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Leading News
Cabinet approves Nat’l Education
Policy 2010
Primary education up to Class VIII, secondary from
Class IX-XII
UNB, Dhaka
The National Education Policy-2010, approved by the
Cabinet on Monday, extended the level of primary education
from class V to class VIII and free education from class
V-VIII.
The new education policy also raised the level of
secondary education from class IX up to class XII. At the
end of class X, a terminal examination will be held at
upazila, municipality and thana level on a common question
paper.
According to the new education policy, a system will be in
place so that all students would be able to study their
respective religions as well as moral education.
The education policy envisages the aim of madrasah
education as building good faith on Almighty Allah and His
Prophet (SM) and to enable the students to perceive the
essence of Islam, the religion of peace.
Aligning with other modes of education, religion will be
studied at the ebtedayee level in madrasah along with
compulsory subjects like Bangla, English, moral education,
Bangladesh studies, mathematics, social studies,
environment and climate change, and science.
"Under the new policy, country's education system will be
inclusive," PM's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said at
press briefing at the PID conference room after the
cabinet meeting.
All will be included in the education system "irrespective
of religion, sex, socio-economic and geographical
position, ethnic identities and disabilities."
The primary education will be gradually made full-free up
to class VIII.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stressed in the cabinet
meeting the need for making the whole education system
full free as she believes investment in education as most
important.
"Education is the strongest tool for poverty eradication,"
Hasina said.
The new education policy is expected to be implemented
from the next academic year and a high level committee
will be given the charge to guide the Education Ministry
and concerned departments to implement the education
policy properly.
The government formed National Education Policy
Formulation Committee on April 8, 2009 with National
Professor Kabir Chowdhury as its head and the committee
submitted the draft policy to Education Minister Nurul
Islam Nahid on September 2 last year.
Then the Education Ministry posted the draft on its
website for soliciting public opinion on the draft
education policy.
45
m people suffer from food borne diseases every year
BSS, Dhaka
An estimated 45 million people in Bangladesh suffer from
food poisoning or some kind of food borne diseases round
the year, a seminar was told in the city Monday.
The number could be even higher provided there is a
household survey in the country, said Deon Mahoney, chief
technical advisor of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
in Bangladesh.
"Between 25 and 30 percent of total population in the
developed world even suffer from at least one episode of
food positioning in a year. Based on the calculation, over
45 million people in Bangladesh also suffer from food
borne diseases," Deon told the seminar held at Sheraton
Hotel.
The Health Ministry and FAO together organized the seminar
on 'Food Safety Challenges in Bangladesh', where Prime
Minister's Health Advisor Dr Syed Modasser Ali spoke as
the chief guest.
Deon said pathogenic organisms such as bacteria and virus
as well as chemical contaminants like pesticides,
residues, heavy metals and food additives lead to food
borne diseases around the world.
Bangladesh is not an exception to these, he said adding
the situation is even grave in Bangladesh due to poor
awareness about food safety among producers and consumers.
The FAO advisor, who is now dealing with a three-year
project on food safety in Bangladesh, said conditions that
were conducive to develop food borne diseases were very
much present in the country.
"The food adulteration by vested groups has made the
situation worse," he said while presenting the keynote
paper in the seminar, also addressed by former advisor to
the caretaker government Dhiraj Kumar Nath, FAO
representative Ad Skijkers, and directors of health
services Dr Moazzem Hossain and Dr Nurul Islam Prodhan.
Cabinet
purchase body okays 6 more rental power projects
Power Ministry picks up projects without bidding
process
UNB, Dhaka
Six more costly rental power plant projects, which were
selected without any open bidding process on the plea of
nagging power crisis, on Monday received approval of the
Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase.
The nod came from a meeting of the committee at the
Cabinet Division with Finance Minister AMA Muhith in the
chair. Senior ministers and concerned secretaries attended
the meeting.
Some six private sponsors will set up the plants having
total capacity of 567 MW within next nine months from the
date of signing their agreements with the government. The
state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) will purchase
electricity at Tk 7.78 per kilowatt hour (per unit) from
four plants and at Tk 7.77 per unit from two plants
against its present power production cost of Tk 2.80 per
unit.
As a result, the government will have to provide about Tk
5 per unit as subsidy to buy per unit electricity from the
private sector plants. With the latest approval of the six
rental power plants, the number of such costly plants,
known as Quick Rental Power Plants (QRPP), has reached
nine having total capacity of 1167 MW. Among the six
projects, Summit Power Limited obtained 102 MW Madanganj
plant offering power tariff at Tk 7.78 per unit, while
Khulna Power Company Ltd, a sister concern of Summit
Group, won the 115 MW Khulna plant offering the same
tariff.
IEL Consortium and Associates obtained 100 MW Kadda plant
offering power tariff at Tk 7.78 per unit while Dutch
Bangla Power Ltd won another 100 MW Kadda plant with same
rate of power tariff.
Sinha Power Company Ltd got the 50 MW Chapainawabganj
project offering Tk 7.77 per unit while Bangla Trac Ltd
won the 100 MW Jhuluda (Chittagong) project offering
tariff at Tk 7.70 per unit.
Last week, the purchase body rejected the offers of Summit
and IEL for their respective projects finding those much
higher and asked the Power Ministry to renegotiate with
the sponsors.
After renegotiation, the two sponsors lowered their tariff
slightly and the Power Ministry again placed the offers
for the Cabinet body's consideration.
Delwar critical of
sparing Hasina in NIKO case sans Khaleda
UNB, Dhaka
BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain on Monday
was highly critical of sparing Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina from the NIKO case keeping opposition leader
Khaleda Zia still an accused in the same case.
He came up heavily against the government stance while
addressing a discussion at the Jatiya Press Club, which
was organized by Jatiyatabadi Krishak Dal, farmers' wing
of BNP, marking the 29th death anniversary of President
Ziaur Rahman, founder of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Delwar alleged that Sheikh Hasina was the principal
mastermind of NIKO agreement. She (Hasina) was relieved
from the case, but Khaleda Zia still remains the accused
in the same case… This proves that the present government
does not believe in the rule of law," he said.
The BNP secretary general criticized the government's
"naked interference with and digital clutch" on the
judiciary and questioned where the common people will go
for justice.
Presided over by Krishak Dal general secretary Shamsuzzman
Dudu, the meeting was also addressed by leaders of BNP and
its front organizations including MK Anwar, Jafrul Hasan
and Takdir Hossain Jasim.
Earlier, in the afternoon, the BNP secretary general
inaugurated the children's art competition at the Jatiya
Press Club to mark the 29th death anniversary of Zia.
Prospect slim
for BNP’s joining JS budget session
UNB, Dhaka
Parliament goes into budget session Wednesday afternoon
with the prospect slim of BNP joining as its demands are
yet to fulfill.
The Finance Minister will place the national budget for
2010-2011 fiscal on June 10. It will be the second budget
of Awami League led grand alliance government since it
came to power.
Opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farooque told UNB
Monday that they are willing to return to parliament if
the government is sincere in meeting their demands. The
demands include withdrawal of 'false cases' against BNP
chief and other leaders, stopping indecent remarks against
late President Ziaur Rahman and his family.
BNP had staged a walk out of the House on April 4, a day
before the last session was prorogued opposing the passage
of the bill raising remuneration and allowances of MPs.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had sharply reacted saying
BNP members do not need remuneration and allowances as
they had piled up wealth looting thousands of crores of
taka during their rule. Wounded by the sweeping remarks,
BNP lawmakers say they need to think about returning to
the House following the Prime Minister's aspersion and
malicious observation that cut them deeply.
Farooque said they want to return to the House and speak
both inside and outside parliament on public issues. "We
hope the government will consider our demands." He said
the government is not paying any attention to their
demands. So, the party chairperson and leader of the
opposition is thinking anew about joining the budget
session.
Addl judge
appointment discord
HC fixes July 4 for hearing revision application
UNB, Dhaka
The High Court has fixed July 4 for admissibility hearing
on an application seeking revision over the clearing of
murder charge against nine accused, including additional
High Court Judge-designate Advocate M Ruhul Quddus.
An HC division bench comprising Justice Sheikh Rezowan Ali
and Justice M Habibul Gani on Monday set the hearing date
following a time petition moved by Attorney General
Mahbubey Alam.
On April 8, a court of sessions in Rajshahi let off
principal accused M Ruhul Quddus and eight others in the
Aslam Hossain murder case following a government petition.
Aslam, a top Islami Chhatra Shibir activist, was murdered
on the Rajshahi University campus on November 17 in 1988
by his rival student groups.
On the following day, Nayeb Ali, Aslam's roommate at Nawab
Abdul Latif Hall, filed a murder case with Motihar police
station implicating Ruhul Quddus alias Babu, then Rajshahi
University Central Students Union (RUCSU) general
secretary, and 29 others for the murder.
On February 15 in 1989, police after investigation
submitted charge sheet to the court accusing Ruhul Quddus
and 17 others of murdering Aslam.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice M Fazlul Karim citing
"unavoidable circumstances" had been declining to
administer oath of office to advocate Ruhul Quddus and
advocate M Khasruzzaman as additional judges of the High
Court.
On April 18, the Chief Justice administered oath to only
15 out of 17 newly-appointed additional judges of the High
Court.
On April 11, President in consultation with the Chief
Justice appointed 17 additional High Court Judges,
including Ruhul Quddus and Khasruzzaman.
Advocate M Tajul Islam appeared for Zinat Ali, father of
Aslam who filed the application for revision with the High
Court.
Cabinet approves proposal to extend
Speedy Trial Act by two years
UNB, Dhaka
The Cabinet on Monday approved a proposal for extending
the term of the Speedy Trial Act by two years for dealing
quickly and successfully with crimes like extortion,
tender manipulation, vandalism and mugging.
The cabinet meeting held at the Bangladesh Secretariat
with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair approved
the draft of The Law and Order Disruption Offence (Speedy
Trial) Bill 2010 to expedite smooth and quick disposal of
cases by courts.
The Speedy Trial Act was enacted first on April 10, 2002
keeping provision of renewing it after every two years to
ensure quick trials of the crimes. Briefing media men
after the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister's Press
Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said the cabinet also approved
the National Tourism Policy 2010.
Besides, amendments in the Customs Act 1969, Value Added
Tax Act 1991 and the Act relating to conditions of
appointment and works of non-cadre first and second class
offices (Duty, Excise and Vat) were also approved in the
cabinet meeting.
Back Page
Ten dead after Israel storms aid
ships
Reuters, Jerusalem
Israeli marines stormed a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza
Monday and 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed,
triggering a profound diplomatic crisis.
Israel's allies in Europe, as well as the United Nations
and Turkey, voiced shock and outrage at the bloody end to
a bid by international campaigners to break Israel's
blockade of the Gaza Strip. Its navy stopped six ships
ferrying 700 people and 10,000 tonnes of supplies toward
the Islamist-run Palestinian enclave. The U.N. Security
Council was summoned for an emergency session in New York
at 1 p.m. EDT. In Washington, however, the United States,
Israel's most vital ally, said only that it regretted the
loss of life and was looking into the "tragedy."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in
Canada and expressed full support for the navy operation,
cut short a visit to North America that was to have ended
Tuesday with a meeting at the White House with U.S.
President Barack Obama. That meeting had seemed intended
to soothe U.S.-Israel ties, which have been strained by
differences over recently revived peace talks with the
Palestinians. But Obama must also balance relations with
Israel, which is popular with American voters, and those
with an outraged Turkey and other Muslim allies. As the
captured foreign vessels were escorted into Israel's port
of Ashdod, accounts remained sketchy of the pre-dawn
interception out in the Mediterranean, in which marines
stormed aboard from dinghies and rappelled down from
helicopters.
Senior Israeli defense officials said 10 activists died on
the Mavi Marmara, a Turkish cruise ship carrying 581
people, after commandos came under fire, including with
weapons that the activists had snatched from the boarding
party. Seven of the troops and 20 protesters were injured,
the military said.
Israel imposed a communications blackout on those aboard
the convoy and other accounts of events were not
available. Cons-ular officials were at Ashdod seeking
access to detained foreigners. Some Israeli media cited
death tolls as high as 19, but an army spokesman later
said he was certain of only 9 deaths. It was unclear who
the casualties were. A senior Israeli naval officer said
most of the dead were Turks. But the convoy also featured
Americans, Israelis, Palestinians and many Europeans.
TURKISH ANGER
The bloodshed sparked street protests and government ire
in Turkey, long Israel's lone Muslim ally in the region,
which had backed the convoy. Ankara canceled joint
military exercises and recalled its ambassador. Turkish
President Abdullah Gul demanded the troops be punished
while Israel said they fired in self-defense.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist
views and outreach to Iran and other Israeli enemies are
blamed by many in Israel for souring relations, cut short
a trip to Latin America. Israel told its tourists in
Turkey to stay in their hotels.
Storm kills 5,
injures more than 50 in Noakhali
C’nawabganj, Jessore, Jhalakati also battered
UNB, Noakhali
At least five people were killed and more than 50 injured
by a severe storm that lashed Hatiya and Subarna Char
upazila in the coastal belt Monday.
Saleha Katun, 30, and her 13-month old daughter Majeda of
Char Torab Ali died in house collapse. Shafiquddin, 15, of
Janata Bazaar, Rahela Begum, 5, of Longalia and Mainuddin,
8, of Naler Char died in house collapse or flying saucers
during the short lived storm at 10 am. Char Clark Union
Parishad Chairman Khairul Alam Selim who visited the
affected areas told UNB over phone that the storm swept
over 16 villages in two upazilas left a trail of
destructions. Around 2000 kutcha houses were razed to the
ground or blown away, hundreds of trees uprooted and
standing crops damaged partially. Char Clerk is the worst
affected area.
As immediate relief, local administration gave Tk 5,000 to
each family of the dead, 25 tents and 10 tons food grains
to two affected upazilas for distribution among the
homeless people. In Jessore, severe storm left 50 people
injured and rendered hundreds of people homeless as their
houses were damaged. Of the injured, Asma Khatun,12 was
admittated to the Upazila Health Complex.
The storm packed with strong winds swept over five
villages of Paira union of Avoynagar upazila in the
morning. Upzila Nirbahi Officer Zahid Hossain said the
storm hit Barandi, Arpara, Paira, Ghoraidair and
Chomordanga villages at around 9am.
In Chapainwabganj, storm damaged about 500 houses and
uprooted a large number of trees in Gomostapur and Nachol
upazila on Sunday night.
Gomostapur Upazila Nirbahi officer Sajjadul Hauqe said the
storm swept over Alinagar, Gomostapur, Boalia, and
municipal area left more than 200 houses damaged. Strong
winds blew away the roof of Yusuf Ali College, Hajee Reaz
Uddin High School and Bangpur High school. The storm also
hit two villages of Rajapur upazila of Jhalakati district
in the morning.
ECNEC sits
today to consider 8 projects
UNB, Dhaka
The Executive Committee on the National Economic Council (ECNEC)
sits on today (Tuesday) to consider eight development
projects including a project to construct a flyover in
Chittagong.
ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will
preside over the 34th meeting of the current fiscal year.
The flyover at Muradpur Gate No 2 and GEC Junction will be
constructed under Housing and Public Works Ministry and
Chittagong Development Authority (CDA) at an estimated
cost of Tk 150.71 crore, said a source at the Planning
Ministry.
The other projects to be placed before the committee
are-construction of an additional pump station at
Goranchatbari under the Water Resources Ministry, rural
infrastructure development project in greater Comilla
under the Local Government Division, shelter project
(phase 2) (3rd revised) under the Prime Minister's Office,
post literacy and continuous industry project-2 (2nd
revised) to develop human resource under the Primary and
Mass Education Ministry, Establishment of National
Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center,
renovation and augmentation of distribution lines and
11/.04 kv sub station under six distribution zone of BPDB
project under the Power Division, water supply and
environmental sanitation project (2nd phase) in
pourashavas situated in thana sadar and growth centers
under the Local Government Division.
The meeting would also review the ADP implementation
progress of the Youth and Sports Ministry.
Genocide, war crimes,
crimes against humanity
Govt committed to bring end to culture of impunity:
Shafique
UNB, Dhaka
Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed said the present
government of Bangladesh is committed to bringing an end
to the culture of impunity to crimes of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes at the national and
international levels.
"We have initiated the trial of genocide, war crimes and
crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 war of
liberation."
"This would bring justice to the victims, heal the wound
that we are carrying for the last 39 years, end the
shameful legacy, and help Bangladesh move forward with its
agenda of development", he said.
The Law Minister was addressing the Review Conference of
the Rome Statute of International Criminal Court in
Kampala, Uganda Monday, said an official release received
here Monday. Delegations from 111 countries are
participating in the conference.
The Law Minister said the government is determined to
conduct the trial in accordance with international legal
and human rights standards. Barrister Shafique said,
Bangladesh is proceeding with the trial of the alleged
criminals who committed crimes under International Crimes
(Tribunals) Act, 1973.
He mentioned that the government has already brought some
amendments to the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act in
order to achieve the desired standard and transparency.
He added that a tribunal has been set up to independently
conduct the trial and the government has also appointed an
investigation agency and a team of prosecutors in
accordance with the provisions of the act.
He said the crime of aggression to us is not only the hard
military power that befalls an unsuspecting people. "It is
rather the willful attempt to subjugate the sovereign
character and spirit of a nation by acts of both
territorial transgressions and estrangement of its social,
natural and economic lifelines. Therefore, we feel the
need for a broader definition of the crime of aggression,
which can ensure a safer world." The Law Minster said
Bangladesh was one of the 120 countries that voted in
favour of adoption of the ICC Rome Statute.
"We believe that a comprehensive statute and an effective
International Criminal Court may help us in our effort
towards a world free of the crimes of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes", He added.
41.3 million
adults use tobacco in Bangladesh, study says
UNB, Dhaka
Some 41.3 million adults currently use both smoking and
smokeless (chewable) tobacco in Bangladesh, a study of the
Global Adult Tobacco disclosed the figure at a discussion
here Monday.
The study further says 0.7 million women smoke cigarettes
and 'biris' while 13.4 million women use smokeless
tobacco. Moreover, the percentage of woman tobacco smokers
is higher this year than in previous year. The discussion
marking the World No-Tobacco Day 2010 was held at National
Press Club with this year's theme "Gender and Tobacco with
emphasis on marketing to women".
ADHUNIK, the nation's leading anti-tobacco organization,
and the World Health Organization jointly organized the
discussion. Prof Muzaffar Ahmed suggested government
should raise corporate tax on profits of tobacco companies
from the existing 35% to 45% which, in addition to
bringing enhanced revenue to government, will result in
decrease in share price of tobacco companies on the stock
exchange. He also pleaded for tariff to be imposed on
tobacco agriculture and proposed introduction of license
system for tobacco agriculture.
Jamaat
announces fresh programme postponing its Paltan Maidan
rally
UNB, Dhaka
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami Monday postponed its scheduled
rally to be held at Paltan Maidan due to a ban of Dhaka
Metropolitan Police (DMP) and annou-nced a fresh programme
protesting the government activities.
Jamaat secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid
announced the two-day fresh programme in a press
conference at central party office in the capital. The
programmes included demonstration programme in six
divisional towns including Dhaka tomorrow (Tuesday) and in
all districts across the country on June 6.
Besides, other pre-scheduled programmes will remain
unchanged.
Mojahid said that the ruling Awami League has proved its
narrow mentality through foiling Jamaat's programme though
the party secured permission for holding rally from the
National Sports Council. He alleged that Jubo League
announced its rally at Paltan Maidan today being directed
by the Government only for foiling the Jamaat's programme.
Replying to a question about the trial war criminals he
said, "It is a baseless and week issue." "Jamaat is a
peace-loving party, it is against terrorism and anarchy.
So we have postponed our programme considering the
prevailing situation", he said Mojahid said, although the
ruling Awami League speaks for democracy it does not
believe in it. "Obstruction in holding public rally is
nothing but autocracy."
The DMP has imposed a ban on any kinds of meeting at
Paltan Maidan and in its adjacent areas in the city from
Saturday midnight for an indefinite period as both
Jamaat-e-Islami and Bangladesh Jubo League called meetings
at the same place on Monday.
Editorial
Improving livelihood
President
Zillur Rahman has admitted an unpleasant and rude truth. On
Sunday he said the objective of the liberation war to build a
happy, prosperous and prestigious Bangladesh has not
materialized yet . He, however, urged all to work hard to
achieve the cherished goal. "The aim of my life is to improve
livelihood of the poor and those ignored. Everyone will have
to work hard to achieve this goal," he said at a public
meeting at Kuliarchar Pilot High School ground. Zillur Rahman
said the development of an individual means development of a
society and through this process national development is
possible.
In his speech the President has dealt with a very important
subject as improving people's livelihood is very essential,
though it is extremely difficult in a country like ours.
Poverty is so massive and widespreadin our country that most
of the people lead unbearable lives in unfavourable
conditions. The main objectives of our Liberation War were to
attain to political independence and economic freedom. We have
achieved political independence definitely, but our economic
emancipation is still a long way off. And it goes without
saying that political freedom without economic emancipation is
largely meaningless in the lives of the people.
In view of this, as has been stressed by the President in his
speech, all have to work hard to achieve the goal of economic
emancipation. It is true that the country has attained
considerable progress in different fields after the
independence, but this is not satisfactory enough. The nation
has to do everything necessary to improve the livelihood of
the poor and the backward people by achieving economic
development. To this end the government should work out
comprehensive plans and programmes and the people should do
their best to help the government make those successful.
Revitalising jute
sector
The
government has taken up a Taka 1300 crore project to re-open
the closed jute mills and replace old machineries with new
ones with a view to producing improved jute products suitable
for the world market. The directive to undertake this project
was given by the Prime Minister at a recent meeting of the
Jute Commission. Meanwhile, as the price of jute has almost
doubled compared to that of last year, the farmers have
cultivated jute in much more areas than in any recent year.
Besides, there is growing demand for reopening the No 2 unit
of the closed Adamjee Jute Mills. It may be pointed out that
following the closure of the Adamjee Jute Mills, at least ten
new jute mills were set up in neighbouring West Bengal of
India which are being run mostly with Bangladeshi raw jute.
This has bolstered the India's jute industry and enhanced its
exports of jute products. On the other hand, Bangladesh faced
a set back in the international market in the recent years.
However, the position of Bangladeshi jute and jute goods has
improved in international markets in the recent days and their
demands are on the rise. Bangladesh has exported raw jute
worth $ 11.12 crore and jute goods worth $23 crore to the
international market during the first nine months of the
current financial year. The exports of jute and jute goods
amounted to $ 8 crore and $15 respectively during the last
fiscal year.
Price of raw jute is quite satisfactory now. Jute is now
selling at more than Tk. 2000 per maund. This price rise is
encouraging for the farmers, but unfortunately most of the
farmers have already sold out their cash crop earlier. Raw
jute production this year is estimated at 55 -60 lakh bales.
Some 32-33 lakh bales of jute are needed to run the jute mills
while the rest are exported to different countries including
India, Pakistan and China. Media reports indicate that there
is no adequate stock of raw jute in the hands of the farmers
and as a result production in the jute mills is being
hampered.
In fact the good price of jute at home and growing demand for
jute and jute goods abroad has brightened the prospect of the
return of the golden age of jute, which was once termed golden
fibre. In the past jute was the principal foreign exchange
earner for the country. With the passing of time, importance
and glory of jute have faded and farmers' interest in
cultivation of jute declined . Now, in the changed global and
domestic situation, time has come to revitalise the jute
sector.
The country used to produce huge quantity of jute every year
as it was the main cash crop. During the Pakistan period 90
per cent of export earnings used to come from jute export. In
1952-53 jute production was estimated at one crore bales in
then East Pakistan which used to produce about 75 per cent of
total raw jute in the world. Even after the independence of
Bangladesh jute production stood at 75 thousand bales , but
later area under jute cultivation shrunk and production
declined due to different reasons including anomalies in the
jute sector after nationalisation of the jute mills. Later, a
major damage was done to jute by arrival of synthetic fibres.
Now, the trend of using synthetics has weakened and the
popularity of environment-friendly jute has enhanced globally.
Against this backdrop, it is high time to increase jute
production by bringing more areas under jute cultivation which
already absorb lakhs of people, ensure fair price and
stability of the market, revitalise the jute industries and
boost export of jute goods as well as raw jute. If proper
steps are taken, jute can contribute substantially to the
national economy.
Analysis
Call a spade a spade
The public rhetoric around the Naxal debate has
certainly created the impression of India being a country that
is fiercely divided over how best to tackle the terror of the
ultra-Left.
Barkha Dutt
Perhaps
nothing was more indicative of the paralysis that now plagues
any discourse on Maoist violence than the confusion,
tentativeness and prevarications that followed Bengal's train
tragedy on Thursday. Coming right after ten horrible days that
have driven home life's essential fragility to us as a country
- first Dantewada, then the Mangalore air crash - the tragedy
of watching bodies being pulled out from under heaps of metal
was underlined by the apparent nervousness within the
political establishment. While the Bengal police was quick to
call the attack the work of Maoists, others were far more
cautious; even muted in their response. Even the normally
outspoken Home Minister P. Chidambaram was
uncharacteristically diffident in his official statement.
Theories propounded ranged from sabotage to explosions, but
there seemed to be a deliberate understatement in apportioning
either responsibility or motive. The charitable explanation is
that governments need not deliver information according to
artificially constructed media deadlines. The more worrying
possibility is that a combination of petty politics,
personality clashes and ideological confusion has queered the
pitch for India's anti-Naxal strategy.
The public rhetoric around the Naxal debate has certainly
created the impression of India being a country that is
fiercely divided over how best to tackle the terror of the
ultra-Left. This impression has been falsely reinforced by
facile media debates that deliberately seek shrill
polarisations and ask the people of India to choose between
extremes.
Notwithstanding the fact that the media have chosen to write
the narrative in terms of the following conflicts: Chidambaram
vs Digvijay Singh; Mamata Banerjee vs Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
and Arundhati Roy vs the Rest of the World - there is, I
suspect, already enough consensus in the court of public
opinion to form the basis for a cogent anti-Naxal offensive.
In the other words, the absence of a unified policy may have
much more to do with competitive party politics - whether
between the Left and the Trinamool in Bengal or between
different factions of the Congress - than with what the people
of India think.
To start with I can tell you what most of us do not want. We
do not want the passive inertia of a Shivraj Patil nor do we
endorse the rose-tinted romanticism of an Arundhati Roy.
Patil's head-in-the-sand denials created a drift in policy
that allowed the Maoists to strengthen militarily and expand
their areas of influence. Roy's brand of starry-eyed
rationalisations gave the Maoists a false legitimacy and
distorted any crackdown on them as a David- Goliath encounter.
I think most of us have zero appetite for the 'Gandhians with
guns' school of thought.
Equally, and as importantly, we do not want any violations
against civilians in the name of anti-insurgency operations.
Nor do we support the use of private militia in operations
that need to be run by the State. So, to describe, for
example, the Salwa Judum as a spontaneous uprising of tribals
against Maoists, is to not just insult our intelligence, but
also to validate extra-constitutional methods to fight
violence. And once you do that you can hardly make a moral
argument against the Maoists, who too claim to be fighting for
a larger 'cause'.
Anyone who has closely followed the counter-insurgency history
of Kashmir knows what happened when an army of 'Ikhwanis'
(mostly surrendered militants) was allowed to run riot in the
valley. Human rights violations perpetrated by vigilante
forces that have the blessings of the State only erode the
credibility of the State and create new enemies. So, just
sheer common sense - if nothing else - demands a sharper
crackdown on groups like the Salwa Judum that are still
proclaimed as heroes in some doctrines of battle.
Like in any conflict zone - with the Maoists too- we seek a
deft combination of battle strategy and smart politics
operating on parallel tracks. When we see civilians under
attack or poor jawans forced to be at the frontline of danger,
we certainly expect our government to use force - both
preventive and offensive - against brutal, senseless terror.
Whether this force takes the shape of the paramilitary or the
army; whether air support should be deployed to speed up the
ferrying of troops and weapons - we may leave to the
strategists.
But on principle, it is abhorrent to most of us to see
bodybags lined up for cursory farewells, as soldiers become
unsung statistics in India's heart of darkness. And I think
many of us want much more than mere lip service to their
valour. Nor do we accept the galling rationalisations made by
some human rights activists that soldiers are combatants and,
thus, some sort of fair game for attack by the Maoists. It is
a moral obligation of any strong State to place an honourable
value on the life of its soldiers. A soldier's life cannot be
cheaper than yours or mine.
That said, we also seek attempts at long-term political
resolutions. We have attempted it, with differing degrees of
success, in Manipur, Nagaland and Kashmir. We even opened a
dialogue with commanders of the Hizbul Mujahideen a decade ago
- when Kashmir's largest indigenous militant group declared a
10-day ceasefire. So why would we oppose a similar attempt
with the Maoists? Issues of mining rights, land acquisition
and a failure of governance will also all need to be
politically addressed.
And lastly, we seek an end to the politicisation of a conflict
that has repeatedly been called India's biggest internal
security threat. At the very least, the issue of Maoist
violence has finally moved from the margins of public thought
to the centrestage of national debate. For this, many of us
credit the home minister even if we disagree with his
constantly pulling in civil society activists into the debate.
But after the Bengal tragedy it's been worrying to observe the
first signs of political reticence. It makes you wonder
whether India may slip back into what we do best - sitting on
our haunches and doing absolutely nothing.
Barkha Dutt is Group Editor, English News, NDTV
The bigger
challenge
Our continuous underdevelopment is an enigma. From the
status of a high-growth economy, the country abruptly
comes to the brink of disaster. This phenomenon is
repeated again and again.
Tasneem Siddiqui
If
you count Pakistan's afflictions, they will be many. But
the two perennial problems which continue to haunt
Pakistan are a fragile economy, resulting in persistent
poverty, and political instability. Let us examine the
poverty issue afresh.
Our continuous underdevelopment is an enigma. From the
status of a high-growth economy, the country abruptly
comes to the brink of disaster. This phenomenon is
repeated again and again.
In 2010, Pakistan once again finds itself on the brink of
a serious economic crisis. Currently, our economy is
dogged by high inflation and rising unemployment placing
the bulk of the population under tremendous pressure.
After having metaphorically 'broken the begging bowl'
several times, we are once again in the clutches of the
International Monetary Fund and are finding it difficult
to survive unless the promised tranches are released on
schedule. Our foreign and domestic debt is at an all-time
high and about half our revenue income is spent on
debt-servicing.
Our economic managers are certainly working diligently to
put the economy back on track and rescue us from the
current crisis. The best-case scenario is that they will
succeed in reducing our deficit to acceptable levels and
achieve a growth rate of five per cent in the next three
years. However, the question is: will it result in steady
and sustainable development? Will it improve the lot of
the poor, the disadvantaged and the marginalised? If this
did not materialise despite a six per cent growth rate for
three spells of 10 years each, how will it be possible
now?
At the time of Pakistan's creation, despite significant
administrative and financial constraints, the country
showed the promise of early take-off. All indicators were
positive and the nation felt proud when the global
community cited Pakistan as a model for development. The
GDP growth rate which was recorded at 10.2 per cent in
1953-54 sustained itself at 9.4 per cent in 1964-65 and
registered 8.4 per cent in 1984-85.
When calculated for a period of 30 years, the average
growth rate stands at 6.5 per cent (not in one spell, but
intermittently). It was not unreasonable to expect that
this high rate of growth would provide sustainable
development with a solid foundation for increased quality
of life for the common man. However, in retrospect, this
growth strategy did not produce the expected results.
Neither was poverty reduced drastically nor did social
indicators improve significantly. In addition, the fast
pace of industrialisation could not be sustained.
The optimists will argue that in some sectors Pakistan has
shown tremendous improvement compared to the bleak picture
of 1947. Agreed, but in terms of per capita income and
social development the country is still at the bottom. It
is a matter of abiding shame that even after six decades
of independence and a fairly good start, 73 per cent of
Pakistanis survive on $2 a day, 50 per cent are illiterate
and 25 per cent do not have enough to eat. Housing and
sanitation conditions and rural water supply are abysmal
to say the least.
There has been a constant debate amongst development
economists and policymakers in the developing world about
the possible routes leading to poverty alleviation. Since
the mid-1950s, wisdom has dictated that newly independent
countries should focus on achieving high GDP growth rates.
Poverty would be reduced automatically as the fruits of
growth would 'trickle down' to the poor after initially
being enjoyed by the rich.
This phenomenon, though articulate in theory, did not
materialise either in the case of Pakistan (despite high
growth rates over three decades) or for almost any other
developing country.
The other group which includes people like Nobel laureate
Amartya Sen and Bimal Jalan, ex-governor of the Reserve
Bank of India, argue that poor countries need not wait to
get rich before they can improve the living conditions of
their citizens.
Public intervention in education, health and nutrition is
crucial for increasing life expectancy and reducing infant
mortality. This was the case in the West and Japan in the
first half of the last century (even during periods when
GDP growth was low or negative). In more recent periods
this has also been true of China, Sri Lanka and the Indian
state of Kerala.When talking about the experiences of
various countries, both rich and poor, Sen stresses on the
importance of good policies. His conclusion is that it is
possible for a poor country to do more for its people,
even if its income is growing slowly, than a rich country.
In Pakistan's case, we can clearly see that poverty and
social underdevelopment are neither accidental nor do they
occur because of natural causes. It is a political issue
and the result of misconceived policies that our
successive governments have followed consistently for the
last several decades. For the last 25 year, poor
governance has added a deadly dimension to our existing
problems.
The challenge for our economic advisors and policymakers
is to learn from past mistakes and realise that the time
for conventional policies is over. This is all the more
necessary because our current planning and development
paradigm is deeply flawed. In social sectors it does not
include people in decision-making nor does it allow them
to be equal partners in the execution and financing of
schemes.
Secondly, for education, health and family planning,
overall allocations are no doubt low, but our main problem
is not merely shortage of funds. The main question is how
we use them. It is basically a management issue.
Most people agree that Pakistan is suffering from
'institutional exhaustion' and one can see that the
delivery system is so poor that the devised plans do not
accomplish the goal. The need is to learn from successful
approaches within and outside the country and see how
things can be improved under the given circumstances.
The incumbent government may claim that it has taken a
number of steps to improve the lot of the poor, but it is
time to go beyond the Benazir Income Support Programme,
Waseela-i-Haq, Baitul Maal and zakat doles. Even if they
reach the poor, they provide only temporary relief. From
ad hocism we must move towards steady, sustainable
development.
Viewpoints
Worry furrows the world
Meanwhile,
the US presses forward at the Security Council to impose
further sanctions on Iran to obtain compliance with IAEA
inspection requirements under the NPT and halt all uranium
enrichment and other sensitive nuclear activities.
Leonard S. Spector
While
189 members huddled in New York to review implementation of
the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), the most important
actions were taking place outside the meeting rooms, as Iran
maneuvered to deflect new UN Security Council sanctions aimed
at curtailing its sensitive nuclear activities, while the five
permanent council members, including previously lenient Russia
and China, pressed ahead to bring new punitive measures into
force.
On May 17, Brazil, Turkey and Iran announced a deal under
which, Teheran agreed to transfer 1200 kilogrammes of
low-enriched uranium to Turkey and in return, some 12 months
later, would receive 120 kilogrammes of fabricated fuel for
the Teheran research reactor for use in producing medical
isotopes. The deal, similar to one offered by the US, Russia
and France in October 2009, seemed to represent a significant
concession by Teheran, which had rejected the earlier
initiative. But more important for Teheran, the agreement
appeared certain to undercut support for additional UN
sanctions sought by the US. Indeed, in announcing the deal,
Brazil and Turkey - both currently non-permanent members of
the council - declared that sanctions were no longer needed.
The initiative was trumped the next day, however, when the
five permanent members of the UN Security Council unanimously
announced joint support for a new round of sanctions. The
five, including Iran's erstwhile protectors, Russia and China,
circulated a draft-sanctions resolution containing potentially
powerful new measures to other council members. The
intensified threat of sanctions, and seeming disregard of
Iran's fuel-swap gambit in its current form, could push Iran
to further concessions.
When the US originally proposed the fuel-swap deal in October
2009, it appeared to be a breakthrough in the effort to slow
the Iranian nuclear programme. At the time, Iran had just
crossed a dangerous threshold by producing a stockpile of
uranium enriched to between 3.5 and 5 per cent, which, if
further enriched to the 80 or 90 per cent level, would be
sufficient to serve as the core of a nuclear weapon.
Under the Brazil-Turkey deal, the Iranian material would not
itself be upgraded and made into reactor fuel, but would be
held in Turkey - a more friendly venue than Russia or France -
until France provided the 120 kilogrammes of fuel plates,
using French or Russian-supplied 20 per cent uranium (at which
point the Iranian material would presumably be shipped to one
of these states). Still, the core principle that 1200
kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium would be moved out of Iran
and 120 kilogrammes of fuel plates shipped in remained intact.
Unfortunately, after Teheran rejected the original deal, it
not only continued to add to its low-enriched uranium stores -
now roughly 2300 kilogrammes - but also began to enrich
uranium in one of its own facilities to the 20 per cent level,
supposedly for ultimate use in the Teheran reactor. Thus, in
the next month or two, transferring the 1200 kilogrammes out
of the country would no longer deny Iran access to the
material needed for a first nuclear weapon and, if Iran
continued to produce 20-per cent-enriched uranium - even
though no longer needed - Teheran could move closer to a
nuclear device, even as the deal were implemented. On the
other hand, if the deal does go through, Iran would retain the
potential to make only one nuclear device in the near term,
rather than two, if it does not. And, if Iran chose, it could
sweeten the deal by announcing a freeze on producing more
20-per cent material, for which it no longer has a credible
peaceful use. To move forward, the deal must now be accepted
by the so-called Vienna Group - the US, France and Russia -
facilitated by the IAEA, for which ending further enrichment
to the 20 per cent level is known to be a crucial
consideration.
Meanwhile, the US presses forward at the Security Council to
impose further sanctions on Iran to obtain compliance with
IAEA inspection requirements under the NPT and halt all
uranium enrichment and other sensitive nuclear activities. The
draft-sanctions resolution introduces several new
restrictions, including an embargo on heavy conventional-arms
transfers to Iran, a ban on providing fuel or services to any
Iranian vessel thought to be carrying nuclear or missile
commodities, and a ban on Iran's undertaking any activity
related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear
weapons.
At least as important as these mandatory requirements are
those "calling on" states to voluntarily implement more severe
measures, ones that Russia or China were not prepared to make
obligatory. These measures include inspecting any vessel,
consistent with international law - for example, in a port
where the state has inspection authority or in any location
with the consent of the state of registry - that is reasonably
believed to be carrying prohibited items to Iran and seizing
any contraband cargo. In addition, states are called on to
prevent firms under their jurisdiction from providing Iran of
financial services, including insurance and reinsurance, if
they believe such services might contribute to sensitive
nuclear or missile programs. And, states are required to
advise financial organisations under their jurisdiction to
"exercise vigilance" in dealings with the Iranian
Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamic Republic of Iran
Shipping Lines. It is expected that the US, the EU and a
number of other like-minded states will implement these
inspection and financial services measures aggressively after
receiving the Security Council's imprimatur.
These developments temporarily eclipsed the treaty review
conference, in which Iran as a party to the treaty is
participating. Yet Iran's isolation increased in that forum,
adding to the nation's diplomatic woes. In particular, Egypt,
the head of the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of more than 100
countries including Iran that remain neutral to the major
powers, has repeatedly rejected Iranian proposals that would
support its confrontation with the West. Iran's options are
narrowing. Following through on the Brazil-Turkey deal,
declaring a halt to enrichment above 5 per cent and accepting
at least some IAEA demands for greater transparency might
defer new sanctions and open the way for substantive
negotiations. But Iran must act quickly if it expects to win
such a result.
Leonard S. Spector is deputy director of the Monterey
Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
and leads its Washington, DC, office 2010 Yale Center for the
Study of Globalization.
A day in
November
Whenever
Israeli government needs US support for a controversial
act, it waits for an American election year.
URI AVNERY
Whenever
Israeli government needs US support for a controversial
act, it waits for an American election year.
Rahm Emanuel is, so it seems, the American most hated by
the leaders of Israel. He is considered the most dangerous
opponent of the Netanyahu government in the White House.
Behind closed doors, they shower him - if one is to
believe the media - with anti-Semitic epithets. "Jewboy"
is one of them. In Zionist usage, he is a "self-hating
Jew."
And lo and behold, here he is strolling around the Galilee
in shorts. He visits the occupied Golan Heights, which
foreign diplomats normally take great pains to avoid. The
IDF flies him between its installations. He prays at the
Western Wall. A good Jewish tourist from America.
Emanuel's son has reached the age of Bar Mitzva; where
better to celebrate than the Land of Israel, where his
grandfather was a member of the Irgun - an outfit that the
US administration would have branded a terrorist
organization, like Hamas today.
In short, the self-hating "Jewboy" has revealed himself as
a Zionist with a warm Jewish heart, an admirer of the IDF
and a supporter of the annexation of the Golan Heights.
The visit was not, of course, a passing whim. It joined a
long series of gestures by Barack Obama designed to win
the hearts of the Jews before the upcoming congressional
elections.
It seems that at some stage, months ago, Obama came to the
conclusion that he had lost the first round of his contest
with Benjamin Netanyahu, and that it would be better to
live and fight another day.
He himself spelled it out in a conversation with Jewish
leaders: at the beginning of his path in the Middle East
he stepped on some land mines. He has learned his lesson.
The result was a campaign of sweet talk and flattery: He
invited Elie Wiesel, "Mr. Holocaust" in person, to a
private lunch at the White House. Perhaps they exchanged
memories about some common experiences, like "How to
accept the Nobel Peace Prize and keep a straight face."
Wiesel's contribution to peace is one of the great
mysteries of the universe. (My own opinion of Wiesel found
its expression in a Hebrew word I invented especially for
him: "Shoan" (something like "Holocauster.")
After that, Obama met with several sets of "Jewish
leaders" and told them about his unwavering support for
the security of Israel, his admiration for Netanyahu and
love for Israel in general. Never mind that just recently
a major opinion poll has shown that these "leaders"
represent mostly themselves - the great majority of the
younger Jewish generation in the US opposes the policies
of the Israeli government and is becoming more and more
alienated from Israel.
Sending his No. 1 confidante to Israel in the guise of an
ardent Zionist and extending an invitation to Netanyahu to
come and visit him in the White House are further stages
in this campaign.
What is the aim? Well, that is as clear as the mid-day
sun.
On Nov. 2, 2011, the 93rd anniversary of the Balfour
Declaration, elections will be held in the US. All the
seats in the House of Representatives and 34 in the senate
will be up for grabs.
For Obama, these elections are hugely important. In the
worst case, the Democrats will lose control of one of the
Houses of Congress, making it impossible for Obama to get
most of the laws he desires passed. The best he can
realistically hope for is that the Democratic majority in
both houses will be reduced, making the life of the
president much more difficult.
AIPAC has already shown that it can have a big impact on
election results. When the lobby decides to topple a
member of Congress, that is the end of his political life.
When the lobby concentrates its financial and political
might on a certain spot, it is almost invincible.
Obama now needs all the support he can get in both houses.
Therefore, he must neutralize the pro-Israel lobby. The
expense of the Bar Mitzva party of the Emanuel family was
a negligible price to pay for this.
When Obama says that he stepped on a land mine, he means
the mine called AIPAC.
The phenomenon itself is nothing new. It repeats itself
every fours years, and sometimes every two.
Since the first day of the State of Israel, all Israeli
governments have been aware that an election year in the
US provides them with unparalleled political
opportunities.
Israel was founded in May 1948, half a year before the US
elections. Harry Truman was in a critical situation. Many
believed that he would be roundly defeated. He was in
desperate need of money. Some rich Jews dug into their
pockets and saved Truman, who won by the skin of his
teeth.
All of Truman's political and military aides advised him
not to support Israel's independence. But Truman
recognized the new state (de facto at least) immediately
after it was established.
From that day on, whenever the Israeli government needs US
support for a controversial act, it waits for an American
election year. This has almost always succeeded. The
exception: a week before the 1956 elections, the
Ben-Gurion government (urged on by Shimon Peres) invaded
Sinai in cahoots with France and the UK. The Israeli
leaders believed that no American politician would dare to
oppose Israel on the eve of elections.
They were wrong. President Dwight Eisenhower, a former
supreme allied commander, was supremely confident of his
election victory. Therefore he ignored the Jewish lobby
and, together with his Soviet colleague, presented Israel
with an ultimatum. That got David Ben-Gurion out of Sinai
and Gaza in a jiffy.
Those who hoped that Obama would prove to be a second
Eisenhower were wrong. In spite of some resounding
successes, his political situation is far from impressive.
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has not improved his
political health. As a realistic politician, he has
decided that this is not the right time to take on the
Jewish establishment.
Perhaps he remembered the sober advice of Niccolo
Machiavelli: If you can't kill the lion, don't provoke it.
However, there, is a huge land mine buried on the road to
election day: the settlement freeze.
When Obama compelled Netanyahu to freeze the settlements
officially in the West Bank (and unofficially in East
Jerusalem, too), a ten-month period was agreed upon. This
will come to an end in September.
When the time comes, Netanyahu will face immense pressures
from the settlers and their allies to start building
again. "What are you afraid of?" they will say, "two
months before the elections Obama will not dare to lift a
finger! And (quoting a Jewish sage) if not now, when?"
The situation in Israel will increase the temptation. It
seems that "we have never had it so good." There are no
attacks. Our economy is booming. In spite of the criticism
echoing around the world, Israel's political standing is
robust. Just last week Israel was accepted as a member of
the OECD, the world's most prestigious economic club.
Obama has capitulated. When the army's Homeland Command
held extensive exercises this week, the people just winked
and did not bother to run to the shelters.
The temptation to renew the building in the settlements
will be strong. But Netanyahu will think about the day
after. And so will Obama.
And indeed, what will happen the day after the elections?
Optimists believe that on that morning, a new era will
start. No further elections are planned before November
2012, when Obama's first term expires. For an entire year,
at least, he will be free to act.
That is a "window of opportunities". A wide-open window.
During this time Obama can realize his hope of bringing
peace and retrieve the position of the US in the Middle
East. As an added bonus, he will also be able to vent his
accumulated fury against Netanyahu.
According to this forecast, in this one year, from the end
of 2010 to the end of 2011, the final act of the drama
will be enacted. Obama will present an American peace
plan, the pressure on the Israeli government will
intensify, Israel will finally have to choose between
peace and territories, peace will at long last be on its
way.
But there is also an opposite forecast: Obama will
continue to disappoint, as he has disappointed until now.
He will already be thinking about the next presidential
election and continue to be afraid of AIPAC.
This forecast has a lot going for it. When I was very
young, my father admonished me never, but never, to yield
to blackmail. He who pays a blackmailer once will continue
to pay to his last day. A blackmailer never lets go of his
victim.
(In the course of my life I have tried to adhere to this
advice. My technique is this: when somebody tries to
blackmail me, threatening to do me some harm, I imagine
that he has already done so. This way, the threat loses
its sting.)
AIPAC is blackmailing Obama, and until now it has been
successful. It will go on doing so after November. Obama
should face up to the idea and decide: no more.
Will he have the courage to do so? I don't know. I hope.
Muslims and modernity
The gap between the philosophical and the material has
given birth to an attitude whereby we embrace the material
fruits of modernity but reject its intellectual approach
and consequences.
Aziz Ali Dad
One
of the consequences of modernity is the disengagement of
the world from the sphere of mysticism and the mythical
and transcendental worldview. The sacred has retreated
from the public sphere into the private realm. The Muslim
world was exposed to modernity at a time when it was
intellectually poor and politically weak. Its initial
encounter with modernity was with its material form and
not at the level of philosophical discourse, which is why
to this day the Muslim intellectual posture relative to
modernity has remained ambivalent.
The gap between the philosophical and the material has
given birth to an attitude whereby we embrace the material
fruits of modernity but reject its intellectual approach
and consequences.
The influence of modernity has not remained confined to
the domain of the profane; it has also brought about a
change in the discourse around religion. The way in which
Christianity and Judaism have confronted modernity has not
only enabled the two religions to tackle it
constructively, but also triggered within them a
rethinking as to the role of religion in society.
Conversely, the Muslim response to modernity remains
mostly incomprehensible to the West because it represents
a mythologized version of religion to the rational mind of
the modern age.
The challenges of modernity are a product of logos. Logos
and mythos are complementary parts of the human psyche.
Karen Armstrong, a leader in the study of comparative
religion, defines logos as the rational, pragmatic, and
scientific attitude that enables human beings to function
well in the world, while mythos works in the inner world
of the psyche and directs people's attention to the
eternal and the universal. The challenges of modernity
then can be tackled by pragmatic policies and strategies
based on logos. Attempting to tackle the challenge of
modernity with the incompatible strategy of mythos is a
non-starter in the practical world; and in doing so we
commit the blunder of making mythos the basis of pragmatic
policy. Our society is in disorder because we let mythos
take over the tasks that are supposed to be carried out by
logos/reason. As a result we are confused and lack the
strategy to deal with the vital issues of the contemporary
world.
In order to keep pace with developments in modern
intellectual discourse, Muslims need to adopt a rational
weltanschauung - a comprehensive, integrated and rational
worldview. Today Muslim societies lack the methodologies
that could help them do that.
Modernity, as a continuous critical evaluation of
epistemological principles, postulates, statements and
methodologies, is for Muslims the 'unthought' and
therefore the experience of modernity exceeds our
available cultural and theoretical vocabulary. Any
initiative is precluded by rejection of reason on the part
of Muslim orthodoxy. We should not be afraid of
questioning centuries old definitions and interpretations
and embracing new ones. Acquisition of the knowledge of
modern social sciences and humanities can enable us to
rescue religion from the obscurantist mindset.
Professor Mohammed Arkoun deplored the fact that Muslims
do not engage with new challenges and push them into the
realm of the unthought. As a result, the intellectual
burden of the "Unthought in the Contemporary Islamic
Thought" is piling up. We must expand our intellectual
horizon by opening up new possibilities for creative
thought and action.
The writer is a social scientist and freelance
columnist. Email: azizalidad @hotmail.com
International
US presses
Pakistan for more air passenger info
New York Times, Washington
The United States is increasing pressure on Pakistan to
provide it with much broader airline passenger information
as part of its efforts to combat terrorism.
Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the
administration of President Barack Obama considers this
information a crucial tool needed to track suspects'
travel patterns.
The report comes in the wake of the failed May 1 attack on
New York's crowded Times Square, in the city's busy
theatre district. A 30-year-old Pakistani-born naturalised
US citizen, Faisal Shahzad, has been charged in connection
with the incident. Pakistan currently provides the names
of airline passengers travelling to the United States, the
Times report said. But the US wants information on
Pakistanis who fly to other countries, to feed into
databases that can detect patterns used by terrorists,
their financiers, logisticians and others who support
them, the paper noted.
Pakistan has for several years resisted this request, the
paper noted. But the issue is now on a "short list" of
issues between the two countries, which includes
classified counterterrorism programs and enhanced
intelligence sharing, The Times said.
US officials say Shahzad is connected to Pakistani Taliban
insurgents and Obama has sent two senior national security
aides to Islamabad to join the investigation into the May
1 car bombing attempt.
Pak SC rejects govt objections over
bench formation
Dawn Online, Islamabad
Pakistan Supreme Court on Monday rejected the federation's
objections against the bench constituted to hear petitions
against the 18th Amendment.
Earlier, the court had reserved its verdict after
completing the hearing of objections against the
constitution of the bench.
The court was earlier set to announce its verdict at 11:30
am. However, it delayed the ruling after receiving a
letter from the President's Principal Secretary Salman
Farooqui.
The Supreme Court's larger bench heard the federation's
objections. The first objection was on the non-inclusion
of Justice Zahid and the second was on Chief Justice
Iftikhar's presence on the bench.
After the hearing again later during the day, Chief
Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry read the detailed ruling, saying
all objections of the federation regarding the bench's
constitution had been set aside. A show-cause notice was
also issued to the federation's counsel Abdul Basit for
misleading the court by attributing the objections to
Salman Farooqui.
The Supreme Court's Registrar had earlier received Salman
Farooqui's letter in which he denied the objections
attributed to him regarding the bench's formation.
In response to that, Abdul Basit rose up saying he was
mistaken in connection with his client and pleaded he be
heard afresh.
The court affirmed he would be given the chance. The court
was to resume its proceedings later on Monday. Fifteen
constitutional petitions were filed against some clauses
of the 18th Amendment.
In particular, they challenge the formation of the
judicial commission under the 18th Amendment to be against
the basic structure of the constitution and against the
judiciary's independence.
Patil calls for greater
market access for Indian goods in Chinese market
ANI, Shanghai
Indian President Pratibha Devisingh Patil, who is on a
visit to China, said on Sunday that unless market access
for Indian pharmaceutical, engineering and information
technology companies improves, trade relations between
India and China, which is under strain at present, would
continue to worsen.
During her meeting here with the ruling Communist Party"s
Shanghai chief Yu Zhengsheng, Patil said it was important
for Beijing to focus on trade imbalances and market access
issues.
Briefing media persons about the meeting, Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao
underlined that India wanted more market access in China
in fields like engineering goods, IT (Information and
Technology), IT enabled services, agricultural products
and commodities, and added that this issue has been well
conveyed to the Chinese leadership during Patil's visit.
The trade relationship between the two countries has been
seen as a crucial driver of overall bilateral relations
amid persisting political strains over the long-pending
border dispute.
India's recent restrictions on the import of Chinese
telecom equipment in light of security concerns, has added
to the list of strains.
Responding to a question on the dumping of Chinese goods
in Indian markets, Rao said there are many corrective
measures in place to check such practices.
"There are a number of anti-dumping investigations also on
Chinese products coming into India. And , there are also
safeguard duties that are placed on Chinese goods.
Whenever we see a surge which is likely to affect our
industry adversely, corrective measures are taken," she
said.
Earlier, during the last leg of her China visit, Patil
visited the Indian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo,
which is being described as the biggest and most expensive
in exhibition history.
She also unveiled a statue of Rabindranath Tagore in the
heart of old-town Shanghai, China's financial capital.
Tagore had visited Shanghai in the 1920s and left a strong
influence on a whole generation of Chinese intellectuals
and writers.
Afghans to discuss peace at
national conclave
AP, Kabul
President Hamid Karzai is rolling out his program to lure
Taliban and other insurgent fighters off the battlefield,
addressing a three-day conference starting Wednesday aimed
at building a national consensus on how to end the nearly
nine-year war.
About 1,600 Afghans will convene in a giant tent at Kabul
Polytechnic University to discuss how to reconcile with
the fighters - even as the U.S. rushes in more troops to
ramp up the war. Lawmakers, provincial council members,
tribal and religious leaders and representatives of civil
society will participate. Notably absent from the "peace
jirga" - jirga means "large assembly" in Pashto - will be
official representatives of the Taliban, although some of
the delegates may be insurgent sympathizers.
The Taliban have dismissed the jirga as a "phony
reconciliation process" and insist they will not negotiate
until all foreign troops leave the country. Security has
been stepped up in Kabul in case the Taliban launches
attacks in the capital to disrupt the conference.
Still, Karzai is hoping the jirga will bolster him
politically by endorsing his strategy of offering
incentives to individual Taliban fighters and reaching out
to the insurgent leadership, despite skepticism in
Washington that the time is right for an overture to
militant leaders.
Some members of Afghanistan's ethnic minorities fear
Karzai may be too eager to sell out their interests in
hopes of cutting a deal with the Taliban, who, like him,
are Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group.
About 20 percent of the delegates will be women, a sector
that suffered under Taliban rule and would have much to
lose in a settlement that gives the insurgents a prominent
political role in Afghan society.
Japan and China seek to
prevent maritime friction
Reuters, Tokyo
Japan and China agreed on Monday to set up an emergency
hotline and set in place ways to prevent maritime friction
sparked by Beijing's growing naval reach from getting out
of hand.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao held to Beijing's cautious
stance on the sinking of a South Korean warship, which
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has joined Seoul
and Washington in saying was certainly torpedoed by North
Korea.
Ties between the world's second- and third-largest
economies have improved since 2006, when they set aside
years of rancor centered on Japan's wartime occupation of
Asia. At Monday's summit, wartime historical disputes did
not come up.
Instead, the two leaders agreed on steps aimed at easing
military tensions that have continued to keep a cool
distance between the two Asian neighbors.
They agreed to resume talks on jointly exploring disputed
gas fields in seas between them.
Hatoyama came to office less than a year ago, vowing a
more equal relationship with the United States and closer
ties with China and other Asian powers. The summit with
Wen, however, brought small steps, not big breakthroughs.
The hotline between Beijing and Tokyo would allow leaders
to discuss quickly what Wen called "important issues"
between the two nations, a Japanese government official
said.
Wen later told Japanese business executives the huge
economic flows between the two nations, with bilateral
trade worth $238.7 billion last year, would cement closer
ties.
"China and Japan have very close economic and trade ties.
One could say they are at the point where neither could do
without the other," said Wen.
Despite the displays of goodwill, including an early
morning jog by Wen, sources of discord remain. China's
increasing naval activities in seas near Japan have made
Tokyo nervous.
"I told Premier Wen that Japan is concerned about China's
activities," Hatoyama told reporters, referring to the
naval moves. Wen did not respond directly to Tokyo's
concerns but the two leaders also agreed to set up a
crisis management mechanism for maritime incidents, a
Japanese official said.
Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing in April after a
Chinese helicopter flew near a Japanese destroyer in
waters off Okinawa.
A group of Chinese warships was spotted earlier that month
in the high seas near Okinawa. Beijing said the ships were
in the area training and violated no international law.
Thai opposition challenge
PM over deadly crackdown
Reuters, Bangkok
Thailand's parliamentary opposition accused Prime Minister
Abhisit Vejjajiva of human rights abuses Monday in a
no-confidence motion centered on the use of violence
during a crackdown on anti-government protests.
The two-day debate aims to focus attention on tough
measures used to break up the "red shirt" protests which
ended on May 19, and could force Abhisit to defend the
firing of live ammunition by troops during a six-week
period in which 88 people were killed and nearly 2,000
wounded. The opposition have also accused Abhisit and five
cabinet ministers of corruption and economic
mismanagement.
The no-confidence motion is led by the Puea Thai Party
backed by ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Puea Thai, popular in rural north and northeastern
provinces, is widely expected to win the most seats in the
next election. But Abhisit is expected to survive the
motion during a vote Wednesday with strong support from
his six-party coalition.
"I'm here to ask for justice for the victims of the
clashes. There has to be a proper investigation instead of
the government blaming terrorists for everything,"
Jatuporn Prompan, a red-shirt leader and Puea Thai
lawmaker, told reporters before the debate.
Japan PM may stay until
poll despite falling ratings
Reuters, Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, his coalition
fractured and his ratings sinking, brushed aside calls to
quit on Monday ahead of an upper house election despite
fading chances of the decisive win needed to smooth
policy-making.
Some calls have emerged in Hatoyama's Democratic Party of
Japan (DPJ) for the premier to step down after a tiny
leftist party bolted the ruling coalition in anger at his
failure to keep a campaign pledge to move a U.S. airbase
off Okinawa island in southern Japan.
But with time short and no guarantee that replacing
Hatoyama would boost his party's fortunes in an upper
house poll expected in July, analysts say Hatoyama will
probably cling to his post.
"If the sense of crisis mounts to such a level that they
are ready to swallow someone who is less of a consensus
maker, they may be ready to get rid of Hatoyama," said
Sophia University professor Koichi Nakano. Most pundits
have tipped outspoken Finance Minister Naoto Kan as likely
successor if Hatoyama quits.
"But at the end of the day, Hatoyama would have to step
down voluntarily and that's unlikely, though not
impossible," Nakano said.
Support for Hatoyama's government took another hit,
falling as low as 17 percent in one of a spate of surveys
published on Monday, after he fired the head of the tiny
Social Democratic Party (SDP) from her cabinet post on
Friday, prompting the party to leave the coalition two
days later.
Israel
flotilla action criticised by friends and foes
Internet
Israel's storming of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla set off an
international furore on Monday, threatening to further
strain ties with Turkey and drawing criticism from friends
and enemies alike.
France's foreign minister said he was "profoundly shocked"
by the violence that killed at least 10 pro-Palestinian
activists on board a convoy of six ships. The European
Union called for an enquiry into the incident.
The head of the Arab League said Arab states must
reconsider their dealings with Israel in light of the
violence while Turkey, traditionally its strongest Muslim
ally in the region, summoned the Jewish state's
ambassador.
"Israel's attack indicates Israel is not ready for peace.
Israel attacked the liberty fleet because it feels it is
above the law," Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
said in Doha.
"There is no benefit in dealing with Israel in this manner
and we must re-assess our dealing with Israel," he said.
Israeli commandos intercepted the aid flotilla on Monday.
Officials said they were met with knives and staves when
they boarded the ships, which included a ferry flying the
Turkish flag.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the interception was
unacceptable.
"Israel will have to endure the consequences of this
behaviour," the ministry said in a statement. Television
images from Ankara showed dozens of people gathered
outside Israeli Ambassador Gabby Levy's residence in the
Turkish capital.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the killings
as a massacre and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner
said the violence could not be justified.
"I am profoundly shocked by the tragic consequences of the
Israeli military operation against the Peace Flotilla for
Gaza," Kouchner said in a statement.
"The circumstances of this drama must be fully brought to
light and we wish for a thorough inquiry to be put in
place without delay."
IRAN CALLS ATTACK INHUMAN
Iran, one of Israel's biggest foes in the Muslim world,
said the killings were "inhuman" and would help lead to
the Jewish state's demise.
"All these acts indicate the end of the heinous and fake
regime and will bring it closer to the end of its
existence," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told
state broadcaster IRIB.
In the Arab world, analysts said the incident was such an
overreaction to an attempt to challenge Israel's Gaza
blockade that it could put the brakes on any further
efforts at normalisation and may derail the peace process.
Israel has previously halted such activist ships, although
some others have reached the Gaza Strip before.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said the move was a
"crazy step" that risked inflaming conflict in the region.
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton on Monday
demanded Israeli authorities mount a "full inquiry" into
the killing of at least 10 people in a raid on a flotilla
of aid ships bound for Gaza.
Belgian Development Minister Charles Michel, whose country
will assume the rotating EU presidency on July 1, deplored
"the apparent disproportional use of force by the Israeli
army during this intervention which left many dead."
UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said Monday she was
shocked that an aid flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip was
"met with violence," after Israeli forces stormed convoy
ships.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said a deadly
Israeli military raid Monday on a Gaza-bound aid ship was
an "inhuman" act that brought Tehran's arch-foe "closer
than ever to its end."
"The inhuman action of the Zionist regime against the
Palestinian people and preventing the humanitarian aid
from reaching Gazans does not show this regime's strength,
but is a sign of its weakness, and all this brings this
sinister and fake regime closer than ever to its end,"
Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news
agency.
Bulgaria slammed Monday a raid on a Gaza-bound aid
flotilla, in which at least 10 pro-Palestinian activists
were killed, and said it would "invite" Israel's
ambassador in Sofia for talks on the matter.
Iran foreign minister
optimistic on uranium deal
AP, Tokyo
Iran's foreign minister said Monday he is optimistic for
international approval on a deal to swap nuclear fuel with
Turkey, and that Tehran hopes to restore diplomatic
relations with Washington in the future.
Iran last week submitted the deal for approval to the
International Atomic Energy Agency. It involves exchanging
enriched uranium for fuel rods that can be used in nuclear
reactors but not in nuclear weapons.
The agreement does not keep Iran from continuing to enrich
more high-grade uranium on its own, leading to criticism
from the U.S. and other countries, which are pushing for
fresh sanctions against the country. But Iranian Foreign
Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Monday called it an
opportunity to finally make progress on the issue. "In
terms of realizing this agreement, it is my belief that
all countries involved are searching for a way out of the
current circumstances," he said.
Mottaki spoke to business leaders, scholars and reporters
at a luncheon in a Tokyo hotel. The fuel-exchange deal was
brokered by Brazil and Turkey, whose leaders say it is a
starting point for negotiations and have defended it from
U.S. criticism.
It comes as the U.N. Security Council considers a new set
of sanctions in response to Iran's refusal to halt
high-level uranium enrichment. Iran originally said it
needed the material to fuel its research reactor, after an
earlier deal to secure such fuel from abroad fell apart.
Washington and Tehran broke off direct diplomatic
relations following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and
Switzerland handles U.S. interests inside Iran. Mottaki
said a restoration of official ties was a possibility,
without setting a timeline. "It is not our intention to
permanently have no diplomatic relations with America," he
said. Mottaki repeatedly referred to Iran's close ties
with Japan in his comments. He said he had held numerous
long discussions on the telephone with Japanese Foreign
Minister Katsuya Okada about an agreement similar to the
one submitted to the IAEA last week, and that Tokyo could
help the current deal go through. "I believe strongly that
Japan can have a beneficial and constructive role in
realizing the terms of the agreement," Mottaki said.
Turkey calls for Security
Council meeting over Israel
Reuters, Ankara
Turkey canceled joint military exercises with Israel and
called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security
Council after pro-Palestinian activists were killed when
Israeli marines boarded aid ships bound for Gaza.
With several Turks reported to be among the dead,
thousands of people converged on Taksim Square in downtown
Istanbul to voice anger at Israel's use of force and pray
for the dead.
"This attack is another sign of the reckless levels that
the Israeli government's violent policies have reached,"
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said in a televised
speech.
At least 10 people were killed when firing broke out after
Israeli commandos stormed one of six ships in a convoy
that was organized by, among others, a Turkish human
rights organization.
Arinc said there were up to 400 Turks among nearly 600
people aboard the Mavi Maramara, the Turkish cruise vessel
where the firing broke out.
The Israeli action could prove a death knell for an
alliance between the Jewish State and Muslim but secular
Turkey.
A breakdown in their relationship would pose problems for
the United States, as the alliance between the two
regional military heavyweights helped U.S. strategy in the
Middle East.
Ties had come under increasing strain over the past year,
due to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's repeated
criticism of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. Standing
in for Erdogan, who was rushing back from an official
visit to Latin America to deal with the crisis, Arinc
said: "We condemn Israel's attack at the highest level."
He said Turkey, a non-permanent member of the Security
Council, had called for an emergency meeting.
He also said Ankara's ambassador to Israel had been
recalled, three planned military joint exercises were
canceled, and he demanded that the ships be released and
that Turkey be allowed to airlift wounded nationals back
home.
German President Horst
Koehler quits post
AP, Berlin
In a surprise announcement, German President Horst Koehler
resigned Monday after being criticized for remarks in
which he appeared to link military deployments abroad with
the country's economic interests. Koehler's decision came
only a year into his second term as the largely ceremonial
head of state.
Koehler, the former head of the International Monetary
Fund, is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian
Democrats who has been president since 2004. In explaining
his reasoning, he cited a week of "intense criticism" over
a radio interview he gave following a visit to German
troops in Afghanistan. He said in that broadcast that
military deployments could be "necessary ... in order to
defend our interests, for example free trade routes." That
was taken by many as referring to Germany's unpopular
mission in Afghanistan, though his office later said he
was referring to anti-piracy patrols off the coast of
Somalia,
Opposition politicians had demanded he take back the
remarks and accused him of damaging public acceptance of
German military missions abroad. "This criticism lacks any
basis," Koehler said at the president's Bellevue palace
alongside his wife, Eva Luise. "It also is lacking in the
necessary respect for the presidential office."
Men's skin cancer death
rate doubles over 30 years
BBC Online
The rate of men dying from the deadliest form of skin
cancer has doubled over the past three decades. Figures
from Cancer Research UK show a steep increase in deaths
from malignant melanoma, especially in elderly men.
In the late 1970s fewer than 400 (1.5 per 100,000) men
died from melanoma but that figure has now risen to over
1,100 (3.1 per 100,000). Yet the cancer is preventable if
people avoid sunburn and deal with 'worrying' moles early,
the charity said. The death rates for women have also
risen, from 1.5 to 2.2 per 100,000. The figures also
reveal that although more women are diagnosed in the first
place, more men die from the disease. In men aged over 65
deaths have risen from 4.5 per 100,000 to 15.2 per 100,000
over the past 30 years. Caroline Cerny, from Cancer
Research UK, said men needed to learn to look after their
skin. "Too often men leave it up to their partners or
mothers to remind them to use sunscreen or cover up with a
shirt and hat, and even to visit the doctor about a
worrying mole," she said.
Be vigilant
The figures suggest men are either not aware of skin
cancer symptoms or are ignoring them and putting off going
to see their GP, she added.
Pope appoints panel to
investigate Ireland abuse
AP, Vatican City
Pope Benedict XVI has ordered an investigation into child
abuse in the Irish Catholic Church to begin in the fall
and named top prelates to carry it out, the Vatican said
Monday.
Benedict had pledged the investigation in his March letter
to Ireland, which addressed chronic child abuse within the
island's Catholic Church and decades of cover-ups. On
Monday he urged the Irish Catholic community to support
the investigation and see it as a chance for renewal, the
Vatican said.
Also on Monday, the Vatican announced the pope had
accepted the resignation of an Irish-born archbishop who
had led the diocese of Benin City in Nigeria and faced
accusations that he carried on a 20-year relationship with
a woman that began when she was 14. Archbishop Richard
Burke had been suspended. He was the latest prelate to
fall amid the church abuse scandal, as Benedict has moved
to clean house and get rid of bishops who either admitted
they molested youngsters or covered up for priests who
did.
The investigation in Ireland will deal with the handling
of cases of abuse and the assistance to victims. It will
begin in four archdioceses, including Dublin, and then be
extended to other dioceses, the Vatican said in a
statement. But it will also look at seminaries and
religious houses.
New round of climate talks
kicks off in Germany
AP, Bonn
A new round of climate negotiations kicked off in Germany
on Monday with squabbling over money and procedural
questions that some say could threaten progress at the
two-week United Nations conference.
Climate activists from groups including Oxfam, Greenpeace,
and WWF pressured industrial nations to live up to their
promises of financial aid to poor countries as delegates
from some 180 countries gathered in Bonn.
"The finance part has not been solved," Greenpeace expert
Wendel Trio told The Associated Press at the outset of the
expert-level meeting about six months after a
disappointing climate summit in Copenhagen that ended with
a nonbinding accord promising emissions cuts and immediate
financing for poor countries.
While industrial nations at Copenhagen promised $30
billions in aid 2010-2012 to help poorer nations start
more environment friendly development programs and adapt
to the worst consequences of climate change,
non-governmental organizations say developing nations
remain skeptical.
They wonder when the money will come through and whether
it is additional money rather than funds that were already
pledged for other purposes that are being relabeled as
climate aid, Trio said.
Oxfam said it is becoming clear that rich nations want to
hand out much of the money as loans instead of grants,
thereby saddling developing nations with new debts for a
problem largely caused by industrial countries.
"It's like crashing your neighbor's car and then offering
a loan to cover the damages," Oxfam's Antonio Hill said in
a statement.
The $30 billion dollar pledge is one of the few concrete
results from the Copenhagen conference. The U.N. climate
secretariat has said that fulfilling that promise would be
important to build new trust between developed and
developing nations.
The Bonn talks center on a new, rather sketchy text with
possible elements of a global climate deal expected to be
finalized in 2011.
The envisioned treaty's main purpose is to drastically
reduce the emissions of heat-capturing gases over the next
decades. At the same time it is meant to set up a
framework on how rich nations help poor countries deal
with climate change, how technology is transferred, and
how Earth's forests can be saved, among other things -
making it an extremely complex document.
Business/Economy
Less
speculation on budget keeps market stable
BSS, Dhaka
Unlike previous years, people this year see less
speculation in the media about the contents of the budget
for the coming 2010-11 financial year, which gave them a
respite from the adverse effects of pre-budget price
volatility on the market.
People in general attributed the situation to the Finance
Ministry's relatively open policy, which allows media easy
access to information.
Last year Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith made many
disclosures about the budget. This year he candidly told
journalists that the next budget would merely have any new
things. He said the next budget would be a fiscal policy
for implementation, focusing mainly on the projects of
power sector and the Annual Development Programme (ADP).
The Finance Ministry and its sister concerns including the
National Board of Revenue (NBR) also held series of
pre-budget discussions with business leaders, economists
and journalists from where free flow of information were
made available to the media, bringing an end to the wild
speculation on the budget.
"This year we do not see any rush for buying things on
speculation that the price will go up after budget," a
Singer store manager told BSS Monday.
Electronic traders usually make hefty profit on pre-budget
speculative buying spree. But leaving less than two weeks
for the new budget, electronic retailers in the city were
seen awaiting customers at their stores.
Many electronic manufacturers and importers have offered
attractive specials to allure customers, which were hardly
seen in the past before a pending national budget.
An Esquire store manager told this correspondent that they
were expecting a rush if the budget proposal contains any
increase in duty on electronic products. There was,
however, no such speculation, he added.
Barua
for strengthening bilateral trade, business with
neighbours
BSS, Dhaka
Industries Minister Dilip Barua Monday emphasized
strengthening bilateral trade and business relations among
the neighboring countries that is one of the best ways of
comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic development.
It is also important for regional cooperation,
communication and connectivity, he added. The minister was
addressing a press conference of
International Business Forum of Bangladesh (IBFB) in
connection with its upcoming visit to Vietnam and Malaysia
from June 1.
President of IBFB Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury and Vice
President ATM Saidul Alam, among others, were present in
the conference. In order to explore the existing
possibilities and opportunities of mutual investment in
the neighboring countries, exchange of mutual trade and
business delegation is a must, Dilip Barua said.
He said trade and commerce play a vital role in overall
economic development of a country.
Present government considers rapid growth of the private
sector as a key priority to development and has been
playing the role of a facilitator for its quick expansion,
he added.
He said corruption is a problem that continues to affect
Bangladesh and it is one that the current government is
seeking to address.
That's why the administration gives importance to economic
diversification from trading economy to industries.
Russia and
crisis-hit EU seek to ease disputes
AFP, Rostov-On-Don
EU and Russian leaders meet Monday for a summit clouded by
the euro zone's troubles but striving to iron out habitual
disputes on issues ranging from visas to human rights.
Russia, whose economy went into near meltdown in 1998 but
has so far avoided the worst effects of the financial
crisis, will be looking with interest at Europe's economic
woes triggered by the budget problems of Spain and Greece.
The summit in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don will be
the first between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and EU
President Herman Van Rompuy, leading the EU after the
Lisbon Treaty took effect last year.
They will be joined for an informal dinner at 7:00 pm
local time (1500 GMT) by EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso,
at what is the 25th EU-Russia summit.
The Moscow-EU partnership has rarely been smooth but the
two-day summit is set to gloss over geopolitical disputes
and focus on easing bumps in ties over trade, visas and EU
concerns about its reliance on Russian energy supplies.
National
Govt eyes additional fish
production of 1500 metric tons per year
UNB, Dhaka
The government has undertaken a project for additional
production of 1500 metric tons of fish per year, which
will help boost country's fish production and raise the
income level of poor fishermen.
During the 5-year period of the project ending in December
2013, some 285 lakh fry/fingerlings of small indigenous
species of fish will be produced while another 250 lakh
fry/fingerlings will be stocked in the open water bodies
for the purpose of breeding.
The project titled 'Development and Management of
Identified Degraded Water Bodies and Conservation of Small
Indigenous fishes' will be implemented through the
Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Ministry of
Fisheries and Livestock.
Approved recently at a meeting of the Executive Committee
on the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the project will
be implemented in 472 upazilas of 64 districts for
improvement and conservation of the country's most
important fisheries resources (local species of small
fish), said an official at the Planning Ministry.
As the country's increased population is suffering from
malnutrition and protein deficiency, consumption of small
fishes can help reduce the malady. "Conservation of small
indigenous species of fish and development of open water
bodies are important for improving the health of the
nation," the official said.
He said the overall goal of the project is to revive the
degraded condition of identified water bodies as far as
possible to the original conditions. As a result, the
aquatic biodiversity and fish production will increase.
Country's water bodies like floodplains, rivers, streams,
canals, beels and ponds are rich ecosystems for more than
260 species of freshwater fishes, including 140 species
classified as small indigenous fish. But these species are
on the verge of extinction due to encroachment on natural
water bodies.
The target communities of the project are mainly the
fishermen and fish farmers. The poorer section of the
community will be considered as the beneficiaries.
Women will benefit from the project as during the
formation of Community Based Organisations (CBO's) female
members will be included.
Through this project, the production of open water fishes
would be increased and fishermen will get more catch and
consequently more money. Moreover, backward and forward
linkage activities will be created, which could be helpful
for the jobless and thus alleviate poverty.
Under the project, breeding facilities for small
indigenous species of fish will be developed in 57
government-owned fish seed farms in 57 districts while the
breeding facilities of indigenous fish species will be
available in 500 privately owned farms.
Some 69 identified water bodies will be developed during
the project period while training will be provided to 3750
fishermen and 400 personnel of the Department of
Fisheries.
Govt. successfully working for building digital BD
BSS, Rangpur
Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
Information Ministry Alhaj Anisul Islam Mandal MP has said
that the present government has been working successfully
for building a digital Bangladesh.
The present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
believes in working for the welfare of the people and has
already implemented a large number of its pre-election
pledges and will fulfill all others within its next three
and a half years tenure, he said.
He also urged all to work unitedly in turning Bangladesh
into a middle income nation by the year 2021 through
realizing the digital Bangladesh and Vision-2021
programmes as envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Anisul Islam Mandal MP said this at a discussion meeting
followed by cultural functions that ended last night as
the chief guest at Taraganj Degree College ground in
Taraganj upazila in the district. District Information
Office of Rangpur organized the discussion for creating
awareness among the grass root level mass people on health
and various social issues as a part of the government's
programme for implementing the Charter of Changes.
Over 7,000 people from all walks in the society including
government and NGO officials, workers and executives,
farmers, labourers, students, teachers, public
representatives, community leaders, women activists, men,
women, youths, religious leaders and commoners were
present.
Shahjalal University seeks
budgetary support to build infrastructures
BSS, Sylhet
The Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST),
dedicated to become a center of excellence to give
leadership in securing the country's transition to a
high-tech society needs development of vital
infrastructure facilities.
It requires to build student dormitories, a central
auditorium, repair of earthquake hit academic buildings
and such other sports and cultural facilities which are
quite essential for the varsity.
University Vice Chancellor Prof Saleh Uddin told BSS last
week that he would need more fund disbursement which were
allocated as project funds earlier to pay contractors for
development work they have already carried out and move
with expansion plans on some other projects.
He said request for some allocations is already pending
with the concerned ministries The VC pointed out that if
forthcoming budget fails to take these requests on board,
the varsity may tremendously suffer from lack of
facilities.
He said the university set up 19 years ago is now having
only two residential halls - one for boys and one for
girls but with the expansion of the university needs two
more four storied dormitories for boys and girls could not
be possible without funds. The completion of the central
auditorium also needs financial support.
Speakers for quality education to
build worthy citizens
BSS, Joypurhat
Speakers at a views exchange meeting said that quality
education is a must to build worthy citizens. The meeting
was held at the primary training institute auditorium here
on Sunday.
Joypurhat sadar upazila education office was organized the
views exchange meeting to raise awareness among the
teachers about the necessity of quality education in
primary schools.
Deputy commissioner of Joypurhat Abu Syed Mohammad Hasim
was present as the chief guest, upazila chairman of
Joypurhat sadar Abbbas Ali Mondol, Deputy Director of
Primary education department Sawdagor Mustafijur Rahman
addressed the function as special guests.
District Education Officer of Joypurhat Nabuoat Hossain
Sarker presided over the meeting while upazila education
officer Sanaul Habib conducted it.
EFA divisional seminar held
UNB, Khulna
The speakers at a seminar on Monday mentioned that Primary
school teachers and NGOs should play a leading role in a
coordinated manner in spreading literacy throughout the
country to achieve millennium development goals (MDGs) and
make education for all (EFA) program successful.
The view was expressed in the Khulna divisional seminar
titled EFA global monitoring report 2010 at the auditorium
of the local Press club. The seminar was organized by the
National Association of UNESCO Clubs in Bangladesh in
cooperation with UNESCO Dhaka and Bangladesh National
Commission for UNESCO, Ministry of Education.
Sports
Federer beats pal Wawrinka
AFP, Paris
Defending champion Roger Federer showed no mercy to Stanislas
Wawrinka on Sunday, handing his Olympic gold medal-winning
teammate a French Open hiding as Andy Murray made an angry
Roland Garros exit.
World number one Federer beat close friend Wawrinka 6-3, 7-6
(7/5), 6-2 and nows faces Robin Soderling, the Swedish fifth
seed who he defeated in the final last year.
But his efforts were overshadowed by Czech 12th seed Tomas
Berdych who sent British fourth seed Murray to a shock 6-4,
7-5, 6-3 defeat.
Berdych's reward is a last eight clash against Russia's
Mikhail Youzhny who went through when final French hope Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga retired injured after losing the first set of their
clash.
Murray, a quarter-finalist in 2009, was furious that his match
was concluded at 2130 (1930GMT) in fading light and after the
tie had already suffered a 40-minute rain delay.
Berdych had won the first set 6-4 with Murray ahead 4-3 in the
second when play was halted for rain at 2000 (1800 GMT) and
most fans had already left Court Suzanne Lenglen believing
that the match would conclude on Monday.
But play resumed despite the dank surroundings and Murray
never settled, arguing constantly with officials as well as
berating himself.
"It was frustrating. I struggled after the rain delay," said
Murray, who was keen not to blame the gloomy atmosphere for
his loss.
"They put a lot of clay on the baseline and service line
during the delay, but at the back of the court it was slippy
and I lost my footing a few times.
"But I don't want to make excuses. They were tough conditions
but he just handled them better than me."
Berdych added: "There was the delay and the darkness, maybe I
handled it better. My coach told me that Andy looked like he
didn't want to play."
Soderling sent four-time champion Rafael Nadal crashing to a
shock defeat in 2009 on his way to a first Grand Slam final,
but Federer will be buoyed by his record of 12 wins in 12
matches against the Swede when they meet on Tuesday.
Soderling reached the quarter-finals with a brutal 6-4, 6-4,
6-2 demolition of Croatian 10th seed Marin Cilic.
Federer has reached the quarter-finals without losing a set
and is widely expected once again to be facing Nadal in the
final next weekend, but he was refusing to get carried away by
his smooth progress.
"I could have lost a set against Alejandro Falla in the second
round and today against Stan and after this, you never know,"
said Federer.
"So I am happy with what's happened. I'm playing well, serving
well and moving well. I hope it continues like this."
Wawrinka, who teamed up with Federer to win 2008 Olympic gold
in Beijing in what he described as the greatest night of his
life, picked up a code violation for angrily smashing his
racquet into the Paris clay as he slipped to defeat.
"Frustration. Nothing but frustration," said Wawrinka.
French hopes of a first men's champion since Yannick Noah in
1983 fizzled out when eighth-seeded Tsonga was forced to
retire with a suspected groin injury.
Bangladesh
League
Shuktara downs Arambagh 2-0
TBT report
Two second half goals from Rezaul Karim Liton helped Shuktara
Jubo Sangsad blank Arambagh Krira Sangha 2-0 in the Bangladesh
Football League at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city on
Monday.
Shuktara was the better side throughout the game but it failed
to find the breakthrough before the break. Shuktara players
came desperate after the change of ends and got the reward of
their hard work.
Liton scored just three minutes after the restart to being the
first success in Shuktara camp (1-0).
He doubled the lead scoring yet another on 56 minute to
consolidate his team's position (2-0).
Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society hosts Biani Bazar Sporting
Club of Sylhet today at the same venue.
The match kicks off at 4:00 pm.
Tulio hailed
in Japan
AFP, Tokyo
Defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka is being hailed in Japan
after scoring against England despite a third straight
defeat for the national side in the run-up to next month's
World Cup.
The Brazilian-born player netted early for Japan in their
clash against Fabio Capello's side in Austria but two own
goals-including one from Tanaka-allowed England to escape
with a narrow victory. "I am sorry for standing out on
both sides," the 29-year-old centre back said after
Sunday's game in the city of Graz.
"I really enjoyed it as I could go full out and we could
demonstrate how much we can do against such a strong
side," he said in a televised interview.
Despite another defeat for the Blue Samurai the Japanese
press was full of praise Monday for the attack-minded
defender after Japan went two matches without a goal.
"Leave it to Tulio!!" cried a banner headline in the
Nikkan Sports. The Sports Nippon said: "A bit of light is
beginning to shine on Okada's struggling Japan."
Japan slumped to a 3-0 defeat to a second-string Serbia in
April and lost 2-0 to Asian arch-rivals South Korea last
week, both at home. Tulio missed both matches due to
suspension and injury.
Tanaka put his side ahead early in the first half but own
goals from him and Yuji Nakazawa in the second half helped
an unconvincing England salvage a win.
Tanaka welcomed his eighth international goal since his
debut in 2006 when he missed the World Cup in Germany but
was named J-League player of the year.
"It's all right if I score when it matters. It's fun to
play European powerhouses," he told the Sankei Sports
daily.
Under-fire coach Takeshi Okada, whose goal of a semi-final
spot in South Africa has been widely ridiculed as
unrealistic, said his team had focused too much on
defending after opening the scoring.
"What we need to do from here is to raise our condition
and boost the thrust of our attack," he said.
Japan, dogged by a lack of firepower and physical
strength, face Cameroon on June 14 in Bloemfontein,
followed by other Group E matches against the Netherlands
and Denmark. They will play Ivory Coast in their final
warm-up match on Friday in Sion, Switzerland. Former Japan
coach Ivica Osim told Japanese media that the England
match was positive for Japan.
"They played in a way which made it difficult at times to
tell which side was England," said the 68-year-old
Bosnian, who coached the former Yugoslavia to the 1990
World Cup quarter-finals.
Lord's century sweet for Tamim
after Boycott blast
AFP, London
Tamim Iqbal was delighted to prove England great Geoffrey
Boycott wrong by scoring a blistering century in the first
Test at Lord's here on Sunday.
Tamim, whose dashing approach is far removed from that of
Boycott, one of the best defensive batsmen of his
generation, marked his first appearance at Lord's with 103
in just a hundred balls as Bangladesh fought back in the
opening fixture of their two-Test series with England.
The 21-year-old's third Test ton helped Bangladesh, made
to follow-on, reach 328 for five in their second innings
at the end of the fourth day -- 105 ahead of England's
first innings 505.
Bangladesh had won just three of their Tests coming into
this match-and lost all six of their previous encounters
with England.
Boycott, now a television commentator, had questioned
their right to Test status and that annoyed Tamim, who
starred with the bat during England's 2-0 series win in
Bangladesh in March.
"I was watching television last (Saturday) night and I
heard him say Bangladesh should not play Tests," Tamim
told reporters after stumps. "It made me determined to do
something."
However, Tamim insisted he had no ill feeling towards
Boycott and would love to pick the former Yorkshire
opener's brains.
"I would love to speak to Geoff Boycott. I would like to
learn lots of things from him. He was a good player. I
want to learn because I love cricket." Asked what exactly
Boycott could teach him, Tamim replied: "Maybe defence.
There are lots of guys who are attacking and they can
teach me that.
"Geoff was a good defender, I think."
Tamim had made four fifties in five previous innings
against England, including one in this match, but there
was no disguising his joy when he completed a century that
meant his would be alongside some of cricket's greatest
names on the Lord's honours boards.
"It feels great, because it's at Lord's, and I was just
speaking to Pete who looks after the honours board and the
players, and I asked if he can make a fifty board for me,
but he said 'no, you'll get there'.
"So I promised him I wouldn't leave Lord's without a
hundred and now I've done it, I'm really proud," Tamim
said.
Bangladesh have only been a Test nation for 10 years and
Tamim added that needed to be taken into account when
their performances were criticised.
"If you start a chocolate company, you can't compete with
Cadbury in the first ten years, because it's a big
company. "It will take time to be like them."
Tamim's century was all the more impressive as he came
into this match with a left wrist injury which he
aggravated while fielding at Lord's.
He thanked Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and Jamie
Siddons, the team's Australian coach, for trusting him to
make a decision on his own fitness.
"Shakib, who is a good friend of mine, came to me and said
'just have a go'.
"Jamie said 'if you don't score in this Test match, that's
fine with us.'"
Tamim, asked if he had any offers to play for an English
county, replied: "No. Maybe they don't know my number.
Maybe even I don't know my number actually. If I continue
playing the way I am playing now, I think there will be
lots of offers."
Bangladesh now has a chance of at least a draw and Tamim
said: "It would be a good achievement because we had to
follow-on."
Meanwhile England coach Andy Flower defended his side's
decision to go in with only four specialist bowlers on a
typically good Lord's batting pitch.
"I don't think the number of bowlers is the issue. I think
the way we bowled is the issue. I think the bowlers
themselves would acknowledge they have not performed as
they would have liked."However, the former Zimbabwe
batsman added: "Tamim obviously played a great aggressive
innings."
Amla propels Proteas to fourth
victory
AFP, Roseau
Hashim Amla continued in his rich vein of form, and struck
his third One-day International hundred to help South
Africa shake off 'dead-rubber syndrome', and win the
fourth ODI against West Indies by seven wickets on Sunday.
Amla collected nine fours and two sixes in another sublime
innings of 129 from 115 balls, as the South Africans,
chasing 304 for victory from their allocation of 50 overs,
reached their target from the very last ball in a
thrilling finish at Windsor Park.
Amla reached his second hundred from 94 balls, when he
guided a delivery from West Indies captain Chris Gayle,
bowling his uncomplicated off-spin, to third man for three
in the 30th over.
He shared 59 for the first wicket with the Proteas'
captain Graeme Smith, 178 for the second wicket with
Jacques Kallis, and 46 for the third wicket with A.B.
deVilliers that anchored the visitors to victory.
"It was a great effort from us to chase over 300 runs, and
we have to look at the positives from this performance,"
said Smith.
"Hashim's knock was an incredible innings, and the rest of
the guys batted around him very, very well. But I think he
must take the credit for a great run chase.
"We would have loved to have finished the game more
comfortably in the last over, and maybe we got a bit
conservative there in the end. But we successfully chased
over 300 on a second game pitch, and we are happy."
When Amla was dismissed, South Africa needed 80 from 76
balls, and J.P. Duminy joined deVilliers to carry them the
rest of the way in an unbroken stand of 80 for the fourth
wicket.
In a dramatic finish however, the South Africans needed
one run from the last delivery, following a sensational
final over from Dwayne Bravo in which he conceded a single
to deVilliers off the first ball, a leg bye to Duminy from
the next, and then bowled three dot-balls.
DeVilliers however, formalised the result, when he swung
the final delivery through mid-wicket, where Darren Sammy
fumbled it, and then missed a throw at the bowler's end,
as the batsman scrambled to make his ground.
The victory handed the Proteas a 4-0 lead in the
five-match series, after they won the rain-marred opening
match by 66 runs, under the Duckworth-Lewis Method, two
Saturdays ago at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in
Antigua, where they also won the second ODI by 17 runs
last Monday, and the third ODI by 67 runs last Friday at
this venue.
The series concludes this coming Thursday at the Queen's
Park Oval in Trinidad & Tobago, where the visitors will be
chasing a second successive ODI series sweep in the
Caribbean.
Gayle was obviously, very disappointed by the result,
although it came down to the very last ball of the match.
"Credit must go to Bravo for the way he bowled the final
over," he said.
"But to get 300 runs, and lose was not good.
"We should have scored at least 30 or 40 more runs based
on the start that Dale [Richards] and I gave the team, but
we were very disappointing in the middle overs again, too
many dot balls."
Finn and Strauss secure
England's victory
Cricinfo Online
In the end England's eight-wicket victory came with ease
on the final afternoon at Lord's as they comfortably
chased down 160 following Steven Finn's first five-wicket
haul in Test cricket.
Andrew Strauss guided the pursuit with a confident 82
after the visitors' last five wickets fell for 35 under
cloudy skies against Finn and Tim Bresnan, yet they have
done much to enhance their standing over the last five
days.
With the ball new and the morning overcast the odds were
always against Bangladesh delaying England long enough to
put the result in serious doubt. It took ten overs to make
the breakthrough but they then chipped away regularly to
wrap up the innings on the stroke of lunch. Strauss and
Alastair Cook were gifted a 60-run start by some woeful
bowling and negative fielding settings. The only tension
was to see whether the win would come before tea. Despite
Kevin Pietersen playing out a maiden from Shakib Al Hasan
some scurrying from the umpires ensured it did.
However, without Finn England would have had serious
problems dismissing Bangladesh twice in this match. The
21-year-old has led the bowling effort in both innings,
impressing with his maturity, accuracy and stamina.
Strauss gave him an eight-over spell on the final morning
and he responded with three further wickets to earn a
place on the honours board in his first Test on his home
ground.
Junaid Siddique and Shakib fought hard to survive and, as
often happens when pressure builds, it was one of worst
deliveries that made the breakthrough when Shakib cut a
wide ball straight to Eoin Morgan at point. Siddique had
again resisted stubbornly while England tried to pepper
him with the short ball and the tactic could well have
played a part in his demise as he tried to drive with his
feet planted in the crease and popped a catch to mid off.
That gave Finn his fourth and this time he wasn't going to
be denied a place on the board when he produced a beauty
that climbed and took Mushfiqur Rahim's outside edge.
However, he couldn't quite claim the scalp that would have
made him the first since Ian Botham in 1978 to claim a
10-wicket match haul at Lord's.
James Anderson endured a frustrating morning as his rhythm
continued to improve but was unable to add to his
collection. He produced a testing nine-over burst and
regularly beat the outside edge, but the closest he came
to a breakthrough was when Bresnan spilled a tough chance
at third slip off Mahmudullah.
Mahmudullah, who is batting far too low even taking into
account the nightwatchman, continued the defiance shown by
many of his team-mates. He and Rubel Hossain resisted for
10 overs until Bresnan found Rubel's edge as the No. 10
tried to leave the ball. It's been a difficult match for
Bresnan, and he came in for some guarded criticism from
Andy Flower on the fourth evening, but he closed the
innings when Mahmudullah had a wild heave in the last over
before lunch and ended with 3 for 93.
While Bangladesh's batting is making huge strides, there
progress will be held back by the weak pace bowling.
Shahadat Hossain's opening over went for 11 as he sprayed
the ball wide at Strauss, while Rubel and Robiul were
given an over apiece before spin came on from both ends.
Mahmudullah removed Cook as the left hander was given out
lbw on the front foot and replays showed the ball would
have gone over the stumps for the second time in the game.
Strauss, though, eased to hi
s second fifty of the match from 50 balls - nothing more
than a gentle net for the captain - while Jonathan Trott
eked along at his own sedate pace before Strauss was
caught behind cutting with 13 needed.
The final result was as expected, yet Bangladesh can take
great heart from the way they took the game five days and
made England dig deep. Strauss and Flower will expect
their side to be far more commanding in the second, at Old
Trafford, on Friday but the visitors will have ambitions
to make a mark of their own.
Jessore,
Jhalakati emerge zonal champion in Danone Nations Cup
UNB, Dhaka
Jessore and Jhalakati DSAs emerged zonal champion in the
Danone Nations Cup Football at separate venues across the
country on Monday.
At Bagerhat venue, Jessore DSA beat Satkhira DSA 1-0 to
emerge zonal champion after the two teams played to 1-1
draw in another match, while Bagerhat DSA defeated Khulna
DSA 1-0.
At the Barisal venue, Jhalakati DSA emerged zonal champion
in the meet beating host Barisal DSA 2-1.
In another match, Barisal DSA defeated Jhalakati DSA 2-0
while Barguna DSA blanked Patuakhali DSA 3-0 at the same
venue.
At Sirajganj venue, Sirajganj DSA crushed Rajshahi DSA
5-0, Bogra DSA blanked Naogaon DSA 4-0, Chapainawabganj
DSA beat Rajshahi DSA 3-0, Sirajganj DSA defeated Naogaon
DSA 3-0 and Chapainawabganj DSA edged past Bogra DSA 1-0.
At Rajbari venue, Rajbari DSA beat Faridpur DSA 2-0,
Narayanganj DSA defeated Munshiganj DSA 1-0, Rajbari DSA
edged past Narayanganj DSA 1-0 and Madaripur DSA played to
goalless draw with Munshiganj DSA.
At Thakurgaon venue, Thakurgaon DSA blanked Rangpur DSA
3-0, Gaibandha DSA beat Panchagarh DSA 1-0, Joypurhat DSA
defeated Rangpur DSA 1-0, Joypurhat DSA played goalless
draw with Panchagarh DSA and Thakurgaon DSA also played to
goalless draw with Gaibandha DSA.
At Meherpur venue, Jhenidah DSA blanked Chuadanga DSA 3-0,
Kushtia DSA blanked Chuadanga DSA 3-0, Meherpur DSA beat
Jhenidah DSA 2-0, Magura DSA beat Kushtia DSA 1-0 and
Meherpur DSA edged past Magura DSA 1-0.
At Gazipur venue, Netrakona DSA beat Sherpur DSA 2-0,
Tangail DSA defeated Sunamganj DSA 2-0, Sherpur DSA beat
Gazipur DSA 2-0 and Gazipur DSA edged past Sunamganj DSA
1-0.
At Brahmanbaria venue, Comilla DSA blanked Brahmanbaria
DSA 3-0, Chittagong DSA beat Feni DSA 2-0, Rangamati DSA
defeated Brahmanbaria DSA 2-0, Chittagong DSA edged past
Brahmanbaria DSA 1-0 and Comilla DSA beat Rangamati DSA
1-0.
Basso finds redemption
AFP, Verona
Italian Ivan Basso claimed his second Tour of Italy title
as Swede Gustav Erik Larsson won the 21st and final stage
of the race, a 15km time-trial around Verona on Sunday.
Surprise package Spaniard David Arroyo comfortably held
onto second place in the overall standings while Basso's
Liquigas team-mate Vincenzo Nibali edged out Italian
compatriot Michele Scarponi for the final place on the
podium.
But the day belonged to Basso who came home 15th fastest
but still earned his second win in his home Tour following
his success in 2006.
"I'm delighted, it was a really tough Giro. This victory
is something fantastic, it was a spectacular Giro that was
tense right to the end," said the jubilant winner.
The victory completed a remarkable turnaround for Basso
who was banned for two years in 2006 for his involvement
in the Operation Puerto scandal.
He finished 1min 51sec ahead of Arroyo who had so thrilled
fans with his valiant attempts to hold onto the leader's
pink jersey in the mountains.
Following the last two gruelling days in the mountains it
was little surprise that the top riders were not involved
in the battle for the stage victory.
Saxo Bank's Larsson posted the fastest time of 20min 19sec
on the course, just two seconds quicker than Italian
time-trial champions Marco Pinotti, who had led by 12sec
at the one and only time check.
Veteran Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov - another to have
served a doping ban - put in a good effort to finish third
on the day, 17sec down, to leapfrog Australia's Richie
Porte and take sixth place overall from the winner of the
Young Rider's competition. Larsson, a team-mate of
Porte's, said he was happy to have been able to ride for
himself.
"The race went well for me today. I just rode as steady as
I could. Yesterday (Saturday) after helping Richie (Porte)
to get back on in the climb to Livigno, I tried to take it
easy on the Gavia to preserve myself for today," he said.
"When I watched (Briton Bradley) Wiggins at half way, I
knew I had nothing to fear from him because he would never
go faster than me downhill but later on I was really
afraid of Pinotti.
"He was 12 seconds ahead of me at half way. But unlike
many riders, I got better in the last couple of days in
the Giro.
England tunes up for Australia
tour
AFP, London
England tuned up for its tour of Australia and New Zealand
with a confidence-boosting 36-26 win against the
Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
James Haskell, Shontayne Hape, Ben Foden and Mike Tindall
all touched down as England made the most of some generous
defending to cruise to victory.
Toulon-bound winger Paul Sackey scored a try in each half
for the Barbarians and replacements David Smith and Census
Johnson rumbled over to give the scoreline an air of
respectability.
England head off on Monday for a five-match tour that
includes two Tests against the Wallabies, two meetings
with the Australian Barbarians and a clash with the New
Zealand Maori.
All three teams will pose a far sterner test than the
Barbarians. The match did at least give England manager
Martin Johnson a chance to run the rule over a clutch of
returning players and new faces before the tour starts in
earnest a week on Tuesday.
Charlie Hodgson, back after two years in the international
wilderness, made a lively contribution at fly-half and
finished with 10 points before a bloody nose forced him
off, while the back row of Nick Easter, Delon Armitage and
Haskell were all prominent.
Scrum-half Danny Care responded well to the gauntlet that
Ben Youngs threw down with his performance for Leicester
in Saturdays' Premiership final. England made countless
linebreaks and Mark Cueto was a constant danger with
scything runs from deep but there remain question marks
over Hape at inside centre. England kept the pressure on
with good hands from Foden and a Steve Thompson charge
before the Barbarians were penalised for offside and this
time Hodgson converted.
France fails to fire in 1-1 draw
with Tunisia
AFP, Rades
France's preparations for the World Cup suffered a reality
check here on Sunday when the 2006 finalists had to come
from behind to snatch a 1-1 draw against non-South
Africa-bound Tunisia.
France turned up in Rades on the back of Wednesday's
confidence-boosting 2-1 win over Costa Rica in Lens. As at
Lens France's top scorer Thierry Henry found himself on
the bench with manager Raymond Domenech preferring to
start Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka.
Hugo Lloris was back in goal after having ceded his place
to Steve Mandanda who failed to advertise his claims
against Costa Rica.
The rest of the side was the same as Domenech stuck with
his new 4-3-3 formation.
The match was a personal milestone for Domenech, who drew
level with former manager Michel Hidalgo's record of 75
matches in charge of the national side.
The 58-year-old Domenech, who succeeded Jacques Santini
after Euro 2004, is stepping down to be replaced by
Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc after the World Cup.
France failed to assert as they had done last Wednesday
and were behind by as early as the sixth minute when lax
defending resulted in Isaam Jemaa tapping in past Lloris.
Tunisia had the French backline on the rack two minutes
later when Ben Khalfallah charged goalbound unchallenged
down the centre in a one-on-one with Lloris but the danger
petered out after he elected to pass to his left with the
move petering out.
France, notably with a searing shot from Franck Ribery
which skimmed just wide of the near post, had their
chances but went into the break trailing.
Domenech tinkered with his second half cast list,
introducing Henry on the left and debutant Marc Planus for
Ribery and Eric Abidal.
France got their much sought after leveller in the 62nd
minute when William Gallas headed in Yoann Gourcuff's
floating 30m freekick from close range, a welcome fillip
for central defender Gallas who is back in World Cup
contention after a calf injury.
The Arsenal back and Gourcuff were two of the few bright
points of France's performance.
France have one remaining warm-up, against China in
Reunion on Friday, before their World Cup campaign opens
on June 11 against Uruguay.
Jabulani is a ‘rotten’ ball: Casillas
AFP, Vienna
Spain's football stars panned the World Cup's official
matchball "Jabulani" as they trained in Austria Monday,
arguing it was too quick and hard to grasp.
"It's sad that an event as important as the World Cup has
such a rotten ball," Spain's keeper and captain Iker
Casillas noted from his squad's training camp in Schruns,
in western Austria. "This new generation of balls is very
fast and it isn't just the goalkeepers who are
complaining," he was quoted as saying by the Austria Press
Agency.
The ball rather resembled a beach ball, the Real Madrid
player said, insisting however that there was still time
to get used to it before the tournament kicks off in South
Africa on June 11. "We still have ten days until the World
Cup." Teammate and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez had
similar concerns. "This is a ball you have to get used
to."
"It's true that it is really fast. But we have to adjust
as quickly as possible," he noted.
The ball already drew criticism last week from Chile
keeper Claudio Bravo, who compared it to a beach volley
ball, "very quick and hard to catch".
"They created it to make life difficult for keepers, so
they make more mistakes and there are more goals," the
Real Sociedad player told journalists. "It's a very
particular ball... and when you hold it in your hands, it
feels heavier, it moves more than a normal ball." "It has
a special texture, which makes it impossible to catch when
it's wet."
"It's hard to calculate its trajectory, which is
unpredictable," Bravo also said, noting that match balls
that moved "in strange ways" were increasingly
complicating things for goalkeepers.
The Jabulani, which means "to celebrate" in isiZulu, was
produced by Adidas using the latest football technology
and its "grip'n'groove texture... allows for maximum
control, stable flight and perfect grip under all
conditions," FIFA insisted upon presentation of the
official matchball.
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