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Leading News
Daylong hartal observed
Police fire tear gas, use batons in city; Several BNP
leaders among 200 arrested
AFP/UNB, Dhaka
Security forces in Bangladesh arrested more than 200
people Sunday as the first nationwide general strike since
elections in 2008 was marred by violence, police said.
In the capital Dhaka, security forces fired tear gas and
used batons to disperse hundreds of opposition activists
as they tried to hold marches along major roads, police
said.
An opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) lawmaker
was hurt when supporters and opponents of the strike
clashed at Dhaka University, police spokesman Walid
Hossain said, adding the man was rushed to hospital and
later arrested.
At least 12,000 policemen and the Rapid Action Battalion
were deployed in Dhaka to try to avert violence as the
shutdown brought much of the capital of 13 million people
and the country to a standstill.
Police said the strike had halted transport throughout the
country and disrupted business operations. In Dhaka, most
private offices, shops, schools and colleges were closed.
The BNP had called the strike to protest against what it
says is the Awami League government's failure to provide
basic services such as power, water and gas and against
"arbitrary" arrests and harassment of opposition
supporters.
The Awami League swept to power in January 2009 after a
landslide election victory on December 29, 2008. The BNP,
which ruled the country twice after democracy was restored
in 1990, was reduced to a small opposition.
Police used batons to disperse opposition activists,
footage shown by private television channel Bangla Vision
showed. The channel also reported that several people had
been injured.
At least 96 people, including two former BNP ministers,
were arrested during the strike and 120 activists were
taken into custody hours before it began.
"We arrested former public works minister Mirza Abbas this
morning on charges of torching vehicles," said the police
chief of Dhaka's main commercial district, Toffazzal
Hossain.
Opposition activists hurled small bombs and pieces of
brick at police but there were no casualties, he told AFP.
Thousands of BNP activists demonstrated in Dhaka in small
groups. Police cordoned off the party's main office and
banned marches in roads linking government offices and
ministers' homes to the airport.
Several smaller parties, including the main Islamic party,
Jamaat-e-Islami, supported the strike.
The southeastern city of Chittagong, the country's main
port and home to five million people, was cut off by lack
of transport and at least 10 people were arrested for
smashing the windows of a bus, police and officials said.
Big jute fibre mills and shops were closed in the southern
city of Khulna but there was no trouble, police inspector
Jamal Uddin said.
Meanwhile, protesting arrests and alleged repression, BNP
has announced countrywide rallies and processions today
(Monday). BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain
announced the program at a post-hartal press briefing at
the party's central office at 6:15 pm.
Delwar said they have got information about the arrest of
over 1000 leaders and workers and over 500 injured across
the country during the hartal hours. He said the
demonstration will be held today at all district
headquarters while in Dhaka city, protest rally will be
held at Muktangon at 3pm.
The hartal was called on a number of issues and demands
that include ensuring supply of gas, electricity and
water, halting extortion, tender-manipulation and grabbing
by the ruling party terrorists, and protesting assaults on
girl students at different educational institutions
including Eden Women's College in the capital.
It was also to protest politicization of the
administration and judiciary, demand scrapping of
"anti-national" agreements signed with India, resignation
of the "biased" Election Commission and contain price-hike
of essentials.
Coal
policy to be adopted after proper study: PM
UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday said that her
government will not take any hasty decision regarding the
coal policy.
"We will not take any decision whimsically, we will
examine pros and cons of any proposal before implementing
it," she said at the National Science and Technology
Council (NSTC) meeting at the PM office held after more
than 12 years. This was the 6th meeting of the NSTC and
the last meeting was held on February 23, 1998.
The Prime Minister who chaired the meeting said that there
is plenty of coal in Bangladesh and this is a fact. "But,
the scenario of the country is different from that of
other countries," she said.
Hasina said that her government sent a team to Germany to
observe the coal extraction systems. She said that the
open pit coal mining in Germany was viable as the country
has vast lands and the coal mines situated at places where
there is no dense population like Bangladesh.
The Prime Minister said that Bangladesh is a densely
populated country and the areas where the coal mines are
located are inhabited by huge number of people. "We have
to think about the people of the area and loss of lands
before going for extracting coal from the mine," she told
the meeting.
Hasina mentioned that her government would not take any
decision that might harm the interest of the people and
inflict sufferings to them.
She said after extracting the coal from the mine, it must
be worked out how the vacated mine would be filled up.
"So, we will not take any decision in a hurried manner and
this is not possible for us as we are a pro-people
government," she said.
On the power situation, the Prime Minister said that the
power situation remains the same when her government took
the office previously in 1996. "We are all working hard to
mitigate the power deficit and I firmly believe we will
solve the problem," she said.
AL
won’t take responsibility of BCL action: Syed Ashraf
UNB, Dhaka
Ruling Awami League general secretary and LGRD minister
Syed Ashraful Islam on Sunday said his party will not take
any responsibility of any actions of Bangladesh Chhatra
League (BCL).
"Chhatra League is neither an associate nor a front
organization of Awami League. Awami League will not take
responsibility of Chhatra League," he told reporters at
his ministry when asked to comment on BCL activists'
attacks on opposition workers during the hartal allegedly
under police cover.
Ashraful said "Police will look into it."
He claimed that Awami League did not obstruct nor resist
the hartal called by BNP.
Replying to a question, Ashraful said hartal is a
democratic and constitutional right but "we'll have to
come out from the culture of calling hartal and resisting
hartal."
However, the AL leader said it is to be seen the reason of
calling this hartal. If they (opposition) want to discuss
their demands or any issues they can raise those in
parliament, he added.
BNP announces
countrywide demonstration today
People have given verdict in favour of our demands:
Delwar
UNB, Dhaka
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) on Sunday claimed that
people across the country have given their verdict in
favour of their demands by spontaneously making the day's
dawn-to-dusk hartal "a total success."
The mainstream opposition has announced countywide rallies
and processions today (Monday) to protest the arrests and
repression on the party leaders and workers during the
day-long hartal Sunday.
The demonstration is aimed at demanding immediate release
of the arrested party leaders and workers.
Addressing a post-hartal press briefing at the party's
Nayapaltan central office at 6:15 pm, BNP secretary
general Khandaker Delwar Hossain announced the
demonstration programme and asked the government to
"return to the path of democracy shunning repression,
terrorism and illegal path."
Otherwise, he cautioned the government that it will have
to face "serious consequences", indication of which had
been reflected through the just concluded Chittagong City
Corporation elections and the countrywide shutdown on
Sunday.
Delwar said they have got information about the arrest of
over 1000 BNP leaders and workers and injury to over 500
others throughout the country during the hartal hours. The
demonstration will be held today (Monday) at all district
headquarters. In Dhaka city, the rally will be held at
Muktangon at 3pm.
The BNP secretary general said people have showed their
"no-confidence and distrust" in the Awami League-led Grand
Alliance regime. He claimed 100 percent success of the
hartal, the first against the 18- month-old government.
Delwar said people extended their total support to the
11-point demands for which BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia had
called the countrywide hartal.
The demands include ensuring supply of gas, electricity
and water, halting extortion, tender-manipulation and
grabbing by ruling party men, protesting politicization in
administration and judiciary, scrapping "anti-national"
agreements signed with India and containing price-hike of
essentials.
Tk 1662.51 cr interest of 8
state-owned banks waived in 18 months
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban
A total of Taka 1662 crore 51 lakh 89 thousand interest of
eight state-owned banks was waived from January last year
to June this year, Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith
told the House on Sunday.
Replying to a question from Jatiya Party lawmaker Hafiz
Uddin Ahmed, the minister said the interest was waived
against 65,925 loans.
Of the amount, Taka 555 crore 86 lakh and six thousand of
Sonali Bank, Taka 586 crore 12 lakh and 52 thousand of
Janata Bank, Taka 299 crore 91 lakh and 33 thousand of
Agrani Bank, Taka 96 crore 87 lakh and 17 thousand of
Rupali Bank, Taka 42 crore 83 lakh and 73 thousand of
Bangladesh Krishi Bank, Taka 69 crore 23 lakh and 62 lakh
of Bangladesh Development Bank, Taka 10 crore 19 lakh and
88 thousand of Rajashahi Krishi Unnayan Bank and Taka 1
crore 87 lakh and 58 thousand of BASIC Bank.
Responding to another question from treasury bench member
Sadhana Halder, the finance minister said interest
amounting to Taka 3,644.80 crore of four state-owned
commercial banks and five specialized banks was waived
against 692 loan accounts of the loan defaulters of Taka 1
crore or above during 2001 to 2008.
He, however, said no principal amount was waived during
the period.
Answering to another question from BNP lawmaker Nilofar
Chowdhury Moni, Muhith said since its inception,
Karmasangsthan Bank disbursed loan of Taka 790.16 crore
among 1,71,393 educated unemployed youths till May last.
Germany thrash
England 4-1, reach last eight
AFP, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Germany thrashed England 4-1 on Sunday to reach the World
Cup quarter-finals with goals from Miroslav Klose and
Lukas Podolski and a double for Thomas Mueller with
Matthew Upson netting a consolation for England.
Klose and Podolski put the Germans in command with
poachers' goals after 20 and 32 minutes with England's
defence all at sea.
But Upson headed in eight minutes before the interval and
England should have gone in level after a Frank Lampard
shot crossed the line coming down off the underside of the
crossbar, only for the linesman to wave play on.
Mueller's second-half double finished off a woeful
England.
Three-times champions Germany, whose speed and guile
frequently bewildered a statuesque England backline, will
now meet either Argentina or Mexico, who were facing off
later Saturday in Johannesburg.
Germany, a youthful side just coming to the boil under
coach Joachim Loew, continue their record of having
reached at least the last eight in every World Cup they
have competed in since 1938.
England, having come to the tournament with high
expectations under experienced coach Fabio Cap-ello, in
contrast will head home with their reputations in shreds
ahead of the customarily savage media post-mortem.
Govt lost
people’s support: Nizami
UNB, Dhaka
Jamaat-e-Islami chief Matiur Rahman Nizami urged the
government to immediately release opposition leaders and
workers arrested during the day-long hartal across the
country on Sunday.
Nizami in a press statement said people observed the
hartal spontaneously and peacefully defeating the fear of
mass-arrest. The successful observance of the hartal
reflects the government has lost public support. He
claimed that police arrested 43 Jamaat-ICS men during the
shutdown across the country.
The Jamaat chief said police arrested 15 Jamaat-Shibir
workers in Dhaka city, 17 in Sirajganj and 11 in Comilla.
Nizami alleged that BCL and Juba League cadres attacked
the opposition processions in presence of law enforcing
agencies during the hratal, leaving hundreds injured.
"People have raised their voice against the government's
failure," he said, adding the government can not stifle
the people's voice by carrying out repressive acts.
Referring to setting fire on some vehicles during in the
pre- hartal evening, the AL leader said burn-injured
passengers are now in hospitals.
People would reply to such violence some day, he added.
Referring to BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia's statement
on observing a peaceful hartal, he said in reality BNP
created a panic in the name of hartal.
Back Page
Flood situation may worsen in
northern, northeastern regions
BSS, Dhaka
The flood situation is likely to deteriorate in northern
and northeastern regions of the country as water levels of
major rivers have increased due to onrush of water from
upstream and downpour in the last few days.
In Kurigram, water levels of all rivers of the district
including Dharla, Teesta and Brahmaputra are increasing
alarmingly due to onrush of water from upstream and heavy
rainfall. Water Development sources said 67cm water level
has increased at the River Dharla, 75cm at the River
Teesta and 45cm at the River Brahmaputra.
Over a hundred villages of char areas of the district have
been inundated due to increase of water levels of the
rivers.
The river erosion took a serious turn at different places
of the district including Bhogdanga and chilmari and
Nunkhawa unions.
In Rangpur, a flood-like situation is creeping in
following sharp rise in the water levels coupled with
heavy rainfall and onrushing hilly waters in the
Brahmaputra basin and adjoining northern districts now,
official sources said.
The major rivers and tributaries marked sharp rises at
most points though those were still flowing below their
danger marks (DM) at all points at 6 am and as the
situation deteriorated during the past 24 hours ending at
6 am. More than 10,000 people living in the low-lying and
char areas and also in the low-lying urban and rural areas
have so far been marooned partially following rise in the
water levels and huge water-logging during the past two
days.
Besides, more than 100 char villages in Kurigram,
Nilphamari, Rangpur and Gaibandha are gradually becoming
surrounded by the rising river waters where the major
river might cross their respective danger marks in days
ahead if the situation continues, sources said. The
erosion situation marked some deterioration at places
following very stronger river currents along the courses
of the Brahmaputra, Teesta, Dharla, Dudhkumar, Jamuna and
their tributaries in the region on the Brahmaputra basin
during the period. The prevailing flood situation in
Sylhet, Sunamganj, Netrakona and Moulvibazar districts is
likely to deteriorate in the next 24 hours. The major
river systems, the Brahmaputra-Jamuna showed rising trend
while the Ganges-Padma showed falling trend, a press
release of Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC)
said on Monday.
Matin Khasru rebukes police for
entering house, beating women during hartal
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
Former Law Minister Abdul Matin Khasru in Parliament
Monday was highly critical of "over enthusiastic police"
who entered a private house in the capital Sunday and
attacked women during the opposition sponsored hartal.
"Some over enthusiastic police entered the bedroom and
dragged out mother and sister (of Mirza Abbas) and
attacked them," he said participating in the general
discussion on the national budget.
Indicating police, he said: "By doing this you think you
will be in the government's good book, which cannot
happen."
Khasru in an emotion charged voice said: 'My head bows
down in shame after watching the scene on television last
night (Sunday night). Awami League, the party of
Bangabandhu cannot do this." He said police belongs to the
people and they do not need to belong to Awami League or
BNP.
Amidst thumping of desks by some treasury bench members,
the former Law Minister also came down heavily on a
section of corrupt bureaucrats who had amassed huge money
and wealth.
"How an inspector could have 10-12 houses in Dhaka city.
How these people could have house worth crores taka?" he
said. "Let them show the entry scale of their jobs and the
last pay. How they could build expensive houses in Gulshan
and Banani?"
Khasru urged the Finance Minister not to expand the tax
net, rather check the pockets of the corrupt bureaucrats.
"We shall have to take the decision right now against
corrupts," he told the House.
About the government's vision for digital Bangladesh, he
said the mindset of bureaucrats must be changed first and
the administration needs to transform into digital from
analogue to establish the digital Bangladesh.
Khasru, however, said 99 percent of the bureaucrats are
good and patriots but they need an atmosphere where they
can work without fear of losing their jobs.
Stressing the need for commitment to build digital
Bangladesh, he said: "Wisdom and talent can be hired but
commitment and devotion cannot be hired or purchased. We
need commitment.
Arif and his
brother Nuru held in connection with Samiul killing
UNB, Dhaka
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Shamsuzzaman alias
Arif, 39, the prime suspect in the killing of minor boy
Samiul from a house in Pubail of Gazipur district early
hours of Monday. Police on Thursday morning recovered the
body of Samiul, 5, kept in a sack in city's Adabar area.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of RAB intelligence wing
raided the Pubail house of Arif's brother-in-law and
arrested him at about 1:00 am.
During interrogation, Arif reportedly told the elite force
that he along with Ayesha, the mother of the ill-fated
boy, strangulated Samiul to death. Briefing the reporters
at RAB Headquarters Monday afternoon, RAB director (media)
Commander Sohail said as Samiul came to know about the
illicit relation between Aisha and Arif, they killed the
boy.
Arif confessed that he strangulated Samiul on the night of
June 19 at the boy's house at Nobodoy Housing in Adabar.
Ayesha helped Arif in the killing. They first kept the
body in the refrigerator. Later, they put the body in a
sack and threw the on nearby Balurmath. Khondoker Samiul
Azim, son of AK Azim, was a playgroup student of Green
Wood Int'l School and a resident of Nobodoy Housing in
Adabar police station.Arif was first introduced to Ayesha
by his second wife Sathi, who run a beauty parlour. Then
the two developed extra-marital relationship.
High-powered
committee to implement education policy
BSS, Dhaka
A 32-member high- powered committee led by Education
Minister Nurul Islam Nahid was formed on Monday to make a
strategy to implement National Education Policy.
The committee will give necessary directives as well as
review progress of implementation of the education policy,
an official release said. The Minister and the State
Minister for the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education
will be the members of the committee.
The committee, if necessary, will form more than one
sub-committee for convenience of its work. Committee
members are: Education Secretary, Finance Secretary,
Establishment Secretary, Youth and Sports Secretary,
Cultural Secretary, Science and ICT Secretary,
Expatriates'
Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary, Primary and
Mass Education Secretary, Women and Children Affairs
Secretary, Environment and Forest Secretary, Vice
Chancellor of Dhaka University, Dr Kazi Kholiquzzaman
Ahmad and others. The committee can co-opt more members,
if necessary.
Budget to build basic foundation of
Vision-2021: Lawmakers
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban
The treasury bench members taking part in the general
discussion on the new budget on Monday said the budget for
2010-2011 is the foundation of the Vision-2021 of the
present government to build a happy and prosperous
country.
The country would take a new shape of prosperity if we can
deliver ten such pro-people budgets consecutively, the
lawmakers said amid continued boycott of the opposition.
Minister for Information and Cultural Affairs Abul Kalam
Azad, Awami League member Shahidul Islam, Ashrafunesa
Mosharraf, Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Sadhana Halder, Tanvir
Shakil Joy, M Shah Alam, Meher Afroz, Faridunnahar Laily,
Tipu Munshi, matiur Rahman, and Moazzem Hossain Ratan, JP
member Ruhul Amin Hawlader, Dr TM Fazley Rabbi and Nasrin
Jahan Ratna, took part in the discussion.
The lawmakers said the opposition found nothing in the
proposed budget for criticism, which led them to stay
outside the house, simply claiming that 'the ambitious
budget is not possible to implement'.
Pointing out the new concepts generated through the budget
including private public partnership, using information
technology in preparing budget, gender budget and district
budget, they said, Awami League whenever comes to power
generates new thinking and idea for development.
Information Minister Abul Kalam Azad hailed the measures
taken in the budget for development of agriculture,
communication, education and private-public partnership
sectors.
72,000
buildings to collapse in city with quake of 7-7.5 in
Richter scale
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
Some 72,000 buildings of Dhaka city will collapse totally
if there is an earthquake in the range of 7-7.5 in the
Richter scale, Parliament was informed Monday. Replying to
a written question from M Shahrier Alam (Awami League-Rajshahi),
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr M Abdur Razzaque
said that with the same magnitude of earthquake another
85,000 buildings will suffer medium to more damage. He
said that this was revealed in a study conducted on
326,000 buildings of Dhaka City Corporation.
The Minister said that if the earthquake hits at night
around 90,000 people will be killed or injured whereas the
number will be 70,000 if the quake hits in daytime. There
will be 30,000 million tons of debris due to the
demolition of the buildings, he said, adding that a 25-tos
capacity truck will have to ply 1.2 million times to
remove the debris.
Razzaque said that due to such massive building collapse
from earthquake, the loss will amount to US$ 6 billion,
which is half of the national budget of current fiscal.
BNP-led govt responsible for spread
of obscene films in country: Azad
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad
in Parliament on Monday blamed the BNP-led 4-party
alliance government for the spread of obscene films in the
country.
Taking part in the general discussion on budget for
2010-11 fiscal, he said the previous government was
responsible for putting the country's cinema industry in
such a sorry state. In this regard, the Minister said that
the present government has formed a taskforce to bring out
the cinema industry from the present deplorable condition.
"The making and screening of obscene films will be
stopped," he said. He urged the owners of the newspapers
and media to create a congenial atmosphere for the
journalists in their workplaces. The Information Minister
sought cooperation from the newspaper owners to implement
the wage board properly.
Engr Abul Kashem still remains
unconscious after hartal assault
BSS, Dhaka
A senior engineer of the Public Works Department, Abul
Kashem, still remained in close medical monitoring under
artificial life support systems for severe brain
hemorrhage caused by hartal assaults at a city facility
with doctors calling its condition "very critical".
"He is not at all out of danger . . . we can only comment
how much of his brain will be operative when the
artificial ventilation system will be withdrawn in next
two or three days," said senior neurosurgeon Khandkar Abu
Talha who carried out a five-hour long critical surgery
upon him late Sunday.
Talking to BSS Talha, however, said the use of the
artificial ventilation system was part of the treatment
and indicators showed that the right side of his brain
which showed "no reflect" yesterday began reflecting
slightly after the surgery at the Square Hospital.
PWD superintending engineer Abul Kashem was exposed to the
brutal wrath of pickets during the initial hartal hours on
Sunday as he was going to office in a car while the
activists hurled stones from a close proximity exposing
him to near death state. Kashem's daughter Hosne Ara Akter
said doctors told her that her father's situation
"improved slightly" despite his unconsciousness as she
visited him at the Intensive Care Unit of the facility.
"We received him in a state of coma" caused by severe
brain hemorrhage and multiple skull and facial bone
fractures, a Square Hospital spokesman earlier told BSS.
The hartal activists set on fire a car he was traveling
along with two others on Saturday evening at Tongi
diversion road in Maghbazar area ahead of hartal hours.
Meanwhile, police said 12 of their colleagues were being
treated at the Rajarbagh Police Hospital for injuries they
received during opposition enforced stoppage yesterday.
Editorial
The golden fibre
There
are a lot of discussions about Jute nowadays as the prospect
for regaining its lost glory has become really bright.
According to media reports, the country's export earning from
jute goods increased by 70 percent while that from raw jute
rose by 44 percent during the first nine months of the current
fiscal year. The earnings from jute goods during July-April
period of FY 2009-2010 stood at $377.09 million compared to
$222.05 million during the corresponding period of FY
2008-2009, according to Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). It also
revealed that $170.41 million was earned from raw jute export
during July-April of this fiscal year against $118.39 million
during the corresponding period of the previous year. The
earning soared due to increase of price and volume of export.
Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) stated that export
price of jute goods and raw jute rose by around 35 percent
this fiscal over that last year.
Really encouraging is the report that the farmers are very
happy with the domestic jute price situation. Price of raw
jute in local market was Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,400 per maund during
the harvest period last year while this year the price is Tk
1,800 -2400 per maund. According to the Department of
Agriculture Extension jute has been cultivated this year on
over five lakh hectares of land which is 50,000 hectares more
than the previous year. The production this year is expected
to be about 55 lakh bales against about 50 lakh bales last
year.
Meanwhile, the government gave Tk 300 crore to the BJMC to buy
raw jute as its mills had liquidity crisis. Thirteen of the 92
BJMA mills are now closed while many run partially due to fund
shortage and power crisis. The Production capacity of BJMA
mills now is 20,000 tonnes a month but their present
production is around 13,000 tonnes. The farmers across the
country and all others related to jute cultivation, industry
and trade have heaved a sigh of relief as gone are those days
of nightmare when only a couple of years ago, jute sold for Tk
300 to 500 per maund, causing heavy losses to farmers and bad
days for the industry.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament on
june 16 that Bangadesh has invented the crucial "genome
sequence" of jute, an innovation that would bring back the
pride of the golden fibre. She also hoped the discovery would
help improve the jute fibre quality and invent species which
would also be tolerant to the climate change phenomenon.
The significance of jute in the national economy is immense.
But it was ignored for years. Besides jute faced an uneven
competition against synthetic fibre in international market.
There was a time when the country used to produce huge
quantity of jute every year as it was the main cash crop.
During the Pakistan period 90 per cent of export earnings used
to come from jute export. In 1952-53 jute production was
estimated at one crore bales in then East Pakistan which used
to produce about 75 per cent of total raw jute in the world.
Even after the independence of Bangladesh jute production
stood at 75 lakh bales, but later area under jute cultivation
shrunk and production declined due to different reasons
including anomalies in the jute sector after nationalisation
of the jute mills. Later, a major damage was done to jute by
the arrival of synthetic fibre.
Now, the trend of using synthetics has weakened and the
popularity of environment-friendly jute has enhanced globally.
In the changed global and domestic situation, time has come to
revitalise the jute sector. Now, jute cultivation should be
encouraged. Besides, export of raw jute and jute goods should
be continued to prevent international market from slipping out
to other countries.
AL-BCL relations
Ruling
Awami League (AL) general secretary and LGRD minister Syed
Ashraful Islam on Sunday said his party will not take any
responsibility of any action of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).
"Chhatra League is neither an associate nor a front
organization of Awami League. AL will not take responsibility
of BCL," he told reporters at his ministry when asked to
comment on BCL activists' attacks on opposition workers during
the hartal allegedly under police cover Ashraful said "Police
will look into it."
Ashraful's assertion will be meaningful only if his party is
in a real mood to mean what he says. The relations between
Awami League and Chhatra League is historic and as old as
their emergence. So it cannot be severed by some verbal
declaration by Ashraful or even by AL President Sheikh Hasina.
Words are not enough, they have to show it in action by taking
tough measures against unruly BCL activists that AL does not
take any responsibility of the action of BCL activists. The AL
leadership has to convince the people that they have abandoned
the unruly BCL workers who are engaged in violence and other
unwarranted activities.
Questions have been raised at different levels about the
relations between the AL and BCL. Violence, extortion, tender
manipulation, admission trade, infighting and attack on rival
student organisations by the activists of BCL at different
educational institutions are going on unabated which prove
that the AL has failed to rein in its student followers.
Measures taken by the Sheikh Hasina including her
relinquishing the position of the Chhatra League's
organisational leader on April 4, 2009, and formation of a
committee with three AL organising secretaries to discipline
the BCL seem to have fallen flat. Meanwhile, different circles
have repeatedly urged the AL leaders to bring the unruly
activists of BCL under control in the interest of the party,
the government and the people. This call should be given due
consideration by the AL leaders and the government.
Analysis
Indo-Pak dialogue: Undertones and ramifications
Pakistan must stay the course against terrorism
and its deadly manifestations along its own timeline as per
the dictates of its own priority list.
Shahzad Chaudhry
McChrystal's
sacking was dramatic and carried that underlying sensitivity
to the Pakistani sentiment of seeing civilian superiority
assert itself over the military - something the Pakistani
political system has not yet been able to establish with any
assurance. It was an operationally wrong move to sack
McChrystal. While principle trumped operational sense - this
may be the only redemption for the US political cause - US
policy will most certainly go into hibernation and, as time is
lost significantly, reduce its options. As the demoted and
tired Petraeus takes on yet another operational
responsibility, kicked down from his rather hallowed position
of Commander CENTCOM, he will need time to reorient himself to
the field, re-energise to put his fighting boots back on and
reconnect to the sweaty, dirty world of war - fighting a
morally resurgent Taliban. A weakened Petraeus with suspect
political support from his own authorities will have
circumscribed ambitions and a more realistic approach to seek
an honourable exit; he will need Pakistan even more to help
reconcile and reintegrate Afghan groups within the available
time.
Change the scene to Indo-Pak parleys as late as the last week
and those that are impending, of the two foreign ministers in
July, and one can sense the apprehensions and foreboding that
these two regional neighbours of Afghanistan are undergoing to
wrest with the fall-out of a US withdrawal. It is propitious
that the two have begun talking to each other. Indian
interests in their dialogue with Pakistan are wider. These are
essentially three: terrorism as an opening gambit and
something to keep Pakistan under pressure with, Afghanistan
and India's desperation to get a foot in on a more than likely
closed door and a possibility to seek an expanded trading area
covering the region and extending up to Central Asia.
Sidelined at the London Conference and increasingly discounted
in the emerging Afghan situation, it is to recover their lost
position on the table that India seeks to engage Pakistan.
With a more amenable Pakistan willing to let the Indian foot
in, in turn for a promising bilateral engagement that will
deliver peace in the wake of, perhaps, the most challenging
time since the break-up of the country in 1971, the chances
for India in Afghanistan look better. That such Indian
flexibility in post-conflict Afghanistan can augur well for
India's extended interests in Central Asia for trade and for
energy, and for the larger South Asia and South-West Asian
region of influence, especially when the Indian economy is
past its critical mass, will be the real picking. This is
where Pakistan has leverage - with India's desperation and its
real interest to keep a toehold in Afghanistan. Without
Pakistan enabling transit trade through its territories from
India to Afghanistan, the return remains minimal even if India
can curry favour separately with Karzai. India's
Dilaram-Chabahar road option remains suspect and extremely
cumbersome, exponentially increasing the cost of business.
With a less than helpful Afghan government in place after US
withdrawal, India's hopes for a reasonable return may remain
entirely stalled. Enter the need to break the logjam with
Pakistan.
India's second interest in the Pakistani dialogue is in its
overstated but opportune concern for terrorism. India has
found a handy cause to flog Pakistan with. Even if Hafiz Saeed
and all those under trial for their alleged role in the Mumbai
incident were to be incarcerated and punished, it may only
serve to satisfy India's bloated sense of self-importance,
seeking manifest redemption of its wounded pride but in no way
can it provide the assurance of immunity from further
terrorist activities within India, whether home-grown or
arising out of Pakistan. India's refrain on terrorism is thus
weak and reeks of a self-serving insidious agenda of
Pakistan-bashing than a real concern to seek cooperative ways
to recover from the malice that this menace has unleashed.
India's growing Naxal insurgency itself is a plate-full and
may, at some time, need wider cooperation. Terrorism will
continue to serve India's cause till it gets nastier and needs
a more serious Indian approach. Till then Pakistan will just
need to find a way around Indian barbs. In the meanwhile,
Pakistan must stay the course against terrorism and its deadly
manifestations along its own timeline as per the dictates of
its own priority list.
On trade, more informed heads need to gather. Nay-saying to an
existing reality in denial is self-defeating. Trade and
trading infrastructure - the means of communication, travel
and transportation - are the fastest means to economic
integration; economic integration increases interdependence
and eliminates conflict much faster and more effectively than
any superiority in weapons. It also helps create jobs, spreads
well being and a sense of common stakes ensuring societal
cohesion, integration and stability. Identity becomes
possible, moorings remain intact and radicalism is defeated.
With India, an additional benefit is the possibility of
in-coming investments. We may determine what may be our
sensitivity in a particular industry and not make that
available for foreign investment, just as India has done in
some cases, but we need to open up all the same. Otherwise
trade, like water, has this habit of going around when an
obstruction seems too stubborn. This too is part of India's
grand design and therefore a Pakistani leverage. It also is a
Pakistani compulsion and must therefore find favour. For this
to happen, we will need to dump archaic notions of security
and access and instead redouble efforts to channel potential
in the right directions.
Pakistan's interest in dialogue with India are also three:
peace for that will deliver Pakistan of this unending need to
match India's growing military prowess - tank for tank, plane
for plane, making minimum credible deterrence, both
conventional and nuclear, actually possible; Kashmir, which
India will be happy to divert to the back channel as a
preferred option since it finds useful promise in the
Musharraf formula away from the stubborn sense of the UNSC
resolution or a damaging possibility of a rebellious state of
Kashmir seeking independence rather than autonomy, rendering
the issue to a belaboured, slow process and, finally, water,
which for some insane reason has trumped even Kashmir - to
India's glee. A distorted and ill-informed discourse on water
in Pakistan has generated such hype and sensitivity that it
beats the real magnitude of infringement by India. While the
spirit may have been a minor casualty in an odd case, chances
are that no neutral expert will be able to find the letter
grossly violated. Hence India's ready sense of offering all
support and cooperation to Pakistan on the water issue; since
nothing much is wrong, nothing much needs to be offered.
On the face of it, the need for an Indo-Pak dialogue seems
like a pretty straightforward case of mutually beneficial
adjustments, of using space intelligently and with
imagination, trust, thought, dourness to prevail. And, we
would have lost yet another opportunity to overcome history.
Shahzad Chaudhry is a retired air vice marshal and a former
ambassador of Pakistan.
In a
quagmire: It’s a sticky place to be in
What is significant in the 8,000-word article on
McChrystal by Michael Hastings are the references to the
quagmire that Afghanistan has become for the US. In
paragraph after paragraph, Hastings reminds readers of the
chaos in Afghanistan and the war that has swayed
decisively in
favour of the Taleban.
Siraj Wahab
While
the US media and news agencies have focused entirely on
the now-sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal's contempt for his
civilian bosses, what comes out starkly in that Rolling
Stone article is the frank assessment about the war in
Afghanistan.
What is significant in the 8,000-word article on
McChrystal by Michael Hastings are the references to the
quagmire that Afghanistan has become for the US. In
paragraph after paragraph, Hastings reminds readers of the
chaos in Afghanistan and the war that has swayed
decisively in favour ?of the Taleban.
"After nine years of war, the Taleban simply remain too
strongly entrenched for the US military to openly attack,"
he writes, referring to the postponement of a long-planned
push into Taleban stronghold Kandahar. For quite some time
now, people have been asking the all-important
question-what is happening in Afghanistan? In the absence
of any independent journalists in that war-torn country,
there has been no clear idea. What has appeared in the
British and Western press was misleading simply because
their reports were based entirely on US Army handouts or
guided tours. There are no embedded journalists on the
other side and unless reporters and columnists gain access
to sources in the Taleban, no clear picture will emerge.
Those who are following reports in Pakistan's Urdu media
have a substantial idea of what is happening across the
border. However, the Urdu media sometimes resorts to
hyperbole and exaggerates Taleban gains. But certainly
they are closer to the truth than their American and
Western counterparts.
From the layman's point of view, things are crystal clear.
How could an irregular army of 30,000-40,000 men sustain
the war against the world's only superpower for nine long
years, especially when they are faced with a coalition of
the best armies in the world? The Taleban have no drones,
no Stinger missiles-nothing, yet they have been able to
turn the tables on the mighty US army.
So in the absence of any credible reports from the
warfront, the Rolling Stone interview at least provides a
ringside view of what is actually happening in
Afghanistan.
"Since McChrystal took over a year ago, the Afghan war
became the exclusive property of the US. Opposition to the
war has already toppled the Dutch government, forced the
resignation of Germany's president and sparked both Canada
and the Netherlands to announce the withdrawal of their
4,500 troops ... and the French are going all wobbly,"
writes Hastings. It was in March 2009 that Obama ordered
another 21,000 troops to Kabul. "We have a clear and
focused goal: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al-Qaeda in
Pakistan and Afghanistan," he said at the time. He
appointed McChrystal as the US and NATO commander in
Afghanistan, replacing Gen. David McKiernan. According to
Hastings, McChrystal was from the start determined to
place his personal stamp on Afghanistan-to use it as a
laboratory for a controversial military strategy known as
counterinsurgency.
"COIN, as the theory is known, is the new gospel of the
Pentagon brass, a doctrine that attempts to square the
military's preference for high-tech violence with the
demands of fighting protracted wars in failed states. COIN
calls for sending huge numbers of ground troops to not
only destroy the enemy but to live among the civilian
population and slowly rebuild, or build from scratch,
another nation's government." It was Biden who argued
against a prolonged counterinsurgency campaign in
Afghanistan, saying it would plunge America into a
military quagmire without weakening international
terrorist networks.
Hastings quotes Douglas Macgregor, a retired colonel and
leading critic of counterinsurgency, as saying that the
entire COIN strategy was a fraud inflicted on the American
people. "The idea that we are going to spend a trillion
dollars to reshape the culture of the Islamic world is
utter nonsense," Macgregor is quoted as saying in the
article.
Hastings points out that the prospect for any kind of
success in Afghanistan looks bleak and then reels off a
startling statistic.
"In June, the death toll for US troops passed 1,000, and
the number of improvised explosive devices has doubled.
Spending hundreds of billions of dollars on the
fifth-poorest country on earth has failed to win over the
civilian population, whose attitude toward US troops
ranges from intensely wary to openly hostile." Afghanistan
in June officially outpaced Vietnam as the longest war in
American history. "And Obama has quietly begun to back
away from the deadline he set for withdrawing US troops in
July of next year. The president finds himself stuck in
something even more insane than a quagmire." It is now
confirmed that the number of innocent people killed by
coalition forces is in the hundreds.
"In the first four months of this year, US and NATO troops
killed some 90 civilians, up 76 per cent from the same
period in 2009 -- a record that has created tremendous
resentment among the very population that COIN theory is
intent on winning over. In February, a US Special Forces
night raid ended in the deaths of two pregnant Afghan
women and allegations of a cover-up, and in April protests
erupted in Kandahar after US forces accidentally shot up a
bus, killing five Afghans," writes Hastings and then
quotes McChrystal as saying: "We've shot an amazing number
of people."
McChrystal goes to on to point out you can't kill your way
out of Afghanistan. "The Russians killed one million
Afghans, and that didn't work," he is quoted as telling
Hastings.
Despite all this bad news, Hastings says the facts on the
ground offer little deterrent to a military determined to
stay the course. "Even those closest to McChrystal knew
that the rising anti-war sentiment at home doesn't begin
to reflect how deeply (messed) up things are in
Afghanistan. If Americans pulled back and started paying
attention to this war, it would become even less popular,"
a senior adviser to McChrystal says. "Winning, it would
seem, is not really possible in Afghanistan," concludes
Hastings.
Siraj Wahab is a senior editor of Arab News
Viewpoints
Bhopal still waits for justice
Carbide got
away with $470 million, equivalent to its insurance cover plus
interest, for causing the world's greatest industrial
disaster. It didn't even have to liquidate major assets.
Praful Bidwai
The
contrast between BP's response to the outrage over the oil
spill in the US and Union Carbide's attitude to the uproar
over the Bhopal disaster of 1984 couldn't have been sharper.
Confronted by a hostile public and a president who wants to
"kick ass", BP has pledged $20 billion in initial remediation
and is mobilising another $50 billion - although its legal
liability is only $75 million.
Carbide got away with $470 million, equivalent to its
insurance cover plus interest, for causing the world's
greatest industrial disaster. It didn't even have to liquidate
major assets. The spill's death-toll (11) is tiny beside
Bhopal's, although the impact on fisheries and the environment
will be enormous. But BP's bosses are in trouble. Its chairman
had to apologise repeatedly for referring to the affected
fisherfolk and petty businessmen as "small people". Its CEO
Tony Hayward got serious flak from the administration for
attending a yacht race at the height of the crisis.
Carbide chairman Warren Anderson was briefly arrested in
Bhopal. But he was released within hours, treated like a VIP,
and flown to Delhi in a state plane. Why, he had a meeting not
just with Foreign Secretary Rasgotra, but also with India's
president.
In the US, corporations and politicians are straining to align
themselves with strong anti-BP public opinion. In India,
companies and industry associations have been largely silent
on the June 7 Bhopal judgment which treated the disaster on a
par with a traffic accident. Worse, some business leaders,
including Deepak Parekh - one of India's best-regarded
executives, who serves on many companies' boards - found the
verdict harsh. They warned it would scare independent
directors away from companies.
They ignore the notion of strict or no-fault liability.
Negligence which causes public harm can only be deterred if
severely punished. Being corporate decision-makers, directors
are liable - even if they aren't personally responsible for
every design detail or operational hazard.
Their culpability is greater - as in Bhopal - if they have
prior knowledge of the hazards. Union Carbide's directors
clearly knew of the Bhopal plant's potential for fatal
accidents. These had occurred before December 1984.
This doesn't argue that the US government and legal system are
pro-people, only that India's legal system is institutionally
flawed. Its self-appointing higher judiciary is unaccountable.
It hasn't developed instruments for punishing corporate
crimes. The Indian establishment is, like those in the
neighbourhood, cravenly pro-rich, pro-corporate and
pro-American. This includes top judges, lawyers,
opinion-shapers and bureaucrats who inherit a colonial state
structure indifferent to the people.
Yet, so great has been the public outrage over the latest
Bhopal judgment that the government reconstituted the Group of
Ministers on Bhopal, which has submitted its report. On its
positive side are recommendations for a curative petition on
the judgment and the 1989 compensation award; expediting
Anderson's extradition; and speeding up the case against
Carbide's successor, Dow Chemical, in the Madhya Pradesh High
Court.
On the negative side are its silence on Dow's liability and
its paltry recommendations for relief to the victims.
A curative petition asking the Supreme Court to modify its
1996 order downgrading criminal charges against UCC, Carbide's
fully-owned Hong Kong-based subsidiary Union Carbide Eastern,
and its 51 per cent-subsidiary Indian subsidiary Union Carbide
India Ltd (UCIL), is welcome. But this shouldn't stop at
restoring the charge of culpable homicide.
The Indian Penal Code clearly defines murder in subsection 4
of Section 300: "If the person committing the act knows that
it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in all
probability, cause death or such bodily injury as is likely to
cause death, and commits such act without any excuse for
incurring the risk of causing death or such injury …."
Carbide indisputably committed such acts by operating an
unsafe, poorly designed plant - which, it knew, would lead to
large-scale fatalities. The plant's pipeline design was
faulty. A 1982 safety audit said it had 30 major flaws.
Logically, the accused must be re-tried for murder.
Yet, Anderson and UCC and UCE directors weren't even tried in
Bhopal because they absconded. This violates a condition
stipulated in Judge Keenan's order, which sent the case back
to India - namely, they would stand trial in India and abide
by an Indian judgment.
Not only does this warrant Anderson's extradition; it allows
India to press fresh charges against UCC in the US, including
contempt of court. This must be done expeditiously. The 1989
compensation award was based on the assumption of 3,000
deaths. But the official death-toll is five times higher and
the number injured 10 times greater. The average compensation
for death was Rs100,000 - a travesty given that death in rail
accidents and natural disasters is better compensated.
In Bhopal, about 200,000 people were significantly injured,
but 574,000 were given compensation. This reduced the amount
paid to the seriously affected. This couldn't even pay for
their medical treatment, leave alone get damages for suffering
or disability. The victims' categorisation was arbitrary. Over
92 per cent were categorised as having "minor" injuries. Only
3,241 people (0.7 per cent of those affected) were categorised
as severely injured. This makes nonsense of surveys by the
Indian Council of Medical Research and other agencies.
The GoM-proposed enhanced compensation looks impressive. But
it will cover only 42,208 people and exclude 91 per cent of
those affected. This is grossly unjust.
The GoM report fails to mention the need for a high-level
Empowered Commission on Bhopal, including medical and
rehabilitation experts, NGOs, and the victims'
representatives, which collates all available evidence and
organises adequate compensation and medical treatment. This
was demanded by the victims and agreed to by the government in
2008. But the GoM doesn't even mention it.
Yet, new medical facilities must be urgently established so
the victims can live with dignity, and freedom from pain and
humiliation. These must be staffed by competent, sensitive
professionals who understand the need to rebuild the
survivors' lives in their entirety.
Now, consider the GoM's negative side. It doesn't hold Dow
liable for land and water contamination around the Bhopal
plant because Dow doesn't own it. What matters is that Carbide
created a liability over and above the accident through the
contamination. Carbide knew this and its likely effects,
having conducted numerous site surveys. By natural justice
principles, a successor company inherits both the assets and
liabilities of the corporation it purchases. Dow is clearly
obliged to clean up the Bhopal site and compensate the 30,000
people who are forced to drink the polluted water.
To evade this responsibility, Dow's chairman Andrew Liveris
has pressed his nefarious case through business leader Ratan
Tata, Home Minister P Chidambaram and other bigwigs. He has
twice met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. However, it's
imperative to hold Dow liable as Carbide's successor.
If the government presses charges against Carbide in the US
for violating the conditions under which the litigation was
sent to India, the issue of liability will inevitably arise.
That must be settled now. The effort to bury the Bhopal legacy
is misguided. Unfortunately, the legacy lives on. Justice
demands that it is brought to an honourable, dignified closure
in a fair and transparent manner. The GoM has failed to do
that.
The writer, a former newspaper editor, is a researcher and
peace and human-rights activist based in Delhi.
Email: prafulbidwai1@yahoo.co.in
Gaza blockade
‘easing’ is a facade
Israel is
silent on issues such as the free movement of people and
allowing in raw materials for economic activity.
Jinan Bastaki
After
the world was in an uproar over the Israeli attack on the
civilian flotilla bringing aid to the besieged Gaza Strip,
Israel has now begun 'easing' the strangling blockade of
Gaza.
Previously prohibited items are now allowed in, and most
media outlets covering the region show us images of
lorries driving into Gaza thanks to the generosity of the
Israeli government. Many see this as a victory for
citizens' struggle - the fact that aid ships by citizens
of the world to help fellow human beings could force
Israel to somewhat change its policy means that the
people's activism is not dead.
However, the fact of the matter is that this 'easing' of
the blockade is another in a long line of Israeli methods
of pacifying the so-called international community and
providing a facade for further illegal activities.
On August 15, 2005, Israel implemented what it called the
unilateral Disengagement Plan. What most people saw was a
generous gesture from Israel to evict Israeli colonists
from Gaza.
However, the disengagement was anything but that. The
media showed us emotional images of colonists weeping and
being forcibly removed from their homes, even though they
were there illegally, and their presence meant that the
Palestinians were restricted from moving freely in their
own land. What we were not shown, though, was the other
side of the 'plan'.
Israel maintained that it would control Gaza's airspace,
coastline and borders, and had a right to undertake
military operations when necessary, which made it
effectively the occupying power, under the Geneva
Conventions, with responsibility towards the civilian
population.
Moreover, this 'disengagement' was a cover-up for
increasing colonies and checkpoints in the West Bank.
According to Peace Now, an Israeli NGO, the number of
colonists increased by 6,100 compared with 2004, to
250,000 in 2005 in the West Bank. The number of colonists
as of June 2009 was about 300,000.
The United States, EU and even the Secretary-General of
the UN Ban Ki-moon praised the disengagement initiative.
What we are never shown however, is the number of
Palestinian homes demolished in occupied East Jerusalem.
In that same year, 76 homes were demolished in occupied
East Jerusalem. Just last week, Israel announced it would
raze 22 homes.
The colony 'freeze', brought to the forefront this year
due to the Obama administration's soft disapproval of
colonies, was also another publicity effort to re-affirm
Israel's seeming commitment to peace in the public's mind.
The colony freeze did not include occupied East Jerusalem,
which Netanyahu said is part of Israel's "sovereign
capital"- in contravention to international law and UN
Security Council resolution 242 in 1967 and every UN
resolution confirming it since. Under the Fourth Geneva
Convention, the transfer by an Occupying Power of its
civilian population to the territory it occupies is
illegal and may constitute a war crime. Moreover, the
blatant apartheid of Jewish-only roads and facilities was
also ignored by the international community.
Wider issues ignored
Where does that leave us as the latest expression of the
Israeli government's 'generosity'the easing of the
blockade is making headlines around the world?
While allowing in much needed items to a population that
is largely reliant on foreign aid is most definitely a
relief, it does not address wider issues.
Christopher Gunness of UNRWA said: "We need to have the
blockade fully lifted... The Israeli strategy is to make
the international community talk about a bag of cement
here, a project there. We need full unfettered access
through all the border posts."
Israel has remained silent on matters such as the free
movement of people that are not for medical emergencies,
or even if raw materials would be allowed into Gaza for
the resumption of economic activity. In reality, the
blockade is still in effect, albeit "liberalised" which
only means that Israel is attempting to comply with some
of its obligations as the occupying power.
However, the PR campaign seems to be working. The United
States welcomed the new policy toward Gaza, stating that
it "should significantly improve conditions for
Palestinians in Gaza". The Quartet issued a statement
calling for the new policy's rapid implementation. Other
countries, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, were
more cautious.
Yet what has conveniently been ignored is the need for an
independent inquiry into the murder of civilians aboard
the Freedom flotilla. The murder of civilians on the high
seas can be considered an act of war, and at the very
least the perpetrators must be tried under the
jurisdiction of the flag state in this case, Turkey.While
the UN chief has been trying to organise an international
inquiry into the flotilla attack, Israeli Defence Minister
Ehud Barak has asked the UN to shelve any inquiry, and it
remains to be seen whether the UN will oblige. There is a
dire need for accountability.
The rules of international law must be applied fairly and
equally to all parties. But in a world where the ruling
elite do nothing more than issue statements, the real
solution lies with citizens willing to speak out.
Jinan Bastaki is a UAE writer based in Dubai.
Rival claims to Nile waters
However debatable its claim under international law, Egypt
strongly defends it, sometimes with threats of military
action.
Xan Rice
For
a decade nine states in the Nile basin have been
negotiating on how best to share and protect the river in
a time of changing climates, environmental threats and
exploding populations. Now, with an agreement put on the
table, talks have broken down in acrimony.
On one side are the seven states that supply virtually all
the Nile's flow. On the other are Egypt and Sudan, whose
desert climates make the Nile's water their lifeblood.
"This is serious," said Henriette Ndombe, executive
director of the intergovernmental Nile Basin Initiative,
established in 1999 to oversee the negotiation process and
enhance cooperation. "This could be the beginning of a
conflict."
The sticking point between the two groups is a question
going back to colonial times: who owns the Nile's water?
The answer - "it is for all of us" - might seem obvious.
But Egypt and Sudan claim to have the law on their side.
Treaties in 1929 and 1959, when Britain controlled much of
the region, granted the two states "full utilisation of
the Nile waters" - and the power to veto any water
development projects in the catchment area in east Africa.
The upstream states, including Ethiopia, source of the
Blue Nile, which merges with the White Nile at Khartoum,
and supplies 86 per cent of the river's eventual flow,
were allocated nothing.
However debatable its claim under international law, Egypt
strongly defends it, sometimes with threats of military
action. For decades it had an engineer posted at Uganda's
Owen Falls dam on the Nile, monitoring the outflow.
But in a sign of the growing discord, Uganda stopped
supplying the engineer with data two years ago, according
to Callist Tindimugaya, its commissioner for water
resources regulation. And when Egypt and Sudan refused to
sign the agreement in April on "equitable and reasonable"
use of the Nile unless it protected their "historic
rights" the other states lost patience.
Convinced that from their point of view there was no
purpose in more talks, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda and
Tanzania signed a River Nile Basin Cooperative Framework
agreement in May. Kenya followed, and Burundi and the
Democratic Republic of Congo look likely to do so -
causing alarm and anger in Egypt. When parliaments in six
states ratify the deal, a permanent commission to decide
on water allocation will be set up - without the two
states that need the river most.
Opposition by the upstream states to the colonial treaties
is not new. Ethiopia was never colonised, and rejected the
1959 bilateral agreement that gave Egypt three-quarters of
the Nile's annual flow and Sudan a quarter, even before it
was signed. Most of the east African states also refused
to recognise it, and earlier Nile treaties agreed by
Britain on their behalf, when they became independent in
the 1960s.
Under the agreement signed by five countries, each state's
share of the Nile basin water will depend on variables
such as population, contribution to the river's flow,
climate, social and economic needs, and, crucially,
current and potential uses of the water - a factor which
will heavily favour Egypt and Sudan.
The disputed article, in which Egypt and Sudan want their
historic rights guaranteed and the other governments
prefer to a clause where each nation agrees "not to
significantly affect the water security of any country" -
has been left out of the agreement, for further
discussion.
International
Two protesters
killed in Indian Kashmir protests
AFP, Srinagar
Two separatist protesters in Indian Kashmir were killed
Monday when security forces opened fire to disperse angry
demonstrations, police said, in the latest of a series of
fatal clashes.
Eight Kashmiri civilians have now been killed in incidents
involving Indian security forces in less than three weeks,
with each death sparking further violent protests that
lead to more firing from paramilitary troops.
The troops on Monday opened fire as protesters tried to
demolish a military bunker near Sopore town, about 50
kilometres (30 miles) north of Kashmir's summer capital
Srinagar, a police officer who declined to be named told
AFP.
"They fired in self-defence," he said, adding that a
22-year-old Muslim man was killed and three others
injured.
Another youth was killed when security forces opened fire
to disperse a separate demonstration in Delina village in
northern Baramulla district, the officer said, as
protesters readied to march into Sopore.
Sopore has been under curfew since Friday after two young
men died when soldiers opened fire as protesters attacked
their vehicle.
Violence has risen in recent months in Muslim-majority
Indian Kashmir, where two decades of rebellion against
rule from New Delhi have left thousands dead.
Authorities closed all schools and colleges in the Kashmir
valley for two days in an attempt to thwart the escalating
public unrest after separatist groups called on Muslim
students to hold protest rallies against Indian rule.
Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan each control part
of Kashmir but lay claim to all of the Himalayan region.
The two countries have been in conflict over Kashmir since
the territory acceded to India after partition of the
sub-continent in 1947.
In an earlier incident on Monday, seven people were
injured when security forces clashed with protesters in
Sopore. The clashes erupted when mourners tried to carry
the body of a man killed on Sunday through the streets and
security forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas to
disperse the crowds.
Police said security forces acted to control
stone-throwing demonstrators.
Protesters from outside Sopore answered calls from
separatist leaders to defy the curfew and on Monday
marched towards the town in a direct challenge to security
forces.
India maintains a massive troop presence in Kashmir to
battle the insurgency, which is fuelled by the Muslim
separatist movement and deep resentment of the central
government.
India and Pakistan have fought two wars over the region
since the end of British colonial rule, with the last
major flare-up in cross-border military tensions in 2002.
Relations between the two governments have improved in
recent years, though they suffered another setback when
Pakistan-based militants were blamed for the massacres in
Mumbai in November 2008.
18 dead in Pakistan
gas tanker blast
AFP, Karachi
A gas tanker exploded in the southern Pakistani city of
Hyderabad on Monday, killing at least 18 people and
destroying several nearby shops and buildings, officials
said.
Television footage showed rescue workers removing piles of
debris from collapsed buildings and ambulances ferrying
casualties to hospital after the blast, which officials
said was an accident and not an attack.
"We heard a huge explosion after which a thick blanket of
smoke covered the whole area, nothing was visible,"
labourer Mohammad Hussain told AFP. "When the smoke
cleared I saw many of our labourers had died and vehicles
destroyed."
Ali Mohammad Baluch, a senior police officer in the city,
told AFP that a total of 18 people had been killed and 40
injured.
"It was an accidental blast. It was not an act of
terrorism," provincial government spokesman Jamil Soomro
said.
Witnesses said the huge explosion destroyed the tanker,
sending large fragments flying into labourers and vehicles
in the area. Power supplies were also cut as some flying
debris hit electrical wires, residents said.
Several nearby shops and old buildings were toppled due to
the force of the explosion, trapping some residents.
"The severe explosion hit shops in the nearby market.
Several shops collapsed, we are removing the debris," said
provincial police chief Salahuddin Babar Khattak, who
confirmed the death toll and the cause of the explosion.
Hyderabad police chief Fayyaz Leghari said the tanker
exploded when it was parked at a terminal in a commercial
suburb of Hyderabad, which has an estimated population of
three million.
"It looks like an accidental blast, we cannot say it is an
act of terrorism," he added.
Pakistan suffers from chronic insecurity largely connected
to the country's alliance with the United States in its
"war against terror."
A campaign of suicide and bomb attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda,
the Taliban and other extremist groups has killed more
than 3,400 people in less than three years across the
nuclear-armed country of 167 million.
Sri Lankan president
defiant over war crime probe
AFP, New Delhi
Sri Lanka's president vowed to resist international calls
to investigate war crimes allegedly committed during the
country's civil war in an interview published Monday.
President Mahinda Rajapakse told the Times of India he did
not care about damage to the country's image as a result
of resisting pressure from the United Nations and Western
countries to submit to an enquiry.
"Why should I worry about others?" the president said in
an interview in Colombo. "If India and neighbours are good
with me, that is enough for me." Rajapakse's government
has ignored calls to investigate allegations that
thousands of civilians were killed along with surrendering
rebels during the final months of the fighting that ended
in May last year.
Sri Lanka has refused to cooperate with a panel named by
UN chief Ban Ki-moon last week to advise on
"accountability issues" during the conflict, which pitted
government forces against Tamil Tiger separatists.
Asked about the risk of losing European Union trade
concessions worth an estimated 150 million dollars a year
because of his resistance to EU pressure, Rajapakse
replied: "I am not bothered."
"If the EU doesn't want to give it, let them keep it. I
don't want it. We have gone and explained what we have
done."
The UN has said that at least 7,000 ethnic Tamil civilians
were killed in the first four months of 2009. The UN
estimates that up to 100,000 people died in the fighting
between 1972 and May last year.
Japan starts talks with
India on nuclear power
AFP, Tokyo
Japan began the first round of talks with India in Tokyo
Monday on exporting nuclear power generation technology
made by technology giants such as Toshiba and Hitachi, the
foreign ministry said.
The first round of two-day talks are aimed at devising a
treaty to allow cooperation between both sides on peaceful
use of nuclear power, but no deadline to reach an
agreement has been set.
Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said last week that Japan
would urge India to make further efforts for nuclear
non-proliferation.
India, along with Pakistan, faced a backlash in 1998 when
they declared themselves nuclear weapons states.
However, New Delhi has since signed nuclear cooperation
deals with the United States and other countries.
Canada and India signed a landmark nuclear deal Sunday,
ending a quarter of a century of mistrust after India used
Canadian technology to build its first nuclear bomb.
Canada is the eighth nation to reach a civil nuclear deal
with India since the Nuclear Suppliers' Group, a cartel
that trades in nuclear fuel, equipment and technology,
lifted a 34-year ban on India in 2008.
India had been denied access for decades to civilian
markets for atomic energy due to its nuclear weapons
programme and refusal to sign the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, which New Delhi says is
discriminatory.
Aside from the United States, which spearheaded an
international effort to bring back India to the nuclear
trading club, New Delhi has atomic deals with such
countries as France and Russia.
Singapore ship with Chinese
crew hijacked off Somalia
AFP, Beijing
A Singapore-flagged cargo ship with 19 Chinese crew aboard
was hijacked Monday by pirates in the Gulf of Aden off the
coast of Somalia, maritime authorities said.
The MV Golden Blessing, a petroleum and chemical tanker,
was travelling to India from Saudi Arabia when it was
hijacked. The shipowner said the crew was reported to be
safe. The European Union's anti-piracy taskforce said a
German helicopter sent to survey the area had reported
"sighting suspected pirates" on board the 14,445-tonne
ship about 60 nautical miles off northern Somalia.
"The vessel is under pirate control but remains unmoving
at present," the EU naval force said in a statement,
adding there were no reports of injuries.
An employee of Golden Pacific International Holdings,
which owns the ship, told AFP that the company was in
contact with the crew. "The crew so far is safe," said the
staff member, who asked not to be named.
He added no ransom demand had been made so far. Rescue
efforts had begun, the China Marine Rescue Centre said on
its website, but gave no further details.
Singapore maritime authorities said the ship had been
chartered to Shanghai Dingheng Shipping Co Ltd, adding
they were closely monitoring the situation.
More than 100 trapped in
China landslide
AFP, Beijing
More than 100 people were buried or trapped in a landslide
triggered by heavy rain in southwest China on Monday, a
local official said, in the latest weather-related
disaster to hit the nation.
Rescue work was under way in the affected village of
Dazhai in Guizhou province, the Xinhua news agency
reported, but a local official said it was being hampered
by the weather.
"One hundred and seven people from 37 families were
trapped or buried," an official in the Guanling county
emergencies office told AFP, adding that the number of
casualties was not yet known.
"It's raining hard, making the rescue work difficult,"
said the official, surnamed Wang
Large swathes of eastern, central and southern China have
been lashed by with torrential rain for days. On Sunday,
authorities said nearly 69 million people had been
affected.
So far this month, at least 235 people have died and more
than 100 others have gone missing in flooding and
landslides triggered by heavy rains, according to China's
civil affairs ministry.
Around 4.7 million people have been forced to flee their
homes over the past two weeks, the official China Daily
said.
The National Meteorological Centre warned that the rain
falling on Guizhou would not abate, with heavy to
torrential rain forecast in many parts of the province on
Tuesday.
The centre also warned there was a high probability that
southwestern areas of the province would suffer from more
rain-triggered geological disasters, and asked local
residents to be on their guard.
The floods are among the worst in the southern part of the
country since 1998, when more than 3,600 people were
killed and over 20 million displaced, Xinhua said.
Last week, in the central province of Hunan, water from a
swollen river surged to its highest level in a decade,
deluging small towns and rural areas upriver from the
capital Changsha.
In neighbouring Jiangxi, more than 75,000 people had to be
evacuated after a dyke burst on the Fuhe river, and an
army of over 2.6 million people in the province worked to
shore up flood defences to avert further disaster.
Thai ‘Red Shirt’ leader to
run in Bangkok poll
AFP, Bangkok
A Thai protest leader accused of terrorism was released
from prison briefly Monday to apply to run in a
by-election seen as a key test of the opposition's
prospects of success in nationwide polls.
Kokaew Pikulthong, a senior "Red Shirt" involved in the
mass rally in Bangkok that ended last month, will stand
against incumbent Panich Vikitsreth of the ruling Democrat
Party in the July 25 vote in the capital.
A Thai court last week granted permission for Kokaew, the
candidate of the main opposition Puea Thai Party, to be
released temporarily from Bangkok Remand Prison to
register to challenge Panich, a vice foreign minister.
Kokaew, who has not been convicted of any crimes relating
to his role in the two-month-long street protest, was
later returned to detention, but is expected to seek
permission to be released again to campaign for votes.
The Red Shirts' rally, which at its peak attracted up to
about 100,000 people demanding immediate elections,
sparked outbreaks of violence that left 90 people dead,
mostly civilians, and nearly 1,900 injured.
Enraged protesters set fire to dozens of major buildings
after the army crushed the demonstration by the mostly
poor and working class Reds with an assault on their vast
fortified encampment in central Bangkok on May 19.
The Red Shirts were campaigning for elections they hoped
would oust the government, which they view as undemocratic
because it came to power with the backing of the army
after a court ruling threw out the previous
administration.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva proposed November polls
in a bid to end the crippling protests, but shelved the
plan because the Reds-many of whom seek the return of
fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra-refused to
disperse.
Abhisit, whose government was elected by parliamentary
vote in 2008 and enjoys support among the Bangkok-based
elite, must call nationwide elections by the end of next
year at the latest.
Turkey
bars Israeli plane from using its airspace: Diplomat
AFP, Ankara
Turkey barred an Israeli military plane from using its
airspace after a deadly raid on Gaza-bound aid ships, a
Turkish diplomat said Monday, without specifying whether
there was a blanket ban.
"Military planes are required to obtain overflight
permission before each flight. One military plane was
denied permission immediately after" the May 31 raid which
left nine Turks dead, the diplomat, speaking on condition
of anonymity, said, without elaborating.
The diplomat did not specify whether the incident
signalled a total ban on Israeli military flights using
Turkish airspace.
There were no restrictions on civilian flights, the
diplomat added.
The Anatolia news agency Monday quoted Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that his country had closed
its airspace to Israel after the raid on the aid flotilla.
Erdogan, who was speaking in Toronto after the G20 summit,
gave no further details.
His remarks followed a report in the Israeli daily Yediot
Aharonot that an Israeli military plane taking an army
delegation to Poland was denied permission to use Turkish
airspace.
The cargo plane, carrying more than 100 officers on their
way to visit Auschwitz, had to follow an alternate route,
the report said.
The aid ship raid, in which Israeli commandos shot dead
eight Turks and a dual-US-Turkish citizen, delivered a
huge blow to Turkey's already strained ties with the
Jewish State.
Ankara recalled its ambassador to Israel immediately after
the raid, scrapped plans for three joint military
exercises and said economic and defence links would be
reduced to a "minimum level".
Turkish officials have said Ankara will downgrade
diplomatic ties with Israel if it does not take
conciliatory steps, including an apology for the bloodshed
and compensation for the victims' families.
Iran to ‘discipline’
West by holding off nuclear talks
AFP, Tehran
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday that Iran
will hold off talks with the world powers on Tehran's
nuclear programme until the end of August as a way to
"discipline" the West.
The hardline leader said at a Tehran news conference that
Iran would also seek the inclusion of Brazil and Turkey in
the nuclear fuel swap negotiations with the United States,
France and Russia.
When asked about when Tehran would talk with world powers
over its nuclear programme, Ahmadinejad said the
"negotiations (would likely occur) after the middle of
Ramadan," around the end of August.
"This is... so that they (the world powers) are
disciplined a bit and learn the way of talking to other
nations."
On the separate issue of the nuclear fuel swap deal,
Ahmadinejad said Iran was ready to talk, "but the talks
will be held on the basis of the Tehran Declaration."
"Naturally if France, Russia and the US are coming from
the other side, from this side it will be Iran, Turkey and
Brazil who will participate in the talks," Ahmadinejad
said.
The fuel "exchange is a way for engagement and this is
better than confrontation."
On May 17, Iran, Turkey and Brazil signed what is now
called as Tehran Declaration, a proposal which envisages
shipping Iran's low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be
followed at a later date with the supply of high enriched
uranium to Tehran from Russia and France.
CIA chief warns of long road ahead in
Afghanistan
AFP, Washington
The war in Afghanistan will be tougher and longer than
expected despite a string of successes against Al-Qaeda
that has weakened Osama bin Laden's terror network, the
CIA chief warned Sunday.
After a week in which US President Barack Obama sacked his
top Afghan war commander and troop deaths soared to a new
high since the 2001 invasion, spy chief Leon Panetta
conceded there were "serious problems."
"We're dealing with a tribal society. We're dealing with a
country that has problems with governance, problems with
corruption, problems with narcotics trafficking, problems
with a Taliban insurgency," Panetta told ABC's "This
Week."
Emboldened perhaps by divisions in the US war effort
exposed by the sacking of Afghan commander General Stanley
McChrystal, Taliban attacks are on the rise-a fact Panetta
did not attempt to hide.
"I think the Taliban obviously is engaged in greater
violence right now. They're doing more on IEDs (improvised
explosive devices). They're going after our troops.
There's no question about that.
"We are making progress. It's harder, it's slower than I
think anyone anticipated."
But Panetta, installed by Obama last year to head the
Central Intelligence Agency, stressed the president had
made it clear that going after Al-Qaeda was the
"fundamental purpose" of the military mission in
Afghanistan.
He was eager to point to good news, saying Al-Qaeda's
leadership was now apparently in a weaker state than ever
before, with as few as 50 members of the terror group left
in Afghanistan while US forces worked hard to "flush out"
Bin Laden.
"We've got to disrupt and dismantle Al-Qaeda and their
militant allies so they never attack this country again,"
Panetta said.
"I think at most, we're looking at maybe 50 to 100
(Al-Qaeda members), maybe less" in Afghanistan, he said,
while admitting most were in Pakistan's lawless tribal
areas that lie along the border with Afghanistan.
Obama, speaking in Toronto, Canada at the conclusion of
the G20 summit of leading economies also talked about a
"weakened" Al-Qaeda.
"It is true that Al-Qaeda right now is in Pakistan and
you'll often hear, why are we in Afghanistan when the
terrorists are in Pakistan."
Obama ups pressure on
‘belligerent’ North Korea
AFP, Toronto
US President Barack Obama demanded on Sunday the United
Nations condemn North Korea for its "unacceptable" and
"belligerent behavior" and said China must stop turning a
blind eye to its neighbor.
"Our main focus right now is in the UN Security Council
making sure that there is a crystal clear acknowledgement
that North Korea engaged in belligerent behavior that is
unacceptable to the international community," Obama told a
press conference.
He recalled that a multinational investigation had found
that Pyongyang was to blame for the sinking of a South
Korean warship in March, in which 46 sailors died.
The United States and Seoul have led a push for a UN
censure of Pyongyang for the sinking of the 1,2000-tonne
Cheonan, triggering threats of military reprisals from the
isolated Stalinist state.
Obama said he believed South Korean President Lee
Myung-Bak "has shown extraordinary restraint given these
circumstances."
"It is absolutely critical that the international
community rally behind him and send a clear message to
North Korea that this kind of behavior is unacceptable,"
he added.
Obama met with Lee on the sidelines of G20 talks in the
eastern Canadian city of Toronto, and vowed that
Washington stood behind him.
He also held talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao, and
said he had been "blunt" with him on the issue of North
Korea.
Beijing is a close ally of Pyongyang's and has been
reluctant to endorse a UN condemnation over the ship
sinking until it has assessed the evidence for itself.
"This is a situation in which you have a belligerent
nation that engaged in provocative and deadly acts against
the other. And I think it is very important that we are
clear about that," Obama told a press conference.
Medvedev: CIA warning on
Iranian nukes ‘troubling’
AFP, Toronto
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday that a CIA
warning that Iran has enough uranium to build two atomic
bombs was "worrying," and criticized Tehran's secrecy over
its nuclear program.
"This information has to be checked but such information
is always worrying and all the more so because the
international community does not recognize the Iranian
nuclear program as transparent," he told reporters.
Earlier, US spy chief Leon Panetta had said the Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) believes Iran now has enough
low-enriched uranium to produce two nuclear weapons if it
finds a way to further enrich it.
"If this is proved, it would make the situation even more
tense," Medvedev said, adding that Russia might need to
re-examine its position on the matter.
Russia has traditionally been an ally of Iran, but
Medvedev has expressed increasing public concern over its
nuclear program, which Washington and other Western
capitals fear is on course to build a nuclear weapon.
Despite complaints from the West, Russia is helping build
Iran's first nuclear power plant in the southern city of
Bushehr. In 2008 Russian energy giant Gazprom signed an
agreement with Iran to develop its oil and gas fields.
Russia, which unlike the United States has diplomatic ties
with Iran, has in the past been reluctant to impose tough
sanctions but backed the latest UN move following Tehran's
repeated defiance of orders to halt uranium enrichment.
Norway minister to bring
dead troops back from Afghanistan
AFP, Oslo
Norwegian Defence Minister Grete Faremo said Monday she
would personally travel to Afghanistan to bring home the
four soldiers killed when a roadside bomb hit their
convoy.
"I will accompany the coffins back home," she told
reporters in Oslo a day after the deadly attack, adding
that she would "travel to Afghanistan as soon as
possible."
Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said he was
deeply saddened by the loss of life, and said the attack
was a cruel reminder of the dangers involved in Norway's
participation in the military mission in Afghanistan.
"Even if we do everything in our power to ensure our
soldiers' safety, we can never be certain to avoid losses
like the ones we suffered yesterday (Sunday)," he told the
Oslo press conference.
"We know that the Norwegian forces are meeting a growing
resistance in Afghanistan, and there are large
challenges," he acknowledged, stressing however the
importance of Norway's involvement in the NATO mission
there.
"We also know that the NATO presence in Afghanistan has
prevented Al-Qaeda and other terror organisations from
using the country as a deployment area for terror attacks
against other countries," he pointed out.
The four soldiers, aged 21 to 41, were inside an armoured
vehicle when it was hit by a roadside bomb in the northern
Afghan province of Faryab Sunday.
The blast nearly doubled Norway's death toll in
Afghanistan to nine and accounted for the most Norwegian
troop casualties suffered in a single attack since World
War II.
Iran says CIA waging
psychological warfare against it
AFP, Tehran
Iran on Monday accused the US Central Intelligence Agency
of waging psychological warfare against it through "fake
reports," saying the CIA knows Tehran's nuclear programme
has no military aims.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast dismissed
CIA director Leon Panetta's comments that Iran could have
nuclear weapons ready to use by as early as 2012.
"Such remarks fall within the framework of psychological
warfare aimed at creating a negative perception about
Iran's peaceful nuclear activities," Mehmanparast told
state news agency IRNA.
"The American officials, especially their intelligence
apparatus, know that Iran's nuclear programme is in no way
a military one but is aimed at peaceful purposes," he
said.
"Those who bring up such fake reports seek to deflect
world public opinion from the main concern... the nuclear
arsenals of several countries and a certain regime," he
said in apparent reference to Iran's arch-foe Israel.
Speaking on ABC network's "This Week" programme, Panetta
on Sunday said that Iran has manufactured enough
low-enriched uranium for two atomic weapons.
He said Tehran would need a year to enrich it fully to
produce a bomb, and that it would take "another year to
develop the kind of weapon delivery system in order to
make that viable."
"There is a continuing debate right now about whether or
not they ought to proceed with a bomb. But they clearly
are developing their nuclear capability and that raises
concerns," Panetta said. Western powers led by Washington
suspect that Iran is masking a weapons drive under what
Tehran says is a civilian atomic programme.
On June 9, the United Nations Security Council imposed a
fourth set of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt
sensitive uranium enrichment work.
Business/Economy
Plastic
manufacturers seek withdrawal of exorbitant bank guarantee
requirement
UNB, Dhaka
Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BPGMEA) on Monday urged the government to
withdraw the existing cent percent bank guarantee in
importing raw plastic materials.
"As the plastic exporters have to submit 100 percent bank
guarantee before importing raw material, they have been
losing interest in investing in the plastic sector. The
sector has been facing severe crisis due to import
barriers," said BPGMEA general secretary Mosaddequr Rahman
at a press conference at BPGMEA conference room in the
city.
He said that the production of the around 300 plastic
industries is going to be stopped due to a crisis of raw
materials.
About the plastic industrial belt, Rahman said that a
'Memorandum of Understanding' (MoU) was signed between
BPGMEA and BSCIC in 2006 to set up a plastic industrial
belt on 50 acres of land in Keraniganj, but still there is
no visible step to implement the initiative.
He also stressed the need for removing complications in
getting approval of Department of Environment (DoE) to set
up new plastic industry. Rahman also urged the government
to provide 20 percent cash incentive and not to increase
import tariffs in the coming budget for sustaining the
sector.
BPGMEA general secretary also called upon the government
to withdraw the duty in buying diesel and furnace oil to
address the ongoing power crisis in this sector.
BPGMEA presidents Shahelul Islam Helal, BPGMEA leaders
Jasim Uddin, Shamim Ahmed, Ferdous Wahed, Nowroz Ali, ATM
Saidur Rahman Bulbul and Mohammad Hasan, among others,
were present at the press conference.
Economic
recovery in danger if stimulus not cut: BIS
AFP, Basel, Switzerland
The Bank for International Settlements warned on Monday
that economic recovery is at risk of a relapse if
governments do not move fast to wind down crisis stimulus
programmes. In its annual report, the global central bank
body called for "immediate" steps to cut budget deficits
and debt accumulation in "several industrial countries",
which were not named.
The BIS said the crisis had left a "daunting legacy"
especially in industralised nations, where the recovery
was still fragile and uneven.
However, while support measures had prevented the worse by
stifling contagion, they sapped confidence by delaying
"much needed adjustments in the real economy and financial
sector," it added. "The combination of remaining
vulnerabilities in the financial system and the side
effects of ongoing intensive care threaten to send the
patient into relapse and to undermine reform efforts," the
report underlined. "Macroeconomic support has its limits,"
it added. The BIS said recent reaction of financial
markets showed that those limits had been reached in
several countries. The 206 page annual report was released
a day after leaders of the world's 20 leading economies
finished a two-day meeting with a commitment to at least
halve deficits by 2013 and stabilise or reduce government
debts by 2016.
Despite low inflation and the fragile economy, the BIS
also hinted at a shift in monetary policy towards interest
rate hikes.
"It is important to bear in mind that keeping interest
rates near zero for too long, with abundant liquidity,
leads to distortions and creates risk for financial and
monetary stability," the report said.
The BIS also reiterated its call for fundamental reform of
the financial system, including more effective regulation,
at the same time as the shift in economic and monetary
policy, to provide "more stable foundations" for growth.
Through last year central bankers were earnestly looking
for the signals for the right moment for governments to
unwind spending programmes that were implemented to dampen
the crisis and stimulate a recovery.
The report also warned that banking industry was highly
exposed to the the deteriorating commercial property
market.
OPEC urges US to ‘look
again’ at offshore drilling ban
AFP, Brussels
OPEC urged the United States on Monday to reconsider legal
moves and ditch a ban on deep-water drilling slapped on
the oil industry in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico
disaster.
"We should not really ban it and we should not jump to
conclusions without serious study," OPEC secretary general
Abdullah al-Badri said after meeting with European Union
energy chiefs in Brussels.
He said the oil business was re-examining its methods
after an April 20 explosion at a BP-leased rig off
Louisiana killed 11 workers, with the cost to BP pegged on
Monday at 2.65 billion dollars (2.15 billion euros).
The EU itself wants to take a closer look at drilling at
depth in the North Sea off Scotland, where most of the
bloc's oil reserves are to be found, and al-Badri said
OPEC would engage with Brussels where relevant.
Across the board, he said that "if there is any adjustment
that has to be made to present operations we should make
that, but we should really be very careful" about rushing
in, with an eye on supply levels and the effect on price
and the global economy.
However, he reiterated: "I'm sure that the United States
government is in limbo because they don't know what's
going on in their operation and that's why they stopped
their offshore operation.
"We hope they will look again at their decision."
Despite desperate efforts, BP is still not capping all of
the 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of oil estimated to be
spilling into the sea every day, saying it is managing to
contain about 25,000 barrels daily.
BP's share price has collapsed by more than 50 percent
since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig which the company
operated sank on April 22, two days after the deadly
blast.
G20 promises
leave Asian markets unmoved
AFP, Hong Kong
A G20 statement promising to cut deficits, boost growth
and stabilise the markets held little sway for Asian
stocks Monday, as China strengthened the yuan anew after
the weekend summit.
Leaders of the world's 20 leading economies finished a
two-day meeting in Toronto with a communique committing
advanced economies to at least halve deficits by 2013 and
stabilise or reduce government debts by 2016. The joint
statement warned that "failure to implement consolidation
where necessary would undermine confidence and hamper
growth". But the statement was thick with caveats, with
many analysts saying it did not apply strong enough
pressure on debt-ridden governments.
Mizuho Corporate Bank market economist Daisuke Karakama
said: "They achieved the goal of being neutral to
markets-it's a statement of little meaning."
In the first day's trade after the summit, Hong Kong ended
0.17 percent, or 35.89 points, higher at 20,726.68. But
Tokyo's Nikkei ended 0.45 percent, or 43.54 points, lower
at 9,693.94 and Sydney was down 0.65 percent, or 28.5
points, at 4,384.5.
Shanghai dropped 0.69 percent, or 17.54 points, to close
at 2,535.28.
The summit exposed differences over how to chart a way
forward for the global economy after the worst financial
crisis in decades, Cityindex head of dealing Michael
McCarthy told Dow Jones Newswires in Sydney.
"Clearly the US wants the fiscal stimulus to remain in
place for some time, but the Europeans say they can't
afford to keep borrowing and spending, so there's a
divergence there and there are concerns that this could
lead to ructions globally," he said.
Main points of
G20 summit declaration
AFP, Toronto
Leaders of the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations
wrapped up two days of talks here Sunday agreeing that the
largest economies should strive to cut their deficits in
half by 2013. Here are the main points they agreed:
Deficit Reduction
"Following through on fiscal stimulus and communicating
'growth friendly' fiscal consolidation plans in advanced
countries that will be implemented going forward."
"Advanced economies have committed to fiscal plans that
will at least halve deficits by 2013 and stabilize or
reduce government debt-to-GDP ratios by 2016."
Exchange rates and trade balances
"Strengthening social safety nets, enhancing corporate
governance reform, financial market development,
infrastructure spending, and greater exchange rate
flexibility in some emerging markets."
"Surplus economies will undertake reforms to reduce their
reliance on external demand and focus more on domestic
sources of growth."
Ffinancial sector reform
"Accelerating the implementation of strong measures to
improve transparency and regulatory oversight of hedge
funds, credit rating agencies and over-the-counter
derivatives."
"More effective oversight and supervision."
Bank tax
"We agreed the financial sector should make a fair and
substantial contribution towards paying for any burdens
associated with government interventions, where they
occur, to repair the financial system or fund resolution,
and reduce risks from the financial system.
"We recognized that there are a range of policy approaches
to this end. Some countries are pursuing a financial levy.
Other countries are pursuing different approaches."
Tax havens
"We are addressing non-cooperative jurisdictions based on
comprehensive, consistent, and transparent assessment with
respect to tax havens, the fight against money laundering
and terrorist financing and the adherence to prudential
standards."
Development aid
"Narrowing the development gap and reducing poverty are
integral to our broader objective of achieving strong,
sustainable and balanced growth and ensuring a more robust
and resilient global economy for all.
"In this regard, we agree to establish a Working Group on
Development and mandate it to elaborate, consistent with
the G20's focus on measures to promote economic growth and
resilience, a development agenda and multi-year action
plans to be adopted at the Seoul Summit." To provide
"much-needed reconstruction assistance (for Haiti),
including the full cancellation of all of Haiti's IFI
debt."
Trade
"We renew for a further three years, until the end of
2013, our commitment to refrain from raising barriers or
imposing new barriers to investment or trade in goods and
services, imposing new export restrictions or implementing
World Trade Organization (WTO) - inconsistent mea-sures to
stimulate exports, and commit to rectify such measures as
they arise."
"We reiterate our support for bringing the WTO Doha
Development Round to a balanced and ambitious conclusion
as soon as possible."
Environment
"We are committed to engage in negotiations under the
UNFCCC on the basis of its objective provisions and
principles including common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities and are
determined to ensure a successful outcome through an
inclusive process at the Cancun Conferences."
"Following the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico we
recognize the need to share best practices to protect the
marine environment, prevent accidents related to offshore
exploration and development, as well as transportation,
and deal with their consequences."
Obama challenges
China on G20 stage
AFP, Toronto
US President Barack Obama has launched a stern challenge
to China, using the big stage of the G20 summit of world
powers to demand Beijing's help in rebalancing the world
economy. The G20 leaders, representing both the world's
established economic giants and its dynamic emerging
powers, agreed a package of measures to cut deficits,
stimulate growth and return stability to financial
markets.
But Obama went further than the carefully worded joint
statement, using his post-summit press conference to
remind China that the United States expects it to allow
its currency to rise and to reduce its huge trade surplus.
"My expectation is that they're going to be serious about
the policy that they themselves have announced," Obama
said Sunday, welcoming China's announcement last week that
it will allow more flexibility in the yuan exchange rate.
As the world limps out of the worst recession since the
1930s, American policymakers fear the recovery will revive
the one-sided trade across the Pacific in Chinese goods
kept cheap by the low level of the yuan.
National
RTI reflects government’s
commitment to press freedom: Azad
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban
Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad
on Monday said enactment of the Right to Information (RTI)
Act in the parliament soon after coming to power reflected
the government's sincerity and commitment to freedom of
the pPress.
Referring to government's allocation of Taka 6.55 crore in
the next fiscal year for implementing the RTI Act, he
asserted that the present government believes in the free
flow of information and freedom of the press with its
fundamental principle to establish rule of law in the
country. To ensure free flow of information, he said, the
government issued license for 12 private TV channels and
14 community radio stations.
The information minister said this while taking part in
the general discussion on next year's (2010-2011) budget
in the parliament with Deputy Speaker M Shawkat Ali in the
chair.
The minister said BNP and its allies resorted to a reign
of terror on the press, killed eight journalists, detained
and tortured in jail many more journalists, when they were
in power.
"It is an irony that they are now observing the so-called
Black Day", he said adding that the people would no more
be misguided as they know it very well what is malicious
and corrupt politics. Thanking the Finance Minister for
allocating Taka 439 crore for the Ministry of Information
and Cultural Affairs, Abul Kalam Azad said his ministry
has already undertaken series of projects and programmes
for the best utilization of the fund.
He said the information and cultural affairs ministry
properly implemented the annual development programems
during the current fiscal year. "The honorarium for the
artistes has also been increased," he added. Bangladesh
Television and Bangladesh Betar will be modernized and new
equipment for BTV will be procured next year. Bangladesh
Betar will set up a 1000 kw transmitter.
To improve the professional capacity of journalists, Azad
said the ministry has earmarked Taka three crore for
training of journalists. He urged the owners of the
newspaper to implement the 7th wage board award to create
a congenial as well as professional atmosphere in the
newspaper industry.
He said the government has enhanced the size of the grant
for making healthy movies along with constituting a
taskforce to stop vulgarism in the film industry.
Referring to the programmes of the Ministry of Cultural
Affairs, the minister said the government has given
special allocation of Taka 1 rpt One crore for
implementing various programmes of the ministry.
WB approves three development projects
BSS, Dhaka
World Bank (WB) approved three projects worth US $ 327
million: the Chittagong Water Supply Improvement and
Sanitation Project, second phase of Empowerment and
Livelihood Improvement "Nuton Jibon" Project, and the
additional financing for the Municipal Services Project.
These projects are aimed at empowering the poor, improving
service delivery and enhancing development outcomes in
Bangladesh, a press release said. With the approval of
these projects, the WB's total concessionary lending to
Bangladesh reaches to US $ 830 million.
WB Acting Country Director for Bangladesh Zahid Hussain
said, "Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in reducing
poverty. Still the country faces challenges such as
ensuring adequate access to basic services and
infrastructure, including water and sanitation facilities
for the poor."
The US $ 170 million Chittagong Water Supply Improvement
and Sanitation Project (CWISP) will support the
improvement of water supply and sanitation services in
Chittagong.
The project will help the Chittagong Water Supply and
Sewerage Authority (CWASA) to improve its services through
construction of selected water production, transmission,
and storage and distribution facilities.
At present CWASA is able to meet only 35 percent of the
estimated demand for water. CWSIP will expand piped water
supply services to slum areas and will provide water and
sanitation services to about 2,50,000 poor slum dwellers.
The US $115 million Nuton Jibon (earlier known as Social
Investment Program Project) will improve the quality of
life and livelihood of the vulnerable and poor households
in villages. The project further aims to help building
resilience towards climate change and natural
disasters.Focusing on a demand driven and community based
development approach 'Nuton Jibon' helps the rural poor
form their own institutions and provides direct financing
for village development.
It has already benefited 3 million people in about 1,500
villages in the poorest and most disaster-prone districts.
The second phase will cover additional 1,500 villages and
will benefit over 3 million more vulnerable people.
The US$42 million additional financing for Municipal
Services Project will help to improve urban infrastructure
and concurrently improve municipal financing and
management capacity.
The project has so far financed the construction and
rehabilitation of urban infrastructure in about 130
municipalities, and repaired and rehabilitated
flood-damaged infrastructure in 195 towns.
Govt to bear medical expenses of
three hartal victims
UNB, Dhaka
The government will bear the expenditures for medical
treatment of Engineer Abul Kashem, Faruk and Suman, the
three victims of the June 27 hartal that was called by
opposition party BNP and its political allies.
Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Huq, Joint General Secretary
of Bangladesh Awami League Mahbubul Alam Hanif and APS to
Prime Minister Saifuzzaman Shekhor visited the ailing
persons on Monday.
Saifuzzaman Shekhor told UNB they visited the injured
persons having been directed to do so by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
"The government will bear the medical expenses of the
injured persons," he said.
Faruk and Suman, the two friends received serious burn
injuries when miscreants hurled petrol bombs on their car
near the Maghbazar rail crossing the night before the
hartal.
Of the two, 60 per cent of Faruk's body was reportedly
burnt by fire while Suman also received serious injuries
on his legs, hands and other parts of the body. Faruk and
Suman are now undergoing treatment at the Burn unit of
Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
Another victim Abul Kashem, an engineer of Water and Power
Development Board has been admitted to the intensive care
unit of Square Hospital. While going to office on Sunday
morning, Kashem came under attack from picketers near Aziz
Super Market in Shahbagh. Engineer Kashem received serious
injuries on his head as the picketers hurled bricks on his
car.
Minister for establishing rights of visually impaired
people through ICT
UNB, Dhaka
State Minister for Science and Information and
Communication Technology Yeafesh Osman called upon all to
come forward for helping establish the rights of the
visually impaired people through utilizing Information
Communication Technology (ICT). The minister made the
remarks while addressing an inaugural ceremony of computer
training for visually impaired people at Bangladesh
Computer Council (BCC) at city's Agargaon on Monday.
Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID),
a NGO, and BCC will jointly organize the 2-month long
special computer training to 12 visually impaired people
for making them skilled and self-reliant by using ICT.
In his speech, the minister said use of technology can
help eradicate their shortcomings and make them skilled.
The disabled people, who are part of our society, should
be allowed to work for humanity. The minister told that
function that it would not be possible to make digital
Bangladesh by excluding them. "All should be involved for
making digital Bangladesh".
He said the present government is sympathetic towards the
disabled people and it would extend its cooperation for
establishing their rights.
The minister hoped that bureaucracy under the present
government will also extend their helping hands in this
regard.
Addressing the occasion, other speakers called for
involving the visually impaired people into ICT for
helping them earn their livelihood and making their life
decent. Country's development would be hampered if they
are excluded from the mainstream of our development, they
said.
The meeting was told there are about 1.50 crore disabled
people in the country. Use of Information Communication
Technology can contribute to making them skilled, which
can help establish their rights.
Chaired by Executive Director of BCC Mahfuzur Rahman, the
occasion was addressed, among others, by Khandaker Zahurul
Islam, Executive Director of CSID, Rifat Shahpar Khan,
Programme Manager of Sightsavers International.
A number of visually impaired people and government
officials were present at the programme.
30 injured in clashes in districts during Sunday’s hartal
UNB, Dhaka
At least 30 people were injured in clashes between pro and
anti-hartal activists and police action in different
districts during Sunday's country-wide day-long hartal
enforced by mainstream opposition BNP. Law enforcers also
arrested around 85 people on charges of picketing. In
Munshiganj, at least 21 people were injured in clashes
between BCL and JCD activists at different places in the
district during the hartal hours.
Some JCD activists stabbed Mehedi Hasan, a student leader
of Govt. Haraganga College in front of the college gate at
noon. Hearing the news, angry BCL activists attacked JCD
activists and damaged at least 20 houses and eight private
cars, leaving 21 people injured. Police arrested eight
people in this connection. In Feni, six Jubo Dal activists
were injured in sporadic clashes between pro-hartal
picketers and ruling party men during the hartal at
different places in the district. Police arrested 13
people on charge of picketing. In Comilla police arrested
21 BNP and Jamaat activists on charge of picketing during
the Sunday's hartal hours. At least three people were
injured during chase and counter chase between Jamaat
activists and law enforcers at Chouddagram upazila in the
morning.
Besides, police arrested 45 pro-hartal pickets during
Sunday's day-long hartal from Satkhira, Laxmipur,
Brahmanbaria, Natore, Thakurgaon and Noagaon districts.
Over 300 people affected by diarrhoea in Sylhet
UNB, Sylhet
Diarrhoea that broke out in an alarming proportion in the
flood-hit areas of the district affected over 300 people
in last two weeks. Sources said every a number of diarrhea
patients are being admitted to the different upazila
health complexes for treatment.
Physicians said intake of adulterated food and polluted
water is the main reason behind the outbreak of the water
borne disease. They said the children are the worst
sufferers. They said in last 24 hours some 42 people were
admitted to different hospitals.
They said the worst affected upazilas are frontier
Goainghat, Balaganj and Jakiganj. So far, some 89 people
from Balaganj, 80 people from Jokiganj and 53 people from
Goainghat have been admitted to different hospitals. As
per the information supplied by the district civil
surgeon's office over 300 people were affected by the
disease. Official sources said control rooms have been set
up in different health complexes to monitor the situation.
They said some 137 medical teams have working round the
clock in the affected areas to combat the spread of the
disease.
KCC announces Tk 159.19cr budget for 2010-11
UNB, Khulna
Khulna City Corporation (KCC) announced its Tk 159.19
crore budget for 2010-2011 fiscal year on Monday.
KCC Mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleq announced the proposed
budget in the afternoon at KCC conference room in presence
of KCC ward councilors, journalists and local elites.
Terming the proposed budget a pro-development one, Mayor
Khaleq said no new tax was imposed on city dwellers and
the budget aims at expanding civic amenities and improving
its quality.
He said Tk 50.91cr will come from revenue while the rest (Tk
108.28cr) will be provided by the government as grant to
meet the development expenditure. Besides, the KCC will
provide Tk 15.50cr from its own fund to meet the expenses
of various development projects.
Govt urged to negotiate with India to facilitate export of
MS rods to northeastern states
UNB, Dhaka
The country's steel millers on Monday urged the government
to negotiate with India to facilitate export of their
products with duty-free access to the seven neighbouring
northeastern states, popularly known as Seven Sisters.
Addressing a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity,
the leaders of Bangladesh Auto Re-rolling and Steel Mills
Association (BARSMA) said that if the local steelmakers
are given opportunity, they could export their products at
very competitive prices.
"We're ready to export our products, particularly MS rods
of different grades to the 'Seven Sisters' at very low
prices. But the government would have to negotiate with
India for market access with zero tariff or lower tariff,"
said Sheikh Masadul Alam Masud, President of BARSMA.
The seven Indian states in the northeast region are Assam,
Arunachal, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura and
Mizoram.
BARSMA Secretary General Abul Quasem Mazumder read out a
statement at the press conference focusing 7-point demand
of the local auto re-rolling and steel millers, who claim
that their mills now produce international standard MS
products which are being exported to different countries.
BARSMA Finance Director Sirajul Islam Mridha was also
present at the press conference.
The country has now 300 steel and re-rolling mills in
operation with investment totaling Tk 20,000 crore. Of
them, about 30 mills were set up in recent years with
automatic machine ensuring quality products.
The BARSMA leaders said presently, they could only utilise
half of their production capacity because of the limited
market demand in the country and also for gas and power
crisis.
They said there is huge demand of Bangladeshi MS rods in
the Indian 'Seven Sisters' because of very low
transportation cost.
"If any businessman of 'Seven Sisters' wants to bring MS
rods from other Indian states, he has to bear a huge
transportation cost because of long distance. But we can
offer our products at a very low rate because of lower
transportation cost as the seven states are very close to
our borders," said Abul Quasem Mazumder.
"India is allowed to use our Chittagong port. Now the
government should negotiate with India that in exchange of
the port use facility our products can go to 'Seven
Sisters' with duty-free access," he said, adding that this
will reduce the huge trade gap with India.
The leaders presented the 7-point demand in the interest
of development of the local steel and re-rolling sector's
development.
The demands include lowering the tariff of value added tax
(VAT) at the chemical import and rod production level,
rationalisation of import duty on melting scrap and scrap
vessel, and withdrawal of congestion charge at Chittagong
port.
The other demands include removal of customs officials'
alleged harassment during goods inspection, withdrawal of
BSTI charge on annual turnover basis, ensuring mandatory
use of local steel in government projects and financial
support from the government's stimulus package.
The steel millers alleged that some shipping lines
recently imposed congestion charge in the Chittagong port
on the plea of delay in goods unloading.
"This will cost an extra Tk 10,000 per container of our
raw materials," Mazumder said.
7 killed, 9 injured in
lightning strikes in Naogaon, Bogra and Satkhira districts
UNB, Dhaka
Seven people were killed and nine others injured in
separate lightning incidents in Naogaon, Bogra and
Satkhira districts Monday.
In Naogaon, three people were killed and four others
injured as thunderbolt struck them in Manda and Sapahar
upazilas.
Sources said Mallika Bibi, 40, wife of Naser Ali of
Boilshing Dighirpar and Kamruzzaman, 28, son of Iman Ali
of North Kalikapur village in Manda upazila were killed as
lightning hit them during storm, leaving them dead on the
spot.
Later a day labour, Moklesur Rahman, 25 of Shitol village
in Sapahar upazila, was killed as thunderbolt struck him
while working in a field.
Four people injured in lightning strike in the two
upazilas were rushed to Upazila Health Complexes.
In Bogra, two day-labourers were killed and four others
injured in lightning strike at Achlai village in Shibganj
upazila on Monday morning.
Witnesses said, 6 day-labourers were injured being struck
by lightning at 10am.
The injured day-labourers were rushed to Shaheed Ziaur
Rahman Medical College Hospital where Delwar and Jalal
succumbed later on.
In Satkhira, two people were killed and another was
injured in separate incidents of lightning in the district
on Monday afternoon.
The deceased were identified as Shafiqul Islam, 40, of
Itagachha area in Satkhira town and Mozammel Hossain, 28,
of Maachhkhola village in Sadar upazila.
Locals said, lightning strike instantly killed Shafiqul
who was working at Kukhrali Beel.
In a separate incident, lightning struck Alim and his
brother Mozammel who were ploughing a crop land at
Maachhkhola, killing Mozammel on the spot. Injured Alim
was admitted to Satkhira Sadar Hospital.
Sports
Messi attracts fouls as Tevez takes
plaudits
AFP, Johannesburg
Carlos Tevez took man-of-the- match honours but Lionel Messi
fell victim to Mexico's rugged marking as Argentina won 3-1 to
reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
Tevez scored a brace and striker Gonzalo Higuain claimed his
fourth goal of the tournament as the two-time world champions
set up an enticing last-eight duel with Germany in Cape Town
on Saturday.
While Tevez garnered the plaudits for his wonder strike in the
52nd minute, the world's best player was closely marked by the
Mexicans. Messi was fouled five times over the course of the
game, with Mexico skipper Rafael Marquez-Messi's Barcelona
team-mate -- getting a yellow card for his special attention
in the first half.
Messi was largely contained well away from the Mexican goal in
the opening half, except for a cheeky attempt to chip
goalkeeper Oscar Perez, but it took a spark of genius to
conjure the opening goal for Tevez on 26 minutes.
The Manchester City striker was set free by a stabbed pass
from Messi, and when his shot was parried by Perez, Messi
lobbed the ball back towards goal for Tevez to head it over
the line from close range.
The Mexicans vehemently protested that Tevez was in an offside
position-a view supported by replays-but Italian referee
Roberto Rosetti allowed the goal to stand after conferring
with his assistant for several minutes.
Retribution was swift, with Marquez going into the referee's
notebook for hacking down Messi from the restart. Stuttgart
defender Ricardo Osorio gifted Argentina their second goal
seven minutes later when he gave the ball away just outside
his area and Higuain pounced to round the goalkeeper and
stroke home.
Tevez settled the issue seven minutes into the second half
when he let fly with his right foot from outside the area,
sending the ball rocketing past Perez's despairing dive into
the top-right corner.
Tevez was mobbed by team-mates as he raced towards the team
dug-out and was given a long embrace by coach Diego Maradona.
His spectacular night came to an end in the 69th minute when
he was replaced by Juan Sebastian Veron.
Striker Javier Hernandez reduced the deficit on 71 minutes
when he turned Martin Demichelis and held off Nicolas Otamendi
to blast home a rising left- foot shot.
History
beckons for Japan and Paraguay
AFP, Pretoria
Japan and Paraguay stand on the brink of history ahead of
their second round clash at the Loftus Versfeld stadium here
on Tuesday. Neither side has ever made it to the
quarter-finals of the World Cup before so one team is
guaranteed to be the greatest that their respective country
has ever produced. This match-up is one of the most unexpected
and unlikely in the second round and in some respects courtesy
of the failings of others.
Paraguay were expected to be playing for second place in their
group but Italy's failure to win a match saw them elminiated
with Paraguay taking top spot despite only winning once
themselves. Japan were an unexpected package in their group as
they toppled both Cameroon and Denmark while falling by only
by a single goal against the highly fancied Dutch. And as the
only surviving Asian nation left in the competition, Japan
coach Takeshi Okada believes his team can take inspiration
from that just as Ghana did from being the last remaining
Africans. "As a matter of course, I think we have to play with
pride as a member nation of Asia. My wish to overcome Paraguay
has grown stronger," he said.
But Okada, who coached Japan in their World Cup finals debut
in 1998 when they lost all three group matches, has warned his
players against premature feelings of success. "Well, I think
they will be alright because I have warned them against it
ever since the (Denmark) match ended. It is because our goal
is not here." Okada said Paraguay's two main strengths are
their solid defence and their big forwards, meaning the
Japanese have been paying special attention to set- pieces.
"They have two big centre forwards. They have five players who
are strong in heading but not so much as the Danes," he said.
Although Japan reached the second round once before, that was
on home soil in 2002 when they were then beaten 1-0 by Turkey.
Otherwise they had never won a match in the World Cup until
this year, losing five and drawing just once, 0-0 with Croatia
in 2006.
Paraguay have a much longer history in the tournament and
coach Gerardo Martino is keen for his team to achieve
something that will make them stand out from their
predecessors. "If we don't go through nobody much will
remember us (but) if we turn in Paraguay's best ever showing
then they will talk about us for a good while," he said.
Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz believes the team has
what it takes to keep progressing to a quarter-final match-up
against either Spain or Portugal.
"We want to do something we have never managed to achieve and
make history," he said. Paraguay have certainly had better
luck this time around than in their three previous second
round appearances. In 1986 they were thumped 3-0 by England
before drawing hosts and eventual winners France in 1998.
There they lost to the first ever golden goal in World Cup
history, scored by new France coach Laurent Blanc.
Four years later the draw again did them no favours as Germany
awaited them and a goal two minutes from time broke Paraguayan
hearts as the Germans went on to the final.
Paraguay's defence has been water-tight up until now and
unless Japan can get in behind the South Americans, they'll
find it very hard to score. Paraguay won't comme forward like
Denmark did and Japan will have to take every chance they get
because the talented South Americans are likely to find a way
through the Japanese back line.
‘Red
card’ Larrionda no stranger to controversy
AFP, Paris
Under-fire World Cup referee Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda was
no stranger to controversy prior to his blunder in the
World Cup last 16 match between Germany and England on
Sunday. Larrionda, who ruled along with his linesman that
England midfielder Frank Lampard's shot had not gone over
the line when it clearly had and which would have made the
score 2-2 with Germany before half-time, was suspended in
2002 for six months by his national Football Association
over 'irregularities'.
That ruled the man known by some as 'Red Card Larrionda'
out of officiating at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan
and South Korea.
The 42-year-old has also incurred the wrath of the United
States side twice, most notably in the 2006 World Cup
when, in a group match with eventual champions Italy, he
red-carded three players - two of them American.
Serbian coach Radomir Antic is no fan of his either having
been outraged after Larrionda turned down appeals for a
penalty for handball against Tim Cahill in their
concluding group match against Australia last Wednesday.
Had it been given, and Serbia scored, they and not Ghana
would have progressed to the last 16 and a clash with the
United States. "The referee did not want to see it," said
Antic afterwards. "We did not get fair treatment."
Lampard's 'goal' is also not the first time that Larrionda
has ruled that the ball did not go over the line when it
did as was the case in 2004 in a match between Brazil and
Colombia in a 2006 World Cup qualifier.
Brazilian striker Adriano's shot hit the bar and came down
clearly over the line but the Uruguayan ruled it had not.
Italian referee Roberto Rosetti, who refereed the Euro
2008 final, also came under the spotlight for allowing the
first Argentinian goal in the 3-1 win over Mexico despite
the scorer Carlos Tevez being clearly offside.
However, the 42-year-old hospital director - who was one
of the few Italian referees not to be implicated in the
matchfixing scandal back in 2006 - escaped total censure
from aggr-ieved Mexican coach Javier Aguirre. "Referees
have to make split-second decisions and they can spoil
everything, it happens."
Angry English press demands that
Capello quit
AFP, London
English commentators launched scathing attacks Monday on
their football team's dire performance against Germany
which ended the country's World Cup hopes, as calls
mounted for Fabio Capello to quit.
Newspapers saved some of their criticism for the referee
in the game who disallowed an England goal that had
clearly crossed the line, during the country's heaviest
ever defeat in the World Cup finals.
But this was nothing compared to the fury directed at the
team for their unconvincing effort in Bloemfontein, South
Africa, which saw them slump to a 4-1 defeat against their
arch-rivals.
The Sun tabloid, which is Britain's best-selling paper,
headlined its front page with a message to the players:
"You let your country down."
"We gave football to the world. Yet since 1966, the world
has stubbornly refused to give it back," said the paper,
referring to the only time England has ever won the World
Cup.
"And in yesterday's pathetic performance we miserably
failed to take the game from the old enemy, Germany."
"England coach Fabio Capello and his team of
self-regarding flops have presided over a national
embarrassment, one of the most comprehensive humiliations
in our sporting history," lamented the Daily Mail.
The mounting anger at England's performance led
commentators to call for what many now expect to happen-Capello
to resign and make way for a fresh face to help the side
get over such a severe defeat.
"England played three calamitous matches out of four,
failed to score goals and defended like fools-and that's
all (Capello's) responsibility," said the Times.
The Italian, who has been in charge of the Three Lions
since January 2008, admitted at a press conference after
England's defeat he was considering his position as coach.
Papers were also up in arms about the decision by
Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda and his assistant to
disallow a goal scored by England player Frank Lampard in
the first half of the match, which had clearly crossed the
line.
Had the referee allowed it, England would have equalised
with Germany. "The ref and his assistant were the only two
people in the ground who didn't think the ball had crossed
the line," commented the Daily Mail. But most thought the
referee's mistake had not made much difference to the
final result, as England were playing so badly.
The Sun said the disallowed goal "was no excuse for the
way Fabio Capello's toothless Three Lions were made to
look like pussycats". "England were robbed of a goal, not
the result. They deserved to lose," said the Times.
The controversial decision did however prompt a flurry of
appeals for the introduction of video goal-line technology
to avoid such blunders in the future.
"Even the stubborn bunch who run FIFA must now cave in to
demands for bringing technology to the game," urged the
Sun.
Bangladesh sack
Shakib, appoint Mortaza as captain
AFP, Dhaka
Bangladesh's cricket chiefs on Monday remo-ved Shakib Al
Hasan as captain and replaced him with Mashrafe Mortaza
for the upcoming tour of England, Ireland and Scotland.
Shakib was dumped just a day after being appointed skipper
and will instead serve as Mortaza's deputy on the tour,
Bangladesh Cricket Board official Enayat Hossain Siraj
told AFP.
Mortaza had been appointed captain for the tour of the
West Indies, but suffered a knee injury and was replaced
by Shakib, who went on to lead the side to victory in both
the Test and one-day series against the depleted rivals.
"Mashrafe was our captain during the West Indies series.
But then he suffered injuries. So we are now bringing him
back to his former position," Siraj said.
The official claimed that Shakib had voluntarily stepped
down to concentrate on his cricket. But assistant coach
Khaled Mahmud, a former Ban-gladesh captain, admitted he
was surprised by the decision to change captains a fews
days before the team was due to depart for England.
"Before Shakib became captain, the selectors always said
that if Mashrafe could get fit, he might be able to take
the job again," Mahmud told Cricinfo.
"I'm not sure if it's the right or wrong move, but it's
been a tough time for Shakib, whose recent performances,
particularly with the bat, have not been up to standard.
"It's important for Bang-ladesh that he performs well, and
perhaps the pressure of the captaincy is too much. He's
still young, while Mashrafe is more mature."
Under Shakib, Bang-ladesh lost a home Test series against
India and were beaten both at home and away by England.
They also fared poorly in the recent Asia Cup in Sri Lanka
where they lost all three matches.
Bangladesh are due to play three one-day internationals
against Eng-land and two each against Ireland and Scotland
on the tour, which starts on July 3.
Argentina will beat Germany, insists Maradona
AFP, Johannesburg
Fresh from his side's 3-1 win over Mexico in the round of
16, Argentina coach Diego Maradona said he will pick the
right players to beat Germany in Saturday's World Cup
quarter-final. A double from Argentina's Carlos Tevez,
plus Gonzalo Higuain's fourth of the tournament, sealed
the win while Mexico scored a consolation goal by Javier
Hernandez.
Maradona is confident his side will now beat Germanym who
crushed England 4-1, at Cape Town on Saturday in their
quarter-final showdown. "We will take stock of our
situation, then we will try and put together the best team
to showcase our talents against Germany," he said.
"It will be the team to give us the guarantee to overcome
Germany. We know Germany are a different team to the side
we faced in Mexico. "They are stronger, but we will field
the right players to beat them."
Victory over Mexico was not without controversy as replays
of Tevez's first-half goal showed the Manchester City
striker was clearly offside. When quizzed about the goal,
Maradona took the opportunity to defend his star
midfielder Lionel Messi, who was fouled five times by his
Mexican markers while Rafael Marquez was yellow carded for
a foul on the star after 28 minutes.
When asked how Mexico coach Javier Aguirre felt about
Tevez's goal, which he scored despite being in an off-side
position, Maradona went on the attack.
"He would have felt the same way I do when Messi is
playing and he gets kicked around, but the referee doesn't
act," fumed Maradona. "(The goal) looks like it was
absolutely normal, listen, today we just had (Mexico
players receiving) cautions, but I know what it is like to
be a good player like Messi and when you try to get the
ball, you get kicked. "As soon as Messi gets the ball,
they want to kick him, it is a scandal.
"Against England, Germany played well, because nobody was
trying to kick them.
"I just want Messi to be respected, there is a limit to
everything."
Despite struggling to qualify for South Africa, Maradona's
side have now picked up their fourth straight World Cup
win and the former midfield maestro said he would dearly
love to face the Germans himself.
"I feel like pulling on the jersey and playing myself, it
is beautiful to be involved with this group of players, I
feel proud to share these moments with them," he said.
"They said I had no idea about how to coach, but suddenly
I am winning matches and I am still the same guy."
With his side leading 2-0 at the break, Maradona had to
turn peacemaker on the sidelines at Soccer City as the
Mexican players reacted angrily to Tevez's goal and
referee Roberto Rosetti.
"Midfielder (Mario) Bolatti said someone grabbed him by
the hair from behind, (Gabriel) Heinze said everytime he
got near the touchline, he was insulted by the Mexican
bench," said Maradona.
"When the players went down to the dressing room, it
looked like a Mexican player was angry and he was ready to
attack Bolatti. "We separated them before anything else
could happen, because we would have had trouble for sure."
Germany’s hot-shot
Klose drops retirement hint
AFP, Erasmia, South Africa
Germany's veteran goal-scorer Miroslav Klose, who is set
to win his 100th cap in the World Cup quarter-final
against Argentina, dropped a retirement hint on Monday.
The 32-year-old Bayern Munich striker scored his 50th goal
for Germany on his 99th appearance on Sunday in the 4-1
hammering of England in Bloemfontein which sets up
Saturday's quarter-final clash against Argentina in Cape
Town.
But when asked if he intends on playing with the national
side through to Euro 2012, to be held in the Ukraine and
Poland, Klose dodged the question.
"I don't know, but as long as my legs carry me I will try
and play football," said the Polish-born forward who is
the third highest German goal-scorer of all time.
"I am a very spontaneous kind of person and I wouldn't put
it past me in a few weeks to say that when the time is
right, I'll stand aside and give the younger players a
chance." His strike against England was his 12th World Cup
goal - the same number Brazilian legend Pele achieved in
his career - and Klose is the only player at this
tournament who can attack Ronaldo's record of 15 goals in
all finals.
Having come to the World Cup on the back of a
below-average season with Bayern Munich, when he scored
just three Bundesliga goals and warmed the bench, Klose
has proved his critics wrong with two goals already here.
The only blot on his copy book was the double yellow card
which earned him a red against Serbia in his side's shock
1-0 defeat to Serbia in the group stages.
But while he may be considering bringing down the curtain
on his international career, Klose said he will fight for
his Bayern Munich place when the new Bundesliga season
begins on August 20."It is not something I am thinking
about now and I didn't get the minutes I wanted with
Bayern last season," said Klose.
"But I have really enjoyed the training sessions under (Bayern
coach) Louis van Gaal and there is so much I can
learn."Van Gaal is the sort of coach who puts everyone
back to square one at the start of the season, I see
myself as Bayern's centre forward next season."
Merkel’s win, Cameron’s
loss as footie fever hits G20
AFP, Toronto
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he was "deeply
disappointed" after England lost to Germany in its World
Cup match, adding he had questions about an English goal
which was disallowed.
He was talking after playing hookie from economic summit
talks in Toronto, Canada, to watch the second half of the
match along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
But to Cameron's chagrin, Germany thumped England 4-1
sending the English team crashing out of the World Cup.
The historic rivalry between the two countries was fueled
in the first half of the match when a goal by England's
Frank Lampard which would have leveled the scores was
disallowed, despite the ball crossing the goal line.
"I was deeply disappointed. I watched the game. I've
watched all of the games," he told reporters after the G20
talks wrapped up here.
"I felt very disappointed, but it's not for me to appoint
the England manager, I have enough problems in that
direction anyway."
"The Germans played very well. We have some questions to
ask and everyone in the country will be disappointed with
the result."
But the prime minister insisted "at least with a scoreline
like that we can't turn around and say we were robbed. We
weren't. We were beaten."
A British source told reporters that Merkel had conceded
to Cameron that Lampard's goal should have counted, a
gesture confirmed by the German delegation.
"She's sorry about that, she was very nice about it," the
British source added, saying the atmosphere between the
two leaders was "very good- natured."
Merkel, meanwhile, did not disguise her delight at the
result.
England v
Australia 3rd ODI scoreboard
AFP, Manchester,
England
Final scoreboard in the third one-day international
between England and Australia at Old Trafford here on
Sunday:
Australia
S. Watson c Strauss b Swann 61
T. Paine lbw b Yardy 44
R. Ponting st Kieswetter b Swann 3
M. Clarke c sub (Bell) b Swann 33
C. White c Strauss b Swann 12
M. Hussey b Collingwood 21
S. Smith lbw b Anderson 20
J. Hopes b Anderson 7
R. Harris c Strauss b Broad 1
D. Bollinger b Anderson 3
S. Tait not out 1
Extras (w6) 6
Total (all out, 46 overs) 212
Fall of wickets: 1-75 (Paine), 2-93 (Ponting), 3-130
(Watson), 4-154 (White), 5-169 (Clarke), 6-183 (Hussey),
7-202 (Hopes), 8-207 (Harris), 9-211 (Smith), 10-212
(Bollinger)
Bowling: Anderson 8-1-22-3; Bresnan 6-0-43-0 (2w);
Broad 6-1-30-1 (2w); Wright 1-0-14-0; Yardy 10-0-45-1
(1w);
Swann 10-1-37-4 (1w); Collingwood 5-0-21-1
England
A. Strauss c Paine b Harris 87
C. Kieswetter b Tait 0
K. Pietersen c and b Tait 25
P. Collingwood b Bollinger 40
E. Morgan c Ponting b Smith 27
M. Yardy c Paine b Tait 8
L. Wright c Hopes b Smith 0
T. Bresnan not out 14
G. Swann b Bollinger 1
S. Broad b Bollinger 0
J. Anderson not out 0
Extras (b1, lb3, w6, nb2) 12
Total (9 wkts, 49.1 overs) 214
Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Kieswetter), 2-52 (Pietersen), 3-128
(Collingwood), 4-185 (Morgan), 5-189 (Strauss), 6-190
(Wright), 7-197 (Yardy), 8-203 (Swann), 9-203 (Broad)
Bowling: Tait 10-1-28-3 (1nb, 6w); Bollinger 10-3-20-3
(1nb);
Harris 10-0-59-1; Hopes 6.1-0-44-0; Clarke 4-0-25-0; Smith
9-0-34-2
Toss: England
Result: England won by one wicket
Man-of-the-match: Graeme Swann (ENG)
Series: England lead five-match series 3-0
Remaining Fixtures
June 30: 4th ODI, The Oval (day/night)
July 03: 5th ODI, Lord's
Previous Results
June 22: 1st ODI, Rose Bowl: England won by four wickets
June 24: 2nd ODI, Cardiff: England won by four wickets
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)
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