wednesday, july 14, 2010 ashar 30, 1417, shaban 1, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Jamaat leaders Kader Mollah and Kamaruzzaman arrested
BSS, Dhaka

Police on Tuesday arrested Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Abdul Kader Mollah and Mohammad Kamaruzzaman from the High Court area in the city while they were coming out of the court, police said.
They said a team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) picked up Kader Mollah, Assistant Secretary General of Jamaat, from the court compound at about 4-45 pm.
The team later arrested Kamaruzzaman, Senior Assistant Secretary General of the party, from the court area at about 5-30 pm.
Both the leaders were picked up while they were coming out of a High Court bench after seeking bail in a murder and arson case of Keraniganj Thana.
They were taken to the Detective Branch (DB) office on Minto Road for preliminary interrogation.
Police said the two Jamaat leaders were also wanted in various criminal cases as well as a case with city's Pallabi Thana for their involvement in killing and arson in 1971.
On June 28, Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami Motiur Rahman Nizami, Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Nayeb-e-Ameer Delwar Hossain Sayeedi were arrested in a case of hurting the religious sentiments of the Muslims. They were produced before the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate and taken on 16 days' remand in five cases. They are now in DB custody.
UNB adds: They were shown arrested in a case filed by one Amir Hossain Mollah with Pallabi thana on January 25, 2008 in connection with an incident occurred on April 24, 1971, police said.
The arrest was made under sections 148, 448, 302, 34, 326, 307 and 436 of the Bangladesh penal code.

 PM asks scientists to invent new varieties of rice
UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Tuesday asked scientists to invent new varieties of rice compatible with the climate change and varied seasons.
"We have to produce rice that will harmonize with the seasonal changes and adjust the changing climate," she said during a speech at International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at its 50th anniversary at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC).
The Ministry of Agriculture and IRRI jointly organized the function.
The Prime Minister said the agriculture sector would directly be affected due to the adverse impact of the climate change.
Effects of climate change-rise in temperature and salinity, fall in temperature during the winter, and irregular rains-are very much visible in the agriculture sector.
As an impact of the climate change, Hasina noted that the sea level would rise and a huge land mass of the country likely to be submersed, raising the level of salinity.
"You have to invent new varieties of crops that should adapt with this situation so the production of rice must not come down," the Prime Minister directed the scientists.
Hasina said emphasize should be put on the invention of high-yield verities that could adapt to the hostile climate. She also said other sectors of the agriculture like fisheries, livestock and forest should get proper attention for their development to face the climate change.
The Prime Minister said one of the main components of the high yielding variety of rice is water for irrigation. "But you know, it has been taken into consideration greatly as the use of underground water increased alarmingly," she said.
She urged the scientists to devise new verities of paddy that would require comparatively less quantum of water for its irrigation.
The Prime Minister assured the scientists that the government would provide all sorts of cooperation for research works. "We will give special facilities and incentives so that the researchers can concentrate on their research works," she said.

 Peelkhana CARNAGE
BNP terms charge-sheet politically motivated

UNB, Dhaka

BNP has termed 'politically motivated and fabricated' the charge-sheet pressed on Monday by CID investigator into the BDR headquarters Peelkhana massacre in February last year.
Addressing a press briefing at the party's central office on Tuesday afternoon BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain alleged that main masterminds of the killing of 56 army officers including the BDR chief were kept aloof from the charge sheet.
The charge sheet was submitted in the CMM court accusing 824 people including 801 BDR jawans and 23 civilians including Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu, BNP former MP from Dhaka city and Hazaribagh Awami League leader Torab Ali - both are in custody.
Questioning the neutrality of the investigation Delwar wondered why the masterminds of the massacre and real culprits have not been charge sheeted. He said the investigation officer was guided by political influence in preparing the charge sheet. The charge sheet has given the people to doubt the role of the government and neutrality of investigation officer.
No patriotic citizen, group or party can commit such a heinous crime and dare to kill so many army officers without the instigation and active support from the enemy of the country, added the BNP leader. Soon after the February 25-26 (2009) Peelkhan incident, BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had said alien forces inimical to the country were behind the killing of senior army officers.
Delwar protested implicating BNP leader Nasiruddin Ahmed Pintu in the charge sheet without any evidence against him, but to cook up evidence against him with a political motive. He said Pintu was arrested on allegation of helping ferrying the BDR rebels but in the charge sheet he was accused as a planner and an associate of the massacre. This shows that the police investigator wants to victimize Pintu politically as guided by the government.

    Revenue earnings exceed target by Tk 1,700 crore
BSS, Dhaka

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) achieved a robust 18.05 percent growth in the revenue income in the just concluded 2009-10 financial year when it exceeded the target by a healthy amount of Taka 1,700 crore.
The revenue target was Taka 61,000 crore for the last financial year when the earning was Taka 62,700.47 crore. NRB Chairman Dr Nasir Uddin Ahmed attributed the achievement to the government's efforts to increase public awareness, streamlining of the NBR and proactive cooperation of media.
"This is the first time after 2001 that the revenue earnings surpassed the target under an elected government," the NBR Chairman noted. The earnings, however, were higher than the target during the two-year emergency period of the past caretaker government.
The increased collection of VAT (value added tax) and income tax contributed to the outstanding rise in the revenue income though the collection of duty and other taxes faced a setback of the global recession in the past fiscal. The VAT collection was higher by Taka 908 crore when NBR earned Taka 21,643 crore as VAT against its target of Taka 20,735 crore. The income tax collection was also up by Taka 300 crore against its target of Taka 16,650 crore.
The income tax collection was Taka 17087.14 crore against the target of Taka 16,650 crore. The increase in the income tax earning was Taka 434.14 crore.
The revenue authorities collected Taka 22,891.37 crore as import duty against the target of Taka 23,236 crore when the income from other duty and taxes declined by over Taka 84 crore from the target of Taka 469 crore.
Some 1,923 persons disclosed their under-table income of Taka 212.20 crore under the money whitening facility, which the government offered last year, but did not continue for the current 2010-11 financial year.
The revenue target for the current 2010-11 fiscal year has been set at Taka 7,259 crore, which the economists believe would be a major challenge for the tax departments.

    ‘Power plant implementation unsatisfactory’
UNB, Dhaka

Power Ministry has expressed dissatisfaction at the slow progress in implementation of the rental power plants and other projects that were undertaken for early remedy to the nagging power crisis.
According to official sources, the frustration was manifested by the high-ups at an inter-ministerial meeting convened by the Power Division on Tuesday which was attended among others by State Minister Enamul Haque, Prime Minister's Advisor Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury and Power Secretary Abul Kalam Azad.
Sources close to the meeting told UNB that a senior PDB official made a presentation on the progress of implementation of the power plant projects.
It was informed that work on only Aggreko's two projects-one at Khulna and another at Ghorasal-are moving in an expected pace while the Bheramara, Noapara and Barisal projects are lagging behind.
Bherama 100MW rental power project recently met with a serious accident as its turbine skidded off the rope while it was being moved by crane. Uncertainty looms on its implementation even in next few months although it was scheduled to start operation early last month (June 4).
The local firm Otobi is installing the project which has already been well behind the schedule.
The rental power project in Khulna has been implemented ahead of the schedule while another project in Ghorasal is at the final stage of completion. Both the plants are being installed by UK-based Aggreko International.
Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong who was present at the meeting informed that he has been facing problems in acquiring land for the proposed 1300 MW coal-based plant.

Back Page

ECNEC approves five projects involving Tk 1,419 crore
UNB, Dhaka

Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday approved five development projects involving Tk 1,419 crore, including raising the cost of 150MW Gas Turbine (peaking) Power Plant at Sirajganj by Tk 275 crore.
The ECNEC meeting at NEC conference room was presided over by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Of the total cost of the projects, Tk 1,039 crore will be funded by the government while the rest of Tk 380 crore will come from external assistance, Planning Minister AK Khandaker informed newsmen after the meeting.
The cost of the power plant now under construction was raised to Tk 962 crore from the earlier estimate of Tk 688 crore.
Asked about the reason for the cost hike, Planning Division Secretary Habibullah Majumder present at the briefing said it was due to the increase in price of materials and conversion of the plant to dual fuel system from gas turbine system.
He said the project was approved in 2006 and its work began in 2007. But work on the plant was delayed due to the delay in finalizing the loan agreement with development partners. The Northwest Power Generation Company Limited (NWPGCL) is implementing the project with Tk 582 crore from the government and Tk 380 crore external assistance. The project is likely to go into operation in June 2012.
The other projects approved in today's meeting include 645 meter flyover at Kadamtali junction in Chittagong at a cost of Tk 59 crore, Chandana-Barasia river dredging at a cost of Tk 60 crore, National Institute of Neurosurgeons (2nd revised) at a cost of Tk 232 crore and upgrading Baoshi-Gopalpur-Bhuapur road connecting Madhupur at a cost of Tk 106 crore.

  Bangladesh plans to eliminate begging by 2014
AFP, Dhaka

Bangladesh will create a photographic database of the country's estimated 700,000 beggars as part of the government's campaign to eliminate begging in the impoverished nation, an official said Tuesday.
Nearly two million dollars has been set aside in this year's budget to fund a series of nationwide surveys to register beggars, the head of state-run National Foundation for Development of Disabled Persons told AFP.
"We'll photograph and record their personal information so we can find out exactly how many there are and where they are," Gazi Mohammad Nurul Kabir said.
"Then, the government will pay to train and rehabilitate beggars. Those who are physically disabled will be given shelters and stipends so that they can live a decent life without begging," he said. Able-bodied alms-seekers will be offered training and work-experience programs, he added.
The move is part of the government's drive to eliminate begging by 2014 -- a key part of its manifesto which helped the party sweep to power in December 2008 elections.
In March the government approved new laws to tackle so-called beggar kings, who force people to beg, sometimes amputating body parts to increase their earning potential. Under the new Vagabond and Street Beggars Rehabilitation Act of 2010, forcing anyone to beg is punishable by three years in jail. The punishment is upgraded to five years in jail and an additional 500,000 taka (7,000 dollar) fine if anyone is found guilty of deliberately mutilating beggars to increase their value.
According to a 2005 study, Bangladesh has 700,000 beggars, with those in urban areas earning an average of 100 taka (1.50 dollars) a day.

   New law in offing to protect children's rights
UNB, Dhaka

Social Welfare Minister Enamul Hoque Mostafa Shahid on Tuesday stressed the need for taking comprehensive steps to build up the children into human resource.
"One-forth of the country's population are children. They need to be worthy citizens. The state has to bear all responsibilities to build them up into human resource," he said while addressing a workshop at Sonargaon Hotel in the city.
Ministry of Social Welfare with support from UNICEF and Legal Education and Training Institute (LETI) organized the workshop on the proposed draft law on children.
Chaired by Social Welfare Secretary Quomaran Nessa Khanam, the workshop was addressed, among others, by Begum Meher Afroz MP, Mozammel Hossain MP, Chief of Child Protection Section of UNICEF Rose-Anne Papavero and Social welfare Joint Secretary Nasima Begum.
Enamul Hoque Mostafa Shahid said it is easy to make law but it is difficult to implement and abide by the law. In many cases the law is abused and misused.
He underscored the need for reconsidering age limit of children. "We have to reconsider the age limit of the children. If someone is 18 years old, is he or she really a child," he posed a question.
Recalling the contribution of the founder of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in upholding the children's rights, the Social Welfare Minister said, "When UN and other human rights forums failed to rise against violationg of children rights Bangabandhu had announced Children Act-1974 to ensure their rights."
The children are not only future of the nation but also future of the humanity, said Enamul Hoque adding that the government has to consider the proposed law taking in the context of the social condition.

    Construction of underground rail in city during present regime: Minister

UNB, Sangsad Bhaban

Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain said in Parliament Tuesday that the construction of underground railway line in the capital would be completed within the tenure of the Awami League-led grand alliance government.
Responding to a supplementary question from treasury bench lawmaker Meher Afroze (Gazipur-5), he said that JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) has expressed their interest to construct the underground rail.
The Minister said that initially the government had opted to go for Pubic Private Partnership (PPP) to construct the underground rail. But as JICA showed their interest, the government later changed its position.
He mentioned that JICA had been involved in the construction of such railroad in Delhi where it provided 60 percent of the construction cost while the rest given by the Indian government.
Syed Abul Hossain said that JICA had expressed its interest to provide as much as 80 percent of the construction cost as grant but with the condition that they would go for feasibility study.
He informed the House that JICA has already completed their feasibility study and the report of that study reached the Communi-cation Ministry.
"If things go on like this we can be optimistic about completing the whole construction before this government completes its tenure," he said.

    2nd phase of garbage lifting from Buriganga and Turag in Sept

BSS, Dhaka

Bangladesh Inland Water and Transport Authority (BIWTA) will lift 48 lakh cubic meters of garbage in the second phase from the riverbeds of extremely polluted Buriganga and Turag from September next.
The BIWTA will spend Taka 18.25 crore to complete the lifting of garbage in the second phase.
The BIWTA has already taken steps to complete the tender awarding process by this month for the job, Shipping Secretary Abdul Mannan Howlader told BSS on Tuesday.
In the first phase, the BIWTA lifted three lakh cubic meters of non-degradable garbage, especially polythene, he said. The government, so far, allocated Taka 21.50 crore from its Climate Change Trust Fund for lifting garbage from the riverbeds, he said.
Chairman of BIWTA Abdul Maleq said they would lift garbage from three km riverbed of the Buriganga from Babubazar bridge point to Kamrangirchar point and from 1.5 km at Tongi Bazar point of Turag river.
The BIWTA would bring two amphibian dredgers, two crocodile hunter-type vessels named 'scanvenza' and one oil sucker from the United States for lifting the garbage.
Apart from lifting garbage, the 'scanvenzas' will suck carbon dioxide and inject oxygen into the water to help regain the habitat of fish of the river.
Besides, the oil-sucker vehicle will be deployed to remove the floating oil from the surface water of the two rivers.
The BIWTA chief said dumping of domestic and industrial garbage of the city corporation areas into these rivers would also be strictly prohibited to keep the natural habitat pollution- free. He said the government has also decided to set up 100 effluent treatment plants (ETP) in the capital and recover 26 canals of Dhaka WASA to keep Buriganga and Turag pollution- free.
Besides, the Water Development Board (WDB) project of dredging 126 km of the river of Jamuna, Dhaleshwari, Pungli, Turag and Buriganga should be started as early as possible for increasing natural water flow in the Buriganga and Turag rivers.

    Bomb attack threat
AGP loses job in Naogaon

UNB, Dhaka

The government has cancelled appointment of Jamal Uddin Mahalot as Assistant Government Pleader (AGP) of Naogaon, for the sake of public interest, said a notification of the Law Ministry on Tuesday.
The action against the government law officer came in the wake of threat of bomb attack on the District & Sessions Judge Hossain Saheed Ahmed from his cell phone on July 8. On July 10, a case was filed under the Speedy Trial Act with Naogaon Model thana against advocate Mahalot who is now absconding.
According to the case, Mahalot issued direct threat of bomb attack by his mobile phone to a government officer and thereby tried to obstruct him to perform his duty.
On July 8, the accused threatened District and Sessions Judge of bomb attack if and any judge sits in the ejlas for judicial function on that day.

Editorial

Checking prices of essentials

As the prices of different essentials have started showing an alarming upward trend ahead of the holy Ramadan, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday ordered the secretaries concerned to take immediate measures to contain the soaring prices of essential commodities, especially rice. According to press reports she asked them about the causes of the sudden rise in the prices of rice and other essentials before Ramadan, and to issue directives on what to do in the present situation. Sheikh Hasina told the senior officials that the authorities should take effective steps in advance so that the prices of essential commodities, especially of rice, edible oil and onions, do not go beyond the affordable limit of the low-income group. She underlined the need for increasing the supply of rice through imports.
The Prime Minister's directive has come at the most appropriate time, because the holy month of Ramadan is only about a month away and because the prices of different essential items have already started soaring alarmingly. It is a common practice on the part of the traders of the country to increase prices of different essential commodities on various pleas during the Ramadan and thus earn extra profits. But this time the market manipulation has begun well ahead of the holy month. In fact, without any valid reason the prices of rice, lentils, sugar, powdered milk, edible oil, onion and spices have marked an increased in recent days. Due to exorbitant prices fishes are almost beyond the reach of the common people.
Moreover, the prices of vegetables have shot up abnormally and most of the vegetables are now selling at Taka 40 per kg. Brinjal, which is an essential ingredient of Iftari and so usually in high demand and costlier during the Ramadan, is already selling at Tk. 45-50 per kg. The price of onion has increased by about Taka 10 per kg in the last one week. This is something abnormal. It is feared that the prices of essentials may rise further as a section of businessmen are allegedly hoarding different commodities in preparation for selling those at higher prices during the coming Ramadan.
It is reassuring that the Prime Minister has given due attention to the burning issue and passed instruction for taking necessary measure to contain price spiral. It is also good that the Food Minister has assured of launching Open Market Sale ( OMS) of rice to control price of rice. The government move to import or procure locally several items through Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) to stabilize the market situation is expected to be helpful for easing the volatile market situation. The government move deserves appreciation as import of certain essential items by the TCB is expected to improve the supply situation and help keep the price situation stable.
The main cause behind the instability of the price situation is lack of market monitoring and strict measures by the government. Due to lack of both market monitoring and implementation of the consumers' rights protection laws the consumers are being forced to pay unreasonably high prices for the essentials and being cheated in many ways. They are virtually held hostages by the profit monger business syndicates, wholesalers, middlemen and retailers who raise the prices of essentials on various pretexts every now and then.
Now that the Prime Minister has issued directive to the authorities concerned to take steps to control prices of essentials it is expected that the price situation will be considerably stable soon. In this regard, the government will have to execute the relevant law in right earnest to protect the consumers' rights. Moreover, the government must ensure sufficient supply of essentials by importing those through TCB, besides private imports and arrange regular and strict monitoring of the markets to stabilize the prices.Above all the government will have to take strict measures to eliminate the business syndicates that are responsible for market manipulation.

 BCL again

There is no let up in the atrocities of the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL). In the latest incident of their violent activities, a BCL worker was killed by the activists of rival BCL faction over establishing supremacy at Shaplabagh adjacent to MC college campus of Sylhet town on Monday. The deceased was identified as Udayan Singha Polash, 22, son of Biresher Singha of Vandargaon village in Kamalganj upazila.
This is no stray incident. A section of pro-government BCL activists have been resorting to atrocities including factional clashes, campus violence, admission trade, extortion and tender manipulation. These activities are continuing despite repeated warning by ruling leaders. On July 5, the Vice-chancellor and Assistant Proctor were assaulted as rival groups of ruling party's student wing BCL ran amok on the campus leaving at least 50 people wounded, 4 with bullets. Two days later, a number of BCL activists were injured in factional clash over supremacy in Islami University .
It remains a fact that all these incidents took place between unruly and rowdy students who belong to the same organization named BCL which in the past had created history but now making records of hooliganism one after another on different campuses. This pro-government organization has succeeded in driving out all other student organizations by force after Awami League came to power in January 2009 and later started fighting within itself for establishing supremacy. The process continues despite repeated warnings by AL leaders including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina not to do so.
We are constrained to point out that enough is enough. Time is now running out for the government and the Awami League to bring their unruly young supporters under control. They must act now in the interest of the people and also of themselves.

Analysis

The past as present

For weeks now, Indian-held Kashmir has been in turmoil. The unrest was ignited by the killing on June 11 of an unarmed 17-year-old student by a tear gas shell during a demonstration in Srinagar.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi

It is part of the enduring tragedy of Kashmir that waves of wide and sustained public protests there receive little international attention, much less evoke the concern of governments across the world. Inattention, however, doesn't make the issue go away.
For weeks now, Indian-held Kashmir has been in turmoil. The unrest was ignited by the killing on June 11 of an unarmed 17-year-old student by a tear gas shell during a demonstration in Srinagar. The uproar intensified as angry stone-pelting youths took to the streets in protest. Each subsequent clash with the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and killing of peaceful demonstrators stoked public anger and catalysed more furious protest as unrest spread across the Valley.
On July 6, at least four protestors were shot and killed in Srinagar in desperate efforts by the trigger-prone paramilitary forces to quell the agitation. Scores of demonstrators were injured in the crackdown that followed. Curfew was imposed in much of Kashmir, with thousands of Indian troops deployed to enforce it. But they were unable to dampen the anti-India protests that continue in defiance of the clampdown. The army was called out for crowd control in the capital for the first time in over a decade-a move that symbolised India's stunning failure in Kashmir. Life was paralysed by the security lockdown and a general strike called in protest over the killings of over 15 civilians in less than a month. Most of those shot by security forces were teenagers.
Chants of freedom resonated throughout the Valley-at the funerals of the martyred, in the mosques, in hospital compounds and at public rallies in towns and villages. This stressed the unchanged reality of Kashmir where every protest morphs into the popular demand for an end to Indian occupation. This pattern has repeated itself with ever greater intensity and is exemplified by the widespread mass protests last year and even bigger ones in 2008. That it takes but a spark to set off a storm of anti-India protest belies New Delhi's claim that state elections have "settled" the Kashmir issue.
The ongoing ferment highlights aspects of both change and continuity in the situation in Indian-held Kashmir. The first and most significant dimension of change is that the young have been in the forefront of the protests. The mass agitation in the summer of 2008 and 2009 was also youth-led and driven. This means that a new generation of Kashmiris is defining the resistance movement-a generation which has grown up in the oppressive and militarised environment that still makes Kashmir the world's most densely armed region.
A generation that has suffered the daily humiliation of occupation is increasingly describing its protest as an intifada in "Asia's Palestine." As Arundhati Roy perceptively noted in 2008, "Raised in a playground of armed camps, checkpoints and bunkers...the young generation has...discovered the power of mass protest." A more politically assertive younger generation has emerged from the demographic shifts that have been underway, as well as their enhanced ability to coordinate and organise protests that has been facilitated by the new technology.
The 2010 street protests resemble those in 2009 and 2008, in that Kashmiri leaders have followed rather than led them, a fact acknowledged by the chief of the All-Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Like other APHC figures he has often warned of the radicalisation of youth if their demands do not find a democratic solution. Yasin Malik too has been cautioning that frustration among the young can take a violent turn if their grievances are not addressed.
A second factor that makes for change is that the protests reinforce a new phase in the Kashmiri struggle for self-determination which started with the popular protests of 2008. In a context where militant violence has ebbed, the decades-old freedom movement has increasingly been transforming itself into a peaceful civil disobedience campaign. The mass protests in three consecutive years attest to the fact that the Kashmiri resistance is increasingly assuming the shape of a popular, non-violent movement. This has made it much harder for the Indian authorities to demonise or de-legitimise it, and even harder for them to blame the unrest on militants or Pakistan's intervention.
When the Indian home minister, P Chidambaram, recently tried to blame the Kashmir upheaval on the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the allegation got little traction even in India. The Mirwaiz characterised his remarks as signifying the "ostrich-like mindset of the Indian government" that chooses to remain in denial.
Factors that represent striking continuity with the past and that have been further reinforced in the current turmoil are obvious: New Delhi's spectacular failure to politically engage with the Kashmir issue as well as the singular inability of the state government to defuse the crisis. The Indian government has shown once again that repression is its only answer to Kashmiri demands.
For all the noise New Delhi routinely makes about seeking a dialogue with the Hurriyat leaders, the reality is that the Indian authorities have shown an utter lack of seriousness or will to pursue meaningful engagement to find a genuine solution. It is neither prepared to talk to Pakistan nor to the Kashmiri leaders on terms other than its own.
Instead, the Indian government has continued to resort to force to deal with the situation. This points to the most enduring feature of the Kashmiri landscape: the infrastructure of repression and control that is mobilised and deployed to staunch mass protests when they re-erupt. The ongoing round of agitation has met a familiar response. The heavy-handed use of force has involved a ruthless crackdown, curfews, house-to-house searches, shoot-on-sight orders and yet more killings, including that of a nine-year-old boy.
The culture of oppression spawned over decades of Indian occupation remains in place even though militant violence is at its lowest point since the uprising began in 1989, according to the Indian authorities themselves. Yet security forces use excessive force to quell protests in which civilians are only armed with stones. The effort by the chief of the CRPF to cast "stone-pelting" as "a new form of gunless terrorism" is so disingenuous that it merits no response.
Indian security forces continue to act with impunity under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives them sweeping powers to shoot, arrest or search without warrant, and kill on suspicion. The environment of coercion and repression that has long been in place cannot be transformed unless the demands of Kashmiri leaders in this regard are met. They include the repeal of AFSPA, end to arbitrary detentions and search-and-cordon operations, release of all political prisoners, cessation of extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses.
For the third successive year young Kashmiris have shown a resolve to orchestrate their own "referendum" and intensify their call for India to abandon its occupation. The world community chooses to ignore the situation, leaving it to human rights organisations to voice concern about the most egregious conduct of the Indian security forces. Last month Amnesty International called on the Indian authorities to investigate all the killings.
Meanwhile, with Pakistan-India relations back in the default mode of no-war, no-peace, and a confidence-building process serving as an excuse not to settle disputes, this does not hold out any promise of alleviating the plight of the Kashmiri people and mitigating the tensions in the state. But paralysis in peace-making and international indifference serves to heighten rather than diminish the danger of instability. The current protests are no passing episodes but emblematic of a people's yearning to be free.
The lesson of history can only be ignored at great peril. The ruthless suppression of peaceful protests against Indian occupation two decades ago led to armed resistance and violent conflict. There is untold danger if that history repeats itself.

The writer is a former envoy of Pakistan to the US and the UK, and a former editor of The News.

  Some room for optimism

The visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna to Islamabad on July 15 is a step forward. Some softening of the Indian position has been evident in the last few months.

Shahid M. Amin

The November 2008 terrorist incident in Mumbai caused a major upset in India-Pakistan relations and derailed the peace dialogue. For more than a year thereafter, India adopted a very hard line against Pakistan and rebuffed all efforts for the resumption of talks, despite international mediation.
Seen against this background, the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna to Islamabad on July 15 is a step forward. Some softening of the Indian position has been evident in the last few months. There have already been two rounds of talks between the foreign secretaries, plus a visit to Islamabad by P. Chidambaram, the Indian home minister, albeit in the context of a Saarc meeting.
Still, each side is sticking to its own mantra about the ambit of the talks. India is focused on the terrorism issue, particularly its demands regarding action against the Mumbai attack's culprits. Pakistan insists that talks should be broad-ranged and lead towards the resumption of the composite dialogue. It intends to raise other issues as well, namely Kashmir, Sir Creek, blocking of water, construction of disputed dams and alleged Indian support for secessionists in Balochistan.
It seems that each side has to play to the gallery and placate its respective hard-line lobbies. There is a great trust deficit between the two sides which has clouded sober judgment. For any meaningful progress, this trust deficit has to be overcome. The hard reality is that Pakistan and India have no real option but to talk to each other. They are both nuclear-armed nations and war would only mean mutual destruction. The politics of confrontation and tension have not worked and have only imposed severe economic burdens on both countries, apart from other hardships on their peoples like the absence of free movement.
Moreover, regional cooperation under Saarc has failed to take off.
The time has come for both sides to show maturity and seek to understand each other's concerns and sensitivities. Terrorism and militancy are the pressing issues at present.
There is a strong perception in India that militant groups based in Pakistan are seeking to spread terrorism in India. Pakistan has a responsibility to take effective steps against such terrorist elements. In fact, the same terrorists have become the greatest threat to Pakistan's own peace and
security. Hence, there is a clear convergence of interests between the two sides to work together to suppress such groups.
India also needs to show a balanced approach by making a distinction between individual Pakistani terrorists and the Pakistani government. No government can be held responsible for individual crimes committed by its nationals. For instance, those involved in 9/11, the most famous terrorist incident, were mainly Saudi and Egyptian nationals. But the US government did not make this a grievance against Saudi Arabia or Egypt. In the 1980s, an Indian airliner was destroyed over the Atlantic allegedly by Canadian Sikhs; but India did not make that an issue against Canada.
India's main complaint has been that Pakistan has not done enough to punish the terrorists involved in the Mumbai incident and that it must "dismantle the network of terrorism" in Pakistan. But that is easier said than done. If terrorism could be eliminated by swift administrative measures, surely that would have been done long ago in Pakistan. Pakistani society is itself the victim of these very terrorists who have destroyed the peace of the country and made even mosques and bazaars unsafe. Islamabad is engaged in a major campaign to destroy these terrorists but has had only limited success so far.
Indeed, by its overreaction, India has in effect given to the terrorists a veto over the peace process in the region, i.e. whenever they choose, the terrorists can commit an outrage and disrupt the dialogue between the two states and even bring them to the verge of war. Wise leadership must never allow that to happen.
Krishna's visit to Islamabad is taking place at a time when rising public protests are taking place against the Indian occupation of Kashmir. As usual, India has responded by the use of brute force, but that would only intensify the Kashmiri people's anger against India. Pakistan has every reason to express its concern over the human rights situation in Indian-administered Kashmir. But before we get carried away by emotions, there is need for mature reflection.
Since independence, Pakistan has paid a very heavy price for making Kashmir the make-or-break issue in India-Pakistan relations. Kashmir is no doubt dear to us but surely Pakistan is much dearer. We cannot forever go on sacrificing our national interest for the sake of Kashmir, particularly when the popular demand in Indian-administered Kashmir is more for independence of Kashmir and much less for accession to Pakistan.
Time has also shown that militancy is not the best approach to solving the Kashmir issue. Eventually, the determined political struggle of the Kashmiri people against Indian occupation is bound to succeed, as happened against all odds in South Africa. It is notable that India's army chief Gen V.K. Singh recently emphasised the need for 'political initiatives' in Kashmir.
To conclude, there is some ground for optimism in Krishna's visit. India is no longer insisting on the curbing of terrorism as the sole basis for improvement in India-Pakistan relations. It did not shut out the discussion of other issues when the foreign secretaries met; nor is this likely to happen in the talks between the two foreign ministers. The objective of the two sides at present must be to resolve the issues that are solvable (such as Sir Creek, Siachen, water disputes) and reduce the gap where the issues have long defied solutions (such as Kashmir).

Viewpoints

Obama’s Freudian slip is telling

If the so-called leader of the free world feels unable to follow his conscience on Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians for whatever reason, then Washington cannot be an effective broker.

Linda Heard

A Palestinian state on Obama's watch will be nothing more than a mirage by the looks of it, President Barack Obama is set to go down in history as one of the most disappointing American leaders ever. Unlike the bumbling, inarticulate George W. Bush, Obama is an accomplished speaker whose inspirational rhetoric turned him into a heroic international icon. At last! Here was a president with an unshakable moral compass and the courage to do what is right. How wrong we all were! The determined individual who charmed and captivated us with honorable sentiments and firm promises before his inauguration is light years away from the man who sits in the Oval Office today.
If his shattered campaign promises were printed on leaflets they would cloak the White House Rose Garden in litter. On the domestic front, these are too numerous to go into and of little concern to non-Americans. But most of you will recall his undertakings to bring American troops home from Iraq within 16 months, close Guantanamo within one year, end torture "without exception," reach out to America's friends and foes alike and engage in unconditional direct talks with the Iranian government on uranium enrichment. None of these promises have been kept.
Ironically, the one promise he has adhered to is his pledge to vigorously pursue the war in Afghanistan, which most experts - including commanders and diplomats in country - conclude cannot be won militarily. Yet when it comes to this fruitless quest that consumes so many coalition and Afghan lives he is doggedly persistent.
Until now, many in this region are still pinning their hopes on the US president's promise to bring peace to the Middle East and to work toward the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Unlike Bush who is a born-again Christian Zionist, Obama was once seen as inherently sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.
For one thing, Obama was highly critical of Israel's apartheid 'fence' telling the Chicago Jewish News that "the creation of a wall dividing the two nations is yet another example of the neglect of this administration (Bush administration) in brokering peace."
For another, when Obama spent two-years at Columbia University during the early 1980s he is thought to have befriended the late Palestinian-American literary theorist and advocate for Palestinian rights Edward Said who was a professor there at the time. In 1998, Obama and his wife Michele were pictured engaged in intense conversation with Said and his wife Mariam at a banquet, where Said was the keynote speaker.
Ali Abunimah, who is an American-Palestinian journalist and cofounder of the website Electronic Intifada, says Obama frequently attended pro-Palestinian events in Chicago. "I remember personally introducing him onstage in 1999 when we had a major community fund-raiser for the community center in Deheisha refugee camp in the occupied West Bank," he told the host of the radio show 'Democracy Now.'
On his website, Abunimah wrote: "The last time I spoke to Obama was in the winter of 2004 at a gathering in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood... As he came in from the cold and took of his coat, I went up to greet him. He responded warmly and volunteered, "Hey, I'm sorry I haven't said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race. I'm hoping when things calm down I can be more up front. He referred to my activism, including columns I was contributing to The Chicago Tribune critical of Israeli and US policy and said, "Keep up the good work!"
Fast forward to July 2010 and, once again it's hard to believe that Obama is the same person as the man who cheered on Abunimah's efforts six years earlier.
Last week, Obama warmly greeted Israel's hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on an official White House visit and assured him that the US "will never ask Israel to take any steps that would undermine their security interests." He volunteered to visit Israel at "any time" and inadvertently uttered this truism that goes a long way to explaining why he is seemingly rolling over in favor of the Jewish state:
"We strongly believe that, given its size, its history, the region that it's in and the threats that are leveled against us - against it, that Israel has unique security requirements."
"Leveled against us"? Does this mean that Israel and the US are one and the same? Until now this has been the stuff of conspiracy theorists. This Freudian slip begs the question is Obama or any US leader for that matter, genuinely America's commander in chief? When Obama told Abunimah "when things calm down I can be more up front" on Palestinian issues he probably meant every word at the time. So now that he's the boss - or, at least, nominally the boss - why the hesitation?
It is true that he gave Netanyahu a somewhat frosty reception during the Israeli leader's previous White House visit. This was in response to the latter's intransigence over the expansion of Jewish settlements and Israel's announcement that hundreds of Jewish homes would be built in East Jerusalem that was timed to coincide with a visit to Israel by Vice President Joe Biden. But Obama swiftly caved upon criticism from the pro-Israel lobby and US lawmakers, whose sycophancy toward the Jewish state knows no bounds.
In recent months, Obama has failed to condemn the Mossad for cloning foreign passports used by its agents to assassinate a Hamas agent in Dubai. He has also failed to back America's close ally Turkey that has called for an impartial international investigation into Israel's killing of nine peace activists aboard a Turkish vessel on the high seas. And, most importantly, he has neglected to demand that Israel lift its illegal blockade on Gaza that has turned 1.5 million Palestinians into prisoners. And as for Israel's apartheid wall that Obama once condemned it appears to have faded from his memory.
If the so-called leader of the free world feels unable to follow his conscience on Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians for whatever reason, then Washington cannot be an effective broker. In the event, Obama decides to grow a backbone he may yet prove me wrong. But I strongly suspect that a Palestinian state on his watch will be nothing more than a mirage, just as the great bringer of change has ultimately turned out to be.

  US media independence: The rot within

The findings of a study on media freedom in the U.S. do not show up its print media in a good light in terms of its degree of freedom and independence of the government.
 
Narayan Lakshman

When a country engages in self-aggrandising talk of being the world's oldest and freest democracy, at the very least one would expect it to be home to a free press. When that country also regularly berates other nations across the world for stifling media freedom, it would be expected to have a government that tolerates criticism from its own media. And when that country unabashedly uses "lack of media freedom" as a tool in its policy arsenal for promoting regime change abroad, then it would be hypocritical for it to have a subservient, self-censoring media on its soil.
And yet, according to a recent, empirically rigorous study of media freedom in the United States, none of these conditions applied to the country. Torture at Times: A Study of Waterboarding in the Media, authored by students of Harvard University, takes a close and statistically uncompromising look at the degree of media freedom in the U.S. The papers studied were The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.
Its findings do not, to put it mildly, show up the U.S. print media in a good light in terms of its degree of freedom and independence of the government.
By examining how the torture technique of waterboarding was described in news reporting and opinion columns of four most widely read newspapers, the study focussed on the sudden change in those descriptions during the early 2000s. That the first decade of the 21st century was also the time when the Central Intelligence Agency was charged with engaging in waterboarding was no coincidence, a point that this insightful study makes early on.
In particular, the authors found that, "From the early 1930s until the modern story broke in 2004, the newspapers that covered waterboarding almost uniformly called the practice torture or implied it was torture." By contrast, they explained, "from 2002-2008, the studied newspapers almost never referred to waterboarding as torture."
Before delving into the detail, let's get the facts straight - waterboarding is torture by most reasonable standards, even if Karl Rove, adviser to the former President, George W. Bush, disagrees. More specifically it is, as Torture at Times explains, the practice of intentionally inducing the sensation of drowning in the victim, usually in the context of interrogation, and invariably producing an intense sense of panic and fear of death.
In the past, this sensation has been achieved by placing a cloth or plastic wrap on the face of the victim and pouring water over it; by pouring water directly into the mouth and nose; by placing a stick between the victim's teeth and pouring water into his or her mouth, often until the victim's stomach becomes distended, then forcing the water back out of the mouth; or by dunking and holding the victim's head under water.
That waterboarding is torture rather than merely a "coercive interrogation technique" (as famously described by Mr. Rove) was best conveyed by none other than the U.S. print medium itself - prior to 2002, of course. As the Harvard study notes, The New York Times characterised it thus in 81.5 per cent of the articles on the subject and The Los Angeles Times, in 96.3 per cent of the articles during the earlier period.
And it was not just the four newspapers studied that were unambiguous in their view of waterboarding. Waterboarding featured regularly in the news throughout the 20th century, the Torture at Times authors say, "from the Philippine insurgency to World War II to the Vietnam War." They added that in addressing waterboarding for more than 70 years prior to 9/11, major newspapers and even American law consistently categorised the practice as torture.
However, in a sharp indictment of the U.S. media, the results of the study showed that since waterboarding began receiving significant media attention in 2004, after the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and other revelations of waterboarding by the U.S. (including allegedly in secret CIA prisons overseas and in Guantanamo Bay), media sources appeared to have changed their characterisation of the practice.
The New York Times described waterboarding as torture or implied it was torture in 1.4 per cent of articles after 2002. The Los Angeles Times did so in a mere 4.8 per cent of articles, the study found. The Wall Street Journal called it torture in 1.6 per cent of its stories and, worst of all, the USA Today "never" wrote of waterboarding as torture or even implied it was torture.
Does this show up the U.S. media as slavish to the diktats of the government? There is an even more egregious tendency discovered by the Harvard study: the newspapers analysed were far more likely to describe waterboarding as torture "if a country other than the U.S. is the perpetrator."
The evidence is clear: in The New York Times, 85.8 per cent of the articles that dealt with a country other than the U.S. called waterboarding torture or implied it was torture, while only 7.69 per cent did so when the U.S. was responsible. Similarly The Los Angeles Times characterised the practice as torture in 91.3 per cent of its articles when another country was charged with waterboarding, but in only 11.4 per cent of articles when the U.S. was the perpetrator.
As media commentator Glenn Greenwald observed: "We do not need a state-run media because our media outlets volunteer for the task … once the U.S. government decrees that a technique is no longer torture, U.S. media outlets dutifully cease using the term. That compliant behaviour makes overtly state-controlled media unnecessary."
And among all U.S. media, it would appear that those operating within the Washington beltway - in dangerous metaphorical proximity to government - were most culpable. Following the recent McChrystal-gate scoop for Michael Hastings of Rolling Stone magazine, Politico, a hardcore Washington insider, wrote that "Hastings had pulled off his … coup because he was a freelance journalist rather than a beat reporter, and so could risk burning bridges by publishing many of McChrystal's remarks."
Similarly Frank Rich of The New York Times admitted in his column: "It's the Hastings-esque outsiders with no fear of burning bridges who have often uncovered the epochal stories missed by those with high-level access." Notably, Mr. Rich added, Woodward and Bernstein were young local reporters, nowhere near the White House beat, when they cracked Watergate; and "it was uncelebrated reporters in Knight Ridder's Washington bureau, not journalistic stars courted by Scooter and Wolfowitz, who mined low-level agency hands to challenge the… W.M.D. intelligence in the run-up to Iraq."
What is even more telling - and ironic - is that little protest has followed Defence Secretary Robert Gates' decision, in the aftermath of the McChrystal fiasco, to clamp down heavily on any further media access to army personnel.
If there is one thing that this accumulating evidence suggests, it is that a rot has afflicted the U.S. print media - the rot of complacency born of an institutional intimacy that is antithetical to the very core principles of a free press. However given how deeply entrenched the media-government relationship is already, this may not be a rot that can be stemmed.
In that case it is the American people who stand to lose most of all, as their government increasingly obfuscates its way out of serious blunders committed, and a pliant press happily amplifies propagandistic messages.

 Abandoning fossil fuels

Security for the US, indeed the globe, requires a future largely free of dependence on fossil fuels. The world has known this since the oil shocks of the 1970s.

Ann Florini

Critics have rightly panned President Barack Obama's response to the BP oil spill - but for all the wrong reasons. In comparing the spill's devastation to that of 9/11, he hoped to make the crisis the turning point for US energy policy just as terrorist attacks transformed the country's approach to national security. Critics focus on Obama's lack of specifics and a relative absence of compelling rhetoric we have come to expect from this president.
The bigger problem, however, isn't style, but substance: Obama's surprising unilateralism during an Oval Office address to the American people and in comments since misses a key opportunity to reassert American global leadership.
Obama accurately outlines the immediacy, scale and scope of the energy challenge. Security for the US, indeed the globe, requires a future largely free of dependence on fossil fuels. ?The world has known this since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
But problems caused by fossil-fuel extraction, transport and consumption are much larger than the geopolitical vulnerabilities recognised but ignored for four decades. From the devastation of the BP oil spill to the expanding oceans that, thanks to global warming, continue to erode coastlines around the planet, the mounting environmental costs of the developed world's ongoing carbon bonfires threaten prosperity and stability on an extraordinary scale. The people who live and work near the world's coal and oil deposits often suffer most cruelly, not just from poisoned lands and waters but also from rapacious abuses of governments corrupted by the easy money.
Such problems cannot be resolved by unilateral American action. Yet Obama frames his remarks around the call for energy independence. Energy "independence" is politically useful language, but dreadful policy. Real energy independence, in which the United States would neither buy nor sell energy sources or services, is both unattainable and unwise. It is unattainable at a minimum for however long it takes for the nation to transition completely to a transportation system that does not need much in the way of the petroleum products on which the US transportation sector is at present almost entirely dependent. And in a world where prosperity needs trade and cross-border investment, it makes little sense to set independence in and of itself as a goal.
With regard to energy, a focus on "independence" undermines chances for enormous potential gains via cooperation. Energy goods and services, like food, clothing, computers and all the other elements of modern life, not to mention the investments needed to produce them, cross borders. That trade, if governed by well-designed rules that serve public interests, can lead to big gains in efficiency and choices for consumers. Even a clean-technology US energy system will depend on trade in energy technology components and services. The anticipated US clean-energy firms will need global-scale markets, not merely national ones. If those US companies are to compete in a truly free market that serves the public interest, global rules must ensure that any subsidies support public interests, as in clean technology, not private ones - and that such subsidies allow appropriate competition. In short, Obama's vision of America's energy future needs more than American national technological ingenuity and determination. It needs an efficient global marketplace with effective international rules, enabling the world to wean itself off fossil fuels and transition to an entirely new energy system. All this requires a different kind of American ingenuity, more like the innovativeness displayed in the face of the adversity during World War II than the spending binge that followed 9/11.
And it must be American. Even in these days of globalisation and the rise of Asia, large-scale international cooperation flounders without American leadership. Europe has focused for decades on its intra-regional development and is currently consumed by internal travails. Rising powers such as China and India still focus primarily on their overwhelming internal challenges and rarely put forward major proposals for international cooperation. Just as the United States led the construction of the post-World War II international order, it must lead the world to new frameworks that can set the rules to foster the energy transition. This requires a more inventive American leadership from the kind that created the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other institutions of the post-second world war order.
Fortunately, opportunities abound. At US instigation, the G20 already has the problem of perverse energy subsidies on its agenda. The International Energy Forum brings together major oil producers and consumers and could provide the venue for an effective arrangement on oil-price stability. The International Energy Agency, which despite its name is comprised only of wealthy industrialised countries, has made serious efforts to reach out to such emerging players as China for discussions about how the world can transition to a rational and sustainable energy path, an effort the US has supported and can promote - and indeed, energy is already among the ?more successful components of the US-China Strategic and?Economic Dialogue.
It's essential for the Obama administration to ensure that any comparison to 9/11 does not become inadvertently more apt than the president intended. After that earlier crisis, the US underwent a long and painful experience born of shortsighted nationalism and hubris. Obama is, of course, a pragmatic, talented and thoughtful president leading a very indebted government and confronting many challenges left by his predecessor. He now should seize the moment born of catastrophe to achieve his stirring vision of a clean-energy future that benefits both the United States and the world.

International

Karzai, Petraeus in talks on Afghan militias: Spokesman
AFP, Kabul

Afghanistan's president and the commander of foreign forces in the country are trying to reach agreement on the creation of controversial grass-roots militias to fight the Taliban, an official said Tuesday.
US media have reported that US General David Petraeus, who took over command of 140,000 US and NATO troops on July 4, has been pushing for the establishment of Iraq-style tribal militia to fight militants in remote Afghan villages.
The reports have said that President Hamid Karzai had opposed the plan because of its potential to weaken his government.
Karzai's spokesman Tuesday confirmed that talks have been going on between the two men but he played down any difference of opinion on the militias.
"Everybody agrees that we have to make sure that if these forces are developed that they are developed with all the necessary checks and balances required by the constitution," Waheed Omar told reporters.
"The good point is that on most of it we all agree," he said.
"But we have to agree on some other issues," he said without giving further detail.
He said the discussions between between Karzai and Petraeus were continuing, and they met again on Tuesday, along with the US ambassador to Kabul, Karl Eikenberry.
Afghan and NATO officials have said the Tuesday meeting would be the ninth time Karzai and Petraeus had met since the US general took command.
Omar said a final decision on setting up village militias was likely as early as Wednesday, and said it could go either way.
Afghan officials fear that militias could further destabilise the war-torn country as it tries to quell a Taliban insurgency, now in its ninth year.
Omar conceded there were widespread concerns about repeating the mistakes of the 1980s, where local militias were set up during the Soviet occupation to fight mujahideen, but then morphed into private armies.

   Sri Lanka’s cabinet to meet in former rebel capital
AFP, Colombo

The Sri Lankan president and his ministers are to hold a meeting Wednesday in Kilinochchi, the northern town from which the Tamil Tiger rebels once ruled one-third of the island, officials said.
Before the rebels were finally defeated last year, Kilinochchi was the capital of a de facto Tamil state that ran its own legal, banking and tax collecting systems.
The cabinet session in the city reflects the government's wish to emphasise that the island is a unified nation-despite continuing deep ethnic divisions and the bitter aftermath of decades of war.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who were fighting for a independent Tamil homeland, controlled one-third of Sri Lanka until President Mahinda Rajapakse launched a massive military offensive in 2006.
"The first cabinet meeting at district level is scheduled to be held on July 14 in the Kilinochchi district that was a strong bastion of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran," the government said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rajapakse will chair the meeting, at which ministers will review reconstruction in the former war zone where hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tamils who fled the fighting remain homeless.
The government's successful military offensive has triggered international calls for a war crimes probe.
The United Nations estimates that at least 7,000 Tamil civilians were killed in the final months of fighting in a conflict which claimed up to 100,000 lives since 1972.

  China, Argentina agree on 10b dollar rail deals
AFP, Beijing

China and Argentina on Tuesday agreed contracts for railway projects in the South American country totalling 10 billion dollars, Argentine Transport Minister Juan Pablo Schiavi told AFP.
The news came during a visit to Beijing by Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, who was to meet Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao later Tuesday.
A total of 10 projects-ranging from two to five years-were agreed, including the purchase of Chinese railway technology and investments in electrification of Argentina's rail lines, Schiavi said.
Some of the agreements were signed in the presence of Kirchner and Chinese Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu earlier and the rest were to be signed following the talks between Kirchner and Hu, the Argentine minister said.
In a speech to businessmen from both countries, Kirchner praised the signing of what she called "important deals between the Argentine government and several Chinese firms" for the improvement of her nation's railways.
Firms from both sides also signed a deal to build a laboratory in the South American nation to produce swine flu vaccines.
Relations between Beijing and Buenos Aires have been strained in recent months. In April, China imposed heavy restrictions on imports of soybean oil from Argentina, the world's top exporter of the product.
Some observers said that was in response to restrictions on imports put in place by Kirchner's government last year during the global economic crisis which resulted in reduced purchases of Chinese appliances and textiles.
Kirchner made no direct reference to the tensions, but called for a "relaunch" of the relationship.

  Thai prosecutors seek ban on ruling party, executives
AFP, Bangkok

Thai prosecutors urged a court Tuesday to dissolve the ruling party and ban executives including Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva from politics for five years over alleged illegal funding.
In one of two cases pending against Abhisit's Democrats, the party is accused of concealing a donation of 258 million baht (eight million dollars) from a private company spent during the 2005 election campaign.
"The attorney general today submitted a case against the Democrat Party to the Constitutional Court over the 258 million baht donation, seeking the Democrat Party's dissolution," said a state attorney, Vinai Dumrongmongcolgul.
"We also asked the court to ban party executives who held positions from late 2004 to early 2005 -- about 40 to 50 people," he asked reporters.
Abhisit was deputy leader of the Democrats-Thailand's oldest party-at the time.
"Whatever the court verdict, we will respect and follow it," Abhisit told reporters Tuesday. Another case against the Democrats, involving allegations of misuse of a state grant, is already under the deliberation of the Constitutional Court and could also lead to the abolition of the party.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban denied reports that the Democrats had already registered a new party to move to if the court rules against them.
Suthep also dismissed speculation that Abhisit might dissolve the lower house of parliament for elections before the court reaches a decision, but admitted he was worried about the legal proceedings.
"It's normal that I am concerned about the case as I have been with the party for 31 or 32 years," he said.
The election commission issued a surprise call in April for the Democrats to be abolished over the allegations.
The recommendation came during a tense standoff between the government and "Red Shirt" protesters that descended into violence which left 90 people dead and about 1,900 injured, ending in a bloody army crackdown in May.
The Red Shirts accuse the government of being undemocratic because it came to power in 2008 after the Constitutional Court ousted allies of their hero, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

  China landslides leave 17 dead, over 40 missing
AFP, Beijing

Seventeen people were confirmed dead and 44 others were missing after torrential rains sent landslides crashing into villages in southwestern China on Tuesday, officials and state media said.
In Yunnan province, four people were killed and 42 others went missing when a mountain side came crashing down on a local township in the city of Zhaotong, a local official told AFP.
"The township is located in a river valley surrounded by mountains, people were buried in their homes," said the official from Qiaojia county, who asked not to be named.
"Torrential rains caused the landslides," he added.
Another 53 people were injured in the disaster, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
In neighbouring Sichuan province, two separate landslides left 13 people dead and two missing, the report said.
The disasters continue a run of rain-triggered death and destruction from flooding across a huge area of southern, central and eastern China since June that the government said has left hundreds dead.
China is ravaged every summer by heavy rains and resulting deadly flooding but the extreme weather has been especially severe this year.
Heavy rains continued on Tuesday in regions still recovering from June flooding.
State television broadcast images of flooded town streets in Anhui province in the east and inundated villages and agricultural fields in Hunan in central China.
Heavy downpours since last week in central and eastern China have caused water levels in major lakes and some river tributaries to rise alarmingly, state media has said.
Rains along the Yangtze River, China's longest, had killed at least 43 people and left 18 missing over the past week, Xinhua said on Monday.

  Thailand prolongs emergency rule in restive south
AFP, Bangkok

Thailand on Tuesday extended emergency rule in three insurgency-plagued southern provinces until October as it struggles to quell unrest that has left more than 4,100 people dead in six years.
The cabinet agreed to retain the decree-which would have expired on July 19 -- for another three months in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, government spokesman Supachai Jaismut told reporters.
"This law is still crucial for enabling security officials in the south to do their jobs," Supachai said.
The extension means the army will keep special powers, including the ability to detain suspects for questioning without charge.
Imposed in mid-2005, the state of emergency has now been prolonged 20 times.
The southern region was once an autonomous Malay sultanate until Buddhist Thailand annexed it a century ago, provoking decades of tension that flared up into the current unrest.
Insurgent attacks by a shadowy mix of Islamist and separatist militants, have targeted both Buddhists and Muslims since January 2004, with shootings, bombings and gruesome killings such as beheadings and crucifixions.
Rights groups have warned that alleged abuses by the security forces in the region, including the treatment of detainees, risk stoking the conflict.
Nineteen other provinces, including Bangkok, are also under emergency rule because of lingering fears of unrest following opposition "Red Shirt" protests in the capital that sparked a series of deadly clashes in April and May.

  Watchdog fears Afghan women’s rights to be traded for peace

AFP, Kabul

An international rights group has called on the Afghan government and its Western backers to ensure gains made by women in the country are not sacrificed in any peace talks with the Taliban.
A week ahead of a major international conference in Kabul to discuss the future of Afghanistan, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) also called for current leaders to be made accountable for past crimes. In a report released Tuesday, the organisation said moves towards talking peace with the Islamist Taliban to end the war have the potential to roll back rights hard-won by Afghan women.
It cites the way women and girls are treated in areas under Taliban control, denied constitutional rights to be educated and work outside their homes, under threat of violence or death.
The 70-page report, "The Ten-Dollar Talib and Women's Rights," warns that President Hamid Karzai's government may be willing to compromise on these rights as part of any deal with the insurgents. "Afghan women want an end to the conflict. But as the prospect of negotiations with the Taliban draws closer, many women fear that they may also pay a heavy price for peace," the report says.
"Reconciliation with the Taliban, a group synonymous with misogynous policies and the violent repression of women, raises serious concerns about the possible erosion of recently gained rights and freedoms," it says.
Rhetoric about embracing Taliban loyalists who fight from economic need rather than ideological sympathy "ignores the experiences of women living in Taliban-controlled areas".
The Taliban's five-year rule, which ended with a US-led invasion in 2001, was marked by general repression that was particularly brutal towards women.
Girls were not permitted to go to school -- and even now are sometimes attacked and their schools destroyed by extremists. Women were not allowed out unless accompanied by a male relative and wearing a burqa. They were attacked in the street for such perceived crimes as wearing white shoes and rape victims were publicly executed as adulterers.

 Obama’s support slides: Survey
AFP, Washington

US voters' trust in President Barack Obama's ability to get his job done well has slid to a new low, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Tuesday found.
"Four months before midterm elections that will define the second half of his term, nearly six in 10 voters say they lack faith in the president to make the right decisions for the country, and a clear majority once again disapproves of how he is dealing with the economy," the report said. More than one third of voters surveyed -- 36 percent-said they had "no confidence or only some confidence" in the president, congressional Democrats and congressional Republicans, the poll found.
The tough assessment of Obama's performance comes as he struggles with military action abroad, lingering high unemployment at home, weak stock and housing markets, and the oil spill crisis in the Gulf of Mexico.
That could be bad news for his Democrats in Congress in this fall's midterm elections. And if they lose ground, Obama could end up a lame duck in the second half of his term in the White House.
"Just 26 percent of registered voters say they are inclined to support their representative in the House this fall; 62 percent are inclined to look for someone new," the Post-ABC report said.
"Among those who say they are sure to cast ballots in November, 49 percent side with the (Republicans) and 45 percent with Democrats," it added.
"Overall, a slim majority of all voters say they would prefer Republican control of Congress so that the legislative branch would act as a check on the president's policies," the report said.
Specifically on the economy, 43 percent of those surveyed said they approve of Obama's performance, the poll found.
Obama meanwhile has argued that he has made the tough decisions that staved off a second Great Depression.
"This is a choice between the policies that led us into the mess, or the policies that are leading out of the mess," he said in Las Vegas on Thursday.

   French lawmakers to approve full veil ban
AFP, Paris

French lawmakers were poised to vote Tuesday to ban the wearing of face-covering veils in public spaces, as Europe toughens its approach to integrating Muslim immigrant communities.
Coming on the eve of Bastille Day, when France celebrates the birth of what was to become a staunchly secular republic, the law was expected to have an easy passage through the National Assembly lower house.
Once past this hurdle the bill will go to the Senate, which is expected to approve it in September, but it will then face a stiffer challenge in front of the Constitutional Council, France's highest legal body.
For, while President Nicolas Sarkozy's determination to ban the niqab and the burqa has won enough political support, opponents argue that it breaches French and European human rights legislation.
Similar laws are pending in Belgium, Spain and some Italian municipalities, but the ban is particularly sensitive in France, whose rundown city suburbs are home to Europe's biggest Muslim minority.
Last week, Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told lawmakers debating the bill that its adoption would assert French values and help to better integrate Muslim communities into the national way of life.
She said being forced to wear the niqab or the burqa "amounts to being cut off from society and rejecting the very spirit of the French republic that is founded on a desire to live together."
"At a time where our societies are becoming more global and complex, the French people are pondering the future of their nation.

  Iran Guards can ‘cut hands’ of Western bullies: Ahmadinejad

AFP, Tehran

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and its army have the strength to "cut off the hands" of Western powers.
"The power of the Revolutionary Guards and the army will cut off the hands of the arrogant and bullying powers," Ahmadinejad told a gathering of Guards' commanders, according to Sepahnews, the force's website.
Hailing Iran's strength as "indestructible," the hardliner said the Guards were the symbol of Iran's resistance against the United States and other Western powers.
"The world of arrogance (West) is weaker and it cannot hurt the Iranian nation," he said.
Ties between Iran and the West have worsened under the presidency of Ahmadinejad following his dogged refusal to suspend Tehran's controversial nuclear programme.
Several top commanders of the Guards have also often boasted of the force's ability to combat Iran's foes, especially Israel which has not ruled out a military strike to halt the nuclear programme.
The Guards, set up after the 1979 Islamic revolution to defend it from internal and external threats, have expanded their role in the nation's economic sectors under the Ahmadinejad presidency.

  Uganda police finds suicide vest, hunts suspects
AFP, Kampala

Uganda's police Tuesday were hunting suspects in the World Cup party attacks that killed at least 76, hoping the discovery of an unexploded suicide vest could lead them to a would-be bomber.
The attacks that ripped through a crowded bar and a restaurant in Kampala on Sunday night were claimed by Somalia's Al Qeada-inspired Shebab insurgents, who described them as retaliation for Uganda's troop deployment in Mogadishu.
Police Chief Kale Kayihura said a suicide vest, laden with explosives and fitted with a detonator, had been found packed in a black laptop bag at a club in Kampala's Makindye district on Monday.
"We have established that what was found at the discotheque was in fact a suicide vest, and it could also be used as an IED (improvised explosive device)," he told reporters.
Kayihura went on to explain that the bomber may have changed his mind before setting off the charge.
He added that a number of arrests had been carried out in connection with this particular incident but did not elaborate on the number or identities of those detained.
Kayihura said that the bombers' modus operandi appeared to support the claim laid by the Shebab but he also pointed a finger at a homegrown Muslim rebel group called the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
"Shebab is linked with ADF. ADF is composed of Ugandans, Shebab and ADF are linked to Al Qaeda," he said.
The bombings, for which he said the death toll had risen to 76 overnight, were the deadliest in East Africa since 1998 Al Qaeda attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
They were the first ever attack by the Shebab outside Somalia, marking an unprecedented internationalisation of Somalia's 20-year-old civil conflict.
"We are behind the attack because we are at war with them," Ali Mohamoud Rage, the Shebab group's spokesman, told reporters in Mogadishu on Monday.
The movement's top leader had warned in an audio message earlier this month that Uganda and Burundi would face retaliation for contributing to an African Union (AU) force supporting the western-backed Somali transitional government.

  Swapped Russian spies held at safehouse: Report
AFP, Moscow

The 10 Russian agents deported to Moscow in a sensational spy swap with Washington are being held in a special secret service compound and still being debriefed, a report said Tuesday.
The Moskovsky Komsomolets daily said that the 10, including the glamorous Anna Chapman, were not allowed to leave the compound owned by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and were subjected to tests including lie-detectors.
There has been sharp criticism in the Russian press and by ex-agents of their spycraft, notably their use of social networking sites and apparently archaic techniques like invisible ink.
"At the current time the agents are working with specialists," the report quoted a source in the Russian special services as saying
"They are trying to clarify how their cover could have been blown in such situations." The SVR has refused to give any comment on the 10 agents but the report was the first significant claim of details about the spies' fate to have emerged since their swap for four Russian convicts.
They would be released in the next few weeks, so long as the probe showed that serious errors had not been committed in their work as agents in the United States, the report said
"For clarifying all the details, interviews are being carried out along with different kinds of tests which include lie-detectors," the source told Moskovsky Komsomolets.
"This should not be called an interrogation in the true sense of the word. But if it turns out that serious mistakes were made, spies, employees of the SVR, can be fired."
The report said that mobile phones did not work at the compound and the agents were not allowed to leave. However, they were being supplied with all necessities.
The idea that their cover was blown as a result of "treachery" within the service was also being examined, it added.
Immediately after landing in Moscow on Friday, the 10 were taken to SVR headquarters in Yasenevo outside Moscow but exactly where they were being questioned now was not clear, it said.
The arrest of the agents sparked fears that the espionage scandal could harm improving ties with Washington, but Friday's spy exchange appeared aimed at limiting any damage.
Some of the agents had been working as deep cover "sleepers" for as much as a decade although Chapman-who has become a tabloid celebrity over the last fortnight, had gone to the United States more recently.

  At least 11 dead in Iraq attacks
AFP, Baquba

At least 11 people were killed in bomb and gun attacks in Iraq on Tuesday, including three by a device which blew up in a mock coffin during a demonstration, security officials said.
Dozens of people took part in the protest in Khales, 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of Baghdad, to demand stiff penalties for the perpetrators of anti-Shiite attacks in the city, the local security operations command said.
The demonstrators were carrying a mock coffin when a booby-trapped device exploded inside the box, killing three people and wounding seven, an official at the centre told AFP.
Sectarian tensions remain high in Khales, a city which in 2006-2007 was a battleground between Sunni insurgents of Al-Qaeda and Shiite militias.
At the end of May, a car bombing in a Khales marketplace killed 30 people, two months after another 42 people perished in a double bomb attack near a coffeeshop and a restaurant.
In Yusifiyah, 25 kilometres (15 miles) south of Baghdad, gunmen on Tuesday killed a leader of the Sahwa militia, which has sided with US forces against Al-Qaeda, and four family members in their home, an interior ministry official said.
In the capital itself, two bombs exploded near a petrol station in the central district of Muhandicin, killing two and wounding five others, the capital's police said.
And a man was killed in the western city of Fallujah when a "sticky bomb" attached to his car blew up, a local police official said.
Although overall levels of violence in Iraq have fallen markedly since their peak in 2006 and 2007, deadly attacks against civilians and security forces take place on a daily basis.
Iraq has only a caretaker government more than four months after a general election in which no clear winner emerged.

  Italian police arrest 300 in major blow to Calabrian mafia
AFP, Rome

Italian police made more than 300 arrests, seized arms and confiscated tens of millions of euros of assets in their largest operation for 15 years against the country's most powerful mafia.
About 3,000 police made arrests in southern Calabria and in several parts of the wealthy north for mafia association, murder, arms offences, trafficking, extortion and other crimes in a crackdown on the 'Ndrangheta mafia, police said in a statement. The arrests in northern Italy, aimed at the 'Ndrangheta's commercial interests, "confirm that northern Italy is the true theatre of operations for the 'Ndrangheta," anti-mafia prosecutor Alberto Cisterna told AFP. Police seized tens of millions worth in assets, arms and drugs and arrested entrepreneurs working in the health sector and a local healthcare manager in northern Italy, according to the ANSA news agency.
Healthcare "is the sector they prefer, since it allows them to establish contacts with politics and with public administration," Cisterna said.
The operation, the largest against the 'Ndrangheta since 1995, comes after an internal war during which the northern branches tried-and failed-to secede from the southern base, Cisterna said.
Northern clans realised they were "the financial and political heart of the organisation," Cisterna said, but the 'Ndrangheta wants to "maintain rites and management in Calabria... all of the bosses are from there," Cisterna said.

Business/Economy

Black Money
1923 people whiten around Tk 923cr in last fiscal
Govt gets over 121 crore taxes: NBR

UNB, Dhaka

About Tk 923 crore black money have been whitened by investing in four categories, the lion share being in the stock market, during the outgoing fiscal year.
A total of 1,923 people declared investment of undisclosed Tk 922.98 in four categories - new industry, infrastructure development, BMRE (balancing, modernization, rehabilitation and expansion), stock market and purchase flat or land.
This was informed by NBR Member (Tax Admin and Monitoring) Basir Uddin Ahmed at a press conference Tuesday. The exchequer got about Tk121.21 crore in taxes for legalizing the black money.
Of the black money holders, highest 1320 people legalized their money by purchasing flat or plot, 296 invested in capital market, 162 invested in new industry and 145 invested in BMRE, he said.
The government kept open the scope to whiten the black money by paying 10 percent tax and invest the money in different sectors. In case of flat and land purchase, undisclosed money holders were given a chance to legalize their money by paying tax varying on the size of the flat and land.
The investment of black money in the stock market was around Tk 427 crore while approximately Tk 258 crore was legalized in BMRE. More than Tk 239 crore was invested in new industry and approximately Tk 29 crore whitened by purchasing flats and lands.
Most of the money was whitened in the last two months of the fiscal year and only 81 people took advantage of the opportunity and legalized Tk 57 crore from July to April of 2009-10.
In the current fiscal year, the scope to whiten black money is restricted to only one category - investment in Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund (BIFF).
During the army backed caretaker government 56,845 people legalized Tk 9,773 crore by paying Tk 911 crore in taxes.
Since fiscal 1976-77, all successive governments provided the opportunity to whiten the black money.
During the fiscal year 2000-2001 when Awami League was in power only Tk 1,000 crore was whitened. Meanwhile, approximately Tk 2,000 crore was legalized under the money whitening opportunity for three fiscal years during BNP-led four-party alliance rule.

 NBL disburses Tk 174.53cr as agri and SME loan in NW-region

BSS, Rajshahi

National Bank Limited (NBL) has, so far, disbursed loan worth Taka 174.53 crore for flourishing small and medium enterprises and for boosting agricultural production in the country's northwest region till June last.
According to the sources concerned, the loans were disbursed among 23,942 borrowers through the bank's 18 branches in the region for boosting rural economy and as well as generating employment.
Talking to BSS, Senior Vice President and Regional Head of the bank Kamal Uddin Ahmed here said today that Taka 38.37 crore were disbursed among 1376 small and medium entrepreneurs while Taka 136.17 crore among 22,566 borrowers for agricultural purposes.
He said the bank has extended credit facilities worth Taka 113.94 crore towards 14,294 farmers including the share-croppers for only crop production, Taka 60 lakh among 218 persons for cow rearing and fattening, Taka 32.89 lakh among 80 farmers for power tiller purchasing and Taka 80 lakh among 95 persons for fish farming.
Besides, loan of Taka 1.29 crore were given to 82 women entrepreneurs under the SME sector.
Kamal Uddin informed that the bank has been disbursing loan among the farmers and others concerned for uplifting the agricultural sector in the vast barind area since 1992 and earned significant success in this field,.
"A silence revolution has been happened in the tomato farming and in the tissue culture based potato seed production in the region for the last couple of years," he sited example in this regard.
In view of the corporate social responsibility concept, he mentioned that the bank has given emphasis on supplementing the government endeavors to make the region free from the vicious circle of poverty and hunger through expediting the credit flow towards the potential field. Till the last June, he said Taka 39.55 crore remained outstanding among the borrowers.

  Nearly all EU states now on deficit watch
AFP, Brussels

The European Union placed Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland under its excessive deficit watch on Tuesday, leaving only three of 27 EU states off the list of those breaking EU fiscal rules.
The decision by EU finance ministers meeting in Brussels leaves only Luxembourg, Sweden and Estonia off of a list of countries facing an excessive deficit procedure for budget shortfalls exceeding three percent of output.
Bulgaria and Cyprus exceeded the public deficit limit in 2009 while Denmark and Finland are expected to breach the limit, the council of finance ministers said in a statement.
The ministers called on Bulgaria and Finland to bring their deficits below the three-percent limit by 2011.
The council decided to give Denmark and Cyprus more time to take corrective measures due to the "impact of the economic crisis," the statement said.
Cyprus was given until 2012 while Denmark has until 2013.
The deadline for all other members states to take measures to reduce their decits is January 13, 2011.
Public deficits exploded during the 2008-2009 global recession as European governments launched stimulus programmes to prop up their struggling economies.
Several governments in Europe have now begun to implement deep spending cuts and tax hikes to reduce their deficits in the wake of a debt crisis that has rocked the continent.

  Greece sweetens deal in first debt issue since bailout
AFP, Athens

Struggling Greece on Tuesday raised fresh funds from the markets in its first sale of government debt since an EU-IMF bailout saved it from default but it had to sweeten the deal to attract buyers.
Athens sold 1.625 billion euros (2.04 billion dollars) in six-month treasury bills at a rate of return of 4.65 percent, slightly higher than an equivalent sale in April, the Greek debt management agency (PDMA) said.
"The total bids reached 4.546 billion euros and the amount finally accepted was 1.625 billion euros," the agency said in a statement.
Greece on April 13 offered a rate of 4.55 percent for equivalent six-month bills, up sharply from 1.38 percent in January as the financial markets turned against the debt-stricken country. It initially sought to raise 1.25 billion euros in Tuesday's sale.
The auction came two months after Greece was rescued from insolvency by a 110-billion-euro (138-billion-dollar) loan package put together by the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
In return, Athens pledged to put its parlous public finances in order with draconian austerity cuts. The measures have sparked protests in the recession-hit country but the EU on Monday said the reforms were on track. "The adjustment ... is impressive and has outpaced our expectations," the head of eurozone finance ministers Jean-Claude Juncker said in Brussels. He said that the results should enable Greece to continue drawing down the EU-IMF loan.

  Top economies get clever with oil: IEA
AFP, Paris

The world is raising its overall game in the use of oil, with advanced economies reducing dependence through changes in consumption, opening a window of price stability, the IEA said on Tuesday
Increased economic activity in advanced economies is no longer matched by a commensurate rise in oil consumption the International Energy Agency said, pointing to an 18-month window of probable stability on the oil market. "Markets in 2011 may prove 'not too hot, not too cold'," the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
"Whisper it quietly, but we might, just might, be in for some market stability for a while longer."
The overall outlook suggested "a market balance remaining relatively comfortable through mid 2011, but with tightening market fundamentals possible from the second half of next year."
The IEA said it was assuming that the oil price next year would average 79.40 dollars per barrel. In London, the benchmark price of oil eased slightly on Tuesday to 74.65 dollars a barrel.
It also said that a measure of global dependency on oil as an input for a given level of production, the oil intensity ratio, would decline by 2.6 percent next year.
High oil prices and then the huge economic downturn curbed demand sharply in the last two years.

  A billion Chinese speakers get easier access to Internet
AFP, Hong Kong

The web will soon be a lot more accessible for more than a billion people after the body that runs the Internet's naming system gave the green light for the use of Chinese script.
Registries in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong will soon officially start issuing domain names in Chinese characters following the announcement by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
"One fifth of the world speaks Chinese," said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's president. "That means we just increased the potential online accessibility for roughly a billion people." The ICANN announcement follows an earlier decision to allow Arabic domain names, and other non-European writing systems are expected to follow.
Jonathan Shea, chief executive of the Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation (HKIRC), one of the bodies that will implement the changes, says Chinese people currently rely on search engines to find sites. At the moment, Latin alphabet script domain names can make it difficult for some Chinese people to remember or guess the domain names of websites.
But many companies and organisations are only well known by their Chinese names and their branding and identities are often lost in cyberspace, Shea said, as they are forced to have their domain names in English. "The availability of Chinese domain names will solve these problems once and for all," he told AFP.
The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), the government-linked domain name registry agency, lauded the change as "a recognition by the international community of the Chinese culture on the Internet." A hotline operator at CNNIC said users had already been allowed to apply for and register Chinese domain names and some were already up and running.
He said more than 90 percent of Chinese government agencies, news media websites and universities already had Chinese domain names, as well as more than 40 percent of China's top 500 companies.
But inputting characters can be more difficult than the current system of typing web addresses in pinyin, China's official system of romanisation, said Duncan Clark, Beijing-based chairman of tech consultancy BDA China.

  US trade deficit widens as imports surge
AFP, Washington

The US trade deficit unexpectedly widened in May for the second month as imports outpaced exports, the government said Tuesday.
The trade gap for goods and services rose 4.8 percent to 42.3 billion dollars from 40.3 billion dollars in April, the Commerce Department said in a report. Most economists had expected the deficit to fall to 39.4 billion dollars.
Imports climbed 2.9 percent to an 18-month high of 194.5 billion dollars while exports rose 2.4 percent to a 19-month high of 152.3 billion dollars.
The fresh data indicated that trade could blunt economic growth in the United States although rising imports in the world's largest economy offered hope for global economic recovery, analysts said. It "suggests trade will be a larger drag on second quarter growth than we first anticipated," said Aaron Smith, a senior economist for Moody's Economy.com.
The US economy grew by 2.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010 but analysts expect expansion to slow later in the year amid high unemployment caused by the worst recession in decades.

National

Short duration pariza paddy field takes greenish look
BSS, Gaibandha

Paddy field of short duration local variety pariza has taken a greenish look at Boali block under Sreepur union of Sundarganj upazila in the district during the current.
Official sources said a total of 50 bighas of land of the block have been brought under this paddy cultivation this year under a pilot project of a reputed non government organization- RDRS Bangladesh- to help farmers get additional paddy utilizing the fallow and uncultivated land during the off season.
The farmers of the block are caretaking their paddy field in the hope of reaping an increased output from their land for the first time.
Chand Miah, a farmer of the block, said, "I am so much satisfied and always feel pleasure to see my paddy field as the seedlings of the variety grow well".
The production cost of the paddy is less than any other Aman and Boro paddy, he also said.
Dr. M.G. Neogi, head of agriculture of RDRS, said, "Generally, the farmers of this region complete the harvest of Boro paddy in April and start the cultivation of T-Aman paddy on the same land at the end of July, as a result, the land remain fallow and uncultivated for two months and a half".
"If the farmers can cultivate the pariza paddy on the fallow land during the middle of two seasons, they can get additional paddy which helps achieve their food security to a great extent," he also said.
Besides, to create working opportunities for the farm laborers and address poverty like situation 'Monga' in five northern districts, the agri expert of the organization sought cooperation of all to motivate the farmers to cultivate this paddy on a large scale every year on medium high land which has no possibility to go under flood water.
On information, the other farmers of the district are visiting the pariza paddy field in the block and exchanging their views to the cultivators curiously on how to cultivate it successfully in their respective areas, locals sources said.

  Media enjoying maximum freedom in BD: Azad
BSS, Dhaka

Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad has said the media in Bangladesh is enjoying maximum freedom.
"Press freedom has been ensured. The government has enacted the Right to Information Act and all are enjoying freedom in the media," the minister said.
He was addressing a meeting organized by the US unit of Swechchasebak League at 'Ananta Dhaka Club' in New York on Saturday, according to a message received here today from the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the United Nations.
The information minister urged journalists to maintain objective journalism and constructive criticism.
With convenor of Swechchasebak League Mohiuddin Dewan in the chair, the meeting was addressed, among others, by leaders of Awami League and its associate organisations Solaiman Ali, Mamtaj Shahnaj, Ayub Khan, Nizam Chowdhury, Farooq Ahmed, Shamsuddin Azad, Haji Enam, Sajjadur Rahman Sajjad and Haji Shafi.
Azad sought cooperation from the expatriate leaders of AL and its associate organizations to complete the trial of war criminals smoothly and urged all to send information in this regard.
"The government would be successful in trying the war criminals of 1971 if it gets cooperation from home and abroad," the minister said.
He also urged all to work together for development of the country.
Later, the US based Jamalpur Association accorded a reception to the minister where he exchanged views with the expatriates. They urged the minister to solve various problems of Jamalpur district.

  Motivate mothers to only breastfeed babies up to six months

UNB, Dhaka

Expert physicians at a seminar Tuesday emphasized on motivating mothers through proper communication strategy to only breastfeed babies until six months to reduce malnutrition among children.
They also stressed the need for creating awareness among the mothers and guardians to give the babies semi-solid complementary feedings, particularly homemade foods, in addition to continued breastfeeding for last 24 months.
"There's no chance to separately see Breastfeeding and Complementary Feeding as both are related to the infant and young child feeding," said Prof Dr Fatima Parveen Chowdhury, director of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN).
She was presiding over the seminar styled 'Dissemination Meeting of National Communication Plan for Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) at the IPHN conference room, attended by Director General of Health Services Prof Dr Shah Monir Hossain as chief guest.
Health officials, NGO officials and representatives from the development partners took part in the seminar. The IPHN director said the government prepared communication framework and plan aiming at delivering a same message about infant and young child feeding by the government and non-government organizations. Prof Dr MQK Talukder, adviser to Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation said physicians or health workers should properly motivate those mothers, who say that they have not enough breast milk, to initiate breastfeeding just after birth of the child.
Dr Talukder, a pioneer in promoting breast feeding in Bangladesh, also said if the children found suffering from anemia should have to give iron rich food---milk, liver and green vegetables without prescribing iron substitute medicine. Prof Dr Shah Monir Hossain said people could be motivated through effective communication to change their behaviors in family and society for improving nutritional status of children. "Apart from compulsory breastfeeding for six months, countrymen should be given right message to select complementary foods available around their homes to give their babies after six months," he said.

   Indian envoy discusses with Shahajahan about using Bangladesh port facilities

BSS, Dhaka

Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Rajeet Mitter on Tuesday discussed with Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan the prospect of using Bangladesh port facilities at Chittagong, Mongla and Ashuganj The Indian envoy discussed the issue when he called on the Shipping Minister at his secretariat office.
India is keen on using the sea and river ports to transport goods to its southeastern landlocked state through Bangladesh.
Experts in Bangladesh observe the country can generate huge revenue by allowing India to use the port facilities.
A shipping ministry handout said the discussion between the minister and the Indian envoy ended with the positive nod towards establishing stronger relation particularly in port development.
Shahjahan and Mitter also exchanged their views on dredging of different rivers in Bangladesh to restore Dhaka-Kolkata river route.
They also discussed about building new landing stations and container jetties at some important points to facilitate smooth shipments on this route.

   6 JMB men, including its chief, arrested along with arms and explosives in Bogra and Gaibandha

UNB, Bogra
Six JMB members, including its chief, were arrested along with arms, explosives and other goods in separate drives here and in Gaibandha on Monday night and early hours of Tuesday.
District Police Super Humayun Kabir addressing a press briefing at his office on Tuesday, said that acting on a tip-off, a joint team of special intelligence wing of police headquarters and local police raided Silimpur in Sadar upazila at 8pm on Monday and arrested JMB chief Anwar Alam Khoka, 30, along with a pistol and some bullets.
Anwar Alam Khoka alias Bhagne Shaheed alias Nazmul took over the charge of JMB as its chief after the arrest of Maulana Saidur Rahman.
On his confessional statement, the joint team of law enforcers raided a rented house at Prodhan Para in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha and arrested five JMB militants and recovered several books, huge amount of bomb making materials and explosives from their possessions at 5am on Tuesday.

   New office bearers Society of BD

UNB, Dhaka
Enam Ahmed Chowdhury and AJM Enamul Islam have been elected president and secretary general of Commonwealth Society of Bangladesh.
According to a press release of the organization,
Major General (retd) KM Shafiullah, Taleya Rahman and Dr. Mizanur Rahman Shelly have been elected vice-presidents.
Mobaidul Islam and Dr. MA Kamal are the assistant secretaries general. Aziur Rahman is the treasurer, Barrister Harunur Rashid, the education secretary; Asaduzzaman Noor, MP, the cultural secretary, Farid Hossain the press and publication secretary and Saidul Alam the sports secretary.
The Executive Council has also 13 members: M Mokammel Haque, Mohammad Mohsin, Abul Hasan Chowdhury, Mohammad Sirajuddin, Farooq Sobhan, Hassan Shahriar, Zaglul Ahmed Chowdhury, Ibrahim Saber, Tanvir Newaz Khan, Md. Ali Akbar Khan, Prof. Farida Huq, Rashedul Hassan Khan and Mumtaz Hossain.

   Drama activists to hold rally July 15 for war crimes trial
BSS, Dhaka

Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation will hold a rally of drama activists and stage a street drama at the Central Shaheed Minar at 5 pm on July 15 demanding quick trial of the war criminals. Deputy Chief of Staff during the Liberation War and Sector Commanders Forum President Planning Minister Air Vice Marshal (Retd) AK Khandaker and Sector Commanders Forum Vice-President Maj Gen (Retd) KM Shafiullah, among others, will address the rally. Federation President Liakat Ali Lucky will preside over the function, said a press release.
The Group Theatre Federation will also hold similar programmes at all divisions of the country on July 20 to press home the demand. The programme of Dhaka division will be held at Narayanganj.

   Bangladesh army replaces contingent in UN mission at Ivory Coast

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Army is going to replace its contingents at United Nations Operation in Ivory Coast. In continuation, a total of 430 army personnel of four contingents of MULTI-NATIONAL SECTOR HEAD QUARTERS (WEST), BANENGINEER-7, BANSIG-7 and BAN HEAD QUARTERS SUPPORT COMPANY-7 will be deployed in Ivory Coast by 2 flights till July 25.
Under this programme in the first flight a total of 215 army personnel including officers, led by Colonel Abu Mohammad Munir Alim, left Dhaka for Ivory Coast by a UN chartered plane on Monday night, said an ISPR release.
Director, Signals Directorate of Army Headquarters Brigadier General Mohammad Siddiqur Rahman saw them off at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in capital.
Remaining members of the contingent are expected to leave Dhaka for Ivory Coast on July 25 by second flight.
An eight member military delegation, led by the Director, Personnel Services Directorate of Army Headquarters Brigadier General Mohammad Moazzam Hossain also left Dhaka by same flight to visit the Bangladesh Contingents deployed in Ivory Coast.
Bangladesh Army Contingent has been deployed in UN Peacekeeping Mission in Ivory Coast since 2004.
Bangladesh Army achieved confidence of Ivory Coast government and the general public by discharging their duties in mitigating conflict with efficiency, professionalism and sincerity.
Munajat was offered seeking more excellence of the Bangladesh Army Contingent in future at departure lounge of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport prior to their departure for Ivory Coast.

   Poverty acute in CHT than Monga prone areas in north: Study

BSS, Dhaka

The rate of poverty among ethnic minorities in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) is apparently more acute than that of the people in the Monga-prone plain lands in the north, reveals a study in the city on Tuesday.
The study, conducted over 1,012 households in greater Rangpur as well as Bandarban and Rangamati in 2009-10, said around 65 percent of study population in CHT was found living below the poverty line, compared to nearly 60 percent of plain lands.
Unlike Chakma tribe, the study said, the literacy rate among the ethnic group was also poor compared to people living in Monga areas, one of the country's poorest parts where erosion from river Jamuna and its tributaries renders thousands homeless every year.
The study, done under joint sponsorship of the government and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, says the problem of monga, a seasonal unemployment and food crisis, has subsided partially in greater Rangpur and parts of Pabna, but permanent solution to it is far from sight.
It said the total vulnerability to poverty and food crisis for the people in the north was found to be much higher than that of the people in the hill tracts because of high variability of food consumption in greater Rangpur.
"Although the rate of poor in CHT areas is higher, the number of hardcore poor people, who consume food that contains less than 1,800 kilo calorie, was higher in the north," Prof Rezai Karim Khandker, principal investigator of the study, said at the warp- up session of two-day workshop in the city today.
Food Planning and Monitoring Unit of Ministry of Food and FAO jointly organized the workshop to review the findings from 11 researches done under grants from a project titled 'National Food Policy Capacity Strengthening Programme'.
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque on Monday formally opened the workshop, where US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F Moriarty also spoke.
Rezai Karim, also head of economics department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), said the poverty in CHT was partially minimized by the ethnic group themselves because of their dependence on both agriculture and non- agriculture jobs.
In contrast, he said, the people of the north have no other options but to depend on agriculture in the Monga-prone areas. The over-dependence on agriculture coupled with river erosion have outweighed the advantages of the people of the north than that of the CHT.
He said severe food insecurity persists in the monga-prone areas, where social safety net coverage from the government should be widened and strengthened along with raising awareness among the people on health and nutrition.
As mid-term solution, he said, the agriculture extension department should diversify agro-based products in the areas to raise poor people's income and inspire them to send all their kid to schools. The river erosion should be checked and labour- intensive industries can be set up as a long-term solution, he observed.
FAO headquarters representative Kostas Stamoulis, who supervises the all researches under NFPCSP, said non-agricultural interventions such as poultry farming and fisheries need to be recognized side by side with agricultural interventions to offset poverty.

Sports

Record-breakers Strauss and Trott tame Tigers
AFP, Birmingham

Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott made hundreds as England bounced back from last weekend's shock defeat to beat Bangladesh by 144 runs at Edgbaston here on Monday and so take the three-match one-day international series 2-1. England captain Strauss made an ODI best of 154 and Trott 110, his first hundred at this level, in a huge total of 347 for seven.
Their second-wicket stand of 250 was an England record for any ODI wicket, topping the 226 shared by Strauss and Andrew Flintoff against the West Indies at Lord's in 2004.
England's total was their second highest in a 50 overs per side match after the 391 they made against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge in 2005 when Strauss-both the man-the-match and the series-posted his previous best of 152. It was also the first time two England batsmen had both made hundreds in the same ODI innings since Alastair Cook and Ian Bell achieved the feat against India at the Rose Bowl in 2007.
Bangladesh dramatically beat England for the first time in any format in 21 matches with a five-run win at Bristol on Saturday that ended a run of 24 straight defeats against all opponents. The Tigers, chasing a formidable target of 348, seemed they would need a substantial innings from dashing opener Tamim Iqbal.
But having made a typically brisk 16, Tamim was deceived by an Ajmal Shahzad slower ball and skied to Luke Wright at mid-off.
Then 20 for one became 24 for two as Imrul Kayes, Tamim's fellow left-handed opener who made 76 at Bristol, fell for four when gloving a lifting Shahzad delivery through to wicketkeeper Craig Kieswetter. There was no way back for Bangladesh from that start and they were bowled out for 203 with five overs remaining.
Strauss and Trott came together at one for one off four balls after Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who finished with fine figures of three wickets for 31 runs in his maximum 10 overs, clean bowled Kieswetter for nought as he made the ball cut sharply in off the pitch.
But fellow new-ball bowler Shafiul Islam undid much of his captain's good work by sending down nine overs at a cost of 97 runs while left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan conceded 75 runs.
Trott's innings also meant he'd bettered his ODI-best score for the second time in successive innings after his 94 at Bristol nearly prevented Bangladesh's victory in a match where England were bowled out for just 231.
Ravi Bopara, recalled after Ian Bell broke his left foot fielding at Bristol, took England's total past 300 with a blistering 45 not out off just 16 balls featuring four sixes-including three off Shafiul in the last over.
Medium-pacer Bopara later collected a quartet of cheap wickets for an ODI best return of four for 38.
Earlier, even Mortaza didn't escape being pulled for six by Strauss, who went into the 90s by driving Abdur Razzaq straight over the ropes.
Strauss completed his fourth ODI century off 106 balls before Trott joined him on three figure by cover-driving Shafiul for his 12th four in 112 balls.
Their stand, made at better than a run-a-ball ended when Trott was well-caught by a diving Shakib at mid-wicket off Mortaza. And next ball 251 for two became 251 for three when Wright was caught behind off Mortaza for a golden duck. Strauss though went to 150 by square-cutting Shafiul for his 16th four before he was out when he sliced Rubel to Shakib at point.
In all, he faced 140 balls with five sixes and 16 fours.

  Dutch celebrate second place in World Cup
UNB, Amsterdam

The Netherlands' World Cup team was honored by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende at the start of a hectic day of celebrations for the tournament runner-up on Tuesday. Under bunches of orange balloons, coach Bert van Marwijk and retiring captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst were given the honorary title of "Knight in the Order of Oranje Nassau" at a reception in front of Balkenende's official Catshuis residence. The team then was driven by coach to meet Queen Beatrix at her Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.
Later Tuesday, an Air Force helicopter was whisking the team to Amsterdam for a boat tour through the city's web of canals and an open-air party at Museum Square, where fans watched the action from South Africa on giant screens throughout the tournament. City officials were expecting up to a million fans to descend on Amsterdam to cheer their team.
Orange-clad supporters began pouring into the grassy square, flanked on two sides by the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum, hours before the party's scheduled 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) start. Around midday, a small barge full of fans wearing bright orange vests and pumping out dance music chugged through one canal heading for the start point of the team's boat tour.
Security staff were posted next to a handful of house boats along the route in an effort to prevent fans clambering onto their roofs. When the Netherlands won its only international title, the 1988 European Championship, several house boats were badly damaged and a few sank amid wild scenes of jubilation. The Dutch lost 1-0 in extra time to Spain in Sunday's final - the third time the country has lost the final after defeats in 1974 and '78. Dennis Nuitermans, who runs a car showroom in the southern city of Breda, traveled to Amsterdam on his 32nd birthday for the celebration.
"It doesn't happen often that we are second in the world so we're coming for a great day out in Amsterdam," he said. While Nuitermans was pleased with the team's second place, he was critical of its style of play. Van Marwijk ditched the trademark Dutch flowing, attacking style known the world over as "total football" and replaced it with patient passing and uncompromising tackling he calls "result football."
"It was not really Dutch, but it was efficient," Nuitermans said. "The final was not exactly charming. It was pretty ugly at times." Eight Dutchmen were booked and defender John Heitinga was sent off in an ill-tempered final in Johannesburg, where five Spain players were also booked. Netherlands winger Arjen Robben said his missed chance on the hour was still haunting him. The Bayern Munich star had only Iker Casillas to beat, but the Spain goalkeeper deflected Robben's shot wide with his outstretched foot.

   Spanish party pooper plots Sneijder downfall
AFP, Johannesbuerg

Spaniard Sergio Busquets dreams of being a party pooper Sunday when he faces Dutch star Wesley Sneijder in the World Cup final.
While Busquets was part of the Barcelona team that won the Spanish title, Sneijder is chasing a fourth winners medal having helped Inter Milan conquer Europe after they raised the Italian league and cup trophies.
Spain are favoured to win a Soccer City clash of countries who have never been world champions, but Sneijder poses a major threat after a superb tournament that triggered a 35-million-euro offer from Manchester United.
Sneijder has already made Busquets suffer once as Inter dumped title holders Barcelona out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage in a gripping two-leg showdown.
The Dutch star is also joint leading scorer in the World Cup with Spaniard David Villa on five goals - the same haul that won German Miroslav Klose the Golden Boot at the last World Cup four years ago.
"He is a great player and is in great form. We will try to stop him like any other player," said Busquets. "We will try to deny him even the time to think because otherwise he can create good scoring chances."
However, Sneijder insists there is just one issue on his mind and that is helping Netherlands win the World Cup after losing consecutive finals to host nations West Germany and Argentina three decades ago.
"All these statistics are the least of my worries. Believe me I have not thought for a second about breaking any records. What I want is to win the World Cup, end of story.
"I also get asked about being the player of the tournament or the leading scorer. But if I go on the pitch with all these things in my head, I will forget how to play football."
The Sneijder multi-title assault has been the subject of some banter with former Real Madrid team-mate Sergio Ramos, a defender who will try to contain the Dutch playmaker before a sell-out 90,000 crowd.
"I got a text message from Sergio saying 'you have already won enough trophies this season. It is time to calm down!" 26-year-old Sneijder told reporters.
"We are going to beat Spain," he insisted.

  England's Bell out of Pakistan series
AFP, London

England batsman Ian Bell was ruled out Tuesday of the upcoming Test series against Pakistan after breaking his left foot while fielding in the second one-day international against Bangladesh last weekend.
"Ian underwent a routine operation last (Monday) night on the fractured metatarsal in his left foot," Nick Peirce, the England and Wales Cricket Board's chief medical officer, said in a statement issued Tuesday. "He will now undergo a course of rehabilitation that will see him ruled out of the upcoming Pakistan npower Test series.
"We expect Ian to make a full recovery but his participation in the NatWest (one-day) Series against Pakistan in September will be reviewed in due course once he has made significant progress with his rehabilitation programme."
Bell, in an attempt to catch Junaid Siddique in the second one-day international at Bristol on Saturday, fell awkwardly on landing after diving at square leg. He looked in pain immediately and went off the field.
The 28-year-old was unable to bat in his listed position of No 3 but did come out wearing a surgical boot and with a runner as last man for the final over in a vain attempt to help England get the 10 runs they needed for victory.
As it was, Bangladesh won by five runs - their first victory against England in 21 matches across all formats - to level the three-match series at 1-1 after Bell's 84 not out in the first ODI at Trent Bridge had helped put the hosts in front.
But England, without the injured Warwickshire batsman, recovered to beat Bangladesh by 144 runs in the third ODI at Bell's Edgbaston home ground on Monday and so win the series 2-1.
The four-match series against Pakistan, starting at Trent Bridge on July 29, is England's last Test campaign before they begin their defence of the Ashes in Australia in November.

  Tiger makes putter switch for slower Open greens
AFP, St. Andrews

Tiger Woods is tossing aside something he has loved and trusted for years, his putter, for a newer model in hopes of winning the British Open on the challenging greens of St. Andrews. Woods, still seeking his first victory in the wake of a sex scandal that destroyed his iconic image and forced a five-month layoff from golf, revealed Tuesday he will make the switch to cope with slower greens at the Home of Golf.
Woods has made sensational putts in addition to his trademark long tee shots to win by eight strokes at St. Andrews in 2000 and by five strokes in 2005, but this week felt he needs the Nike putter's advancements to have similar success.
"This putter does come off faster," Woods said. "It rolls the ball better and rolls it faster so I've had to make very little adjustment in how hard I'm hitting it compared to if I had my older putter."
The symbolism was great between Woods having admitted cheating on his wife Elin, whom he never mentioned, and dumping a putter he has used since 1999, one questioner noting, "It must be like kicking a member of the family out."
World number one Woods said he expects a warm reception from spectators at St. Andrews despite confessing to affairs with multiple mistresses and a reportedly impending divorce upon which he would not comment.
"Scottish golf fans have always been fantastic. They have been great to me over the years," Woods said. "I wouldn't see anything different than what they have been over the years."
About half of the 30 questions Woods faced Tuesday regarded his personal life rather than the golf skills of the three-time British Open champion, whose 14 majors titles are four shy of the all-time record 18 won by Jack Nicklaus. "(The scandal) doesn't impact it at all. I'm here to play a championship," Woods said. This is the Open Championship at St. Andrews. This is as good as it gets. It's the Home of Golf. I'm just like every other player in this field."
Woods played two days last week in Ireland, then went home to Florida to spend time with his daughter Sam, 3, and son Charlie, 1, whom he called "the most important things in my life."
"I went home and had a great time with my kids," Woods said. "That was an incredible experience, to hang out with my kids. Normally I don't come over, play two days and then go back home, but the reason why I did is obviously for my kids, and we had a great time." A British newspaper report says the children will stay with Elin Woods as part of a 750 million-dollar divorce settlement.
Woods said he has fulfilled the promise made on his return last April at the Masters to interact more with the public and respect golf more by cursing less, but said he did not know if he ever could fully rebuild his reputation.
"I'm trying to become a better player and a better person," Woods said. "That's all that really matters. I have two beautiful kids and I'm trying to be the best dad I can possibly be and that's the most important thing of all."
Asked if a victory would open a road to redemption, Woods shurgged off the notion, saying, "I would like to win no matter what. It really would be nice."
Woods said he is not working with a coach after having parted ways with Hank Haney in May but would not rule it out in the future.

  All Whites coach rejects foreign offers
AFP, Wellington

New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert, who guided his unheralded side to three defiant draws at the World Cup, declared Tuesday he has rejected a host of lucrative offers to move overseas.
Herbert confirmed he had been tempted by big money contracts from European, Asian and African clubs after the All Whites drew with Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia to finish one point away from qualifying for the last 16. "One or two were hard to turn down but I'm very comfortable with my decision," he said. He was possibly the lowest paid manager at the World Cup, only earning about 35,000 US dollars a year as All Whites coach on top of his salary as manager of the Phoenix in the Australian A-league, but said loyalty came before money. "At the end of the day it's not all about money for me. "It's loyalty-people may say sometimes the grass may be greener but I don't think it is."
Herbert said he had unfinished business to attend to and confirmed he would remain with the Wellington-based Phoenix for three more years from this season.
New Zealand Football was also happy for him to continue his dual role as Phoenix and All Whites coach which had operated for the past three years. "I have agreed to continue on for the next period for the World Cup (in Brazil 2014) and there's just some fine tuning" to be done by the Pheonix and New Zealand Football. Herbert played in the 1982 All Whites-the only other New Zealand team to make the World Cup finals-and did not want to see a repeat of the way the game collapsed in New Zealand after that performance.

  Coach Weiss extends Slovakia contract until 2014
AFP, Bratislava

Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss, fresh from guiding the team to the last 16 of the World Cup, on Tuesday extended his contract until 2014.
"I had other offers from abroad but I prefer working with the Slovak football association," Weiss said.
Weiss, who took charge of the national team in 2008, said his priorities were to prepare the team for the Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 tournaments.
"The team is relatively young but experienced. The World Cup showed them new possibilities," the 45-year-old added.
A World Cup newcomer, the Slovak team beat defending champions Italy 3-2 in the group stage to advance to the last 16 before losing to the Netherlands.
Weiss, who played for the former Czechoslovakia at the World Cup in Italy in 1990, previously coached Slovak top-flight side Artmedia Petrzalka and Russia's Saturn Ramenskoye. His 20-year-old son Vladimir, a midfielder on Manchester City's books, was also part of the Slovak team.
The coach's father, also Vladimir, helped Czechoslovakia win the silver medal in the football tournament at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

   HK legislator urges leader to buy World Cup rights
UNB, Hong Kong

A Hong Kong legislator has urged leader Donald Tsang to buy TV rights for the next World Cup, after the football-crazy former British colony missed out on free coverage this year.
The Hong Kong rights holder was subscription-based Cable TV. The broadcaster agreed to license footage of key matches to the digital channels of Hong Kong's two free-to-air TV stations, but the deal still left out poorer neighborhoods without digital coverage. In Tsang's question-and-answer session in the Hong Kong legislature on Tuesday, lawmaker Wong Yung-kan asked him to consider using taxpayer dollars to buy World Cup TV rights, saying many locals were "deprived of the right to watch the World Cup." Tsang said he would consider ways to guarantee free coverage of key matches, but didn't make any promises.

  Referee system faces chang in 2014 - FIFA
AFP, Johannesburg

Refereeing at the 2014 World Cup will be radically altered with the possible introduction of goal-line technology and the use of extra officials, a top FIFA executive said on Tuesday.
FIFA have come under increasing pressure to introduce technology and video replays after a series of howlers at the World Cup.
England's Frank Lampard had a perfectly good goal ruled out against Germany when the referee and his assistant failed to spot the ball had landed behind the line after coming off the crossbar. Mexico were also furious when Carlos Tevez's goal for Argentina was allowed to stand despite the striker being in an offside position.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke said the Lampard incident had been a "bad day" for organisers.
"We're talking about a goal not seen by the referee which is why we are talking about new technology," Valcke told the BBC.
He also suggested that the use of two extra referees positioned on the goal-line - a system trialled last season in the Europa League and set to be used in the Champions League this coming season - might also be used in future World Cups.
"But let's see if this system will help or whether giving the referee an additional four eyes will give him the comfort and make duty easier to perform, then why not?," said Valcke.
In March this year, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) decided against introducing goal-line technology despite the widespread outrage following Thierry Henry's handball which helped France beat Ireland in a World Cup play-off.
But Valcke admitted that the fast and furious pace of the modern game is posing new problems for FIFA.
"The teams and the players are so strong and so fast. The game is different and the referees are older than all the players," said Valcke.
"The game is so fast, the ball is flying so quickly, we have to help them and we have to do something and that's why I say it is the last World Cup under the current system."
FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in the aftermath of the Lampard controversy that the opposition to goal-line technology would be reviewed.
"The only principle we are going to bring back for discussion is goal-line technology," said Blatter.
"Football is a game that never stops and the moment there was a discussion if the ball was in or out, or there was a goal-scoring opportunity, do we give a possibility to a team to call for replays once or twice like in tennis?"
Blatter also said that in October or November FIFA would unveil a new global plan to improve refereeing.
"We want to improve the match control," he said. "How to do it? After World Cup 1990, we created a task force called football 2000.
"We made some amendments like the back pass to goal keeper. It's not today we have just started. It's an ongoing process. We'll come out in October/November with a new model how to improve high level refereeing.
"I cannot disclose more of what we are doing but something has to be changed."

  Arjen Robben best Bundesliga player - poll
AFP, Berlin

Dutch World Cup star Arjen Robben was Tuesday voted the Bundesliga's best player during the 2009-2010 season in a German footballers' poll dominated by champions Bayern Munich.
The attacking midfielder, widely regarded as one of the top players in last Sunday's World Cup final, scooped 72 percent of the votes in the survey conducted by the German Professional Footballers Association (VDV).
In second place with six percent of the votes was fellow Bayern player, German central midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who also starred in the World Cup in South Africa.
The prize for the Bundesliga's best young player went to Thomas Mueller, the German international winger who won the Golden Boot in South Africa for the most goals scored and was also named the young player of the tournament.
Completing Bayern Munich's dominance of the survey, Louis van Gaal was the coach of the
season, with 38.8 percent of the votes cast, narrowly edging out Schalke's
Felix Magath, with 38.3 percent.
The poll was conducted among all footballers playing in the Bundesliga, as well as the second, third and regional leagues.

  Reid quits int’l football
AFP, London

Injury-plagued Republic of Ireland midfielder Steven Reid announced his retirement from international football on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old, who earlier this month signed a two-year deal with West Brom, has decided not to play for his country again in a bid to prolong his club career.
Reid, who has 23 senior caps, said: "It was a tough decision because I have had some terrific times with Ireland. But having weighed everything up, I know this is the right decision."
"The injuries I have had over the past couple of years have been well documented and I have taken this step to prolong my club career and to spend more time with my family.
Reid was handed his senior international debut by then manager Mick McCarthy against Croatia in August 2001 and was a member of the squad which travelled to Japan and South Korea for the 2002 World Cup finals, at which he made two appearances.
He also played under McCarthy's successors Brian Kerr, Steve Staunton and Giovanni Trapattoni and started the World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Montenegro in September 2008 before injuries once again took their toll.

  Aamer makes Australia struggle
AFP, London

Teenage quick Mohammad Aamer struck an early blow as Australia struggled to 36 for one at lunch on the first day of the first Test against Pakistan at Lord's here on Tuesday.
Aamer dismissed Shane Watson for four on his way to figures of one wicket for 13 runs in five overs during a session shortened by rain to an hour.
And the left-armer was unlucky not to have another after Simon Katich survived a convincing lbw appeal on two.
As it was, left-hander Katich survived to be 11 not out at lunch, with Australia captain Ricky Ponting unbeaten on 14.
It was no surprise Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi, after winning the toss in his first Test in four years, elected to field in overcast conditions that appeared ideally suited to his seam-bowling attack. And the 18-year-old Aamer, one of the stars of Pakistan's back-to-back Twenty20 victories over Australia at Edgbaston last week, was soon testing the opening duo.
The left-armer had an lbw appeal against Katich turned down by Ian Gould, with replays showing the ball would have hit middle stump, although the English umpire may have been deceived by the sound of bat hitting pad. Watson took a risk in padding up to an inswinger and then, curiously, did the very same thing next ball.
Gould raised his finger but, as the ball had trickled onto the stumps and knocked off the bail, Watson was out bowled and Australia were eight for one.
Even star batsman Ponting looked uncertain early on against the swinging ball. But when Aamer erred in dropping short, Ponting pulled him for four.
Katich, repeatedly shuffling across his stumps, continued to look vulnerable to being given out lbw and then, extraordinarily, turned his back on first change Umar Gul's initial ball.
This was the first of a two-Test series being played in England because Pakistan, where the matches should have been staged, became a 'no-go area' for top-class international cricket following the armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in March last year.
This match was also the first time a 'neutral' Test had been played in England since the 1912 triangular tournament where Australia and South Africa, along with England, made up the competing teams.

  Quins captain Purdham nearly quit after brother’s death
AFP, London

Harlequins captain Rob Purdham has revealed how he nearly quit rugby and returned to the family farm in Cumbria following the murder of his brother Garry.
Garry Purdham, 31, was one of 12 people shot dead by Cumbria gunman Derrick Bird on June 2.
Rob Purdham told BBC Sport: "There's such a big hole left from where my brother was and there's so much to do.
"I just felt a part of me needed to stay there. I don't want to try to be him but just to fill the void he left."
Purdham, 30, played with his brother Garry at Whitehaven for three years before moving to the London Broncos, as Harlequins were then known, in 2002.
He was given compassionate leave by Quins to return to Cumbria in the aftermath of the shootings as he helped his family come to terms with the tragedy and arrange his brother's funeral.
"He's left two boys up there, my nephews, my mam and dad and things, all the farm work and things like that," Rob Purdham added.
"Just try to help. But like his wife said, he would have wanted me to do the best in my career and maybe one day go back up to Cumbria, so that's what we ended up doing."
The Rugby Football League have arranged a match between England and a Cumbrian XIII in Whitehaven on October 3, to raise money for Garry Purdham's family.

  Japan’s Uchida eager to start with Schalke
AFP, Berlin

Japanese defender Atsuto Uchida who has joined German club Schalke 04 after the World Cup turned up several weeks early for training on Tuesday, saying he was eager to get started. Asked why he was not taking the three weeks holiday allowed him after the World Cup, Uchida said he wanted to get into the swing of things. "I don't need that much holiday. I would rather get acclimatised and established as quickly as possible," he said in an interview posted on the club's Internet site.
"In Japan, we play a lot of games, but don't have a special training regime. In Germany a lot of attention is given to fitness. For me that means building my body so that I can really make a difference here," he said.
Asked about his knowledge of German, Uchida said he has already picked up a few words in Japan. "My aim is to get rid of my interpreter as quickly as possible, though that's not meant personally. I want to think like a German. I hope to get something out of it in human terms as well". J-League outfit Kashima Antlers announced last month they had agreed a transfer deal with the Bundesliga powerhouse for the 22-year-old.
The three-year deal, starting on July 1, guarantees him an estimated annual salary of two million euros (2.4 million dollars), a record for a Japanese player, according to the Japanese daily Sports Hochi. The transfer fee was estimated at 1.4 million euros.
"I could have played for other European clubs, but when I was asked by (Schalke trainer) Felix Magath, I only had one answer 'Hai, yes", he said.