TUESday, JANUARY 28, 2010 magh 15, 1416, SAFAR 11, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Bangabandhu murder
Death sentence may be executed by Jan 31: Shafique
SC rejects review petitions of 5 condemned convicts

UNB, Dhaka

Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed has said the death sentence on five of the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman may be executed any day by January 31, as the apex court Wednesday sealed the fate of the former army officers through declining to review its final judgment.
He made the remarks to reporters on Wednesday after an emergency review meeting held at his ministry for examining provisions of the jail code regarding execution of the death sentence.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun, State Minister for Law Qamrul Islam advocate, IG (Prisons) Ashraful Islam, Attorney-General Mahbubey Alam and chief state counsel Anisul Huq attended the high-level meeting.
The Law Minister said according to jail code, there is no bar to the execution of the death sentence against the killers sometime between now and January 31.
"The execution may take place any day by January 31," he said in reply to a question.
Asked about the two of the condemned convicts who have not yet sought presidential clemency, Barrister Shafique said the two must seek for mercy immediately as there is no timeframe mentioned in the jail code.
He said that, usually, the mercy petition should be sent to the President within 7 to 15 days since the issuance of the death warrants. In this case, the death warrants were issued by Dhaka District Sessions Judge on January 3. Therefore, the convicts who have not yet sought presidential mercy "must do so immediately".
Home Minister Sahara Khatun told the reporters that the law-enforcers were asked to take necessary security measures across the country "on the eve of the execution of the death sentence".
Asked what about bringing back the fugitives convicts from abroad, she said efforts are underway to run them in to face the punishment.
Of the total 12 condemned convicts in the case, six have been on the run while one has died in the meantime.
Meanwhile, the death sentence on five of the convicted former army officers for the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stands for execution as the Supreme Court Wednesday rejected their petitions for a review of its judgment. A four-member bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dealing with the review petitions of the five condemned prisoners passed the order in the morning, as onlookers crowded the court premises.
Earlier, the Appellate Division bench concluded the petition hearings Tuesday and set Wednesday for the crucial order.
Chief Justice M Tafazzul Islam, who heads the bench, announced the date for pronouncing the verdict after closing the hearings from both sides that had taken three consecutive days.
The convicts on death row are Lt Col (sacked) Syed Faruque Rahman, Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Lt Col (retd) Muhiuddin Ahmed (Artillery), Maj (retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed (Lancer) and Maj (retd) Bazlul Huda.
Of the rest of the condemned convicts in the case, six have been on the run while one has died in the meantime.
The apex court had earlier reaffirmed the death sentence on the ex-army officers for assassination of the country's founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and most members of his family in a predawn putsch on August 15, 1975.

 Climate change
PM urges CIRDAP members to unitedly face adverse impact

UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday urged the CIRDAP member countries to work unitedly in facing the adverse impact of the climate change, as this could adversely affect not only livelihoods but also national and regional stability.
She noted that climate change and its consequences on socio-economic conditions of large population of rural areas in this region adversely affect not only livelihoods but also national and regional stability.
"Now it is time to address these issues immediately, otherwise rural development and poverty reduction programmes will not produce any lasting effects," the Prime Minister said while inaugurating the 2nd ministerial meeting of the CIRDAP on 'Rural Development in Asia and the Pacific' at Hotel Sheraton in the city.
The Prime Minister said that though the member countries have diverse socio-economic, political, cultural and technological backgrounds, all of them are facing many identical problems and challenges.
"Individual countries are working to solve those problems and challenges on their own. In some cases, individual efforts are successful but sharing experiences to overcome problems and challenges by the member countries of CIRDAP might give better and more fruitful results."
She underscored the need to identify the emerging challenges and opportunities of globalization in the regional context.
Hasina said the threats of climatic changes on low-lying countries have already been identified. To face globalization, investment and export of commodities should be increased. In the wake of increasing natural calamities and globally prevailing economic recession, the food security of the poorest people is seriously at stake.
"We need to use our collective endeavour and wisdom to find out workable solutions to these common problems."
She said that the CIRDAP members should also be aware of the impacts of globalization and spread of market economy. It brings rapid urbanization, excessive use of energy resources and large scale migration from rural to urban areas.

 BNP signals for massive anti-govt movement
UNB, Dhaka

Main opposition BNP Wednesday gave the final signal of a vigorous anti-government movement against what they said government's failure to implement its election pledges and recent "anti-nation" agreements with India.
The clear message was sent in from Wednesday's massive showdown when BNP top leaders termed the rally in the capital as prelude to the launch of the movement. Party chairperson and leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia will give the formal go-ahead. From the day's rally the leaders also urged party faithful, particularly all the units of city BNP, to get ready to join in the movement forgetting misunderstandings of the past.
City BNP organized the protest rally at Muktangan in the afternoon against price hike of essentials, deterioration of law and order, 'false' remarks by the Prime Minister in parliament over late President Ziaur Rahman, the signing of 'anti-people and anti-nation' agreements with India during Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to New Delhi and so. Presided over by BNP vice-chairman and City Mayor Sadeq Hossain Khoka, the rally was addressed by several central leaders of the party.
Speaking as chief guest Dr Khandaker Mosharraf said the movement through uniting all nationalist and patriotic forces under the leadership of Khaleda Zia to "resist the government's misdeeds, attempts and conspiracies against the country and its people's interests" got underway from this rally.
Criticizing the outcome of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's India tour and the Dhaka-Delhi joint-communique, he said, "The country's interests were totally sacrificed to India through this visit." He said the people would not accept the deals and joint-communique signed during Sheikh Hasina's visit.
"All the agreements have been made secretly without informing the people as well parliament. The people still don't know about the agreements," he told the vibrant rally. Barrister Moudud Ahmed said today's rally showed people were now ready to launch movement against the government for its "failure" to run the country and protect country's interests. He observed that "there is constitution but no rule of law while there is a democratic government but no democracy in the country".
Moudud said, "The present government has given birth to an era of extortion and politics of plunder in the country. So, BNP and the nationalist forces will have to take the responsibility of putting an end to this situation." He warned that this government is not the last government. He alleged the Awami League government is governing the country "in a style of one-party rule without amending the constitution".
Brig Gen (Retd) Hannan Shah said now is not the time for making speech but for waging movement against the government's failure as "people demand it".
Tariqul Islam asked the government to rectify themselves reading the pulse of people. Otherwise, he said, they have to face the consequence like in the past.

  35 mmcfd gas saved as rationing starts in industrial zone
BSS, Dhaka

The energy ministry saved 35 mmcfd gas on Wednesday through introducing gas holiday staggering programme at Narsingdi, Gorashal, Munshiganj, Bhaluka, Jinjira, Metro-4 areas Tejgaon, Uttara, Gulshan and Cantonment and adjacent areas.
"We could save 35 mmcfd gas in the first day of the holiday staggering, however, it ease the low pressure problem across the Titas system especially in the city areas", M. Aziz Khan, Managing Director Titas gas transmission and distribution system told BSS on Wednesday.
However, the CNG filling stations would not come under the staggering programme as they need to conduct a meeting with the Petrobangla Chairman on Monday next.
This is for the first time, the government introduced gas staggering programme to ease the gas supply and low-pressure problem in the country. The energy ministry last week approved the proposal of Petrobangla to start gas holiday staggering plan to ease the on going gas supply problem across the country especially in City areas soon.
According to the programme the gas rationing will enforced in Savar area on Sundays and in Gazipur, Joydevpur, Maona, Manikganj, Metro-5 areas, Lalbagh, Hazaribagh, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur and Shyamoli on Mondays.
On Tuesday: Tongi, Joydevpur to Tangail road and Mymensingh. On Wednesday: Narsingdi, Gorashal, Munshiganj, Bhaluka, Jinjira, Metro-4 areas Tejgaon, Uttara, Gulshan and Cantonment adjacent areas.
On Thursday: Sonargaon, Metro-6 areas Mirpur, Gabtali and Aminbazar.
On Friday: Whole Narayanganj area, Fatullah and Tangail town.
On Saturday: Metro-1 area Demra, Shyampur, Jurain, Kadamtali, Jatrabari, Saidabad, Metro-2 area Motijheel, Sadarghat and Nababpur areas.
The Titas Gas produced 1,985 million cubic feet gas on Wednesday, while the deficit was 250 mmcf in Titas system. Staggering system will help save 35-40 mmcf gas per day and improve the low-pressure situation.

   Santu Larma wounded in gun attack
BSS, Rangamati

Chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma known as Santu Larma was wounded near Maichchhari bazaar, 12 km off Khagrachhari when miscreants spread bullets and hurled brickbats at his motorcade while he was on way to Khagrachhari to attend a meeting on CHT Land Commission there on Wednesday.
Miscreants spread bullets and hurled brickbats from roadside hilltop prompted the body guard of the former guerilla leader retaliated with three rounds of fire that retreated the attackers to flee into deep forests.
During the attack, Santu sustained injury at his finger and the body guard at his head and glasses of three vehicles were broken.
Injured chairman of the CHTRC took shelter at nearby security camp fearing more attack.
Santu held responsible the United Peoples Democratic Front for the attack, saying after repeated approach, the government took no legal measure against the UPDF. He was also critical of the role of police and government after reaching at Khagrachhari circuit house at 11 AM with additional police force.
Immediately after reaching the news of attack on Santu here, his party, the Parbattya Chattagram Jano Sanghati Samity and its front organization, the Pahari Chhatra Parishad held a rally jointly protesting the incident.
Councilor of CHTRC, Ushaton Talukdar and other leaders of both the party demanded immediate arrest of the UPDF men responsible for the attack at the rally held at DC premises here on Wednesday with the president of the district unit of PCJSS, Gunendu Bikash Chakma in the chair.
Earlier, a protest procession was brought out from Rangamati College premises and terminated at the venue.

  Govt considers reducing land price: Muhith
UNB, Dhaka

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Wednesday said the government is considering reducing land prices, as the recent price hike slowed down land-registration pace.
"We are considering reducing the price of land," said the minister after an inter-ministerial meeting at the Finance Ministry. The new government raised the price of land in September while cut down the land-transfer fee to 6% for rural areas and 8% for urban areas. But there was not much success in terms of registration, he said.
He informed that they would take decision on the fixation of land prices and transfer fees within a month.
"We earlier formed a committee to review the land price and transfer fee. The committee submitted their final report today (Wednesday) and we considered various issues, but yet to reach a decision. We will take our decision within a month," he told the reporters.
Land Minister Rezaul Karim Heera, State Minister for Housing and Public Works Adv Abdul Mannan Khan and officials of the ministries concerned were present. The committee, headed by Additional Secretary of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Shahidul Haque, submitted the report.
The Finance Minister informed that the committee put forward their recommendations on all the issues, like the total possible fee, possible price of land.
He mentioned that the rate of land registration over the last few months declined due to the increase in land prices, which led to increase in other costs, although the registration fee was reduced.

  Unfair means won’t be allowed in SSC exam: Nahid
BSS, Dhaka

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Tuesday said centers of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination would be cancelled if failed to ensure atmosphere free from unfair means.
"We would not allow any student to take unfair means during the SSC examination. The government will take stern actions in this regard," he said while speaking at a views exchange meeting on holding SSC examination under a hundred percent unfair means free atmosphere at the conference room of Vocational Education Board here.
Chairman of Vocational Education Board Prof M Abul Qashem chaired the views exchange meeting attended by the center secretaries for the upcoming SSC (voc) 2010 examination under the Dhaka Board.
The Minister suggested the center secretaries to hold meetings with all concerned including the public representative of their respective areas.
Nahid also asked to take proper initiative for ensuring the secrecy of the question papers as well as security of the centres.
A total of 12,02,864 students will seat for the SSC examination in 1,992 centers under eight general education boards, one madrasa education board and one vocational education board this year.

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27,000 mt garbage removed from Buriganga river-bed
TBT Report

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has initiated the removal of polythene and other types of garbage stored in the Buriganga river-bed. On 6th January, 2010 the work was inaugurated by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, MP. A press release said that the authority has so far removed 17.5 square meter filth which can be tantamount to 27,000 mt.
The task is presently operational near 2nd Buriganga Bridge. The project is being implemented from Climate Change Trust Fund and the estimated cost would be 53.2 million taka.
To monitor the overall activity of filth removal, BIWTA has formed a high level committee to oversee the day to day affairs of Buriganga clean up. BIWTA is doing the massive work through four contractors. First the garbage is taken by the grab excavator, put it on a barge and taken away to the bank. Then the same is carried to safe place by truck. To ascertain - whether the filth items have any negative effect on the environment the sample has been sent to Department of Environment for chemical test. As soon as the test results come, if need be, appropriate action could be taken.
Through the press rel-ease, BIWTA request the river users not to throw any more waste material into the Buriganga.

   12 JnU students injured in clash,10 arrested
Campus restive over movement to recover occupied halls

A Correspondent

Jagannath University (JnU) campus became restive following demonstration, procession, human-chain, clash, in course of the movement by the students for recovering illegally occupied halls.
At least 12 people were injured including a policeman, a passer-by and common student while the students damaged 6-7 buses from the campus road and 10 students were arrested by the police.
Source said the trouble began in the morning when the common students were coming out from the campus with a procession after finishing their peaceful human-chain programme while the police intercepted them and instantly the situation triggered a clash. The angry students damaged some buildings and vehicles.
The injured students are Kaium, Ismail, Kashem, Rony, Hafiz, Jalal and some others, while Shazzad, Saeed, Monsur, Baten, Shahadat, Apu, Shubra, Babul, Munaem and Naeem were arrested. Salauddin Khan, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, said that they will take necessary steps to punish the guilty students. VC Prof. Dr. Mesbahuddin Ahmed said, "We'll support every systematic movement by the students otherwise we'll not take any responsibility for the students' unruly activities.

   21 lakh unemployed youths in country, JS told
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

The number of unemployed youths above 15 years in the country is more than 21 lakh.
Minister for Labour and Employment Engineer Mos-harraf Hossain said this in the house on Wednesday quoting from a survey report of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) in 2006.
Replying to a question from M Fazlul Azim (Noakhali-6), he said to build an educated and skilled youth force the government has undertaken a plan to make the IT education mandatory at secondary level by 2013 and at primary level by 2021.
He said the ministry in its 38 vocational training institutes is providing training to about 42,000 young men and women on 45 trades. After the training, the ministry doesn't give any job to the youths, rather arrange their own employment, he said.
The minister said the government has taken a decision to build at least one vocational training institute in every district to build efficient manpower.
By this time, he said, second shift has been introduced in all government training center.
Youths are being given training according to the requirement of the employers in the shortest possible time. He said the government is exploring new manpower markets in South Korea, Rumania, Australia, Canada, Russia, South Africa and Sudan.

   Another 257 million US dollars sought from IDA
UNB, Dhaka

The government sought US $ 257 million from the Intern-ational Development Asso-ciation (IDA) as additional financing for the Investment Promotion and Financing Facility (IPFF) Project to implement some major schemes. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects will be financed with this credit through Participa-ting Financial Institutions (PFIs) under the IPFP project, said an official announcement Wednesday.
Of the eligible sectors to be financed under the IPFF, the power sector, including its generation, transmission, distribution and services, is being given "highest priority".
Besides, port development (sea, river and land), environmental, industrial and solid waste management, highways and expressways, including flyovers, water supply and distribution sewerage and drainage, industrial estates and park development will also be financed under the umbrella project.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the IPFF implementation Committee at the Bangladesh Bank Bhaban Tuesday with its Governor Dr Atiur Rahman in the chair.
Bangladesh Bank is implementing the IPFF project on behalf of the Finance Divis-ion, the Ministry of Finance, as per Administr-ative Agreement signed on August 21, 2006 between BB and the government. So far, Tk 391.34 crore (97%) has been utilized out of Tk 400.72 crore as on-lending for financing seven small power plants having a capacity of 178 MG. Besides, Tk 4.94 crore (28.36%) out of Tk 17.42 crore has been utilized from TA component of the project.
So, another amount of 257.00 million US dollars is under process with the IDA as additional financing to IPFF because no more fund is available for on-lending purpose with two years left of the project period.

    Barua for ensuring quality of products
UNB, Dhaka

Industries Minister Dilip Barua Wednesday urged all to come forward to resist the adulterated goods producers for ensuring the quality of products to save the country's people.
"The government cannot ensure the quality of products alone. Civil society members, consumer rights organizations, public representatives and mass media can play a key role in ensuring the quality of products by creating awareness among people," he said while addressing a discussion at the National Press Club.
Banglavision Foundation organized the discussion titled 'The Role of Bangl-adesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) and The Role of Audits of National Board of Revenue (NBR) in ensuring quality products'.
Chaired by former caretaker government adviser Dr AB Mirza Md Azizul Islam, the discussion was addressed, among others, by BSTI director Lutfar Rahman Khan, Rajuk magistrate Barrister Rokan-ud-dowla, NBR member Abdul Mannan Patwari and Banglavision Chairman Md Shariful Islam. Speaking on the occasion, Dilip Barua said the present government has decided to expand BSTI activities up to district level to ensure international standard of products. "We've already introduced 'One Stop Service' in Dhaka to provide immediate service and it'll be launched in Chittagong soon," he said.
Referring to BSTI's workforce shortage, the minister said, some 113 people will be appointed to BSTI office soon for gearing up its activities.
"The government has taken an initiative to modernize BSTI laboratories for building it as an international standard institute. Later, another project will be taken for its further development," he said. About consumer rights, Barua said, 'We've already passed the Consumer Rights Act and intensified monitoring against adulterated products so that the consumers cannot be cheated."

    Commerce ministry sees 62pc ADP implementation rate in last 6 months

BSS, Dhaka

The commerce ministry witnessed 62 percent implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) during the last six months of current fiscal, 22 percent more than that of last year.
This was revealed at an ADP review meeting held in the conference room of the ministry on Tuesday, said an official handout on Wednesday.
The meeting, presided over by additional secretary Mustafa Mohiuddin, was attended, among others, by project directors and officials of concerned ministries.
The meeting expressed satisfaction over the ADP implementation rate saying that the progress rate has surpassed previous records. It also sought cooperation of all to keep continue the progress rate in future.
It was infirmed in the meeting that six projects have been incorporated into the ministry with Taka 4509 lakh during the 2009-10 fiscal. Taka 2806.71 lakh was disbursed during the six months from July to November last. The projects are strengthening accounts auditing standards and Practices in the Corporate sector, Bangladesh Trade Support Programme, Quality Support Diversification Prog-ramme, Promotion of Social Environment and Productivity Standard in the RMG sector, Small and Holding Tea Cultivation in Chittagong Hill Tracts and Development of Small in Cultivation Nort-hern Bangladesh.

    Businessman murdered
Roads blocked in Feni

UNB, Feni

Hundreds of people Wedn-esday blocked the Feni-Ramgarh and Feni-Pars-huram roads at Ranirhat Bazar in Sadar upazila following the death of a businessman in a terrorist attack on Tuesday.
The angry people took to the street at about 9:30am Wed-nesday and barricaded the roads for two and a half hours.
On information, UNO Zahirul Islam, Sadar upazila chairman Abdur Rahman, assistant police super (Feni circle) Yakub Ali and acting president of district Awami League Abu Ahmed Chowdhury rushed in and quelled the situation.
The barricade was removed at about 12 noon following the assurance from the administration of arresting those involved in the killing. Local sources said a group of 15-20 terrorists, led by notorious 'Bolla' group leader Lokman, Tuesday afternoon attacked businessman Abdul Quader, his brother Abdul Wahab and two others with lethal weapons following their refusal of giving the gang toll and handing one extortionist over to police.
The criminals beat and hacked them indiscriminately, leaving them injured. Later, the terrorists left the scene unchallenged exploding 8-10 bombs.
Badly injured Quader died at about 8:30pm on the way to Dhaka for treatment.
Family sources said Lokman demanded Tk 1 lakh to businessman Abdul Quader few days ago but Quader refused to pay.

Editorial

Reaching the middle income threshold

Amid despair and frustration all around the Bangladesh Bank (BB) has sounded some words of hope and assured the people of good days ahead. BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman has told journalists while releasing the central bank's annual report for 2008-09 financial year that with steady rise in investment, implementing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects for infrastructure building and sound political environment, Bangladesh would be a middle income country by 2013. Referring to the steady rise of per capita income (GNI) in the past five years, the governor said, the per capita income rose to $690 in June last year from $440 at the end of 2004. "At this rate, reaching the middle income threshold of $976 should not take more than another four years, say, not beyond 2013".
Earlier report said, the government is preparing a five-year plan, targeting 10 to 15 per cent poverty reduction and 1000 US dollar per capita income to promote the country to the middle-income group from its current position. The NEC has already approved the perspective plan, which will be implemented in phases.
The aforesaid plan with the target mentioned above as well as the hope of reaching the middle income threshold of $976 are highly ambitious, specially in Bangladesh perspective. Because, poverty in the country is widespread and the pace of its reduction is very slow. Besides, although the per capita income is increasing gradually, it is shrouded in a virtual mystery. Because, the projected rate of per capita income is rather inflated as the total amount of the income of Bangladeshi people is high due to the huge remittances from the expatriate Bangladeshis working abroad.
Moreover, the per capita income is worked out on the basis of average income of the multimillionaires and day labourers and the rate of price spiral is higher than that of rise in income. So, in fact, the high rate of per capita income does not mean any thing to common people. The income of the ordinary people is increasing slightly, but that is being eaten up by the soaring prices of essentials. Moreover, the benefit of the increased income is not distributed equitably. And that is the reason why disparity between the rich and poor continues to widen and the living condition of the poor does not improve.
BBC has quoted a UN report as saying that hunger in South Asia has reached its highest level in 40 years because of food and fuel price rises and the global economic downturn. It named Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan as the worst affected areas. According to the World Bank (WB), 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. WB says the number of the poor in Bangladesh in 2000 was 47 per cent which has declined to 40 per cent now, but despite a fall in the overall number of the poor, that of those in abject poverty has increased. At present 5.6 crore people in the country live below the poverty line. Of them the number of hardcore poor is 3.50 crore as against 3.25 crore in 2000.
Against this backdrop, the rise in per capita income on an average by dint of increased inflow of remittances is not of major significance to the total population as the benefit of this does not reach them all. In fact the ambitious hope for reaching the middle income threshold by 2013 seems a distant goal. And in view of this rude reality, all out efforts should rather be made for rapid poverty alleviation and narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor.

  Rice price hike

Alarming increase in the price of rice is the most burning issue at present as the people are facing unbearable sufferings. According to press reports the parliamentary standing committee on food on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction over price hike of rice and formed a sub-committee to find out reasons behind it as the explanation of the food ministry was not "convincing". The Ministry officials showed some lame excuse for the price hike which was not acceptable to the Parliamentary body. Maybe, the food ministry has tried to evade the responsibility of its failure in this regard.
The price of rice is on the rise for quite some time. The government has repeatedly assured the people of stabilising the market, but with no effect. However, the government started Open Market Sale (OMS) of rice from January 19 at the rate of Tk 22 per kilogram in four labour-intensive districts, including Dhaka, as an interventional measure to stem an upturn in the market prices. The other three districts coming under the rice rationing are Narayanganj, Narsingdi and Gazipur where a large number of garment workers live and work in the industry. But this limited operation has created only limited impact .
Against this backdrop it has become urgently needed to introduce OMS all over the country to bring down rice price immediately and thus provide respite for the poor people to whom rice price hike means added economic hardship. The fruits of bumper crop did not reach the people and they are suffering due to continued price hike of rice. The main reason of this unfortunate development is the hoarding of rice and manipulation by business syndicates which could not be broken yet. The government should act resolutely in this regard before the situation deteriorates further.

Analysis

Good neighbours?

Prime requisite of good neighbourliness envisages a "live and let live" policy, not the "live and let die" one espoused by Ian Fleming. Unfortunately India has a marked inclination for the latter.

Ikram Sehgal

Remembering two wars with India, the heady days after 1965 and the dark ones post-1971, one sincerely believes that unless lasting peace breaks out with India, there is no hope for hundreds of millions in the two countries, and in the neighouring ones, living below the poverty line. The "Jang Group" and "The Times of India" had the vision and the courage to launch "Aman ki Asha", the prime requisite of good neighbourliness envisages a "live and let live" policy, not the "live and let die" one espoused by Ian Fleming. Unfortunately India has a marked inclination for the latter in dealing with the nations on its periphery, particularly Pakistan.
Vast tracts of Bangladesh will become desert if India goes through with its plans to harness upstream the two great rivers that flow through the delta country. Providing "Lebensraum" (living room) for the teeming Bangladeshis, Assam (and the other eastern provinces of India) already have a simmering immigrant problem. The India-friendly Hasina Wajed-govt notwithstanding, why does Bangladesh field almost seven Infantry Divisions, not including division plus paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), double the fighting strength of the Pakistan Armed Forces in (then) East Pakistan in 1971? Elaborating why "Peace should break out in South Asia" at the Bangladesh National Defence College (NDC) in Dhaka about two years ago, I was repeatedly admonished during the "Q and A" Session by the two dozen senior Bangladeshi officers (including a Nepalese, two Sri Lankans and a Pakistani) doing the National Defence Course (NDC) that I was dangerously naïve if I thought India would ever have peace with the neighbours over whom it wants to establish hegemony. India has given enough reason to evoke such raw hatred.
The world is conveniently comfortable with a memory lapse a la terrorism, "suicide bombings" were perfected by the Tamil Tigers trained in over a dozen training camps run by India's Research Analysis Wing (RAW) in Tamil Nadu. Rahul Gandhi says his father, India's PM Rajiv Gandhi, personally presented psychopath Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran with his own bulletproof jacket, Prabhakaran returned that favour by presenting him with a garland of explosives. Visiting my 34th PMA coursemates in the early 80s, Lt Col (Maj Gen deceased) "Lucky" Vijatnatne, Lt Col (later Maj Gen) Siri Pieris, Lt Col (later Maj Gen) Ananda Weerasekera, Lt Col (later Brig) Rajapaksa and Lt Col (later Brig) Ratnayka, The Sri Lankan Army was seething with resentment at the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) landing in Sri Lanka uninvited (the protocol legitimizing their presence was signed after their arrival on Sri Lankan soil) to rescue the Tamil Tigers from absolute defeat. Costing hundreds of thousands of lives and destroying the paradise that was Sri Lanka, the war continued for 25 years more before the Tamil Tigers were finally again cornered and eliminated.
India dominated Nepal totally for decades, treating the country virtually as an Annexe. The Nepalese monarchy did show sustained flashes of independence, even that was curbed after the ascent of late King's blatantly pro-Indian brother to the throne after a mysterious and brutal tragedy eliminated King Birendra and his entire family. The Nepalese did not appreciate the change, it hastened the destruction of monarchy as an institution, eventually leading to a full democratic set-up. Widespread anti-Indian feeling is pervasive throughout Nepal, the country is increasingly looking to deepen its relationship with China.
Maldives and Bhutan have been Balkan-ized so totally by India they do not matter as independent nation entities anymore. China claims Arunachal Pradesh (formerly NEFA) as its own. China overran NEFA in a brief war fought with India in 1962 within days, later withdrawing unilaterally, preferring to negotiate the territorial dispute through peace rather than through war. It is no secret that India, that would revel in being "non-aligned", has been assiduously built up by the US as a regional power to contain China (Ambassador Galbraith's Memo of May 25, 1965).
When their Parliament was attacked by terrorists in Dec 2001, India threatened Pakistan with war, the two opposing Armies staying eyeball to eyeball throughout 2002. The terrorists did not have State connections, still India blamed Pakistan. This was repeated after the 26/11 Mumbai incident, war again came up as an option. The ability of terrorists to use our soil as a base is nothing for Pakistan to be proud of. Having sowed the wind in the early 90s we are reaping the whirlwind, paying a heavy human price for misplaced adventurism in now having to engage terrorists across the country in counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism. However to blame Pakistan as a State for third party interventions is unfair, to threaten war for their atrocities is downright madness. Is India trying to blackmail Pakistan with war, or blackmail the world with possible effects of a nuclear one? This attitude gives an open invitation for anyone to create trouble. India's constant targetting comprises is a deliberate, myopic and obnoxious State policy of cutting Pakistan down to size in all ways possible, tarring and feathering the country as a responsible entity among the comity of nations. Pakistan is beset by many problems, the most serious is terrorism. We need Indian understanding and support, not the pouring of fuel on the fire. While the roots of terrorism's incubation and growth are imbedded in Kashmir, the Afghan problem has exacerbated and complicated the situation, we are host to 3 million uninvited refugees? Almost one-third of the Pakistan Army's fighting strength is deployed to deal with the insurgency. Terrorist cells have infiltrated and proliferated has put our entire society under virtual siege, we are in a state of clear and present danger,.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates annunciated our dilemma best during his recent visit, "Pakistan is not threatened by India", in almost the next breath, he said, "if another terrorist attack originates from Pakistani soil, it would be difficult to contain Indian reaction". In countering the insurgency, the reserves meant for the eastern borders are depleted, this weakened we are in danger of being attacked because of other's mischief. Mr Gates now wants us "to do more" in opening another front in North Waziristan. For an Army doing 90% of the fighting and dying in the "war against terrorism" in this region, one must be grateful the US has allocated US$ 1 billion approximately. The disparity, with the Afghan National Army (ANA) which is not even 10% engaged in all the fighting by Coalition forces getting US$ 16 billion from the US, is mind-boggling.
The element of hypocrisy is palpable, India's fingerprints are all over Swat and FATA, they have been actively stoking the fires in Balochistan. India must behave responsibly with the countries on its periphery, particularly Pakistan. The water issue has dangerous and ominous overtones, tens of millions will starve to death without the rivers. The Indians are violating the Indus Basin Treaty, what option will we have except to fight if we face desertification? The silver lining of the counter-insurgency operations is that our Army has recovered from the debilitating 2003-2007 period. If the Indians decide to test Pakistani gunsights they will find a battle-hardened entity. India campaigned assiduously to eliminate and isolate Pakistan from world cricket by ensuring the World Cup was taken away, followed by banning of all international cricket from our soil. Using its cricket economic power, the venom was on full display when ensuring not one Pakistan player was picked for IPL. Our under-19 youngsters gave us back some pride by eliminating India from the Cricket World Cup in a tense semi-final in New Zealand.
India's economic success relative to Pakistan's more pedestrian progress is to be admired, unfortunately total US support coupled with economic boom has inculcated unbridled arrogance. One does not expect humility from India, but certainly understanding and tolerance thereof. Approximately one-third of Pakistan's population, about 60 million can be said to be really poor, the sobering thought is that India has 10 times more than that, 600 million. The media-hype perception of "Incredible India" has to contend with the reality of uplift of hundreds of millions to the lifestyle that their more affluent upscale fellow compatriots are used to.
Let alone Pakistan, can India ever hope to accomplish this if, instead of peace, war breaks out with Pakistan? It is vitally important to foster "Aman ki Asha" (desire for peace), better that than "Jang ki Bhasha", the dialogue of war.

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

  Gate-crashing South Asia

It is time to focus efforts on building bridges and not destroying every opportunity for peace. As for the US it should act more responsibly and realise that playing one off against the other is hardly going to serve anybody's interests.

Faryal Leghari

Why is it that every high-level US official's visit to South West Asia, apparently to inject confidence and trust in its 'relations' with Pakistan, somehow misses the target?
In fact, these visits only strengthen the perception that the existing trust deficit between the 'critical allies' in the war on terror is growing by the day.
It had only been some months since Hillary Clinton's velvet-couched rap on Islamabad's knuckles that Defence Secretary Gates arrived with his bag of tricks. The agenda of the South Asian visit was, as expected, to pressure Pakistan to widen its ambit of military operations to North Waziristan and to strengthen military ties with India-being courted as a lucrative billion-dollar buyer of the US defence industry.
What has raised temperatures in Islamabad and what portends a sinister scenario for the region are Gates' comments in New Delhi on "Indian patience running thin" in case of a second, Mumbai style attack. In an implied threat to Pakistan, Gates has more or less condoned Indian retaliation against Islamabad in case of a future attack involving terrorists from across the border.
At the same time, Gates warned the two South Asian states of an Al Qaeda instigated regional conflagration. Gates' comments hold inherent contradictions. Even while saying that Al Qaeda through its affiliated groups-the Taleban and the Lashkar-e-Taeba (LeT)-is likely to trigger a war between the two nuclear neighbours, the implication for Pakistan is far more ominous. It suggests that the US may back Indian military retaliation against (the state of) Pakistan, in case of another attack on the lines of 26 November attacks on Mumbai.
While such an interpretation is likely to be rejected by the Obama administration, the statement does not leave much room for manoeuvrability. No wonder that Prime Minister Yousaf Reza Gilani has questioned how Pakistan could ensure the prevention of such an occurrence when it is itself facing terror attacks on a daily basis. In addition, the Pakistan Foreign Office has termed Gates' statement as 'very unhelpful and undiplomatic' and one that 'can be exploited by India.'
The fact remains that LeT, among other organisations, is currently banned and facing persecution in Pakistan. A future attack even if it involves a terror group in Pakistan does not justify armed Indian retaliation. It is well known that Indian extremist groups some of which include serving officers from the military and police have been involved in some major terror attacks aimed at sabotaging the peace dialogue with Pakistan and for instigating ?communal violence.
The Samjhota Express incident is one such stark reminder, not to forget involvement of Indian intelligence in Waziristan and Balochistan, evidence of which has been transmitted to New Delhi and Washington. As per realpolitik the attempts to create trouble for each other through respective intelligence agencies is an established fact. Something everyone understands.
But what is troubling is that such activities are being given impetus in a highly destabilising environment where non-state actors are now at par with the state sans conventional armies. The compensation of this shortfall with well-trained and well-armed militias and employment of terror tactics has more or less adjusted the equilibrium.
What is not comprehensible is why this reality has not been integrated into the military doctrine. On the contrary, a rise in aggressive rhetoric from across the border has offset apprehensions ?in Islamabad.
Indian Army Chief General Deepak Kapoor's provocative remarks pointing to the possibility of a limited conventional war under nuclear umbrella and India's capability to deal with Pakistan and China at the same time are hardly conducive for resumption of a composite dialogue with Islamabad.
The charged atmospherics are precisely why Secretary Gates should have found another point to play up for his audience in New Delhi. For it negates the whole elaborately spun 'we-are-critical allies' spin Washington has put together. Does it not understand the differences between independent terrorist acts and those that are ?state sponsored? If so, then what will it ask of New Delhi in the face of credible Indian involvement in the long list spanning Mumbai, Samjhota, Gujrat, Kashmir, Waziristan and Balochistan? Not to forget Afghanistan serving the world's intelligence agencies from the Russian FSB and Israel's Mossad to Pakistan's ISI and Indian RAW as an ideal playground.
Islamabad has in return served Washington a tit-for-tat response. Refusing to buckle under further US pressure, it has now refused to open another front in North Waziristan believed to be hosting the Taleban-allied Jalaluddin Haqqani network.
Categorically ruling out a new offensive for the next six months to one year, Pakistan wants the US to be cognisant of its security perceptions. The reason it cannot expand into North Waziristan is because it will have to move forces from its eastern border, an unfeasible prospect in the present circumstances.
Pakistan's discontent with growing Indian role in Afghanistan is growing by the day. Its concerns on the subject seem not to have made much of an impression in Washington. It has only led to growing mistrust and a hardening of attitude in Pakistan as was witnessed recently. What is unfortunate is that India refuses to recognise the danger threshold it now stands on. Further instability in Pakistan is hardly going to help India. The biggest danger lies in the misconception of a calculable response. There is simply no such estimate or guarantee that in case of a military strike by either party, there will be a controlled and limited-read, conventional only- response. Such fallacy must be set aside, especially when total annihilation from either first strike or second strike is a real possibility.
Gates may be spot on by saying that the next war in South Asia may be initiated by Al Qaeda or likeminded groups but that means that both Pakistan and India share an equal responsibility and must not allow that to happen. Not only should both states accept the possibility, they must increase cooperation on the political and security front to obviate such attempts. Unless India and Pakistan learn to live with each other in a respectful manner and not undermine each other's internal stability, they will be pulled deeper into an inevitable confrontation.
It is time to focus efforts on building bridges and not destroying every opportunity for peace. As for the US it should act more responsibly and realise that playing one off against the other is hardly going to serve anybody's interests, especially its own.


Faryal Leghari is Assistant Editor of Khaleej Times and can be reached at faryal@khaaleejtimes.com

Viewpoints

French panel recommends partial burka ban

Committee urges that anyone covering their face be barred from entering public sector property, including hospitals and schools, and using public transport.

Lizzy Davies

France on Tuesday took the first step towards barring Muslim women from wearing the full veil when using public services, but stopped short of calling for an outright ban after critics argued that such a move would be socially divisive and hard to enforce.
A cross-party committee of MPs was set up last year to explore the controversial issue in France of burkas and niqabs. The committee recommended to Parliament that Muslim women should be allowed to carry on covering their faces in the street.
Its final report, however, recommended that anyone covering their face be barred from entering public sector property, including hospitals and schools, or using public transport.
Under the proposals, a woman who fails to remove her veil in such cases would not face a fine for breaking the law but would be refused access to the service. She would not, for instance, be allowed to collect her child benefit payments or take the bus.
Nicolas Sarkozy, who has repeatedly said that the full veil "is not welcome" on French soil, is believed to be in favour of this partial legislation rather than other, more radical suggestions from recalcitrant members of his own Right-wing UMP party.
The French President has been warned that an outright ban on the full veil could be found to be unconstitutional and almost impossible to put into practice. Mr. Sarkozy, who has stressed the need to find a solution in which "no one feels stigmatised", is also keen to play down speculation that his policies are doing more to aggravate social divisions than bridge them.
Steps to ban the burka, which have been opposed by the Muslim Council of France and other religious groups, have coincided with the French government's "big debate" on national identity. Critics of the government, from the Left and Right, have accused Mr. Sarkozy of encouraging dangerous rhetoric which has seen the country's five million Muslims become the object of increasing critiques.
Tuesday's cross-party report - whose contents were leaked to the French press last week - looks likely to recommend the passing of a non-binding parliamentary resolution setting out the country's "symbolic" opposition to the full veil.
After that, steps should be taken to vote into law a series of "separate but multiple bans" which would make clear the garment's practical incompatibility with French values of sexual equality and freedom, the report will say.
"We have to make life impossible for them in order to curb the phenomenon," one MP told the French daily Le Figaro. However, opponents have said that banning the full veil either outright or partially would serve merely to reinforce the isolation of women already partially alienated from mainstream society.
The 32-member panel, which has been meeting and questioning experts on the issue for the past six months, was set up by Mr. Sarkozy last summer after he declared that the full veil was "a sign of subservience [and] debasement".
The president of the committee, Communist MP Andre Gerin, has not made any secret of his desire to see a ban on what he has denounced as a "walking prison". His feelings have tapped into growing concern in France over an item of clothing worn by a small minority of Muslim women. According to police figures, no more than 2,000 women - most of them young and a quarter of them converts - wear a face-covering veil.
In a country which places a high value on laicite - secularism - and which in 2004 banned headscarves in schools, it is unsurprising that such an overt display of religion has raised eyebrows. The major political parties, leading feminists and even one prominent imam have made clear their dislike for the full veil, which they view as an affront to women's rights and a sign of an emerging strand of fundamentalist Islam.
Despite wide-ranging opposition to the garment and polls showing that a majority of the French public is in favour of a ban, opinions have differed in how to go about discouraging women from covering their faces.
The Socialist party, while condemning the full veil, has refused to support a ban. The UMP's Jean-Francois Cope, a politician with half an eye on the 2012 presidential elections, grabbed the headlines with a proposal to outlaw the full veil anywhere on French streets and fine wearers €750 each - a suggestion rejected by the committee.
"The problem of public space, by that I mean the street, is very delicate," said Mr. Gerin last week, explaining why his panel had rejected the option of an outright ban while not ruling it out for the future.
Mr. Cope, he added, was "behaving like a bull in a china shop".

  Obama: Beyond the first year

Obama is at the crossroads today. He can still hope to battle the dragon that is Washington and breach its indomitable stonewalls, or he can surrender to its demons.

Osama Al Sharif 

Much has been written about President Barack Obama's first year in office; the disappointments, the frustrations and the unfulfilled promises. The first African-American to be elected to the highest office in the strongest country on earth promised change - and many believed. Obama promised to tame the monster that is Washington, but with his job approval ratings dipping fast, it appears that the ghoul had survived the first round and was not flummoxed by the young challenger. America has change little, many would sadly conclude.
President Obama has recognized his shortcomings and as he prepares for his first State of the Union address, he is looking for ways to reinvigorate the public and rally the believers. It is vital that he succeeds in his efforts. After eight years of Bush policies and the world's worst financial crisis in decades - still not over - few believed that Obama can turn things around in few months, even a year. Those who did were naive and a bit audacious!
After all, Washington is the nerve center of a complex system of government that sometimes appears to be evolving on its own. To change its course or priorities is a mammoth task of herculean nature; Obama can certainly try and may even set off a spark or two, but to reform the system, one may have to bring it down first! Obama is no revolutionary. He is a product of that system and his intentions, good as they may be, will not suffice. This is probably the bitter lesson that the young president has learned on his first year in the Oval Office.
To be fair to the man, he inherited a heap of problems. That is one reason for his historic arrival to the White House in the first place. By the time he checked in, America was fighting two wars, three if you count the open-ended war on terror. The economy was limping and millions of Americans had lost their jobs or homes, or both. A bevy of other challenges was also hanging heavy over his head; relations with Russia, China and the Muslim world, a whopping trade and budget deficits, energy, global warming, health reform, the Middle East and many others.
And he could not get a reprieve. He was expected to deal with all on day one. Charm and charisma had to be sidelined. The American people, and the rest of the world, had had their fill of promises and illusory happy endings. To deal with any of these tenacious issues, Obama had to play hard ball; tough, compromising, sometimes accommodating and sometimes plain dirty politics.
HE must have been disappointed with the early feedback. None of the immediate challenges he faced was easy. To put the economy back on track he had to face head-on the banks, the politicians on their payroll, a skeptical media, the public and the consequences of his new policies. The Republicans were not helping either. Every move he made was immediately scrutinized by his political foes.
Obama was supposed to make a choice few months back, which apparently he did not. He had to show that he was a tough customer, a fighter who was determined to carry out his vision, and promise, even if it meant that he was risking getting his mouth bloodied and hands soiled. He did not. He backed down and even worse he compromised and chose the middle, believing it was the safest, path to tread.
WE saw this in Afghanistan, the Middle East and now in Iraq. And when he did bow to pressure or faced up to a challenge, he chose wrongly, as it happened with the administration's response to the attempted terrorist attempt on Christmas Day. Obama chose to appease the hard-liners and by doing so he tossed his goodwill message to the Muslim world out of the window.
Obama's job is an unforgiving one. There is a risk of quickly losing sight of one's objectives and becoming hostage to one's aides, advisers and strategists. If this has happened to Obama then he will probably emerge as the weakest president in modern US history. His weakness will not stem from his indecisiveness, although that is a major factor, but from the fact that he will become entirely dependent on the advice and counsel of his closest aides. He will lose the guiding force that brought him to Washington in the first place.
By the same token he also risks becoming a pawn in the larger political chessboard. The specter of a military defeat in Afghanistan will only summon more misadventures, misdeeds and mishaps. An unexpected turn of events in Iraq, for the worse, will only delay America's departure from a country it destroyed and mangled, but not without sustaining indelible scars itself.
And allowing distrust, hatred and suspicion to fester between the United States and the Muslim world, will be the biggest blunder of all, forcing generations of young people on both sides of the divide to undergo an unnecessary clash of civilizations and cultures that promises to poison the entire planet.
Obama is at the crossroads today. He can still hope to battle the dragon that is Washington and breach its indomitable stonewalls, or he can surrender to its demons and let it dictate the course of his remaining three years in office.
He has a choice, but no matter which one he takes he will suffer! The difference is that he can be loyal to his promises and beliefs, and the millions who believe in him, or he can sit back and let the "experts" lead. Eight years of Bush years should have taught him better. He can either lead or pretend to; it's a big difference!


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

  Fighting terrorism

The recent dishing out of billions of rupees worth of bailout packages to corrupt organisations and placing a controversial minister in charge of the NAB are nothing short of flaunting corruption.

Talat Fraooq

One of the post-9/11 narratives has focused on the root causes of terrorism by carrying out in-depth analyses of the phenomenon. One school of thought sees a fundamental connection between poor economic conditions and terrorism and considers poverty to be a significant determinant in this regard, whereas the opposing view ascribes terrorism to religious fundamentalism and not poverty. This viewpoint is defended on the grounds that the terrorist leadership and operators include affluent people who use religion for political ends.
Yet another perspective maintains that terrorists are motivated by injustice and perceived social, political or historical wrongs embedded in autocratic political systems. This particular analysis upholds that terrorism is not associated with per capita income and terrorist risk is not higher in economically backward countries, and that higher levels of terrorism are actually associated with lower levels of social justice, including political rights.
The rise and perpetuation of the militancy in Pakistan may be explained by the above argument. Political and social flux has intensified in the last two decades with the state itself sponsoring non-state actors at the cost of its writ and, in the bargain, progressively impeding institutional development. Terrorism remains unbridled because Pakistan is in transition; whether it is towards a stronger democracy or a powerful dictatorship remains to be seen.
By refusing to review and discard the pre-partition modes of governance in this particular region, the Pakistani state has failed to serve as a unifying force since 1947. Instead of positively harnessing the diversity of its multi-ethnic society it has used religion and misplaced nationalism to impose uniformity in order to maintain a strong centre. Within the first few decades it emboldened the religious extremists by declaring a section of its own people non-Muslims out of sheer political expediency, estranging the Bengalis to the point of no return and spawning alienation by refusing provincial autonomy. Prolonged and perpetual social and political discrimination, coupled with widespread corruption at the top, has gradually manufactured conditions conducive to the growth of extremist religious ideology and militancy.
Poverty and religion are not among the root causes of terrorism but grow within an environment that hinders viable opportunities for self-actualisation. The failure of the state to provide balanced education to the masses has seriously aggravated the situation. Institutionalised corruption has played a vital role in this regard. Without quality education there can be no hope of a better tomorrow and the failure to achieve personal and economic growth is bound to give way to depression and desperation.
This has encouraged the vested interests to exploit both poverty and religious sentiment. So much so that before the public opinion took a u-turn a sizeable section of the Pakistani populace, including members of the well-to-do class, sympathised with the Taliban agenda by misinterpreting it as an answer to Western hegemony and domestic discontent. This particular mindset continues to exist although its supporters may have decreased.
The corruption-ridden state institutions lack the moral courage to bring unregulated religious activism through mosques and madrasas under stringent control.
At this point in time Pakistan's ongoing transition is being manoeuvred by a slowly maturing media, an emboldened judiciary and the short-sighted political elite who refuse to learn from the changed ground realities. Their immaturity is evident from their attitude toward the NRO verdict of the Supreme Court. Those in government wish to protect party interests and those in the opposition desire to use the NRO issue for political ends.
Nothing weakens state-society relationship more than rampant and unchecked corruption of the powerful. Yet there is no effort on the part of the political elite to genuinely ponder the implications of sleaze and fraud that have retarded institutional development and hampered Pakistan's shift toward social parity. The corrupt in Pakistan are by now so well entrenched that they can actually add insult to injury with impunity.
The recent dishing out of billions of rupees worth of bailout packages to corrupt organisations and placing a controversial minister in charge of the NAB are nothing short of flaunting corruption.
The majority of the Pakistani politicians lack the integrity, the sagacity and the will required to ensure strong institutions that alone can guarantee a just social system and consequently a violence-free society. Post-9/11 studies also show that the number of trans-national violent events is far less than domestic terrorist activities. Terrorism feeds on domestic inequalities that result from moral and financial corruption. No military operation can eradicate terrorism entirely; only an equitable and corruption-free system of governance that serves and not rules the people can bring about a lasting solution to the problem. If terrorism in Pakistan is to be curtailed then we have to look inwards; justice, like charity, begins at home.
For this to happen, Pakistan needs statesmen and not politicians. Unfortunately, there are none on the horizon. The time is ripe for the civil society to get its act together, take a unified stand and step into the fray wholeheartedly.

The writer is executive editor of Criterion, Islamabad. Email: talatfarooq11@gmail .com

International

CEC to hear Zardari’s eligibility petition on Feb 4
Dawn Online, Islamabad

Pakistan's Chief Election Commissioner Justice Hamid Ali Mirza will hear on Feb 4 arguments on maintainability of a petition challenging eligibility of Asif Ali Zardari to hold the office of president and seeking fresh scrutiny of his nomination papers as a presidential candidate.
President Asif Ali Zardari, the two candidates in the presidential election, Justice (retd) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui and Mushahid Hussain Sayed, and the federation of Pakistan have been made respondents in the petition filed by Maulvi Iqbal Haider.
The petitioner has pointed out that the nomination papers of Mr Zardari had been accepted when the now defunct National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) was conditionally operative.
Now that the apex court had already declared the NRO void ab initio, he said, the CEC should fix date, time and place for fresh scrutiny of the papers.
"If the Chief Election Commissioner finds that the nomination papers of Mr Zardari were required to be rejected, the question of disqualification may be placed before the Election Commission under Article 63(2) (3) read with articles 5, 25, 50, 62 and 63 of the Constitution," the petitioner prayed.
He said Mr Zardari had taken advantage of the NRO which was conditionally allowed by the interim order passed by the apex court. Therefore, nobody could file objections at the time of the scrutiny, he added.
The petitioner said that after the Supreme Court had ordered that all steps taken and all orders passed by whatever authority, any orders passed by the courts of law including the orders of discharge and acquittal recorded in favour of accused persons were declared to have never existed in the eyes of law and resultantly of no legal effect.
The petitioner submitted that being a beneficiary of NRO, Mr Zardari could not have qualified to contest presidential polls had the ordinance not been in the field at the time of the scrutiny nomination papers. He said Mr Zardari had been convicted by a Swiss Court and subordinate courts in the country.
Meanwhile, Secretary Election Commission Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan said notice had been ordered to be issued for Feb 4 for hearing of the petition on the question of maintainability.

  President calls for unity after Sri Lanka poll win
AP, Colombo, Sri Lanka

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for all Sri Lankans to work together to rebuild the war-torn nation in the wake of his re-election victory.
Rajapaksa spoke Wednesday in his first comments since he was declared the winner in a hard-fought presidential election. His challenger has rejected the results. He said that no matter who people voted for, he would work as the president of the whole nation.
Mahinda Rajapaksa won a resounding re-election victory Wednesday, beating back a challenge from his former army chief, who rejected the official results and said he feared arrest as troops surrounded his hotel.
The capital was tense even as people hit the streets in celebration, setting off fireworks, waving Sri Lankan flags and holding up posters of a smiling Rajapaksa. Policemen at intersections smiled and waved at the revelers.
The election commission declared Rajapaksa the winner with 57.8 percent of the vote to Sarath Fonseka's 40 percent. The president now must rebuild the country after last year's successful offensive to destroy the Tamil Tiger separatists after 25 years of conflict. Fonseka refused to accept the results, accusing Rajapaksa of using the state media to attack him, misappropriating public funds for his campaign and preventing displaced minority Tamils - whose support the opposition candidate was counting on - from voting.
In a letter to the electoral commission, he said he would initiate legal proceedings to have the results annulled.
As the returns came in, troops surrounded the Cinnamon Lake Hotel after about 400 people, including alleged army deserters, gathered inside with Fonseka, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said.

  Indian Army on alert after border skirmish
Reuters, Jammu

The Indian Army was put on alert following heavy exchange of fire at the
India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir early on Tuesday following a major infiltration bid, defence sources said as the country celebrated its 61st Republic Day.
The firing, at the Kanachak sector near Akhnoor, 30km northwest from here, started at 2am and went on four hours. Officials said Pakistani Rangers provided covering fire to a group of infiltrators. The Border Security Force (BSF) men retaliated and the guns fell silent around 6am.
The Indian Army has been put on alert along the border, where the first line of defence is provided by the BSF.
Army sources said troops were put on alert after the fire started from Pakistani side. They described the firing as heavy and said it was a clear attempt by Pakistan to push militants into India on Republic Day.
The exchange of fire was heavy for about two hours initially. "Thereafter, it was intermittent firing that lasted till 6am," Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda told reporters.
It was the 15th ceasefire violation incident and infiltration attempt from across the border this month.
"Pakistan is desperate to push terrorists to the Indian side," a senior army official said, adding that they wanted to strike on India's Republic Day and were unhappy with the peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
But a Pakistani security official said Indian forces used automatic weapons and mortar bombs in "unprovoked firing" that hit Bijhwat village near the Pakistani city of Sialkot.

  N. Korea resumes artillery drill despite exchange of fire
AFP, Seoul

North and South Korea Wednesday traded artillery fire near their disputed sea border, and the Stalinist state ignored strong protests to press ahead with a live fire exercise to raise tensions anew.
"So far, dozens of shells have been fired," a spokesman for Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said of the afternoon salvo which began at 3:25 pm (0625 GMT).
The South did not respond, he said.
Its Marines had fired about 100 warning shots during the North's morning firing of about 30 shells into the sea, which lasted more than an hour. There were no casualties.
The west coast sea border was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. A firefight there last November left a North Korean patrol boat in flames.
The defence ministry in a message to the North protested at its exercises and vowed to "strongly react to any provocative acts". The North said it would press on regardless.
"Such firing drill by the units of the KPA will go on in the same waters in the future," the (North) Korean People's Army General Staff said in a statement on Pyongyang's official news agency.
The army said it had staged an annual artillery live firing drill in its own waters with which "no one can argue".
The drill came a day after the communist North declared two "no sail zones" around the borderline, which was drawn up by United Nations forces after the 1950-1953 Korean War. Related article: Korea's history of clashes
The North refuses to accept the line and says it should run further to the south.
The two nations have remained technically at war since their conflict ended without a formal peace treaty.

  US asks Pakistan to stop blocking nuclear talks
AP, Geneva

Pakistan is delaying international talks on a ban on the production of new nuclear bomb material, insisting that any deal must also require its archrival India to reduce its existing stockpile.
President Barack Obama has pushed for the ban, and the United States on Tuesday urged Pakistan to allow a quick start to the talks at the U.N. Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
"It is imperative that we work together ... and begin substantive work in 2010," U.S. representative Garold N. Larson told the meeting.
India has a larger stock of fissile material and the capacity to build more warheads than Pakistan. Pakistan fears that India is gaining disproportionate power in South Asia after a 2008 agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation between the U.S. and India, and a series of strategic and economic cooperation deals it has concluded with countries including Russia.
The Geneva disarmament conference can only move forward by consensus and Pakistan blocked even the adoption of an agenda for 2010 last week. After dropping that objection, Pakistan now is pledging to block agreement on a U.S. proposal for a work plan, the next bureaucratic step in the negotiation process.
"If we are going to negotiate a treaty which only bans future production, then that asymmetry or imbalance between us will be frozen for ever," said Pakistan's Ambassador in Geneva, Zamir Akram, said Monday. "It presents us with a clear and present danger,"
Obama last year called for a verifiable ban on new nuclear material under the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. The Bush administration had objected to such a deal.
The disarmament body has failed to produce any deal of substance since the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
At the moment, only India and Pakistan - and possibly Israel and North Korea - produce plutonium or highly enriched uranium for weapons Army on Alert after Border Skirmish.

  UN lifts sanctions on 5 former Taliban officials
AP, Kabul

Five former Taliban officials have been removed from a U.N. sanctions list ahead of Thursday's key international conference in London that is expected to focus on a government plan to persuade militants to switch sides.
As part of reconciliation efforts, President Hamid Karzai has been pressing for the removal of certain Taliban figures from the list, which imposes punitive measures such as a travel ban and an assets freeze.
The United Nations said Tuesday that the sanctions committee approved the removal of Wakil Ahmad Muttawakil, a former foreign minister and confidant of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar, and four others.
The U.N. did not mention the reconciliation plan but said the decision was made Monday after a review of the list. Sanctions had been imposed on the five men in 2001.
Karzai has said Taliban who are not part of al-Qaida or other terrorist groups "are welcome to come back to their country, lay down arms and resume life."
He plans to seek international support for a new government reintegration plan at the London conference.
The other four removed from the list were the Taliban's deputy commerce minister, Faizl Mohammed Faizan; Abdul Hakim Monib, the deputy minister of frontier affairs who later renounced the Taliban and became a provincial governor; Mohammad Musa Hottak, the deputy planning minister who was later elected to parliament; and a former press officer, Shams-ul Safa Aminzai.

  Pig heads left at Malaysian mosques amid tensions
AP, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Worshippers found severed heads of pigs at two Malaysian mosques Wednesday following a spate of firebomb attacks on churches amid a dispute over the use of the word "Allah" by Christians, officials said.
It was the most serious incident to hit Islamic places of worship following vandalism and other assaults at 11 churches, a Sikh temple, a mosque and two Muslim prayer halls across the Muslim-majority country in the past three weeks. Pigs are considered unclean by Muslims.
The attacks followed outrage among Muslims over a Dec. 31 court verdict that allowed non-Muslims to use "Allah" as a translation for "God" in the Malay language. Many Malaysian Muslims believe the word should be exclusive to their religion, and that its use by others could confuse some Muslims and even lure them to convert.
Several men who went to a suburban mosque to perform morning prayers Wednesday were shocked to discover two bloodied wild boar heads wrapped in plastic bags in the mosque compound, said Zulkifli Mohamad, the top official at the Sri Sentosa Mosque on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's largest city. Two similarly severed heads were also found at the Taman Dato Harun Mosque in a nearby district. Wild boar are common in Malaysia's forests.
Government leaders denounced the incidents and pledged to track down the culprits.
"We are dead serious about this," Hishammuddin told a news conference. "We will bring them to justice."

 Gulf should not allow Iran attacks from US bases: Larijani
AFP, Kuwait City

Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Wednesday that Arab states in the Gulf should not allow the United States to launch attacks on the Islamic republic from bases in the region. "States in the region which house US military bases should know that these bases must not be used against Iran. The region should not become a launchpad for aggression against Iran," Larijani told a news conference in Kuwait.
Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, all members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, are home to major US military bases. Bahrain is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Larijani, however, assured Gulf neighbours that Iran "does not want to inflict any harm on the GCC states," and charged that the United States was scaring the Gulf from Iran to promote its presence in the region.
"I believe that for the sake of having new military bases in the region... and control over its resources, the Americans and Zionists are trying to scare the region from Iran," he said. "We feel that certain regional groups in addition to America and the Zionists are trying to create disputes between Iran and the states in the region. We will not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries," he said. Larijani is concluding a three-day official visit to Kuwait during which he met with the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, and other leaders.
He said he discussed with Kuwaiti officials the security situation in the region, where he "America is stirring up wars and setting fires." Kuwait has repeatedly said it opposed any military action against Iran, but has also urged Tehran to respect the resolutions of the international community.
Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said last week that Western warships stationed in the Gulf are "best targets" for the Islamic republic if its nuclear sites are attacked, Fars news agency reported.
Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to deliver a "crushing response" and hit US targets, including its bases in the Gulf and neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan, if Iran's nuclear sites are attacked.
Larijani also said Washington and Israel will not "dare launch an aggression on Iran," over its nuclear programme.

  Obama approved secret operations in Yemen
Reuters, Washington

President Barack Obama approved secret joint U.S. military and intelligence operations with Yemeni troops that began six weeks ago and killed six regional al Qaeda leaders, The Washington Post reported.
Obama approved a December 24 strike against a compound where a U.S. citizen, Anwar al-Aulaqi, was believed to be meeting with regional al Qaeda leaders, the newspaper said in its Wednesday editions.
He was not the target and was not killed but since has been added to a short list of U.S. citizens to be killed or captured by the U.S. military's clandestine Joint Special Operations Command, military officials told the Post. The American advisers do not take part in raids in Yemen but help plan missions, develop tactics and provide weapons, the paper said. The United States is also sharing highly sensitive intelligence with Yemeni forces, including electronic and video surveillance, three-dimensional terrain maps and analysis of the al Qaeda network, the Post said.
"We are very pleased with the direction this is going," a senior administration official was quoted as saying about the cooperation with Yemen.

  Supreme court overturns freeze on assets of terror suspects

Internet

Highest court rules that orders by Treasury under Gordon Brown should not have been made without parliamentary vote. The supreme court has overturned the government's power to freeze assets of terror suspects.
The court upheld a challenge by five men who had all their assets frozen under an order brought in by Gordon Brown when he was chancellor without a vote in parliament. The men originally won their challenge in the high court, but this was overturned in the court of appeal, then restored today by a panel of seven supreme court justices. The judges said the Treasury had exceeded its powers in making orders that "interfere so profoundly with individuals' fundamental rights without parliamentary scrutiny".
The supreme court justices said that if the government considered "far-reaching measures" were necessary to combat terrorism "it must first obtain approval for them from parliament".
Lord Hope said: "Even in the face of the threat of international terrorism, the safety of the people is not the supreme law.
"We must be just as careful to guard against unrestrained encroachments on personal liberty."
Lord Phillips, the president of the court, said: "Nobody should conclude that the result of these appeals constitutes judicial interference with the will of parliament. "On the contrary, it upholds the supremacy of parliament in deciding whether or not measures should be imposed that affect the fundamental rights of those in this country."

  Arms treaty with U.S. could be ready in weeks: Russia
Reuters, Moscow

Russian and U.S. negotiators are likely to agree on a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty within weeks, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday.
Productive meetings between top U.S. officials and their Russian counterparts in Moscow last week have brought the sides close to agreement on a successor to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), Igor Lyakin-Frolov said.
"The talks were successful, and as a result we can hope that it will take just a few weeks for negotiators to come up with a document," Lyakin-Frolov told Reuters.
Forging a new pact is a key element of U.S. President Barack Obama's efforts to mend ties between Russia and the United States, which plunged to post-Cold War lows after Russia's war with pro-Western Georgia in August 2008.
The United States and Russia also hope it will boost efforts to curb global nuclear arms proliferation by sending a message that the countries possessing all but 5 percent of the world's arsenals are making cuts.
After failing to put a new treaty in place before START I expired last month, both sides have expressed hope for a signing before a non-proliferation conference starts in late April.

  We’ll watch Israel’s destruction: Khamenei
AFP, Tehran

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confident Islamic nations will one day watch the destruction of arch-foe Israel, his website on Wednesday quoted him as saying. Khamenei made the remark during a meeting with Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz in Tehran, the website said.
The all-powerful Iranian leader also said that Israel's continued "pressure to erase Palestine from the world of Islamic nations" will fail.
"Surely, the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime... when the destruction happens will depend on how the Islamic nations approach the issue," Khamenei told Aziz, who arrived in Tehran on Monday. "The Zionist regime, by continuing to use pressure, blockades and committing genocide, wants to erase Palestine... but it will not succeed."
Praising Mauritania for cutting its ties with Israel, Khamenei said the "Zionist regime is a great danger to the world of Islam as it was thinking of expanding its influence and grip on the region every day."
Iranian officials, including Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have earned the wrath of Israel and Western powers for their repeated anti-Israel comments.
Relations between the two nations have deteriorated particularly under Ahmadinejad who has often said that Israel is "doomed to be wiped off the map" and has termed the Holocaust a "myth".
Israel shut down its embassy in Nouakchott following Mauritania's decision in January 2009 to suspend diplomatic ties with the Jewish state a decade after they were launched.
Mauritania was one of only three Arab nations that had formal diplomatic ties with Israel, apart from Egypt and Jordan.

  German diplomats involved in Iran riots
AFP

German diplomats had a hand in riots in Iran last month during the Shiite commemoration of Ashura, local news agencies reported Wednesday quoting an unnamed deputy intelligence minister.
The official IRNA news agency reported that the deputy minister spoke of the "involvement of German diplomats" in the riots on December 27, the day of Ashura.
"The riots on this day were pre-planned and the 'current of sedition', anti-revolutionaries and the network affiliated to Western intelligence services were involved," the deputy minister was quoted as saying by IRNA. The authorities use the words "current of sedition" to describe the anti-government protest movement.
According to the report the deputy intelligence minister said that a close advisor of main opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was identified and arrested and made "confessions."
"Available evidence and this person's confessions show that he was connected through a point man to the intelligence service of a European country and was releasing confidential information," IRNA quoted the deputy as telling reporters.
A few days after the Shiite commemoration, Iranian officials revealed they had detained a Swedish diplomat for 24 hours on the day of Ashura.
And earlier this month Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said that a German citizen was detained and later freed, apparently in connection with the Ashura riots.
At least eight people were killed in Iran during the Ashura riots when crowds of demonstrators launched protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in what turned into the bloodiest showdown between them and security forces since the initial post-election unrest in June.

  Blood glucose levels ‘affect decision making’
Internet

A new American study suggests that fluctuating blood glucose levels may affect decision-making
Psychological scientists X.T. Wang and Robert D. Dvorak from the University of South Dakota looked into how blood glucose levels affect our thinking about present and future rewards.
Participants in the study answered a series of questions asking if they would prefer to receive a certain amount of money tomorrow or a larger amount of money at a later date. The subjects answered seven of these questions before and after drinking either a regular soda that contained containing sugar or a diet soda, which contained the artificial sweetener aspartame. Blood glucose levels were measured at the beginning of the experiment and after the participants drank the soda.
It was seen that blood glucose levels might influence people's preferences for current versus later rewards. The volunteers who drank the regular sodas and thus had higher blood glucose levels were more likely to select receiving more money at a later date, while those who had diet sodas and had lower blood glucose levels were likely to opt for receiving smaller sums of money immediately.
These findings suggest an adaptive mechanism linking decision making to metabolic cues, like blood sugar levels.
The results show that when we have more energy available (higher blood glucose levels), we are likely to be more future-oriented. The authors of the study write, "the future is more abstract than the present and thus may require more energy to process. Blood glucose as brain fuel would strengthen effortful cognitive processing for future events."
On the other hand, having low energy (low blood glucose levels) may make an individual focus more on the present. It can also be said that artificial sweeteners may alarm the body of imminent caloric crisis, causing increased impulsivity.

Business/Economy

BB prioritises branchless banking for speedy financial inclusion

BSS, Dhaka
Aiming at speedy financial inclusion of rural people, Bangladesh Bank (BB) will provide banks and other related organizations more supports to expand branchless banking services. The central bank is already supporting banks and some other financial institutions in operating branchless services to cater to the major banking needs of rural and urban people. The initiatives of the central bank would be more forceful in future with the target of full financial inclusion of the people who are yet to get the institutional banking services.
The branchless banking, where some major banking services including disbursing loan and getting repayment, sending and receiving money and remittance, will be the BB's priority on expanding rural banking services, BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman told a programme on Wednesday.
The Department for International Development (DFID) and Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) jointly organized the programme to launch a publication on branchless banking at Sonargaon Hotel in the city.
Dr Atiur observed that branchless banking could be a priority in pursuit of rapid financial inclusion of people in rural and some other remote areas.
Referring to the recent technological advancements in the country including phenomenal expansion of mobile phone coverage, he said effective partnerships among banks and technology service providers would make branchless banking greatly success.
"Bangladesh Bank is on the lookout for such creative partnerships in regulated IT based remote delivery of financial services", he said and added, "A number of BB approved initiatives are already in operation, facilitating utility bill payments and in delivery of remittances from Bangladeshi workers abroad to their families at home."
Other branchless banking services like smartcards and POS (point of sale) terminals are at various stages of implementation, he pointed out.
He said banks can usefully go for technology based branchless banking to disburse and recover loan installments to and from small landholder farmers and rural non farm enterprises cost effectively.

 Mosharraf denies losing manpower market in Middle East
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

Minister for Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Engineer Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain on Wednesday denied that Bangladesh has lost its manpower market in the Middle-Eastern countries.
"However, the labour market has been shrunk in many countries including the Middle-East due to adverse impact of global economic meltdown," he said while replying to the lawmakers' questions during the question-answer session in the House.
Replying to a question from Hafiz Uddin Ahmed (Thakurgaon- 3), the minister said 1,476 workers came back home from Kuwait in 2008 and 1,127 in 2009.
Bangladesh Mission in Kuwait is communicating at the government level to settle the issue of sending back 30,000 workers home, he said adding that return of a worker after expiry of his service tenure is a normal course. But, he also said, some workers live there secretly even after the end of tenure of their work permit.
Replying to question from Apu Ukil (Female seat-2), the minister said the UAE government deported 19,967 Bangladeshi workers as they overstayed there after expiry of the tenure of their work permit or due to medical unfitness.
"From 1976 to 2009, a total of 67,41,187 Bangladeshi workers went abroad with jobs through the Bangladesh Overseas Employment Services Ltd (BOESEL) and other recruiting agencies, he said. The minister said the government is making its diplomatic efforts for issuance of visas for 55,000 Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia, which was cancelled earlier. To resume export of manpower to Iraq, the government has established its mission in that country and given positing for counselor (Labour), he said.

  BASIC group to raise over $10b for tech cooperation fund
BSS, Dhaka

Four rapidly developing countries- Brazil, South Africa, India and China (known as BASIC), finally recognized the concerns of the most developed countries (MVCs) on climate issues.The BASIC group, a parallel forum to G77+ China, the largest group of developing countries in the global climate negotiation, opposed the terminology "most vulnerable countries" (MVCs) to include in the Copenhagen Accord.
But, the BASIC environment ministers in their second ministerial meeting in New Delhi this week have decided to 'go fast' with developed nations in extending technological support to Least Developing Countries (LDCs) particularly the MVCs to address adverse impacts of climate change.
They announced for providing technological support to other developing countries in the LDC which in terms of money would exceed US$10 billion, pledged by rich countries, Brazil's environment minister Carlos Minc told Delhi based Science Dev Net.
The BASIC countries will also develop a framework for permanent scientific cooperation on climate change and extend technological support to other developing nations in areas such as forestry and adaptation. Carlos Minc said the decision to help the countries most vulnerable to climate change is a "slap in the face of rich countries that are in a better position to do so". The BASIC group is yet to decide how much money it will give LDCs. But Minc estimated that the total would exceed the US$10 billion pledged by rich countries.
The four countries, which emits one-third of total global greenhouse gas (GHG), also agreed for exploring ways to extend technical support in their own scientific strengths.
As part of this, India would share with its South Asian neighbours data from two planned satellites, one to monitor greenhouse gases in the regional atmosphere, and another to monitor forest cover, said India's environment minister Jairam Ramesh. Brazil's national space agency could offer free satellite services for monitoring forests and desertification in Africa. Brazil also plans to support other Latin American countries, initially with US$200 million.
The BASIC ministers said the developed countries should set an example by ensuring that LDCs, small island developing states and African countries rapidly receive the US$10 billion pledged at the Copenhagen climate summit.

  Bank reform battle dominates Davos summit
AFP, Davos, Switzerland

Bankers and political leaders took their battle over post-crisis regulation to the World Economic Forum which started in Davos on Wednesday. Thirty presidents and prime ministers and 2,500 business and academic elite are at the 40th anniversary forum held in the glitzy Swiss ski resort, seeking ways to fend off new storm clouds hanging over the global economy. While the International Monetary Fund has predicted world growth will be stronger than expected in 2010, warnings have been made about strong measures needed to save millions of jobs.
But the main focus is on reform of the finance industry, with top bankers making a return to Davos to fight what they fear will be over-regulation.
The head of British finance giant Barclays Robert Diamond was among the first speakers to defend big banks here, saying forcing them to downsize would not avoid a repeat of the financial crisis. "I have seen no evidence ... to suggest that shrinking banks and making banks smaller and narrower is the answer," he told the forum. If banks were to become smaller, the "impact of that on jobs, on the economy, in particular global trade and on the economy, that would be very negative," he warned.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France will plead the case for tough reforms in his keynote opening speech later Wednesday, French officials said. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said she hoped the forum "will be fruitful for speaking about financial regulation. That means everyone has to be around the table."
The heads of Bank of America and Citigroup, Brian Moynihan and Vikram Pandit, are among global finance industry chiefs in Davos discussing the reforms, particularly measures proposed by US President Barack Obama to limit the size of big banks and make them pay back much of the money needed for their huge bailout last year. The banking industry is arguing against what it considers stifling controls, while bank leaders are also on the defensive about bonuses. Sixty percent of chief executives are "extremely" or "somewhat" concerned by the threat of over-regulation, said a poll by PriceWaterHouseCoopers released in Davos. European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet offered support to the Obama plan, although in an interview with the Wall Street Journal he said there must be global coordination of reforms.
The WEF said in a report that banks would have to rethink their business models and accept "a lower profit world" and review their salaries. "A multitude of factors point to lower run-rate industry profitability in the near and medium term. Financial institutions will need to rethink their business and human capital models in order to adjust and differentiate as a result," it warned.
The IMF on Tuesday projected global growth of 3.9 percent in 2010, raising its original estimate of 3.1 percent, but said emerging economies, particularly in Asia, would lead the recovery.
Global production and trade bounced back in the second half of 2009 and "confidence rebounded strongly on both the financial and real fronts, as extraordinary policy support forestalled another Great Depression," the IMF said.
However the UN's International Labour Organisation revealed that global unemployment had surged to a record 212 million people-up 34 million in two years-and would remain high in 2010.

  Airlines suffered record drop in traffic
AFP, Geneva

World airlines suffered their biggest traffic decline since 1945 last year, making 2009 the "worst year the industry has ever seen," and can expect only a slow recovery in 2010, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday.
Passenger demand fell 3.5 percent while in the freight sector demand was down 10.1 percent. "Full-year 2009 demand statistics for international scheduled air traffic ... showed the industry ending 2009 with the largest ever post-war decline," IATA said in a statement. "In terms of demand, 2009 goes into the history books as the worst year the industry has ever seen," said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of an association that groups the world's biggest airlines' association.
"We have permanently lost 2.5 years of growth in passenger markets and 3.5 years of growth in the freight business," he added. Bisignani warned that while the worst appeared to be over with the recovery in the global economic climate, airlines would have to keep their costs reined in during a "Spartan year" in 2010.
Passenger traffic improved in the final months of 2009, after a slump triggered by the financial and economic crisis. In December, passenger traffic increased by 4.5 percent in December compared to the same month the previous year, and by 1.6 percent over November, latest IATA data showed.
While airlines had continued to cut capacity and flights, yields were still five to 10 percent below 2008 levels by the end of last year. IATA nevertheless predicted a slow recovery for cash-strapped carriers. "Revenue improvements will be at a much slower pace than the demand growth that we are starting to see," said Bisignani.
"Profitability will be even slower to recover and airlines will lose an expected 5.6 billion dollars in 2010," he added. The industry association warned last month that airlines faced another turbulent year after they racked up an estimated 11 billion dollars in losses in an "Annus Horribilis" in 2009 despite a recovery in passenger traffic.

  UN labour agency warns of ‘jobless recovery’
AFP, Geneva

The UN's labour agency on Tuesday warned of the threat of a "jobless recovery," as it revealed that global unemployment had surged in the economic crisis to leave a record 212 million people jobless.
The International Labour Organisation forecast that unemployment rates would remain high through 2010 despite the economic recovery and continue rising in developed economies, while in east Asia they would moderate quicker. "As the World Economic Forum gathers at Davos, it is clear that avoiding a jobless recovery is the political priority of today," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia ahead of the annual meeting of corporate and political elites. "We need the same policy decisiveness that saved banks now applied to save and create jobs and livelihoods of people.... This can be done through strong convergence of public policies and private investment," he added.

National

‘Palm farming can meet local demand of edible oils’
BSS, Rangpur

Speakers at an orientation meeting here have said that popularization and expanded cultivation of palm trees could meet the country's demand for edible oil and help economy by saving huge foreign currencies annually.
A palm tree can give fruits for 30 years and 10 tonnes of edible oil could be collected from one hectare palm garden and the trees can be planted along the roadsides and other places without affecting the traditional arable crops to get unthinkable profits maintaining a balanced environment, they said. The meeting 'Plantation of Palm Saplings and Palm.
Cultivation' was organised by Swanirvar Shyamol Bangla (SSB) for enhancing palm cultivation, on Azizullah High School premises in Sadar upazila of Rangpur Tuesday afternoon.
Former member of local Tampat Union Parishad Mozammel Haque chaired the meeting that was attended by chairman of the union Hasan Ali as the chief guest. Chairman of SSB Rasheduzzaman Rashed, its Managing Director Shameem Akhter Sarker, Project Director MM Hussaine Ahmed, District Manger Nurul Afsar, Regional Manger Nurunnabi Kajol, Filed Officer Nurul Islam and Dr Abdul Aziz, addressed.
The SSB officials of different northern districts, enthusiastic palm farmers, nursery owners, elite and public representatives took part in the orientation meeting.
The speakers said the slogan of 'Liquid gold of green trees shall change whole Bangladesh' will come true within the next few years if proper attention and importance are given to palm tree plantation at government, private and personal initiatives.
The soil and the climatic conditions are favorable for palm farming throughout the country and its massive cultivation would accelerate the process of poverty alleviation in rural Bangladesh and build a developed digital Bangladesh, they said.
The degrading climatic conditions will start improving and millions of foreign exchanges for importing edible oil will be saved every year and the newly-planted palm trees will start producing seeds and oil after 3-4 years of planting, they said.
BSS Rajshahi adds: The Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) has developed around 6.5 lakh palm-trees creating an eye- catching atmosphere on both sides of the rural roads in the region including its vast Barind tract.
Besides, 26 lakh more saplings are on the process of growing under the five-year "Barind Environmental Rest-oration through Afforestation Project" being implemented in different northern districts since July 2006 last.
Project Director Abdul Latif told BSS that the trees are being developed on the roadsides and surroundings of ponds and canals for enhancing production of molasses (gur) with an ultimate goal of reducing the import pressure on sugar.
Main thrusts of the program were to increase forest resources, enhance awareness of farmers about plantation, improve organic matters status of soil and create employment opportunity.

  Discussion on ‘Cooperation of media to control Malaria disease’ held in Netrakona

BSS, Netrakona

Speakers at a discussion meeting on "cooperation of media to control Malaria disease" was held at the conference room of DC office here on Tuesday underscored the needs for playing a vital role by media to check spreading of Malaria disease through creating mass awareness.
The newsmen have wider opportunity to let the people to know about the methods of taking preventive measures to check out- breaking of the killer disease Malaria by the Malaria germ- carrier mosquitoes and on-going Malaria control programs of the government and different non-government organizations.
District health and family planning department, BRAC and Netrakona press club jointly organized the discussion. Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Nurul Amin attended the meeting as the chief guest while district civil surgeon DR Jutirmoy Aich was in the chair.
The discussion was addressed, among others, by district family planning officer Saidul Amin, social communicator of BRAC HM Monjurul Azim, general secretary of Netrakona press club Shamolendu Paul, president of district Sangbadik Samity Haider Jahan Chowdhury and journalist Faqrul Haque.
A total of 65 persons including teachers, religious leaders, NGO activists, physicians journalists and district level government officers attended the meeting.

   Tremendous successes in eradicating curse, superstitions in Brahmaputra basin chars

BSS, Rangpur, Jan 27

Huge changes have taken place in eradicating social curses and superstitions through hectic efforts of Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS), a reputed NGO, in remote char areas in the Brahmaputra basin in recent years.
The common people, who had been living in dire poverty with their illiterate children amid natural disasters and calamities for centuries together in the char areas of greater Rangpur, are now dreaming of an enlightened life as a result of the changes so far.
It was unthinkable in the past that the people living in the remote and hardly reachable char areas in the Brahmaputra basin could even think about marriages of the girls at their right ages with registrations and without dowry.
The rate of adopting family planning measures including taking birth control pills, contraceptives, condoms and other means has been increasing now and the couples are giving birth to only two children in place of five to 10 or even more in the recent pasts.
Besides, the char people, who were married long ago, have now been registering their marriages where the cent percent wedding of the girls was child marriages at ages between 10 and 12 years without registrations even a decade ago.
The tremendous successes have been achieved following huge motivational activities being conducted by Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) in recent years bringing about a social revolution in the remote char areas.
The success is a significant step forward and a unique example in advancing the severely backward people of the remote char areas towards the direction for building a developed digital Bangladesh by the year 2021 through the local people's initiatives.

   Royal Bengal tiger coming out of Sundarbans yet to be brought back to forest

UNB, Bagerhat

The Royal Bengal tiger which came out of the Sundarbans on Monday could not be brought back to the forest even after three days.
DFO (Patuakhali Range) M Samsul Haque said the man-eater remained in its earlier position in a Kewra forest in Tengrakhali area of Barguna district till Wednesday afternoon.
He said steps have been taken to bring back the Royal Bengal into the Sundarbans safely as a two-member expert team reached the spot from Bangabandhu Safari Park in Cox's Bazar with tranquilizer gun.
The experts took position near the Kewra forest to trace out it. They will bring back the tiger into the forest after making it unconscious by tranquilizer shots.
The Royal Bengal tiger came out of the world's largest mangrove forest crossing the Baleshwar River in Sharankhola upazila. People saw it roaming in different places of Patuakhali district Monday.
Doubts arose whether the man-eater could be taken back into the forest alive as villagers killed a good number of tigers previously when they came out of the Sundarbans. On Friday, a Royal Bengal tiger was beaten to death by villagers at Chandipur village in Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira district in presence of law-enforcers. With this, a total of 13 tigers have been beaten to death by the villagers in the last nine years.
Besides, six dead tigers were also recovered during the period. On the other hand, 137 people were killed in attacks by the man-eaters during the period.
Tigers, the most endangered species of wildlife in the world's largest mangrove forest, are threatened not only by the human being but also due to global warming.

Sports

BCB names 15-member squad for NZ tour
Mashrafee, Nazmul called back

UNB, Dhaka

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Wednesday recalled speedster Mashra-fee Bin Mortaza and medium pacer Nazmul Hossain when it announced a 15-member squad for New Zealand tour.
The tigers will leave for New Zealand tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:15 pm to play a T20 match, three-ODIs and a Test match against the hosts. The tigers will play their only T20 match on February 3 at the Seddon Park, Hamilton.
After the T20 match, Bangladesh will play the 1st ODI on February 5 at the McLean Park, Napie, while the 2nd ODI on February 8 at the University Oval, Dunedin and the 3rd and last ODI on February 11 at the AMI Stadium, Christchurch. Al the matches will be held under the flood light. After the ODI series, the only Test between the two teams will be played on February 15-19 at the Seddon Park, Hamilton.
Masrafe Bin Mortaza will return home after the T20 and ODI series while Opener Zunaed Siddique will join the team for the only the Test match. BCB omitted Mashrafee's name as captain for the New Zealand tour as he will not be able to part in the entire tour of the team.
Bangladesh Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim (vice captain/Wk),Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ash-raful, Roqibul Hassan, Mahmudullah, Masrafe bin Mortaza, Kazi Shahadat Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Naeem Islam, Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzak and Nazmul Hossain.
Officials: Shafiqur Rah-man (head of delegation), Jamie Siddons (head coach), Champaka Rama-nayake (bowling coach) Shafique-ul Haque (team operations manager), Khaled Mahmud (assistant coach), Grant Trafford Luden (strength & conditioning coach) Michael Henry (physiotherapist) and Nasir Ahmed (computer analyst).

  India clinches two-match Test series 2-0
Bangladesh beaten by 10 wickets in 2nd Test

UNB, Dhaka

India clinched the IDEA Cup two-match Test Series 2-0 with an emphatic all-wicket win over Bangladesh in the last match at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here Wednesday, pushing over some big strides of the hosts, though.
Chasing a peanut target of just two runs for what was a foregone conclusion, India picked the two runs from extras in the first over with opener Virender Sehwag and Goutam Gambhir both remaining unbeaten with naught. Earlier, resuming the play for the fourth day on Wednesday with an overnight score of 228 for 3, Bangladesh were all out for 312 runs, setting the two-run target for India.
Spinner Harbhajan Singh brought early break through removing night-watchman Sahadat Hossain, who gave an easy catch to substitute fielder Asish Mishra. He scored 40 runs off 74 balls with four fours and a six.
Another night-watcher, Mohammad Ashraful, soon followed the footprint of Sahadat giving a back catch to Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Pragyan Ojha, leaving Bangladesh in a deep trouble. He scored 25 runs off 65 balls with two fours.
Spinner Ojha got his second wicket sending back Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan (7), who gave a catch to Gautam Gambhir, as the team stuck at 301v or 6 in 82.3 overs.
Zaheer Khan put a quick end to Bangladesh innings sending back Mahmudulah Riad (0), Shafil Islam (0) and Rubel Hossain (0) in a row as wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim stood unbeaten with 10 runs.
Zaheer, who claimed three wickets Tuesday, took another four wickets today to finish his spell 20-3-2-87-7, Pragyan Ojha captured two wickets for 77 runs while Harbhajan Singh took one wicket for 75 runs.
Pacer Zaheer Khan of India was adjudged man of the match and the man of the series both for his brilliant performance all through the match and the tests.

  ‘African teams need mental strength for World Cup’
AFP, Luanda

Former Liverpool and England striker John Barnes fears African teams will fall short again at the World Cup unless they adopt the kind of mental toughness displayed by the likes of Brazil and Germany.
Jamaican-born Barnes is in Angola to promote England's 2018 World Cup bid, but he is keeping a close eye on action at the Africa Cup of Nations.
World Cup qualifiers and Nations Cup favourites Ivory Coast were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Algeria while Egypt sent fellow South-Africa bound Cameroon packing.
That leaves three World Cup qualifiers still in the hunt for this continental championship, with Ghana facing Nigeria and Algeria up against non-qualified Egypt in Thursday's semi-finals.
Barnes told AFP in Luanda on Wednesday: "African sides are a match for any team in terms of their physical and technical ability.
"Didier Drogba terrorises defenders in the English Premier League with his physical presence but not when he's playing against fellow Africans in the Africa Cup of Nations.
"To win the World Cup African countries have to embrace a new mental aspect of their game.
"The example I like to use is the Champions League final when Liverpool were three goals down but fought back to beat AC Milan. That was nothing to do with physicality but to do with their mental strength."
Turning to England's chances under Fabio Capello he added: "The bookies aren't stupid. They have England as among the favourites with Brazil and Spain."

  Federer, Serena battle into Open semi-finals
AFP, Melbourne

Roger Federer and Serena Williams showed championship form to battle back from a set down and storm into their semi-finals at the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Li Na also made the last four with an upset victory over Venus Williams, giving China two players in a Grand Slam semi for the first time.
She will play defending champion Se-rena for a place in the final.
Top seed Federer was dealt a scare in his quarter-final by sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko when the Russian ace led 6-2, 3-1 be-fore the Swiss star clicked into gear.
He won 13 straight games to take the next two sets before a titantic struggle in the fourth with the 15-time Grand Slam champion eventually coming home 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5 to end Davydenko's 13-match winning streak.
It puts Federer into his 23rd consecutive Grand Slam semi-final, having never missed out since his third round defeat to Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten at Roland Garros in 2004.
He next plays either third seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic or French 10th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Fifth seeded Andy Murray faces 14th seed Marin Cilic in the other semi-final, with the Scot seeking to win Britain's first Grand Slam title since Fred Perry in 1936.
Like Federer, Serena was also on the ropes before staging a stunning comeback to stay on track for her 12th Grand Slam title and fifth in Australia.
She was down 4-6, 0-4 to seventh seed Victoria Azarenka before fighting back and winning a tense tiebreaker to level the match. Azarenka was rattled and Serena rammed home her advantage in the final set to win 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 and set up a clash with Li, who came from behind to shock Venus 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5. Justine Henin and unseeded Chinese Zheng Jie will contest the other semi. "I am surprised and I am just happy to still be here," said Serena. "I didn't expect to win when I was down 0-4.
Venus should have made it a sister act in the semis, but she threw it away against Li in a scrappy match where they made a incredible combined 110 unforced errors.

   Australia to play Pakistan in U-19 World Cup final
AFP, Wellington

Australian captain Mitchell Marsh plundered 97 from 110 balls to lead his side to victory over Sri Lanka Wednesday and set up a showdown with Pakistan in the final of the under-19 cricket World Cup.
The Australian innings at Lincoln, near Christchurch, was built around a near flawless knock from Marsh, who was called to the crease in the second over with Australia at 3-1 in reply to Sri Lanka's 205.
By the 22nd over, Australia were teetering at 93-5 before Marsh and Tom Triffitt (50) put on 78 for the sixth wicket.
When Marsh fell in the 38th over, caught and bowled by Rumesh Buddika, he had his side in sight of victory at 171-6.
Australia lost two more wickets before reaching their 206-run target with nine balls to spare.
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat, only to be blitzed by the Australian fast bowling of Josh Hazlewood, who took four for 26, and Alister McDermott, who finished with two for 43.
By the 11th over Sri Lanka were 35-5 and only late resistance from Kithuruwan Vithanage (40), Akshu Fernando (52) and captain Chatura Peiris (39) carried them past the 200 mark.
Pakistan, who beat the West Indies by four wickets in the first semi-final on Monday, are the only unbeaten side in the competition, while Australia were beaten by South Africa in pool play.

  Our game plan was wrong: Shakib
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan, after losing the second successive test Wednesday, admitted that a wrong game plan was the main reason for their miserable defeat against India.
Addressing a post-match press conference at the Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, he said their mindset also wrong as they took the match easily.
"The wicket was okay to bat, but the match was virtually out of our hand as we lost quick wickets on the last session on Tuesday and the first session on Wednes-day," said skipper Shakib. Asked why they lost quick wickets, he said: "It is very tough to face Zaheer Khan in Test and we were not mentally so strong."
Shakib added: "Ashraful and I are not in form. This had bad impact for the team and on the ground we failed to do something for the team."
Meanwhile, Indian pacer Zaheer Khan, who took his career best 7 for 87 today, said: "Finally, I've been able to do my career best bowling and I am playing well compared to the previous year."

  Pakistan defeats BD 2-1 in practice hockey match
TBT Report

Pakistan defeated Bangla-desh 2-1 in a practice match at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Pakistan dominated from the outset of the match and created more chances but managed to score one goal before the breather.
Bangladesh regrouped after the change of ends and appeared desperate to comeback into the game. They got the reward of their hard work when Mamunur Rahman Chayan converted a penalty corner to equalize the margin (1-1).
But Pakistan did not take much time to restore their supremacy scoring yet another goal to seal a 2-1 victory.
Bangladesh will play their first match in the 11th South Asian Games against Sri Lanka on January 30, while Pakistan will start its campaign with the match against Nepal on the following day. Five teams are contesting in the South Asian meet with the top two teams featuring in the final for gold on February 7.

  Manchester derby fears mount after more arrests
AFP, Manchester

Manchester police have made seven new arrests in connection with crowd trouble at last week's match between Manchester City and Manchester United.
The arrests, made on Tuesday and Wednesday, bring to 25 the total number of fans charged with public order offences at the League Cup semi-final first leg between the two clubs, and increased concern over the potential for similar incidents at Wednesday evening's return match at Old Trafford.
Darts and golf balls were among missiles confiscated from fans attempting to enter the City of Manchester stadium for the first leg. The latest arrests follow the release of closed circuit television images of individuals suspected of attempting to incite violence inside the ground.
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Roters said he hoped the arrests would act as a deterrent to any fans contemplating misbehaviour at Old Trafford.
"These arrests also act as a strong warning ahead of the reverse leg this evening to anyone prepared to get involved in this type of behaviour that we will come after you," the officer said.
The rivalry between United and City has intensified this season as City, who have lived in the shadow of their more successful neighbours for decades, have emerged as serious rivals for silverware thanks to the financial backing of the club's Abu Dhabi owners.

  Top officials in China detained
AFP, Beijing

The former head of China's scandal-ridden football association and other executives have been detained amid a police probe into corruption in the sport, state media reported Wednesday.
The reports indicated charges could be imminent for Nan Yong, former head of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), and its vice director Yang Yimin, who previously were reported to have been taken in by police for questioning.
"Nan Yong, Yang Yimin and others were criminally detained according to the law," the official Xinhua news agency reported, quoting police.
The two men were reported "removed" from their posts last week. Xinhua last week said the pair were taken in as part of a probe into corruption that has dogged China's beleaguered pro leagues.
It was not clear how many other football chiefs have been detained. However, the China News Service said Fan Guangming, an official who managed the CFA's amateur league, was suspected of fixing a match in 2006 in a case believed to involve 1.5 million yuan (220,000 dollars).
Following widespread allegations of organised gambling, crooked referees and match-fixing earlier this decade, the CFA announced in late 2006.