MONday, JANUARY 25, 2010 magh 12, 1416, SAFAR 8, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Millions seek divine blessings
Biswa Ijtema at Tongi concludes after ‘Akheri Munajat’

UNB, Tongi

Millions of Muslims joined the 'Akheri Munajat' of the three-day Biswa Ijtema Sunday on the bank of river Turag seeking divine blessings for the purgation of their souls and guiding them to the path of Islam and Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH).
Maulana Jobayrul Hasan of New Delhi led the 25-minute concluding prayers that began at 12:20pm.
President Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Opposition Leader Khaleda Zia joined the concluding prayers with millions of Muslim devotees who gathered at the traditional Ijtema venue from different parts of the country and abroad.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attended the Akheri Munajat with hundreds of thousands of Muslim devotees raising their hands for the Munajat.
In a bid to ease the sufferings of the devotees, Prime Minister Hasina this year joined the Akheri Munajat from the rooftop of Civil Aviation Authority's Headquarters Bhaban instead of Bata Shoe Company Building at Tongi.
Hasina also recited verses from holy Quran before she raised her hands for the Munajat.
In the Munajat, she sought divine blessings for the continued peace and prosperity of the people and progress and development of the country. She also prayed for the unity and integrity of the Muslim Ummah.
Leader of the Opposition Begum Khaleda Zia took part in the Akheri Munajat from Atlas Bangladesh Factory premises and sought peace and progress of the country's people.
The BNP Chairperson arrived on the Atlas Bangladesh factory premises, adjacent to the Ijtema ground, at 10:15am.
Begum Zia along with her family members and party leaders listened to Islamic sermons delivered by Muslim scholars before the Munajat. With holding of 'the Akheri Munajat', the three-day Biswa Ijtema, concluded on Sunday.
Sources said some 25,000 devotees from 82 foreign countries attended the Ijtema apart from around two and a half million domestic devotees. Islamic scholars from Pakistan, India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Algeria, Palestine, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon delivered sermons. In their sermons, the scholars spoke on various aspects of Islam, especially Namaj, Roza, Iman and Akherat.
A total of 18 devotees who attended the Ijtema died in the last four days.Many devotees faced untold sufferings, as the authorities halted all kinds of traffic movement from Chandana crossing to Ashulia-Tongi road after 8pm Saturday.
Though there was no special arrangement, many female devotees attended the gathering. Many of them lost their belongings to thieves and thugs.
Three female devotees-Shahida, 45, Jobeda, 65, and another unidentified, aged 54, all hailing from Narayanganj, died as an engine-driven boat carrying excess devotees sank in the Turag river under Tongi Bridge at about 5pm.
The other passengers, however, managed to swim ashore. Three devotees, Nazimuddin,55, from Cox's Bazar, Helaluddin, 50, from Noakhali, and Abul Hossain, 45, from Kishoreganj died of cardiac failure Saturday and early Sunday.
Besides, another devotee, Shahidullah of Pabna, was injured in a road accident and died at Tongi Hospital Saturday evening.

 Indian hand in Nepal’s Royal Palace Massacre: Prachanda
UNB, Dhaka

Former Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda has accused India of carrying out the Palace massacre in which King Birendra was killed along with his family and also communist stalwart Madan Bhandari eight years ago, reports Telegraphnepal.com.
Prachanda, chairman of opposition UCPN (Maoist) party, claimed that the main reason behind the killing of the two adored figures had been their unequivocal love for their motherland. "They were both strong nationalists," he said.
"Both King Birendra and Bhandari were killed because they shared good relations with our party and they were about to meet me personally," he said.
The meeting with late King Birendra was tentatively fixed for May 25, eight days before he was murdered, as the information got leaked, lamented the Maoist supremo.
He categorically outlined three reasons for the murder of King Birendra: His proposal for Nepal as zone of peace, his preference for importing weapons from China and above all his nationalist credential were the prime reasons for his brutal murder.
Of late the Maoist leader has whipped up the sentiment of the nation by launching a campaign to free the country from foreign interference, recover lands occupied by India and withdrawal of foreign troops from Nepalese territory Kalapani.
The Maoist leader also said that the entire responsibility for the Royal Palace Massacre on June 1, 2001 should be taken by the then Chief of the Nepal Army, Prajawal Shumser Rana. "The Nepal Army is bound to make public the reasons for the security lapses inside the Royal palace", he demanded.
"The murder spree of Nationalist Leaders continue since the War of Nalapani", Prachanda said adding, "I could be killed any time from now but I do not fear death."
"We had won the Nalapani War with the British, now it is time for us to get ready for a similar war", he told a meeting of Maoist cadres in Gulariya of Bardia District on January 21.

  Decision soon on import of duty-free cars for MPs: Muhith
UNB, Dhaka

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Sunday said the government would take its decision within a week or so about the import of duty-free vehicles for the Parliament Members (MPs).
"I had a meeting with the Speaker Tuesday. The proposal was first put forward to the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister then passed it to the Speaker. Finally, there was a discussion with the Speaker. We' ll take our decision, maybe in a week or so," he said while talking to reporters at the secretariat.
About the ordinance that repealed the provision of allowing lawmakers to import duty-free vehicles under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) Order, 1973, he said the law is still there. "As per the law, members are entitled to have tax-free cars."
Earlier, in June 2007, the caretaker government had promulgated an ordinance repealing the provision that allowed lawmakers to import duty-free vehicles.
The current parliament, however, did not ratify the ordinance.
The provision was first introduced on May 24, 1987 and amended on August 28, 2002 with retrospective effect from July 1 that year. In providing the facility, the minister said, the government will have to spend Tk 400 crore in taxes instead of Tk 100 crore.
However, the MPs will not be allowed to bring in luxurious cars as many did in the past only to sell those for hefty amounts, making the privilege controversial. They will receive Tk 40,000 a month to pay for chauffer's salary, fuel and maintenance.

  BD to be a mid-income country by 2013: BB
BSS, Dhaka

With steady rise in investment, implementing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects for infrastructure building and sound political environment, Bangladesh would be a middle income country by 2013.
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman told journalists on Sunday while releasing the central bank's annual report for 2008-09 financial year at his office in the city. Referring to the steady rise of per capita income (GNI) in the past five years, the governor was confident enough to make the happy announcement, pointing only to some risk factors, which can be overcome with effective measures. The per capita income rose to $690 in June last year from $440 at the end of 2004.
The pace of increase indicates that the GNI would reach to the level of the middle-income group countries in the next four years, said BB governor.
"At this rate, reaching the middle income threshold of $976 should not take more than another four years, say, not beyond 2013" Dr Atiur said. Citing the findings of the BB's new report, he said there are some risk factors in the backdrop of the recent global financial fallouts, but the early recovery trend also raises the expectation of economic uplift. The report apprehends that the country would face another wave of global recession, necessitating some downward adjustment in the medium term economic forecast.
But at the same time, it predicts that the gross domestic product (GDP) could be 6 percent at the end of the current 2009- 10 financial year. Dr Atiur said the real GDP growth was 5.9 percent in last December and it would exceed the fiscal target following the faster global economic recovery together with investment plan implementing initiatives including public private partnership (PPP).

   Evict illegal structures from banks of 4 rivers: High Court
BSS, Dhaka

The High Court on Sunday directed the authorities concerned to start drive to remove all illegal constructions and establishments from the banks of the Buriganga, Turag, Shitalakhya and Balu rivers around the capital city.
On a petition brought by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), a human rights watchdog, a two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain and Justice Quamrul Islam Siddiqui issued the order along with the directives to submit the reports to the court after every three months through the registrar of the Supreme Court describing the progress of the operation.
The court also asked the authorities concerned to implement the High Court order passed on June 25 last year by a two- member bench comprising Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Md Momtaz Uddin Ahmed to complete the eviction drive by November 30 of 2010.

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Lawyers to observe nationwide strike in Pakistan on Jan 28
GEO Online, Lahore

Supreme Court Bar Association President Qazi Anwar said the lawyers will go on strike on January 28, Geo News reported Sunday. Talking to journalists after the Lawyers Coordination Committee meeting here, he said the Constitu-tion has been violated by not appoin-ting Justice Nisar, adding there are vacancies of judges lying unfilled at all four high courts.
Qazi Anwar said the government did not put the SC ruling into action, demanding that the foreign cases against President Asif Ali Zardari should be reopened.
Responding a query, he said the next meeting of the Lawyers Coordination Committee would be held at Pindi High Court on February 13. The SCBA president demanded the government to live up to its constitutional responsibilities by acting upon the recommendations of the Chief Justice. He said, 'We are opposed to military interference and any confrontation among institutions.'
The Coordination Council anno-unced that the lawyers would stage a boycott on Jan 28 across the country and would pass resolutions against the government.
Dawn Online adds: President Supreme Court Bar Association Qazi Anwar on Sunday said the government wanted a confrontation with the country's superior judiciary.
He said the lawyer community has called for a countrywide strike on January 28 to protest against the government's failure to implement the Supreme Court's NRO verdict.
Qazi Anwar said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's statement about President Asif Ali Zardari being immune under Article 248 of the constitution was in violation of the Supreme Court's verdict regarding the NRO. He opined that not only was the talk of immunity against Islamic law but that it was unbecoming of the government to make such statements when it had not presented any lawyer before the Supreme Court in this regard.
Meanwhile, Awami Himayat Tehrik Pakistan Chairman Maulvi Iqbal Haider Advocate, challenging the electoral eligibility of President Asif Ali Zardari, forwarded a reference to the Election Commission.
In a reference sent to the Election Commission by post, federal government and candidates, who took part in presidential election, were made parties. It said that the NRO was effective during the last presidential election, due to which electoral qualification of the candidates could not be challenged. The reference further said that the electoral eligibility of the presidential candidates should be reviewed in line with the Supreme Court's verdict on NRO.

   2.5 lakh acre forestland under illegal occupation
BSS, Dhaka

About 2.5 lakh acres of forestlands are now under illegal occupation across the country, including 11,639 acres in Dhaka division.
Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests Dr Mihir Kanti Majumder said this at a press conference at the conference room of the ministry here on Sunday.
The conference was arranged to explain the ministry's position on a report published in a daily on January 22 last about illegal grabbing of forest lands in Gazipur.
The secretary said the statement presented by the State Minister for Enviro-nment and Forests in the parliament on January 21, 2010 about illegal occupation of forest lands in Gazipur was completely based on facts and documents. He said the government has taken initiatives to amend the existing plantation policy in the forest lands so that people become interested in social forestation.
He said the government would make its efforts to evict all illegal occupiers from forest land and encourage social afforestation to ensure ownership of the government on the forestlands. "There is nothing to be challenged in the statement given by the state minister in the parliament and the ministry is not hostile to any particular person," the secretary said.
He also provided the reporters with the photocopy of the application of Jamuna Group chairman for government permission to use the forest land which was not granted so far.
For illegal occupation of the forestlands, the secretary said two cases were filed against the Jamuna Group chairman, which was now under trial.

   Bangabandhu murder case
Hearing on condemned convicts’ review petitions begins

BSS, Dhaka

The hearing on the review petitions in Bangabandhu murder case verdict began on Sunday before a four-judge bench of the Appellate Division headed by the chief justice.
Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun, counsel for condemned convicts ex-lieutenant colonel AKM Mohi-uddin (lancer) and sacked major Bazlul Huda, submitted the points seeking review of the judgement passed by the same court on November 19 last year.
He pointed out that the Parliament in 1996 repealed the Indemnity Ordinance of 1975, which was proclaimed restraining holding any trial of the persons involved in the actions taken in August 15, 1975 and thereafter and also promulgation of the Martial Law. "The Indemnity ordinance was repealed in 1996 by enacting another law, but the new law was not given any retrospective effect," he claimed saying that by the new act the restriction was withdrawn, but the cause of action for which the indemnity ordinance was proclaimed, was not repealed.
In his conclusive submission, Barrister Mamun prayed for reduction of the penalty, awarded to his clients, considering the humanitarian grounds and their present age that already crossed 70 years. "If my submission seeking review of the verdict, pronounced on November 19 last year, could not be considered, my last prayer for awarding transportation for life by reducing the capital punishment as they were passing a long time in the death row," said Mamun.
Abdur Rezak Khan, counsel for ex-lieutenant colonel Sultan Shariar Rashid Khan, will place his submission today. The apex court on November 19 last year upheld death penalties of five ex-army officers including these two in Bangladesh's Father of Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's murder trial, clearing ways for execution of all the 12 condemned convicts whose capital punishment was confirmed by the High Court earlier.

   42 BDR members confess their guilt during trial in Feni
BSS, Feni

A total of 42 members of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) out of 65 of the 19th Rifles Battalion on Sunday confessed their guilt and sought apology to the court on the first day of the trial of the BDR mutineers at the Special Tribunal Court here.
The rest 22 members of the same battalion also claimed themselves as innocent and decided to face the trial.
The trial of the BDR mutineers was began at the Special Tribunal Court situated at the 19th Battalion Headquarters at Jay Lashkor at 10 am on Sunday with Director General (DG) of BDR Major General Moinul Islam in the chair. Lieutenant Colonel Akhteruzzaman and Major Maksudul Alam were also present at the court as co-judges.
Earlier, all the accused were produced before the court. Later, Chief Prosecutor of the case Lieutenant Colonel Rajin Md Salahuddin brought charges against the accused and prayed to the court to frame charges against them individually. The court recorded the depositions of the complainant of the case Suvedar Jalal Uddin. He was cross examined by the defense prosecutors.
The court was adjourned till 9-30 am today. A total of 65 BDR soldiers took part in the mutiny in Feni following a bloody massacre in the BDR headquarters at Peelkhana on February 25 and 26 last. At least 73 people, including 57 military officials, were killed and scores others injured in the mutiny.

    17 killed,138 injured in road crashes
TBT News Desk

At least seventeen people were killed and 138 were injured in different road accidents in the country in seven districts on Saturday night and Sunday, according to news agencies.
In Savar, four people, including two women, were killed in separate road crashes here Sunday morning while they were going to the Biswa Ijtema ground in Tongi to attend the Akheri Munajat.
In Chittagong, two people, including a student of Polytechnic Institute, were killed and another 8 injured in a road accident in city's Nasirabad area Sunday morning.
In Satkhira, two people were killed and 50 others injured as a bus crashed into a tree at Baokhali on Satkhira-Muns-higanj road in Kaliganj upazila Sunday morning.
In Dinajpur, two adolescent boys were killed and 20 people injured in a road crash on Dinajpur-Fulbari road in Sadar upazila Sunday.
The dead were identified as Nayan Chandra Roy, 12, a class VII student of Panchbari High School, and his uncle Hemanta Chandra Roy, 18, a student of Panchbari Degree College. They both hailed from Chakrampur village in Sadar upazila.
In Comilla, two people were killed and 10 others injured in a collision between a bus and a covered van at Nuritala in Chandina upazila Sunday.
The dead were identified as van driver Nani Gopal Das, 50, and bus driver Abdul Malek, 51.
In Thakurgaon, at least three persons were killed and 50 injured as two mini buses collided near the industrial estate at about 5 pm Sunday. Witnesses said three persons died on the spot. Their identity was not immediately available. Locals rushed the injured to Thakurgaon Modern Hos-pital, where doctors said the condition of 18 was serious.
In Cox's Bazar, two persons were killed in a road accident at Fashiakhali area of Chakaria thana in the district Saturday night. The deceased were identified as Ruhul Kader, 40, and Kafil Uddin, 35, of Rampur village of the upazila.

    Bangladesh makes overall good progress in achieving MDGs
BBS to be recast for generating reliable info in time

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh has made a good progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) even though there are huge disparities in education, child and maternal health among its 64 districts.
The five best performing districts are Jhenidah, Meherpur, Munshiganj, Pan-chagarh and Narayanganj while the worst performing ones are Cox's Bazar, Rangamati, Sunamganj, Khagrachhari and Bandar-ban, said a survey report revealed at a workshop on Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) Bangladesh at a city hotel. It shows that there is a huge gap between the best and the worst performing districts for those nine indicators related to education, child health, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation.
The survey says that Sherpur, the worst performing district in the case of child mortality as 102 deaths were reported in 1000 live births while the best performing one, Pabna, recorded only 43 per 1000 while the national average is 67 per 1000 live births.
Speaking on the occasion, Planning Minister AK Khandker said the Bang-ladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) will be recast so that it could generate reliable information in time for planners and other users. "We're actively considering reorganizing BBS to strengthen it for generating timely and reliable information for planners and other users," he added.
The BBS with support from Unicef conducted the MICS Survey from April to May 2009 interviewing 7,683 respondents. Khandaker requested the BBS to enhance the coverage of its surveys to generate reliable data. Unicef representative Carel de Rooy said the MICS report provided a solid baseline for the government to measure MDGs at all levels.
"It's particularly important to take a close look at those data, as the government is now preparing its 6th National Development Plan and has the opportunity to target the most deprived areas with specific interventions and budget allocations in order to catch up with the rest of the country and achieve MDGs with equity," he said.

    Ashraf reiterates commitment to poverty alleviation, rural dev

UNB, Dhaka

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam reiterated Bangladesh's stro-ng commitment to working towards greater regional cooperation through CIRDAP for rural development and poverty alleviation.
The minister made the promise while speaking at the 27th regular meeting of CIRDAP Executive Committee (EC-27) at Sheraton Hotel here Sunday.
Syed Ashraful Islam inaugurated the first programme of five-day second ministerial meeting of rural development in Asia and the Pacific.
The EC-27 meeting is the first one in the series of programmes for the second ministerial meeting on Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific. The meeting was organized jointly by the Rural Development and Coopera-tives Division of the ministry of LGRD and Cooperatives and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), with contribution from Japan.
Syed Ashraf hoped that CIRDAP would play a vital role in materializing the vision 2021 of the present government. He urged all member-countries for working together for sustainable rural government.

20 injured in factional clash of AL
UNB, Gaibandha

At least 20 people were injured in a clash between two factions of ruling Awami League (AL) in Sundarganj upazila headquarters Saturday night.
The clash between the supporters of Swechhasevok League leader and upazila parishad vice chairman Ahsan Habib Masud and that of upazila AL president Manjurul Islam Liton took place following the declaration of suspension of an extended meeting.
Upazila AL president Liton while addressing an extended meeting of upazila unit at local auditorium suspended the meeting till February 6 as per decision of district committee.
Angered by the declaration of suspension of the meeting, masud's supporters launched attack on their rivals, resulting in a clash between two rival groups. Upazila AL president Liton was among the injured.
Liton's supporters damaged a sweet shop owned by Masud at about 9pm Saturday. Police later brought the situation under control. Liton and Masud blamed each other for the clash.
Meanwhile, Liton today (Sunday) filed a case against 22 people, including Ahsan Habib Masud, with thana in connection with the incident.

 Combat over Proshika key: Supreme Court puts it on hold
UNB, Dhaka

The Supreme Court Sunday put on hold for a week the keys of Proshika head office a day after the rebel Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the major NGO got it by High Court order and opened the headquarters.
Upon a petition filed by Qazi Faruque Ahmed, the ousted founder-chairman of the leading non-government organization, the apex court passed the order of stay on the operation of the High Court interim directive that had asked the police to hand over keys of the Proshika Bhaban at Mirpur to the CEO.
SC chamber judge M Muzammel Hossain, in the order, asked the petitioner to file leave-to-appeal application against the HC order in the meantime. The apex court order came a day after Dhaka Metropolitan Police authorities in compliance with the January 19 High Court edicts handed over the keys to its CEO.
The High Court upon a writ petition filed by CEO Mah-bubul Karim had directed the police authorities to hand over the keys to the CEO within two days.

Editorial

Good time for jute

At long last, it is now good time for jute. According to an agency report jute has started to regain its momentum as the demands for jute and jute goods have increased at the global market bypassing the dominance of artificial fibre. This has created an opportunity for Bangladesh to fetch huge amount of foreign exchange through widening export baskets. The report quoted experts as saying that for exploring this opportunity the country needs to nurture cultivation of jute for raising production and manufacturing of jute goods through expanding jute industries.
The price of raw jute has increased as the demand for the item went higher both at local and global market. Price of raw jute was quite satisfactory at the outset of the season, but it fell down after a few weeks. However, the price of jute increased later. Jute is now selling at Tk. 1600-1700 per maund. This price rise is encouraging for the farmers, but despite this, the target of jute production could not be achieved due to lack of adequate supports to the farmers at cultivation level.
The production of jute in the country is not sufficient to meet the demand of the local jute mills. Raw jute production this year is estimated at 55 -60 lakh bales (one bale equals 180 kg). 32-33 lakh bales of jute are needed to run the jute mills while the rest are exported to different countries including India, Pakistan and China. Media reports indicate that there is no adequate stock of raw jute in the hands of the farmers and as a result production in the jute mills is apprehended to be hampered. It will be very unfortunate if the jute mills face production setback due to non-availability of raw jute at a time when the demands of jute goods in the international market is high.
It may be pointed out here that the country used to produce huge quantity of jute every year as it was the main cash crop. During the Pakistan period 90 per cent of export earnings used to come from jute export. In 1952-53 jute production was estimated at one crore bales in then East Pakistan which used to produce about 75 per cent of total raw jute in the world. Even after the independence of Bangladesh jute production stood at 75 thousand bales, but later area under jute cultivation shrunk and production declined due to different reasons including anomalies in the jute sector after nationalisation of the jute mills. Later, a major damage was done to jute by arrival of synthetic fibres. Now, the trend of using synthetics has weakened and the popularity of environment-friendly jute has enhanced globally.
In fact the good price of jute at home and growing demand for jute and jute goods abroad have brightened the prospect of the return of the golden age of jute, which was once termed golden fibre. In the past jute was the principal foreign exchange earner for the country. With the passing of time, importance and glory of jute have faded and farmers' interest in cultivation of jute declined. Now, in the changed global and domestic situation, time has come to revitalise the jute sector. To this end the government should supply adequate agricultural inputs to the farmers and also ensure fair price of raw jute. The farmers will feel encouraged to produce additional quantity of jute only if they get profitable return. In short, the jute farmers should be provided with all possible incentives for jute production with a view to enabling the country to regain the lost glory of jute.

  Duty-free cars for MPs

In the long run, the Parliament members have succeeded in their efforts for getting the privilege of importing duty-free vehicles. However, they will not be able to import luxury vehicles and sell those before the elapse of eight years. According to press reports, Lawmakers are getting back the privilege of importing duty-free vehicles. The MPs will be entitled to importing cars up to 1800cc, SUVs 3000cc and microbuses 2000cc. Moreover, They will receive Tk 40,000 a month to pay for chauffeur's salary, fuel and maintenance. The decisions were made at a meeting chaired by Speaker Abdul Hamid and attended by Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shafique Ahmed on Tuesday.
The MPs are going to be allowed to import duty-free vehicles after over one year of their election as members of the ninth Parliament. This privilege was available for the MPs till the dissolution of the eighth Parliament. But in view of the widespread controversy, abuse and uproar over it the last caretaker government in an ordinance in June 2007 repealed the provision for import of duty-free vehicles under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration and Allowances) Order, 1973. The present parliament did not ratify the ordinance and as a result the system was restored, but was not implemented, and instead there was a reported official decision to provide the MPs with government cars with driver and fuel. At long last, however, the MPs are almost set to get back the privilege. However, this privilege will benefit the MPs alone, and not the people in any way indicating that our lawmakers are more for themselves than for their electorates.

Analysis

Good riddance

So now, finally, we have it at the highest level that the American drones operate with the full consent of our establishment.

Zafar Hilaly

Regardless of what his critics say, Mr Zardari speaks his mind and his candour is refreshing. In Larkana, for instance, he did not mince his words. He identified all those out to get him and told them that they would fail. In Faisalabad he did the same, and he did it in Punjabi lest they should not understand. Like most of his ilk, Mr Zardari speaks a lot and, of course, promises a lot. It is another matter that he changes his mind - often without warning - or forgets, but that is a trait that all politicians share. In any case, the public knows only too well by now that it is useless to hold a politician to anything he says when he is running for office. But now and then Mr Zardari tells the truth.
Talking to a group of reporters on January 15 in Lahore, Mr Zardari said: "There are no differences between Pakistan and the US over any issue, including drone attacks" (as quoted by a national daily on January 16).
So now, finally, we have it at the highest level that the American drones operate with the full consent of our establishment. We had guessed as much, but now we have the official confirmation. It is a pity that only a few days earlier when speaking to John McCain he had said the opposite. Why and when did this magical agreement take place?
Nevertheless, there is no gainsaying the fact that drone accuracy has improved considerably. Of late only those get killed who are targeted. And, by the looks of it, there is no more effective way of reaching the upper echelons of the Taliban. But it really is a zero-sum game: neither the Taliban will run out of leaders nor the Americans of drones. So what is the point?
Mr Zardari also said that the Americans have not yet agreed to provide us drone technology because "they consider it modern technology and are reluctant to transfer it to us". This irks him as it does all Pakistanis. However, why this should prove to be an insuperable hurdle is not clear to the uninitiated. We mastered the bomb technology and might some reverse engineering again not do the trick in the case of the drone? Besides, there are plenty of drones parked about for one to steal a specimen. Perhaps the Taliban could oblige. For the right price, a drone in a complete knocked down (CKD) condition would do the trick.
In the same interview, Mr Zardari also said that Pakistan "should not dread India because it was a mature democracy and would be mindful of Pakistan's current position". This observation is far more troubling than that about the drones, not because one would not dearly wish it so, but because we know this to be untrue.
Mr Zardari started off his presidency waving not a branch but a whole olive tree towards India. India, he said, did not pose a threat to Pakistan; there was an Indian in every Pakistani and vice versa; Pakistan had no use for the first strike option, etc. Moreover, when he met Manmohan Singh in New York in 2008, Mr Zardari went to great lengths to show his respect, nay reverence, for the Indian prime minister, at least that was what his body language conveyed. He scarcely said a word about Kashmir and, to be fair to Mr Zardari, a lot of us thought that given the threat we faced from our west, it made sense for him to urgently stabilise relations with India and if, in the process, the two countries did genuinely warm towards each other, then so much the better.
Mumbai, however, changed all that and since then relations with India have reached a familiar pass and, sadly, it seems one with which the protagonists feel most comfortable. Mr Zardari, for example, is back to fighting the thousand-year war for Kashmir, and India searching for any excuse not to engage in talks. In the circumstances, Mr Zardari would be better off telling it as it is and act accordingly, rather than holding out any hope for an improvement. Pakistan-India relations is a long lane that has no turning. To believe differently and saying so merely encourages those who were always, and wrongly, suspicious of his deceased wife's accommodating stance towards India to mouth off against his government and find yet another reason to revile him.
On the other hand, Mr Zardari had harsh words for the Taliban and their ilk, well deserved no doubt, but hardly helpful to end what is essentially a fratricidal conflict. Instead, Mr Zardari should consider what is happening across the border where his friend Hamid Karzai is bending over backwards to accommodate the Taliban. He has not only promised them a share in government but jobs and protection, nay land, education and a good life if they are prepared to join him. And all under the noses of his American mentors because actually that is what the US too would happily settle for but dare not say for fear of appearing timid. (Robert Gates is a little bolder when discussing a rapprochement with the Taliban with whom the US once had a happy relationship. But as his conditions for peace amount to Taliban surrender, no one takes them seriously.)
Engaging with the Pakistani Taliban is what Mr Zardari should now also consider. It can do no harm. It may even help the overall international effort to find a way out of the present impasse. An exclusive reliance on force has never worked, neither for the Greeks, the British, the Soviets, and nor will it for the US or Pakistan. Of course that does not mean any slowing up in the fight against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or temporary ceasefires as the dialogue gets under way. We know all too well that these agreements are observed mostly in the breach. In fact, our policy, Mr Zardari could inform his American mentors, is best expressed in the words of an American General who said: "We can love our enemies but by God that does not mean we are not going to fight them." But what it does mean is actively searching for interlocutors or talking directly with those in the TTP who would be willing to negotiate. And, if Imran Khan is willing to enter the TTP lair - "a lion in a cage of savage Daniels" - and serve as an interlocutor, instead of deriding his offer we should welcome it.
In other words, it is time for Mr Zardari - at the risk of upsetting the Americans - to chart his own course. The fact is that Pakistan has to have a strategy and a plan of its own. It is not for the Americans to decide with whom, when, where and for how long we choose to fight or, for that matter, negotiate. Unlike the Americans, neither we, nor our TTP enemy, are interlopers in the region. The US might need an exit strategy (and hence to ramp up the fighting before leaving), we do not, because we are on our own land, we are the landlords. And if for some reason no agreement can be reached and the fight must continue, then so be it. And if the US chooses to help, good, if not, then good riddance.
It may not have come to that as yet, but it will, given the kind of role the US has in mind for Pakistan, its take of the situation, and its paranoia and obsession with al Qaeda that is blinding it to a sensible and workable strategy for peace in the region.

The writer is a former ambassador of Pakistan. He can be reached at charles123it@hotmail.com

  What our legislatures say about us

India's parliamentarians behave like children in a classroom from which teacher is absent. They talk to each other when another is speaking.

Aakar Patel

A society reveals itself in its legislature. The senators of America, a nation of individuals, face the chair, deliver monologues and then vote. Englishmen, seated on benches facing each other, debate and spar.
China's Assembly has 3,000 members, who silently hear the leadership. India's parliamentarians behave like children in a classroom from which teacher is absent. They talk to each other when another is speaking, they talk over each other. They are asked to behave by the Speaker, but it is against their nature. They sit in formation, but anarchy quickly ensues.
In the Symposium, the rule was that when one Athenian rose to speak, the others were silent. This imposed a responsibility on the speaker to ensure that his words were eloquent. No danger of that in India's parliament. In his excellent book Jesting Pilate, Aldous Huxley wrote of seeing Gandhi address a Congress session in the 1920s. Huxley noted that the audience applauded Gandhi strongly as he came on, but when he began to speak, went back to chatting, ordering tea, getting up and stretching and generally carrying on as if he wasn't there. That initial show of reverence being more important than listening to him.
In Athens and Rome, you could influence a vote in your favour through rhetoric, the art of speaking persuasively, and that's why the Greeks and later the Romans did it so well. Rome's best speakers, like Cicero, often became powerful though they did not come from powerful families.
In his book The Persian Expedition, the Athenian Xenophon wrote about the return of 10,000 Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus in his failed rebellion against Artaxerxes. Xenophon was one of the leaders of the expedition of 401 BC. One of the best things about the book, written in the third person in clear and simple language, is how the Greeks decide issues. They gather around and speeches are made and voted on. So beautifully argued and logical are these little rhetorical gems that they influence the reader who always agrees with the vote.
Civilised parliamentary debate is entertaining to read even today. These newspaper reports are called sketches and Bernard Levin was the first man to do this form of writing. He wrote for The Times, and would describe the day in parliament as one would a movie, with characters uttering dialogue. It made for great entertainment because Levin was irreverent and gave people nicknames, and exaggerated their mannerisms. The attorney-general Sir Reginald Manningham-Buller became Sir Reginald Bullying Manner. Levin loved classical music (favouring Wagner) and knew enough about it to review opera. He was well-educated, often bringing in classical allusion into his writing on politics. Frank Johnson, the man who succeeded Levin as the best sketch-writer in Britain, was not educated. Johnson dropped out of school at the age of 15 and became a tea-boy at a newspaper and later a reporter. He rose to become sketch-writer at the Daily Telegraph and then editor of the Spectator in the 1990s. He also loved opera, and ballet, though he was an autodidact, which means self-taught. He died in 2006, and that day's Evening Standard flashed the headline: 'Fleet Street Genius Dies'. Johnson's friends marked his passing by burying him and then adjourning to the opera. A collection of his sketches, called Best Seat in the House, has just been published. In it, the sketches carry footnotes written specially for the book by the politicians Johnson was writing about, often mercilessly.
The man I believe is the best sketch-writer today is the Guardian's Simon Hoggart, and he is funny and has a light touch. The reason British sketch-writers thrive is that they have such good material. There is banter because of the House of Commons' confrontational seating, the speeches are often excellent and characters abound.
Britain has some lovely traditions. One is that of the Black Rod, the usher and doorkeeper of the House of Lords. As the symbol of royal authority, he escorts the Queen to the Houses of Parliament when she comes for a visit. There have been only 58 Black Rods since the tradition began in 1350.
One of the current members in the British House of Commons is the long-serving Labour MP Dennis Skinner. He was nicknamed the 'Beast of Bolsover' by Frank Johnson for his rude behaviour. Being anti-monarchist, Skinner hoots at and heckles the Black Rod every time that stately figure appears in the House of Commons to announce the queen's entry. 'Royal expenses are on the way!' Skinner shouted last year, after reports that the Windsors were spending too much money. 'Is Helen Mirren on standby?' he yelled in 2006, after a film was made on the Queen starring Mirren. 'Has she brought Camilla?' he wanted to know in 2005, and 'Tell her to pay her taxes!', in 1992.
I enjoy both the orthodox tradition of Great Britain and the fact that it creates the space for characters like Skinner.
A parliamentary sketch-writer in India would have little to write about given the tedium of our political speeches, and the predictability of the chaos and walkouts. Speeches are always without wit and mostly without profundity. Proceedings could occasionally be lifted by a good writer, but our writing is poor. Journalists in India lean on jargon, stock phrase and cliche, and our parliamentary reportage is dry and validated only by phrases like 'Zero Hour' and 'Point of Order'.
This is not to say there is no excitement. In July 1993, the Congress survived a no-confidence vote after Narasimha Rao bribed four tribal MPs of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha with Rs50 lakh (five million) each: rhetoric having limited persuasiveness in India. This money was deposited, unusually, into the MPs' bank accounts, leaving a clear trail.
When the matter was exposed by a Hindi newspaper (under the immortal, if incorrect, headline 'Bees karod mein bika Jharkhand Mukti Morcha'), Rao's genius was in pointing out that all acts inside parliament were those of free speech and expression and immune from prosecution. The Supreme Court agreed with him.
The east always shows its anarchy in its legislatures. We think Japanese, South Koreans and Taiwanese are more civilised and orderly than we are, and it is so, as their cities show. But even they show the limit Asian societies place on the persuasiveness of words, before action is reverted to by mobbing the speaker's chair. East Asians like to cling on more than to hurt, and their scrums often seem motionless. In India things can get more exciting and we were witness to a full battle in Uttar Pradesh's Assembly a few years ago. Amid the chaos, the Speaker was calmly carrying on with his orderlies holding shields over his head.
In 1958, East Pakistan's Speaker Abdul Hakim was voted insane after he disqualified six assembly members for holding government jobs. This ended the government's majority and the incensed politicians chased him out of the house, throwing paperweights and curtain rods.
When the new speaker, Shahid Ali Jan, readmitted the six members, the opposition went after him with microphone stands and uprooted desks, one of which was smashed into his face, killing him.
America's senators can kill a piece of legislation through boredom. A senator is allowed to talk about anything he wants for as long as he wants. Often this rule is used by senators to ensure that a particular bill is not voted on. When that bill comes up, so much non-stop rubbish is said that the Senate moves on to other business. This is called a filibuster, from the Spanish word for someone who wishes to sabotage. The longest filibuster was a little over 24 hours long and delivered by Strom Thurmond, who died in 2003 aged 101, and still a senator.
The only way to end a filibuster is if 3/5ths of the Senate votes to close the debate. That is why the loss of the Massachusetts Senate seat last week is such a blow to Barack Obama's health care plan. Traditionally a Democratic seat, it passed to the Republicans after the death of Edward Kennedy, JFK's youngest brother. This defeat reduced the Democrats in a Senate of 100 members from exactly 60 Senators to 59. This means the Republicans can now take the floor and talk it to death. Conservatives seem always to have a lot more to say than liberals, perhaps because they get angry about change (Thurmond's 24-hour harangue in 1957 was against civil liberties for blacks). That's why the stars of America's talk radio culture are conservatives like Rush Limbaugh, and it might also explain why Fox News is so much bigger than CNN.
But even the conservatives of America are eloquent and passionate, and more persuasive than the parliamentarians of the east.

The writer is director with Hill Road Media in Bombay. Email: aakar @hillroadmedia.com

Viewpoints

Obama’s ‘No Exit’ Strategy

And just in case the lack of clarity wasn't clear, there was Gates again, this time on ABC's This Week: 'I don't consider this an exit strategy. And I try to avoid using that term. I think this ?is a transition.'  

Arianna Huffington

To take some of the sting out of his decision to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, President Obama laid out an exit strategy by setting a date - July 2011 - on which troops will begin withdrawing. The president, through Robert Gibbs, described the date as "locked in," "etched in stone," and having "no flexibility. Troops will start coming home in July 2011. Period."
Sounds pretty definite. But just four days later, members of Obama's cabinet were directly contradicting their boss. Here was Hillary Clinton on NBC's Meet the Press:
We're not talking about an exit strategy or a drop-dead deadline. What we're talking about is an assessment that in [July] 2011, we can begin a transition. And here was Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the same programme:
We're not talking about an abrupt withdrawal. We're talking about something that will take place over a period of time... Because we will have 100,000 troops there. And they are not leaving in July of 2011.
Has an absolute ("Troops will start coming home in July 2011. Period.") ever morphed faster into something as ambiguous, amorphous, and conditional ("an assessment")? Is this the famous "team of rivals" concept we heard so much about in action?
And just in case the lack of clarity wasn't clear, there was Gates again, this time on ABC's This Week: 'I don't consider this an exit strategy. And I try to avoid using that term. I think this is a transition.' So even claiming to have an exit strategy is apparently off limits. What we've had over the weekend was the rollout of "Operation Vague Transition That Might, Or More Likely Might Not, Actually Happen in 2011... Or Over Time."
But on Monday Gibbs acted as if Clinton and Gates hadn't actually said what they said. When asked at a briefing with reporters whether US troops could start coming home before July, 2011, Gibbs responded, "It could happen earlier, sure... It won't happen later."
Feeling dizzy yet?
What came through loud and clear from Obama's announcement and the subsequent multiple walkbacks of the notion that we might ever leave Afghanistan - followed by Gibbs' steadfast certainty that we will on or before July, 2011 - is that this White House has a serious credibility crisis.
Do they think rebuilding a war-torn tribal nation is going to be possible when they can't even successfully announce a policy to rebuild a war-torn tribal nation? They need an exit strategy for their rollout of an exit strategy.
The optimistic view of Obama's decision to take his time in responding to General McChrystal's request for more troops was that the cerebral president was trying to - as he promised during the campaign in relation to Iraq - rethink the mindset that led us into war. After eight years of the war in Afghanistan, with almost every year being more deadly than the last, the American people have certainly changed the way they think about it. In the latest CNN/ORC poll, 51 per cent of Americans said they oppose this war.
Despite that consensus, the media continue to frame Afghanistan - as they do everything else - in terms of Right vs. Left. And, viewing the president's decision through this prism, they applaud him for "going against his base" and "distancing himself from the Left."
Actually, over the past eight years it's been much easier to cheerlead than to criticise. It's hard to look back at those years and their two wars and conclude that the problem is that we've had too much criticism. Shouldn't decisions that require enormous costs - in blood as well as resources - be met with ferocious questioning by the media? Articles sent to academic journals get more rigorous vetting these days than do decisions to escalate wars.
Just look at the inside story of Obama's decision, very positively spun in Sunday's New York Times by Peter Baker. The White House's decision-making process, we are told, was "intense, methodical, rigorous, earnest."
Reading the piece reminded me of the sensation I got when I read Bob Woodward's hagiographic Bush at War: impressed by the level of detail an all-access-pass can get you, but distressed by the utter lack of perspective or independent analysis of the events being described. I kept thinking of Joan Didion's scathing description of Woodward's reporting as marked by "a scrupulous passivity, an agreement to cover the story not as it is occurring but as it is presented, which is to say as it is manufactured."
Last week, Baker expressed concern that including new media outlets like HuffPost and Talking Points Memo in the White House press pool rotation could lead to the insertion of ideology into the reporting on the quotidian details of the president's day. Perhaps, he should spend less time worrying about that and more time worrying that his own reportorial "scrupulous passivity" so easily leads to the insertion of the administration's desired spin into the reporting on momentous decisions of war and peace.
Notwithstanding Baker's stenography or Mayer's embrace of the Right/Left mindset, the truth is that opposition to the war has far transcended Right vs. Left. George Will, who in August called for withdrawal from Afghanistan, and who is far from a lefty, recently said that Obama's plan was a replay of "the Bush programme, which is, as he used to say, as the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down." For Obama it's "as the Afghans stand up, we'll ?stand down."
Richard Haass, who was Director of Policy Planning at the State Department for George Bush, was also critical. "Wars are always easier to get into than out of, and this is unlikely to be the exception to that," said Haass on This Week. "But I think it would have to be the triumph of hope over experience to think that if and when we draw down and we go back, say, to pre-surge levels that any improvements will endure."
This is why Haass' piece in the latest Newsweek is entitled "No Exit." For Haass, "the strategist with the most to say about the current US foreign-policy predicament may be Jean-Paul Sartre." Given that we're trying to nation-build - without, of course, calling it nation-building - in a nation that has proven impervious to nation-building, perhaps Kafka would have even more to say.
Judging from his speech at West Point, Obama apparently thought that if he just explained his plan in an impassive, matter-of-fact way, reality would bend itself to his crisp, orderly tone. But Afghanistan is the antithesis of orderly.
Want proof Check out this Pentagon schematic of the US's counter-insurgency strategy that NBC's Richard Engel dug up. Warning: it's NSFS (Not Safe for Sanity)
Writing on HuffPost, David Bromwich posited that Obama "is almost convinced of the omnipotence of words. When once he has persuaded himself of a thing - that it is true, or that it is plausible and might become true - the words that embody his conviction have for him the quality of deeds already done."
Does that sound familiar? Not only is Obama continuing Bush's war, he's continuing his method of Magical Thinking: the idea that simply saying something is true is the same as it's being true. We're getting more eloquent words this time, to be sure, but the same tragic result: endless wars of choice. Gates and Clinton now claim that July 2011 isn't really an actual exit date. Sadly, I believe them. Obama isn't distancing himself from "the Left" with his decision to escalate this deepening disaster. He's distancing himself from the national interests of the country.

Arianna Huffington, an influential Washington-based pundit and blogger, edits the widely popular blog Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com).

  Molested by the Very Guardians of the Law

"There is a nexus between criminals, politicians and the police and bureaucrats," said Ashok Agarwal, president of the Delhi unit of the All India Lawyers’ Union.

Jason Overdorf 

Nearly 20 years after he was accused of using his position of power to molest a teenage girl, and 16 years after his victim's suicide, a high-ranking Indian police official was last month finally brought to justice.
Shambhu Pratap Singh Rathore, a state police inspector general, was convicted of molesting Ruchika Girhotra, a rising tennis star, in 1990. On December 21, the court handed down a sentence of just six months jail time and a $25 fine.
What many in India feel is a miscarriage of justice has prompted a re-evaluation of the widely held belief that India, while it lags behind China by many other parameters, remains morally superior to its economic rival not only because it is a functioning democracy but also because it sees itself as a society governed by the rule of law.
The rape trial follows close on the heels of a similar breakdown of the legal system involving the murder of fashion model Jessica Lal.
Her killer, the son of a prominent politician, was acquitted in 2006, only to be retried and sentenced to life imprisonment after intense public pressure. The Ruchika case has been splashed across the front pages here since the first verdict was delivered on December 21.
"It shows deep infirmities in our system, which is supposed to bring justice to victims," said member of parliament Brinda Karat, who is vice president of the All India Democratic Women's Association. "It highlights a systemic failure." Under intense public pressure, this week the state of Haryana, where the original incident occurred, registered fresh charges against Rathore that allege he abused his power to scuttle the original investigation, delay his prosecution and harass the victim's family, eventually driving Ruchika herself to commit suicide. But as television channels and newspapers continue to throw light onto more and more incidents in which police, politicians and other powerful people allegedly used money and influence to subvert justice, the citizenry's faith in the country's brilliantly penned, but poorly enforced, laws is at an all-time low. Molested by Rathore, who was both the inspector general of the Haryana state police and the head of the state tennis association at the time, 14-year-old tennis player Ruchika Girhotra sought to punish him by lodging an official complaint.
Investigations stagnated for years after the complaint was filed, during which time Girhotra's family allegedly suffered constant police harassment, according to new charges levelled by the family on January 5. Rathore allegedly hired goons to vandalise the Girhotras' home, pressured Ruchika's school to have her expelled, and got his police cronies to arrest her brother for car theft, according to Pankaj Bhardwaj, the Girhotras' lawyer. After just three years of this treatment, Ruchika killed herself. She was 17 years old.
"(Rathore) was the person who was driving everybody," Bhardwaj said. "He was the mastermind behind the total conspiracy."
But the punishment wasn't over for the victim's family. Rathore apparently suffered no difficulties because of the criminal charges pending against him. Though technically under investigation for molesting a minor, Rathore was promoted to director general of police in 1994. And over the next 15 years, the Girhotras alleged that Rathore used his position to corrupt the inquest into Ruchika's death and attempted to bribe the country's main investigative agency.
In what Bhardwaj says is a first for India, a former joint director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has publicly accused Rathore of trying to corrupt the probe into the crime. "He used to come to my chamber and even call up at my residence. He used to offer me favours at various joints. He also tried to influence my investigation team," R. M. Singh, who headed the probe, told reporters at a recent press conference. When Rathore was convicted, the victim's family, and the whole country, was outraged by the short duration of the sentence - and Rathore's beaming smile as he exited the court. But the worst tragedy is that Ruchika's fate is stunningly common - and the problem appears to be growing worse.
A 19-year delay is nothing to India's supposed rule of law. At last count, there were nearly 4 million cases pending in India's 21 high courts, a backlog that means thousands of perpetrators roam free for years and others who are denied bail rot away behind bars - sometimes for longer than the maximum sentence possible for their alleged crimes.
For the fairer sex, it's even less fair. According to official statistics, crimes against women are rising faster than other offenses, while police continue to go slow in investigating them. "There is 100 per cent negligence by the police in cases where women go to them to report an abuse," said Yasmeen Abrar, a member of India's National Commission for Women.
Official records show that it takes the police more than a year to begin investigating nine out of 10 sexual harassment cases, eight out of 10 cases of molestation or cruelty by husbands and relatives, and seven out of 10 rapes and dowry deaths. According to Supreme Court lawyer Mayank Misra, these delays often give the accused the opportunity to intimidate witnesses, harass his accuser, call in political favors and eventually quash the case entirely. Especially, when the perpetrator occupies a position of power.
"There is a nexus between criminals, politicians and the police and bureaucrats," said Ashok Agarwal, president of the Delhi unit of the All India Lawyers' Union. In many instances, the police refuse to register cases against politicians, police officials and even powerful criminals, says Agarwal, a prominent public interest litigator. Complainants and?witnesses are threatened. Medical evidence is tampered with. Statements of witnesses are wrongly recorded. Cases are delayed in courts, and relevant witnesses are prevented from appearing. All this in the name of the supposed rule of law. Thanks to a crusading media and an outraged public, Ruchika may, in the end, get justice of sorts. The fresh case filed against Rathore on Jan. 5 reintroduces the charge that Rathore abetted Ruchika's suicide by harassing her and her family - an offence that carries a much more serious penalty than molestation. But even if he has been convicted of molestation, Rathore - who says his accusers are using the media to harass him - has rights, too. And this arbitrary solution is as much an indictment of the system as the court's original judgment. It is not the rule of law, but rather another subversion of the legal process - this time by the media, the voters, and politicians.
The shame is that the last ditch move to render justice at the expense of the law may just convince India's outraged citizens that they can continue to muddle along.

www.globalpost.com

  We’re Still Stuck With the Guantanamo Bay

The best way to change things is to update the field manual again to bring our treatment of detainees up to the minimum standard of humane treatment.

Matthew Alexander

Today it's one year since President Obama signed an executive order outlawing torture, yet our debate about interrogation methods continues.
Though the president deserves praise for improving matters, the changes were not as drastic as most Americans think, and elements of our interrogation policy continue to be both inhumane and counterproductive.
Americans can now boast that they no longer "torture" detainees, but they cannot say that detainees are not abused, or even that their treatment meets the minimum standards of humane treatment mandated by the Geneva Conventions, the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (the so-called McCain amendment), United States and international law, or even Obama's executive order. If I were to return to one of the war zones today - as an Air Force officer, I was sent to Iraq to head an interrogation team in 2006 - I would still be allowed to abuse prisoners. This is true even though in my experience, torture or even harsh but legal treatment never got us useful information. Instead, such tactics invariably did just the opposite, convincing detainees to clam up.
The adoption last year of the Army Field Manual as the standard for interrogations across the government, including the CIA, was a considerable improvement. But we missed a unique opportunity for progress last August when the president's task force on interrogations recommended no changes to the manual, which was hastily revised in 2006 in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.
For example, an appendix to the manual allows the military to keep a detainee in "separation" - solitary confinement - indefinitely. Yes, there are legitimate reasons to isolate detainees. Domestic law enforcement agencies do it to prevent suspects from colluding on alibis and allow investigators the leverage to use non-coercive interrogation techniques like confronting one detainee with the other's statements. But military interrogators do not operate in a vacuum. The consequences of their actions have far-reaching effects - like Al Qaeda's exploitation of American abuse of prisoners as a recruiting tool. And, in any case, extended solitary confinement is torture, as confirmed by many scientific studies. Even the initial 30 days of isolation could be considered abuse.
If we truly wanted to come up with a humane limit on solitary confinement, we would look at the Golden Rule: what would we consider inhumane treatment if one of our own soldiers were captured by the enemy? My answer: Given the youth of our men and women in uniform, that number is probably around two weeks. This limit, however, should be determined by medical professionals, not soldiers or politicians.
The Army Field Manual also does not explicitly prohibit stress positions, putting detainees into close confinement or environmental manipulation (other than hypothermia and "heat injury"). These omissions open a window of opportunity for abuse.
The manual also allows limiting detainees to just four hours of sleep in 24 hours. Let's face it: extended captivity with only four hours of sleep a night (consider detainees at Guantánamo Bay who have been held for seven years) does not meet the minimum standard of humane treatment, either in terms of American law or simple human decency.
And if this weren't enough, some interrogators feel the manual's language gives them a loophole that allows them to give a detainee four hours of sleep and then conduct a 20-hour interrogation, after which they can "reset" the clock and begin another 20-hour interrogation followed by four hours of sleep. This is inconsistent with the spirit of the reforms, which was to prevent "monstering" - extended interrogation sessions lasting more than 20 hours. American interrogators are more than capable of doing their jobs without the loopholes.
The Field Manual, to its credit, calls for "all captured and detained personnel, regardless of status" to be "treated humanely." But when it comes to the specifics the manual contradicts itself, allowing actions that no right-thinking person could consider humane.
The greatest shame of the last year, perhaps, is that the argument over interrogations has shifted from debating what is legal to considering what is just "better than before." The best way to change things is to update the field manual again to bring our treatment of detainees up to the minimum standard of humane treatment.
The next version of the manual should prohibit solitary confinement for more than, say, two weeks, all stress positions and forms of environmental manipulation, imprisonment in tight spaces and sleep deprivation. Unless we rewrite the book, we will only continue to give Al Qaeda a recruiting tool, to earn the contempt of our allies and to debase our most cherished ideals.

Matthew Alexander is the author of "How to Break a Terrorist"?

International

Convict in Musharraf attack case denied appeal
Dawn Online, Islamabad

Abdul Islam Siddiqui, a soldier of the Pakistan Army hanged in 2005 after an in-camera military trial for his alleged involvement in the Dec 2003 attack on then president Pervez Musharraf's convoy, was denied right to file writ in any superior court, Dawn investigations show.
The case of six other co-accused from the Air Force is currently in the apex court. Two of the soldiers turned prosecution witnesses, but alleged torture and coercion by military authorities nevertheless.
"The military authorities tortured us to get a false statement against Siddiqui. Brigadier Feroz, who was supposed to be our defending officer, threatened us into get our signatures on an English-language statement.
"Prosecutor Brigadier Liaqat threatened us with dire consequences unless we signed the statement and Siddiqui's defending officer, a major whose identity I've been unable to ascertain, was browbeaten by military court officials every time he tried to argue in Siddiqui's support," claims a former soldier Hafiz Mohammad Ashfaq. He was subsequently released but dismissed from service without benefits. Havaldar Mohammad Younis, another witness who deposed against Siddiqui and is currently incarcerated in Gujranwala jail, also alleged torture.
In an undated hand-written note to his family, he claimed that he was subjected to torture for 10 months in Rawalpindi cells to extricate a false statement against Siddiqui.
"I filed an appeal before Maj-Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha [current ISI Chief and the then military judge hearing appeals against conviction] who merely completed the procedural formality before upholding my sentence," Younis said in his note.
"He did not provide a lawyer or summon my witness and did not even care for my refusal to depose before him." Attempts to secure the army's version of events failed as military spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas did not respond to calls or a detailed text message.
"Recent Supreme Court verdicts have established that persons convicted by military courts have the right to file writs in high courts," said former attorney-general Malik Mohammad Qayyum.
"I recently represented some Air Force personnel in a similar case in the SC, which upheld their right to move the judiciary against the military court verdict."

  Goof-up as India govt ad features ex-PAF chief
Dawn Online

In a major goof-up, the Indian government's Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) issued a full-page ad on the occasion of the National Girl Child Day featuring the photograph of former Pakistan Air Chief Marshal Tanvir Ahmed (2006-2009), along with its national heroes such as cricketers Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag and classical musician Amjad Ali Khan.
The ad, splashed in all major newspapers and thereafter on all television channels and the electronic media, caused a furor and left the Indian Air Force, in particular, incensed.
"I do not know why they have used the former PAF chief's picture. If they had wanted to use the photo of the IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, all they needed to do was ask for one from the Air Headquarters," a senior IAF officer told PTI.
"This is a big embarrassment not only for the WCD ministry, but also to the IAF. Nowhere do such goof-ups happen," the IAF officer, who did not want to be named, said.
The Minister for State for Women and Child Development Krishna Tirath refused to accept any responsibility for the blunder.
"An inquiry is being ordered into the matter. We are convening the meeting," said Tirath, who initially said that it being a Sunday the ministry could not do anything.
"Message is more important than the image. The photograph is only symbolic. The message for the girl child is more important. She should be protected," a defiant Tirath said.
Tirath told reporters that whether the mistake was on part of her ministry or the DAVP, which releases government advertisements, the matter will be investigated.

  Afghanistan parliamentary election postponed
BBC Online

Afghanistan is to postpone its parliamentary elections by four months until September, the country's election commission has confirmed.
Elections were to take place before 22 May under the constitution but a new date of 18 September has been set.
The commission cited a lack of funds and security concerns for the delay. Last year's presidential election was marred by fraud and Western nations have been pushing for reforms ahead of the parliamentary vote.
'Sensible decision'
Fazil Ahmad Manawi, a senior election commissioner, told reporters in Kabul: "The Independent Election Commission, due to lack of budget, security and uncertainty and logistical challenges... has decided to conduct the [parliamentary] election on September 18, 2010."
The commission earlier said it needed about $50m from international donors to part fund the estimated $120m election budget.
United Nations funds are available to fund the elections but have been made contingent on reforms to the system.
The US and other Western nations have said that another election marred by fraud could undermine their strategy in the country.
The chief UN envoy Kai Eide said this month that Afghan law did provide for a delay to the polls, although President Hamid Karzai had wanted the original date to be met.
One international diplomat told the Reuters news agency the postponement was "a pragmatic and sensible decision which will allow time for reform of the key electoral institutions to enable cleaner parliamentary elections".

  Thousands protest in Kashmir over villager death
Reuters, Srinagar

Thousands of people shouting "we want freedom" took to the streets in Kashmir on Sunday, accusing the Indian army of killing a villager, days after another was killed in a police firing.
The protest comes at a sensitive time in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which is claimed in full both by India and Pakistan.
Tensions between the two rivals, already at a higher pitch after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, have risen in recent weeks after a string of border skirmishes and a spike in separatist violence in Indian Kashmir by Pakistan-based militant groups.
"Allah-hu-Akbar (God is great), down with Indian forces," the protesters shouted on Sunday, as they marched with the body of 35-year-old Mushtaq Ahmad in the Sahdi Marg area of south Kashmir.
Villagers accused soldiers of gunning down Ahmad near his home on Saturday night. Police said he died in the crossfire between separatist militants and Indian troops.
In a separate incident on Friday evening, a civilian was killed and five wounded when police opened fire on hundreds protesting the setting up of a police camp near a Muslim shrine in the north of Indian Kashmir.
Near daily street protests in the last two years are giving new life to the separatist movement in the disputed Himalayan region, analysts say.
Authorities in the past have denied systematic human rights violations in Kashmir and say they probe all such reports and punish the guilty.

  Sri Lanka candidate Fonseka issues poll violence alert
BBC Online

The main opposition candidate in Sri Lanka's presidential election has accused the ruling party of planning violence to win Tuesday's vote.
Gen Sarath Fonseka said the violence would deter voters and a low turnout would help the party of President Mahinda Rajapaksa rig the election.
Election clashes have so far left four dead and hundreds wounded.
The government denies it has been behind the unrest and says it is stepping up security for the poll.
Saturday was the final day of campaigning, with both of the main candidates holding their last election rallies.
'Gravely concerned'
President Rajapaksa and Gen Fonseka are closely associated with the government's defeat of the Tamil Tigers last May but the pair fell out bitterly soon after.
Gen Fonseka said on Saturday: "They are getting ready for violence. The violence will support the rigging basically. The violence will reduce the voter attendance, then the rigging will take place."
The general said he was hoping the security forces would protect his candidacy, adding that he expected most of them to vote for him.
He added: "We can't counter violence with violence. We have to abide by the law."
Mr Rajapakse's office said on Friday it was "gravely concerned" about the violence.
A ruling party statement said: "Instructions have been given to the authorities to bolster security at sensitive locations and all political events up to and on polling day to ensure that all Sri Lankans can participate safely in the electoral process."
The election commissioner has urged both sides to work towards easing the violence.

  North Korea accuses South of declaring war
Reuters, Seoul

North Korea on Sunday accused the South of declaring war by warning earlier this month that it would launch a preemptive strike if it thought its impoverished neighbour was preparing a nuclear attack.
The angry retort from Pyongyang is the latest in what have become increasingly brittle relations between the two Koreas just as the international community tries to lure the North back to nuclear disarmament talks.
South Korea's Defence Minister Kim Tae-young said last week that Seoul would have no choice but to strike first if there were clear signs of a planned nuclear attack by the North.
"Our revolutionary armed forces will regard the scenario for 'preemptive strike' which the south Korean puppet authorities adopted as a 'state policy' as an open declaration of war," its state KCNA news agency quoted a spokesman for the armed forces general staff as saying.
North Korea has twice tested a nuclear device but there are doubts whether it already has the ability to create an atomic weapon.
Military analysts say even if it did it probably does not have the technology to build a nuclear warhead small enough to sit on top of a missile.
The two Koreas are still technically at war with the North maintaining an about one million-strong military and backed by an array of artillery which could bring massive damage to the South Korean capital Seoul, barely 50 miles (70 km) from the border.

  Cambodian troops clash with Thai troops at border area
Xinhua, Phnom Penh

Cambodian troops encountered and clashed with Thai troops on Sunday at the two countries' disputed border area, a senior military official told reporters.
Gen. Chea Dara, deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and commander at the border area near Cambodia's Preah Vihear Temple said the skirmish lasted a few minutes after Thai troops intruded in Cambodian soil.
He said the skirmish happened when the intruded Thai troops encountered Cambodian troops at Choam Te border point, located about 20 kilometers east of the Preah Vihear Temple. Chea Dara said following the fire first launched by Thai troops, Cambodia made a counter fire as a self defense. However, he said there was no casualty from the Cambodian side.
Preah Vihear Temple and its surrounding of 4.6 square kilometers has become a flashpoint of border dispute since July 2008.
Since then, several skirmishes between the armed forces from the two countries have been occurred in the area.
Sunday's clash took place just about two weeks ahead of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen's scheduled travel to Preah Vihear Temple and visit his troops at the border area.
In 1962, following a significant dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership of the temple, the International Court of Justice in The Hague awarded the ownership to Cambodia.
The Preah Vihear Temple was registered as the World Heritage site in July, 2008.

 Iranian president promises ‘good news’ on nuclear fuel
Xinhua, Tehran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that Iran will announce "good news" regarding the 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel needed for a medical research reactor in Tehran, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"During the 10 days of dawn (Feb. 1 to 11, the anniversary of the victory of Iran's Islamic revolution), good news concerning the 20-percent enriched fuel will be announced," Ahmadinejad told reporters after presenting the bill for next year's budget to the Majlis (Parliament).
"The news we will announce may make the Iranian nation and all the freedom-loving nations happy," he added.
Delivering a speech in Majlis, Ahmadinejad also said that Iran will announce news about the country's recent achievements in science and technology.
"During the month of Bahman (11th month of Iranian calendar, Jan. 21-Feb. 19) or one or two weeks after Bahman, some new achievements will be announced," he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has drafted an agreement which calls for shipping most of Iran's existing low- grade enriched uranium to Russia and France by the end of the year, where it will be processed into fuel rods with a purity of 20 percent.
The higher-level enriched uranium will be transported back to Iran to be used in a research reactor in Tehran for the manufacture of medical radioisotopes, according to the agreement.
AFP adds: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hinted on Sunday that Tehran would itself pursue uranium enrichment to higher levels if the West spurns its offer of a phased fuel swap, promising Iranians "sweet" news in the days ahead.
Ahmadinejad said Iran will make an announcement regarding the enrichment of uranium to 20 percent purity when the nation marks next month the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution which toppled the US-backed shah.

  Saudi sees deadlock in climate talks
AFP, Riyadh

Saudi Arabia does not expect any global climate change pact soon because current proposals lack fair burden-sharing and would hit oil exporters unfairly, the country's top climate negotiator said on Sunday.
"There was no real agreement in Copenhagen and I don't foresee any agreement in the near term," Mohammed al-Sabban told AFP, referring to December's summit in the Danish capital.
"No one has submitted a burden-sharing agreement" that treats various parties equitably, he said.
"We are facing the same deadlock as the Doha round of the WTO," the World Trade Organisation, he said of long-stuck global trade agreement negotiations.
Sabban said Saudi Arabia, cast by environmentalists together with China as a spoiler of the Copenhagen climate treaty talks, would have been hit hard by the proposed agreements on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
He said the proposed rules and targets were "very selective," unfairly singling out oil while favouring coal, nuclear and other energy sources which also contribute to global warming.
Sabban also said he did not expect the differences in talks could be bridged by the next summit which is planned for Mexico in December 2010.
Oil exports are by far the largest source of government income in Saudi Arabia, after Russia the world's largest oil exporter.
"If any energy product should be hit hard, it should be coal," he said, adding that some major developed economies heavily subsidize coal.

  Palestinian legislator accuses UN of accepting Israeli compensation

Xinhua, Gaza

A Palestinian lawmaker said Sunday the United Nations fell in "political scandal" after accepting an Israeli payment for damage caused to UN premises in Gaza war a year ago.
Hossam al-Taweel, a member of the Hamas-dominated Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), said the UN's acceptance of the 10- million U.S. dollar payment "is condemned and falls to the level of a political scandal."
Since the compensation was reached via bilateral negotiations between the international body and Israel and with an Israeli initiative, "this could help Israel clearing itself from the war crime it committed in Gaza," said the Christian legislator who is backed by the Islamic Hamas movement.
The UN "should have insisted on its rights and the Palestinian people's rights in suing Israel instead of bilateral negotiations for financial aims from under the table," he added.
During Israel's three-week military operation in Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009, Israel hit a number of schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and shells landed in the main warehouse in the agency's headquarter in Gaza.
More than 1,400 Palestinians had been killed in the Israeli attacks.

  Haitians mourn their dead; another survivor found
AP/ UNB, Port-Au-Prince

Hundreds gathered for the funeral of the archbishop of Haiti's stricken capital Saturday, a rare formal ceremony that captured the collective mourning of a shattered nation where mass graves hold many of the dead.
Meanwhile, as the U.N. said the Haitian government had declared an end to searches for living people trapped in the rubble, yet another survivor was saved. Rescuers said they reached Wismond Exantus by digging a narrow tunnel through the wreckage of a hotel grocery store where he was buried for 11 days. Exantus, who is in his 20s, was placed on a stretcher and given intravenous fluids as onlookers cheered. He later told The Associated Press he survived by diving under a desk during the quake and later consuming some cola, beer and cookies in the cramped space.
"I was hungry, but every night I thought about the revelation that I would survive," Exantus said from his hospital bed. Authorities have stopped short of explicitly directing all teams to halt rescue efforts, and hopeful searchers continued picking through the ruins. But U.N. relief workers said the shift in focus is critical to care for the thousands living in squalid, makeshift camps that lack sanitation. While deliveries of food, medicine and water have ticked up after initial logjams, the need continues to be overwhelming and doctors fear outbreaks of disease in the camps. "It doesn't mean the government will order them to stop. In case there is the slightest sign of life, they will act," U.N. spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said.

  Bin Laden tape claims U.S. plane attack, vows more
Reuters, Dubai

Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the Dec. 25 failed bombing of a U.S.-bound plane and promised more attacks on the United States, in an audio tape Al Jazeera said on Sunday was of the Al Qaeda leader.
Bin Laden, speaking days ahead of major international meetings on how to deal with militancy in Afghanistan and Yemen, said the attempt to blow up the plane as it neared Detroit was a continuation of al Qaeda policy since Sept. 11, 2001.
"The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of Sept. 11," bin Laden said on the tape in a message addressed "from Osama to (U.S. President Barack) Obama". "If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words, we wouldn't have carried them to you by planes," bin Laden said.
The botched Christmas Day attack, claimed last month by the Yemen-based regional wing of al Qaeda, and subsequent threats in Yemen sparked global pressure for a crackdown, prompting Sanaa to declare open war on the militant group within its territory.
Defence and counterterrorism officials say Washington has been quietly supplying military equipment, intelligence and training to Yemen to destroy suspected al Qaeda hide-outs. Yemen, since the plane bomb attempt, has launched a series of air strikes targeting al Qaeda leaders and has declared that some top regional leaders including Qasim al-Raymi and Ayed al-Shabwani have been killed.
Al Qaeda denies the deaths, and Yemen has subsequently launched further attacks on the rural home of Shabwani and given no clues as to the result.
On Sunday's tape, bin Laden cited Washington's support for Israel as a motivator for more attacks on the United States, and vowed to keep on as long as Palestinians cannot live in peace.

  Biden vows the US will appeal in Iraq Blackwater case
BBC Online

US Vice-President Joe Biden says the US government will appeal against a court ruling dismissing manslaughter charges in the Blackwater shootings case.
Mr Biden was speaking after meeting Iraqi politicians in Baghdad.
Iraqis were furious when a US judge threw out charges against five Blackwater security guards over the 2007 killing of 17 Iraqis in Baghdad. Mr Biden is in Iraq in an attempt to defuse a political crisis over candidates for the election in March.
Class action
Mr Biden said the dismissal of the Blackwater charges was just that and "not an acquittal".
Expressing "personal regret" over the 16 September 2007 shootings in Baghdad's Nisoor Square, he said the US justice department would file its appeal against the court's decision next week.
"The United States is determined to hold to account anyone who commits crimes against Iraqi people," Mr Biden added.
"While we fully respect the independence and the integrity of the US judicial system, we were disappointed with the judge's decision to dismiss the indictment, which was based on the way some evidence had been acquired." Iraq maintains the Blackwater guards fired without provocation. Blackwater said the firing followed an ambush on one of its convoys.
The US rejected attempts for a trial in Iraq but charges in the US were thrown out when a judge ruled in December that the guards' constitutional rights had been violated and that the justice department had mishandled evidence.
The ruling provoked anger in Iraq and this month the Iraqi government began collecting signatures for a class action lawsuit on behalf of people killed or wounded in incidents involving Blackwater. Iraq said it would seek compensation for a number of such cases and would continue to "act forcefully and decisively to prosecute".

  China paper slams U.S. for cyber role in Iran unrest
Reuters, Beijing

China's Communist Party mouthpiece on Sunday accused the United States of mounting a cyber army and a "hacker brigade", and of exploiting social media like Twitter or Youtube to foment unrest in Iran.
The People's Daily accused the United States of controlling the Internet in the name of Internet freedom after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for more Internet freedoms in China and elsewhere in a speech on Thursday.
China on Friday warned that Washington's push against Internet censorship could harm ties.
"Behind what America calls free speech is naked political scheming. How did the unrest after the Iranian elections come about?" said the editorial, signed by Wang Xiaoyang.
"It was because online warfare launched by America, via Youtube video and Twitter microblogging, spread rumours, created splits, stirred up, and sowed discord between the followers of conservative reformist factions."
China has blocked Youtube since March, the anniversary of uprisings in Tibet, and Twitter since June, just before the 20th anniversary of a crackdown on protestors in and near Tiananmen Square. Facebook has been down since early July.
The People's Daily editorial asked rhetorically if obscene information or activities promoting terrorism would be allowed on the Internet in the U.S. "We're afraid that in the eyes of American politicians, only information controlled by America is free information, only news acknowledged by America is free news, only speech approved by America is free speech, and only information flow that suits American interests is free information flow," it said. n
Clinton's speech came shortly after Google revealed a sophisticated hacking attack, and said it might close its google.cn Chinese search engine if it could not find a way to offer a legal, unfiltered search service in China.
"Everyone with technical knowledge of computers knows that just because a hacker used an IP address in China, the attack was not necessarily launched by a Chinese hacker," Zhou Yonglin, deputy operations director of the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team, said in an interview carried in a number of Chinese newspapers on Sunday.
Zhou mentioned an outage suffered by Chinese search engine Baidu on Jan. 12 but did not mention that it was attacked by the Iranian Cyber Army, which had previously attacked Twitter, nor that Chinese hackers launched retaliatory attacks on Iranian sites the next day.
The People's Daily also denounced a May ban on Microsoft's instant messaging services to nations covered by U.S. sanctions, including Cuba, Iran, Syria, Sudan and North Korea, as violating the U.S. stated desire for free information flow.

Business/Economy

Industries minister seeks Indian investment in BD
UNB, Dhaka

Industries Minister Dilip Barua Sunday said India and Bangladesh can jointly find out the effective sectors for interaction to wards off the adverse impacts of global recession.
"Joint investment initiative under SAFTA Agreement will prove successful in meeting the internal demands of the two populations," an optimist Bangladesh Minister said during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Rajeet Mitter at his office.
The envoy informed that an Indian business delegation would visit Bangladesh "soon" for identifying the areas of investment in the industrial sector.
Minister Barua said that leading Indian entrepreneurs could come for quick investment in Bangladesh as the government is going to announce a coordinated and comprehensive industrial policy.
"In line with the historic India-Bangladesh good relations, Indian investors can come forward to invest in country's industrial sector," said the minister, terming Bangladesh as an ideal place for investment in Asia.
Matters of bilateral interest, including different aspects of industrial assistance, were discussed during the meeting.
Setting up power plants in Bangladesh, technical and advisory facilities in developing small industries, joint investment in industrial sector, broadcasting Bangladeshi cable TV programmes in India, industrial and investment policy of Bangladesh government and other related issues also came up for discussion.
Barua viewed that despite the global economic recession, Bangladesh's economy did not face so much disastrous situation because of the government's pragmatic financial policy, remittance flow, bumper food production and continuation of export.
The High Commissioner termed positive Bangladesh's 6 percent economic growth during the world economic turmoil. Mitter assured the minister that India would provide necessary training facility to Bangladesh for increasing strength of BSTI.
Referring to the investment by India's telephone company Airtel in Bangladesh, the envoy expressed the hope that "with the investment, more leading Indian company will be coming forth to make investment here". He also drew the minister's attention to the matter of investment by Bangladesh entrepreneurs in India.
Industries Secretary Dewan Zakir Hossain and First Secretary of the Indian High Commission Sushil Singhal were present.

 Government plans to open closed jute mills
BSS, Khulna

Minister for Textiles and Jute Abdul Latif Siddique on Sunday said the government is taking steps, including reinstatement of the retrenched workers and opening up of the closed jute mills, to revitalize the country's jute sector.
The government also has a plan for reforms in mills management, procurement of jute and promotion of marketing to improve this vital sector, he said. The minister was addressing as the chief guest a dialogue titled ""Restructuring of the Jute Manufacturing Sector in Bangladesh: Challenges and Options".
Laiif said the government would impart training to both workers and management personnel in the jute sector. He said the jute sector was beset with problems due to faulty policies of the earlier governments. The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) and Economics Discipline of Khulna University jointly organised the dialogue in Khulna.
Dr Md Saifuddin Shah, Vice-Chancellor of Khulna University and Dr Purnendu Gain and Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university were present as the special guests. Executive Director of CPD Professor Mustafizur Rahman chaired the function. Participants of the dialogue discussed about various initiatives requiring to promote the jute sector of the country, including transfer of technology.
They advocated for introducing a new department in the Khulna University to make jute graduates, diversification of jute products, HYV seeds for jute and better technology for jute sector.The country's traditional jute sector, they said, could get a new lifeline in view of the increasing demand for jute products both in global and domestic markets.
They suggested restructuring and reforms of the jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) to improve productivity, efficiency and capacity utilisation.
In his keynote paper, Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Senior Research Fellow of CPD, stressed the need for policy interventions in three core areas. The areas are: strengthening of relevant institutions, undergoing necessary reforms and restructuring of BJMC and privatisation of the SOEs related to the jute sector.
Drawing a comparison between the performance of both public and private sector jute mills of Bangladesh and the jute mills operated in India, the paper suggested implementation of short and medium term steps. He laid stress on forming a 'Jute Board' to review the Jute Policy 2002, encourage domestic use of jute goods, gear up research and development activities and form a 'Technology Upgradation Fund'.
The minister also shared his thoughts on how to make the jute sector of the country profitable and steps of the ministry in this respect.
The dialogue was attended by political leaders, private sector entrepreneurs, trade union leaders, academics, senior officials of both public and private sector jute mills.

  BD energy road show in Singapore today
UNB, Dhaka

For pooling foreign direct investment into the country's cash-strapped power and energy sector, Bangladesh kicks off road show in the business hub of Singapore today (Monday).
The 'Bangladesh Investment Conference and Road Show' is being organized to attract private and foreign investors to the sector for setting up power plants having an aggregate capacity of 4,000 megawatts and a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in the country.
A 10-member top-level delegation led by Energy and Power Adviser Dr. Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury already has reached Singapore for showcasing the untapped potential of the sector.
The delegation includes State Minister for Energy and Power Mohammad Enamul Haque, executive chairman of the Board of Investment (BoI) Dr. SA Samad, Power Secretary M Abul Kalam Azad, BERC chairman Syed Yusuf Hossain, PDB chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir and Petrobangla chairman Dr Hossain Mansoor.
A total of 125 representatives of 75 companies have so far registered to participate in the Singapore show-one of a series being staged in business capitals around the world.
The next Road Show will be held in New York at Marriott Marquise Hotel on January 28-29 where some 85 representatives of 65 companies have made their registrations.
Earlier on December 15-16, a Road Show was held in London to attract investment in the country's energy and power sector in which the country needs huge investments for catering ever-growing demand for power and energy in all sectors of the economy and livelihood.

  KSA urges continued spending in 2010 to avoid recession
AFP, Riyadh

Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said on Sunday that world governments need to keep up their stimulus spending through 2010 to avoid a double-dip recession.
"At this time I don't think it's the time to curb spending. It could lead to another dip in the world economy," Assaf told the Global Competitiveness Conference, an annual gathering of Saudi and world businessmen in Riyadh.
"2010 is a year in which we need continuous stimulus spending," he said.
World governments pumped hundreds of billions of dollars in stimulus packages in the wake of the global financial crisis in late 2008 and many maintained higher spending levels last year.
However, Assaf, who represents his country at the G20 group of leading economies, cautioned that after this year the world needs to be cautious about the possible negative effects of over-spending, such as unleashing inflation and sparking new sovereign debt problems.
"At some time we will need to cut back," he said.
Assaf also suggested that the International Monetary Fund's 4.0 percent growth forecast for the Saudi economy this year could be slightly low, though he declined to offer his own projection.
The economy of Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude exporter, ended last year almost flat in real terms while its nominal gross domestic product slumped over 21 percent due to a sharp drop in oil revenues.
The kingdom posted a 12-billion-dollar deficit last year, the first shortfall since 2002. It is projecting an 18.7-billion-dollar deficit for the current year.
However, it has earmarked 144 billion dollars for public spending this year, the highest ever in the kingdom's history.

  Obama's plan unlikely to trouble Asia's banks
AFP, Hong Kong

Plans by US President Barack Obama to curb risk-taking by banks are unlikely to adversely affect Asia's risk-averse financial institutions, analysts said.
The proposed measures, which aim to roll back corporate excesses and limit dangerous risk-taking on Wall Street, could even be beneficial to Asia as US banks may have to move their hedge fund businesses to the region, they said.
Obama's plan, described as the largest regulatory crackdown on US financial institutions since the 1930s, would ban the banks from using taxpayers' money to engage in proprietary trading or operating hedge funds and private equity funds.
His announcement Thursday sent shockwaves across Asian and European stock markets, as investors worried that it would trigger a domino effect among financial regulators worldwide and affect bank earnings.
But banking experts in the region dismissed the market falls as a kneejerk reaction.
While banks in Britain and Europe are studying Obama's proposals to see if they should head the same way, analysts said the resilience demonstrated by Asian banks during the financial crisis proved it was unnecessary for regulators to tighten the reins.
Shane Oliver, an economist with Australia's AMP Capital Investors, said it was unlikely the regulation of Asian banks would be beefed up.

  Iraq rebuilding needs skilled manpower from Bangladesh
BSS, Dhaka

Iraqi President Jalal Talebani sought skilled and semi-skilled manpower from Bangladesh to rebuild his country.
He made the request while Bangladesh Ambassador to Iraq Muhammad Kamaluddin presented his letter of credence to him at Al-Salam Palace on January 19, a foreign office press release said here on Sunday.
Jalal Talebani also emphasized the need for exploration of other areas of cooperation to promote good brotherly relations between the two friendly countries.
In reply, the Ambassador assured that Bangladesh is ready to join the gigantic tasks of rebuilding Iraq.
The President said that Iraq was the first Muslim country to recognize Bangladesh, which fought a just cause for liberation under the great leadership of Bangabandhu. During the meeting, the Ambassador conveyed greetings of President Zillur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the Iraqi President.
Jalal Talebani also conveyed his salam and regards to the President and Prime Minister of Bangladesh and to its friendly people.

  India fast tracks highway expansion plans to boost economic growth

AFP, New Delhi

India is ramping up its road infrastructure, -- quadrupling highway construction in six months-in a bid to accelerate economic growth in Asia's third largest economy.
Revving up the pace from two kilometres (1.2 miles) of new roads a day before he took office to nine kilometres at present is the energetic roads minister Kamal Nath.
"Two to nine does not sound too much... but two to nine means a 400 percent jump," Nath, a former trade minister, told AFP.
"As India moves on its growth trajectory, the biggest issue we have to address is the infrastructure deficit.
"Our aim is to scale up construction to 20 kilometres of new roads a day by April," he said ahead of a trip to the annual World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where he hopes to sell India as an infrastructure investment hub.
Connectivity is a priority not least because it will "impact trade, agriculture and industry" by adding two percent to India's GDP and creating billions of dollars worth of economic activity, according to Nath.
As it stands, India is expected to clock almost eight percent growth up to March 2010 -- infrastructure bottlenecks and the global economic downturn notwithstanding. Given India's track record, Nath's proposals are revolutionary.
India boasts the second largest road network in the world after the United States at 3.4 million kilometres.
But most projects have been mired in controversy over rigging of contracts and allegations of corruption resulting in inordinate delays and cost overruns.
The booming auto sector is making matters worse, adding nearly 10 million vehicles to road traffic last year alone. In rural areas, crumbling single-lane roads make it difficult to get agricultural products to market.
"We must recognise that in a country which has a young age profile, a country which is growing at eight percent, there is bound to be an increase in vehicular traffic," said Nath.
"I think we will need another 12 or 15 years to meet that new demand that is being created on a daily basis."
Even as trade minister, Nath was involved in planning large infrastructure projects-a case in point being the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, an Indo-Japanese collaboration.
The project envisages clusters of special economic zones and ports, on a slender road corridor over the 1,160 kilometres connecting India's political and financial capitals.
"When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was re-elected in the (April-May) general elections, he cited infrastructure as a key area during his second term in office," said political analyst Rasheed Kidwai.
"And Kamal Nath, regarded as efficient, businesslike (and) with an eye for detail was seen as the ideal man" take on the challenging task, said Kidwai.
In his new incarnation, Nath has promised to add 28,000 kilometres of road to the existing 70,500 kilometre network of highways by 2014 besides thousands of kilometres of district and village roads.

British Company to invest $5 million in Dhaka EPZ
UNB, Dhaka

An UK-based company will set up a high fashion garments manufacturing industry in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (EPZ).
The company, M/s Talisman Limited, will invest US$ 5 million for setting up their unit to produce garment items.
It will also create employment opportunity for 1,800 Bangladeshi nationals.
An agreement, to this effect, was signed between the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority and the Talisman Ltd in BEPZA Complex here Sunday.
Moyjuddin Ahmed, Member (Investment Promotion) of BEPZA and MA Matin, Chairman & Managing Director of the company, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

National

Climate calamity; BD to form multi-donor trust fund soon
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh is going to form a multi-donor trust fund soon for financing schemes for tackling adverse impacts of the global climate change on the country.
State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr Hasan Mahmud said this Sunday after a meeting with Country Representative of the British Department for International Development (DFID) Chris Austin at his Secretariat office.
"An inter-ministerial meeting has been called for Tuesday to take further step in this regard," the minister said.
In reply to a question about the Copenhagen Accord capping the recent global climate summit, Hasan said Bangladesh has ratified the accord and decided to take part in further proceedings on the provisional deal.
Meanwhile, the UK has given an assurance of donating 75 millions pounds for the multi-donor fund.
Besides, several European countries and donor agencies, including Denmark, Sweden and the European Union, also have assured grants for the fund, as Bangladesh is one of the countries worst affected by disasters like floods, droughts, cyclones, sea-level rise, and salinity and arsenic incursion caused by the changing climate for global warming due to excessive carbon emissions.

  Sewing plays vital role in eradicating poverty
BSS, Rangpur

The profession of handloom sewing has been proved to be very effective in combating monga and poverty, and bringing self-reliance for distressed women and unemployed young girls in the northern region of the country.
Taking the sewing as a profession after getting necessary trainings and supports from departments concerned and NGOs, thousands of women have successfully changed their fates by sewing readymade handloom garments so far everywhere.
Many others are attaining self-reliance with their own initiatives and getting assistances, supports, trainings, inputs and marketing facilities for their products from different organizations and some of the products are also being exported in limited scales.
By sewing handloom garments and marketing those, hundreds of distressed women, divorcees and young girls of different rural and urban areas of the region have been becoming self-reliant that has ushered in a new era in building a developed Bangladesh. Dozens of NGOs and some donor organisations, Women Affairs Department, Social Service Department, Youth Development Department and other government organizations are playing vital role in encouraging the women by providing trainings, sewing machines, credits and input supports.
The production of readymade garments made of handloom fabrics has been growing fast as more and more women, widows, divorcees and teenaged girls are becoming interested in adopting sewing as a prospective profession.
Officials and experts Sunday told BSS that the distressed women and unemployed young girls are showing more interests in sewing profession and added they are hopeful that this profession would bring further successes and help empower women at grassroots. The female sewers are producing mainly garments like blouse, petticoat, semiz, kamiz, salwar, scurf, caps, hats, maxi, baby wears, shirts, pants, fotua, caps and other readymade wears for men, women, babies, girls and people of all ages.
Many successful women have launched their small-scale cottage entrepreneurs at their after attaining their own self- reliance and providing trainings and jobs for other unemployed women and girls of their areas accelerating faster growth of the sector.

   Science & Information Week begins
Call to innovate new technologies

BSS, Gaibandha

The 31st National Science and Information and Communication Technology Week (NSICTW)-2010 began on the premises of Asaduzzaman Girls' High School and College at the town on Sunday in cooperation with District Science Club Association (DSCA).
Local lawmaker Mahbub Ara Begum Gini addressed the inaugural function as the chief guest with Deputy Commissioner M Shahidul Islam. Police Super M Shahdat Hossain, ADC (General) Muhammad Al- Amin and ADC (Revenue) Ranjit Kumar Das were special guests.
Secretary of the NSICTW celebration committee and Principal of the college AKM Golam Azam, Executive Director of Social Advancement by Local Technology Omar Faruque Chowdhury Azad and Secretary of the DSCA Dhenesh Chakrabartee spoke on the occasion.
Gini urged the tiny scientists to continue their research on various projects to innovate new technologies side by side with their academic lessons.
Their innovated technologies would help build digital Bangladesh as per Vision-2021 declared by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, she also said.
Later, the lawmaker inaugurated the Science Fair by cutting a red ribbon and went round the stalls at the fair as the chief guest.
A total of 30 stalls have been set up at the fair when more than 50 projects are being displayed by the tiny scientists of the district.
On the opening day, a large number of people and their children visited the fair with festive mood.

   Call for expediting Rajshahi city beautification process
BSS, Rajshahi

Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) AHM Khairuzzaman Liton has asked the officials and others concerned to expedite the city's beautification process with utmost sincerity and honesty so that the city dwellers could derive its total benefits.
He also urged all concerned to extend their whole hearted cooperation towards implementing the Vision-2018 formulated by the city corporation aimed at building a changed city through overall development.
Liton made this call while addressing a coordination meeting of the city beautification cell that has been formed aiming at making the city green and beauty at the City Bhaban conference hall here Sunday.
Under the vision, he said various need-based and mass- interests issues especially road and communication, health, education, culture, industries, ecological uplift and park, sports and religious institutions, socio-economic, liberation war memorial infrastructure, water supply, sanitation and drainage system, poverty alleviation, housing, gas and power supply and rising revenue income were incorporated in the plan.
He suggested erecting mural inscribing different national issues like liberation war, heritage, culture and other mass-awareness on the boundary walls of all government, semi- government and autonomous organizations in their own initiative with a view to expedite the city's beautification process.
Besides, he underscored the need for a concerted effort of all the organizations concerned so that the city corporation could establish amusement and recreation parks and other welfare-oriented institutions on the fallow lands and other vacant places owned by different public organizations.

   Huge porno CDs seized in sylhet; 3 arrested
UNB, Sylhet

Members of Rapid Action Battalion seized 10,000 pirated and porno CDs (Compact Disks) from 10 shops at Taltala in the city on Saturday.
The elite force also arrested three people for their involvement with trading on the pornographic items.
The arrested were identified as M Moinuddin Milon of Milon CD Center, Rabiul Alam of Rima CD Center and Monower Hossain of Mahin Electronics.
Acting on secret information, a team of RAB-9, led by Major M Yousuf Khan, conducted a drive at the video shops - Milon CD Center, Mahin Electronics, Rima CD Center, Music Plus, Oyon CD Center, Sumi CD Center, Priti CD Center, Balaka Audio Complex, Sumi CD World and Sangita CD Complex and seized the pirated and porno CDs. A case was filed in this connection.

   13 drug peddlers held in 3 N-districts
BSS, Rajshahi

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) rounded up 13 suspected drug-peddlers and seized 598 bottles of phensidyl from different areas in three northern districts during the last 48 hours till this afternoon, said a RAB press release.
On tips-off, they seized the 881 bottles of phensidyl and 15 bottles of wine and arrested the drug-traffickers during nine separate anti-crime raids in different areas of Rajshahi, Joypurhat and Rangpur districts.
They were identified as Rana, 25, Lion, 22, Zillur Rahman, 30, Sathi Begum, 22, Ruhul Amin, 18, Rafiqul Islam, 35, Abdus Sabur, 40, Khairul Islam, 22, Saidul Islam, 25, Bakul, 22, Azizul Islam, 27, Monirul Islam, 20, and Akbar Ali, 28.
The arrested persons with the seized drugs were handed over to the concerned police stations after recording separate cases in these connections.

Fake RAB member arrested in Faridpur
BSS, Faridpur

A fake member of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has been arrested from Sadarpur upazila of the district.
Sources at RAB-8 said Md Shah Alam, 48, of village Nijgram Shakin under Sadarpur upazila, demanded Taka one lakh from Jharna Begum, wife of expatriate Shah Alam of Nagarkanda upazila, identifying himself as a RAB member on Friday night.
Jharna was living at his brother's house in Sadarpur. As the fake RAB man demanded the illegal toll from Jharna, her brother informed the matter to the RAB camp at Faridpur.
On the appointed day, the RAB members laid a trap at the Jharna's house on Friday night. They caught the fake RAB man when he (Shah Alam) came to receive the illegal toll.
The fake RAB man, Shah Alam, confessed that he had committed the crime. Later, he was handed over to Nagarkanda police.

Professional skills must for attaining successes in baking sector

BSS, Rajshahi
Gaining professional skills is inevitable to attain success in the banking sector along with socio-economic development of the nation.
Management of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has stated this while addressing the inaugural session of a month long foundation training course for its newly appointed offices at the bank's training institute here Sunday.
RAKUB Chairman Yahiya Mollah and Managing Director Muhammad Fazlul Haque addressed the session as the chief and special guests respectively with Principal of the institute Mozammel Haque in the chair.
In his address of welcome, Faculty Member Moazzem Hossain illustrated the aims and objectives of the course and its module. He said the main objective of the course was to enhance professional competence of the fresh officers through disseminating ideas about the bank's operation, administration, accounts, ethics, norms, discipline and other related matters.
Yahiya Mollah highlighted the importance of the bank in agricultural development of the northwestern Bangla-desh and asked the participants to acquire proper knowledge for flourishing their banking idea.
As the largest development partner in the agricultural sector of the northwestern Bangladesh, he said the RAKUB has a vital role to earn economic emancipation and to free the nation from poverty and hunger through boosting credit-flow to the potential agricultural fields.
"You have to contribute to the national economy especially the agricultural one through updating your knowledge," he said adding that image of the bank should be brightened by utilizing the acquired knowledge.
Besides, he underscored the need for ensuring transparency and accountability in all levels of the banking activities especially loan disbursement and recovery in the greater interest of enhancing agricultural production.
Fazlul Haque said the bank has recently launched a number of new- products aiming at bringing dynamism in its business activities and socio- economic development of the region and the programs were acclaimed by the country's entire banking sector.
He asked them to give more importance towards implementation of the programmes so that the aims and objectives of those are attained successfully. A total of 32 officers are attending the training course.

Civil Surgeon of Lalmonirhat held for taking bribe
UNB, Lalmonirhat

Civil Surgeon Dr Abdus Sobhan and his accountant were arrested while taking bribe of Tk 5,000 Sunday.
On complaint, a joint team of Anti-Corruption Commission and RAB led by ACC director Major Shafiul Azam laid a trap in the Civil Surgeon's office. Dr Sobhan took the bribe from the complainant, whose identity was not disclosed, to speed up the file of group insurance and welfare fund benefits of his late father Jasimuddin who died as store keeper of Hatibandha Health Complex.
Taking the bribe the Civil Surgeon gave Tk 500 to accountant Abdullah Hil Hafez as he claimed share of the speed money.
ACC-RAB team who witnessed the transactions from behind arrested Dr Sobhan and Hafez. After brief interrogation, they were handed over to the police sadar thana where a case was filed.

Prof Abu Rushd Matinuddin in critical state
BSS, Dhaka

Professor Abu Rushd Matinuddin, aged 91, was in critical condition in the city's Modern Hospital at Road No-8, Dhanmandi.
He was stated to be in an unconscious state as a small tumor has been detected in his head, hospital sources said. Matinuddin, also a noted litterateur, is elder brother of eminent novelist Rashid Karim and noted journalist Fazle Rashid.
He was supernumerary professor of English of both Dhaka University and Jahangirnagar University.
Matinuddin is under treatment of Professor Nausher. A medical board is expected to be formed for the eminent Professor of English. He was First Director of Public Instruction (DPI) in independent Bangladesh.
He is the oldest Oxonian among the living Bengali students, son-in- law of Prof Matinuddin, Baharul Islam, Chairman of Sonali Bank said.
His books include Tikhana Pashim, Shari, Gari Bari. He has translated several books of Kazi Nazrul Islam and Rabindranath Tagore.
The members of his family have sought blessings from all for his early recovery.

AL leader slaughtered in Meherpur
UNB, Meherpur

A local Awami League leader and UP member was slaughtered by some terrorists at Gopalpur village in Mujibnagar upazila early Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Shahidul Islam Bablu, member of Mahajanpur union parishad.
Police said some terrorists called Shahidul out of his house at 12:30 am. They took him to nearby Tupler beel and slaughtered him.
The assailants fled away after exploding two bombs creating panic among the local people.
On information, police recovered the body at 2am. The reason behind the murder could not be known immediately.

11 people injured in separate clashes in Narayanganj
UNB, Narayanganj

At least 11 people were injured in separate clashes at Jalakandi and Khasherkandi in Araihazar upazila on Saturday.
Locals said five people were injured in a clash between the workers of a local mini textile mill and the Abhilash Paribahan transport workers in Jalakandi area at about 11am.
The clash ensued as the transport workers refused the mill workers to get into their bus in the area.
In another incident at Khasherkandi, supporters of two groups - one led by Abdul Barek and another by Abdur Rahman - locked into a fierce clash over taking possession a disputed land, leaving six people form both sides injured.
On information police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.
The injured were admitted to the upazila health complex.

Sports

Despite Mahmudullah's 96, India on top
AFP, Dhaka

Mohammad Mahmudullah cracked an unbeaten 96 under pressure but failed to stop India from gaining an upper hand in the second and final Test against Bangladesh here on Sunday.
Bangladesh was wobbling at 51-5 before posting 233 in their first innings, thanks to lower-order batsman Mahmudullah who kept the Indian attack at bay with a gutsy 156-ball knock.
India raced to 69 for no loss in reply at stumps, with Virender Sehwag (41 not out) and Gautam Gambhir (26 not out) at the crease.
The visitors were indebted to pacemen Ishant Sharma (4-66) and Zaheer Khan (3-62) for restricting Bangladesh to a modest total. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha was the other main wicket-taker with 2-49.
Bangladesh was 106-6 when Mahmudullah walked in to bat, but India had to struggle for the remaining wickets as he put on 58 useful runs for the ninth wicket with Shafiul Islam, who contributed only nine.
Mahmudullah was on 80 when last-man Rubel Hossain joined him but could manage only 16, including 11 in an over from off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. He hit 13 fours. Harbhajan finished the innings when he bowled Rubel for his lone victim, leaving Mahmudullah just four short of his maiden Test hundred.
India's bowlers were superbly supported by wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who took three catches and two stumpings after missing the previous Test due to an injury.
Most of the Bangladeshi batsmen failed to apply themselves, with Mohammad Ashraful (39), skipper Shakib al Hasan (34) and Mushfiqur Rahim (30) all getting out when looking well-set. Ashraful and Shakib both fell to rash strokes. Ashraful stepped out to attempt a big shot off Ojha, missed the line and was stumped, while Shakib was caught behind chasing an away-going delivery from Zaheer. Rahim, who added 55 for the sixth wicket with his captain, was trapped leg-before by Sharma after hitting six fours in his 61-ball knock.
India gained an early advantage when they left the hosts reeling at 84-5 in the morning session, with Zaheer and Sharma taking two wickets apiece and Ojha one. Ashraful hit six fours in his 31-ball knock, while Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique and Raqibul Hasan all failed to reach double figures.
Bangladesh's batting problems began immediately after winning the toss when Sharma had Kayes caught by Dhoni with his first delivery of the match. Zaheer bowled opener Iqbal with a delivery that came in sharply and then had Siddique caught behind to reduce the hosts to 13-3.
Sharma's second victim was Raqibul Hasan, caught by Rahul Dravid at second slip after making only four.
India lead 1-0 in the short series following their 113-run victory in the opening Test in Chittagong on Thursday.
Scorecard
Bangladesh 1st innings:
Tamim b Zaheer 0
Imrul c Dhoni b Sharma 0
Junaid c Dhoni b Zaheer 7
Ashraful st Dhoni b Ojha 39
Raqibul c Dravid b Sharma 4
Shakib c Dhoni b Zaheer 34
Mushfiqur lbw b Sharma 30
Mahmudullah not out 96
Shahadat st Dhoni b Ojha 8
Shafiul c Dravid b Sharma 9
Rubel b Harbhajan 4
Extras: (lb2) 2
Total: (for all out; 73.5 overs) 233
Falls: 1-0 (Kayes), 2-4 (Iqbal), 3-13 (Siddique), 4-44 (Raqibul), 5-51 (Ashraful), 6-106 (Rahim), 7-127 (Shakib), 8-155 (Shahadat), 9-213 (Shafiul), 10-233 (Rubel).
Bowling: Zaheer 19-3-62-3, Sharma 18-3-66-4, Ojha 16-1-49-2, Harbhajan 18.5-3-48-1, Yuvraj 2-0-6-0.
India 1st innings:
Gambhir not out 26
Sehwag not out 41
Extras: (b1, nb1) 2
Total: (for no loss; 13 overs) 69
Bowling: Shafiul 2-0-13-0, Shahadat 3-0-10-0, Rubel 4-0-20-0 (nb1), Shakib 3-0-15-0, Ashraful 1-0-10-0.
Toss: Bangladesh
Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZL) and Marais Erasmus (RSA)
TV umpire: Sharfuddoula Shahid (BAN)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM).

  India hockey team arrives on January 27
TBT Report

A 22-member India Hockey Team, 18 players and four officials, is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on January 27 for taking part in the 11th South Asian Games.
Hockey India named the Indian team for the South Asian meet on Friday.
India will take on Nepal on January 30 in its first match at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka. It will face Sri Lanka (January 31), Pakistan (February 3) and the host Bangladesh (February 5) in its other preliminary round fixtures.
Pakistan, the other title contender of the South Asian Games hockey, is expected to reach Dhaka on January 26.
Five teams will play one another in the preliminary phase of the competition with the top two teams featuring in the final for gold.
Indian team
Players: Mrinal Choubey, Harjit Singh (Goalkeepers), V. Raghunath, Innocent Kullu, Amit Prabhakar (Defenders), Ajitesh Roy, Roshan Minz, Birendar Lakra Jr, Varinderjit Singh, Belsejar Horo, Vikas Pillay (Midfielders), Pramod Kumar, Mohammad Amir Khan, Bikas Toppo, Dharamvir Singh, Yuvraj Walmiki, Prabhdeep Singh, Humza Mujtaba (Forwards),
Officials: Clarence Lobo (Chief Coach), Gundeep Kumar (Coach), Naushad Ahmad (Trainer), Col. Balbir Singh (Manager).

  Bangladesh finishes ninth in U/19 Cricket World Cup
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh managed a four-wicket victory over Hong Kong in a consolation 9th place deciding play-off match of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup at the Mclean Park in Napier on Sunday.
Earlier, Bangladesh made an early exit from the main battle of Under-19 World Cup conceding a four-wicket defeat against Pakistan in the penultimate ball thriller and a frustrating one-run defeat against West Indies despite making good start beating Papua New Guinea by five wickets in Group D matches.
Bangladesh will meet Papua New Guinea again on Tuesday (Jan 26) in another place-deciding play-off match at the Fitzherbert Park in Palmerston North.
In the day's match, batting first after winning the toss, Hong Kong were all out for 156 in 49 overs with number six batsman Nizakat Khan scoring 56 runs off 90 balls that featured two fours and a six.
Besides, opener VVV Gope (26), Waqas Barkat (25) and Irfan Ahmed (22) were the other main scorers for Hong Kong.
Shaker Ahmed grabbed four Hong Kong wickets for 26 runs in his 10-overs spell with a maiden and was adjudged man of the match. Shabiir Rahman and Kamrul Islam Rabbi claimed two wickets each for 26 and 31 runs respectively.
Chasing an easy target, Bangladesh lost six wickets to score match-winning 157 runs in 153 minutes with 56 balls remaining (40.4 overs).
Two down batsman Mominul Haque made team highest 35 runs off 51 balls with three fours.
Besides, opener Anamul Haque (23), Shabbir Rahman (22), skipper Mahmudul Hasan (21), Tasamul Haque (not out 17) and Alauddin Babu (19) were the other notable contributors for Bangladesh.
Aditya Kanthan and Irfan Ahmed took two wickets each for 21 and 29 runs respectively.

  Henin keeps comeback on track
AFP, Melbourne

Justine Henin continued her amazing comeback when she beat fellow Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 7-6 (7/3), 1-6, 6-3 to make the Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday.
Henin won a tough battle against her 20-year-old countrywoman in yet another long contest-the 27-year-old's third marathon in a row. The two Belgians played some superb tennis over two-and-a-quarter hours on the Rod Laver Arena but it was the old stager who had the composure when it was needed.
"It's a great feeling to be back, everything is going so well," said Henin, who is playing her first Grand Slam since the Australian Open in 2008. "Physically, it's tough as I didn't play for two years, but I love being back on court."
After Henin won a tight first set in a tiebreaker, Wickmayer came out and blitzed her opponent in the second, breaking her three times to level the match at one-set each. But Henin, a seven-time Grand Slam winner, used all her vast experience to attack Wickmayer at the start of the third, breaking her first serve to gain the early advantage.
Wickmayer refused to concede but she could make no impression on Henin's serve and the match began to slip away.
At 5-3 Henin attacked Wickmayer's serve again and her younger rival cracked, the 2004 Australian Open champion winning the contest with her first match point.
Henin, who is yet to receive a WTA ranking as she has not yet played three tournaments since returning to the tour, was granted a wildcard to compete in Melbourne this year.
She has repaid the organisers by matching the best performance by a wildcard at the tournament in the Open era-Martina Hingis in 2006 and Jelena Dokic last year both also made the quarter-finals as wildcards.
Henin will now play Nadia Petrova in the quarter-finals following the in-form Russian's 6-3, 3-6. 6-2 win over third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
"I've played her recently already twice, so I really know what she's playing," said Petrova, who lost to Henin at an exhibition tournament in December and in the first round of the Brisbane International.
"I know what to expect. I know what kind of balls are going to be coming at me, so it's all fresh in the memory, so it's going to be maybe even easier maybe for me to play her because it's like it's so fresh in my mind."

   Nadal ready for Murray in quarterfinal
AFP, Melbourne

Rafael Nadal admits he must step up a gear to beat Andy Murray after blunting the power of giant Croatian Ivo Karlovic Sunday to set up an enticing Australian Open quarter-final against the Scot.
The defending champion tamed the 6ft 10ins (2.08m) Karlovic despite the Croat thumping down 28 aces, eventually winning 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Nadal, a six time Grand Slam winner, now faces fifth seed Murray, with the in-form Briton yet to drop a set in the tournament.
The Spaniard has won seven of their nine previous matches, but said that record would count for little here and that he would need to improve on his form against Karlovic to reach the semis.
"He is one of the more difficult players to play against," Nadal said of Murray, who beat another big-server, American John Isner, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2.
"He can play aggressively and he can play defensively, he can do a lot of different things during a match.
"I have to play better next match if I really want to have chances to win."
Murray is shouldering mounting expectations as he bids to become the first British man to win a Grand Slam singles title since 1936, but Nadal said he had no doubt the 22-year-old would win majors before his career was over.
"He is going to have a lot of chances to win a Grand Slam, and he is going do it for sure."
The young Scot showcased his exciting strokeplay against Isner and believes he has the game plan to overcome Nadal.

  Anelka earns plaudits
AFP, Preston

France striker Nicolas Anelka took the plaudits after his goal inspired a 2-0 win at Preston kept Chelsea on course to land the FA Cup for the third time in four seasons.
Anelka set the platform for the Premier League club's fourth round success at Deepdale on Saturday with his fifth goal in four games.
Young strike partner Daniel Sturridge doubled the holders' lead in the second half as Carlo Ancelotti's team saw off Darren Ferguson's Championship outfit. But it was Anelka's performance which caught the eye of Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins and he was keen to salute the former Arsenal and Real Madrid star.
"He's playing some outstanding football at the minute," Wilkins said. "He's clearly enjoying his football and training. "He's an outstanding player and hopefully he will carry in this rich vein of scoring form."
Wilkins insisted Chelsea's professional performance against Preston is proof that the west London club are determined to retain the FA Cup they won last May after beating Everton 2-1 in the final. "I thought our lads were extremely professional," he added. "This is not an easy place to come and the Preston fans really got behind their team.
"But we are the holders and we want to retain it. This is not an easy place to come and the fact that Carlo picked a strong team shows how seriously we are treating the competition."
Wilkins refused to blame referee Mike Dean for disallowing a goal by substitute Florent Malouda when the tie was goalless. Malouda found the net soon after coming on in the first half for the injured Juliano Belletti. With the scores locked at 0-0, the goal was ruled out as the referee had blown for a foul committed on Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

  S
AFP, Melbourne

Serena and Venus kept on track for an all-Williams semi-final while a pair of in-form Eastern Europeans set up a fourth round showdown at the Australian Open Saturday.
Serena thrashed Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-3 and will now face local favourite Samantha Stosur, while Venus outlasted Australian Casey Dellacqua 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Fourth seeded Dane Caroline Wozniacki was also impressive as she downed Israel's Shahar Peer 6-4, 6-0 on the back of a superb serving game.
But judging by the way Serena saw off Suarez Navarro, the defending champion is still the one to beat for the title.
She raced to a 5-0 lead in just 15 minutes and although the Spaniard recovered and fought back, the world number one was always in control.
Stosur, a 6-4, 6-1 winner over Italian Alberta Brianti, will play Serena in a marquee clash on Monday, and the pair have some history.
The showdown is sure to create plenty of interest, with Stosur beating the world number one the last time they met.
Williams then added fuel to the fire by accusing Stosur of being a good "framer", implying many of her winning shots of being miss hits.
Whether she genuinely forgets or whether she just wants to stay onside with Stosur's vocal Australian fans, Williams insisted she could not recall saying anything negative about her rival. "I don't remember that," she said when asked about the incident.
"I just remember I hit some great shots and she returned them back for winners. Stosur will have her work cut out against Williams, although it was far from plain sailing for Serena.
She was made to run all over the court, but showed her superb athleticism as she chased down many of the Spaniard's best shots and returned them with interest.
Meanwhile, Venus said she had made changes to her game in the off-season, which helped her against Dellacqua. "Obviously with professional sports you can't remain stagnant-every off-season I'm thinking of which ways I can play better," she said, before declining to say exactly what changes she had made.
Whatever the adjustments were, they seemed to work as she won the first set comfortably. However, she was made to graft a lot harder for the second.
In the end it took the sixth seed one hour, 47 minutes to subdue Dellacqua and book a fourth round meeting with 17th seeded Italian Francesca Schiavone, who upset 10th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-2 earlier in the day.
Lurking in the shadows are Belarusian seventh seed Victoria Azarenka and ninth seeded Russian Vera Zvonareva, who continued to steamroll their way through the draw.
Azarenka thumped Italian Tathiana Garbin 6-0, 6-2 and Zvonareva was too good for Argentine Gisela Dulko 6-1, 7-5.

  Khulna Division tastes first victory
UNB, Dhaka

Khulna Division tasted its first victory in the 11th National Cricket League beating Sylhet Division by 49 runs on the 4th and final day at Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra Saturday.
Khulna Division, which conceded an eight-wicket defeat against Dhaka Division in the opening match, today resumed the second innings with overnight 188 for 8 and were all out for 226 runs in 63 overs. Earlier, they scored 242 runs in the 1st innings. Night-watch batsman Abdur Razzak (58) contributed team highest 74 runs off 124 deliveries featuring eight fours.
Later, Razzak also took three wickets for 64 runs and was adjudged man of the match. Tapash Kumar claimed three wickets for 35 runs while Nazmul Hossain, Saju Dutta and Nabil Samad grabbed two wickets each for 24, 32 and 54 runs respectively.
In reply, Sylhet Division, which scored 272 runs in the first innings, opened the 2nd innings and were dismissed for 147 runs in 48.5 overs with ICL cricketer Alok Kapali making 52 runs off 77 balls, including seven fours.
Besides, Golam Rahman (23), Tanveer Haider (18), Golam Mabud (18), Siam Alam (13) were the other major contributors for Sylhet Division reaching the double figure.
National pacer Syed Rasel and national spinner Abdur Razzak took three wickets each giving away 19 and 64 runs respectively. Rabiul Islam bagged two wickets for 41 runs while national captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza took one wicket for 16 runs.
Brief score: Khulna Division Ist innings- 242 all out in 80.4 overs; Tushar Imran 59, Habibul Bashar 51, Mohammad Mithun 47, Nazmus Sadat 37, Sahagir Hossain 13, Tapash Kumar 3/60, Maysequr Rahman 2/14 and Nazmul Hossain 2/47.
Second innings - 226 all out in 63 overs; (overnight 188 for 8 in 51 overs), Razzak 74, Bashar 57, Rasel 22, Mithun 18, Ziaur 16, extras 10, Tapash 3/35, Nazmul 2/24, Saju 2/32, Nabil Samad 2/54.
Sylhet Division 1st innings - 272 for all in 99 overs, Rajin 83, Maysequr 60, Golam 39, Alam 26, extras 25, Razzak 4/91, Rasel 2/43, Robiul 2/58.
Second innings - 147 for all in 48.5 overs; Alok Kapali 52, Golam Rahman 23, Tanveer haider 18, Golam Mabud 18, Siam Alam 13, Rasel 3/19, Razzak 3/64, Rabiul 2/41, Mashrafe 1/16. The third round matches will begin on
Jan 26.

  Armstrong vows no 'goofing off'
AFP, Adelaide

Lance Armstrong on Saturday vowed not to repeat last season's mistakes when he "goofed off" after the Tour Down Under, affecting his comeback year.
The seven-time Tour de France winner said he paid the price in last February's Tour of California, where he had a tough time and placed seventh.
The American fell and broke his collarbone in March before recovering to finish third in July's Tour de France behind Spanish rival Alberto Contador.
"I messed up in the weeks after this last year. I went back and thought I was on schedule or slightly ahead of schedule and I goofed off a bit much and suffered bad in California," Armstrong told reporters.
"I have to not make those mistakes again and just keep on the gas right through February."
Armstrong said it was too early to tell whether he was on track for this year's Tour de France, where he is bidding to become the race's oldest winner at 38.
"It's still so early. Not much can be taken from here in terms of what happens in the summer, in fact nothing," he said. "The main thing is we got good racing in, which equals good preparation mixed with no bad luck: illness, injuries, crashes. Smooth trip, good weather."
He added that he was "50-50" on returning to Australia for Melbourne's road world championships in October, adding that he was not sure whether he still had the power needed to win.
"Back in my explosive days it would have been good," he said. "It's just a question of your condition. At 260 kilometres it's the guys that have the best preparation that do well. You can't hide after six hours."
Armstrong retired in 2005 after winning a record seventh Tour de France but returned to the sport at last year's Tour Down Under, a six-stage race over 800 kilometres (500 miles) of roads around Adelaide.

Celtic on course to sign Danish striker
AFP, Glasgow

Scottish giant Celtic manager Tony Mowbray's bid to freshen up his squad took another step forward on Friday as his one million pound bid for Danish striker Morten Rasmussen was accepted by the player's club Brondby.
Rasmussen, who will turn 25 on January 31, has yet to decide whether he wants to move to Celtic as he is desperate to make Denmark's World Cup finals squad.
The striker - who is playing for the Danish League Select at the King's Cup invitational tournament in Thailand - has been with Brondby since making a 1.2million pounds move from Aarhus in 2006.
Rasmussen - whose nickname is Duncan because his style of play has been compared to former Everton, Rangers and Scotland striker Duncan Ferguson - has scored 52 goals in 111 appearances for Brondby.
Should Rasmussen, who has played for his country at all youth levels but is yet to make his senior international debut, agree to the move he will join fellow January signings, Norway Under-21 international defender Thomas Rogne and 26-year-old Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld.
Mowbray is desperate to revamp a squad he inherited from predecessor Gordon Strachan.

Renard open to offer from 'big African team'
AFP, Benguela

Zambia coach Herve Renard has disclosed that he is willing to handle a top African team when his two-year contract with the Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) runs out in July.
The 41-year-old French-man has led Zambia into their first Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in 14 years and said his ambition was to soon work with a higher profile team than Zambia. "I know what I want, I'm very ambitious and I'm not scared to say so. I said even before this tournament that I wish to be coach of a very top team one day.
"I'm young but I'm not scared about anything," said Renard, who assisted Claude Le Roy with Ghana two years ago.
"Now I can speak English and I'm French, so it's only the Portuguese-speaking countries like Angola and Mozambique that it would be difficult for me to work with because the language is very important.
"But if they qualify for the World Cup, I will sign immediately for them.
"But really, I would want to stay in Africa with a bigger team. Claude Le Roy explained to me a lot of things about Africa. There are good things and bad things in Africa, but he said his heart is always in Africa. I'm the same now. I like this continent."
The Frenchman admitted his time with the Chipolopolo of Zambia may soon come to an end. "My contract will finish very soon, in a few months. I'm not sure I want to extend or renew my contract, so even if they don't want me, it won't be a problem," he said.n
Zambia take on Nigeria in Monday's quarterfinal of the Africa Cup of Nations in Lubango with the winner up against the winner of the match between hosts Angola and Ghana.

Bangladesh confident of winning 17 golds
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh reaffirmed its confidence of winning 17 gold medals in the eight-nation South Asian Games, the biggest sports extravaganza of the region, beginning here on January 29at Bangabandhu National Stadium.
Speaking at a news conference on Sunday, Chef-de-Mission of Bangla-desh contingent
Mizanur Rahman Manu said, "Based upon our past experiences and spirit of our athletes, we hope to achieve our target of winning 17 gold medals as athletes and players are ready to produce their best"
Deputy Chef-de-Mission Badal Roy and General Team Manager Mahfuza Ahkter Kiron gave details of the team preparations and their prospect.
Manu also hoped that country's famed shooter Asif Hossain Khan, having the honour of carrying the national flag in the ensuing games, will definitely find enough motivation to win the gold medal in his favorite event.
He said they have good prospect of winning gold medal in Athletics, Archery, Boxing, Cycling, Golf, Handball, Judo, Football, Karate, Shooting, Swi-mming, Taekwondo, Weight-lifting, Wrestling and Wushu.
Manu thanked all concerned who crafted the venues in time. World class shooting range is ready, Paltan wooden floor gymnasium for handball ground, the boxing and kabaddi stadiums are also ready to welcome the athletes, the electronic finishing of the Banga-bandhu National Stadium will be functioning within a few days.

Murray, Zheng rewrite history books
AFP, Melbourne

Andy Murray and Zheng Jie rewrote the Australian Open history books as they powered into the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Scotland's Murray tamed big-serving John Isner 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2 to make the last eight for the only time and becoming the first Briton to get that far since John Lloyd in 1985.
His reward is a clash with either defending champion and second seed Rafael Nadal or unseeded Croat Ivo Karlovic, who play later.
Zheng's achievement was equally impressive with the unseeded Chinese upsetting Ukrainian 31st seed Alona Bondarenko, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
It gave her the distinction of becoming the first Chinese player to make the quarters at Melbourne Park, as she and Li Na continue to popularise the game in their homeland.
The victory sets her up with a crack at either second seed Dinara Safina or fellow Russian Maria Kirilenko.
Murray, the 2008 US Open finalist, showcased his exciting strokeplay against the 6ft 9in (2.06 metre) tall American and has yet to drop a set in his four victories at the year's opening Grand Slam.
"I've been moving pretty well and I played some great shots out there, so I haven't got much to complain about so far," said the 22-year-old.
"The first set was the key because he is a little bit tired after he won the Auckland tournament last week and he's had some long matches and he's winning doubles here as well."
Zheng, 26, disposed of Bondarenko in one hour, 48 minutes on Hisense Arena, proving to be marginally steadier than the Ukrainian in a match where both women struggled to hold their serves.
The stage was set for a tense battle from the opening game when Bondarenko broke Zheng, but that was the first of many in a topsy-turvy opening set.
The second set began as the first ended, with Zheng breaking Bondarenko, only to lose her serve immediately.
There was another break of serve each until at 4-4 when Zheng broke Bondarenko to love and then held firm as she served for the match, pumping her fist with delight.
"I think Australia is lucky for me because I won my first Grand Slam doubles title in Australia. So I'm also very happy I'm in the singles quarter-final," she said.
"I hope both me and Li Na can be in the semi-finals."
World number 16 Wickmayer is in better shape after being forced to go through qualifying after failing to register with organisers in time after having a doping ban suspended.
Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova is also in action, but has had limited preparation after her third round match ran until nearly 2am on Saturday.
Seventh Seed Andy Roddick will aim to join Murray in the quarters when he takes on Chilean 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez in an evening match.
The prize will be a showdown with US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro or 14th seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Sydney back on top of A-League
AFP, Melbourne

Sydney FC came from behind to reclaim top spot in Australia's A-League with a 3-1 away win over Newcastle Jets on Sunday.
Sydney on 42 points leapfrogged Gold Coast United and Melbourne Victory, both on 41, with three matches to play till the playoffs.
The fourth-placed Jets struck first through mid-fielder Jobe Wheelhouse in the 33rd minute but former Socceroo striker John Aloisi pulled Sydney level just before half-time.
Midfielder Stuart Musialik then broke the hearts of his former club with a 50th-minute strike to put Sydney ahead before substitute Chris Payne scored an injury time goal.
Melbourne Victory sunk arch-rivals Adelaide United 2-0 at home on Saturday, scoring in the first minute and final minute.
Tom Pondeljak netted after just 24 seconds and an injury-time Kevin Muscat penalty ensured Melbourne stretched their winning streak over Adelaide to nine matches. United remain bottom of the league, out of finals contention, and with plenty of problems ahead of their looming AFC Cham-pions League campaign.
Gold Coast were held to a 1-1 draw at Central Coast after striker Joel Porter had put them ahead in the 66th minute.
But the Mariners swiftly hit back when Nik Mrdja converted a penalty for his third goal in three games.
Ivory Coast striker Eugene Dadi endured a nightmare homecoming as Perth Glory claimed a 2-0 win over Wellington Phoenix on Friday.
Dadi, who went into the game scoring three goals in two matches for the Phoenix, missed a second-half penalty to end any chance of a Wellington fightback.
Glory got home on the back of first-half strikes from Daniel McBreen and Todd Howarth.
A 1-1 draw between North Queensland and Brisbane was overshadowed by an apparent fallout between the Fury and their former England international striker Robbie Fowler.
Fowler refused to play after being told he was starting the game on the bench, casting doubt over the former Liverpool forward's future with the club.
Brisbane's Luke Devere opened the scoring in the 48th minute but North Queensland Fury quickly responded through David Williams goal to leave the game in a deadlock.

Age-old sumo faces call for change
AFP, Tokyo

Last summer a landslide election changed the face of Japanese politics. Now the 2,000-year-old national sport of sumo faces its own shake-up if a group of reformist rebels have their way.
The Japan Sumo Association has been thrown into turmoil by seven breakaway members who have demanded sweeping changes to boost the waning popularity of the sport, which has been hit by a series of scandals in recent years.
Leading the reformist charge in the ritualistic, male-only sport is former grand champion Takanohana, 37, who wants to start by having the association's 10 board members openly elected rather than decided behind closed doors.
Takanohana's goal is to revive the sport, which has faced increasing competition, first from baseball and more recently football, and to introduce it in schools to breed a new generation of home-grown wrestlers.
"I want to expand the spirit of reform," Takanohana last week told reporters. "A lot of people aged around 40 like me are thinking of trying to help develop the association beyond its factions."
The association-made up of stablemasters, top athletes and judges-in 1968 introduced elections to its board, which manages the sport and organises tournaments, ticket sales and broadcasting rights.

Barcelona moves eight points clear of Madrid
AFP, Madrid

Barcelona moved eight points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league with a comfortable 3-0 win at lowly Valladolid on Saturday to round off an impressive first half of the season.
Two goals in as many minutes from Xavi (20 min) and Dani Alves (22) set the tone before Lionel Messi scored his sixth goal in three games to take his season's tally to 15.
Real, beaten 1-0 by Athletic Bilbao last time out, are now under extreme pressure to respond with a home win over Malaga on Sunday or risk Barcelona running away with the title.
It is exactly halfway through the season and Barca are still unbeaten and their tally of 49 points from 19 games is just one less than their record set last season.
"Two goals in two minutes changed the game for us and made it more comfortable," said Barca coach Pep Guardiola. "We got 50 points last season and 49 this season so we are on same track but there are lots of games left in the season."
The statistics make impressive reading with Barcelona notching 15 wins and four draws while they have the best defence conceding 10 goals and the best attack with 49 goals.
Barcelona become only the fifth team to go unbeaten for the first half of the season, joining Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol and Real Sociedad in the elite club.
With Sergi Busquets injured midfielder Seydou Keita made a timely return from the African Cup of Nations following Mali's elimination. Keita spurned a good chance early on with a header while Messi went close on 10 minutes before the breakthrough goal created and scored by Xavi on 20 minutes.
Xavi started the move with a neat flick and raced into the penalty area to volley in a pinpoint cross from Alves.
Alves was causing havoc down the right and scored himself two minutes later when his overhit cross floated into the top corner and the Brazilian celebrated with a samba dance.
Valladolid had their chances with Diego Costa forcing a fine save from Victor Valdes three minutes prior to Xavi's opener but there was a sense of inevitability that Barca would win after going 2-0 up so early on.
After 54 minutes Messi, who at 22 became the youngest Barca player to reach 100 goals last weekend, finished a fine move lashing home after a fine lay-off from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In other matches, Deportivo La Coruna climbed up to fourth with a 3-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao at the Riazor Stadium on Saturday.
Brazilian international Filipe Luis scored the opener on 49 minutes but injured his ankle as he collided with the goalkeeper and was stretchered off with what looked like a serious injury that could potentially endanger his World Cup dream.
Compatriot Juca added a second after 59 minutes before a Diego Colotto (79) own goal tested Depor's nerves in the closing stages but Pablo Alvarez made it 3-1 late on and the Depor players held up three fingers as a tribute to Filipe Luis who dons the number three shirt. The win helped Depor put their 3-0 Kings Cup loss to Sevilla behind them and go fourth a point above Sevilla and Real Mallorca.
Bilbao come crashing back down to earth after their 1-0 win over Real and stay down in seventh.
Earlier, Sevilla enjoyed a huge slice of luck as they ended a run of four straight defeats with a 1-0 home win over Almeria on Saturday and move level on points with fifth-placed Real Mallorca.
Spanish international Alvaro Negredo scored the decisive goal on nine minutes to shoot down his old club Almeria although the waterlogged pitch played a decisive role with captain Wilmer Acasiete's back pass stopping dead on the soaked surface to gift Sevilla their crucial goal.

Andre Greipel clinches emphatic win
AFP, Adelaide

Germany's Andre Greipel clinched an emphatic second Tour Down Under victory on Sunday as Britain's Team Sky rounded off their debut race in impressive style.
The 2008 champion crossed fifth to preserve his 11-second overall lead, marking a spectacular return to Australia after he crashed out of last year's race and missed four months following shoulder surgery.
American cycling legend Lance Armstrong, who is targeting an eighth Tour de France win at the age of 38, which would make him the oldest champion, finished 16 seconds off the winner to place 25th overall.
"I'm really happy, and for the team as well," Greipel said. "The team did a really good job the last week. I'm just really happy."
Team Sky took over in the final section of Sunday's stage around central Adelaide, with Chris Sutton and Greg Henderson claiming the rich new outfit's second one-two finish of the week.
Henderson placed third overall, putting Sky on the podium in their maiden outing as they bid to produce Britain's first ever Tour de France winner. Spain's Luis Leon Sanchez took second overall.
Greipel, 27, bombed out of last year's race when, as defending champion, he ploughed into a parked police motorbike and was sidelined for the early part of the season.
He has dominated this week, claiming the first two stages with trademark sprints and then eclipsing an Armstrong attack with another powerful finish on day four.
On Sunday, Australia's Wesley Sulz-berger threa-tened a sensational upset when he opened up a 43-second lead in a three-man break with four laps of the street circuit to go.
But the runaways were caught 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) from the finish and the blue-and-black-clad Sky riders took over in the last section, adding to their first and second places in last Sunday's pre-Tour street race. "We took control with around two kilometres to go and we just had the perfect lead-out," Sutton said.
"I just went as long as I could and I just held on, I kicked and went for it and we went one-two which was incredible. We're a new team, everyone's working well together. It's all about teamwork."
Australia's reigning road race world champion Cadel Evans finished 18th to place sixth overall, after his heroic third place in sapping heat on day three and Saturday's daring breakaway over the notorious Willunga Hill.
Evans, who is focusing this year on "unfinished business" at the Giro D'Italia and Tour de France, where he has twice placed second, said he was surprised by his strong showing in the season's opening race.