thursday, JANUARY 21, 2010 magh 8, 1416, SAFAR 4, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Hasina rebuts Khaleda’s charge of selling out Bangladesh
Religion studies to be introduced in pry schools, she says

UNB, Dhaka

Taking a swipe at opposition leader Khaleda Zia and her party's campaign about 'sellout of Bangladesh' during her India visit, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednes-day reassured the countrymen that nothing was done against the country during the tour.
"You read the joint communiqué and find out whether there is any anti-Bangladesh element in the communiqué," the Prime Minister told Imams of mosques while addressing the inaugural session of a national conference of trained imams at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
Sheikh Hasina reminded that her father Bangabandhu led the Bengali nation in attaining the independence. "Then, how can his daughter sell out the motherland?" she posed the question in the rebuttal to the opposition leader's contentious remarks in which she also dismissed the Delhi trip as a 'total flop'.
"When we signed the Ganges Water Sharing Treaty with India, Khaleda Zia and her cohorts had campaigned that wudu (ablution) cannot be done with the water coming down through the Ganga river. Now my question is-do the Muslims in India not use the river water for their wudu and other activities?" Hasina told the Imams.
She further deplored that the BNP-Jamaat lineup did not take any effective step for safeguarding Bangladesh's interests over maritime boundaries with India and Myanmar and about also Tipaimukh construction.
"We have taken up the maritime boundary issue with the United Nations officially. And we are also conducting negotiations with the countries to uphold our rights. Now it's up to you to decide who works for the country and who don't," she said.
Hasina told the meet that the BNP-Jamaat alliance is carrying out propaganda over her India visit as the present government has taken stand against terrorism and militancy.
The joint communiqué was issued following Hasina-Manmohan summit talks with broad accords on major issues of bilateral cooperation, including trade, mutual transit facilities, combat against terrorism and so.
The Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to give copy of the Bangladesh-India joint communiqué to every imam present at the function.
The Prime Minister announced that the government will introduce religion studies through the upcoming education policy at primary level and enhance allowances for the country's imams.
The government will also chalk out plans and programmes for creating employment opportunities for all who are educated on madrasha and other religious curricula, she also said.
"You (imams) are the real educated persons as you have both religious and general education. You have great influence on society. We want to involve you in the country's all development programmes," said Hasina.
Sheikh Hasina further observed that without religion studies education cannot be properly completed.

 Delwar asks govt to test popularity by holding mid-term polls

TBT Report

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain urged the government to take step for arranging midterm election or create scope in small-scale for testing its popularity.
He made the call while addressing a discussion meeting on the occasion of the 74th birth anniversary of Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman organised by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) at the Engineers' Institution Bangladesh in the capital on Wednesday.
Khandaker Delwar Hossain said the ruling party has achieved landslide victory through a stage managed election. After grabbing power, the ruling party is running the state under undemocratic process unilaterally. Due to the ongoing repression and oppression popularity of the government has decreased seriously throughout the country. If it wants to prove that it can arrange a midterm election or create the scope in small-scale for testifying popularity in the country, he added
He alleged that a group of local and foreign conspirator were engaged in hatching plot against BNP founder Ziaur Rahman since the Liberation War. The vested local quarter who had said 'not unhappy' soon after information of Zia's death at Chittagong is still engaged in hatching conspiracy for banishing Zia's family members and destroying BNP politics from the country.
Apart from this, the ruling party is launching oppression and repression on opposition leaders and activists throughout the country intentionally while the party is being organised under the leadership of party chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia. They launched a bloody and barbaric attack on JCD president at Dhaka University campus leaving him critically injured. Basically, the government is trying to hide out the failure of government's recent India visit, Delwar Hossain alleged.
He said the government is withdrawing cases which were lodged against its leaders and activists during the immediate past caretaker government unilaterally side by side it is lodging cases against the leaders and activists of BNP and its different associate organisations and sending them to jail intentionally.
Standing committee member Mirza Abbas, senior joint secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, joint secretary general Amanullah Aman, student affairs secretary Shahududdin Chowdhury Anee, Chewchhashebak Dal president Habibun Nabi Khan Sohel among others, spoke the programme.

 Operations against godfathers of smuggling syndicates soon: Sahara

BSS, Dhaka

Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun on Wednesday said that drastic operations would be launched against the godfathers of smuggling syndicates soon.
"We so far arrested the carriers of smuggled goods, now we will arrest the godfathers of all smuggling syndicates," she said while briefing the journalists at her ministry after attending the 46th meeting of the National Smuggling Pre-vention Committee.
Chaired by the Home Minister, the meeting was attended, among others, by State Minister for Home Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku, Additional Home Secretary Md Golam Hossain, representatives of different forces and intelligence agencies and all Divisional Commissioners. The Home Minister said that the list of godfathers has already finalized by this time and the list would be handed over to the law enforcing agencies to arrest them immediately without considering their political identities.
She said that the smuggling of arms and drug has already been reduced in the country during last one year as the border guards and other law and order forces have been working with sincerity and honesty. But, the arrest of smugglers and recovery of smuggled goods have increased 45 percent than the last year as the law enforcing agencies are more active than the previous times.
In response to a question from the journalists, Sahara Khatun said, the godfathers who have been absconding in India and other neighbouring countries would be brought back to Bangladesh in light with the recently signed extradition treaty. The government to government level talks on these issues has already finished and later they would be brought back to Bangl-adesh through Interpol in light with the agreement.
The Minister also said that she will propose the government to build field level laboratory in the bordering districts as the seized goods could be examined locally.
State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku said that a vested quarter had tried to make the country as a failure state but their dream was not fulfilled at all. The over all law and order of the country is now at the optimum level and the general people has been residing here peacefully.

  Open-market sale of rice begins in the capital
UNB, Dhaka

The government Wednes-day started rationing rice under open-market sale (OMS) operation at the rate of Tk 22 per kilogram from 40 rice-laden trucks at different crowded places in the capital.
More 10 rice trucks will join in the drive today (Thursday) for expansion of the OMS operation.
Besides, the ongoing OMS programme will be extended from Friday covering labour-intensive districts Dhaka, Narayanganj, Norsinghdi and Gazipur through 650 dealers.
Food secretary M Mokhlesur Rahman today inspected the OMS programme at Polashi crossing, Azimpur colony chhapra masjid and Geneva camp at Mohammadpur.
He said the government conducts the OMS programme with a view to keeping the price of food-grain at a tolerance level.
"At present the government has adequate quantities of food-grains in stock," the food secretary told his audience.
He further said, "If necessary, the ongoing OMS programme will continue until the next Boro harvest."
The government took the decision as an interventional measure to stem an upturn in the market prices. As per the OMS rules, each customer can buy a maximum of 5 kilograms of rice a day. "The outlets will remain open every day from 9am to 4pm, except on Fridays," says an official announcement.
Earlier, the government had decided to release about 2 lakh tons of food-grains each month from government godowns over the next four months through Food for Work and Test Relief arrangements to control the price hike of rice, which reports largely attribute to market manipulation by profiteers.
However, no sign of downturn in the rice prices is yet in sight in spite of some 11.5 lakh metric tones being stored in government stock.

   Govt working to meet demands for power by exploring gas: Tuku

BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

The present government is working sincerely to meet immediately the people's demands for electricity and accelerate growth through industrialization in the country by generating a large amount of power through exploring more gas.
State Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku, on behalf of State Minister for Power Enamul Haque, said this in the Jatiya Sangsad here on Wednesday while replying to a query from treasury bench lawmaker Tofail Ahmed.
The State Minister said as part of the government's move to take the country towards further development, the process of setting up 150-Megawatt (MW) rental power plant in Bhola is going on while another plan for setting up a 150 MW combined cycle power plant is in the offing.
"The Prime Minister considers that a fertilizer factory could be established in Bhola," Tofail Ahmed said sought to know from the state minister whether an initiative would be taken to dig two wells in Bhola to explore one trillion gas for setting up power plants and a fertilizer factory.
Tofail said the country at present produces 12 to 13 lakh tonnes of urea fertilizer against the demand for 30 lakh MTs.
"Through repairing, it is possible to maximize the fertilizer output to 18 lakh MTs from the existing factories with capacity of 23 lakh MTs, he said adding, "still there would be shortage of 12 lakh MTs fertilizer in the country which could be made up through setting up new fertilizer factories."
Replying to a supplementary question from Tofail Ahmed, the State Minister said a well is already in operation in Bhola for exploring gas from a field with a reserve of 0.55 trillion gas and a 34.5 MW power plant was set up to generate electricity.
BAPEX has completed digging another well at Shahbajpur to explore gas from a field, which seems to have a reserve of 0.95 trillion gas, he said.
A 20 kilometers gas transmission line has already been set up for supplying gas to the people of Bhola, he said adding that a distribution line would be set up within a month.
He said to meet the growing demand for fertilizer in the country, a fertilizer factory would be set up in Bhola and for this two more wells should be dug.

    Committee to expedite free textbook distribution, DEO suspended

BSS, Dhaka

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Wednesday said the ministry has formed a three-member committee to find out the reasons behind delay of distribution of free textbooks at the field level and asked it to resolve the problem within ten days rapidly.
The ministry on Wednesday instantly suspended District Education Officer (DEO) of Dhaka, Ruhul Amin Khan, for his negligence in duty in distributing free textbooks at the secondary level, he said adding departmental action will be taken against him after inquiry.
Nahid said this at a press briefing held at the conference room of the ministry after the 4th meeting of the monitoring committee on free textbook distribution of National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB).
The education minister said the three-member committees included Chairman of NCTB, Director General of the Department of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education and Director General of the Department of Primary Education.
About the progress of book distribution, Nahid said even in remote areas like Chittagong Hill Tracts free textbooks has been distributed in time while complains raised from the capital.
The government will streamline the whole process of textbook distribution removing all obstacles, he added.
Nahid said there are monitoring committees for textbook distribution in district and upazila levels to address any problem locally.
About unregistered Kinder Garten schools, he said, as they did not inform their demand in time it created textbook distribution problem. Yet the government is trying to help them and textbooks are available in the NCTB websites, he added.
Replying to a question on distribution of free textbooks in primary schools, he said the ministry concerned is looking that after.
An NCTB source said, 15,53,982 books are at stock in hand of the DEO of Dhaka, but he did not distribute it in time that created sufferings of the students and he guardians.

Back Page

All settlement offices to be brought under digital technology: PM

BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said all settlement offices across the country would be brought under the digital technology to ensure easy access of people to relevant land related information.
"The existing land survey system can not provide desired service to the people due to faulty, costly and time consuming land management process," she said while responding to a question of Jatiya Party lawmaker M A Jabbar during the Prime Minister's Question-Answer session in the house.
As a result, she said her government has taken steps to prepare digital "Mouza" map and "Khatian" by using modern survey equipment for building a modern land administration in the greater national interest.
She said the Land Ministry has already undertaken a project titled Land Survey, Record Preparation and Preservation through Digital System (first phase) to this end. The works of these projects will start next year, Sheikh Hasina informed the house.
The Prime Minister said a digital archive and training center would be constructed under the land Record and Survey Department to provide better service to the people relating to land and development of human resources.
Replying to another question, she told the house that cases related to land disputes would be reduced significantly with the introduction of the digital land survey and management system.

  25,000 devotees from 70 countries likely to join Bishwa Ijtema

BSS, Gazipur

Devotees from every nook and corner are pouring into the field on the eastern bank of the river Turag as the three-day Bishwa Ijtema, a world congregation of the Muslims, begins on Friday. A large number of devotees from some 28 foreign countries have also arrived in the country to attend the congregation.
The government has taken all preparations for ensuring security and other facilities for all local and foreign devotees.
The foreign devotees are staying in different mosques around the Ijtema ground and they would be allowed to stay in special pandels erected for them from today (Thursday). A total of 25,000 devotees from 70 countries are expected to join this year's Ijtema. The authorities have completed all preparations for the Ijtema.
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Director General Hassan Mahmud on Wednesday visited the Ijtema ground to see the preparations. The government will deploy about 20,000 security personnel, including more than 1,000 RAB members and install 48 close circuit cameras in and around the Ijtema ground. A huge canopies have been erected for the devotees. Measures have been taken to ensure supply of electricity and water in and around the Ijtema venue and ensure sanitation and health services for the devotees. The Prime Minister has allocated Taka 5 crore for development of the Ijtema ground ahead of the 45th congregation of world Muslims.
Millions of devotees are expected to take part in the akheri munajat (concluding prayer).
President Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia, ministers, MPs and senior officials will take part in the akheri prayer.

   New quake jolts Haiti’s celebration for miracle survivors
AFP, Port-au-Prince

A powerful new earthquake shook Haiti on Wednesday jolting celebrations for miracle survivors ranging from a three week old baby to an elderly woman who were hauled out after seven days under the rubble.
Residents poured onto the streets fearing a repeat of the January 12 quake said to have killed between 100,000 and 200,000 people. The US Geological Survey estimated the new tremor at magnitude 6.1.
The epicentre was west of Port-au-Prince, which was razed by last week's devastating 7.0 quake. Witnesses reported a low vibration and then a thunderous rumbling but there was no immediate sign of significant new damage.
There have been a series of big aftershocks since January 12 but rescuers have kept up their search and have been elated by their success in finding survivors who defied the quake's deadly odds. Hoteline Losana, 25, was found in the wreckage of a supermarket late Tuesday only hours after Anna Zizi, who is about 70, sang as she was carried out of the ruins of Port-au-Prince cathedral. A three week old baby girl was dug out of rubble in the city of Jacmel.
Losana was said to be "conscious and in good form" by Thiery Cerdan of the French group Rescuers Without Borders, which carried out the nine hour operation with Haitian firemen and American experts.
She had been in an apartment over a supermarket when the quake struck on January 12. Rescuers said she had no food or water, could barely move, and owed her survival to the position in which she was stuck. "We pulled someone out seven days after an earthquake, that is quite extraordinary," said Bruno Besson, another member of the French team. Hours earlier, Mexican firefighters rescued Zizi from under the ruins of the Roman Catholic cathedral.
"It seems rescuers were communicating with her and managing to get water to her through a tube. She was singing when she eme-rged," said Sarah Wilson, of British charity Christian Aid. Some of the rescuers were so overcome that they started crying. Baby Elis-abeth was found alive in a house in Jacmel in southern Haiti, again after surviving for a week without food, French radio reported on Wednes-day.
French rescuers found the 23-day-old girl in a hollow beneath the ruins after spending five hours trying to get through to her, France Inter station said, adding she was mainly unhurt and had been taken to an American field hospital.
The United Nations said that 121 people had now been rescued by international teams in the past week and that there were still hopes of finding more.

   Call for all party discussion in JS on agreements with India
UNB, Dhaka

Former diplomats, bureaucrats and the academics at a roundtable on Wednesday suggested the government to create atmosphere for all political parties in parliament to discuss the agreements recently signed with India.
They further suggested the government to continue negotiations with neighboring India for demarcation of unresolved land and maritime boundaries as well as sharing of waters of the common rivers. Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni, former State Ministers for Foreign Affairs Reaz Rahman and Abul Hassan Chowdhury and former Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, among others, took part in the roundtable, presided by Independent editor Mahbubul Alam.
Dr Dipu Moni said agreements with India have been signed in pursuance of the Awami League election manifesto and considering the greater interest and welfare of the country. "We have not signed any treaty without mandated by the election."
She faced a volley of questions pertaining to the three agreements signed with India and the government obsession in taking the opposition into confidence.
Dr Moni told a questioner that the scope of arbitration has been kept open in resolving the disputes with India in the event of failure to resolve the issues through negotiations.
On huge trade deficit with India she said opportunities will be created for more investment to accelerate production and raising the export volume for reducing the trade gap. "We need to see the results in concrete terms of the Prime Minister's recent visit to India," said Farooq Sobhan told the roundtable, organized jointly by daily Independent and Centre for Foreign Affairs Studies (CFAS). He said special envoys of both countries should be engaged for early implementation of the agre-ements. He hoped India will allow more imports from Bangladesh on zero tariff to reduce the huge trade imbalance.
Reaz Rahman said many disputes, including Talpatti Island, Farakka problem, sharing of waters of the common rivers, remained unresolved for long. It is true that those cannot be solved in one or two visits.
He termed the Prime Minister's visit wholly political. The agreement she signed with India raised security concern of the country. The agreement should be made public and open for scrutiny.
Pointing to the facility extended to India for use Chittagong and Mongla ports, Reaz Rahman viewed that the ground reality is that the prevailing situation is not harmonious.

    Steps taken to strengthen upazila parishads: Ashraful
UNB, Dhaka

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam Wednesday said the government has taken steps to make upazila parishads self-reliant and stronger local government organizations. "The draft act prepared in this regard will be passed in parliament after discussions," the Awami League general secretary said. He was addressing a discussion titled 'Immediate execution of the killers of Bangabandhu, establishing the rule of law, democracy and upazila parishad' at the National Press Club.
Bangladesh Upazila Parishads' Association (BUPA) organized the discussion with its convener Harun-or-Rashid Howlader in the chair.
The minister said the lawmakers had temporarily been made advisers to the upazila parishads as development partners. "Actually, they were not to interfere in the activities of upazila chairmen, vice-chairmen and female-vice chairmen."
He said a proposal was passed in parliament excluding the lawmakers as advisers to municipalities and union parishads.
Ashraful Islam said the government has now planned to help every upazila parishad have its own income sources so that it can conduct its activities from its own resources.
He said a plan is also there to provide each chairman with a car.

    Initiatives to rehabilitate floating people: Enamul
BSS, Dhaka

The government has taken different initiatives for rehabilitating the floating distressed people living on footpaths in all major cities of the country including the capital city.
Social Welfare Minister Enamul Haque Mostafa Sharif told this while replying to a query from independent lawmaker Md Fazlul Azim in the Jatiya Sangsad here on Wednesday.
The minister said six shelter centers are presently running under Bangio Bhabaghure Act 1943 at Mirpur in the city, Godnail in Narayanganj, Betila in Manikganj, Kashipur and Pubail in Gazipur and Dhola in Mymensingh. Distressed children training centers and government children' homes are ensuring residential faculties for the children living in dirty environments, he said. Besides providing residential facilities, he added, treatment, feeding, education and rehabilitation are being arranged through these centers for these children.
He also said that programmes have been undertaken to restart Shanti Nibash (old homes) for ensuring shelter for elderly people in a hygienic environment. Reopening of old home at Faridpur with the capacity of 50 seats, 25 male and 25 female, is under process, while initiatives have been taken to restart five other old homes, he said while replying to another query from treasury bench lawmaker Akh-taruzzaman Chowdhury.

Editorial

River dredging plans

Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen disclosed in the Parliament on Tuesday that the government has plans to dredge all 310 rivers of the country to restore their navigability, control floods and ensure proper irrigation. He also said four mega projects of about Tk 5,000 crore are under the process for approval in this regard. These projects are: the pilot capital dredging of river system in Bangladesh (first phase) of Tk 1,445.51 crore, Buriganga recovery project of Tk 1,514.95 crore, purchasing of dredgers and ancillary equipment for dredging rivers at a cost of Tk 1,593.68 crore and coordinated irrigation, extraction and flood control project of Tk 378.52 crore. The minister said, dredging work will begin very soon in four major rivers namely the Padma, the Jamuna, the Meghna, and the Brahmaputra Implementation of a project titled "Gorai river recovery project (second phase)" worth Tk 942.15 crore has already begun, he added.
According to media reports, on Tuesday a number of lawmakers pointed out in the House that the rivers in their constituencies are dead or on the brink of death. Some members spoke of the river erosion causing immense suffering to people and demanded government steps to stop river erosion and control floods.
The dredging of our silted up rivers is an important issue and different circles are continuing to demand this. It is a good sign that the government has at last given attention to this vital need. In the recent days Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has shown special interest in reviving the country's rivers and cleaning the Buriganga and other rivers surrounding the capital city. She said recently that the government will give all financial and logistic supports to the departments concerned for removing the river garbage. There are 53 waterways in the country of which 50 will be dredged by 2018. Six dredgers out of 16 have already started to work through the Garai River.
Leader of the Opposition and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia said on December 29 that the rivers Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu have to be saved to protect historic Dhaka city. Meanwhile, on the same day Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated that the government will clean up Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Sitalakkhya rivers to facilitate circular waterway communications around the city. It was encouraging indeed that in a rare display of unanimity both Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia have taken a public stand in favour of saving the rivers specially around the capital city. On several earlier occasions also the Prime Minister spoke of the government plan to free the rivers specially Buriganga, Turag, Balu and Sitalakkhya from encroachment and pollution. On December 9 she reaffirmed her government's resolve to restore the navigability in the country's silted-up rivers and declared that a massive drive to clean up the polluted Buriganga riverbed will start from next month (January).Terming the Buriganga lifeline of the capital city and its vast surroundings, she said under the government's massive river-dredging project, special measurers are underway to save the river, which is said to be in death throes inflicted by encroachers and polluters. The long-awaited drive to clean the Buriganga river-bed is already in progress now.
It is against this backdrop that the Water Resource Minister has informed the Parliament of the massive government plans for river dredging across the country. This is a good move and it is hoped that, if implemented properly, the dredging project will go a long way in restoring our rivers. So, everyone wants these plans to be executed with right earnest.

  Inflation on top

Bangladesh Bank (BB) on Tuesday announced the monetary policy, putting inflation on top of its agenda for the second half of the current 2009-10 fiscal year. The half- yearly strategic guideline of the central bank also outlines the policy stance to be followed in the next six months to spur economy, perusing sustainable growth in trade, industries and agriculture. BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman while announcing the policy at a press conference candidly admitted the looming risk of inflation mainly because of increase of the food prices on both the local and international markets. Dr Atiur cautioned that the average inflation would rise further in the second part of the fiscal if commodity prices continue to rise. He strongly suggested for government's intervention at the market through effective measures like OMS (open market sale).
The BB has rightly put inflation on top of the agenda in the monetary policy as it affects the people adversely. At the outset of the current financial year the rate of inflation was low and the people were comparatively in less trouble. But the inflation rate has increased and continues to soar now causing much hardship and agony among the people.
The governor, however, assured that the BB would monitor the situation regularly and would pursue a monetary policy to contain the inflation at a tolerable level. The governor also expressed the hope that average inflation could be maintained at the fiscal target of 6.5 percent should the supply of commodities remain steady. But the problem is, there is no guarantee that commodity supply will remain steady and the inflation has already crossed the 'tolerable level'.

Analysis

Crossing the red lines?

The detailed judgment has confirmed that it is the Presidency and the superior judiciary that are on a collision course, not only because of the NRO verdict but mainly because of it.

Ikram Sehgal

For Asif Zardari, Governor House Punjab has bad vibes! He was taken into custody from there on charges of corruption in Nov 1996 when the Benazir Govt was thrown out by President Farooq Leghari. Almost a decade and a half later when the SC released the detailed judgment that will most probably eventually make him ineligible on charges of corruption for being President, amazing coincidence that he is staying in the same room in the Governor's House.
President Reagan was the "Teflon President", nothing adverse would ever stick to him, Prime Minister Gilani has got him beat by a mile! Ruling out a constitutional clash with any of the state institutions he confidently told the National Assembly (NA) last Monday, "we do not want to transgress into each other's fields. I want to assure you that we will not do anything that is contrary to the Constitution, that is contrary to the interest of this house and contrary to (the principle of) trichotomy. The Constitution has "red lines" for all the three pillars of the State". In the next few days the PM will be tested whether his words about not crossing the "red lines" were true or this was simply political rhetoric.
In March 2007 one of the pillars of the State tried to destroy the vestiges of another State institution in the quest for individual survival. Since President Musharraf was concurrently also the COAS Pakistan Army, the two institutions seemed to have ganged up against the Supreme Court (SC) represented by Chief Justice (CJ) Iftikhar Chaudhry. Another institution, the NA and the Shaukat Aziz govt thereof, was simply a rubber stamp for Pervez Musharraf. To reinforce the public perception about the Army being solidly behind him, Gen Pervez Musharraf wore uniform and had the DG ISI and the DGMI in attendance in a "show of force" when the CJ SC was summoned to obtain his resignation. The public believes it was the PM Shaukat Aziz who goaded Musharraf down the Reference path because the CJ was adjudicating issues like the Steel Mills, Stock Market scam, etc. With his intelligence chiefs reporting that the CJ was against his standing again for Presidential elections before shedding of his uniform, Musharraf needed no convincing. The tragedy is that the Army's fair name was unnecessarily tarnished in the process.
World democracies do not take kindly to the spurning of superior court orders, blatant attempts were therefore made by the President's inner circle to somehow link the Army to the SC short order on the NRO, nothing can be further from the truth. Moreover the world is not that gullible! The detailed judgment has confirmed that it is the Presidency and the superior judiciary that are on a collision course, not only because of the NRO verdict but mainly because of it.
When he did not prostrate himself before an absolute dictator as others had before him. CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry got the support of both his fellow judges in the courts and lawyers in the streets. The SC moved very deliberately to regain public confidence and re-establish its stature as a bastion of justice. The credibility of the judiciary down to the level of the Provincial High Courts was consolidated. The detailed SC judgment on the NRO highlights how far down the road Pakistan has travelled in restoring the rule of law, at least in the upper reaches of the judiciary.
The year 2009 has seen the Army regain its image in public perception, the return to professionalism process started when Musharraf shed the uniform in Nov 2007. For their counter-insurgency successes in the battlefield, extraordinary sacrifices have been rendered by the rank and file. Three infantry divisions were engaged in Swat, another three divisions are now fighting in FATA (I am proud that those in and around South Waziristan includes my own unit, 4 Sindh). Mostly five brigade Divisions instead of the usual three, the troops engaged in combat are equivalent to that of 8-9 infantry Divisions ie almost one-third of our total fighting strength. That is a tremendous battle inoculation, hopefully other units and formations will be rotated into the battle zone to take good advantage of this adverse situation. Soldiers need to hear shots being fired in anger!
Nobody has disfigured Pakistan's constitution more than Sharifuddin Pirzada, the hired legal gun for every adventurer on record. The review of the NRO judgment sought by the govt seems to be his brainchild, one feels the old fox was outsmarted by the present SC, they probably war-gamed his possible moves and did not make public the detailed NRO judgment till after the 30 days mandated for Review had elapsed, the govt waited till the last day before filing. Most of what has been sought by the Govt in the Review has been virtually rendered infructuous by the detailed SC judgment.
Zardari finally left the Presidential bunker to visit Pakistan and try and shore up public support for his beleaguered Presidency. This is an exercise in futility, it is now simply a question of time. The NRO being declared void ab-initio, the detailed judgment will throw upon the doors of justice to make him ineligible to have become President in the first place. PM Gilani is a nice man, some of his ministers are not the sort to listen to nice men, they march to a different drumbeat. After the SC short order Zardari's inner circle have already crossed the "red line" many times.
Democracy gave the late Ms Benazir a thumbs-up by giving her party enough votes to lead the coalition, that allowed her controversial husband to maneuver himself into the Presidency. The Army's neutrality was manifest in that they did not interfere despite the fact that Zardari is universally hated by the rank and file of the Army. And in the face of deliberate provocations, they have kept their cool and stood by their oath according to the constitution.
In 1993 when the SC overturned President Ishaq's ill-motivated dismissal of the Nawaz Sharif Govt, democratic hope had broken loose. However the restored PM found himself administratively hamstrung by Presidential manipulation, ultimately he was forced to resign. Brokering the calming of resulting political tensions, Gen Waheed Kakar, the then COAS Pakistan Army, did two things for which this nation must always honour him, viz (1) nudging President Ishaq gently out of office to stop further political and bureaucratic manipulation by him and his advisors, and more importantly (2) refusing the keys of the Presidential Palace offered on a silver platter Democracy stayed alive in 1993 despite the best efforts of motivated persons to derail it. What an irony that one of Ishaq's gung-ho closest advisors, Roedad Khan, is now a holier-than-thou petitioner against the NRO, and a very vocal one at that!
One does not doubt the "red lines" will be crossed and that all the dirty tricks in the world will be used. Notwithstanding the concept of trichotomy, in third world countries like Pakistan there is a fourth State institution and like Chairman Mao said, "power flows through the barrel of a gun". When the red lines are crossed the SC will need such assistance under Article 190 of the Constitution, the question is will they be able to fine tune this before the country goes up in flames?

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

  Basu’s Middle Path: Experiments in Indian Politics

His life was yet another manifestation of the middle path experiment that makes this country just a little bit different. Question is, whether the Left is willing to learn from it.

Jyoti Malhotra

Russia's recently-returned ambassador to India Vyacheslav Trubnikov tells a wonderful story about the Indian genius of political opponents maintaining private friendships, with starring roles played by Communist party patriarch Jyoti Basu, who died in Kolkata on Sunday and Atal Behari Vajpayee, Hindu nationalist leader and the right-wing hero of our times, now in the autumn of his own life, pretty much ?silenced by a stroke.
The story relates to the 1960s, when both Basu and Vajpayee were members of Parliament in Delhi and Trubnikov was a correspondent with TASS, the Soviet news agency. This is when the latter was witness to a particularly debilitating exchange of views between Basu and Vajpayee inside the House. Some time later after the debate was done, Trubnikov strolled outside the House to the cafeteria, where he found - to his utmost surprise! - Basu and Vajpayee having a cup of tea together. What happened, asked a somewhat agitated Trubnikov of the two gentlemen, wondering if he had fallen prey to an especially duplicitous vision, or, perhaps, he was just seeing things?
Not at all, reassured Vajpayee, seating Trubnikov down. You see, unlike in the Soviet Union, we don't have a Gulag in India to which we can send dissenters. Here, we can agree to disagree, but we can't do it too violently! Basu, one of the greatest authors of the Indian way of life known as the Middle Path, died in his beloved Kolkata on Sunday, the subject of much adulation as well as criticism.
Vajpayee, a leader of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), who led his party to electoral victory twice, has been similarly accused of several ideological flip-flops in public life, but has also been feted for his ability to step out of the circle of his own beliefs and reach out to the opposition.
Jyoti Basu's greatest achievements and defeats have been extensively chronicled in the Indian media, especially the morning after his demise, but perhaps his greatest attribute was his ability to draw people of widely conflicted beliefs together and broker a compromise. Basu was the inheritor of the quintessential 'Bengali bhadralok,' a genteel, petty-bourgeois tradition which continues to revere both god and family values, and although Basu dispensed with the former - he willed that his body be given up to medical research, something neither Lenin, nor Deng Xiaoping, Stalin or Ho Chi Minh did - he was too well brought-up to reject ?the latter.
Bengal, the bedrock of the mother goddess cult, adopted Basu as one of its own. The Communist understood the power of religion and never denigrated it - a key difference from Communists the world over, whether in China or in the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Unlike Stalin, however, Basu was able to forge lasting coalitions with people of his own ilk, especially other Leftists. While Stalin hunted down his adversaries, including Trotsky, Basu persuaded the small Left Front parties to participate in a Left Front coalition that has not only been a formidable force in hometown Bengal for over ?30 years, but also shaped several governments in Delhi.
Unlike Deng Xiaoping, meanwhile, Basu was never able to rise above the Party line to nationalise Bengal's Communist experiment, reinforced by its path-breaking agrarian reform. (He acknowledged later that it was a "historic blunder" that could have changed the course of Indian politics.) But when Deng cracked down on the 1989 students movements at Tiananmen square and large parts of Communist India applauded, Basu was horrified. Basu's place in Indian history is assured for several reasons, but perhaps his most important contribution was his ability to straddle the golden mean so that Left politics was always relevant to the people.
After the 1962 border conflict with China and the 1965 war with Pakistan, Basu felt India should initiate dialogue with both nations because it was the chauvinist elites, not the people responsible for the wars in the first place. This burning desire, to remain relevant to the ever-changing political landscape, allowed him to adapt constantly. Basu tried to persuade his unrepentant comrades in the Party not to oppose Manmohan Singh government's decision to go ahead with the Indo-US nuclear deal, even if the US was the proverbial red rag to the Communist bull.
The Left parties rejected Basu's advice. The consequent drubbing they received in the elections last year has meant that today, they are a pale shadow of their former selves, toothless and torn, unable to deal or bargain or strike a chord with mainstream India. That's why Jyoti Basu's passing is a milestone in India's history. His life was yet another manifestation of the middle path experiment that makes this country just a little bit different. Question is, whether the Left is willing to learn from it.

Jyoti Malhotra is a renowned Indian journalist and commentator.

  Guantanamo cover-up

Ian Cobain

US government officials may have conspired to conceal evidence that three Guantanamo Bay inmates could have been murdered during interrogations, according to a six-month investigation by American journalists.
All three may have been suffocated during questioning on the same evening and their deaths passed off as suicides by hanging, the joint investigation for Harper's magazine and NBC News has concluded.
The magazine also suggests the cover-up may explain why the US government is reluctant to allow the release of Shaker Aamer, the last former British resident held at Guantanamo, as he is said to have alleged that he was part-suffocated while being tortured on the same evening.
"The cover-up is amazing in its audacity, and it is continuing into the Obama administration," said Scott Horton, the contributing editor for Harper's who conducted the investigation. When the three men - Salah Ahmed al-Salami, 37, a Yemeni, and two Saudis, Talal al-Zahrani, 22, and Mani Shaman al-Utaybi, 30 - died in June 2006, the camp's commander declared that they had committed suicide and that this had been "an act of asymmetrical warfare", rather than one of desperation.
According to an official inquiry by the US navy, whose report was heavily censored before release, each man was found in his cell, hanging from bedsheets, with their hands bound and rags stuffed down their throats.
However, Horton spoke to four camp guards who alleged that when the bodies were taken to the camp's medical clinic they had definitely not come from their cell block, which they were guarding, and appeared to have been transferred from a 'black site', known as Camp No, within Guantanamo, operated by either the CIA or a Pentagon intelligence agency.
The men said that the following day, a senior officer assembled the guards and told them that the three men had committed suicide by stuffing rags down their throats, that the media would report that they had hanged themselves, and ordered that they must not seek to contradict those reports.
Harper's says that when the bodies of the three men were repatriated, pathologists who conducted post-mortem examinations found that each man's larynx, hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage - which could have helped determine cause of death - had been removed and retained by US authorities.

Viewpoints

Haiti is not alone in its hour of need

Visible in Haiti is a remarkable expression of human spirit - people suffering the heaviest blows yet demonstrating extraordinary resilience.

Ban Ki-moon

The disaster in Haiti shows once again something that we, as human beings, have always known: that even amid the worst devastation, there is always hope.
I saw that for myself this week in Port au Prince. The United Nations suffered its single greatest loss in history. Our headquarters in the Haitian capital was a mass of crushed concrete and tangled steel. How could anyone survive? I thought. Yet, moments after I departed with a heavy heart, rescue teams pulled out a survivor - alive, after five days without food or water. I think of it as a small miracle, a sign of hope.
Disasters such as that in Haiti remind us of the fragility of life, but they also reaffirm our strength. We have seen horrific images on television: collapsed buildings, bodies in the streets, and people in dire need of food, water and shelter. I saw all this, and more, as I moved around the stricken city. But I also saw something else - a remarkable expression of human spirit; people suffering the heaviest blows yet demonstrating extraordinary resilience.
During my brief visit, I met many ordinary people. A group of young men near the ruins of the presidential palace told me of wanting to help rebuild Haiti. Beyond the immediate crisis, they hope for jobs and a future with dignity. Across the street, I met a young mother and her children living in a tent in a public park, with little food. There were thousands like her, patiently enduring, helping one another as best they could. She had faith that help would soon come, as did others. "I came to offer hope," I told them. "Do not despair." In return she, too, asked the international community to help Haiti rebuild - for her children, for the generations of tomorrow.
For those who have lost everything, help cannot come soon enough. But it is coming, and in growing amounts despite very difficult logistical challenges in a capital city where all services and capacity are gone. As of Monday morning, more than 40 international search and rescue teams with more than 1,700 staff were at work. Water supplies are increasing; tents and temporary shelters are arriving in larger numbers. Badly damaged hospitals are beginning to function again, aided by international medical teams. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme is working with the U.S. Army to distribute daily food rations to nearly 2,00,000 people. The agency expects to reach as many as one million people within the coming weeks.
We have seen an outpouring of international aid, commensurate with the scale of this disaster. Every nation, every international aid organisation in the world, has mobilised for Haiti's relief. Our job is to channel that assistance. We need to make sure our help gets to the people who need it, as fast as possible. We cannot have essential supplies sitting in warehouses. We have no time to lose, nor money to waste. This requires strong and effective coordination - the international community working together, as one, with the U.N. in the lead.
This critical work began from the first day, both among U.N. and international aid agencies as well as among key players - the United Nations working closely with the United States and the countries of Europe, Latin America and many others to identify the most pressing humanitarian needs and deliver what is required. These needs must be grouped into well-defined "clusters", so that the efforts of all the various organisations complement rather than duplicate one another. A health cluster run by the World Health Organisation, for example, is already organising medical assistance among 21 international agencies.
The urgency of the moment will naturally dominate our planning. But it is not too early to begin thinking about tomorrow, a point that President Rene Preval emphasised when we met. Though desperately poor, Haiti had been making progress. It was enjoying a new stability; investors had returned. It will not be enough to rebuild the country as it was, nor is there any place for cosmetic improvements. We must help Haiti build back better, working side by side with the government, so that the money and aid invested today will have lasting benefit, creating jobs and freeing it from dependence on the world's generosity.
In this sense, Haiti's plight is a reminder of our wider responsibilities. A decade ago, the international community began a new century by agreeing to act to eliminate extreme poverty by the year 2015. Great strides have been made towards some of these ambitious "Millennium Development Goals", variously targeting core sources of global poverty and obstacles to development - from maternal health and education to managing infectious disease. Yet progress in other critical areas lags badly. The bottom line: we are very far from delivering on our promises of a better future for the world's poor.
As we rush to Haiti's immediate aid, let us keep in mind this larger picture. That was the message I received, loud and clear, from those people on the streets of Port au Prince. They asked for jobs, dignity and a better future. That is the hope of the world's poor, wherever they might live. Doing the right thing for Haiti, in its hour of need, will be a powerful message of hope for them as well.

Ban Ki-moon is Secretary-General of the
United Nations.

  Hope turns to disappointment one year later

One year later Obama's supporters, especially young people, who volunteered their time, treasure and talent, are disappointed.

Delinda Hanley

One year ago my brother and I stood shoulder to shoulder in the bitter cold with 1.8 million people on the National Mall, watching as Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Nearly 38 million Americans, including our children and parents - who helped start the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs nearly 29 years ago - watched the televised coverage of the inauguration. Americans and people around the world were optimistic about the future with President Obama in charge of US policies.
Now it hurts to recall the elation and relief we felt on Inauguration Day as we heard Obama say: "To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect ... We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."
One year later Obama's supporters, especially young people, who volunteered their time, treasure and talent, are disappointed. Today it is Obama's opponents - and sadly, some of his current advisers - who are elated: Those who support attacks on people living in Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen and other nations. The president has escalated the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, increased drone attacks, and ratcheted up the rhetoric. He has not closed the US military prison camp at Guantanamo and now supports routine profiling of visitors to the United States. Worst of all, he hasn't even tried to implement a more even-handed approach to end the Israeli-Arab conflict, or called for an end to Israel's cruel siege of Gaza. Israel continues to evict Palestinians and build apartments for Jews only in Jerusalem, not to mention attacking and arresting Palestinian civilians.
All of this country's tough rhetoric, use of drones and other oppressive actions may worsen in 2010, against the backdrop of midterm congressional elections. But this is not the time to give in to our disappointment and sit on our hands. It is more important than ever for us to demand more from our elected leaders - and to elect people who really will bring change to our country.
President Obama is trying to do the right thing on so many critical fronts, including providing jobs, health care and homes for Americans in need. This president also is doing his best to help Haitians survive an epic disaster but he continues to ignore a man-made disaster in Gaza. On the first anniversary of Obama's inauguration we wish that he'd remember his promises and the hope he inspired in three generations of Americans who voted for him. People around the world hope that he will change US foreign policy and help bring an end to wars without end in the Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
We are truly devastated that contributions to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs have plummeted just as we are gearing up to publish our biannual "report cards" on congressional voting records, and track pro-Israel PAC contributions to candidates for the House and Senate. Americans need to use their pens and pocketbooks to support candidates who will change the status quo and give peace a chance. But they must first be informed as to who those candidates are - and are not.
We urge you also to support independent bipartisan media - especially the Washington Report. We know you are probably suffering during these economic hard times. But we also know that checks for $5, $10, $20, or $100 turned the tide in the 2008 elections. Your donations and subscriptions could make all the difference to our publication today, and help us keep our doors open in 2010. We have a superb idea to transform traditional information sources in the coming decade - but we need your help!
Please visit the Washington Report's website, www.wrmea.org, to subscribe or make a secure online donation; or mail a check to Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, P.O. Box 53062, Washington, D.C. 20009-9062. You can also help by asking your employer to match your contribution or by giving us contact information for possible corporate sponsors or contributors. If you cannot afford to donate at this time, please consider sending us an e-mail newseditor@wrmea.com explaining why you think this magazine must keep publishing. We may not be able to take your words to the bank, but we can take them to prospective donors!


Delinda Hanley is the news editor/executive director of Washington Report. She can be reached at: dhanley200@aol.com

  Rule of law

Our leaders have not learnt to apply economic austerity. Our only survival lies in a popular public uprising and cleansing of the whole system, once and for all.

Dr A Q Khan

The duty of a government is to protect the lives and belongings of the public. It is duty-bound to provide justice without discrimination and to ensure the basic necessities of life.
Mahmood of Ghazni was a great king and his empire stretched across a vast area. One day a caravan was looted by dacoits within his kingdom and some travellers, including a young man, were killed. The old mother of that young man went to the court of the king and complained bitterly about it. When Mahmood made the lame excuse that it was a far off place, she became infuriated and reprimanded him for conquering such far off places even though he could not ensure the security of his subjects there. The king immediately ordered a contingent of soldiers to go to the spot and impose the government's writ.
In the olden days rulers did not hesitate to acknowledge their mistakes and apologise and accepting shortcomings, and advice was not considered something to be ashamed of. Kings and rulers of old were said to be absolute rulers with unquestionable authority, but the common man had access to them. Justice was dispensed promptly and there was no way of escape, even for the rich and powerful.
Caliph Umar (RA) punished his own son through lashing. Hajjaj Bin Yusuf punished the corrupt by lashing, and Sher Shah Suri punished his son in the same way when he was caught sitting on an elephant and teasing the wife of a poor man. Emperor Jehangir had a bell hung at the gate of his palace which any needy or aggrieved person could peal in order to get prompt justice or help. Mirza Ghalib was arrested for allowing gambling in his house and was prosecuted in the court of Mufti Sadruddin Arzu (Ghalib's own disciple) who convicted him according to the law, but paid the fine from his own pocket.
Hundreds of years before the birth of Prophet Isa (PBUH), there lived an Emperor in India by the name of Vikramajit (Vikamadattya), who had his capital in Ujjani (near Bhopal). The concept of "Nau Ratan" (nine wise people) originated in his court. They were persons famous for their wisdom and knowledge. Famous poet and playwright Kali Das, who wrote Shakuntala and Maghdoot, was one of them. Vikramajit is reported to have had the blessings of Almighty God to extract evidence from stones, trees, birds, and animals. He was famous for dispensing justice.
The Moghul Dynasty flourished just as long as the rulers were honest, God-fearing and just. After the death of Aurangzeb, the dynasty deteriorated and ultimately disintegrated and many local rulers declared themselves autonomous, making it possible for the British to colonise the whole subcontinent. The British cleverly applied the concept of "divide and rule" and regularly paid those who were willing to take up arms against the Indian rulers. Consequently, the Moghul Empire became limited to the Red Fort in Delhi.
The success of the British was due to their intelligence and intrigues and also because of the differences between the local rulers, their cruel and corrupt rule and the absence of justice and rule of law. The uprising of 1857 put the last nail into Indian rulers' coffin. The British gradually conquered the whole of the subcontinent and also made meticulous plans to keep it under their control for as long as possible. They eliminated those whom they considered to be nationalists, replacing them with stooges to make use of their services as and when required, as was done in both World Wars. They established Fort William College at Calcutta where British colonialists were compulsorily taught Urdu. Some became so fluent that they even became Urdu poets.
The British were wise in that they decided not to disturb local laws and religious traditions. Marriage and inheritance laws were left untouched and Maulvis and Pandits were employed to take care of these matters. They did not force people to learn English, but whoever spoke the language were assured of good jobs. They conferred titles on those who translated the Civil Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code and other British laws into Urdu, notably Shamsul Ulema Deputy Nazir Ahmed. They did not change the names of the cities and abstained from interference in religious matters.
Hindu and Muslims festivals were declared holidays and loyal Muslim and Hindu officers were given titles such as Khan Bahadur, Rai Bahadur, Sir, etc. In the police force, the constable, head constable, inspector, DSP, SP and DIG were locals. Only the IG Police was British. Similarly, in the Revenue Department, the Patwari, Tehsildar and deputy revenue commissioner were Indians and only the revenue commissioner was British. In the army, the ranks of soldier to colonel were filled by Indians and those of Brigadier General and above by British.
There was no favouritism, nepotism, superseding of officials, corruption in civil work contracts, etc. Consequently, the quality of the work carried out was of such high standard that many roads, bridges and buildings still stand today and are in relatively good condition. People respected the law and fear of punishment kept them from breaking it. Law was the same for everybody. Immediately after Partition, the leaders and law enforcing agencies were honest, but within a few years corruption, nepotism and favouritism became the order of the day. Nowadays people are even committing suicide (or suicide bombings?) and the rulers are least bothered.
The Indians did a much better job. Its independent area was reduced to less than the size of Pakistan because 553 states were sovereign. However, Sardar Patel, the home and deputy prime minister, immediately annexed all the states and also abolished the Jagirdari System, thus saving the country from future intrigues and manipulation by a few rich families. We failed to take similar action. During the rule of Liaquat Ali Khan we had such a good system in place that the editor of Blitz, Mr Karanjia, advised the chief minister of Bombay, Mr Murarji Desai, to visit Pakistan and learn about good governance.
Soon autocracy and dictatorship destroyed the very fabric of the country and we are now known as one of the most corrupt, intriguing and cheating nations of the world. The ruling elite has only one purpose in mind - how to earn money quickly, by whatever means. Courts became corrupt, further facilitating the rulers in their nefarious activities. Stolen money was transferred abroad and property bought. If a case was initiated, it dragged on for years and was ultimately dropped.
Contrary to general expectations, the military rulers turned out to be no better. Dictators, having very little public support, relied on foreign powers and sold the sovereignty of the country in return for personal survival. The result is there for all to see. Loans worth almost Rs200 billion have been written off, foreign debt has increased, submission to foreign dictates is the norm, selling citizens for bounties has become acceptable, and foreign powers have been allowed to operate within the country and kill locals with impunity. Our leaders have not learnt to apply economic austerity. Our only survival lies in a popular public uprising and cleansing of the whole system, once and for all.

International

Pakistan blocks agenda at UN disarmament conference
Dawn Online

Arms negotiators failed to start talks on Tuesday on cutting nuclear weapons when Pakistan blocked the adoption of the 2010 agenda for the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.
The conference, the world's sole multinational negotiating forum for disarmament, spent much of 2009 stuck on procedural wrangles raised by Pakistan after breaking a 12-year deadlock to agree a programme of work. The impasse on Tuesday suggested 2010 would be another year of halting progress.
Pakistan, which tested a nuclear weapon in 1998, is wary of the proposed focus in the programme on limiting the production of fissile material, which would put it at a disadvantage against longer-standing nuclear powers such as India.
It therefore has an interest in delaying the start of substantive talks, diplomats say.
"Even in the darkest days the agenda was adopted, because everything can be discussed under the agenda," said one veteran official, unable to recall a similar delay in the past.
Adoption of the agenda at the start of the annual session is normally a formality, but Pakistan Ambassador Zamir Akram took the floor to call for the agenda to be broadened to cover two other issues.
Akram said the 65-member forum should consider conventional arms control at the regional and sub-regional level, in line with a United Nations General Assembly resolution sponsored by Pakistan and passed last year. The conference should also negotiate a global regime on all aspects of missiles, he said.
"It is not our intention to create an obstacle but it's also not our intention to create a situation which is oblivious to what is happening around us," Akram said.
Akram said Pakistan did not want to work with a programme that was "frozen in time".
Reaching a consensus is likely to prove difficult, as India rejected a discussion of regional conventional arms control, arguing that the conference should focus on global issues.

  Pak President’s dual office not constitutional: Sanaullah
Dawn Online

Contrary to the views of almost all legal and political circles, including the PML-N, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan claims that keeping two offices by President Asif Ali Zardari is unconstitutional and illegal.
Although the PML-N has all along been raising the issue of the president's dual office, it believes that it is an ethical (morality) matter and has nothing to do with the Constitution.
Talking to Dawn here on Tuesday, the minister said President Zardari could not hold the office of PPP co-chairperson as it violated the Constitution, for neither the president nor any governor could enjoy the freedom of association guaranteed under Article 17.
Article 17 read with Article 260, he argued, restricted the president and governors from joining any political association or union.
Article 17, sub-clause (2) reads: "Every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or be a member of a political party, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan or public order …"
The law minister said that in Article 260, sub-clause (1), the paragraph that defines the "service of Pakistan", while excluding the prime minister and other public offices from the domain of service of Pakistan, does not grant this exemption to the president and the governors.
The paragraph from Article 260, which deals with interpretation of the definitions included in the Constitution, states: "Service of Pakistan" means any service, post or office in connection with the affairs of the Federation or of a Province, and includes an All-Pakistan Service, service in the Armed Forces and any other service declared to be a service of Pakistan by or under Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or of a Provincial Assembly, but does not include service as Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Prime Minister, Federal Minister etc.
Rana Sana argued that the paragraph did not exclude the offices of president and governors from the "service of Pakistan" and thus clearly barred the holders of these offices from joining any political party, association or union.
"The spirit of the Constitution is very much clear on the issue," said Rana Sana, who had earlier differed with all legal experts on the issue that the governor was bound to consult the chief minister for appointment of high court judges. The Supreme Court had later endorsed his opinion.

  UN climate body admits ‘mistake’ on Himalayan glaciers
BBC Online

The vice-chairman of the UN's climate science panel has admitted it made a mistake in asserting that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) included the date in its 2007 assessment of climate impacts.
A number of scientists have recently disputed the 2035 figure, and Jean-Pascal van Ypersele told BBC News that it was an error and would be reviewed.
But he said it did not change the broad picture of man-made climate change.
The issue, which BBC News first reported on 05 December, has reverberated around climate websites in recent days.
Some commentators maintain that taken together with the contents of e-mails stolen last year from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit, it undermines the credibility of climate science.
Dr van Ypersele said this was not the case.
"I don't see how one mistake in a 3,000-page report can damage the credibility of the overall report," he said.
"Some people will attempt to use it to damage the credibility of the IPCC; but if we can uncover it, and explain it and change it, it should strengthen the IPCC's credibility, showing that we are ready to learn from our mistakes."
Grey area
The claim that Himalayan glaciers could disappear by 2035 appears to have originated in a 1999 interview with Indian glaciologist Syed Hasnain, published in New Scientist magazine.
The figure then surfaced in a 2005 report by environmental group WWF - a report that is cited in the IPCC's 2007 assessment, known as AR4.
An alternative genesis lies in the misreading of a 1996 study that gave the date as 2350. AR 4 asserted: "Glaciers in the Himalayas are receding faster than in any other part of the world... the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high."

  Gates warns of militant threat to India-Pakistan ties
AFP, New Delhi

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates warned Wednesday that South Asian militant groups were seeking to destabilise the entire region and could trigger a war between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.
Reflecting anxiety in the region about New Delhi's reaction if it were attacked by a militant group with roots in Pakistan, Gates said restraint by India could not be counted on.
Gates said militants under Al-Qaeda's "syndicate"-which includes the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as well as Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba-posed a danger to the region as a whole.
They are trying "to destabilise not just Afghanistan, not just Pakistan, but potentially the whole region by provoking a conflict perhaps between India and Pakistan through some provocative act," Gates said during a visit to New Delhi.
"It's important to recognise the magnitude of the threat that the entire region faces," he said following talks with his Indian counterpart, A.K. Antony. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence in 1947 and tension spiked again in 2008 when militants-that New Delhi identified as belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba-attacked the city of Mumbai, killing 166 people.
India did not mobilise forces, unlike in 2001 when it massed troops on the border with Pakistan after an attack on its parliament.
This drew praise from Gates, but he said such restraint might not be repeated next time.
"I think it's not unreasonable to assume India's patience would be limited were there to be further attacks," Gates warned.

  Seoul says it would strike N.Korea to thwart nuclear attack
AFP, Seoul

South Korea would launch a pre-emptive strike against North Korea to thwart any nuclear attack by the communist state, Seoul's defence chief said Wednesday.
"We would have to strike right away if we detected a clear intention to attack (South Korea) with nuclear weapons," Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young told a forum, according to Yonhap news agency.
"It would be too late and the damage would be too big if, in the case of a North Korean nuclear attack, we had to cope with the attack."
Kim made similar remarks in 2008 when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
North Korea reacted angrily at the time, temporarily expelling South Korean officials from a Seoul-funded industrial park at Kaesong just north of the heavily fortified border.
International efforts to bring North Korea back to six-party nuclear disarmament talks have so far made little headway.
North Korea abandoned the talks last April, a month before defiantly conducting a second atomic bomb test following its first in 2006.
Its foreign ministry repeated Monday it would not return to the talks with the United States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan until United Nations sanctions are lifted. The ministry also renewed a demand for early discussions on a peace pact aimed at formally ending the 1950-1953 war.
The United States and South Korea have rejected the demands, saying the North must first come back to the disarmament talks and show it is serious about scrapping its atomic programmes.
US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will visit Japan and South Korea early next month to discuss regional security issues including ways to revive the six-party talks.

  US, Japan vow to strengthen alliance on common challenges

Xinhua, Washington

The United States and Japan on Tuesday vowed to build an unshakable alliance to deal with their common challenges for the 21st century and to promote mutual cooperation and security.
"The ministers commit themselves to further building an unshakable U.S.-Japan alliance to adapt to the evolving environment of the 21st century," said the U.S.-Japan Security Consultative Committee in a joint statement marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the U.S.-Japan security treaty.
The committee consists of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and their Japanese counterparts Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa.
On Jan. 19, 1960, the two countries signed the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, under which both parties assumed an obligation to assist each other in case of armed attack on territories under Japan administration. Also under the treaty, the United States could currently maintain about 50,000 troops in Japan, half of whom are stationed in Okinawa.
According to the committee, the two countries recommit themselves to internationally-recognized standards of human rights, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and to the objectives of the treaty.

  Indonesia police to tackle ‘tribal war’ in Papua
AFP, Timika, Indonesia

Indonesian police have been authorised to take action over a tribal feud in restive Papua province in which three people have been killed with arrows, police said Wednesday.
Police have previously not usually intervened in matters seen as part of the traditional culture in the remote eastern region.
"The Mimika district head and the parliament have given the police the authority to take firm action so from today, we'll arrest anybody who uses the arrow to kill," Mimika district police chief Mohammad Sagi told AFP.n
Two men and a 13-year old boy died in separate clashes which started early January allegedly over adultery committed by a man and woman from two families from the Amungme tribe in the village of Kwamki Lama, Mimika district deputy police chief Jeremias Routini said.
The "tribal war" was sparked after the man's family failed to pay compensation of 100 million rupiah (10,800 dollars) to the woman's family, he added.
"Because they did not pay up, a war using bows and arrows broke out," Routini said.
Bows and arrows, spears and machetes are traditionally used by Papuan tribes to settle their disputes.
"Before this, it's hard for police to interfere because the villagers said it's a tribal war and nobody was arrested. But from now, we'll treat this is as a criminal case, not customary issue," Sagi said.

 Iran ‘formally rejects nuclear fuel deal’
BBC Online

Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency it does not accept the terms of a deal to ease concerns about its nuclear programme, diplomats say.
For months, the Iranian government has criticised the offer to ship low-enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel, but never responded formally. But diplomats say Tehran is now suggesting an alternative involving a simultaneous exchange on its territory. Correspondents say the proposal is very unlikely to be acceptable to the West.
The US and its allies fear Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful.
The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says it is not clear whether Iranian officials have responded in writing or only verbally to the IAEA about the deal that envisages Iran sending about 70% of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel. But diplomats say they appear to have rejected one of the main conditions - that all the uranium leaves Iran well before any fuel is dispatched.
US intelligence suggests Tehran never halted nuclear programme
France24: US spy agencies updating intelligence on Iran say they have growing evidence that Iran has never completely suspended its nuclear weapons programme, according to US officials quoted by Reuters.
Reuters- U.S. spy agencies updating intelligence on Iran see growing evidence that Tehran has pushed forward with nuclear weapons research but has yet to relaunch its atomic bomb program in full, U.S. officials said.

  World aid agencies appeal to Israel to unlock Gaza
Reuters, Gaza

Palestinian high-school student Fida Hejji died of cancer waiting for Israeli permission to go to an Israeli hospital for treatment.
Hejji, 18, was promised an entry permit three times. Three days after she died last November, her family got a call to say the hospital had set the date for her admission.
One year after Israel's offensive on Hamas-ruled Gaza, U.N. agencies and the Association for International Development Agencies (AIDA), representing over 80 NGOs, on Wednesday highlighted the health impact of the continuing blockade there. They again called on Israel to relax its tight control of the Gaza Strip's borders to allow in a sufficient supply of essential items and access to care not available in the enclave.
Max Gaylard, resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said the blockade undermines the local health care system and puts lives at risk.
"It is causing on-going deterioration in the social, economic and environmental determinants of health," he said. "It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and it is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialised treatment..."
Israel generally permits supplies of drugs into Gaza but not always enough to prevent shortages. Certain medical equipment such as x-ray and electronic devices are difficult to bring in and clinical staff frequently lack equipment they need.
Israel says most requests by Gazan patients to cross its border for treatment are approved, and that there has been a 25 percent increase in approvals since 2008 -- data supported by World Health Organisation findings issued by Gaylard's office.

  Massachusetts Senate poll loss threatens Obama agenda
BBC Online

Republican Scott Brown has won a shock victory in the race for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts left vacant by Democrat Ed-ward Ken-nedy's death.
The result is a huge blow to President Barack Obama, whose healthcare reform programme is now in doubt.
Democrat Martha Coakley conceded she had lost the race after early results gave Mr Brown a healthy lead.
The Republican win has robbed the Democrats of their filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. This will make it much harder for Mr Obama to pass a healthcare reform bill - the most important domestic policy objective of his first year as president. The BBC's Paul Adams, in Boston, says Ms Coakley's defeat is a humiliating blow for the Democrats and their agenda, and a deeply unwelcome anniversary present for President Obama a year after his inauguration. He adds that it is one of the biggest political upsets in years, and a devastating blow for the Democrats in a seat held for almost half a century by Edward Kennedy, a colossus of the party who died last year.
'Senator Beefcake'
In his victory speech, Mr Brown, 50, said that the voters of Massachusetts had "delivered a great victory".
He said: "Tonight, the independent voice of Massachusetts has spoken. The voters of this commonwealth defied the odds and the experts."
He also made it clear he would join his Republican colleagues in trying to block President Obama's healthcare reform proposals.
Dubbed Senator Beefcake in the US media, Mr Brown is a lawyer and former model who posed almost naked for Cosmopolitan magazine in the 1980s while in law school.
After conceding the election in a telephone call to Mr Brown, Ms Coakley told her supporters she was "heartbroken at the result".

  Suicide car bomb wounds 30 in Iraq’s northern Mosul
Xinhua, Mosul

Thirty people were wounded when a suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi army and police compound in the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, while another car bomb detonated in a crowded area and a third one was defused by the police, a local police source said.
"Our reports said that 15 soldiers, five policemen and 10 civilians were wounded by the suicide car bombing," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
A suicide bomber drove his explosive rigged car to the entrance of a compound comprising an army base and the al-Zuhour police station in the Qadsiyah neighborhood in northern Mosul, the source said.
In a separate incident, an explosive charge went off at the Dawassa neighborhood in central the city, without causing casualty, the source said, adding that explosive experts defused a car bomb parking in same area at the crowded neighborhood.
The police apparently thwarted a tactic usually used by insurgents to blow up a bomb and to follow it by another explosion when Iraqi security forces arrive at the scene of the first blast, the source said.
Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, has been a stronghold of insurgent groups and al-Qaida fighters in the war-torn country.
Nineveh province has been the scene of major security crackdowns by U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces to uproot the insurgency which erupted shortly after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

  Dutch far-right MP in court over anti-Islam comments
Reuters, Amsterdam

Right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders went on trial in an Amsterdam court on Wednesday charged with inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims in a case seen as a test of free speech in the traditionally tolerant Netherlands.
Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party PVV, is standing trial after an appeals court ordered he should face charges in a decision that overruled the public prosecutor, who had argued Wilders was protected by the right to free speech.
The MP is charged over his 2008 film "Fitna" which accused the Koran of inciting violence as it mixed images of terrorist attacks with quotations from the Islamic holy book. He is also charged over his outspoken comments in the media, such as an opinion piece in a Dutch daily in which he compared Islam to fascism and the Koran to Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf".
But defence lawyer Bram Moszkowicz challenged the court's jurisdiction and the prosecution's case, stressing the Supreme Court should instead handle the case because Wilders is a politician and should be judged accordingly.
"Wilders has made all of his comments in the capacity as a member of Parliament," Moszkowicz told the court, adding Wilders has the right to comment on developments in society. Prosecutor Birgit van Roessel said if Wilders was not a politician, he would still have had the capability to make his comments and his statements should not therefore be seen as the obligation of an MP to represent the people.
COMBATIVE
A fierce opponent of Islam in European culture, Wilders has proven popular in recent years with Dutch voters concerned about immigration and its impact on Dutch society. Wilders' Freedom Party emerged last year as the Netherlands' second-largest party in the European Parliament and recent polls have indicated the party stands a chance to become the largest in the Dutch Parliament in national elections due in May 2011.

  Intrusive anti-terrorism measures hurt privacy: UN
Reuters, Geneva

Countries are using ever more pervasive surveillance methods that erode the fundamental right to privacy and go beyond steps required in the fight against terrorism, a U.N. investigator warned on Tuesday.
Martin Scheinin, United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, said the trend risked leading to miscarriages of justice. "This erosion takes place through the use of surveillance powers and new technologies, which are used without adequate legal safeguards," he said in a 35-page report.
"These measures have not only led to violations of the right to privacy, but also have an impact on due process rights and the freedom of movement, especially at borders," he said.
New technology is being harnessed to monitor the general public through body scanners at airports, tracers on mobile phones, spyware installed on computers or data mining of financial databases, he said. Scheinin, a Finnish law professor and U.N. independent expert, expressed concern about what he said was a trend towards extending state surveillance powers "beyond terrorism" and urged the U.N. Human Rights Council to begin drawing up a global declaration on the issue.
U.S. security procedures were subjected to a sweeping review after a 23-year-old Nigerian man was accused of trying to bomb a Detroit-bound plane on Christmas Day. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is due to discuss security standards with senior officials of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), representing 230 airlines, in Geneva on Friday. People targeted by intelligence agencies are often unaware that they are on "no-fly lists" or lack recourse to courts to challenge racial or ethnic profiling, according to Scheinin. He said states had a legitimate right to limit the privacy of people being formally investigated or who were subject to a warrant, but said the fight against terrorism was "not a trump card" allowing unrestricted surveillance by authorities.

  Experts urge screening for obesity in kids
Reuters, New York

Doctors should screen children and teens between 6 and 18 years for extra pounds, a federal task force recommends.
For children who are found to be obese based on their body mass index (BMI), a standard measure of the relationship between height and weight, the task force also calls for referrals to a comprehensive program that includes dietary advice, physical activity, and behavioral counseling to promote weight loss. The new recommendations update earlier ones from 2005. Skyrocketing rates of obesity have reached between 12 and 18 percent in 2- to 19-year-olds, increasing up to 6-fold since the 1970s, members of the United States Preventive Services Task Force report in the February issue of the journal Pediatrics. Obesity is linked to the early development of diabetes and high blood pressure.
For their update, the task force reviewed 13 studies of behavioral intervention in 1258 obese children and adolescents. Moderate- to high-intensity programs, involving more than 25 hours of contact with the child and/or the family over a six-month period, resulted in a decrease in BMI 12 months after the beginning of the intervention.
In addition to dietary and physical activity counseling, effective programs included behavioral-management techniques such as self-monitoring and eating management. However, the programs only worked in children who followed through on treatment.
Harms of screening-for example, adverse effects on growth, eating-disorder pathology, or mental health issues-were judged to be minimal.

Business/Economy

Business delegation hopes reduction in trade deficit with India

UNB, Dhaka

A business delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on her India tour billed her visit successful as it will act as a catalyst in coming out from the cool business relationship between the two countries. "We think the Prime Minister's visit will enable us to come out from the cool relationship in business sector between the two countries, which is the most important thing of this tour," said Kazi Akramuddin Ahmed, the Standard Bank Limited chairman, while addressing a press conference at a local hotel.
He noted that the ice is beginning to melt down, and it is melting as an atmosphere of mutual good relationship has been created. While reading out a written statement on behalf of the 50-member business delegation that toured India as the PM's entourage, Akramuddin said the trade deficit of Bangladesh with India would decrease substantially due to the fruitful discussions and joint communiqué.
"They will also allow another 47 items for duty-free access as there has been a decision to remove tariff and non-tariff barriers on a number of products to expand trade," he told reporters at the news conference.
Referring to the joint communiqué that said India would help Bangladesh in developing the infrastructure of both Chittagong and Mongla seaports, he said, "This will increase our revenue to a great extent from the present times."
Asked about the opposition leader's claim that the visit has been total failure, he said that the main thing is implementation. "We think this visit has been successful, but there is no right for us to mention the percentage of success."
Replying to another question, the Standard Bank chairman said the loan of Tk 7,000 crore offered by the Indian government and the supply of 250MW power would speed up the development process of the country and also enhance business and trade.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association President (BGMEA) president Abdus Salam Murshedy, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) President M Fazlul Haque, Pran-RFL Group chief executive Maj. Gen. (retd) Amjad Khan Chowdhury, HA-MEEM Group managing director AK Azad and Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) 1st vice-president Abul Kashem Ahmed also spoke, among others.
BKMEA president M Fazlul Haque said they had a very successful meeting with the Apparel Promotion Council (APC) of India. During the meeting, the APC leaders assured the Bangladesh business delegation of raising the duty-free access of apparel products to 14 million pieces from the previous 8 million.
He opined that there is a bright prospect for Bangladesh on the market of India as the retail apparel market over there is around 27 billion US dollars with an 18% growth rate.
Asked why they were not able to maximize the opportunity of 8 million pieces of apparel products, Fazlul admitted the shortcoming, saying:
"Our trend towards India is less and there is a gap between both sides. I think if we arrange single-country fair that may minimize the gap."

 Asia-Pacific LDCs to raise voice together in next Conference

UNB, Dhaka

Asia-Pacific Least Developed Countries (LDCs) would raise their voice together in the next LDCs' Conference to be held in Turkey by 2011 to have their problems, including poverty and food crisis, addressed.
UN under-Secretary General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr Noeleen Heyzer said this at a press conference at a city hotel Wednesday after a three-day high-level Asia-Pacific Policy Dialogue on the Brussels Programme Action for LDCs.
The Bangladesh government and UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) jointly organized the policy dialogue.
Noeleen said the participants of the dialogue highlighted the role to be played by regional integration in assisting the LDCs in building productive capability by helping them to have access to larger markets and linkage with regional production chains. "They've urged for exploiting opportunities for regional cooperation to narrow the development gaps."
She said the dialogue underlined the need for South-South and Triangular Cooperation and requested the ESCAP and other regional bodies and international organizations to help strengthen the capacities of LDCs in harnessing the opportunities and benefits of regional and sub-regional cooperation.
About the need for building a strong economic backbone of LDCs, Noeleen said the LDCs must be represented on the Financial Stability Board, established by the G20 and the reform of the international financial architecture must ensure greater representation in international financial institution.

  IMF chief says Asia may need capital controls
AFP, Hong Kong

The IMF chief said Wednesday Asia may need to erect temporary capital controls, warning of the potential for new economic bubbles as speculative money floods into the region. Dominique Strauss-Kahn said the global economy looked on course to beat the 3.1 percent growth forecast currently expected by the International Monetary Fund for 2010, as a post-crisis recovery accelerates.
Speaking in Hong Kong, the IMF managing director also reiterated his call for China to boost the value of its currency, the yuan, which critics say is kept artificially low to boost Chinese exports. There is broad concern about the influx of foreign money pouring into Asia-which has sent property prices rocketing in Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China-as the region leads the recovery.
Strauss-Kahn said the cash flowing into Asia was in stark contrast to the global financial crisis when the fear was of money drying up.
"Understandably, however, policymakers in recipient countries are concerned now with how to manage these flows-their impact on exchange rates, domestic demand, financial stability-and the danger of asset bubbles," he said.
Strauss-Kahn said options to discourage the inflow included cutting interest rates, accumulating reserves or tightening fiscal policy. He added: "Capital controls can also play a role, particularly where the surge in capital flows is expected to be temporary, or where exchange rate overshooting is a real danger.
"As long as it's temporary, it may be the only way" to ward off a bubble, Strauss-Kahn told the Asian Financial Forum, a gathering of political and business leaders. And in a veiled comment on China, he said: "In many countries, exchange-rate appreciation should be the key response-especially in those where the exchange rate is undervalued."
In a statement after his speech Wednesday, Strauss-Kahn said he had told Hong Kong officials that money pouring into the former British colony "could lead to rapid credit growth that in turn unduly drives up asset prices and creates macroeconomic volatility."
Malaysia was ridiculed by financial institutions and foreign governments in 1998 when it became the first crisis-hit Asian country to roll out capital controls to protect its financial markets and collapsing currency.
But the measures, including pegging the ringgit to the dollar and barring investors from taking money out of Malaysia, were later hailed by the IMF and other free-market proponents as an effective tool against speculation.
Economies worldwide went into a tailspin in late 2008 when credit dried up due largely to the collapse of a US property bubble.
But Strauss-Kahn said some emerging economies could begin exiting stimulus programmes sooner than rich countries, with world growth likely to outstrip the IMF's forecast figure of 3.1 percent this year.
Excluding Japan, Asia may expand by more than seven percent, the IMF boss said. He again dismissed fears of a "double-dip" recession for the world economy, but said the pace of recovery had been uneven with Asia bouncing back faster than the rest of the world. The region must also look at boosting domestic demand to cut its reliance on foreign consumers, especially in the hard-hit United States, he said.
Strauss-Kahn said world leaders should press on with financial reforms to prevent a repeat of last year's credit crisis, including better regulation and oversight of the banking sector.

  China, India not ‘competitive opponents’: Chinese premier
BSS/PTI, Beijing

China and India were not "competitive opponents" but "cooperative partners" Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday as he assured that Beijing will make efforts to narrow the bilateral trade deficit. "Only if China and India achieve common development and prosperity could we have a real Asia century," Wen told Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma called on him.
Both China and India were large developing nations in Asia, and the total population of the two countries accounted for 40 per cent of the world, Wen noted.
"We share broad common interests," he said.
China and India were not "competitive opponents" but "cooperative partners", Wen was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency amid reports of Chinese border incursions and attempts to hack sensitive government computers.
Wen assured India that his government will make efforts to narrow the bilateral trade deficit which is currently in China's favour. India ran a big trade gap with China in 2008-09, with imports exceeding exports by about USD 7 billion. For the year, China was India's largest trade partner.
The premier said his country would work with India to boost good-neighbourly friendship, increase coordination in major international issues, and expand cooperation in trade, investment and other sectors in line with the principles of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit. "This will help promote the continuous stable growth of China-India ties," Wen said.
"China would do its part in working towards this objective (reducing trade gap)," a statement by the Indian government quoting Wen, said. Earlier, addressing the Joint Economic Group (JEG) meeting, held after a gap of four years, Sharma expressed India's desire to expand exports to China.
Sharma impressed on China to increase imports of IT and ITES to address the trade imbalance. India also asked for removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers to Indian power plant equipment.
Sharma also asked China to do away with restrictions on import of basmati rice, fruits and vegetables.
He sought rights for Indian TV channels and import of more Indian films by the Chinese. Procedural bottlenecks, including time consuming licensing procedures being faced by Indian drugs and pharmaceuticals also came up for discussions at the JEG. An India-China agreement on Expansion of Trade and Economic Cooperation between the two countries was signed, which provides for the Chinese side to import as much of its requirement of value added goods from India.
The Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming requested India to facilitate the work of Chinese companies in India.

  China to rein in bank loans
AFP, Hong Kong

China will rein in credit after explosive growth last year but has no plans to stop banks lending, a top regulator said Wednesday as the nation vies to cool its red-hot economy. Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said new bank loans this year would fall to about 7.5 trillion yuan (1.1 trillion US dollars) from about 9.5 trillion yuan in 2009.
"This year, we will continue to control the pace of the credit supply," Liu told the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
But the watchdog's chief denied a report that it had asked several banks to stop extending new loans for the rest of this month.
Chinese state media had reported that major banks received verbal orders from authorities to stop lending for the rest of January.
"I've made it very clear about bank lending. We have never asked the banks to stop lending," he told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of the forum. Liu also told the conference that China's banking sector has undergone "substantial and qualitative changes over the last few years." His comments come after China's central bank moved earlier this month to hike the minimum amount of money that banks must keep in reserve.

 Storms cut Philippine rice production in 2009
AFP, Manila

Rice production in the Philippines, the world's biggest importer of the grain, fell by more than 3.0 percent last year after a series of major storms damaged crops, the government said Wednesday.
Tropical storm Ketsana and Typhoon Parma, which claimed more than 1,100 lives in October and November as they pummelled the main island of Luzon, were mainly responsible for the fall in rice output, the agriculture ministry said.
Unmilled rice production was 16.26 million tonnes last year, down 3.31 percent from 2008, the ministry said in its annual report.
The government had already made large tenders in a tight global market late last year to head off possible shortages of rice, the staple food for the 93 million Filipinos.
The entire crops sector, which accounted for 46.80 percent of total agricultural output, also slid by 1.42 percent last year due to the bad weather and rising fertiliser costs, the ministry said. However, livestock, poultry and fisheries managed slight increases to push agricultural growth up by 0.37 percent overall.
Of the Philippines' key export crops, coconut production rose 2.20 percent while bananas added 3.74 percent as key growing areas escaped the worst of the destructive storms.

 Bankrupt Japan Airlines scrambles to reassure passengers
AFP, Tokyo

Japan Airlines sought to reassure the travelling public Wednesday that it will keep flying despite declaring bankruptcy as its share price dropped to a new record low of just two US cents.
The debt-laden carrier apologised in full-page newspaper advertisements for causing "tremendous worries to customers" and promised that "JAL will keep flying" and that passengers' air miles will remain valid.
"Please be reassured and use us as before," the company pleaded.
The once iconic airline, a symbol of Japan's rise to prosperity, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday with 26 billion dollars in debt in the country's biggest post-war corporate failure outside the financial sector.
It is set to undergo a painful overhaul under a new corporate chief, with more than 15,600 jobs to be cut, reducing the workforce by a third, and many loss-making routes expected to be slashed.
JAL, which carries more than 50 million passengers a year, is set to receive almost 10 billion dollars in public funds and emergency loans under a three-year turnaround plan.
Cabin crew have changed their inflight announcements, now promising passengers that the airline is "striving for an early revival."
"We ask for your continued patronage of the JAL group," a cabin attendant said in a choked voice as she rehearsed the announcement before television cameras at a meeting at Tokyo's Haneda airport.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange will delist JAL shares by February 20, a move expected to wipe out shareholders' investments.

 Hong Kong remains world’s freest economy
AFP, Hong Kong

Hong Kong remains the world's freest place to do business while the United States has lost its claim to an unrestricted economy, according to an annual report published Wednesday.
Hong Kong, a former British colony which was returned to China in 1997, edged out rival Singapore to claim top spot for the sixteenth consecutive year in the 2010 Index of Economic Freedom.
Australia and New Zealand grabbed third and fourth spot respectively.
The report is compiled by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank, and The Wall Street Journal.
Ireland, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, Denmark and Chile rounded out the top ten list, which is based on criteria including economic openness, trade, the efficiency of domestic regulators, and the rule of law.

National

Govt. to take steps to bring domestic workers under Labour Law: Minister

UNB, Dhaka

Labour and Employment and Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain Wednesday said the government will take necessary steps to bring the domestic workers under the Labour Law-2006.
Addressing a roundtable titled 'Code of Conduct to Ensure Rights for the Domestic Workers' the minister sought cooperation from all concerned in this regard.
Domestic Workers Rights Network with the support of ILO organized the roundtable at the Institution of Diploma Engineers at Kakrail in the city to raise awareness for establishing the rights of domestic workers. He said there is a huge demand of domestic workers abroad. "So, they should acquire skill for building their capacity to have good jobs abroad. If they are not sent abroad legally, they might be smuggled out while going abroad. Hence, they need proper training," Mosharraf said. The minister stressed the need for establishing the rights of domestic workers and bringing them under the protection of law, saying that all out efforts would be made for inclusion of the workers in the law. Addressing the occasion, other speakers called upon the government to follow the code of conduct to ensure rights for the domestic workers, which was earlier submitted to Labour Ministry, till the inclusion of the workers in the law.
They called for raising awareness for changing our attitude to the domestic workers and giving them due status for establishing their labour rights.
Mohammad Nurul Haque, Acting Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, and Deputy Director of ILO Dhaka Office Gagan Raj Bhandari attended as special guests. Habibur Rahman Seraz, chairman of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), chaired the programme while Shirin Akhter, founder president of Kormajibi Nari, moderated the working session. Nazrul Islam khan, secretary general of BILS, presented a key-note paper. Dr Wajedul Islam Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Kendra, lawyer AKM Nasim, Mohammad Jafrul Hasan, general secretary of Jatiyatabadai Sramik Dal, among others, addressed the occasion. Unofficial sources said there are approximately 20 lakh domestic workers across the country. Domestic Workers Rights Network, which comprise of 22 different organizations, has been demanding to include the domestic workers in Labour Law-2006, which would ensure them different facilities and bring them under the protection of law.

  Tk 90-cr dev programmes undertaken in Rangpur
BSS, Rangpur

The Social Service Department (SSD) under the Ministry of Social Welfare has been implementing massive development programmes at a cost of Taka 90 crore in all eight upazilas in the district during the current fiscal year, officials said.
A total of about 22 lakh people of nearly five lakh families will be benefited after completion of these programmes that include eight ongoing major projects during the current fiscal, Deputy Director (DD) of Rangpur SSD M Motiur Rahman Wednesday told BSS.
Besides, hundreds of distressed families throughout the district have already achieved their complete economic self- reliance through income-generating activities under various programmes including the Rural Social Service (RSS) projects, officials said.
The activities include Polli Seba Programme at Taka 81,89,18,130, Sixth Phase, RSS Programme at Taka 91,39,500, welfare activities at Rural Maternity Centre at Taka 1,01,28,400, rehabilitation of acid-burn women and physically handicapped people at Taka 1,26,67,883.
Besides, every month, each of the 46,354 elderly citizens are getting allowances of Taka 300 and 830 freedom fighters Taka 1,500 each, sub-stipends of Taka 300 are being given to 237 primary level students, Taka 450 to 58 secondary level students, Taka 600 to 19 HSC level 19 students and Taka 1,000 to each of the 23 higher level 23 students every month.
In addition, huge amount of money is being disbursed under various schemes among the distressed families for poverty alleviation and more money as revolving interest free loans for small scale income-generating enterprises.
Besides, the poor pregnant females, acid burn victims, distressed, physically and mentally handicapped and elderly people, freedom fighters, poor patients, registered voluntary organizations, inmates of the non- government orphanages are being benefited under the programmes.

   67,362 hectare of land brought under wheat cultivation in ten South-western districts

BSS, Jessore, Jan 20

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has taken up a massive programme on wheat cultivation in 10 south-western districts under Khulna division, farmers and DAE officials are expecting bumper production of the crops in this season.
The ten districts are Jessore, Narail, Jhenidah, Magura, Kushtia, Chuadanga, Meherpur, Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat.
According to DAE, a total of 67,362 hectares of land have been brought under wheat cultivation with a production target of 1,61,669 metric tonnes in the districts.
The district wise-break up to wheat cultivation is as follows: 5,470 hectares of land with a production target 13,128 metric tonnes in Jessore, 3,120 hectares of land with a production target 7,488 tonnes in Narail, 5,688 hectares of land with a production target 13,651 tonnes in Jhenidah, 9,600 hectares of land with a production target 23,040 tonnes in Magura, 12,800 hectares of land with a production target 30,720 tonnes in Kushtia, 16,200 hectares of land with a production target 38,880 tonnes in Chuadanga, 12,600 hectares of land with a production target 30,240 tonnes in Meherpur, 1,390 hectares of land with a production target 3,336 tonnes in Satkhira, 210 hectares of land with a production target 504 tonnes in Khulna district and 284 hectares of land with a production target 682 tonnes in Bagerhat district. DAE officials told BSS correspondent that cultivation of wheat is very easy and its production cost is low in comparison with many seasonal crops. MD Azizul Haque, additional Director of Jessore Agricultural region told BSS that favorable weather and ability of high yielding seeds and fertilizers helped them of getting bumper wheat production in the current season.

Sports

India sets Bangladesh a big target for victory
UNB, Chittagong

Gautam Gambhir hit his fifth century in as many tests to help India toward a winning position in the first test, as the visitors set Bangladesh an unlikely winning target on day four Wednesday.
India, with a one-run lead on first innings, declared at 413-8 to set Bangladesh a target of 415 for victory. At stumps, the hosts were 67-2, with its inexperienced lineup likely to be concentrating more on denying India's bowlers on the final day rather than chasing down the remaining 348 runs for victory. Bangla-desh's highest-ever fourth innings total was 413 against Sri Lanka in 2008, while India had never conceded more than 369 when bowling in a fourth innings.
Bangladesh opener Imrul Kayes (1) was caught behind off the bowling of Zaheer Khan, while Shahriar Nafees (21) got a thick edge to an Ishant Sharma delivery and was caught at gully. When stumps was called prematurely for bad light, Tamim Iqbal was unbeaten on 23 and Mohammad Ashraful was not out on 16.
In the opening session, Gambhir reached his ninth test century, complete with 10 fours and a six. He has scored a half century in ten straight tests, and centuries in five in a row - one shy of the record.
Gambhir's partnership with night watchman Amit Mishra had reached 98 runs when Mishra was caught off the bowling of Mahmudullah, trying to loft the ball over mid-off. He scored 50 off 70 balls. Gambhir was next to go, cutting a ball to third man to deliver a first test wicket to Shafiul Islam.
Rahul Dravid (24) was run out by a direct hit by Shakib Al Hasan. Attempting a quick single, Dravid paid the price for placing his bat over the crease rather than sliding it in.
Sachin Tendulkar, the first innings century maker, was out lbw to Rubel Hossain for 16 shortly after lunch break. Yuvraj Singh (25) was caught at cover off the bowling of Shahadat Hossain and Dinesh Karthik (27) went when Rubel Hussein took a diving catch at mid-off, giving offspinner Mohammad Mahmudullah his second scalp. India chose to bat on briefly after tea, having been 384-7 at the interval. V.V.S. Laxman was unbeaten on 69 off 89 balls.
Scoreboard
India 1st Innings: 243
Bangladesh 1st Innings 242
India 2nd Innings: (Overnight: 122-1)
Gambhir c Nafees
b Islam 116
Sehwag c Raqibul b
Shakib 45
Amit Mishra c Iqbal
b Mahmudullah 50
Rahul Dravid run out 24
Schin Tendulkar lbw
Rubel Hossain 16
VVS Laxman not out 69
Yuvraj c Ashraful
b Shahadat 25
Dinesh c Rubel b Mahmudullah 27
Zaheer Khan b
Shakib Al Hasan 20
Ishant Sharma not out 7
Extras: (1b, 5lb, 2w, 5nb) 13
Total: (for eight wickets declared, 87 overs) 413
Fall of wickets: 1-90, 2-188, 3-233, 4-245, 5-272, 6-313, 7-362, 8-394.
Did not bat: Shantakumaran Sreesanth
Bowling: Shafiul Islam 15-0-87-1 (1w), Shahadat Hossain 16-1-53-1 (1w), Rubel Hossain 15-0-94-1 (5nb, 1w), Shakib Al Hasan 27-2-112-2, Mohammad Mahmudullah 13-0-52-2, Mohammad Ashraful 1-0-9-0.
Bangladesh 2nd Innings
Tamim Iqbal not out 23
Imrul Kayes c Karthik
b Khan 1
Shahriar c Sehwag
b Sharma 21
Mohammad Ashraful not
out 16
Extras: (4b,1lb, 1nb) 6
Total: (Two wickets,
18 overs) 67
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-47.
Still to bat: Shakib Al Hasan, Raquibul Hasan, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shafiqul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain Bowling: Zaheer Khan 8-3-34-1, Shantakumaran Sreesanth 5-0-11-0 (1nb), Ishant Sharma 4-1-7-1, Amit Mishra 1-0-10-0. Toss: Bangladesh.
Umpires: Billy Bowden, New Zealand, and Marais Erasmus, South Africa.

  Henin keeps fairytale alive as Clijsters powers on
AFP, Melbourne

Justine Henin kept her fairytale comeback on track while it was business as usual for fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters on an intriguing third day of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
But while the two Belgians were recording victories in contrasting fashion at either end of the day, the Eastern European armada sailed on remorselessly.
Russians Dinara Safina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva, Belarusian Victoria Azarenka and Serb Jelena Jankovic all recorded easy wins over outclassed opponents.
Fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki also got her campaign off to a positive start when she beat Canada's Alexsandra Wozniak 6-4, 6-2 in a match held over from the previous day.
However, all the attention in Melbourne was on the second round classic between former champion Henin and world number five Dementieva, a match which lived up to all expectations when Henin beat the Russian 7-5, 7-6 (8/6).
Playing just her second tournament since returning from an 18-month retirement, Henin outlasted Dementieva in two hours, 50 minutes of pulsating tennis. Both women played some spectacular attacking tennis over the two sets, with the quality of the match more suited to a final than the second round.
Either would have made a worthy winner, but Henin just managed to keep her composure on the big points to eke out the narrowest of victories. Earlier, Clijsters put in a workmanlike performance to see off Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 6-3, then said she planned to step up a gear.
Clijsters went into the match as the overwhelming favourite, but was made to work hard for over 90 minutes. The 26-year-old said she had always been able to time her run at tournaments, knowing when she needed to take her game to another level.
Second seed Safina was another to impress as she dominated Barbora Zahla-vova Strycova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4.
Safina, who finished runner up to Serena Williams here last year, looks to have recovered from a back injury she sustained late last year.
She made nine more unforced errors (40 to 31) than her 57th-ranked opponent in, but she could never be accused of playing conservatively as she also belted 31 winners to Zahlavova Strycova's seven.

  Hockey team eyes silver in SA Games
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh hockey team, boosted by the European tour and the year-long preparation, eyes the silver medal of the 11th SA Games scheduled to begin on January 29 in the capital.
The officials of the Bangladesh Hockey Federation were upbeat while the team was named at the BOA House on Wednesday.
Bangladesh Hockey Federation general secretary Khondaker Jamiluddin said: "In the last edition of the SA Games, Bangladesh failed to bag the bronze. Considering the standard of Pakistan and India, the realistic aspiration of Bangladesh will be the Bronze medal. But in the deep of the heart and with the year-long training, we dream to be in the final beating one of the power houses."
German coach Rach Gerhard Peter, the driving force behind the Bangladesh hockey team for the last year, was highly optimistic about achieving the target. He said: "The European tour and the year-long preparation have lifted the players and they are now technically and tactically efficient. The realistic target is the Bronze, but on our day we hope to beat India or Pakistan; we will fight till the end."
Hardworking defender Mashiur Rahman Biplob, chosen to lead the side for the first time, echoed similar optimism. He said: "We've worked hard for the final hurdle; the players are ready. With the long preparation behind us, we look forward to beat either India or Pakistan. Maybe it looks a like a bit over ambitious, but it is our mission."
Among the players who were part of the European tour Krishna, Hasan, Shuvo and Rimon have been excluded while experienced Ashiquzzaman and Zahidul Islam are included in the team. Mashiur Rahman Firoz, Irfan Haque and Imran Hasan Pintu are the three newcomers in the team.
Bangladesh opens their SA Games hockey campaign against Nepal on January 30. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and hosts Bangladesh are the five teams who will take part in the SA Games hockey. After a single league format, the top two teams will play in the final. The Bronze of 1995 Madras Games remains Bangladesh's highest achievement in the SA Games hockey till date.
Bangladesh Hockey team: AHM Kamruzzaman, Asaduzzaman Chandan, Ashiquzzaman, Mashiur Rahman Biplob, Mamunur Rahman Chayan, Irfan Haque, Rasel Mahmud Jimmy, Abdus Sajjad John, Mehrab Hossian Kiron, Sheikh Mohammed Nannu, Zahidul Islam, Mashiur Rahman Firoz, Golam Mostafa, Mosharraf Hossain Kuti and Imran.

  Del Potro edges Blake in five-set thriller
AFP, Melbourne

US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro battled for over four hours before winning a titanic five-setter against James Blake to reach the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
The Argentine fourth seed prevailed after an epic struggle, 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 in four hours 17 minutes on Hisense Arena.
Del Potro will now face German Florian Mayer in the next round and is projected to face American seventh seed Andy Roddick in the quarters. "Blake was fast. He played very strong with his forehand. He never missed easy points, easy forehand.
"I was trying every game with my serve. Then when I had the opportunity to break his serve, sometimes I did, sometimes not.
"It's very difficult to keep trying, keep going. You have to be focused every point, every time, and try to take your chance. I had my chance in the last set."
Del Potro said he was still experiencing some discomfort with a wrist injury which forced him out of last week's Kooyong Classic lead-up exhibition tournament in Melbourne. The Argentine giant, who beat Roger Federer in last September's US Open final to claim his first Grand Slam title, needed all his fighting qualities to overcome the gallant 45th-ranked American.
Only five points separated the pair in Del Potro's favour over the course of the gripping contest, 205 to 200.
Blake, who was a quarter-finalist here in 2008, fought every bit of the way and belied his ranking to keep the pressure on the 21-year-old rising star.

   Pakistan grab spot in U-19 WC quarters
AFP, Wellington

Pakistan squeaked past Bangladesh on the second last ball Wednesday to go through to the quarter-finals of the Under 19 Cricket World Cup in Palmerston North.
The group D clash was the key to settling the final two spots in the weekend quarter-finals, with the four wicket victory ensuring Pakistan won the group and second-placed West Indies also qualified.
Bangladesh scored 250-5 but it was not quite enough, with Pakistan scrambling to victory on the second-last ball of their 50 overs after 15-year-old opening batsman Muhammad Babar top-scored with 91.
In the battle of the group B heavyweights in Queenstown, South Africa beat Australia in another nail-biter, reaching their target with only two balls remaining. Australia scored 276-7, with Jason Flores hitting 96 and Alex Keath 64, before Dominic Hendricks led the South African charge with 94. South Africa reached 278-8 to clinch their place at the top of the pool ahead of the quarter-finals.
Hosts New Zealand took top spot in group C after beating closest rivals Sri Lanka by seven wickets in Christchurch.
Sri Lanka scored 195 all out in their 50 overs, with Danishka Gunathilleke topscoring with 69 and Tim Johnston and Logan van Beek each taking three wickets for New Zealand.
The hosts reached the target with nearly seven overs in hand, as opening batsman Harry Boam held the innings together with an unbeaten 85. In the tournament's final pool match Thursday, World Cup holder India and England will battle for top spot in group A.

  Asian Tour adds new tournament in Taiwan
AFP, Taipei

The Asian Tour Wednesday announced a new tournament, the Yeangder Tourna-ment Players Champion-ship, to be held in Taipei later this year.
A three-year agreement was reached with the event being played from September 16-19. It will be the second Asian Tour tournament in Taiwan, with the Mercuries Taiwan Masters an established date on the calendar.
"We are delighted to return to Taiwan for the staging of our second event here," said Asian Tour executive chairman Kyi Hla Han.
"Taiwan has a very strong golfing culture due to its long history in the game and the Asian Tour is always ready to support it by providing our players with the opportunities to grow and develop their games."

  Loew to discuss Ballack’s Germany future
AFP, Berlin

Germany coach Joachim Loew said on Wednesday he will discuss captain Michael Ballack's future in the national team only after this summer's World Cup and expects the veteran to play for a few more years.
Ballack, 33, has said he would like to play two more years at Premier League giants Chelsea and has no desire to end his career with Germany at the moment.
After a string of impressive performances for his country, Ballack is showing no sign of slowing down despite making his Germany debut in April 1999.
"We will discuss whether he wants to continue after the World Cup," Loew told German magazine Sports Bild. Germany's performance at the 2010 World Cup, where they have been drawn with Australia, Ghana and Serbia in the group stages, will influence Ballack's future in the national side, added Loew.
"We will need to see how things go at the 2010 World Cup," he said.
Ballack has represented Germany at two World Cups and two European Championships and he has played at Chelsea since 2006 after Kaiserslautern (1997-99), Bayer Lever-kusen (1999-2002) and Bayern Munich (2002-06). He has won 97 caps for his country, scoring 42 goals in the process, and he is set to make his 100th appearance for Germany in the friendly against Hungary in Budapest on May 29.
And While the German Football Federation have only sold 1,916 of the 21,000 available tickets allocated by FIFA for German fans at the World Cup, Loew says he hopes the sluggish response will pick up speed as the tournament draws near.

  Roddick urges revamp of Davis Cup
AFP, Melbourne

Andy Roddick on Wednesday urged the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to consider scaling back the Davis Cup after pulling out of the United States team duty for this year's series.
Roddick, who advanced to the third round of the Australian Open after beating Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci, said he would miss the 2010 Davis Cup after nine years to avoid causing further damage to a knee he injured last year.
The future of the traditional Davis Cup team competition is under threat with players complaining about the time obligations they have to sacrifice during the season.
"We've been talking about adjustments for a long time," Roddick said. "Bottom line is until the ITF steps up and actually says, 'You know what, this might be better for our event', until they see it that way, then it's really a moot point. It's not going to happen that way."
A revolutionary plan surfaced this month for a World Cup of tennis -- 32 nations playing once every two years-which could signal the end of the 110-year-old Davis Cup.
Roddick said a streamlined Davis Cup format would offer benefits for players and fans.
"It would be a lot easier. I think I could definitely see the benefits of it as far as players and from a fan's perspective," he said.
"I think one of the reasons that the (golf) Ryder Cup is so successful is because you have a little bit of time to build up to it and it is unique.
"But on the other side of the coin, I certainly understand that a lot of the smaller countries support their tennis federations with home (Davis Cup) ties.
Roddick said he would miss not being a part of the Davis Cup this year, with the USA taking on Serbia on clay in Belgrade in the opening round from March 5-7.
"I'll miss it, for sure. It's been a big part of my career so far. I don't know if I've shut the door on as far as forever goes," he said.
He said he made the decision to bypass the Davis Cup late last year.
"That's when my knee was still hurt. I didn't think it was smart to be switching surfaces from hard to clay to hard, time zones, and all that," he said.

  ‘Maradona saviour’ joins Fiorentina
AFP, Rome

Fiorentina have signed Argentina midfielder Mario Ariel Bolatti, the man credited with saving Diego Maradona's job as national team coach.
The 24-year-old came off the bench to score an 84th-minute winner for Argentina against Uruguay in Montevideo in October to send the Argentines to the World Cup, and allegedly sparing Maradona the sack.
Bolatti joins from Porto, where he struggled to break into their team and spent the last six months on loan at Huracan back in his homeland. Fiorentina did not reveal how much the deal cost but said he would wear the number 28 shirt.
Bolatti revealed that he had spoken to Maradona, who himself played in Italy for Napoli, before joining the club. "Before coming to Florence I spoke with Maradona on the phone and he wished me luck for this new adventure," he said before adding that part of his reason for the move was to improve his chances of making the World Cup squad. "I'm very happy to be coming here to play for a great club like Fiorentina. Every player dreams of going to the World Cup and for me it is also important.
He is the second midfield signing made by Fiorentina during the January transfer window following that of Serbian teenager Adem Ljacic from Partizan Belgrade. "He's the central midfielder we wanted, I had come to an agreement with Porto back in December," said Fiorentina sporting director Pantaleo Corvino.