TUESday, JANUARY 26, 2010 magh 13, 1416, SAFAR 9, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Govt declares Rangpur a new division
UNB, Dhaka

The government on Monday announced Rangpur as a new division with eight northern districts fulfilling the long-cherished demand of the people of the impoverish region of the country.
This raises the total number of administrative division in the country to seven.
The announcement came from a meeting of the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reorganisation (NICAR) held at the Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The new division comprises the districts of Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lal-monirhat, Dinajpur, Nil-phamari, Panchagarh and Thakurgaon.
The total population of the Rangpur division is 1,38,47,000.
The PM's press secretary said a cabinet meeting on July 13 last year took the decision of making Rangpur a new division.
Following the decision, a committee was formed which submitted its report on July 21. Based on the report, the government today announced the new division, he said.
The people of the region have long been demanding declaration of Rangpur as a division for ensuring overall development and changing the fate and fortune of the people by ensuring rapid advancement of the backward area.
Besides, the government decided to constitute four police stations in Barisal Metropolitan area. These are Kaunia, Airport, Bandar and Babuganj. The government also decided to reconstitute the Kotwali thana.

 Gazipur accident
RMG workers go berserk after a fellowman’s death

UNB, Gazipur

Garment workers damaged or burnt a number of vehicles on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at Board Bazar amid massive violence on Monday morning following the death of fellowman in a latest fatal road accident on the route.
The angry mob also put up barricades on the accident spot, disrupting traffic on the busy highway for about four hours.
Witnesses said a bus ploughed through 14 people at Board Bazar at about 8am, killing garment worker Sujon, 25, instantly.
"As the death news spread, the angry fellow-workers took to the street, damaged at least 15 vehicles and set ablaze some others," says a firsthand account of the backlash against the accident, which occurred in succession to another fatal mishap that took place on Sunday night. The unruly protestors also clashed with police as the law-enforcers rushed in to quell the troubles.
Chase and counter-chase ensued when police charged batons on the workers and lobbed teargas shells, leaving 15 people injured, the sources said.
The enraged workers also pelted the police with brickbats in the street rioting.
The police force took control of the situation after three hours of the raging unrest.
Earlier on Monday night, four Ijtema devotees were killed and 11 injured in a collision between a truck and a human hauler at Rajendrapur in Sadar upazila.
Three of the deceased were identified as Abdul Hamid, 60, Sirajuddin, 60, and Hafizuddin 65, hailed from Shimultala village in Sreepur upazila of Gazipur. The identity of the human-hauler driver could not be known.
Police seized the killer truck but its driver and helper managed to escape following the accident.

 BNP calls for unity to foil move to restore BAKSAL
TBT Report

BNP central leaders have made a clarion call to all to be united for foiling government's evil move to restore BAKSAL and implement joint communiqué which was signed during Prime Minister India visit recently.
A number of BNP standing committee members made the call while addressing a discussion meeting to mark the democracy killing and BAKSAL establishing day organised by the party at Engineers' Institution Bangladesh in the capital on Monday.
They said country's democracy, constitution, rule of law, independence of newspapers and judiciary system and rights of people to speak freely were violated through introducing BAKSAL on this day in 1975. The ruling party is running the state following its earlier BAKSAL style in disguise of democracy. The people from all walks of life will have to be united so that the government could not restore one party rule in the country and implement joint communiqué which was signed during Prime Minister's India visit.
BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced BAKSAL on this day in 1975 only for ensuring state power life-long. The ruling party is mulling restoring the BAKSAL in the country and the work in this regard has already been started in a fullswing.
He said the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wants to implement joint communiqué which was signed during her India visit and thus she made fake and baseless remark against party's founder Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman to divert people's attention. So the nationalist forces along with the countrymen will have to be united to foil the ruling party's evil efforts.
Former Law Minister and also standing committee member of the party Barrister Moudud Ahmed said country's democracy, constitution and rule of law had been killed on this very day through introducing BAKSAL in the country. The previous BAKSAL characteristic of the government is being witnessed. The fascist ruling party is mulling introducing BAKSAL through establishing the constitution of 1972 which will never be possible in the country. He said Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman restored a multi-party democracy in the country and BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia gave it an institutional shape through 10th amendment of the constitution.
Moudud farther said Moeen-U-Ahmed and his seven close associate of the ruling party will be brought to book as he also violated country's constitution, democracy and rule of law. The people will ensure their punishment through impartial trial if the government does not take any step in this regard.

  Cairn starts 3D seismic survey in the Bay
BSS, Dhaka

Cairn, the operator of Sangu gas field, has started 3D seismic survey in the Bay of Bengal on January 17 to explore hydrocarbon potential in Maghnama structure.
Earlier, the UK based company declared it "inconclusive". Petrobangla, the state run oil and gas company, last year approved a $US 12 million project to complete 3D seismic survey in the Bay, an extension part of Sangu gas field.
"It will need three months to complete the survey," a top official of Petrobangla told BSS Monday. To feed the country's starving energy sector, the government allows Cairn to explore hydrocarbon potential in the Bay, allowing the company to sell its portion of gas to any third party although it was the second option in PSC model.
Cairn is set to complete the 3D in block 16 under which between 350 and 1500 square kilometers seismic would be conducted. In July last, the energy ministry allow UK-based Cairn Energy for selling gas to third party other than Petrobangla produced from Magnama and Hatiya. Cairn is now set to go for 3D seismic survey although earlier it was declared "inconclusive' by the company.
"The result of this seismic is very important to us as the gas crisis in Chittagong areas is mounting every day, Sangu is declining and we don't have other source to feed the commercial city now we can hope for the best", Professor Hossain Moonsur, Chairman Petrobangla told the national news agency.
Earlier, Cairn official told that gas production from Magnama and Hatiya structures would be possible by next three and a half years (if there is any), according to the official first it would conduct three-dimensional (3D) seismic survey by next one year, drill appraisal wells in the following year and initiate gas production on completion of development works.
"A US$ 500 million would be required to implement the plan", Cairn official said.
According to the PSC, Cairn is selling gas to Petrobangla at a price of US$2.9 for 1,000 cubic feet (Mcf), following the approval it could fix its rate as per negotiation.
Cairn and Santos now have 37.5 per cent stake each in the Sangu Development Area and 37.5 per cent each in block 16. Cairn also holds a 45 per cent stake in block 7.

   Probe against war criminals start in March: Shafique
BSS, Dhaka

Law, Justice and Parlia-mentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed Monday said that the formal investigation against the War Criminals of the country would be started within March.
"The total infrastructure of the courts for constituting special tribunals and starting of investigation would be completed by next month," he told the reporters at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat after a meeting with Michael Kozak, Senior Advisor to the US State Department.
The Law Minister said, all rooms of the Old High Court Building would be vacated by February 7 for establishing infrastructure of the courts for holding the trial of the War Criminals.
All these formalities including seating arrangements of judges, lawyers, prosecutors, investigators, journalists, observers and office accommodation of others relating the trial process would be completed within February, he said adding that the Law Ministry, Public Works Department (PWD) and other ministries and departments have already been engaged for these purposes.
After completing all these preparations, special tribunals would be set up, prosecutors and investigators would be appointed and finally the investigation into the crimes against humanity would be started within March, the Law Minister said.
Replying to a question, Barrister Shafique Ahmed said that the investigation is the part of the process of trial.
Answering to another question he said that the government will take initiatives to bring back the war criminals staying abroad after the investigation into the matter like the self-confessed and convicted killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
The trial of the war criminals was one of the main electoral pledges of this government and if the investigation against the war criminals is being start in March that would be a coincidence with historic March of 1971.

BD road show in S’pore calls for investment in power-energy sector

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Investment Conference and Road Show got off to a formal start in the business hub of Singapore Monday with a call for private investment in the country's potential power and energy sector.
Addressing the Singapore show on power and energy projects, one of a series being staged in business capitals around the world, Energy and Power Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury said the government is giving the highest priority to the power and energy sector in implementing its strategic Vision-2021.
"Development of the sector is imperative for changing the lot of poor people of the country," he said.
Assuring all-out cooperation from the government, he urged the private entrepreneurs to investment in Bangladesh's cash-strapped power and energy sector.
The conference and road show has been 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 Dr. Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury is attending the function in 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.
Mohammad Enamul Haque said the government is working to increase the power generation in the country to 7,000 megawatts by 2013 as per its electoral pledge.
Mentioning huge potential of the sector and an investment-friendly atmosphere in Bangladesh he also called upon the foreign investors to invest in the sector.
A total of 140 representatives of 90 companies are participating in the Singapore show.
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.

Back Page

Pak lawyers decide on Feb 13 tougher action if NRO verdict not implemented

TBT International Desk

The National Coordination Council of Lawyers in Pakistan has threatened that the council will meet on February 13 at the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC to work out its future course of action if the demands including implementation of NRO verdict are not met.
The lawyers' body also vowed to observe countrywide lawyers' strike on January 28 to press home their demands for implementing NRO verdict.
The announcement was made by Supreme Court Bar Association's president Qazi Mohammad Anwar and Raja Zulqernain, who were elected chairman and secretary of the council at a meeting held at the Lahore High Court barroom.
They said lawyers would hold meetings to press for their demands and adopt resolutions against the government for not implementing Supreme Court's judgments. They said Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry would attend a dinner to be hosted by the Rawalpindi Bar Association the same evening. Qazi Anwar said the situation had become dangerous because of what he termed the government's reluctance to implement the court's orders. He alleged that the government wanted a clash with the judiciary.
This must be condemned and all nefarious designs should be foiled, he said. "We do not want a clash among institutions. We also do not want an intervention by the military or any other force and we are asking the government to fulfil its constitutional obligation of implementing the Supreme Court's decisions," he said.
According to Mr Zulqernain, LHCBA chief Nasira Javaid Iqbal, lawyers' leader Hamid Ali Khan, the presidents of high court bar associations and vice-chairmen of bar councils from all over the country attended the meeting.
The council was formed on March 9, 2007, for the lawyers' movement for restoration of independent judiciary.
Some stalwarts of the movement, including Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan and Ali Ahmad Kurd, did not attend the meeting. Office-bearers of the Lahore Bar Association and leaders of the People's Lawyers Forum also stayed away. Later, LBA president Sajid Bashir announced his dissociation from the strike.
He said the Lahore bar would not observe the strike, adding that he would have attended the meeting if it had been convened by the Pakistan or Punjab bar council. According to Qazi Anwar, the meeting unanimously declared that no-one enjoyed immunity from prosecution no matter what public office he held.
Anyone claiming immunity should approach the Supreme Court which alone had the authority to interpret the Constitution, he said. The meeting condemned all types of corruption committed by anyone. It also called for accountability of all corrupt elements of the past and vowed to stand against corrupt practices in future. It announced that the struggle against corruption and people involved in it would be stepped up irrespective of what position they held. The SCBA chief said the meeting fully supported all recent decisions of the Supreme Court, especially its verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance. It supported the chief justice's recommendation for the appointment of an ad hoc judge and maintained that it was binding and could not be made controversial. Qazi Anwar said the government had violated the binding recommendation by not implementing it.
He said the meeting had condemned the governors who were sitting on recommendations of the chief justices of high courts regarding appointment of judges. It demanded that the judges should be appointed forthwith in accordance with the recommendations.
In reply to a question, Qazi Anwar said all cases against President Asif Ali Zardari should be reopened in foreign courts from the stage at which they had been dropped. He said that in his opinion the prime minister's statement that the president enjoyed immunity from prosecution was a violation of the Supreme Court's verdict on the NRO.
He asked how would the common people respect the courts when the government was not obeying their orders. He denied that the council wanted to target the PPP government and the president at the behest of some forces. "We want accountability of all the 8,000 people who had benefited from the NRO," he said.

   PM asks ministers, bureaucrats not to hold up files
UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Monday asked the ministers, secretaries and public servants not to pile up files on their tables as she reminded that the present government did not come to power while away the time.
"Don't keep any file stuck-up anywhere," she said in her directive while presiding over Monday's cabinet meeting at the Cabinet Division, in a bid to gear up what is often described as foot-dragging bureaucracy that holds back public function on motives.
Sheikh Hasina made it clear that she is engaged in utilizing every moment of her life and asked the ministers, secretaries and public servants to follow suit.
"We are here to serve the people of the country for their welfare and improve their fate," she said and asked the ministers and bureaucrats to do their respective work with more sincerity, dignity and responsibility. The cabinet took stock of the progress on the decisions taken in the last three months of the past year to weigh the administration's performance.
In the last three months there had been 50 cabinet meetings held where 317 decisions were taken. Of the total decisions, 238 have been implemented, 79 are under implementation, 89 acts were approved while parliament passed 66 bills, 13 bills are under consideration while another 10 under processing.
The cabinet approved the draft Acid Control (Amen-dment) Act 2009. The law was formulated in 2002 and a 22-member Acid Control Council was formed thereafter. The Act was amended in 2007 through an ordinance while on February 11 it was amended further.
In its meeting the Cabinet also approved the amended Private University Act 2009 to bring discipline in the mushrooming private universities in the country. The aim of the amended law is to ensure quality, eligibility and discipline regarding the appointment of teachers in the private universities. The Act was formulated in 1992 and amended in 1998.
There are 51 approved private universities in the country. Of the total private varsities, approval of 48 expired in 2009, and five of those have "no eligibility to run their academic activities legally".
The Cabinet approved the decision to follow the rules to appoint freedom fighters' dependants directly to government offices, auto-nomous/ semi-auto-nomous organizations and different corporations. Prime Minister Hasina stressed amending the decision further to include appointment of disabled freedom fighters and women's quota in the decision.

   BAKSAL rule could be continued had there been no Aug 15 incident: Hannan

UNB, Dhaka

BNP leader ASM Hannan Shah Monday viewed that one party rule would have continued in the country had the August 15 (1975) incident not happened.
"The history would evaluate Sheikh Mujibur Rahman as leader of BAKSAL by introducing one party rule in the country. BAKSAL system would have continued had August 15, 1975 not happened," the former Army Brigadier turned politician told a roundtable. The roundtable on 'National unity to protect independence, democracy and constitution' organized by Bangladesh Labor Party (BLP) marking the BAKSAL Day was held at the National Press Club. BLP president Shamsul Huda Mamun presided.
Hannan Shah alleged that Awami League leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had wanted to establish one party rule or 'family rule' by introducing BAKSAL system. "We will identify the persons who wanted to establish BAKSAL in the country".
Referring to the BDR mutiny, Hannan Shah viewed that this type of mutiny could not possible without involvement of the government. The Prime Minister had declared general amnesty to the mutineers promised to meet their demands. She also met with the mutineers, he added. Hannan Shah called upon the government to hold referendum on national issues.
Jamaat leader Abdul Kader Mollah said the Awami League wanted to suppress the people by changing the Constitution in 1975 that introduced one party rule. But it proved a miserable failure, which was manifested in the happening of August 15, 1975.
Now, again Awami League wants to ban politics based on religion by changing the Constitution. "Those who have had hit at the faith of the people, they were destined to doom," reminded the Jamaat leader.
He said the ruling party changed its name from BAKSAL to Awami League. They had admitted their mistake, which "amply proved the August 15 (1975) was a successful revolution."

   Bangabandhu murder case
Hearing on review petitions nears end

UNB, Dhaka

As hearings on the review petitions of the death-row convicts in the Bangabandhu murder case are close to conclusion, the apex court Monday strictly forbade the media from publishing or airing footage of the execution rope beforehand.
The Appellate Division bench of the Supreme Court dealing with the review petitions filed by the five former army officers in death row asked the Attorney-General to convey its warning to both the print and audiovisual media. The apex court's observation on the media came following an objection raised by the counsel for the petitioners before making their pleas for review of its conclusive judgment that reaffirmed the death sentence on a dozen ex-army officers for the assassination of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and most members of his family on August 15, 1975.
Abdur Razzaque Khan, the counsel for condemned Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, told the court that his client along with his family members felt shocked seeing such "hyped-up news".
Without naming a prosecution lawyer, he pointed out that it was aired that 97 percent reviews are usually rejected, indicating the fate of the review petitions.
"Since the matter is subjudice, the media should not release any sensational news over the mater," the lawyer submitted before the court for putting the brake.
Backing the contentions, Khan Saifur Rahman, the counsel for Lt Col (retd) Syed Faruque Rahman and Lt Col (retd) Muhiuddin Ahmed (Artillery), told the court that "a he goat, before going to the scaffold for slaughter, gets bath, forehead painted with vermilion and the devotees seek mercy from the holy goat. But the way the media play its role over the case is contrary to human values".

    Composite study needed on future of country's plastic industry: Muhith

UNB, Dhaka

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Monday said it is urgently needed to conduct a specific study with the participation of thinkers and scientists to see how the future of country's plastic industry could be designed.
"We are yet to know properly where the future of the plastic industry lies. Plastic industry has got potential, but I think there is need for a composite study in this sector," he said at the opening ceremony of the 6th Dhaka International Plastic, Packaging & Printing Industrial Fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center.
The four-day fair is being organized by Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) in cooperation with Chan Chao Int'l Com. Ltd., a Taiwanese company.
Industries Minister Dilp Barua, Federation of Bangl-adesh Chambers of Com-merce and Industry (FBCCI) president Annisul Huq, BPGMEA president Ferdous Wahed and general secretary Shamim Ahmed, Tiger Lin of Chan Chao Int'l Co., and fair organizing committee chairman Jasim Uddin also spoke at the function.
Speaking as chief guest, the Finance Minister referring to the BPGMEA's demands said he not in a position to make a pledge now. "Plastic is a potential industry… Deep consideration is needed for this sector." He noted that plastic could be hazardous to environment if it is not used properly or not recycled.
"Plastic has destroyed the Buriganga River… the government has taken the initiative to free the river from garbage," Muhith said.

    Govt to conduct survey on setting up Faridpur-Barisal-Kuakata railway

BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain Monday told the Jatiya Sangsad that the government would soon conduct a survey on setting up Faridpur-Barisal- Kuakata railway.
The present government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given priority on expanding and improving railway communication in the country, he said adding that transportation and journey by railway is much comfortable and safe.
The minister said this while replying to a supplementary question from Jatiya Party lawmaker ABM Ruhul Amin Hawlader.
On another question from Jubeda Khatun Parul, the minister said the Dhaka- Chittagong highway would soon be upgraded to a four-lane road with a divider and an agreement on construction of four-lane road costing Taka 1,650 crore has been signed. The government has made all preparations in this regard, he added.
In reply to another query he said construction of a four-lane Dhaka- Mymensingh highway with a divider could be initiated within the next month if an alternative proposal of his ministry for allocating additional Taka 100 crore is approved in the cabinet meeting.
"The proposal would be placed in tomorrow's (Tue-sday) cabinet committee meeting," he assured saying that construction of the proposed road is more essential not only for greater Mymensingh, but also for the development of the country," he said.

Editorial

First year of ninth JS

The first anniversary of the country's ninth Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) passed off quietly yesterday, January 25, 2010. On this day in 2009 the present Parliament formed through the December 2008 elections had met into inaugural session. But the great enthusiasm and high hopes that were generated in public minds are largely fading specially because of the fact that the House has almost become a one party show with the opposition boycotting the three sessions after the inaugural one and the government failing to create the congenial atmosphere to bring them back.
The formation of the Awami League-led grand alliance government and the inauguration of the ninth Parliament last year marked the nation's glorious transition to democracy after two years of illegal emergency rule that caused unbearable sufferings to the people. At the beginning of the year of 2009 the participation for the first time since 1991 of both ruling and opposition parties in the opening session of the Parliament had raised great hope that the Parliament would be effective this time and democracy will be given institutional shape. But that hope seems to be a distant goal now.
Because after one year the MPs seem busy more with their own cause than the cause of democracy or the people. This is evident from the fact that while there is no move to resolve the opposition boycott crisis, just on the eve of the Parliament's opening anniversary Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith disclosed on Sunday that decision would be taken in a week on the import of duty-free cars for the MPs. Besides, there are also reports that the remunerations and allowances of the MPs would be increased considerably soon. This implies that the members of the Parliament are interested more in resolving their own problems than that of the people who are groaning under the pangs of power, water, gas crises, economic hardship and rising cost of living.
The present Parliament is now one year old and it has already spent one fifth of its five year tenure. The greatest success achieved in this year is that for the first time in country's history all parliamentary committees have been formed in the very inaugural session of the Parliament making opposition lawmakers chairmen of three of those committees. But the most disappointing aspect is that the Parliament has been running without the participation of the opposition BNP for three consecutive sessions.
Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that although this government came to power with the slogan of 'Charter of Change', any real change in the life of the people is yet to be reflected. The two most important electoral pledges of the government were, among others, bringing down prices of essentials and holding the trial of the war criminals. But on conclusion of the first year of the parliament the real situation is that the people are gripped by economic woes marked by rising cost of living and political uncertainty signalled by looming fear of confrontation between the ruling and the opposition parties. Besides the Parliament remains almost ineffective and the much publicised war crime trial appears to be uncertain. And unfortunately these are not being discussed in the Parliament.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently visited neighbouring India and signed three deals and two MoUs with India during the visit. There are extensive debates and discussions on it outside. But these, among other vital issues, should be discussed in the Parliament and the opposition also should participate in the discussion. So, the return of the opposition to the Parliament is the need of the hour. And for that the government should create congenial atmosphere and the opposition should soften their stand on the issue.

  Poverty alleviation

LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Syed Ashraful Islam has reiterated Bangladesh's strong 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 in the city on Sunday. "Poverty and rural development issues will continue to remain as challenges in the region," he said. Stating that over 43 percent population of Bangladesh live below the poverty line, the LGRD state minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak said the target of the government is to lower the poverty level to 15 percent by 2021. However, According to World Bank (WB) the number of the poor in Bangladesh in 2000 was 47 per cent but despite a fall in the overall number of the poor, the number of people in abject poverty has increased. At present 5.6 crore people of the total population live below the poverty line. Of them the number of hardcore poor is 3.50 crore as against 3.25 crore in 2000.
Earlier, a UN report said hunger in South Asia has reached its highest level in 40 years because of food and fuel price rises and the global economic downturn. The report by the UN children's fund, UNICEF, said that 100 million more people in the region are going hungry compared with two years ago. It named the worst affected areas as Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. According to the World Bank, three quarters of the population in South Asia - almost 1.2 billion people - live on less than $2 (£1.2) a day. And more than 400m people in the region are now chronically hungry. This alarming situation has arisen due to our failure in achieving desired progress in the drive for poverty alleviation. With a view to rescuing the extreme poor from miseries we need substantial employment generation and long term plans for poverty alleviation.

Analysis

Saving the sinking ship

The Supreme Court's verdict in the NRO Case is now a legal and constitutional fact, and the government must implement it in letter and spirit.

Ameer Bhutto

The ability of this government to get some seemingly reasonable people to swallow the ridiculous tripe it often regurgitates is truly astounding. Having unsuccessfully tried to peddle the Sindh card and the idea of being indispensable for democracy, it continues to brandish another pearl of wisdom: that "democracy" could not have been restored had the People's Party not struck an American-sponsored deal with a military dictator that produced the NRO.
This line of reasoning is so fundamentally flawed, in so many ways, that one hardly knows where to begin in refuting it. Nevertheless, some who cried bloody murder when the NRO was promulgated now inexplicably concede that it is part of the chain of events that led to the restoration of democracy. They even take exception to the Supreme Court's detailed verdict in the NRO Case, in which their lordships have very rightly opined that the NRO represents not national but individual reconciliation, from which the nation has benefited not one iota. This much should be self-evident to all by now, and beyond debate.
Firstly, let us be clear that just because an event precedes another, logic in no way compels us to accept that the prior event caused the later one. Through such a convoluted approach, one could even argue that General Zia's coup in 1977 and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's execution in 1979 led to the restoration of democracy in 1988, just because these events preceded the 1988 polls, or that Musharraf's coup in 1999, likewise, led to the restoration of democracy in 2002. A simple chronology of events must not be mistaken for a cause-and-effect relationship.
Secondly, what exactly did the NRO actually facilitate? It was by no means a sine qua non for elections. The Musharraf administration had outlived its utility for its Western benefactors and was becoming a liability to them because of his increasing unpopularity. The writing was clear on the wall that change was coming one way or another. Elections without the NRO would simply have meant that corrupt and discredited politicians, who were either in hiding or in self-imposed exile, would be excluded from the exercise. All the NRO really facilitated was the return to the political spectrum, and eventually to power, of absconders, convicts and those who were hiding behind medical certificates to evade prosecution at home and abroad.
Thirdly, if the powers that brokered the deal felt that elections could not be held without the NRO, which would rinse the past misdeeds of these corrupt politicians and once again make them eligible for power, then that throws up even more ominous questions about the impetus behind the NRO, the conspiracy behind Benazir Bhutto's murder and the engineered consequences it unleashed.
Fourthly, every measure this government has thus far taken has been aimed at securing its hold on power, rather than strengthening democracy and democratic institutions. It stands today sans a shred of moral authority to rule the nation and is a growing source of embarrassment for the country on the international plane. Is this the face of democracy the revival of which, under the NRO, we are expected to celebrate?
In an article in this newspaper ("For whom the bell tolls," Dec 21), I gave a long list of relatively recent examples of public figures around the world who not only resigned at the slightest implication of wrongdoings, whether true or not, but some who even committed suicide to spare themselves the ignominy of being dragged through the mud. This government would do well to learn a lesson in honour from them.
The basis for the calls for this government to go is not just its bumbling incompetence. We have learnt to tolerate fools with a wry sense of humour. But the situation now has gone beyond mere incompetence. This government seems determined to cause harm to the system and vital state institutions. How can this be tolerated?
Why else has it procrastinated for nearly two years over the desperately needed constitutional reforms to restore the sovereignty of parliament? Why has it brazenly taken on all major institutions, including the judiciary, the armed forces, the intelligence agencies, the media and the establishment? Why is it moved solely by threats to its survival, with Zardari breaking out of the bunker in the last month or so only when his hold on power is threatened, but otherwise having abandoned the people to terrorist attacks and all manner of hardships during the preceding two years?
Why has it thrown open the doors to the whimsical fancies of its foreign overlords at the expense of national sovereignty, for which it has recently earned a certificate of loyalty from Senator John McCain? Why do Benazir's killers still roam free while the government that came into being in her name revels in pomp and power?
It is not sufficient to say that since no viable alternative exists, we must grin and bear it. A nation stewing in a frying pan has no choice but to jump out of it in the hope of salvation, even if the leap of faith lands it into the fire. That is what the crucial hit-and-miss process of experimentation is all about. If we are afraid of getting singed, we cannot possibly arrive at a healthy, mature democratic system.
Georgia's fledgling institutions and system are far weaker than ours. Nevertheless, Georgians saw the wisdom of moving beyond the rule of President Eduard Shevardnadze, whom they removed from office through a mass public movement when he became intolerable for them. What are we afraid of? For some reason we have evolved a preference for political paralysis and atrophy, even when we see harm being done.
The Supreme Court's verdict in the NRO Case is now a legal and constitutional fact, and the government must implement it in letter and spirit. Its not doing so will only plunge the country into a precipice on the edge of which it is now precariously balanced. But if the decision of the highest court in the land is absolutely unacceptable to this government, then the only course of action available to it is to return to the electorate for a fresh mandate. The people are the sovereign font of all authority and legitimacy in democracy and they should be allowed to have the final say. Let the People's Party go to the people for a fresh mandate, based on its own merit this time, rather than in the shadow of a tragic twist of events as in February 2008, and see what happens. If the people vindicate its position with their support, then no one can justifiably stand in its way. Let us see what the truth about the Sindh card really is. Let us see what these political weapons are which the party leadership keeps boasting about. Obtaining a fresh mandate is a bona-fide democratic method of silencing all dissent and imposing one's authority in the political field.
President Charles de Gaulle resorted to this method twice to prove his ascendancy; first in 1962 when parliament rejected his proposal for the direct election of the president by the people, and again in 1968 when France was paralysed by massive strikes and demonstrations. If this government is so sure that it still commands nationwide public support, then this should be a very attractive and highly preferable, not to mention easy, option for them. Will they pick up the gauntlet? If not, then, one way or another, this sinking ship has to be saved.


The writer is vice-chairman of Sindh National Front and a former MPA from Ratodero. He has degrees from the University of Buckingham and Cambridge University.

  For settlement of Afghan conflict

Islamabad's ability to resist Washington's pressure has only grown, but the world's sole superpower needs a partner on Afghanistan's border

Farhan Bokhari

US Secretary of State Robert Gates Image Credit: AP Last week's visit by US Secretary of State Robert Gates to Pakistan amid reports of US insistence on a widening of Pakistan's focus in its anti-terror campaign along the Afghan border says much about the underlying nature of this relationship.
What was a close alliance between Islamabad and Washington in the years following the New York terrorist attacks of 2001 is increasingly fraught with friction.
In a speech on Friday, Gates said extremists in Pakistan were trying to encourage public hostility towards the US with an "organised propaganda campaign".
"Let me say, definitively, the US does not covet a single inch of Pakistani soil," Gates said. "We seek no military bases and we have no desire to control Pakistan's nuclear weapons."
Gates acknowledged that there was a "very real … trust deficit" between the US and Pakistan.
"That has made it more difficult for us to work together to confront the common threat of extremism," he said.
The US is eager to press Pakistan constantly 'to do more' as accounts go, both from Pakistani and US sources. But Pakistan believes 'enough is enough'.
In dealing with Pakistan, the US has used both the carrot (offering incentives, including military sales and economic benefits) and the stick.
The current example of the stick, according to Pakistani officials, comes in the form of unpaid dues to Pakistan for its services under what is known as the coalition support fund. Pakistani officials claim the country is owed about $1.4 billion (Dh5.1 billion). The only hope for Pakistan at the moment appears to be that the US may pay it $350 million (Dh1.2 billion) for its services.
Even if the dues are cleared, the discord will likely remain. A year after Barack Obama became president of the United States and promised to launch a new mode of American thinking about the globalised world, the US, at least in its foreign relations with Pakistan and the surrounding region, has shown few signs of change.
Washington's conflict with Iran continues to grow, its appreciation of the gravity of the situation in Afghanistan is yet to be backed by sufficient resources, and trust in ties with Pakistan is waning.
For the moment it seems Pakistan's response to the US has been far from what Gates wanted to hear. In fact, Islamabad said an operation against suspected militant sites along the Afghan border was not nearly as imminent as Washington would like. An operation in North Waziristan is unlikely before well into the second half of 2010, if at all.
Between now and then, Pakistan will of course be looking for further signs of US commitments translating themselves into tangible action. If the US continues to drag its feet on meeting most of Pakistan's demands, the ruling civil-military establishment in Islamabad will indeed have the right to consider further non-compliance.
If, indeed, Pakistan does launch further anti-terrorist operations, as it has done in the past year in places like its northern Swat region as well as in the southern parts of the South Waziristan region, those actions would simply be driven by the need to preserve and protect Islamabad's own interests.
Going forward, the US simply cannot afford to keep on ignoring Pakistan's requests for military and economic aid unless it plans to forge ahead with the Afghan mission without Islamabad's support.
In short, that is not an option given that Pakistan is the most reliable US ally in the region . There can be few similar substitutes to the services that Pakistan provides to the US, notably allowing the use of its soil for the flow of badly needed supplies to Afghanistan.
However, beyond such logistical support, there is a further important role for Islamabad in a long-term settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan. If the US eventually seeks a broad reconciliation with Afghanistan's waring militants, Pakistan, with its wealth of long-term contacts in that country, will be uniquely placed to work as a bridgehead to facilitate that process. In spite of the tough message delivered by Gates, Pakistan's ability to resist Washington's pressure has only grown as the Afghan conflict has become increasingly bloody.

Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.

Viewpoints

Rewind, Replay Obama’s Words

The process of change he has started will be difficult to give up until Americans decide to become fearful of another terrorist attack and hit out at yet another imagined enemy as they saw Iraq to be. 

Rahul Sharma

America cried in joy when Barack Obama spoke in Chicago after winning the presidential election in the winter of 2008.
The world cried with it as tens of millions of mesmerised people across far away borders chanted "Yes, we can" in electrifying moments brought live on televisions in billions of households. There was celebration, there were prayers, and there was hope.
A year after he became the 45th president of the world's only superpower, we all need to go back and listen to his words if we want to move past our usual cynicism and begin to berate or congratulate the man for his failures or successes in the past 12 rather ?harrowing months.
We also need to replay his inaugural speech to better understand America's young president. Obama's future lies in what he said in the past, soon after he had greatness thrust on him by Americans seeking a change in the middle of one of the worst recessions ever.
The agenda and the expectation was for change, for a better world, for renewed friendship, for a softer, accommodating United States that was hated without prejudice across countries following its invasion of Iraq. Obama never promised he would change the world in his fist year in power. He did promise to start the process of change, which he has in more ways than one.
"I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington," Obama said in Chicago as young and old hugged each other and cried.
He knew well that the challenges ahead were enormous: "…The greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century… The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term," he declared, knowing very well that what he could not quickly solve the problems he was inheriting.
A year down the road, I presume a wizened Obama realises that politics can be brutal and hurting, questioning and above all unforgiving. There is never enough time to meet expectations; big words cannot necessarily be translated into similar actions and compromise is the name of the game.
But let's also be honest in accepting that what Obama has achieved in his first year may not be all that he promised, but it has been a meaningful start. He has brought the United States closer to many countries, he has reached out to Muslims, spoken to America's enemies and has done his bit to stabilise the battered domestic economy.
It is beginning to expand despite persistent job losses. Obama knows well that whatever his foreign policy achievements be, eventually it is the bread and butter issues at home that will decide whether he is a great leader or just another president.
It is important for the world that he pulls America out its economic morass. The world's biggest and most consumerist society needs to start buying again if the world has to return to its glorious growth story.
Critics have faulted him for taking his eye off the economic ball that's been bumping around and instead focus on health and environment issues. He also finds himself dug deeper into Afghanistan for what has now become "Obama's war".
Many would argue that it probably makes more sense to be at war in a wasted country such as Afghanistan, filled with unruly, violent men with deadly weapons and vile intentions than the one in Iraq that Obama's predecessor unleashed. It does, but like always it has a flip side - lives are lost and I wonder how many more Americans are willing to die in a strange land after so many lost their lives in George W. Bush's mission that is yet to be accomplished years after he made a glorious landing on an aircraft carrier amid thundering applause.
The war in Afghanistan needs to be fought even it is long and agonising. A withdrawal any time soon would not only destabilise the region but also spread the seeds of terrorism that Obama has promised to fight against. There is no way a country like that can be left in the hands of the Taleban. The United States and Obama can walk out of Iraq, but not from Kabul.
I will again return to what Obama said in his inaugural speech: "We will not apologise for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." He has to defeat them.
A year since creating history by becoming America's first black president, Obama finds himself more popular abroad than at home, where some say he lowers his country's superpower stature by admitting to mistakes made in the past. But that is the nature of the American presidency, which has to battle opinion polls, questions, barbs and still deliver campaign promises.
However, his domestic and international critics need to give him some more time before beginning to write him off as just another president. The precedents he has set will be difficult to emulate for his successors.
The process of change he has started will be difficult to give up until Americans decide to become fearful of another terrorist attack and hit out at yet another imagined enemy as they saw Iraq to be. After all, it's just been a year. There are nearly three more to go!


Rahul Sharma is Editor of Khaleej Times. He can be reached at rahul@khaleejtimes.com

  The Liebarak of Israel

In this governmental zoo, the one really important creature is the Liebarak - a two-headed monster that terrifies all the other animals. This animal is 50 percent Lieberman, 50 percent Barak, 0 percent human.

Uri Avnery 

The business is registered in the name of Benjamin Netanyahu. But the reality is different.
Netanyahu has never been more than a slick patent medicine salesman. That is a type that appears frequently in American Westerns and sells an elixir that is good for everything: From the flu to lunacy. The main weapon of the vendor is his tongue: His stream of words builds castles in the air, blows up glistening bubbles and silences all doubts.
Since the election almost a year ago, his biggest (literally) achievement has been the setting up of a Cabinet: 30 ministers and a bunch of deputies, most of them without any perceptible duties. From then on his main occupation has been the one in which he is most adept: Political survival.
In this governmental zoo, the one really important creature is the Liebarak - a two-headed monster that terrifies all the other animals. This animal is 50 percent Lieberman, 50 percent Barak, 0 percent human.
When Lieberman first appeared on the stage, many looked on him with disdain. Such a person, they decided, has no chance in Israeli politics. He is openly racist, a man whose declared aim is to rid Israel of the Arabs. True, there is in Israel a lot of silent racism, but Israelis - it was believed - will not vote for an outright racist.
The last elections put an end to this belief. Lieberman's party won 15 Knesset seats, and became the third biggest Knesset faction. The establishment was not too upset.
Lieberman's home turf is the community of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who have not been absorbed into Israeli society and who live in a spiritual and social ghetto. They may be joined by other sectors: The settlers, the Oriental Jews who feel that the Likud betrayed them, young people who see him as a man who expresses openly what they believe in secret: That the Arabs should be expelled from the state, and from the entire country.
Lieberman's un-Israeli appearance may yet turn out to be an advantage for him. A person who is so un-Israeli may become the ideal leader of a camp united by its hatred of the "elites", the Supreme Court, the police, the media and the other pillars of Israeli democracy.
The police investigations, too, may elevate him in the eyes of this public. They believe that he is being persecuted by the hypocritical elites. The dark cloud of suspicion did not deter Netanyahu from giving him control of both the Ministry of Police and the Ministry of Justice, the two ministries charged with upholding the rule of law, which are now under the direction of his lackeys.
This danger should not be underrated. Other historical leaders of his ilk were at first considered clowns and ridiculed, before they came to power and wrought havoc.
But the second head of the Liebarak is more dangerous than the first. The danger of Lieberman lies in the future. The danger of Ehud Barak is immediate and real. This week, Barak did something that should turn on a another red light. On the demand of Lieberman, Barak accorded the settlers' college in Ariel the status of a university.
Unlike the "foreign" Lieberman, Barak comes from the epicenter of old-time Israel. He grew up in a kibbutz, was a commander in the elite "general staff commando" and speaks perfect Hebrew with the right intonation. As a former chief of staff and a present minister of defense, he represents the might of the most formidable sector in Israel: The army.
Lieberman has not yet succeeded in hurting the chances of peace, except by talking. Barak has acted. The fatal blow dealt by Barak to the chances of peace came after the 2000 Camp David conference. To recount briefly: When he was elected in 1999 with a landslide majority, on the wave of enthusiasm of the peace camp and with the help of clear peace slogans, he induced presidents Bill Clinton and Yasser Arafat to meet him at a summit conference. In a typical mixture of arrogance and ignorance, he believed that if he offered the Palestinians the chance to found a Palestinian state, they would give up all their other claims. His offers were indeed more far-reaching than those of his predecessors, but still far from the minimum acceptable to Palestinians. The conference failed.
Coming home from Camp David, he did not make the usual announcement, nor an unusual one. Rather, he coined a mantra that has since become the center of the national consensus: "I have turned every stone on the way to peace/I have offered the Palestinians everything they could ask for/They have rejected everything/We have no partner for peace." This declaration by the leader of the Labor Party, who often calls himself "the head of the peace camp", dealt a mortal blow to the Israeli peace forces, who had hoped so much from him. The vast majority of the Israelis believe now with all their heart that "we have no partner for peace". Thereby he opened the way for the ascent to power of Ariel Sharon and Netanyahu.
Throughout his time in office, Barak established and enlarged settlements. On his orders, the Commanding Officer of Central Command issued a permit for a radio station of the settlers. In this respect, too, he has trumped Lieberman. His decision about the Ariel university fits into this pattern.
"Wait a minute!" a sensible person may ask. "What has this to do with Barak? He is the minister of defense, isn't he, and not the minister of education!"
Ariel is occupied territory. In the occupied territories, the army is the sovereign power. Barak is in charge of the army. The directive to upgrade the Ariel College was given by Barak to the commanding officer. An Israeli academic institution has to go a long way before being accorded university status by the competent authorities. There are many colleges in Israel, far more outstanding than the Ariel College, which aspire to this status. In the occupied territories, a general's approval is enough.
This fact throws light on the unprecedented Israeli invention: The eternal occupation.
An occupation regime is by its nature a temporary situation. It comes into being when one side in a war conquers territory of the other side. The occupying power is supposed to rule it, under detailed international laws, until the end of the war, when a peace agreement must decide the future of the territory. A war may last some years, at most, and therefore the occupation is a temporary matter. Successive Israeli governments have turned it into a permanent situation.
Why? At the outset of the occupation, the then Minister of Defense Moshe Dayan discovered that the occupation gives the occupier absolute power without any obligation to accord the inhabitants any citizenship rights whatsoever. If Israel were to annex the territories, it would have to decide what to do with the population. That would create an embarrassing situation. The inhabitants of East Jerusalem, which was formally annexed to Israel in 1967, did not receive citizenship, but only the status of "residents". Successive Israeli governments have been afraid that the world would not accept a "democratic" state in which a third of the population has no rights.
The Spanish government has already declared a boycott of the Ariel College and canceled its participation in an international architectural competition run by Spain. I hope that more governments and academic institutions will follow this example and declare a boycott on this "university".
True, the Liebarak couldn't care less. This two-headed monster is indifferent to boycotts. But an academic institution cannot be indifferent to a boycott by its peers around the world. And if the Israeli academic community does not rise up against this prostitution of its ideals by the setting up of a university of the settlers under military auspices - it is inviting a boycott on all Israeli universities.

  How the World Can Rescue Yemen

So far, Obama and Brown seem unable to fully grasp the fact that Yemen's problems go well beyond Al Qaeda's presence in the country.

Mai Yamani

Yemen has suddenly joined Afghanistan and Pakistan as a risk to global security. Indeed, it is increasingly seen as a nascent failed state and potential replacement host for Al Qaeda.
The attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day by a young Nigerian man trained by Al Qaeda in Yemen appeared to open the West's eyes to the country's problems. Following that failed attack, US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown jointly pushed a conference in London to propose solutions for the previously overlooked crises in Yemen.
But if the conference focuses too narrowly on Al Qaeda's presence in Yemen, it will do more harm than good. Instead, the conference must aim to address broader issues of political and social stability within Yemen.
Al Qaeda is not the primary danger to Yemen's security and stability, but Yemen's geography and political problems are well suited to its activities. A particularly attractive feature is the prevalence of the severe Wahhabi religious dogma, which was exported to Yemen by Saudi Arabia but now provides fertile ground for recruiting disaffected young Yemeni men for assaults on Saudi Arabia.
Yemen 's central problems are two: the ongoing civil war that the government is waging against the Houthi tribe in the country's north, and the suppression of a secessionist movement in the south. It is the Yemeni government's inability to find a political solution to these problems that has led Yemen to the brink of fragmentation.
So far, Obama and Brown seem unable to fully grasp the fact that Yemen's problems go well beyond Al Qaeda's presence in the country. As a result, they appear to be playing into Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's hands. Saleh wants to use the London conference as a means to leverage Western backing, particularly military aid, to pursue his wars against the Houthis and the southern secessionists.
Saleh has regularly employed the danger of Al Qaeda to obtain additional financial and security support from both the West and Saudi Arabia. For him, the attempted Christmas Day bombing was a gift from heaven. Saleh's dilemma is that Western aid may now come with increased interference in Yemen's internal affairs at a time when he wants the world to turn a blind eye to his conduct of the country's civil wars.
The West and Saleh do not have the same enemy. Al Qaeda is the West's enemy, while Saleh's true enemies are the Houthis and the separatists of the south. But if the West is to curtail Al Qaeda's activities in Yemen, it will need to push Saleh into reaching accommodations with both the Houthis and the southerners, and this will undoubtedly mean sharing power with them. Saleh will undoubtedly resist such an effort.
Last December, Saleh called for national dialogue, but on his own terms: the Houthis and the southern leaders are to be excluded from the discussions unless they support the Yemeni constitution that has kept Saleh in power for decades. But Saleh's hardline approach is failing. More than half of Yemen's territory is falling out of government control. The US should not be surprised by any of these developments because American involvement in Yemen is not new. Al Qaeda in Yemen has been targeted since the USS Cole was bombed while in the port of Aden in 2000. Missile strikes by US drones last December in Abein and Shabwa killed a number of Al Qaeda members, as well as civilians.
Fighting Al Qaeda in Yemen through such means may temporarily reduce terrorism, but it will not end it. The real question is whether the West will address Yemen's failed political and military strategies, which are the root cause of Al Qaeda's mushrooming presence in the country. Only if Western intervention aims to rescue the Yemeni state from itself will there be any possibility to contain Al Qaeda.
And it is not just the Yemeni state that is at fault. Yemen's neighbours have also played a role. Saudi Arabia exported both its Wahhabism and Al Qaeda to Yemen by funding thousands of madrassas where fanaticism is taught. Moreover, since the 1991 Gulf War, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been expelling Yemeni workers. Last month alone, 54,000 Yemeni workers were expelled from Saudi Arabia.
Although Yemen is geographically part of the Arabian Peninsula, it was excluded from the Gulf Cooperation Council, primarily because its size - it is the most populous state on the peninsula - would have given it great influence. In fact, the Yemeni population exceeds the population of all six GCC members combined.
Saleh received a strong endorsement from the GCC last December for his domestic wars, and Saudi Arabia has been in direct military confrontation with the Houthis, its army having crossed Yemen's border. But the GCC members' failure to open their economies - which are always in need of guest workers - to Yemen's young men is shortsighted.
The US and Britain, both patrons of the GCC, must encourage its members to include Yemen if they want to solve its problems. Yemenis are known as skilled labourers. So, instead of exporting religious radicalism to Yemen, importing its manpower could neutralise Yemen's problems.
The forthcoming London conference could prove to be either a trap for the West or the beginning of a true effort at the kind of domestic reform that can prevent Yemen from becoming another Afghanistan. If the West buys into Saleh's depiction of a war against Al Qaeda, it will be trapped into supporting him and his failed policies. But if it looks beyond terrorism to the root causes of the problem, and presses Saleh to begin to share power, Yemen need not become another safe haven for terrorists.


Mai Yamani's most recent book is Cradle of Islam.

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

Risks on rise for MFIs: Experts
BSS, Dhaka

Experts at a roundtable discussion gather some strong evidences, indicating the easy days for microfinance institutions (MFIs) are fading out on the backdrop of increasing risks from socio-economic causes. They also recommended measures to fence off the MFIs from the potential risks those could effectively hinder their operations and deprive people of ultimate benefits.
Philip Brown, Director Risk, Citi Microfinance and David Lascelles, Senior Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI), UK, conducted the roundtable discussions at a city hotel on Monday.
Around 30 representatives from financial sector including different local MFIs participated in the workshop to share their views on the potential risks and possible remedies.
The roundtable, organized by Citibank NA, was a part of the CSFI's worldwide survey on microfinance operation. The survey on risks of MFIs titled "Microfinance Banana Skins Report" includes Bangladesh among 80 countries. David Lascelles, the survey editor and author of the Banana Skin Report, told BSS that the risks for Bangladesh MFIs are still comparatively lower than other countries such as India, Pakistan and some developed states.
But, he added that the concern is the rising trend of the risks those need immediate attention for the shake of the MFIs. David Lascelles, who was the Banking and Resource Editor at the Financial Times in New York, was talking with BSS about the outcome of the closed-door roundtable discussions. Lascelles said like other countries, the Bangladeshi MFIs are also on the verge of potential risks, but most of the people are not much aware about their consequences. Referring to the findings of the survey and the experts' opinions at the roundtable discussions, he pointed out three major risks-rising credit risks, eroding image and escalating competition in the field of operations. Credit disbursements of MFIs used to be considered risk-free because of the high rate of recovery compared to banks and other financial organisations. But, Lascelles said the loan recovery rate had been declining worldwide on the backdrop of global financial crisis. "The scenario in Bangladesh is still a bit comfortable, though the recent recovery showed declining trend," he said without giving further details. Another risk is eroding image of the MFIs, Lascelles said.
"The MFIs used to be seen as philanthropic institutions. But their commercial operations raised questions over their traditional image, he said and observed, "MFIs in Bangladesh are also facing the similar questions about their reputation".
He said that he was also aware about the negative coverage of media, which he considered a global phenomenon, facing the MFIs.
Lascelles suggests conducting an independent survey on the operations of MFIs, making people clear about their operations and benefits.
Citing the discussions with former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Salehuddin Ahmed at the roundtable, he said the high number of MFIs in Bangladesh is also seen as a risk factor. The number of MFIs in Bangladesh, as the roundtable was told, is around 3,000. Lascelles said the former governor was on the opinion of cutting their number so they could reduce their operational cost and maximize the use of resources. According to Lascelles, Dr Ahmed at the discussions recommended policy initiative of Bangladesh Bank, encouraging MFIs to take different steps including merger to eventually cut their number. Lascelles said his institutions would continue discussions with Bangladeshi MFIs for creating awareness about the potential risks. There will be another round of survey and discussions at the end of this year to follow the progress of their recommendation, he added.

 Call to negotiate with US for duty free access of RMG products

UNB, Dhaka

Speakers at seminar on Monday underscored the need for forming a taskforce to negotiate with the USA policymakers and trade leaders for getting duty and quota free access of Bangladeshi RMG products to their market.
They said most developed countries granted duty free access for LDCs, although the access is not uniform and US is the most inconsistent in this regard, which has serious reservation of Bangladeshi RMG products.
Chaired by DCCI president Abul Kasem Khan, the seminar was addressed, among others, by FBCCI chief Annisul Huq, former ambassador to Geneva Dr Toufiq Ali, BKMEA president Fazlul Hoque, CPD executive director Mustafizur Rahman, DCCI director Asif Ibrahim and BGMEA director Arshad Jaman.
DCCI, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) jointly organized the seminar tilted 'Duty Free and Quota Free Access to US Market,' held at DCCI. Former Ambassador to USA M Humayun Kabir presented the key-note paper.
Annisul Huq said although Bangladesh is a Lest Developed Country, USA has categorized Bangladesh as a most significant supplier, which is a big barrier for Bangladesh in US market. "We have to overcome the barrier for easy access of our RMG products to the US market."
"Without getting duty free access in US Market, Bangladesh has to face stiff competition or explore another market," he added.
Huq stressed the need for taking initiative to get supports from the African LDCs for duty free and quota free access to US market.
Abul Kasem Khan informed that Bangladesh exports to USA stood at $ 4.05 billion during the last financial year as against import of $ 456.56 million. Ninety percent of the exports were RMG.
"The USA is one of the major buyers of garments. Bangladesh garments to US market account for 3.8 percent of total apparel imported to USA, against 2.6 percent of Cambodia and 35 percent from China," he said.
For getting duty free and quota free access to US market, he said Bangladesh should take full-preparation to take advantage of changed situation by lobbying at all levels.
"Bangladesh delegation may visit frequently and establish a business contacts with African countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Botswana and convince them by extending Bangladesh's support in the WTO negotiations," he said.

  SKorea to hold FTA talks with Japan and China
AFP, Seoul

South Korea, Japan and China will hold talks this week to launch a joint research project into a possible free trade pact, officials said Monday.
The meeting involving government officials, scholars and business representatives will be held in Seoul on Tuesday, the South's trade ministry said.
"This will be a preliminary meeting to launch joint research on a trilateral free trade accord," a ministry official told AFP.
The three countries agreed at their summit in October 2009 to push for the joint research.
South Korea has been actively pushing for free trade agreements worldwide to bolster its export-dominated economy. It already has free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, India, the European Free Trade Association and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
A free trade pact was signed with the European Union in October 2009 and awaits ratification. A deal signed with the United States in 2007 also needs ratification.

  Japan pledges $70m as aid for Haiti
AFP, Tokyo

Japan said Monday it would pledge 70 million dollars in aid to quake-hit Haiti and deploy as many as 300 peacekeepers to the UN mission in the Caribbean nation.
"Our government will announce a package of financial assistance to Haiti, which will total 70 million dollars, during a donors' meeting in Canada," a foreign ministry official said.
The aid includes 25 million dollars in emergency assistance and 45 million dollars for long-term reconstruction in the nation devastated by a 7.0-magnitude quake, the official said.
International donors prepared to meet Monday in Montreal to discuss rebuilding Haiti after the January 12 quake, the worst recorded disaster to hit the Americas, with the death toll expected to top 150,000.
Tokyo will also send a unit of its Self Defense Forces (SDF) to join the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti, the defence ministry said.
The top government spokesman, Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano, said Japan may send about 300 military personnel and planned to deploy them as soon as possible, Kyodo News reported.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano had informally agreed Sunday to send an SDF unit to join the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, Kyodo said.
Japan's military is barred from fighting overseas under the country's war-renouncing constitution, but it has joined non-combat operations including in Iraq and as part of anti-piracy patrols off Somalia.
At the Montreal conference, the United States, Canada, France, Brazil and other donors will attempt to craft long-term strategies to lift crippled Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, on to a path to recovery.
Japan had initially pledged five million dollars in the days after the quake, an amount much smaller than the US aid pledge of 100 million dollars and less than the 10 million dollars vowed by South Korea.
The Kyodo report said that after the initial aid pledge "the United Nations strongly urged Japan to add more aid as the world's second-largest economy and as the second-biggest donor to the UN."

  WB praises China anti-inflation steps
AFP, Beijing

The World Bank said Monday recent moves by China to clamp down on rampant lending were the "best way" to tackle the problem of rising inflation and the threat of asset bubbles.
"It is very tricky once you are in this situation of heavy credit growth to try to come off that. It is a very fine line between doing it too quickly and not doing enough," Ardo Hansson, lead economist of the World Bank in Beijing, said at a news conference. "Trying small steps and seeing how the market reacts-and hoping that the market reacts in a reasonable way-is the best way to start."
Beijing moved this month to calm growing inflationary pressures and soaring stock and property prices caused by runaway bank lending, which last year nearly doubled from 2008.
The People's Bank of China last Thursday raised the interest rate on its benchmark three-month treasury bills for the second time in two weeks in a bid to deter new lending.
It followed an earlier move on its benchmark one-year treasury bills and official data that showed the world's third-largest economy grew by 8.7 percent in 2009 and 10.7 percent in the fourth quarter.

  Tourism to Japan battered by strong yen, economic downturn

AFP, Tokyo

Foreign visitor numbers to Japan last year plunged at the fastest pace in nearly four decades due to the global recession, a strong yen and the swine flu scare, official data showed Monday.
A total of 6.79 million foreign tourists and business travellers came to Japan in 2009, down 18.7 percent from a record 8.35 million the previous year, the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) said.
"We believe Japan has a lot to attract foreign tourists, but the year 2009 was hit by the yen's rise, which made trips to Japan more expensive when the travel industry was reeling from an economic slump," a JNTO researcher said.
"Scares over the new influenza also contributed to the drop," he said.
The fall was the sharpest since 1971, when arrivals dropped 22.7 percent from the previous year when an international exposition was held in Osaka, according to the organisation for tourism research and promotion. Japan's new centre-left government, which took power last summer, is hoping to boost tourism as a cash earner for the country whose population is shrinking.
Tourists have been drawn by Japan's traditional culture and scenic beauty but also its pop culture, from anime to fashion, and its high-tech products.
Common complaints from tourists include that fewer shops accept credit cards than in other developed countries and that not many people speak foreign languages, said JNTO researcher Naoki Morikawa.
Morikawa said that foreign visitor numbers to Japan had increased over recent decades-from 2.84 million in 1989 to 4.44 million in 1999.
The largest number came from South Korea, followed by Taiwan and China.
Travellers arriving from South Korea last year tumbled by 33.4 percent to 1.59 million, accounting for 23 percent of the total number.
Arrivals from Taiwan fell 26.3 percent to 1.02 million, but those from mainland China edged up 0.6 percent to a record one million.
Chinese arrivals kept rising for five months in a row from August, a month after Japan started issuing visas to individual Chinese due to growing demand for non-group travel between the two countries.

  Risk-averse investors send Asian shares lower
AFP, Hong Kong

Financial stocks fell again in Asian trade Monday as uncertainty over US President Barack Obama's bank revamp plans and policy tightening by Beijing weighed on risk-averse investors.
The region saw broad falls following a 2.09 percent slump on the Dow Jones index Friday, its biggest weekly drop since February 2009. Sentiment on global markets has soured since Obama unveiled last Thursday plans for a tough banking reform that would limit "excessive" risk-taking blamed for the financial crisis. Tokyo was 1.20 percent lower by the break as a stronger yen weighed on exporters. Hong Kong shares were down 0.90 percent while Sydney shed 1.17 percent. Singapore was down 0.40 percent. "It seems that the Obama administration is trying to fight the decline in (its voter) support by addressing popular criticism against the financial sector," Mizuho Securities analyst Yukio Takahashi told Dow Jones Newswires.
"This issue could continue to weigh on Wall Street."
In Shanghai shares fell 0.17 percent with banks leading the losses amid concerns that fund-raising plans in the sector could dilute share value, dealers said.
In response to calls by Beijing for banks to raise the amount of capital they hold against their loans, Bank of China announced aggressive plans over the weekend to issue new shares and a multi-billion yuan convertible bond sale. Other Chinese lenders fell on concerns of similar plans, with China Construction Bank down 0.3 percent and ICBC down 0.2 percent.
Fears that Beijing is set to tighten credit as it tries to rein in its scorching economy also continued to play on the minds of investors. China last week said inflation reached a 13-month high. Markets also grappled with doubts about the future of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke after key Democratic senators said last week they would oppose the central bank chief's reappointment after his first term ends on January 31.
Top-ranking members of the US Senate banking committee, however, voiced confidence Saturday that the Fed chief would be confirmed for a second term.
The dollar traded close to a one-month low against the yen at 89.98 yen in Tokyo morning trade, against 89.91 in New York late Friday.
The euro was steady at 1.4136 dollars but rose to 127.19 yen from 127.03.
Oil was higher. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, rose five cents to 74.59 dollars a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March was up 17 cents to 73.00 dollars.

National

Foresters given training on tiger conservation
BSS, Dhaka, Jan 25

In the backdrop of extinction of tigers particularly the rare species of Royal Bengal Tiger in the Sundarbans due to human-tiger confrontation, department of forest launched a training programme for foresters as well as people to develop their wildlife conservation skill. State Minister for Environment and Forest Dr Hasan Mahmud inaugurated the training programme at a function at Ban Bhaban here Monday, arranged under eight-year Bangladesh Tiger Action Plan.
Every year, on an average 15 to 16 people die in human-tiger confrontation while retaliatory killing rate of Royal Bengal Tiger is about three to four.
When tigers are found in villages or neighbouring fields, people often killed them in retaliation, posing additional sources of tiger loss and long term impact on viability of the tiger population. According to World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), the population of wild tiger is now about 3,200 in 14 Tiger Range Countries (TRC), which was recorded as many as one lakh in the beginning of the 20th century. Bangladesh's Sundarbans, a single unique bio-climatic zone in the world, is the largest habitat of the Royal Bengal Tiger with a population of estimated 400 to 450 tigers now. Dr Hasan said tiger stands as symbol valor and heritage of Bangladesh. Different species of tigers, including Balinese tigers and Caspian tigers, have already been disappeared from the world. "The Royal Bengal Tiger, one of the last species, would also be extinct without a programme for long term conservation objectives", he said. He said the presence of the tiger has helped shape human culture. Most tiger populations are small and therefore more vulnerable to extinction, he said. The state minister said a ministerial level meeting of the Global Tiger Forum will be held in Thailand at the end of this month while the World Tiger Summit will be held at Vladivostok in September this year to outline a sustainable plan for conservation of tigers across the world.
Dr Hasan said the Sundarbans forest represents a last stronghold for Royal Bengal Tiger. So, Bangladesh has a big responsibility to secure this national treasure and ensure the continued existence of the species on the earth, he told the forest officials.
With Chief Conservator of Forest Abdul Motaleb in the chair, the function was addressed, among others, by secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forest Dr Mihir Kanti Majumder, noted wildlife expert Dr Anwarul Islam, Hossain and Dr John Lewis of London Zoo. Officials said the practical part of the training will be held at Dulhazara Safari Park in Chokoriya when the foresters would be given training on immobilization of tiger when they enter into human territory and wildlife conservation.

  Congenial atmosphere helps disabled people live a decent life

BSS, Rajshahi, Jan 25

Speakers at a views-sharing meeting here on Sunday underscored the need for ensuring congenial atmosphere to end repression and discrimination against the disabled persons to enable them live a decent life.
Terming the disabled persons as the integral part of the society, they said time has come to bring them under the mainstream of the society for overall development of the nation.
District Disabled Legal Aid Committee and Action on Disability and Development (ADD) jointly organized the session titled "Disability related discrimination and repression:
Preventive step" at ADD Training centre to discus the ways how to prevent repression and discrimination against disabled persons in society.
President of the committee Advocate Mizanul Islam chaired the session while DIG of Police of Rajshahi Range Mukhlesur Rahman and Superintendent of Police Abdul Quddus Chowdhury addressed as the chief guest and the special guest respectively.
They underlined the need for establishing a sound and friendly atmosphere for the disabled persons to ensure a dignified position for them in society.
Referring to the government various effective steps for the welfare of the disabled persons in the country, they said all concerned in different spheres of the administration should make the best use of all facilities in the greater interest of these people.
"The under-privileged community is an integral part of our society and we must give them an opportunity to enjoy all basic rights like other privileged sections in the country," DIG Mukhlesur Rahman said.
Painting an overall scenario of the country's disabled people, Advocate Nasrin Akter Mita presented a keynote paper and revealed that the disabled people constitute 10 percent of the total population.
Of them, she said 50 percent female are subjected to discrimination, disparity and repression.
Advocates Abdul Bari, Mainur Rahman Chowdhury, Abdus Samad, Abdul Malek Rana, Abu Raihan Al Beruni and Sahinul Haque, among others, took part in the open discussion moderated by Advocate Saifur Rahman Khan.
Referring to poverty alleviation through involving the disabled persons in various income-generating activities, the speakers said the disadvantaged group must be brought under the ongoing micro-credit programmes.
They said the disabled children must be given an equal opportunity in institutional education like the privileged ones, so that they could grow as worthy citizens and contribute to the country's development.
The disadvantaged children need cooperation, not mercy, they added.
In this regard, they urged the affluent section of the society as well as the philanthropists to come forward with their helping hands to supplement the government's efforts to properly place the disadvantaged people in the society.

   168 meritorious students receive stipends in Sirajganj
BSS, Dhaka

A total of 168 meritorious students of 31 high schools of Sirajganj district were given stipends for their brilliant academic results Monday.
Khwaja Mozammel Hoque ® Foundation (KMRF), a welfare- oriented organization, gave the stipends to the students at a function held on the premises of Jamtail Dhupakandi Bohumukhi (multiple) High School under Kamarkhanda upazila. Chairman of KMRF Khwaja Tipu Sultan distributed the stipends as the chief guest among the students of class nine and ten at the award-giving ceremony.
Chief coordinator (greater northern region) of KMRF M Ansar Ali Khan Joy presided over the function.
Superintendent of Police Mosharraf Hossain and Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) M Ziaul Haque spoke as the special guests on the occasion, joined, among others, by chairmen of the school managing committees, guardians, school teachers, KMRC officials and local elite. Speaking on the occasion, Khwaja Tipu Sultan said students would have to make themselves worthy citizens to lead the nation in future. The KMRF chairman expressed his optimism that the recipients would greatly be encouraged to succeed in their academic career.
Mosharraf Hossain described the initiative as commendable and said more affluent people should come forward to inspire the poor meritorious students across the country.
Ziaul Haque urged the non-government organizations (NGOs) to extend their helping hands to supplement the government's efforts in ensuring education for all by 2012.
Since its inception in 2001, the KMHF has been providing students with stipends who secure first, second and third positions in class nine and ten in the district. The KMHF has so far distributed around 1000 stipends to the students.

   Govt hailed for making Rangpur an administrative division
BSS, Rangpur

Greater Rangpur and Dinajpur turned into a region of joy following approval of Rangpur as an administrative division by the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reform (NICAR) Monday.
Hundreds of joyous rallies were organised in Rangpur and other district and upazila headquarters by Awami League (AL), its front organisations and other socio-political organisations this afternoon on receiving the news.
Politicians, socio-cultural activists, business leaders, elite, public representatives, farmers, housewives, students, labourers, NGO executives, teachers, commoners and professionals while talking to BSS expressed their happiness over the decision.
They thanked the government for fulfilling the long-cherished demand of the people of eight districts of Rangpur Division by realizing its pre-election pledge of making Rangpur a divisional headquarters. They expressed the hope that sustainable developments, industrialisation, exploration of huge natural and mineral resources including coal will now boost the overall economic activities in the newly formed administrative division of Rangpur.
Rangpur division will now become the centre of huge economic activities and make the region the backbone of the national economy in near future through proper utilisation of the natural and human resources, they said.

   BCL demands withdrawal of case filed by JCD
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of ruling Awami League, Monday dem-anded immediate withdrawal of the 'false' case filed against 14 leaders and activists of different DU hall BCL units.
BCL leaders, in a meeting, under the foot of Aporajeyo Bangla, vowed to resist the armed criminal in the educational institutions across the country as they have been destroying the academic atmosphere.
Md Kamruzzman, law affairs secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD), student wing of opposition BNP, lodged the case against Bappi, Kamrul, Kaji Enayet, Barkat, Mehidi, Bashar, Saker, Rahat, Abu Sayed Majumder, Ziaul Haque Tuhin, MD Ali, Mohiuddin, Samsul Kabir Rahat and Abdur Rahman Jibon on charge of violence on the campus on Monday.
"We will no longer tolerate any political activities of the armed cadres who make the campus unstable," said BCL General Secretary Mahfuzul Haider Roton.
BCL President Mahmud Hasan Ripon called upon all, including left leaning students' organization, to be united to resist the armed criminals on the campus.
The BCL leaders also demanded punishment to the armed cadres and threatened to go for tougher movement if the demands are not met.
Earlier, BCL activists brought out a procession on the campus protesting the 'false' case.

   Thanksgiving on President’s speech continues in JS
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

The treasury bench members on the eighth day of the discussion on the President's speech Monday termed as irresponsible former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia's comments on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's recent visit to India.
They said the agreements signed between Bangladesh and India during the Prime Minister's visit to New Delhi as well as the Joint Communiqu' are sure to derive benefits for both the countries.
"The former prime minister instead of praising this noble initiative has come up with scathing criticism, hurling out several hollow words to malign the historic achievements of Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of democracy," they said.
Referring to the globally prestigious Indira Gandhi Award given to Sheikh Hasina in recognition to her relentless contribution to peace and democracy, they said such an award has not only dignified the Prime Minister but also raised the image of Bangladesh to a laudable height.
They criticized the main opposition for its dual role in maintaining relations with India. "When they remain in power, India is good, when they are out of power, India is bad," they said.
The treasury bench members also highly praised the speech of President Zillur Rahman in the House, saying that hopes and aspirations of the common people were truly reflected in it.
"The speech is not a traditional one, it is a time-befitting speech as well as a charter of freedom to take the country onto the path of Vision-2021 and Digital Bangladesh," they said.
They also highly applauded the role of President Zillur Rahman for his judicious and able leadership following the crucial time of January 11, 2007 and in restoring democracy in the country in the subsequent period.

 Mohiuddin against conspiracy to give transit facilities to neibouring countrires

BSS, Chittagong

Expressing a firm vow to resist conspiracy against port transit facilities to neighbouring countries, City Mayor A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury said those who oppose the independence of Bangladesh in 1971 and have antipathy to the interest of Chittagong have taken a stand against the ports transit facilities by misleading people through propaganda.
"They actually want to obstacle the wheels of progress, the country's economic advancement and impede the efforts to extract untapped economic potentials of greater Chittagong region by opposing the transit facilities to neighbouring countries including India," Mohiuddin, who also the president of Chittagong city unit of Awami League, told a big public rally on Laldighi Ground here Monday afternoon.
Chittagong city unit Awami League organized the rally to congratulate Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her bold initiative to provide port transit facilities to India, Nepal and Bhutan during her recent visit to India.
Leaders of Awami League, Juba League, Sramik League and professional bodies including former lawmaker Ishaque Meah, AKM Belayet Hossain, Alhaj Badiul Alam, Syed Sagir Ahmed, advocates- Ziauddin, MA Naser and Iftekher Saimul Chowdhury, Chandar Dhar and Bakhteyaruddin Khan addressed the rally.
Addressing the meeting, Mayor Mohiuddin Chowdhury said the people of Chittagong had been demanding for providing transit facilities through the port for the greater interest of this region.
"Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is now deserved heartfelt thanks and gratitude from the people of greater Chittagong for meeting the long-felt demand of the people through signing the agreement with India in this regard during her recent visit," Mohiuddin Chowdhury said expressing his pledge to implement the PM's programmes at any cost.
He said such a regional connectivity would usher in a new horizon in the history of the country's economic advancement as it would expedite the construction of deep-seaport, further modernisation and expansion of Chittagong and Mongla ports, infrastructure development of the country, employment opportunity, expansion of businesses in various sub- sectors like tourism, export, shipping, hotels and restaurants.
Mohiuddin, the mayor of the country's commercial capital for three consecutive times, said port transit facilities to neighbouring countries would help turning economically potential Chittagong as a regional hub for trade and investment in real sense within a short time.
Chittagong seaport could contribute to the country's economy enormously like the globally reputed ports of Singapore, Kelang in Malaysia, Shanghai in Hong Kong, Bandar Abbas in Iran and Vancouver in Europe.
He came down heavily on those carrying out the propaganda and spreading rancor against the government in the name of opposing transit facilities and said the people never believe Awami League and his party which along with millions of freedom loving people liberated the country in 1971 through sacrificing lives of 3 million people and at a cost of dignity of 2 lakh women can sell out the country.

Korean parliamentary delegation calls on speaker
BSS, Dhaka

Speaker Advocate Abdul Hamid Monday praised Korean contribution to the country's socio-economic development which started with recognition of Bangladesh immediately after the independence.
The speaker heaped the praise when chairman of Korea-Bangladesh Parliamentary Friendship Association Kim Choon Whan called on him at his office in the Parliament building.
Deputy speaker Shawkat Ali and Chief Whip M Abdus Shahid were also present on the occasion. During the meeting, they reviewed the level of existing socio-economic cooperation from both sides and expressed the desire to expand the limits to the mutual benefits of both the countries.
Kim Choon said most big Korean business houses are relocating their industrial and business activities to low cost regions and Bangladesh may be a destination of such Korean overseas investment.
He also suggested Bangladesh use Korean experiences in security matters. He laid emphasis on building Bangladesh manpower with professional skills and English language proficiency to meet Korean demand.
Both sides exchanged views on parliamentary procedures in respective countries. The Korean delegation also sought to know Grameen Bank activities, prospects of expanding use of computer and other technology for development, state of Bangladesh garment industry, tourism and business sector growth.

Sports

First batch of Pakistani contingent arrives today
TBT Report

The first batch of the Pakistan contingent arrives in Dhaka today for the 11th South Asian Games, beginning on January 29 in Dhaka.
Badminton, cycling, football, hockey, weightlifting and volleyball teams of Pakistan are scheduled to reach Dhaka today. The cricket team of Maldives and the badminton and handball teams of Nepal and Bhutan are also expected reach here today.
A 363-member Pakistan contingent, which includes 270 athletes, 77 teams officials and 16 officials, will proceed to Dhaka in six phases to feature in the South Asian meet.
In the second phase, basketball, kabaddi, shooting, squash and weightlifting teams will proceed on January 28, while handball and cricket teams will fly out for Dhaka on January 30.
Golf squad will proceed on February 1, while the teams of boxing, swimming, table tennis, wrestling and wushu will leave Pakistan for the South Asian spectacle on February 2.
In the last phase, athletics, karate and taekwondo squads will fly out their country on February 4.
Pakistan will feature in 22 disciplines which include athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, football, golf, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, wushu and cricket.
As usual, the top officials of the Federal Sports Ministry of Pakistan will accompany the contingent to witness the eight-nation extravaganza.
Federal Sports Secretary Anisul Hassnain Mousavi is the Chief-de-Mission of Pakistan contingent.
The Federal Sports Minister of Pakistan Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani is also expected to visit Bangladesh to witness the opening ceremony.
Details of the Pakistan squads: athletics (25 athletes, 6 team officials), badminton (12, 4), basketball (12, 4), boxing (6, 3), cycling (10, 3), men's football (20,5), women's football (19,4), golf (4,1), handball (14,4), hockey (18,5), judo (7,3), kabaddi (12,3), karate (10,3), shooting (19,3), squash (4,2), swimming (15,3), table tennis (8,3), taekwondo (10,3), volleyball (12,3), weightlifting (6,2), wrestling (5,2), wushu (8,3), cricket (14,5).

  India piles up 459 for five
UNB, Dhaka

Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid shared yet another century stand as India amassed 459 for 5 in 102.5 overs to take 226 runs first innings lead over Bangladesh on the second day of the last match of the IDEA Cup two-match Test Series at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Monday.
Bangladesh managed to send back the two openers in the morning session, but India scored 124 runs between lunch and tea without losing a wicket to stretch the lead to 68 runs. Bangladesh did not help their cause by dropping Tendulkar twice, while Dravid too enjoyed his fair share of fortune.
Raqibul Hasan batted poorly on the opening day and his catching, or lack of it, cost his team dearly on Monday. Tendulkar had just survived an inside-edge off the impressive Rubel Hossain when he miscued one in the direction of gully. Raqibul got both hands to the ball but managed to drop it.
Tendulkar was on 27 at the time, and when he had made 50, Raqibul put down a more difficult chance to his left at point. This time, Shahadat Hossain was the luckless bowler, and Tendulkar celebrated the reprieves by batting with real fluency in the half hour before tea.
Dependable batsman Rahul Dravid, who hit 29 Test hundreds, scored 111 runs off 188 balls with 12 fours before he retired hurt off a Shahadat Hossain delivery.
Shakib Al Hasan made a breakthrough removing master batsman Tendulkar, who hit his 45th Test hundred scoring 143 runs off 182 balls with 13 fours and a six. He gave an easy catch to Imrul Kayes at short cover.
Number five batsman Murali Vijay soon followed Tendulkar giving a catch to Mahmudulah Riad at mid on off Shakib Al Hasan. He scored 30 runs off 45 balls with three fours.
Pacer Shaful Islam got his second wicket removing Harbhajan Singh (13) on the last ball of the day. He hit two fours off 23 balls before being caught behind by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni remained unbeaten on 22 as the bails were drawn for the day.
Earlier, resuming the second day today with overnight 69 for 0, the two night watch openers Virender Sehwag (41) and Gautam Gambhir (26) gave a solid start to the visitors contributing 103 runs in the opening stand.
Sehwag scored 56 runs off 63 balls with eight fours before being caught behind by Rahim off pacer Shahadat Hossain.
With Sehwag's departure, Gambhir assumed the scoring mantle and a back-foot punch through the slips off pacer Shafiul Islam took him to half-century for the 11th match in succession - equaling the record set by Sir Vivian Richards of West Indies. Gambhir, who contributed 68 runs off 83 balls with three fours, was also caught behind by Rahim off pacer Shafiul Islam.
Shafiul Islam and Shakib Al Hasan captured two wickets each for 70 and 108 runs respectively while Shahadat Hossain took one wicket for 71 runs.
Scorecard
Bangladesh 1st innings: 233
(M. Mahmudullah 96 not out; I. Sharma 4-66)
India 1st innings (overnight 69-0):
G. Gambhir c Rahim b Shafiul 68
V. Sehwag c Rahim b Shahadat 56
R. Dravid retd hurt 111
S. Tendulkar c Kayes b Shakib 143
M. Vijay c Mahmudullah b Shakib 30
MS Dhoni not out 22
Harbhajan Singh c Rahim b Shafiul 13
Extras: (b1, lb5, nb9, w1) 16
Total: (for five wickets; 102.5 overs) 459
Falls: 1-103 (Sehwag), 2-146 (Gambhir), 3-421 (Tendulkar), 4-436 (Vijay), 5-459 (Harbhajan).
Bowling: Shafiul 17.5-1-70-2 (w1), Shahadat 19-2-71-1 (nb2), Rubel 23-0-106-0 (nb7), Shakib 27-0-108-2, Ashraful 4-0-26-0, Mahmudullah 11-0-63-0, Siddique 1-0-9-0.

  Harbhajan Singh reprimanded by ICC for outburst
AP/UNB, Dhaka

Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh was officially reprimanded by the International Cricket Council on Monday for damaging an advertising board on the first day of the second test against Bangladesh.
Harbhajan pleaded guilty to breaching the ICC Code of Conduct which relates to "abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings." The incident took place Sunday when Harbhajan kicked and damaged an advertising board after a misfield while guarding the boundary at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
Harbhajan accepted the decision without contest and there was no need for a hearing, the ICC said in a statement. "While giving my verdict, I took into account that Harbhajan admitted his mistake and apologized for his actions," match referee Andy Pycroft said.
"I also accepted Harbhajan's explanation that he had kicked the advertising board in frustration," Pycroft added. "Professional cricketers try to give their best effort when they are on the field and whenever they don't live up to the standards they have set for themselves, they feel disappointed. However, venting their frustrations in this manner is unacceptable." Harbhajan faced a fine of up to 50 percent of his match fee for the incident.

  Serena cruises past Stosur
AFP, Melbourne

Defending champion Serena Williams ended local hopes in the women's draw when she crushed Samantha Stosur 6-4, 6-2 on Monday to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Williams will now play either Victoria Azarenka of Belarus or Russia's Vera Zvonareva in the last eight after dismissing Stosur in just 65 minutes in a dominant display.
The world number one remains on track for a semi-final against sister Venus and a possible blockbuster final against Belgium's Justine Henin.
"Sam beat me last time convincingly so I knew I had to do well out there," Williams said.
The Australian had gone into the fourth round clash on Rod Laver Arena with some expectation of an upset after beating Williams the last time the pair met.
Stosur had also complained that Williams had not given her much credit for that win, saying the American had implied she was a lucky player, with many of her winners coming from miss hits.
But on Monday she came up against a fiercly determined Williams and simply had no answers.
The defending champion served brilliantly, conceding just two points on serve in the first set and three in the second to completely demoralise Stosur.
The world number one was almost as ruthless on return, breaking the big serving Stosur once in the first set and twice in the second to wrap up a comfortable win. Williams has continued her love affair with Melbourne Park, where she has won four times, in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
The 28-year-old has now reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne four times in the last five years and showed against Stosur that she must is the hot favourite to win a fifth crown.
If she does win again it will be the first time a woman has successfully defended her title since fellow American Jennifer Capriati in 2002.

   Ghana into semis, Angola's Cup party ends in tears
AFP, Luanda

Ghana destroyed Angola's Africa Cup of Nations dream with a 1-0 quarterfinal win over the hosts here on Sunday to keep them on course for a fifth title.
Asamoah Gyan's first half goal put the Black Stars into the semi-finals where they will face the winner of Monday's match in Lubango between Zambia and Nigeria.
As a severely depleted Ghana side marched on in search of their first continental crown in 28 years Angola rued not putting away a number of clear cut chances, not least Manucho's shot over the woodwork approaching the interval.
For coach Manuel Jose the game went ahead in the aftermath of personal tragedy a few hours before kick-off after his father, who was in his nineties, died.
Before leaving the 11 November Stadium to return home Jose paid tribute to his players. Jose welcomed back defender Stelvio from suspension and three-goal hero Flavio from injury to join Manucho up front.
Ghana, missing a raft of star players including Michael Essien, made one alteration from their last run out, Mathew Amoah making way for Qatar-based midfielder Opoku Agyemang.
A minute's silence for both Jose's father and the victims of the Haiti earthquake preceded this first ever competitive meeting between the two west African states.
On 16 minutes the 50,000 largely partisan crowd fell silent again as Udinese's Kwadwo Asamoah conjured up a neat pass to release Gyan down the right, the Rennes striker racing by Angola skipper Kali to shoot past keeper Carlos Fernandes. Only a fine goalline save from Kingson denied Angola an equaliser on the half hour.
The danger arose when Flavio zipped down the right, crossing for Manucho to head home with the Wigan stopper blocking the ball with his body.
Gyan had a second goal disallowed on 33 minutes when Algerian referee Mohammed Benouza hauled him up for offside.
The Flavio-Manucho show should have produced a goal a minute from the break, but Kingson's reflex save from close range and Manucho's poor miscue over the woodwork saved Ghana.
Jose went into the interval scratching his head and fans listened dubiously as from the stadium speakers the Black Eyed Peas' claimed that 'tonight was going to be a good night'.
Angola midfielder Job got a warm welcome when he came on for Stelvio before the hour and his cross from the right shortly after his entrance almost led to the leveller but Manucho's header from in front of goal went high.

  India unveils C’wealth Games venue
AFP, New Delhi

India threw open its first Commonwealth Games stadium over the weekend with a promise to deliver the rest of the venues in time for the October event in New Delhi.
"I am confident everything will be in place in time," sports minister Manohar Singh Gill said after inaugurating the refurbished Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium on Sunday.
The stadium, named after an Indian field hockey legend, was used for the 1951 and 1982 Asian Games and will play host to the 12-nation men's World Cup from February 28 to March 13. The 20,000-seater complex in central Delhi has four floodlight towers, two synthetic match pitches and one practice pitch, and will be used for the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games.
"A beginning has been made and you will now see the 10 remaining competition venues being completed one after another," Gill told reporters.
"Yes, we could have finished the work a year in advance to get the facilities tested, but at least we can ensure that the venues will come up well before the Games start."
The Commonwealth Games Federation has repeatedly expressed concern about the slow pace of work for the Games, which will involve 6,000 athletes drawn from the former British Empire competing in 17 sports.
Federation president Mike Fennell said in December he was distressed by a report by the CGF evaluation commission that two major venues would not be ready until June, barely three months before the opening ceremony.
The commission said that work on the Nehru stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics programme will be held, and the swimming complex, was way behind schedule.

  Azam steers Pakistan into final
AFP, Wellington

All-rounder Hammad Azam inspired Pakistan to a four-wicket win over the West Indies at Christchurch on Monday to book its place in the finals of the under-19 cricket World Cup.
The second finalist will be determined in the other semi-final between Sri Lanka and Australia tomorrow.
Pakistan won the toss and struck early with two wickets in the first four overs before West Indies opener Kraigg Brathwaite led the fightback as the Caribbean side posted 212 for eight in their 50 overs.
Brathwaite, who top scored with 85 before he was run out, anchored the recovery with Andre Creary in a 101-run stand for the third wicket.
The West Indies appeared to be in command when they tied the Pakistan openers down and had them at 49-4 after 20 overs.
But man-of-the-match Azam turned the innings around with a whirlwind 92 off 93 balls including 10 boundaries as Pakistan reached their target with 16 balls to spare.
Azam put on 90 in 19 overs in a fifth-wicket stand with Rameez Aziz (39) before adding 64 in nine overs with wicketkeeper Muhammad Waqas (29) for the sixth wicket.

  Tsonga sets up 2008 Aussie final replay
AFP, Melbourne

Tenth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up a replay of the 2008 Australian Open final on Monday when he held his nerve to take out a thrilling five-setter against Nicolas Almagro.
The Frenchman emerged from the titanic fourth round battle a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-7 (6/8), 9-7 winner and will next play third-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic, who beat him in final two years ago.
While Tsonga struggled, Djokovic booked his place in the quarter-final with an easy 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 romp against Poland's unseeded Lukasz Kubot.
Provided he can recover in time for Wednesday's clash, Tsonga will go into the match with the edge, having won won four of their five clashes since their 2008 meeting here. He welcomed the challenge.
"I beat him four times, I think, since that moment," he said. "So I have learned to beat him. "I don't have any fears.
"I have to recover and I will be ready for that. Against him, I have to say stay aggressive, very aggressive, and give everything."
The match against Almagro was the first five-setter of Tsonga's career amd although he won the first two sets and hit 77 winners to 46, he could not shake off the Spaniard.
Almagro clearly looked more solid in the last set and had three break points on the Tsonga serve.
Had he been able to convert any of them he would surely have been playing Djokovic in the next round.
However, when the Frenchman got his lone chance he grabbed it with both hands to snatch the win, a big forehand forcing Almagro so wide he could only net the return.
Tsonga complimented Almagro on the way he played after the first two sets. "After the first two sets, I missed some chances and he began to believe in himself," he said.
"He played just unbelievable, and it was just tough to play against him because he hit the ball very hard."

  Davydenko takes five-set route
AFP, Melbourne

Nikolay Davydenko's smooth run at the Australian Open struck some road bumps Monday and he needed five sets to douse Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and advance to the quarter-finals.
The Russian sixth seed bungled a fourth set tiebreaker and was forced into a winner-take-all fifth set before prevailing over the ninth seeded Verdasco, 6-2, 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 in almost four hours.
In-form Davydenko improved his winning streak to 13 matches and he will take on either top seed Roger Federer or Australian 22nd seed Lleyton Hewitt in the quarters on Wednesday.
Davydenko has beaten the 15-time Grand Slam champion Federer at their last two encounters.

Algeria stuns Ivory Coast 3-2
AFP, Cabinda

Algeria clawed back from the brink of elimination to stun title favourites Ivory Coast 3-2 on Sunday and reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.
The winners fell 2-1 behind on 89 minutes to a brilliant Abdulkader Keita goal only for Madjid Bougherra to level in stoppage time and unmarked substitute Hamer Bouazza headed a 92nd-minute far-post winner.
Drama continued to the end with television replays suggesting a late shot from Ivorian defender Kolo Toure that found the net was wrongly judged offside by an assistant referee.
Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halilhodzic was furious and distraught in equal measure.
"This is a huge disappointment, of course," said the 57-year-old Bosnian-born former Yugoslavian international.
"We were not good this evening (Sunday) and we are obliged to congratulate Algeria.
"Great teams do not let a 2-1 lead a few minutes before full-time slip like that.
"It is unacceptable. We had had opportunities to kill off the match before that and we are all really stunned. We came here with great hopes and as is always the case Ivory Coast has failed to deliver.
"It is imperative that everyone assumes their responsibility for this, me to start with.
"We have five or six really good players but we lost every duel. It is not a physical problem it is a mental one. I do not have all the answers but I am ashamed with regard to how we played and apologise to the Ivorian public who really believed in us."
His Algerian counterpart Rabah Saadane had evidently vastly different emotions.
"I am really happy. We came up with what we wanted," said Saadane.
"I wasn't surprised by my team, but more by the decline of the Ivory Coast side. The critics said after we beat Mali (1-0) that we only scored goals from dead ball situations, well here we scored three goals from open play!"
Victory for Algeria sets up the prospect of a last-four showdown with bitter rivals Egypt, who they deprived of a place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa after a play-off.
Defending champons Egypt face four-time winners Cameroon on Monday in a clash of giants, but the teams will struggle to match the drama of this encounter.
As the match kicked off amid steamy evening conditions in this oil-rich northern Angola enclave the chief concern of Ivory Coast coach Vahid Halilhodzic was rustiness with their last match nine days ago.
Algeria had a point to prove after accusations they and Angola had 'fixed' a goalless Group A draw in Luanda to ensure both qualified at the expense of Mali.
But if the Ivorians were rusty it did not show on four minutes as they reacted quickest in a goalmouth scramble and Salomon Kalou struck the ball past goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi to give the west Africans a perfect start.
Early attacking traffic was heading largely toward the goal of the white-kit Algerians and Rafik Halliche was lucky to escape unpunished when he fouled Didier Drogba inside the area and Ivory Coast should have been awarded a penalty.
Algeria were gradually showing more confidence and coming at their opponents and after coming close a few times, the north Africans deservedly equalised as half-time approached. A lofted pass toward the Ivorian penalty area missed friend and foe and fell invitingly for Karim Matmour from Borussia Moenchengladbach, who left Boubacar Barry helpless with a shot that flew in off a post.
A fascinating see-saw struggle continued to offer scoring chances at each end with Drogba narrowly failing to reach a Kalou crossed and Barry foiling Matmour when he broke through and had only the goalkeeper to beat.
But the miss of the second half came five minutes from full-time when Kouassi 'Gervinho' Yao burst clear when Bougherra failed to intercept a pass only to blaze over with just Chaouchi to beat.
In a sensational climax to regulation time Keita scored six minutes after replacing Kalou with a candidate for goal of the tournament, unleashing an unstoppable shot from outside the area into the roof of the net.
Algeria refused to surrender, however, and unmarked defender Bougherra was first to a cross on 92 minutes and headed the ball down and up over Barry to take a thriller into extra time.

 Prugh, Watson lead Hope Classic golf
AFP, La Quinta

Bubba Watson and Alex Prugh were tied for the lead after four rounds of the 90-hole Bob Hope Classic on Sunday, each missing chances to edge ahead going into Monday's final round.
Watson double-bogeyed the final hole, hitting his second shot into the water en route to a three-under 69 to fall back into a tie with fellow American Prugh on 23-under par 265.
Prugh, a USPGA Tour rookie, missed a three-footer as he bogeyed his own final hole to post a 70.
Bill Haas and South African Tim Clark were a stroke back, both carding 66 for 266.
Joe Ogilvie was two shots adrift on 267 after a 68 that included a costly double-bogey at his 17th hole.
Watson, Prugh, Haas and Clark have never won on the US Tour, and this event - which features none of the tour's top 35 players this year - appears to offer a great chance. Haas' father, Jay, won the Hope in 1988.
Watson was poised to take a lead into the final round, which has been pushed back a day after rain washed out play on Thursday. Instead, his disappointing finish on the Nicklaus Private course - one of four in use for the first four rounds of the event - opened the door for Prugh.
"Tomorrow is going to be a tough day no matter if I had the lead, was tied for the lead, or one back, or five back," Watson said. "Tomorrow is going to be a fun day. This is what we live for. The more chances I get to win, maybe I'll get one to luckily fall in and win one."
Watson, who had led after the second round, moved back to the top of the leaderboad with six birdies before his disaster at the last.
Prugh, 25 and making his third PGA Tour start, missed an easy putt to cap his round.
"The way things were going the first three days, where the scores were going, I definitely didn't think two-under would keep me in it," Prugh said.
Ogilvie, whose lone tour victory came in 2007 at Milwaukee, was clearly irked with himself after his double-bogey at 17 at La Quinta.
"My caddie was about 30 yards off," said Ogilvie, who hadn't made a bogey since early in the second round. "I had uncertainty on the tee, and it's a mistake to hit driver when you're not confident standing there. You can't have double bogeys and win the Hope."
The cut claimed several of the tournament's bigger names, including England's Justin Rose, Justin Leonard, Rocco Mediate, David Duval, Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Chad Campbell.

 Inter Milan upsets AC Milan
AFP, Milan

Nine-man Inter Milan moved nine points clear at the top of Serie A after a 2-0 victory over arch-rival AC Milan in a pulsating derby at San Siro on Sunday.
The champions played for more than an hour with a numerical disadvantage after Wesley Sneijder was sent off but they dominated throughout to earn a richly deserved victory.
Inter coach Jose Mourinho said that decision showed that the authorities are ganging up on his club.
Milan may still have a game in hand on their neighbours but the psychological effect of such a crushing defeat will make the gap seem all the wider.
Milan coach Leonardo seemed unsure about his side's title chances now.
Milan may have come into the game as the form team in Serie A but Inter were clearly the more pumped up early on. Sneijder almost fired them in front with a moment of outrageous skill, flicking the ball up and thrashing a 25-yard volley that glanced off the outside of the post.
The Dutch playmaker should then have given the hosts the lead as a ricochet from a Goran Pandev shot fell into his path as he broke into the box but he rammed his shot straight at goalkeeper Dida.
Milan didn't seem to heed those warnings and Inter deservedly took the lead on 10 minutes as Pandev's ball over the top saw Diego Milito get behind Ignazio Abate in the inside left channel and shoot low across Dida and into the far corner.
Inter was rampant and another break saw Pandev feed Milito on the inside right but Dida blocked his near post shot.
Inter was dominant and Sneijder was running the show but the referee changed that before the half hour was even up.
Inter centre-back Lucio burst forward into midfield and went down rather easily under a challenge but seeing that he still had the ball he got up and went to carry on, only for the referee to stop the game and book him for diving.
Inter was incensed and Sneijder's sarcastic gesture saw him sent off.
Sneijder was beside himself and needed to be dragged from the field by two team-mates.
Inter knuckled down, though, with stalwarts Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso looking to control the midfield.