implementing the order of the Prime Minister because such
non-implementation or failure is tantamount to violation of
rules.
It may be pointed out here that after a long time these is
good opportunities before us to regain the lost glory of jute
which was once known as golden fibre. There was a time when
the country used to produce huge quantity of jute every year
as it was the main cash crop. During the Pakistan period 90
per cent of export earnings used to come from jute export.
Later, a major damage was done to jute by arrival of synthetic
fibres. Now, the trend of using synthetics has weakened and
the popularity of environment-friendly jute has enhanced
globally. Now, jute cultivation and jute goods production
should be encouraged. Besides, raw jute export should be
resumed immediately to avert losing international market.
Analysis
Between Surge and Talks
Attended by over 65 countries, the conference
sought as much to reassure western publics that there was a
way out of the war as to show international solidarity for
Afghanistan.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi
There
were few surprises at the London conference on Afghanistan
except perhaps Iran's decision to stay away on the grounds
that the meeting's main purpose was to back the US troop
surge. The conference aimed to launch a political track to
accompany the military strategy announced last month by
President Barack Obama. This was the sixth international
conference since the military intervention of 2001 and took
place against the backdrop of three strategy reviews by the
Obama administration.
After a grim year in Afghanistan that saw record casualties,
falling public support in the US and Europe for the war and a
tainted election that weakened Karzai's authority, the
conference was designed to inject momentum into the West's
floundering Afghan project.
Attended by over 65 countries, the conference sought as much
to reassure western publics that there was a way out of the
war as to show international solidarity for Afghanistan.
The main consensus reached in London was around a plan for the
transition of security responsibilities to Afghan forces
within five years and a pay-for-peace re-integration
initiative to lure low and mid-level Taleban out of the
insurgency with jobs and other incentives to join the
mainstream.
The dominant theme at the conference was reconciling with the
Taleban. President Karzai announced plans for a process of
reconciliation to include the Taleban leading to a peace Jirga.
The final communiqué however referred only to re-integration.
This raised the question whether the outreach to the Taleban
marked a change in course by the US-led coalition towards
pursuing a political solution or just served as an appendage
to a military strategy.
The strategy fashioned at the London conference to "align
civilian and military resources" exposed several
contradictions:
● Between Western countries' need to tell their war weary
public that they were seeking to wind down their military
engagement and the conflicting message to the Taleban that
US-NATO forces were not about to abandon the fight.
● Between a military surge and the planned acceleration in the
transfer of security responsibilities to Afghan forces.
● Between British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's five year
timeline to complete this transition and President Karzai's
pronouncement that this could take 15 years.
● And most significantly between the military surge and
political reconciliation. This raised the question whether the
plan to escalate the war instead of persuading the Taleban
towards reconciliation would give them an incentive to
continue fighting - at a time when the movement is at it's
strongest since 2001.
Why would the Taleban switch allegiance if they felt their
side was winning and give up fighting if they were being
bombed? The conference was unable to resolve these policy
tensions. The muddled approach indicated uncertainty rather
than a clear direction. It also reflected differences among
coalition members as also within the US administration itself.
The latter was vividly illustrated by leaked cables from
Washington's envoy in Kabul, Karl Ikenberry who questioned the
wisdom of the surge and the inadequacy of Karzai as a
strategic partner.
Significantly no consensus has yet emerged on the issue of
pursuing a negotiated settlement to dissipate the eight year
old conflict by reaching an accommodation with the Taleban.
This means that beyond the goal to re-integrate Taleban foot
soldiers the international effort does not yet have a shared
vision of a dialogue with Taleban leaders. Washington's
thinking on this issue has certainly been changing. Like the
view of several coalition partners, notably Karzai himself,
many US officials believe that for the war to end, talks will
ultimately have to take place with the insurgents. But the US
has not reached the point where it is prepared to publicly
acknowledge this or openly move in this direction.
This is evident from the statements of US officials that
followed the London conference especially Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton who repeatedly sought to distinguish between
re-integration and reconciliation. She made it plain that the
US "will be pursuing military action, going aggressively
against the Taleban….but (supporting) an opportunity for those
who choose to leave the fighting to re-enter society."
The US has also continued to press Pakistan to undertake
kill-or-capture actions against the Afghan Taleban in North
Waziristan and those belonging to the so-called 'Quetta Shura'.
Behind Washington's public posture and its ramped up military
effort is a policy debate that has been underway in the
Administration and with close NATO allies about the timing and
modalities of talking to the senior commanders of the Taleban.
So far the view that has an upper hand in this debate is one
that advocates a surge now-talk later approach. This argues
that until coalition forces are able to bolster their position
militarily and talk from a position of strength the Taleban
will have no incentive to negotiate. Therefore, the surge and
'reintegration' plan should first reverse the momentum, split
the foot soldiers from the leadership and weaken and divide
the Taleban before transitioning to 'reconciliation'.
Another view purportedly sees the present as the most
propitious time to open negotiations. The Taleban have been
confronted with the challenge of the surge but with fighting
yet to intensify. It is precisely because the Taleban feel
that they are strong that they can be tempted to engage in the
political process. As far as Pakistan is concerned, it has
already signalled that it can play a role in mediating with
the Taleban once there is clarity about how and when to
proceed. The view that has prevailed for now is to wait until
Washington has made up its mind and decided on a political
framework for talks with ?the Taleban.
The obvious question raised by this wait-and-see approach is
how in the meantime Islamabad will deal with US expectations
of cooperation with its military escalation strategy, which is
at odds with its role as an interlocutor with the Taleban.
While daunting challenges lie ahead in resolving the tensions
in the US-led international effort in Afghanistan there is an
important aspect of the evolving situation that has attracted
little attention in the media. It's India's growing
discomfiture over the emerging trend towards accommodation
with the Taleban and the West's quest for an orderly exit from
Afghanistan. Delhi's worry over reconciliation puts it at
variance with the growing international consensus on the
issue.
India could not have been pleased by the London Conference's
failure to make headway in establishing a so-called regional
stability council to co-ordinate efforts in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's insistence that only 'immediate neighbours' should
be included in such a framework as well as Iran's
non-participation meant that this part of the conference
agenda fizzled out.
India could react to this by trying to muddy the waters in
Afghanistan once it sees that the reconciliation process could
gather pace. This will only add to the many obstacles that lie
ahead in stabilising the worn-torn country. The most pressing
challenge however is to square the many circles that have
persisted beyond the London conference and map out a viable
-and agreed - strategy that offers Afghanistan a real chance
of peace.
Maleeha Lodhi served as Pakistan's ambassador to the United
States and the United Kingdom. For comments, write to opinion@khaleejtimes.com
New judges’
case in the making?
The historic judgment of the Supreme Court in the Al-jihad
Trust Case, commonly known as the Judges' Case, is being
distorted and misquoted in order to justify the
executive's refusal to appoint the judges.
Mirza Shahzad Akbar and Moeen H Cheema
The
threat of an imminent "clash" of the institutions of the
state is the latest rhetorical device employed by the
government in its efforts to pressure the Supreme Court.
The implication is that the Supreme Court has exceeded its
constitutional mandate in the NRO case by laying the
groundwork for violating the president's immunity. In this
effort President Zardari and Governor Salmaan Taseer of
Punjab are resisting the appointment of judges recommended
by the chief justices of the Supreme Court and the Lahore
High Court.
The president has refused Chief Justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry's recommendation for the elevation of Justice
Saqib Nisar, the second senior-most judge of the LHC,
arguing that it is instead the current chief justice of
the LHC who ought to be elevated to the Supreme Court.
Until that issue is resolved, Governor Taseer appears
determined to stall the appoint-ment of judges against
approximately 30 vacancies in the LHC on the
recommen-dation of the current chief justice of the LHC.
The historic judgment of the Supreme Court in the Al-jihad
Trust Case, commonly known as the Judges' Case, is being
distorted and misquoted in order to justify the
executive's refusal to appoint the judges.
In 1994, President Farooq Leghari acting, on the advice of
Prime Minister Benzair Bhutto, appointed 20 judges in the
LHC as well as acting chief justices at the LHC and the
High Court of Sindh. This appointment of "jiyala" judges
was resented by all relevant stakeholders, including the
Bar Councils around the country. It was in this background
that petitions were filed and, finally, the issue was
resolved in what we know popularly as the Judges' Case in
1996, which was reinforced and explained in Asad Ali's
Case in 1998 and Ghulam Hyder Lakho's case in 2000.
Article 177 of the Constitution states that: "The Chief
Justice of Pakistan shall be appointed by the President,
and each of the other Judges shall be appointed by the
President after consultation with the Chief Justice." In
the Judges' Case the Supreme Court interpreted this
provision to mean that the while the president nominally
has the power to appoint the chief justice of the Supreme
Court he/she has no discretion in that matter and is
obligated to appoint the senior-most judge in the Supreme
Court to that post. The court also held that the
consultation with the chief justice referred to in the
constitutional provision is binding upon the president.
Likewise, Article 193 states that the president shall
appoint the judges of the High Courts "after consultation"
with the chief justice of Pakistan, the governor of the
province concerned and the chief justice of the High Court
of that province. In appointing the chief justices of the
High Courts, the president shall only consult with the
chief justice of the Supreme Court and the governor.
Again, it was held that the consultation with the chief
justices is binding upon the president. If judicial
independence is to be ensured, the executive ought to have
no say in the choice of candidates for judicial positions.
However, the issue currently is very different from that
taken up by the Supreme Court in the Judges' Case. Here
the president's men are arguing that the senior-most judge
of the High Court ought to be elevated to the Supreme
Court. The Judges' Case laid down the principle of
seniority for appointment of existing judges to the post
of the chief justice. But it did not deal with the
appointment of new judges to the Supreme Court and did not
require the chief justices of the High Courts be elevated
as and when a vacancy is created in the Supreme Court.
This specific issue was thoroughly discussed in the case
of Supreme Court Bar Association through its President
Hamid Khan vs. the Federation of Pakistan (2002) where,
once again, a five-member bench was constituted to examine
the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and the
issue of seniority in the High Courts for such
appointments.
Explaining the spirit of the Judges' Case and subsequent
precedents, the Supreme Court held that the contention
that the chief justice of a High Court is entitled to be
elevated to the Supreme Court due to seniority "is
misconceived and travels beyond the parameters indicated
in the Judges' Case and Asad Ali's Case. In our considered
view, the scope of seniority and legitimate expectancy
enunciated in those cases is restricted to the
appointments of the Chief Justice of a High Court and the
Chief Justice of Pakistan, and these issues neither apply
nor can be extended to the appointment of Judges of the
Supreme Court."
It was categorically stated that there is neither
constitutional convention nor past practice to elevate the
senior-most judges of a High Court to the Supreme Court.
An interesting comparison was also drawn by the Supreme
Court between Article 180 of the Constitution of Pakistan,
which governs the appointments of acting chief justices of
the Supreme Court and where the words "the most senior of
the other Judges" are mentioned, and Article 177, which
deals with the appointment of a Supreme Court judge and
where such language is missing. In the Supreme Court's own
words, "...the absence of the words 'most senior' in
Article 177 for appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court
would show that the seniority of a Judge in the High Court
is not a sine qua non for his appointment as a Judge of
the Supreme Court."
Another argument which undermines the government's
argument is that judges may be appointed directly from the
bar and not from among the judges of the High Courts.
Advocates with 15 years of practice and retired High Court
judges may be appointed to the Supreme Court, and we have
precedents in terms of the appointments to the Supreme
Court, for instance, of Justice G Safdar Shah, Justice Zia
Mehmood Mirza, Justice Muhammad Ilyas and Justice Chaudhry
Fazal Karim.
The chief justice of the Supreme Court is the head of the
judiciary and it is his prerogative to recommend judicial
appointments according to the Constitution. His role in
judicial appointment is central and binding upon the
executive and the only reason that the executive may
withhold an appointment recommended by him is where the
governor or the president has adverse information
concerning the character or conduct of a recommended
candidate. The issue of seniority, suitability and
knowledge of law is an area which is to be judged by the
chief justice.
In fairness, this is not the most suitable method in the
world of making judicial appointments. For example,
judicial appointments may be made upon the recommendation
of an independent commission, as done in the UK, or after
vetting by Congress if the US model is followed. However,
until the constitutional method for judicial appointments
is changed there is a choice to be made between either
granting the president a greater say in judicial
appointments, as was historically the case, or the chief
justice, as has been the situation after the Judges' Case.
The latter is clearly preferable.
If the president and the governor are under the impression
that they can stall the appointments of judges
indefinitely, they are mistaken. Article 184 empowers the
Supreme Court to make an order of the same kind that the
High Courts can issue pursuant to their writ jurisdiction
if there is "a question of public importance with
reference to the enforcement of any of the Fundamental
Rights." Article 199(1)(c) empowers a High Court to "make
an order giving such directions to any person or
authority, including any government…as may be appropriate
for the enforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights."
Since the refusal to appoint judges to the LHC is
seriously undermining the capacity of that court to
provide justice in human rights cases and is a matter of
public importance, either the LHC or the Supreme Court may
eventually direct the president to comply with the Supreme
Court's direction.
Mirza Shahzad Akbar is an advocate at the Lahore High
Court. Moeen H Cheema is an associate lecturer at the
Australian National University.
Viewpoints
Will Israel target Syria?
Hamas,
Hezbollah and their supporters understand well the Israeli
tactic and must be preparing for the various possibilities.
Ramzy Baroud
The
Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars
than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab
resistance. But its military strategists are as shrewd and
unpredictable as ever.
The recent rhetoric that has come from Israel suggests that a
future war in Lebanon will most likely target Syria as well.
While this doesn't necessarily mean that Israel actually
intends on targeting either of these countries in the near
future, it is certainly the type of language that often
precedes the country's military maneuvers.
Deciphering the available clues regarding the nature of
Israel's immediate military objectives is not always easy, but
it is possible. One indicator that could serve as a foundation
for any serious prediction of Israel's actions is its
historical tendency to seek a perpetual state of war. Peace,
real peace, has never been a long-term policy.
"Unlike many others, I consider that peace is not a goal in
itself but only a means to guarantee our existence," claimed
Yossi Peled, a former army general and current Cabinet
minister in Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government.
Israeli official policy - military or otherwise - is governed
by the same Zionist diktats that long preceded the
establishment of the state of Israel. If anything has changed
since early Zionists outlined their vision, it was the
interpretation of those directives. The substance has remained
intact.
For example, Zionist visionary Vladimir Jabotinsky stated in
1923 that Zionist "colonization can ... continue and develop
only under the protection of a force independent of the local
population - an iron wall which the native population cannot
break through."
He was not then referring to an actual wall. While his vision
took on various manifestations throughout the years, in 2002
it was translated into a real wall aimed at prejudicing any
just solution with the Palestinians. Now, most unfortunately,
Egypt has also started building its own steel wall along its
border with the war-devastated and impoverished Gaza Strip.
One thing we all know by now is that Israel is a highly
militarized country. Its definition of "existence" can only be
ensured by its uncontested military dominance on all fronts,
thus the devastating link between Palestine and Lebanon. This
link makes any analysis of Israel's military intents in Gaza
that excludes Lebanon - and in fact, Syria - seriously
lacking.
Consider, for example, the unprecedented Israeli crackdown on
the second Palestinian uprising, which started in September
2000. How is that linked to Lebanon? Israel had been freshly
defeated by the Lebanese resistance led by Hezbollah and was
forced to end its occupation of most of South Lebanon in May
2000.
Israel wanted to send an unmistakable message to Palestinians
that this defeat was in fact not a defeat at all and that any
attempt at duplicating the Lebanese resistance model in
Palestine would be ruthlessly suppressed. Israel's
exaggeration in the use of its highly sophisticated military
to stifle a largely popular revolution was extremely costly to
Palestinians in terms of human toll.
Israel's 34-day war with Lebanon in July 2006 was an Israeli
attempt to destroy Arab resistance, and restore its
metaphorical iron wall. It backfired, resulting in a real -
not figurative - Israeli defeat. Israel, then, did what it
does best. It used its superior air force, destroyed much of
Lebanon's civilian infrastructure and killed more than 1,200
people, mostly civilians. The resistance, with humble means,
killed more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers during combat.
Not only did Hezbollah penetrate the Israeli iron wall, it had
also filled it with holes. It challenged, like never before,
the Israeli Army's notion of invincibility and illusion of
security. Something went horribly wrong in Lebanon.
Since then, the Israeli Army, intelligence, propagandists and
politicians have been in constant preparation for another
showdown. But before such pending battle, the nation needed to
renew its faith in its army and government intelligence; thus
the war in Gaza late December 2008.
As appalling as it was for Israeli families to gather en masse
near the Israeli Gaza border, and watch giddily as Gaza and
Gazans were blown to smithereens, the act was most rational.
The victims of the war may have been Palestinians in Gaza, but
the target audience was Israelis. The brutal and largely
one-sided war united Israelis, including their self-proclaimed
leftist parties in one rare moment of solidarity. Here was
proof that the IDF still had enough strength to report
military achievements.
Of course, Israel's military strategists knew well that their
war crimes in Gaza were a clumsy attempt at regaining national
confidence. The tight-lipped politicians and army generals
wanted to give the impression that all was working according
to plan. But the total media blackout, and the orchestrated
footage of Israeli soldiers flashing military signs and waving
flags on their way back to Israel were clear indications of an
attempt to improve a problematic image.
Thus Yossi Peled's calculated comments on Jan. 23: "In my
estimation, understanding and knowledge it is almost clear to
me that it is a matter of time before there is a military
clash in the north.
"We are heading toward a new confrontation, but I don't know
when it will happen, just as we did not know when the second
Lebanon war would erupt."
Peled is of course right. There will be a new confrontation.
New strategies will be employed. Israel will raise the stakes,
try to draw Syria in and push for a regional war. A Lebanon
that defines itself based on the terms of resistance -
following the failure to politically co-opt Hezbollah - is
utterly unacceptable from the Israeli viewpoint.
That said, Peled might be creating a measured distraction from
efforts aimed at igniting yet another war - against the
besieged resistance in Gaza, or something entirely different.
Hamas' recent announcement that its senior military leader
Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh was killed late January in Dubai at the
hands of Israeli intelligence is also an indication of the
involved efforts of Israel that goes much further than
specific boundaries.
Will it be Gaza or Lebanon first? Israel is sending mixed
messages, and deliberately so. Hamas, Hezbollah and their
supporters understand well the Israeli tactic and must be
preparing for the various possibilities.
They know Israel cannot live without its iron walls, and are
determined to prevent any more from being built at their
expense.
Ramzy Baroud is a columnist and the editor of
PalestineChronicle.com.
Behind the
burqa ban
What is
required above all is a fresh look, new concepts, and an
innovative perspective, on both the meaning of the polity,
as on women.
Sikander Amani
It
is no small irony to see women in burqa suddenly come
under the spotlight. After months of auditions, a French
parliamentary commission recommended on January 26
adopting a law barring women who wear the full veil (naqab
or burqa) from using public services, including schools,
hospitals and public transportation. Since then, such
women, who admittedly shy from the public sphere, have
become the centre of it, and any self-respecting French
media outlet is scouring the country in search for fully
veiled women to interview - quite a feat indeed, given
that no more than an estimated 1,900 women, of a total
population of 65 million, cover themselves fully. In the
wake of the Swiss referendum on minarets, it becomes
difficult not to feel an increasing unease, or even an
intolerance, about religion in Europe, skillfully (or less
skillfully) manipulated for reasons of political
opportunism by the various governments in place -
singularly so in Mr Sarkozy's France. It is no less
tempting to manipulate the debate the other way around,
view it as a case of discrimination targeting Muslims, or
worse, frame it in over-simplistic Huntingtonian terms of
"Islam vs. the West". No doubt the extreme right in France
or in Europe is happy to present it in such terms as well.
A ban on full veils would, no doubt, be deeply unsettling,
on several grounds. First of all, as stated, only an
infinitesimal minority of women in France (and a tiny
minority of Muslim women) wears a full body veil. The
claim that the fundamental values of the French identity
are jeopardised by the practice thus sounds rather hollow:
is French identity so vulnerable that a mere 1,900 people
could threaten it by their mere attire? In which case, not
only would the burqa ban not solve the issue, but it would
in effect act as a cover-up, a pretext, to avoid a deeper
reflection on a changing national identity. Also, one can
only regard such a tailor-made law with extreme
diffidence: a law based on a single-group issue runs a
high risk of being discriminatory, just as it distorts the
spirit of lawmaking, which should be general in scope and
universal in principle. The content of the law would be
discriminatory, and its form, a debasement of lawmaking
itself. Not to add that it comes in a context of frantic
legislating by the Sarkozy administration, which has come
under severe criticism (and considerable mockery) for its
spastic yet inefficient proclivity to adopt laws about
basically anything under the sun. Most importantly, of
course, is the contradiction between the proposed ban and
individual freedom: if a state takes individual rights
seriously, as France claims to do, then it is extremely
problematic to ban a particular outfit, however disturbing
one might find it. A state flirts dangerously with
authoritarianism once it starts dictating how women should
be dressed. One might add that it is perhaps high time
lawmakers of all countries, Muslim countries and France
alike, stop obsessing about women's clothing and women's
bodies. Amazing as it may appear to some, women are free
and rational too.
It is noteworthy in this regard that most law professors
and legal specialists auditioned by the parliamentary
commission concurred that it would be very tricky, under
French law, to find a suitable legal foundation for the
ban, in light of the constitutional protections of
individual liberty. Little solace, alas, in this: as soon
as they were made aware of the problem, the members of the
august commission openly discussed the possibilities of
circumventing this most troublesome obstacle of individual
rights. A most surreal debate ensued (in which, sadly,
dissident voices were painfully rare): instead of
reflecting on the reasons why the legislator had adopted
such strong guarantees for individual rights in the first
place (hmm, might it have been to prevent this type of
senseless legislation?), it all centred on the best legal
strategy to thwart these very guarantees.
The irony is compounded by the claim, made by the
commission, that the moral grounding of the proposed ban
is women's freedom; in the minds of the members, wearing a
burqa must necessarily have been imposed by brothers,
husbands, fathers. Although the full body veil certainly
is no great hallmark of women's liberation, banning it in
the name of freedom is an oxymoron at best, a scandal at
worst. Then again, France is Rousseau's country, who
famously stated that the citizen may "be forced to be
free". A ban on the burqa would be a grotesque pastiche of
the great Rousseau's polity.
To be fair, some of the opponents of the law make it
equally thorny to feel comfortable siding with them. It is
no small irony to see some of the most reactionary,
anti-liberal and anti-feminist forces in French society
suddenly spring up in defence of women's individual
rights. The contradiction in their discourse reeks of
political opportunism and nauseating hypocrisy: human
rights are a Western concept, not adapted to Islam, they
claim, yet all of a sudden they are their staunchest
defenders. Their instrumentalisation of human rights is as
little palatable as the patronising tone of the
authorities. An imam in the north of Paris, Hassen
Chalghoumi, known for his good relationship with other
religious communities in France, notably the Jewish
community, received death threats in his mosque a week ago
after he came out against the naqab and in favour of the
ban. Some 80-odd fundamentalists showed up in his mosque
during the Friday prayer, took over the microphone,
insulted the Jewish community and the French republic,
then directly threatened the imam after having accused him
of apostasy. Difficult indeed to feel any affinity with
such fascist thugs.
It is also worth noting that many of the critics of the
proposed ban take a wrong aim when they attack France for
its illiberalism - since France never claimed to be
liberal. Indeed, contrary to the oft-repeated and
deliberately simplistic view of the "West" as a unitary,
monolithic entity, there are some essential distinctions
between the political cultures and underlying philosophies
of its various nation-states. If political liberalism,
based on civil liberties as the condition of legitimacy of
the polity, constitutes the essence of English-speaking
countries, France is founded on a different set of
principles, encapsulated by the term Republicanism
(unrelated to the US political party of the same name):
freedom does not lie in the exercise of individual rights
as much as in the political participation in the formation
of the law. As legislating citizen and member of the
public sphere, the individual reaches "true" freedom. This
does not mean that individual rights are not important,
simply that they are not the fundamental element of
citizenship: political rights are considered far more
crucial than civil liberties. This partly explains why a
burqa ban does not raise the same outcry about trespassing
individual rights in France as it would, say, in the UK or
in the US: a veiled woman is understood to detract from
the public sphere, to willingly refuse to engage with it;
in other words, she is understood as a person whose
existence is limited to the private sphere, who lives
solely as a private person. And this is the part which is
considered at odds with the French identity: not the dress
in itself, but the underlying desire to exist exclusively
in the private realm (which is also why the burqa ban
differs fundamentally from the ban of headgear in schools,
to which the full-body veil ban is often compared),
whereas the French republic is based on the premise that
it is only as a public citizen that you acquire genuine
liberty. And indeed, there is little doubt that the full
body veil is an obstacle to authentic public community,
insofar as it is precisely designed as a separation, as a
refusal of communication.
Ultimately, it might not be a clash of civilisations as
much as a clash of interpretations. While the French
parliamentary mission is animated by the idea that women
who wear the full body veil must be dominated, oppressed
and helpless, it seems that many women in France who wear
it do it out of a free, uncoerced choice - often against
the wish of their family and environment. So much so that
they also defeat another misconception, that of
traditionalists: women in France who wear the burqa have
done so out of an individual, often rebellious motivation
- and based, in any event, on a very "Western",
individualist concept of the self. In these ambiguous
times, and in this muddled polemic, what is required above
all is a fresh look, new concepts, and an innovative
perspective, on both the meaning of the polity, as on
women.
The writer is a freelance columnist and can be reached
at sikander.amani@gmail.com
Can the idea of India pass the
Thackeray test?
The Centre and the Maharashtra government must make it
clear to the Shiv Sena that they will not be allowed to
threaten Shah Rukh Khan with violence.
Siddharth Varadarajan
Now
that he has come up with a radical plan for overhauling
the country's capacity to deal with terrorism and other
threats to its national security, P. Chidambaram must turn
his attention to a problem that none of his predecessors
in the Union Home Ministry ever had the courage to deal
with: putting goondas in their place.
The task is urgent and brooks no delay. After sparring
with Shah Rukh Khan for several days over the Bollywood
actor's statement regretting the absence of Pakistani
players in the forthcoming IPL cricket tournament and
declaring that Mumbai belongs to all Indians and not just
Maharashtrians, the Shiv Sena has now come up with an
ultimatum: Mr. Khan must apologise or else the party will
not allow his films to be shown in the city, India's
commercial capital.
For me, this contest is as nerve-wracking and stomach
churning as any the IPL could throw up. Will this
political tournament end with the jailing and prosecution
of the Shiv Sena's leaders and goons who are conspiring to
vandalise cinema halls and beat up those who defy this
ban? Or will it end with the desolate spectacle of an
isolated Shah Rukh being forced to surrender before the
ridiculous diktat of the Shiv Sainiks - the way dozens of
artists, actors, musicians and politicians have done over
the past two decades in the face of the cowardice of
policemen, ministers and judges who refused to defend the
rule of law?
Well placed to influence
As Union Home Minister, Mr. Chidambaram may lack direct
authority to ensure either outcome in Mumbai. But with
Maharashtra ruled by the Congress in alliance with the
Nationalist Congress Party, he is certainly well placed to
influence what happens next. Asked last week by reporters
for his opinion about the exclusion of the Pakistani
cricketers by the IPL, the minister echoed Shah Rukh Khan
in saying it was a "disservice to cricket that some of
these players were not picked." As for the status of
Mumbai, Mr. Chidambaram described the 'Maharashtrians
only' thesis of the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman
Sena as "pernicious."
In the face of the Shiv Sena's latest ultimatum, delivered
by no less a person than Manohar Joshi, Mr. Chidambaram
should remind the former Speaker of the Lok Sabha about
the rights the Indian Constitution guarantees its
citizens. And he should publicly declare that not only
will the Shiv Sena's goondas and leaders be prevented from
disrupting the screening of 'My Name is Khan' in Mumbai
but that he himself intends to be present at the film's
first screening in the city.
A price Shiv Sena must pay
The Shiv Sena may be a recognised political party with an
electoral presence at the state and central level but
there is a price it must pay for being part of a
democratic system. That price is fidelity to the rule of
law and the principle of equality that is a basic feature
of the Indian Constitution. For years, this party and its
leader, Bal Thackeray, have tested the limits of the law
by threatening and often actually unleashing violence on
political opponents, trades unionists, religious and
linguistic minorities and cultural personalities. Each
time, the Indian system has proved too weak to defend the
law.
When confronted by the mob power of the Shiv Sena, MNS or
other right-wing groups, the police in India invariably
give in to their demands, no matter how irrational or
unreasonable, and force the targets of their illegal
pressure to give up their rights. So art galleries
anywhere in India think once, twice and a hundred times
before exhibiting a single painting by M.F. Hussain, movie
hall owners agonise over whether to show 'controversial'
films or not, screenplay writers and movie directors allow
politicians, pundits, granthis and maulvis to vet their
projects before they are launched, scholarly works of
history are banned because their contents do not conform
with the cherished hagiography of some group or sect,
writers like Taslima Nasrin are hounded out of the country
by mobs who claim to have been offended by books they have
never read, shops fear to stock Valentine cards because of
threats by self-appointed guardians of morality and
'Indian culture'.
The intolerance of the Shiv Sena (and now the MNS) may be
the most virulent and violent but it is symptomatic of a
sickness that has spread to every corner of the country.
Shah Rukh Khan is a cultural icon, a face that the whole
world identifies as Indian. If the Shiv Sena is able to
silence him or make him take back his words by threatening
violence, we might as well pack up and throw away the idea
of India as a land where democracy and culture flourish.
So how is this contest going to end? When confronted by
mobs, each and every one of his predecessors in the Home
Ministry chose the path of least resistance. Mr.
Chidambaram cannot afford to fail the Thackeray test.
International
India sabotaging
peace in Balochistan: Mukhtar
Dawn Only, Rawalpindi
Pakistan Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar said on Wednesday
that India is involved in sabotaging peace and creating
trouble and instability in Balochistan and the tribal
areas of Pakistan.
Talking to visiting British Minister of State for the
Armed Forces, Bill Rammell, who called on him at the
Defence Ministry, the Mukhtar said that the coalition
partners and the international community needs to take
note of Indian involvement in Pakistan.
The minister said that Pakistan wants India to restrict
itself to the development of Afghanistan and stop
supporting terrorist activities in Pakistan so that
durable stability could be brought to the region.
Mukhtar said that a regional approach towards Afghanistan
would be unlikely to produce fruitful results unless the
sensitivities of the neighbouring countries, particularly
Pakistan, are addressed.
Rammell agreed that Pakistan's concerns about India and
Afghanistan need to be addressed for stability of the
region.
Pakistan political violence kills 37
AFP, Karachi
A new wave of political violence has erupted in Pakistan's
financial capital Karachi, killing at least 37 activists
from rival parties in the last five days, police officials
said Wednesday.
The Awami National Party (ANP) and Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM), which have a history of bitter relations,
claim their workers have been shot dead.
Both parties belong to the local governing coalition in
southern province Sindh, of which Karachi is the capital,
led by President Asif Ali Zardari's main ruling Pakistan
Peoples Party (PPP).
MQM represents the Urdu-speaking majority and is Karachi's
dominant party. ANP represents an estimated two million
Pashtuns who have migrated to Karachi, away from northwest
Pakistan, engulfed by Islamist violence.
"At least 37 people have died in targeted killings during
the past three days," a senior police official told AFP on
the condition of anonymity.
Another police official put the number of dead at 39.
Last month, similar targeted killings claimed 48 lives of
the workers belonging to MQM and the PPP, sparking angry
protests and calls for immediate calm from visiting
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
Unidentified gunmen started the latest killings after ANP
workers came under fire while hoisting a party flag in the
city's western Orangi neighbourhood on Saturday, the
second police official said.
Sindh authorities on Monday announced a two-week ban on
public gatherings of more than four people, rallies and
brandishing arms in public. Pakistan's richest and largest
city has been largely spared Islamist violence but is
plagued by crime and kidnappings, which some analysts say
militant groups use to bankroll their insurgency in the
northwest.
Pakistan could be key to
Taliban reconciliation
AP, Islamabad
Pakistan could prove vital to the Afghan government's
renewed push to make peace with the insurgents, a
potential benefit from relationships that have been
relentlessly criticized by the U.S.
U.S. officials have expressed skepticism of reconciling
with high-level Taliban leaders, preferring instead to
focus on persuading junior fighters to switch sides by
offering them homes and jobs - along with relatively
moderate higher-level members of the regime toppled by the
U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
American reluctance is driven by hostility toward senior
Taliban figures, many of whom have links with al-Qaida,
and the belief they will be unwilling to cut a deal until
their battlefield momentum is reversed.
But there has been a flurry of recent activity related to
reconciliation, including Afghan President Hamid Karzai's
announcement last week of a planned peace conference that
he hoped would include Taliban members. The president
traveled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in an attempt to
enlist the support of the country, which also has historic
links to the Afghan Taliban.
Karzai has said he is willing to welcome back any
militants who renounce violence and recognize the Afghan
constitution. However, the Taliban have always set the
withdrawal of international troops as a precondition for
any negotiations - a demand that Karzai has called
unrealistic.
Karzai has also called on Pakistan to help with
reconciliation, acknowledging the country's unique
position to influence the process because of its links
with the Taliban and their decision to flee to Pakistan
following the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
"Just about any significant commander network involved in
the insurgency has got an address in Pakistan, so Pakistan
really does have the ability to be a real positive force,"
said Michael Semple, a former European diplomat whom
Karzai expelled from Afghanistan two years ago for
supposedly unauthorized contacts with the Taliban.
Pakistan has said it would be happy to help but has denied
any ongoing ties with Afghan insurgent leaders, who it
maintains do not live in Pakistan.
Vote chief rejects Sri
Lanka rigging charges
AFP, Colombo
The Sri Lankan elections commissioner on Wednesday
rejected allegations that last week's presidential vote
was rigged by incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse but raised
questions over unfair campaigning.
Dayananda Dissanayake said he stood by the results of the
January 26 poll, which gave Rajapakse 58 percent of the
vote, trouncing opposition-backed former general Sarath
Fonseka with 40 percent.
"I am not satisfied with what has happened in the campaign
period," Dissanayake told reporters. "But I stand by the
voting process and the results."
Dissanayake said he had no control over the misuse of
state property and government-owned media during
campaigning, and he expressed fears that similar issues
would occur at parliamentary elections due in March or
April.
"It is up to concerned individuals, the political parties
and the candidates to go to court to redress this
situation," he said. "I have done everything in my power
to control the abuses, but I can't do more."
Fonseka has vowed to challenge the result in court after
alleging sophisticated computer fraud.
Rajapakse called the election four years into his six-year
term to ride on a wave of popular support following the
government's defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May.
A team of poll experts from the Commonwealth Secretariat
said voting had been "well-administered" but highlighted
what it called a "compromised" pre-election environment.
K.D. Knight, chairman of the Commonwealth observer
mission, concluded the results broadly reflected the will
of the people despite some violations.
Rajapakse called the election four years into his six-year
term in a bid to capitalise on popular support for the
defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels in May.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court said Rajapakse would not be
inaugurated until November after a constitutional dispute
over whether his second term should only begin in 2011,
when his original mandate would have expired.
Thailand sharpens security
ahead of protests
Reuters, Bangkok
Hoping to avoid a repeat of violent riots last year,
Thailand has strengthened crowd control and security ahead
of an anti-government protest planned for this month, a
deputy prime minister said on Wednesday.
Suthep Thaugsuban, Thailand's minister in charge of
security, said police and soldiers were better prepared
than last year when a three-week blockade of the premier's
office by protesters in April sparked Thailand's worst
street violence in 17 years.
The riots forced Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to call
a state of emergency and stoked concern for the stability
of Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy and Thailand's
four-year political crisis, which has already triggered a
damaging credit-rating downgrade. Thais are bracing for a
new round of protests in Bangkok by supporters of former
Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra ahead of a Feb. 26 Supreme
Court verdict on whether to confiscate $2.3 billion of his
family's assets.
Thakin's red-shirted supporters have held small rallies
almost daily this year, often targeting the military amid
rumours of another coup. They promise larger protests as
the court verdict nears, to pressure Abhisit to dissolve
parliament and call fresh polls. "I believe the government
will be able to handle the situation. There will be no
bloodshed," Suthep told Reuters.
Thailand's response to protests made a notable shift in
August when it began to aggressively invoke the
newly-ratified Internal Security Act that allows the
military to move quickly, without declaring a state of
emergency, if protests turn unruly.
The law allows troops to impose curfews, operate
checkpoints and restrict movements of protesters ahead of
a rally.
Suthep said other crowd-control techniques have also been
adopted.
"(In October 2008), we saw guns shooting tear gas which
people felt was a huge deal. If we need tear gas this
time, we'll use the throwing kind and (police) are trained
to use it right."
Suthep said the government has purchased enough
riot-control equipment, including vests, batons and
shields, so security officers can protect themselves if a
riot breaks out.
Anwar faces explicit claims
in trial
AP, Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
A court trying Anwar Ibrahim for sodomy heard explicit
details from his accuser Wednesday after the Malaysian
opposition leader denied the charge that he had illicit
sexual relations with a male aide.
At the start of the trial, Anwar claimed the allegation
was part of a high-level conspiracy to thwart his
political movement that came close to dislodging a
government in power for more than five decades.
It is the second time in his political career that the
former deputy premier has been charged with sodomy, which
in Muslim-majority Malaysia is punishable by up to 20
years in prison.
He previously served six years in prison for alleged
corruption and sodomy before the sodomy conviction was
overturned. A new conviction could would be a huge setback
to his opposition alliance, the only significant rival to
the long-ruling government coalition.
Anwar, 62, is accused of sodomizing 24-year-old Saiful
Bukhari Azlan, his former election worker and aide, on
June 26, 2008, at a private condominium. Saiful lodged a
police complaint two days later.
Anwar is married with six children. His supporters accuse
the government of either planting or fabricating any
evidence to frame the political leader and discredit the
opposition.
Prosecutors on Wednesday called Saiful as their first
witness after promising to unveil explicit and unvarnished
details of the alleged act, including semen samples taken
from Saiful's anus that they claimed belonged to Anwar.
A calm-looking Saiful said he went to the condominium to
discuss Anwar's work schedule with him, but Anwar instead
used coarse language to ask him whether he wanted to have
sex.
"I refused his request. I said I don't want to. Anwar got
angry and asked me why. I said I wasn't willing to do it,"
Saiful said.
Thirty hurt in continued
Kashmir clashes
AFP, Srinagar
Indian police in Kashmir fired shots in the air and
released tear gas for a third straight day on Wednesday to
quell violent protests sparked by the death of a Muslim
boy.
Police said 15 security personnel and 15 protesters were
injured in the Kashmiri summer capital, Srinagar, and the
towns of Baramulla, Pulwama and Shopian.
Wamiq Farooq died on Sunday after being struck by a tear
gas shell fired by police to quell an anti-India
demonstration in Srinagar.
Scores of protesters shouting "Blood for blood!" and "God
is great!" hurled rocks and bricks at riot police at
several points in Srinagar and other towns on Wednesday,
prompting police to fire warning shots and release tear
gas.
Rock-throwing protesters also attacked an army convoy with
stones on the outskirts of Srinagar, injuring four
soldiers, according to police and witnesses.
Wamiq's killing has sparked violent clashes across the
mainly Muslim Kashmir Valley. So far, more than 100
protesters and policemen have been injured.
Witnesses said Wamiq had gone out to play cricket and was
not among the protesters who clashed with police on
Sunday.
Kashmiri separatists have held regular rallies, which
often turn violent, since 2008. More than 60 protesters
have died in the rallies since then, most of them during
firing by the police.
The region is in the grip of a 20-year insurgency against
Indian rule.
According to an official count the unrest has left more
than 47,000 people dead.
Iran
hails successful satellite launch
AFP, Tehran
Iran hailed the successful launch of a home-built
satellite on Wednesday amid Western concerns it is using
its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and
ballistic weapons.
The Kavoshgar 3 (Explorer) rocket was carrying an
"experimental capsule", state-owned Al-Alam television
reported.
State television's website said it was carrying "live
animals"-a rat, turtles and worms, the first such
experiment by Iran in space technology.
"The capsule has the ability to send back empirical data,"
the website said.
State television showed footage of the rocket being fired
from a desert launchpad leaving behind a thick plume of
smoke. A few minutes later the grainy images showed the
capsule detaching from the rocket and spinning in orbit.
State television also carried pictures of President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiling another home-built rocket
for satellite launches dubbed the Simorgh (Phoenix).
The milk-bottle shaped rocket, emblazoned in blue with the
words "Satellite Carrier Simorgh," is equipped to carry a
100-kilogramme (220-pound) satellite 500 kilometres (310
miles) into orbit, the television report said.
The 27-metre (90 foot) tall multi-stage rocket weighs 85
tonnes and its liquid fuel propulsion system has a thrust
of up to 100 tonnes, the report added. Ahmadinejad hailed
the progress Iran was making in its space programme.
"It is a great job that living organisms can be sent into
space, we do experiments on them and they return to
earth," the Iranian president said.
Defying China, Obama to
meet Dalai Lama
AFP, Washington
The White House is standing firm on President Barack
Obama's plans to meet with the Dalai Lama, firmly
rejecting Chinese pressure to snub him as rows escalate
between Washington and Beijing.
The Chinese government reacted Wednesday, saying it
"resolutely opposes" the Dalai Lama's visit to the United
States and any of his meetings with US leaders.
"We urge the US side to clearly recognize the high
sensitivity of the Tibet issue and handle related issues
carefully and appropriately to avoid causing more harm to
Sino-US ties," foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said
in a statement. Days after defying Beijing with a
6.4-billion-dollar wea-pons package for Taiwan, the White
House insisted Tuesday that China address human rights
concerns in Tibet. "The president told China leaders
during his trip last year that he would meet with the
Dalai Lama, and he intends to do so," White House
spokesman Bill Burton told reporters.
"The Dalai Lama is an internationally respected religious
and cultural leader, and the president will meet with him
in that capacity."
The spiritual leader is due in the United States for a
10-day trip later this month, his secretary said, and will
be in Washington February 17-19 before speaking and
teaching engagements in Los Angeles and Florida. He will
return to India from New York on February 25.
Burton said Obama rema-ined committed to "building a
positive, comprehensive and cooperative relationship with
China." The president has sought wide-ranging ties with
the rising Asian power on issues from the global economy
to North Korea.
In October, Obama avoided meeting the Dalai Lama when he
visited Washington. The move was controversial at home,
but the White House said Obama did not want to sour ties
with Beijing before his maiden visit a month later.
Iraqi panel allows banned
candidates in poll
Reuters, Baghdad
An Iraqi appeals panel has decided to allow nearly 500
candidates banned for alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's
outlawed Baath party to stand in a March parliamentary
election, electoral authorities said on Wednesday.
The ban was imposed by a controversial committee last
month and was seen by once-dominant Sunnis as an attempt
by Shi'ite-led authorities to marginalise them,
threatening to reopen old sectarian wounds in the run-up
to the vote.
The election comes at a critical juncture for Iraq, which
is trying to put years of war that followed the 2003 U.S.
invasion behind it and revamp its economy by signing a
raft of oil deals set to turn it into a top three oil
producer.
"The appeals panel decided to allow the banned candidates
to participate in the next election and decided to
postpone looking into the case until after the election,"
Hamdiya al-Husseini, a member of the Independent High
Electoral Commission, said.
The candidates would not be able to assume office if they
win until the panel has given a final ruling on their
cases, she said. The Justice and Accountability
Commission, an independent body that aims in part to
ensure the Baath party does not return to public life,
said in January that a number of parties should be
prevented from standing in the March 7 election. Its
original list of 511 candidates, since whittled down
somewhat, included prominent Sunni politician Saleh al-Mutlaq,
who openly courted the votes of people feeling nostalgic
for the stability and greater public safety of the Saddam
Hussein years.
Under the Sunni dictator, the Baath party killed thousands
of Shi'ites and Kurds in crackdowns. Iraq's "de-Baathification"
rules were originally drawn up by U.S. administrators
after Saddam was driven from power in 2003.
The banned candidates had the right to contest the
decision to the appeals board, which was hastily set up
and consisted of seven unidentified judges.
US senators push for 9/11
trials in military court
Reuters, Washington
A bipartisan group of nine U.S. senators on Tuesday
offered legislation to force special military trials for
the accused Sept. 11, 2001, conspirators, further
complicating President Barack Obama's bid to try them in a
civilian court.
The Obama administration has been caught off guard by
mounting bipartisan opposition to trying the
self-professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 atta-cks, Khalid
Sheikh Moha-mmed, and four others in a federal criminal
court in lower Manhattan.
The nine senators argued against prosecuting the five men
in a criminal court because they would receive full U.S.
constitutional rights, and they could use the civilian
trials to espouse their anti-American views.
They were also upset at the price tag, pegged at $200
million a year. Their legislation would bar funding for
civilian trials.
"Civilian trials are unnecessarily dangerous, messy,
confusing and expensive," Republican Senator Lindsey
Graham told reporters.
He argued that the five men, who are being held at the
Guantanamo Bay U.S. military prison, are war criminals who
should face military trials that would also ensure that no
classified information would spill out.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the bill.
The Obama administration has maintained that most foreign
terrorism suspects have been successfully prosecuted in
federal criminal courts, but has agreed to reconsider
holding the trials in Manhattan amid the security and cost
concerns.
Iranian President to visit
Pakistan soon
APP, Tehran
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will soon visit
Pakistan to develop a joint action plan for further
boosting bilateral ties and strengthening tripartite
contracts with Afghanistan on security issues. " We are in
consultation through diplomatic channels to finalize dates
of the visit," said Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr
Mottaki. This will be the first-ever visit of President
Ahmadinejad, since he assumed the office.
He told a visiting Pakistani media delegation that it
would be bilateral visit or part of trilateral conference
between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
During the last two years, their bilateral relationship
received tremendous boost in all sectors of bilateral
interest, he said hoping the forthcoming visit of
President Ahmadinejad will further consolidate their
deep-rooted historical and cultural relationship.
Brushing aside impression of any conflict between the two
neighbouring countries, Manouchehr Mottaki said they have
been maintaining close contacts to adopt common position
on regional and international issues." Both sides attach
high importance to expanding their socio-economic
partnership, through projects like Gas pipeline.
" We are good nieghbours and sincere friends and our
common border is a border of friendship and peace" he
remarked. Reiterating firm resolve of his country keeping
their relations free-of-tension, Mottaki said, their
relations are not against any third party, and his country
will never allow third country to affect its relations
with Pakistan.
Pakistan and Iran are part of single body. Condemning
Zionist anti-Islamic policies world over, he said inimical
forces, particularly Israel are bent upon to divide and
harm us. But, he said they will never succeed.
China, India boost defence as crisis
takes toll on West
Reuters, London
China and India sharply raised defence spending in 2009
despite the economic crisis but most European NATO members
face a squ-eeze on defence budgets as they rein in gaping
deficits, a report said on Wednesday.
The impact of the global financial crisis on defence and
security spending varied across regions and countries, the
International Institute for Strategic Studies thinktank
said in its annual report "The Military Balance".
U.S. defence spending almost doubled under former
President George W. Bush but President Barack Obama had
signalled that the need to tackle a big budget deficit
would require "a dramatic reprioritisation within defence
spending," it said.
Obama asked Congress this week to approve a record $708
billion in defence spending for fiscal 2011 -- including a
3.4 percent increase in the Pentagon's base budget-but
said he would continue his drive to eliminate wasteful
programmes.
A sharp recession had led the Russian government
effectively to abandon a comprehensive military
re-equipment plan due to run from 2007-15 and to replace
it with a new 10-year plan starting in 2011, the report
said. "In contrast to developments in advanced econo-mies,
both India and China have maintained their recent trend of
double-digit increases in defence spending," it said.
India boosted defence spending by 21 percent in 2009 after
the 2008 Mumbai attacks killed 166 people, it said.
China's official 2009 budget included a 15 percent rise in
defence spending to 480 billion yuan, equal to $70.3
billion at market exchange rates, the report said.
However, it said the official Chinese defence budget did
not reflect the true level of resources devoted to the
People's Liberation Army. It was widely believed that the
official budget took no account of weapons bought overseas
or research and development funding, it said.
‘Internet addiction’ linked to
depression, says study
BBC Online
There is a strong link bet-ween heavy internet use and
depression, UK psychologists have said.
The study, reported in the journal Psychopathology, found
1.2% of people surveyed were "internet addicts", and many
of these were depressed.
The Leeds University team stressed they could not say one
necessarily caused the other, and that most internet users
did not suffer mental health problems. The conclusions
were based on 1,319 responses to an on-line questionnaire.
Recruitment was via links on social networking sites.
People were asked how much they used the internet and for
what purposes.
They were also asked a series of questions to assess
whether they suffered from depression. The respondents
were aged 16 to 51, with an average age of 21.
The authors found that a small number of users had
developed a compulsive internet habit, replacing real life
social interaction with online chat rooms and social
networking sites. They classed 18 respondents - 1.2% of
the total - as "internet addicts". This group spent
proportionately more time on sex, gambling and online
community websites.
'Darker side'
Lead author Dr Catriona Morrison said: "The internet now
plays a huge part in modern life, but its benefits are
accompanied by a darker side.
"While many of us use the internet to pay bills, shop and
send e-mails, there is a small subset of the population
who find it hard to control how much time they spend
online, to the point where it interferes with their daily
activities."
Business/Economy
President calls for more local and
foreign investment in potential sectors
BSS, Dhaka
President Zillur Rahman on Wednesday called upon local and
international business communities to make more investment
here considering existing stable economic atmosphere of
the county.
"Present Government is sincere and cordial to keep the
investment friendly atmosphere and I am also assuring you
about my all out cooperation in this regard," he said
while inaugurating the newly formed Korea-Bangladesh
Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KBCCI) in a city
hotel.
Terming Bangladesh and Korea are two friendly countries,
the President said notable numbers of Bangladeshi people
are working in Korea and good relations are prevailing
between the people of the two countries.
Zillur Rahman hoped that newly formed chamber would be
able to make a bridge of cooperation between the business
communities of Bangladesh and Korea and the trade volume
between the two countries would be further increased.
He said vibrant trade and commerce is one of the elements
of socio-economic advancement and pace of economic wheel
of a country depends on its dynamism of trade activities.
People of Bangladesh are courageous and hard working who
could stand their own feet after facing various adverse
situations, he said. "Economic wheel of the country is
being activated and I firmly believe desire development of
the fate of people will be achieved and Bangladesh will
stand boldly in the international arena," the President
said.
Commerce Minister Muhammad Faruk Khan and Korean
Ambassador to Bangladesh Suk-Bum Park spoke as the special
guest on the occasion. KBCCI President S M Kamaluddin and
Vice President M Noor Ali and Secretary General M M
Israfil also spoke on the occasion.
The commerce minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is
providing all kind of supports to the business community
and as a result Bangladesh witnessed 11 percent export
growth amid global economic recession in last fiscal year.
Mentioning that presently Bangladesh has 600 million
Korean investments with 85,000 local employments as well
as more than one billion dollar trade with Korea in last
fiscal, the Minister hoped the newly formed chamber would
help further expansion of trade and commerce between Dhaka
and Seoul.He urged the Korean entrepreneurs to invest in
the country's potential sectors including infrastructure
development, textile, Information Technology (IT), ship
building and pharmaceuticals.
Korean Ambassador Suk-Bum Park said the new chamber would
be act as a platform for increasing economic cooperation
between Bangladesh and Korea.
A good number of Bangladeshi and Korean entrepreneurs were
present during the inaugural ceremony.
Banks
get December 31 deadline for automation
BSS, Dhaka
Bangladesh Bank (BB) has set December 31 this year the
deadline for all scheduled banks to upgrade their banking
services from traditional regime to automated era.
The BB in a circular on Tuesday asked all the banks to
install the Core Banking Solution (CBS) and establish
Inter-branch Connectivity Network (ICN) by 31 December
2010. The banks have also been directed to report BB
quarterly the progress of their automation process until
they finish the tasks. A BB official said the banks would
have the options of installing any secured banking
software (industrial term is CBS) at their choice.
He said the banks are also allowed to customize the
software in their needs, but they should do this job by
this year end. The central bank has already established a
Data Centre at its headquarters in the capital city and a
Data Recovery Centre in the city's Mirpur area for
automated banking system. Machine-readable cheque-books
for computerized settlements have also been introduced at
the end of last year. The central bank also introduced the
Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (BACH) in November 8,
2009 on trial basis. The automated system of clearing
cheques significantly reduced the settlement time-from
three days to only two hours. But only a limited number of
banks are participating in the BACH due to lack of banking
software and inter-connectivity.
The BB in the circular said that it would bring all the
banks in Dhaka city under the full services of the
Bangladesh Automated Clearing House (BACH) soon.
According to BB, there are about 1,100 bank branches in
Dhaka. In absence of banking software and
interconnectivity, the BACH is now providing banks with
semi automated services for payments and settlements, a BB
official said.
He explained that the banks in Dhaka city presently stored
data in a disc and than they send it to the BACH at the
central bank for clearance.
With the installation of CBS and ICN, the data will
instantly be transferred to the BACH for clearing and
settlement. All other banking including internet
transaction for bill payments, fund transfer and direct
debit can also be done after full automation, he said.
China must change economic
model: Hu
AFP, Beijing
China's President Hu Jintao said Wednesday it was
"essential" for his country to change its economic model,
which depends on exports and investment, by learning
lessons from the global economic crisis. "The world
financial crisis even further exposed the problem of
transforming our model of economic development," Hu said
in a speech to top ministerial- and provincial-level
officials, according to the official CCTV television.
"Transforming the economic development model is
essential," CCTV quoted him as saying. Hu stressed that
China must move towards a more balanced economic growth
fed by domestic consumption, exports and investment with a
more important share from the service sector and
agriculture.
The Chinese government's economic stimulus measures
allowed the world's third-largest economy to expand by 8.7
percent in 2009, but many economists say the country needs
to launch structural reforms.
In his speech, Hu also maintained that "roots of the
economic revival were not yet solid". "We must continue
our efforts to consolidate the results of our anti-crisis
policy and to maintain a stable economy and rapid
development."
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.
Recovering Asia looks beyond
Fed to China
AFP, Sydney
Asia-Pacific central banks are increasingly taking their
cue from China as post-crisis economic growth accelerates,
underlining a shift in power away from the United States,
analysts say. While the Federal Reserve has long dictated
regional efforts to promote or crimp growth, the People's
Bank of China is exerting more sway in the crisis
aftermath as China's economic might soars and Asian
inflation ticks up.
The point was hammered home on Tuesday when the Reserve
Bank of Australia called a halt after three consecutive
interest rate rises, noting Chinese efforts to "reduce the
degree of stimulus to their economy". The surprise
announcement underlined the greater reliance now of
Asia-Pacific economies to shifts in Chinese policy, as
Beijing tries to avert a possible over-heating following
fourth-quarter growth of 10.7 percent. "Whatever way you
cut it, actions by the People's Bank of China are having a
big impact globally today," Shane Oliver, chief economist
at AMP Capital Investors, told AFP.
"Over time I suspect that the utterances of the Chinese
central bank governor will come to rival those of the Fed
chairman in the United States. "We're probably not there
yet but we're certainly heading in that direction."
China will also loom large when Indonesia's central bank
sets rates on Thursday, looking to maintain its grip on
inflation. In Thailand, next month's rates decision will
be based more on Asian policies than the Fed, according to
Kevalin Wangpichayasuk, head of Kasikorn Research Centre's
money and banking department.
"The economic growth in each region is different now. Asia
moves faster than the United States. Thailand focuses more
on key countries in Asia, such as China," she said. After
three decades of reform and breakneck growth, China is set
to overhaul Japan to become the world's second-biggest
economy. Its influence is all the greater after the
financial crisis, which ravaged the United States and
Europe.
Highlighting the change in fortunes, Oliver said China
will account for some 38 percent of world growth this
year, compared to just 13 percent from the United States.
"To my way of thinking they've been steadily growing in
importance over the last six years to the point where
utterances from the People's Bank of China are certainly
more important than from the Bank of Japan," he said. The
PBOC's monetary policy committee meets once a quarter, and
major policy decisions such as rate hikes must be approved
by the State Council, or cabinet. China's central bank
once took its cue from the Fed, and the country's exchange
rate policy remains controversially tied to the US dollar.
But the bank now operates far more independently, analysts
say. "The PBOC often followed the Fed in rate changes to
avoid attracting speculative capital inflows," said Citi
economists Peng Ken and Shen Minggao in a research note.
India’s services sector growth
fastest in 16 months
AFP, New Delhi
A key business index Wednesday showed India's service
sector output expanding at its fastest rate in 16 months
last month as the country shook off the impact of the
global slowdown.
The strong performance of the sector, dominated by India's
flagship software services outsourcing industry, was
attributed to a sharp rise in new orders.
The HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers' Index posted
a reading of 59.0 last month-its highest since September
2008, just before the global slump hit Asia's
third-largest economy.
A reading above 50 represents expansion while anything
below points to a contraction.
"The index continued its march deeper into expansionary
territory in January and is consistent with double-digit
growth in India's services sector," said HSBC Asia
economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.
The index was the latest in a series of strong economic
data released this week.
On Monday, a survey showed India's manufacturing activity
expanded in January at its fastest pace in 17 months.
The HSBC Markit Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to 57.6
in January, as both domestic and export orders rose
significantly from the previous month.
"Any lingering concern that India's manufacturing recovery
was tailing off should be well and truly put to rest,"
said Prior-Wandesforde.
Also this week, figures showed exports rose for a second
straight month in December, climbing 9.3 percent from a
year earlier to hit 14.61 billion dollars.
The rebound in overseas sales suggests India's export
sector has turned the corner after being hard hit by the
worldwide downturn, economists said.
Myanmar to cultivate more
rubber to boost export
Xinhua, Yangon
Myanmar will cultivate over 67,600 more hectares of rubber
in the southeastern Mon state under a regional five-year
plan to boost export, sources with the Rubber
Entrepreneurs Association said on Wednesday.
Noting that the country has so far cultivated 171,300
hectares of rubber plants in the region, the sources
estimated that if the new five-year project (2010-15) is
successfully implemented, the total rubber cultivation
area in the region will reach up to 338,900 hectares.
Meanwhile, the country has set an export target of 70,000
tons of rubber for the present 2009-10 fiscal year ending
March against the 35,000 tons of raw rubber exported as of
September last year.
In 2008-09, Myanmar's rubber export dropped to 40,000 tons
after being hit by cyclone Nargis in the year.
Myanmar exports rubber mainly to China, Malaysia,
Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and
India.
Myanmar's southeastern Mon state stands as the largest
rubber producing region in the country, thanks to
favorable climate and soil and high rainfall.
National
All-time record potato production
likely
BSS,Rangpur
An all-time record bumper production of potato is expected
as farmers have exceeded the fixed farming target by nine
percent and the yield rates are excellent this season in
northern Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday. Despite
some inclement climatic conditions last month, potato
farming was not affected when the farmers and authorities
took necessary steps towards the directions and harvesting
of early varieties of potato has been continuing now in
full swing.
Almost all varieties of early potato have appeared in
plenty everywhere in the local markets further reducing
retail prices to Taka 10 to 18 per kg depending on the
varieties and qualities now.
Though the per kg prices of early harvested potato ranged
in between Taka 25 and 40 early last month, the farmers
are now unhappy as the prices marked sharp falls following
flooding of the local markets with the newly harvested
potato.
However, the early variety of potato growers earned huge
profits till last month by selling the crop at higher
prices at the beginning of the season after cultivating in
only 60 days and most of them have already transplanted
Boro seedlings in the same land, officials said. Officials
in the Department of Agriculture
Extension (DAE) and other agriculture departments on
Wednesday told BSS the farmers have exceeded the fixed
potato farming target by 9.17 percent to achieve its
all-time record production in the region this year.
The farmers told BSS that they were largely encouraged in
farming potato following further reduction in the non-urea
fertilizer prices and other facilities like subsidies on
diesel and inputs by the government that helped potato
farming at reduced costs.
Besides, the landless farmers and sharecroppers have also
cultivated potato for the first time after getting agri-loans
without any deposits and the char farmers have cultivated
potato in the river basins in more lands to add to the
overall productions.
The RAKUB and other banks, DAE, BADC, BARI and a number of
NGOs and seed companies have provided adequate agri-loans
and quality potato seeds and technologies to the farmers
to make the potato farming programme successful.
The farmers this time got all facilities very easily as
the authorities took adequate steps for ensuring smooth
supply of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, technical
assistance and other inputs at grassroots level for the
massive potato farming. A large number of farmers on
Wednesday told BSS that prices of potato seeds were higher
this time in the local markets because of higher prices of
commodity throughout the year and shortfall in potato
production during the last season.
"There was no problem at the end with potato seeds though
we initially faced some problems as the quantity of potato
seeds supplied by the BADC was not sufficient enough for
its easy purchase this season," farmers of different
northern districts said.
"The farmers, however, successfully procured potato seeds,
cultivated the crop and are now getting excellent
productions and now, they need proper and adequate
preservation and marketing facilities," Deputy Director of
DAE Kamal Shariful Alam told BSS on Wednesday.
Former Additional Director to DAE's Rangpur Zone Shakhawat
Hossain told BSS that the government has put its maximum
emphasis on agriculture
sector for increasing agri- productions and has been
providing all assistance to the farmers.
Scientists to innovate
ways for food security
BSS, Rangpur, Feb3
Newer technologies and innovations through continuous
research works should be the highest priorities to keep
agro-productions intact for ensuring food security amid
adverse impacts of global climate changes, experts said.
The ongoing deteriorating rate of global climate changes
(CC) can not be reduced overnight and positive results of
the proposed global efforts might start improving the
situation very slowly in course of time, but
agro-productions must be continued.
The experts and scientists put their maximum emphasis on
innovation of newer technologies for cultivation of stress
tolerance crops by innovating newer varieties and
technologies and popularise those among the farmers for
the purpose. They expressed grave concerns as the present
impacts of the CC have already adversely affected the
country's agriculture, irrigation, navigation, ecology,
bio-diversity, weather, environment and underground water
levels.
As a result, rainfalls, floods, cyclones, droughts, cold
and hot spells, sea and surface warming, water
contamination, water and soil salinity, degradation of
aquatic systems, silting and drying up of rivers, lowering
of underground water levels are being affected.
The situation degrades faster because of melting ice due
to temperature rise following huge emissions of the Green
House Gases like Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide,
Hydro- flouro-carbons, Per-flouro-carbons, Sulphur Hexa-fluoride
etc. They categorically blamed the industrialised and
richer nations, who are not taking adequate steps to
reduce the threat of global CC to save the most affected
poorer nations, the planet and its habitat from possible
man-made catastrophes in future. First of all, the process
of natural imbalance might take severe turns and even can
stop agricultural productions or reduce the same to such a
level that would not be enough to feed the human being on
the earth, they feared. The experts said this while
expressing their views to BSS recently on the adverse
impacts of ongoing global CC and the way forward to cope
with the situation at the national and global prospects.
The experts included Project Coordinator of Stress
Tolerant Rice for Poor Farmers in Africa & South Asia (STRASA)
programme Dr US Singh, its Consultant Dr MA Bari, Dinajpur
Hum Manager of Cereal Systems Initiatives for South Asia (CSISA)
Dr MA Mazid. The experts also included Principal
Scientific Officer of Rangpur BJRI Dr Aiyub Ali, Director
Resources and Environment of Rangpur- Dinajpur Rural
service (RDRS) Dr Syed Samsuzzaman, Environmentalist and
Head of Agriculture MG Neogi of RDRS. Chairman of the
Department of Agronomy of Haji Danesh Science and
Technology University in Dinajpur Dr Md Ataur Rahman and
Director of the Wheat Research Institute in Dinajpur Dr Md
Shirajul Islam also expressed similar views.
More
Indian students for higher studies in medical science in
BD
BSS, New Delhi
A good number of students, both boys and girls, are going
to pursue their higher studies in medical science in
Bangladesh this year.
However, Bangladesh has been a destination for students
from the Kashmir valley to pursue high studies especially
medical sciences for a long time.
But this year alone about 30 students, mostly female, have
already got enrolled at different private medical
institutions for MBBS courses, sources at the Bangladesh
mission here said.
Around 80 students, mostly from Kashmir valley, are
pursuing studies at different Medical colleges there
either in Uttara Women Medical College, Kumudini Medical
College, Holy Family Medical College and Ibrahim Medical
College. One such student Tawheed Ashraf, from Srinagar
said that three of her school mates already got enrolled
at the Uttara Women Medical College in Dhaka and she would
be staying with them. "I know that Kashmiri students there
are living in a mess and cooking their own meals. She said
that social condition in Bangladesh was conducive to
pursue studies there. "Besides studying in Bangladesh is
cheaper compared to India," Tawheed said.
"The Bangladesh government has kept 13 seats reserved for
the students from India under SAARC quota for higher
studies in medical science at the public medical
institutions in Bangladesh," Enamul Haque Chowdhury, Press
Minister of Bangladesh Mission in Delhi said.
"We have received 32 applications under that category," he
added. Chowdhury, who also looks after the Education Wing,
said the guardians of the students have expressed their
confidence in the academic atmosphere as well the social
condition in Bangladesh for their wards.
Sources said that mostly affluent people including
businessmen, high officials, doctors, and professors
from the valley send their wards to Bangladesh for higher
studies.
Agreement
between BSMMU and Virginia University shortly
BSS, Dhaka
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) is all
set to sign an agreement on technical cooperation shortly
with Virginia University, USA, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr
Pran Gopal Datta said on Wednesday.
"Initially the cooperation will start from receiving four
nurses-a matron, two emergency nurses and one ICU nurse
from Virginia," Pran Gopal told BSS on the sidelines of a
lecture session at BSSMU here.
Noted public health expert and executive vice president of
Virginia University Arthur Garson Junior delivered the
lecture on "The Great Myths of American Health: Has There
Any Lessons for Developing World" at Dr Milon Hall of
BSMMU.
Prime Minister's International Affairs Advisor Dr Gowher
Rizvi spoke on the occasion as the chief guest, while
Health Advisor to Prime Minister Dr Syed Modasser Ali
joined it as special guest.
Dr Pran Gopal said his first and foremost priority is to
develop skilled manpower in the field of nursing, an area
the health sector is suffering from. As part of the
ongoing negotiations with the Virginia University, he
said, steps have been taken to bring four specialized
nurses from America to developed highly skilled nurses for
specialized treatments.
"The second priority is to establish Electronic Medical
Records while the third one is to develop a digital
library at BSMMU," Gopal noted, adding that he was
expecting to ink a bilateral agreement with Virginia
University after discussions with Arthur Garson, who is
now on a two-day visit to Bangladesh.
"We would be delighted to collaborate Bangladesh in the
fields of human resource development, introduction of
electronic medical records and promotion of community
healthcare," Arthur Garson told audience during his
lecture.
He said the electronic medical records (EMR) would
ultimately improve patient care in a country like
Bangladesh, saving millions of dollars extra costs being
spent for paper records and clerical jobs. "I know it is
not easy to maintain EMR in Bangladesh, but the fact is
there is no substitute of it to ensure better care and
minimize costs."
Maldives HC calls on Foreign
Minister
UNB, Dhaka
Newly appointed High Commissioner of Maldives Ahmed Sareer
on Wednesday called on Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni at
her office to discuss issues on trade, business, education
and tourism.
The envoy stated that it is "one of his high priorities"
to introduce Bangladeshi products in Maldivian market and
to help enhance interaction between the business
communities of the two countries. Sareer said that he
would work for the formation of a business council between
the two countries. On climate change issues, he said that
both Bangladesh and Maldives are frontline states and
underlined the importance of working together on climate
change issues.
Underlining the importance of formalizing the recruitment
of Bangladeshi workers in Maldives, the Foreign Minister
mentioned about signing a MoU. She also expressed her
interest in sending more skilled and semi-skilled
Bangladeshi workers to Maldives. Dipu Moni appreciated
Maldives' offer to recruit 65 Bangladeshi doctors and
underscored the need for signing a MoU in this regard. She
enquired about the status of the MoU on cooperation in
education sector proposed by Maldives to recruit
Bangladeshi teachers and professionals in the university
soon to be set up in Maldives.
Sports
Bangladesh routs Nepal 24-0 in SAG
hockey
TBT report
Bangladesh handed a 24-0 drubbing to Nepal in the 11th South
Asian Games (SAG) hockey match on Wednesday.
Bangladesh flooded the Nepalese with a cascade of goals at
Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka to secure its
second win in the meet after losing to Pakistan 3-0 on
Tuesday.
Bangladesh started the match on a bright note. Bangladesh
forwards played aggressively, midfielders functioned
cohesively and dominated the field with their clever passes
against their lowly opponents.
Drag flick specialist Mamunur Raman Chayan opened scoring just
after three minutes from a penalty corner to give the hosts an
early lead. Bangladesh played the match without its captain
Moshiur Rahman Biplob, who missed the match for a thigh
injury, but his absence did not stop the hosts from taking a
domineering 10-0 lead at the half time in the lopsided, high
scoring match.
Recharging their weary bodies, Bangladesh players started the
second half with renewed vigour and scored 14 goals more to
record their biggest victory in the international hockey.
Russell Mahmud Jimmy was adjudged the 'Player of the Match'.
Chayan scored nine goals (3, 13, 25, 29, 48, 51, 56, 68, 70
minutes), Jimmy scored six (15, 24, 27, 40, 47, 60 minutes),
Abdus Sajjad John three (19, 34, 59 minutes), Zahidul Islam
three (31, 41, 62 minutes), Kamruzzaman two (49, 58 minutes),
Pushkar Khisha scored one (69 minutes) for Bangladesh.
However, Bangladesh's goal scoring prowess was not enough to
quench its German coach Gerhard Peter Rach's thirst. "I am
satisfied with the performance but I asked the boys to score
25 goals."
On the team's performance, Rach said that he still cannot
understand why Bangladesh was beaten against Pakistan on
Tuesday (February 2).
He sounded optimistic with the prospect of his team in the
next match against India. "Of course we'll play to win against
India. In my opinion, India is not a better team than
Pakistan. Still I'm hoping that Bangladesh will make a top-two
finish in this event."
Bangladesh: Zahid Hossain (Goalkeeper), Mohammad Kamruzzaman,
Aasaduzzaman Chandan, Mohammad Ashiqu-zzaman, Mamunur Rahman
Chayan, Irfan Haque, Russell Mahmud Jimmy, Abdus Sajjad John,
Sheikh Nannu, Zahidul Islam, Moshiur Rahman Feroze, Golam
Mustafa, Mosharraf Hossain Kuti, Imran Hasan Pintu, Pushkar
Khisha, Taposh Barman.
Nepal: Chander (Goalkeeper), Prince, Hit Kumar, Ramjana, Amit,
Samuyal, Dipendra, Ranjit, Rajandra, GH Kumar, Satyanar, BA
Padma, Bikash, Krishna, Devendra and Retesh.
Donald
throws hat into ring for England job
AFP, London
Former South Africa paceman Allan Donald has said he would
welcome the chance to return to the role of England fast
bowling coach following the departure of Ottis Gibson.
The England and Wales Cricket Board are looking for a
replacement for Gibson, who resigned Tuesday to become the new
head coach of the West Indies.
Donald was immediately identified as a possible candidate,
having spent four months in the role in 2007 before pulling
out for family reasons. "It is an environment I really enjoyed
being in, working with elite cricketers," the 43-year-old
said. "I'd be silly to not consider the position. I will
obviously think it over but it is a great challenge for any
coach.
"If I did make contact with the ECB at some stage I'm sure
that I would be throwing my name in the hat, absolutely.
"In 2007 my little boy went through a very tough time and I
had to abort that. It would have been very foolish of me to go
touring around the world when he was struggling at school and
having health problems. "At the moment everything is fine and
I think I am just about ready to get back into it full time."
Former England seamers Darren Gough, Phil DeFreitas and Steve
Watkin are also seen as possible candidates, as is ex-South
Africa captain Shaun Pollock. Donald believes Gibson has left
a strong legacy to whoever takes over from him.
"You can see Ottis has been working very hard. He has got a
lot of discipline and toughness amongst these guys," he said.
"(James) Anderson has become a quality bowler, so has (Stuart)
Broad.
Bangladesh overpowers Afghanistan
in handball
TBT report
Bangladesh scored an emphatic 48-18 victory over
Afghanistan in the handball competition of the 11th South
Asian Games at Dhaka Handball Stadium in Dhaka on
Wednesday.
Bangladesh dominated the first half 26-5.
Waliur Rahman struck the highest eight goals for
Bangladesh, while Rasel Chakma and Mir Khai-ruzzaman
netted seven goals each. Ahmad Zubair, Shafi Tajzade and
Feraidoon Marzayar netted four goals each for Afghanistan.
Pakistan moves semis
Pakistan moved into the semifinals of South Asian Games
handball event snatching a 33-31 victory against India in
its last group match.
Pakistan led the first half 17-9. With the win, Pakistan
emerged Group A Cham-pion. Binu scored the highest eight
goals for Pakistan, while Nasrullah netted seven goals.
Bangladesh loses to India in men's kabaddi
TBT report
Bangladeshi Kabaddi team slumped to a 34-11defeat against
the defending champion India in the 11th South Asian Games
kabaddi competition at Dhaka Kabaddi Stadium in Dhaka on
Wednesday.
Bangladesh was 28-7 behind in the first session.
Bangladesh. which suffered a morale-shattering defeat
against Pakistan on Tuesday, finished third in the
standings after losing the match against India.
The teams
Bangladesh: Mamum (Captain), Kamal, Enamul, Abu Saleh,
Mojammel, Mosharraf, Maftun, Ardu-zzaman, Raju, Tipu,
Sadequl, Kamal 2.
India: Rakesh (Captain), Anup, Dinesh, Vikas, Cheralatnan,
Samarjeet, Jasmer, Jeeva, Gurpreet, Parveen, Karnan, Amit.
Pakistan kabaddi team reached the final of the men's
kabaddi defeating Nepal 44-16. Pakistan faces India in
today's final for gold.
Bangladesh and Nepal will be awarded bronze since they
finished third and fourth while Sri Lanka finished fifth
with no point in its bank.
Van Nistelrooy needs time
AFP, Berlin
Hamburg's new star signing Ruud van Nistelrooy needs more
time to get fit before making his Bundesliga debut, his
coach Bruno Labbadia said on Wednesday.
Having spent most of the season on the bench at Real
Madrid before signing for Hamburg 10 days ago, the
33-year-old Dutch hot-shot striker is only 60 percent fit,
according to Labbadia.
And it looks as though the striker will sit out Hamburg's
Bundesliga game at Cologne on Sunday and needs plenty of
fitness work after knee surgery in November 2008 and
having played just 127 minutes of football for Real this
season.
"We would never put someone under a pressure of time to
say when they will be fit," Labbadia told SID, a
subsidiary of AFP, with his side fifth in the German
league table. "Ruud is still working his way back to
fitness and it is only 60 percent.
"Whether or not he is in the squad, we will decide at the
end of the week."
Labbadia says the Dutchman needs "a few more weeks" to
return to top fitness. "We don't want to rush him back too
early and risk him getting injured," said Labbadia. A calf
injury meant van Nistelrooy only trained with the squad
for the first time on Tuesday.
"He has not played for the best part of a year, it is a
different story if a player has just been out for a few
weeks."
Van Nistelrooy has signed a contract until June 2011 and
Hamburg are reported to have spent four million euros
(5.65 million US dollars) on him.
He has already been crowned the best striker in Holland,
having scored 62 goals for Eindhoven between 1998 and
2001, England, having scored 95 goals for Manchester
United between 2001-06 and Spain, having netted 46 goals
for Real between 2006 and 2010.
Having retired after Holland were knocked out of Euro 2008
by Russia in the quarter-finals, van Nistelrooy has said
he would like to play for the Netherlands again at this
summer's World Cup.
Ishikawa
returns to Riviera
AFP, Los Angeles
Ryo Ishikawa has come a long way in the year since his
USPGA Tour debut, and the Japanese teen said he would be
able to draw on what he's learned in his return to Riviera
Country Club this week.
Ishikawa, 18, makes his first US appearance of 2010 at the
Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where he missed the cut in
his US tour debut last year.
This time Ishikawa hopes to be playing on the
weekend."Last year here, I was very, very nervous,"
Ishikawa said Tuesday after an early practice round on the
course nestled in the Pacific Palisades suburb of Los
Angeles.
"But this year my mentality is much different. I
experienced so many things last year. I'm much more
comfortable."
Ishikawa won four times in Japan last year to become the
youngest player to win a money list on one of golf's major
tours. The feat was recognized in his home country with a
set of postage stamps featuring the young star.
He was selected for the Presidents Cup, winning three of
his five matches for the International team captained by
Greg Norman against the United States at Harding Park in
San Francisco.
He finished 2009 ranked 30th in the world, earning him a
place in the first major championship of the year, the
Masters, in April.
Ishikawa made his Masters debut last year courtesy of a
special invitation from Augusta National.
He will also play the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and the
WGC Accenture Match Play Championship near Tucson later
this month.
With his US swing in mind, Ishikawa has been working on
his English, although it was a big contingent of Japanese
media who turned out for his press conference on Tuesday.
"I'm able to listen to English," he said, adding that
while he still struggled with long phrases or sentences "I
want to answer easy English questions in English."
New Zealand defeats Bangladesh by 10 wickets
Cricinfo Online
An abysmal all-round display from Bangladesh meant that
New Zealand romped to a ten-wicket victory in just 8.2
overs in the tour opening Twenty20 match at Seddon Park.
A mediocre bowling performance was not helped by an
error-ridden fielding effort by the tourists, who dropped
straightforward chances from each of the New Zealand
openers. The match was, however, already lost by the
visiting batsmen, who crashed to an embarrassing 78 after
putting themselves in on what seemed to be a good batting
surface.
Daniel Vettori and spin partner Nathan McCullum completely
foxed the Bangladesh middle order, snaring 5 wickets for
21 runs between them. Man of the match Vettori picked 3
for 6 and was close to unplayable, utilising the bounce
and turn of the Hamilton wicket to brilliant effect.
Daryl Tuffey ended with two wickets thanks to a tight line
and length both in his opening spell and against the tail.
Jacob Oram and James Franklin shared three wickets between
them in the middle overs. Tamim Iqbal started off well,
smashing Tim Southee over midwicket and straight down the
ground in the second over, but was caught down the leg
side, off a short ball that grazed his gloves, for 14.
Aftab Ahmed, in his first Bangladesh appearance since
April 2008, attempted to continue the momentum with a
series of wild slogs to the leg side but managed to
connect only once, lifting James Franklin over fine leg
for six before being outdone by a yorker two balls later.
The New Zealand spinners then came into play, making an
instant impact on the match. Vettori had Mohammad Ashraful
caught at deep point, attempting a lofted cover drive,
before trapping Mushfiqur Rahim in front two balls later.
Nathan McCullum had Shakib Al Hasan playing on to a
straighter one, leaving Bangladesh in tatters at 42 for 5
in the eighth over.
Both spinners were tough to get away and applied telling
pressure, even as Bangladesh wickets continued to fall at
an alarming rate. Mahmudullah fell to McCullum in his
final over before Vettori had Shahadat Hossain stumped,
playing down the wrong line.
The tail provided some short-lived resistance, with
Raqibul Hasan slogging his way to 18 from 13 deliveries,
the top score for Bangladesh, but the home side's pacemen
were on hand to smartly polish off the tail with two overs
to spare.
New Zealand's openers, Brendon McCullum and debutant Peter
Ingram, started slowly, but accelerated once McCullum hit
his straps, hammering 56 from 27 deliveries in an
effortless innings that included two audacious scoops over
the keeper's head. Sloppy fielding and lacklustre bowling
played their part in the touring side's early demise, with
the bowlers serving up several rank long-hops and the
fielders conceding too many avoidable runs to create any
semblance of pressure on the batsmen.
Bangladesh will hope to recover from this humiliating
defeat in time for the first ODI in Napier on Friday.
However, the tour opener does provide an ominous sign for
what is likely to be a lop-sided series unless the
tourists raise their game drastically.
India outplays Pakistan 5-1
TBT report
India claimed a 5-1 victory over Pakistan in the 11th
South Asian Games hockey at Moulana Bhasani National
Hockey Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
India started the match on a rattling pace with scoring
two goals in the first two minutes to stun the Pakistanis.
Dharamv scored the both goals to boost the Indians against
their bitter rivals.
And then Raghunath scored two penalty corner goals to
increase the Indians' advantage (14 and 19 minutes), while
Wasif Siddique pulled off the only goal for Pakistan on 28
minutes through a penalty corner conversion.
Leading the first half 4-1, India managed to score a goal
after the change of ends when Raghunath scored yet another
on 57 minutes, also from a penalty corner, to boost the
winners' lead.
India: Mrinal (Goal-keeper), Birendra, Belsajar, Innocent,
Varinder, Hamza, Vikash, Yuvraj, Dharamv, Mohammad,
Raghunath, Ajitesh (Captain), Amit Kumar, Roshan, Promod
and Bikash.
Pakistan: Imran Butt (Goalkeeper), Mohammad Khalid, Wasif
Siddique, Zeeshan Ali, Mohsin Bilal, Aamir Shahzad, Waqas
Akbar, Abdul Qayyum, Abdul Khaliq, Sabtain Raza (Captain),
Nagman Ahmed, Kashif Javid, Abdul Ghaffar, Mohammad Waqas,
Zubair Ahmed, Tasawar Abbass.
Bordeaux reaches League Cup semis
AFP, Paris
French champions Bor-deaux will play fellow First Division
side Lorient in the League Cup semi-finals in what is a
rematch of the 2002 final after beating Second Division
strugglers Sedan 1-0 here on Tuesday.
A 50th minute goal by Yoan Gouffran - who was one of 11
changes to the starting line-up made by coach Laurent
Blanc following the league leader's 0-0 draw with
Boulogne-sur-Mer last Saturday - was enough to see off the
'Wild Boars' who had ousted Bordeaux at the same stage on
penalties in 2008.
There was to be no repeat of those heroics this time
especially after the visitors were reduced to 10 men in
the 61st minute when Sedan's Australian defender Ante
Rozic was sent-off for a second bookable offence, just two
minutes after his first offence.
Gouffran ensured that Bordeaux stayed in the running for
four trophies this season - the three domestic pieces of
silverware and the Champions League - when he pounced
inside the penalty area after Sedan's defence had failed
to clear the ball and shot past goalkeeper Benoit Costil.
Costil had seen action early on in the encounter as first
he was saved by the cross bar after a fierce shot by
Gregory Sertic in the 9th minute and then the midfielder
forced the Sedan 'keeper into a good save from a freekick
in the 41st minute.
Sedan had their moments, twice going close in the
first-half, through a 36th minute header by Jerome
Lemoigne and a minute later a shot by midfield partner
Damien Tiberi, but the hosts 'keeper Cedric Carrasso saved
on both occasions.
Bordeaux, though, finished the strongest and could have
added to their lead on no less than three occasions in the
last 10 minutes but Costil saved all of them, first from
Gouffran and then twice in the 84th minute from David
Bellion and Brazilian Jussie.
Blanc, who along with fellow 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000
winning team-mate Didier Deschamps is among the favourites
to succeed present France coach Raymond Domenech after the
World Cup finals, was pleased to have progressed, though,
he saw a downside as well.
"We won. We have qualified for the next round, the
semi-finals. We did our job, as we say," said the
44-year-old.
"Last year people said that Bordeaux didn't care about the
domestic cups (though they did win the League Cup).
"This year they can't say that. Of course there is a price
to pay for success and that is a heavier fixtures
schedule, which will be the case this month."
Bordeaux will travel to Lorient - who beat Lyon last week
in their quarter-final - on February 17 while on Wednesday
Toulouse host Marseille ... coached by none other than
Deschamps.
Tait ready to take new chance
AFP, Bagshot
Mathew Tait has, by being selected in England's team to
play Wales in Saturday's Six Nations opener, shed for the
time being the tag of being a player so good he never gets
a Test.
But the gifted centre's England career to date means he
will be the last person thinking about an extended run in
the side when he takes the field at Twickenham this
weekend.
It is a measure of how uninspiring much of England's back
play has been in recent years that many fans recall Tait's
dashing solo break that led to a disallowed try for Mark
Cueto in the 2007 World Cup final against eventual
champions South Africa with affection. However, Saturday's
fixture will be only Tait's second England start since
that match.
Coming off the bench has been a theme of Tait's England
career with this weekend's match, which takes place on his
24th birthday, marking his 33rd cap but only his 16th
start.
It has been that way ever since he made his England debut
as a teenager in Cardiff back in 2005 when, after twice
being crash tackled by Wales centre Gavin Henson, he was
dropped by then coach Andy Robinson. Injuries, coaching
changes and being regarded as a "utility player" have all
conspired against Tait getting a decent run of England
matches.
But after a November series where England managed one try
during three Tests against Australia, Argentina and New
Zealand, with Tait reduced to a bit-part player, England
manager Martin Johnson has recalled the Sale centre, along
with fit again fellow centre Riki Flutey and full-back
Delon Armitage into what at least looks like a more
inventive attack.
"It's nice to get the nod to start. There's massive
excitement," said Tait at England's training base here on
Tuesday before admitting he had been surprised to be
dropped after the World Cup. "I probably took it for
granted I would be involved and it was a kick up the
backside maybe to refocus and nail down a position.
"Maybe I did take it for granted I would be involved
automatically, which is a very daft thing to do and
disrespectful to guys like Danny Hipkiss.
Team USA features 216 athletes for Vancouver
Games
AFP, Colorado
The United States will send 216 athletes to the 2010
Vancouver Olympics, making it one of the largest
contingents at the Winter Games which begin in 10 days.
Team USA includes three men who have been selected to five
straight teams.
"America's finest athletes are ready to captivate our
country once again in anticipation of the 2010 Olympic
Winter Games in Vancouver," said USOC Chief Executive
Officer Scott Blackmun.
"The 216 athletes we have officially entered into
competition will provide inspiration for Americans young
and old, and our athletes will do so with the pride and
honor that is inherent in representing the United States
of America."
Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick and luge athlete Mark
Grimmette were chosen for their fifth straight team on
Tuesday.
Another five-time Olympian is Casey Puckett, who made the
1992, 1994, 1998 and 2002 teams as an Alpine skier.
The team comprises 123 men and 93 women. The Vancouver
Olympics run from February 12-28.
Ancelotti backs Terry to survive crisis
AFP, Hull
Carlo Ancelotti has backed John Terry to come through his
personal crisis and lead Chelsea to the title despite his
side's disappointing failure to overcome Hull City in a
1-1 draw at the KC Stadium.
Terry's week of woe showed no signs of improving as he was
subjected to abuse on Humberside on Tuesday evening.
And just to make matters worse he was booked before having
to watch his side drop two crucial points against Phil
Brown's struggling team, blowing their chance to open up a
four-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the
table.
Terry had to run a gauntlet of hate from the home
supporters that promises to become a regular event for the
defender, but Ancelotti insists his captain can handle the
flak and will carry on playing.
Terry will meet England manager Fabio Capello later this
week to discuss his future as his country's captain
following reports of his affair with the former girlfriend
of international team-mate Wayne Bridge.
But he has the backing of Ancelotti, even if the Italian
admits he might give the centreback a family holiday later
this month when Chelsea face Cardiff City in the FA Cup
fifth round at Stamford Bridge.
Ancelotti said: "Nothing can distract our concentration in
this competition. In every game the Chelsea team has good
focus and we can play good football.
"Concentration is always on top. This is an issue for me
and John Terry. I think it's not a problem. You can see
the line-up against Cardiff.
"If he needs a holiday he will have one and if not, he
will play against Cardiff.
"I don't like to speak about this. It's not a question I
want to speak about.
"For him (Terry) nothing has changed. He continues to play
a very good game and every game he's living a good moment.
"He's doing his best. The atmosphere in the team is the
same. There has been no change.
"We are in a good position now. We are top. We know
Manchester United are very good and it will be a long race
until the end of the season.”
Ribery set to decide Bayern future
AFP, Berlin
Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery will decide in the next
eight weeks whether or not to stay with the German giants,
his agent said Wednesday.
Ribery, 26, has a contract at Bayern until June 2011 but
after a series of top class displays for Munich he has
been linked to some of Europe's top sides, including
Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Although Ribery has struggled with a knee injury since
October, he is working his way back to fitness and is
widely regarded, alongside Bayern team-mate Arjen Robben,
as one of the most creative players in the Bundesliga.
"Franck has a contract until 2011 and so Bayern hold all
the cards in their hands," Ribery's agent Alain Migliaccio
told German daily newspaper Bild on Wed-nesday.
"Before we meet with (Bayern's chief executive Karl-Heinz)
Rummenigge, (president Uli) Hoeness and (director of sport
Christian) Nerlinger, nothing will happen." Migliaccio
also confirmed Nerlinger's rejection of reports that
Ribery had been given an ultimatum by Bayern to prolong
his contract before the end of March.
"The story about the ultimatum is absolute nonsense,
nobody has given Franck an ultimatum," he said. "We are
waiting to see what the club wants to do." Ribery has won
41 caps and scored seven goals for France and looks set to
be a star of the 2010 World Cup which takes place in South
Africa from June 11-July 11.
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