FRIday, JANUARY 1, 2010 Poush 18, 1416, muharram 14, 1430 Hijri

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Leading News

No room for terrorism, militancy on Bangladesh soil: PM
UNB, Rajshahi

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked the country's police department to do their duty properly to build up a militancy-and-terrorism-free peaceful society, as her government wants to see Bangladesh free from these acts of violence.
She also directed the authorities concerned to come up with new projects and plans for upgrading the police to a modern force equipped with latest technology and infrastructural facilities.
The Prime Minister gave the directives while speaking on the occasion of the passing-out parade of the Assistant Police Supers of the 27th BCS-Police Cadre on Thursday noon at Bangladesh Police Academy at Sardah, which is going to celebrate its centenary in 2012.
She categorically said Bangladesh and its soil will not be allowed to be used for any type of terrorism and militancy.
The Prime Minister told the new police officers that her government wants to build up Bangladesh as a most peaceful nation in South Asia. "You with your hard work and integrity can help build such a peaceful Bangladesh."
AFM Nizamuddin was given the Best Man Cup of the 27th BCS-Police cadre for his all-round best performances in all sectors of their hard training in policing skills.
Motiur Rahman Siddiqui was given Best Horse Ride award. A total of 138 apprentice ASPs--135 from the 27th batch and three from another batch-took part in the mind-blowing parade.
Earlier, on her arrival at Sardah Police Academy, the Prime Minister was received by Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun. State Minister for Home Affairs Advocate Shamsul Haq Tuku, IGP Noor Mohammad and Police Academy Commandant Abdus Salam, PPM, were also present on the podium.
Standing on an open jeep, the Prime Minister inspected the parade and took salute.
Marking the occasion, she also planted a sapling of 'Amropali (Mangifera Indica)' on the Police Academy premises. Prime Minister Hasina said on the occasion of fulfilling hundred years of the Police Academy, the government wants to see the academy capable of facing the challenges of the present era.
"I want to see the years old buildings and other infrastructures of the academy replaced with new and modern facilities. In this regard, the government will give all necessary assistance," she told her audience.
Sheikh Hasina in her address reminded the new officers of the importance of the rule of law, human rights and human values in establishing good governance in society.
"The police have a greater role in establishing the rule of law and justice as well as protection of human rights in a democratic society," she said.
The Prime Minister said 'curbing the criminals' and 'nurturing the innocents' should be the only motto of the police and they have to be disciplined, sincere, patriotic and honest and loyal to the law of the land in discharging their duties.
She called upon them to be 'service-oriented' instead of 'a force' by enormously amending rules, regulations and structures of the colonial age. Police have to earn people's full confidence by rendering proper services to them.

 No progress in energy, power sector in one year of AL rule
UNB, Dhaka

Although the Awami League government has laid utmost emphasis on improvement of the power and energy situation, which is considered a development matrix of a country, there has been little breakthrough in this sector in the past one year.
Power and gas supply remained much the same as it was during the previous caretaker and BNP government's rule, according to available statistics.
After assuming power, the Awami League government announced a master plan aimed at enhancing power generation by 7,000 megawatts in five years. But no new power could be added to the national grid under this recipe in the first year of its 5-year tenure.
Power Development Board's official record shows the Awami League government took over charge on January 6, 2009 and the power generation was 3,841 MW on January 8 in the year that now goes by.
Now the power generation still remained more or less the same. The record shows that the country generated 3,770 MW on December 26 against a demand for 4,250 MW.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Energy and Power Brigadier Gen (retd) Enamul Haque expressed his disappointments over slow progress in the power-plant-installation process by the Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB). According to official sources, the minister's discontent came out while he was addressing the EGCB officials at the outfit's headquarters in the city Wednesday.
The situation is no different in the energy turf as well. Gas production was between 1800 and 1900 million cubic feet per day (MMCFD) in January last year. The output remained unchanged-lagging far behind the need for fueling development, facilitating establishment of newer production units. The Petrobangla official record shows that the country produced 1936.7 MMCFD on December 27 while the average gas production in the days in the same month last year was more or less 1900 MMCFD.
According to official sources, a paper is being readied by the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources about the success in power and energy sector. It is claimed that the government has been able to add up 475 MW power in the maiden year of its rule. But industry-insiders disapproved of the claim, saying that the government had no contribution to the addition of 475MW power to the national grid.

 458 more ‘politically motivated’ cases to be dropped
Total 1,817 cases, 1,815 against AL, 2 against BNP leaders

TBT Report

The government on Thursday decided to withdraw 458 more 'politically motivated' cases filed during the rule of the last BNP-Jamaat alliance and military-backed caretaker regime.
The decision came at the 11th inter-ministerial meeting of the government's scrutiny committee for recommendation of withdrawal of the politically motivated cases held on Thursday with its head State Minister for Law Advocate Qamrul Islam in the chair.
With the new recommendations, the number of cases so far dropped in the turnaround rose to 1,817.
Among the cases recommended for quashing on Thursday are one case against was former Awami League Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader MP of JP, former AL lawmaker Ali Reza Raju and his wife, and Dr Kazi Faruk Ahmed.
The other VIPs include Prof. Opu Ukil (two cases), former AL lawmaker Haji Selim (two cases) and ex-AL MP Mohiuddin Ahmed (five cases).
The scrutiny committee on October 13 in its eighth meeting recommended dropping one case against opposition leader Khaleda Zia's son Tarique Rahman and one corruption case against former president and Jatiya Party chief HM Ershad MP. Earlier on August 26, one case against BNP MP Moudud Ahmed was also withdrawn. In other wards, of the 1,816 cases dropped 1,813 are against AL leaders.
Most of those whose cases were recommended for withdrawal belong to the ruling party and its front organizations, triggering resentment in the opposition BNP circles as its leaders are also bearing loads of such cases on charges of graft that had taken place during their rule.
The first meeting of scrutiny committee on June 10, recommended withdrawal of 62 cases, including 12 against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. On June 21, it approved another 46 cases to be cancelled. In its third meeting on July 1, the committee recommended quashing another 66 cases. On July 15 it recommended 69 cases be cancelled. On Aug 5, in its fifth meeting, the committee recommended cancellation of 121 cases, on Aug 26, it recommended withdrawal of 105 cases, on Sept 16, 123 cases, on Oct 13, in its eighth meeting recommended withdrawal of 297 cases, on November 12, in its 9th meeting recommended cancellation of 293 cases and on 26 November in its 10th meeting recommended withdrawal of 175 cases.

 Bangabandhu murder
Death warrants to be issued against condemned convicts on Jan 3

UNB, Dhaka

Dhaka District and Sessions Judge will issue death warrants on January 3, the very day the subordinate court reopens, against all the twelve condemned convicts in the Bangabandhu murder case.
Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed disclosed the decision on the issuance of death warrants against the condemned ex-army officers after an in-house meeting at the Law Ministry. "The question of interference into the judiciary in this regard does not arise as the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court meanwhile has delivered the conclusive judgment, reaffirming the death sentence on the 12 ex-army officers for assassinating Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most of his family members on August 15, 1975," he said.
Barrister Shafique said after the signing of the death warrants by the Sessions judge those will be sent to Dhaka Central Jail authorities for initiating the execution process. "After receiving the death warrants, the superintendent of the jail will be authorized to fix the date for execution in not less than 21 days or more than 28 days (of the receipt)," the Law Minister said, referring to the Jail Code.

  Indians behind bomb attack on church, mosque in Nepal

 UNB, Dhaka
Three months after being caught for masterminding attacks on churches and mosques in Nepal, the chief of an underground organization that persecuted Christians and Muslims says he was funded by India's ultra-right organizations, said a report from Nepal carried by daily Sentinel of Assam.
Ram Prasad Mainali, a 37-year-old Hindu, metamorphosed from a ticket booking clerk to a ruthless, menacing shadowy figure who directed attacks that killed at least five people while praying in mosques and a church after he was aided by at least four Indian organizations.
"I was opposed to the idea of Nepal becoming a secular republic," he told IANS, sitting behind bars in Kathmandu valley's Nakhu Jail where he has been transferred since his arrest from southern Nepal on September 5.
There are over 50 countries that are Christian and more than 40 that are Islamic. Nepal was the only Hindu country.

  Clock put back
TBT Report

The clock has been put back by an hour from 11.59 pm on Thursday night in pursuance of the cabinet decision.
The government for the first time introduced Daylight Saving Time (DST) by forwarding the clock by an hour on June 19 last year to use maximum daytime and reduce electricity consumption.
According to the cabinet decision, the clock, from now on, will be pushed forward one hour on March 31 and put back one hour on October 31. An energy ministry announcement said the clock will be pushed back to 10:59pm after it ticks 11:59pm to set the original timing position.

Back Page

5.9 pc GDP growth in 6 months
BSS, Dhaka

The country attained a 5.9 percent GDP (gross domestic product) growth in the first half of the current fiscal year, leaving six more months to achieve the 6 percent target.
The GDP achievement negated the gloomy forecast of different multi-donor agencies. The International Monitory Fund (IMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted that the GDP growth would be around 5.5 percent for fiscal 2009-10, ending June 30. They apprehended that the tail impact of the global financial turmoil would cut the country's export earnings, which would eventually slow the economic growth.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith instantly contradicted the projections and firmly said that the growth would be more than such forecasts. Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman also said that the growth rate would reach the target. The central bank data, released Thursday, substantiated the claim and indicated a strong financial rally, which may increase the GDP further.
"The target will be achieved by the end of the fiscal as all the major indicators are showing positive trend," Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman said.
The governor, briefing journalists on the economy in the outgoing year 2009 at the central bank headquarters, said the national economy started rally, thanks to the timely measures by the present government.
"The year started with fear of global recession impact. But the newly elected government took some important measures including support to exporters, businesses and agriculture to keep both external trade and internal demands vibrant," Dr Atiur said. Because of the prudent measures, the governor said the growth in two major sectors-export and agriculture-was satisfactory. He said the export grew at a rate of 10 per cent in 2009 and agriculture by 4.8 percent.
"Imports including capital machinery are also on the increase, indicating that the domestic business and investments are rising", the governor said. According to BB, capital machinery import rose by 24 percent in the first five months of the current financial year when the imports of consumer items increased by 44 percent compared to the same period of the 2008-09 financial year. The inflation, a major concern, was 5.1 percent in October. Atiur hoped it would not go beyond the fiscal target of 6.5 percent. He said that the central bank would announce a monitory policy next month, addressing the measures to contain inflation and commodity prices. The governor, however, urged the government to continue the programmes ensuring poor people food supply at reasonable prices and farmers the fair value of their produce.
Listing future challenges of the economy, Atiur said the impact of climate change would remain the main challenge to the development. "We will have to develop eco-friendly industries to face the challenge," he observed.
Besides, the governor said, financial inclusion of more people should be addressed with effective measures to reduce poverty.

  BNP to launch movement to force govt to implement election pledges

TBT Report

BNP standing committee member MK Anwar threatened that the party will launch countrywide movement for compelling the ruling party to fulfill its pledges which were made before the election.
He was addressing a discussion meeting on the occasion of the 29th founding anniversary of Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal at the Maolana Bhasani auditorium in the capital on Thursday.
MK Anwar said the ruling party had made a number of commitments before the nation. It had promised to supply fertilizer among country's farmer free of cost. They said price of rice will be fixed at Tk 10 per kg and green chili at Tk 5 and law and order situation will also be improved but all are fake commitments. The ruling party has already engaged in fertilizer mismanagement. In the name of improving law and order situation throughout the country, around 160 people were killed during the last one year of the government. If the government does not fulfill its election pledges, the nationalist forces will go for movement throughout the country.
He said during Sheikh Mujib rule, berubari and tin bigha enclaves were given to India. The support to commissioning of Farakka barrage was also given during the period. Due to these, the countrymen have become the worst sufferer.
The countrymen and the nationalist forces are expecting that the incumbent Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will never do the same blander during her upcoming India visit. Giving permission of Indian corridor in the name of Asian Highway and Tipaimukh dam will also never be wise.
The newly appointed standing committee member said around 1345 cases were lodged during one eleven against ruling party leaders and activists throughout the country. Of these, 15 cases were lodged against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina which have already been withdrawn but not a single one of opposition has been withdrawn. So the nationalist forces will never allow the undemocratic rule in the country. They will go for movement for restoring rule of law in the country.
Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir senior joint secretary general of the party said imperialism and foreign domination forces have gripped the country from all corners. Country's military forces have become weak to due pre-planned BDR mutiny. India and Myanmar is hatching conspiracy for occupying our maritime boundaries.

  President for reducing huge trade gap with India
UNB, Dhaka

President Zillur Rahman Thursday emphasized taking more initiatives for further enhancing the trade ties between Bangladesh and India by reducing the existing huge trade gap between the two neighboring countries.
He made the suggestion when newly appointed Indian High Commissioner to Bang-ladesh Rajeet Mitter presented his credentials to the President at Bangabhaban to take up his diplomatic assignment following the exit of Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty.
During the meeting, Zillur Rahman said both the countries could benefit from enhanced trade and commerce through effective implementation of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement.
"Bangladesh always attaches high importance to its relations with India as a closest neighbor of South Asia," the President noted. He urged Indian traders to import more world-lass Bangladeshi readymade garments, jute and jute goods, leather and ceramic products considering their competitive prices.
Describing the Indo-Bangladesh relations as historic and multifaceted in nature, President Zillur Rahman told the new envoy: "The unwavering support of India in our liberation war is unforgettable and we gratefully recall this great contribution of your nation." Assuring his all-out cooperation with the new Indian High Commissioner, Zillur Rahman hoped that he would contribute to making the existing relations between Dhaka and New Delhi "more deepened and effective".
Rajeet Mitter conveyed the greetings of Indian President Pratibha Patil to the Bangladesh President.
The new Indian diplomat said he would work to "pave the way for making Indo-Bangladesh joint investment" in Bangladesh. He also apprised the President that he would take initiative for joint celebration by Bangladesh and India the 150th birth anniversary of Nobel Laureate great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore in 2011.
Rajeet Mitter was accompanied by Deputy High Commissioner of India Mukta Dutta Tomar.

   Huge money embezzled in past by privatizing profitable SOEs: Barua

UNB, Dhaka

Industries Minister Dilip Barua on Thursday alleged that huge money had been embezzled through bank loans in the past by privatizing some profitable state-owned industries on the pretext of ensuring better management.
"We want to come out of deindustrialization policy of the past. Rather, we want rapid industrialization in the country through public-private partnership (PPP) initiatives to pave the way for desired economic growth," he said.
In the past, a vested quarter handed over some profitable state-owned industrial units to the private sector identifying those as losing concerns and all these units are now almost closed, Barua said at the ID card distribution ceremony for the Commercially Important Person (CIP-Industry) 2009.
SME (small and medium enterprises) Foundation chairman Aftabul Islam, among others, also spoke at the function held at Sonargaon Hotel in the city Thursday evening. Indu-stries Secretary Dewan Zakir Hossain presided over the function.
Addressing the function as chief guest, the Indu-stries Minister said the key-mandate for his Ministry is to make state-owned industrial units profitable apart from extending its helping hands to the entrepreneurs in setting up industrial units in the private sector.
"The goal of the government is to build the country as a knowledge-based enli-ghtened society through ensuring high-tech industrialization," he said.
Barua reiterated that the private sector has been chosen as the key driving-force of economy in the coming Industrial Policy for the country. "All possible support will be ensured for the private sector."
He said that the government's goal of transforming the country into an industry-based, enriched digital Bangladesh by 2011 cannot be achieved without effective cooperation from the private sector. Bangladesh, he hoped, would achieve the desired progress with the combined efforts of old and fresh entrepreneurs.

   JS body recommends vigilance against fertilizer situation
BSS, Dhaka

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry Ministry Thursday cautioned all concerned to remain more vigilant against any disruption in production, storage and distribution of fertilizer in the country.
The recommendation came at a committee meeting held at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with its chairman Tofail Ahmed in the chair, a Parliament press release said here.
Industry Minister Dilip Barua attended the meeting on special invitation while other members of the committee Kamal Ahmed Mojumdar, S.M Abdul Mannan, Anwarul Ashraf Khan, M Harunur Rashid, Zahid Malek and Begum Sultana Bubul were present.
During the meeting, different issues related to fertilizer situation including present demand and stock were discussed in details. The meeting also recommended for setting up new fertilizer factories including planned Shahjalal Fertilizer Factory.
The meeting the anti- adulteration drive should be strengthened to ensure the rights of the consumers.
The committee members reviewed the implementation progress of the decisions, taken at the previous meetings of the committee regarding Bangladesh Chemical Industries Cor-poration, Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation and Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corpora-tion. The committee members decided to visit Ban-gladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation for on the spot investigating of the ongoing operation of the corporation. Industry Secr-etary Dewan Zakir Hossain and other concerned high officials were also present at the meeting.

   Killing marked rise in 2009: Odhikar
UNB, Dhaka

The incidents of killing in 2009 marked a rise, but other crimes like dacoity, burglary, kidnapping and violence against women showed downtrend compared to the ones in 2008.
According to statistics provided by the Police headquarters, a total of 4,0796 people were killed across the country from January 1, to December 22, 2009 compared to 4,099 from January 1, to December 31, 2008.
However, Home Minister Sahara Khatun at several functions recently reiterated that the law and order situation in the country marked an improvement in the last one year compared to any period in the past.
The police headquarters statistics also sowed that a total of 714 incidents of dacoity were recorded across the country from January 1 to November 30, 2009 against 830 during the corresponding period in 2008. A total of 1211 incidents of burglary, 11975 of violence against women, 694 of kidnapping and 8477 of stealing were recorded from January 1 to November 30, 2009, while the figure was 1443, 13495, 772 and 11518 respectively during the same period in 2008.
But several hundred incidents of petty crimes like snatching, dacoity, theft and burglary that took place across the country rem-ained out of record, as most of the prejudiced people did not turn up to lodge cases with police stations.
On the other hand, the incidents of extrajudicial killings by law enforcers across the country in the name of shootout, crossfire, encounter and gunfight draw severe criticism from rights groups. From day one after it assumed power, the Awami League-led grand alliance government opposed such extrajudicial killings as opposition does.
Even Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina in her address in Parliament on February 11, 2009 strongly opposed such extrajudicial killings saying those who were involved in such acts would be brought to justice.
But rights group said the nomenclature of extrajudicial killing took a different shape after a few months. "The government defends its law enforcers who get involved in extrajudicial killings on the plea of self-defense," said a human right activist.
A report by Odhikar, a human rights organization, said some 141 people were killed allegedly by the law enforcement agencies in the last 11 months from January 1 to November 30, 2009. On December 14, the High Court upon a pending suo moto rule asked the Director General of RAB to refrain from such killing until the rule is heard.

   8-yr-old boy memorizes Al-Quran in 4 months
UNB, Dhaka

An eight-year-old boy has set a rare example of memorizing the entire holy Quran in only four months, as against 2-3 years it usually takes.
Ruhul Amin, son of M Ibrahim Hossain, a poor farmer of village Rahimpur under Bangala union in Ullapara upazila of Sirajganj district has accomplished the extraordinary feat.
The wonder boy, Hafez Ruhul Amin, is a student of Dhoroil Ashrafia Hafezia Madrassa, situated at village Dhoroil, about one and half kilometers away from his home. He got admitted to the Madrassa in 2009 and became Hafez during the last holy month of Ramadan (September 2009).

Editorial

Welcome 2010

The nation steps into the new year-2010 today (Friday) under the lingering shadow of economic woes marked by rising cost of living and political uncertainty signalled by looming fear of confrontation between the ruling and the opposition parties. The eventful year of 2009 has faded into eternity with the sunset on Thursday marking the nation's glorious transition to democracy after two years of illegal emergency rule and leaving unsavory memories of grisly carnage at Pilkhana, devastating cyclone Aila and unbearable financial hardship caused mainly by economic slowdown and skyrocketing prices of essentials pushing up the cost of living beyond the capacity of endurance .
Against the backdrop of sudden price escalation of essentials and protracted political inertia, today's sunrise heralds the new year 2010 with both uncertainty and hope. Because, the spectre of soaring cost of living continues to haunt the nation on the one hand and on the other the government is trying hard to bring the situation under control. Crises, crimes, price hike of essentials and utility services and uncertainty, among others, are the main legacies that the new year inherits from the just concluded year of 2009 and these issues are most likely to dominate the country's law and order, economy and politics in the days ahead unless some miracles happen. People are starting a new journey in the New Year with new hopes of better days, peace and progress, but uncertainties lie ahead as the year of 2010 too may witness many dramas in political, social and economic domains.
The year 2009 began with the country's return to democracy following the parliamentary elections that ended the two-year unconstitutional emergency rule backed by army. The Awami League, which recorded a sweeping victory in the election formed the government on January 6 raising new hopes. But before the new government could start functioning in full swing, a bolt from the blue befell it when the grisly carnage of army officers took place at Pilkhana. However, the government was able to overcome the crisis and start the trial of mutineers within the year 2009.The government had achieved great success at the outset of the year in bringing down the prices of essentials, but towards the end of the year the prices shot up again causing much hardship and sufferings to the people. However, the government is trying to tackle the situation through different steps, but the results are yet to be visible.
On the political front some disquieting signs are there as the opposition BNP is boycotting the Parliament and as the government and the opposition appear to be heading for a political collision course. At the beginning of the year the participation for the first time since 1991 of both ruling and opposition parties in the opening session of the Parliament had raised great hope that the Parliament would be effective this time and democracy will be strengthened. But that hope seems to be fading as BNP boycotted last two of the three sessions of the parliament and the government failed to create condition for bringing them back in the House. The fourth session begins on 4th of January and BNP is likely to continue the boycott unless their demands are met and that possibility is not bright.
Against this backdrop it is expected by all that the government and opposition will do their best to end the Parliament boycott. Besides, people also hope that the government will leave no stone unturned to bring down the prices of essentials and take all measures necessary to end their economic woes. Meanwhile, as all are set to begin a new journey today, we welcome the new year of 2010 and wish all our readers, agents, hawkers advertisers and patrons as well as the people of the country a happy new year.

  Consumers’ Rights Act

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce Ministry on Wednesday asked the ministry to enforce immediately the Consumers' Rights Protection Act which was passed in parliament nine months ago to ensure people's right to quality goods and services at fair prices. The committee expressed dissatisfaction over the unusual delay in enforcing the law and asked for recruitment of manpower to enforce the law to prevent cheating at weight, price and quality of commodities.
In view of growing public demand for protecting consumers' rights, the parliament on April 1 passed the Consumers' Rights Protection Act with provision of punishment for adulteration and cheating consumers in other ways. In the past there was no scope for seeking redress in absence of law. But that helplessness still continues although there is a law now to protect consumers' rights. This situation prevails only due to the failure or reluctance of the commerce ministry to enforce the law.
According to press report, the parliamentary body also expressed dissatisfaction over the ministry's slow pace in implementing the committee's recommendations in the last one year. This appears to be a strange development, because the ministry's failure to implement the decisions of the Parliamentary body is not acceptable. Perhaps, it is alleged not without reason that the commerce ministry is a den of inactive and inefficient people who talk more and work less. This situation should be changed.
The above law must be strictly enforced to ensure the protection of the consumers' rights. It is reassuring that the Parliamentary body has asked the ministry to enforce the law. The sooner it is done the better. Meanwhile, the consumers also should forge unity and launch a social movement against hoarding, syndication, market manipulation, price hiking and profit-mongering by dishonest and greedy traders and thus play a role in protecting their rights.

Analysis

Resolutions for 2010

The real tragedy is the Gilani-led govt seems needlessly hell bent on committing political "hari-kari", putting at risk the goodwill and confidence of the Establishment and the opposition parties.

Ikram Sehgal

Amid all the turmoil and carnage, something good seems to be happening in Pakistan, imperceptibly but slowly. The visible indications that 2010 promises to be a year of hope and resurgence are, viz (1) the major resolve for 2009 "to bring the unfinished business of Chief Justice Iftikhar Ahmad Chaudhry to a closure to the satisfaction of the conscience of the nation" thankfully became a fact of life on Mar 15, 2009. Subsequent Supreme Court (SC) judgments confirmed the cause of justice have been well served by the restoration, the icing on the cake being the NRO declared ab-initio black as black as can be. From being an abstract hope, accountability of the previously un-accountable may actually about to become a reality (2) the magnificent success of the Pakistan Army in breaking the back of the militancy in Swat, and subsequently in FATA, symbolized the significant professional turnaround orchestrated by Kayani and company, and probably most important (3) the first glimmer of realization by the US (after the Hillary Clinton visit) that Pakistan being crucial to the US war effort in Afghanistan, support for the democratic system rather than any favourite individual is what matters.
The NFC Accord is a major success of the beleaguered Gilani govt, this magnificent achievement is integral to uniting the Federation. The pragmatism of financial Czar Shaukat Tarin encouraged the four Provinces through their Chief Ministers to display outstanding cooperation and mutual consideration. Increased expatriate remittances point to a favorable economic environment taking hold. To reinforce this success, the 2010 resolve must be to force-multiply economic regeneration, reversing the flight of capital will go a long way in creating economic stability.
Countering terrorism remains the major challenge of 2010. The vicious terrorist attacks in 2009 of the most inhumane kind are a desperate attempt to break the public morale and use the resultant clamour thereof to stop the Army's relentless onslaught against their strongholds in Swat and South Waziristan. The tragic loss of innocent lives (symbolized graphically by the suicide bombing of the 10th of Moharam procession in Karachi) notwithstanding, the intelligentsia and the masses are absorbing this collateral damage as a price to be paid to rid us of this evil incarnate. Very suspicious was the planned mob attack after the Muharram suicide bomb, it targetted small businesses deliberate meant to cause widespread economic havoc. Why, and by whom?
A National Anti-Terrorist mechanism has been finally set up as an independent unity, the 2010 resolve must be to acquire services of the very best professionals. Terrorism can only be eradicated if efforts are not undercut by political compulsions, the hollow rhetoric has now become a standing (but macabre) joke. Incidentally why is the UN Commission investigating Ms Benazir's assassination not being allowed to meet the Army Chief (as well as former DG ISI) to ascertain their views about the tragic incident when both have no reservations talking to the Commission?
President Zardari's speech marking Ms Benazir Bhutto's second Death Anniversary was really disappointing. Was this the same man who raised the "Pakistan Khappay" slogan on Dec 29, 2007 and limited irreparable damage to the Federation calming the volatile anger on the streets? And why is he intent on trying to provoke the Army? Is this a desperate ploy by NRO-affected Zardari associates to confuse an honest-to-goodness judicial verdict by garbing it, as Haqqani implied, "the start of a military coup"? Is the Zardari gameplan to somehow provoke the Army into reaction, thereby converting their "accused of corruption" status in public and (more importantly) international perception to being a victim of "anti-democratic" forces? That is the thrust of the President's op-ed article in international media!
While things must be on a short fuse and even though one feels "an ultimate provocation" may be in the offing, the Army must keep its cool. I don't even dare mention lest it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy! The 2010 Resolution for the Army, confine themselves strictly to their professional military obligations and let. The SC do its job, it is well on course to rid this country of the corrupt and will not be deterred by all the shenanigans of the NRO- beneficiaries. The political posturing and the needless/heedless innuendos by the Head of State underscores what was written on Jan 1, 2009, "The Office of the President should preferably not be a political one, he (or she) must be directly elected by exercise of adult franchise", unquote.
To be truly credible accountability must not be selective and should be applicable to all, the corrupt among the judiciary and the Armed Forces must not escape justice. My Jan 1, 2009 quote on corruption is still applicable on Jan 1, 2010, viz "Corruption and Accountability thereof remain a major challenge. Even-handed accountability of all without exception is a must to strike at the roots of corruption without bias.
The National Accountability Board (NAB) must be under the superior judiciary, its anti-corruption mechanism not compromised by selective application for personal and/or political purpose. Justice must be made simple and inexpensive. What is the reason for extremism except lack of fairplay in justice and frustration at seeing the corrupt prospering?", unquote.
The real tragedy is the Gilani-led govt seems needlessly hell bent on committing political "hari-kari", putting at risk the goodwill and confidence of the Establishment and the opposition parties Yusuf Raza Gilani has gained by his mature politics. If NRO beneficiaries, most of them Johnny-come-latelys in the PPP, are disassociated from governance, the Gilani-led PPP coalition will survive (and even flourish) for its full five year term, and that will be good for democracy. Rid off his NRO-affected associates who are blighting the reputation and effectiveness of the Gilani govt, Zardari will survive as President. They are in fact the real threats to Zardari's Presidency, and in fact to democracy.
Resolutions for 2010 must seek to improve Pakistan's image, to quote, "by strengthening political institutions, introducing long-term structural political reforms in our political system so that we are perceived as a stable sovereign entity and not a rogue State with nuclear weapons. Broad and pragmatic foreign policy initiatives are needed, instead of inveterate friends and/or inveterate enemies, we must aim for reasonable balance in our nation-to-nation relationships". The 2010 resolve should be to put the national interest ahead of personal interest (or gain thereof), to remove from public office those working actively to dismember and destroy institutions vital to the State.
The clear and unambiguous SC 2010 Resolution must be to take suo moto notice of attempts to gamble with the existence of the State by maliciously targeting its vital institutions. The responsibility of governance is a sacred trust that no individual or entity has the right to sacrifice at the altar of personal survival and greed. Can any individual be greater than the nation he (or she) has been given the opportunity by Divine Providence to govern?
The "Resolution for 2010" is the same as for 2007, "all individuals have a responsibility to the community and to the family, this is force-multiplied manifold for those in power in the country, that responsibility must be used for the good of the people and the nation they govern".


Ikram Sehgal is an internationally renowned columnist and the Editor of the Pakistan Defence Journal

  The Durand Line

India and Pakistan cannot question, respectively, the Durand Line and the McMahon Line.

A.G. Noorani

AS the tragedies in Afghanistan unfolded since 1974, deserved empathy for its plight was extended by some to sympathy for its claim to Pakhtunistan.
The record of boundary-making and Afghanistan's unprincipled behaviour were overlooked. The Durand Line was not an imperial diktat but a fair compromise as impartial authorities acknowledge.
John Griffiths recounted in his book Afghanistan (1967) "an amiable, lengthy and courteous interview" with its prime minister. But he "sparked a flash of anger when I asked him whether he thought any part of Afghanistan should become part of [Pakhtunistan]. His sharp 'never' and subsequent rebuke of my 'irrelevant' question betrayed, not only strength of feeling, but perhaps also an awareness of the ambiguity and weakness of the arguments for an independent [Pakhtunistan]".
It is sheer territorial aggrandisement, not a case of self-determination. In January 1960 Pakistani Foreign Minister Manzur Qadri baffled his Afghan counterpart, Mohammed Naim with a proposal for a plebiscite of the Pakhtuns in Afghanistan since those in Pakistan had already voted in a referendum on July 17, 1947. As two-thirds of them lived in Pakistan, it was more rational for the rest to join the majority. Manzur Qadir repeated the offer publicly on March 7, 1960.
The Durand Line was not drawn arbitrarily. It was defined in a brief agreement signed in Kabul on Nov 12, 1893 by India's foreign secretary, Sir Mortimer Durand, and King Abdur Rahman Khan, in the text and the attached map. J.V. Prescott an authority remarked on "the spirit of compromise in these negotiations" which was reflected in the concession Durand made; notably on the Chagai area".
Demarcation on the ground began in April 1894 and was completed in May 1896. During this period seven sections of the boundary were precisely defined in agreed documents - to wit, on Nov 21, 1894; Feb 26, 1895, March 8, 1895, April 9, 1895, April 15, 1895 and May 13, 1896.
Only two sections remained un-surveyed. Amanullah Khan's jihad on the firangis accomplished that. He hoped to acquire Peshawar and areas in the Derajat up to the Indus. The peace treaty signed in Rawalpindi on Aug 8, 1919, confirmed the frontier "accepted by the late ameer" and provided for an "early demarcation" of the "undemarcated portion of the West Khyber where the Afghan aggression happened".
The treaty of Nov 22, 1921 signed at Kabul, confirmed the Rawalpindi treaty and "also the boundary west of the Khyber" laid down by the commission in August-September 1919. By an exchange of notes on Feb 3, 1934, the parties confirmed their agreement of July 11, 1932 on the frontier "in the neighbourhood of Arnawai and Dokalim". A process that began in 1893 ended 40 years later in 1934.
A note came on June 13, 1947 after Mountbatten's announcement of the partition plan on June 3, 1947 to overturn all that. Afghanistan now demanded that the terms of reference of the referendum in the NWFP under the plan should be widened to cover independence or accession to Afghanistan. London rejected the demand asserting its rights under the treaty of 1921 and denying "the right of a foreign government to intervene in the internal affairs of those areas".
At a meeting of the Indian cabinet on July 4, 1947 at which Jawaharlal Nehru and Liaquat Ali Khan were present, Nehru, as minister for external affairs, said, to quote the minutes, "about a month ago the press and the radio in Afghanistan had started a campaign giving prominence to Afghanistan's interests in the North West Frontier and the claim was made that Pathans were Afghans rather than Indians and they should have the utmost freedom to decide their own future and should not be debarred, as the proposed referendum would appear to do, from deciding either to form a separate free state or to rejoin their motherland, viz Afghanistan.
These claims had later been taken up on an official level with HMG and the Government of India. The Government of India had refuted this irredentist claim of Afghanistan to the area lying between the Durand Line and the Indus river, and had pointed out that the issue regarding an independent Pathan state was a matter entirely for the Government of India and the Afghan government had no locus standi. HMG's minister at Kabul had mentioned the possibility that the Afghan government's object might be to divert public attention in Afghanistan from the internal economic situation which was precarious."
On July 5 Britain handed the Afghan charge d' affaires an aide-memoire rejecting demands in respect of "an area which forms an integral part of India and is recognised as such by the Afghan government in the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1921". Kabul's claim that the treaty died with the transfer of power violated international law on state succession.
Section 9 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947 empowered the governor-general to make orders for bringing the provisions of the act into effective operation after it came into force on July 18, 1947. Leaders of the two dominions concluded an agreement on Aug 6, 1947 which he enforced by a formal order under Section 9 entitled the Indian Independence (International Arrangements) Order 1947. The agreement was set out in a schedule to the order. Para 3 is relevant: "Rights and obligations having an exclusive territorial application to an area comprised" in either dominion would "devolve upon that dominion".
Annexure V of the report listed the treaties "which are of exclusive interest" to each country and "those which are of common interest". Agreements with Afghanistan on Nov 12, 1893 and seven others, cited above defining the boundary devolved on Pakistan exclusively; in short, those relating to the Durand Line.
"The 1914 Anglo-Tibetan Convention, in its operation between the British and the Tibetan governments regarding the relation of Tibet vis-à-vis China and Great Britain" and "the Indo-Tibetan Boundary Agreement of 1914 regarding fixation of Assam-Tibet boundary" commonly known as the McMahon Line devolved on India.
India and Pakistan cannot question, respectively, the Durand Line and the McMahon Line.

The writer is an author and a lawyer.

Viewpoints

The Obama year

While Obama is no hawk and was one of the vociferous opponents of the invasion of Iraq, he is no peacenik either.

Tariq Fatemi

A year in the White House and Obama is already a diminished figure compared to what he was when elected to the presidency.
Perhaps this was inevitable given the tremendous expectations that so many had of him. But this was false hope given the complex nature of the American system that is based on 'checks and balances'.
In the inevitable compromise, many plans of a new president are either diluted or distorted, leaving friends disappointed and foes confused. In Obama's case, this is all the more apparent, given the intensity of both admiration for and animosity towards him.
But the reality is far more nuanced. In the domestic arena, Obama's primary focus has been the reform of the American health system.
On this issue, it appears that Obama may finally be on the verge of a historic victory that could provide health coverage to millions of Americans. But in the process of gaining support for this legislation, he has had to make major concessions that many among his core supporters fear have destroyed the essence of the reform.
In foreign policy, Obama enunciated his priorities of restarting the Middle East peace process, initiating a meaningful dialogue with Iran, ensuring a smooth wrap-up of the US engagement in Iraq and achieving some success in Afghanistan to claim victory and leave.
It is in this sphere that Obama's admirers, especially in the Middle East, appear most disappointed. His pronouncements during the election campaign and the urgency with which he appointed George Mitchell as his special envoy gave rise to expectations that Washington finally had an administration that would follow a principled approach to the Arab-Israeli dispute.
Regrettably, however, the administration's resolve on the illegal settlements came crashing down in the face of the Israeli prime minister's open defiance.
The spectacle of the administration kowtowing to the Israeli leadership and going back on its loud claims of evenhandedness must have been embarrassing to Obama. But as a student of history, he knows better than to suffer the fate of those American politicians who made the fatal mistake of taking on the Israeli lobby.
On Afghanistan, the administration no longer talks of 'nation building'. The objective now is narrow: to weaken the Taliban and Al Qaeda within the next 18 months and to restore some semblance of order to that country to enable the US to claim victory and pull out.
Since the success of this strategy is dependent on Pakistan's cooperation, we can expect more of the carrot and stick in the coming months. But the president has to guard against his own generals who want him to go down the same route that led to the destruction of the Johnson administration.
Recently, the Washington Post reported major differences on "fundamental aspects of the president's new approach ... which have opened a fault line between a desire for an early exit among White House officials and a conviction among military commanders that victory is still achievable on their terms".
Iraq has progressed reasonably well, even though the January election date is likely to slip away. But Obama should be able to fulfill his election promise to have US troops out before too long.
On Iran, the administration's initiative is stymied primarily because the dust raised during that country's presidential election has yet to settle. But in its relations with other powers, including India, China and Russia, the administration has moved with skill.
There is greater acceptance of Russia's desire for 'status' and sensitivity to its historic area of influence, which has helped move negotiations forward on arms limitation talks.
China has every reason to feel gratified that it has been accorded a 'special place' in Washington, reflective of the interdependency of their economies, while strategic ties with India have been reconfirmed, but not with the primacy granted to it under the Bush administration.
Delhi should, however, be thankful that Obama has, so far, not acted on his election promise of promoting India-Pakistan negotiations. Pakistan has to keep reminding Washington of its pledge to bring India back to the negotiating table.
After a year in office in this electronic age, some dilution in Obama's support was unavoidable, especially as the enormity of the problems inherited by him made it inevitable that he resile from some of his election promises.
He has also moved towards the centre on virtually all issues, whereas during the elections he was able to wrap himself up as an 'outsider', ready to take on the entrenched interests. Now, he is the 'insider', prepared to accept compromises in search of larger goals.
He is not an ideologue ready to stage a symbolic fight that could end in defeat. His approach to the healthcare bill and the Copenhagen Conference, demonstrated his belief in achievable successes.
While Obama is no hawk and was one of the vociferous opponents of the invasion of Iraq, he is no peacenik either. In fact, he is an admirer of Harvard scholar Samantha Power who argued in her 2003 book A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide that American inaction in the face of genocidal regimes has been at least as destructive to human lives as US military adventures such as Vietnam.
His articulation of just war in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, in which he argued that it is sometimes legitimate to use force for purposes other than self-defence may eventually be equated with similar historic pronouncements made by some of his predecessors.
While invoking the memories of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Obama nevertheless, asserted that he could not be guided by their examples alone.
If Obama is both a realist and an idealist, who is worried about setting goals "that go beyond our responsibilities, our means, or our interests", is it not time our own leaders carried out an equally dispassionate reappraisal of our national goals and objectives and based them on available assets and capabilities, rather than on messianic ambitions?

  Trash the Nukes in 2010

President Bill Clinton must suffer much of the blame for slowing disarmament talks down to a snail's pace. It was an unforgiveable sin.

Jonathan Power

If in 2010 the big nuclear weapons powers and UN Security Council permanent members- the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France- don't make significant reductions with their nuclear weapons then an important opportunity will be lost.
Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitri Medvedev appear to be of a mind on this.
One has to go back to the presidencies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson to get the full picture on the dismal progress on nuclear disarmament. Their Defence Secretary, Robert McNamara, told both presidents nuclear weapons were unusable. Henry Kissinger, when National Security Advisor to President Richard Nixon, publically said the same, chiding the Europeans for thinking that they were under an American umbrella. He told them bluntly that America would never sacrifice its own cities to revenge ?European ones.
Later President Ronald Reagan was quite clear that he could never push the nuclear button and that all nuclear weapons must be quickly abolished. He came close to striking a deal with the Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev,at their summit in Reykjavik when only the intransigence of the Russians in refusing to lift their objection to testing missile defences in the laboratory.
In recent years not only was Robert McNamara on the warpath on behalf of radical disarmament, so have been the former bastion of the nuclear weapons' establishment, Paul Nitze, who was the chief negotiator on the old Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START), General the military chief in charge of nuclear weapons and their launching, Henry Kissinger himself and a long list of ex military commanders and political figures, both left and right.
President Bill Clinton must suffer much of the blame for slowing disarmament talks down to a snail's pace. It was an unforgiveable sin. Here was a president who inherited the peace brought about by presidents George Bush Senior and Boris Yeltsin and yet put it on the shelf for want of drive, even interest. President George W. Bush quickly struck a handsome deal with President Vladimir Putin to shelve over a thousand big rockets and their warheads in storage. It is in fact the template for what should be done now. Once the present negations are wrapped up on renewing and extending quite dramatically cuts under the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty the two leaders should meet and decide to put the rest of their nuclear missiles on the shelf. They should initially keep a hundred or so out of the approximately 6,000 that used to exist in order to persuade Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel to join the bandwagon. All of them would find themselves - including North Korea- under irresistible pressure to disarm.
In the "in-club" there is a lot of talk these days of taking a step at a time. For example, to get the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty agreed- a cause that has been on the table since Kennedy embraced it. Under Clinton it did come before Congress for ratification, but Clinton made no big effort to get it through. Another favourite is to work on the reduction of the smaller and simpler to discuss tactical (or battlefield) nuclear weapons, dangerously under the control of field commanders and often improperly stored in Russia. In some cases they have been found protected by a single barbed wire fence.
Then there is the campaign to hold both powers to a "no first use" pledge, a load of codswallop if there was real tension and life or death issues at stake.
Obama is temperamentally tuned to taking big leaps that ignore the conventional wisdom. A reading of his Nobel Prize winning speech with his accent on "love" between nations is path breaking. Medvedev comes across as a principled and idealistic man. His mentor Prime Minister Putin shows no sign he would want to hold him back on this issue. Someone has to start the ball rolling. Best if they hold hands and do it together.

Jonathan Power is a veteran commentator on foreign affairs.

  The death of a decade

The corporations run the show and the only vivid opposition comes from Christian populists, who've brought several million copies of Sarah Palin's memoir.

Alexander Cockburn

William Hazlitt got gloomily drunk for a fortnight after the battle of Waterloo, accurately anticipating that decades of reaction lay ahead, now that Boney had been definitely put away, with the Holy Alliance in the saddle and the French contagion safely bottled up. Smart fellow, that Hazlitt. He should have stayed drunk for a month.
Sometimes, on the edge of a new decade, things look dismal, but one has the feeling that something good just might be around the corner. The 1970s for example: At their onset, Nixon was in the high noon of his first term, presiding over frightful slaughter in Vietnam, while his Attorney General John Mitchell pored over plans to lock up the left at home. It looked as though darkest night was falling.
And yet there was a certain edgy, desperate hope in the air - and four short years into the 1970s, the hopers, no longer desperate but exultant, saw Nixon clamber into a helicopter and take off from the White House lawn toward his version of St. Helena, in San Clemente; and nine months later on April 30, 1975, Gunnery Sgt. Bob Schlager and 10 other Marines finally caught the last helicopter off the roof of the US Embassy in Saigon.
Ah, those raucous, wonderful 1970s. Those who missed them will never know the sweetness of life, as Talleyrand said of the Ancien Regime. Sweet and sharp. I spent them in New York. No better place to be. There was an exciting edge to life.
With the 1980s, you could feel the air beginning to seep out of the tires. For one thing, Death kept missing his appointments in Samarra, after years of rigorous punctuality with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and the Kennedy brothers. He'd already fumbled two dates with Gerald Ford, when his chosen messengers, Sara Jane Moore and Squeaky Fromme, messed up. On March 30, 1981, another of Death's chosen messengers, John Hinckley, tried to shoot Reagan and failed to get his man.
That would have been a game changer! We'd have had three months of Ron instead of eight weird years when America plunged into fantasy, where it still resides. We wouldn't have heard him give the Star Wars speech, or Nancy just saying no. Or Ron saying he expected Armageddon to come in his lifetime. Or Nancy running the country with the help of Mrs. Quigley, her astrologer. We'd have had George Bush Sr. ... surely a one-termer. It would have all been different ...
But would it really? Clinton and the 1990s suited each other fine, and Bill gave us our last known dose of politics as fun, with the Lewinsky affair, but the decade would have had the same general contour - though a Republican president would have had much bigger problems getting the poor tossed off welfare.
And then in 2000, we had Bush and Gore, and the American people very reasonably couldn't figure out which one to go for. The folks who knew Gore best - the voters of Tennessee - went for Bush. And then in September of Bush's first term, we had a game changer here in America. Death finally rounded up a gang of messengers with a real commitment to getting the job done.
But "game changer" aren't quite the words for the event that launched the Noughts. Sept. 11 just sped up basic tendencies that were already in train. Invasion of Iraq? The onslaught had been in full spate through most of Clinton-time via a lethal embargo - and the course of Iraqi politics had been set back in 1963, when the Kennedy administration OK'd CIA complicity in the overthrow and murder of the Iraqi nationalist Gen. Kassim, setting the stage for the CIA's man, Saddam Hussein.
The Afghan mess is now about to get messier. It was set up in the late 1970s, when the Carter administration supervised the overthrow of Afghanistan's one shining moment of hope, the left reformist governments that took power in 1978. That's when Osama Bin Laden stepped into the stage of history as one of the CIA's men. Israel, the Palestinians? Rewind the decades back to Truman and beyond.
What made the American 1970s exciting was the left - in its broadest antinomian contours - had life in it, still pumped up by successive radical generations all the way back to the beginning of the century. The last time we saw that left in action was in the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988.
In 1992, the left went hook, line and sinker for Bill Clinton and lost all independent traction. By 1996, it had become a habit. Same story in 2000. Same again in 2004 (all in behind the Democrat Kerry, in case you forget) and finally, most deliriously, with the salesman of hope in 2008, Barack Obama. The left is dead and gone as a vital force in American political life. The corporations run the show and the only vivid opposition comes from Christian populists, who've brought several million copies of Sarah Palin's memoir.

The teens? Join William Hazlitt.


Alexander Cockburn is coeditor with Jeffrey St. Clair of the muckraking newsletter CounterPunch. He is also coauthor of the new book "Dime's Worth of Difference: Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils."

Decade of global crimes

Both failures have accelerated the rise of China which has taken hundreds of millions out of poverty as the economic gap with the US has halved.

Seumas Milne

Eight years on, we're still caught in the shadow of the twin towers. As a rule, terrorism in its proper sense isn't just morally indefensible - it also doesn't work. In contrast to mass national resistance campaigns or guerrilla movements, the record of socially disconnected terror groups, from the Russian anarchists onwards, has been one of unmitigated failure.
But the wildly miscalculated response of the United States government succeeded in turning the 9/11 atrocities into what may rank as the most successful terror attack in history. It also triggered the first of four decisive changes which have ensured that the 21st century's first decade has transformed the world - in some significant ways for the better. Osama Bin Laden's initial demand was the withdrawal of US troops from Saudi Arabia, which was carried out in short order. But it was George Bush's war on terror that paradoxically delivered the greatest blow to US authority and the world's first truly global empire, in ways Al Qaeda could scarcely have dreamed of.
Not only did the lawless savagery of the US campaign of killings, torture, kidnappings and incarceration without trial spawn terrorists across the Muslim world and beyond, while comprehensively disposing of western pretensions to be the global guardians of human rights. But the US-British invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, in the latter case on a flagrantly false pretext, starkly exposed the limits of US military power to impose its will on recalcitrant peoples prepared to fight back.
In Iraq, that had already amounted to a strategic defeat, at a cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, by the time the US surge bought some time by splitting the resistance movement. Both on a regional and global scale, the demonstration of US military overreach strengthened the hand of those prepared to defy America's will, and revealed 2003 as having been the high-water mark of US imperial pomp.
A voracious model of capitalism forced down the throats of most of the world for the last 20 years as the only acceptable form of economic management, at a cost of ever-widening inequality and devastating environmental degradation, has now been discredited. In less than 10 years, the baleful global twins of neoconservatism and neoliberalism have been tried and tested to destruction.
Both failures have accelerated the rise of China which has taken hundreds of millions out of poverty as the economic gap with the US has halved (China has in fact overtaken the US in domestic capital generation).

International

Police arrest senior Pakistani Taliban commander
Dawn Online

Police arrested a senior Pakistani Taliban commander who led the militant group's network in Punjab, a key province where violence has been increasing.
Senior police investigator Chaudhry Shafiq said Thursday that Khalilullah was the mastermind behind a market bombing in Lahore on December 7 that killed 49 people.
Shafiq declined to say when or where Khalilullah was arrested.
More than 500 people have been killed in attacks since mid-October when the army launched a major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban's stronghold of South Waziristan in the northwest.
Pakistan Security forces raided a private hospital before dawn in a Taliban stronghold in South Waziristan on Thursday, killing four foreign militants and a woman, officials said. 27 others were also arrested.
The dead foreigners include two Arabs and a Bangladeshi.
Troops laid siege to the Hafiz Hospital in Wana, which belonged to a former MNA, at 2:00am (2100 GMT) sparking gun battles until around 7:00am (0200 GMT), local administration and intelligence officials said.
A security official said the raid followed a tip off that wounded militants were brought to the hospital from Sherwangi, a Taliban-dominated area where Pakistan has been pressing a major offensive.
"Commandos and security forces raided the hospital. Militants fired on the troops and in the gunfight, which lasted more than four hours, four militants and a woman were killed, while 27 others were arrested," said the official.
"One soldier was also injured. The three dead militants appear to be Arabs and one of Sudanese origin," the official added.
The identity of the woman was not initially clear, the official said.
An intelligence official and a local administrator confirmed the raid and deaths of four foreign militants, but said their identities were not immediately clear. The intelligence official said 27 suspects were arrested.
South Waziristan is part of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border that Washington has branded the most dangerous region in the world and a chief sanctuary of Al-Qaeda plotting attacks on the West.
Last October, Pakistan launched its most ambitious offensive to date in its tribal belt, fighting on three fronts against Tehreek-i-Taliban in its South Waziristan stronghold, where the military says it has killed 663 militants.

  Afghan attacks kill 8 CIA employees, 5 Canadians
Reuters, Kabul

A suicide bomber penetrated a foreign army base in Afghanistan to kill eight U.S. CIA employees on Wednesday, one of the spy agency's largest death tolls, and a separate attack killed four Canadian troops and a journalist.
A "well-dressed" Afghan army official detonated a suicide vest at a meeting of CIA officials in southeastern Khost province, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters.
"This deadly attack was carried out by a valorous Afghan army member when the officials were busy gaining information about the mujahideen, in the (fitness) club," he wrote in an email.
The attack is one of the most ambitious of the war, highlighting the Taliban's reach and coordination at a time when violence has reached its highest levels since the overthrow of the Taliban regime by U.S.-backed Afghan forces in 2001.
It was also the second Afghan army killing in as many days on the foreign troops and officials who are meant to be mentoring them, casting a shadow over plans to bolster the Afghan army and police to allow their troops to eventually bring them home.
U.S. President Barack Obama is sending 30,000 extra troops to tackle the violence and NATO allies are contributing thousands more. An Afghan army official said on Wednesday that Washington had pledged $16 billion to train the army and air force.
When asked how the attacker managed to launch an assault in a foreign military base, Taliban spokesman Mujahid replied: "Since the man was an officer, he had not much difficulties." U.S. officials said the dead Americans were CIA employees. Some people were also wounded in the explosion, defence officials said, but no U.S. or NATO troops were among them.

  Bali denies issuing warning of possible attack
Reuters, Jakarta

The Indonesian resort island of Bali faces a risk of attack on New Year's Eve, a statement issued by the U.S. Embassy quoted the island's governor as saying, but the governor's office denied making any such comment.
The statement quoted Bali Governor I Made Mangku Pastika as saying in a message distributed by the Bali Tourism board: "There is an indication of an attack to Bali tonight, but please don't panic, but put your security system to full alert."
Attacks by Islamic militants on Bali killed more than 200 people in 2002 and 2005.
Officials at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta could not immediately be reached for further comment. But Putu Suardika, head of public relations at the office of the Bali governor, denied that the governor had made such a statement.
"No, he never said that, either in writing or verbally," Suardika told Reuters. "We never put out any warning either written or spoken. Of course we in Bali, because we have had two bombs in the past, have to remain on alert."
Bali police spokesman Gde Sugianyar said police were not aware of a threat and always tried to ensure security was as tight as possible.
"There is no initial indication so far. Everything is running well and secure in Bali.
"For us, we don't consider whether there is any threat or not but we have been preparing security for the New Year's Eve to be as tight as it can."

  Pak Army to seek 20 SuperCobra helicopters from US
Dawn Online

The Pakistan Army is likely to seek US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to acquire 20 SuperCobra helicopters to reinforce its fleet of ageing Cobra attack helicopters, which are being extensively used in operations against terrorists in tribal regions.
According to the Pakistan Assistance Strategy Report published by the US State Department, the army envisions acquiring the SuperCobra helicopters. The helicopters alone, it said, would cost at least $500 million and the total acquisition would cost up to $1 billion.
The report says that SuperCobra attack helicopters will not be available for foreign customers till 2015. Equipping the army with such helicopters earlier than 2015 will require either increased production or their diversion from the US Marine Corps.
The report says that Pakistan is likely to maintain its current force of Cobra helicopters, supplemented by armed Bell 412 aircraft. Pakistan currently has 32 Cobra attack helicopters. The sustainability of the current fleet of the helicopters is difficult but possible through commercial channels.
However, the US government is currently spending $75 million from the Pakistan Counter-insurgency Funds to update a portion of the existing Cobra fleet.
Pakistan army has received two squadrons of Cobras since 1983, later upgraded with the 'C-NITE thermal imaging' package.

  Sri Lanka president accused of illegal campaign funding
AFP, Colombo

Anti-graft campaign group Transparency International accused Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday of using state property and public cash to illegally finance his re-election bid.
The Sri Lanka branch of the Berlin-based watchdog said armed forces, police and public servants were being deployed to campaign for the ruling party in the January 26 vote.
Election law prohibits the use of state property or public servants for the benefit of candidates.
"The abuse of public resources at elections seems to be a continuing activity in every election in Sri Lanka. The trend seems even more ominous at the current presidential election," TI said in a statement.
Rajapakse, who is being challenged by 21 others, including his former military chief Sarath Fonseka, called a snap poll hoping to capitalise on the end of a 37-year ethnic conflict with separatist Tamil rebels in May.
Transparency cited several incidents where a national youth movement led by the president's eldest son had solicited state funds for a 790,000-dollar media campaign to support his father.
"Although the advertisements do not mention a name of a candidate, it is not a secret or difficult to understand for whom they stand for given the direct political affiliation of this organisation with the president and his regime and the content of the advertisements," Transparency said.
"This raises the need to have a transparent political party funding in the country in addition to preventing electioneering at public expenditure," the report said.
The 10-page report said heads of state media, armed forces and public entities were openly canvassing for the president and also releasing staff and money for Rajapakse's campaign.
"What is of more concern is its impact on the integrity of the electoral process and the candidates who supposedly stand in election stages to safeguard the property and the rights of the people," Transparency said.
There was no immediate comment from the government to the report, but the state-run Daily News on Thursday accused opposition political parties of spreading baseless stories on financial misdeeds of Rajapakse and his family.

  No progress made on inter-Korean relations: S Korean president

Xinhua, Seoul

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Thursday there has been no improvement in relations between South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the past year though he remained hopeful.
"We are successfully laying the foundation for better ties," Lee said in a meeting with ministries of foreign, unification and defense officials, according to Yonhap News Agency.
"We should reconsider our conventional thinking on diplomacy, unification as well as national defense," the president said, adding the country needs to "refashion" itself on those issues.
The relations between South Korea and the DPRK got sour after Lee took office in February 2008 with a hard-line policy toward the DPRK, reversing a decade of engagement policy practiced by his two predecessors.
But more recently the two countries have inched toward a thaw, as the DPRK has accepted Seoul's humanitarian assistance amid talks of resuming stalled six-way negotiations on the denuclearization of the DPRK.

  Japan to settle US base row despite political risk
AFP, Tokyo

Japan's government has told the United States it will decide by May where to relocate a controversial US military base even if it risks breaking up the ruling coalition, Jiji Press reported Thursday.
State minister Seiji Maehara told the US ambassador to Japan that Tokyo was currently considering alternative sites for the base, which under a 2006 deal with Washington was to move from an urban area on the island of Okinawa to a coastal region, Jiji said.
But if it failed to come up with a plan by May, it would implement the 2006 accord even if it meant disbanding the coalition, which includes anti-base Socialits, it said.
The message was delivered by Maehara, state minister for Okinawa affairs, to ambassador John Roos at a meeting in Tokyo in early December, Jiji said, quoting a US government source in Washington. Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada will visit Washington soon to officially inform the US government about the plan, Maehara reportedly told Roos.
Last week, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said it would not be practical to shift the whole air base, which has been the subject of friction between Tokyo and Washington, from Okinawa to the US Pacific territory of Guam.
Hatoyama's comments drew the ire of the Socialists, who favour shifting the base out of the country and have threatened to leave the coalition over the dispute.
Hatoyama took power in September at the head of a three-member coalition following his party's landslide victory in August elections in the lower house of parliament which ended half a century of conservative rule.

 Arab League chief wants bigger UN role in ME
Reuters, Cairo

The United Nations must play a bigger role in trying to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the United States should not be the only mediator, a senior Arab official said.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa told Reuters, without directly criticising U.S. policy in the Middle East, that any mediator must be objective. "There should be a change in the direction of the peace process, by having a mediator who understands the needs of the two parties, and not one party," he said.
"The United Nations role which was marginalised at a certain stage with regards to the Arab-Israeli struggle should be brought back," he added. The United Nations is part of a Quartet of mediators alongside the U.S., European Union and Russia, but the United States has taken a leading role in the peace process.
U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell is expected to visit the region in January for a fresh push to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks stalled since a three-week Gaza war in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed. Months of Mitchell's shuttling between the sides yielded no concrete signs of progress in 2009.
Hints of movement in the deadlocked talks have emerged in discussions between the leaders of Egypt and Israel this week, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Wednesday.
Neither side has divulged the details of what development may take place though both are cautiously optimistic that talks could resume sometime in 2010. Moussa told Reuters on Tuesday that he trusted Obama, but added: "We must maintain the American role in the framework of other roles, European and United Nations and all countries that have links to and interests in the situation in the Middle East". Moussa, who was Egypt's foreign minister between 1991 and 2001, won praise from many Egyptians and Arabs for his criticism of both Israel and past U.S. Middle East policies.

  Iran denies uranium deal with Kazakhstan
AFP, Tehran

Iran denied on Wednesday that it had reached a deal with Kazakhstan to purchase purified uranium, after Astana also issued a denial.
"The news circulating in some media that Iran is on the threshold of inking a covert deal to import 1,350 tonnes of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan is utterly fabricated and baseless," the foreign ministry said.
"This propaganda is one of the links in the chain that serves the political intentions of the oppressive powers," a statement added.
Xinhua adds: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Wednesday it has received an intelligence report that said Iran was planning to clandestinely import purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan.
The authenticity of the report was yet to be confirmed, an IAEA official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The agency was now examining the report to find out details of negotiations between Iran and Kazakhstan, he said, declining to provide any further information. Such imports are clear violations of U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed on Iran in 2006 over its nuclear program.
Local media said the intelligence report showed that Iran intended to import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan. The deal could be done within the next few weeks, and Iran was willing to pay 315 million euros (about 453 million U.S. dollars) for the shipment. Iran, which is under three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions for refusing to freeze its enrichment program and related activities that could be used to make nuclear weapons, has denied the reports.

  Foreign activists in Gaza protest Israeli closures
AFP, Erez Crossing, Gaza Strip

Hundreds of people including international activists protested on both sides of a Gaza Strip border crossing on Thursday against Israeli closures imposed on the Hamas-ruled territory.
"It's a non-violent, peaceful gathering and the aim is to show the international community the suffering of the people of Gaza," Amjad al-Shawa, a Gaza-based organiser, told AFP. Eighty-six international activists were allowed to enter the enclave on Wedne-sday from Egypt via the Rafah crossing, the only terminal not controlled by Israel, which has been mostly closed since Hamas seized power in June 2007.
Another 1,200 activists from around 40 countries remained in Cairo after the Egyptian authorities declined to allow the entire group to enter Gaza because of what they called the "sensitive situation" in the Palestinian territory.
Scuffles broke out in Cairo as around 200 activists gathered downtown to protest the decision, with Egyptian police punching and kicking protesters, leaving one with broken ribs, organisers said.
"Members of the Gaza Freedom March are being forcibly detained in hotels around (Cairo) as well as violently forced into pens in Tahrir Square by Egyptian police and additional security forces," they said in a statement.
The crackdown saw "wom-en being kicked, beaten to the ground and dragged into pens, at least one confirmed account of broken ribs and many left bloody."

  Full-body scan under discussion for US flights criticized
Xinhuanet, Beijing

The wide use of full-body scanning at airports now being discussed at the White House has set off hot criticism from privacy advocates who call it a "virtual strip search," according to media reports Thursday.
Ever since the Christmas Day terror attack aboard a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner was thwarted, the security advocates have called for greater use of body scanners that, first used in a U.S. airport in 2007, can find hidden objects that metal detectors can't. "The advanced imaging technology enhances security because it can detect both metallic and nonmetallic threats hidden on a passenger's body," U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokesman Greg Soule said. Civil libertarians opposed the anatomically revealing technology on all travelers, considering the body scanners an invasion of privacy that is akin to a strip search. The devices detect objects concealed under clothes and can produce detailed images of the body.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says it does not trust privacy safeguards, saying the images that depict body shapes and private parts would still exist.
"If a celebrity goes through a scanner that kind of image could end up on the Internet," said Jay Stanley, an ACLU privacy expert. "We would certainly all be safer on airlines if we all flew naked," he said.
Addressing privacy concerns, the TSA says faces are blurred on the body scans generated by the agency's machines. Agents who deal directly with passengers do not see the scans, and the agents who review the scans do not see the passengers.
AFP adds: A first probe into lapses that almost led to an explosion on a transatlantic airliner reportedly found Thursday that US government agencies failed to share key information about the would-be bomber. President Barack Obama was to be handed the findings of an initial inquiry after denouncing the "systemic" failures in the build-up to the December 25 failed attack on a Northwest plane traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit.
And as followers of the Al-Qaeda affiliate which has claimed the attack clashed with Yemeni government troops in their stronghold, Washington ramped up its military and economic aid to the improverished Gulf nation.

  2009 among deadliest years for media: watchdog
AFP, Brussels

The year 2009 was one of the worst for the targeted killing of media workers, with 113 lives lost, a leading watchdog said Thursday and called on governments to do more to protect reporters.
The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) designated the Philippines, Mexico and Somalia the most dangerous countries for media staff, following a spate of killings in recent months.
"The devastating massacre of 31 journalists and media staff in the Philippines in November and fresh violence against colleagues in Mexico and Somalia have made this a year of terrible bloodshed for media," IFJ President Jim Boumelha said. The group said a total of 137 media personnel were killed in 2009 -- 24 of them in accidents at work-up from 109 in 2008, despite a UN Security Council pledge three years ago to do more to protect people in the industry. "The question is whether governments are listening or ready to take their responsibilities seriously," said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.
"There is no room for complacency and indifference. The crisis facing media threatens innocent lives and democracy itself," he said in a statement.
The highest single national toll was 38 in the Philippines. Thirteen fatalities happened in Mexico, nine in Somalia, seven in Pakistan and six in Russia. Killings in Iraq, long the most dangerous country for media staff, fell from 16 last year to five in 2009.

  Children more likely to catch swine flu, study suggests
BBC Online

Children are twice as likely as adults to catch swine flu, according to a joint UK-US study. Imperial College London researchers and a team from the US looked at how the virus spread among families.
In a study of more than 800 people, one in eight people developed the infection after someone in their house got it. But the team also dismissed suggestions that children may be "super spreaders" as they were found to be no more contagious than older people. Rates of swine flu have tended to be higher among younger age groups, the official figures have shown.
What is more, there is thought to be a large pool of children who have been infected but not displayed symptoms. This research, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, confirmed that children were more likely to become infected.
The team looked at the families and household contacts of 216 people infected with swine flu. Of that group of 600, the under-18s were most likely to get it - twice as likely as adults under 50 - while those over the age of 50 were the least likely.
Infectious
However, the overall one in eight figure for infections was deemed to be pretty low compared to past pandemics. The researchers, who were also drawn from the US-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, looked at how long people remained infectious as well. They found the average length of time between one person displaying symptoms and then someone else in their house falling ill was 2.6 days.

 Chavez mocks Venezuela coup, Castro death forecast
Reuters, Caracas

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez scoffed on Wednesday at U.S. magazine Newsweek's predictions that he would be toppled by a military coup and his Cuban mentor Fidel Castro would die in 2010.
In a lengthy televised New Year's address, Chavez, who has taken Castro's position as Latin America's leading critic of U.S. power, described Newsweek as "the empire's magazine." "They feed on hatred and the wishes of the imperialism that they represent-big money, big newspapers, the TV stations of the global bourgeoisie," he said. In a list of 10 predictions for the world next year, Newsweek foresaw in Venezuela a year of soaring inflation, power blackouts, food shor-tages, spiraling crime and tumbling popularity for Chavez, with the mood on the street turning "mean" even among the poor who put him in power.
"The military steps in to depose Chavez and restore order, as 21st-century socialism spins toward the familiar 20th-century tableau of scarcity, poverty, and chaos," it said in a year-end edition.
The fiery Chavez, who has been in power for a decade, said the only way there would be an uprising against him would be if the internal opposition brought an army from abroad. "Our counter-attack would be tough, I warn them," he said, drawing applause from an audience of ministers and supporters.
Election Battle Looms
Newsweek also forecast the death of Castro, 83, next year. "Fidel Castro has been ailing for years, and 2010 looks to be his last year on earth," it said. Chavez, who seldom gives a speech without sending a greeting or "Viva!" to the former Cuban leader, said Newsweek's was the latest of many false predictions of Castro's demise.

Business/Economy

Country almost out of the impact of recession: Muhith
UNB, Dhaka

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Thursday said that the country is almost out of the impact of the global economic recession.
"In the outgoing year our exports, imports of capital machineries were on the rise, foreign exchange reserves and remittance also satisfactory. In fact, we are almost out of the impact of global economic recession," said the Finance Minister at the Vendors Agreement signing ceremony of Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL) in the afternoon.
With the signing of agreement, Bangladesh Shilpa Bank (BSB) and Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha (BSRS) are merged with their entire undertakings (assets and liabilities) to form Bangladesh Development Bank Limited (BDBL).
Deputy Secretary Mohammad Rizwanul Huda, BDBL Chairman Najem Ahmed Chowdhury and director Selima Ahmed signed agreement on be half of their respective organizations. Muhith said each and every economic index of the country is now positive. He, however, admitted that there are also some problems.
"There are some problems in investment. So, there is no reason to be complacent," he added.
"Power and energy," replied the Finance Minister when asked about the challenges in the New Year. "Energy is the main force. We need to expand it in a big way."
He said they need to expand the public expenditure and also mobilize resources.
"After all, good governance and good policy are the main challenges before the nation. As long as we are in power, we will have to face these challenges," Muhith said.
About the merger of BSB and BSRS, the Finance Minister said the idea about it began in 1980. Manpower and liabilities were the main hurdles to implement the idea.
Muhith urged the BDBL officials to remain alert about their competitors and to come up with strong and innovative ideas.
Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman said it is not enough to merge two ailing organizations to generate power. Revitalization of the organization is essential.
"I think time has come to critically analyze why BSB and BSRS fell sick and to take appropriate measures so that the merged organization does not face the same fate," he added.
Dr Atiq urged the BDBL officials to make a strategic plan, revaluate the assets, move towards automation and build up a skilled manpower.
The hoped BDBL would focus on industrialization, small and medium enterprises and promote female entrepreneurs.
BDBL chairman Najem Ahmed Chowdhury said the government has taken a timely and practical decision to merge the two ailing banks into BDBL.
The BDBL, a 100% state-owned company, was registered as a public limited company with the Joint Stock Company. BDBL is also allowed commercial banking apart from financing the industrial sector.
BSB and BSRS were established under the Bangladesh Shilpa Bank Order, 1972 and Bangladesh Shilpa Rin Sangstha Order, 1972.

 Govt extends PSI system for another year
UNB, Dhaka

The government has extended the pre-shipment inspection (PSI) system for another year (up to December 31, 2010).
Finance Minister AMA Muhith signed the extension paper Thursday afternoon, on the last day of the previous extension.
"Yes, the Finance Minister signed the extension proposal," NBR chairman Dr Nasiruddin Ahmed told UNB over telephone. The government has extended the contract with the PSI companies for another year in order to give time to the National Board of Revenue (NBR) for adequate capacity-building.
Different trade bodies, including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), have been demanding of the government to continue the present PSI system at least for one year in the interest of businesses and revenue collections.
Initially, the government inked deals with four PSI companies for a period of three years in 1999, and later the agreement was extended several times.
Currently, SGS (Bangladesh) Limited, Bureau Veritas BIVAC (Bangladesh) Limited, Intertek Testing Limited and OMIC are working as the PSI agents for importing goods from abroad.
The NBR chairman said that the government has extended the time for one year after being firmly convinced that by this time the NBR would be capable enough to handle the import procedures after the phasing out of the PSI system.
"At first, we'll go for appointing manpower especially at the inspector level," he said.
Dr Nasir said that after appointing new manpower the NBR would train them on import procedures and valuation system.
He informed that by the next one year the NBR would go for extensive digitalization of the organization as the import procedures could be done smoothly like the foreign countries that have modern system.
"We will also reduce the area of the PSI companies for importing goods," he said.
The NBR chairman said abolishing the PSI system is not possible overnight. He, however, hoped that in the next one year his organization would be capable enough to do away with the system.
Presently, a core committee of NBR is working on phasing out PSI companies aiming to gradually develop its own skills to cease its reliance on these companies. Detecting the Board's shortcomings and suggesting the way outs are some other jobs the core committee has been assigned for.

  Call for people-oriented economic policy
UNB, Dhaka

Speakers at a workshop here underscored the need for making people-oriented economic policy and bringing the service sectors for the benefit of poor people.
Country's economic development should not be viewed partially.
Privatization can never ensure welfare state, they said.
They called for uniting the country's trade unions for making the service sector people-oriented. Private sectors should be under the government control and service sectors should never be brought under private sector, they said.
Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) organized the workshop titled "service sector privatization and people's access to services: situation of trade union" at Institution of Diploma Institute Thursday.
Dr Kazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed, Chairman of Polli Karma Sahayak Foundation and president of Bangladesh Economic Association, attended the occasion as chief guest.
Presided over by BILS Chairman Habibur Rahman Siraj, coordinator of Sramik Karmachhari Oikya Parishad Dr Wajedul Islam, Jatiya Sramik League president Abdul Matin Master and president of Jatiya Sramik Federation Abul Bashar, among others, addressed.
Leaders of national trade union federation, government and non-government representatives and others were also present.

  Nepal to introduce ‘no work, no pay’ industrial policy
Xinhua, Kathmandu

Nepali Industry Minister Mahendra Prasad Yadav has said that the new industrial policy, which has already been submitted to the cabinet for its approval, included the "no work, no pay" provision to enhance industrial productivity.
According to Thursday's The Kathmandu Post daily, the Ministry of Industry on Monday had tabled the much-awaited new industrial policy at the cabinet.
Highlighting the main features of the new policy at a press conference on Wednesday, Yadav said the government would implement the provision of "no work, no pay" at any cost.
"The policy was prepared after a series of talks with trade unions, so I hope there will not be any opposition from them," he added.
According to him, the provision of "no work, no pay" had been very crucial due to increased political interference and frequent protests and strikes at industries by the laborers.
The industrial policy has been revised after 17 years. It features special provisions for women entrepreneurs, micro, small and cottage industries, special economic zones, 24-hour electricity for industrial areas, low custom duties for industries buying generators, bonded warehouse for export- oriented industries, foreign direct investment, 40 percent income tax waiver for industries employing more than 25 women and an investment board for making investments above 10 billion Nepali rupees (some 135 million U.S, dollars), among others.

  Myanmar to double cost of local telephone calls
AFP, Yangon

Military-ruled Myanmar is to more than double the cost of local telephone calls in 2010, official sources said on Thursday. The price hike by the communications, posts and telegraphs ministry will take effect from January 1, the sources said. "The price will be increased to 50 kyats (five cents) per minute for all local calls," a telecommunications department official told AFP.
Current charges for local calls are 15 kyats per minute from landlines and 25 kyats per minute from mobile telephones. Charges for overseas calls will not change, the officials said.
The increased charges have not yet been announced by Myanmar's official media. "If it's true, I will try not to use my mobile very often," said Soe Soe, a 25- year-old housewife. Myanmar authorities have said they are trying to improve telecommunications across the impoverished country by extending network areas. The government allowed mobile phones to function in the remote jungle capital Naypyidaw for the first time in early October, after previously banning them for security reasons.

  Oil prices rise on last day of 2009
AFP, London

World oil prices, which have soared 40 percent this year on signs of global economic recovery, rose Thursday as solid US demand underpinned the market on the last trading day of 2009, traders said. New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, gained 55 cents to 79.83 dollars a barrel, after earlier rising as high as 79.98. Brent North Sea crude for February won 72 cents to reach 78.75 dollars in early London trading.
Crude oil has surged in 2009 as traders were heartened by mounting evidence that the battered global economy was on the mend, with the eurozone, Japan and the United States escaping a fierce recession.
The worldwide economic downturn, which was sparked by the global financial crisis, had slammed demand for energy and sent oil prices plunging to about 33 dollars towards the end of 2008. "So much then for 2009, a year that the oil market spent mainly in a recovery mode," said Barclays Capital analyst Paul Horsnell.
"It produced a (New York oil price) average of about 62 dollars per barrel, encompassing a low of 33 dollars per barrel and a high of 82 dollars per barrel, with prices finishing the year close to the highs after a steady ten-month climb."
However, prices still remain far below the record high points of above 147 dollars per barrel that were struck in July 2008 on fears of supply disruptions.
On Thursday, New York crude oil flirted with 80 dollars per barrel, extending recent gains on news of a drop in US petroleum reserves, which suggested stronger demand in the world's biggest energy-consuming nation.

  Economic slowdown over: British PM
AFP, London

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday that Britain is over the worst of the economic slowdown, in an upbeat New Year's message months ahead of general elections.
But Brown, who polls forecast is set to lose power in an election due by June, warned that opposition Conservative leader David Cameron could wreck the recovery if he wins power.
"There are some who say we must plan for a decade of austerity and unfairness where the majority lose out while the privileged few protect themselves," he said.
But he insisted: "I am confident that, if we continue with the tough decisions we have made, unemployment will start to drop this year, and more small businesses will open and flourish.
"That wasn't inevitable; it was the change we chose. And so my message today is simple: don't wreck the recovery," he added, in a clear reference to Labour charges that the Tories will slash spending mercilessly once in power.
Brown has struggled all year to convince British voters he is the right man for the top job-Labour has been lagging Cameron's Conservatives by double digits in most polls, although the gap has recently narrowed.
His claim to the higher moral ground on the economy has been compromised by the fact that as Tony Blair's finance minister for a decade he led a free market boom built on deregulation, which fueled last year's global near-meltdown.
Britain is one of the last European countries to remain in recession, while the Tories are focusing on Britain's soaring record debt after emergency measures to cope with the financial crisis.
The government has borrowed 86.9 billion pounds (95.5 billion euros, 144 billion dollars) since April, and some economists believe that borrowing is likely to breach the official target of 175 billion pounds for 2009-2010.
Brown warned Wednesday: "The recovery is still fragile, and it needs to be nurtured in the interests of those who were hit hardest by the recession.
"We are determined to reduce the deficit at a responsible pace, without choking off the recovery or damaging the frontline services the mainstream majority rely on."
Some pundits say the election could produce a hung parliament. This is when no party has an overall majority and is highly unusual in Britain-the last was in 1974.

  S’pore sees largest increase in tourism in three years
Gulfnews

Singapore: Singapore visitor arrivals in November jumped the most in three years, as the Hari Raya Haji holiday attracted tourists from Malaysia and Indonesia.
Visitor arrivals gained 8.4 per cent to 830,000 last month from a year earlier, the Singapore Tourism Board said in an emailed statement yesterday. Arrivals from Malaysia rose 37 per cent, while Indonesian visitors gained 20 per cent. The board also said the 2009 "Reasons to enjoy Singapore" campaign helped spur an increase in visitors from Germany, China and Australia. Singapore is betting on projects to open in the next two years, such as the International Cruise Terminal and the two integrated resorts, to spur tourism.
In October, Singapore began work on a $355 million (Dh1.3 billion) terminal to double cruise-berthing capacity and boost visitors arriving by sea. The two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, are scheduled to open in 2010. The Singapore Tourism Board said on October 12 that visitor arrivals were still forecast to reach 17 million annually by 2015, as the region overcomes an economic slowdown and health scares such as the H1N1 pandemic. The board said at the time that tourism receipts will rise to S$30 billion by 2015, a target first announced five years ago. The board plans to give fresh projections for 2020 by April. Hotels reduced prices to attract business, according to the board's figures.
The average hotel room occupancy rate was 84.3 per cent in November, 3.8 percentage points more than a year earlier, while hotel room revenue fell 9.8 per cent to S$148 million from a year earlier.
Visitor days increased for the first time this year on an annual basis, reaching an estimated 3.1 million days, the board said.

N.Korea to ban forex use to reassert control
AFP, Seoul

North Korea will ban the use of foreign currency from New Year's Day in another move to reassert the communist regime's control over the economy, South Korean officials and analysts said Thursday.
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed a report of the ban carried by China's Xinhua news agency earlier this week.
Xinhua, reporting from Pyongyang, quoted a decree from the North's Ministry of People's Security prohibiting all entities and individuals from using foreign currency from January 1.
Foreigners will have to exchange money into North Korean won, the decree said, adding that any violation would be "severely punished".
The ruling came less than a month after the North issued new won banknotes as part of a 100-to-one currency revaluation. It restricted the amount of old notes which could be changed for new currency, sparking widespread anger.
The revaluation was widely seen as an attempt to clamp down on a growing free-market economy, which emerged after the state food distribution system collapsed during famines in the 1990s.
In 2002 the regime introduced limited wage and price reforms, causing prices to rise sharply. The reforms were rolled back three years later and in recent years officials have been cracking down on trading in street markets.
Professor Kim Keun-Sik of South Korea's Kyungnam University said the forex ban was aimed at further curbing private markets.
"As part of efforts to tighten state control over the economy, it needs to crack down on merchants and the new rich who have been dealing in foreign currencies at private markets," Kim told AFP.
The North officially limits the use of foreign currency to designated outlets. But visitors say it is accepted at many places in Pyongyang.
South Korea's Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young said the currency revaluation, and the North's succession plans, could pose a threat.
"It is difficult to estimate the threat to us that will arise in the aftermath of the currency reform and from the regime instabilities as leader Kim Jong-Il goes ahead with a hereditary power handover," the minister said in a New Year message to the South's 655,000-member military.

IMF lowers loan bar to allow Ukraine to pay for gas
AFP, Washington

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday it had eased loan criteria for Ukraine to allow the government to use international reserves to meet its debts, including gas payments. Ukraine, which has been hammered by the global financial and economic crises, was granted its request for a modification of its 16.4-billion-dollar standby arrangement, the IMF said in a statement.
The IMF said it had agreed to lower the end-December floor of Ukraine's net international reserves by approximately 2.0 billion dollars. "This important step will enable the Ukrainian authorities to use existing resources to make external payments due-including gas payments-within the framework of Ukraine's program with the fund," the Washington-based institution said.
"It does not involve any new disbursement by the IMF," the fund noted. The head of Russian gas giant Gazprom said Friday that Ukraine had cut back on purchases of Russian gas since mid-December and appeared to be facing serious cash problems. "Ukraine is experiencing serious problems with payment," Alexei Miller said on Russia's Vesti channel in comments carried by the Ria-Novosti news agency.
Ukraine has until January 11 to pay for gas, according to Gazprom, which has cut off supplies to the country over unpaid bills repeatedly in the past. Ukraine has been seeking the next installment of 3.8 billion dollars from its IMF standby loan. So far the government has received a total of 10.6 billion dollars of the 16.4-billion-dollar credit extended in November 2008 to help Ukraine cope with the global economic crisis.

US Treasury injects $3.8b into ailing GMAC
AFP, Washington

The US government unveiled Wednesday a 3.8 billion dollar fresh capital injection into troubled GMAC, the former finance arm of General Motors that became a bank to access federal aid. The capital infusion will give the government a controlling stake in the bank holding company, which nearly collapsed a year ago amid the global financial meltdown.
"Due to a variety of factors, including that the restructurings of General Motors and Chrysler were accomplished with less disruption to GMAC than banking supervisors initially projected, Treasury will commit 3.8 billion dollars of new capital to GMAC rather than the 5.6 billion dollars originally announced," the Treasury said in a statement.
It has injected a total of 12.5 billion dollars in capital into GMAC since it became a bank holding company in December 2008. The bailout funds are part of the 700-billion-dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) which the Treasury can use to stabilize the US financial system through October 2010.The Treasury, headed by Secretary Timothy Geithner, also said it was restructuring its investment in GMAC "to protect taxpayers and put GMAC in a position to raise private capital and pay back taxpayers as soon as practicable."
"These actions offer the best chance for GMAC to complete its overall restructuring plan and return to the private capital markets for its debt financing and capital needs in 2010," it said.
The 3.8 billion dollar capital injection will be in the form of 2.54 billion dollars of trust preferred securities and 1.25 billion dollars of mandatory convertible preferred (MCP) stock.
Treasury said it would also receive warrants for
both types of stocks,
totaling 190 million dollars, which it would exercise immediately at the close of the transaction.

Japan Airlines may stop int’l flights
AFP, Tokyo

Japan Airlines (JAL) may stop flying international routes under a plan being discussed by the government to try to keep the debt-ridden company in the air, a report said Thursday.
The plan calls for rival All Nippon Airways (ANA) to take over JAL's international flights as part of what would be a drastic downsizing scheme for Asia's biggest airline, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said.
The scheme was apparently on the table when key cabinet officials, including Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, met on Wednesday to discuss JAL's rehabilitation programme.
The transport ministry has strongly opposed the plan to turn JAL into a domestic carrier despite growing calls for a drastic restructuring of its international operations where losses weigh heavily, the newspaper said.
"(JAL) will be a good company if it abandons international routes and concentrates on domestic flights," an unnamed JAL executive was quoted by Mainichi as saying.
Immediate confirmation of the report was not available.
In a related move, Maehara held talks with vice Prime Minister Naoto Kan and other officials Thursday and agreed that the state-run Development Bank of Japan will offer further loans to JAL.
The DBJ has already disbursed just over half of a 100 billion yen (1.08 billion dollar) credit line extended in November. "On top of the remaining 45 billion yen, (DBJ) is to expand the limit," Maehara told reporters.
Cabinet officials said they would discuss details of further loans to JAL on Sunday before making an official announcement, while local media reported that DBJ is likely to double its credit line to 200 billion yen in total.
JAL, battered by the global recession and swine flu pandemic, is scrambling to slash costs and is seeking its fourth government bailout since 2001 to keep flying in the face of mounting losses.
Shares plunged to a record low on Wednesday as media reports that bankruptcy is one option for the cash-strapped carrier spooked investors.
The Tokyo stock market was closed for a holiday on Thursday. Local media have reported that the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp., which is overseeing JAL's restructuring, is considering the possibility of the carrier filing for protection from creditors.
It has also been offered financial assistance by both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, who are competing to take a minority stake in the Japanese carrier, eyeing its coveted Asian landing slots.
JAL, which lost about 1.5 billion dollars in the six months to September, has said it plans thousands of job cuts and a drastic reduction in routes as part of its efforts to return to profitability.
The global economic downturn has dealt a heavy blow to JAL's efforts to recover from a long period of financial turbulence stretching back to its privatisation more than two decades ago.

US new jobless claims dip to 17-month low
AFP, Washington

New US claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since July 2008, government data showed Thursday amid signs unemployment at 26-year highs may ease as the economy recovers from recession. The seasonally adjusted initial claims in the week ending December 26 stood at 432,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 454,000, the Labor Department said in a report.
It was the lowest level since July 19, 2008, and much lower than the 460,000 figure expected by most economists.
The four-week moving average, a less volatile indicator than the week-to-week figures, fell to 460,250 from the previous week's revised average of 465,750.
The figures suggest the brutal pace of layoffs is easing as the economy pulls out of its worst recession in decades. The total number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits also fell. Labor Department data showed the number of seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending December 19 was 4.981 million, a decrease of 57,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 5.038 million.
The weekly report offers an up-to-date snapshot of the job market, critical to US economic recovery from recession. Despite the decline in claims in recent weeks, analysts caution that unemployment weighs on consumer confidence and spending, key factors for recovery from recession since December 2007.
The US labor market witnessed a dramatic improvement in November as the number of jobs lost narrowed to 11,000 and the unemployment rate dipped to 10.0 percent, the government said.

National

Introduction of modern tourism system in Sundarbans demanded

UNB, Bagerhat

Tourists visiting world's largest mangrove forest, Sundarbans, demanded introducing of modern tourism system in the forest to attract more tourists.
While talking to UNB, they said steps should be taken to make the tourist spots in the Sundarbans more attractive for the tourists.
Meanwhile, the forest department has sent a proposal to the government to establish five tourist spots in the mangrove forest.
When contacted, DFO of Sundarbans (East Zone) Mihir Kumar said they have sent the proposal to the higher authorities to set up five tourist spots in Chandpai, Harbaria, Sharankhola, Kalagachhia and Munshiganj.
The Sundarbans eco-region is the world's largest mangrove ecosystem, with 20,400 square kilometers (7,900 square miles) of area covered.
Named after the dominant mangrove species Heritiera fomes, locally known as Sundari, it lies in the vast delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers across southern Bangladesh and Indian state of West Bengal.
This is the only mangrove eco-region that harbors the Indo-Pacific region's largest predator, the Royal Bengal Tiger.
Unlike in other habitats, here tigers live and swim among the mangrove islands, where they hunt scarce prey such as chitra deer (Cervus axis), barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak), wild pig (Sus scrofa), and even macaques.
There are 334 plant species, 375 genera, 165 flora and 13 orchid species in the Sundarbans.
As per the census conducted in 2004, there are 440 royal Bengal Tigers, 1.5 lakh deer, 40,000-50,000 monkeys and 150-200 crocodiles in the mangrove forest.
There are three wildlife sanctuaries established in 1977 under the Bangladesh Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973.
These are Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary, Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary and Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Sundarbans East Wildlife Sanctuary extends over an area of 31,227 ha. Freshwater and Sundari dominate interspersed with Gewa and Passur with Kankra occurring in areas subject to more frequent flooding.
The Sundarbans South Wildlife Sanctuary extends over an area of 36,970 ha. There is evidently the greatest seasonal variation in salinity levels and possibly represents an area of relatively longer duration of moderate salinity where Gewa is the dominant woody species.
The Sundarbans West Wildlife Sanctuary extends over an area of 71,502 ha. It includes areas which support sparse Gewa and dense stands of Goran and discontinuous patches of Hantal palm on drier ground and river banks and levees.
UNESCO declared these sanctuaries as world heritage sites in 1997.

  ‘Padma needs 5-km dredging to get back navigability’
BSS, Rajshahi

The Padma river needs a five- kilometer dredging from Sultangonj to Railbazar under Godagari upazila of the district to get back navigability.
The Bheramara Dredger Section of Bangladesh Water Development Board revealed this in a feasibility study report here recently.
On December 17 last, Sub-divisional engineer Toybuur Rahman and Sub-assistant engineer Tafique Uddin of the section visited one-kilometer upstream and four-kilometer downstream of Sultangonj and submitted a report in this regard.
In the study findings, they stated that numerous shoals were created on the five-Kilometer River way hampering the main flow side by side with creating a number of confluences.
Navigability in the river decline abnormally due to emergence of numerous shoals every dry season and the river turns into various confluences affecting the river-ways and irrigation system.
Besides, the report revealed that the groundwater table in the Barind tract declines unusually due to lack of recharge following unusual fall of water level in the Padma river.
However, the report stated that the navigability could be brought back after removing the shoals through proper dredging thereby the Godagari Town Protection Embankment could be protected from river erosion along with protecting the area from seasonal floods.
Earlier on July 26 last, various social organizations including Rajshahi Rakkha Sangram Parishad and Godagri Nagorik Committee sent memorandums to the Prime Minister's Office and Water Resources Ministry demanding immediate steps to bring back navigability in the river through necessary dredging to get rid the adverse situation. In response, the ministry directed the Water Resources Directorate to carry out a ground level feasibility study on how to bring back navigability in the river.

  823 distressed aboriginal families attain food security in Godagari

BSS, Rajshahi, Dec 31

Some 823 distressed aboriginal families of 20 villages under Godagari upazila of the district have no more starvation as they attained food security and self- reliance.
The villages are Choitanyapur, Shahanapara, Edulpur- Kantapasha, Nimkuri, Pathar- ghata, Beldanga, Golai, Geolmari, Gardaing, Mulkidiang, Daingpara, Neemghutu, Shreerampur Biroil, Baganpara, Gonoker Daing, Farshapara, Dadour, Gunigram, Rajpara and Narshinghagarh.
'The Aboriginals Village-based Sustainable Food Security Program' has been playing a positive role in making them free from poverty and hunger through building food storage (Rakkshagola).
By their own initiatives, the underprivileged and disadvantaged community people have built food security to mitigate the lean period side by side with capital formation and they have become mainstreamed.
Center for Capacity Building of Voluntary Organization (CCBVO) has been implementing the program through extending financial and technical support under the holistic village based community development approach.
These were revealed at the daylong annual general meeting of all the benefitted community members both males and females on Rajabari High school playground under the same upazila Wednesday.
CCBVO in collaboration with Bangladesh Freedom Foundation (BFF) organized the meeting.
Main thrusts of the program were to reorganization of food storage based village society, building self-reliance food security, promoting financial capability, health and education through the existing resource mobilization and public level service-delivery institutions and flourishing and conservation of the aboriginals own culture and heritage and all the activities were implemented successfully. Some 3,955 organized community members including 1,183 women and 1,640 children of 823 families attended the festival like ceremony.
The meeting was told that the community members have so far saved 1,315 mounds of rice and 239 mounds of paddy in addition to capital formation of around Taka 5.18 lakh.
Besides, they provided 5,546 mounds of rice and 81 mounds of paddy and cash Taka 71,763 for health, education and other family purposes to the needy members as risk assistance during the lean period.
Apart from this, the beneficiaries are engaged in various income- generating activities like homestead gardening and dairy and poultry rearing, through which, they also meet up daily nutritional requirement along with building their capacity.
Community leaders- Sudakkhan Toppo, Lalmohan Minj, Jharna Lakra and Nironjan Kujur and CCBVO Program Coordinator Arif Hossain presented their respective performance report on the occasion.
Chaired by Program Convener Biren Kuzur the ceremony was addressed, among others, by Chief Executive of Nagorik Uddyog Zakir Hossain, CCBVO President Everist Hembrom and its Chief Executive Sarwar-E-Kamal, former Deputy Director of Social Service Department Mozammel Haque, Coordinator of Bangladesh Legal Aid Services Trust Advocate Abdus Samad, Journalist Anwar Hossain Dilu and Anwar Hossain of BFF.

  Cold wave disrupts normal life in northern region
UNB, Rangpur, dec 31

The severe cold wave sweeping the northern region has left the normal life in disarray.
Sources said over 150 people have been admitted to the hospitals with pneumonia, meningitis and other cold-related diseases in the district in last three days. According to the local Met Office, Mercury has varied from 8 to 9 degree Celsius. The lowest temperature was recorded 8.04 degrees during the period.
Elderly people and children of the poor families in Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Nilphamari districts are the worst victims, as they cannot afford to buy warm clothes. The low-income group people in the northern districts are also suffering badly since they cannot go out for work. Dense fog has disrupted vehicular movement on many routes in the region.
Road communication on different routes is being disrupted for several hours everyday due to the poor visibility caused by thick fog. In most cases, drivers have to keep the headlights of their vehicles on even during the late morning hours. Meanwhile, the district administration has distributed 4,500 blankets and 500 sweaters among the poor people so far.
Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur BM Enamul Haque said they have sought another 30,000 pieces of blankets and sweaters from the concerned ministries for distribution among the destitute people. He also urged the well-off people and organizations to come forward to mitigating the sufferings of the poor people.

  PDBF takes massive loan distribution programme in Mymensingh

BSS, Mymensingh

Pally Daridra Bimochan Foundation (PDBF) has taken a massive loan distribution programme with a view to uplifting the socio-economic condition of the ultra poor
people of the district.
PDBF sources said the programme is being implemented in all the 12 upazilas of the district.
The upazilas are Mymensingh Sadar, Muktagacha, Phulbaria, Trishal, Bhaluka, Gaffargaon, Nandail, Iswarganj, Gouripur, Fulpur, Haluaghat and Dubaura.
The source said about Taka 12 crore has been disbursed among 31425 ultra poor people till Thursday under the programme.
This loan has been sanctioned for agriculture, fish farming poultry, cattle rearing and small trades.
The sources further said the PDBF has realised 91 percent outstanding loan. Besides, the organization has already distributed Taka four crore 70 lakh among 1136 small entrepreneurs in the district in order to make them self- reliant.

  Book distributed among primary schools in N-region
BSS, Rajshahi

Free of cost textbooks distribution among the primary schools for 2010 academic session has been going on everywhere in the country's 16 northern districts successfully. Divisional Deputy Director of Primary Education Department Kazi Monzur Kadeer told BSS here Thursday that upazila level distribution of around 80 percent books were completed from where the schoolteachers are receiving books according to their requirement.
He said around 1.92 lakh books were allocated for 17,369 schools in 125 upazilas of the division and added that there is no problematic report relating to book shortage and transportation. Besides, he said the present government has taken effective steps to distribute books in 2009 so that the students could get new books since beginning of the New Year.
In this context, he also said this is the first time when the students are getting 100 percent new books.
In the city, the book distribution program was opened at a ceremony organized by the primary education department on Rajshahi Medical College Campus Government Primary School here Wednesday.
Deputy Commissioner Shefaul Karim graced the occasion as the chief guest with Monzur Kadeer in the chair.

  Vegetable farming changes farmers' fate in Rajbari
BSS, Rajbari, dec 31

Farming of various type of vegetables is changing the fates of a large number of farmers in four upazilas of the district.
The farmers of the town and remote areas in all the upazilas are growing winter vegetables on larger scale due to economic prospect of the farming.
Deputy director (DD) of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Rajbari Faruk Hossain told this correspondent that winter vegetables were cultivated on 4880 hectares of land in the current season.
The DAE expects a yield of 78083 mound of vegetables in the district this year. BRAC and other NGOs have been imparted training to the farmers on the modern methods of cultivation to boost the production.
The sources said the farmers have been showing growing interest in the cultivation winter vegetables for the last few years. They are getting much profit from vegetables farming.
Abdur Rashid, a vegetables farmer of Ramkantopur area in Rajbari Sadar upazila, said he had achieved considerable profit by growing winter vegetables. Sattar Chowdhury of the same area said he also overcame hardship in family life by producing winter vegetables.

  Honest journalism impossible using profession for personal interest: Matia

BSS, Dhaka

Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury Thursday said honest journalism is impossible using the profession for personal interest.
She called upon journalists to present objective news rising above all sorts of pressure. Matia was inaugurating the national council of Bangladesh Sangbadik Samity (BASAS) at Jatiya Press Club here.
Physical torture on journalists in no way is acceptable, she said, adding, "Making someone a hero or a villain whimsically is also not a right job of a journalist."
Emphasizing brining back healthy trend in journalism, the agriculture minister said the government would remain alert so that no journalist is being harassed in 2010.
Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) President Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, Secretary General Altaf Mahmud, former president Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul, Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) President Shah Alamgir and Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) General Secretary Pathik Saha were special guests on the occasion with BASAS President Jalal Uddin Ahmed in the chair.
Recalling the memories of journalist Munajat Uddin, a pioneer in 'mufassal' journalism, the agriculture minister said he never compromised with his conscience.
She urged the rural-based journalists to provide correct news being imbued with the ideals of Munajat Uddin.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury said press freedom and security of the journalists are a must for giving democracy an institutional shape.
He demanded reinstatement of Printing and Publication Act of 1974.
Altaf Mahmud called upon the rural-based journalists to be united, as there is no alternative to unity in realizing any demand.
Terming journalism a modern profession, Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul said talent, skill and technology should be utilized properly to bring professional excellence in journalism.
Shah Alamgir said journalists should be devoted to welfare of the nation as well as the country rising above political opinion.
Pathik Saha said dignity of journalism should be increased further being imbued with patriotism and social commitment.
BASAS Executive Chairman Gobinda Lal Das, Secretary General Moniruzzaman Chowdhury and former secretary general Kalyan Saha also spoke on the occasion.

 Establishing safe, disciplined transportation system stressed
BSS, Dhaka

Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain at a meeting Thursday laid emphasis on establishing a safe and disciplined transportation system in the country.
He urged divisional commissioners and police officials for initiating mobile courts on roads and highways in order to ensure safe transportation and also requested the leaders of transport owners and labour organizations for assisting the authorities in this regard.
The minister said this at the 32nd meeting of the Road Transport Advisors' Committee in the city.
The communication minister, also chairman of the committee, presided over the meeting. Joining on special invitation, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan also spoke at the meeting.
Acting Communication Secretary, Chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, representatives from Home Ministry, Local Government Division, Labor and Manpower Ministry and Ministry of Commerce, divisional commissioners, chiefs of police of metropolitan cities, representatives of all police departments and Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) and leaders of transport owner and labor associations were present.
For ensuring safe roads and highways, the communication minister directed the concerned authorities to stop seating up of hats and bazars on highways.
The participants in the meeting discussed various issues, including mobile courts and motor driving licences.

BNP backed nationalist teachers' panel win CUTA polls
UNB, Dhaka

The BNP backed nationalist teachers' panel swept the elections of executive committee of Chittagong University Teachers Association (CUTA) Thursday, bagging eight out of 11 posts, including two important posts.
Abul Kashem Chowdhury was elected president bagging 245 votes while his rival Prof. Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury got 229 votes.
SM Nazrul Kadir was elected general secretary receiving 266 votes and his rival Dr Ahmed Salahuddin got 209 votes. Chief election commissioner Prof. Dr Azizur Rahman announced the results at Business Administration faculty auditorium this (Thursday) evening after the voting held from 9am to 2pm without any break.
A total of 490 voters cast their votes in the polling held at the auditorium.
Three members--Mohammad Ali Asgar Chowdhury, Dr Mohammad Ali Ashraf and Dr Jin Bodhi Bhikkhu-from progressive and pro-liberation backed yellow panel were elected in the polls.

Outlawed leader arrested in Pabna
UNB, Pabna

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel arrested a regional leader of an outlawed party from Kuchiamora in Ataikula upazila early Thursday.
The arrested was identified as Pagla Alam, 45, a leader of the Purbo Banglar Communist Party (ML-Lal Pataka).
Acting on a tip-off, a team of RAB-12 conducted a drive at a field in the area at about 2am and arrested Alam.
The elite force also recovered a foreign revolver and four bullets from his possession. Alam was wanted in several cases, including of murder, RAB sources said.

Sports

Citycell Bangladesh League football
Sheikh Russel prevails over Farashganj 2-1

TBT Report

Sheikh Russel posted its third successive victory in the Citycell 3rd Bangladesh League football when the title aspirant team defeated Farashganj Sporting Club 2-1 at Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Mohammad Mustafa Sta-dium in Dhaka on Thursday.
Moroccan footballer Samir Omari scored twice as Sheikh Russel earned its fifth win in the league after back-to-back triumphs in the previous two matches against Chittagong Abahani and Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society.
Samir Omari scored just four minutes after the beginning to bring early joy for Sheikh Russel supporters. Sheikh Russel players played with great panache and showed determination to finish the first half with a sole-goal lead. But Farashganj hit back in the 79th minute when Manik brought off the equalizer (1-1) to put the match on even keel.
Conceding the goal, Sheikh Russel players threw off their momentary laxity and swooped on the opponents with redoubled vigour to regain their supremacy.
When Sheikh Russell appeared desperate for goal and went all out in their last ditch attempts, Samir Omari again came to his team's aid, scoring the winner in the first minute of the second half injury time. Sheikh Russel, which only dropped points in its third match after a 2-2 draw with Arambagh Krira Sangha, accumulated 16 points from six games.
Farashganj, which lost to Brothers Union 1-0 in the previous match, managed six points from as many matches.
Today's match: Brothers Union vs Chittagong Moha-mmedan Sporting Club (Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Moha-mmad Mustafa Stadium, Dhaka at 3:45pm) and Shuktara Jubo Sangsad vs Biani Bazar Sporting Club (Osmani Stadium, Narayan-ganj at 3:30 pm).

  Shakib to lead Bangladesh in tri-nation cricket
TBT Report

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named the final 15-member Bangladesh national cricket squad for the forthcoming Tri-Nation Cricket Tournament, leaving out speedster Mashrafe Mortaza for his persistent injury.
The absence of Mashrafe once again put the captain's responsibility on the shoulders of mercurial all rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who successfully led the Bangladesh team's series victory against West Indies and Zimbabwe this year. Wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim has been selected as the vice captain of the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.
Controversial Indian Cricket League (ICL) players Shahriar Nafees and Aftab Ahmed have been included in the squad, while the pace bowler Shafiul Islam is the only new face in the team. The other ICL player Alok Kapali failed to manage a place in the final squad.
Bangladesh will take on Sri Lanka in the inaugural match of Tri-Nation Cricket Tournament, which also includes India as the third team, January 4 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
Three teams will play one another twice in the triangular tournament, while the top two teams will meet in the final on January 13.
The squad: Shakib Al Hasan (Captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (Vice Captain/WK), Mohammad Ashraful, Tamim Iqbal, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Nazmul Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Imrul Kayes, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed and Shafiul Islam.

  Arsenal turns on style
AFP, Portsmouth

Arsenal ended the decade in style as the Gunners eased to a 4-1 victory at bottom club Portsmouth on Wednesday to keep the pressure on Premier League pace-setters Chelsea and Manchester United.
Eduardo, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Song all scored to give Arsene Wenger's side their fifth league victory in six games and leave them just four points behind table-topping Chelsea, with a game in hand, going into 2010.
Portsmouth were afforded precious little joy on a day when it was revealed HM Revenue and Customs have delivered a winding-up petition against the debt-ridden club in regards to unpaid tax and VAT.
Nadir Belhadj, one Portsmouth player likely to be sold to help reduce outstanding payments, did claim a consolation but the hosts finish the year four points adrift in 20th place.
After a couple of early scares, third placed Arsenal's rhythm began to build. Andrey Arshavin rolled the ball into the path of Bacary Sagna on 17 minutes but Eduardo could not connect with the French right-back's well-flighted delivery.
Another quick-fire passing movement put Eduardo away on the flanks but while his pull-back found Abou Diaby, Asmir Begovic pulled off a strong two-handed save at his near post.
As Arsenal settled Portsmouth became increasingly less comfortable, with Aaron Mokoena's crude lunge on Ramsey displaying a lack of composure and presenting Eduardo with a free-kick from 25 yards.
Crucially the Croat's low free-kick was deflected off Younes Kaboul and flashed into the left-hand corner past a motionless Begovic.
Avram Grant's side would have felt hard done by and rallied through Belhadj, whose pace opened up a chance on 33 minutes but the Algerian's low drive from 20 yards skidded past Manuel Almunia's far post.
It was only a temporary revival as Arsenal increased their advantage in the 42nd minute.
Eduardo passed across the penalty area to Ramsey who in turn fed Nasri first-time and the French international drove home his first Premier League goal of the season.
After the break a left-footed cross by former Republic of Ireland international defender Steve Finnan evaded everyone, landing to Belhadj on the far side but the Algerian's shot flew well wide. The first signs of fan discontent toward Portsmouth's financial predicament then arrived as the home crowd cried "where has all our money gone?" and "sack the board". Bar Hassan Yebda's arrowed drive straight down the throat of Almunia it was comfortable for Arsenal who looked capable of a third at any moment.
It was Ramsey who sealed the points, the young Welshman nipping the ball off Portsmouth substitute Anthony Vanden Borre, shifting onto his left foot and launching a stunning strike past Begovic in the 69th minute.

  South Africa fails to go next level
AFP, Cape Town

South African captain Graeme Smith said after his team's crushing innings defeat in the second Test against England in Durban on Wednesday that his side had failed to "go to the next level" after a glorious 2008.
His concerns are reflected in the year-end statistics.
In the 2008 calendar year, South Africa won Test series in England and Australia, as well as sharing a series in India, winning at home against the West Indies and beating Bangladesh away and at home.
They won 11 out of 15 Tests, with just two defeats and two draws.
In 2009, starting with the "dead rubber" third Test of the series in Australia, they have been much less active in Test cricket, playing only six Tests, with just one win, four defeats and one draw.
Most of the South African players who starred in 2008 have gone backwards in statistical terms, although AB de Villiers has been a shining exception, scoring 572 runs in the calendar year at an average of 57.20.
The fast bowling attack, which was a key factor in 2008, together with a settled top six batting order and safe catching behind the wicket, has been particularly poor.
Dale Steyn took 22 wickets in five matches at an average of 32.86 but Morne Morkel's 15 wickets came at a costly 40.66 each, while Makhaya Ntini could manage only 13 wickets in six Tests at a high average of 57.00 apiece.
The fast bowlers were outshone by left-arm spinner Paul Harris, who took 26 wickets at 33.15.
South Africa named a squad of 14 for the second and third Tests against England and selection convenor Mike Procter said the team for the third Test starting in Cape Town on Sunday would come from those players.
Ntini looks like the most likely player to be axed.
He is the only black African in the squad, which could be a factor in race-conscious South Africa but Cricket SA chief executive Gerald Majola has told the team management they must pick their final eleven on cricket considerations only.
If Ntini was left out, he would be replaced by Friedel de Wet, the fast bowler who engineered an England collapse on the final afternoon of the drawn first Test in Centurion.
Batsman Alviro Petersen and all-rounder Ryan McLaren, the only uncapped players in the squad, are less likely to play in Cape Town.

   Robredo hopes for Hopman Cup title
AFP, Perth

As the only previous winner in the field, Spain's Tommy Robredo hopes his experience in the unique format of the mixed teams Hopman Cup will be an advantage when the tournament starts tomorrow.
The world No.16 will be making his fourth appearance here and is teamed with experienced countrywoman Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, ranked 26th, the pair looking to give Spain its third Hopman Cup title and first since 2002.
The 27-year-old was just a teenager when he debuted at the Hopman Cup in 2002, teaming with veteran Arantxa Sanchez Vicario to snatch the title.
Robredo said it was hard to predict how the fourth-seeded Spaniards would fare in the opening tournament of the year, but he hoped they would do well.
"It is difficult to say because it is the first week of the year and nobody knows how the other players are going," he said.
"If you are in shape at the beginning, maybe you have the luck to win the matches and make the final.
"Also, it is the mixed, if you win one singles and lose the other singles, the mixed is the decider and you never know who it is going to be.
"But Maria Jose and I are good players and we can play good in our singles and also in the doubles, so we will try to mix it up and win two matches every day."
The Spanish pair should acquit themselves well in the often deciding mixed doubles rubbers, with Robredo ranked 20th in doubles and the 27-year-old Martinez Sanchez ranked 25th.
"It is the last point and it is important if we are one-all," Robredo said of the mixed doubles.
"She is a great player in doubles and I like to play doubles."
Their first challenge is the US team of Melanie Oudin and John Isner on Sunday in their Group A tie.
Also in Group A under the round robin format of the Hopman Cup is the top-seeded Australian pairing of Samantha Stosur and Lleyton Hewitt.

  Indian boxing team in Pakistan for contest
AFP, Karachi

India sent its first sports team to Pakistan in more than a year on Thursday as a seven-member boxing team flew into Karachi to compete in an international tournament.
The boxers are the first Indian sports team to cross the border since India stalled sporting links with Pakistan after the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.
India refused to allow its cricket team to tour Pakistan late last year, citing security fears.
Pakistan sent tennis, squash and snooker players to compete in India last year but New Delhi resisted sending its own sportsmen to Pakistan.
The peace process between the two nuclear armed neighbours, which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, collapsed after the Mumbai attacks.
Head coach of the Indian boxing team, Shiv Singh, said the boxers were happy to tour Pakistan.
"We have been cleared by the government to take part in the event and all the members of the squad are very happy to be here," Singh told reporters at the airport in Karach, Pakistan's financial capital.
Mohammad Ali Shah, the sports minister in Sindh province of which Karachi is the capital, promised foolproof security arrangements in the wake of a suicide attack that killed 43 people in the city on Monday.
On March 3, an attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore killed eight people and wounded seven Sri Lankan players and a coach, all but destroyed Pakistan's hopes of hosting top-level international sport.
Three Indian boxers-Sanjay Singh, Naresh Singh and Parnoj Singh-will compete in the international event named after former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December 2007.
The organisers ex-pect around 20 teams to compete in the week-long contest, which begins with an opening ceremony Friday. Singh said both India and Pakistan are doing well at an international level and need to compete against each other.
"Pakistan and India must compete against each other, more so that they can improve and win more laurels at the international level," said Singh. "We have come here with good preparations and want to win."
Singh shrugged off security concerns, saying he has faith in the organisers.
Teams from Iraq and Afghanistan are also due to compete in the event in which Pakistan will field two teams.

  United routs Wigan to stay in touch with Chelsea
AFP, Manchester

Manchester United closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to just two points after ending 2009 with a superb 5-0 demolition of Wigan on Wednesday.
Sir Alex Ferguson's side produced the perfect response to Chelsea's win over Fulham on Monday, which had stretched the west London's club advantage to five points, as goals from Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Rafael Da Silva, Dimitar Berbatov and former Wigan star Antonio Valencia tore Wigan to pieces at Old Trafford.
The injury-hit reigning champions had been written off after recent defeats to Aston Villa and Fulham, but they head into the New Year suddenly in the rudest of health.
South Korean Won-Hee Cho made his first start of the season for Wigan as he came in for Jason Scotland but the visitors were otherwise unchanged from the side that drew 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers on Boxing Day.
Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was absent from the United team as he is on indefinite compassionate leave to care for his sick wife, Annmarie, who has suffered a brain haemorrhage.
History has not been kind to Wigan in this fixture as they have lost all nine previous Premier League encounters with United, culminating in the 5-0 thrashing Ferguson's men delivered at the DW Stadium at the start of this season.
Roberto Martinez's team arrived with damage limitation in mind and played with a clearly negative approach early on which briefly neutralised United's attacking prowess.
However, the home side finally started to make a significant impression after 20 minutes when the sheer weight of their possession started to pay dividends.
Firstly, Titus Bramble made a stunning penalty box tackle on Berbatov which somehow stopped him from getting his shot away before teammate Paul Scharner followed that example 30 seconds later when he cleared a Nemanja Vidic effort off the line.
Then Rooney then hit the post from an impossibly tight angle just a minute later as fortune favoured Wigan.
However, luck only lasts so long in the Premier League until other qualities are needed. Wigan did not possess them but United did, which was why Rooney finally gave United the lead after 28 minutes.
Da Silva delivered the simplest of crosses from the right wing and Rooney ghosted into the front post to get a crucial touch on the ball to steer past Chris Kirkland for his 14th Premier League goal of the season.

  Djordjevic to coach BD football team
TBT Report

Serbian coach Zoran Djordjevic has accepted an offer from Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Thursday to take charge of the Bangladesh national football team for the 11th South Asian Games and next month's AFC Cha-llenge Cup final round.
The 57-year-old Djordjevic, who lives in Dubai, is expected to arrive in Dhaka with two more Serbian coaching staffs in the first week of this month.
The camp for the SA Games, which starts in Dhaka on January 29, is expected to begin on January 15.
Djordjevic led Churchill Brothers to win the I-League, the Indian professional football league, as the first foreign coach to achieve the feat. He also coached the Yemen National Football Team, Saudi club Al Hilal FC and some middle-east clubs. He had previously visited Dhaka during the Bangabandhu 6th SAFF Championship 2009 as a guest of BFF and also met the federation high-ups with his
future plans.

  'Cairo King' Ashour tops world squash rankings
AFP, Paris

Egyptian Ramy Ashour became the youngest squash world number one since Pakistani legends Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan in the 1980's when the January rankings were released on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old - who earlier this month captured the PSA Masters in India and the Saudi International - is the third Egyptian to top the rankings this year and the 15th ever world number one since the rankings were first introduced in the mid 1970's.
After becoming the youngest ever Men's World Junior (Under-19) Champion in August 2004 at the age of 16, Ashour - known as the 'Cairo King' - went on to become the first to win it a second time two years later in New Zealand.
The then teenager's impact on the senior circuit was equally explosive.
He lifted the trophy in the first PSA World Tour event he participated in - the Athens Open in Greece - and clinched the World Open title last year in only his third appearance in the sport's most prestigious event.
He enjoyed a superb 2009 campaign which saw him reach six Tour finals, winning four of them - including the final two Super Series events of the year at the PSA Masters and the Saudi International.
Ashour beat Englishman Nick Matthew in both finals with Ashour surviving the longest battle of his career in a dramatic 110-minute climax in Saudi.
Some consolation for Matthew is that he celebrates a career-high world number two ranking next month.
Pakistan will be represented in the top 20 in the New Year following teenager Aamir Atlas Khan's four-place leap to 19th.
The 19-year-old celebrated surprise quarter-final finishes in both the Qatar Classic and Saudi International.

Beckham emotional over United match-up
AFP, Milan

England veteran David Beckham said on Wednesday he was delighted to be back in Milan and looking forward to pitting his wits against former club Manchester United in the Champions League.
"I am happy to be here ... It is great to be back," Beckham told a news conference in Milan as he prepares to begin a second loan spell with AC Milan after ending his latest stint with Los Angeles Galaxy.
"My experience with the club was so special for six months. It was one of the best six months of my career. I miss just being in Milan," said Beckham.
On returning to Old Trafford for the Champions League round of last 16 encounter in February, Beckham said: "I have never returned to Manchester as a player in seven years. It is going to be incredible. It will be a emotional night."
He added that he "almost cried" when hearing that the Italians had drawn the club where he made his name.
But he added he will put his emotions to one side once he is pitchside.
Beckham, now 34, is hoping that he will recapture the strong form he showed in last year's loan spell with the Milanese as he bids to persuade Fabio Capello to keep faith with him as more than a bit part player for England in the World Cup.