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Leading News
Emotional start of World Cup
Football tournament
AFP, Johannesburg
Africa's first football World Cup began in an explosion of
colour and emotion at an opening ceremony in
Johannesburg's Soccer City Friday, blighted by the absence
of a grief-stricken Nelson Mandela.
Fans wept openly as five planes swept over the stadium and
the iconic township of Soweto before 1,500 performers
piled on to the pitch for a choreographed dance routine
which saw them create a map of Africa.
Mandela was missing after his great granddaughter was
killed in a car crash on the way back from an eve of
tournament concert but his words were interspersed in an
opening song, imploring fans to "overcome all adversity".
Artists from the five African teams competing in the
finals then took to the stage, including Khaled, the
Algerian king of rai music, and South Africa's legendary
trumpeter Hugh Masekela.
Organisers had hoped that South Africa's first black
president Mandela would wow the crowds with an appearance
but he was instead mourning the death of his 13-year-old
granddaughter Zenani Mandela in a crash that police said
was caused by a drunk driver. Mandela is 91 and has been
in frail health.
"We are sure that South Africans and people all over the
world will stand in solidarity with Mr Mandela and his
family in the aftermath of this tragedy," said a statement
from his foundation.
"Madiba will be there with you in spirit today," it added.
In a letter to Mandela, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said
he had been stunned "to hear the unspeakably tragic news."
Mandela's lobbying was seen as the crucial factor when the
world football federation awarded South Africa the right
to host the tournament. "It was his dream to unite a
nation through sport that has been brought to life again
today," said a front-page editorial in The Star.
The main headline of the mass-selling Daily Sun read
simply: "Do It For Him!" on top of a picture of Mandela
clutching the famous gold trophy.
Ever since it was awarded the tournament six years ago,
South Africa has had to fend off accusations that its lack
of infrastructure and high crime rate meant it could not
stage an event of such magnitude.
Growth
target will not be very difficult to achieve: Muhith
BSS, Dhaka
Last year, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
identified implementation as the major challenge to
achieve his fiscal goal, this year he confidently came up
with the equation that growth target for the next
financial year would not be very difficult to achieve.
Speaking at the traditional post-budget press conference
in the NEC conference room in the city today, the finance
minister also defended the bigger allocation, which he
tagged as an urgent necessity for ensuring the vast
population the ultimate benefit of economic prosperity.
Planning Minister AK Khandakar, LGRD Minister Syed
Ashraful Islam, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury,
Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, Health Minister AFM Ruhul
Haq and Energy Adviser Dr Taufiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury also
responded to queries from the press.
Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad and State Minister
for Power and Energy Muhammad Enamul Haque were present at
the press conference. Muhith heavily came down on a group
of critics who often moan that the growth declined last
year without considering the impact of the financial
'tsunami' that the country faced during that time. "This
sort of criticism is just crazy," the minister said.
He, however, said that he was happy about the positive
criticism of Centre for Policy Dialogue (CDP), the prime
think- tank, which also organized a post-budget press
conference in the morning. The CPD observed that the
investment and growth in the agriculture sector should be
accelerated more to achieve the targeted 6.7 growth in the
next financial year.
Regarding the opposition's comments on the budget, Muhith
said that those were not valid comments as the proposed
budget already accommodated most of their proposals.
The minister, however, invited the Leader of the
Opposition and BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia to join
the budget session for discussions and give their opinion
for consideration. The finance minister outright trashed
the opinions of some political leaders and economists who
termed the proposed budget over-ambitious and were
doubtful about its implementation. "There is an obsession
about implementation [of budget]," Muhith said and
observed that the nation should come out of such a
negative mindset to see the prosperity.
PM
expresses optimism about implementation of the budget
BSS, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday expr-essed firm
optimism about implementation of the proposed budget and
said there is no scope to create confusions among the
people by terming it ambitious.
"Our ambition is to bring economic emancipation of the
people and we will be able to do it by the grace of
Allah," she said while talking to people from all strata
and journalists who went to Ganobhaban to exchange
greetings with her marking the day of her release from
jail.
The Prime Minister said none could say that the proposed
budget is anti-poor. This budget is for emancipation of
the common people, she added.
She said the budget for 2009-10 has been implemented in
most of the sectors. People from all walks of life,
including leaders of the Awami League and its front
organisations greeted the Prime Minister with bouquets and
flowers.
Jatiya Sangsad Deputy Leader and AL Presidium Member Syeda
Sajeda Chowdhury, AL Presidium Member Sheikh Fazlul Karim
Selim, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Advocate Yusuf Hossain
Humayun, Dr Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Advocate Sahara Khatun,
AL Joint Secretary Mahbub-ul Alam Hanif, central leaders
Dr Abdur Razzak, AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Advocate Abdul
Mannan, Abdur Rahman, Abul Hasnat Abdullah, former Dhaka
University Vice-Chancellor AK Azad Chowdhury and Jatiya
Party leader Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu were present on the
occasion.
Besides the Awali League, the leaders of Juba League,
Chhatra League, Jatiya Sramik League, Shecchasebak League
and Mahila Awami League presented the Prime Minister with
bouquets.
The last caretaker government arrested Sheikh Hasina on
July 16, 2007 and she was released on Jun 11, 2008.
"My release was not a big issue. To restore democracy was
the big thing. We held an election and democracy has been
restored - we must keep this democratic trend continuing.
Country's development is not possible without democracy,"
the Prime Minister told the journalists, recalling the day
of her release from jail.
CPD ON BUDGET
Growth target ambitious, success depends on good
governance
UNB, Dhaka
Terming 6.7 per cent GDP growth target as ambitious,
Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD), a civil society
think-tank, thinks that implementation of the proposed
budget for the fiscal 2010-2011 will be the key challenge
for the government.
"Success of the implementation of the budgetary proposals
and targets will hinge on the effectiveness of delivery,
efficiency, transparency of development administration and
good governance," CPD executive director Prof Mustafizur
Rahman said on Friday.
He said attaining the target of 6.7 per cent economic
growth for the coming fiscal would be challenging. "A
growth rate of 6.0-6.5 per cent would have been more
realistic." Prof Mustafiz made the observations at a press
brief at city's BRAC Inn while presenting the CPD's
analysis on the proposed national budget.
He said the government overlooked some crucial reforms
agendas promised in the previous budget, which are
essential for ensuring accountability and transparency in
development management.
"Certain reforms initiatives were missing in the Finance
Minister's speech. There was no mention about Regulatory
Reforms Commission (RRC) or Better Business Forum (BBF),
decentralization of public policy administration, reforms
in rescheduling private sector loans and special
monitoring arrangement of the development programmes
through Critical Path Method (CMP)."
The CPD executive director noted that the government has
successfully carried out some of the reforms measures
proposed for the current fiscal. He, however, expressed
doubt over the GDP growth target for the next fiscal and
said: "To achieve 6.7 per cent GDP (gross domestic
product) growth in the coming fiscal will be tough. Our
investment structure indicates it."
Prof Mustafiz said the growth rate cannot be increased
without increasing the volume of investment. "It's quite
possible to achieve 8 per cent growth by 2015 for
Bangladesh if investment and project implementation can be
increased."
He thinks that the persistent fall in growth rate in the
last three years was due to global downturn but it is now
increasing gradually.
Replying to a question, he said: "We don't think it's a
big budget. We only need proper implementation of the
budgetary proposals through 'blending development and good
governance'. The first year was a preparatory year for the
government but the coming year should be the year of
delivery." Asked about increased allocation for defense
sector, the CPD executive director said: "I think it's a
political decision."
On whitening undisclosed money, he said it is still not
clear whether scope will be created for whitening
undisclosed money. "We've to wait to be sure of it."
CPD thinks the growth rate of the current fiscal will
remain higher than the estimate of Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS), Prof Mustafiz said. "Though Finance
Minister Muhith in his budget speech said the growth rate
would be 6 per cent, we think it will be between 5.5 and 6
per cent or less than 6 per cent."
60,000
people marooned in flash flood in Bianibazar
UNB, Bianibazar (Sylhet)
Some 60,000 people have been marooned in Bianibazar
upazila due to flash flood caused by incessant rain and
onrush of hill waters from across the border.
Surma and Kushiara rivers are flowing above the danger
level. Most portion of Sylhet-Bianibazar regional highway
went under water due to the flashflood, disrupting
communications between the upazila and other parts of the
district. Most of the areas of the upazlia - Tilpara,
Boiragibazar, Mathiura, Kurar bazaar, Sheola, Dubug,
Charkhai, Alinagar and two-third portion of the upazila
headquarters have already gone under water.
UNO Subrata Kumer Dey said 138 primary schools in the
upazila have been announced as shelter centers.
About 300 families have already taken shelter in the
primary schools, he said. Flood victims alleged that
upazila parishad distributed relief among the flood
victims which was quite insufficient.
3 pirates
killed in shootout in Barguna
UNB, Barguna
Three pirates were killed and two RAB members seriously
injured in a shootout between RAB and Coast Guards and
pirates in Baleshwar river near Chardoani in Patharghata
upazila early hours of Friday.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of Rapid Action
Battalion and Coast Guards conducted a drive in the area
at about 2 am and challenged a trawler carrying 15/20
pirates of 'Raju Bahini' while they were heading towards
deep sea area to commit piracy. Sensing the presence of
RAB and Coast Guard members the pirates opened fire on
them, prompting the elite force to fire back.
Three pirates-Kuddus Mollah, the leader of the gang, Aroj
Ali and Idris Ali died on the spot during the exchange of
fire while the others managed to escape.
Flight Lt. Shamim and Nayek Faruk Hossain of RAB were
injured during the gunfight. They were rushed to Barisal
Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in critical
condition.
Back Page
Business leaders for speedy
implementation of budget proposals
BSS, Dhaka
The country's top business leaders today hailed the
proposed national budget for 2010-11 fiscal and called for
taking necessary steps for speedy implementation of the
budget that eyes 6.7 percent GDP growth.
In their budget reactions, the business leaders termed the
budget proposal as positive gestures towards achieving
higher economic growth than ever.
President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce
and Industry (FBCCI) Annisul Huq welcomed the increased
allocation in power and energy sectors.
In his reaction to the proposed national budget, he said
the business community was happy that the power and energy
sector allocations were increased by 80 percent this year
compared to previous year.
The FBCCI president lauded the proposal for prioritizing
allocation for manpower development, and increased
allocation for social safety net.
"The government has shown its seriousness in addressing
the problems in different fields, including
infrastructure. This was suggested by business leaders in
our pre-budget discussions," said the president of the
country's apex trade body.
Abul Kasem Khan, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce
and Industry (DCCI), suggested for capacity building of
Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company
Limited (BAPEX) so that the state-run company can explore
gas by utilizing its own equipment.
It is encouraging for business community that the
government has proposed introduction of 'Tax Card', Khan
said adding that it was a demand of the business leaders.
The DCCI chief underscored the need for giving importance
on decentralized infrastructural development.
The DCCI president said the government should announce
coal policy shortly and zero duty for import of raw
materials of renewable energy.
He described the government as digital government and said
it should waive VAT on import of mobile SIM cards and
telecom tools to contribute to implementing 'Vision-2021'.
President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA) Abdus Salam Murshedi
appreciated the government for the budget proposals with a
special focus on power and energy sectors.
Implementation of the budget is a big challenge in the
face of global financial recession, said Murshedi.
BNP urged to join budget debate in
parliament
UNB, Dhaka
Awami League general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam has
urged opposition BNP to take part in the budget debate in
parliament and help produce a good budget through
threadbare scrutiny.
Replying to a question at the post-budget press conference
at the NEC, he said it is not correct that the Finance
Minister did not urge the opposition to attend the budget
session.
"I myself time and again urged them to join. If the
opposition joins the budget discussion, the nation will be
benefited," said Ashraf, who is also the LGRD Minister in
the Awami League-led Grand Alliance government.
He observed certain improvement in the domestic political
culture this time round as
neither the opposition termed the budget anti-poor, nor
the ruling party called it pro-poor before the
presentation of the budget in parliament.
"There is no street procession for or against the budget.
Undoubtedly, this marks an improvement in our political
culture," he said.
Ashraf said the new budget made a big allocation for the
LGRD Ministry to help fulfill their commitment to
strengthen the local government system.
He said in the past, the military rulers used the LGRD
Ministry to take away the people's right to vote. Now, the
grand alliance government has made new laws for city
corporation, upazila parishad and union parishad to
strengthen the local government bodies.
Ashraf expressed the hope that Union Parishad elections
will be held by next November and municipal elections will
also be completed by that time.
Economists, investors describe
proposed budget positive for capital market
BSS, Dhaka
Country's eminent economists and investors on Friday
described the proposed budget as favorable for capital
markets.
The proposed budget will encourage the individual
investors to invest more in the capital market, they said
while talking to BSS.
The investors expressed their satisfaction over non
taxation on income of individual investors from the
capital market.
Eminent economist and professor of Economics Department of
Dhaka University Abu Ahmed told BSS that the proposed
budget will play a positive role in the development of the
capital market.
Asked about imposition of tax on investing organizations
in the capital market, he hopes that negative impact will
not be seen in the capital market.
President of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Shakil Rizvi said
the proposed budget has fulfilled the hopes of the
investors of the capital market.
Shakil said imposition of 10 percent tax on income of
investing organizations in the capital market is not much
as tax rate in other sectors is four times higher than the
proposed tax.
Terming the proposed budget as positive for the capital
market, former President of the DSE Raqibur Rahman said
the budget will help expand of capital market.
All set for e-voting in CCC polls, EC
conducts dummy e-voting
UNB, Chittagong
The district election commission has completed its
preparations for introducing electronic voting system
through EVM (electronic voting machine) in the coming
Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) polls set for June 17.
Through this initiative, first of its kind, Bangladesh
enters into digital voting system on a limited scale - a
step forward to the modernization of the country's
election process after the preparation of voter list with
photographs.
District election commission on Friday conducted a dummy
election in the city's Jamalkhan ward on an experimental
basis, using electronic voting machines where a
significant number of voters exercised their voting
rights.
Earlier, Election Commission decided to introduce e-voting
only in ward number 21 (Jamalkhan) under the CCC that has
14 polling centers.
District election officer Md Dulal Talukdar said: "We've
chosen only one ward out of 41 for the electronic voting
system. If the initiative appears successful, it'll be
expanded all over the country gradually."
A total of 25,315 voters of Jamalkhan ward will have the
experience of exercising their voting rights in the CCC
elections through electronic voting system for the first
time, he said.
"It's a simple system. It doesn't require ink and seal.
Two machines - control unit and ballot unit - will be set
up in each booth," Talukdar said, adding that an assistant
presiding officer will operate the control unit.
The EC earlier came up with the decision for introducing
electronic voting system when experts from Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) agreed to
provide technical assistance for smooth operation of
e-voting machines.
The EC, under the Local Government (City Corporation) Act
2009, finalized rules for the use of electronic voting
machines in election for the first time in the country on
April 6.
The EC, however, had a plan to introduce e-voting system
in the Dhaka City Corporation election first.
Sources said the Institute of Information and
Communication Technology (IICT) of BUET, which will
provide the election commission with technical assistance
on the polling day, had produced 130 e-voting machines for
casting and counting votes.
6 killed in
Gazipur, Comilla road accidents
UNB, Gazipur
Three people were killed and 20 others injured in separate
road accidents in Gazipur on Friday.
Two bus drivers were killed and 20 passengers injured in a
head-on collision between two buses at Sutrapur in
Kaliakoir upazila on Dhaka-Tangail highway in the morning.
Witnesses said a Dhaka bound bus from Tangail and a
Sirajganj bound bus collided at about 10:45 am, leaving
two bus drivers dead on the spot and injuring 20
passengers.
The identities of the deceased could not be known
immediately. The injured were admitted to local clinics.
In another accident, an adolescent boy was crushed under
the wheels of a bus at Naojor in sadar upazila in the
morning. The deceased could not be identified. The body
was sent to sadar hospital morgue.
Meanwhile, two people, including a minor boy, were killed
and four others injured in a road crash at Baldarampur on
Dhaka-Homna road on Thursday.
Police quoting witnesses said the accident occurred as a
Dhaka-bound bus rammed into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw coming
from opposite direction, leaving all it's passengers on
board injured at around 11 am.
Two critically injured Bayezid, 3, son of Amena Begum of
Balakandi village in Titas upazila in Comilla and Abul
Kashem, 45, of Parkanda village in Banchharampur upazila
of Brahmanbaria district succumbed to their injuries at a
local hospital. The injured were admitted to Gouripur
Hospital in Daudkandi upazila. A case was filed in this
connection.
Countrywide rallies against
eve-teasing tomorrow
BSS, Sylhet
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Friday urged all
to join rallies at district and upazila level schools and
colleges to launch a social campaign against eve- teasers.
He said the eve-teasers are terrorists, as they
jeopardizes the lives of girl students.
The Minister said this while addressing a meeting with the
civil society bodies in Golapganj of the district.
Nahid laid stress on the need for creating a social
campaign against eve-teasing to ensure a congenial
atmosphere in all educational institutions as well as in
society.
Girls and women are being harassed and victimized by in
various ways and it should be stopped forever by building
a strong resistance and creating social awareness, he
said.
Ministry of Education will observe 'Education Day' as Eve
Teasing Resistance Day' on June 13 across the country to
check this social menace that harasses girl students, he
added.
The Minister said big gatherings will be organised in all
schools and colleges at district and upazila level with
the participation of students, teachers, guardians,
officials, civil society members, women organizations,
human rights activists and celebrities.
Meanwhile, letters have been sent to the deputy
commissioners (DCs) and upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs) to
observe the day.
Editorial
Government khas land
Newspaper
reports reveal that over 30 thousand acres of khas land of the
government in greater Dhaka district have gone under the
illegal possession of some individuals, organizations and land
agencies. Various quarters occupied the land of Bhawal and
Nawab estates through forgery. The Parliamentary Standing
Committee on Land Ministry has already formed a sub-committee
to identify and recover the illegally occupied land. The
parliamentary standing committee chief said some corrupt
people in connivance with some government officials grabbed
the property hiding the truth and the correct information. He
hoped that the land worth thousand crores of Taka would be
recovered within the tenure of the present government.
It is very unfortunate that influential people and land
grabbers continue to keep under their occupation huge
government khas land while the number of landless people in
the country is rising rapidly. At the time of liberation of
the country the number of landless people was around 32 lakh,
but over the last 36 years it has increased alarmingly to
about one crore. These people rendered homeless mainly by
river- erosion and extreme poverty are leading unbearable life
in slums of the cities or elsewhere in untold miseries.
There is government rules to distribute khas lands among the
landless people to mitigate their sufferings. But those rule
are not being followed properly and the woes and sufferings of
the landless people continue unabated. According to informed
sources, there are about two crore bighas of government khas
lands in the country. Had these been distributed properly
among the landless people, each of them would have got about
two bighas of land on an average.
But in rality, only a small number of landless people have got
allotment of government khas lands, most of which are under
the illegal occupation of influential land grabbers and
political opportunists. These people are so powerful that in
many cases in the past attempts to recover these lands from
the illegal grabbers have failed. Now, the government should
take bold steps to recover the khas land from illegal
occupation and distribute among the landless people.
River erosion
Another season of
river erosion is in progress and vast tracts of land are
being devoured at different places of the country.
According to a report, a sudden rise in the water level of
the Brahmaputra sparked erosion of its banks in Sadar
upazila of Sherpur district devouring 15 houses in
Charpakkhimari union, breaking four try-dams and
threatening two school buildings at Bepari Para.Bhagalgarh,
Bepari Para, Chuniarchar, Jungledi and Dakater Ghop areas
of Charpakkhimari union in Sadar upazila were the most
erosion affected areas where 15 houses disappeared in the
twinkling of an eye in the morning.
In Bepari Para, four of the six try-dams erected on the
Brahmaputra banks gave in to strong current and erosion,
threatening two buildings.
This is no isolated case. Different rivers are eroding
their banks and devouring land, crop fields and homesteads
in different areas. For example, 21 villages of Kurigram
and Kishoreganj have reportedly been devoured by river
erosion. The homesteads of 450 families there have gone
into river-bed and the affected people are passing their
days under open sky.
With the rise of water level, large scale erosion by
rivers is going on at different places of the country. The
mighty Padma has devoured two kilometre crop land in
Aliabad union under Faridpur Sadar thana of Faridpur
district. Jamuna river has eroded vast tract of land at
Saghata in Gaibandha. The river has devoured two hundred
homesteads and trees and crops recently. Two barracks of
Natarkandi Shelter Centre at Astamir Char union under
Chilmari in Kurigram has gone into river bed as the
Brahmaputra continues to erode its bank. Twenty families
rendered homeless by erosion are now passing days under
open sky. In Ulipur of Kurigram, river erosion has
rendered 200 families shelterless. Similarly rivers are
eroding their banks at Manikganj, Munshiganj, Shariatpur,
Bogra and Maulbibazar.
River erosion is a scourge for the people of Bangladesh as
it devours land and renders people homeless at different
places every year. During the last rainy season also,
river erosion played havoc with land and homesteads at
different places of northern, central and southern zone of
the country. The erosion of the Brahmatputra, some of its
tributaries and the Jamuna have taken a devastating turn
causing heavy damages to land, roads, homesteads, schools,
madrassas and properties in the northern region. The
mighty Padma in the central zone eroded its banks in
Faridpur, Shariapur and Munshiganj areas. This year also a
number of localities with huge agricultural land and
homesteads have been devoured by erosion in Faridpur and
Shariatpur and elsewhere rendering thousands of people
homeless. The erosion victims across the country are
passing days in endless miseries as they have lost their
land, crops and shelters. The government should on
emergency basis provide relief for them and arrange for
their rehabilitation on humanitarian ground.
Analysis
Resolving the water crisis
One of the most water-stressed countries in the
world, Pakistan faces a situation threatening to into grave
water shortage.
Humayun Akhtar Khan
In the early
1960s, the water table had risen to surface level in many
areas of Pakistan, causing water logging and salinity. The
government countered the menace by increasing the use of
groundwater through tube wells. Pakistan is threatened by a
water crisis once again, this time in a different sense.
One of the most water-stressed countries in the world,
Pakistan faces a situation threatening to into grave water
shortage. Direct rainfall contributes less than 15 per cent of
supply of water to crops. Of the cultivatable areas of almost
77 million acres (MA), only 36 MA are canal-irrigated.
Pakistan has the additional potential of bringing about 22.5
MA of fallow land under irrigation.
An average of 35.2 million acre feet (MAF) of water escapes
beyond Kotri every year, mostly in the rainy season. With
their flow patterns variable, Pakistan's rivers have higher
discharges in summer and lower discharges in winter.
Pakistan's dependence on a single river system means that it
has fewer choices than countries with a multiplicity of water
sources. Therefore, construction of additional water storage
facilities is critical for the conservation and utilisation of
water.
By 2013, Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma, which are rapidly losing
their storage capacities because of sedimentation, will have
lost almost one-third of their original potentials. This
virtually means loss of one mega-reservoir. Creation of more
reservoirs is an absolute essential also if Pakistan is to
meet the additional allocations required under the 1991 Water
Accord between the provinces.
Groundwater, which now accounts for almost half of all our
irrigation requirements, is now overexploited in many areas
and its quality is deteriorating. There is an urgent need to
develop policies and approaches for bringing water withdrawal
into balance with recharge.
Climate change is affecting the western Himalayas more
seriously than the other mountain systems of the world. In the
next few decades, global warming will increase river flows.
These, together with more rainfall, are going to worsen the
problems of flooding and drainage, particularly in Sindh.
Then, after the glaciers have melted, there are likely to be
serious decreases in river flows.
Pakistan has invested massively in its water infrastructure,
which is crumbling because there was little investment in its
maintenance. Apart from what the taxpayer contributes,
development money is scarce because users of canal water pay a
very small portion of the cost involved in the infrastructure
being kept in a good state of repair.
The solution to Pakistan's water problems has two aspects: how
the country can utilise its own potential, and how its
potential can be affected by India.
In accordance with the Indus Water Treaty between Pakistan and
India in 1960 under the auspices of the World Bank, Pakistan
receives unrestricted use of the western rivers: Indus, Jhelum
and Chenab.
India was allowed exclusive rights to use the waters of the
Ravi, Sutlej and Bias. The replacement works required by
Pakistan as a result of this treaty involved two major dams,
five barrages and eight link canals.
However, the treaty also allows India to tap the hydroelectric
power potential of the Chenab and Jhelum rivers before they
enter Pakistan, with the stipulation that the quantity of
water reaching Pakistan, and the natural timing of the inflow,
not be affected. Timing is an important issue because
Pakistan's agriculture depends also on the water's
availability during the sowing season.
One of the treaty restrictions on India is the limit on the
amount of storage for its hydroelectric projects on the Chenab
and Jhelum, and the amount is an element which can affect the
timing of the rivers' flow into Pakistan. The restriction is
losing its significance as a result of Baghliar Dam.
The treaty restriction on storage also required that India not
build gates for flushing silt out of its dams. This meant that
any Indian dam on the Chenab and the Jhelum rapidly fills with
silt. India used this feature as an argument in favour of
Baghliar Dam before the Neutral Expert appointed by the World
Bank.
Deciding in favour of Pakistan on three issues, the Neutral
Expert ruled in favour of India on the fourth: building of
gates. Pakistan is thus left without a mechanism for
protection against manipulation of flows by India. When India
chose to fill Baghliar it did that exactly at a time when the
filling caused the maximum damage to Pakistani farmers.
Baghliar is not the only dam India has built on Chenab and
Jhelum. India has commissioned 11 projects on the Chenab and
is considering 74 projects on the Jhelum. Another crisis in
the making is the Kishanganga hydroelectric project on the
Neelum River in India. The average flow of Neelum water will
drop by 21 per cent in Pakistan, which will not only cause
energy losses amounting to billions of rupees but also serious
environmental damage. In due course, India will have the
ability to damage Pakistan's resources.
Two things should be done immediately: the World Bank
arbitration process should be reactivated, and the pace of
work at Neelum-Jhelum should be significantly increased. India
is already doing that at the Kishanganga project.
Pakistan's water issues with India are about as important as
the resolution of the Kashmir problem. In fact, the two are
interlinked. Therefore, the resolution of the water issue
should be part and parcel of any process of normalisation
between India and Pakistan. Pakistan has to invest soon in new
large dams.
WAPDA's Vision 2025 should be pursued on a priority basis,
under which four storage reservoirs, Yugo, Skardu, Basha and
Kalabagh, are planned. One storage is urgently needed merely
to make up for the dams' capacities lost to sedimentation.
As for the years beyond 2025, Pakistan should start focusing
on other storage sites. There are many on the Indus and the
Jhelum and off-channel. There are also hundreds of small and
medium storage sites in all the four provinces, work on which
must be pursued. At the same time, the enormous backlog of
maintenance work on our water infrastructure must be taken in
hand.
Lack of transparency and trust has made the discussion of
large dams a very difficult process in Pakistan. Amazingly, in
most countries of the world, the lower riparian is the greater
beneficiary of new storages. Sometimes lower riparian regions
pay for upstream storage.
In order to build confidence once again, there needs to be a
totally transparent and verifiable implementation of the 1991
Accord and sufficient water needs to be guaranteed to the
delta. Large investments are also required for those who do
not have water and sanitation services in Pakistan's cities,
towns and villages. Pakistan also needs to invest in making
its municipal and industrial wastewater usable. Principles
have to be defined on how the cost of water infrastructure
should be distributed between the taxpayer and the user.
In the last two years the PSDP has been cut by hundreds of
billions of rupees. Rather than cutting other huge
expenditures, Pakistan cuts the PSDP to achieve IMF-dictated
fiscal targets. So where will the money come from for all
these water projects is a big question mark.
The writer is secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim
League-Q and a former federal minister. Email: huakhan@
gmail.com
Of Bhopal and
books
Moro is all heart about Sonia and all harsh about her
Congress mandarins. This may explain what one hears about
their different reactions. Sonia, say insiders, is for a
less belligerent stand on the book. It must be hoped that
she has her way.
J Sri Raman
Talk
of the quirks of fate. Today must have been a time for
India to remember him and his book about a tragedy that
has just turned more terrible. Instead, he appears before
us now as an author facing official fury for another work
of his.
Italian writer Javier Moro - and his French and more
famous collaborator Dominique Lapierre - had come out in
2001 with Five Past Midnight in Bhopal. Lapierre had made
some enemies in 1975 with his City of Joy, a novel about
slum-dwellers of Kolkata - then Calcutta - but the book on
the world's worst industrial disaster won him and Javier
only friends in India. The media and others must have been
quoting the authors' findings after a court verdict of
June 7, 2010, in the case of the Bhopal gas-leak tragedy
of December 3, 1984.
The entire country is indignant at the injustice that the
verdict represents without being illegal at all.
Just two years' imprisonment for eight Indians - with no
word about Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide, when the
toxic gas from the US multinational's plant laid a large
area of the central Indian city to waste and took a toll
on over 20,000 lives - seems less than a semblance of
justice a quarter century after the event.
As a review of the book put it in 2002, Moro and Lapierre
"show how Union Carbide ignored advice not to build a
pesticides plant handling deadly poisons in the middle of
a densely populated city, how its sales miscalculations
and subsequent attempts to force its Indian subsidiary to
cut costs led directly to the tragedy in which tens of
thousands died in the most horrifying circumstances."
Commentators, making pretty much the same points, are not
quoting any of this. Being cited, instead, are bits and
pieces from the latest of Moro's books, which some
luminaries of the ruling Congress party have brought into
limelight even before its publication in English.
The Red Saree: When Life Is the Price of Power is
supposedly a fictionalised biography of Sonia Gandhi, the
Indian leader of Italian origin. Congress spokespersons,
especially legal eagle Abhishek Singhvi not given to
frothing at the mouth, are crying foul over Javier's
alleged attempt to defame Sonia and deny her privacy.
Well, one hardly gets this impression from Moro's official
web page. "The adventure of a woman, the saga of a family,
the epic story of a nation" is how the page describes the
book. The florid blurb, however, barely reveals any 'fictionalised'
part.
As it sums up the story: "Cambridge, 1965. Sonia Maino, a
19-year old Italian student, meets a young Indian called
Rajiv Gandhi. She is the daughter of a humble family from
near Turin; he belongs to the most powerful clan in India.
This is the beginning of a love story that even death
cannot destroy." Gushingly, it goes on: "The Italian girl
leaves her world and her past behind for love, and
embraces the culture of her new country, India. A country
like no other, where twenty million gods are worshipped,
eight hundred different languages are spoken and over five
hundred political parties stand for election."
The statistics in that last sentence may be questionable.
But while it may be a flattering description of the odds
Sonia faced, it does not quite fictionalise her character.
The first 31 pages of the book, freely available - though
Moro has accused Singhvi of 'stealing' the English version
of the book before its release into the market - do read
like pulp fiction, but do not appear to defame Sonia. A
peek into the book before any possible ban on the book.
The story begins thus: "New Delhi, May 24, 1991. Sonia
Gandhi simply cannot believe that the man she loves is
dead, and she will no longer feel his caresses or the
warmth of his kisses. She will never again see that sweet
smile that one day swept her off her feet..."
Then comes the part that Singhvi finds offensive, even
outrageous. Sonia, says the book, thinks "of fleeing this
country that devours its children". She talks to her
mother in Italy, who asks her to return. Her grief in
solitude is broken by the announcement of a visitor - a
member of the Congress Working Committee.
"Sonia ji," he says, "I want you to know that the Congress
Working Committee, meeting under the presidency of your
husband's old friend, Narasimha Rao, has elected you
president of the party. The election was unanimous.
Congratulations."
Writes Moro: "Sonia stands staring at them impassively. Is
grief not something pure and sacred? They have not even
allowed her to dry her tears for the death of her husband
and the politicians are already here...She says: 'I cannot
accept. My world is not politics.'
The committee member insists. 'Sonia ji, I do not know if
you realise what the committee is offering you. It is
offering you absolute power over the largest party in the
world. And it is doing that on a silver plate. It is
offering you the chance to lead this great country. Above
all it is offering you the chance to take on the
inheritance of your husband so that his death is not in
vain.'
"Others join in. 'Sonia ji, we are making you an
unconditional offer,' says the eldest man, an astute
politician known for his skill in manipulation, and who
seems about to pull something out of his sleeve. 'Perhaps
the most important thing for you is that you will once
again enjoy the highest level of protection, just like
when Rajiv was prime minister.'"
Readers may wonder about the identity of this one. Could
it be, some will ask, Arjun Singh, coincidentally also the
chief minister of the state of Madhya Pradesh with
ill-fated Bhopal for its capital in 1984? This, however,
is a secondary question. What is more notable is that Moro
is all heart about Sonia and all harsh about her Congress
mandarins.
This may explain what one hears about their different
reactions. Sonia, say insiders, is for a less belligerent
stand on the book. It must be hoped that she has her way.
After all, the far-right Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has
made a fool of itself over a book - former External
Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh's book on Mohammad Ali
Jinnah. Must the Congress rush to emulate the example?
Besides, should more important issues than Moro not be
engaging the attention of the Congress, its president and
the government? Like some long-overdue relief for the
surviving victims of Bhopal?
The writer is a journalist based in Chennai, India. A
peace activist, he is also the author of a sheaf of poems
titled At Gunpoint
Viewpoints
Can we have a new UN please?
The United
Nations with its fine institutions and the movers and shakers
who run the world body are yet to unequivocally condemn the
Israeli outrage, let alone lift a finger against the regime.
Aijaz Zaka Syed
Is
there no limit to international duplicity and hypocrisy? Given
the intensity of global outrage over the assault on the Gaza
aid flotilla, some of us were beginning to hope that the world
might finally confront Israel. We were obviously mistaken -
once again.
OK, poor Palestinians have long gotten used to getting swatted
like flies and being at the receiving end forever. And Israel
has always gotten away with murder. But those killed in cold
blood in international waters were not some faceless
"Palestinian terrorists," as Israel calls them, but
international peace activists and aid workers. And mind you
they were not running guns or drugs but rushing the critically
needed aid like food, medicines and most mundane stuff such as
books and toys for children and bricks and cement for the
ravaged homes of Gaza.
This is why the least you expected from the so-called
international community and its so-called institutions was
some token action against Israel, or at least strong words
against its shocking and brazen acts against the unarmed peace
activists. The United Nations with its fine institutions and
the movers and shakers who run the world body are yet to
unequivocally condemn the Israeli outrage, let alone lift a
finger against the regime.
Helen Thomas, senior White House Press Corps member and the
considered doyenne of international correspondents, gave a
rare voice to America's sleeping conscience when she blasted
Israeli attack on the humanitarian convoy saying, "our initial
reaction to this flotilla massacre, deliberate massacre, an
international crime, was pitiful."
Ms. Thomas who's facing the combined wrath of the Israeli
lobby and fanatically pro-Israel US media for advising the
Jews to "get the hell out of Palestine" has been taped angrily
questioning the US policy on Israel: "What do you mean you
regret when something should be so strongly condemned? And if
any other nation in the world had done it, we would have been
up in arms. What is this sacrosanct, iron-clad relationship,
where a country that deliberately kills people?"
Ms. Thomas, who grilled 10 US presidents and survived, has
been brought down by the lobby and has been forced to step
down. So much for the much-celebrated Western freedom of
speech! Meanwhile majority of US media networks, manipulated
by the pro-Israel moneybags as always, are bending over
backward to justify and "explain" the madness of Israeli
massacre, spawning totally bizarre and ludicrous theories
about the activists brandishing weapons and assaulting Israeli
troops shouting "the Prophet's army is coming!"
IF the aid flotilla had arms on board, why it didn't use them
to defend itself? More to the point, how come all those killed
were shot point blank on the forehead and in the back? But how
can you argue with folks who live in a different world of
their own where ephemeral things like reason, common sense and
facts cannot break in.
What's new though? This is how Israel has always operated. It
sets its own rules of the game and always gets the blessings
of its defenders however indefensible be its actions. Only we
expected better from Obama, because of his own sublime
rhetoric and the incorrigible "audacity of hope". Clearly, the
more things change for Israel and America, the more they
remain the same. So instead of going after Israel that is
guilty of ultimate crime of murdering peacemakers and aid
workers, not to mention the humanitarian catastrophe that has
Gaza in its grip because of Israeli siege, the UN and world
powers have inflicted another set of sanctions against Iran.
There's talk of "shock and awe" all over again, vowing to
eliminate the "threat of Iran's nuclear weapons" and "Islamic
terrorism".
Pray who's the real terrorist here? The one who hasn't
attacked any neighbor, nor invaded a distant neutral country
in the past few centuries or one who has just killed nine
innocent people on a humanitarian mission? Who's the real
threat to world peace? Iran's antiquated nuclear program,
constantly monitored and "inspected" by the IAEA gray suits,
or a state that has been hoarding nuclear weapons for half a
century now and is guilty of wars against neighbors that have
killed thousands of innocent people and driven millions from
their homes? More ironically, all those ganging up against
Iran brandishing this new stick of sanctions have enough
nuclear weapons in their possession to blow up the planet many
times over.
CAN there be a better example of hypocrisy and duplicity? If
this isn't double standard, what is? Let's face it.
International institutions like the UN that were created
ostensibly to build peace and avoid conflicts and wars have
become playthings in the hands of big powers. They run the
world as they please, using these international institutions.
The UN, for which I have immense respect, has become a
toothless tiger because the real power rests with the Big Five
who rule and manipulate it with the help of their veto power.
As any student of political science would tell you, this is
precisely what happened with the League of Nations. With the
world powers refusing to take it seriously and using it to
push their own agendas, the league collapsed under the weight
of its own contradictions and double standards in no time.
The collapse of the league helped and aggravated the World War
II wiping out nearly half of Europe's population. When the UN
was founded by the victors of the World War II in 1945, the
failure of the league was supposed to have been in sight and
right lessons were supposed to have been learned. But look at
the crippling powerlessness of the UN today. It has become the
handmaiden of big powers despite the noble goals and
objectives that were at the heart of its inception.
I agree most UN agencies have been doing an exemplary job of
providing aid and fighting poverty, disease, backwardness,
climate change and other demons. However, the world body has
woefully failed in its chief objective; its raison d' etre of
protecting peace and preventing conflicts.
The UN has still failed to deliver 65 years after its
formation because some at the table are more equal than
others. Western colonial rule may have ended long ago but
their writ still runs in and outside the UN. The institution
that is described as the world's Parliament is sadly dictated
by the old jungle law of the might is right. The number of
times the US alone has used its veto power to block even
perfunctory resolutions condemning Israeli crimes against
Palestinian people runs into hundreds.
If this has to change, the UN must change to reflect today's
changed geopolitical realities. Isn't it strange that the
largest democratic body on the planet offers no real say to
more than half of its population? The Security Council that
controls the world body is restricted to the US, Russia,
China, Britain and France.
The Middle East, the cradle of civilizations, home to three
great faiths and the world's known energy resources, has no
say in the UN's decision-making process. A country like India
with a billion plus population is kept out in the cold. Ditto
Africa where life on the planet is said to have begun.
Representatives of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims are not
welcome either. In fact, the entire Southern Hemisphere of the
globe doesn't have a seat at the table. When will this change?
Why should the UN be the preserve of a select club? India has
been knocking on the door for some time, hoping to get a
permanent seat at the privileged table. But others must follow
suit too, pushing for a complete restructuring of the world
body. It's time to build a new UN and a new world order. A
just and democratic world is not possible without justice and
equality at the UN.
The
confrontation Obama avoids
Without a
serious American confrontation, argues Dr. As'ad Ghanem, a
visiting professor from Haifa University, the Israeli
prime minister has nothing to worry about.
George S. Hishmeh
Much
as the Palestinian leadership would welcome a US financial
commitment to the tune of $400 million to alleviate, in
part, the deplorable situation within Gaza, President
Barak Obama's pronouncements at the end of his one-hour
session last Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas fell short of the high expectations.
The Palestinians, as many others elsewhere, were hoping
that in the wake of Israel's recent massacre of nine
pro-Palestinian activists, including an American citizen,
aboard the aid-carrying flotilla of six Gaza-bound ships,
the American leader would be assertive.
The Palestinian leader told an investment conference in
the Israel-occupied West Bank last week that his message
to the American leader was that "we need bold decisions to
change the face of the region".
However, after their meeting at the White House, Obama
only acknowledged that it was "important for us to explore
new mechanisms so that we can have goods and services, and
economic development, and the ability of people to start
their own businesses, and to grow the economy and provide
opportunity within Gaza".
There is no doubt that Obama?"cares deeply" about the
Palestinian-Israeli issue, as he said, and promised "to go
ahead and move forward on a two-state solution that will
affirm the needs of Israeli citizens and will affirm the
needs of Palestinian - Palestinians who are desperate for
a homeland".
"And that means, on the Israeli side, curbing settlement
activity and recognising some of the progress that has
been made by the Palestinian Authority when it comes to
issues like security. It means, on the Palestinian side -
and I was very frank with President Abbas - that we have
to continue to make more progress on both security as well
as incitement issues," Obama also said.
Yet, there was no evidence of any boldness in Obama's
public statements. Sorely missing, for example, was an
outright condemnation of the Israeli assault on the
aid-carrying flotilla, as voiced by other international
leaders. One would have expected the Obama administration
to come up with some practical steps to lift the
unjustified Israeli blockade on Gaza, where some 1.5
million impoverished Palestinians have been living under a
tight siege imposed by Israel and, shockingly, Egypt.
According to Amnesty International, "mass unemployment,
extreme poverty and food price rises caused by shortages
have left four in five Gazans dependent on humanitarian
aid".
Israel's continuing blockade of Gaza, a form of collective
punishment, is a flagrant violation of international law.
Obama did acknowledge belatedly that the situation in Gaza
is "unsustainable", becoming, as the BBC put it somewhat
critically, "the latest of a long line of major figures to
describe the Israeli blockade" in this fashion.
During a recent meeting with Jewish congressmen, Obama was
said to have made "an overtly self-deprecating comment",
saying he had stepped "on a few mines as he took his first
steps in the Middle East".
Akiva Eldar, the Haaretz columnist, reported that "the
(Jewish) delegation left the White House assuaged, feeling
perhaps that a president who has been hurt by mines would
be wary of much bigger [Israeli] bombs".
He concluded: "It appears that the Obama administration
has realised that it will not succeed where its
predecessors have failed, in bringing about peace in the
Middle East."
In other words, "why should he fight with the Jews... when
Republicans are threatening to take over the House of
Representatives in six months...?"
One wonders whether Obama has been watching closely the
ugly campaign launched by pro-Israeli elements in the
media and outside against the much-respected and admired
White House correspondent, the 89-year-old Helen Thomas, a
Lebanese American.
If so, the president ought to realise, as Alison Weir,
executive director of If Americans Knew, noted in an
article published in Counterpunch, that "whenever Israel
commits yet another atrocity, its defenders are quick to
redirect public attention away from the grisly crime
scene".
By all calculations, the Israeli attack on the "Freedom
Flotilla" was a fiasco and a heavy price that Israel will
have to bear. Yet, surprisingly, there is no evidence
within Israel of any major movement to pull the rug from
under the Benjamin Netanyahu government, probably because
he has managed to woo both the left and the right to join
his government.
Without a serious American confrontation, argues Dr. As'ad
Ghanem, a visiting professor from Haifa University, the
Israeli prime minister has nothing to worry about.
Kan’s new job isn’t easy
Naoto Kan, the 16th prime minister in two decades, faces
pretty much the same roll-call of problems confronted by
his string
of mostly short-lived predecessors.
David Pilling
It
is commonly stated of Japan that everybody knows what has
to be done. All that is needed is a leader with the guts
to do it. This is a thesis largely devoid of merit.
Naoto Kan, the 16th prime minister in two decades, faces
pretty much the same roll-call of problems confronted by
his string of mostly short-lived predecessors. The economy
is stuck in deflation, public debt is rising, the
population is ageing and, more than 60 years after the
war, Japan has still not properly defined its place in the
world.
For the most part, the men who shuffled in and out of
office over those years failed to tackle those problems
not because they were weak (though most of them were), nor
because they were stupid (though some of them might have
been). They failed to grasp the nettle because Japan's
problems are not as easy to solve as commonly supposed.
Politicians have oscillated, sometimes dangerously,
between policy prescriptions precisely because there are
no magic wands. The Japanese public - portrayed by the
"just do it" advocates as impatient for the necessary
medicine - is deeply ambivalent about what is wrong and
how to fix it.
Look at some of the most commonly identified problems and
their proposed solutions and this becomes clear.
l Everyone agrees that Japan's gross public debt, fast
approaching 200 per cent of output, must be slashed
through a combination of spending cuts and tax rises.
Everyone, that is, but the markets, which have refused to
take fright, pricing 10-year debt to yield a stingy 1.3
per cent. Junichiro Koizumi, whose five years in office
are often regarded as a bright spot of recent
policymaking, came in with a cost-cutting mandate. For the
most part, he failed to implement it. Debt issuance
actually rose in the early part of his premiership as he
buckled under the realisation that spending cuts were hard
to find and that fiscal contraction could trigger a
downward spiral.
Tried and failed
l A counter view is that, rather than cuts or higher
taxes, Japan desperately needs nominal growth. Debt levels
have risen because the denominator - nominal gross
domestic product - has been stagnant. That is largely the
result of deflation. The shopping list of prescriptions is
long: reflate the economy through more aggressive monetary
policy or an inflation target; privatise the postal bank;
deregulate industry and encourage foreign investment.
Apart from an inflation target, all have been tried.
l Most people agree that deflation is public enemy No 1.
Well, not Japan's central bank, which has come to the
unstated conclusion that it can live with mildly falling
prices. To be fair, the bank tried quantitative easing
long before unconventional monetary policy became
fashionable elsewhere. It had almost no impact. So divided
is the debate, there is even a voluble minority that
proposes an increase in interest rates - stuck at zero for
more than a decade - as a way of putting money into
savers' pockets.
l Sales tax, at just five per cent, has long been
identified as the obvious way of raising revenue. Kan, a
convert, would like to double it to 10 per cent. But the
tax has a troubled record. When it was increased from
three to five per cent in 1997, the economy tumbled into
recession. Retail sales fell steadily for the next seven
years.
l Japan is deeply divided about whether it should embrace
market capitalism, the theme of Koizumi's premiership. The
ousting of the Liberal Democratic Party last year was
partly a backlash against these ideas. The public
continues to want US levels of tax with Swedish levels of
welfare. It is a nice thought.
l There are no easy choices on foreign policy either.
Washington would like Japan to contribute more to
international security. But the Japanese remain attached
to their (American-imposed) pacifist constitution. Many
resent Japan's role of US poodle, though they greatly
value US protection - an ambivalence that helps explain
the disastrous tug-of-war over the Futenma airbase that
led to last week's resignation of Yukio Hatoyama as prime
minister. Japan's foreign policy is further strained by
divisions over how to deal with a more assertive China -
by moving closer to Beijing or by clinging even tighter to
Washington's skirts.
Japan's leaders have shirked hard choices. Also, their
system is not conducive to producing strong leaders. But
it is wrong to suggest the answers are obvious. If Kan
doesn't already know that, he will soon find out.
International
US missiles kill
15 in NW Pakistan
AP, Islamabad
A volley of U.S. missiles killed 15 alleged militants in
an extremist stronghold in northwestern Pakistan on
Friday, the second such strike in less than 12 hours,
officials said.
The Obama administration regards missile attacks from
drone aircraft as a key weapon against al-Qaida and the
Taliban close to the Afghan border. Last month, al-Qaida's
reputed No. 3 official, Mustafa al-Yazid, was reported
killed in a similar strike in the North Waziristan region.
Six missiles were fired in Friday's attack on a house in a
village close to the border, two intelligence officers
said. They were not authorized to give their names.
Yousaf Khan, a government administrator in the region's
main town of Miran Shah, said 15 alleged militants were
killed. He said officers were still gathering information
about the identities of the victims. Late Thursday, two
people were killed in another strike in North Waziristan.
Officials did not say whether they were believed to be
militants.
Pakistan is under pressure to launch a military offensive
in the region, but the army says it is too stretched and
committed to other parts of the border region to do so
anytime soon.
There have been more than 35 suspected missile strikes
this year alone, the highest tempo since the attacks began
in earnest in 2008. The attacks have killed many hundreds
of people, most identified by Pakistani officials after
the strikes as suspected militants.
There have also been many accounts of civilian deaths.
Washington does not acknowledge firing the missiles, let
alone say who they are killing. Critics say the attacks
may violate international law
and amount to extrajudicial killings.
Pakistan's government publicly opposes the strikes to
prevent domestic critics from accusing it of conspiring
with United States in killing its own citizens. But it is
widely believed to provide intelligence assistance for at
least some of the strikes. The drones either take off from
bases across the border in Afghanistan or reportedly from
secret bases within Pakistan. Also Friday, gunmen shot and
wounded a retired army colonel in the Pakistani capital,
police said.
The attackers struck as the former officer was in his car
and preparing to leave his Islamabad home.
The motive for the attack was not immediately clear,
police spokesman Naeem Iqbal said. However, targeted
assaults on military brass have occurred at least three
other times in Islamabad over the past year, killing one
officer.
Chinese man convicted
for selling two-year-old son online
AFP, Beijing
A court in China has given a 22-year-old man a suspended
jail sentence for selling his toddler son on the Internet
for 18,000 yuan (2,650 dollars), state press reported
Friday.
The man from the central province of Hubei sold his
two-year-old son to a Beijing couple in April last year
after advertising the child online, the Beijing Times
reported.
The unmarried Lu sold the child after he split up with the
boy's mother and decided he did not have the time or money
to raise him, the report said.
But after regretting the sale and reuniting with the
mother, Lu in June last year accused the Beijing couple of
child trafficking and demanded the police return the boy
to him when they refused to surrender custody. Following
an investigation and trial, the Beijing court convicted Lu
on Thursday of abandoning his child and meted out a
six-month suspended sentence with one year of probation.
The Beijing couple were found not to have committed any
wrongdoing, as Lu had admitted he lacked the means to
raise the child and they were willing to raise it, it
said.
Judicial authorities ordered the child be returned to Lu,
while the 18,000 yuan was confiscated by the court, it
said.
37 dead in Kyrgyzstan ethnic clashes:
Ministry
AFP, Bishkek
Thirty seven people have been killed and more than 400
wounded during ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, the
country's health ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"The number of dead in the Osh region during the unrest
has risen to 26 people," the ministry said. More than 400
people have been wounded, 43 of them critically, so far in
the ongoing unrest, it added.
Kyrgyzstan's provisional government led by Roza Otunbayeva
has struggled to impose order on the volatile Central
Asian state since seizing control during riots that ousted
President Kurmanbek Bakiyev earlier this year.
Witnesses said brawls had broken out between ethnic Kyrgyz
and ethnic Uzbek groups in Osh, once the stronghold of
Bakiyev.
Head of Thai protest probe
says won’t assign blame
AFP, Bangkok
The head of a government-commissioned probe into deaths
during Thailand's "Red Shirt" street protests on Friday
promised an unbiased investigation but said his aim was
not to establish responsibility.
"I am always impartial," said Kanit Nanakorn, a former
attorney general asked by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
to lead an independent inquiry into the loss of 90 lives
during clashes between armed troops and demonstrators.
He said, however, that the probe "is not aimed at finding
who should be held responsible and to punish, but to
establish the facts and educate Thai society."
Kanit also refused to set a timeframe for finishing the
investigation, saying it might not be completed by the
next election, due by the end of 2011 at the latest.
The main opposition party has said Kanit is too close to
the government, warning of a likely "whitewash".
The Reds' rally, broken up on May 19 in an army crackdown
on their vast camp in the heart of Bangkok, sparked
outbreaks of violence that have left 90 people dead,
including two foreign journalists, and nearly 1,900
injured.
The government has defended the use of armed troops,
saying they were only authorised to fire live ammunition
as warning shots, in self-defence or against "terrorists"
whom it has accused of inciting the unrest.
Abhisit has said he wants somebody who is sympathetic to
the Red Shirts in the panel to make sure all sides can be
confident of its neutrality.
Kanit said he had not yet selected the other members of
the commission, but would try to include "every colour" if
possible, referring to Thailand's different political
factions.
He said he planned to visit some of the detained Red Shirt
leaders next Monday at a military barracks south of the
Thai capital.
"I will try to invite everybody but they have to help me
solve the problem, not create another problem," he said.
Kanit, 73, headed a probe into alleged extrajudicial
killings of 2,500 people during a war on drugs under
ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006
coup and is idolised by many Red Shirts.
That probe was not completed but is now being reopened by
Abhisit's government.
N.Korea warns of ‘merciless’ measures
against S.Korea
AFP, Seoul
North Korea warned Friday of "merciless" measures against
South Korea for referring the sinking of a warship to the
UN Security Council.
South Korea, the United States and other countries accuse
the North of sinking the warship in March with the loss of
46 lives and are pushing world powers to censure the
communist state.
North Korea accuses Washington and Seoul of a "smear
campaign" to fake evidence of its involvement and says
reprisals already announced by the South, including a
trade suspension, could spark war.
It also warned the UN of "serious" consequences for peace
if it debates the sinking without letting the North's
investigators examine the evidence.
"As already declared at home and abroad, our army and
people will take merciless measures," a National Defence
Commission spokesman told the official Korean Central News
Agency. The commission, which is controlled by leader Kim
Jong-Il, is the North's most powerful decision-making
body.
South Korea's foreign ministry said Friday that a team of
investigators would brief UN Security Council members on
the sinking in New York on Monday. The team will present
evidence at the closed-door briefing, including a video
clip showing North Korean torpedo parts being salvaged
from the sea and forensic evidence linking the North to
the sinking, it said.
After a weeks-long investigation, a multinational team
said last month there was overwhelming evidence that a
North Korean submarine had fired a heavy torpedo to break
the warship in two in March. Seoul formally asked the
Security Council last week to respond to one of the
deadliest attacks since the 1950-53 Korean War.
But Russia and China, both veto-wielding members of the
council, have refused to cast judgement on the
investigation until they can assess the findings
themselves.
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Taliban plot to kill UK
leader Cameron foiled
AFP, Kabul, Afghanistan
A Taliban plot to kill British Prime Minister David
Cameron forced the cancellation of visit to a military
base in southern Afghanistan, a U.K. news agency reported
Friday.
The Press Association said a planned trip to a frontline
base in the volatile Helmand province on Thursday did not
go ahead after mobile phone calls referring to a possible
rocket attack on a helicopter were intercepted.
A senior Afghan Taliban commander based in Helmand and a
spokesman for the militants told NBC News that they had
made all arrangements to kill Cameron and had even
deployed a separate "commando squad" of Taliban fighters
for this "important task."
They said they knew when the British leader arrived in
Kabul that he would go to meet his troops in Helmand, NBC
News said.
"The task to hit a chopper that was supposed to carry the
British prime minister was given to our commando squad,
specially trained for such kind of missions," the Taliban
commander, who did not wish to be named, told NBC. "Even
missiles were installed in various places from where we
could hit his chopper," he added.
The commander said they were unable to carry out their
"mission" when the trip was canceled.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also made similar
claims and said Cameron was "lucky."
Taiwan court cuts former president’s
jail term to 20 years
AFP, Taipei
Taiwan's high court Friday cut ex-president Chen
Shui-bian's life sentence for corruption to 20 years in
jail, court officials told AFP, but an aide to the former
leader said he would appeal.
"We decided to reduce the sentence because we considered
the amount of embezzled public funds smaller than the
lower court," said chief judge Teng Chen-chiu, without
elaborating.
The 59-year-old former president was convicted last year
at the Taipei district court of embezzling state funds,
laundering money, accepting bribes and committing forgery
and was sentenced to life.
"Chen is very unsatisfied with the result from the high
court and will appeal," said Chen Sung-shan, the chief
secretary of Chen's office.
Taiwan's former first lady Wu Shu-chen's life conviction
for graft was cut to 20 years, according to the high
court.
Earlier the court had told AFP that Wu had her term
reduced to 14 years.
The court also reduced a fine against Chen of 200 million
Taiwan dollars (six million US dollars) to 170 million
Taiwan dollars, while a fine of 300 million Taiwan dollars
for Wu was cut to 200 million Taiwan dollars.
The high court met, with Chen present, in downtown Taipei
amid tight security, with uniformed police guarding the
court building, which was also ringed with barbed wire.
"Chen is innocent!" a group of supporters of the former
president chanted outside the court.
Iran’s
Ahmadinejad blasts US, says Israel is ‘doomed’
AFP, Shanghai
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday Israel
was "doomed" and singled out US President Barack Obama for
scorn after the UN agreed a fresh round of nuclear
sanctions against his country.
Speaking during a visit to the World Expo in Shanghai,
Ahmadinejad denounced the UN Security Council's sanctions
resolution adopted Wednesday with Chinese and Russian
backing as "worthless paper".
The firebrand leader accused global nuclear powers of "monopolising"
atomic technology and said the new sanctions would "have
no effect".
Ahmadinejad chose a visit to his country's national
pavilion during "Iran Day" at the Shanghai Expo in
preference to an appearance at a regional security summit
in Uzbekistan attended by the Chinese and Russian leaders.
Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Dmitry Medvedev of
Russia were in Tashkent Friday for the summit of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The SCO was set Friday to snub Iran's membership bid,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated, leaving
Tehran increasingly isolated over its refusal to renounce
uranium enrichment.
Ahmadinejad's visit to the Expo comes at a delicate time
in Tehran's relations with its ally China, one of the five
permanent veto-wielding members of the Security Council.
His government had earlier reacted furiously to China's
decision to fall into line with the United States and
other powers that accuse Iran of covertly trying to build
nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad shied away from criticising China, which has
emerged as Iran's closest trading partner.
"The main problem is the US administration, and we have no
problem with others," he told reporters, accusing the
United States of seeking to "swallow" the Middle East.
Swatting aside the US leader's offers of dialogue and
rapprochement if Iran relents on its nuclear ambitions,
Ahmadinejad said: "I think President Obama has made a big
mistake... he knows the resolution will have no effect.
"Very soon he will come to understand he has not made the
right choice and he has blocked the way to having friendly
ties with the Iranian people."
Russia presses demands for high-tech
French warships
AFP, Paris
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with President
Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday as Moscow pressed demands that
French warships it wants to buy should come with high-tech
equipment.
The sale of the Mistral-class assault ships is widely seen
as France's most ambitious bid yet to reach out to Russia,
but negotiations have stumbled, notably over Moscow's
demands for a transfer of technology. The deal would be
the first sale of advanced military hardware to Russia by
a NATO country.
Speaking in central Paris at the opening of a big
exhibition showcasing Franco-Russian cooperation, Putin
said France and Russia must work together to keep their
competitive edge in science and technology.
"The world is going through a difficult time and we have
to stand together to remain competitive," Putin said at
the event, standing alongside Prime Minister Francois
Fillon.
"In scientific and technological areas, we must unite our
efforts," he said before heading to the Elysee palace for
talks and lunch with Sarkozy.
Putin told AFP in an interview on the eve of his visit
that a deal on the Mistral, now under negotiation for more
than five months, is possible only if the vessel comes
equipped with cutting-edge technology.
France has said it will not lump sophisticated navigation
systems and other sensitive technology into the deal for
the ships, that cost about 500 million euros (600 million
dollars) each. "For us the most important thing is to buy
technology.
That is the future," reiterated Russian Industry Minister
Viktor Khristenko on Friday.
The sale of the Mistral warships, which can carry 16
helicopters and a 750-strong landing force, has also run
into complications over Moscow's insistence that three of
the four vessels be built in Russia.
"For us, this deal is interesting only if it is
accomplished with a parallel transfer of technology,"
Putin told AFP.
UN talks on climate
head into final day
AFP, Bonn
A new round of UN talks entered its final day on Friday
amid hopes that a proposed negotiation blueprint for a
post-2012 climate treaty would survive anger and
suspicions lingering from last December's Copenhagen
summit.
The document is being gingerly presented as a summary of
the many-and often hugely contradictory-views in the
194-nation arena about what the much-trumpeted pact should
contain.
If approved, it would form the basis of haggling over an
historic accord to curb greenhouse gases and channel
hundreds of billions of dollars to poor countries most at
risk from climate change.
But delegates feared there was a risk that the tentative
draft could come under fire at a plenary session on
Friday, where parties to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) were wrapping up their 12-day
session.
The talks in Bonn are the mid-way point to the next big
UNFCCC gathering, taking place in Cancun, Mexico, from
November 29 to December 11.
The document puts forward a range of goals for cutting
greenhouse gases, including the idea of slashing emissions
by as much as 85 percent by 2050 compared with 1990
levels. But these aims are not unanimously shared, and
there is likely to be furious debate over how to share out
the burden and how commitments should be scrutinised and
enforced.
In addition, the text still has big gaps, including the
legal status of the post-2012 treaty.
Russia signals halt on Iran missile
sale
AFP, Moscow
Russia signalled Friday it was moving to halt its
controversial sale of air defence missiles to Iran, in a
policy shift the Kremlin said was needed after fresh UN
sanctions over Iran's nuclear drive.
"S-300 supplies to Iran fall under UN sanctions," a
Kremlin source said, referring to the mobile anti-air
defence system Russia has long planned to deliver to the
Islamic republic.
"Thus this type of weapon cannot be delivered to Iran,"
said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity on the
sidelines of a regional security conference in Tashkent
attended by President Dmitry Medvedev.
In a flurry of statements, a number of other senior
Russian officials indicated that Moscow was changing tack
on the missile deal, in the pipeline for years but
strongly opposed by Israel and the United States.
"We will strictly and unswervingly follow the criteria and
requirements in the resolution" Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergei Ryabkov said in a statement posted on the foreign
ministry website.
Separately, Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the State
Duma's foreign affairs committee whose public
pronouncements are known to reflect Kremlin policy
thinking, said the S-300 sale had to be stopped.
"In the circumstances, I am opposed to fulfilling this
contract," Kosachev said in remarks posted on his Internet
blog and picked up by Russian media.
He noted that that the UN resolution adopted Wednesday
imposing fresh sanctions on Iran did not ban the sale of
defensive weapons systems like the S-300 complex to the
Islamic state.
But going ahead with the deal, long in the works, would
"breach the spirit" of the resolution and should not
happen, he said.
A senior Kremlin official with Medvedev in Tashkent said
documents were being drawn up specifying exactly which
types of weaponry could still be sold to Iran and which
types were barred as a result of the latest UN sanctions.
The S-300 missiles were "likely" to be on the official
Russian list of banned items, the official said.
Sanctions unlikely to slow Iran’s
nuclear drive: Experts
AFP, Washington
The harshest UN sanctions ordered against Iran so far may
fall short in their aim to curb the Islamic republic's
nuclear ambitions and secure further transparency, experts
warned.
In the short term, the measures will make it more
difficult for President Barack Obama and the other
international leaders to achieve their goals, said Daryl
Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control
Association.
He also expressed doubts for the long-term objectives to
persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment for its suspect
nuclear program, which the West fears is a bid to produce
nuclear weapons despite Iran's insistence otherwise.
The United States should not have dismissed the nuclear
fuel swap deal that Brazil and Turkey agreed with Iran
last month, Kimball said, calling the plan "an interesting
starting point."
In announcing agreement on a draft for the latest round of
sanctions just a day after Turkey and Brazil announced
their plan, Washington and its allies also rebuked the
very diplomatic path they claim to support, the expert
added.
In the end, Turkey and Brazil-both non-permanent members
of the 15-state Security Council-voted against the
sanctions while Lebanon abstained.
Those votes will encourage the Iran to respond "with more
defiance and bluster," said James Lindsay, senior vice
president of the Council on Foreign Relations think-tank.
The fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran bars Tehran
from sensitive activities such as uranium mining and
authorizes states to conduct high-sea inspections of
vessels believed to be ferrying banned items for Iran.
Mexico officials backtrack on
explosives claim
AP, Mexico City
Mexican officials on Thursday rejected claims that the
nation's navy had seized a cache of powerful explosives in
a boarding house in the nation's capital.
What marines at first thought was nitroglycerine - a
dangerous explosive - turned out to be glycerin - a
harmless moistening agent for things like cookies and
shampoos - according to the federal Attorney General's
Office.
Mexico's navy announced a day earlier that marines had
raided a hostel in the bohemian Roma neighborhood and
seized 45 pounds (20 kilograms) of powerful explosives. It
credited U.S. officials with giving information that
helped lead to the raid, which officials said might be
linked to organize crime.
The four people arrested in the raid were released on
Thursday, said Marisela Morales of the Attorney General's
Office. She said investigators determined that the
combination of chemicals seized could not have been used
to make an explosive device. In addition to glycerin, the
marines had seized nitric acid and paraffin.
The navy said Thursday that it had no comment on the case.
Meanwhile, the Defense Department released more details
about charges filed against the Zetas drug gang's
purported regional leader for Monterrey, who was captured
late Wednesday.
Israeli border guards
kill Palestinian after car hits them
AFP, Jerusalem
Israeli border guards shot dead a Palestinian man on
Friday after he struck two of them with his car in mostly
Arab east Jerusalem, police and Palestinian medics said.
"The man struck two members of the border guard with his
car, lightly wounding one of them and more seriously
wounding the other," Jerusalem police spokesman Shmulik
Ben Rubi said.
He said the border guards then shot him "after he fled on
foot and did not heed warning shots," without saying
whether the man had died or not.
Dr Amin Abu Ghazaleh of the Palestinian Red Crescent
Society said one man was killed and two others were
wounded in the incident.
Israeli police had earlier gone on high alert in and
around the Old City in east Jerusalem, fearing violent
protests in the wake of the deadly seizure of a Gaza-bound
aid flotilla by naval commandos that sparked international
outrage.
They also limited access to the city's flashpoint Al-Aqsa
mosque compound to men over the age of 40 and women and
children ahead of Friday prayers.
It was not immediately clear if Friday's violence had any
political motive.
The mosque compound, located in the Old City, is the third
most sacred site in Islam. It was there that Arab anger
over a visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel
Sharon sparked a Palestinian uprising in 2000.
Clashes erupted across mostly Arab east Jerusalem in March
over the reopening of a 17th century synagogue a few
hundred metres (yards) from the mosque and rumours that
Jewish extremists planned to destroy the compound. Israel
occupied east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War and
annexed it to its capital in a move not recognised by the
international community.
Business/Economy
Japan PM
warns ‘risk of collapse’ from debt mountain
AFP, Tokyo
Japan's new Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Friday pledged a
fiscal policy overhaul to reduce the country's massive
public debt mountain, warning of a Greece-style meltdown.
"Our country's outstanding public debt is huge," the
centre-left leader said in his first policy address since
taking office Tuesday. "Our public finances have become
the worst of any developed country."
After decades of stimulus spending and feeble tax
receipts, Japan's public debt is now nearly double its
gross domestic product, forcing the government to issue
ever more bonds to pay for hefty outlays.
"It is difficult to continue our fiscal policies by
heavily relying on the issuance of government bonds," said
Kan, the former finance minister.
"Like the confusion in the eurozone triggered by Greece,
there is a risk of collapse if we leave the increase of
the public debt untouched and then lose the trust of the
bond markets."
Kan has in the past advocated increasing Japan's sales
tax, although he has not specified plans that may prove
unpopular with voters ahead of upper house elections
planned for July 11. "It is unavoidable to launch a full
reform of the tax system," he said, also calling for the
establishment of a bipartisan panel "to review fiscal
rehabilitation and engage in constructive debate
together".
"If we maintain the current level of issuance of new
bonds, outstanding debt will surpass 200 percent of GDP in
a few years," he said.
Pledging to revitalise the world's second biggest economy
after its long stagnation, Kan said: "The duty my cabinet
must meet is to break the standstill that has lasted for
nearly 20 years and create a vigorous Japan."
He targeted average real GDP growth of two percent a year
until 2020.
Kan said his government would announce a growth strategy
by the end of June to promote green technology, encourage
exporters to find new markets in emerging Asian countries
and support tourism.
"It's been 20 years since the collapse of the bubble
economy in the early 1990s. Because the Japanese economy
had been in the doldrums, people have lost the trust they
had and fear the uncertainty of the future," he said. Kan
also promised to revive the spirit of his centre-left
party, which in elections last year ended a half-century
of conservative rule but saw its first premier resign
after less than nine months in office.
"My biggest duty is to go back to the starting point of
the historic power change, overcome the setback and regain
the people's trust," Kan said, admitting that "early
expectations of the government were rocked massively".
Kan took over from Yukio Hatoyama, who resigned over
damaging money scandals and after giving in to Washington
and reneging on an election promise to move an unpopular
US airbase off the island of Okinawa.
Reiterating earlier comments on foreign policy, Kan said
he would "strengthen relations with Asian countries while
regarding the Japan-US alliance as the cornerstone" of
Japan's diplomacy. He stressed that US ties safeguard
"stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific".
Kan said he would stick by Tokyo's agreement with
Washington to relocate the contentious Futenma marine
airbase within Okinawa.
Eurozone
instability ‘greatest threat’ to Britain’s recovery: Clegg
AFP, Madrid
Economic sluggishness and instability in the eurozone is
the "greatest threat" to Britain's own economic recovery,
British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Friday
during a visit to Spain. "Our economies are interwined.
Other EU countries are the UK's biggest trading partnets
by some distance-around half of all our exports go to the
EU and over half our inward investment comes from there,"
he said.
"That means that economic and financial difficulties in
the eurozone directly affect Britain. Indeed continuing
instability and a lack of growth on our doorstep is the
greatest threat to our own economic recovery.
"Quite simply slow growth in the eurozone means fewer
British exports, slower British growth, fewer British
jobs," he told an conference in Madrid.
Clegg said that the 27-nation European Union could boost
economic growth by "fully" implementing existing single
market legislation and extending the single market to new
areas such as the digital economy.
"The economic gains from full implementation of the single
market are estimated to be worth over two percent of EU
GDP," he said.
British economic growth picked up to 0.3 percent in the
first quarter as a weaker pound helped exports but there
are concerns that any overly drastic spending cuts could
jeopardise the gains and tip back into recession.
But Clegg said although reducing Britain's deficit was the
British government's "number one priority", it was "vital
that we protect and promote sources of growth."
China's currency policy threatens global reforms :
US
AFP, Washington
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that
China's refusal to revalue its currency impeded global
economic reforms, as he faced calls from lawmakers for
retaliatory action.
"The distortions caused by China's exchange rate spread
far beyond China's borders and are an impediment to the
global rebalancing we need," Geithner told a congressional
hearing on the US-China economic relationship.
Under the rebalancing effort, global leaders have agreed
that steps should be taken to strike a balance between the
huge trade surpluses in Asia and a massive buildup of debt
in wealthier countries.
"Reform of China's exchange rate is critically important
to the United States and to the global economy," Geithner
said, addressing US lawmakers' complaints that Beijing
keeps the yuan undervalued against the dollar for a trade
advantage.
Facing election-year pressure, lawmakers from both sides
of the political aisle have vowed to launch legislative
action in two weeks to punish China over its currency
policy, which they say has led to massive job losses and
factory closures in the United States and fueled a
ballooning trade deficit.
Geithner said it was "very important for China to
understand" that the legislative move enjoyed "very broad
bipartisan support."
Lawmakers on Thursday also sent a petition to the US
Department of Commerce calling for investigations into the
impact of alleged Chinese currency manipulation on the
American paper industry.
India’s industrial output up 17.6 pc
AFP, Mumbai
India's industrial output grew a better than expected 17.6
percent year on year in April, data showed Friday, adding
pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates again
to tame inflation.
India's growth in recent months has been led by
manufacturing and services as consumer demand continues to
improve after the global downturn. Factory output jumped
19.4 percent, while mine production grew 11.4 percent and
utilities six percent, in the eighth straight month of
double-digit expansion. Analysts had forecast monthly
growth at near 13 percent. Official data showed production
of capital goods surged 72 percent, while consumer
durables such as whitegoods rose 37 percent in the same
period. Analysts expect said the Reserve Bank of India
(RBI) will gradually raise rates but said immediate action
was unlikely.
However, it is thought the bank will announce a hike in
its July review, as inflation, including food prices,
causes concern.
India's annual inflation cooled slightly in April to 9.59
percent, from 9.9 percent the previous month, but is well
above the RBI's projected rate of 5.5 percent by March
2011. Annual inflation data for May is due next Monday.
Earlier this week, annual food inflation rose to 16.74
percent, as the cost of pulses, potatoes and fruits rose.
"We could see gradual tightening of rates, as inflation is
higher than expected," said Mridul Saggar, chief economist
with Kotak Securities.
Hasty finance market regulation
could hurt growth
AFP, Vienna
Some of the world's leading finance officials warned here
Thursday that hasty moves to regulate financial markets
could harm global growth.
"It will be important to consider carefully the content,
the timing and the calibration of the reforms in order to
achieve the right balance between stability and growth,"
Deutsche Bank head Josef Ackermann told a meeting of the
Institute of International Finance (IIF), of which he is
also the president.
The Washington-based IIF groups 400 banks operating in
more than 70 countries.
A report from the institute released Thursday hailed
recent efforts by governments to reform financial markets
but cautioned that worldwide economic momentum could
suffer as a result. It said the reforms proposed to date
under an agreement known as Basel III, formulated in
December by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision,
could trim growth by 0.6 points a year on average in the
United States, the eurozone and Japan from 2011 to 2015.
The tighter regulations could also prevent the creation of
9.73 million jobs in the three economies between now and
2015 and 10.12 million by 2020. "There is a price for
making the banking system safer and more stable, and that
price will inevitably be borne by the real economy," said
Peter Sands, Standard Chartered bank chief executive.
Wall Street rally pushes Asian markets higher
AFP, Hong Kong
A rally on Wall Street helped Asian markets higher on
Friday as optimism in the global economy returned, while
the euro held on to recent gains. Comments from the head
of the European Central Bank gave dealers the impetus to
seek more risky assets, although leading economists warned
there were still lingering concerns over the continent's
debt. The Nikkei rose 1.70 percent, or 162.60 points, to
9,705.25 as the weakening yen, caused by a flow of funds
out of safer currencies, lifted exporters.
Sydney gained 1.58 percent, to 70.2 points, to close at
4,505.5, while Hong Kong added 1.22 percent to end 239.68
points higher at 19,872.38. "Appetite for risk is
certainly back," RBS head of Sydney sales trading Justin
Gallagher told Dow Jones Newswires.
Wall Street gave a strong lead, with the Dow surging 2.76
percent on upbeat data out of Asia on Thursday that showed
Japan's economy growing quicker than initially thought,
Chinese exports soaring and Australian unemployment
falling. Markets were also given a lift after ECB chief
Jean-Claude Trichet said "the euro is credible, keeps its
value and is a major asset for domestic and exterior
investors." The dollar rose to 91.62 yen in Tokyo
afternoon trade from 91.32 in New York late Thursday. The
euro eased to 1.2110 dollars from 1.2122 but firmed to
110.90 yen from 110.71. The single currency was lifted in
New York by growing confidence in the markets, which has
led dealers out of safer investments. It is well off
multi-year lows seen at the start of the week. "The euro
gained the most versus the US dollar in two weeks as
market-friendly comments by Trichet helped soothe frayed
investor nerves about the eurozone debt crisis," said
analyst Samarjit Shankar of Bank of New York Mellon.
However, billionaire investor George Soros warned the euro
crisis was only entering the second phase while respected
economist Nouriel Roubini called for the ECB to cut its
policy rate to zero to offset the negative impact of
fiscal austerity. In Shanghai shares closed 0.29 percent,
or 7.36 points, higher at 2,569.94. The index pared
earlier gains after Beijing revealed consumer prices rose
3.1 percent year on year in May, up from 2.8 percent the
previous month and higher than the its target three
percent. The data has potentially put pressure on Beijing
to hike interest rates to prevent the world's biggest
economy form overheating.
But new loans issued by Chinese banks eased last month,
suggesting some of the government's efforts to cool
spending were starting to work.
80pc of Greeks fear social unrest
AFP, Athens
As many as 80 percent of Greeks fear the economic troubles
in the country could trigger social unrest, according to
an opinion poll published Friday in Greek newspaper
Kathimerini.
And the poll showed little optimism for the days ahead,
with 69 percent expecting the economic situation to get
worse and only 12 percent expecting it to get better.
Last month, Athens agreed a rescue package worth 110
billion euros (US$133 billion) with the European Union and
International Monetary Fund to cover its debt obligations,
on condition of a string of austerity measures to reduce
spending.
According to the poll, carried out by think tank Public
Issue surveying 1,019 people between June 2-7, 72 percent
thought the economy was "going in the wrong direction".
Despite the negative mood, approval of the left-wing Pasok
party, in power since October 2009 and the architect of
the austerity measures, was at 45 percent against 27
percent for conservative opposition, New Democracy.
The prime minister and president of Pasok, Georgios
Papandreou, was considered by 41 percent as the man most
capable of leading the country, against opposition leader
Antonis Samaras who received 18 percent.
However 40 percent lacked confidence in either leader.
Papandreou remains the most popular politician in the
country (53 percent), followed by Samaras (44 percent).
Both have seen their popularity drop by more than 10
points over the past two months.
Japan’s new govt plans to cut corporate tax
AFP, Tokyo
Japan's new government plans to cut corporate tax closer
to international norms as it tries to haul Asia's biggest
economy out of a long slump, the economy minister said in
a report Friday.
The government is aiming to cut tax on company earnings by
five percentage points next fiscal year, from an effective
40 percent now, the Nikkei business daily quoted Economy,
Trade and Industry Minister Masayuki Naoshima as saying.
"It's a fact that international corporate tax rates are 10
to 15 points lower than Japan's," said Naoshima, who is
part of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's new cabinet sworn in
this week.
"Over the medium term, the government will aim to bring
the rate down to around the global standard," he said.
Japan has the industrialised world's highest levels of
debt, and Naoshima said an enduring economic expansion
would lead to higher tax receipts that in turn would make
social security programmes sustainable.
"It is now the time to decide (on cutting corporate tax)
for the sake of future economic vitality, employment and
securing increased tax revenues," the minister said.
"Japan's economy has basically been in a slump for the
past 20 years and people have been overwhelmed by a sense
of stagnation."
US budget deficit shrinks
AFP, Washington
The US government's budget deficit shrank 28 percent
year-on-year to 135.93 billion dollars in May, the
Treasury Department said Thursday. The deficit was the
20th consecutive month of federal red ink. The latest data
brought the deficit for the first eight months of the
federal government's 2010 fiscal year ending September 30
to 935.61 billion dollars -- 53.35 billion dollars less
than the previous year.
Revenue fell in May to 146.80 billion dollars from April
but expenditure also dipped, to 282.72 billion dollars,
the Treasury figures showed. The May deficit figure was
lower than the 142 billion dollars expected by most
economists as well as the Congressional Budget Office, a
nonpartisan agency that provides economic data to
lawmakers.
Given the "minor differences" between the CBO and actual
data, there should be limited market reaction,
Briefing.com analysts said in a note to clients. The White
House had warned earlier this year that the deficit for
the 2010 fiscal year could swell to 1.555 trillion
dollars, eclipsing the prior year's record of 1.415
trillion dollars.
ECB's Trichet praises Greek economic reform efforts
AFP, Vienna
The head of the European Central Bank praised Greek
efforts to get its finances in order in a speech in Vienna
Thursday in which he reviewed the economic situation in
Europe. Greece had started to implement the ambitious
programme of economic reforms agreed with the
International Monetary Fund and the European Commission,
said ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet.
"This programme itself is an important achievement," he
added. "It is based on prudent macroeconomic
assumptions... It has the potential to correct
long-standing flaws, because it entails a very
comprehensive structural reform package."
The IMF, the Commission and the ECB would make regular
visits to Athens to assess progress, he said.
But he added: "We consider that the Greek programme has
the appropriate features to succeed... we have indications
that the budget execution in Greece in the first five
months of 2010 -- despite a painful recession-is on track.
"The central government cash deficit is more than 40
percent below the level over the same period last year."
Reviewing the rest of Europe, Trichet noted: "We see
encouraging signs in other countries too."
Banks must use profits to boost shock buffers
AFP, Vienna
Banks should use profits generated recently to enhance
their shock buffers, as the overstretched state is likely
to be less willing to help them in case of further stress,
a top regulator said on Friday.
"Public sector finances have been stretched and must be
consolidated. There is no public sector appetite to engage
in the types of banking sector support measures of the
past three years," said Nout Wellink, who is chairman of
the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
"Banks therefore must use their return to
profitability-which is due in part to public sector
support-to boost capital and liquidity buffers," he said.
"Significant risks remain in the economy and the financial
system, and it would be unacceptable if banks did not use
this opportunity to bolster their resilience to future
shocks," added Wellink, who also heads the Dutch central
bank.
After two dismal years in the financial crisis when
massive losses were reported by many top international
banks, state bail-out packages have helped to return these
ailing banks to profitability.
Wellink pointed out however that while they are now making
money again, many banks "have not done enough to rebuild
their capital buffers to support new lending activity."
The committee headed by Wellink's group of leading central
bankers and national regulators is aiming to introduce
proposals to strengthen international financial
requirements on banks by the end of 2012.
They include tougher minimum capital and liquidity
requirements.
The Basel Committee is also reviewing other possible
measures on "systemically important institutions", banks
that are big enough to have an impact on whole economies
and the rest of the financial system if they run into
trouble.
US casino cheating expert knows all the tricks of
the trade
AFP, Macau
Sal Piacente is a casino security firm's worst nightmare.
The native of Brooklyn, New York-whose business card
describes him as 'The Hitman'-has seen every casino scam
and promises he can pull a sleight of hand so fast that
even cameras trained on a blackjack table are useless.
Inside the booth of a major security firm at Global Gaming
Expo Asia, which kicked off in Macau this week, Piacente
shuffles a deck of cards in full view of the camera and
then pulls out the promised ace, leaving staff stumped.
"That was incredible," said one employee. "That wasn't
even the good stuff," said Piacente, 46, head of UniverSal
Game Protection Development.
Cheating has emerged as a serious problem for Macau, a
former Portuguese colony and now the world's biggest
casino market with about 14.5 billion US dollars in gaming
revenue last year, outpacing Las Vegas.
There are no reliable figures to gauge the cost of
cheating to casinos, Piacente said, but he warned that the
gambling powerhouse needs to take staff training seriously
if it wants to tackle the growing problem.
"This is big money here," said the 25-year casino industry
veteran, draped in a chunky gold necklace, bracelet and
diamond ring.
"And the industry is growing so fast that it's hard to
find good help. A properly trained employee will beat a
million dollar system every time."
Industry analyst Jonathan Galaviz agreed it was key for
operators to constantly assess their weak spots and devote
resources to the problem-many scams involve dealers
pulling an inside job with crooked gamblers.
"(Casinos) have to identify where the leaks are and what
resources are required to plug those leaks," he told AFP.
"Cheaters will always be one step ahead so it's important
for the industry not to fall two steps behind."
And now cheaters have cutting-edge technology, such as
mini-cameras, that make mirrors and other basic cheats
used throughout history look outdated.
"There aren't too many new scams but the technology has
changed," Piacente said. The false shuffle-keeping an ace
palmed in your hand-or using a card to knock a chip off
the table in the case of a bad hand without detection are
still most cheaters' tricks of choice.
"The false shuffle is the ultimate-it's the simplest and
the hardest," he said
Piacente concedes he is impressed by some cheaters'
skills.
"Sometimes I'll say 'damn, that guy was good' but other
times I think they should just get sentenced for their
lack of skill."
"I always knew how to cheat," he added. "I just never
did."
French official inflation slows in May, 1.6pc in
year
AFP, Paris
French consumer prices rose by 0.1 percent in May, a
slower rate than in April, putting 12-month inflation at
1.6 percent, official data showed on Friday.
The latest small monthly increase was driven mainly by
energy prices, although the 12-month figure fell from 1.7
percent in April.
Economists said they did not see strong inflationary
pressures for the next few months, but said that the
monthly increase would further erode slightly the buying
power of French consumers, already suffering from the
economic crisis and unemployment.
In April, prices on a monthly basis had risen by 0.3
percent. At consultants Xerfi, economist Alexander Law
commented: "Household consumption will have difficulty in
getting a second wind given that it has been under big
strains since the beginning of the year.
"But this does not mean that we fear inflationary tensions
in the next few months."
Analysts at BNP Paribas commented that the data showed
that underlying inflation, excluding energy prices, had
fallen again in May to 1.4 percent.
National
Major rivers again mark sharp
rises in Brahmaputra basin
BSS, Rangpur
The major rivers again marked sharp rises in the
Brahmaputra basin following huge onrush of hilly waters
from the upper catchments amid scattered rains during the
past 24 hours till Friday morning, official sources said.
With the frequent rises and falls in the water levels in
recent weeks, sporadic erosion devoured some riverside
lands and thatched houses in Chilmari, Roumari, Rajibpur
and Ulipur upazilas of Kurigram, Shaghata and Fulchhari
upazilas in
Gaibandha, locals said.
Sources in the Water Development Board (WDB) on Friday
told BSS that some riverside lands with unstable and sandy
soil-texture have been devoured in recent weeks at fewer
places and the erosion situation is still remaining under
full control everywhere.
The WDB and district administrations are closely
monitoring the situation and taking all necessary
precautionary measures throughout the courses of the
Teesta, Brahmaputra, Jamuna and Dharla rivers to contain
erosion, if any, the official sources said.
The Brahmaputra marked a very sharp rise by 49cm during
the past 24 hours and was flowing at 23m, which was 203cm
below its danger mark (DM) at Chilmari point in Kurigram
at 6 am on Friday. The same river also marked another
sharp rise by 51cm and was flowing at 24.49m, at Noonkhawa
point in Kurigram on Friday morning, 276cm below its DM.
The Dharla marked a sharp rise by 32cm during the period
and was flowing at 24.93m at Kurigram point on Friday
morning, 157cm below its DM on Friday.
The Ghaghot sharply rose by another 53cm and was flowing
at 20.40 cm, 130 cm below the DM at Gaibandha at 6 on
Friday morning.
The Jamuna marked sharp rises by 24cm, 23cm and 13cm at
Bahadurabad, Sirajganj and Aricha points during the period
and was flowing 103cm, 124cm and 230cm below its
respective DMs at these points at 6 am on Friday morning.
The Teesta also marked a rise by 5cm during the past 24
hours and it was flowing 60cm below its DM at Dalia point
in Dimla upazila of Nilphamari district at 6am on Friday,
the WDB officials said.
The WDB sources said the quantum of onrushing waters from
the upper catchments substantially increased causing rises
in the water levels of the major rivers at most points in
the Brahmaputra basin during the past 24 hours with no
flood situation anywhere.
The WDB recorded only 38mm rainfall at Kawnia, 4mm at
Dalia, 25.5mm at Chilmari, 27.3mm at Kurigram and 3mm at
Panchagarh points during the past 24 hours till 6 Friday
morning.
Sound coordination
between govt level dev agencies stressed
BSS, Rajshahi
Sound and intensive coordination between the government
level developments agencies is very vital for cherished
infrastructural and different other developments including
socio-economic of the city.
Some vital issues especially actual development of the
metropolis along with its service-delivery activities,
communication, fire control, natural disaster management
and drug control need to be addressed collectively.
Mayor of Rajshahi AHM Khairuzzaman Liton made this
observation while presiding over a review meeting of
various uplift programs being implemented by the
government organizations including the Rajshahi City
Corporation in the City Bhaban seminar hall in Rajshahi on
Thursday.
He also said importance should be given to implementing
the works of policy formulation, program undertaking and
execution of those concertedly.
After reviewing the progress of the undertaken programs,
he said if the follow-up programs were implemented
collectively pace of work will increase, standard of
service will be developed and misuse of money will be
reduced as a whole.
RCC Panel Mayor Sazzad Hossain and ward councilors Abdul
Hamid Sarker Tekan, Ansar Ali, Moniruzzaman Bablu and
Abdus Sobhan, Chief Executive Officer Ajahar Ali, Chief
Engineer Sirajum Munir, Chief Revenue Officer Syeda
Jebunnessa Sultana and Chief Health Officer Dr Abul Fazal,
commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Naosher Ali,
Deputy Commissioner Dilwar Bakhth, general manger of
Bangladesh Railway of West Zone Anhar Mahmud, chief
engineer of PDB Arzad Hossain, additional chief engineer
of Public Works Department Aminul Islam, additional chief
engineer of Roads and Highway Abdul Gaffar, superintending
engineer of Department of Public Health Abul Bashar,
regional director of BSCIC Nikhil Chandra Shaha, executive
engineer of Education Engineering Department Mosharraf
Hossain, deputy director of Fire Service Mijanur Rahman,
chief executive officer of Rajshahi Development Authority
Abdur Rahim and secretary of Rajshahi Education Board Prof
Tanweerul Alam were, among others, present at the meeting.
Sports
African dance fills stadium at World
Cup opening
AFP, Johannesburg
Hundreds of dancers filled Soccer City with the sights and
sounds of Africa for the World Cup opening ceremony on Friday,
representing the six nations on the continent competing in the
tournament.
The stadium, the largest in Africa, buzzed with the sound of
thousands of vuvuzela trumpets as five jets flew overhead, but
the stands were only partially full as many fans battled
gridlock traffic to reach the venue. Nobel laureate Archbishop
Desmond Tutu danced in the stands, wrapped in a yellow and
green scarf and beanie hat to support the Bafana Bafana
national side in their later match against Mexico.
South Africa's first black president Nelson Mandela had been
expected to attend, but he cancelled at the last minute
following the tragic death of his 13-year-old great
granddaughter in a car accident during the night.
But he delivered a videotape message spliced into one of the
songs, welcoming the World Cup to South Africa and imploring
fans "to overcome all adversaries". A traditional African
praise singer in animal skins opened the 40-minute show, as
dancers lined up along the compass points indicating the eight
other host cities around South Africa.
A giant dung beetle puppet pushed across the pitch an oversize
version of the official World Cup football, as dancers then
unfurled stretches of cloth to make a map of Africa, with
footprints showing the migration of humankind across the
continent.
South Africa's legendary trumpeter Hugh Masekela and American
R-and-B star R Kelly headlined the event that included 1,500
performers showcasing music and dance from the six African
countries participating in the tournament.
A baobab tree sculpted out of flags from the six nations
sprouted out of centre field, giving a stage to Algerian pop
star Khaled and Nigeria star Femi Kuti. The Cameroon national
ballet performed as did Ghanaian band Osibisa.
R Kelly was joined by the Soweto Spiritual Singers to perform
his hit "Sign of Victory", before the 32 competing teams were
announced with cut-outs of their flags spinning on the field.
Cannavaro
wants Italy to rediscover catenaccio
AFP, Irene
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro said on Friday that the reigning
world champions need to rediscover their traditional defensive
strengths if they are to compete for honours at the World Cup.
Italy begin their Group F campaign against Paraguay in Cape
Town on Monday amidst much uncertainty about their recent
form, particularly defensively.
Cannavaro, 36, has just come off a poor season with Juventus
for whom fellow Italy back-five starters Giorgio Chiellini and
Gianluigi Buffon also play.
It has left many people in Italy feeling worried that the
country's football team has lost its ability to keep things
tight at the back, as past teams always did, employing the
famous catenaccio tactic. And the captain knows that he and
his team-mates will need to rediscover their roots if they are
to go far here. "Defence is vital but that doesn't mean we'll
stay in our own half of the pitch," he said from Italy's base
here just south of Pretoria.
"It means being compact. We'll never play an attacking game
like Brazil, Portugal or Spain but they'll never be able to
defend like us. "In 2006 we had played for two years with
practically the same players. This year it's different, there
are new ones, there's been changes. That's normal because
there's a new generation. "The men are different but as for
defensive organisation we've seen that if teams are compact
they can go a long way. "That's something we've lost these
last few years and we'll try to get it back.
"The coach (Marcello Lippi) is trying to work things out and
he'll decide on Sunday (how we'll play). "He needs to try
things, that's normal. I don't yet know how we'll play but
he'll find the solution."
Cannavaro not only admitted that Italy's defence isn't what it
once was but also accepted that as a side they no longer have
any superstars. Italy once had players of the quality of
Roberto Baggio, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero in
their team, but no more. Even so, the captain believes they do
have those who can make a difference.
"Unfortunately Italian football doesn't have a player of this
high profile and hence the coach has had to go for other
options," he added. "But a superstar is not just about
technique, it's also about how a player can get his team out
of certain situations in a match. "And we've got players who
can do that like (Antonio) Di Natale, (Vincenzo) Iaquinta or
(Alberto) Gilardino.
Murray row
overshadows day of shocks
AFP, London
Andy Murray was involved in a furious row with Queen's
Club officials after the defending champion's third-round
clash with Mardy Fish was suspended on Thursday with the
match on a knife-edge.
With night drawing in at the pre-Wimbledon warm-up event,
Murray looked on course for a gritty victory as he fought
back from 3-0 down to level the final set.
The momentum was with the world number four but, with the
time approaching 2030 local time, Fish walked over to
umpire Cedric Mourier to insist it was too dark to carry
on.
After a brief conversation, the American made his way off
the court without a word to Murray, who stood open-mouthed
at the baseline.
Murray then stalked towards Mourier and engaged in a
lengthy diatribe. Supervisor Tom Barnes was called onto
court and the Scot continued his complaint but it was to
no avail as the match was postponed until Friday. "Mardy
says he doesn't want to play so we stopped playing.
The referee didn't consult anyone," Murray said. "He was
happy to play at 3-1. The only reason he wanted to stop
was because it was 3-3. This is absolutely ridiculous."
Murray's blast was the final moment of drama on a
remarkable day of shocks in west London. Rafael Nadal
edged into the last eight, but four-time winner Andy
Roddick and second seed Novak Djokovic crashed out.
French Open champion Nadal had things his own way
throughout the claycourt season, but the world number one,
who had to call for an injury time-out at one set all, was
pushed to the wire in a gruelling 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4
third-round win over Denis Istomin. Nadal was quick to
play down concern over his injury and said: "I'm feeling
very good. I just felt something behind the leg and I
wanted to check with the physio if it's something
dangerous or not.
"It wasn't an easy match for me. The day was difficult
too, with a lot of wind."
Israel's Dudi Sela beat world number seven Roddick 6-4,
7-6 (10/8) and world number three Djokovic was ousted 6-3,
4-6, 6-2 by Belgium's Xavier Malisse.
Marin Cilic, the Croatian fifth seed, also went down 7-6
(7/2), 6-2 against Michael Llodra. A rain delay at 4-4
didn't help Nadal's rhythm and the Spaniard had to strain
every sinew to finally subdue his resilient opponent in
the first-set tie-break.
Powell unsatisfied despite
year-best run
AFP, Rome
Jamaica's Asafa Powell maintained his superb form over 100
metres by setting a year-best time of 9.82sec at the Rome
stop of the Diamond League here on Thursday.
The 27-year-old Olympic bronze medallist had previously
set the best time of the season with a 9.83sec run in
Ostrava, Czech Republic on May 27 and said he was
disappointed not to have gone faster in the Italian
capital.
"I had a problem at the start and then in the last bit,"
said a rueful Powell, who ran 9.72sec with an illegal
tailwind in Oslo last week.
Powell's performance on a cold night in Ostrava was
technically more impressive than his showing in Rome,
where warmer weather and a slight tailwind should have
made quicker times easier to come by. French pair
Christophe Lemaitre, who is 20 on Friday, and Martial
Mbandjock finished second and third in the same time,
10.09sec.
Powell's compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser, the world and
Olympic champion over 100m, did not share her countryman's
good fortune at the Stadio Olimpico after being
disqualified for a false start in her race.
America's Mikkele Barber had suffered the same fate just
two minutes earlier and with false starts automatically
provoking disqualification this season, both women were
forced to leave the track.
Barber's American team-mate Lashauntea Moore eventually
claimed the honours in a time of 11.04sec.
Jeremy Wariner, Olympic 400m champion in 2004 and a
silver-medallist in Beijing two years ago, recorded an
eye-catching 44.73sec in his event after edging American
compatriot Angelo Taylor in a tightly contested race.
Elsewhere, Moroccan 21-year-old Halima Hachlaf maintained
his country's fine tradition in the 800m by beating
Kenya's Janeth Jepkosgei in a time of 1:58.40. In the
women's high jump, Croatia's Blanka Vlasic trumped rising
American star Chaunte Howard-Lowe despite competing on a
surface that she described as "too soft" for her liking in
the build-up to the event.
Vlasic's 2.03m was enough to defeat Howard-Lowe, who set
an American record of 2.04m earlier in the season.
Howard-Lowe's countryman Dwight Phillips, the three-time
world champion, set the year's best mark in the long jump
with a winning jump of 8.42m. Kenya's Augustine Kiprono
Choge took the honours in the 1500m, meanwhile, with a
time of 3:32.21. Lashinda Demus of the USA set the fastest
time of the year in the women's 400m hurdles (52.82sec),
while Kenyan Milcah Milcah Chemos Cheiywa's 9min 11.71sec
in the 3,000m steeplechase was the best mark of 2010 in
her event.
Messi can match Maradona
AFP, Pretoria
Argentina coach Diego Maradona on Friday expressed his
belief that Barcelona's Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi
can emulate his own achievements from 24 years ago.
Argentina begin their Group B campaign in Johannesburg
today against Nigeria, ironically the team against whom
Maradona made his international swansong at the 1994 World
Cup.
But it is for his exploits in 1986 when he almost
single-handedly won the World Cup that Maradona is most
remembered and the 49-year-old believes Messi can be every
bit as influential this time as he was back then. "I would
love to see that, I certainly would appreciate it if he
had the same impact on the World Cup as I had in 1986," he
said.
"But I think behind Lionel there's a whole team that
should back him up and he should be the cherry on the
cake.
"But when you look at the team of '86 and what they
achieved, it wasn't just about the attackers, although
they scored.
"I just wish from the bottom of my heart that Messi gets
to showcase his talents and has his best performance of
all time."
However, Maradona admitted that the little left-footed
wizard may suffer after a long hard season with Barcelona.
"Messi has played 63 matches, (Barcelona coach Pep)
Guardiola would take off other people such as Xavi but he
wouldn't take off Messi.
"But Messi knows very well that he can make the difference
in a match, that he can create goal-scoring possibilities
and if it's a very tight match, he can always score in the
next one.
"But this is what the World Cup is all about, there's no
margin for error and there's no guarantee that your
players will be playing at the top of their game."
Messi arrived at the last World Cup in Germany amongst
much hype having just helped Barcelona to the Champions
League crown but both he and Argentina flopped, going out
to Germany on penalties in the quarter-finals despite a
great start in the group stages in which they thrashed
Serbia and Montenegro 6-0.
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