friday, JANUARY 22, 2010 magh 9, 1416, SAFAR 5, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Biswa Ijtema begins today
Akheri munajat on Sunday, two million devotees to participate

UNB, Gazipur

A three-day mammoth Islamic congregation at Biswa Ijtema begins on the bank of Turag River in Tongi today (Friday) with the participation of devotees from home and abroad.
Around 25,000 foreign pilgrims from 100 countries of the world are expected to attend the 45th Ijtema, rated as the second-largest Islamic congregation after Hajj, apart from around two million domestic devotees.
Organized by Tablig Jamaat, the Biswa Ijtema will conclude Sunday with the offering of akheri munajat, when the Turag riverbank and a vast area around, even stretching into the northern part of the capital, turn into a human sea.
"The government has taken adequate measures for ensuring security of the devotees for smooth holding of the gathering," one official concerned told UNB Gazipur correspondent.
RAB and plainclothes police will be deployed while several thousand volunteers of Tablig jamaat will also be on duty for ensuring security. The elite-force RAB will set up nine observation towers and 56 close-circuit cameras to watch over the movement of people.
Director-General of RAB Hasan Mahmud Khandaker visited the vast Ijtema ground to see the security preparation.
The government took special steps for introducing extra train, bus and launch services for smooth journey of devotees.
The first Ijtema was held at Kakrail Mosque in the capital way back in 1946, the second one in Chittagong in 1948 and at Pagar in Tongi in 1966.
The Biswa Ijtema has been held on the eastern bank of Turag River since then as space at Pagar was not sufficient. Already a huge number of devotees have arrived at the Ijtema venue.
UNB Benapole Correspon-dent adds: About 3,700 devotees from different countries intending to attend the Ijtema have entered Bangladesh through Benapole check-post in last seven days. Officials said local transport authorities are "finding it tough to handle the big rush of Ijtema-bound passengers".

 ECNEC okays 8 projects worth Tk 2654 crore

UNB, Dhaka

Mechanization of agriculture for boosting crop production through modern farming got a big push as the government endorsed two major projects for helping farmer buy tilling tools and installing irrigation pumps.
These two are in a package of eight development projects, involving Tk 2654 crore, the Executive Comm-ittee of the National Econo-mic Council approved Thurs-day in a meeting with Prime Minister and ECNEC chairperson Sheikh Hasina in the chair in the NEC conference room. Of the total project cost, Tk 1435 crore will come as project aid while the rest Tk 1219 crore from government coffers.
The two agriculture-sector schemes are 'Enhancement of Crop Production through Farm Mechanization Project' involving Tk 149 crore and 'Installation of Deep Tube-well Project (2nd phase)' that costs Tk 248 crore. Revealing details before the media after the meeting, Planning Division Secretary Habibullah Majumder said under the Enhancement of Crop Production project, the government would give 25 percent cash assistance to farmers of 237 upazilas under 25 districts for buying agricultural machinery like power tiller and tractor.
And some 1250 deep tube-wells will be set up in Barind region, considered granary for of the country, for irrigation under the Deep Tube-well Project (2nd phase).
Another couple of major schemes approved today are collection of 46 DE locomotives for Bangladesh Railway (2nd amended) under the Roads and Railways Division involving Tk 936 crore and Sayedabad Water Treatment Project (phase-2) (1st amended) under the Local Government Division with Tk 1140 crore.
Among the rest of the projects are Pachchar-Shib-char Madaripur Road Widening and Development Project under the Roads and Railways Division at estimated Tk 33 crore, Hatia (Bhuiyarhat)-Jahajmara Road and Tamruddin Connecting Road Rehabilit-ation (amended) project under the Roads and Railways Division with Tk 27 crore, the accommodation project for the National Defense College (NDC) at Mirpur Cantonment under the Defense Ministry with Tk 61 crore and the small-wave relay machine (transmitter) development and strengthening project of 250-KW capacity Kabirpur center of Bangladesh Betar under the Information Ministry at a cost of Tk 60 crore.

 BNP submits amended party constitution to EC
Political parties will now run in more democratic way, says CEC

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Thursday submitted its amended constitution to the Election Commission leaving student and labor wings out of the parent party's lap to fit in the reformed politico-electoral rules.
As reporters wanted to know the view of the Chief Election Commissioner after the submission of the revised BNP constitution, CEC Dr Shamsul Huda termed submission of the amended constitutions by the political parties a positive side, as they would now have to play by the book.
"As a result, the political parties will be conducted in a more constructive, disciplined and democratic way in the future," said the CEC, who had to do a tough task of presiding over the EC during tricky politico-electoral reforms launched by the interim regime under state of emergency following the 1/11 changeover and the holding of the previously-disrupted general election after the resurrection of politics from proscription.
A 3-member BNP delegation led by standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan handed over the party's revised constitution to the Chief Election Commissioner at the Election Commission Secretariat at around 3:30pm. The other members of the delegation were BNP joint secretaries-general Barkatullah Bulu MP and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.
While submitting the constitution, the delegation had about a one-hour meeting with the Chief Election Commissioner and two election commissioners-M Sakawat Hossain and Sohul Hossain.
Earlier on December 8 last, the fifth national council of BNP approved the amended constitution and it was handed to the EC today-close by the last deadline. The EC had set January 24 as the last date for submission of the political parties' amended constitution.
Talking to reporters after handing over the party constitution, Nazrul Islam Khan said the party's amended constitution was prepared in line with the amended Representation of People Order (RPO).
The constitution has kept Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal as associate organizations instead of earlier front organizations.
"Besides, the BNP units abroad will be conducted under their own constitutions," he said. "The party's associate organizations will also be conducted as per their own constitutions," Nazrul Islam told the reporters. The BNP standing committee member said he thinks that the party's amended constitution will be acceptable to the EC.

  CNG station owners find gas rationing plan impractical
Petrobangla’s meeting ends inconclusively

UNB, Dhaka

A meeting between CNG station operators and the state-owned Petrobangla on keeping refilling stations closed from 8 am to 5 pm for a day or to a ended inconclusively Thursday.
The two sides will sit again Tuesday next to discuss the gas rationing issue in CNG stations, as the country has long been experiencing a severe gas crisis that has deepened in the city and its adjoining areas with the start of winter, forcing many consumers to keep gas-ovens closed. To minimize the crisis, Titas Gas laid out the gas rationing plan.
Under the gas rationing plan, the Titas Gas Company, a sister concern of Petrobangla, has proposed to keep the CNG refilling stations closed from 8 am to 5 pm for a day or two every week in rotation in different areas of the city and its suburban areas.
Energy Ministry also gave its nod to the plan, but asked Petrobangla to discuss with CNG station operators before going for implementing it. As per the directive, Petrobangla and Titas gas officials sat with the CNG station owners.
"When Petrobangla placed its gas rationing proposal, the CNG station owners described it as impractical," a source close to the meeting said.
They said the programme to keep closed gas stations will invite another problem as there will be huge queues in gas stations for refilling just a day before the shutdown. "The plan will not work effectively to save gas consumption, as the vehicle owners will fill tanks full with gas just before and after the shutdown," a gas station operator was learned to have told the meeting.
According to Petrobangla statistics, there are 340 CNG refilling stations in Titas' command areas, including Dhaka, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Mymensingh, Tangail and Manikganj.
About 2 lakh CNG-run motor vehicles ply in the areas, which consume 70 million cubic feet of gas a day (MMCFD).
Petrobangla Chairman Prof Hossain Mansur, Titas Managing Director Mohammad Aziz Khan, CNG Association President Shafiqul Islam Kamal, Vice President Masud Khan, General Secretary Zakir Hossain Nayan, Finance Secretary Abdullah Al Mamun and other officials were present at the meeting.
Aziz Khan told UNB that the CNG station operators at the meeting described the problems they are likely to face after the introduction of the rationing plan.
"We'll now study the matters and then sit again. They (gas station owners) will discuss that in their own forum," he added.

   Delwar rejects PM’s statement in parliament over Zia

UNB, Dhaka

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwer Hossain Thursday dismissed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's statement in parliament over late President Ziaur Rahman terming it "irrelevant and false".
The BNP secretary general rejected the PM's remarks at a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office in the afternoon.
The Awami League government has been isolated from people as it failed to fulfill their aspirations. Having failed to run the country properly, they've now started making irrelevant and false statements," he said.
During her 30-minute question-answer session in parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said there is a doubt whether there is the body of late President Ziaur Rahman in his grave at Zia Uddyan at the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
"Such statements by the Prime Minister are simply mindless and one cannot run the country with such meanness," Delwar said.
He said lakhs of people had attended the namaz-e-janaza of Ziaur Rahman and BNP leaders, including Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, were present during the postmortem on Zia's body at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and his burial at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
Raising the question whether Sheikh Hasina was present on that day in Dhaka, Delwar said why is she (Hasina) making such "unexpected, irresponsible and baseless statements after so long?"
Delwar said Hasina needs to remember that it was Ziaur Rahman who had helped her come back home from India on May 17, 1981. "Sheikh Hasina being a national leader has undermined herself before people by making irresponsible statements."
He alleged the government is trying to implicate Khaleda Zia and her son in the grenade attack case. About the allegation against Zia that he had rehabilitated Razakars, he said Sheikh Hasina had gone to Golam Azam's residence seeking support of Jamaat-e-Islami to form the government in 1991. About the PM's allegation over the role of Zia in the killings of Brig Gen Khaled Mosharraf and Col Taher, the BNP secretary general said Khaled Mosharraf got punishment for his crime.
He said Col Taher was in favour of November 7 Sepoy-Janata revolution and later he faced court martial for "betrayal with the November 7 revolution".

    BNP had entered into transit deal with India: Dipu Moni

UNB, Dhaka

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni Thursday said the past BNP government "deceived" Delhi as she claimed they had entered into a deal with India on transit issue but then backtracked on the agreement.
"During 1980 and 2006, the BNP government signed agreement with India on transit issue but they didn't abide by it," she told a roundtable on "Prime Minister's Visit to India" at the National Press Club, amid a storm kicked up by opposition BNP over the PM's Delhi trip and transit accord. The discussion was organized by daily Bhorer Kagaj.
The Foreign Minister strongly defended the Dhaka-Delhi accords and expressed their government's determination to push those through at all events. She warned that the people would give the fit reply if they (BNP) try to resist the implementation of the joint communiqué issued after the talks between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.
"Confusion has been created among the people with some words like corridor, transit and transshipment, but we did not give anybody the corridor," the foreign minister told her audience.
Describing the visit as great achievement for the signing of three deals which would impact not only on Bangladesh but the entire South Asian region, Dipu Moni said the government signed the agreements with India in line with the Awami League's election manifesto.
Chaired by Shyamal Dutta, Bhorer Kagaj editor, the roundtable was also addressed, among others, by former Ambassadors Syed Moazzem Ali and Mohammed Zamir, transport expert Dr Rahmat Ullah, President of Bangladesh Economic Association Dr Kholiquzzaman Ahmad and business leader Dewan Sultan Ahmed.

Back Page

Greater Pak-US intelligence sharing to help locate Taliban network: Kayani

Dawn Online

The Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani said that greater intelligence sharing bet-ween the security forces of Pakistan and the United States will help locate and target the Taliban network along the Pak-Afghan border.
The army chief made this statement during his meeting with the visiting US Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Thursday. According to military sources, the meeting focused on regional security, US policy in Afghanistan and the war on terrorism.
General Kayani briefed Gates on the ongoing military operation in South Waziristan. He also emphasized that only Pakistani security forces could carry out such operations inside the country.
Gates also held a meeting with Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and discussed the overall regional security situation with him.
The visiting US dignitary told the defense minister that the Taliban network along the Pak-Afghan border must be destroyed, adding that it could create greater trouble for Islamabad and Kabul in the future.
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen and CENTCOM Comman-der General David Pet-raeus were also accompanying Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

  Fifth amendment
High Court cannot repeal any Act of Parliament: Lawyer

UNB, Dhaka

Sticking to his guns in the legal battle over the Constitution Fifth Amen-dment, veteran lawyer TH Khan Thursday told the apex court that the High Court division doesn't have the power under article 102 on writ jurisdiction to repeal any Act of Parliament.
"Such power can be exercised by the sovereign Parliament only," he said, citing article 142 of the constitution. TH Khan argued that the High Court division under its writ jurisdiction has the power to take up any person's impugned order or action for judicial scrutiny. But the Parliament does not come under the nomenclature of person. To underpin his argument Khan referred to clause 5 of article 102 that reads: In this article, unless the context otherwise requires, "person" includes a statutory public authority and any court established under a law relating to the defence services of Bangladesh or any disciplined force or a tribunal to which article 117 applies.
Putting forward a series of questions before the apex court Khan asked who is to execute the judgment of the High Court. "Can the High Court division dictate the Parliament to execute its ruling; can the High Court snatch the power of the Parliament by repealing the Act of Parliament?"
No such power exists under the constitution for the High Court division, so it needs new enactment for the High Court by the Parliament in this regard, he contended.
Khan said since the High Court does not enjoy such power, the past Awami League government (1996-2001) had to repeal the Indemnity Ordinance promulgated by the martial law authority through parliament.
They (Awami League) did not turn up with a writ petition challenging the validity of the Indemnity Ordi-nance that barred the self-confessed killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from being tried, he added.

   Cop, registration officer to a minister commits corruption: Irene Khan

UNB, Dhaka

Former Secretary-General of Amnesty International Irene Khan Thursday revealed that corruption remains main problem in Bangladesh as it turned life of the right-deprived downtrodden more disastrous.
"Change has come to many countries but it is yet come in our country. Corruption in the country is massive," she said in her stark observations that she has also laid down in a book from her experience from leading the global watchdog on human rights.
Irene Khan made the remarks while talking to reporters after the launch of her book titled 'The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights' at the BRAC Center in the city.
Irene, a Bangladeshi citizen, is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the NGO-major BRAC. She explained that corruption in the country is immense because "a simple police personnel, registration officer to a cabinet minister resort to corruption". The ex-Amnesty chief executive emphasized establishing human rights of the poor in order to alleviate poverty. "If we want to protect human rights of the poor, we also have to empower them," she added. Asked to comment on the one-year tenure of the AL-led Grand Alliance government, she said although one year is not a long time, the government has done some good works. "But the major problem still lies-and that is corruption."
Speaking on the occasion, the Finance Minister said all humans are born equal with rights. He congratulated Irene on her bringing out this important book "as poverty, given its nature, remains a challenge". Prof Rehman Sobhan advocated for Irene's accounts on making governments deliver on basic rights by making them mandatory through judiciary and public litigations. Former adviser Dr. Akbar Ali Khan appreciated that Irene didn't hesitate to criticize those who are liable for poverty and not for protecting human rights. He expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the AL government as they are "yet to submit the yearly wealth statements of their cabinet ministers, MPs and their family members although they pledged it in their election manifesto in two places".

   Maldives intends to address global climate issues under Bangladesh’s leadership

UNB, Dhaka

The Maldives government intends to address the global climate-change issues under the leadership of Bangladesh, as both are the most vulnerable countries to climatic calamities. "Maldives wants to work with Bangladesh on climate-change issues," newly appointed High Com-missioner of the Maldives Ahmed Sareer said while presenting his credential to President Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaban Thursday.
During the meeting, Ahmed Sareer informed the president that his government highly praised the effective initiatives taken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Copenhagen Climate Conference. "The Prime Minister of Bang-ladesh was fully successful in motivating the world leaders of the rich countries to reduce their carbon emissions," said the new envoy of the Indian Ocean-island country.
Mentioning that some 45,000 Bangladeshi people work in his country, which also intends to import teachers from Bangladesh, Ahmed Sareer expressed his hope that the numbers would increase in the future. He also mentioned that many students from the Maldives are pursuing their higher studies in Bangladesh. Welcoming the envoy, President Zillur Rahman mentioned that the country's bilateral relations with the Maldives are close and historical and the ties would be further strengthened in the days to come. Zillur Rahman emphasized expanding the bilateral economic cooperation for development of trade and commerce bet-ween the two countries.
The president assured his all-out cooperation in the discharge of his duties in the country. Foreign Secretary Moha-mmad Mijarul Quayes and secretaries of the president's office were present.
Earlier, the High Commissi-oner was given guard of honor by the President's Guard Regiment.

    Government urged to take steps to increase wages of tea workers

UNB, Dhaka

Speakers at a book launching ceremony here Thursday urged the government to take proper steps for increasing the wages of tea workers for helping maintain their life.
They said at present the maximum daily wage of tea worker is Tk 48 while it was Tk 38.5 in 2008. The amount is too small to lead their lives considering the price-hike of essentials.
Earlier, Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud formally launched the book titled 'The Story of Tea workers' through unfolding its cover at National Press Club. Society for Environment and Human Development (SEHD), a non-government organization, published the book focusing the untold sufferings and life style of the tea workers, who are working at tea gardens in greater Sylhet region.
Chaired by SEHD Chairman Prof. Shakhawat Ali Khan, the function was addressed, among others, by eminent economist Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud, coordinator of Nijera Kori Khushi Kabir, Prof. Amena Mohsin of International Relations Department of Dhaka University, Chairman of Minimum Wage Board Ikteder Ahmed, member of Bangladesh Tea Association (BTA) M Shah Alam, labour leaders Tapon Dutta and Ranbhajan Koiri.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Wahiduddin Mahmud said fate of the tea workers remained unchanged till now despite two major historical changes-partition of India in 1947 and the Independence War in 1971.
"The tea workers never raised their voices to highlight their rights because of their peaceful nature of character, poverty and social alienation. As they are not involved in politics, they failed to raise voices for realizing their rights," he said.
He stressed the need for bringing back the tea workers into mainstream of the society through giving practical education for enhancing the standard of living.

    Work on tourist spot going on amid protest in Bandarban
UNB, Bandarban

The work on 'Sarga Chura' tourist spot at Kanapara in Sadar upazila is continuing by felling trees and cutting hills, creating resentment among the indigenous peoples.
Local sources said over 500 trees were chopped down and a large portion of a hill was cut so far for constructing the tourist spot. The native peoples including the peoples Marma and Bom tribes alleged that the upazila administration is establishing the tourist spot on their 15-20 acres land illegally. Christian community bou-ght a portion of the land from Marma tribesmen of the area to build a church but Sadar upazila administration began the construction of 'Sarga Chura' tourist spot on the land last month.
The local indigenous peoples formed a human chain on January 11 in front of Bandarban Press club premises protesting the construction of the tourist spot on their land. Koisleha, Chairman, Bandarban Hill Tracts Zila Parishad and Abdul Kuddus, chairman of Sadar upazila of the district jointly appealed to the Deputy Commissioner to stop the construction work. They also sent a letter to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Ministry seeking their intervention. The District Judge court asked Upazila Nirbahi Officer to explain by 10 days why grabbing of others land will not be declared illegal following a case filed with the court by the victims. Anupam Barua, sadar upazila nirbahi officer, filed a case against the land owners for trying to stop the construction work.

    Five including cop die in road accidents
UNB, Gazipur

A police constable died in a road accident while performing his duty at station road near Biswa Ijtema venue in Tongi Wednesday midnight.
The deceased was identified as Abdus Sattar, 48, resident of Tilokpur village in Naogaon. Sattar, posted at Rajshahi Sadar Court, was brought here for Ijtema duty.
Meanwhile, two people were killed and five others injured as a betel-leaf laden truck plunged into a roadside ditch at Harinchhara under Solonga thana Thursday. The deceased were identified as Mostafizur, 40, and Ronnie, 25.
Besides, two people were killed and six others injured in a road accident at Choto Kumira in Sitakunda upazila Thursday.
Local sources said the mishap occurred on Dhaka-Chittagong highway when a truck rammed a CNG-run taxi, leaving two taxi passengers dead on the spot at about 1:30pm.

Editorial

Strengthening Upazila Parishads

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister and Awami League (AL) general secretary 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," he said. Addressing a discussion on "Rule of law, democracy and upazila parishad' 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 mentioned 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.
Strengthening the Upazila Parishad is a demand not only of the Chairmen and vice chairmen of the upazilas, but also of political parties and civil society members. But the fact remains that even after one year of the elections the Upazila Parishads of the country have not been able to start functioning in full swing due mainly to power struggle between the Parliament members and upazila chairmen. Besides, the upazila tangle entered a new phase with the Chairmen being locked in a power struggle with the Upazila Nirbahi Officers while their fight against the dominance of the Parliament members continued. Leaders of Upazila Parishad Association alleged that UZ chairmen have become inactive due to indecision of government and non-cooperation of the UNOs. They said although they were elected several months ago, they could not work effectively due to disturbance created by the UNOs and lack of legal framework.
The upazila chairmen had earlier submitted 11-point demand which includes abolition of the UNO post and renaming it as UZ secretary who will remain under the chairman. They also asked for cancellation of the present law providing that UZ chairmen will contact the government but through the local MPs. Besides, the UZ leaders asked for scrapping the decision that chairmen will have to undertake development scheme in consultation with the local MPs.
But the upazila tangle persisted as the government remained hell bent on retaining the dominance of the Parliament members over the local government bodies while the chairmen were unwilling to accept this dominance as well as the existence of the UNOs. However, the situation appears to have improved now following the government step defining the responsibilities of the upazila chairmen and vice chairmen and the announcement of the policy to end the scope for lawmakers interference in the activities of upazila chairmen, vice chairmen and female vice vice chairmen.
Our constitution stresses on ensuring that the local government bodies are independent and strong. But the Upazila Parsishad Act 2009 does not fulfill this criteria. The parliament on April 6 unanimously passed the Upazila Parishad (Reintroduction of the Repealed Act and Amendment) Act, making it mandatory for Upazila Parishads to consult lawmakers.
Now, to end the deadlock and strengthen the Upazila Parishad as assured by the LGRD minister, the government has to amend the Upazila Parishad (Reintroduction of the Repealed Act and Amendment) Act, 2009 further to end the dominance of the MPs over the parishads as demanded by the upazila chairmen. Moreover, steps have to be taken to establish healthy, congenial relations between the MPs and chairmen so that they can work in cooperation with each other in local development.

  Rehabilitating floating people

Social Welfare Minister Enamul Haque Mostafa Sharif stated in the Parliament on Wednesday that 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. The minister said six shelter centers are presently. He also said that programmes have been undertaken to restart Shanti Nibash (old homes) for ensuring shelter for elderly people in a hygienic environment.
The steps taken so far for the rehabilitation of the floating people are good, but fall short of the needs. Because the number of shelterless, floating people in major cities specially capital Dhaka is rising rapidly. More and more people continue to be rendered homeless due to various reasons including erosion of rivers, crop damage caused by frequent floods and draughts and extreme poverty. And many of the landless people along with their families are streaming to the cities in search of work and food causing spurt in the number of slum dwellers and creating socio-economic imbalance there. The alarming rise in the number of landless people in turn add to the slum dwellers in the city and in many cases contribute to different socio-economic problems and even crimes. So, the government should rehabilitate the floating people and for this purpose should take all necessary measures without any political consideration.

Analysis

Pacts for the gullible

It is surprising that the Americans who, for all practical purposes, call the shots in Afghanistan have also encouraged India to establish her presence in the country. It was a callow move.

Zafar Hilaly

After grabbing the larger part of Kashmir by force Nehru, in mid-November 1949, out of the blue offered to conclude a no-war pact with Pakistan. Taken aback somewhat, Liaquat Ali Khan recovered his composure to tell Nehru that rather than a no-war declaration the best way of removing both the causes and the fear of war was to settle major outstanding disputes between the two countries. Even if disputes could not be settled, Liaquat Ali Khan added; let us agree on a procedure for settling them so that both countries would have entered into firm commitments which in due course would definitely lead to a settlement. Nehru was not interested.
President Ahmadinejad too must have needed a diversion to take his mind off his plateful of worries at home when he suggested to Mr Zardari last week that Iran and Pakistan enter into a mutual defence pact. Considering that the threat Iran faces is from America with which Pakistan is locked in alliance, such a pact is deader than a dodo. The Iranians should have thought of such an alliance earlier, that is, prior to the proxy war in which the two countries engaged over Afghanistan following the Soviet retreat in 1989. Rafsanjani, then president, scoffed at Benazir's Bhutto's offer, conveyed by me in 1995, to unite our policies on Afghanistan. As a result, the fratricidal inter-Mujahideen war continued until the Taliban emerged from the turmoil and, with the help of Pakistan, gained control of Kabul. The rest, as they say, is history.
We now have yet another weird pact in which Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have pledged not to allow their respective territories to be used in activities detrimental to each other's interests, precisely when all of them are up to their necks, wittingly or unwittingly, in doing so.
Iran, for example, has its own proxies in Afghanistan, including elements of the Karzai regime, such as Ismail Khan, who are paid to advance Iranian interests. Iran's arming of the Northern Alliance forces is well known, so too the latter's agenda, in particular their arming of militants for operations against Pakistan.
Besides, Iran and the Taliban are, and have remained, deeply antagonistic to each other. Neither it seems has made any move to heal their breech; not even a common enemy in the shape of the Americans has helped to bring them together. How equable relations will ever exist between Iran and an Afghanistan in which the shia averse Taliban also have more than a slice of power is difficult to envisage.
Of course, Iran has a legitimate right to complain that Pakistan's virtually unpoliced border with Iran is a veritable thoroughfare for all kinds of criminals and spies, and so too the Afghan border with Balochistan whence, it is said, much of the American infiltration occurs which is directed against Iran; and, in the case of India, in stoking the fires of revolt in Baluchistan.
Two former Russian KGB agents described in vivid detail to Sandra Johnson in Moscow their many journeys across the border accompanying Indians and arms supplied by India to Baloch rebels. Although this portion of the border is virtually indefensible nevertheless Iran blames Pakistan, which technically is indeed responsible for thwarting intrusions of its territories by foreigners keen to attack Iran.
As for Afghanistan, under Karzai Kabul has encouraged India to set up an elaborate intelligence operation directed against Pakistan. Seldom, if ever, have there been a greater number of Indian intelligence operatives in Afghanistan earning their keep by funding terror attacks on Pakistan and secessionist armies such as that of the Bugti scions of Balochistan.
All of which makes a mockery of Manmohan Singh's claim that India is opposed to such activities. Indeed, if India takes it upon itself to bomb what it considers are terrorist training facilities in Pakistan following another terror attack on India by groups seemingly operating out of Pakistan all Indian Consulates and sub offices in Afghanistan, ipso facto, become legitimate targets for similar raids for identical reasons by our own air force. Were this to happen Afghanistan would be as much to blame as India.
It is surprising that the Americans who, for all practical purposes, call the shots in Afghanistan have also encouraged India to establish her presence in the country. It was a callow move. It has ensured that Pakistan's cooperation in the war against the Taliban will never be robust. Among those who matter it has generated a great deal of suspicion and more resentment than can possibly be off set by the gains that accrue to Washington. The fact remains that an unfriendly regime in Kabul dressed up to appear cooperative on America's urging fools no one. Mr Zardari can have Karzai over as much as he likes and take him to play polo but it will have no effect. To well over half of Afghanistan and all of Pakistan Karzai is and remains an artful American stooge
As for Pakistan, large areas of our tribal areas are not in government control. Moreover, in North Waziristan, the Haqqani army holds sway and it is no secret that it uses the area as a base to wage war against the Afghan regime and the Americans. Taking them on, even if the willingness to do so were present, would require a vast redeployment of forces from the Indian border which seems unlikely given Delhi's aggressive intent. Besides, by taking on the Afghan Taliban Pakistan would signal to the Pukhtoons of Afghanistan and Pakistan that an American-imposed minority dispensation composing Tajiks, Uzbeks, etc., is not only what Pakistan prefers but will fight for; a ridiculous proposition considering that Pakistan is a multi-ethnic state with 30 million Pakhtuns. In an identical quandary in Sri Lanka India abjured helping the legitimate government of Sri Lanka in overcoming Tamil secessionists. Demanding of Pakistan what India refused is typical of the intellectual duplicity for which India is deservedly notorious.
Unfortunately, the murderous Jaishes and Lashkars are also embedded in parts of Pakistan. Although at one time nourished and mentored by the Pakistani esta-blishment they now consider Islamabad as hostile as America or India. And it would surprise no one if they launched yet another murderous attack against innocent Indians or, for that matter, Pakistanis who are a much easier target. Stopping them is no doubt Pakistan's responsibility just as foiling their attacks would be that of India in cooperation with Pakistan or on its own. But, like that of Mumbai, the responsibility for an attack would be blamed by Delhi exclusively on Pakistan. By refusing to discuss how best these extremists can be prevented from attacking their targets India does Pakistan no favour, but nor does India help itself. The logic of India's continued stiff arming of Pakistan escapes everyone except the hawks in Delhi.
Rather than enter into agreements that are really of no value except to deceive a gullible public into believing that matters will soon be well, all three countries, and India, would do much better to address their respective differences with each other bilaterally. Only when these have been resolved and a plan of action/ cooperation agreed will it be possible to conclude an agreement of the kind hyped in Islamabad earlier this week. Besides, no arrangement without an effective joint monitoring/ investigative mechanism amounts to much. If the countries are simply to conclude yet another pious declaration the exercise is of little value. We already have enough of such declarations beginning with the UN Charter which also forbids the use of the territory of one state to attack another.
As for the Afghan foreign minister's plea in Islamabad that Afghanistan be kept out of the quarrel between India and Pakistan, he should perhaps address it to his own president and the Americans who, knowing full well what India would do once it had a foothold in Afghanistan, nevertheless let India in.
A great deal of friendship is mere feigning which is what transpired in Islamabad earlier this week. All three foreign ministers would have been more gainfully employed elsewhere.

The writer is a former ambassador of Pakistan Email: charles123it@hotmail.com

  Recession and the ‘Double Dip’ Phenomenon

In both the major Asian economies in particular, and across Asia in general, a strong recovery in external demand, or exports, has so far failed to spill over to domestic demand.

Ovais Subhani

A steady stream of warnings from various quarters about the shape and health of economic recovery has greeted the New Year.
Markets in general have kept their cool but have responded with knee jerk panic on even the smallest event risk threat, reflecting the fragility of investor confidence even as risk appetite is on the rise. But the latest admonition comes from the International Monetary Fund, the world's lender of last resort. Terms such as "double dip" recession in a statement by a top official of an agency, seen as guardian of the post-war global financial system, cannot be taken lightly.
Speaking on a trip to Asia, which is leading the recovery, IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn identified at least four major areas of concern about the global recovery, still largely driven by government stimulus measures. The issues are: massive government debts, balance sheet health, rising risk appetite leading to asset bubbles, and still growing unemployment that threatens political stress and at ?worst conflict.
Strauss-Kahn's choice to relay this stern warning and a list of IMF concerns, while speaking in Asia, makes a lot of sense. Asia is not only leading the global recovery, but needs to adjust its economic paradigm away from too much dependence on exports and private savings, and help bring a sense of balance to the global financial system in terms of capital flows. He was delivering a speech in Japan, the region's only developed economy where economic data flow continues to point to an uneven recovery. He was not far from China, the world's largest developing economy where authorities are getting a bit worried about inflation and excess capacity, and some analysts have warned about an asset bubble bursting driven by possible over-heating of its real estate market.
In both the major Asian economies in particular, and across Asia in general, a strong recovery in external demand, or exports, has so far failed to spill over to domestic demand.
With recovery in Asia still dependent upon exports, central banks across the region are struggling to help exporters by keeping monetary conditions loose, read lending cheap, and exchange rates stable. The policy has helped, as evident by export and industrial output data, but will eventually feed asset bubbles and excess capacity if they not already have. Not surprisingly, Asian monetary authorities are getting a bit impatient with the status quo. Their impatience is to an extent shared by central bankers in the developed world where massive emergency funding and accommodating monetary policy has saddled most governments with huge debts. These debts will have to be paid at some stage and at a cost, majority of which probably future generations will have to bear. But as Strauss-Kahn stressed, unwinding of the stimulus measures will have to be timed with a bit of precision. An early exit from stimulus could result in most developed economies falling back into negative growth and dragging the world into another recession - economists call this phenomenon a double-dip recession. Asian exporters may have boosted growth at home but most of their consumers are in the West and so their fate is tied with the economic health of the developed world.
Asian authorities are finding it particularly hard to keep their currencies from appreciating as risk appetite is on the rise, given the large gap between growth rates in the West and the East. While investors are still not putting capital into advanced economies, large sums are flowing into emerging economies, including China, South Korea, Russia, India and Brazil, raising the threat both of asset bubbles or of a damaging abrupt halt in inflows in case of a political or economic event or even a natural disaster. With most companies and banks across the world still struggling to repair and clean up their balance sheets, any distortion in capital flows, in favour of returns rather than quality, would only help prolong the festering of the global financial system that was the root cause of the credit crisis.
Although it is easy to view the financial crisis as the result of a housing bubble in the United States and Europe, a deeper root cause was external imbalances. In most of Europe and the US, these imbalances meant a large current account deficit, low level of domestic savings - relative to the amount of investment. In most of the emerging world, it meant a large current account surplus and unusually high levels of domestic savings. Large surplus countries like China not only had to fight inflow of hot money chasing the bet on currency appreciation, a logical result of surplus, but also choose to invest their surplus in Western debt market, particularly in the US. That resulted in a massive inflow of capital in deficit economies, driving interest rates lower and encouraging higher levels of leverage and easy credit. By this accounting, the housing and credit bubbles were symptomatic of a bigger problem.
The biggest risk in reversing this unsustainable imbalance is a sudden, disorderly adjustment. A rapid shift in central bank purchases and capital flows could disrupt the US Treasury and other debt markets causing yields to move higher, crimping the US economic recovery with knock-on effects for global equity markets and growth of major exporting nations, as well. While the US economy might not currently be the primary engine of global economic growth in coming years, in an adverse outcome it could serve as the brakes.

Ovais Subhani is Executive Editor of Khaleej Times and can be reached at ovais@khaleejtimes.com

  Karzai’s offer to Taliban

 Julian Borger

Afghanistan's president will unveil a plan in the next few days to offer work, education, pensions and land to Taliban fighters who lay down their weapons.
Hamid Karzai intends to launch the reconciliation and reintegration plan at the start of next week's London conference on Afghanistan, although he is under pressure to announce the details earlier to help build international support.
The Afghan president has also pledged to hold a new peace conference, a loya jirga, in the coming months, restating a standing invitation to insurgents ready to swear an oath to the country's constitution.
The UK foreign secretary David Miliband promised the initiative would have international backing. "We are looking for a lead from the Afghans about the sort of institutional mechanism they want to pursue, but I'm also in close discussion with colleagues around the world about how we can make sure that there is a viable reintegration plan," the foreign secretary told the Guardian during a visit to Afghanistan to prepare for the conference.
Kabul has a longstanding policy of offering to help resettle Taliban followers who defect. But the programme has been poorly funded and patchily implemented. It has failed to persuade large numbers of fighters to lay down their arms.
Afghan officials say the Kabul government has learned from earlier mistakes and promise that the plan will be far more comprehensive, offering in some cases, a totally new life to the Taliban. The initiative will include jobs or land to farm, education for young fighters and pensions for older insurgents.

Viewpoints

Why Haiti Matters

At this moment, entire parts of Port-au-Prince are in ruins, as families seek shelter in makeshift camps. It is a horrific
scene of shattered lives in a poor nation that has already suffered so much.

Barack Obama

In the last week, we have been deeply moved by the heartbreaking images of the devastation in Haiti: parents searching through rubble for sons and daughters; children, frightened and alone, looking for their mothers and fathers.
At this moment, entire parts of Port-au-Prince are in ruins, as families seek shelter in makeshift camps. It is a horrific scene of shattered lives in a poor nation that has already suffered so much.
In response, I have ordered a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives in Haiti. We have launched one of the largest relief efforts in recent history. I have instructed the leaders of all agencies to make our response a top priority across the federal government. We are mobilising every element of our national capacity: the resources of development agencies, the strength of our armed forces, and most important, the compassion of the American people. And we are working closely with the Haitian government, the United Nations, and the many international partners who are also aiding in this extraordinary effort.
We act for the sake of the thousands of American citizens who are in Haiti, and for their families back home; for the sake of the Haitian people who have been stricken with a tragic history, even as they have shown great resilience; and we act because of the close ties that we have with a neighbor that is only a few hundred miles to the south.
But above all, we act for a very simple reason: in times of tragedy, the United States of America steps forward and helps. That is who we are. That is what we do. For decades, America's leadership has been founded in part on the fact that we do not use our power to subjugate others, we use it to lift them up-whether it was rebuilding our former adversaries after World War II, dropping food and water to the people of Berlin, or helping the people of Bosnia and Kosovo rebuild their lives and their nations. At no time is that more true than in moments of great peril and human suffering. It is why we have acted to help people combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Africa, or to recover from a catastrophic tsunami in Asia. When we show not just our power, but also our compassion, the world looks to us with a mixture of awe and admiration.
That advances our leadership. That shows the character of our country. And it is why every American can look at this relief effort with the pride of knowing that America is acting on behalf of our common humanity.
Right now, our search-and-rescue teams are on the ground, pulling people from the rubble. Americans from Virginia and California and Florida have worked round the clock to save people whom they've never met. Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen quickly deployed to the scene. Hand in hand with our civilians, they're labouring day and night to facilitate a massive logistical enterprise; to deliver and distribute food, water, and medicine to save lives; and to prevent an even larger humanitarian catastrophe. Greater help is on the way. This will be a complex and difficult rescue and recovery operation, and it takes time to move all of the resources necessary into such a devastated environment. But more American rescue teams, doctors, nurses, and paramedics will arrive to care for the injured. More water, food, and supplies will be delivered. An aircraft carrier has arrived. A naval hospital ship has been deployed. And additional aircraft and heavy equipment will restore communications and clear roads and ports to speed relief and hasten recovery.
In addition, in this new century no great challenge will be one we can solve alone. In this humanitarian effort, we'll work closely with other nations, so that our work on the ground is efficient and effective even under what are very difficult conditions. We'll also join with the United Nations, which has done so much to bring security and stability to Haiti over the years, and which has suffered terrible losses in this tragedy. And we'll partner with the constellation of nongovernmental organisations that have a long and established record of working to improve the lives of the Haitian people.
It is also important to note that all of these efforts will be bolstered by the continuing good will and generosity of ordinary citizens. Governments alone are not enough. Already, a record number of donations have come in through text messaging. Money has poured into the Red Cross and other relief organisations. I want to thank the many Americans who have already contributed to this effort. And I want to encourage all Americans who want to help to go to whitehouse.gov to learn more.
And, lastly, in the days, months, and years ahead, we'll need to work closely with the government and people of Haiti to reclaim the momentum that they achieved before the earthquake. It is particularly devastating that this crisis has come at a time when-at long last, after decades of conflict and instability - Haiti was showing hopeful signs of political and economic progress. In the months and years to come, as the tremors fade and Haiti no longer tops the headlines or leads the evening news, our mission will be to help the people of Haiti to continue on their path to a brighter future. The United States will be there with the Haitian government and the United Nations every step of the way.
In the aftermath of disaster, we are reminded that life can be unimaginably cruel. That pain and loss is so often meted out without any justice or mercy. That "time and chance" happen to us all. But it is also in these moments, when we are brought face to face with our own fragility, that we rediscover our common humanity. We look into the eyes of another and see ourselves. And so the United States of America will lead the world in this humanitarian endeavour. That has been our history, and that is how we will answer the challenge before us.

Barack Obama is President of the United States.

  Terror war and rule of law

In the first decade of the 21st century, this achievement was lost in the United States and, perhaps, in England as well.

Paul Craig Roberts

What is the greatest human achievement? Many would answer in terms of some architectural or engineering feat: The Great Pyramids, skyscrapers, a bridge span, or sending men to the moon. Others might say the subduing of some deadly disease or Einstein's theory of relativity.
The greatest human achievement is the subordination of government to law. This was an English achievement that required eight centuries of struggle, beginning in the ninth century when King Alfred the Great codified the common law, moving forward with the Magna Carta in the 13th century and culminating with the Glorious Revolution in the late 17th century.
The success of this long struggle made law a shield of the people. As an English colony, America inherited this unique achievement that made English-speaking peoples the most free in the world.
In the first decade of the 21st century, this achievement was lost in the United States and, perhaps, in England as well.
As Lawrence Stratton and I show in our book, "The Tyranny of Good Intentions" (2000), the protective features of law in the US were eroded in the 20th century by prosecutorial abuse and by setting aside law in order to better pursue criminals. By the time of our second edition (2008), law as a shield of the people no longer existed. Respect for the Constitution and rule of law had given way to executive branch claims that during time of war government is not constrained by law or Constitution.
Government lawyers told President George W. Bush that he did not have to obey the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which prohibits the government from spying on citizens without a warrant, thus destroying the right to privacy. The US Department of Justice ruled that the president did not have to obey US law prohibiting torture or the Geneva Conventions. Habeas corpus protection, a constitutional right, was stripped from US citizens. Medieval dungeons, torture, and the windowless cells of Stalin's Lubyanka Prison reappeared under American government auspices.
THE American people's elected representatives in Congress endorsed the executive branch's overthrow of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Law schools and bar associations were essentially silent in the face of this overthrow of mankind's greatest achievement. Some parts of the federal judiciary voted with the executive branch; other parts made a feeble resistance. Today in the name of "the war on terror," the executiv branch does whatever it wants. There is no accountability. The First Amendment has been abridged and may soon be criminalized. Protests against, and criticisms of, the US government's illegal invasions of Muslim countries and war crimes against civilian populations have been construed by executive branch officials as "giving aid and comfort to the enemy."
As American citizens have been imprisoned for giving aid to Muslim charities that the executive branch has decreed, without proof in a court of law, to be under the control of "terrorists," any form of opposition to the government's wars and criminal actions can also be construed as aiding terrorists and be cause for arrest and indefinite detention.
One Obama appointee, Harvard law professor Cass Sunstein, advocates that the US government create a cadre of covert agents to infiltrate anti-war groups and groups opposed to US government policies in order to provoke them into actions or statements for which they can be discredited and even arrested.
Sunstein defines those who criticize the government's increasingly lawless behavior as "extremists," which, to the general public, sounds much like "terrorists." In essence, Sunstein wants to generalize the FBI's practice of infiltrating dissidents and organizing them around a "terrorist plot" in order to arrest them. That this proposal comes from a Harvard Law School professor demonstrates the collapse of respect for law among American law professors themselves, ranging from John Yoo at Berkeley, the advocate of torture, to Sunstein at Harvard, a totalitarian who advocates war on the First Amendment.
The US Department of State has taken up Sunstein's idea. Last month Eva Golinger reported in the Swiss newspaper, Zeit-Fragen, that the State Department plans to organize youth in "Twitter Revolutions" to destabilize countries and bring about regime change in order to achieve more American puppet states.
The First Amendment is being closed down.
Its place is being taken by propaganda in behalf of whatever government does. As Stratton and I wrote in the second edition of our book documenting the destruction of law in the United States:
"Never in its history have the American people faced such danger to their constitutional protections as they face today from those in the government who hold the reins of power and from elements of the legal profession and the federal judiciary that support "energy in the executive."
An assertive executive backed by an aggressive US Department of Justice and unobstructed by a supine Congress and an intimidated corporate media has demonstrated an ability to ignore statutory law and public opinion. The precedents that have been set during the opening years of the 21st century bode ill for the future of American liberty."
SIMILAR assaults on the rule of law can be observed in England. However, the British have not completely given up on government accountability. The Chilcot Inquiry is looking into how Britain was deceived into participating in the illegal US invasion of Iraq. President Obama, of course, has blocked any inquiry into how the US was deceived into attacking Iraq in violation of law.
Much damning information has come out about Blair's deception of the British government and people. Sir David Manning, foreign policy adviser to Blair, told the Chilcot Inquiry that Blair had promised Bush support for the invasion almost a year in advance. Blair had told his country that it was a last-minute call based on proof of Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction.
Sir William Patey told the inquiry that Bush began talking about invading Iraq six or seven months prior to Sept.11, 2001. A devastating official memo has come to light from Lord Goldsmith, Blair's top law official, advising Blair that an invasion of Iraq would be in breach of international law.
Now a secret and personal letter to Blair from his Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has surfaced. In the letter, Straw warned the prime minister that his case for military invasion of Iraq was of dubious legality and was likely as false as the argument that removing Saddam Hussein would bring Iraqis a better life.
Blair himself must now testify. He has the reputation, whether deserved or not, as one of the slickest liars in the world. But some accountability seems to be heading his way. The Sunday Times (London) reported on Jan. 17 that the latest poll indicates that 52 percent of the British people believe that Blair deliberately misled his country in order to take Britain to war for the Americans. About one quarter of the British people think Blair should be put on trial as a war criminal.
Unlike the US, where government takes care to keep itself unaccountable to law, Britain is a member of the International Criminal Court, so Blair does stand some risk of being held accountable for the war crimes of Bush's regime and the US Congress.
In contrast, insouciant Americans are content for their government to behave illegally. A majority supports torture despite its illegality, and a McClatchy-Ipsos poll found that 51 percent of Americans agree that "it is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism." As our Founding Fathers warned, fools who give up liberty for security will have neither.

  The ugly face of Israeli politics

Avigdor Lieberman is the future of Israeli politics and Arabs must prepare for a period of more dangerous policies promoted
by a man who only believes in imposing his will through force and violence.

Osama Al Sharif

In the world of Israel's extreme politics, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman comes out as a true representative of a new breed of politicians, whose ideological bigotry is augmented by their blind faith in brutal military force. Lieberman is the ugly face of Israel; an evil man more often than not acting as thug than a politician, a mobster who threatens "enemies" with destruction and annihilation and continues to underline Israel's impunity status.
Lieberman is not a phenomenon, but rather the product of a political ideology of hate and condescension to others. He is the leader of an extremist far-right racist party Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) which flaunts a number of stated, and surreptitious goals, including the expulsion of Israeli Arabs, or turning them formally, as a first step, into noncitizens, tearing up West Bank territories and annexing large chunks of it to the Jewish state, and forcing the Palestinians to leave or live as prisoners in closed cantons. He and his followers are openly hostile to Arabs, rejecting negotiated settlements, and he is also a terrorist because he defends the policy of killing Palestinians and striking Israel's enemies wherever they are and by any means.
Lieberman's latest folly was masterminding the scandal that nearly brought the collapse of diplomatic relations with Turkey. He believed that by openly and shamelessly humiliating Turkey's ambassador, Israel would force Ankara's hand into stepping back from its critical stands of Israeli policies, especially in Gaza. It was a blunder. Turkey raised the ante and it was Israel that had to retract. One wonders what would have happened if Lieberman had chosen to insult the ambassador of an Arab state? It's a scene that we do not wish to see.
Lieberman, who emigrated with his family from the Soviet Union in the 1970s, has become a potent player in Israeli politics. His father, who had served in the Red Army, was exiled to Siberia's gulags, and Avigdor or Evet as he was called, was prevented from studying international law in Kiev because, as he claimed, he was Jewish. In Israel, he joined the IDF where he served in the Artillery Corps and earned the rank of sergeant. Later, he finished his university education, receiving a degree in international relations, and joined the Likud Party. By that time he was working as a bouncer at a nightclub.
Lieberman entered the political arena through the Likud Party and started recruiting supporters among Soviet Jews. He became close to Benjamin Netanyahu in the 1990s when the latter took over as party leader. When Netanyahu won the election and formed a government in 1996, Lieberman was appointed director of the Office of the Prime Minister.
In 1999, he established Yisrael Beiteinu, and quickly attracted a large following of Russian Jews. He was elected to the Knesset that year when his party won four seats. Following that he held various ministerial portfolios in the government of Ariel Sharon, but was fired by the latter because he opposed the unilateral withdrawal plan from Gaza in 2004.
Lieberman's party scored another major victory in the 2006 elections, this time winning 10 seats in the Knesset. He quickly joined the coalition government of Ehud Olmert, who gave him the strategic affairs portfolio, created to stave off future threats from Iran, in addition to the post of deputy prime minister. But two years later he resigned and pulled his party from the government to protest the resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians.
But it was in the 2009 elections that Lieberman's party became a force to reckon with as it came in third place, at the expense of the Labor Party, after the Likud and Kadima. Accordingly, it joined a right-wing government headed by Netanyahu and the Moldavian-born Lieberman became foreign minister and deputy prime minister. This marked the emergence of Lieberman as a political power player and confirmed the voters' continuing support of extreme right parties and their racist ideas.
It would not be surprising if Lieberman is able to form a right-wing coalition government in the near future, making use of the endemic political fragmentation that is weakening centrist parties, the dominance of religious parties and the growing role of immigrants, mainly from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics. When this happens it will be a major tremor at all levels, one that will be felt especially by the Palestinians and the Arabs.
Lieberman does not hide his racism, nor is he bashful about his rejection of a Palestinian state or ceding West Bank territories. He is also indifferent to Arab peace offerings and is more interested in seeing Israel join the EU and NATO. He is also one of the strongest advocates of using force against anyone who threatens Israel, including Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and even Egypt, which he once threatened to destroy its High Dam and insulted its president for his refusal to visit Israel.
This time he fumbled over the Turkey incident. But Lieberman's loss will not spell his end. He will continue to play an inciting role in Israeli politics, provoking extremists and fanatics and especially settlers who approve of his diatribe against the Palestinians and the peace talks.
Avigdor Lieberman is the future of Israeli politics and Arabs must prepare for a period of more dangerous policies promoted by a man who only believes in imposing his will through force and violence.

Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Jordan.

International

Pakistan snubs US over new Taliban offensive
BBC Online

Pakistan's army has said it will launch no new offensives on militants in 2010, as the US defence secretary arrived for talks on combating Taliban fighters.
Army spokesman Athar Abbas told the BBC the "overstretched" military had no plans for any fresh anti-militant operations over the next 12 months.
Our correspondent says the comments are a clear snub to Washington. The US would like Pakistan to expand an offensive against militants launching cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Defence Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for his first visit since US President Barack Obama took office last year.
'Embarrassing'
The one-day trip comes at a crucial time in the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, with the US planning to commit 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. Mr Gates was expected to tell Pakistan that it could do more against top Taliban leaders operating in its territory, some of whom are alleged to have close links to Pakistan's ISI intelligence service.
The Pakistani army launched major ground offensives in 2009 in the north-west against Pakistani Taliban strongholds in the Swat region, last April, and in South Waziristan, last October.
The militants have hit back with a wave of suicide bombings and attacks that have killed hundreds of people across Pakistan. In the capital, Islamabad, on Thursday, Maj Gen Abbas, head of public relations for the Pakistan army, told the BBC: "We are not going to conduct any major new operations against the militants over the next 12 months. "The Pakistan army is overstretched and it is not in a position to open any new fronts. Obviously, we will continue our present operations in Waziristan and Swat."
'Trust deficit'
The BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan in Islamabad says the comments are a clear brush-off to top US officials.
Our correspondent adds they are embarrassing for Pakistan's shaky coalition government, and likely to further destabilise already-low ties with its US ally. He says it also threatens to render ineffective an expanded coalition troop deployment in Afghanistan, as the Taliban over the border would be relieved of any pressure from the Pakistan army.
Before arriving in Islamabad, Mr Gates told reporters travelling with him from India: "You can't ignore one part of this cancer and pretend that it won't have some impact closer to home."
His visit comes amidst a slight cooling in relations between the two allies. In an article published in a Pakistani newspaper on Thursday, Mr Gates referred to a "trust deficit". As well as talking with his counterpart, Ahmed Mukhtar, the US defence secretary is expected to meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Zardari.
Talks were also expected to focus on US drone strikes against militants near the Afghan border. Hundreds of people have died in the attacks, which have stoked deep resentment of the US among many Pakistanis. But he adds that Mr Gates will argue that drone strikes are the only effective measure against the Taliban. Pakistan has been an important US partner in South Asia since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.

  Pak Presidency braces itself for legal battle
Dawn Online, Islamabad

Although it has so far kept quiet over the detailed judgment of the Supreme Court on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the presidency is reported to have decided to fight a legal battle and contest the scrapping of the ordinance and reopening of cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
"We do not want to respond … abruptly as the detailed judgement is more than 250-page-long. Our legal experts are studying it. I cannot comment on it until they give their opinion," presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. But, he added: "We respect the judiciary and its verdicts."
Sources said that President Zardari planned a series of meetings with his legal advisers to seek their opinion about his position in the wake of the scrapping of the NRO and reopening of cases.
It is believed that Mr Zardari would seek Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan's legal assistance. However, Mr Ahsan told Dawn he had not been contacted by the presidency and he saw no possibility of his meeting with the president anytime soon.
Asked what course of action the government should take, he said: "The government has no other option but to implement the decision." There are unconfirmed reports that Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira met Mr Ahsan in Lahore to seek his support.
Mr Ahsan who had been sidelined by the PPP leadership and his membership of the party's central executive committee was suspended has met President Zardari twice in recent days.
Political observers said the relations between Their relations appeared to have been revived after Mr Ahsan's CEC membership was restored and he attended the committee's meeting last month.
On the other hand, Dr Mobashir Hassan, on whose petition the apex court scrapped the NRO, told a private TV channel he was confident that President Zardari would vigorously contest the apex court verdict. "I know the feudal mind, if he believes it is a matter of tribal honour, he would even lay down his life," he said.
"Neither the parliament nor the president, nor federal ministers, are the power because the real power lies with the Supreme Court, army and unity of political parties and in the present circumstances no political party will support the PPP in contesting the NRO," he added.

  S.Lanka opposition alleges post-poll coup plan
AFP, Colombo

Sri Lanka's main opposition said Thursday it feared President Mahinda Raja-pakse would use the military to remain in power if he was defeated in next week's elections.
Opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka accused the government of pushing senior army commanders to appear on state-run television to express their public support for Rajapakse.
"By getting very senior officers to side with the president, the government is preparing the ground to hold on to power by using the army to suppress the people's will," Fonseka's spokesman Anura Kumara Dissanayake told reporters.
Rajapakse called Tuesday's vote two years ahead of schedule to benefit from the government's defeat of the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels after decades of ethnic warfare on the island.
But he faces a surprise rival to power in Fonseka, the former general who led the troops to victory in May.
The two fell out over who deserved credit for crushing the rebels, and allegations that Fonseka was himself planning a coup after being sidelined. Military spokes-man Udaya Nanayakkara denied that senior officers were being dragged into the election battle.

  Afghans protest over alleged civilian deaths
AFP, Ghazni, Afghanistan

Angry Afghan villagers took to the streets on Thursday claiming that civilians were killed in a raid by Afghan and NATO troops but the international force said the dead were insurgents.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said it killed four insurgents including a 15-year-old boy in an operation in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province on Wednesday night.
"While conducting the operation, a young man estimated to be 15 years old displayed hostile intent and grabbed the weapon of a service member. He was shot and killed," the alliance said in a statement.
But about 50 furious villagers brought five coffins to the provincial capital Ghazni city on Thursday, claiming that three of the dead were civilians, including two children below the age of seven, an AFP reporter saw.
"Doctors told me that there were two children among the bodies brought to hospital," said Mohammad Ismail Ibrahimzai, head of the provincial hospital where the bodies were initially taken.
Provincial deputy police chief Abdul Rehman Shaidayee said only that four people were killed and that they were investigating claims of civilian casualties.
Civilian deaths at the hands of foreign forces fuel distrust between the Afghan population, the government and US and NATO troops, even though most such deaths are caused by insurgent tactics such as home-made bombs.
About 113,000 troops under NATO and US command are battling an escalating insurgency by the extremist Taliban movement, which regrouped after being ousted from government in a 2001 US-led invasion.

  N.Korea eyes nuclear deal with bank project
AFP, Seoul

North Korea's plan for a bank to attract foreign funds to revive its economy shows it expects a breakthrough in nuclear disarmament negotiations and an easing of UN sanctions, analysts said Thursday.
A body known as the Korea Taepung International Investment Group held its first board meeting to launch a state development bank, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency reported late Wednesday
The bank will finance state projects "after being equipped with advanced banking rules and system needed for transactions with international monetary organisations and commercial banks", it said.
Leader Kim Jong-Il gave the order to set up the bank, the agency said. Tougher United Nations sanctions imposed after missile and nuclear tests last year restrict the communist state's access to international credit. The UN resolution passed last June calls on "all member states and international financial and credit institutions not to enter into new commitments for grants, financial assistance or concessional loans to (North Korea), except for humanitarian and developmental purposes directly addressing civilian needs".
The North's economy has been hit by the sanctions, which restricted its weapons exports. The nation has relied on foreign aid to feed its people since it suffered a devastating famine in the 1990s. The UN could decide to ease or roll back the sanctions if there is substantial progress in six-party nuclear disarmament talks which the North quit last April.
The founding of the development bank "indicates that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il firmly believes that six-party talks will produce a breakthrough", said Paik Haksoon, of Seoul's private Sejong Institute think-tank.
"The goal of reviving the economy-with the help of the international community-is too important for North Korea to abandon," Paik told AFP, adding he expects the North to return to talks soon.
Kim Yong-Hyun, an expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said the North is unlikely to win access to international loans any time soon.
"But North Korea, in an indirect manner, is expressing its wish to settle the nuclear issue and thus revive its moribund economy for the people," he said.
Before returning to nuclear negotiations, the North demands an end to sanctions and early talks on a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War. The United States and South Korea say it must first return to the talks-which group the two Koreas, the US, Russia, China and Japan-and show it is serious about scrapping its atomic programmes.
In a policy-setting New Year editorial the North put great emphasis on what it called bringing about "a radical turn in the people's standard of living" in the impoverished nation.
This would be achieved by quicker development of light industry and agriculture, it said. Leader Kim last month paid his first visit to the Rason free trade
zone near the border with China.

  Two Muslim prayer halls attacked in Malaysia
AFP, Kuala Lumpur

Two Muslim prayer halls in Malaysia were set on fire Thursday, police said, following a spate of violence against churches triggered by a row over the use of the word "Allah".
Eleven churches across the mainly Muslim nation have been pelted with Molotov cocktails, stones and paint in recent weeks, in attacks that have escalated ethnic tensions.
The two Muslim prayer halls, both in Muar in the southern state of Johor, suffered only minor fire damage said the town's deputy police chief Lee Choon Guan. In the first incident, an arsonist threw diesel at the building's window, damaging the frame and curtain, but passing motorists noticed the fire and managed to put out the blaze, he said. In the second incident about a kilometre (less than a mile) away, fire damaged the door, carpet and curtain of a prayer room which also had its window broken with stones. "Police are investigating to identify the suspects and motive," Lee said in a statement, urging all parties not to exploit the assaults.
The church attacks broke out after a December 31 court ruling that overturned a ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God." The ruling has been suspended pending an appeal. The row is the latest in a string of religious disputes that have erupted in recent years, straining relations between Muslim Malays and minority ethnic Chinese and Indians who fear the country is being "Islamised."

 Iran denies rejecting UN nuclear swap offer
AFP, Tehran

Iran has not rejected a UN-brokered offer to exchange enriched nuclear fuel but it wants a staged swap rather than a wholesale handover of most of its stockpile, foreign ministry officials said in comments published Thursday.
"Iran did not reject the principle of the exchange (of nuclear fuel)," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.
His denial followed charges by Western diplomats that Iran had effectively rejected a proposal put forward by six major powers in talks in Vienna brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog.
"Our position has not changed from what we already expressed in the past-we are ready for a gradual exchange of fuel," Mehr quoted foreign ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, as saying.
But his comments suggested that Iran remains at odds over the proposals with the six powers-Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
The IAEA plan calls on Iran to hand over most of its stocks of low-enriched uranium in return for the phased supply by France and Russia of nuclear fuel enriched to the higher level required for a Tehran research reactor.
Iran insists it will only hand over its stocks gradually as it receives the fuel.
Western diplomats in Vienna said on Wednesday that Iran's insistence on a phased exchange effectively amounted to a rejection of the IAEA offer.

  Palestinians reject Israeli presence in future state
AFP, Ramallah, West Bank

The Palestinians on Thursday rejected the idea of an Israeli presence on the eastern border of their future state, which was mooted by Israel's hawkish prime minister.
"The Palestinian leadership will not accept the presence of a single Israeli soldier in the Palestinian territories after the end of the occupation," Nabil Abu Rudeina, a spokesman for president Mahmud Abbas, told AFP.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday said Israel would patrol the eastern border of any future state to prevent the smuggling of weapons, especially rockets like those fired from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.
"The ability to proliferate into contiguous areas thousands of rockets and missiles... is something that creates a monumental security problem," he told foreign reporters in Jerusalem. But the Palestinians said they would insist on the full sovereignty of any future state.
"We will not accept anything less than a completely sovereign Palestinian state on all the territories with its own borders, resources and airspace," Abu Rudeina said.
"We will not accept any Israeli presence, either military or civilian, on our land, and we will not accept that our state be under Israeli protection."
Abu Rudeina added that Netanyahu's insistence on an Israeli border guard would "place more obstacles in the way of restarting peace talks."
The dispute erupted as US Middle East envoy George Mitchell made his latest in a series of visits to the region aimed at convincing both sides to relaunch negotiations suspended during last year's Gaza war.

  Iraqi president orders probe on elections ban
AP, Baghdad

Iraq's president said Thursday a high-level commission will investigate the legitimacy of a decision to ban candidates with suspected ties to Saddam Hussein's regime from running in the March 7 parliamentary election.
Jalal Talabani said a presidential panel will study whether the committee that issued the ban against 511 candidates has been given the full authority and support from parliament. The blacklist has angered some Sunni leaders and threatens to cast a shadow over the legitimacy of the vote. "I myself am not satisfied with the banning decision," said Talabani, a Kurd who heads the three-member presidential council. "We have sent a letter to the Supreme Appeal Court asking whether this committee that issued the decision is legitimate or not."
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to visit Baghdad to try to ease tensions over the ban. Washington hopes the March election will be a significant step toward reconciliation between the majority Shiites and the once-dominant Sunni minority, and will help cement substantial but still tenuous security gains. American troops are expected to accelerate their withdrawal from Iraq soon after the election.
Meanwhile in Baghdad, a British security contractor accused of shooting two colleagues to death appeared briefly in court, where the judge accepted a defense request to have him examined by a medical and psychological committee, his lawyer said.
The contractor, Danny Fitzsimons, is accused of shooting two colleagues, a Briton and an Australian, during a fight in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in the summer. All three men were working for the British security firm ArmorGroup Iraq.
Fitzsimons' defense team argue he is suffering from mental anguish caused by his military service in Iraq.

  Russia to strengthen Baltic fleet over U.S. missile plans
Xinhua, Moscow

The Russian navy will reinforce its Baltic Fleet over U.S. plans to place Patriot missiles in Poland, the RIA Novosti news agency reported on Thursday, citing a senior navy official.
"Primarily, surface, underwater and air components of the Baltic Fleet will be enhanced," the unidentified source was quoted as saying.
The official said new corvette class warships with long-range, high-precision cruise missiles aboard would join the fleet.
The remarks came a day after Poland announced that a U.S. Patriot missile battery would be deployed in Morag, a small town in northeastern Poland about 100 km from the Russian border.
Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said on Wednesday the decision was neither political nor strategic, explaining that good infrastructure was the only reason to use a base near Russia's Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad instead of one outside Warsaw.

  Haiti’s mass graves swell; doctors fear more death
AP, Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

Workers are carving out mass graves on a hillside north of Haiti's capital, using earth-movers to bury 10,000 earthquake victims in a single day while relief workers warn the death toll could increase.
Medical clinics have 12-day patient backlogs, untreated injuries are festering and makeshift camps housing thousands of survivors could foster disease, experts said.
"The next health risk could include outbreaks of diarrhea, respiratory tract infections and other diseases among hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in overcrowded camps with poor or nonexistent sanitation," said Dr. Greg Elder, deputy operations manager for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti. Hoping to assess the scope of the crisis, World Food Program chief Josette Sheeran planned to visit Haiti on Thursday, as did European Union aid chief Karel De Gucht.
The death toll is estimated at 200,000, according to Haitian government figures relayed by the European Commission, with 80,000 buried in mass graves. The commission now estimates 2 million homeless, up from 1.5 million, and says 250,000 are in need of urgent aid.
In the sparsely populated wasteland of Titanyen, north of Port-au-Prince, burial workers on Wednesday said the macabre task of handling the never-ending flow of bodies was traumatizing. "I have seen so many children, so many children. I cannot sleep at night and, if I do, it is a constant nightmare," said Foultone Fequiert, 38, his face covered with a T-shirt against the overwhelming stench.
The dead stick out at all angles from the mass graves - tall mounds of chalky dirt, the limbs of men, women and children frozen together in death. "I received 10,000 bodies yesterday alone," said Fequiert.
Workers say they have no time to give the dead proper religious burials or follow pleas from the international community that bodies be buried in shallow graves from which loved ones might eventually retrieve them.
"We just dump them in, and fill it up," said Luckner Clerzier, 39, who was helping guide trucks to another grave site farther up the road. An Associated Press reporter counted 15 burial mounds at Clerzier's site, each covering a wide trench cut into the ground some 25 feet deep, and rising 15 feet into the air. At the larger mass grave, where Fequiert toiled, three earth-moving machines cut long trenches into the earth, readying them for more cadavers.

  Yemen ‘stops issuing visas at airports’
BBC Online

Yemen is to stop issuing visas to foreigners arriving at international airports, state media has reported.
The move was to "halt terrorist infiltration," Saba state media said. The change will affect Western visitors, including those from the US, Canada and Europe, who had generally been able to get visas at airports. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, apparently trained a Nigerian man charged over the failed bomb attempt on a US plane last month.
There has been increasing pressure on Yemen to crack down on al-Qaeda in the wake of the 25 December plot. According to the Yemeni defence ministry newspaper September 26, a military official said "granting visas to foreigners will take place only through the embassies of Yemen, and after consulting security authorities to verify the identities of travellers".
This is to "prevent the infiltration of any suspected terrorist elements," he was quoted as saying. Six airports in Yemen receive international flights, AFP news agency reported.
Separately, the US said there were concerns that al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was expanding its recruitment efforts "to attract non-traditional followers".
The US Senate foreign relations committee, in a report released on 21 January into al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somalia, said there were concerns about some Americans who "had disappeared and are suspected of having gone to al-Qaeda training camps in ungoverned portions of the impoverished country".
Law enforcement officials believed there could be as many as 36 US citizens who converted to Islam while in US prisons and travelled to Yemen in the past year, "possibly for al-Qaeda training".
There were also up to a dozen US citizens who had married Muslim women and converted to Islam who had also gone to Yemen, but there was no evidence they had undergone training, the report said.

  Muslim anger over US military ‘Jesus’ scopes
AFP, Washington

Muslim groups reacted angrily Wednesday after it emerged that the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan were using rifle sights inscribed with coded Biblical references.
The company producing the sights, which are also used to train Afghan and Iraqi soldiers under contracts with the US Army and the Marine Corps, said it has inscribed references to the New Testament on the metal casings for over two decades.
The British Ministry of Defense meanwhile announced it had placed an order for 400 of the gunsights with Trijicon but added it had not been aware of the significance of the inscriptions, in a decision criticized by the opposition Liberal Democrat party. The Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) called on US Defense Secretary Robert Gates to immediately withdraw from combat use equipment found to have inscriptions of Biblical references after it emerged that Trijicon has contracts to supply over 800,000 of the sights to the US military.
The Pentagon sought to defuse the brewing controversy, saying it was "disturbed" by the reports. "If determined to be true, this is clearly inappropriate and we are looking into possible remedies," Commander Darryn James, a Pentagon spokesman, told AFP.
The codes were used as "part of our faith and our belief in service to our country," Trijicon said.
"As long as we have men and women in danger, we will continue to do everything we can to provide them with both state-of-the-art technology and the never-ending support and prayers of a grateful nation," a company spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

Business/Economy

Investors from Asia-US keen to invest in Bangladesh’s energy sector

BSS, Dhaka

Investors from East-Asian countries and the USA has showed interest in Bangladesh's energy sector and looking forward to sit with Dhaka's top policy makers in this regard.
Bangladesh is set to hold two road shows in power sector, on December 25-26 and 28-29 at Singapore and New York of the month respectively, however, a total of 214 individuals and companies has registered so far to sit with the policy makers to know every detail one to one basis.
"We have received tremendous responses from the investors of East-Asian and American countries. Till on Thursday 125 individuals and 89 companies have registered their name to take part in our road show in Singapore and New York," ASM Alamgir Kabir, Chairman, Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) told BSS on Thursday.
A six-member high-powered committee, comprising technical persons and decision makers will attend at Singapore and New York road shows in energy sector to tap $US 5 to 6 billion to boost up the country's allying energy sector.To improve the country's image abroad, the ministry of power, energy and mineral resources has taken up the road show to attract the foreign investors in Bangladesh's energy sector and kicked-off its first two-day long road show at Landon on December 15.
"We will present nine power projects and one LNG terminal installation project in the show, which is going to organize at Hotel Pan Pacific at Singapore and Hotel Marriott in New York," Alamgir said.
Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Adviser to the prime minister will lead the 10-member delegation including Dr SA Samad, Chairman Board of Investment, the state minister for power and energy Brigadier General Enamul Haque, Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad, secretary for the power division, ASM Alamgir Kabir, Chairman Power Development Board, Dr. Hossain Moonsur, Chairman Petrobnagla, Syed Yusuf Hossain, Chairman Energy Regulatory Commission, Anwarul Karim, Chairman Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, Mostafa Kamal, member (generation) PDB and Mizanur Rahman, Executive Engineer of PDB and an additional secretary of Law ministry will attend the show.
To catch up the expatriate and foreign investors to implement around 3,500 MW power projects in the next couple of years, the Power Development Board will show generation roadmap of the proposed four coal-fired (imported) power plants. Each of the 350-450 MW capacity power plants at Bibiana and Sirajgonj and each 100 MW power plants at Kaliakoir (near IT park) and Saver (in proposed tannery areas) and a 150 MW furnace oil based power plant at Bhola, SM. Alamgir kabir, Chairman Power Development Board said.
He said government is planning to install 1,325 MW gas and dual fuel based combined cycle/peaking plant and 2000-2600 MW imported coal based steam plant by 2015 on BOO basis. The government also planned to install one LNG terminal near Chittagong (port city) to fuel future power plants by imported LNG. According to the PDB, the country would need 9,000 MW of electricity by 2014 and for that it needed around $US 5 to 8 billion to implement the plan.

 Monetary policy well-equipped to attain growth target: experts Conference

BSS, Dhaka

The monetary policy of the Bangladesh Bank (BB) is well-equipped to contain inflation and attain growth target, according to experts. Talking to BSS, they said the policy has rightly addressed both the short and long term needs of the economy.
The central bank on Tuesday announced the monetary policy for the second half of the current 2009-10 fiscal year, putting inflation on top of its agenda.The half-yearly strategic guideline also outlines the policy stance to be followed in the next six months to spur economy, perusing sustainable growth in trade, industries and agriculture.
The policy, for the first time, focuses on financial inclusion of the missing people who have not been getting institutional services for a long time. Former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Mohammed Farashuddin observes that the monetary policy has rightly addressed the needs of the economy such as containing inflation, boosting export, crop production and employment.
He believes that this policy would effectively help attaining the fiscal target of GDP growth with low inflation. Farashuddin also supports the BB's suggestion to government for continuing market intervention so supply of essentials remains steady.
He, however, advises BB to ensure that money from banks goes to productive sectors, which will generate income and employment. Otherwise, he says, inflation may rise.
He also points out that the exchange rate needs to review periodically to help exporters sustain competitiveness on the global markets.
"The banking supervision needs to be strengthened to make the banks stronger," Farashuddin said. Noted banker and chief executive officer of Citibank NA in Bangladesh Mamun Rashid believes the central bank is pursuing an accommodative monetary policy against the backdrop of strong Asian rally instead of global recovery hope. He observes the policy statement has not depended much on the recovery hope of major global economies, which is a right approach for attaining the target of the monetary policy.
But he is concerned about continued pressure from increasing commodity price that can make managing inflation a tough job for the central bank. He also suggests keeping the government deficit financing under strict scrutiny as inefficient project financing would result in additional pressure on inflation.
Mamun identified two areas of concern that require constant monitoring and evaluation. These, according to him, are the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and Public- Private Partnership (PPP). He said 'inefficient implementation' of projects under the ADP and PPP could result in unnecessary credit rise in the private sector, which may hinder the policy target of boosting non-inflationary growth. Senior economist of the World Bank in Dhaka office Dr Zahid Hussain terms the monetary policy technically sound and expects its positive implication on the economy.
"The policy is good
enough to help economy.
But, it should be adhered by the stakeholders timely
with appropriate manners," he said.

  China could overtake US by 2020
AFP, London

China could overtake the United States to become the world's largest economy as early as 2020, a top business consultancy said on Thursday, underlining the "seismic change" in global economic power.
PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) also said in its report that by 2030 the top 10 world economies could be China, followed by the United States, India, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Germany, Mexico, France and Britain.
The current 10 largest economies, according to 2008 data from the International Monetary Fund, are the United States, Japan, China, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Russia, Spain and Brazil.
"These projects suggest that China could be the largest economy in the world as early as 2020 and is likely to be some way ahead of the US by 2030," John Hawksworth, head of macroeconomics at PWC, said in the report.
"India could grow even faster than China after 2020, however, and will also move rapidly up the global GDP (gross domestic product) rankings" because of its younger and faster growing population as opposed to China, he added.
The report also pointed to an increasing share of global GDP taken up by China and India, compared to the United States and the European Union.
The proportion in 2010 will be 20 percent for the US, 21 percent for the EU, 13 percent for China and five percent for India, PWC said.
But by 2030 that will have changed to 16 percent for the US, 15 percent for the EU, 19 percent for China and nine percent for India, it added.
Jim O'Neill, chief global economist for US investment bank Goldman Sachs, forecast last November that China will overtake the United States by 2027 -- 14 years earlier than a previous Goldman Sachs forecast of 2041 made in 2003.
O'Neill coined the term "BRICs" to refer to the four emerging market powerhouses Brazil, Russia, India and China, which have since formed an informal grouping to discuss global issues and economic policies.
The Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies last year took over from the traditional Group of Seven (G7) -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States-as the main forum for economic talks.

  East Asia to lead mild economic recovery for 2010
BSS/Xinhua, United Nations

East Asia is expected to lead a mild economic recovery for 2010 with a forecast growth of 6. 7 percent, the United Nations said in a report released here on Wednesday.
The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2010 Report credited the growth to a strong performance by China's economy, which contributed to an average regional growth in 2009 at an estimated 4.1 percent-down from 6.2 percent in 2008.
"Economic activity in East Asia is expected to gain further momentum in 2010 as exports and private sector demand continue to recover, with average growth forecast at 6.7 percent," the report said. Government expenditures on consumption and investment helped steer the recovery, the report said.
The report attributed much of East Asia's growth to China's gross domestic product (GDP), as it "expanded" by 8.1 percent in comparison to 9.0 percent in 2008.
In 2010, China's growth is predicted to move to 8.8 percent if the current economic policies remain in place, the report said.
In response to the sharp economic downturn in the second half of 2008, most East Asian governments responded through large fiscal stimulus packages to strengthen domestic demand and support the business sector.
Government measures such as direct wage subsides, tax reductions, accessible credit and higher infrastructure spending are seen as key factors that helped avoid an employment crisis, the report said.
The report also raised concerns that the region could face downside risks if in the case there is a "premature exit or sharp reversal of the expansionary monetary and fiscal policy measures," which were put in place over 2009. The report warned that if central banks tighten their monetary policy than anticipated, it could hurt the "fragile" recovery. The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) is a collaborative product of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the five United Nations regional commissions.

  Global economy to grow 2.7pc in 2010: WB
AFP, Washington

The global economy is poised to grow 2.7 percent this year after shrinking in 2009, the World Bank said Wednesday in a report highlighting risks to a "fragile" recovery. The World Bank said the nascent recovery from the worst crisis since the Great Depression was "expected to slow later this year as the impact of fiscal stimulus wanes." "Overall, these are challenging times," said Justin Lin, World Bank chief economist.
"The depth of the recession means that even though growth has returned, countries and individuals will continue to feel the pain of the crisis for years to come," he said. Key impediments to growth are troubled financial markets and sluggish private sector demand amid high unemployment, the Washington-based development lender said in its "Global Economic Prospects 2010" report.
Overall, global gross domestic product (GDP) -- a broad measure of the output of goods and services that fell by 2.2 percent last year-is expected to expand 2.7 percent in 2010 and 3.2 percent in 2011.
Growth would be led by developing countries, whose economies would have "relatively robust" growth of 5.2 percent this year and 5.8 percent in 2011, after managing to buck the global downturn with 1.2 percent growth last year.
China's massive economy would continue to be the primary engine, with growth at 9.0 percent this year and the next. South Asia would post a 6.9 percent expansion in 2010, including a 7.5 percent rise in India.
Growth would be more moderate this year in Sub-Saharan Africa (3.8 percent), in Latin America (3.1 percent) and in eastern and central Europe and Central Asia (2.7 percent).
Rich countries, impacted the most by the global financial crisis, would not recover so quickly.
Developed economies, which experienced a 3.3 percent plunge in GDP last year, were projected to grow 1.8 percent in 2010 and 2.3 percent in 2011.
The United States, the world's biggest economy and the epicenter of the financial crisis that triggered the downturn, would see 2.5 percent growth in 2010 and 2.7 percent in 2011.
Hans Timmer, an author of the report, said data indicates that unemployment will only get worse.
"Actually growth this year is not even strong enough to generate the jobs for the new people that are coming on the global jobs market, let alone that you need to create employment for the people who have lost their jobs in 2009," Timmer said at a news briefing.

 Annual conference of Eastland Insurance held
TBT Economy Desk

The Regional/Branch Managers' Conference-2010 of Eastland Insurance Company Limited was held in the capital on Thursday, a press release.
Mahbubur Rahman, Chairman of the company inaugurated the conference. In his inaugural address, the chairman expressed satisfaction on the overall achievement of the company and thanked the officials for their commendable performance during the year 2009.

 DSE index crosses 5000-mark
BSS, Dhaka

The price index at the country's prime bourse crossed 5000-mark for the first time in its history on a continuous rally since January 14.
DGEN, the general price index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), reached at 5095.21 at the week's closing on Thursday.
DSE President Rakibur Rahman was thrilled enough on the rise to hurriedly call a press conference sooner the closing of the day's trading session. Sharing happiness on the bull-run, the DSE president expressed both his confidence on the positive trend and concern over the long term stability.
"I have no doubt that the rise on index is stable, but slow supply of shares is a major concern for future growth," Rahman said.
He strongly advised the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow more mutual funds in the market.
"Mutual Fund is a remedy to the dire need of shares," he said, but noted with disappointment that the authorities are misguided that more mutual funds would over-hit the market.
"This is a wrong idea because mutual funds would ensure the market stability while protect investors' interests,' he observed.
Rahman explained that all the mutual funds are managed by professional experts and they never go for risk investments so protect the investors' interest and market from volatility. The DSE president, however, praised the finance ministry's decision on off-loading shares of 47 state-owned industries with cautionary note about sabotage that could foil the off-loading process. He said the government in 2005 took a similar decision without any effective measures.
Citing DSE market analysis, he said "we found that the index reflects the whole market instead of the influence of any big company".
DSE data, however, showed a big increase of GP share price at the week's closing.
The days' turnover in value was Taka 1,241 crore, significantly higher from Wednesday's turnover of Taka 1,108 crore.

 Global IT spending to rise nearly
5pc in 2010

AFP, Mumbai

Spending on information technology worldwide will grow nearly five percent in 2010 as an upturn in the global economy prompts companies to spend more, a consultancy said Thursday.
All major segments from computing hardware to telecom services are expected to grow as confidence returns and more credit is made available, research and advisory services provider Gartner said.
The 4.6 percent projected increase to 3.4 trillion dollars marks a "significant improvement" from 2009 when worldwide IT spending declined by 4.6 percent, the global consultancy said in a note issued in Mumbai.
"Last quarter, we did not expect to see IT spending levels recover to 2008 levels until 2011," said Richard Gordon, research vice president at Gartner.

National

Govt seeks US assistance for building another Kaptai dam
UNB, Dhaka

The government sought assistance from the USA in power sector for building another Kaptai dam for doubling hydropower generation from the lake waters in Rangamati hill district. State Minister for Environment Dr Hasan Mahmud sought the help when US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Patrick Moon met with him at his office here Thursday. "If we construct another dam six kilometers downstream of the Kaptai Hydroelectric Dam, we can generate the same extent of power from the new plant," Mahmud said.
The state minister requested the US government to provide more assistance for adaptation and mitigation of the adverse impacts on Bangladesh of the global climate change due to excessive carbon emissions from the highly industrialized developed countries.
During the meeting, Patrick Moon appreciated Bangladesh for taking the leadership on climate change and playing constructive role at the summit-level Copenhagen conference. He assured that the US government would "always stand beside Bangladesh in implementing its effective steps for the protection of environment". They also discussed the two countries' cooperation on environmental issues in the future.

  JCD strike hampers DU classes: exams held peacefully
BSS, Dhaka

The second day of the strike enforced by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) on the Dhaka University (DU) campus on Thursday hampered classes, but examinations were held peacefully.
The JCD, the student wing of the opposition BNP, called the strike following the classes of its two factions. President of the JCD Sultan Salauddin Tuku and some 20 persons, including the DU proctor, were injured in the clashes over the formation of the new central committee of the JCD.
At least 50 rounds of bullet were fired and 20 hand-made bombs exploded during the fighting.
All exams at Arts Building and Curzon Hall were held peacefully on schedule, said DU Examinations Controller Bahalul Haque Chowdhury.
Presence of the students on the campus, however, was thin and a very few classes were held.
In support of the strike, a group of JCD leaders and workers brought out a procession and held a rally at the Teacher-Student Centre intersection in the morning.
They tried to enter the campus through Shahbagh entrance. But police intercepted them as most of them had not DU identity cards.
In protest against the strike, Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) also brought out a procession and held a rally on the campus.
Earlier, DU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique said, "Dhaka University has come out of the culture of strike. The students won't accept any programme that would hamper their academic life," he said mentioning the strike called by the JCD.

   Arrest, Punishment of Sunny’s killers demanded
UNB, Dhaka

Left-leaning student organization Bangladesh Chhatra Moitree Thursday submitted a memorandum to the home ministry to press their seven-point demand, including arrest and punishment of the killers of Rezwanul Islam Chowdhury Sunny, its vice-president of Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute unit.
Moitree, the student front of Bangladesh Workers Party, a component of the ruling Awami League-led Grand Alliance, blamed some goons in the pro-AL Chhatra League's local chapter for the murder in an attack on the campus.
The other demands include paying compensation to Sunny's family and ensuring cohesive co-existence in all educational institutions.
Activists of Moitree brought out a procession from Madhu's Canteen of Dhaka University at about 12:30pm for submission of the memo. But, police blocked the way near Shishu Academy, where the protestors held a brief rally.
Addressing the gathering, Moitree leaders accused Bangladesh Chhatra League, the student wing of the ruling Awami League, for "letting loose terror at different educational institutions".
They also held BCL men responsible for shutting down educational institutions as well as suspension of on-campus political activities.
Later, a 4-member delegation of went to the secretariat and submitted their memorandum to the home ministry.
Besides, the student front submitted memorandum to the home minister through deputy commissioners and upazila administrators across the country amid countrywide demonstrations.

   Potato farmers facing problems for shortage of cold stores in Thakurgaon, Panchagarh

UNB, Thakurgaon

Potato farmers of Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts have been facing problems in preserving their produce due to shortage of cold stores. Farmers alleged that some influential brokers bought most of the slips of the Thakurgaon district's seven cold storages in advance that created problems for the preservation of their potatoes.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said 25,250 hectares of land have been brought under potato cultivation with the production target of 4,16,625 metric tons this year in the district.
Besides, 1.5 lakh metric tons of potatoes are expected to be produced in neighboring Panchagarh district this year. But there is no cold storage in the district.
All the potato farmers of the two districts have to depend on the seven cold stores. However, the total capacity of the seven cold stores is 40,000 metric tons only against the expected potato production of 5.50 lakh metric tons.
Delwar Hossain, Managing Director of Shahi Cold Storage, said 1.20 lakh sacks of potato could be preserved in his cold storage and they have already issued all the slips in advance. Abdul Quader, owner of another cold storage, said he himself cultivated potatoes on 50 acres of land. He said he will preserve the potatoes in his cold store. Some potato farmers and traders alleged that some brokers and dealers bought all the slips in advance to compel the farmers to sell their potatoes to them at throw away prices.
Dalil Uddin, deputy director of DAE, expressed apprehension that the potato cultivation will be decreased if the farmers cannot preserve their potato seeds and get fair price in the local market.

   Training programs on human resource management launched

BSS, Dhaka

Speakers at a launching ceremony of two exclusive training programs on Human Resources Management and Development underlined the need for extensive training for human resource development fitting to the need of the time.
The two programs launched by reputed consultancy firm A4 Consultants, on January 20 aimed at developing the human resource professionals to cope with the changing global and national scenario which will also assist them to be the most effective and efficient leaders in their professions.
The programme formally inaugurated by chief guest of ceremony, Dr. Iftekhar Ghani Chowdhury, Vice Chancellor, State University, Bangladesh, Ex- Director IBA-DU, was attended by a large group of senior management personnel, human resource professionals, enrolled participant of the courses.
Proshanta K Halder Managing Director-Reliance Finance Ltd., Mosta Gausul Haque, DS (Finance & Services) Project Director- Bangladesh Public Service Commission, Sayed Javed Ahmad, Chief Operating Officer, Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) and Khurshid Jahan, President, Mirajul Momeenat, were present on the occasion as the guest speakers.
Anisa Khatoon, chief consultant, presented a brief on the courses to the audience. The guest speakers lauded the initiative and reiterated the need to develop trained human resource professional.
Dr. Iftekhar Ghani Chowdhury, chief guest of the ceremony, in his speech highly appreciated the initiative and expressed satisfaction over giving a proper direction to the human resource professionals and formally launched the training program.
The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks to the chair.

   Target of Apple-kul production likely to fall sharply in country

UNB, Chapainawabganj

Apple-kul (Apple-plum) production may fall sharply in the country this season due to adverse effect of climate change and lack of garden management.
According to C'nawabganj regional Horticulture Research Centre, farmers have set a target to produce 1,62,500 mts Apple-kul cultivating 6,500 hectares land this season through out the country. But sources said the farmers will have to bear a huge loss from the Apple-kul cultivation as the experts are expecting only 10 percent production this year.
Horticulture Research Centre sources said Apple-kul is cultivated commercially in Chapainawabganj, Noagaon, Rajshahi, Natore, Kushtia, Jhenidah, Panchagarh, Comilla and Dhaka.
Many farmers did not get any production from their Apple-kul orchard this season due to unfavourable weather condition and various other reasons. Scientist of the Horticulture Centre Sharafuddin said rainfall during the blossoming period, high temperature, cutting of branches earlier and pest attack are the main reasons behind the production fall. Abdul Kuddus, deputy director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said nursing of the trees and proper use of fertilizers could reduce the risk of production fall in future. Farmers could not achieve production target in these regions for last two years, the sources said.

   8 kidnappers arrested by RAB after gunfight in Jamalpur
UNB, Jamalpur

Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel arrested eight members of an inter-district kidnappers' gang following a gunfight at Kawniar Char in Dewanganj upazila on Wednesday night.
The arrested suspects were identified as Abul Kashem, 45, Mojammel Haq, 36, Tajel, 42, Badshah Alam, 50, Aminul Haque, 45, Hekem Ali, 35, Nurul Haq, 35, and Habibur Rahman, 30.
At a press conference at Jamalpur Camp of RAB-12 on Thursday noon, Company Commander Major Nasiruddin said an elite-force team from the camp conducted a drive at the char at about 8pm when the gang members were preparing for criminal acts.
"As the law-enforcers reached the area, the miscreants opened fire, forcing them to retaliate," he said.
The RAB members arrested Kashem, Mojammel, Tajel and Badshah from the scene after exchange of several gunshots while others managed to flee.

Sports

Mishra, Sharma shape India's victory in Chittagong
AFP, Chittagong

Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma shared seven wickets in India's crushing 113-run victory over Bangladesh in the first Test on Thursday.
Leg-spinner Mishra finished with 4-92 and paceman Sharma took 3-48 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 301 in their second innings before tea on the final day while chasing an improbable target of 415 runs.
The only consolation for Bangladesh was an entertaining 101 by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim, who smashed one six and 17 fours in his maiden Test century.
Rahim completed his hundred off 112 balls, the fastest by a Bangladeshi in Tests, before becoming the last man to be dismissed when he holed out in the deep off Mishra.
Rahim, 21, gave spectators plenty to cheer about with his exciting strokeplay, once hammering Sharma for 14 runs in an over and then hitting paceman Shanthakumaran Sreesanth for a six and a boundary off successive balls.
He was involved in a rollicking 60-run stand for the eighth wicket with Shahadat Hossain (24), which ended when Shahadat failed to read Mishra's googly and was bowled.
But Rahim's knock came too late for Bangladesh as India were virtually assured of victory after reducing the hosts to 170-7 in the afternoon session. India captain Virender Sehwag, standing in for the injured Mahendra Singh Dhoni, said he was delighted by the win.
"Our bowlers did a fantastic job, Zaheer (Khan) and Ishant especially, after we were bowled out for 243," Sehwag said at the post-match ceremony.
"It was a good pitch, it had nice carry, turn and bounce. We must continue to play good cricket, and if we do that, we can easily win the next match."
The second and final Test starts in Dhaka on Sunday.
Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan rued the collapse in the first innings, but praised his team's bowlers.
"We did not bat well in the first innings and that led to our downfall," said Shakib. "We played too many rash shots outside the off stump, we need to work on it.
"We should have taken a lead of 100 runs, hopefully next time we will bat better, the way Mushfiqur did today. He was brilliant. There are a lot of lessons to be learnt."
Bangladesh's chances of saving the match receded sharply when they lost three wickets in the morning after adding only 69 to their overnight total of 67-2, with Sharma taking two and part-time off-spinner Virender Sehwag one.
India strengthened their position when Mishra had key batsman Shakib (17) caught by Sehwag at silly point a few overs after lunch.
India began on an impressive note, with Sharma removing Mohammad Ashraful and Raqibul Hasan in a lively opening spell and Sehwag dismissing well-set Tamim Iqbal (52) to put the hosts under pressure.
Iqbal, caught by Rahul Dravid in the slips just before lunch, executed some handsome shots during his 122-ball knock. He reached his third Test half-century when he reverse-swept Mishra for his sixth four.
Sharma struck in the day's fourth over when he had Ashraful caught by Dravid at second slip after the batsman added only 11 to his overnight score of 16.
Raqibul (13) was beaten by the movement before being trapped leg-before by Sharma, leaving his team struggling at 97-4.
Veteran Sachin Tendulkar was named man of the match for his century in the first innings, the 44th Test hundred of his record-breaking career.
Scorecard
India 1st innings:
243 (S. Tendulkar 105 not out, V. Sehwag 52; Shahadat Hossain 5-71, Shakib Al Hasan 5-62)
Bangladesh 1st innings:
242 (Mohammad Mahmudullah 69; Zaheer Khan 3-54, A. Mishra 3-66)
India 2nd innings:
413-8 decl (G. Gambhir 116, V. Laxman 69 not out, A. Mishra 50; Mohammad Mahmudullah 2-52)
Bangladesh 2nd innings (overnight 67-2):
Tamim c Dravid b Sehwag 52
Kayes c Karthik b Zaheer 1
Nafees c Sehwag
b Sharma 21
Ashraful c Dravid
b Sharma 27
Raqibul lbw b Sharma 13
Shakib c Sehwag
b Mishra 17
Mushfiq c sub (Ojha)
b Mishra 101
Mahmudullah c Karthik
b Zaheer 20
Shahadat b Mishra 24
Shafiul c and b Mishra 8
Rubel not out 4
Extras: (b4, lb3, nb6) 13
Total: (all out, 75.2 overs) 301
Falls: 1-8 (Kayes), 2-47 (Nafees), 3-79 (Ashraful), 4-97 (Raqibul), 5-135 (Iqbal), 6-145 (Shakib), 7-170 (Mahmudullah), 8-232 (Shahadat), 9-258 (Shahadat), 10-301 (Rahim).
Bowling: Zaheer 20-5-90-2, Sreesanth 12.2-0-53-0 (nb3), Sharma 15-4-48-3, Mishra 22.2-3-92-4 (nb3), Sehwag 4-1-7-1, Yuvraj 1.4-1-4-0.
Result: India wins by 113 runs.

  Bangladesh expects impressive show in SAG cricket
TBT Report

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has chosen the best possible under-21 cricket team for the 11th South Asian Games (SAG), Team Operation Manager of Bangladesh team Ehsanul Haque told reporters at a news conference at Olympic Bhaban, Dhaka on Thursday.
"The best under-21 players have been included in the team. It is the best possible under-21 side. Hopefully the boys will offer their best performances in the South Asian contest," Haque said.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives and Bangladesh are contesting in the cricket competition of SAG, while the other Asian superpower India decided to opt out of the event.
"We have prepared a balanced team for the SAG but Pakistan and Sri Lanka are also very strong in cricket. It is difficult to say precisely about the result but we're hoping some impressing show from the boys," coach Fahim Abedin said. On the team strength, he said batting is the main strength of Bangladesh team but it is lagging behind a bit in pace bowling. "Batting is our main strength.
Fielding is good and the spinners are also performing well. But our pace bowling is not so strong like the other departments. However, our team is a balanced one. At this level (under-21 level) we can compete with our opponents. We'll be at par with our opponents," he added.
Bangladesh will face Nepal in its first match on January 31, Sri Lanka on February 2, Maldives on February 4 and Pakistan on February 5. All matches of the SAG will be held in 20 overs.
Bangladesh team:
Players: Mohammad Mithun (Captain), Nasir Hossain (Vice Captain), Rony Talukder, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Asif Ahmed Ratul, Sabbir Rahman, Jubair Rahman, Ariful Haque, Hamidul Islam Himel (Wicketkeeper), Tanvir Haider, Subhashish Roy, Imon Ahmed, Sanjamul Islam and Nazmul Islam Opu. Stand-by: Taposh Ghosh, Abu Hasan Raju, Alauddin Babu, Shaker Ahmed.
Officials: Ehsanul Haque (Team Operation Manager), Sarwar Imran (Head Coach), Sohel Islam (Assistant Coach), Azmal Ahmed Mithu (Physiotherapist) and Mohammad Salahuddin (Computer Analyst).

  T20 leagues 'a virus': Miandad
AFP, Karachi

Former Pakistani international batsman Javed Miandad on Thursday warned lucrative Twenty20 leagues were "a virus" which threatened to kill off Test cricket.
Miandad said the leagues offered such good money that playing international cricket-particularly the long form of the game-was becoming less attractive, calling on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to step in.
"Twenty20 cricket is a virus and if the ICC doesn't restrict matches of this format it will finish Test cricket as leading players will no longer want to play for their country," Miandad, who played 124 Tests for Pakistan, told AFP. Twenty20 cricket, the shortest form of the game, is rapidly gaining popularity among players and spectators, with huge money on offer in the recognised Indian Premier League (IPL) and the rebel Indian Cricket League.
"Some of the Australian players could have represented their country longer but retired to play T20 leagues two years ago," Miandad said. "When Twenty20 cricket started I had smelled this format will damage cricket, now the game will not see quality players as they are now more attuned to play the big-hitting game than the traditional and classical way.
"With the introduction of Twenty20 leagues, the notion that 'country comes first' is also hit for six because when there is a choice between national duty and more money, players will choose money.
"I sincerely pray that T20 cricket is restricted, otherwise the game will suffer badly."
Miandad's reaction came after 11 Pakistani players were snubbed at the IPL player auction in Mumbai on Tuesday.
None of the eight Indian franchises bid for Pakistani players-apparently because they were not sure of their availability due to visa and other problems.
"Pakistani players should not be bothered about IPL," said Miandad.
"They must concentrate on their national duties as country always comes first," added Miandad, who also voiced concern that India was becoming too powerful in world cricket.
"I fear a day will come when world cricket will be run by India alone, so I fear if Australia, England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies don't realise this, world cricket will be at the mercy of India," he said.

  Egypt extends unbeaten run in Africa Cup
AFP, Benguel

Six-time champion Egypt defeated Benin 2-0 on Wednesday to extend its unbeaten run in the Africa Cup of Nations to 15 games and qualify for the last eight.
The victory also meant that the Pharaohs finished top of Group C with a maximum nine points and will face the second-placed team in Group D in one of the quarter-finals on Monday.
Nigeria qualified for the last eight as runners-up after beating Mozambique 3-0. Egypt is also on course for an unprecedented seventh Nations Cup title, while skipper Ahmed Hassan won his 169th cap against Benin to tie the Egyptian record for most international appearances.
Despite the scoreline, Egypt assistant coach, Shawki Gharib, insisted the winning margin should have been more decisive.
"We should have scored more goals, but it was also important that we won this game. We threw away several chances, but we also have to give some credit to the Benin goalkeeper, who pulled off several saves," said Gharib.
"We are here to defend our crown as champions of Africa. All the games here are tough, but we are here to fight and in the end succeed. This is a feeling shared by the entire team."
Benin coach Michel Dessuyer said his team were unlucky in Angola but have learnt a few lessons and would continue to work hard. "We were unlucky not to make the impact we had hoped for here. We have taken some lessons from this experience and we will continue to work hard for us to do far better next time," said the French coach.
Egypt, who rested key stars like Ahmed Fathi and Wael Gomaa, took the lead after only seven minutes through an audacious effort by Ahmed Al-Mohammadi.
The highly-rated ENPPI defender swung a shot from about 40 metres which sailed over Benin goalkeeper Yoann Djidonou and into the top right corner of the net. The defending champions doubled their advantage in the 23rd minute when the referee adjudged that Emad Motaeb bundled the ball over the goalline after Ahmed Raouf's header from 12 yards out crashed against the post.
Egypt continued to cruise and would have increased their lead in the 27th minute but Raouf's diving header from inside the 18-yard box flew straight at Djidonou for him to make an easy save.
On the resumption, Benin fought for an equaliser but it was Egypt who could have scored again in the 55th minute when Hassan's long through ball set up Raouf, who darted into the box only for Djidonou to get his foot to the ball. Motaeb was a constant danger and moments later, he again came close when Al-Mohammadi swung another cross into the Benin area, but his marker closed him down.
In the 65th minute, substitute Mohammed Aoudou tested the reflexes of the durable Essam El-Hadary in goal for Egypt when he rose above the defence to power a free kick from the right flank only for the Ismailia goalkeeper to tip the ball away for a corner.

   Federer welcomes Prince William to centre court
AFP, Melbourne

Prince William made a surprise visit to the Australian Open to watch world number one Roger Federer on Thursday and the Swiss star turned on the style.
After touring communities near Melbourne affected by bushfires last year that killed 173 people, William arrived at the Rod Laver Arena in time to see the 15-time Grand Slam champion demolish Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
The crowd gave William a warm ovation as he took his seat with Tennis Australia officials and he applauded enthusiastically as Federer marched into the third round.
After the game, Federer was interviewed courtside by former Grand Slam champion Jim Courier, who asked the Swiss great to officially welcome royalty to Melbourne Park.
Federer, turning to face the laughing William, duly obliged.
"Your Royal Highness. Welcome to the world of tennis," he said.
"Thank you for coming."
William earlier told a Melbourne reception that being in Australia was the realisation of a long-held dream.
He recalled his much-loved late mother Princess Diana's affection for Australia and the "profound impression" it made on her.

  England beats India in U/19 World Cup
AFP, Wellington

England allrounder Ben Stokes scored a century to set up a 31-run win over defending champion India at Lincoln on Thursday in the final pool match of the Under 19 cricket World Cup.
The group A victory means England will play the West Indies in their quarter-final on Saturday, while India will play Pakistan, the winner of group D.
England scored 246-8 in their 50 overs and a middle order Indian slump put the 2008 champions on the back foot and they were finally dismissed for 215 from 46.4 overs.
English left-arm pace bowler David Payne (3-40) and Stokes rocked the Indian middle order with three quick wickets as they slipped from 62-1 to 62-4 after getting off to a solid start. Number 10 batsman Saurav Netrawalkar provided some hope for India scoring 28 from 30 balls until his dismissal brought the match to an end.
Man of the match Stokes finished with two wickets for England and had earlier provided the backbone of the English innings, scoring 100 off 88 balls.
Group B winners South Africa will play the Group C runner-up Sri Lanka in a quarter-final on Sunday, while hosts New Zealand will take on Australia.

  Bordeaux, Marseille save face
AFP, Paris

French title rivals Bordeaux and Marseille both over-came scares against lowly opposition on Wednesday but there was a surprise defeat for high-flying Lille.
Bordeaux had to come from a goal down to win 3-1 at 10-man bottom club Grenoble, while Marseille also overcame an early deficit to defeat Le Mans
2-1.
Lille, who went into their game at Sochaux on a run of eight straight wins in all competitions, succumbed to a 2-0 reverse - their first since November 22 - while Lyon hit back from 1-0 down to win 3-1 at Lorient.
Bordeaux increase their lead at the summit by a point, with Montpellier climbing to second after winning 1-0 at Lens via a late Victor Montano effort.
Lille fall to third, a place above Marseille, who trail Bordeaux by 11 points with a game in hand and lead Lyon, fifth, Monaco, sixth, and Auxerre, seventh, on goal difference.
Grenoble produced a storming first-half showing against Bordeaux and took the lead in first-half injury-time when home skipper Laurent Batlles cracked an unstoppable strike into the top-right corner from 22 yards.
But Bordeaux, held 1-1 at home to Marseille in their last outing, were gifted a foothold in the game when Grenoble midfielder Jimmy Juan was shown a second yellow card for a rash challenge on Jussie barely two minutes after the break. In less than 10 minutes the champions were ahead.
Left-back Benoit Tremo-ulinas set up Yoan Gouffran for the equaliser, with Marouane Chamakh heading home Benoit Chalme's centre in the 56th minute and Fernando Cavenaghi making sure of the points seven minutes from time.
"The score of 3-1 was a bit flattering," conceded Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc. "And even though I'm disappointed by the manner of victory, it was a good result in terms of
the table."
Third-bottom Le Mans took a shock 16th-minute lead at Marseille through Anthony Le Tallec but captain Mamadou Niang struck twice to earn victory for Didier Deschamps's charges.
Lille fell behind in the eighth minute against Sochaux when Damien Perquis headed in from a corner and three minutes later Stephane Dalmat made it 2-0 by finishing off a one-man counter-attack with a sumptuous lob.
The visitors spurned the chance to pull one back before half-time when Yohan Cabaye saw his penalty pushed away by Sochaux goalkeeper Teddy Richert and although Robert Vittek did reduce the arrears, Lille were unable to prevent their exhilarating streak of form coming to an end. "The end of our run is irrelevant," said Lille manager Rudi Garcia.
"We knew that it wouldn't last until the end of the championship. What's more annoying is that the other teams at the top won."
A brace by Kim Kallstrom, including an opportunist strike from wide on the left touchline, earned Lyon a 3-1 win at Lorient after Lisandro Lopez had cancelled out Pierre Ducasse's 28th-minute opener for the hosts.

  Chinese football officials under questioning
AFP, Beijing

The head of China's scandal-rocked football association and two other top officials have been taken in for questioning amid a police probe into corruption in the sport, state media said Thursday.
Nan Yong, named to head the beleaguered Chinese Football Association a year ago, was taken in for "interrogation" by police in the northeastern city of Liaoning, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the Ministry of Public Security.
Also taken in were CFA vice-heads Yang Yimin and Zhang Jianqiang, it said.
The Soccer Daily reported the men were taken away on Friday. The Xinhua report quoted the ministry saying the men were being questioned as part of efforts to stamp out match-fixing and other corruption in the sport but made no mention of whether the three were suspected of wrongdoing.
Officials at the CFA and the sports ministry refused comment on the where-abouts of the three officials when contacted by AFP Thursday. Following wides-pread allegations of organised gambling, croo-ked referees and match-fixing earlier this decade, the CFA announced in late 2006 that it had set up a joint task force with police to root out corruption in the sport.
The arrests of at least 21 football and club officials have been announced since November, with police interrogating more than 100 suspects, according to press reports.
Besides the three CFA officials taken away by police, two other top association officials have also been told not to leave Beijing, the Soccer Daily said. Concern over the situation has risen to the highest levels in China, with even President Hu Jintao late last year stressing the need to "revitalise" Chinese soccer.
Corruption, on-field fights and other misbehaviour by players have plagued Chinese football for years, leading to dwindling attendances and frustration among fans and sponsors.
Police believe the gambling and match-fixing began with a game between clubs in Guangzhou and Shanxi in 2006 and later spread to a series of matches.

  Bertsch seizes Bob Hope lead
AFP, La Quinta

Shane Bertsch nabbed 10 birdies in a 10-under 62 Wednesday to seize the first-round lead at the five-round Bob Hope Classic.
Bertsch completed his bogey-free effort even as he shrugged off scattered rain showers and offered putting advice to his pro-am playing partners.
"I was just comfortable," Bertsch said. "I always like these formats, because I help the guys out, and it keeps me maybe not so focused on myself until it's time to hit, and then I just go and hit."
Alex Prugh and Jeff Quinney shared second on 64, while JP Hayes, George McNeill, Joe Ogilvie and Garrett Willis were three strokes back.
Heath Slocum, who skipped last week's Sony Open in Hawaii as his wife gave birth, was among half a dozen players on 66.
While rain swept through much of Southern California, the desert venue stayed dry until Wednesday afternoon.
"It was Palm Springs golf - not a lot of wind, starting to warm up," Slocum said. "And then all of a sudden when I made the turn, it definitely kicked right back up. "The wind started blowing, and it cooled off. I put the sweater back on, and obviously golf is a little more difficult."
But it seemed easy for Bertch, who missed just two greens and three fairways, needing onl 25 putts in his round.