FRIday, july 9, 2010 ashar 25, 1417, RAJAB 26, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

High Court declares illegal punishment under ‘fatwa’
UNB, Dhaka

The High Court on Thursday declared illegal and unlawful any extrajudicial punishment in the name of 'fatwa' (religious edict).
Delivering the judgment upon a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) writ petition, a division bench comprising Justice Syed Mahmud Hosain and Justice Gobinda Chandra Thakur considered as offender whoever declares such extrajudicial punishment.
The bench directed the government to take legal action in accordance with the Penal Code and other relevant laws against the perpetrators of such offence, making its rule issued earlier absolute.
The court in its judgment observed that any extrajudicial punishment in the name of 'fatwa' (Islamic cleric's edict) is conflicting with the Constitution and other laws in force in the country.
A person who will declare such punishment and those who will be involved in the process would be considered as offender and abettor respectively and both should be brought to justice, the court order said. Ain-O-Salish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST), BRAC, Naripakkha, Nijera Kori and three lawyers filed the identical PIL writ petitions.
The PIL petitioners moved the petition following a Banchharampur (Brahmanbaria) datelined report published May 22 in the daily Prothom Alo, captioned 'Damsel gets 101 floggings, 4 arrested'.
Earlier, on January 1 in 2001, the High Court had ruled for the first time that any 'fatwa' or legal opinion not given by a court is unauthorized and illegal.
According to the HC ruling, 'fatwa' means legal opinion of a lawful person or authority.
But the legal system in Bangladesh empowers only the courts to decide all questions relating to legal opinion on the Muslim law and other laws in force.
Barrister Sara Hossain, Barrister Mahmud Shafique and advocate Salauddin Dolon appeared for the PIL petitioners.

 D-8 calls for market access to developed economies
UNB, Abuja, Nigeria

The Seventh D-8 Summit ended in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday adopting a 24-point Abuja Declaration with emphasis on market access to major world economies for poverty alleviation and economic uplift.
The Declaration called upon the private sectors to take advantage of liberal investment regimes, skilled manpower and low cost of doing business in the D-8 member countries to expand trade and economic ties.
It reaffirmed the importance of intense private sector involvement in all activities of the group and emphasized on exploring ways of promoting private sector led cooperation and growth among the member states.
The Declaration reaffirmed resolve of the member states to take immediate measurers to encourage FDI in the private sectors and stressed on establishment of a D-8 investment fund proposed by Iran.
The next D-8 summit will be held in Pakistan in 2012, according to the Declaration adopted at the concluding session of the one-day summit.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Iranian President Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, host Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Egyptian Prime Minister Dr Ahmed Nazif, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, Indonesian Minister for Coordination M Hatta Rajasa and Pakistani Commerce Minister Makh-doom Mohammad Amin Fahim led their respective countries at the summit.
According to the Declaration, the D-8 members agreed to encourage regular interaction and sharing of information on investment opportunities by the authorities of the D-8 member states with private sector and chambers of commerce to create greater awareness for availing these opportunities.
The D-8 secretariat should develop business forum webpage on its website to facilitate and engage private sector involvement in D-8 activities and programmes.
Acknowledging the instrumental role of energy in economic growth and development, the declaration reaffirmed the commitment to broaden cooperation in the sector.
It stressed the importance of collaborative efforts on capacity building, transfer of technology, exploration of new energy sources, development of alternative fuels, including renewable sources of energy as well as peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

 BNP to withdraw expulsion order against Mannan Bhuiyan
UNB, Dhaka

BNP standing committee sat for an emergency meeting on Thursday night to consider the withdrawal of expulsion against the party's ex secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan.
Bhuiyan's condition is critical as he is now on a life-support at the Square hospital. He has been suffering from lung cancer. He was admitted to the hospital Wednesday night after his return from Singapore.
The standing committee meeting began at 9pm with the party chairperson Khaleda Zia in the chair at her Gulshan.
A close source of the meeting said the meeting was discussing the withdrawal of expulsion order against Bhuiyan. The meeting continued till 9:15 pm.
The standing committee members Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Shamsul Islam, Let Gen (Retd) Mahbubur Rahman, MK Anwar, Begum Sarwari Rahman, Gayeshar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, Barrister Rafiqul Islam Mia and Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan attended the meeting.
According to the party insiders, some leaders of BNP Wednesday night requested Khaleda Zia to withdraw the expulsion order against Bhuiyan.
Bhuiyan served over 11 years as secretary general of BNP till 2007. He was expelled from the party in September, 2007 just before Khaleda Zia was arrested by the army-backed caretaker government.
Meanwhile, BNP on Thursday withdrew the expulsion order against the party's cooperative affairs secretary Salahuddin Ahmed. The party Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia rescinded the action against Salahuddin.
Salahuddin was expelled from the party on January 28 for violating the organizational discipline.

    Bank interest rate unlikely to be reduced this fiscal: Muhith
UNB, Dhaka

Finance Minister AMA Muhith is doubtful that the bank interest rate can be brought down to single digit during the current fiscal year.
"Steps have been taken to bring down the interest rate close to the bank rate. But, it is doubtful within this year," he told a 32-member delegation of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FBCCI) that met Muhith in his office on Thursday. FBCCI president AK Azad led the delegation.
Muhith shot down a proposal that no new industry should be allowed in the capital Dhaka because of scarcity of power and gas.
"It would not be possible at the moment to take such a decision. Industrial sector should be expanded further and restriction cannot be imposed. The existing industries can be relocated," Finance Minister told the delegation. Referring to the labour unrest, especially in garments zones, he said a separate force - industrial police - will soon be launched to secure peace in troubled areas.
He said difference of opinion in police administration about formation of industrial police has been ironed out. It is a commitment of the Prime Minister and there is now no barrier.
Responding to the Federation's demand of Tk 30 crore for its capacity building and development of its district chambers and associations, Muhith said people are unlikely to take this as a good gesture. "You are the rich class and it will be like bring coal to New Castle," he told the business leaders with his usual smiles.
About the gas crisis for which the industrial sector is hampered seriously, the Finance Minister said that it is difficult to make a commitment on gas as it is uncertain.
"We have strengthened the BAPEX, but there will be inequity if there is no supply of gas," he added.
About the FBCCI's plea to privatize the losing concern State Owned Enterprises (SoEs), Muhith said privatization is not a major solution to expand industries.
FBCCI president AK Azad assured the Finance Minister that the government would be able to collect revenue targeted of Tk 72,590 crore during the current fiscal, provided parliament is effective and productivity undisturbed by law and order situation.
AK Azad, also chairman of Ha-meem Group, sought guidelines for the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) to utilize the allocation of Tk 3,000 crore. He also demanded for forming a special economic zone to spread out industrialization and investment.

    Mahmudur Rahman to contest contempt of court charge
UNB, Dhaka

Detained acting editor of now defunct daily Amar Desh Mahmudur Rahman on Thursday expressed his desire to contest the contempt of court charge filed against him for allegedly publishing false, motivated and malicious news.
"Yes I'll contest the case filed against me. I want to establish rule of law and freedom of press," he told UNB after coming out of the Supreme Court, flanked by lawyers.
Earlier, in the morning, police produced Mahmudur before the apex court from the Dhaka central jail in compliance with court order to face the contempt charge.
As the matter came up for hearing before a full court headed by Chief Justice M Fazlul Karim, Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, the counsel for Mahmudur Rahman, submitted a four-week time petition for replying to the charge.
Barrister Huq told the court that his client Mahmudur Rahman would submit a written reply to the charge while the other four contemners would beg unconditional apology in black and white admitting their offence.
Granting the petition, the court fixed August 12 for next hearing. The other four contemners - deputy editor Abdal Ahmed, news editor Mushtahid Ahmed, staff reporter Waliullah Noman and publisher M Hashmat Ali - appeared in person before the court.
The court earlier turned down a joint application filed by all the contemners, including Mahmudur Rahman, seeking to dispense with personal appearance in court during hearing.
On June 2, the Appellate Division responding to a petition filed by two lawyers issued a rule upon the contemners to explain why they should not be prosecuted for committing gross contempt of court by directly interfering in the administration of justice scandalizing the highest judiciary by publishing false, motivated and malicious news.
The duo petitioners - Barrister Mainul Hassan and advocate Reazuddin Reza - filed the contempt petition over a report published on April 21 in the daily Amar Desh captioned "Chamber means favouring government's stay," pointing the finger at the Chamber Judge of the Supreme Court.
Barrister Moudud Ahmed, Barrister Abdur Razzaq and Khandker Mahbub Hossain also appeared for the contemners. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the court as Prosecutor while Additional Attorney General MK Rahman stood for the petitioners.

Back Page

Kuwait to recruit more manpower from Bangladesh : Envoy
UNB, Dhaka

Kuwait will recruit more Bangladeshi manpower including army officers, engineers and doctors to help its infrastructural development.
Outgoing Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdullah Ali Al-Mawash said when he paid a farewell call on President Zillur Rahman at Bangabhaban on Thursday. "Some 2.5 lakh Bangladeshi workers and more than 4000 personnel of the armed forces are presently working in Kuwait and the number of skilled and unskilled manpower will be increased soon," the envoy said.
During the meeting Kuwaiti Envoy Abdullah Ali Al-Mawash apprised the President that the financial assistance from Kuwait would come soon to Bangladesh to establish a 250 MW power station at Shikal Baha in Chittagong. "Presently an expert team is working in Bangladesh in this regard," he said.
Welcoming the outgoing Ambassador at Bangabhaban the President mentioned that there is huge scope to increase trade volume between the two countries. "I hope Kuwait authorities will take necessary measures to increase export from Bangladesh."
Describing that Bangladesh and Kuwait have long ties with shared history, religion, culture and tradition, Zillur Rahman expressed satisfaction over the commonality of views of the two countries. "Both in bilateral and multilateral context have given further impetus to the strong relationship."
The President hoped that the existing bilateral relations between two countries would be further expanded and consolidated in both depth and dimension in the coming days.
He thanked the outgoing envoy for his constructive role during his stay in Dhaka to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. Secretaries concerned to the President's Office were present.

    PM calls for establishing D-8 Free Trade Area
UNB, Abuja

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Abuja, Nigeria on Thursday urged the Developing-8 member states to evolve their own mechanism for establishing a D-8 Free Trade Area to increase trade and businesses.
"Trade among us, however, has been disappointing despite having a combined market of nearly one billion people," she said while addressing the seventh summit of D-8 countries at the State House of Nigeria.
Hasina said with the Doha Round remaining elusive, "we truly need a mechanism within our capacity for a D-8 Free Trade Area." The theme of the D-8 summit this year is 'Enhancing Investment Cooperation among D-8 Countries'. The Istanbul-based D8 groups Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey with a total population of 930 million. The group of eight Muslim countries was established in 1997 to promote economic ties and solidarity among the member states. Iranian President Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Egyptian Prime Minister Dr Ahmed Nazif, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin, Indonesian Minister for Coordination M Hatta Rajasa and Pakistani Commerce Minister Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim spoke at the concluding session of the summit.
The Prime Minister said that with proper recipe for trade and investment, and a market of a billion people, the D-8 can achieve 10-15 per cent of intra-D-8 trade by 2018, a target set two years ago in the Sixth Summit. She noted that the obstacles to attaining development have been due to lack of harmonization in standards and uniform sets of criteria in testing of quality.

   Trial proceedings of Tk 100 cr defamation case against Moeen stayed for 3 months

UNB, Dhaka

A court in Dhaka on Thursday stayed the proceedings of the Tk 100 crore defamation case filed by former BNP state minister for power and energy Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku against former Army Chief Gen (retd) Moeen U Ahmed.
As per the order of the Chamber Judge Court, acting Judge of district session Judge court-3, Imrul Quayes stayed the trial proceedings for three months and fixed October 6 for next hearing.
Earlier, on July 6, Chamber Judge stayed the trial proceedings of the case for three months.
Tuku filed the defamation suit on July 12 last year against the former army chief in connection with making derogatory remarks that damaged Tuku's reputation.
According to the case statement, Moeen on March 27, 2007, at a tea party at the National Parade Square said that corrupt politicians had siphoned off at least Tk 20,000 crore of the energy sector during the tenure of the four-party government.

    Dialogue on food security policies in city July 12
BSS, Dhaka

A two-day dialogue on food security policies, food availability, nutritional aspects and people's access to cereal will begin in the city on July 12.
The programmes has been organized as part of promoting effective dialogue between policy makers and researchers for strengthening implementation of the food policies, sources with the food and agriculture organization (FAO) in Dhaka said Thursday.
Sources said findings of 11 studies, with specific focus on policy implementation strategies towards achieving food security as well as socio-economic development factors, will be presented at the function, where 250 participants from the government, civil society organizations, development agencies and media are expected to attend.
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque will be the chief guest at the inaugural session of the function, while Food Secretary Barun Dev Mitra will chair it.
US Ambassador to Bangladesh James F. Moriarty and Charge d'Affaires of the Delegation of the European Union to Bangladesh Brian Forey will speak as the guests of honour. Executive Director of BRAC Dr Mahbub Hossain, Director, ESA of FAO headquarters in Rome Kostas Stamoulis and FAO Representative in Bangladesh Ad Spijkers will also speak.
The findings of the research studies are expected to influence the implementation of the Bangladesh National Food Policy and its Plan of Action for 2008-2015.
The policy recommendation of the studies have already played a central role in channelling resources and identifying a set of investment programmes to improve food security and nutrition in Bangladesh, sources said.

    Nahid for maintaining congenial atmosphere on campus
UNB, Rajshahi

Rajsahi University celebrated the 57th anniversary on Thursday with a call by Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid to maintain educational atmosphere on the campus often vitiated by clash and violence.
Addressing the tastefully decorated function at Kazi Nazrul Islam auditorium of the university the minister advised the students to shun rivalry and conflict that often vitiated the academic atmosphere. He said the students must dedicate to studies, acquire knowledge and build them up as efficient and skilled manpower.
"You are to prepare for taking up the challenge of modern world by acquiring world standard education," he told the students.
Chaired by Vice-chancellor Prof Dr Abdus Sobahan, the function was addressed, among others, by State Minister for Home Shamsul Huq Tuku, Mayor of Rajshahi AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, Fazlea Hossain Badsha MP, Pro-vice-chancellor Mohammad Nurullah, Registrar MA Bari and chairman of Barendra Multilateral Development Authority Nurul Islam Tandhu.
Recalling the glorious tradition and contribution of the University to the country's independence, the Education Minister said the campus is a place of acquiring knowledge, not for indulging in violence.
He said the young generation has to attain modern knowledge and technology based education to build the Digital Bangladesh as envisaged by the Prime Minister. "Bangladesh will be a country free from corruption and poverty by building Digital Bangladesh," he added.
Nahid sought cooperation from all including students, members of the faculty to keep away the evil forces from the campus. He stressed the need for ensuring a peaceful and safe environment for women.

    City people to be freed from overhead cable hazards soon
BSS, Dhaka

The city dwellers will be freed from the overhead cable hazards very soon as the work for dismounting the cable is going on in full swing. The haphazardly placed unauthorized overhead cable has been creating various problems for the city dwellers including obstruction to their movement. It is sometimes causing accidents and also ruining the beauty of the city, city people alleged.
Official sources said the government in an inter-ministerial meeting recently asked all concerned to take down the haphazardly placed illegal overhead cable from the city by October 31. In line with the government's decision, the cable TV operators, internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile phone companies now can use secured underground fibre optic network installed by Fiber@Home Ltd, the country's first NTTN (Nationwide Telecommunication Transmission Network) operator. "We have almost completed setting up fibre optic network in the main thoroughfares of the city, and ISPs, cable operators and mobile phone companies have started taking our services," Moynul Haque Siddiqui, Managing Director of Fiber@Home Ltd, told BSS on Thursday.
He said his company is now engaged in installing fibre optic network at other roads, lanes, by-lanes and buildings of the capital and the work will be completed very soon.
"With the installation of fibre optic network, the city people will be freed from the haphazardly placed unauthorized overhead cable," Siddiqui hoped.
Officials of the Fiber@Home Ltd said they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with four cable operators in the capital recently. With the signing of this MoU, the four cable TV operators---United Communication Services Ltd (UCS), Digi21 Systems Ltd, Bengal Communications Limited, Prisma Digital Ltd and Cosmic Cable Operators Ltd---will use Fiber@Home's underground fibre cable network to provide services for their clients in the capital city.
Earlier, four eminent ISPs signed similar MoUs with Fiber@Home Ltd, the officials said.
By using a common underground network, cable TV operators and ISPs will be able to dismantle the haphazardly erected unauthorized cable and they will also be able to provide their services at a reduced cost. The Fiber@Home officials said they are using the latest technology of the capital's metro Ethernet, while their FTTH (Fibre to the Home) network has already been expanded to 23 districts including Chittagong, Sylhet, Bogra, Rajshahi and Khulna. Besides Fiber@Home Ltd, Summit Technology was also given task to set up underground fibre cable network.

    Delwar visits critically ill Mannan Bhuiyan at Square hospital
UNB, Dhaka

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain visited the party's former secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan at Square Hospital in the city on Thursday.
Mannan Bhuiyan, who has been suffering from lung cancer, was kept on life support at the hospital since Wednesday night following admission there on return from a Singapore hospital under life support arrangement, according to his family sources. BNP secretary general Delwar spent sometime at the hospital and enquired from the doctors about Mannan Bhuiyan's treatment. He also talked with Bhuiyan's family members. Replying to a question on withdrawal of expulsion order against Mannan Bhuiyan, Delwar said it is a matter of organizational decision. Mannan Bhuiyan, who served 11 years as the BNP secretary general till 2007, was expelled from the party just before the arrest of BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia in September 2007 during the army-backed caretaker government.

Editorial

Challenge in labour market

Despite some recent encouraging developments, there are some disquieting reports as well on the manpower export front. According to a UNB report published in the newspapers on Thursday, Bangladesh, which is eyeing increasing remittance flow through exploring new labour markets in the coming days, may face stiff challenges unless it ensures sending of skilled workers abroad, an expert says. "One of the most important challenges that lie ahead for Bangladesh, as a labour exporting country, is to enhance the skills of its labours, to stay competitive in the market," said Kristina Mejo, Regional Programme Manager of International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In a recent paper on Bangladeshi labour migration, Kristina shows that 49 percent of the migrant labours during the period of 1976-2009 were low-skilled (cleaners, sweepers, domestic workers, etc.) while only 31 percent were skilled and 17 percent semi-skilled. Only the remaining 3 percent were professionals that included doctors, nurses, engineers and architects.Skilled workers include garment-makers, drivers, electricians and caregivers while the semi-skilled workers include construction workers, carpenters and guards. The IOM official said low-skilled migrants often find them exploited and face difficulty to protect them. She thinks that despite the benefits that migrant labours bring into the country by sending remittances, the sector is one which has not gained as much prominence as it should.
Remittances from Bangladeshi migrants have grown at an average rate of 17 percent since 2001, which surged by 32.39 percent and reached a record high of about US$10.72 billion in 2009. The study shows that Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka are the major countries of origin of migrant workers. Experts think that Bangladesh may lose its competitiveness in international labour market and other countries will take the advantage if it fails to produce skilled workers to send abroad.
Apart from lack of skill, Bangladeshi workers are facing a very tough time in foreign countries due to different reasons including adverse labour policies of the manpower importing countries as well as the failure of the Bangladesh missions concerned to handle the issue properly. It has been alleged that Bangladeshi workers are languishing in different countries as Bangladesh government and its missions abroad failed to handle the situation effectively.
It may be mentioned that Bangladeshi workers are being recruited through 769 government approved agencies. But some recruiting agencies are allegedly cheating the workers by sending them abroad without valid documents and confirmed jobs. The authorities have so far utterly failed to take these dishonest manpower recruiting agencies to task.
Worse still, the labour wings of the Bangladesh missions abroad have been failing miserably to look after the welfare of the Bangladeshi workers despite issuance of repeated directives by the ministry of foreign affairs to do so. Those responsible for promoting employment for Bangladeshis in foreign countries and protect their interests there are apparently unable or unwilling to accomplish their tasks as many of them are allegedly involved in activities of personal interests. The government should look into this allegation and take stern action against those found guilty. Besides, the government should try to persuade the foreign governments concerned to revise their labour policies and consider the cases of Bangladeshi workers sympathetically and leniently.
Meanwhile, one of the most important responsibility of the government is to strengthen the training facilities for the people seeking jobs abroad so that they can go abroad as skilled manpower. Besides, the recent government decision to run the manpower export by the government itself should be implemented immediately. This will stop manipulation and deception of the people going abroad by the manpower exporting agencies. The cost of going abroad with jobs will also be reduced if the matter is managed under government arrangements. Above all, the government should take all necessary measures to face successfully the challenge in the labour market.

 Avoiding custodial deaths

More than one news items on custodial deaths appeared in the newspapers on Thursday. New chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Prof Mizanur Rahman was critical of custodial death and 'missing' of citizens, saying that the Commission will no longer tolerate such incidents.Talking to reporters after meeting with the Law Minister at his office Prof Mizan referred to his meeting with the RAB Director General and said, "I gave him a clear message that under any situation force can not be applied with own initiative even not on a convict jailed for more than 20 years.""Not only RAB, no law enforcers can do this, "because such incidents are harmful for the state and also damages the country's image abroad," he added.
Commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) AKM Shahidul Haque on Wednesday instructed all the police officials to ensure basic human rights of all detainees and avoid any more custodial death.He gave these instructions quoting Article 33 and sub section 5 of 35 of the country's Constitution following some recent reports of custodial deaths that negatively affected the image of the police force.
Meanwhile, Seven persons including four cops of Darus Salam thana were sued on Wednesday in connection with the death of transport worker Mujibur, who was found dead on the bank of river Turag on 2 July. His father Mohammad Ibrahim filed the case with Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court accusing four policemen of Darus Salam thana.
The comments and instruction from the NHRC Chairman and DMP Commissioner have come against the backdrop four custodial and extra-judicial killings in the country in recent days which have created an uproar in different circles. It is encouraging that the authorities have taken note of the public discontent and protest at the inhuman custodial deaths. The sooner this bad practice is stopped the better.

Analysis

Trouble with Afghan aid

Ever since foreign aid was first pledged to rebuild Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, it has become an uphill battle for the government and its donor allies to prove it is money well spent.

Razeshta Sethna

In a year perceived in western capitals as one that would turn the tide against the Taliban, many strategists no longer remain gung-ho, as the Nato-led military operation in the south has failed to root out insurgents.
June was the deadliest month for Nato soldiers: 79 were killed, the highest number since 2001. What hasn't been tested is a long-term, workable political strategy, with dialogue and negotiation at the forefront, including Kabul and the West talking to the Taliban, Pakistan, Afghan warlords, local and regional stakeholders, and, thereby, winning hearts and minds with much-needed economic assistance, the core tenet of counterinsurgency strategies.
So far spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the fifth poorest country in the world has failed to win over the population; apart from angering US lawmakers. Blocking almost $4bn in aid to Afghanistan, after allegations of corruption, they want Karzai's government to investigate its corrupt political allies.
Ever since foreign aid was first pledged to rebuild Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, it has become an uphill battle for the government and its donor allies to prove it is money well spent. When Ahmed Rashid, author and regional expert, analyses this crisis of confidence in the Karzai government, he explains, this has prompted donor countries to rethink their aid-giving practices.
Without a credible Afghan partner to facilitate the allocation process and with alleged corruption within Karzai's coterie and among close relatives, there is extreme western reluctance to get involved with Afghan politics.
The sheer number of aid organisations involved since 2001 - military-led reconstruction teams, profit-making conglomerates, private contractors, UN agencies and traditional NGOs - is baffling. Critics now question whether the muddle and waste resulted in the declining popularity of the central government. According to this year's first Donor Financial Review (DFR) by the Afghan ministry of finance, a total of $36bn were spent out of $62bn pledged in grants and loans.
The US has been the single largest donor to Afghanistan over the past eight years, disbursing $23.417bn. Over the past five years per capita donor aid has been $1,241, which is far less than the money earmarked for Iraq and Bosnia. But what is essential is not the volume of aid, but how it is spent and how a low aid absorption capacity in conflict-ridden provinces results in Afghans becoming more disillusioned.
Although lack of transparency and coordination have seen funding being wasted through corruption, negligence and poor targeting, donor projects have been criticised for not reflecting government interests. That's why at an international conference in London in January donors supported the government's suggestion to disburse 50 per cent of total development aid by 2012.
The DFR states that donors spent over $29bn directly with little or no government input; more than $15bn of the $29bn was disbursed directly by foreign military channels. Rashid's investigations state that aid between 2002 and 2007 was inadequate for a country with no civil service academy, because pre-9/11 government institutions were led by madressah-trained Taliban.
Because the Taliban disregarded women and children, western donors post 9/11 sought it critical to educate millions out of school. In March 2002, three million children went to school in Afghanistan, compared to the seven million attending today.
After what is oft referred to as 'sexy' donor projects in education, donors are still sceptical about where the money goes. Karzai's government has been humiliated over allegations of endemic corruption, ineptitude and mismanagement of aid.
More than $25bn was used to rebuild the Afghan army and police, but they are still largely illiterate, and poorly trained, writes Rashid in Der Spiegel ('Before the Endgame: America's Fatal Flaws in Afghanistan', May 25, 2010). What strikes one is that if more aid money has been funnelled towards development and therefore political stabilisation, there is little evidence of its effectiveness. Much of this aid money is thrown into unstable areas of the country, with no human capacity to monitor its effectiveness.
There is apparent resentment among Afghans who see their country brimming with expensive foreign contractors and consultants, who often replace government or self-exiled experts. Many of the large donors give a sizeable portion of their aid to contractors which imply high profit margins.
Much capacity-building is done in government ministries by highly paid foreign consultants, earning as much as $500,000 each year.
Matt Waldman, Oxfam's policy adviser explained that anger expressed over the amount of money spent on what is perceived as extravagant lifestyles for contractors, is compounded by the inefficient way that much of the aid is delivered. Detractors of the international aid distribution system say that over the past 20 years US aid has been privatised with US contractors raking in the profits.
International development assistance to Afghanistan has failed to win hearts and minds.
Policymakers have incorrectly assumed that international development aid is inherently beneficial. But development does not necessarily translate into pro-American or pro-Afghan government sentiments.
Instead of working on short-term goals such as the number of schools built, or roads paved, it is argued that aid needs to follow a long-term plan, from the grassroots up with input from not only local elders, who may be part of the problem, but also community members, as women, children, the elderly, the disabled, ethnic minorities and others who are often marginalised. Rightly, it is argued that there is a need to dispel the myth that traditional Islamic societies are immune to change.
For Afghanistan, it seems the endgame isn't in sight, with a hydra-headed Taliban insurgency; the never-ending politics of corruption and weakened institutions at work. In June, it outpaced Vietnam as the longest war in American history; and lately, it's
visible how Obama has begun to move away from the unrealistic deadline he set for the start of a US withdrawal next year.
His team is unwittingly stuck in a morass knowingly walked into, though it's precisely the kind of gargantuan, nation-building project Obama had explicitly said he didn't want on his hands.

  In the name of God

In their long and eventful history, Muslims have never faced a greater challenge to their identity and existence. This sickness within is far more dangerous than what they confront from without.

Aijaz Zaka Syed

Contrary to the relatively recent but widespread fiction, Islam took roots and spread in much of South Asia not at gunpoint.
Rather, it was embraced by the masses who were bowled over by the stark simplicity and honesty of Arab merchants and traders and the power of love and faith exemplified by saints and Sufis like Khaja Moinuddin Chishti of Ajmer, Nizamuddin Auliya of Delhi and Syed Abul Hasan Hajvery of Lahore. They might not have been great scholars of the religion. But they promoted and demonstrated the liberating message of Islam and its teachings of love, peace, universal brotherhood and equality before God with their actions and conduct.
Everyone talks about the wars that the Mughals - and various other Muslim dynasties-fought to get and perpetuate their power in the subcontinent. But the real war for hearts and minds was fought and won by others.
Their power didn't flow from the barrel of the gun or the sword. Muslim emperors and rulers might have built some mosques, as a token of appreciation and gratitude to the real Ruler of the world, but they didn't represent Islam nor fought their wars for the religion.
If they invaded and fought Hindu kingdoms and states, they were not driven by any missionary zeal. At the end of the day, it was essentially a battle for power.
If anything, many of the Muslim rulers brought nothing but disgrace to their faith - and the accusation that its growth is indebted to the long and powerful swords of the Mughals, Khiljis and Lodhis.
If South Asia is home to a huge chunk of the world's Muslim population - nearly half of it - today, the credit should largely go to real men of God.
What kind of people target such men of God, and people who love and revere them? And in the end what are they trying to prove? Can there be a more heinous crime than targeting men who spent all their lives in the service of God and humanity?
But then what can you expect from the folks who do not spare God's own abode and unsuspecting, innocent men, women and children praying there? And all this of course in the sweet name of God, for crying out loud!
They are supposed to be our protectors and guardians and the defenders of our faith. And they are saving and protecting us from our enemies by ?killing us! Indeed, with friends ?like these, Muslims do not ?need any enemies.
I've never been to Lahore (or Pakistan for that matter.) But as the home of Iqbal and Faiz, it enjoys a special place in my heart.
However, to most people in Pakistan and across the border in India, Lahore is known as Data ki Nagari or the Data's city in reverence to the legendary saint and scholar Syed Abul Hasan Hajvery.
After wandering in the subcontinent, Data Gunj Baksh, as he's popularly known, chose Lahore as his home to continue his mission of promoting faith and love and showing the right path for over a thousand years. He's also the author of the most celebrated text on Sufism, Kashful Mehjoob (Unveiling the Veiled), a tribute to love of and struggle in the way of God.
All Sufis did nothing but spread love, tolerance, kindness, generosity, acceptance and inclusion.
The greatest of all Sufi poet philosophers Jalaluddin Rumi, who cast a lifelong spell on Iqbal, wrote: "The way of love differs from all others; lovers (of God) owe allegiance to no ?nation or sect (but the ?way of God)."
That was the way of the Sufis. Their doors were open for everyone, feeding the hungry and sheltering the weak. Some of us may not agree with their interpretation of Islam or some of
the practices their overzealous followers have introduced over the centuries. But this is not about Sufism or how it's being commercially exploited by some.
This is about the increasingly dangerous and totally absurd interpretation of Islam. It's an appalling crime to send an impressionable 16-year old to blow himself up at the popular shrine of a great saint who preached nothing but love and kindness. But it's an even greater crime and ultimate calumny against the religion when it's done in the name of Islam.
In fact, it's an affront to all religions. Perhaps no other faith abhors and warns against violence and injustice of all sorts and strife as Islam does. In fact, if Islam means acceptance or submission to the will of God, it also literally means peace. More important, it preaches moderation, restraint and reason in everything we do, even in our devotion and prayers.
It warns us that killing one innocent human being is akin to killing all humanity and saving one innocent life is like saving mankind. The Quran constantly cautions us that Allah does not like those who spread strife and chaos on earth. We're told killing a ?fellow human being is waging war against God and Allah promises ?them harshest punishment.
But we have been here before and heard and said it all, haven't we? In fact, we keep repeating this stuff ad nauseam like parrots without anyone taking us seriously.
While we earnestly hold forth on the real teachings and message of Islam, a weary world looks away in disgust as the jackals in straitjackets continue to kill in our name and in the name of God. We could go on waxing lyrical on the peaceful nature of the great faith and its liberating teachings but the world looks not at our scriptures but at our actions, or rather of those who claim to be Muslims and shed innocent blood with impunity.
How long will this go on? And who's going to stop this endless dance of death? From mosques to madrassas and from mourning Shias to Ahmadi shrines, no one is safe. And this is not a problem exclusive to Pakistan. For whatever reason, the cancer of extremism is fast eating into the vitals of the entire Muslim world. A lunatic fringe has hijacked their faith and claims to speak on their behalf and all Muslims can do is wring their hands ?in helplessness.
In their long and eventful history, Muslims have never faced a greater challenge to their identity and existence. This sickness within is far more dangerous than what they confront from without.
Where are Muslim voices of reason and sanity? Where are our leaders, our Ulema and intellectuals when we need them so badly?
Why don't they come out in the open to speak out against this distortion of our faith and morbid celebration of death? If their voices aren't heard,
they must shout from the rooftops but speak they must. There's no other
way to stop this madness. This is no time to hide.

Aijaz Zaka Syed is Opinion Editor of Khaleej Times. Write to him at aijaz@khaleejtimes.com

Viewpoints

Is America in decline? Probably

We need to summon again the vision and political courage of the Continental Congress. With that, America could resume the ascent that it has enjoyed - overall, despite a few setbacks - since 1776.

Robert Mccartney

July 4, this most patriotic of holidays prompted me to ask a decidedly unpatriotic question: Is America in decline? I'm not alone in wondering. It'd take a week to read all the books and articles on the subject in recent years. Many compare our society today to that of the Roman Empire as the barbarians closed in. One book title posed the issue concisely as, "Are We Rome?"
It's an unusual situation for Americans. The nation's history has generally been one of extraordinary expansion and ascent. First we spread across the continent. When World War II ended, we were a superpower. When the Soviet Union collapsed, we became the only superpower.
Three developments explain the worry that we're slipping. One is the rise of China, seen as a realistic contender to replace us at the top. Another is the 2008 financial crisis, which undermined confidence in America's free-market economic model. Third is the perception that the nation is incapable of dealing effectively with obvious major challenges - the budget deficit, unemployment, oil addiction, illegal immigration, deteriorating infrastructure.
To answer the question, it's necessary to break it into two parts. Are we in decline relative to other countries? And are we in decline in some absolute sense?
When comparing the United States with other countries, the answer depends on the area of competition.
In military strength, for instance, the United States is still unquestionably on top. Our defense spending exceeds the combined total of the next 10 highest-spending countries, and our technology is unmatched.
We're striking our most despised enemy, the Al-Qaeda leadership, with drones piloted by operators sitting comfortably far from the scene. Generals fret that "combat" has become so safe for some that it's hard to justify medals honoring the traditional military virtues of valor and personal sacrifice.
Think about that. It's the kind of problem you want to have.
The picture is mixed when it comes to the "soft power" combination of diplomatic clout and all-around international influence.
George W. Bush's presidency cost us goodwill abroad. I worked overseas for nearly three years of it and saw the damage caused by his rest-of-the-world-be-damned approach. It also hurt when an American institution, Wall Street, was the main culprit in the worst global business slump in seven decades.
On the upside, President Barack Obama is well liked overseas. American democracy and freedoms still inspire many foreigners. US popular culture, from Hollywood to Facebook, remains dominant.
One field where we've definitely lost ground is the global economy. That's partly because the rest of the world, especially in Asia, is catching up.
Shortly after World War II, the United States accounted for nearly half of total world output. For several decades now, our share has been about a fifth.
In 1950, China made up less than 5 percent of the world economy. Now its share is more than 10 percent and rising. That's not necessarily bad. China's growth has exploded because it adopted free-market policies that we've been recommending for decades.
America's problem is that the global economy is seriously unbalanced, and we're on the red ink side of the ledger. Globalization, which we championed, led to the export of millions of good-paying US manufacturing jobs. That means we're now running large trade deficits. In our foreign accounts, as in the gaping shortfall in the federal budget, we are living beyond our means.
This can't continue indefinitely, and the fix is eventually going to hurt our standard of living somehow.
Right now, America is sharply divided over painful choices. Should we spend more to fight joblessness? Or should we move now to contain the government deficit?
That uncertainty points to the other half of the broader question: Are we in decline in some absolute way? In particular, is our political culture so gridlocked that we're unable to address long-standing problems that we know need solving?
I'm sad to say the evidence right now suggests that the answer is yes. Consider three domestic issues:
1. The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has reminded everyone of the environmental hazards of our dependence on petroleum. But there's no movement toward a meaningful policy to significantly change our energy habits.
2. Virtually everyone regrets the massive violation of immigration laws represented by the presence of 12 million or so illegal residents. But our leaders can't agree on the only available compromise, which would provide for a mix of gradual amnesty, strict employer sanctions and a guest-worker program.
3. The nation's infrastructure is deteriorating, from roads to subway lines to water mains. But the public doesn't want to pay higher taxes and fees to fix the problem.
How did this happen? At the root of the deadlock is a fundamental disagreement between liberals and conservatives about the size and role of government.
To end it, a grand compromise is desirable. It would take another column to describe such a deal, but here's the basic trade-off. As a condition of raising public funds to address the nation's problems, liberals need to show that they can use tax money wisely and keep government from quashing entrepreneurial energy. Conservatives need to show that they care as much about the common good - such as preserving a social safety net and protecting the environment - as they do about private interests.
So, to answer my own unpatriotic question: Yes, America has begun a decline, mainly because we've let the economy and our political culture deteriorate. But we can still reverse it. We're still the wealthiest nation in all of world history. Our politics have shown tremendous resilience and adaptability over more than two centuries. The elections of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama showed how quickly our system can deliver dramatic change at the top, even if structural problems remain.
We need to summon again the vision and political courage of the Continental Congress. With that, America could resume the ascent that it has enjoyed - overall, despite a few setbacks - since 1776.

  Iraqi leaders must serve their people

The protests that have broken out recently are a warning that the political elite must not ignore their citizens.
 
Mohammad Akef Jamal

No one ever imagined that the conditions in Iraq would deteriorate in the manner witnessed today.
Iraq is occupied and the north of the country is under constant attack. The poor villagers are displaced, while the Iraqi government does not dare to even protest or condemn.
Iraq's sovereignty is impinged upon in broad daylight, while the country's huge security machine stands helpless.
The US decided that Iraq would embrace democracy. Elections have taken place, in the hope that whoever was elected would deliver the basic needs for a decent life.
However, voters soon found that their basic rights were even further out of reach.
The members of the political elite who reside in the Green Zone have used votes as a red carpet to enter a world of exceptional services and distinctions. The new elite soon forgot the hardship of Iraqis who live in cities and villages. They no longer remember the sad stories they had promised to address when they ran for office.
Today, four months after the most recent elections, Iraq is witnessing a dangerous political vacuum. The elected Iraqi parliament convened so that its members could take the oath, but the members of the political elite continue to compete for power, while the problems encountered by Iraqis spiral out of control.
The political elite is responsible for the deteriorating situation, which threatens to explode while they struggle for positions in the government.
Instead of finding solutions to the daily problems of the people as in other democracies, politicians have come to master the art of bargaining amongst themselves. Millions of Iraqis are suffering the hardship of unemployment, water and electricity shortages, while watching the corrupt politicians become richer.
Boiling point
The scorching summer temperatures exacerbate the people's discontent, causing emotions to flare up, especially since the Ministry of Electricity has followed the rest of the government in failing to provide services.
Official documents show that $17 billion (Dh62.5 billion) has been spent on electricity generation over the past seven years. However, Iraqis are receiving less electricity and now have to make do with a meagre four hours of power in extremely high temperatures.
This set off the spark of anger in the incendiary atmosphere of Basra, the richest governorate, but the most impoverished in terms of services. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on June 19, holding banners that read: "Today we protest and tomorrow we will revolt". During the demonstrations, protesters threw stones at the Governing Council building and security forces fired on them, killing two and wounding two others.
Further violent demonstrations followed in Nasiriyah, Karbala, Ramadi and other locations around the country. Journalists joined the protests against the deteriorating conditions across the country.
Clamping down
The government sent its security forces to stop the demonstrations in other areas and refused to allow them to take place despite the fact that the right to protest is enshrined in the Constitution.
The demonstrations were not spontaneous, as some might think. The question to be asked - amidst the highly tense atmosphere, in which political blocs are struggling for the right to fill the post of prime minister - is who is profiting from these protests?
The people who stand to gain, to differing degrees, are the ones who are competing for the post of prime minister. Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki and the Al Dawa party over which he presides are suffering the most damage because the demonstrations target the weak performance of the government and the governorates council, whose members are mostly Al Dawa party members.
Amidst this agitation, the Tribal Council of the South announced itself as the leader and director of the protesting masses. This new development is another indicator of the fact that tribal leaders are equally discontented and distrusting of the government, which promised them better conditions without actually delivering on any of its promises.
The council also announced that the protests will continue until the government starts providing proper services.
The message from the people on the street is a few years late - the protests should have started earlier to cleanse the Iraqi body of sectarianism and corruption.
However, better late than never, and the message is loud and clear. This is a warning for the coming Iraqi government, whose members must realise that they have to allow the Iraqi parliament to function properly.
A snowball gains size and momentum as it rolls. However, the heated Iraqi conditions make it inappropriate to talk about a snowball.
This is more a fireball that will soon blaze all over the country from Basra outwards, fuelled by the blood, sweat and tears of the oppressed people of Iraq.


Dr Mohammad Akef Jamal is an Iraqi writer based in Dubai.

 Creating the next crisis

In effect, there were repeated games of “chicken” between governments and major financial institutions in the US and Western Europe.

Simon Johnson

Informed opinion is sharply divided about how the next 12 months will play out for the global economy. Those focused on emerging markets are emphasising accelerating growth, with some forecasts projecting a 5 per cent increase in world output. Others, concerned about problems in Europe and the United States, remain more pessimistic, with growth projections closer to 4 per cent - and some are even inclined to see a possible "double dip" recession.
This is an interesting debate, but it misses the bigger picture. In response to the crisis of 2007-2009, governments in most industrialised countries put in place some of the most generous bailouts ever seen for large financial institutions. Of course, it is not politically correct to call them bailouts - the preferred language of policymakers is "liquidity support" or "systemic protection". But it amounts to essentially the same thing: when the chips were down, the most powerful governments in the world (?n paper, at least) deferred again and again to the needs and wishes of people who had lent money to big banks.
In each instance, the logic was impeccable. For example, if the US hadn't provided essentially unconditional support to Citigroup in 2008 (under President George W. Bush) and again in 2009 (under President Barack Obama), the resulting financial collapse would have deepened the global recession and worsened job losses around the world. Similarly, if the euro zone had not stepped in - with the help of the International Monetary Fund - to protect Greece and its creditors in recent months, we would have faced ?urther financial distress in Europe and perhaps more broadly.
In effect, there were repeated games of "chicken" between governments and major financial institutions in the US and Western Europe. The governments said: "No more bailouts."
The banks said: "If you don't bail us out, there will most likely be a second Great Depression."
The governments thought briefly about that prospect and then, without exception, blinked. Creditors were protected and financial sectors' losses were transferred to the domestic government (as in Ireland) or to the European Central Bank (as in Greece). Elsewhere (the US), the losses were covered up with a great deal of regulatory "forbearance" (i.e., agreeing to look the other way while banks rebuild their capital by trading securities). And it worked - in the sense that we are now experiencing an economic?recovery, albeit one with a disappointingly slow employment rebound in the US and some European countries. So what is the problem with the policies of 2007-2009, and why can't we just plan on doing something similar in the future if we ever face a crisis of this nature again?
The problem is incentives - what bailouts imply for attitudes and behaviour within the financial sector. The protection that was extended to banks and other financial institutions since summer 2007, and more comprehensively since the failure of Lehman Brothers and AIG in September 2008, sends a simple signal. If you are "big" relative to the system, you are more likely to get generous government support when there is system-wide vulnerability.
How big is "big enough" remains an open and interesting question. Major hedge funds are presumably looking for ways to become bigger and take on "systemic importance". Ideally - from their point of view - they will bulk up without attracting regulatory scrutiny, i.e., no ex ante limits on their risk-taking activities will be imposed. If all goes well, these hedge funds - and of course the banks that are already undoubtedly Too Big to Fail (TBTF) - get a great deal of upside.
Of course, if anything goes wrong, everyone who is TBTF - and who has lent to TBTF firms - expects to receive government protection. This expectation lowers the cost of credit for megabanks today (relative to their competitors, which are small enough that they are more likely to be allowed to fail). As a result, all financial institutions gain a powerful incentive to bulk up (and borrow more) in hope of also becoming bigger and therefore "safer" (from creditors' point of view, not from a social perspective?)
Top US policy makers acknowledge that this structure of incentives is a problem - interestingly, many of their European counterparts are not yet willing even to discuss these issues openly. But the rhetoric from the White House and the Treasury Department is "we have ended TBTF" with financial reform legislation currently before Congress and likely to be signed by Obama within a month.
Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. On the critical dimension of excessive bank size and what it implies for systemic risk, there was a concerted effort by Senators Ted Kaufman and Sherrod Brown to impose a size cap on the largest banks - very much in accordance with the spirit of the original "Volcker Rule" proposed in January 2010 by Obama himself.
In an almost unbelievable volte face, for reasons that remain somewhat mysterious, Obama's administration itself shot down this approach.
"If enacted, Brown-Kaufman would have broken up the six biggest banks in America," a senior Treasury official said.
"If we'd been for it, it probably would have happened. But we weren't, so it didn't."
Whether the world economy grows now at 4 per cent or 5 per cent matters, but it does not much affect our medium-term prospects. The US financial sector received an unconditional bailout - and is not now facing any kind of meaningful reregulation. We are setting ourselves up, without question, for another boom based on excessive and reckless risk-taking at the heart of the world's financial system. This can end only one way: badly.


The writer, a former chief economist of the IMF, is co-founder of a leading economics blog, http://BaselineScenario.com, a professor at MIT Sloan, and a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. ©Project Syndicate, 2010. www.project-syndicate.org .

International

S.Lankan minister on ‘hunger strike’ over UN war probe
AFP, Colombo

A Sri Lankan cabinet minister said on Thursday he was on a hunger strike outside the UN office in Colombo to protest against a panel set up to probe alleged rights abuses during the island's civil war.
Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa, who led protests outside the United Nations building earlier this week, said he was prepared to fast to the death to protect the honour of the Sri Lankan military.
"This (UN panel) is a plan by the UN to produce our military before a war crimes tribunal," Weerawansa told a few dozen cheering supporters. "We won't let that happen."
Hunger strikes are often used in Sri Lanka to attract publicity but are rarely followed for long.
Buddhist monks chanted blessings as Weerawansa sat down on a makeshift stage outside the UN compound to start his fast.
He urged people to take part in protests across the island to pressure UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to dissolve the panel.
Ban named the three-member panel last month to advise on "accountability issues" during the war between government forces and the Tamil Tiger separatists, which ended in May last year. The protests against the UN are widely seen as having the tacit support of the government.
External affairs minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris repeated the government's stance that the panel was "totally unnecessary". On Tuesday, demonstrators led by Weerawansa had surrounded the UN office in Colombo and kept staff under siege for several hours.
The entrance to the building was not blocked on Thursday but staff were advised to remain at home for the second consecutive day.
In New York, the United Nations has registered its "strong objections" to the protests. The world body has previously said that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians were killed in the final stages of the war, and it estimates some 100,000 people died during the decades-long conflict.

   Indian govt warns youths over violent Kashmir protests
AFP, Srinagar, India

The Indian government on Thursday appealed for parents in Kashmir to keep their teenage sons indoors after the deaths of several young men in violent protests over the last month.
At least 15 people have died in separate incidents as security forces opened fire to break up angry demonstrations held across the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley. Each death has triggered further violence despite appeals for calm from the state's Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Teenagers and young men have often been among those throwing stones at security forces during the rallies.
"It is important that people do not come on to the streets and start stone pelting," Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi, saying the restrictions on all public movement would remain in force for some days.
"Children, especially young boys, should remain indoors. I think there is a responsibility of parents to ensure that," Chidambaram said.Tens of thousands of Indian soldiers, paramilitary troops and police were on patrol on Thursday in Indian-controlled Kashmir enforcing the curfew in Muslim-majority towns.
The shutdown was imposed in the Kashmiri summer capital Srinagar on Tuesday after three protesters died in firing by the security forces.
The city has been the focus of protests since June 11, when a 17-year-old student was killed by a police teargas shell.
Curfew orders have been widely ignored in recent days, but the national army on Wednesday marched through Srinagar in a show of force designed to end the increasingly violent protests. The army presence was also strong on Thursday.
However Kashmiris-many of whom want independence from India-crowded several mosques in downtown Srinagar overnight shouting: "We want freedom." Separatist leaders have also repeated calls for residents to defy the security forces and take to the streets. Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, a senior civil servant, visited the disputed region and held discussions with Abdullah.
"The situation is under control in Srinagar and is being watched closely," Pillai told NDTV. "More paramilitary forces are being sent there. The state government has been told to crack down on trouble-makers."
Shops, offices and schools remained closed and streets were empty during the day.

  Govt should respect people’s mandate, judiciary: Nawaz
Dawn Online

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz's chief Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said that some measures taken by the government have been damaging to democracy. He said the government should be respectful of the courts and their verdicts and should not assume the role of the superior courts itself.
He said the government was trying to drag the judiciary into politics and that NAB's letter to the Supreme Court was evidence to the effect. Nawaz was speaking to media representatives before departing for London. He said the judiciary's restoration was the result of the people's struggle which was why everyone should cooperate with the courts. "The government has the mandate of the people which it should respect and therefore respect the judiciary," Nawaz said. Nawaz further said that he does not perceive NAB as a "good" institution.
"NAB was created by a military dictator for his own purposes...there is a big difference between the NAB and the Saifur Rahman Commission." He said NAB victimised "politicians like Javed Hashmi...people who should have been arrested were made prime ministers and chief ministers and the rest went scot-free".
Nawaz also charged that "NAB's first chairman was himself corrupt".
Responding to a question, Nawaz said that although the media criticises the PML-N for playing the role of a "friendly opposition," the government couldn't even take that.
Regarding the Data Darbar blasts, Nawaz said that federal ministers should not use the tragedy to indulge in political point scoring. He said "countless are killed in Karachi on a daily basis, bomb attacks take place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, terrorists also target Islamabad…but the PML-N has never declared the federal government to be a failed entity…nor has it asked the government to resign". "We do not want to get into blame games," Nawaz said.
He further alleged that even within the government, there were people who supported the ideology of the militants and were in favour of suicide bombings and they wanted to "destroy both the government and democracy". "There are suicide bombers in the government's ranks…government should rid itself of these elements and not associate with them," he said.
Nawaz said "only one political party cannot combat terrorism and for this purpose the whole nation has to come together and be united".
Regarding Prime Minister Gilani's proposal to call a national conference for countering terrorism, Nawaz said: This requires a whole lot of homework...government should take all the stakeholders on board so that something concrete comes out of it. On the distribution of water between the provinces, Nawaz said the issue should not be politicised and that "there will be no compromise on Punjab's water share".

  US ‘doubling’ efforts to counter deadly Afghan bombs
AFP, Kabul

The United States is set to deliver three billion dollars worth of equipment aimed at countering Taliban-made crude bombs used in the Afghan war, a US official said Thursday.
Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have become the main weapon used against international and Afghan forces fighting to end an insurgency increasingly seen as bogged down in favour of the Taliban.
The equipment was "at least doubling" current counter-IED capacity as forces did not have all they needed to take on an escalating threat, said Ashton Carter, US undersecretary of defence for acquisition, technology and logistics. The new equipment, including tethered surveillance blimps, heavily armoured vehicles and detection machinery such as robots and mine detectors, would arrive in Afghanistan in coming months, he told reporters.
Carter said the equipment would be accompanied by about 1,000 counter-IED experts, including laboratory technicians, intelligence analysts and law enforcement officials.
"This is an enormous plug of extra effort," he said, adding that the equipment would be shared with coalition and Afghan forces.
IEDs are the biggest threat facing troops engaged in the war in Afghanistan, now well into its ninth year.
They are easy and cheap to produce, often using ammonium nitrate fertiliser that is produced in Pakistan and trucked across the border into Afghanistan, Carter said. The bombs are difficult to detect, often buried by roadsides and remotely detonated to devastating effect.
Many of the more than 330 foreign soldiers killed so far this year have died of wounds sustained in IED attacks. Those who do not die often suffer life-changing injuries. A June UN report marked an "alarming" 94 percent increase in IED incidents in the first four months of this year compared to 2009, as the military says intensifying efforts against the Taliban are being mat-ched by more attacks.

  China warns against US-S.Korea war games
AFP, Beijing

China warned the United States and South Korea Thursday against holding joint war games near its waters and urged the two nations to guard against exacerbating festering tensions with North Korea.
The joint military exercises were scheduled after the March sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul has blamed on a North Korean torpedo attack and which killed 46 sailors and sent regional tensions soaring. "China has expressed its serious concerns with relevant parties," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters when asked about the war games.
"We are firmly opposed to foreign military vessels engaging in activities that undermine China's security interests in the Yellow Sea or waters close to China."
Beijing has refused to condemn its neighbour and close ally North Korea for the alleged attack despite an international probe that blamed the isolated communist state. China has said it was studying the investigation's findings. China kicked off six days of live-fire military exercises off its eastern coast this week, in what state-controlled media said was a response to the planned US-South Korean war games.
State television this week showed footage of Chinese warships firing advanced missiles and other weaponry in a mock defence of the nation's territorial waters.
No date has been publicly announced for the exercises between the American and South Korean forces.
China, which provides badly needed aid to impoverished North Korean, is obliged by a 1961 treaty to help defend it against unprovoked aggression. "We hope relevant parties will exercise calm and restraint and refrain from actions that exacerbate tensions in the region," Qin said. China, a permanent, veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, is working with other members of the body to formulate a "document" on the alleged attack, he said, giving no other details.
South Korea has asked the UN Security Council to censure Pyongyang but China has so far not lent its support to that call.

  Lifting emergency rule would spark unrest: Thai minister
AFP, Bangkok

The Thai government warned on Thursday that anti-government "Red Shirts" would launch fresh protests if the country lifted a state of emergency put in place in response to recent deadly rallies.
Red Shirts continue to meet in small groups-in defiance of the crisis rules-to criticise the government and the country's revered monarchy, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said.
The government, citing lingering fears of unrest after the worst civil violence in decades, this week prolonged emergency rule in many parts of the country despite calls from rights groups and opponents for it to be lifted. Suthep, who is in charge of national security, said the Red Shirts had "become more aggressive", accusing them of denigrating the revered monarchy.

  Senior Afghan police intel officer shot dead
AFP, Kabul

Gunmen have shot dead a senior Afghan police intelligence chief, spraying his vehicle with bullets as he was on his way home near Kabul, an official said Thursday. Mohammad Gul, director of the intelligence department of Kabul's counter crime police branch, was shot dead along with one of his bodyguards late Wednesday, branch chief Sayed Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada told AFP.
The gunmen sprayed Gul's vehicle with bullets near his home in Paghman district, a picnic valley west of Kabul. "We don't know yet who were the attackers but we're investigating this," Sayedzada said.
Taliban militants have been blamed for similiar assassinations but mostly in the lawless southern cities where their insurgency against the government of President Hamid Karzai is concentrated.

 Nigerian President for D-8 focus on enhancing private sector participation

UNB, Abuja, Nigeria

Nigerian President Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Thursday said that his vision is to see the D-8 has focus on practical and achievable means of enhancing private sector participation in its activities.
Addressing the inaugural session of the Developing Eight (D-8) Summit at the State House Banquette Hall, he said the central role of trade is to act as the engine of economic growth.
The Nigerian President said he has directed the relevant organs of his government to fast-track the ratification of the preferential trade agreement (PTA), customs cooperation agreement and Visa regulatory regime as agreed at the 12th session of the council in Kuala Lumpur.
"I expect this process to be completed very soon and our assent to these agreements duly formalized. I believe the early adaptation of these agreements which truly reflects the vision and spirit of our organization would set the stage for mutually beneficial trade and business engagements among our various countries."
He said that the adoption of the D-8 Roadmap for the second decade of cooperation (2008-2018), at the 6th Summit in Kuala Lumpur in 2008, reflects the organization's collective determination to mainstream its activities into national trade and economic programmes. "Since the targets of the roadmap aim to expand trade among D-8 members, the early adaptation of the PTA and related agreements becomes all the more urgent."
President Jonathan also said that the D-8 also needs to adopt its own Charter, which would create rights and obligations; and also define the organization's relationship with other multilateral organisations to which the D-8 member countries might belong.
He welcomed the proposal for the establishment of the D-8 Joint Investment Fund as a vehicle for expanding the scope, volume and value of trade and investment among the D-8 member countries. "Nigeria as chair hopes to drive this innovative approach to development, and encourage private sector-led cooperation in priority projects in such areas as energy, civil aviation, and infrastructure development," he said.
The Nigerian President said that to achieve the intra-trade target of US$ 1.7 trillion by 2012, the development of the maritime sector is vital. "This, I believe will undoubtedly support the growing trade volumes and targets we have set for ourselves." He said that a resuscitation of the D-8 Shipping Business Forum meetings would be the right step in this direction. President Jonathan underscored the need to take immediate and effective steps to face the climate change challenge that is negatively affecting nations, peoples and economics. "I would like to see us take forward the proposals of this meeting as the building blocks of deeper cooperation in the area of alternative and renewable energy, particularly in research and development and capacity building," he said.

   Turkey’s government faces referendum test
AFP, Ankara

Turkey's Islamist-rooted government geared up Thursday for a September referendum on reforms to curb the judiciary's powers, after a top court scrapped only a fraction of the disputed package.
The Constitutional Court said late Wednesday it had rejected a request by the secularist opposition to cancel the entire package, annuling only three provisions in what observers described as a "surgical" intervention.
The ruling represents a "mid-way formula" and "a solution that will not fan further tensions" in Turkey, the liberal Radikal daily wrote Thursday. "The possibility of early elections has been discarded... The danger of political chaos has been eliminated," the popular Aksam said. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had been widely expected to call snap polls if the court had scrapped the whole package or its key elements.
The amendments-minus the scrapped parts-will be put on a referendum on September 12, in a major vote of confidence for the AKP ahead of general elections next year, in which the party will seek a third straight win.
The AKP pushed the amendments through parliament in May, overriding fierce objections by the opposition and senior judges.
It moved to curb the powers of key judicial bodies and change their make-up after frequent clashes with top courts, which are dominated by staunch secularists who have often blocked AKP-sponsored legislation.
The government slammed the Constitutional Court for interfering in the content of the amendments, but said the package preserved its reformist nature.
"The amendments, even with some phrases removed, constitute a serious reform to the constitution... From now on, we are in the referendum process," Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said.
Turkey's constitution is a legacy of the 1980 military coup, and even though the need for a major overhaul is widely accepted, the AKP failed to secure opposition support for the amendments.
The opposition charges that the AKP, the moderate offshoot of a banned Islamist movement, designed the package to tighten its grip on power by extending government control over key judicial bodies. The AKP rejects the charges, arguing the amendments will help Turkey align with EU democracy norms.
Key articles modify the composition of the Constitutional Court and the Higher Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which deals with judicial appointments, and the way their members are elected.

  Baghdad attacks on Shiite pilgrims kill 70 in three days
AFP, Baghdad

A string of attacks against Shiite pilgrims in the past three days killed 70 people in Baghdad, security officials said on Thursday, exposing the continued ability of insurgents to inflict bloodshed.
The death toll was another blow to the leaders of a country which remains dogged by sectarian strife and has only a caretaker government more than four months after a general election in which no clear winner emerged.
Almost half of those killed -- 28 -- died on Wednesday night when a suicide bomber wearing an explosives-filled belt struck pilgrims in Adhamiyah, a Sunni district across the Tigris river from Kadhimiyah, in the north of the capital.
Kadhimiyah is named after Musa Kadhim, the seventh of 12 revered imams in Shiite Islam, who was poisoned in 799 AD, and whose death tens of thousands of the faithful have honoured in recent days. Many of the worshippers crossed a bridge bet-ween the two neighbouring districts to reach the shrine. The suicide bomber also wounded 136 people while 11 others were killed Wednesday across the capital in a series of bomb attacks. The new death toll issued on Thursday came as tens of thousands of Shiite faithful started to disperse from the shrine and make their way home amid chaotic scenes as many of them looked for a lift from passing cars and buses.
Five bombings in the capital killed 11 people and brought the number of wounded to more than 400 people since Tuesday, the officials said. A roadside bomb in the central Bab al-Muazam neighbourhood killed four and injured 46, while a second bomb in the southeastern Mashtal district killed three and wounded 31, a security official said.
The Shiite majority in Iraq have been a main target of Sunni Arab armed groups since the US-led invasion of 2003 toppled now executed dictator Saddam Hussein's Sunni-dominated regime.
Pilgrimages to the Shiite holy places have been repeatedly hit and heavy security was laid on for the pilgrimage. Traffic was banned on Tuesday on several bridges spanning the Tigris River, increasing already bad congestion in the capital, where control on vehicles is already complicated by hundreds of security checkpoints.
Motorcycles and carts were also prohibited, but the extra measures failed to protect travellers to the mausoleum, which had previously been targeted.

  Ban urges unity in civil war-wracked Somalia
AFP, United Nations

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Somalis to seek unity in their divided country, which marked its 50th independence anniv-ersary nearly two decades into a brutal civil war.
Somalia gained independence from Italy in 1960 and merged with Somaliland, a British protectorate that proclaimed independence five days earlier on June 26.
"The secretary-general commends the courage of the people of Somalia and reaffirms that the United Nations will continue to support them to overcome the serious challenges they face and to achieve their dream of living in peace, stability and prosperity," Ban's press office said in a statement. He "invites all Somalis to reflect back on that founding moment in their history when the people of Somalia looked to the future of their nation with pride and great expectation," it added.
"It is that vision of a united, strong and prosperous Somali nation that should direct the present and future."
The Western-backed government of President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who only controls a few neighborhoods and strategic locations in the capital Mogadishu, celebrated the 50th anniversary of his country, marred in civil war since 1991.
A leading Somali insurgent Islamist group, Hezb Al-Islam, ordered citizens on the eve of the anniversary to boycott celebrations and warned of reprisals if they attended.
Meanwhile, the electoral panel of Somalia's breakaway republic of Somaliland said opposition leader Ahmed Mohamud Silaanyo had been elected president of the region in weekend polls held in defiance of Islamist threats.
Somaliland has been spared much of the violence that has ravaged rump Somalia, where an Islamist insurgency is battling to overthrow Ahmed's government.

  NY lawyer: Russian spy case could be resolved soon
AP, New York

A lawyer for one of 11 people accused of spying for Russia said their case could be resolved as early as Thursday. Ten people whose U.S. arrests were announced by federal authorities a week ago and an 11th person, who was released on bail by a court in Cyprus and is a fugitive, were formally charged in a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
The indictment charged all of them with conspiring to act as secret agents and charged nine of them with conspiracy to commit money laundering. It demanded that those accused of money laundering return any assets used in the offense.
Attorney Robert Baum, who represents defendant Anna Chapman, said late Wednesday the case might be settled when she and the other nine people arrested in the United States appear for arraignment on the indictment, raising the possibility of guilty pleas to the lowest charges and deportation from the country.
"There's a good possibility that the case will be resolved at the initial court appearance tomorrow," he said Wednesday. Chapman, a Manhattan resident branded a femme fatale in tabloid newspaper stories, and the other arrested defendants were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
The indictment, a charging document that can be used at trial, contains far fewer details of the alleged crimes than were in two criminal complaints filed last week.
The legal developments came amid reports that American officials were meeting with the Russian ambassador in Washington and a claim by the brother of a convicted spy in Russia that his brother has been told he will be swapped for Russians arrested in the United States.
Janice Oh, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, declined to comment on speculation about a spy swap. U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood, who has been assigned the case, signed an order Wednesday requiring that defendant Vicky Pelaez remain detained until the judge can hear an appeal by the government of a $250,000 bail package that was approved last week by a magistrate judge.
The bail hearing was set for Friday for Pelaez, a U.S. citizen. John Rodriguez, a lawyer for Pelaez, said his client has met the conditions required for her release. Her bail conditions require her to remain at home, where an electronic bracelet will monitor her whereabouts.
The defendants were accused of living seemingly ordinary lives in America while they acted as unregistered agents for the Russian government, sending secret messages and carrying out orders they received from their Russian contacts.
All have remained in custody except for a man identified as Christopher R. Metsos, the fugitive.

  Obama as campaigner in chief in Missouri, Nevada
AP, Washington

President Barack Obama is talking to voters again about jobs and the economy.
Two jobs in particular he'd like to save are Senate seats for Democrats in the states of Missouri and Nevada. With Democrats facing uphill battles in the November elections, Obama is combining a couple of economy-focused events Thursday and Friday with a campaign swing on behalf of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Missouri Senate hopeful Robin Carnahan. A sitting president's party typically loses seats in Congress during midterm elections. On top of that, Democrats are battling an anti-incumbent fervor fanned by high unemployment. Reid is in trouble in his bid for a fifth term, with unemployment sky-high in Nevada and Republicans working furiously to unseat him. Carnahan, Missouri's secretary of state, represents a chance for a much-needed Democratic pickup of the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Kit Bond.
Obama will aim to energize their supporters Thursday with a sharply partisan message he's been honing of late. The man who pledged durinG#his campaign to bridge partisan divides has begun playing into them as his party claws for political advantage.

Business/Economy

FBCCI suggests quarterly monitoring of budget implementation

BSS, Dhaka

As the government has already put the budget implementation in its agenda's higher stage, the country's apex chamber body has recommended quarterly monitoring to keep the implementation process on the right directions and paces.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) President A K Azad made the proposal when he led the newly elected executives of the umbrella organisation for business community to the introductory meeting with Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith at his secretariat on Thursday.
The FBCCI president quite spontaneously volunteered all cooperation of the business community to this intense monitoring, which all concerned including experts, economists and developing partners have identified as the prime challenge to attain the coveted fiscal targets.
He also recommended some other measures including tax reduction, bank rate cut and fuel subsidy to industries for helping further acceleration in the country's economic growth process.
Considering the immense public sufferings and financial losses due to chronic traffic congestion, Azad advised ban on new industries in and around the proximity of the capital city.
The finance minister acknowledged many of the recommendations, including quarterly monitoring of budget implementation, but was skeptical about the benefit of ban on new industries in improving traffic situation.
He rather supported the idea of phasing out industries from Dhaka to suitable places across the country. "The industrial growth may hamper if we stop approving new industries in Dhaka," Muhith said adding that establishing few industrial zones would be the right approach to address the issue.
The FBCCI leader suggested forming industrial police to ensure law and securities in industries including in the garment factories. He, however, claimed that the police stations in garment areas lacked adequate manpower. Muhith accepted the proposal and said the government would actively consider forming such police force to address the security issues in industrial sector. As Azad proposed resuming gas supply to industries for generating electricity from their captive power plants, Muhith positively responded saying the government would soon discuss the issues with business leaders.
Regarding the bank rate cut, the minister said steps had already been taken to reduce this further.
FBCCI advised supportive exchange rates to complement exporters, but Muhith binned this idea as he thought such intervention during the era of deregulation would ultimately bring bad name to Bangladesh.
The minister, however, reiterated the government's steps including stimulus package for giving exporters an extra edge on the competitive global market.
The FBCCI sought government's financial assistance for building office premises of its member organizations across the country.
The finance minister said the government was largely criticized for extending such assistance over the past financial year. He, however, assured the business community of discussing their proposal at the proper forum of the government.

 Tk 2,171.34 cr DCC budget for 2010-11 announced
BSS, Dhaka

The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) on Thursday announced a Taka 2,171.34 crore budget for 2010-11 fiscal year with Taka 371.85 crore revenue expenditure and Taka 704.35 crore revenue income.
Besides, Taka 970.56 crore revised budget, including Taka 306.45 crore as revenue expenditure, was also declared for fiscal 2009-10. Announcing the budget at Mohanagar Natyamancha here, Dhaka City Mayor Sadek Hossain Khoka said the DCC in the budget this year focused on increasing civic amenities by boosting social and cultural activities.
But there is no good news for the city dwellers to control mosquitoes, as the city authorities in this budget did not take extra measures to give respite to the dwellers from mosquito menace. When asked about Taka 16 crore for mosquito control, which is same compared to the previous year, DCC Mayor Khoka said an additional Taka 2 crore is likely to be added to the budget for this purpose. Detailing the budget, he said Taka 704.35 crore was targeted as revenue income from DCC's own sources.
The revenue sources include Taka 46 crore from trade licences, Taka 5 crore from rickshaw licence fees, Taka 15 crore advertisement fees, Taka 50 crore road digging fees, Taka 78 crore asset transfer fees and Taka 9 crore from other sources, he mentioned
The DCC mayor underscored the need for formulation of a city master plan considering that the demand of the city dwellers for facilities is on the sharp rise.
Terming the budget size as less than the demand, Khoka favoured increasing urban tax (vehicles entering Dhaka from outside) from the existing Taka 2.5 crore to Taka 100 crore. The city has only six percent roads, which is 21 percent less than standard and its population is likely be over two crore by 2015, he said quoting experts.
Urgent steps must be taken in this regard, said the DCC Mayor. During the hour-long budget speech, different issues came up including security of councilors, coordination among the DCC and Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), DCC's capacity building, prevention of grabbers from filling playgrounds, water bodies and lands, increasing cleaning facilities and the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP).

  Advertising surges in Asia-Pacific
AFP, Hong Kong

Advertising in the Asia-Pacific region surged by almost 20 percent in the first quarter of 2010, marking the second consecutive quarter of growth, research firm Nielsen says.
Driven by strong economic performances and rapidly improving consumer confidence, media advertising activity across 12 Asia-Pacific markets surged by 18 percent in the first quarter.
Nielsen described this as the "clearest sign yet" that economic prospects were improving rapidly across the region. Six of the 10 most confident consumer markets globally are in the Asia-Pacific area. Richard Basil-Jones, Nielsen Media Asia Pacific's managing director, said the advertising outlook for the rest of 2010 appeared "extremely positive". "The latest Nielsen findings are the sign that marketers, manufacturers and retailers have been eagerly waiting for, as consumers' spending intentions are turning into actual spending reality," he said.
"Consumers are out there spending and intending to loosen up their purse strings, so the onus is now on marketers to ensure their products and services return to top of mind."
In the first quarter of 2010, global consumer confidence rebounded to its highest level since the third quarter of 2007, Basil-Jones added.
In the Asia-Pacific region, consumers are already upbeat on how they will spend their spare cash, with 41 percent planning a holiday, 35 percent planning to buy new clothes and 30 percent wanting to splash out on new technology. Advertising spending across the region rose to over 30 billion dollars, an overall increase of 18 percent, led by India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia and Taiwan.
In a quarter of bullish revenue growth, China dominated with a 69 percent share of all main media advertising spending, Nielsen found.

  IMF raises global growth forecast despite financial shocks
AFP, Hong Kong

The IMF raised Thursday its global growth forecast for this year despite renewed financial turbulence stemming from an European debt crisis that has sharply raised potential risks.
The fund projected the world will grow by 4.6 percent, revising the 4.2 percent forecast in April, reflecting "stronger activity" during the first half of 2010 and expectations of fiscal action, especially in Europe.
The higher growth was on "expectations of a modest but steady recovery in most advanced economies and strong growth in many emerging and developing economies," the Washington-based International Monetary Fund said.
It maintained its 2011 growth forecast at 4.3 percent in an update of its World Economic Outlook projections.
The fund however warned that "downside risks have risen sharply amid renewed financial turbulence" sparked by a severe Greek budget crisis that threatened to spread across the eurozone.
In the near term, it said, the main risk was an escalation of financial stress and contagion, prompted by rising concern over sovereign risk-the prospect of governments reneging on borrowing terms. This could lead to additional increases in funding costs and weaker bank balance sheets that induce tighter lending conditions, declining business and consumer confidence, and abrupt changes in exchange rates, the IMF said.

  US rules out Taiwan free trade deal
AFP, Washington

The United States has ruled out a free trade agreement with Taiwan amid a dispute over beef imports, days after the island signed a sweeping accord with longtime adversary China.
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has tried to sell the landmark accord with China to voters in part by arguing that the island will now be able to pursue free trade agreements with more countries, as Beijing would no longer object. "The United States has no plans to begin talks with Taiwan about an FTA at this time," David Shear, the State Department pointman on China-Taiwan ties, said Wednesday at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
"Despite our excellent relations, I am disappointed by the lack of progress the United States and Taiwan have made on trade issues" in recent years, said Shear, a deputy assistant secretary of state.
Negotiations between the United States and Taiwan on a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, often a precursor to a full-fledged FTA, have been dormant since 2007. Shear said such talks would be the best forum to discuss trade.
With lawmakers from farm states leading the charge, the United States has been pressing for years for lucrative Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to accept more US beef, causing friction with the close US partners.
The countries imposed restrictions in late 2003 after mad cow disease was detected in an American herd. Some scientists believe humans can contract the brain-wasting illness by eating infected animals' brains and spinal cords. Taiwan agreed with the United States in October to let in more beef products but the island's parliament reimposed restrictions three months later after a public outcry. Despite the disagreement, Shear said he hoped the beef issue would not "overshadow" other trade and he stood by US security commitments to Taiwan.
The United States in January approved a 6.4 billion-dollar arms package for Taiwan, defying protests from China.

  Crisis has cost E. Europe 10 years of growth
AFP, Vienna

Potential economic growth in countries in central, eastern and southeastern Europe (CESEE) has been thrown back 10 years by the global economic and financial crisis, a top think-tank said on Thursday.
"The average CESEE country will lose almost a decade in the process of catching up with the EU," the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies or WIIW said in its latest forecasts for the region.
Prior to the crisis, the average CESEE country would have been able to reach 90 percent of the average per capita GDP (gross domestic product) for the 27-country European Union by 2030, WIIW calculated.
Now, however, with most countries in the region still licking their wounds from one of their deepest-ever recessions in 2008 and 2009, they look set to reach just 70 percent of the EU-27 level by that date, the think-tank said.
In its latest study, WIIW examined the longer-term growth prospects for 20 countries in the region, ranging from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania to Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Those countries "whose pre-crisis growth was aggressive and ended with a bubble burst" such as the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, or Kazakhstan, would sustain the biggest setbacks, WIIW estimated. Others, "where growth was already anaemic pior to growth, such as Macedonia and Hungary", would suffer less.

National

BD holds top position in sending troops to UN Peace Keeping Mission

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh has presently occupied the top position in sending troops to the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission.
"The total number of peace keepers from Bangladesh rose to 10,855 till the date," Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal SM Ziaur Rahman apprised President Zillur Rahman when he called on him at Bangabhaban on Thursday.
During the meeting, the Air Chief apprised the President that he is going to the United Kingdom (UK) on July 14 to attend 'Air Chief Conference' at invitation of the Chief of the British Royal Air Force.
He also said that apart from taking part in the conference he will hold meetings with the chiefs of Air Force of the participating countries. SM Ziaur Rahman informed that the operational activities of Bangladesh Air Force have gradually increased with a view to modernizing and also bringing the technological excellence in the BAF under leadership of the present government.
The Air Chief said for the first time the BAF has recently deployed its own transport flight C-130 at Congo under UN Peace Keeping Mission.
The President gave him a patient hearing and assured him of extending his all-out support and cooperation for modernization of the Bangladesh Air Force. Secretary to the President's Office M Shafiul Alam, Military Secretary to the President Major General Abul Kalam Md Humayun Kabir and President's Press Secretary AKM Nesar Uddin Bhuiyan were present.

  Collective efforts needed to prevent sexual exploitation
BSS, Rajshahi

Male-female collective efforts have become indispensable to prevent sexual exploitation of the women in both working places and educational institutions, said the speakers at a views- sharing discussion here Wednesday.
In this context, they observed that many of the working women both in rural and urban areas have been experienced by various kinds of gender violence including, verbal, physical, mental and sexual at their workplaces.
They said huge number of adolescent girls and women are being sexually abused in their workplace but it is the most hidden and underreported form of violence as there is a tendency to deny the incident.
The District Judgeship Complain Receiving Committee organized the meeting in its conference hall attended by all officials and staffs of the judgeship.
Chaired by Additional District and Sessions Judge Rasheda Sultana, the meeting was addressed, among others, by Divisional Chief of Bangladesh National Women's Lawyers Association Advocate Deel Sitara Chuni and Assistant Judge Shaheduzzaman.
Other members of the committee- Assistant Judges Nahida Naznin and Musrat and senior Program officer of Barendra Unnayan Forum Roksana Ferdousi were also present on the occasion.
The speakers pointed out that the vulnerable women have been badly treated by various types of violence by their male counterparts.
Most of them do not talk about it in order to protect herself/himself from shame and stigma as well as to protect the perpetrator who is usually a colleague or supervisor, they said.
Besides, some of the working women bound to respond to indecent proposals by their immediate supervisors or male colleagues to keep their service uninterrupted.
They suggested formulating a national plan of action for prevention of all forms of violence against women.
To prevent and protect women against sexual abuse they laid stress on developing a women-rights-based national policy framework with clear strategies including a strong monitoring and evaluation component.
They put forward a set of recommendations including carrying out a broad advocacy campaign to raise community awareness and provide education to girls and women about their rights to physical and psychological integrity to prevent violence at the workplace. They, however, said enforcement of laws that protect women from violence must receive priority and the legal and the judicial system must address impunity by vigorously investigating reports of violence and ensuring that perpetrators are appropriately punished.

  Padma erodes vast area of Faridpur
BSS, Faridpur

A vast area of Sadar upazila of this district has been eroded by the Padma with rise in water level of the river.
According to the chairmen of Decreer Char and Aliabad union parishads, the swelling Padma hit cultivable lands with standing crops, homesteads and communication infrastructure. Due to continuous erosion about 250 acres of crop land were already devoured by the river.
More than 100 families scaring erosion shifted their homesteads to safe places. The onrushing water is entering the habitable area breaking through the road at some points. The sources said about 300 meters of carpeted road have already been lost to the riverbed and two kilometers facing threat causing disruption to vehicular movement. According WDB sources, the water level of the river is increasing very rapidly though it still remains under the danger level.
The water level of Padma reached to 9.06 meters and swelled 85 cm during the last week. However, it is still under 49 cm below the danger level. The erosion has left a significant impact as the area is located on outskirts of the district town having all connections.
The displaced families generally take shelters in the town particularly at their relatives' houses creating both social and other problems. The people of the affected area have been demanding some permanent measures to check the erosion, but the authorities are yet to take any effective steps in this regard.

   909 cattle and poultry farms established in Gaibandha
BSS, Gaibandha

A total of 909 cattle and poultry farms were established by the department of Livestock under its annual development programme here in last fiscal to create working opportunities and meet the demand of nutrition.
Office sources said the department set a target to establish 675 farms in all the seven upazilas of the district in the last fiscal but later, the target was exceeded and more 234 farms were established creating much enthusiasm and inspirations to the entrepreneurs.
Of the total, some 105 dairy farms, 180 goat farms, 110 sheep farms, 160 chicken farms and 120 duck farms were set up in the district during the period.
A good number of poor and marginal people including the unemployed youths were brought under the need base training for the establishment of the farms.
The trained people were also provided with necessary credit facilities and other technological supports from the government to make the farm establishment programme grand success.
Talking to the BSS district livestock officer M. Belal Uddin said as many as 6,96,794 chicks, ducklings and chicken were also distributed to the entrepreneurs to encourage them to establish the poultry farms in the district during the fiscal.

   Meditation practice can help attaining peace, health
BSS, Rajshahi

Substantial meditation practice in quantum method could be effective means of attaining peace, health, happiness and success in life.
It has been proved as a harmonious blend of the age-old processes followed by spiritual seekers and modern scientific techniques.
Speakers made these observations while addressing a discussion styled "Quantum Method Meditation Course" organized by the Quantum Foundation in City Bhaban conference hall here Wednesday.
Mayor of Rajshahi AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, who addressed the meeting as the chief guest, said the individual and social progress could be possible through enhancing mental strength.
Addressing as focal person chief executive of the foundation Masudul Haque Siddiqui described various benefits of meditation practice.
Attaining success in career, popularity in public life, money, wealth, fame and influence could be possible through the combined use of the left and right spheres of the brain and using more of brain's capacity. In addition to having total mental peace, complete self reliance and magnetic personality, he said the course help saying goodbye to restlessness, tension, nervousness, frustration, fear, anger, resentment, and depression.
Besides, it can facilitate saying goodbye to various bad habits like smoking, alcohol, drugs, substance abuse and others side by side with improving personal, conjugal, family, work, and social relations.
"Live a healthy long life brought about by using the power of your mind to prevent illness and accelerate the healing process," Siddiqui said.
Achieve outstanding results by determining your aim in life, creating total concentration, using specific techniques to master lessons rapidly and getting rid of examination phobia. RCC panel mayors, ward councilors, officials and staffs were present at the meeting.

   Swechchasebak League demands immediate trial of war criminals

BSS, Habiganj

The local Awami Swechchasebak League at a meeting in Habiganj on Wednesday night demanded immediate start of the trial of war criminals side by side with taking up steps against the violence unleashed by the Jammat- Shibir across the country.
They said time had now come to free the nation and the country as well from the four decades long stigma by trying those who were actively involved in the heinous crimes against humanity during the War of Liberation in 1971.
District AL general secretary Advocate Mohammad Abu Jahir MP was the chief guest while Advocate Abdul Mazid Khan and former Poura chairman Shahid Uddin Chowdhury was the special guest at the meeting.
With Swechchasebak League vice-president A K Siddique in the chair, the meeting was also addressed, among others by, AL leaders Selim Chowdhury, Murtaza Hassan, Motabbir Khan, KM Tajul Islam, Abdur Rauf, Rafiqul Islam and Advocate Nurul Kabir Tarafder.

   Tk three crore 18 lakh 759 sanctioned under LGSP in Magura

BSS, Magura

A total of Taka 3 three-core 18 lakh 759 has been sanctioned among 36 unions in Magura district under Local Governance Support Project (LGSP) for the 2010-11 fiscal year.
Official sources said, of the 36 unions, 14 following unions have been allocated Taka eight lakh 25 thousand each. The unions are union are Atharkhada, Beroial, Bogia, Hazrapur, Gopalgram, Sotrogitpur, Digha, Rajapur, Shalikha, Bunagathi, Nakol, Kadirpara, Goespur and Dariapur Union.
Among the rest 22 unions, Taka 7,92,310 was sanctioned for Jogdal, Taka 8,58,843 for Hazipur, Taka 8,99,166 for Chaulia, Taka 9,45,344 for Raghobdair, Taka 10,51,502 for Moghi, Taka 9,46,623 for Kuchiamora, Taka 7,92,310 for Kusundi, Taka 9,68,723 for Palashbaria, Taka 9,02,345 for Babukhali, Taka 9,53,253 for Balidia, Taka 11,41,337 for Binodpur, Taka 10,25,990 for Mohammadpur, Taka 9,78,689 for Nohata, Taka 8,06,151 for Dhorershargathi, Taka 12,22,371 for Talkori, Taka 9,62,209 for Shotokhali, Taka 7,69,085 for Gagarampur, Taka 8,67,993 for Arpara, Taka 7,83,586 for Sabdalpur, Taka 9,45,382 for Amolshar, Taka 8,03,631 for Sreepur, Taka 9,20,956 for Sreekhol union.

   Human chain programme of rice traders foiled by police in Bogra

UNB, Bogra

A human chain programme of rice traders and truck workers was foiled by police, leaving four people injured in Dupchachia upazila on Wednesday.
Mobarak Ali, president of Dupchachia Rice Mill Owners Association, said traders and truck workers formed a human chain from CO Office Bus stand to forest department office, demanding security of trucks carrying rice and truck workers.
He said trucks carrying rice are looted and truck workers injured and killed by miscreants.
Sometime later, a police team came to the spot, snatched away banners and charged batons on traders and workers, leaving Mobarak, Abdul Majid, Faizul Islam and Rana wounded. The law enforcers being chased by traders and workers quickly left the spot. In an instant reaction, the workers and traders blocked the Bogra-Naogaon road for two hours.
The barricade, however, was withdrawn as police admitted their guilt.
Mozammel Haque, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Dupchachia thana, said police mistakenly took the actions thinking that the human chain was organized by BNP and Jamaat on the day.

Sports

Spain beats Germany 1-0 to reach World Cup final
AP, Durban

Carles Puyol soared high to head in the goal that sent Spain into the World Cup final for the first time with a 1-0 win over Germany on Wednesday. In a rematch of the 2008 European Championship final that Spain won by the same score, Puyol leaped in the center of the area in the 73rd minute to score from Xavi Hernandez's corner kick, finally giving Spain the lead after having dominated from the opening whistle.
Spain's best previous World Cup finish was fourth in 1950, when the final round consisted of a four-team group. In Sunday's final at Soccer City, Spain will meet the Netherlands, which has also never won football's biggest trophy. Spain controlled throughout with its precision passing game, playing just the way it hoped to, but had trouble finishing until Puyol's late strike.
For much of the game, three-time champion Ger-many merely sat back and waited patiently to snuff out Spain's attack, hoping to launch a counterattack that rarely took off.
It was a sharp change from Germany's last two outings, when it scored four goals each in impressive victories over England and Argentina.
Spain had never beaten Germany at the World Cup in three previous tries but this was just the way the European champions wanted to play, having also won their last three games by a goal each. At Euro 2008, Spain snapped a 44-year major title drought, and the team has lost only two games since November 2006 - the last coming in its World Cup opener against Switzerland. On a comfortable evening inside Moses Mabhida Stadium, Queen Sofia of Spain looked on from her seat between South Africa President Jacob Zuma and FIFA president Sepp Blatter. The match got an early jolt when a fan carrying a vuvuzela ran onto the field four minutes in - suspending the match briefly until security officers forcibly removed the intruder.
Slumping Liverpool forward Fern-ando Torres was dropped from Spain's lineup and Pedro Rodriguez was given his first national team start, complementing David Villa in attack. Torres scored in Spain's 1-0 win over Germany in the Euro 2008 final but hasn't found the net in this tournament. Germany coach Joachim Loew picked Piotr Trochowski to replace suspended winger Thomas Mueller, who has scored four goals in South Africa.
Spain set the tone early with its quick passing and Pedro set up Villa with a well-placed through ball in the sixth minute, but Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer did well to leave his net and block Villa's shot.
In the 13th, Spain threatened again when a dangerous header by Puyol from the edge of the box missed high. With Spanish players swarming around in bunches in midfield, Germany struggled to launch its counterattack, its passes either too short or too long to break through the defense. Needing one more goal to equal former Brazil standout Ronaldo for the career World Cup record with 15, Miroslav Klose had the ball stripped at the edge of Spain's area in the 24th before he could even contemplate a shot. The first serious threat from Germany didn't come until the 32nd minute when Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas dived to his left to push wide a long, low shot from Trochowski.

  Consolation prize for beaten Germany and Uruguay
AFP, Port Elizabeth

Two-time winners Uruguay and three-time champions Germany clash here on Saturday in a match that neither side wanted to be contesting - the playoff to decide third place.
Both coaches, Oscar Tabarez of Uruguay and Germany's Joachim Loew will have a job on their hands to rouse their players for one last effort after losing their semi-finals to the Netherlands and Spain respectively.
The Uruguayans have an advantage in that they will have had an extra day to absorb their disappointment and 63-year-old Tabarez is known to be a shrewd motivator of men.
He has already been firm in his resolve following the 3-2 defeat by the Dutch that they would put aside the loss and aim to finish third going one better than their performance in 1970. "To use a term that is common in the team-we have to bury this match and get over our sorrow," said Tabarez, in his second spell in charge having guided Uruguay to the last 16 in 1990. "We must give a good image like the one we delivered against the Netherlands on the pitch to show people in football that Uruguay wants to play at an equal level with others.
"We want to show that this is a team with pride, despite our limitations, and this third-place play-off match is important for this reason." He will definitely have Ajax hitman Luis Suarez back after he served his one match suspension for being sent off for punching the ball off the line in the quarter-final against Ghana.
That will counter-balance the possibility of inspirational strike partner Diego Forlan missing the match through injury. The 31-year-old Atletico Madrid star - scorer of four goals in the finals - carried the unspecified injury throughout the loss to the Dutch but Tabarez is confident he can play some sort of role in the match. Unlike the South Americans Germany will feel third or fourth place is a poor consolation for the chance of a fourth title. The out-of-contract Loew, though, will want his side to bow out of this tournament on a high not least because it could be his last match in charge of a team that he has effectively shaped. "The players are devastated but I would still like to congratulate them on the way they played throughout the tournament," said Loew following the Spanish reverse. "We have to try and wake them up tomorrow (Thurs-day) because we still have another match - the third place play-off against Uruguay - to play."

   South Korea’s Ji eager to repeat at US Women’s Open
AFP, Philadelphia

The world's top female golfers will converge on the Oakmont Country Club this week for the US Women's Open tournament.
South Korea's Ji Eun-Hee captured her first major championship crown at last year's US Open which is the third major of the season. Ji carded an even-par 284 through four rounds for a one-stroke victory over Taiwan's Candie Kung in 2009.
Ji rolled in a birdie on the final hole to beat Kung for her second LPGA Tour victory, but she hasn't won since. Oakmont has a history of hosting major championships as it has been the site of more USGA and PGA Championships combined than any other course.
The 108-year-old Oak-mont course is about 600 yards shorter than it was for the men. The 477-yard number nine hole, a par four for the men, will be a par five for the women.
This marks the second time the Women's Open is contested at Oakmont, which has also hosted eight US Opens.
With mid-90s Fahrenheit temperatures forecast for the opening round, and a heat index of 100-degrees plus, Oakmont's treacherous and fast greens may need more watering than usual. "It's hot. It's humid. It's gross," American Paula Creamer said. "You know, this golf course just eats you alive mentally."

  Viva Espana! Spain euphoric at semi-final win
AFP, Madrid

The whole of Spain erupted with joy as the national side reached the World Cup final for the first time ever with a 1-0 win over Germany-and the fiesta looked set to last all through the night.
"It's over! We are in the final of the World Cup! It's historic, what joy!" shouted a commentator from the television channel La Cuatro as the final whistle went.
"It's not a dream, Spain is in the final!" the Madrid daily ABC said on its website.
A cacophony of firecrackers, vuvuzelas, car horns and cheers rang out across Madrid, where Spanish red and gold flags adorn balconies, roofs and bars.
Thousands of ecstatic fans sang and waved flags outside Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium where the match was broadcast on giant screens. The crowd shouted "Yes, yes, yes, this year, yes!" and "I am Spanish, Spanish, Spanish!" to celebrate the win, which takes Spain into the final against Holland on Sunday.
"We're euphoric, we deserved to win," said Julia, 17. Spain "opened up the match" and "had far more chances than Germany," said Juan Sierra, 17. Spain "dominated the match and in the second half the German team was already tired, and with the changes we made we were fresher," said Tomas Vasquez, a 41-year-old father who was watching the game with his son. Carles Puyol's 73rd-minute goal was greeted with red smoke from firecrackers.
The city was earlier gripped with excitement and anticipation ahead of what sports newspaper AS said was "the match of our lives". The streets were empty ahead of the game as residents rushed home or into bars to watch the game. Police also set up barriers around the fountain in the Spanish capital's Plaza Cibeles, where Real fans traditionally celebrate their victories.
Almost all towns and cities throughout the country installed giant screens for people to watch the match.
One notable exception was in Barcelona, the capital of the nationalist-minded region of Catalonia, even though seven players in Spain's starting line-up for Wednesday's game are from the Barcelona team. "The best team, Spain, qualified for the final," radio Cadena Ser said on its website.

  We’ll win it next time, says upbeat German press
AFP, Berlin

Beaten, but not bowed after the 1-0 World Cup semi-final defeat to Spain, Germany's media was already looking forward four years to the next tournament in Brazil, with characteristic German confidence.
"The World Cup dream is destroyed! Spain was simply a bridge too far for our young team. This 1-0 defeat in the semi-final was deserved," said the mass circulation Bild daily.
"But keep your heads high, boys! Because we'll be bringing the trophy back in four years from the next World Cup in Brazil."
The Die Welt daily was also brimming with confidence for the next World Cup, writing on its front page: "1954, 1974, 1990 ... 2014," the years Germany has held aloft the Jules Rimet trophy and the year they hope they will do so again. "This team can do a great deal in the next few years," the paper wrote in an editorial.
Berlin popular regional paper BZ said: "Spain too strong, Jogi's boys too young," referring to coach Joachim Loew. "This young German team is one for the future." Nevertheless, there was some disappointment at the strangely muted way the team played after putting four goals past Australia, England and Argentina.
"The Spanish, favourites before this World Cup, deserved their win ... this time we lacked courage and cleverness. There was none of the 'made in Germany' football that has enthralled the whole world," wrote Bild. "Was it too much respect for their big name players? Or did the high expectations simply get to our heroes?"
But Die Welt also chose to praise the German team for their style of play during the tournament which has won them fans throughout the footballing world. "The disappointment over the 1-0 defeat is huge. Yesterday the Spanish were the better footballers. Let's recognise that," the paper wrote.
"And let's celebrate what this German team has given us during these wonderful days in South Africa - namely recognition and delight from the rest of the world."

  Back problem could rule out Klose record bid
AFP, Erasmia

Brazil's all-time World Cup record goal scorer Ronaldo's mark of 15 goals could well remain intact as it was revealed on Thursday German striker Miroslav Klose could miss Saturday's third place match with Uruguay because of a back injury.
The 32-year-old Poland-born marksman suffered the injury during the 1-0 defeat by European champions Spain in Wednesday's semi-final in Durban and German assistant coach Hansi Flick said back at their training camp that the Bayern Munich star was still troubled by it.
Klose, who has scored four times in these finals, is just one goal off equalling Ronaldo's record - the Brazilian having set the mark in the 2006 finals.
"Klose has problems with his back," said Flick. "He was hurt in an aerial duel, and we are hoping that he will be okay for the match." Flick, who along with coach Joachim Loew is out of contract and will sit down to discuss terms for a new one with the German Football Federation (DFB), added that both midfielder Sami Khedira and captain Philipp Lahm were also troubled by physical woes. However, Lahm, who has been an inspirational captain in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack, insisted that he would line-up against the Uruguayans in Port Elizabeth.
"Do not worry, it would astonish me if I wasn't ready for this match, it is not as serious as all that. "And also I have time to rest and the body can absorb the pain during a day off." Lahm, who was in tears after the loss to Spain, said a night's sleep had allowed him to digest the defeat a little bit more and had reflected on his initial decision that it was not worth playing in the consolation match.

  Bangladesh win toss and bat against England
AFP, Nottingham

Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza won the toss and elected to bat against England in the first one-day international at Trent Bridge here on Thursday.
England made two changes from the team that played all five recent one-day internationals in the 3-2 series win over Australia that concluded with a 42-run loss at Lord's on Saturday.
Kevin Pietersen was out of the squad with a thigh injury while off-spinner Graeme Swann was rested.
Their places were taken by Ian Bell and James Tredwell respectively in two like-for-like replacements.
Bell, 28, has played 79 one-dayers for England but hasn't featured in one since facing India in Bangalore back in November 2008.
However, he restated his one-day case with a limited overs best 158, off 143 balls, for the second string England Lions in their dramatic triangular series tied match against India A in Worcester on Tuesday.
Tredwell meanwhile was playing his second ODI and first at home after making his debut against Bangladesh in Dhaka in March. Raqibul Hasan replaced the ill Jahurul Islam in the Bangladesh line-up.
Bangladesh, beaten 2-0 by England in a Test series in June, came into this match on the back of a run of 13 successive one-day international defeats.
The Tigers were looking for their first win against England across all formats in 20 matches, having lost all of the previous eight Tests and 11 one-dayers between the teams.
This was the first of a three-match series.
Teams
England:
Andrew Strauss (capt), Craig Kieswetter (wkt), Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Eoin Morgan, Michael Yardy, Luke Wright, Tim Bresnan, James Tredwell, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
Bangladesh:
Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Raqibul Hasan, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mahmudullah, Faisal Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam.

   Hearts broken in one corner of Spain
AFP, Playa de Palma

While Spaniards were ecstatic over their World Cup semi-final win, one corner of the country was in despair, as tens of thousands of German tourists in a Majorcan beach resort were left with broken hearts.
Cries of "Nein!" (No!) erupted throughout Playa de Palma, a traditionally German resort in the Balearic island, as Carles Puyol scored in the 73rd minute, the only goal of the match that took Spain to its first ever World Cup final.
After the final whistle, however, glum faces and a few moments of stunned silence were quickly followed by music, including a German version of "Viva Espana!", fireworks and more glasses of beer.
"We lost to Spain in Euro 2008, now we've lost to them in the World Cup, twice in important matches is too much," lamented Judith, an 18-year-old German tourist in the Deutsches Eck (German Corner) bar and restaurant.
"Now we have to at least beat Uruguay for third place," she said, a garland in Germany's red, yellow and black colours round her neck. "If we'd had (suspended player Thomas) Mueller, we wouldn't have lost," said her boyfriend Pierre, also 18, wrapped in a German flag.
Matthias, a 44-year-old male nurse from Frankfurt, thought "Spain was much better. "In the first 30 minutes Germany didn't know where the ball was. It was almost as if Spain was playing with 12 men. But we'll be back in 2014 in Brazil."
Majorca is nicknamed 'Germany's 17th Land' because of the millions of tourists from that country who visit every year,
And Playa de Palma, a strip several miles (kilometres) long packed with high-rise hotels, souvenir shops and German bars and restaurants, is where many of them go for cheap 'sun and beach' holidays. In sweltering heat, Germans crammed into overflowing bars to watch the match.
Playa de Palma's so-called Bierstrasse (Beer Street) was bedecked with German flags, and tourists wore shirts, hats, garlands and face paint in the national colours. But the Spanish red and gold colours were also fluttering here and there.
After the match, the Bierstrasse turned Spanish 'rojo' as Spaniards poured through in their cars, honking horns and waving flags-to applause from the German supporters over their team's performance.

  Brazil say work to do ahead of 2014 World Cup
AFP, Johannesburg

Brazil Football Confederation (CBF) head Ricardo Teixeira said on Thursday much preparatory work remained to do ahead of the 2014 World Cup in terms of getting venues and transport infrastructure ready.
With this year's event in South Africa coming to an end with Sunday's final between Spain and Holland the torch is to pass to the Brazilians, who last hosted the tournament in 1950, when they lost the final at home to Uruguay.
It was only eight years later in Sweden that the Selecao won the first of their five titles to date and this year they lost to the Dutch in the quarters.
Teixeira said at a presentation of the 20th edition that various logistical issues had to be resolved in terms of stadium construction or renovation and transport.
He indicated that in the megalopolis of Sao Paulo, there was no stadium which could host matches as world governing body FIFA has not retained on its prospective venues list the legendary Morumbi in the absence of "financial guarantees" over its renovation.
"There are various doubts about certain stadia for the moment at Sao Paulo, Curitiba, although work has started in some - such as Bahia," said Teixeira, though he said in general terms the project was on track. On May 14, FIFA approved seven venue projects at Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Curitiba, Manaus, Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo.
Regarding transport he added that "the problem for 2014 is the airport, the airports and the airports. But contracts have been drawn up and this issue is going to be treated as a priority - and we have developed a public transport plan." Teixeira added that security, as in going into this year's event, would be a key issue.
"But insecurity is a global problem." He added: "The 2014 World Cup is very important for Brazil - it is returning to the country of football, a sport about which all Brazilians are passionate. "The first present a child receives is a football."
Former Brazil star Romario, a champion in 1994, is doing his bit for the 2014 organisers and said: "I hope it will be a chance to show you the true face of Brazil. You will see what football means to Brazilians. I am sure the atmosphere will be unprecedented.
"We can expect a great fiesta - and I hope we become world champions."
The draw for the qualifiers will be made on July 30 or 31 2011, Teixeira anno-unced - though he added the venue for that had yet to be chosen.

  EU chief Barroso revels in European World Cup success
AFP, Brussels

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso feted Europe's success at the World Cup finals on Thursday taking particular pleasure that an American newspaper's forecast that football on the continent was at an end had been totally ridiculed.
The 54-year-old Portuguese - flanked by newly-installed German president Christian Wulff - said he was proud that Europe was going to lift the trophy for the second time in as many tournaments with European champions Spain and the Netherlands vying to win it for the first time.
"During the tournament a prestigious American newspaper announced the end of European football," said Barroso, referring to the first round exits of both the 2006 finalists defending champions Italy and losers France.
"In reality, we have seen among the four teams who played in the semi-finals there were three European teams (Spain, the Dutch and Germany) and the world champion will be European.
"In my role as President of the European Commission, I am extremely proud to see yet again that Europe will win the World Cup," added the former Portuguese Prime Minister, who has been in his present role since November 2004.
Wulff, who was elected German President last week but only after three rounds of voting over a record-breaking nine hours when coalition government rebels broke ranks and opted for opposition candidate Joachim Gauck, conceded that Spain had proved worthy winners over his compatriots.
"The Spanish deserved their victory yesterday (Wednesday) in terms of their tactics against Germany," enthused 51-year-old Wulff, who had predicted a overwhelming victory for his team.

  Stricker keen on defending John Deere crown
AFP, Silvis

American Steve Stricker will seek to defend his title when he returns to the TPC Deere Run for the 4.4 million dollar USPGA John Deere Classic which begins Thursday.
The 2009 victory was the second of the year for Stricker as he earned his sixth career title. Since his three shot win over three players last year he has collected two more wins giving him eight in total. Friday's round was washed out by rain, forcing players to complete both the third and final rounds on Sunday.
There are just three players ranked in the top 20 in the world and just seven in the top 50 competing at this year's John Deere. Most of the world's top players are either taking the week off to get ready for the British Open or are competing in the Scottish Open.
Other prominent players include, KJ Choi, Tim Clark, Zach Johnson, Kenny Perry, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson.
The 43-year-old Stricker is ranked fourth in the world. He has made the cut in all 11 tournaments he's played and has four top 10 finishes, including a win in the Northern Trust Open four months ago.

  Molinari sets pace at Loch Lomond
AFP, Loch Lomond

Edoardo Molinari praised the greens at Loch Lom-ond after his opening round of 66 gave him a share of the early lead in the Scottish Open.
The Italian produced a superb putting performance, which saw him grab five birdies, to climb to the top of the leader board at five-under.
After an unusually cold Scottish winter, four of the greens had to be dug up and re-laid ahead of the tournament forcing some to question whether they would be ready.
Englishman Paul Casey pulled out due to concerns they would wreck his putting stroke ahead of next week's Open Championship at St Andrews. But Molinari, 29, said: "You hear people talking about how bad the greens are and you turn up here and think the worst.
"But they seem exactly the same as last year or two years ago. The three or four greens that they have had to re-turf are a little bit slower but they are running nicely. "I think my putting worked very well today. The key was also that all of the shots were in play and I could make pars or even birdie sometimes."
Molinari, whose brother Franceso is also in the field, didn't need his putter when he eagled the par-four 14th after holing his approach shot.
He was joined at the top of the leader board amo-ngst the early starters by Englishman Graeme Storm, who also shot a 66.
The 32-year-old also attributed his fine score to his work on the greens - thanks to a new putter he had picked up last week.
He said: "I picked the putter up last week by chance really. I seem to have finally found one that suits me. I keep switching them and trying different things.
"It's been a bit of a frustrating period for me so hopefully this will continue for the rest of the week."

  I will not surrender captaincy voluntarily: Lahm
AFP, Erasmia

Philipp Lahm said he would not hand back the captaincy of Germany to injured predecessor Michael Ballack unless he is told to do so by the coach, the Bayern Munich defender said on Thursday.
The 26-year-old has proved an inspirational skipper in Ballack's absence - the latter was ruled out of the finals after injuring an ankle in then club Chelsea's 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Ports-mouth-as the Germans reached the semi-finals only to lose to Euro 2008 finals nemesis Spain 1-0.
However, Lahm reiterated what he had said before the semi-final that he would not surrender the captaincy simply because 33-year-old Ballack - who has re-signed for a former club Bayer Leverkusen - was back to full fitness when the Euro 2012 qualifiers begin in Sept-ember. "If the coach tells me 'Philipp, you must give the armband back to Michael', I would have no difficulty in doing that. I would accept the decision," said the 71-times capped Lahm, who was criticised by some former internationals for his initial refusal to return the captaincy to Ballack.
"But I am not going to go and seek out the coach and hand him back the armband of my own accord. When one is given a role such as this, one likes to keep it, as indeed I have loved my responsibilities during the finals.
"It is an enormous honour for me to be captain of the German team, and I would like to remain so, but in saying that, I am not attacking Michael (Ballack), because in the end it is neither him nor myself, but the coach."
While Lahm's comments to Bild before the semi-final received some criticism, coach Joachim Loew - who is not certain to be the man in charge of such a decision ahead of talks about a new contract as his old one ran out on June 30 - had been noticeably relaxed in his reaction.