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Leading News
Flood worsens in
3 dists
One lakh rendered homeless in Kurigram, Jamuna devours
100 meters flood control dam in Bogra
UNB, Dhaka
Over 100 meters of 700m town protection dam in Dhunat
upazila of Bogra was devoured by the strong current of
River Jamuna on Monday night.
Water Development Board (WDB) sources said that at 11pm,
80m belmouth of 250m-long No 1 spur of the embankment at
Shaharbari in the upazila went under Jamuna.
CC blocks and sand bags were being thrown at the erosion
point of the river to check the erosion.
In Kurigram, flood situation worsened in Kurigram with
rain-fed Dhorola flowing 2-centimeter above the danger
mark at Ferry Ghat point since Tuesday morning. Besides,
14 other rivers including Brahmaputra, Tista and Dudhkumar
continued to rise alarmingly overflowing their banks
inundating vast areas in 35 unions of the district.
Local administration sources said swelling Dhorola
devoured at least 73 houses in Zatrapur and Panchgachhi
unions on Tuesday rendering over one lakh people homeless.
In Bhola, 100 feet of hard point of Bhola town protection
embankment was devoured by the strong current of Meghna
river on Tuesday.
Local people blamed negligence of WDB officials and
engineers in performing their duties for the erosion and
alleged authorities looted the money allotted to repair
the dam. Dishonest officials embezzled several crore taka
instead of using the money to protect Bhola embankment,
they alleged.
In Sirajganj, Erosion of one hundred meters of hard point
of Sirajganj town protection dam was checked by throwing
CC blocks and sand bags at the erosion point on Tuesday.
Although CC blocks and sand bags were thrown at the
erosion point local people were still staying away in
safer places leaving their homes fearing further erosion.
Locals alleged a section of dishonest officials and
contactors of the WDB were seen in a good mood and
spending the time to share the work orders without making
any plan to stop the erosion on Monday.
Sirajgang Deputy Commissioner Aminul Islam also blamed the
WDB officials for negligence in performing their duties
that led to the big breach in the embankment.
City’s
sewerage system to be developed
ECNEC okays 3 projects worth Tk 226 crore
UNB, Dhaka
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC)
on Tuesday approved three development projects involving
Tk 226 crore, including a project to develop the existing
sewerage system in the capital city.
The approval came from the 3rd ECNEC meeting of the
current fiscal year held at the NEC conference room with
ECNEC chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the
chair.
"The entire cost of the three projects will be borne by
the government exchequer," said Planning Minister AK
Khandaker while briefing reporters after the meeting.
Planning Division Secretary Habibullah Majumder was
present. The Planning Minister informed that the ADP
implementation progress for the 2009-10 fiscal was 91 per
cent compared to 86 per cent in the 2008-09 fiscal.
He hoped they would be able to do better in the current
fiscal (2010-11), aiming to achieving 100 percent ADP
implementation.
Asked whether 23 percent ADP implementation in the month
of June (July-May 68 percent) had affected the standard of
the project implementation, Khandaker replied in the
negative. The cost of the 'Interim Emergency Sewerage
Construction Line and Rehabilitation Project-2nd Phase'
under the Local Government Division has been estimated at
Tk 84 crore.
Under the project, some 21.30 km of new sewerage lines
would be installed, 1 pump station will be constructed and
six more sewerage pumps will be set up for the development
of existing sewerage system in the city. The existing
sewerage network of the Dhaka WASA is able to serve only
20 per cent of the capital properly.
Besides, 37.25 km of sewerage pipeline would also be
restored. The project will be completed by 2012 with the
main objective of resolving the problems in areas outside
of the sewerage network.
The first phase of the project was completed successfully
at a cost of Tk 15.5 crore in 2009. The two other approved
projects are upgrading Signboard-Morelganj-Rayenda-Sharonkhola-Bagi
road into a regional highway under the Communications
Ministry at a cost of Tk 90 crore and
Pagla-Jagannathpur-Raniganj-Auskandi road construction
project (revised), also under the Communications Ministry
involving Tk 52 crore.
All-party
parliamentary body
Khaleda Zia sits with policymakers over sending name
UNB, Dhaka
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia sat with some policymakers of
the party Tuesday night to decide over sending a name of
the party representative to the proposed All-Party
Parliamentary Committee over returning to the 1972
constitution.
The meeting that began at the BNP chairperson's Gulhsan
office at 8:15 pm was continuing at the time of filing
this report at 9pm to decide whether they would remain in
the government proposed All-Party Parliamentary Committee,
according to a source close to the meeting.
Khandaker Delwar Hossain, Barrister Modudu Ahmed MP,
Barrister Jamiruddin Sircar MP, MK Anwar MP, Salahuddin
Quader Chowdhury MP and Zainul Abdin Farooque MP attended
the closed-door meeting.
The meeting discussed the letter sent by chief whip Abdus
Shahid to opposition leader Khaleda Zia on Monday seeking
a name from among the BNP lawmakers for the All-Party
Parliamentary Committee to decide restoration of the 1972
constitution after the Supreme Court judgment canceling
the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Khaleda Zia was also scheduled to exchange
opinion with different professional groups close to BNP at
her Gulshan office Tuesday night after the meeting with
the policymakers.
During the opinion exchange meet, she was likely to
discuss the latest political developments and seek support
for July 25 mass hunger strike. Many pro-BNP engineers,
agriculturists, lawyers, journalists, teachers of Dhaka
University and Jahangirnagar University, and cultural
personalities gathered at Khaleda Zia's Gulshan office for
attending the meeting.
CCC Mayor
Manjur Alam takes over charge
He assures civic amenities to citizens
UNB, Chittagong
Newly elected Mayor of Chittagong Manjur Alam Manju taking
over the charge on Tuesday assured the citizens of civic
amenities and his first task would be to solve the water
stagnation problem in the city.
Formally taking over the charge from acting Mayor Zahirul
Alam Dovash in presence of the councilors, elite of the
city and senior officials Manju said the genuine
development projects taken up by his predecessor would be
continued.
Allegations of irregularities and corruption in the
Chittagong City Corporation in the past would be
investigated by the internal audit. The citizens would be
informed if any irregularities are revealed by the audit,
he said.
Mnju said the City Corporation is a service institution.
All the elected councilors are required to carry out their
responsibilities with the mentality of serving the
citizens.
People of different parties, ideologies and views live in
the City, he said and urged the councilors and officials
to dedicate to the service of all sections keeping
themselves above politics.
Earlier, CCC chief executive officer Manjur Elahi,
councilors SM Iqbal, Rekha Alam Chowedhury and Hasan
Mahmud Hasni spoke welcoming the new Mayor.
BNP to give
reply to Chief Whip’s letter
UNB, Dhaka
Opposition BNP has decided to reply to the letter of
government chief whip that sought BNP nomination to the
proposed All Party Parliamentary Committee to decide about
returning to the original 1972 constitution.
BNP chairperson Khalead Zia at an emergency meeting with
the senior leaders at her Gulshan office on Tuesday night
took the decision.
After an hour-long meeting that ended at 9-15 pm,
opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque told reporters
that the letter of the government chief whip was discussed
at the meeting. A reply is being sent tonight. Salahuddin
Quader Chowdhury MP who was in the meeting told reporters
that the contents of the letter of government chief whip
was ambiguous.
"Our reply will be in the manner it was written," he said
indicating that no name of BNP was proposed to the
committee.
Replying to a question Zainul said the reply to the letter
was signed by him.
BSF kills 3
more Bangladeshis
Border killings in four months rise to 37
TBT Report
Indian Border Security Force (BSF) killed three more
Bangladeshi nationals at Ghosahalpur border of Jheidah
dustrict on Tuesday.
With the killing on Tuesday BSF killed 37 Bangladeshis in
last four months. The number of Bangladeshis killed by BSF
during the nine years period from January 1, 2000 to July
20, 2010 stands at 838. BSF also injured 860 people and
abducted 903 Bangladeshis in the same period.
According to an UNB report, Indian BSF shot dead two
Bangladeshi cattle traders at Ghosalpur border of Jhenidah
district Tuesday morning. Locals and family members of the
victims said Obaidul Islam (32) of Padmapur village and
Akbar Ali of Sejia village left home in the morning for
purchasing cattle across the border.
BSF patrol team of Pakhiura outpost fired 10 or 12
gunshots killing Obaidul and Akbar on the spot. Their
bodies were dragged away by the killers to Hashkhali thana.
Shaympur union parishad chairman Shahanur Rahman told UNB
by phone that cattle traders Obaidul and Akbar died of BSF
bullets in the morning. He said the BSF killing created
tension in the area.
Local BDR commander Lt Col Sultan Ahmed said BSF firing
resulting in death of two Bangladeshi cattle traders was
strongly protested at a flag meeting with BSF at company
commander level at 4-30 pm. But BSF denied the killing of
Obaidul and Akbar.
Another report from Satkhira said BSF troopers of
Kanaikati outpost caught and tortured to death cattle
trader Asghar Ali and thrown into the river. His body
floating on the Kalindi border river was rescued at 8am
today. Family sources said his two associates Nurul Islam
and Subid Ali remained missing.
Back Page
President for informing new
generation of own history
UNB, Dhaka
President Zillur Rahman on Tuesday emphasized the need of
restoring the country's rich tradition of the past by
letting the new generation know about own history.
"It's the responsibility of both guardians and teachers to
inform the new generation of our own history," he said
while presiding over the 1st convocation of University of
Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) at Bangabandhu
International Conference Center in the city.
University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman Prof Nazrul
Islam attended the convocation as special guest while
Ameerah Haq, Under Secretary General of the United
Nations, was the convocation speaker.
Addressing the function, Zillur Rahman mentioned that
about 1400 years ago, renowned scholar Shil Bhadra, born
in Dhaka, became the teacher of the ancient university of
Nalanda, and he received the compliments and respect of
the scholars who lived in the subcontinent during his
time. "Prominent Chinese traveler Yan sang accepted the
discipleship of the scholar (Shil Bhadra) being impressed
with his deep knowledge," he said.
The President also mentioned that after 400 years of this
period, Srijnan Atish Dipankar, the great ancient Buddhist
scholar from Bikrampur, went to Tibet and enriched the
Buddhism. "There're more such instances in the history,"
he said. Describing the past as the golden era of Bengal,
Zillur Rahman noted that East Bengal was the origin of
knowledge and the center of excellence during that period.
"This golden era is no more. It's our responsibility to
restore that rich past."
Congratulating the new graduates, the President asked them
to join the nation building activities giving top priority
to honesty and sincerity and also utilizing their talent
and creativity. About the condition of the private
universities, he mentioned that most of the private
universities do not have adequate infrastructures,
well-equipped libraries and competent faculties. Speaking
at the convocation, Prof Nazrul Islam said the present
government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is fully
committed to ensuring international standard higher
education to build a rich and modern society within 2021.
With the aim of attaining the goal, he said the government
has already enacted the Private University Act which has
been passed by the parliament and also approved by the
president of Bangladesh.
"I hope this Act will help the country's private
universities to provide quality higher education," the UGC
chairman said. He added that it is the responsibility of
both the authorities of the private universities and the
UGC to ensure quality higher education in the country.
ULAB Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Rafiqul Islam and President
of Board of Governors of the university Kazi Shahid Ahmed
also spoke at the convocation.
A total of 146 students, including graduates and
post-graduates, have been conferred degrees at the
convocation. President Zillur Rahman handed over the
Chancellor Gold Medals to two students for their
outstanding academic results.
PM for opening WIPO liaison
office in Dhaka
UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has requested the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to open its
liaison office in Dhaka for better coordination between
Bangladesh and the organization in various sectors.
She made the request when Dr Francis Gurry, Director
General of WIPO, one of the 16 specialized agencies of the
United Nations, paid a courtesy call on her at the Prime
Minister's Office (PMO) on Tuesday morning.
During the meeting the Prime Minister reiterated her call
to the WIPO for another 15 years' waiver of Bangladesh and
other LDC countries in pharmaceuticals sector from
intellectual property (IP) rights regime, said Prime
Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad.
Stressing the need for establishing of an integrated
National IP office in Bangladesh to coordinate all IP
related activities in the country, Hasina said that her
government during its last tenure had integrated Patent
and Trademarks offices.
"Our government is now working on the establishment of an
integrated National IP office merging the functions of the
Patent and Trademarks Office and the functions of the
Copyright Office," she said and sought WIPO's support in
this regard.
On waiver the issue, the Prime Minister mentioned that
pharmaceuticals industry of Bangladesh has achieved
remarkable growth under the intellectual property waiver.
Bangladesh now exports its high quality and competitively
priced pharmaceutical products to over 70 countries,
including many LDCs, she said.
She added that the growth of Bangladesh's pharmaceutical
industry has thus benefited all the LDCs in guaranteeing
primary healthcare needs of their peoples.
Hasina stressed that the world should now begin to allow
extension of this waiver for the pharmaceutical industry
in LDCs at least for another 15 years beyond 2015.
"WIPO should prepare a study on this to be deliberated
upon by the member states for a decision," she said.
The Prime Minister stated that Bangladesh is keen to
further strengthen its partnership with the WIPO in order
to utilize intellectual property as a tool for
implementing her government's vision of creating a
'Digital Bangladesh' by 2021 marking the country's 50
years of independence.
She stressed that effective utilization of intellectual
property (IP) tools and information technology (IT) would
be important in attaining the development objectives set
by her government.
Hasina told the WIPO DG that Bangladesh is now in the
process of finalizing its IP policy, which will also
identify the key elements of a strategy that needs to be
put in place for achieving the development goals.
In response, Dr Gurry said the WIPO would continue to
assist Bangladesh in attaining its development targets in
related fields.
16 land
grabbers held with 17 firearms in Chittagong
BSS, Chittagong
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in a raid arrested
16 land grabbers, including alleged criminals along with
17 firearms from Jangal Salimpur area in Sitakunda upazila
in Chittagong in the early hours of Tuesday.
Of the arrested, one was identified as Yakub Ali, who is
the leader of a criminal gang known as 'Yakub Bahini'. He
is an accused of six cases with the city's Panchlish thana.
Locals said Yakub, an accomplice of criminal Akkas, formed
'Yakub Bahini' after Akkas was killed in an encounter with
RAB last month. The source said a team of Rab-7 led by its
commander Lieutenant Colonel Sazzad Hossin conducted
drives in the Jangal Salimpur area at about 4am on Tuesday
and arrested Yakub and 15- member of a land grabbing
syndicate.
The RAB also seized three rifles, 13 Light Guns (LG) and
one revolver, 26 cartridges, 11 bullets, 10 sharp weapons
and three sets of uniforms from their possession.
The RAB sources said most of the firearms are country
made.
Dr Razzak for
GM food production to ensure food security
BSS, Dhaka
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzak on
Tuesday called for increasing investment and use of
technology to raise production in agriculture sector.
"In no way attaining food security is possible without the
use of technology. Therefore, we have to turn to
genetically modified (GM) food production, making use of
the knowledge of biotechnology," he said.
The minister was speaking as the chief guest a function
marking the unwrapping of 'Globalization and Agriculture
Economy', a book by journalist Altaf Hossain, at the
National Press Club.
Presided over by Agriculture Reporters Forum President
Ashraf Ali, the function was addressed by former caretaker
government Adviser Dr CS Karim as the special guest.
BRAC Chief Executive Officer Dr Mahbub Hossain, daily
Samakal Editor Golam Sarwar, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
Researcher Uttam Kumar and Agriculture Ministry Seed Wing
Director General Anowar Faruq, among others, took part in
discussion.
Dr Abdur Razzak said now the challenge before the
government is to ensure food security by 2012.
The government has already taken some steps in this
regard, resulting in the increase of agriculture
production growth rate to 4 percent from 3.5 percent in
one year.
He said it is a matter of concern that the investment in
agriculture sector is declining globally. But it is
essential to increase investments to ensure food security,
he added.
The food minister said there are controversies in the
country over hybrid and other modern agriculture
technology. But there is no alternative to the use of
hybrid seed to meet the demand of growing population and
the government is working to this end.
Referring to the production of potatoes, he said the
production per bigha increased to 40 to 100 mounds from 10
to 12 mounds in the past because of the use of hybrid
seeds from Holland.
The minister urged the mass media to highlight agriculture
reports to encourage the people concerned.
CS Karim stressed the need for changing food habit to
build a healthy and able nation.
Diversification in production is needed to change the food
habit, he added.
One dies, 14 fall sick after having
dinner at their home in Habiganj
UNB, Habiganj
An old man died and 14 other members of the expatriate
family were hospitalized after falling sick after having
dinner at their home at Gobdevpur village in Nabiganj
upazila early hours of Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Nur Mia Chowdhury, 70, of
the village.
Family sources said, Nur Mia returned to his ancestral
home along with 15 other members of his family from London
after five years on Monday.
The whole family mysteriously fell sick with severe
stomachache and frequent vomiting after dining late at
night.
Nur Mia died at dead of night while his wife Selina Begum,
55, sons Shahed, 32, Zabed, 25, Alamgir, 18, Mostak, 16,
daughter Helena, daughter-in-law Lovely Begum, 25,
sister-in-law Monowara Begum, 28, and six minor grand
children were admitted to Osmany Medical College Hospital
in serious condition on Tuesday morning.
Sources said only 3 members of the house, Nur Mia's
brother-in-law and two domestic helps, who also consumed
the same cooked food, were allright which caused suspicion
among neighbors.
Editorial
BB’s suggestion for
power price hike
Bangladesh
Bank (BB) has suggested for raising the power price keeping
separate tariff structure for the low-income group. "The high
cost quick rental option needed for urgent augmentation of
power generation has heightened the urgency of increase in
prices of energy, to keep budgetary subsidy burdens
sustainable," said the Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) of BB
released on Monday. BB Governor Dr Atiur Rahman unveiled the
half-yearly MPS at a press briefing.
It may be pointed out that the BB's suggestion has come
keeping in line with the proposal made a few weeks ago by
Finance Minister AMA Muhith for an immediate increase in the
prices of power and CNG gas although in both cases the major
brunt have to be borne by the public. An earlier report stated
that Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB) is set to
increase again the power tariff. PDB will propose to the
Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) to increase
power tariff by 6 to 7 percent at bulk level . BERC increased
tariff by 15 to 16 per cent at bulk level in 2008 while on
March 1, last it increased tariff by 6 to 7 per cent at retail
level. PDB claimed that the state run organization is
incurring a loss of 14.43 per cent per unit of electricity
supplied to the consumers. The official system loss of the
agency is 14.45 percent.
Besides, the PDB move, the BB suggestion for raising the power
tariff has come at a time when the people's suffering has
climaxed due to unbearable load shedding . The country is
plunged in a grave crisis of electricity which is disrupting
public life, hampering education and affecting production in
industries and agriculture. In a bid to resolve this crisis
the government is taking various measures that prove more to
be futile experiments than effective actions. In other words
the PDB has totally failed to meet the people's need of
electricity and on the other hand making a bid to increase the
power tariff repeatedly.
City dwellers and industries are already paying a higher price
for electricity as the government raised the power tariff by
6-7 percent on an average with effect from March 1. Bangladesh
Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) approved proposals for the
power-price hike, incidentally at the outset of the dry season
when people were already feeling the crunch of power crisis.
The government last increased the power tariff in 2007 by 5
percent and again in March last by 6-7 per cent at the retail
level.
It is unfortunate that the people are forced to pay more now
and will have to pay further more as power tariff although
they are suffering terribly due to electricity crisis and
frequent load shedding. The power tariff is being increased on
the ploy of rise in production cost and resultant financial
loss.
At a time when the people continue to face the worst ever
power crisis and end to it remains a distant goal, the move to
enhance the tariff of electricity is virtually a cruel mockery
with the consumers. The Power tariff hike will intensify
further the hardship of the people already overburdened with
rising cost of living.
We opposed earlier the decision to raise further the power
tariff at retail consumer level. Again, now, we oppose the
proposal for tariff hike and suggest that the loss should be
made up by checking rampant corruption and wastage and
reducing production costs and system loss. We feel that power
tariff hike is a wrong step and that a government which is
unable to ensure adequate electricity supply and retrieve the
consumers from unbearable frequent load shedding has no right
to enhance the tariff of power. The government should refrain
from increasing further the power tariff until it succeeds in
improving the nagging electricity crisis. It is not acceptable
that the people will continue to suffer due to unending
electricity crisis and at the same time they will be forced to
pay enhanced tariff for scarce electricity.
Acute fish crisis
Acute
fish crisis persists in the country despite a rise in the
production of fish. The country produced 29 lakh tons of fish
in the just concluded 2009-2010 fiscal year. In addition, 5.17
lakh tons of fish were available from the sea. In the
2008-2009 fiscal the fish production was estimated at 27 lakh
tons as against 24.40 lakh tons in 2006-2007 fiscal. It goes
without saying that the fish crisis aggravates despite rise in
production due to additional demand of fish for the growing
population.
The country continues to face a serious fish crisis which is
aggravating day by day. Due to the short supply in the market,
the price of all varieties of fish has skyrocketed and gone
beyond the purchasing capacity of common people. Worse still,
at a time when fish continues to be dearer with every passing
day, according to press reports : 57 indigenous species of
sweet water fish, particularly small ones, in the southern
region are disappearing fast. These varieties may be extinct
within next ten years.
Frequent and indiscriminate use of pesticides and chemical
fertilisers on agricultural lands, farming hybrid and carp
varieties of fish are responsible for destroying the fish
resources. Sources say excessive fishing due to growing
population, environmental crises like siltation of rivers,
canals, ponds, enclosures, sharp declining of spawning,
breeding areas, pollution of water bodies by industrial
wastes, chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and lack of fish
sanctuaries led to such a situation. The most endangered
spices of fishes, out of 57, are Nandina, Ghora, Swarna Puti,
Moha Shoul, Ritha, Kajli, Ghaura, Bacha, Shilong, Pangas,
Bagha Aier, Chenua and Gila Shoul.
If we want to preserve our fish used as delicious food items
we will have to protect our canals, water bodies, haors and
rivers and take measures to protect fish.
Analysis
More of the same
Qureshi and S M Krishna made clashing
statements on just about every issue - including Kashmir,
infiltration across the Line of Control and Balochistan.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi
The July 15
meeting between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India
ended in a familiar stalemate. The talks were unable to
reconcile differences over the modalities and agenda for
future engagement.
The deal-breaker was the Indian refusal to include Kashmir,
Siachen and Peace and Security in a future dialogue within an
agreed timeframe. As a result the planned announcement on even
a modest set of confidence-building measures fell through.
The only outcome of the Islamabad talks was the agreement to
keep talking and for Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to
visit New Delhi before year end. No schedule of meetings or
roadmap for engagement was announced as some had anticipated.
Instead the bitter exchanges between the two sides once the
talks ended left the climate decidedly fraught.
The air of tension and frosty ambience at the joint press
conference addressed by the foreign ministers laid bare the
wide gap between the two countries. Qureshi and S M Krishna
made clashing statements on just about every issue - including
Kashmir, infiltration across the Line of Control and
Balochistan.
The spat that followed this press briefing further soured the
atmosphere. This public row was entirely avoidable. But it was
symptomatic of the gap in perceptions and substance between
the two countries which the talks seemed to have reinforced
rather than mitigate. In terms of both optics and substance
the talks and their aftermath produced disappointment, despite
how low expectations were of this diplomatic re-engagement.
What unravelled the talks was the Indian side's unwillingness
to agree to a comprehensive agenda and specific timeframe for
future dialogue that would include Kashmir, Peace and
Security, and Siachen. These three subjects had been part of
the eight-issue "composite dialogue" that took place between
2004 and 2008 when it was suspended by Delhi after the Mumbai
attack. The Indian delegation agreed in the Islamabad talks to
proceed with secretary-level meetings on trade, culture, Sir
Creek, people-to-people contact as well as cross-LOC
confidence-building measures and humanitarian matters. But it
insisted that the three issues of priority for Pakistan be
left out for now and be discussed later at an unspecified,
"appropriate time".
The Indian focus during the talks was almost exclusively on
terrorism and on pressing Pakistan for "effective action"
against those involved in the Mumbai bombings. Until "further"
action was taken by Pakistan other efforts would be "futile"
was the upshot of the line taken by the Indian side. Foreign
Minister Krishna later told the press conference that he
pressed the Pakistan side to "fulfil assurances" not to allow
territory under its control to be used for terrorist attacks
against India.
New Delhi's attempt to mount pressure ahead of the talks was
evidenced by the remarks of India's home secretary G K Pillai
published in an Indian newspaper in which he said that the
interrogation of David Headley, who is in American custody,
had 'established' that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
had directed the Mumbai bombings. Not only did this vitiate
the atmosphere for the Islamabad parleys but it precipitated
the war of words that erupted after the talks.
But it was what Qureshi called India's "selective" approach
that produced the impasse in the discussions with Pakistan
unable to accept "de-linking Kashmir" from the dialogue
process. This seemed to be at odds with India's declared
willingness to "discuss all issues of mutual concern" conveyed
in the March meeting between the prime ministers of the two
countries on the sidelines of the Saarc summit at Thimpu. This
was then reiterated in exchanges during the run-up to the
Islamabad talks.
Pakistani officials interpreted the assurance to mean that all
eight issues that were discussed in the "composite dialogue"
would be part of the future dialogue process. Indeed Pakistani
officials had agreed to drop the nomenclature 'composite'
talks on the premise that the same agenda items would be
pursued in the process albeit by another name.
Although a framework for the dialogue had yet to be fashioned
the Pakistani expectation was that the foreign ministers'
meeting would enable an understanding on this to emerge, even
if Indian officials insisted this should stop short of a
structured process and instead reflect a "soft start" to
dialogue. Pre-talks preparations also envisioned the
announcement of easy-to-execute confidence-building measures.
They included the release of imprisoned fishermen, exchange of
prisoners, and revival of the working group on cross-LOC
travel and trade. A meeting between the two countries'
commerce secretaries was also to be announced. Some of this
may yet happen after the present row dies down.
Whether a way can to found to reconcile contending visions of
the framework and content for the dialogue is what will
determine the future course of bilateral relations. Three
related aspects of the Indian approach were evident in the
Islamabad talks. One, that issues relating to the structure
and agenda of the dialogue could be used as leverage or tools
in the negotiations. Holding back on discussing Kashmir and
Siachen was seen as a way of pressing Pakistan to accede to
Indian demands before "conceding" to discuss what Pakistan
regards as "core issues". That Islamabad is not prepared to
accept this talks-as-a-concession or quid pro quo approach was
made amply clear in the diplomatic encounter last week.
Two, the Indian approach in the Islamabad encounter made plain
the effort to recast the dialogue around Delhi's "core"
concern, terrorism and avoid, on the pretext of 'postponing'
until an indeterminate time, discussions on Pakistan's
priority issues. Public statements by Indian officials
indicating their openness to discuss "all issues" seemed
designed to signal a 'reasonable' posture. But the actual
conduct in the talks exposed a narrow Indian focus and the
attempt to set up a process on Delhi's terms configured around
a "terrorism first" agenda. This recipe for a selected and
fragmented dialogue will lead to a fitful and fruitless
process and frustrate any real movement in the bilateral
engagement.
Three, Delhi has set out its preference for an incremental
approach which contrasts sharply with Pakistan's emphasis on a
process that can transition quickly to a broader dialogue that
addresses issues simultaneously, not sequentially, and aims at
conflict resolution. Delhi's desire for a gradual,
step-by-step process may appear logical given the deep
suspicion and mistrust that characterise Pakistan-India
relations. But it stems principally from Delhi's bid to
determine both the pace and content of the normalisation
process. Many Pakistani officials believe that unstructured
talks on an open-ended and ad hoc basis will provide India
with the means to use every stage of such a process as a lever
to press its demands on Islamabad while avoiding accommodation
of Pakistan's concerns. This would mean handing Delhi the
initiative to determine the timing, modalities and agenda of
the dialogue process.
These differences wrap the next steps in the diplomatic
engagement in considerable uncertainty and mean that the
resurrection of a full fledged peace process remains a distant
possibility. The path to a broad based dialogue is strewn with
many obstacles but the immediate problem is the continuing
lack of common ground between the two countries about how the
talks should proceed and what they should discuss.
Engaging with India has always tested Pakistan's diplomacy to
its limits. Coming months promise more of the same. With
divergences and clashing visions on both process and substance
clouding the prospects for any meaningful improvement in ties
between the two neighbours the pressing challenge is how to
manage differences without relations regressing into tensions
at a particularly fraught moment in the region and when there
is renewed unrest in Indian-held Kashmir.
The key diplomatic challenge for Pakistan is how to engage
India in purposeful talks that aim at solutions and avoid
getting sucked into a process that ends up serving as an alibi
for not settling outstanding disputes.
The writer is a former envoy of Pakistan to the US and the
UK, and a former editor of The News.
Media hype
and the reality of ‘new’ India
Poverty in at least eight States - Bihar, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand - was worse than in some of the
poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa.
Hasan Suroor
Sabina
Alkire: Interventions that address social aspects of
poverty in India are needed.
In a week when Delhi's new "world-class" airport opened
for business and the Indian Space Research Organisation
celebrated the successful launch of five new satellites,
we had a stark reminder of another India that,
increasingly, many Indians feel embarrassed to talk about.
A United Nations-backed study by Oxford University
revealed that poverty in at least eight Indian States -
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa,
Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand - was worse
than in some of the poorest countries of sub-Saharan
Africa.
The findings are based on a global poverty index, the
Multidimensional Poverty Index or MPI, developed by Oxford
University. It takes into account a range of social
factors not hitherto considered while measuring poverty
and will replace the Human Poverty Index (HPI) which,
until now, has formed the basis for the annual U.N. Human
Development Reports.
How's the new index significantly different from the
traditional ways of measuring poverty and how will it make
a difference on the ground? Here, Dr. Sabina Alkire ,
Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development
Initiative (OPHI), who has travelled extensively in India,
speaks to Hasan Suroor :
Were you surprised by the finding that there are more poor
people in eight Indian States than in the 26 poorest
African states combined?
No, I wasn't really surprised, as the scale of Indian
poverty is well known within the academic world -whether
measured in income terms or multi-dimensionally. But the
recent focus on India's phenomenal growth in the media has
given the impression that the largest numbers of very poor
people are in Sub-Saharan Africa rather than South Asia
(where there are nearly twice as many MPI poor than in
Africa). We wanted to test that impression.
To get this comparison, what we did was to set a more
extreme poverty cut-off, which identified the Indian
States and the African countries whose Multidimensional
Poverty Index (MPI) was equal or greater than 0.32 (the
MPIs we calculated for 104 countries range from 0 to .64).
Eight Indian States and 26 African countries fall below
that cutoff. That's where this figure comes from.
To give an idea of what this means, the least poor entry
is West Bengal (MPI = 0.32), in which 58 per cent of
people are MPI poor, and they are on average deprived in
54 per cent of the dimensions or weighted indicators; in
Niger 93 per cent of people are MPI poor.
Actually, the intensity of poverty in Africa is still
higher - the population-weighted MPI for the 26 African
countries is 0.43, whereas for the Indian States it is
0.39.
How is the new Multidimensional Poverty Index or MPI
significantly different from the Human Poverty Index (HPI)
that the U.N. uses for its Human Development Report?
Doesn't that also take social indicators as the basis for
measuring poverty?
The indices share the same motivation, but are totally
different. The MPI starts with each person, and looks at
their lives and that of their household members, and
identifies a person as poor only if they have multiple
deprivations. The MPI reflects the intensity of
deprivation each person experiences as well as the
percentage of people who are poor.
The HPI aggregates percentages of people who are deprived
in different things. So it cannot see if all of the HPI
indicators affect the same person simultaneously, or if
each person only has one deprivation.
This is understandable, because in 1997 when the HPI was
developed we did not have the data that is required to
construct the MPI. Only recently has it become possible to
focus first on each person's life, and build a
multidimensional poverty measure from that.
Critics might say that studies such as yours simply end up
producing sensational headlines without anything actually
changing on the ground? Is there any evidence, for
instance, that the Human Poverty Index has helped fight
poverty better than the previous measures of poverty?
Our aim is to strengthen the work of many others who are
working passionately to stand alongside and empower those
who live with suffering and poverty to shape their own
destinies. We welcome specific suggestions from others
about how better to do this, but it seems that sharing a
measure which can show the simultaneous deprivations
people face should be a useful tool to others.
Doesn't, ultimately, the good old definition of poverty
based on household income and purchasing still remain
valid?
Yes. Our measure complements the income and consumption
data, and focuses only on very acute indications of
poverty. These data come from different surveys, in most
cases. It is a matter of enriching the information field.
If both measures coincide perfectly, of course, there
would be no need for both poverty measures. However from
preliminary analysis it seems that they differ quite a
bit, even at the level of individual. We need to
understand how and why. If a household has a disabled
person it may not be income poor but clearly experiences
multiple deprivations for example. Or a family may have
enough money to be nourished, but actually the children
are malnourished. Also, the MPI checks access to certain
services directly, whereas income data includes these in a
different way. Finally, data in both cases are imperfect,
so comparing two different measures can give us a clearer
picture.
In the course of your study, did you come across any other
surprising trends about India?
We did note that the MPI for different caste groups varies
a great deal. The Scheduled Tribes have the highest MPI
(0.482), almost the same as Mozambique, and a headcount
(the percentage of people who are MPI poor) of 81 per
cent. The Scheduled Castes have a headcount of 66 per cent
(the percentage of people who are MPI poor) and their MPI
is a bit better than Nigeria. Fifty-eight per cent of
other Backward Castes are MPI poor. About one in three of
the remaining Indian households are multi-dimensionally
poor, and their MPI is just below that of Honduras. While
this is not a surprise, it is yet another clear indication
of the need for interventions that address these social
aspects of poverty in India, alongside the direct
deprivations.
Viewpoints
Obama is in no-man’s land
The US
president has angered both the centre and the left, which
doesn't bode well for him in November.
Clive Crook
Democrats
in the US are worried about November's mid-term elections, and
they are right to be.
On current numbers, Republicans will regain control of the
House. The possibility that Democrats might also lose control
of the Senate, in a year when the seats in play should rule
this out, is taken seriously.
The economy is much to blame, of course. The political effects
are direct and indirect. Voters are unhappy, which hurts the
party in power. The electorate understands that George W. Bush
bequeathed the recession, but if 18 months of remedial action
have failed to work as hoped, blame begins to migrate.
This is the direct effect. The indirect effect, in a
centre-right country that views big government sceptically, is
that the faltering recovery calls the Democrats' larger
ambitions into question. Can the US really afford health-care
reform, voters wonder? Is this a good time to be raising
taxes, for redistribution, as the Democrats intend next year?
Tactical mistake
However, the economy is not the only thing going wrong for
Barack Obama and his party. The president's political judgment
is also at fault. I am not talking about the strategic goal of
leaning against the country's conservatism.
Whether or not that makes sense, Obama has slipped up
tactically. Somehow, he has managed to infuriate both the left
of his own party and, much more seriously for the Democrats'
prospects, the country's political centre. This did not need
to happen.
On the face of it, independent voters' disenchantment with
Obama is harder to understand than the disappointment of the
left. Health-care reform, Obama's signature effort, was a
moderate solution to a pressing problem.
The assurance that existing arrangements would not change for
those who were content which is questionable, in fact, but let
that pass was aimed at moderate opinion. It ruled out more
radical ideas such as extending Medicare health insurance,
currently only for the elderly, to all Americans.
Obama supported the "public option" - a government-run scheme
to compete alongside private insurance plans but did not
insist on it. In the end, the bill that passed was anything
but a socialist scheme. It was centrist through and through.
The fiscal stimulus, too, was a centrist initiative. It was
smaller than the left wanted, and included temporary tax cuts
as well as increases in spending. When you set health care and
budget policy alongside the administration's other policies,
the delay on closing the Guantanamo prison, the commitment of
extra forces to Afghanistan, the many Bush-like assertions of
executive privilege the left's discontent is easy to
understand. Why, then, are moderates and independents moving
in such numbers to support Republicans?
Because Obama, though wisely failing to insist on the left's
agenda, has chosen not to disown it. Unlike Bill Clinton, an
instinctive centrist, Obama is a progressive liberal. He
wishes he could give the left what it wants.
A disciplined and obstructive Republican opposition, fearful
conservatives in his own party, and the mood of the country
all make that, in his judgment, impossible. Obama's pragmatic
temperament advises patience. Do what can be done, he
calculates. Come back later for more.
This was half-right. If Obama had followed the advice of the
party's progressive wing, he would have killed his
administration's electoral prospects and his own hopes of a
second term stone dead. But he needed to go further. Once he
understood that compromise was necessary he had to repudiate
the left, not apologise to it.
Missed opportunity
He should have chosen centrism unreservedly as many voters
believed he had promised during his election campaign. Then he
could have championed, as opposed to meekly accepting,
centrist bills that maintained the role of private insurance
in health care and a stimulus that included big tax cuts.
Instead, he stepped back, put Congress in charge, and gave the
appearance of having compromise forced upon him by Republicans
and conservative Democrats.
Had he owned and campaigned for those centrist outcomes, the
left would have been no angrier than it is anyway. The anger
of the left, like the anger of the right, is always simply on
or off: it cannot be modulated. But this fury could then have
been co-opted as Obama's and the Democrats' best asset going
into November - proof to centrists and independents that the
president was on their side.
A good rule of politics: if you are going to disappoint the
left, make it your enemy. Obama has got the worst of both
worlds. He pleads for the left's patience and understanding,
certain to be rebuffed. The centre watches, also feeling
betrayed, and waits for November.
Ensuring the
right to water for all
At least 4,000
children die every day from water-related diseases. In
fact, more lives have been lost after World War II due to
contaminated water than from all forms of violence and
war. This humanitarian catastrophe has been allowed to
fester for generations. We must stop it.
Mikhail Gorbachev
The
right of every human being to safe drinking water and
basic sanitation should be recognized and realised. The
United Nations estimates that nearly 900 million people
live without clean water and 2.6 billion without proper
sanitation. Water, the basic ingredient of life, is among
the world's most prolific killers.
At least 4,000 children die every day from water-related
diseases. In fact, more lives have been lost after World
War II due to contaminated water than from all forms of
violence and war. This humanitarian catastrophe has been
allowed to fester for generations. We must stop it.
Acknowledging that access to safe water and sanitation is
a human right is crucial to the ongoing struggle to save
these lives; it is an idea that has come of age. It was
first proposed a decade ago by civil society organisations,
like Green Cross International, which I helped establish
in 1992. Today, it is a mainstream demand that many
governments and business leaders support. That is a great
achievement.
This month, for the first time, the UN General Assembly is
preparing to vote on a historic resolution declaring the
human right to "safe and clean drinking water and
sanitation." It is a pivotal opportunity.
So far, 190 states have acknowledged - directly or
indirectly - the human right to safe water and sanitation.
In 2007, leaders from the Asia-Pacific region recognized
safe drinking water and basic sanitation as human rights
and fundamental aspects of security. In March, the
European Union affirmed that all states must adhere to
their human rights commitments in regard to safe drinking
water.
Not all nations are on board, however. The United States
and Canada are among the very few that have not formally
embraced the right to safe water. Their continued
reluctance to officially recognize the right to water
should be questioned, not least by their own citizens.
President Barack Obama's national security strategy calls
for furthering human rights and sustainable development
around the world; that goal should be translated into
support for access to water as a human right.
A few other states, like Turkey and Egypt, have also
hesitated to formally acknowledge the right to water,
mainly because of boundary-related water issues. However,
an absolute global consensus is not essential. The
reluctance of a handful of countries cannot derail this
vitally important trend.
Recognising water as a human right is a critical step, but
it is not an instant "silver bullet" solution. This right
must be enshrined in national laws, and upholding it must
be a top priority.
Failures to provide water and sanitation are failures of
governance. Recognising that water is a human right is not
merely a conceptual point; it is about getting the job
done and actually making clean water widely available. We
must clarify the obligation of governments to finance and
carry out projects that bring these services to those who
need them most.
Developing countries that have incorporated the right to
water in their legislation, like Senegal and South Africa,
have been more effective in providing safe water than many
of their neighbours. Recent UN statistics show that the
world is on track to meet, or even exceed, the Millennium
Development Goal to halve the number of people without
safe drinking water by 2015. This should be applauded. But
the goal for sanitation will be missed by 1 billion
people.
At current rates, some parts of Africa are at least a
century away from providing safe water and sanitation to
all. A "water apartheid" has descended across the world -
dividing rich from poor, included from excluded. Efforts
to redress this disparity are failing.
Expanding access to water and sanitation will open many
other development bottlenecks. Water and sanitation are
vital to everything from education to health to population
control.
As population growth and climate change increase the
pressure for adequate water and food, water will
increasingly become a security issue. As global
temperatures rise, "water refugees" will increase. Water
touches everything, and strong collaboration among all
sectors of society - governments, activists, farmers and
the business and science communities - is needed to
increase its availability.
Making access to water and sanitation a daily reality is
good business, and good for the world economy. According
to the UN Environment Programme, a $20 million investment
in low-cost water technologies could help 100 million
farming families escape extreme poverty.
Dedicating $15 billion a year to the water and sanitation
millennium goals could bring $38 billion a year in global
economic benefits. That's a pretty good rate of return in
today's financial climate. It is within our grasp for the
first time.
There is tremendous political will and popular momentum
behind the movement to formally declare safe water and
sanitation as human rights. We must seize this moment and
translate our enthusiasm into solid, binding legislation
and action at the national and international levels -
starting with the expected UN vote this month. I was
pleased a few weeks ago to hear French President Nicolas
Sarkozy call for the 2012 World Water Forum - to be held
in the French city of Marseille - to be the venue for the
international recognition of the universal right to safe
water and sanitation. This cause needs more "champions" -
respected public figures and opinion leaders who act as
its ambassadors around the world.
The actions and voices of millions of citizens have
brought the global movement for the right to water this
far. I hope that more people will join us to help bring us
closer to the ultimate goal - a world where everyone's
right to safe water and sanitation is not just recognised
but is also fulfilled.
Mikhail Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union
from 1985 until its dissolution in 1991. He is a founding
member of Green Cross International and is on its board.
Winners
and losers of US politics
The situation might be slightly less troubling if the boys
in the White House - and they are overwhelmingly boys -
were foreign-policy heavyweights.
Roger Cohen
The
Clintons threw a big Washington bash on June 30 for
Hillary Clinton's longtime aide, Huma Abedin, and what
struck one of the many guests was the absence of anyone
from President Obama's tight White House inner circle.
Congressional heavyweights thronged the garden of the
Clinton spread on Embassy Row, including House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi. The city's big powerbrokers and various
State Department honchos were there for a party marking
Abedin's marriage to Congressman Anthony Weiner of New
York. But White House insiders stayed away.
Well, as Bill Clinton told CNN recently, "I did everything
I could to defeat President Obama and I wanted Hillary to
win" - old wounds do not heal overnight. Indeed, they may
not heal at all. When my informant said something about
the old grievances not going away, the response from the
hosts went something like this:
No, they don't and they never will. But, we're public
servants and suckers for punishment, so we soldier on.
Speaking of soldiering on, Mrs. Clinton left for Europe
the next day and while Americans celebrated July 4, she
was in Armenia trying to sort out the Nagorno-Karabakh
dispute and - equally thankless task - mediate between
Armenia and Turkey on their disagreement over what
happened in 1915.
You've got to salute Hillary. She's got guts to go with
that razor-sharp mind. It's a heck of a job being
secretary of state when the White House puts a tight
collar around the big issues and you're left with
Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed Ottoman crimes of World War I
and, if you're lucky, US bases on Okinawa.
The situation might be slightly less troubling if the boys
in the White House - and they are overwhelmingly boys -
were foreign-policy heavyweights. They're not. Indeed, I'm
told Henry Kissinger refers to them as "the kids." Chief
among them, according to my colleague Helene Cooper, is
Denis McDonough, the National Security Council's chief of
staff. Earlier this month, Cooper wrote: "Forget Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton or Defence Secretary
Robert M. Gates. When it comes to national security,
Obama's inner circle is so tight it largely consists of
McDonough, a 40-year-old from Minnesota who is unknown to
most Americans."
I do know McDonough and I've spent a fair amount of time
in Minnesota. He has many of the state's qualities:
positive, brisk, can-do, affable and efficient.
But am I reassured when I read that Obama's
national-security inner circle is comprised of him? Nope.
He was a great guy to control the foreign-policy side of a
campaign but he's not a great guy to think big about the
world.
Thinking big and bold is required right now. The clock is
ticking on momentous presidential decisions. Among them
are an Afghan extrication that will salvage a minimum of
core US security interests and what to do about Iran when
it becomes apparent by the end of this year that the
latest sanctions have changed nothing. Obama's apparent
carte blanche to Israel this month on Iran was disturbing.
Then there's Israel-Palestine, where Obama can't decide
whether the cost of being an honest broker is worth the
domestic heat he takes for being critical of Israel, with
the result that he's zigzagging to little effect.
After firing Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, Obama said he
would tolerate debate but not division. My sense is his
foreign-policy house is divided - and the weaker for it.
Gen. James Jones, his national security adviser, speaks
fine French - the French love that - but he's left most
people unconvinced. Tom Donilon, Jones' deputy, dances
around the vacuum as best he can. Like McDonough, David
Axelrod and Rahm Emmanuel were brilliant campaign
strategists, but should they be foreign-policy
strategists?
In Clinton, Obama has a Baker-class secretary of state.
For how much longer is he going to delegate her to
Nagorno-Karabakh? The State Department, a repository of
other underused talent, cannot be the White House annex
for non-critical affairs.
Back in the 1860s, James Gordon Bennett, then the editor
of the New York Herald, a forebear of the International
Herald Tribune, gave these instructions to an intrepid
foreign correspondent named Henry Morton Stanley: "Draw a
thousand pounds now; and when you have gone through that,
draw another thousand, and when that is spent, draw
another thousand, and when you have finished that, draw
another thousand, and so on; but, find Livingstone."
He was referring to the lost African explorer, David
Livingstone, whom Stanley eventually tracked down on Lake
Tanganyika, uttering the immortal words: "Doctor
Livingstone, I presume?"
That sort of journalism's gone out of fashion. So we can
all thank Rolling Stone for opening its pocketbook and
telling Michael Hastings to do whatever it took to find
General McChrystal. In his brilliant piece, Hastings did
that. He also found something else: an Afghan policy as
fragmented as the team Obama running it. McChrystal's
gone, but not the dysfunction. A blow-up, I presume? Watch
this space.
Roger Cohen is Editor at Large of the International
Herald Tribune.
International
Karzai reaffirms
2014 goal for Afghan-led security
Kabul, Afghanistan
President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday reaffirmed his
commitment for Afghan police and soldiers to take charge
of security nationwide by 2014 and urged his international
backers to spend their money on long-term Afghan
priorities.
Karzai spoke at a one-day international conference on
Afghanistan's future that comes at a critical juncture:
NATO and Afghan forces have launched a major operation to
drive the Taliban out of their strongholds, and the
insurgents are pushing back. Rockets fired at the Kabul
airport Tuesday forced the diversion of a plane carrying
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Sweden's foreign
minister.
Wearing a traditional striped robe and peaked fur hat,
Karzai said that Afghanistan and its Western allies share
"a vicious common enemy." But, he said, victory will come
in giving Afghans as much responsibility as possible in
combatting the insurgency within its borders. He was
flanked by international diplomats including Ban and U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"I remain determined that our Afghan national security
forces will be responsible for all military and law
enforcement operations throughout our country by 2014" -
more than three years after President Barack Obama's date
for the start of an American troop drawdown, Karzai said.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the
alliance will never allow the Taliban to topple the
government of Afghanistan. He said that transition to
Afghan-led security would be based on "conditions, not
calendars."
"Our mission will end when - but only when - the Afghans
are able to maintain security on their own," Fogh
Rasmussen said. Karzai also expressed his government's
desire to take charge of more of its affairs. He asked his
international partners to channel 50 percent of their
foreign assistance through the government within two
years. He also urged them to align 80 percent of their
projects with priorities that have been identified by
Afghans.
"It is time to concentrate our efforts on a limited number
of national programs and projects to transform the lives
of our people, reinforce the social compact between the
state and the citizens," Karzai said. While the
international community recognizes that Afghans must
increasingly take charge, corruption remains a major
concern. Graft feeds frustration with the government that
boosts support for the insurgency.
Clinton recognized that Karzai's administration had taken
steps to fight corruption, but said more needed to be
done.
"There are no shortcuts to fighting corruption and
improving governance. On this front, both the Afghan
people and the people of the international community
expect results," she said.
Five militants killed
in Pakistan
AFP, Slamabad
Five insurgents were killed Tuesday when the Pakistani
army foiled an attempt to blow up a military training
centre in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, security officials
said. Three militants wearing suicide vests and four other
rebels providing them with cover tried to enter the Punjab
Regiment training facility in Mardan district in the
north-west of the country.
"Sentries who were alert spotted suicide bombers and
targeted them. All three suicide bombers blew themselves
up before reaching their targets," military spokesman
Major General Athar Abbas said.
He said the remaining four terrorists who had already
taken positions on nearby buildings, opened fire on the
soldiers who immediately responded and killed "two
terrorists."
Four soldiers also received minor injuries.
The forces cordoned off the area and were searching for
the remaining two militants.
A purported spokesman of Terhrek-e-Taliban Pakistan,
Ihsanullah Ihsan, said eight men including three suicide
bombers carried out the attack.
"The suicide bombers blew themselves up killing 28
personnel," he said in a statement sent to the media from
an undisclosed location.
Mardan, located 63 kilometres north of provincial capital
Peshawar, is of strategic and political importance because
it has several army facilities, and the chief minister of
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa comes from the same area.
Pakistan has stepped up counter-insurgency operations in
the north-western region along the Afghan border, where
most of the keyTaliban and al-Qaeda leaders are allegedly
hiding.
The US has praised the efforts but has also demanded
operations in North Waziristan, which is allegedly used by
the militants to launch attacks on NATO troops in
Afghanistan.
US-S.Korea war games to
send ‘clear message’ to N.Korea
AFP, Seoul
The United States and South Korea will launch a major
military exercise on Sunday in the Sea of Japan as a
warning to North Korea over the sinking of a South Korean
ship, the two countries' defence chiefs said.
The drill is the first in a series designed "to send a
clear message to North Korea that its aggressive behaviour
must stop", US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the
South's Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young said in a joint
statement on Tuesday after talks. South Korea, the United
States and other nations, citing findings of a
multinational investigation, accuse the North of sending a
submarine to torpedo the Cheonan warship near the tense
Yellow Sea border in March.
The North denies involvement in the sinking, which claimed
46 lives, and says any retaliation could spark war.
The US-led United Nations Command said the drill from July
25-28 would involve about 20 ships including the
97,000-ton aircraft carrier USS George Washington and some
200 fixed-wing aircraft. Although the two countries had
staged large-scale military exercises in the past, this
was the first in "many years" to be carried out in the
aftermath of a "provocation" by North Korea, said Admiral
Robert Willard, head of US Pacific Command.
Four F-22 Raptor fighter jets will also take part in this
month's drill, flying training missions around Korea for
the first time, Willard told a news conference.
"Our goal is to deter North Korea from future
provocations," Willard said, adding it remained unclear if
the drills would have the desired effect.
About 8,000 army, air force, navy and marine personnel
from the two allies will take part, with drills covering
anti-submarine warfare, mid-air refueling and cyber
defence, officers said. "We stand fully prepared to
respond militarily to any further North Korean
provocation," said General Han Min-Koo, chairman of South
Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the UN Command
statement.
N.Korea, Myanmar dominate
ASEAN meet
AFP, Hanoi
The sinking of a South Korean warship and elections in
military-ruled Myanmar dominated a meeting of Southeast
Asian foreign ministers in Vietnam on Tuesday, ahead of a
regional security forum.
Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) met in Hanoi ahead of the region's main security
dialogue Friday, which also gathers major powers including
China, the United States and the European Union.
ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan said Myanmar's foreign minister
"got an earful" of criticism from his regional colleagues
about the need for elections scheduled later this year,
the first in 20 years, to be fair and credible.
A draft ASEAN statement also said the 10 member states
supported a nuclear-free Korean peninsula and urged a
resumption of six-party disarmament talks "as soon as
possible", following the sinking of the warship in March.
"We deplored the incident of the Cheonan ship sinking and
the rising tension on the Korean peninsula," it said,
referring to an explosion that ripped apart the corvette
near the disputed inter-Korean border, killing 46 sailors.
It said the six-party talks involving North and South
Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia were
still the "main platform to achieve long-lasting peace and
stability".
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and North Korean
Foreign Minister Pak Ui-Chun will attend the 27-member ARF
meeting alongside their counterparts from the six-party
process. It will be the first time the top diplomats from
the disarmament dialogue will be in the same room since
the Cheonan incident dramatically raised tensions on the
Korean peninsula.
Surin said it was an opportunity to "engage in a
discussion to see if the six-party talks can be given a
new life".
Clinton will arrive in Vietnam after visits this week to
Pakistan and South Korea, where she is due to attend a
memorial for the dead sailors and visit the Demilitarised
Zone (DMZ) alongside Defense Secretary Robert Gates. South
Korea, the United States and other nations, citing the
findings of a multinational investigation, accuse the
North of firing a torpedo that sank the warship.
The North vehemently denies the allegations and has warned
that any attempts to punish it could trigger war.
But the country has also said it is willing to return to
the multilateral disarmament talks, which it abandoned
last year, after the United Nations Security Council on
July 9 condemned the sinking but did not assign blame. The
United States, which has 28,500 troops in the South, has
expressed scepticism about the North's sincerity and
responded by announcing plans to hold naval exercises with
South Korea in the Sea of Japan starting Sunday.
Indian diplomat formally charged with
spying for Pakistan
AFP, New Delhi
A junior Indian diplomat arrested three months ago on
allegations of spying for Pakistan was charged Tuesday
under the official secrets act, police said. Madhuri
Gupta, who had been working in the Indian embassy in
Islamabad prior to her arrest, was booked under three
sections of the act, Deputy Police Commissioner Shibesh
Singh told AFP.
Gupta, 53, was employed in the embassy's information
service. She was called back to New Delhi in April on the
pretext of consultations only to be arrested at home by
police.
Her lawyer, Joginder Dahiya, confirmed that charges had
been filed in court.
"When I get the (charge sheet) copy tomorrow morning I
will be able to comment. At the moment I have no details,"
Dahiya said.
Depending on the precise nature of the charges, Gupta
could face a prison sentence of anywhere between three and
14 years if convicted. According to Indian police, Gupta
had been under surveillance for six months before she was
taken into custody.
Suspicion had been aroused by the "extraordinary interest"
she started taking in subjects unrelated to her
assignment.
Gupta had worked in the Indian mission for nearly three
years and news reports said she was alleged to have passed
on information from the Islamabad head of India's external
intelligence service. Her handlers were reportedly members
of the Pakistan intelligence agency, the ISI. As a second
secretary, she ranked low in the diplomatic hierarchy,
senior only to the entry-level third secretary, and Indian
government officials said it was unlikely she could have
passed on any top secret information.
Maldives police arrest two
more MPs on graft charges
AFP, Colombo
Maldivian police on Tuesday arrested two lawmakers on
graft charges as the US announced it would send an envoy
to the archipelago to try to resolve its deepening
political crisis.
Vice speaker of parliament and opposition lawmaker Ahmed
Nazim and ruling party parliamentarian Mohamed Musthafa
were arrested for allegedly bribing a judge in a civil
case, police said. "The two MPs offered a civil court
judge a 6,000-dollar cash bribe and three airtickets,"
police spokesman Ahmed Shiyam told AFP by telephone from
Male. Nazim was already under a 15-day house arrest on
separate charges of bribing lawmakers to block bills in
parliament when he was detained on Tuesday, police said.
Musthafa is the first ruling party lawmaker to be arrested
in a crackdown on corruption recently announced President
Mohamed Nasheed, Shiyam said.
The latest arrests came as the US said Assistant Secretary
of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert Blake
will visit the Maldives on Thursday for meetings with
Nasheed's government and the opposition.
Washington last week urged the Maldives to accept
international offers of mediation to resolve a power
struggle between Nasheed and the opposition-controlled
parliament.
UK
‘swamped’ with threats after wars: ex-spy chief
Reuters, London
Britain's support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
radicalized many Muslims and triggered a big rise in
terrorism plots that nearly overwhelmed the British
security services, the former head of the domestic
intelligence agency said on Tuesday.
Giving evidence to an official inquiry into the Iraq war,
Eliza Manningham-Buller, former MI5 director general, said
the U.S.-led invasions had substantially raised the number
of plots against Britain.
"It undoubtedly increased the threat and by 2004 we were
pretty well swamped," she said. "We were very overburdened
by intelligence on a broad scale that was pretty well more
than we could cope with.
"Iraq radicalized, for want of a better word ... a few
among a generation who saw our invasion of Iraq on top of
our invasion of Afghanistan as being an attack on Islam."
Britain has withdrawn its soldiers from Iraq, but still
has 9,500 troops in Afghanistan. Polls suggest a majority
of voters want British soldiers to leave, while a rising
death toll has put pressure on Prime Minister David
Cameron's government.
Cameron and his predecessor Gordon Brown have argued that
Britain has soldiers in Afghanistan to help counter the
threat of Islamist attacks in Britain.
The inquiry, chaired by former civil servant John Chilcot,
was set up last year by Brown to learn lessons from the
war. Previous probes have cleared the government of any
wrongdoing.
After the start of the war in Iraq in 2003, intelligence
services identified about 70 to 80 British-born Muslims
who went to Iraq to fight Western forces,
Manningham-Buller added.
Between 2001 and 2008, Britain investigated about 16
"substantial" domestic plots, of which about 12 were
stopped, she said.
The security services failed to stop the July 7, 2005
bombings on London's transport network that killed 52
commuters, as well as a similar attack that failed two
weeks later when the bombs did not explode, she said.
Asked about the threat of Iraqi-backed attacks against
Britain before the war, Manningham-Buller said the risk
was "low."
"We did not believe they had the capacity to do much in
the UK," she told the inquiry. A previously classified
letter sent by Manningham-Buller to security service
colleagues in 2002 said there was no convincing evidence
of links between Saddam and al Qaeda on chemical or
biological weapons.
There was also no solid evidence to link Iraq with the
September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, she added
in the letter, copies of which were released to the media.
Former U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix is expected to
appear before the inquiry in the coming weeks. The inquiry
is expected to conclude at the end of this year.
Afghan government
control of security ‘realistic’: Cameron
AFP, Washington
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday called a
plan for the government of Afghanistan to assume security
responsibility by 2014 "realistic," as international
leaders gathered in Kabul to discuss the country's future.
"It is realistic. There is a proper plan behind this,"
Cameron said here in an interview on National Public
Radio.
Cameron, who was due to meet here Tuesday with US
President Barack Obama for a White House summit focusing
on the Afghan war and other matters, said that while it
will not be possible to attain "perfection" in
Afghanistan, the Kabul government is on the cusp of being
able to capably manage its own security affairs.
"Success for me in Afghanistan is an Afghanistan which is
able to control its own security and to keep it free from
terrorists training camps and that has a basic level of
security -- that's what success is about," Cameron told
NPR.
He added that Afghanistan could count, however, on
continued support from Britain, the United States and
other allies.
"We need the Afhgans to know... that we are there for the
long-run. Whatever happens in terms of the politics of
Afghnaistan and the fighting, they need to know that
Britain and America and the NATO countries will continue
providing aid and support and help so the country doesn't
slip back into the mess that it once was," the British
leader said.
Cameron made his remarks as Afghan President Hamid Karzai
sought at an international conference in Kabul to make the
case that his government could assume security
responsibility by 2014 and demanded greater control of aid
money.
Karzai is under massive Western pressure to crack down on
corruption and take the lead in facing down a nine-year
Taliban insurgency now killing record numbers of foreign
soldiers and swallowing billion of dollars of money.
Six Turkish soldiers killed
by Kurdish rebels
Internet
Separatist Kurdish rebels attacked a Turkish military unit
near the Iraqi border, killing six soldiers in one of
their bloodiest assaults this year, officials said
Tuesday.
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants, armed with
rockets and assault rifles, launched the attack overnight,
near the border town of Cukurca, targeting a military unit
stationed there as reinforcement after a significant
escalation of rebel violence since June, military sources
said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that six
soldiers were killed and 15 wounded in the ensuing
clashes, adding that a PKK rebel was shot dead by security
forces. "We will pursue our struggle against terrorism
with determination. We will continue fearlessly and
tirelessly. We will not take even one small step back," he
said.
An operation is under way to catch the assailants after
the army deployed reinforcements, backed by air cover, the
military source said. It was not immediately clear whether
the militants had sneaked in from northern Iraq, where the
PKK has long taken refuge at remote mountainous bases.
The PKK dramatically stepped up its 26-year separatist
campaign after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan said
through his lawyers in late May he was abandoning efforts
to seek dialogue with Ankara.
The flaring unrest dealt a severe blow on an already
fragile government initiative, announced last year, to
expand Kurdish freedoms and boost investment in the
Kurdish-majority southeast in a bid to erode separatist
sentiment in the region and cajole the rebels into laying
down arms.
The government rejects dialogue with the PKK -- listed as
a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international
community -- dismissing criticism by Kurdish activists
that any peace effort is doomed to fail unless the PKK is
included. A declaration signed by 649 non-governmental
organizations from 20 provinces across the country called
for end to violence by both sides and the launch of a
dialogue with the rebels for peace.
"The Turkish Armed Forces should cease their operations
and the PKK must end their attacks. An end to the fighting
must be secured at once and an atmosphere of peace that
will open the way for a political solution to be
installed," read the declaration issued Tuesday. "A
process of dialogue must be launched to enable a lasting
solution and no party to this conflict should be excluded
from this process," it added.
Ankara has in recent years granted Kurds a series of
cultural freedoms, but has failed to draw up a clear
strategy on how rebels could be persuaded to abandon
violence and reintegrated into society.
Medvedev presents new
controversial bill on aiding terrorists
Internet, Moscow
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev caused new alarm among
human rights advocates Tuesday with the introduction of a
draft bill which could impose long jail terms on those
helping terrorists - even accidentally. Coming on the
heels of parliamentary passage of a law which expands the
powers of the secret service FSB, the new legislative
proposal foresees jail terms of up to 20 years for those
found guilty of helping terrorists.
But as Kommersant newspaper pointed out, such punishment
could even be meted to those who unknowingly or by
coincidence help someone who is a terrorist. The paper
cited Medvedev, himself a lawyer by training, as saying
that a person who "cooks a soup or sews some clothing" for
terrorists would be subject to punishment under the law.
Human rights activists and journalists criticised the new
legislative proposal, amid worries that it is a new effort
by the Kremlin to try to suppress people with differing
views.
If the law is passed in the form presented by Medvedev,
then in principle every Russian could be accused of just
about every possible action, Valentin Gefter, director of
the Human Rights Institute, told Kommersant. Russian media
also are worried about the proposed new law, fearing that
it could be misused in order to put pressure on
journalists. It was pointed out that after the terror
bombings on the Moscow Metro last March which killed 40
people, speaker of parliament Boris Gryslov had accused
some newspapers of aiding the attacks. He said the reports
by some journalists played into the terrorists' hands.
Critics of the Kremlin accused Medvedev of playing a
two-faced game.
They say that on the one hand he blinds the West with
promises of democratization in order to attract new
investments. But on the other, under the cover of the war
on terrorism, Russians' civil liberties were being
curtailed even further.
Rwanda voters ‘free to
decide’ in August poll : Kagame
AFP, Kigali
Rwandan President Paul Kagame said Tuesday voters had the
"freedom to decide" as he opened his campaign for next
month's presidential polls after a run-up tarnished by
arrests and assassinations.
"Rwandan voters have the freedom to decide. But we have to
seek their support and explain how we deserve their
support," Kagame told reporters in Kigali.
The 52-year-old has ruled the small central African
country since his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) ended the
genocide carried out by extremists from the Hutu majority
against his Tutsi minority in 1994.
He is widely expected to be re-elected, with the three
main opposition groups effectively out of the running.
"I'm very confident that Rwandans will choose to work with
RPF but I don't take anything for granted," he said.
An upsurge of violence in the run-up to the August 9
presidential elections have left his government fending
off accusations of repression, accusing the opposition of
attempting to smear the regime.
The Unified Democratic Forces has not been officially
registered by the authorities and its leader, Victoire
Ingabire, has faced legal action since April after being
accused of negating the genocide and abetting terrorism.
The Social Party (Imberakuri) faces similar problems and
its leader Bernard Ntaganda has been behind bars since
June 24.
Andre Kagwa Rwisereka -- vice chairman of the unregistered
opposition Democratic Green Party -- was found dead,
nearly decapitated, on July 14. Several senior army
officers have been arrested in recent months and one
general, Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, narrowly survived an
assassination attempt in exile in South Africa. An
opposition journalist who claimed to have uncovered the
regime's responsibility in the attempted murder was shot
dead days later.
Kagame's government has flatly denied any involvement in
the killings.
"There have been all kinds of activities... which have
been orchestrated in order to instill a climate of fear in
the run-up to the elections but also in an attempt to
smear the government," Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo
told AFP in a recent interview.
Turkish FM met Hamas
supremo in Damascus
Internet
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with Hamas
supremo Khaled Meshaal in Damascus, Anatolia news agency
reported Tuesday, a move that threatens to fan fresh
tensions with Israel.
The two men met on Monday to discuss efforts to heal the
rift between Hamas -- the radical Islamist group
controlling the Gaza Strip -- and the Fatah faction of
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas.
The Middle East peace process was also on their agenda,
Anatolia said.
The meeting took place amid simmering tensions between
Turkey and its one-time ally Israel over the killing of
nine Turks on May 31 in an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship
that was part of a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza.
The Jewish state, which views Hamas as a terrorist
organisation, has reacted angrily to previous contacts
between Turkish officials and the militant outfit.
Davutoglu was in the Syrian capital Damascus for a one-day
visit Monday, after which he headed to Afghanistan for an
international conference on the future of the war-torn
country. Foreign ministry officials contacted by AFP were
unable to immediately confirm the meeting.
In an angry tirade following the bloodshed on the aid
flotilla, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
rejected the "terrorist" label for Hamas, defending the
group as "resistance fighters who are struggling to defend
their land." Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government insists
that peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East if Hamas
is excluded from the process.
It has also urged the armed group, which has called for
the destruction of the Jewish state, to renounce violence
and engage in peaceful politics.
Kyrgyz in Osh protest
against International Police
Internet, Osh, Kyrgyzstan
Several dozen demonstrators have rallied in the southern
city of Osh, demanding that the government revise its
approval for an international police force for Kyrgyzstan,
RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service reports.
Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva agreed on July 16 to a
proposal from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) for an advisory police force
of some 50 officers to be sent to southern Kyrgyzstan.
Otunbaeva said in Bishkek that the police, who would be
unarmed and would stay initially for four months, would
accompany Kyrgyz police in Osh and Jalal-Abad.
She added that the international police would conduct
consultations and training for Kyrgyz police. They would
also monitor the human rights situation and prevent abuses
of power by local authorities.
The OSCE's permanent council is due to make a final
decision on deploying the police force when it meets in
Vienna on July 22.
The proposal to send international police to Kyrgyzstan
follows reports by international human rights groups of
physical abuse, torture, and the arbitrary detention of
ethnic Uzbeks by Kyrgyz security forces in Osh.
Deadly clashes in mid-June between ethnic Uzbeks and
Kyrgyz in Osh and Jalal-Abad left at least 309 people dead
and caused hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
Demonstrators in Osh today also demanded that Osh deputy
commander Bakhtiyar Fattakhov be sacked and several
leaders of the local Uzbek community be arrested for their
alleged roles in the violence.
The acting deputy governor of Osh Oblast, Taalaybek
Zikirov, said the protest was unfortunate. He called on
demonstrators to concentrate on preserving stability in
the country.
Sudan's Beshir plans
Chad visit
AFP, Khartoum
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, who is wanted by the
International Criminal Court, plans to visit Chad, his
first visit to a country that recognises the court's
jurisdiction, a senior official said on Tuesday.
"The president is due to visit Ndjamena on Wednesday and
Thursday for a conference of the Community of Sahel-Saharan
States," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity,
confirming press reports.
"The president will head the Sudanese delegation at the
CENSAD summit," read the headline of the daily Al-Akhbar
on Tuesday.
"President Beshir has the intention to go; the final
decision is yet to be taken," said another Sudanese
official, also on condition of anonymity. According to the
paper, presidential advisor Ghazi Salaheddine and
intelligence chief Mohammed Atta will also attend the
conference. Beshir's movements -- to certain destinations
-- have been cloaked in secrecy since the ICC issued a
warrant for his arrest in 2009 for alleged crimes against
humanity and war crimes in the western Sudanese region of
Darfur. Last week, the ICC added three counts of genocide
to their charges.
Chad is a signatory of the Rome Statute, the founding
document of the ICC, obliging it to arrest any person on
its territory wanted by the court. The visit to Chad, if
it happens, would be the first one by Beshir to a country
that recognises the ICC, since the warrant was issued.
Darfur has been gripped by a civil war since 2003 that has
killed at least 300,000 people and left 2.7 million
homeless according to the United Nations. Khartoum says
10,000 were killed.
Chadian President Idriss Deby flew to Khartoum in February
in a landmark visit aimed at normalising relations between
the two neighbours, who had been fighting a proxy war
through rebels.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti was in Ndjamena on
Monday and described the "very positive evolution" of
relations between the two countries, the official SUNA
news agency reported on Tuesday.
Business/Economy
WB
approves $327m for infrastructure dev, improving rural
livelihood
BSS, Dhaka
The World Bank on Tuesday approved three projects with a
financial outlay of US$327 million for improvement of
infrastructural development, service delivery and rural
livelihoods in the country. The projects are: Chittagong
Water Supply Improvement and Sanitation Project, second
phase of Empowerment and Livelihood Improvement "Notun
Jibon" Project, and Municipal Services Project, a WB
spokesman told BSS on Tuesday.
These projects are aimed at empowering the poor, improving
service delivery and enhancing development outcomes in the
country where more than 50 percent people in rural areas
are still living under the poverty line.
With the approval of these projects, the WB's total
concessionary lending to Bangladesh reaches to US$830
million in FY 10.
World Bank Acting Country Director Zahid Hussain said the
country has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty.
Still the country faces challenges such as ensuring
adequate access to basic services and infrastructure,
including water and sanitation facilities for the poor.
These 3 projects will help increase opportunities through
improving access to services, facilities and livelihood in
an inclusive and effective manner, with an emphasis on
targeting the poorest and most vulnerable, he observed.
The US$170 million Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and
Sanitation Project (CWSIP) will support the improvement of
water supply and sanitation services in Chittagong, the
second largest city of the country.
The project will help the Chittagong Water Supply and
Sewerage Authority (CWASA) to improve its services through
construction of selected water production, transmission,
and storage and distribution facilities.
At present CWASA is able to meet only 35 percent of the
estimated demand for water in which the CWSIP will expand
piped water supply services to slum areas and will provide
water and sanitation services to about 250,000 poor slum
dwellers. "Approximately 1.4 million people live in slums
where piped distribution networks are largely
nonexistent," said Fook Chuan Eng, Project Task Team
Leader, CWSIP.
He said the project aims improvement and expansion of
these services to all people living in Chittagong,
especially poor people. The US$115 million Notun Jibon
(earlier known as Social Investment Programme Project)
will improve the quality of life and livelihoods of the
vulnerable and poor households in villages. The project
objectives are to help build resilience in the face of
adverse impacts of climate change and natural disasters.
Focusing on a demand driven and community based
development approach 'Notun Jibon' helps the rural poor
form their own institutions and provides direct financing
for village development.
The WB sources said, it has already benefitted 3 million
people in about 1,500 villages in the poorest and most
disaster-prone districts. The second phase will cover
additional 1,500 villages and will benefit over 3 million
more vulnerable people.
The programme will support holistic village development
and will help the poor to cope, become more resilient and
better prepared for climate changes and natural disasters,
said Meena Munshi, Project Task Team Leader, Notun Jibon.
The US$42 million additional financing for Municipal
Services Project will help improve urban infrastructure
and concurrently improve municipal financing and
management capacity.
Farm
credit policy to suggest strict actions against
irregularities
BSS, Dhaka
Suggesting stringent actions for irregularities in loan
disbursement and recovery in the agriculture sector,
Bangladesh Bank (BB) is announcing its annual farm loan
policy today (Wednesday).
Official sources told BSS on Tuesday that Governor Dr
Atiur Rahman would pursue a stricter guideline when he
would be announcing the policy, addressing more on this
sector that got the utmost attention of the central bank
under his leadership.
With around 4 percent increased target of over Taka 12,000
crore for 2011, the new policy will leave no room for any
apathy, which may slower the loan disbursement and
recovery process. BB sources said the policy would have
strong recommendations against respective banks and
bankers who would fail to follow the guideline.
They said the central bank would stop allowing new
branches of the banks those would not meet the loan
disbursement and recovery targets. Besides, regulatory
actions would be taken against the bankers for their
irregularities in lending process.
There are 47 public and private banks across the country.
The central bank in its monetary policy, announced Monday,
also addressed the agriculture sector and suggested
providing farmers with more supports so their contribution
to economic growth increases further.
Last year, the growth in the agriculture sector went
marginally down to 4.26 percent when drought cut crop
yield in some parts of the country.
Considering this potential risk, the new policy will help
farmers build up a safety-net by supporting high value
crop productions in the areas where traditional farming is
vulnerable to whether conditions.
The high value crops will include oranges, strawberry and
Agar (aroma tree). Honey farming and tissue culture will
also get credit support.
Against the backdrop of the power crisis, the policy will
encourage solar irrigation system by offering soft loan
with a repayment period of 20 years. Farmers will also get
cheaper loan for purchasing irrigation equipments.
The traditional farming will get due attention as those
are the major contributors to the food security and to the
sustainable growth of the national economy.
Last year on July 14, BB announced the agriculture policy
with the target of disbursing Taka 11,512 crore. Besides,
the central bank gave away Taka 700 crore among over
hundred thousand sharecroppers.
A BB official said that the central bank for the first
time this year formulated the farm credit policy after
analyzing the similar policies of 12 countries including
India, China and Japan.
"The analysis equipped BB with better understanding and
tools to address the problems and explore the prospect of
financing farm sector," he said.
India happy with
8.5pc growth even if IMF more bullish
AFP, New Delhi
Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Monday he
was sticking to his forecast of 8.5 percent growth for
this financial year despite a more bullish IMF projection.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
hiked its projection for India's 2010 growth to 9.5
percent from an earlier 8.8 percent forecast. "I'm being
conservative in my assessment," Mukherjee told a business
audience in New Delhi.
"I will be happy with 8.5-percent-plus growth" for the
financial year to March 2011, he said. Mukherjee added the
eurozone debt crunch would not affect India's growth if it
remained confined to Greece "and a couple of other
countries".
"But if it assumes larger proportion and dimensions-if it
engulfs Europe as a whole-I don't know what may happen,"
he said.
The debt crisis has forced European governments to bail
out Greece and set up a 750-billion-euro loan package with
the IMF to help any other state needing help.
While India's expansion slowed to 6.5 percent in the
2008-2009 fiscal year after averaging 9.0 percent growth
in the four previous years, the performance was markedly
more robust than in many developed countries.
India escaped the brunt of the global financial crisis as
rising incomes boosted domestic demand for cars, mobile
telephones and other consumer durables even as exports
fell. The Indian economy, Asia's largest after Japan and
China, could attain double-digit growth by 2013, the
government has said.
ADB calls for
end to stimulus measures as economies rebound
AFP, Singapore
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) Tuesday upgraded its 2010
growth forecast for 14 East Asian economies and urged
governments to unwind stimulus measures launched during
the global recession.
The Manila-based lender upgraded its average growth
forecast for Southeast Asia, Greater China and South Korea
to 8.1 percent, up from April's projection of 7.7 percent,
following a spate of stellar growth data from the
economies.
"While most emerging East Asian economies are assured of a
sharp V-shaped recovery this year, it is to early to say
that the 'V' stands for victory," said Srinivasa Madhur,
an ADB senior director who presented the findings. He said
the recovery's sustainability will depend on "the correct
timing, policy mix and pace at which economic stimulus is
withdrawn."
"The private sector must be strong enough to take over,"
he added.
Regional powerhouse China is expected to post 9.6 percent
growth this year and 9.1 percent in 2011, when measures to
prevent overheating kick in. The 14 economies surveyed
also included Brunei, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Citing Singapore, which has upped its 2010 gross domestic
product growth forecast to 13-15 percent, Madhur said
figures for the other economies have had to be adjusted
upwards as well due to the strength of the regional
rebound.
Malaysia’s auto
sales to hit record high in 2010
AFP, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia's auto sales rose 19.8 percent in the first half
of 2010 and are tipped to hit a record high this year in
Southeast Asia's biggest passenger car market, an industry
group said Tuesday. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA)
revised its 2010 sales forecast for 2010 to 570,000 units,
from 550,000 units estimated previously, as the nation's
economy recovers. "Positive consumers' sentiment is
expected to continue owing to greater stability in the
employment market," the MAA said in a statement. The
association said sales for January to June stood at
301,077 units, compared to 251,305 units sold in the same
period in 2009. Local car maker Perodua led the sales with
a 31.5 percent market share, followed by national carmaker
Proton with 26.6 percent while Japanese auto giant Toyoto
came in third with 14.8 percent. The MAA said it was
optimistic the industry would break an all-time record of
552,316 units sold in 2005. "The new forecast (of 570,000
units) will definitely be achieved," MAA president Aishah
Ahmad said, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Aishah said a recent rise in the key interest rate and
fuel prices were not expected to dampen sentiment, and
that the impact of the measures would be minimal.
Malaysia's central bank earlier this month raised its main
interest rate by 25 basis points for the third time this
year, to 2.75 percent. "We also don't expect the recent
fuel price hike to have much impact on sales as the
increase is not substantial," the president said.
China urges US
not to ‘politicise’ steel deal
AFP, Beijing
China on Tuesday urged the United States not to "politicise"
a Chinese steelmaker's plan to invest in an American firm,
after US lawmakers strongly objected to the deal.
Earlier this month, 50 US legislators sent a letter to
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner calling for an
investigation into the plans of Anshan Iron and Steel
Group, one of China's biggest steelmakers. The state-run
group, also known as Ansteel, signed an agreement with the
Mississippi-based Steel Development Company in May that
includes construction of five plants in the United States.
"(Chinese) investment will take a very small stake in this
deal. But we still saw some US lawmakers were politicising
a normal business investment," commerce ministry spokesman
Yao Jian told reporters.
"It is out of place for some people to push for
investigation into a normal deal under the name of market
concerns and national security," he said at a regular
monthly briefing.
The US lawmakers told Geithner they were "deeply
concerned" that Ansteel's "direct investment in an
American steel company threatens American jobs and our
national security".
"We believe that this investment allows the full force and
financing of the Chinese government to exploit the
American steel market from American soil," they wrote.
Nearly half
Taiwanese support trade pact with China
AFP, Taipei
Nearly half of all Taiwanese support a controversial trade
pact the island has forged with China, a survey published
Tuesday suggested. Of 1,010 people interviewed by Global
Views magazine last week, 47.1 percent said they backed
the deal, while 33.9 percent said they opposed it and the
rest had no comment. The signing of the pact earlier this
month-by far the most sweeping ever between the two
sides-marked the culmination of President Ma Ying-jeou's
Beijing-friendly policy.
Taiwan and China have been governed separately since a
civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the island part
of its territory and has vowed to get it back, by force if
necessary. Despite this tension, China is Taiwan's largest
trading partner, its largest investment destination, and
now also home to a growing number of Taiwanese people.
Opponents of the trade pact say it will strengthen
Beijing's power over the island, marking a first step
towards reunification.
National
Major rivers continue rising in
Brahmaputra basin
BSS, Rangpur
Most of the major rivers and tributaries have been
continuing rising at most places following moderate to
heavy rains and onrush of hilly waters in the Brahmaputra
and Ganges basins during the past 24 hours till this
morning.
Meanwhile, the Dharla crossed its danger Mark (DM) at 6am
on Tuesday at Kurigram point and as many as 100 char
villages in Sadar and Ulipur upazilas and Chilmari,
Roumari and Rajibpur upazilas in Kurigram are gradually
becoming surrounded by river waters now.
With the rise in water levels, the river currents and rain
cuts have caused sporadic erosions at places in Kurigram,
Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts where some
more 100 riverside houses with lands were devoured during
the past few days, local sources said.
Officials of Water Development Board (WDB) and district
and upazila administrations are closely monitoring the
situation and visiting the erosion-hit areas where a
flood-like might be created within the nest few days if
the continues in the Brahmaputra basin.
The WDB officials told this afternoon that a flood
situation is beefing created in low-lying char areas of
Kurigram along the Brahmaputra basin and the erosion
situation is still under control and they were taking all
necessary precautionary measures.
The situation alongside the Teesta River has still been
remaining normal where some very low-lying char areas have
been partially inundated in Kurigram, Nilphamari and
Lalmonirhat and Rangpur districts.
The WDB sources said that the Dharla marked another rise
by 20cm during the past 24 hours and the river was flowing
2cm above its DM at Kurigram point at 6 this morning.
The Teesta marked a rise by only 37cm and 41cm during the
past 24 hours and was flowing 105cm and 74cm below the
respective DM at Kawnia in Rangpur and Sundarganj in
Gaibandha at 6am this morning.
However, the Teesta marked a fall by 15cm at Dalia point
in Nilphamari during the period was flowing only 30cm
below its DM there and the Ghaghot rose by 17cm to flow
only 50cm below the DM at Gaibandha at 6am this morning.
The Brahmaputra further rose by 17cm during the period and
was flowing only 11cm below the DM at Chilmari and also
rose by 6cm and was flowing 121cm below its DM at
Noonkhawa point in Kurigram this morning.
The Karatoa rose by 50cm at Panchagarh during the period
and was flowing 155cm below its DM there and the Punorvoba
sharply rose by 70cm to flow 280cm below the DM at
Dinajpur point at 6 am on Tuesday.
The Jamuna marked rises by 6cm, 16cm, 6cm and 3cm at
Sariakandi, Bahadurabad, Sirajganj and Aricha points
during the period and the river was flowing only 1cm, 3cm,
48cm and 103cm below its respective DM at these points at
6 am this morning.
The Chhoto Jamuna marked a fall by 20cm to flow 284cm
below its DM at Naogaon, the Atrai rose by 4cm to flow
394cm below the DM at Mohadebpur and the Upper Atrai rose
by 77cm to flow only 117cm cm below the DM at Bhusirbandar
this morning.
The Mohananda rose by 2cm during the period to flow 418cm
below its DM at Chapainawabganj, the Padma rose by 15cm
and 6cm to flow 460cm and 341cm below the DM at Rajshahi
and at Hardinge Bridge points respectively at 6am on
Tuesday
Fisheries week begins today
UNB, Dhaka
National Fisheries Week-2010 begins across the country
today (Wednesday) with objective of raising fish output
that meets the protein demand and contributes to the
national economy.
Fish contributes 60 per cent of animal protein, 3 per cent
of export earning, 3.74 per cent of total GDP. Some 22 per
cent of agriculture sector income comes from the fisheries
sector, officials said.
Addressing a press conference on the eve of the National
Fisheries Week, Livestock Minister Abdul Latif Biswas said
Bangladesh is a land of rivers and the people depend on
water and fisheries resources due to its nature and
geographical location. But, different species of fish are
gradually going extinct mainly because of water pollution
and excessive catching of fish.
He estimated the fish including shrimp production at 27
lakh tons every year. Some 1.5 crore people are involved
in fisheries directly or indirectly and earn their
livelihood.
Replying to a question Biswas said huge catch of Hilsha
fish is expected during the monsoon. Fishermen usually get
bumper catch during continuous showers for days.
He admitted that a section of fishermen had indulged in
catching a huge amount of Jhatka, the Hilsha fries, by
using current net violating the law. The government had
given 30kg rice to each fisherman in hilsha breeding areas
to refrain from catching Jhatka.
Abundant supply of Jhatka in the market this year
manifested that fishermen resorted to heavy catches of
Hilsha fries in connivance with officials of the Fisheries
Department and law enforcers who were responsible to
preserve Jhatka.
"If we cannot stop using current net in catching Jatka, we
cannot preserve our Hilsha fish," said the Minister. He
said a series of programme have been taken for development
of fish breeding haors through project manage project to
raise fish production.
The government has enacted a new law to ensure quality
fodder and fish feed for production of z disease-free fish
and shrimp. This will help increase in shrimp production
and export," he added and referred to the setting up of
Shrimp Research Institute in Bagerhat.
Replying to another question the Minister said they are
planning to announce a shrimp policy envisaging higher
production, and export of quality shrimp.
Women leaders call for
stopping eve-teasing
BSS, Rangpur
Leaders of district unit of Bangladesh Mohila Sangstha
(BMS) on Monday called upon all concerned for creating
mass social awareness for stopping eve- teasing and
establishing equal rights and dignity of the womenfolk.
They said this to a protest rally at Katchari Bazaar zero
point after formation of a huge human chain participated
by leaders and activists of the organization and over 300
female students and teachers of different schools of the
divisional city. They also demanded a complete stopping of
eve-teasing and exemplary punishments to the stalkers for
building a congenial atmosphere so that the school going
girls and female children could move safely everywhere.
With president of Rangpur district unit of BMS and noted
women and human rights activist Rozy Rahman in the chair,
the occasion was also addressed by women community leaders
Razia Parveen, Monwara Begum, female teachers and students
of different institutions.
Leaders of the reputed organization submitted memorandum
to the offices of the Rangpur divisional commissioner and
deputy commissioner after the human chain programme.
The speakers demanded stopping of all sorts of eve-teasing
and repression on women and children for securing the
school and college going female students and establishing
equal rights of the womenfolk by ensuring their security
everywhere. They also underscored the need for building
mass awareness and launching a social movement against the
stalkers for ensuring a safer growth of our daughters in a
congenial atmosphere.
Govt to import 50,000 to one lakh
metric tons rice from Vietnam
UNB, Dhaka
Food Minister Dr Abdur Razzak Tuesday said the government
would import 50,000 to one lakh metric tons of rice from
Vietnam soon. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this
effect would be signed in Dhaka today (Wednesday).
"There will be no dearth of rice during Ramadan month," he
told reporters after a meeting with Vietnamese team led by
Vietnam Southern Food Corporation's Vice General Director
Cao Thi Ngoc Hao at his ministry.
Moreover, Razzak said India wanted to export one lakh
metric tons of rice to Bangladesh but the quantum was
increased to three lakh metric tons on request from
Bangladesh. To keep the rice price stable during the
Ramadan, the Food Minister said the Fair Price Card will
be distributed among the people in Dhaka City to procure
rice at Tk 22-24 per kg. A final decision about it will be
taken in 2-4 days. Officials in the Food Ministry told UNB
that in every Ward 10,000 Fair Price Cards will be
distributed before the Ramadan and the card holders will
buy rice from OMS dealers.
Freedom fighters of Rangpur demand immediate trial of war
criminals
BSS, Rangpur
Leaders of Ganatantri Party (GP) and other political
parties and professionals of Rangpur on Monday demanded
immediate trial of the war criminals to free the country
from a four-decade stigma. They also demanded immediate
rooting out militancy and banning politics of
Jamaat-Shibir clique and revival of the 1972 Constitution
for running the nation in line with the spirit of the War
of Liberation and realize dreams of the martyred sons and
daughters. They cautioned that the anti-liberation,
reactionary and fundamental forces and militants might
continue hatching conspiracies one after another against
the country and its independence unless the war criminals
were immediately tried and executed.
They said this to a human chain programme, protest
procession and rally organised by district unit of the GP
on Press Club premises in the city and a large number of
leaders and workers of the GP and other political parties
and organizations took part. Central leader of the GP and
veteran politician Mohammad Afzal, its district unit
leaders Arshad Harun and Noman Chowdhury, veteran
politician Mozaffar Hossain Chand, senior Awami Leader
Shameem Chowdhury, addressed among others. They speakers
strongly protested the evil designs of creating anarchy by
the Jamaat-Shibir and their political associates in a bid
to disturb the trial process of the war criminals and
demanded expediting the trial process by appointing
necessary manpower.
USAID unveils new programme to upscale co-management
effort protecting forest resources, improving livelihoods
BSS, Dhaka
USAID has developed a new programme upscaling ongoing
co-management effort in protecting the valuable reserve
forest resources in Bangladesh side by side improving
livelihoods of the poor in the face of adverse impacts of
climate change.
Sharing the new concept at American Recreation Centre on
Tuesday, Environment Team Leader (Office of Economic
Growth) of USAID Dr Azharul H Mazumder said various
factors including deforestation, encroachment and illegal
activities are challenges for environmental management in
Bangladesh.
Leading environmentalists Dr Atiq A Rahman of BCAS and
Quamrul Islam Chowdhury of FEJB, experts from
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and
BUET, among others, made substantative comments on the
USAID's new concept.
Dr Azharul said natural resources should be managed in
such a way that local people surrounding the forest areas
of the country are included by providing them with
necessary education and technical know-how on forest
management.
He echoed the success of the project styled 'Integrated
Protected Area Co- management' (IPAC) run under the
Ministry of Environment and Forest saying it has a number
of evidences in terms of sustainable natural resources
management and biodiversity conservation. The project
already resulted in equitable economic growth and good
environmental governance at ecologically and economically
significant areas, he said.
Encouraged by the success of the USAID-funded IPAC, he
said, a number of donor agencies mainly EU, GTZ and WB
came up with financial assistance to supplement it.
The USAID official said the new programme will include
improvement of legal and regulatory measures, streamlining
institutions for protecting natural resources,
visible-economic model for co-management and resource
management and adaptation to climate change at the
landscape level.
Sports
Murali magic sets India back in
rain-hit Test
AFP, Galle
Retiring spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan dismissed Sachin
Tendulkar cheaply as Sri Lanka seized control of the
rain-ravaged first Test against India on Tuesday. The world's
most successful bowler, who was eight short of the 800-wicket
mark in his final appearance, trapped batting record holder
Tendulkar leg-before for eight before stumps on the third day.
The blow left India on an uneasy 140-3 at close after a superb
rearguard action by Sri Lanka's tailenders helped the hosts
pile up 520-8 declared in their first innings by tea.
Virender Sehwag hit a typically robust 85 not out to keep
India afloat following the cheap dismissals of opener Gautam
Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar in the final session of
play.
Sehwag hit 14 boundaries and a six before play was called off
10.2 overs early due to bad light at the Galle International
Stadium. The sun broke for the first time in two days to allow
play to begin after the entire second day had been washed out
and 22 overs were lost on the first day due to heavy rain.
India's seamers had grabbed four important wickets, three of
them to the lanky Ishant Sharma, as Sri Lanka slipped from
Sunday's total of 256-2 to 344-6 before lunch.
But Rangana Herath and Lasith Malinga proved unlikely saviours
with career-best scores during a rousing stand of 115 for the
eighth wicket. Herath, who had put on 49 for the seventh
wicket with Prasanna Jayawardene, remained unbeaten on 80 with
10 fours and a six. Malinga smashed nine boundaries and two
sixes in a breezy 64 off 75 balls before his dismissal, which
signalled the entry of Muralitharan to the crease.
Muralitharan, who retires after this Test, was welcomed to the
crease by fireworks in the stands as the Indian fielders lined
up to applaud him with a guard of honour. The off-spinner, who
led his team onto the field when India batted, came on to bowl
the 17th over and removed Tendulkar with his 16th delivery as
the batsman missed a sweep shot.
Muralitharan now has two days to add to his record 793 Test
wickets as Sri Lanka attempt to push home the advantage.
When play started an hour late on Tuesday, India's young seam
attack of Sharma and debutant Abhimanyu Mithun rattled the Sri
Lankans with appreciable movement both in the air and off the
wicket.
Opener Tharanga Par-anavitana, who hit a maiden Test century
on the first day, managed to add just one run to his score of
110 when he was caught behind off Sharma in the day's second
over.
Mithun struck 10 balls later by trapping new batsman Thilan
Samaraweera leg-before for zero, two deliveries after the
batsman was dropped at first slip by Rahul Dravid.
Mahela Jayawardene put on 62 for the fifth wicket with Angelo
Mathews, before was claimed leg-before by Sharma with a ball
that dipped in sharply. The former captain made an attractive
48 with six boundaries.
Mathews fell for 41 just before the lunch break when Laxman
dived to his right at second slip to pick up a low catch off
Sharma.
German
coach Loew extends contract
AFP, Berlin
Germany's national coach Joachim Loew and his three right-hand
men said Tuesday they had agreed two-year extensions to their
contracts hoping to build on the team's bold showing at the
World Cup.Loew, team manager Oliver Bierhoff and assistant
coaches Hans-Dieter Flick and Andreas Koepke signed on with
the German Football Federation (DFB) to 2012, when the
European championships will be held.
The 50-year-old chief coach called the negotiations
"uncomplicated", without revealing details, and thanked DFB
President Theo Zwanziger for his vote of confidence. "We had a
whole lot of fun at the World Cup and are looking forward to
the work ahead," Loew told reporters in the western city of
Frankfurt, adding that he had informed a few of the players of
his decision by text message.
"Many of them wrote back and congratulated me," he said.
Germany finished third in the World Cup in South Africa,
demolishing England 4-1 and favourites Argentina 4-0 before
losing 1-0 to eventual champions Spain in the semi-finals.
They then beat Uruguay 3-2 in a third-place playoff. Loew has
won 38 out of 55 matches since he succeeded Jurgen Klinsmann
after the 2006 World Cup, taking Germany to the runners-up
spot at Euro 2008. Zwanziger said Loew had proven his knack
for bringing the best out of the youthful Mannschaft.
"We now have an excellent foundation to achieve our most
important targets," he said. "We have young, talented players,
some of whom were playing at a world-class level in the last
few weeks during the championships. We have an excellent
nurturing programme for next-generation players. And we have a
coach who fits perfectly with the team." Loew's four-year deal
expired on June 30, and talks over a new contract for him and
his entire backroom staff broke down in February over
financial details and Loew's desire for more control over the
Under-21 side.
Germany's first qualifying match for Euro 2012, to be held in
Poland and Ukraine, will be against Belgium in Brussels on
September 3.
Spain
eye 2018 World Cup hosting
AFP, Madrid
Buoyed by their win in the World Cup this summer, Spain
are set to push for co-hosting the 2018 tournament with
neighbouring Portugal, Secretary of State for Sports Jaime
Lissavetsky said Tuesday.
"Spain's next challenge is to organise the 2018 World
Cup," Lissavetsky said in an address to the Spanish
Football Federation's (RFEF) general assembly meeting.
Spain and Portugal hope to pool their resources - as Japan
and South Korea did in 2002 - for 2018 after Brazil hosts
the next edition in 2014. Belgium and the Netherlands are
also preparing a joint 2018 bid and other candidates are
England, the United States, Russia and Australia.
FIFA is to elect the winning bid on December 2 at a
meeting of its executive committee. RFEF chairman Angel
Maria Villar said that "Spain and Portugal are in the
race" for 2018, but admitted that it would likely prove
difficult to see off the opposition - Spain hosted the
event as recently as 1982. But he stressed that in the
event of failure there would be a renewed bid for 2022.
FIFA's inspection commitee started Monday looking at the
bidders' dossiers, starting off with Japan, a candidate
for 2022.
Mourinho training us hard, says
Marcelo
AFP, Madrid
Real Madrid's new coach Jose Mourinho is training the
squad hard, the Spanish club's Brazilian defender Marcelo
said Monday. "Mourinho makes sure that we know we cannot
ever relax during training and we are very happy with
him," the 22-year- old told a news conference.
"We train aggressively and with everything we've got. In
order to win we must suffer in training. Mourinho is a
good person. He speaks to all of us and doesn't give
anyone preferential treatment," he added.
The squad started training under Mourinho's guidance on
Friday although the bulk of the team is still on leave
after the World Cup.
During a practice match on Monday, Marcelo scored the
opening goal after blowing past his marker and beating
keeper Jerzy Dudek with a precise shot. Alex Fernandez
pulled his team level after an assist by Karim Benzema.
"Our goal has always been to win titles and this season is
no different. We train hard to win titles," the Brazilian
player said.
Mourinho has arrived in a blaze of glory after leading
Inter Milan last season to the treble of domestic league
and cup in Italy as well as the Champions League.
Pakistan ponder
Ajmal recall for Australia finale
AFP, Leeds
Pakistan know they will be without former captain Shahid
Afridi for the second and final Test against Australia at
Headingley starting here on Wednesday.
But they could also be without leg-spinner Danish Kaneria
too if they decide to recall off-break bowler Saeed Ajmal
in a bid to counter the left-handers in Australia's top
order.
However, as at Lord's last week, where Australia won the
series opener by 150 runs, the question will be whether
Pakistan's batsmen can put a big enough score on the
board. Opener Salman Butt has been promoted to the
captaincy after Afridi's first game back playing Test
cricket in four years saw him unsuccessfully try to slog
his way out of trouble and then announce his retirement
from the five-day game.
Afridi was then ruled out of the Headingley match and
Pakistan's subsequent four Tests against England with a
side strain.
Butt, formerly the vice-captain, led by example at Lord's
with scores of 63 and 92 as he became the only Pakistan
batsman to make a fifty in the match.
The 25-year-old left-hander now has the additional burden
of captaincy.
But in Afridi's absence, a batting line-up that featured
two debutants at Lord's in Azhar Ali and Umar Amin should
be bolstered by the recall of former captain Shoaib Malik.
Aussie skipper
calls for reviews in all Tests
AFP, Leeds
The International Cricket Council (ICC) should ensure the
controversial decision review system is used in all Test
series, according to Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
The referral system is not being used in Australia's
two-match series with Pakistan in England, where the
second and final Test starts at Headingley here on
Wednesday.
That's because the Pakistan Cricket Board, as the 'home'
authority, was not prepared to foot the bill involved.
Although the ICC favours the review system, one reason why
it is not implemented in all series is the failure of
broadcasters and home boards to agree on a share of the
costs. Broadcasters argue they do not own systems such as
'Hawkeye' and that if these are to be used for
decision-making purposes then a higher standard of
technology - and therefore cost - is needed than for
regular programmes. But the ICC and its member boards are
equally keen not to pay over the odds.
Ponting, speaking to reporters at Headingley here on
Monday, said a way had to be found to ensure reviews were
used in all Tests, with Australia playing series in
England and India without the system before having to get
used it to again when they stage the Ashes starting in
November.
Foot injury
jeopardizes Serena’s US Open - WTA
AFP, Los Angeles
Serena Williams told her fans Monday she's feeling better,
but the WTA tour said her recent foot injury could
jeopardize her participation in the US Open. Williams cut
her right foot on broken glass at a restaurant shortly
after winning her fourth Wimbledon title.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion said Saturday that she
would miss events in Istanbul, Cincinnati, and Montreal
prior to the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the year
which starts on August 30 in New York. "Hey guys I'm doing
better," Williams tweeted Monday. "Thanks for all the
love." But WTA tour spokesman Andrew Walker said Monday
that Williams is questionable for the final Grand Slam of
the year. Williams' World Team Tennis team, the Washington
Kastles, said she needed stitches on the bottom of her
foot. On Sunday night she tweeted that she was anxious to
get back to work.
"can't wait to get out of bed & back on the courts & do
what i do best!" she wrote. Williams fell in the
semi-finals of last year's US Open to eventual champion
Kim Clijsters in a match marred by the American's abusive
tirade toward a line judge.
Ponting wants more from pacemen against Pakistan
AFP, Leeds
Australia captain Ricky Ponting wants his frontline fast
bowlers to keep their cool if the ball starts swinging in
the second and final Test against Pakistan here at
Headingley. Ponting's men won last week's first Test at
Lord's by 150 runs.
But Australia's crushing victory featured Test-best
bowling from both medium-pacer Shane Watson, with five for
40 in the first innings, and an even more incredible six
for 55 from part-time spinner Marcus North in the second.
Given conditions were overcast for much of the time at
Lord's, Ponting indicated Watson and North's hauls ought
to be almost as concerning for the likes of Australia
left-arm quick Mitchell Johnson, who had match figure of
one for 105, as they were for Pakistan.
"If you want to be critical you can probably look at the
fact that we got 11 wickets out of Watson and North in the
game," Ponting told reporters here on Monday. "Our fast
bowlers probably tried a little bit too hard I think in
conditions that were suiting the quicker bowlers.
"I think they probably tried to get a bit too much out of
the wicket. "That can happen here (Leeds) as well because
you know this is a place that can nip about a bit for the
seamers - we've spoken about that a bit."
While a misfiring seam attack and a failure by the other
batsmen to offer more solid support to Simon Katich while
the opener was making 80 in Aust-ralia's first innings at
Lord's did not prevent his team beating Pakistan for a
record 13th straight time, Ponting is aware such lapses
could hurt far more against England.
Last year's Ashes saw England take the series 2-1, despite
being bested on almost all individual statistics, because
they 'won' key moments. Now Australia will look to set the
record straight when England travel 'Down Under' for the
next Ashes contest starting in November. "We know we were
a bit inconsistent in the last Ashes series," Ponting
said.
"Experience had a big part in it. We had some young guys
that were playing their first real big Test series last
time and as a result of that I think they've all improved.
"You'd like to think that some of the errors and mistakes
we made under pressure last time, we won't repeat again
when the next Ashes comes around.
"In saying that this week is still a big Test for us as
well and we've got a couple in India which are always
challenging. "We've got a bit of work to do yet before we
even start thinking we are in the best shape we can be for
November." Pakistan will be captained at Headingley by
opener Salman Butt, who made his side's only two fifties
at Lord's, following Shahid Afridi's decision to quit
Tests after the series opener. "We don't know what to make
of him as captain," Ponting said of Butt.
"I thought he played really well last game. We don't know
what's going to happen - I wouldn't be surprised if Afridi
even plays yet." Although Australia's batsmen struggled at
Lord's, Pakistan, with Azhar Ali and Umar Amin making
their debuts in the key slots of three and four, fared
considerably worse.
"When you are brought up in Pakistan you don't generally
see the ball seam around and swing around like it did last
week," Ponting said. "With the inexperience they have got
in their batting, in their three and no four guys making
their debut last week, we also feel we can get the Akmals
(brothers Umar and Kamran) pretty early as well when they
come in, if we expose them at the right time."
4 newcomers win New Zealand Cricket contracts
UNB, Wellington
Four newcomers have been included among 20 players awarded
annual contracts by New Zealand Cricket. Allrounder Nathan
McCullum - the older brother of Brendon McCullum - seamer
Andy McKay and batsmen B.J. Watling and Kane Williamson
were included on a list released Tuesday by New Zealand
Cricket.
This list contains five changes from last year. Veteran
allrounder Scott Styris, who missed a contract in 2009,
returns in place of Shane Bond, who has retired. Neil
Broom, Ian Butler, Daniel Flynn and James Franklin, who
were among last year's 20 contracted players, did not have
their contracts renewed.
"Nathan, Andy and B.J. have all made important
contributions to New Zealand teams over the past 12 months
without having central contracts," national selection
panel spokesman Mark Greatbatch said.
"They have now earned their positions. "Kane Williamson is
a young player whose pedigree is impeccable in terms of
cricket development and we are now confident that he can
step into the international arena and further advance his
game." New Zealand Cricket said negotiations toward a
master agreement with the New Zealand Cricket Players'
Association and New Zealand's six first-class associations
were progressing well. The parties had agreed to put in
place an interim contracting arrangement for the 20
players this term. That arrangement would remain in place
until Aug. 31 or until ratification of a new master
agreement.
Greatbatch said 25 players are annually ranked by the
selectors against set criteria in tests, one-day and
Twenty20 internationals. A score was awarded for each form
of the game and the 20 players with the highest aggregate
scores were offered NZC contracts.Contract list: Brent
Arnel, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins,
Chris Martin, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Tim
McIntosh, Andy McKay, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan
Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross
Taylor, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, B.J. Watling, Kane
Williamson.
CAF reduces
Ghanaian teams in club competitions
AFP, Accra
The African Football Conf-ederation (CAF) has decided to
reduce the number of Ghanaian teams competing in
continental club competitions, the Ghanaian Football
Association (GFA) anno-unced on Monday.
Ghana, which used to boast two representatives in the
Champions League and two in the Confederation Cup, will
now have just one team in each competition from next
season onwards due to "inadequate results".
Asante Kotoko of Kumasi were the last Ghanaian team to
qualify for the final eight-team phase of both the
Champions League, in 2006, and the second-tier
Confederation Cup, in 2008. Ghanaian teams have also
become synonymous with repeated withdrawals from
continental tournaments.
Hearts of Oak, national champions in 2009, did not compete
in the 2010 Cham-pions League and teams from Ghana also
pulled out of the Confederation Cup in 2007 and 2009. In
2011, Ghana will be represented in the Champions League by
Aduana and in the Confe-deration Cup by Asha-ntiGold, who
finished first and second respectively in the 2010
national championship.
The move ironically comes in the wake of the Ghana
national team's best ever performance at a World Cup
finals.
Imran fears fast
bowlers could become ‘dinosaurs’
AFP, London
Pakistan great Imran Khan fears fast bowlers "could go the
way of the dinosaurs" if the international calendar
retains its current congested schedule.
And the former Pakistan captain, who in 1992 led his
country to World Cup glory, suggested axing 50-over
cricket as a way of ensuring the "unprecedented" stress on
fast bowlers was eased.
Imran, arguably the premier fast bowling all-rounder of
his generation, made his remarks while giving the annual
Cowdrey Lecture at Lord's here on Monday.
"Maybe we should eliminate 50-over cricket and just have
Twenty20 cricket and Test cricket," he said.
"I don't believe Test cricket is the same standard as
before," added Imran, who played against the fearsome West
Indies pace attack of the 1980s as well as Australia's
Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson.
The 57-year-old Imran, who since retiring from cricket has
entered domestic politics, was at Lord's last week to see
Pakistan lose the first of their two-Test series against
Australia by 150 runs.
Defeat prompted Shahid Afridi to announce his retirement
from Tests after just one game back as Pakistan captain.
Imran said Afridi was an example of a fine Twenty20 player
who lacked the temperament for the five-day format.
"The only test of a cricketer is the Test match because
his talent and technique is tested," said Imran, the first
Pakistani to deliver a lecture named after former England
captain Colin Cowdrey.
"In Twenty20, if you are very talented you can get away
with it, but a good Twenty20 cricketer will not
necessarily excel in Test cricket."
Hewitt back in comfort
zone as US Open run-up begins
AFP, Atlanta
Lleyton Hewitt is back in his comfort zone this week as
third seed at the ATP Atlanta Tennis Championships, with
six weeks of hard court tennis to go before the US Open.
"I'm quite comfortable on the hard courts," said the
former number one. "I don't think it's too early to start.
I'll take next week and one more off before the Open
(which begins August 30). The 29-year-old Australian is
seeded behind Americans Andy Roddick and John Isner.
None was in action on Monday as the top four seeds
received byes into the second round.
In first-round results, American Michael Russell upset
German eighth seed Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-3 to earn a
meeting with another German - veteran Rainer Schuettler
who beat Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1, 6-4. Rajeev Ram
boo-ked a second-round clash with Roddick with a 6-4, 7-6
(7/4) victory over Slovak Karol Beck, and Ukranian Illya
Marchenko beat qualifier Kristof Vliegen by the same 6-4,
7-6 (7/4) scoreline.
Liverpool sign
Simply Red star
AFP, London
Former Simply Red guitarist Sylvan Richardson has swapped
his six strings for hamstrings, joining Liverpool as their
new masseur, the English Premier League side said Tuesday.
Richardson was part of the British soul band's original
line-up in the mid-1980s but quit after two years and
trained as a physiotherapist. He has joined up with new
Reds manager Roy Hodgson's side on their pre-season
training camp in Switzerland.
"They have been giving me a lot of stick," said
Richardson. "Especially (assistant manager) Sammy Lee.
"I am a professional producer and musician but I was
always interested in medicine, and when I left the band in
1987, that's the path I went down.
"To work for Liverpool is a great honour and when I got
the call I was really excited. "My role is to prepare the
players and deal with their recovery after training. I am
used to working with top athletes and so am very much
looking forward to this opportunity."
Richardson has previously worked with British Olympic
cycling champion Chris Hoy.
He played on Simply Red's first album "Picture Book"
(1985), which contained the hits "Money's Too Tight (to
Mention)" and "Holding Back The Years", and follow-up
album "Men and Women" (1987).
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