suNday, JANUARY 31, 2010 magh 18, 1416, SAFAR 14, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

China freezes military ties with US imposes sanctions on arms firms

AFP, Beijing

China said Saturday it was suspending military exchanges and security talks with Washington and would impose sanctions on US firms involved in a 6.4 billion-dollar deal to sell arms to Taiwan.
A statement from the foreign ministry a day after Washington approved the sale said Beijing would also halt high level talks on arms control and non-proliferation.
"Cooperation between China and the US on key international and regional issues will also inevitably be affected," the ministry said. "China will also implement relevant sanctions on US companies involved in the arms sales to Taiwan," it added.
The measures were announced a day after Washington approved the sale of an arms package that includes Patriot missiles, Black Hawk helicopters, and communications equipment for Taiwan's F-16 fleet.
The last US arms package for Taiwan, announced under previous president George W. Bush in October 2008, also led China to cut off military relations with the United States temporarily. But this time the sanctions went further.
Defence ministry spokes-man Huang Xueping said the measures reflected the "severe harm" the weapons deal presented.
"It runs counter to the principles of the joint statement issued during US President Barack Obama's visit to China in November," Huang told the official Xinhua news agency.
China considers Taiwan, where nationalists fled in 1949 after losing the mainland's civil war, a territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
It had warned Washington repeatedly against the arms sales. Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, on a flight home from a state visit to Central America, said the sales would help the island further develop ties with China.
"It will let Taiwan feel more confident and secure so we can have more interactions with China," Ma was quoted by Taiwan's Central News Agency as saying. Taiwan's defence ministry was also upbeat, saying: "The defence ministry welcomes and thanks the US decision.... This would enable Taiwan to be more confident in seeking reconciliation with China and help peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
"The various defensive weapons provided by the US will also facilitate the transformation and modernisation of our national defence," the Taiwanese ministry said. In Beijing, however, the deal's approval set in motion a flurry of angry activity. Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei made an urgent official protest to the US ambassador in Beijing, Jon Huntsman, Chinese officials told AFP.
The Chinese defence ministry also summoned the US Embassy's defence attache on Saturday afternoon to notify Washington military ties had been suspended, Xinhua reported.
In the statement delivered to Huntsman, He urged Washington to cancel the deal, which he said would "inevitably damage China-US relations... causing results that both sides do not want to see".
The deal constituted "crude interference in China's internal affairs that seriously endangers China's national security and damages China's peaceful reunification", He said. The sale marks Obama's most divisive act in China-US relations, after devoting his first year to broadening ties with Beijing despite discord on areas such as trade, human rights, Internet censorship and climate change.
The United States since 1979 has recognised Beijing as China's sole government. But Congress at the same time required the United States to sell Taiwan weapons for its self-defence.
Beijing argued again on Saturday that the arms sales violated the US commitment to Beijing's "One China policy".
Analysts said China this time could retaliate by refusing to support sanctions on Iran, a key US priority. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed to Beijing on Iran's nuclear program in remarks in Paris hours before the Taiwan sale was announced.

 Irrigation may face serious setback for power crisis
UNB, Dhaka

As the government couldn't yet sign any agreement to set up the planned 8 new rental power plants, farming in the coming irrigation season runs the risk of a setback for severe power crisis, some experts apprehend.
According to official sources, the overall power shortage may be in the order of 3,000 megawatts in the peak irrigation season and the irrigation sector will alone face more than 1000-MW power shortage. The experts in the power sector said the power-supply situation would aggravate this year as no electricity was added to the national grid in the last one year.
Rather, they said, more than 500 MWs of electricity was extracted from the national grid as operation of a number of power plants was closed because of technical fault. As a result, the power generation went down to 3,600 MW in January this year from 4,200 MWs in October last year. But now the demand increased by another 500-600 MWs within one year.
Normally, the irrigation season starts from February 15 of the year with farmers getting down to cultivating boro paddy on a massive scale and continues until June 15. Farmers need electricity during these 3-4 months on emergency basis to operate their irrigation pumps for watering their paddies. This irrigation binge creates an extra demand for electricity. According to Power Ministry sources, country's northern region, which is treated to be the main cropping hub, needs additional 1000-MW electricity for the pumps.
Considering this irrigation-demand hike, the Awami League government, after assuming office, planned to set up 8 rental power plants having 530-MW capacity on fast-track basis. As per the plan, contract awards and agreements were supposed to be completed by November 2009 and the plants were supposed to come into operation by March 30. But, so far, no agreement has been signed for the fast-track power plants.
The Power Ministry sources said the contacts for the plants were now waiting for vetting by the law ministry. It is not clear when the contracts would be signed and when the plants would be put in place. "But it is certain that the electricity is not coming within the current year's irrigation season," said a Power Ministry official.

 One more killed in ‘gunfight’ in Ctg
96 extra judicial killings in six months

TBT Report

One more alleged terrorist was killed in 'gunfight' between his cohorts and the law-enforcers in Chittagong early Saturday taking the total of such extra judicial killings to 96 in six months from August 1, 2009 to January 30, 2010.
This is the fourth such extra judicial killings in the month of January, 2010. Earlier, an outlawed party leader, a ringleader of a robber gang and a criminal were killed in shootouts on 9, 11and 12 January respectively.
According to UNB News Agency, a Jubo Dal cadre and the leader of an alleged terrorist gang was killed in gunfight between his cohorts and the law-enforcers at Dakkhin Rangamatia village in Fatikchhari upazila in Chittagong early Saturday. The deceased was identified as M Osman, 42, the chief of Osman Bahini.
Assistant police super (Hathazari circle) Babul Akhter said a joint team of police and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) conducted a drive at Dakkhin Ranga-matia village acting on a tip-off that the members of Osman Bahini were taking preparation for committing robbery.
But as they approached the village, the miscreants opened fire at the law-enforcers, prompting them to retaliate that triggered a gun battle, he said. "At one stage of the gunfight, Osman was caught in the line of fire and injured." Critically injured Osman was rushed to Upazila Health Complex where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
A revolver and an LG were recovered from the scene. Osman was wanted in 16 criminal cases, including six of murder, police said.
The unlawful killings are taking place despite mounting protests by human rights activists, civil society members and political parties and repeated assurances of the government that such killings would be stopped and actions would be taken against those found responsible.
Meanwhile, Odhikar, a leading human-right watchdog, claimed recently that 138 people have been killed "in the name of crossfire or encounter" since January last year. Rights groups at home and abroad as well as some donor agencies/countries have called for an end to such extrajudicial killings.
RAB recently said as many as 577 people were killed in 'crossfire' in 472 incidents until Aug 31, 2009 since the formation of the elite force on March 26, 2004.

  BNP has taken various steps to strengthen democracy: Khaleda

UNB, Dhaka

Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia assured a visiting Commonwealth deputy secretary-general of her party's cooperation with the grouping in holding a regional conference in Asia on the strengthening of democracy.
The BNP chairperson's assurance came when Commonwealth deputy secretary-general Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba paid a courtesy call on her at her Gulshan office at 8:00 pm Saturday and wanted to know from her about BNP's opinion about the C'wealth initiative to hold the regional democracy meet.
Khaleda Zia, also former premier, told the C'wealth emissary that "BNP had taken various steps for strengthening democracy and would also do so in the future", according to BNP vice-chairman Shamser Mobin Chowdhury who was present at the meeting.
She told reporters after the meeting that the Common-wealth takes initiative to strengthen democracy in the Commonwealth member-countries.
As part of the trend, the C'wealth has recently held four regional conferences, including in Nigeria and Mozambique, on the motto of strengthen democracy, he said. In Asia, eight countries belong to the Commonwealth, a lose confederation of the former British colonies.
The Commonwealth deputy SG, Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, appreciated Bangladesh's role in the Commonwealth and hoped that it would "continue in the future".
Head of office of Deputy secretary-general N Jagar-nath and director, political affairs division at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Amitav Banerji accompanied the C'wealth deputy SG at the meeting.

   Ctg shop owners demand eviction of hawkers from footpath

BSS, Chittagong

Shop owners here Saturday urged the authorities concerned to evict, what they said, illegal hawkers from the footpaths within next 48 hours and arrest of those hawkers, who attacked businessmen recently.
They placed the demands at a press conference under the aegis of the Chittagong chapter of Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (Bangladesh Shop Owners' Association) at Chittagong Press Club Saturday afternoon.
President of the Samity Haji Shafiq Ahmed and General Secretary Alhaj Mohammad Salamat Ali addressed the press conference.
Dozens of markets in and around Reazuddin Bazar, the port city's one of the important trade hubs, remained closed for the last three consecutive days following a series of clashes between hawkers and businessmen.
Several hundred shops of small vendors were torched on Wednesday night and the arson attack continued intermittently on the following day before imposition of section 144 by the Chittagong Metropolitan Police.
Hawkers' organization leaders at a press conference here yesterday said the Jammat-e-Islami backed traders along with their staffs attacked the hawkers and set fire on at least 800 shops centering a tripling incident on Wednesday night.
The Dokan Malik Samity leaders at the press conference Saturday said unruly hawkers with outsider miscreants unleashed a reign of terror in the areas, vandalized the shops, attacked traders and their staffs on Wednesday night and Thursday.
They said major portions of the footpaths, particularly the frontal parts of shopping malls in the most populated areas of the city, are occupied by illegal hawkers.

  5 injured in BCL factional clash in Victoria College
UNB, Comilla

Five people were injured in a factional clash of Chhatra League on Comilla Victoria College campus at Dharmapur Saturday.
The clash broke out between the supporters of Jasim Khan and Azim Khan Jewel at 12 noon over establishing supremacy on the campus.
The supporters of Jasim and Azim of BCL, the student wing of ruling Awami League, took position on the campus earlier while the viva voce for the first year admission was on.
The feuding groups fired gun shots, blasted cocktails and pelted brick bats at each other. Two students and three pedestrians were injured being hit by brickbats. On information, police rushed in and took the situation under control.
Meanwhile, both the factions claimed their 10-15 activists were injured in the clash.

Transport workers attack passengers
5 students among 10 injured

UNB, Kishoreganj

Traffic movement on Kishoreganj-Chamra Bandar road in Karimganj upazila remained halted following an attack on 10 people, including five college students, by transport workers leaving them injured on Saturday.
Some students of Karimganj College, who were traveling on a bus, locked into an altercation with the helper and conductor of the vehicle in the morning as the bus driver refused to take their fellow students, who were waiting at Roua crossing bus stand.
In sequel to the altercation, the agitated bus driver drove the vehicle straight to Satal bus stand in Sadar upazila instead of stopping it in front of the college.
Later, transport workers of the station attacked the passengers, leaving 10 of them injured. Five injured students were identified as Al Amin, Limon, Masud, Khoka and Anu.
As the news spread on the college campus, the fellow students aided by local people put up a barricade on the road by placing benches and burning tyres, halting traffic movement from 11:30am.

Back Page

Bangabandhu murder
Fugitive killers to be brought back: PM

UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Saturday categorically said her government would also bring back the other convicted killers of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from abroad to face the capital punishment as she asserted that they have nowhere to hide.
"We will run in the rest of the convicted killers. Where will they hide? The world is big and also too small-they have nowhere to hide," she said, three days after five of the ex-army officers were hanged for the August 15, 1975 killing of Mujib along with most members of his family.
Sheikh Hasina spoke of the next step while inaugurating an extended meeting of the ruling Awami League's central body at the Ganobhaban premises.
She observed that the country got rid of the curse for the assassination of its founding father with the execution of the five condemned convicts.
She said her government would ensure the trial of all killings in Bangladesh one by one. "We will ensure trial of all killings, including war criminals, killers of four leaders and of BDR carnage."
The Prime Minister made it clear that she wouldn't tolerate any sort of killing on the soil of Bangladesh.
"I will not pamper anyone for kind of injustice when I am alive. Whoever one is, trial is in evitable," she told the gathering of her party leaders from across the country.
She informed the hundreds of Awami League leaders at the meet that her government would not allow militants to do any kind of their activities on this land.
The prime Minister said that her government is working hard to ensure justice for all sections of people of the country.
She urged the party leaders to remain alert against all conspiracies that could disrupt the democratic process of the country.
"For economical development continuity of the democracy is a must. You have to remain alert so in the future none will be able to destroy the democracy of the country," she said.
Saying that the execution of the killers of Bangabandhu was a great job for her government, Hasina said that the next big task is now to create a congenial atmosphere in the country where the poor people could have smile on their face.
The Prime Minister also told her party men that the opposition is still trying to hatch conspiracies against the government as they did in the past times.
She raised further questions about her political archrival-without naming Begum Khaleda Zia-and her elder son (Tarique Rahman), who has long been under treatment abroad since he was released on parole at the fag-end of the past military-backed interim regime.
"The elder son of the opposition leader-I don't want to mention his name-called early on the BDR killing day and asked her mother to leave the cantonment home.
How did they know that there would be killings in the BDR?

   President voices concern at fall in rankings of universities
UNB, Savar

Worried at the fall in ranking of the country's universities, President Zillur Rahman Saturday urged the Education Ministry and the University Grants Commi-ssion (UGC) to take proper steps to find out why the universities are falling behind the international standard.
"Our universities are lagging behind in the international ranking....my question is, are we failing to maintain the education standard of the past or to keep pace with the gradual advancement of knowledge and science in the world?" he asked.
The President came up with the concern while presiding over the 4th convocation of the Jahangirnagar University. Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid also attended the function.
Chief Justice Tafazzul Islam delivered the convocation speech. Vice Chancellor of Jahangirnagar University Prof Sharif Enamul Kabir also spoke on the occasion.
Addressing the function, President Zillur Rahman urged the UGC and Education Ministry to take measures to ensure quality education in the country's universities. "There is no alternative to quality education in facing the global challenges."
Zillur Rahman laid emphasis on increasing seats for the students at the university level with a view to creating skilled manpower in the country.
"Many students fail to get admitted to their desired universities despite having good results due to limited opportunities and scopes for higher education compared to the population," he said.
Describing the universities as the centers for research and higher education, the President said the integrated efforts would have to be continued to uphold the quality education at the university level.
Congratulating the graduates, the President urged them to work for the greater welfare of humanity with their talents, deeds and creativity during their professional life.
In his convocation speech, Chief Justice Tafazzul Islam urged the new graduates to acquire proper knowledge about the country's glorious history which will make them confident in their professional life.

   BNP undertakes programme to revamp the party
UNB, Dhaka

The main opposition BNP has undertaken a two-month programme to hold opinion-exchange meetings at the grassroots level to revamp it evaluating the opinions of field-level leaders and workers.
The meetings will be held at 10 venues in six divisions of the country from February 6. The programme that will begin from Sylhet division will complete in March next.
BNP vice-chairman Selima Rahman spelled out the programmes at a press conference held at the party's Naya Paltan central office at 11:30 am Saturday. Out of the 10 venues, the opinion-exchange meetings will be held one each at Sylhet and Barisal divisions while two each in Dhaka, Khulna, Chittagong and Rajshahi divisions.
After Sylhet division, the programme will continue one after another in Rajshahi and Bogra under Rajshahi division, Khulna and Jessore under Khulna division, Barisal under Barisal division, Chittagong and Cox's Bazar under Chittagong division while Dhaka and Mymensingh venues under Dhaka division. There will be a chief coordinator for each division for the views-exchange meeting while a BNP standing committee member will be the chief guest in each divisional progarmme.
BNP standing committee member Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah will be the chief guest at the Sylhet division opinion-exchange meet.
The chief coordinators have been made for the programmes for each division are BNP organizing secretary M Elias Ali (Sylhet), joint secretary general Amanullah Aman (Dhaka), organizing secretary Mizanur Rahman Minu (Rajshahi), vice chairman Selima Rahman (Barisal), vice chairman Abdullah Al Noman (Khulna) and standing committee member Mirza Abbas (Chittagong). BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain will be the chief guest at the Dhaka division opinion-exchange meeting. Noted intellectuals, journalists, litterateurs and poets will also address the views-exchange meetings.

   Azad for eliminating division among journalist community
BSS, Dhaka

Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad on Saturday called upon the journalists to take vow to eliminate all sorts of division among the journalist community in the greater national interest.
"Too many factions among the journalists harm the community itself," said the minister while speaking as the chief guest at the biannual general meeting (AGM) of Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) at the auditorium of Jatiya Press Club (JPC) here.
DUJ president Shah Alamgir was in the chair while president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, secretary general Altaf Mahmud and general secretary of DUJ Omar Faruque also spoke.
Journalist leaders including former presidents and general secretaries of DUJ and BFUJ were also present on the occasion.
Abul Kalam Azad reiterated the media's role in making a balanced society by ensuring transparency and accountability in every spheres of life for carrying forward the country towards a powerful democracy.
The minister categorically said the government believes in free flow of information. "I can say you (journalists) with highest emphasis that the government has no control over the media," he said.
He hoped that no media people would publish baseless or unrealistic news, which might harm the country's interest.
Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury came down heavily on the existing wage discrimination between the government officials and journalists.
He said most of the journalists are still deprived of getting their salaries as per the provisions of the 7th wage board award due to non-implementation of the hard-earned wage board award.
Sobhan said the journalist community does not want to accept businessmen to be the editor of media house having no experience in journalism.

    5 killed, 40 injured in road crashes
TBT News Desk

At least five people were killed and 40 others injured in road accidents in two districts on Saturday, according to a news agency.
In Comilla, five people were killed and another 25 injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck at Amjader Bazar on Dhaka-Chittagong highway in Chouddagram upazila Saturday morning.
Two of the deceased were identified as bus driver Saiful Alam and its supervisor Nurunnabi. The identities of three others, including the truck driver could not be known immediately.
Quoting witnesses police said the Dhaka-bound bus of 'Star Line' collided with the truck at about 6am, killing the five people on the spot, injuring others.
Thirteen of the inured were rushed to the upazila health complex and others to Comilla Medical College Hospital.
Vehicular movement remained suspended for two hours on the highway following the accident.
In Manikganj, at least 15 people were injured as a bus plunged into a road side ditch at Uthalia in Shibaloy upazila Saturday afternoon.
Police quoting witnesses said the accident occurred on Dhaka-Archia highway when the capital-bound bus plunged into the ditch as its driver tried to avoid a possible head-on collision with another bus at about 5pm, leaving 15 people injured.
Of the injured, two were admitted to the upazila health complex while one Azmat Ali was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) in a critical condition.

    National Poetry Festival from tomorrow
BSS, Dhaka

The two-day 24th National Poetry Festival will begin from February 1, the month of great language movement.
Eminent litterateur Syed Shamsul Haque will inaugurate the festival on the premises of Dhaka University Central Library at 10 am with a theme "New Poetry New Time".
Over 400 poets from home and abroad will attend the festival including the USA, UK, Australia, Kuwait and India.
Jatiya Kabita Parishad (JKP) leaders Saturday said this at a press conference at Jatiya Press Club here.
JKP President Poet Habibullah Siraji announced detail programmes of the festival.
Convenor of the festival committee Poet Asad Chowdhury, JKP General Secretary Poet Aslam Sani, JKP leaders Poet Kazi Rosy, Poet Rabindra Gope, Poet Halim Azad, Poet Dr M Samad, Poet Tarique Sujat, Poet Mustafa Majid, Nipu Shahadat, Ayat Ali Patwari and Faizul Alam Pappu, among others, were present.
A total of 24 sub-committees have been formed to make a success the festival.
The day's programmes will begin through placing floral wreaths at the mazars of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, Shilpachariya Zainul Abedin and Artist Qamrul Hasan and at the Central Shaheed Minar.
The poets will hold a colourful rally.
The first session of the main programme will begin through presenting national anthem at the festival stage and hoisting the national flag.

Editorial

11th SA Games

The 11th South Asian Games was inaugurated by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina releasing pigeons, the symbol of peace at a colourful ceremony at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Friday. In a brief comment she said Bangladesh was proud of hosting the South Asia's biggest sports extravaganza.The opening of the 12-day meet was preceded by hoisting of national flags of eight participating nations at the SAARC Fountain on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue at Karwan Bazaar. As part of the ceremony the flame on the torch SA Games was lighted by BFF president Kazi Salahuddin. Leading singers presented the theme song of the event.
Bangladesh is hosting the meet for the third time after staging it in 1985 and 1993 when it was formerly known as South Asian Federation (SAF) Games. In the 11th SA Games the Participating countries are Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and host Bangladesh. A total of 1793 athletes and 718 officials, including 332 athletes and officials from the host country, will take part in 23 disciplines of sports for 156 gold medals at stake at 19 venues across the country. The disciplines are: archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, cycling, football, golf, handball, hockey, judo, kabaddi, karate, shooting, squash, swimming, cricket, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu. Apart from 14 venues in the capital and adjoining areas, some sports will also be held in four other divisional headquarters of the country till February 9, the closing ceremony of the meet.
Around 11,800 school students, 1300 Ansars, 1000 Army men took part in various colourful and memorable displays at the opening ceremony. Chinese and French choreographers groomed the local school students, defense personnel and the artistes to present a splendid show. The gala opening ceremony featured the rich tradition, heritage and culture of Bangladesh as well as the latest innovation of exhibit art - the aquatic show.
The 11th SA Games is a very important event and so the Prime Minister has rightly remarked that Bangladesh was proud of hosting the South Asia's biggest sports extravaganza sports and games continue to gain popularity and momentum across the world as these events infuse fresh strength to bodies and minds of the performers and build up fraternity and friendship among the peoples. It is rightly said that the sportsmen are the best ambassadors of peace, harmony and friendship among the world nations. The participants in the 11th SA Games will also, hopefully, play the same role.
It is a great privilege and honour for us that Bangladesh has got the opportunity to host the 11th SA Games on its soil. The holding of the colourful and gorgeous inaugural ceremony has undoubtedly proved that Bangladesh has rightly been chosen as the organiser of this great event. But it has to be admitted with regret that the lift crash at a city hotel that injured seven Nepalese sportsmen who are here to participate in the SA Games has caused some damage to our image. Why were they accommodated in such a lower category hotel which is indifferent to maintaining even its lifts is a big question. Participants in such regional and international events are important guests of the host country and they should be looked after with maximum care. We are making it a point because after the SA Games, Bangladesh is also going to be co-host of World Cup Cricket. However, we welcome all participants in this great sports event - 11th SA Games and wish it a total success.

  Violence and unrest

Incidents of unrest and violence are on the rise in the country signalling that intolerance is growing fast and people are becoming restive even without serious reason. Clashes among the political rivals are very common in the country. Besides, violent incidents are taking place between rival groups over establishment of supremacy, dispute over land and property etc. These are causing injuries, even deaths to some of the quarreling people.
RMG workers at Gazipur, Tejgaon or Savar go berserk every now and then on different issues. Campus violence is taking place frequently. The reign of terror established by arms holders during the recent clash on the Dhaka Uni-versity campus is still a topic of discussion everywhere. Besides, a number of educational institutions were closed sine die recently following clashes between rival student groups.
Meanwhile, over 50 people including teachers and a journalist were injured on Friday as bus workers and police clashed with students on Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology (RUET) campus and at Rajshahi bus terminal. In Dhaka, cadres of Chhatra League and students of Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University on Friday night vandalised more than 100 vehicles of visitors to the International Trade Fair, looted valuables and clashed with police, injuring at least 20 persons including law enforcers. Police fired gunshots and lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the attackers, who pelted stones and brickbats at the police.The incident occurred after police arrested a few students for teasing girls at the fair. Moreover, on Friday, Reazuddin Bazar in Chittagong wore a deserted look as Section 144, clamped following a clash between hawkers and traders on Thursday, continued for the second day.
The trend of unrest and violence is unhealthy and poses a threat to both law and order and social stability. So, all should be guided by reasoning while on its part, the government should deal unrest and violence firmly.

Analysis

Meeting India’s military challenge

A clear and visible response by Pakistan is essential to convince India, and the international community, that Pakistan is determined to defend its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Muneer Akram

During US Defence Secretary Gates' recent visit, we have again heard the refrain of our Western friends that terrorism and the Taliban, not India, pose an 'existential' threat to Pakistan.
But India's own actions and pronouncements belie these Western assertions. For the past year, India has refused to resume "composite dialogue" and has regularly threatened military action against Pakistan in the event of another Mumbai-like incident. And, while protesting loudly about pro-Kashmiri militant groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, India has been busy fomenting dissension and insurgency in Balochistan, FATA and other parts of Pakistan.
It was hardly helpful that Secretary Gates virtually endorsed India's belligerence when he told reporters in New Delhi that "it's not unreasonable to assume India's patience would be limited were there to be further (Mumbai-type) attacks." It would have been better if India was told that it is its posture which risks an Indo-Pakistan conflict and that anti-Indian violence will end once New Delhi halts its suppression of the Kashmiri people.
Any lingering doubt about India's hostile intentions and policies towards Pakistan should have been set to rest by the new military doctrine outlined recently by the Indian army chief. General Kapoor identified five thrust areas for the Indian military build-up: the ability to fight a two-front war against Pakistan and China; optimise capacity to counter asymmetric and sub-conventional threats; enhance capabilities for strategic reach and "out-of-area operations from the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Straits; acquire strategic (intercontinental) and space-based capabilities and ballistic missile defenses, and ensure a technical edge over adversaries (that is, Pakistan and China).
The new doctrine reflects India's great power aspirations. But, the greatest danger for Pakistan emanates from the concept of the so-called 'Cold Start' strategy, propounded by General Kapoor, to mobilise and strike fast (within 96 hours) at Pakistan "under a WMD overhang". At its meeting on January 13, 2010, Pakistan's National Command Authority "took serious note of recent Indian statements about its capability to conduct conventional military strikes under a nuclear umbrella" describing this as "oblivious to the dangerous implications of adventurism in a nuclearised context."This is, of course, not the first time India has contemplated a limited war or a conventional attack against Pakistan after South Asia was nuclearised. Indian leaders and military officers have often threatened 'hot pursuit' and 'lightning strikes' against training camps across the LoC in Kashmir. But they could not ignore Pakistan's stance that no war between India and Pakistan could be conceived as a limited war. In 1987, and again in 2002, India contemplated a full-scale attack against Pakistan. On both occasions, India discovered that it did not have the capacity to overcome Pakistan's conventional defences.
India no doubt hopes that with the western weapons faucets now open to it, it can, in the near future, acquire the capability to defeat Pakistan in a conventional conflict. All the new capabilities and weapons systems acquired by India, whatever the proffered rationale, can and will be deployed and used against Pakistan in the event of a future confrontation or conflict. Today, over 70 per cent of India's military capabilities - land, air and naval - are deployed against Pakistan. There is no reason to believe that this proportion will change in the foreseeable future.
Pakistan cannot, of course, afford to match India's military build up. Its response will have to be defensive, asymmetrical, innovative, and achieved at much lower cost. Pakistan's forces may need to do some tactical rethinking. For example, an Indian tank force can be more effectively destroyed by drones and missiles rather than a matching tank force. A large surface navy can be seriously damaged by submarines and mobile missile-boats.
The eight Indian "battle groups" may be more mobile; but they would also be vulnerable to encirclement and destruction. Rather than spread themselves thin to defend the entire Eastern border, Pakistani forces could adopt an offensive-defensive strategy, focusing a thrust into Kashmir to bottle up half a million Indian troops there.
Following the post-Mumbai situation and the emergence of India's Cold Start strategy, Pakistan's armed forces have undertaken extensive war games to counter this threat. If the Indians have watched these closely, they should be clear in their minds that the danger of conventional adventurism escalating to the nuclear level cannot be ruled out. This was the general conclusion in 2002 -- confirmed among others by Pentagon war games. The Indo-Pakistan "composite dialogue" was restarted in 2003 on the basis of the mutual recognition that a military conflict between the two nuclear-armed countries was too dangerous to contemplate.
The critical question which arises, therefore, is what has given Indian military planners the confidence now that a conventional attack will not escalate to the mutually disastrous nuclear level? There could be three possible reasons for India's "new" confidence:
First, India may believe that the new capabilities it is acquiring - Israeli AWACs, US-Israeli-Russian ballistic missile defence systems, advanced strike aircraft - can effectively neutralise Pakistan's nuclear strike force of missiles and aircraft. This would be shallow strategic thinking since Pakistan could ensure penetration of Indian defences through multiplication of its missiles and warheads.
Second, Indian plans may envisage, together with a Cold Start conventional attack, a pre-emptive strike against Pakistan's strategic delivery systems. This is likely to push Pakistan to maintain at least a part of its strategic capabilities in a state of readiness to respond to a pre-emptive counter-force strike.
The third, and most ominous, possibility is that India has come to believe that foreign powers will prevent Pakistan, by threats or military means, from escalating a conventional conflict to the nuclear level.
If India launches a Cold Start strike, the world community would first try to halt the conflict. India may count on making quick military gains and then accepting a ceasefire. But, the priority western goal would be to prevent Pakistan from resorting to its nuclear deterrent. If diplomatic demarches and threats do not work, even more drastic measures could be contemplated.
Numerous media stories have mentioned the existence of US plans to seize or neutralise Pakistan's nuclear weapons in the event of their threatened take over by Islamic radicals. These plans, if they exist, could be executed also in the context of an Indo-Pakistan conflict.
An article which appeared in the Foreign Affairs Quarterly (November-December 2009), "The Nukes We Need", is also worth noting. The two writers argue that "The United States will sooner or later find itself embroiled in conventional wars with nuclear-armed adversaries" and should have the "ability to launch precise, very low-casualty nuclear counter-force strikes." This would enable the US "to deter nuclear attacks" as well as have "retaliatory options." The writers point out that the US already has such low-yield nuclear weapons in its arsenal.
Despite the present counter-terrorism alliance with the US, Pakistan needs to factor in these scenarios into its deterrence posture and doctrine. As the Foreign Affairs article, cited above, asserts: "If not backed by the capability and credibility to execute threats, deterrence is merely a dangerous bluff."
To preserve the credibility of their nuclear deterrent capabilities, the major nuclear powers adopt some or all of three options: first, keep at least part of their nuclear-strategic weapons systems in a state of "high alert"; second, deploy a sufficient number of nuclear-armed missiles in hardened silos, deep underground, at secret and dispersed locations; and third, possess nuclear powered submarines as a credible second-strike nuclear force.
These objectives deserve the highest priority in Pakistan's response to India's new military doctrine. Pakistan's response should also be accompanied by robust diplomatic action. This should include:
* A dialogue with China to coordinate an effective response to India's new doctrine and capabilities at the diplomatic, strategic and tactical level.
* Press India's weapons' suppliers to refrain from providing it with the capabilities to execute its "adventurist" strategy; and
* Activating efforts to promote a South Asia restraint regime that provides for nuclear restraint, conventional balance and resolution of conflicts, especially Kashmir.
A clear and visible response by Pakistan is essential to convince India, and the international community, that Pakistan is determined to defend its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and that "cold start" could end in a hot finish.


The writer is a former Pakistani ambassador to the United Nations.
 

  What Next in Sri Lanka?

Yet another massive challenge for the state are the living conditions of hundreds of thousands of Tamils displaced by war.

Jayshree Bajoria

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa has won a re-election reaping the rewards of his military victory over the Tamil Tigers. But can this wartime president lead his country in an effort to win peace?
Rajapaksa appears to have won Sri Lanka's first post-war national election, which took place Tuesday, according to state media. The president called for early polls - his term does not expire until 2011 - hoping for an easy win after he managed to defeat the Tamil Tigers last May.
The Tigers, the separatist terrorist organisation formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), had engaged the country's armed forces in a nearly three decades-long bloody civil war. But to his surprise the president had to fight hard to validate his victory after his former army chief, Gen. Sarath Fonseka, decided to challenge him in the election. Shortly after the results were announced, Fonseka demanded a new vote even as he was holed up in a Colombo five-star hotel, surrounded by government commandoes.
Now, Rajapaksa has to prove whether he will continue to conduct himself as a wartime president or focus on rebuilding a nation ravaged by ethnic differences. Even though his government defeated the LTTE last May, there is little indication the country is no longer at war. The emergency powers remain in effect allowing for detention without charge or trial, and restrictions on civil liberties, freedom of movement and speech. So does the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act. The current political system of executive presidency concentrates too much power at the centre with little authority to the provinces. The president enjoys almost unlimited power over state resources. Press freedom is restricted; last June the government reactivated the Sri Lanka Press Council Act of 1973 allowing strict control over the media. In yet another display of intolerance, just hours before the election results, the government blocked access to some independent news websites.
Sri Lanka's political culture too, mired in corruption and nepotism, remains a concern. Political parties remain fragmented and in particular, after living for decades under the shadow of the LTTE, today the Tamil community finds itself on the margins of the electorate without a unified political voice or the presence of any serious Tamil political parties.
The mudslinging between the two main contenders during the campaign highlighted the heavy costs the island nation has paid to defeat terrorism. Sri Lanka remains deeply divided between the country's majority Sinhalese and its minority Tamil communities. In the greatest irony of all, both candidates wooed the Tamil vote, each candidate accusing the other of war crimes. Meanwhile, human rights groups suspect both: Rajapaksa ordered the aggressive military offensive while Fonseka as army commander carried it out, leading to heavy casualties among the Tamil population - nearly 7,000 civilian deaths in the first five months of 2009.
A United Nations human rights expert has also accused the Sri Lankan military of extrajudicial killings and has called for a war crimes probe.
Yet another massive challenge for the state are the living conditions of hundreds of thousands of Tamils displaced by war. According to the UN, more than 280,000 people were displaced in the fighting. Nearly half of them still remain in camps and those who have returned to their villages have inadequate resources to rebuild their lives.
So far, Rajapaksa has shown little political will to introduce political reforms to heal the country's war wounds. "Eight months later, the post-war policies of President Mahinda Rajapaksa have deepened rather than resolved the grievances that generated and sustained LTTE militancy," says a new report from the independent International Crisis Group.
To govern a country no longer at war, Rajapaksa must loosen his authoritarian hold and begin the process of democratiSation. Rights groups have called for repeal of the terrorism act as well as lifting of emergency powers. A strong military with control over politics is another concern. "Demilitarisation is perhaps the most important immediate issue the country faces," writes Ahilan Kadirgamar, a spokesman with the Sri Lanka Democracy Forum, an independent body pushing for a political solution in Sri Lanka. Kadirgamar also advocates constitutional reforms that include greater devolution of power to the provinces, and power-sharing at the centre that gives fair representation to the minorities.
For Sri Lanka to move toward reconciliation and a sustainable peace, international actors, too, must play a role. The International Crisis Group calls for future international development assistance to the Sri Lankan government to be made contingent upon steps taken toward reestablishing the rule of law and addressing the longstanding grievances of the Tamil-speaking minorities. Europe has already taken a lead: Last month, following a year-long investigation into Sri Lanka's human rights record, the European Commission proposed suspending a preferential trade agreement with Colombo.
A recent study by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs also puts forth recommendations to put Sri Lanka on the path of greater accountability, transparency and inclusion of minorities in the political system. But it sounds a word of caution: "Should this opportunity be wasted, Sri Lanka could easily backslide into conflict."


Jayshree Bajoria is a staff writer on Asia for CFR.org, the website of the Council on Foreign Relations www.globalpost.com

Viewpoints

Obama: Anthology of pledges

State of the Union addresses are mostly political window dressing. All those fine proposals have to become laws.

Alexander Cockburn

You can see how seriously President Barack Obama is taking the hot populist temper of the American people and their eagerness to strangle every banker with the entrails of every insurance executive. In an altogether welcome departure from past presidential form in State of the Union addresses at least since 1973 (the first time I listened to one), he shoved the rest of the world into less than five minutes near the end of an oration that lasted well over an hour, giving over at least 90 percent of his time to various pledges for economic cleanup on the domestic front.
Of course, there was a bit of ritual backslapping for Uncle Sam's benign role in the planet's affairs, starting with valiant rescue work in Haiti, a nation for which every US intervention since the time of Thomas Jefferson has been an unmitigated disaster. But on Wednesday night, there was barely time for even a swipe at Iran and North Korea, reduced to offhand mentions, as opposed to the starring roles they enjoyed as members of the "Axis of Evil" in George Bush Jr.'s State of the Union speech in 2002. Yemen, now contending strongly for Axis ranking, wasn't even mentioned, though Guinea got a nod for its corruption.
Instead, Wednesday's night's Axis of Evil featured a home team, of the banks and the US Supreme Court, whose members were mustered in a small clump almost directly under Obama's lectern.
Last week, the court kicked away most of the few remaining restraints on the ability of corporations to buy the legislators and the laws they desire, and Obama - gazing down at Chief Justice Roberts, leader of the conservative majority of five out of nine on the court, which overturned a century's worth of laws and precedents - called on Congress to redress the situation with new laws.
It was amid Obama's speech last September to a joint session of Congress about health reform that a cracker congressman from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, shouted, "You lie," at the president. This time, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, an ultra-right Catholic on the court, started mouthing objections and I thought we'd be treated to the lively spectacle of a member of the US Supreme Court heckling Obama, but Roberts' body language signaled "shut up," nudged him with his knee and the indignant Alito shut his mouth.
As State of the Union speeches go, Obama delivered his with jaunty aplomb, sometimes light-heartedly, matching the open merriment of Vice President Joe Biden, sitting directly behind him, next to House majority leader Nancy Pelosi. It wasn't always clear exactly why Biden was laughing, though I assume it was the same reason that stirred many in the chamber to snigger when Obama started urging them to pass laws ending fiscal excess, along with deficits, earmarks and undue lobbyist influence on lawmakers. Obama himself seemed to chortle at the manifest absurdity of requesting Congress to do any such thing, and the legislators felt thus empowered to chortle along with him.
Obama got elected by pledging hope, change and calling for the nation to unite and banish divisiveness. This time he did admit room for undefined philosophical differences, which he promptly tried to bridge by offering an anthology of pledges, culled from Carter (green energy), Reagan (line-item veto and reducing the world's nuclear arsenal to zero), earmarks (John McCain), plus the usual commitment to lower the deficit (mandatory in every State of the Union speech in living memory).
Neither bankers specifically nor corporations generally are popular right now. On Tuesday, voters in Oregon approved raising taxes on corporations and the rich. The measures romped through, 54 percent to 46 percent, hiking taxes on households with taxable income above $250,000, and setting higher minimum taxes on corporations, with increased tax rates on upper-level profits.
In Oregon, there hasn't been this kind of popularly sanctioned tax bite out of the backsides of the rich since the 1930s.
This sets the political stage for the November midterm elections, and every politician sniffs the popular mood. Hence Obama's belated dash to head the populist Jacquerie. But there's virtually no chance of any serious financial reform transpiring. Already, in dead of night, Wall Street lobbyists earlier this month crushed legislative language in a financial reform bill to ban Wall Street's "dark markets" trading in over-the-counter derivatives such as credit default swaps. It was these that impelled the financial crisis in 2008.
The bankers will resign themselves to a glancing glow like Obama's proposed $30 billion levy. But they will surely fight off Paul Volcker, for months languishing in obscurity as head of Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, until mustered last week to the president's side to preside over the White House's Great Leap Sideways into economic populism. He's been tasked with promoting legislation that will haul the banks back into the Glass-Steagall era, when the paltry sums in one's checking account weren't immediately securitized and packaged into a CDO squared. Already, the Los Angeles Times - normally in Obama's corner - has editorially savaged Volcker's plan, as have the Washington Post and, needless to say, the Wall Street Journal.
State of the Union addresses are mostly political window dressing. All those fine proposals have to become laws. It's one thing to hail Michelle Obama, as her husband did Wednesday evening, for spearheading a movement to combat child obesity. It's quite another to get through Congress a law banning Chicken McNuggets.
The longer Obama solemnly lectured the joint session about the need to change the way Washington does business, the more one had time to study the faces of the legislators and burnish one's utter confidence in Washington's unchanging ways. It was the one fact that evening that commanded total agreement, from Republicans, Democrats and the president himself.

Alexander Cockburn is coeditor with Jeffrey St. Clair of the muckraking newsletter CounterPunch. He is also coauthor of the new book "Dime's Worth of Difference: Beyond the Lesser of Two Evils," available through www.counterpunch.com.

  To win the war, boost the economy

the US should strengthen the Afghan credit market. Afghan small and medium-sized enterprises are starved of capital.

Zalmay Khalilzad 

Today, after years of foreign involvement in Afghanistan, unemployment is still 40 per cent and more than half the population lives below the poverty line. The current poor economic circumstances, while better than those under the Taliban, are a key impediment to success for the coalition.
I applaud US President Barack Obama's decision to stick with and adjust the military effort in Afghanistan. The US administration also deserves credit for recognising that more must be done on the civilian and economic fronts. However, a detailed strategy for the civilian side has yet to crystallise.
As the US develops such a strategy, it should consider one step that would significantly strengthen the Afghan economy: instructing the Pentagon, state department and United States Agency for International Development to use their purchasing power to encourage Afghan businesses. This is what was done in Korea and Japan. Many successful companies in both countries started out providing for US forces.
When I was US ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005, virtually every bottle of water, slice of bread and piece of paper that the US embassy and military forces needed was imported at great cost to US taxpayers. Since then, some progress has been made. But still only a fraction of what US forces spend on food, construction materials and other basic goods goes to Afghan companies.
More Afghans are employed in agriculture than any other sector, so purchasing agricultural products locally is an effective and immediate path to increasing prosperity. It also reduces the attractiveness of the illegal opium market, which is currently one of the largest sources of income for farmers.
Foreign companies also provide most basic services to US and allied forces, from logistics and cafeteria management to laundry and air services. The hiring of foreign labour can be appropriate where Afghanistan lacks certain specialised skills. The hiring of unskilled foreign labour, however, is unjustified and wasteful. It contributes to unemployment and sparks resentment among Afghans.
There has been progress over the past few years with the creation of the Afghan First programme, which encourages contracting officers to favour Afghan vendors. This is a good start but there is room for improvement, most notably by more directly prioritising local sourcing and establishing clear written guidelines.
Starved of capital
In addition, the US should strengthen the Afghan credit market. Afghan small and medium-sized enterprises are starved of capital. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation and other parts of the US government have begun to promote Afghan investment funds, leasing, micro-finance and SME-financing companies, but must find additional ways to provide credit to Afghan entrepreneurs.
Improving Afghan economic capability while improving Afghan security capability is vital. With the latter, the US can strengthen the government of Afghanistan. With the former, the US can put young Afghans to work and create the basis for Afghan self-reliance.
This approach can work. It has worked in the beverage industry. From 2001 to 2003, the US spent roughly $60 million (Dh220.6 million) a year on imported bottled water for its forces. In 2003-04, a number of water bottling and soda production businesses were success-fully established in Afghanistan. Now, the US buys these products locally. There is no reason why similar success cannot be achieved in food, construction materials and services.
Ensuring security, quality and reliability are legitimate concerns. But they are manageable. Channelling US funds to Afghan business will lead to some distortions in the Afghan economy, assuming US forces eventually depart, but these can be overcome if US funds are strategically targeted at sectors where robust domestic and regional demand also exists.
The key to success is empowering Afghanistan's economy and improving the lives of its people. The approach proposed here does not burden American taxpayers with significant new costs. The question is not whether the US should spend a lot more, but how it should spend the resources it is committing in Afghanistan.

Zalmay Khalilzad, former US ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq and the UN, is a counsellor at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies and president and CEO of Khalilzad Associates.

  Not remembered on Republic Day

Dalits continue to be the victims of double oppression and diabolical atrocities that include a generous share of gender crimes.

J Sri Raman

The high point of January 26, India's Republic Day, for six decades has been the colourful parade in New Delhi. Contingents of soldiers, students and others march down the Rajpath (originally the King's Way) running from the Rashtrapati Bhavan or the President's Mansion (once the Viceroy's House) to the famous India Gate and beyond. The president takes the salute, as the chief guest in the form of a foreign dignitary watches the spectacle.
The event has undergone a transformation in more than its embellishments over the years. The anniversary witnesses no national recapitulation of the message of the main architect of the country's constitution that proclaimed it a republic.
There was a time when common people used to throng the venue and line the Rajpath on both sides, while roadside vendors of eatables did roaring business. The people achieved a physical proximity to the prime minister and other government leaders that can now only appear a fantasy. The theme of the parade, too, underwent a transformation. The crowd then used to rejoice in the sight of the march to the tune of patriotic songs. The invitees and invitation-wanglers have subsequently been applauding an increasingly awesome display of arms intended to impress and intimidate.
The theme of security - internal and external - has come to dominate the day's proceedings. A subject, raised by the father of the Republic, has been forgotten, and hardly figures even in the pious platitudes heard amidst the fireworks on the occasion.
On January 26, 1950, when the Republic was born with the adoption of the constitution, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar did not hail the historic event in hyperbolic terms. He said, "...we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics, we will have equality and in social and economic structure, continue to deny the principle of 'one man, one value'. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life?"
He added, "If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril. We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of democracy, which this Constituent Assembly has so laboriously built up."
He was not talking of the contradictions of life to be found in every continent. His specific reference was to the particularly stubborn contradiction that his country - and this subcontinent - suffered from. His questions were about the compatibility of the caste system and oppression - particularly the plight of the 'Untouchables' described now as 'Dalits' or the 'Oppressed'. The questions remain unanswered to date.
Ambedkar, the Dalit leader with a couple of doctorates, was the chairman of the drafting committee of the Constituent Assembly. The man who played a main role in the making of the document said: "If I find the constitution being misused, I shall be the first to burn it."
The threat could not be dismissed: Ambedkar had set out in his mission by leading a mass campaign to burn copies of Manu Smriti, or the Law of Manu, that laid down the caste system with the Untouchables at the abysmal bottom. As the scholarly rebel explained subsequently, "It is not that all parts of the Manu Smriti are condemnable, that it does not contain good principles and that Manu himself was not a sociologist and was a mere fool. We made a bonfire of it because we view it as a symbol of injustice under which we have been crushed for centuries."
The constitution, however, has not invited such an action by proving as inflexible as either Manu Smriti as the caste system. But, amended 94 times so far, the document has not by itself proved the deliverance for Dalits. The scheme of affirmative action, or caste-based reservations in education and state-sector employment, has not sufficed to give the Dalits their due space and status in the nation's life.
The system itself has been under sustained attack. It figured, in fact, repeatedly in the Republic Day debates on television channels as something that militated against "meritocracy". During a debate in parliament, Ambedkar answered this criticism long ago with the axiom: "A representative government is better than an efficient government." Was this also not the nationalists' answer to the arrogant colonial argument that talked of the natives' unfitness to govern themselves?
The fact, however, remains that the scheme has not raised the Dalits' status significantly enough. Yes, India did have an Ambedkar - from the pre-reservation days, a Dalit President in KR Narayanan (1997-2002), and has a Dalit Speaker of the Lok Sabha (the Lower House of India's parliament) in Meira Kumar. This may warrant some pride, but hardly makes for the Dalits' woeful under-representation in not only the strategic parts of the state apparatus, but also in several other areas ranging from medicine to the media.
Dalits continue to be the victims of double oppression and diabolical atrocities that include a generous share of gender crimes. Worse, intermediate castes empowered by constitution-based measures have celebrated their liberation with repeated bouts of savagery against their lesser brethren.
On its 60th anniversary, the Republic of India cannot be said to have spared serious thought on how to erase the most stubborn of stains on the country's social fabric. It preferred to hail the military might on display in the parade and heave a sigh of relief later on the day passing off without "incidents".

The writer is a journalist based in Chennai, India. A peace activist, he is also the author of a sheaf of poems titled At Gunpoint

International

Implementing the NRO judgment
Dawn Online

Pakistan Supreme Court has given detailed reasons for its short order in the NRO case. While the order was passed on Dec 16, 2009, the government reportedly delayed its implementation until the detailed verdict.
Now that this is available, there is renewed interest in the subject of the implementation of the judgment.
While some in government appear to favour the delay in its implementation the prime minister has publicly expressed his commitment to implement the judgment. However, critics of the government see little progress.
Different views have been expressed regarding the options available to the apex court to have its judgment implemented. It is in this context that some commentators have referred to Article 190 of the constitution and expressed the view that the Supreme Court can seek the aid and assistance of the armed forces for the implementation of its judgment.
Article 190 provides that all executive and judicial authorities throughout Pakistan shall "act in aid of the Supreme Court". This begs the question as to whether the armed forces are part of the executive authorities.
Article 90 provides that the "executive authority of the federation shall vest in the president and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with the constitution". Article 91 provides that there "shall be a cabinet of ministers headed by the prime minister to aid and advice the president in the exercise of his functions". Article 48 provides that "in the exercise of his functions the president shall act in accordance with the advice of the cabinet or the prime minister".
Article 243 provides that the "federal government shall have control and command of the armed forces". Article 245 provides that "under the directions of the federal government, the armed forces shall defend Pakistan against aggression or threat of war and subject to law, act in aid of civil power when called upon to do so".
From these provisions of the constitution, it is evident that the executive power of the federation rests with the federal government. This power is exercised by the president through the cabinet and other officers subordinate to him.
It is argued that the officers of the armed forces being part of the service of Pakistan by virtue of Article 260, are also subordinate to the president. Therefore, the officers of the armed forces could be treated as part of the executive authorities. Thus, being part of the executive authority, the armed forces can be called upon to act in aid of the Supreme Court.
But the armed forces can only act to aid and assist the Supreme Court when they are directed by the federal government to do so and not otherwise. Indeed in the year 1996 when then Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah had directly sought the assistance of the army and written a letter to then COAS Gen Jahangir Karamat, the latter had properly referred the matter to the defence ministry.
Just as the executive organ is autonomous within its own sphere, so is the judiciary. Interpretation of the constitution and the laws is the exclusive domain of the judiciary. Once the Supreme Court gives a judgment, it is not open to any authority to defy or ignore it. While there is room for criticism of the judgments, there is no room for defiance.
In case of any attempted defiance or disobedience of the judgment, Article 204 and the law framed there under confer sufficient power on the court to punish any authority or person who obstructs or interferes with its implementation. It is the obligation of all heads of the departments of the government and other civil servants to execute the directives of the court in letter and spirit.
In the event of failure, the court can take coercive action against the concerned officer and ensure implementation of its judgment.
Looking at the past performance of the government, there is little doubt that in the end it will, as Winston Churchill said, do the right thing having exhausted all other options.

  Taliban say no decision yet on Karzai offer of talks
Reuters, Kabul/Lashkar Gah

Taliban leaders have no immediate answer to President Hamid Karzai's offer of talks with the Afghan government but will respond soon, a militant spokesman said on Friday, after Karzai invited them to a peace council.
In the country's south, suicide attackers launched an assault in the capital of Helmand, Afghanistan's most violent province, with gunmen holed up in three buildings, battling government and NATO troops who returned fire with helicopter strikes. When the fighting stopped before dusk a Reuters reporter at the scene saw the bullet-riddled bodies of four gunmen dragged out of a building by Afghan troops and displayed in the street. Two of the dead gunmen wore police uniforms.
On Thursday, at a major conference on Afghanistan, Karzai set the framework for dialogue with Taliban leaders when he called on the Islamist group's leadership to take part in a "loya jirga" -- or large assembly of elders -- to initiate peace talks.
A Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan declined to talk in detail about Karzai's plans and only said the militants would make a decision "soon" about his offer.
"I cannot say a word regarding these peace talks. The Taliban leadership will soon decide whether to take part," the spokesman, who uses the name Qari Mohammad Yousuf, said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
Western countries have increasingly been supportive in public of moves to reach out to fighters to end the 8-year-old war. In an interview in the Financial Times earlier this week, the military commander of U.S. and NATO troops, General Stanley McChrystal, backed talking to some Taliban members.
The Taliban however have said repeatedly that negotiations with the Afghan government should only take place when foreign troops completely withdraw from Afghanistan.
Taliban: Meeting with UN envoy "baseless"
Xinhua, Kabul adds: Taliban militants on Saturday denied a reported meeting of the outfit leadership with Kai Eide the special envoy of United Nations Secretary General to Afghanistan, saying the report is "baseless".
"Reports appeared in media about the meeting of the Leadership Council of the Islamic Emirate (name of Taliban ousted regime) with UN special envoy Kai Eide is merely rumors and baseless," a statement released by Taliban outfit to media from undisclosed location said.
The UN top diplomat in Afghanistan, according to media reports had met with Taliban leaders in Dubai recently. Eide has also
rejected the report as groundless.

  Sri Lanka opposition appoints panel to probe election result
Xinhua, Colombo

A senior member from Sri Lanka's opposition alliance said here Saturday that a panel has been appointed to review the outcome of Tuesday's presidential election,
"We have appointed a committee to look into the allegation of wrongdoing in the announcement of the result," Mano Ganesan of the Democratic People's Front, a member party of the opposition coalition said.
The incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa scored a resounding win over the opposition common candidate former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka in the election held on Tuesday. Fonseka and all his opposition coalition parties rejected the result vowing to take legal action. "We have received complaints from our party members and our voters that they do not believe the result," Ganesan added.
The joint opposition committee having studied the result would make an announcement on their next course of action, Ganesan said. The election, one of the most bitterly fought in Sri Lanka's history, saw Rajapaksa securing a near 2 million majority when analysts expected it to be a tight contest.
The government has defended the result saying that the island's Sinhalese majority had overwhelmingly paid back Rajapaksa in gratitude for his leadership to free the country of Tamil Tiger rebellion.

  Protest held in Tokyo against US military presence
AP/ UNB, Tokyo

Thousands of protesters from across Japan marched Saturday in central Tokyo to protest the U.S. military presence on Okinawa, while a Cabinet minister said she would fight to move a Marine base Washington considers crucial out of the country.
Some 47,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Japan, with more than half on the southern island of Okinawa. Residents have complained for years about noise, pollution and crime around the bases.
Japan and the U.S. signed a pact in 2006 that called for the realignment of American troops in the country and for a Marine base on the island to be moved to a less populated area. But the new Tokyo government is re-examining the deal, caught between increasingly adamant public opposition to American troops and its crucial military alliance with Washington.
On Saturday, labor unionists, pacifists, environmentalists and students marched through central Tokyo, yelling slogans and calling for an end to the U.S. troop presence. They gathered for a rally at a park - under a banner that read "Change! Japan-U.S. Relations" - for speeches by civil leaders and politicians.
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has repeatedly postponed his decision on the pact, with members of his own government divided on how to proceed. Last week he pledged to resolve the conundrum by May, just before national elections.
"The Cabinet is saying that it will announce its conclusion in May. For this reason, over the next few months we must put all of our energy into achieving victory," Cabinet minister Mizuho Fukushima said at the rally, to shouts of approval from the crowd.
Fukushima - who has a minor post in the Cabinet and heads a small political party - wants the base moved out of Japan entirely. Hatoyama's government must appease such political allies to maintain its majority coalition in parliament, and the public are increasingly vociferous on the U.S. military issue, even outside of Okinawa.
"I'm against having troops here. I'm not sure we can get them all out, but at least some of them should leave," said Seiichiro Terada, 31, a government tax collector who attended the rally.

  DPRK urges U.S. to conclude peace treaty
SKorea leader says he’s ready to meet NKorea’s Kim

Xinhua, Pyongyang

The United States should agree with the proposal of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on negotiating a new peace treaty with it, said an official newspaper of the DPRK on Friday.
The treaty, which is expected by the DPRK to replace the Korean War Armistice Agreement signed in 1957, will help build confidence between the DPRK and the U.S. and promote denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, said the Rodong Sinmun daily in a commentary.
Days have passed since the DPRK made the proposal, but some countries still insisted that the DPRK should "dismantle its nukes first", the report said. "This cannot be interpreted as remarks made by those who truly wish for peace, stability and denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
The DPRK's proposal is "a reasonable one" aiming to end the hostility between the country and the U.S., said the article.
On Jan.18, Pyongyang renewed its demands of negotiating a peace treaty and lifting sanctions before it would return to the six-party talks, saying failure of the discussion on concluding a peace treaty would consequently "push back the process of denuclearization."
But the U.S. dismissed the proposal later, reiterating that the first and foremost thing for Pyongyang is to return to the six-party talks.
AP/ UNB adds: South Korea's president says he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Il this year to discuss the North's nuclear weapons program despite a recent flare-up in border tensions.
President Lee Myung-bak made the comment as North Korea fired artillery shells for a third day Friday in what it said were military exercises near its disputed western sea border with South Korea. The shellings, which on Wednesday prompted return artillery fire by the South, caused no reported casualties or damage. They came amid mixed signs from the communist North, which has recently appeared more eager to engage the South in dialogue after ballistic missile and nuclear tests last year drew U.N. sanctions, while still threatening its rival.
The presidential office said Saturday that it is unclear whether summit talks can be held soon, but that Lee said he "could probably meet (Kim) within this year" if it promotes peace on the Korean peninsula and North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

  Cambodian, Thai troops exchange 2nd fire
Xinhua, Phnom Penh

A Cambodia's National Defense Ministry official said Saturday that there was another small fire between Thai and Cambodian troops in Veal Veng district in Pursat province.
Maj. Gen. Chhum Socheat, spokesman of Cambodia's National Defense Ministry told reporters that the clash happened at about 10 p.m. on Friday night but "we are still investigating the reason and who started the fire first." He said he also learned from the troops that the fire has resulted in the death of one Thai solider and injury of a few others.
But no one was reportedly killed or injured from the Cambodian side, he said.
Keo Sokunthear, vice police chief of Pursat province told reporters that as many as 20 Thai soldiers were trying to trespass Cambodian territory on Friday night before fire exchanged.
He said no Cambodian soldiers had lost lives in the fire, but one Thai soldier was killed and a few others might be injured, but he could not give the actual number.
On Sunday last week, Thai and Cambodian troops also exchanged a fire at the border area, east of Cambodia's Preah Vihear temple, a place of the border dispute between the two countries since July 2008.

  Philippines hopes for progress in next peace talks with MILF
Xinhua, Manila

The Philippine government on Saturday expressed hope that a new round of peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest rebel group in the country, in Kuala Lumpur next month could reach an agreement.
Manila and the MILF ended their talks abruptly in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday without reaching a peace agreement that would put an end to decades of bloody conflict in the restive southern region of Mindanao.
Chief government negotiator Rafael Seguis spoke on local radio dzRH that they agreed to study each other's draft peace agreements seriously when they return to the negotiating table on February 18 to 19.
Seguis said the failure to reach an agreement at their last meeting in Malaysia does not mean the peace process is over.
"The peace process is not over yet," he said. "We just haven't had the chance to talk. we have different ideas on how to forge a peace pact."
The MILF has been fighting government troops for decades to establish a separate Muslim state in the south of the predominantly Catholic country. Peace talks between the government and the MILF has broken down since August 2008 following the aborted signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

 US says uranium swap deal ‘still on the table’ for Iran
Xinhua, Washington

A senior U.S. official said on Friday that a UN-backed uranium swap deal is "still on the table" for Iran, and denied the Obama administration is to circulate a draft resolution on sanctions toward Iran this week in the United Nations.
State Department spokesman P. J. Crowley confirmed at a Washington briefing that the deal is not dead in the eyes of the administration, describing it as a "confidence-building measure" for Iran to "address some of our concerns about certain elements of its nuclear program."
"The offer's there for Iran to say yes," he said. Crowley said relevant countries, namely the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China and Germany, the so-called P5+1, have had "discussions on mechanism through which that deal could be implemented." He insisted Tehran accept the deal as it is offered.
Under the draft deal brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), most of Iran's existing low-grade enriched uranium should be shipped to Russia and France, where it would be processed into fuel rods with the purity of 20 percent. The higher- level enriched uranium will then be transported back to Iran. Iran rejected the deal, demanding a simultaneous exchange between low and higher level enriched uranium inside the country, or a phased swap.
As Iran missed a year-end deadline to accept the deal, U.S. officials have been talking about exerting more "pressure" on Iran, and reports have indicated the administration would circulate a draft resolution on sanctions this week in the United Nations.

  US government weighs other sites for 9/11 trial
Reuters, Washington

The Obama administration has begun looking for places other than the heart of New York City to prosecute the accused Sept. 11 attack plotters in the face of fierce criticism tied to security and costs, U.S. officials said on Friday.
Critics have said the government's plan to try self-professed mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four alleged co-conspirators blocks from the World Trade Center would require a large security cordon, hurt area businesses and afford the defendants certain legal rights in criminal court.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was considering other venues for the trials, according to one Obama administration official. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said: "We're considering our options."
The New York Times and Washington Post reported that the lower Manhattan courthouse was out of the running, citing unnamed administration officials. However, one Obama administration official told Reuters that "no decision has been made."
Holder in November decided the trials would be held in New York City, whose federal courthouse is connected to a fortified detention center with a tunnel. "Conversations have occurred with the administration to discuss contingency options should the possibility of a trial in lower Manhattan be foreclosed upon by Congress or locally," another administration official said.
New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters he believed the trials are "unlikely" to occur there.
It was not clear what other venues are under consideration. New York officials have suggested a military base, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, or nearby Governor's Island, though some said that last option was not feasible.

  Hamas blames Israel on conflict outside Palestinian lands
Xinhua, Gaza

Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday blamed Israel for any possible confrontation outside the Palestinian territories after accusing it of killing a senior Hamas commander in Dubai ten days ago.
"We have maintained that the confrontation between us and the Israeli enemy be within the occupied land," said Mahmoud Zahar, a Gaza-based Hamas leader.
"Israel wants to change the rules of the game and to open the international field for battles so it will be responsible for this, " Zahar told reporters during a visit to a Jordanian-run hospital in Gaza city.
On Friday, Dubai authorities said that Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the senior Hamas commander who was found dead on Jan. 20 in a hotel room, had passed away due to an electric shock and strangling. Hamas accused Israel of being behind the assassination of al- Mabhouh.
Al-Mabhouh had been based in Syria after he succeeded to escape Gaza in late 1980s following his participation in kidnapping and then killing two Israeli soldiers in separate incidents. "Hamas can reach its targets in any place," Zahar said. However, he emphasized that Hamas "is keeping the game inside the occupied Palestinian land."
BBC adds : Authorities in Dubai say they have identified several "European passport holders" as suspects in the killing of a Hamas military commander last week.
Preliminary investigations indicated Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was murdered by "a professional criminal gang" which followed him there, police said.

  Obama, Republicans clash in unusual session
Reuters, Baltimore

President Barack Obama on Friday engaged in a rare face-to-face showdown with Republican critics and testily accused them of trying to block his policies while urging them to "join with me" in creating jobs.
The contentious 82-minute session showed the depth of the political divide that separates Democrats who control the U.S. Congress and Republicans who feel their ideas on the economy and healthcare are ignored.
That Obama agreed to not only address his opponents but take their questions live on cable television was a sign of how he is trying to dig out of his deepest political rut since taking office a year ago.
Facing his Republican critics two days after a State of the Union speech aimed at reconnecting with the public, Obama sought to counter his rivals' attempt to paint him as a big-spending liberal who only wants to expand government.
He accused Republicans of portraying his now-stalled healthcare reform effort as a "Bolshevik plot" and telling their constituents he is "doing all kinds of crazy stuff that's going to destroy America."
"I am not an ideologue," Obama insisted to his audience, prompting some murmuring of disagreement in the crowd. "I'm not."
Assailing Republicans for trying to obstruct him on everything from economic stimulus to healthcare, Obama suggested their political motive was to score points with voters in the November congressional elections.
"These are serious times and what's required of all of us is to do what's right for our country, even if it's not best for our politics," Obama said.
The event was the annual retreat of Republican members of the House of Representatives. They tried Obama's patience on a number of occasions by asking questions that were basically statements of their beliefs.

  Israel, Palestinians say probing Gaza complaints
Reuters, United Nations

Israel defended its handling of complaints over its conduct in last year's Gaza war in a submission to the United Nations on Friday following a U.N. report that panned Israel and Palestinian militants.
The Palestinian Authority said it also handed the world body details of a commission of inquiry it had set up, along with preliminary findings, as a deadline looms for U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to report on Gaza to the General Assembly.
The Islamist group Hamas said on Thursday it too had prepared a response to the U.N. report issued last September by a panel headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone.
Israeli officials said their 36-page document detailed measures taken to investigate complaints and was not a direct rebuttal of the Goldstone report although it did address what they said were inaccuracies in it.
The report said the Israeli army and Palestinian militants committed war crimes during the Dec. 27, 2008 to Jan. 18, 2009 conflict, but focused more on Israel.
The Jewish state refused to cooperate with Goldstone and angrily rejected his findings. On Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak called the report "distorted, biased and unbalanced."
But after the U.N. General Assembly in November called on Israel and the Palestinians to investigate Goldstone's charges and asked Ban to report back within three months, Israel decided it would provide Ban with information.
That Israel and both Palestinian factions produced some sort of response reflected all sides' desire to appear to be cooperating with Ban. Despite its fury at Goldstone's report, Israel this month paid the United Nations $10.5 million for damage to U.N. property during the Gaza war.

  Copenhagen Accord seen failing 2C goal
Reuters, Oslo

Major nations' plans for fighting climate change under the "Copenhagen Accord" are insufficient to limit average temperature rises to the projected 2 degrees Celsius, a leading expert said on Friday.
The accord, brokered at a summit last month by top emitters led by China and the United States, sets a Jan. 31 deadline for countries to say how far they will curb greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to help keep temperature rises below 2 degrees. "From what we see right now, it's far away from 2 degrees," Niklas Hoehne, director of energy and climate policy at climate consultancy Ecofys, told Reuters.
Hoehne said that a projection made in mid-December by Ecofys and partners that world temperatures would rise by 3.5 degrees Celsius was becoming ever more realistic.
Industrialised emitters led by the United States, European Union members, Japan and Australia have all merely reaffirmed emissions goals set before Copenhagen ahead of the Jan. 31 deadline. Developing nations such as China and India have also given no sign of greater ambition.
A problem is that pressure for tougher targets has eased, Hoehne said.
"That is the major disappointment after Copenhagen, the pressure to be in line with 2C is not there any more," he said. "What is left is public pressure to do more." "3.5 degrees of warming has got more likely," he said.

  Diet changes improve older adults’ cholesterol too
Reuters, New York

Older adults can cut their cholesterol levels by revamping their dietary fat intake-even if they are already on cholesterol-lowering statins, a new study finds.
Conventional wisdom holds that people should follow a healthy diet and get regular exercise to help control their cholesterol and triglycerides, another type of harmful blood fat. But there has actually been little research into how well older adults' cholesterol and triglyceride levels respond to diet changes.
In the new study, researchers looked at the effects of dietary-fat changes among 900 Australian adults age 49 and older who were followed for 10 years. At the outset, 5 percent were taking a cholesterol-lowering medication, usually a statin; a decade later, one-quarter were using drugs to control their cholesterol.
Overall, the study found, people who managed to cut down on butter, and saturated fats in general, showed subsequent dips in their total cholesterol levels-regardless of whether they were on a statin.
At the same time, "good" HDL cholesterol levels inched upward when study participants started eating more fish and omega-3 fatty acids-healthy, unsaturated fats found mainly in oily fish like salmon and mackerel. People who boosted their omega-3 from food also showed declining triglyceride levels.
The findings imply that older adults can make a difference in their heart health by choosing good dietary fats, according to lead researcher Anette E. Buyken of the Research Institute of Child Nutrition in Dortmund, Germany.

Business/Economy

SAARC-China trade may surpass $75b in 2010
BSS, Dhaka

The bilateral trade between SAARC and China has witnessed considerable growth to US$ 50 billion in 2008 from US$ 13 billion in the year 2000 and was expected to surpass US$ 75 billion mark by the end of 2010, which show enormous potential for bilateral trade between the economies.
Annisul Huq, the newly elected President of SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and the President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said at the inauguration of a seminar held at Chengdu, China on January 28, according to a release here Saturday.
"The miraculous economic development that China has achieved could be beneficial to economies in the South Asian region provided compatible measures are taken at government levels to enhance bilateral trade and investment," he added.
The private sector of the region is ready to share economic benefits, Annisul Huq said adding that China has emerged as role-model for developing countries by witnessing an incredible socio-economic growth and its strength can be gauged by the fact that despite global financial meltdown, the country managed to achieve 8.7 percent GDP growth rate in 2009.
Complimenting leadership of China for such sustainable growth, he predicted a bigger role of China in the world economy. In view of its persistent economic growth, China has deepened its economic routes in the South Asian region, he said.
Annisul Huq said that numerous complementarities for trade and investment exist between China and South Asia.
"We must acknowledge China for its ability to produce quality goods at highly competitive price as a great facilitator to poor and middle class society of the entire World", he said adding: "As an optimistic business representative of South Asia, China is a land of opportunities for small economies, provided they are given preferential market access."
For further promotion of economic cooperation he recommended China to relocate some Medium Sized Industries to SAARC nations in mutually interested areas, which could help bring two communities closer together. He sought removal of technical and non-technical barriers in China. The SCCI President said that China, being the biggest production house of many products, can provide technical assistance in areas of science and technology, engineering, high-tech machinery, construction industry, automobiles, chemicals, textiles and garments, processed fruits and vegetables, and agriculture.
China can help infrastructure building including energy in South as the region was facing shortfall of nearly 85,000 MW of electricity and has inadequate infrastructure in roads, rails and transportation, Annisul said.
"We need to promote B-2-B Meetings, exchange of socio-cultural and business delegations, arranging and participation in fairs and exhibitions.
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry may organize SAARC Trade Fairs in China so as to create awareness SAARC potentials amongst business community in China," Annisul Huq said adding: "It would help export promotion of both traditional and non-traditional items produced in South Asian region."

 Dutch govt eager to work with BD for expansion of shipbuilding industry

BSS, Dhaka

The Netherlands on Saturday expressed its keen interest to work together with Bangladesh for expansion of shipbuilding industry here at a time when the world's shipbuilding industry faces setback due to the financial crisis.
The interest was shown at a 'matchmaking seminar' for 'Shipbuilding Sector of Bangladesh and the Netherlands' at a city hotel here, said a Dutch Embassy press release.
Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd (ASSL) and the Netherlands Embassy jointly organised the seminar backed by Holland Marine Equipment, a Dutch business group.
Charge d'Affairs of the Netherlands embassy Doris Voorbraak spoke on the occasion. ASSL chairman Dr. Abdullahel Bari delivered the welcome speech on the occasion, joined by Dutch shipbuilding companies.
The seminar was aimed at introducing the Dutch companies to the Bangladeshi shipbuilding companies and exploring the area of cooperation.
Participating Dutch companies were Vuyk Engineering Groningen, Dagin Marine Technology, Heatmaster, Rubber Design, Winteb, Eurovalve, Neddeck Marine, HRP and Gea Bloksma.
In her speech, Voorbraak said the world's shipbuilding industry might appear gloomy as orders are cancelled and the overall trade volume is down due to the global financial meltdown.
Bangladesh is perceived 15 percent cheaper than its main components such as Vietnam mainly due to low labour cost, she said.
The Dutch companies are always eager to identify new business opportunities abroad, especially in the shipbuilding industry, which is strongly export focused, Voorbraak said.
She said the Dutch have a vast experience in shipbuilding sector which could be shared with Bangladesh for benefiting equally.

  Subscription of ACI Bonds begins today
IFIC Bank Mutual Fund Feb 7

BSS, Dhaka

Supply to the primary share market is increasing this week with the offers of bond and mutual fund by two companies.
ACI Pharmaceutical is offering public a bond when IFIC Bank is coming up with its first mutual funds.
The subscription of ACI Zero Coupon Bond begins today. ACI Pharmaceutical has offered public the bond to raise over Taka 133 crore for product diversifications.
Of the amount, the company will raise over Taka 80 crore through private placement and the rest Taka 53 crore from public offering.
Zero coupon bond is a debt security that doesn't pay interest but is offered at a discount rate, rendering profit at maturity.
ACI is offering the bond for Taka 3,743 and the investors will get back Taka 5,000 after four years with its maturity.
The investors can also convert 20 percent of their bonds into the regular shares of the company on optional basis.
Investors, however, should submit application for a market lot of 5 bonds, costing 18,715. One can submit two applications, of which the second one should be under joint names.
The subscription offer will remain open until February 4 for the local investors, but the non-residence Bangladeshis (NRBs) can apply till February 13.
Besides ACI, subscription of the IFIC Bank First Mutual Fund will begin on February 7. The closed-end mutual fund with 10-year tenure will be offered at Taka 10 for a market lot of 500 units.
The size of the mutual fund is Taka 120 crore, of which Taka 40 crore will be raised through public offering and Taka 55 crore from private placement, keeping Taka 25 crore of funds for the sponsors.
The subscription will remain open till February 11 for local investors and February 20 for NRBs.

  Chinese businessmen urged to invest in BD
BSS, Dhaka

Bangladesh business leaders urged Chinese businessmen to invest in infrastructure development, engineering and technology, banking and insurance, education, IT and tourism sector in the country.
Chinese businessmen can import textile, cotton, PVC pipe and plastic, pharmaceuticals, Readymade Garments (RMG), leather and shrimp from Bangladesh.
Acting President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Abul Kashem Ahmed made the call at a meeting between business leaders of the two countries at FBCCI on January 28, according to a press release.
A five-member business delegation of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) led by Li Guohua, Vice President of Jilin Sub-Council of CCPIT attended the meeting. Abul Kashem Ahmed presided over the meeting attended by the directors of FBCCI and the representatives of different sectors.
The FBCCI acting president mentioned that with the execution of the verdict of the murder of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman the image of the country will develop in terms of rule of law and the investment situation will develop further. Chinese delegation leaders emphasized upon promotion of cooperation in trade and technology between Bangladesh and China.
He invited Bangladeshi businessmen to import vehicles, chemicals, agricultural machineries and accessories and agro-based products from China.
Shamsul Alam, Anowar Hossain and Mahbub Islam Runu, Directors of FBCCI and Iqbal Jamal Jewel and Mokhlesur Rahman, general body members of FBCCI also attended the meeting.

  Taiwan tourism growth tops Asia on China boom
AFP, Taipei

Tourism grew in Taiwan faster than anywhere else in Asia last year on the back of an influx of Chinese visitors, a report said today, quoting a top government official.
Taiwan reported a 14 percent rise in visitor numbers to 4.395 million in 2009 compared to an average two percent fall across Asia, the Commercial Times quoted tourism bureau deputy director Hsieh Wei-chun as saying. The number of Chinese visitors increased nearly 200 percent from the previous year to just under one million people, according to the bureau, after President Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 relaxed restrictions on Chinese tourists. Ties have improved dramatically since Ma took office, although Beijing still claims the island as part of its territory.
Taiwan aims to attract 4.8 million visitors this year, generating 240 billion dollars (7.5 billion US) in revenue, the report quoted Hsieh as saying. Tourism officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.

  State debt ‘biggest problem’ of coming years: IMF chief
AFP, Davos, Switzerland

IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Saturday that state debt will be the "biggest problem" for the world economy in coming years and some countries will need seven years to fix their finances.
"The fiscal sustainability problem is going to be one of the biggest, maybe the biggest problem for the coming ... several years," Strauss-Kahn told the World Economic Forum in Davos.
"We'll have to deal with this for five, six or seven years, depending on the country," he said. Strauss-Kahn's comments came as worries over Greece's debt woes clouded the Davos forum, where Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has been trying to reassure markets that his country will act to beat its debt crisis.
Many other developed countries also have major budget deficits as they
pump in extraordinary
sums to stimulate their economies during the global slowdown.

  Bankers resigned to reform after Davos bust-up
AFP, Davos, Switzerland

Bankers must resign themselves to tighter regulation after the global financial crisis, officials said Saturday at the end of the World Economic Forum dominated by a bitter banking battle. Finance sector reform is essential as recovery remains fragile after the worst global slowdown for decades, even if there is positive news notably in Asia, said delegates at the annual blue-chip summit in Davos.
The banking bust-up again took centre stage on the last day, with central bank chiefs huddling with finance ministers and officials and top private bankers in the Swiss ski resort.
The meeting brought together British and French finance ministers Alistair Darling and Christine Lagarde, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet and the heads of top private banks. "There's going to be regulation, they (the bankers) understand that," said US Congressman Barney Frank, one of the few willing to talk after the closed-doors meeting. Asked if the bankers present accepted the need for greater regulation, he said: "Frankly it doesn't make any difference whether they did or not. They aren't in charge of this. "The political leadership certainly in the United States is going to go ahead with tough, sensible regulation," he added., "It was an entirely cooperative meeting with .. the understanding that there are very important issues to which there needs to be input," said Adair Turner, head of Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA).

  US GDP surges to 5.7pc, led by business
AFP, Washington

The US economy roared back to life with a 5.7 percent growth pace in the fourth quarter, led by brisk business spending that offset sluggish consumer activity, official data showed Friday.
The Commerce Department report on gross domestic product (GDP) showed the strongest growth in six years.
The figures showed growth accelerated from the 2.2 percent annualized pace in the third quarter, when the economy expanded for the first time after four quarters of contraction and the deepest recession in decades.
Even with the rebound, gross domestic product contracted by 2.4 percent for the full year 2009, the worst performance since 1946, due to the collapse in economic activity in the early part of the year.
Still, the robust growth in the October-December quarter was the best since 2003 and significantly better than the 4.7 percent pace expected by analysts.
"This suggests pretty good momentum heading into the first quarter," said Sal Guatieri, economist at BMO Capital Markets. "It suggests the recovery is gaining legs."
President Barack Obama said the GDP data "affirms our progress and the swift and aggressive actions that made it possible," arguing that his economic policies have staved off the threat of a second Great Depression.
But Obama noted that although the economy was growing, a swift rise in job creation was lacking, meaning initiatives like the new hiring incentive were needed, as he unveiled a 33-billion-dollar job creation effort.
The big GDP gains came in large part from businesses ramping up production to rebuild inventories, which economists say may skew the picture of overall activity but is a normal part of recovery. Inventories accounted for 3.39 percentage points of GDP.

National

6.47 lakh mts of boro rice yield expected in Dinajpur
UNB, Dinajpur

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) is expecting to achieve the production target of 646,860 metric tons of boro rice in the district during the current season.
Steps have been taken to ensure smooth supply of fertilizer, insecticide, diesel and uninterrupted electricity to achieve the target.
The supply and reserve of fertilizer are sufficient this year, which is much higher than the last year, sources said.
DAE sources said a scheme has been taken to bring 171,592 hectares of land under Boro cultivation this season in the district with an output target of 646,860 metric tons of rice.
Of the total land, hybrid varieties of paddy will be cultivated on 39,503 hectares of land while local varieties on 132,089 hectares.
For this, seedbeds were made on 9,565 hectares of land, which is 1,380 hectares higher than the requirements.
However, seedbeds on 117 hectares of land were damaged due to unfavourable weather, excessive fog and cold waves.
Farmers have already started to plant seedlings on their lands.
Deputy Commissioner M Abdul Jalil said all necessary measures have been taken to make the current boro and rabi seasons a success.
A meeting was held on Friday with the agriculture officials at the DC office on the success of boro production.
The meeting emphasized on taking necessary steps to generate 300 megawatt electricity from each of the two units of Boropukuria coal-fired power plant to ensure smooth power supply for irrigation.
Currently the two units are generating 250MWs of electricity each.
Chief Engineer of the power plant said necessary measures have been taken to keep the units operative during the boro season.
Sources said the BCIC supplied 58032 mts urea, 5833.5 mts of TSP, 5094.5 mts of MOP, 3122.5 mts of DAP and 3255.5 mts of SSP fertilizer to 981 dealers in the district.
Farmers and DAE officials are expecting a bumper production of boro this season if weather remains favourable and pests do not invade the crops.

  Govt wants to add two more generation units in KHS
BSS, Rangamati

Authorities of the Karnaphuli Hydro-electric Station (KHS) has proposed to establish two more generation units with the existing five units, those were designed to produce 230 MW electricity.
The proposal is under active consideration as operation of two more units is possible with the water being discharged from the generation units of KHS, if those would be set up at six kilometers downstream, the manager of KHS, engineer Mohammad Ferdaus Ali told BSS on Saturday.
The 5-unit KHS with a capacity of generating 230 MW power has now been generating 142 MW of electricity as its two units remained inoperational due to mechanical fault --- one since more than a year and the other for nearly a month, said the manager.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh sought assistance of the United States to build second bridge at six kilometers downstream of the existing one of the KHS to double its generation.
Generation of electricity in the KHS would be doubled, if a dam could be constructed at six kilometers downstream of the existing one on the Karnaphuli river, Hasan Mahmud, State Minister for Environment and Forest told a visiting US envoy during her visit to Bangladesh.
The Minister said that the present government has stressed upon the need for adding two more generation units to KHS to ease the scarcity of electricity in the country.
The lone hydro-electric power plant of the country was established in the 60's with three units, engaging a US based construction company - Utah International Inc constructing a dam on the Karnaphuli river and later that was elevated to five units engaging a Japanese company Marubeney in the 80's, said sources in KHS.

   Display of quality artworks abroad can be good diplomacy
UNB, Dhaka

Display of quality artworks abroad reflecting Bangladesh's rich art and cultural heritage could be a good publicity and diplomacy to enhance the country's image.
Foreign envoys made the observation at the opening ceremony of a two-day printmaking workshop at Cosmos-Atelier71 in the city Friday morning. The two-day printmaking workshop concluded on Saturday.
Foreign Secretary Mizarul Quayes opened the workshop along with South Korean Ambassador Suk-Bum Park and Swiss Ambassador Dr Urs Herren. CosmosAtelier71 Chairman Enayetullah Khan and renowned artist Kalidas Karmaker also spoke on the occasion. Leading local and foreign artists were present at the opening ceremony. Swiss Ambassador Dr. Urs Herren praised the artworks of Bangladeshi artists and observed that these pieces of artworks could be exhibited abroad for good publicity and diplomacy for Bangladesh.
He said people abroad would be surprised seeing the dynamic artworks demonstrating the rich culture of Bangladesh.
South Korean Ambassador Suk-Bum Park said he attended many artists' gatherings and cultural programmes in Bangladesh, and had been quite happy seeing people's love for artworks. He said Korea could be a partner of Bangladesh in sharing experiences in the art and cultural domain and further enrich each other's culture. Opening the workshop, Foreign Secretary Mizarul Quayes praised private initiatives to promote art and cultural heritage of Bangladesh alongside the government endeavours.
He said it is important to take the country's rich art and cultural heritage to the outside world and make Bangladesh familiar with the people abroad. The Foreign Secretary assured of cooperation to private initiatives to promote such activities further.

   ESU inaugurates BD chapter today
UNB, Dhaka

ESU, a UK-based English Speaking Union, inaugurates its Bangladesh chapter here today (Sunday) with a view to creating global understanding through English and promote the language as the medium for the country's interaction with the outside world. British High Commissioner Stephen Evans will inaugurate the launching ceremony of the office as its chief patron, said an ESU press release.
The International Council of ESU ratified the organisation's Bangladesh chapter as an independent entity at its global conference in London in October, 2009 along with Malta and Turkey.
ESU is an international voluntary organisation founded in 1918 under a Royal Charter by Sir Evelyn Wrench and one of its first chairmen was former British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh are ESU's Chief Patron and President respectively.
ESU works with major objectives of providing a forum for international friendship and understanding through a worldwide network focusing on key current affairs issues.

Disabled persons start attaining economic emancipation
BSS, Rajshahi Jan 30

The disabled persons have started attaining economic emancipation through involving them in diversified income-generating and different other need-oriented creative activities.
Members of the disadvantaged group are showing laudable performance in different working fields including machine operating that helps changing the negative social attitude towards them.
Side by side with the government initiatives, various individuals and social and voluntary organizations have been providing technical and vocational training, inputs and supports to the disabled persons for uplifting their livelihood. "Around 150 disabled persons, many of those are women, are working in my factory at present and they are doing well," said managing director of Sapura Silk Factory Alhaj Sadar Ali, a pioneer silk industrialist of the city.
He said the physically disabled workers especially the deaf and dump and the social disabled (hermaphrodites) are found very attentive, devoted and sincere towards discharging duty.
Using sign- language deaf and dumb workers Anwar Hossain, Shahidul Islam and Sirajul Islam told BSS that they receive Taka 3,000 to 5,000 as monthly wage from the factory. Their social dignity has been enhanced as they brought relief to their respective families.
Sadar Ali said at least 4,000 disabled men and women received training from his factory during the last two decades and most of them are earning money through silk designing and boutique works. Many other trained women attain self-reliance with their own initiative after doing work on of his factory's order-goods at their respective houses.
With small financial help, he added that many disabled women have successfully changed their fates by the homestead gardening and rearing poultry birds, goats and dairy animals. Along with other neighbors, now, they are leading decent lives driving out their poverty-stricken position.
Rozina Parween, 19, a physically disabled girl, gets orders of silk clothes design and boutique works from his factory and supplies to different housewives and collects everyday, by which, she enriches her mental strength and confidence.
Her social dignity has been enhanced as she turns her family into happy with the regular daily income. Her significant success has created encouragement among other neighbors, who are taking suggestions from her about doing such type of work.
Sadar Ali, however, said the disabled persons are extremely neglected in every sphere of life and are subjected to negative attitude, stigma, superstition and disparity frequently in society.
In this context, he explained that the disabled persons could not be blamed themselves for their disadvantaged and vulnerable conditions alone rather than the surrounding social atmosphere.
"If we can create a friendly atmosphere undoubtedly they could be built as competent workforce in society," he said and underscored the need for ensuring congenial atmosphere to end repression and discrimination against the disabled persons to enable them live a decent life.
Terming the disabled persons as the integral part of society, he said time has come to bring them under the mainstream for overall development of the nation.
The disabled people need cooperation, not mercy, that can debar them from begging, he added.  

ACC submits charge-sheet against ex-Chairman of Dinajpur Pourasava

BSS, Dinajpur

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Saturday submitted charge sheet against the former Chairman of Dinajpur Pourasava, 15 ex-commissioners and 10 officers of the local body for their alleged involvement in misappropriation of Taka 62,30,000.
Shaikh Mesbah Uddin, Assistant Director (AD) of ACC Dinajpur Office Saturday submitted the charge sheet to the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court here accusing them after 14 months of investigation into the graft charges. The Investigation Officer (IO) of the case Syed Mosaddek Hossain alias Labu filed a case against former chairman of the pourasava, its former chief executive officer AKM BorhanUddin, former secretary Md Jalal Uddin, former executive engineer Md Abu Taleb, 15 of its former commissioners and seven other poura officials on December 4 in 2008.
The IO alleged that the accused persons grafted Taka 62,30,000, out of Taka 70 lakhs against 13 cheques for 13 projects. The accused persons also put false signatures of 13 contractors for withdrawing the money from a bank account belonging to the Pourasava. The IO enlisted names of 24 people including Hand Writing Expert of the CID police Inspector Syed Shawkot Hossain, present Mayor of Dinajpur Pourasava Shafiqul Haque Chutu, License Inspector Nurul Amin, Store Keeper Mujibar Rahman, Manager of Janata Bank Bahadur Bazar Branch Motahar Hossain and his Senior Officer Pangkoj Kumar Dash and former Contractor Monoranjon Shail Gopal, MP as Prosecution Witnesses.

Sports

Bangladesh hockey team makes winning start
TBT report

Bangladesh defeated Sri Lanka 3-1 in the hockey event of the 11th South Asian Games (SAG) at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday.
Bangladesh dominated the match from the beginning and enjoyed major share of ball possessions.
Mamunur Rahman Chayan scored the first goal for Bangladesh when he converted a penalty corner after 32 minutes but Sri Lanka drew level when Mulaffer sounded the board two minutes later.
With the first session ended 1-1, Bangladesh hockey team stepped into the momentum and scored two more goals to subdue the Lankans.
Penalty corner specialist Chayan scored yet another on 55 minutes from another short corner to put the Bangladesh side into a 2-1 lead before Kamruzzaman added the third goal on 64 minutes, the first goal for the hosts. Taking a domineering 3-1 lead, Bangladesh mounted pressure to score more goals in the fag end of the match but their efforts went futile.
Hewage of Sri Lanka won the 'Player of the Match's award for his outstanding performance throughout the match.
Earlier, India routed Nepal 21-0 in the inaugural match of the SAG hockey. The winners led the first half 10-0.
Today's match: Pakistan vs Nepal (1:00pm) and India vs Sri Lanka (3-1).

  Bangladesh takes on Nepal today in SAG cricket
UNB, Dhaka

Host Bangladesh takes on neighboring rival Nepal today in the opening match of the T-20 Under-21 cricket meet in the 11th South Asian Games in Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
Bangladesh has already announced a 14-member squad, including 10 academy players and two from the under-19 Bangladesh World Cup squad.
Addressing a press conference at the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) conference room Sunday, Bangladesh skipper Mithun voiced his firm optimism about playing a good cricket with an all-round show.
The Bangladesh officials, who were present at the press conference, admitted that their bowling attack is a little bit weaker, but they would fight for gold although the patch is not that much smooth.
Replying to a question, team officials said the preparation of players is satisfactory as they are already in play in domestic league.
Nepal will take on favorite Sri Lanka in their second match at the same venue while the Maldives will meet Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, both on February 1.
Favorite India could not come due to busy schedule. Sri Lanka and the Maldives are two other teams of the tournament.

  India claims first gold in SAG
TBT Report  

India won the first gold of the 11th South Asian Games (SAG) on the second day of the Games winning the women's 30 Kilometers Road Team Trial on Saturday.
and India won Gold medal, Pakistan Silver and Sri Lanka Bronze.
India took 44 minutes 22.15 seconds to win gold. Pakistan claimed the silver finishing the race in 47 minutes 4.06 seconds, while Sri Lanka needed 47 minutes and 7.08 seconds to cover the distance for bronze.
Bangladesh finished fourth in this event.
The gold winning Indian team: 1.Chabang Dra-meshew, 2. Konsam Gevi Shuchitra, 3. Mahita Moha-mmed and 4. Reejani.
Pakistan Team: 1.Aysha Amin, 2.Misbah Mushta Ali, 3.Rahila Banu and 4.Sidra Sadaf.
Sri Lanka Team: 1. Lasanthi Krishna, 2.Nilaka Shymal, 3.Nirushani Perera and 4. Pushpo Rani.

  Egypt, Ghana clash in Cup climax
AFP, Luanda

Defending champion Egypt has steamrollered its way into today's Africa Cup of Nations final where it must now overcome a youthful Ghana side to claim a third consecutive continental crown.
Beset by injuries Ghana has excelled itself, the eight youngsters from the Under-20 World Cup winning side belying their inexperience to manfully step into the shoes of the likes of injury-hit stars Michael Essien, Stephen Appiah, John Pantsil and John Mensah.
Ghana started out with an opening loss to Ivory Coast, but then rattled off wins against Burkina Faso, Angola and Nigeria to make it to their first final in 18 years. Egypt for its part has have looked invincible, brushing aside Nigeria, Mozambique, Benin, Cameroon and old foes Algeria to set themselves up for a third straight title and seventh in all.
The smart money must be with Hassan Shehata's Pharaohs pulling off an amazing treble to offer them handsome compensation for missing out on the World Cup. But Ghana won't prove easy pickings, as they have shown scant regard for reputation here in Angola, witness the way they dug deep and defended after Asamoah Gyan's decisive first half goal in the semi-final against Nigeria.
For Gyan, 2010 has proved a far more enjoyable experience than the 2008 edition on home turf.
In Ghana the in-form Rennes striker was psychologically and mentally knocked for six by the attacks directed by fans and media who slated him for his lack of form.
"I felt bad two years ago in Ghana," he said. "But I'm a strong man - mentally strong - and as a strong man I have to keep on going. "I believe in my qualities - I'm scoring for my club - I'm also scoring for my country - I know they are happy back home. "I'm not angry, I'm confident because I'm scoring goals - that's what everyone is expecting of me."
Egypt have scored 14 goals to two conceded in their path to Sunday's climax, but Ghana coach Milovan Rajevic was unperturbed by the free-scoring opposition lying in wait.
"People are saying we need to score at least two goals against Egypt to win, but I say we only need to score half a goal more than them to win the title.
"Egypt are a very polished team. They have been playing together for a long time and their coach has also been there a long time.

   Bangladesh reaches badminton semis
UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh reached the semifinals of both men's and women's team events to ensure bronze medals in the 11th SA Games Badminton on the first day of the competition at the NSC Wooden Floor Gymnasium here Saturday.
Bangladesh men's team outplayed Maldives by 5-0 sets while the women' s team beat Pakistan by 3-2 sets in the quarter-finals.
In the men's team event, Saif Uddin (Ban) beat Hassan Afsheen Shaheem (Mal) 21-14, 21-12, Ahsan Habib Parash (Ban) defeated Mohamed Ajfaan Rasheed (Mal) 21-16, 21-13, M Raisuddin (Ban) defeated Nasheeu Sharafudin (Mal) 21-12, 21-10 in the singles.
In the doubles, Rasel Kabir pairing with Ahsan Habib Parash (Ban) beat Hassan Afsheen Shaheem and Ajfaan Rasheed (Mal) 21-12, 21-11 while Anamul Haque and Jamil Ahmed Dulal (Ban) defeated Riyaz Hussain and Nasheeu Sharafudin (Mal) 21-19,
21-13.
In the women's team event, Shapla Akhter (Ban) beat Palwasha Basheer (Pak) 21-15, 16-21, 21-15, Elina Sultana (Ban) beat Aisha Akram (Pak) 21-12, 21-17 while Konika Rani Adhikari (Ban) lost to Sara Khan (Pak)
21-15, 16-21, 14-21 in the singles.
In the doubles, Shapla Akter and Konika Rani Adhikari (Ban) beat Palwasha Basheer and Aisha Akram (Pak) 21-17, 21-13 while Sara Khan and Anika Rana (Pak) beat Elina Sultana and Zebunessa (Ban) 21-17, 22-20.

  Greatbatch to coach New Zealand
AFP, Wellington

New Zealand ended a three-month global search for a national cricket coach Saturday with the appointment of former local Test batsman Mark Greatbatch.
The 46-year-old replaces Andy Moles who stepped down as Blackcaps coach last October amid player appeals for his dismissal.
Captain Daniel Vettori who acted as coach in last month's series against Pakistan and in preparation for the Bangladesh tour which starts next week will also retain a high-level role, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said.
"We have put a great deal of thought, and consulted widely, about how we progress the current Blackcaps unit, without upsetting the current leadership momentum within the team," NZC chief executive Justin Vaughan said.
Vaughan did not release the names of others under consideration for the coaching position but said they had "considered the credentials of a number of high-profile international options."
Greatbatch, who played 41 Tests for New Zealand, will also continue his role as a Blackcaps selector while Vettori will continue his involvement in team selection, tactics and strategy.
"Over the past 12 months the Blackcaps team, under the captaincy of Daniel Vettori, has made significant advances in terms of developing a culture of individual accountability," Vaughan said. "I know Mark is strongly supportive of the way the team has progressed and will complement Daniel well." The Greatbatch announcement came a day after New Zealand Cricket said Ross Taylor would step in as captain should Vettori be unable to lead the side during the upcoming series against Bangladesh and Australia.
The role was previously filled by wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum.

  Security will be no problem in Rio Olympics
AFP, London

There should be no fears over security at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the governor of Rio State claimed here on Friday.
Sergio Cabral, who along with Sports Minister Orlando Silva and International Olympic Committee member and head of the Rio 2016 Organising Commi-ttee Carlos Nuzman were in London to meet with the organisers of the 2012 edition, insisted that the situation was improving all the time.
Rio's sensational victory at the IOC vote in early October last year - seeing off rivals Chicago, Tokyo and ultimately Madrid in the final round to bring South America their first ever Olympic Games - was slightly dulled when later that month a police helicopter was brought down by a drugs gang.
However, Cabral said that things had improved since then. "There is a special budget of 144 million dollars for security," said the 47-year-old, who was a driving force behind the successful bid. "Back in October 2007 I explained to the IOC members that we had the resources and capacity to ensure security.
"We want and we do offer our population before during and after the Games security. We have begun that process. "Nawal El Mouta-wakel, the head of the IOC Coordination Commission, came with her group to Rio a few weeks ago for the first time and she visited two favelas where they live today without problems or security."
Cabral, a former journalist and senator who was elected to the gubernatorial position in late 2006 before taking office on January 1 2007, said that the drugs problem was not unique to Brazil or indeed Rio.
"Drugs dealing is an international problem. Whether it be London, Tokyo, Paris, New York or Lisbon drugs consumers and dealing exists. "However, don't have any illusions that we will stop drug trafficking in Rio. But we are putting together social projects and investing almost 6million pounds into the favelas.

  Late charge gives Australia third U/19 World Cup
AFP, Wellington

Australia's next generation of cricketers proved they are primed to make it to the top when they won the Under/19 Cricket World Cup on Saturday, beating Pakistan by 25 runs in the final.
In a four-over burst they ripped out the Pakistan tail at Lincoln Oval in Christchurch to become the first country to claim the crown three times.
After being sent into bat first Australia posted 207 for the loss of nine wickets with Kane Richardson notching up a rapid 44, Tim Armstrong adding 37 and Jason Floros 35.
The match appeared evenly poised when Pakistan, two-times winner of the tournament, started the 43rd over of their reply needing 51 runs with four wickets in hand.
But the collapse started when offspinner Floros bowled Pakistan captain Azeem Ghumman for 41.
It was Floros' sole wicket in the final but provided an important breakthrough as the remaining three Pakistan wickets tumbled within four overs for the addition of only 26 more runs.
Australian had earlier started their innings shakily and was 23-3 and then 82-5 before Richardson put steel into the performance with his run-a-ball cameo to ensure Australia passed the psychological 200 mark.
Pakistan made a steady start to their reply and was 110-4 after 30 overs but aside from Ghumman and 36 from Ahmad Shahzad there was no batting of significance.
Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood took the man-of-the-match award with four for 30.

  Bangladesh loses to Maldives in volleyball
TBT Report

Bangladesh suffered a 3-2 defeat against Maldives in the 11th South Asian Games volleyball on Saturday.
Maldives won the first two sets by 27-25 and 25-20 but Bangladesh won the next two sets 25-18 and 25-20 to take the game to a climatic stage. But Bangladesh lost the deciding fifth set by 13-15 points.

Bangladesh thumps Nepal 3-0 in men’s football
TBT report

Bangladesh scored a morale-boosting 3-0 victory against Nepal in its inau-gural men's football match in the 11th South Asian Games at Banga-bandhu National Stadium in the city on Saturday.
Mamun Islam scored the first goal for the hosts seven minutes after the kick-off to put Bangladesh 1-0 in front.
Atiqur Rahman Mishu scored the second goal for Bangladesh in the 87th minute, while Mithun added the third in the first minute of the second half injury time to seal a 3-0 victory for the hosts.
Earlier, Maldives defeated Bhutan by a solitary goal in the first match of the day. Ashfaq Ali scored the winner for the islanders.

Serena beats Henin to win Australian Open
AFP, Melbourne

Defending champion and top seed Serena Williams powered to her fifth Australian Open title and 12th Grand Slam when she beat a brave Justine Henin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Saturday.
Williams took a tight first set then had to hold off a charging Henin to deny the Belgian a fairytale ending to her tennis comeback in a thrilling final on Rod Laver Arena.
"Congratulations to Justine for having such a fabulous tournament and giving me such a run today. It was such a great final, it could have gone any way and I definitely think she's back," Williams said.
Henin said that despite the loss she was still elated at what she had achieved.
"Of course I'm disappointed, I mean, when you lose in the final of a Grand Slam, especially in three sets, and I got a few opportunities that I wasn't able to take," she said.
"But this feeling of disappointment cannot take advantage on all the things I've done in the last few weeks. "And it's just more than what I could expect. I just have to remember that.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of positive things I can think about in a few days," she added. "It's been almost perfect. Just the last step, I couldn't make it."
Williams claimed her 12th Grand Slam with the win, putting her alongside fellow American Billie Jean King on the list of all time major winners. It was fitting that the final was played in front of King and Australian great Margaret Smith Court, who won a record 24 Grand Slams and handed Williams her trophy.
Williams was made to work hard by the tenacious Henin, playing only her second tournament since coming out of an 18-month retirement and needing a wildcard to enter.
In the end it was her sheer power that won out as her huge serves and booming groundstrokes eventually wore Henin down and forced costly errors.
Williams served better throughout, making 64 percent of her first serves as opposed to Henin's 55 percent, with many of those unplayable.
Henin showed, however, that she is still a real force and capable of adding to her seven Grand Slam titles. Williams opened the match with a swinging ace but struggled after that, her first two service games lasting eight minutes each.
Henin had her chances to break but it was the Belgian who cracked first, losing her next service game to love to give Williams the advantage. Henin had more opportunites to break back and she finally took one at 2-4 to put the set back on serve.
Games went with serve until 4-5 when Henin sent down two double faults to give Williams set point, which she took when a backhand from Henin clipped the net cord and landed wide. Williams came out attacking in second but it was Henin who struck first, breaking to love then holding for a 2-0 lead.