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Leading News
Nizami, Mujahid and Sayeede
arrested
UNB, Dhaka
Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Motiur Rahman Nizami, secretary
general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and nayeb-e-ameer
Delwar Hossain Sayeede were arrested Tuesday afternoon,
hours after a magistrate court here issued warrants of
arrest in connection with a criminal case over hurting
religious sentiments of Muslims.
Police sources said Nizami was arrested in front of the
National Press Club, Sayeedi from his Saheedbagh residence
in Moghbazar, and Mujahid was detained in Savar. Police
arrested Nizami when he reached the Press Club to attend a
programme.
Mujahid was arrested after police intercepted his car in
front of the National Mausoleum in Savar while he was
going to Faridpur. He was first taken to Ashulia police
station.
Nizami, Sayeedi and Mujahid have been taken to the
Detective Branch head office in city's Minto Road.
Police sources said police raided the residence of city
Jamaat president Rafiqul Islam Khan in the capital but
failed to arrest him. "We are trying to arrest him," said
a police officer.
Earlier in the day, a Dhaka Court issued arrest warrants
against four Jamaat-e-Islami leaders - Nizami, Mujahid,
Sayeede and city Jamaat president Rafiqul Islam Khan.
A magistrate of the CMM court Mehdi Hasan Talukder issued
the warrants as the four accused, in violation of court
orders, did not appear in person before it on Tuesday in
connection with the cases filed against them.
On March 21, Syed Rezaul Haque Chandpuri, secretary
general of Bangladesh Tariqat Federation, filed the case
with a metropolitan magistrate's court here against the
five Jamaat leaders for hurting the religious sentiments
of Muslims.
PM
reiterates call upon BNP to join parliament
BSS,
Sangsad Bhaban
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday reiterated her
call upon the main opposition BNP to join the parliament
and speak for the people instead of resorting to hartal
that is highly detrimental to both democracy and
development leading to raising people's sufferings.
There was no any issue to enforce hartal in the country,
rather the issue for which you have resorted to hartal was
created by you during your tenure, she said while taking
part in a general discussion on the proposed national
budget for 2010-2011 fiscal. Blaming BNP for calling
hartal (general strike) in a bid to increase miseries for
the people, she said the present government showed utmost
restraint after wining the last general election as it did
not take any revenge for the BNP-backed atrocities on the
leaders and workers of Awami League after 2001 election.
"Even, we, the alliance (Mohajote) government, did not
bring out victory procession soon after our landslide
victory in the last general election as we remained
involved in the development activities for bringing
welfare to the people," she said.
Describing the heinous attacks on general people,
especially an engineer, at Shahbagh crossing and setting
fire on two youths by the pickets during hartal as
unfortunate and barbaric, Sheikh Hasina urged the main
opposition to refrain from such anti-human activities.
The Awami League Chief accused the BNP leaders of
threatening the government officials not to put their
signatures in any file of the government. "If the
officials can not sign files, then how the problems of
gas, power and water, for which you have enforced hartal,
would be solved," she posed a question to the arch
political rival BNP.
The Prime Minister said that the main opposition BNP has
been carrying out such heinous activities after being
deprived of the scope of looting public money after losing
the last general election.
BNP
demands govt press note over whereabouts of Chowdhury Alam
UNB, Dhaka
The Opposition BNP has demanded issuance of a government
press note within 24 hours over the whereabouts of
detained DCC ward councilor Chowdhury Alam.
BNP vice-chairman Abdullah Al Noman made the demand
addressing a hurriedly called press briefing at the
party's Nayapaltan central office around 4:30 pm.
Earlier before holding the press briefing a delegation of
BNP led by Noman had tried to meet the state minister for
Home Affairs at the Secretariat as per their talks with
the state minister over the whereabouts of Chowdhury Alam,
DCC councilor of ward no 54.
They also wanted to submit a memorandum to the Home
Minister.
But the BNP leaders failed to meet the state Minister
Shamsul Huq Tuku as he told them over phone that he is not
supposed to talk with the BNP leaders as long as the Home
Minister was there.
The BNP delegation after repeated attempts also failed to
contact the Home Minister. Finally they sent the
memorandum to the Home Minister through two carriers and
Abdul Hannan, private secretary of the Home Minister,
received the memorandum.
In the memorandum, BNP demanded the immediate release of
Chowdhury Alam, also Ramna thana unit BNP president, as
his family members, the party and the city dwellers are
worried about his whereabouts following recent incidents
of secret killings of political activists after being
picked up under various pretexts.
Noman said such non-cooperation and behavior of the
minister and the state minister proved that they know the
whereabouts of Chowdhury Alam. He said police and RAB are
denying any knowledge about Alam's whereabouts as well,
and still he has not been produced before the court.
Under these circumstances Noman said they are apprehending
that Alam would be killed. In this regard he mentioned the
recent secret killings. Chowdhury Alam was captured by
white uniformed RAB members around 9pm on June 25 when he
was going towards Dhanmondi from his relative's residence
at the city's Indira Road, it was said at the briefing.
Flood situation
worsens in five districts, several lakh marooned
UNB, Dhaka
The flood situation has worsened in five northern
districts- Sunamganj, Bogra, Jamalpur, Netrakona and
Gaibandha- leaving several lakh people marooned.
Water levels of many rivers in the districts were
increasing due to incessant rain and onrush of hill water
from the upstream, with three major rivers Jamuna, Surma
and Brahmaputra flowing above the danger level.
In Sunamganj, flood waters inundated almost the whole
district, including low-lying areas of the district
headquarters, marooning several lakh people in four
upazilas.
All major rivers in the district swelled in the last 24
hours with rain-fed Surma flowing 68 centimeters above the
danger mark near Sunamganj town. The 4 worst affected
upazilas were Tahirpur, Shalla, Jamalganj and Biswambhar-
where extensive inundation marooned several lakh people.
Besides, flash floods rendered thousands of people of
scores of villages in Chhatak, Doarabazar, Jagannathpur
and Dirai upazilas homeless. Flood Control Cell of
Sunamganj WDB told UNB that besides Surma, rain-fed
Kushiara, Kalni and their tributaries continued to swell
submerging roads, culverts, bridges and villages.
In Gaibandha, heavy rains in the last few days along with
onrush of hill waters sharply worsened the flood situation
in the flood-prone northern district.
Flood Control Cell at the WDB office told UNB that
Brahmaputra was flowing 25cm above danger level at
Phulchhari point on Tuesday. With 27mm rainfall recorded
overninght, water level of the river rose by 62cm in the
last 24 hours.
Besides, the waters of the Jamuna, Teesta, Korotoa, and
Ghagot rivers rose abnormally in the district in the last
24 hours leaving 20 thousand families of 22 unions of four
upazilas homeless. The worst affected four upazilas are
Sadar, Fulchhari, Sunderganj and Saghata.
Moreover, river erosion has increased sufferings of
thousands of people in the 22 unions. In Bogra, heavy
downpours in the last few days triggered massive flooding
in Sariakandi upazila submerging its six unions on the
banks of the Jamuna which was flowing 22cm above the
danger mark at Sariakandi point in the last two days, WDB
officials told UNB. The flash floods caused massive damage
to jute and other crops, including aman paddy and
vegetables. All the aman seed-beds in 22 unions have gone
under floodwaters.
In Jamalpur, more than three thousand people of several
hundred families were marooned in Islampur upazila as the
flood control embankment at Harindhara in Kulkandi uninon
of the upazila caved in opening the floodgate.
Paraguay beats
Japan on penalties to make history
AFP, Pretoria
Paraguay beat Japan 5-3 on penalties following a 0-0 draw
to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time
in their history on Tuesday.
Substitute Oscar Cardozo scored the decisive spot-kick at
the Loftus Versfeld stadium after Japan's Yuichi Komano
had smashed his penalty against the crossbar.
Paraguay will play either Spain or Portugal, who meet
later Tuesday, in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
The shoot-out was needed after 90 minutes of regulation
time and 30 minutes of extra time failed to separate the
two teams in a tense affair of few chances.
Yoshito Okubo had an early chance for the Asian side but
shot well wide while at the other end Edgar Benitez
couldn't keep his header down from Roque Santa Cruz's
inviting cross.
The game briefly exploded into life on 21 minutes as
Paraguay striker Lucas Barrios sneaked in behind the
defence with a lovely little drag back but then he prodded
his shot straight at goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.
Less than 60 seconds later Daisuke Matsui ran onto a loose
ball and tried his luck from distance only to see his
curler crash against the Paraguay crossbar.
On 29 minutes Manchester City striker Santa Cruz should
have done better when the ball dropped to him 12 yards
out, but he rushed his left foot volley and dragged the
ball wide. Japan star Keisuke Honda set his sights five
minutes from the break but his left-foot effort from 20
yards drifted wide.
At the start of the second period Nestor Ortigoza opened
up the Japanese defence to create a shooting opportunity
but Yuto Nagatomo slid in to make a goal-saving block.
Oli critical of
lack of skill, time-wasting in Power and Energy Ministry
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Dr Oli Ahmed in
Parliament Tuesday said lack of skill and time-wasting
persists in the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry although the government identified the power
sector as the thrust sector.
Paticipating in the general discussion on budget for
fiscal 2010-11, he said that the implementation rate of
the projects under the Power, Energy and Mineral Resources
Ministry is not at all satisfactory.
Dr Oli mentioned that in the revised budget the government
reduced allocation for the power sector from Tk 2515 crore
to Tk 1059 crore. "This proved that the desired
development was not achieved," he said.
The LDP president said that the people are angry. "If the
government does not take this seriously the image of the
government will be tarnished further and its acceptability
will reduce also."
He also mentioned that due to the power crisis the
investment in small and medium enterprises was only 2
percent while the foreign investment marked a declining
trend.
He criticized the budget for not giving any direction to
reduce theft, corruption and irregularities in the name of
system loss.
Dr Oli hailed the government for introducing "agriculture
card" but cautioned that this should be implemented in a
well-planned and efficient manner. "Otherwise, the good
initiative will go in vain," he said. He proposed to set
up "research cell" in all the medical colleges and
military hospitals. He demanded a proper policy on
emergency basis for the import of reconditioned vehicles.
The LDP president urged the Finance Minister to reconsider
the imposition of import duty on raw and refined sugar
considering the interest of the consumers as the holy
Ramadan is knocking at the doors.
He lauded the government's decision to impose increased
tax on tobacco in the proposed budget.
Back Page
Poverty to be eradicated for
improving people’s living condition: Khandaker
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban
Planning Minister Air Vice marshal (Retd) AK Khandaker on
Wednesday told the Jatiya Sangsad that the main objective
of the present government is to improve the living of the
people through eradicating poverty and the new budget for
2010-11 was designed with a view to fulfilling that
target.
The government at first had to formulate a Perspective
Plan in the light of its election manifesto with focus on
the charter of change by 2021 for upgrading Bangladesh to
a middle income country and with this in view the
development budget for FY11 was prepared, he said.
Taking part in the budget discussion, Khandaker said the
annual development programme (ADP) was prepared to create
employment for quick eradication of poverty, attaining
food security, ensuring maternal health, sanitation, safe
water, quality education, health, curbing corruption,
generating power and establishing good governance in the
country.
Mentioning that the present government had to assume power
on the eve of the global economic meltdown, he said amid
great concern the economy last year attained 5.7 percent
growth under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister and
Finance Minister.
"This budget is a well-devised fiscal document for facing
challenges, and it is not an ambitious one rather a
realistic document," he said while describing all salient
features of the 2010-2011 budget.
Deficit or surplus is not the main question, rather if we
could raise revenue through utilizing our merits and hard
work, we would be able to reduce deficit. If the proposed
Public- Private Partnership (PPP) could be implemented,
then deficit would not only be reduced, it might turn into
a surplus budget, he expected.
Upazila election
officers
SC stays High Court order over reinstatement
UNB, Dhaka
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Tuesday
stayed an administrative appellate tribunal verdict
declaring illegal the termination orders of 85 upazila
election officers.
Passing the interim order following petitions filed by the
government, vacation chamber court of Justice SK Sinha
posted the petitions for leave to appeal hearing in the
regular bench of the Appellate Division.
On May 20, the High Court following a Public Interest
Litigation (PIL) writ petition stayed the Election
Commission's action reinstating 85 persons as upazila
election officers.
The High Court had also issued a rule upon the government
and the Election Commission (EC) to explain why their
reinstatement without exhausting the legal process should
not be declared illegal.
A total of 303 upazila election officers were recruited in
2005 during the BNP-Jamaat alliance government.
The recruitments sparked controversy as they were
considered partisan.
After the Election Commission was reconstituted in
February 2007 by the military-backed caretaker government,
the EC decided to take further test of all the 303
appointees to judge their efficiency for the post.
Of them, 218 people passed the test. As a result, the EC
secretariat cancelled the appointments of the other 85
persons.
On May 17 this year, the EC reinstated the 85 persons
following a verdict by the Administrative Appellate
Tribunal on April 12 declaring illegal the termination
orders, without moving any appeal before the Supreme Court
against the verdict. Attorney General Mahbubey Alam
appeared for the government.
We should not do
politics with coal: Ershad
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
Former President Hussein Mohammad Ershad reaffirmed his
commitment to the AL-led Grand Alliance government of
which his Jatiya Party is a major component, saying that
he will be hanged before the Grand Alliance government
fails.
"Please don't doubt me, I will be the first to be in jail
and hanged. The Grand Alliance cannot fail, it cannot be
defeated. If it fails the nation will be plunged into
darkness," he said in Parliament, while taking part in the
general debate on the national budget 2010-11.
The 35-minute speech of General (retired) Ershad, who
ruled the country for nearly nine years was frequently
cheered by lawmakers for his free and candid expression on
certain issues of national interest.
On the critical issue of extracting coal, the former
president said: "We should not do politics with coal.
Politicians cannot decide how to extract the coal."
Presenting statistics on reserves of coal in different
coalmines of the country, he observed that the open-pit
method may be suitable to extract coal from the Phulbari
mine, considering its geological condition and nature.
On the alarming impact of mixing chemicals with food
items, Ershad said stern action should be taken against
the unscrupulous traders who are responsible for poisoning
people to death. He said he was about to die due to eating
Lal Shak which had been colored red by dangerous
chemicals.
On the price spiral of essential items, the JP chairman
praised the Commerce Minister for re-activating the TCB in
a bid to control the market. He, however, said TCB itself
will not do business, but intervene in the market.
BNP lawmakers
to form human chain at parliament today
UNB, Dhaka
Opposition BNP lawmakers will form a human chain in front
of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban at 10 am today (Wednesday)
demanding immediate release of Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie
MP , and that he be sent abroad for treatment.
Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farooque informed UNB
on Tuesday night about the human chain.
The parliament is now in budget session and will pass the
proposed national budget for fiscal 2010-11 today
(Wednesday).
Shaiduddin Chowdhury Annie was injured during the June 27
hartal and was arrested from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib
Medical University (BSSMU) where he was receiving
treatment, on the same day.
Later Annie was admitted to the city's United Hospital
under police custody.
All national
highways to be upgraded to four lanes: Abul Hossain
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban
As part of the government's plans for development of road
communication network, all national highways will be
upgraded to four lanes, Communication Minister Syed Abul
Hossain told the House on Tuesday.
"The government has undertaken effective measures for
their implementation in developing the road communication
network across the country," he said while replying to a
question from independent lawmaker Md Fazlul Azim.
He said contractors have already been appointed for
upgrading the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway to four lanes while
a proposal for turning Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway into four
lanes has been approved by the ECNEC.
After assumption of power, he said, the present government
okayed 43 new projects for development of communication
network and an estimated cost of the projects has been
earmarked as Taka, 5,700 crore.
The communication minister said the present government has
implemented a number of projects in the last 18 months for
the development of communication system.
The projects, he said, included construction of Akhaura
town bypass road, Shekhpura Bridge on the Pacchar-Shibchar
Highway, Sultana Kamal Bridge on the Shitalakkhya Bridge,
Shaheed Buddhijibi Bridge at Basila in Dhaka, Shaheed
Ahsanullah Master Flyover at Tongi, upgrading
Savar-Nabinagar Road under Dhaka- Aricha highway to four
lanes.
Under 'The Project for Procurement of 46 Locomotives', he
said, 37 locomotives have already been procured and the
rest of the locomotives will be available by 2011.
$70m WB aid to improve city water
quality
BSS, Dhaka
The World Bank (WB) will provide Bangladesh with 70
million US dollars to improve quality of water in Dhaka
city.
The industrial wastes are severely polluting the rivers of
Dhaka as 60 percent of the total pollution is from around
7,000 industrial units located within the metropolis.
The remaining 40 percent is from untreated domestic wastes
and the heavy contamination of water sources is
threatening the availability of safe and clean water in
Dhaka, said a WB release issued here on Tuesday.
The assistance will be spent under Dhaka Environment and
Water Program (DEW) which aims to prevent and reduce water
pollution caused by discharge of industrial wastes.
The project will introduce pollution prevention and
reduction measure for factories in these industrial hot
spots and help in monitoring the compliance of
environmental standards.
Through Public Private Partnerships, waste treatment
plants will also be constructed for these industries.
The technical design of the project is nearing completion
and the project is likely to be ready for appraisal by
early July 2010.
The WB already held productive discussions with officials
of the different ministries involved with this project as
well as with international buyers in the textile industry,
textile industry associations, key NGOs involved in
pollution prevention and other development partners.
Bus movement on
10 routes suspended due to strike in Barisal
UNB, Barisal
Bus movement on 10 routes, including three inter-district
routes, remained suspended from Tuesday morning due to
wild cat strike by transport owners.
The District Bus Owners' Association enforced the strike
on seven local routes and three other inter-district
routes---Faridpur, Gopalganj and Madaripur-to press home
their demand for canceling the Sanuhar-Shatla route in
Uzirpur.
The Sanuhar-Shatla bus service route was inaugurated in
Uzirupr upazila on Monday. The association termed the
launching of the route 'illegal, demanding for its
cancellation. The strike on 10 local and inter-district
routes disrupted bus services causing untold sufferings to
the passengers traveling on the routes.
Editorial
Manpower export
The
pivotal role of manpower export in revitalizing the country's
economy has been revealed once again from the disclosure made
in the Parliament on Monday by Minister for Labour and
Manpower and Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment
Engineer Mosharraf Hossain that Bangladesh earned Taka
69,681.02 crore from manpower export in the current fiscal
year till May. Replying to a question he said 3,90,775
Bangladeshi workers went abroad with jobs in the 11 months of
the current fiscal year.
Responding to a question the minister said the government has
been continuing all-out efforts to export more manpower to
different countries of Europe and America. He said that a plan
has been undertaken to export manpower under the government
management. "To this end, directives have already been given
to Bangladeshi missions to collect demand letters after
discussing the matter with the employers," he said. Earlier,
this month he said Bangladesh is going to send some 5 lakh
job-seekers abroad by the year-end, as new overseas job
markets are being found out by the government.
The revelation made by the minister about the large amount of
earnings from manpower export and the prospect of huge number
of Bangladeshis getting jobs abroad is quite encouraging.
Because, only about a few weeks ago some newspaper reports had
depicted a dismal picture of the manpower export situation and
said that the country's manpower export has declined by about
fifty per cent this year compared to last year's. Alongside,
the number of workers who have returned home this year is
double than the last year's figure. These have mainly been
attributed to the global recession and lack of initiative by
the government to retain the existing manpower markets and
explore new ones. Because of the inefficiency and failure of
the people working in our foreign missions the manpower export
faced a setback. The people entrusted with the task failed to
deal with the situation properly and effectively.
The situation appeared alarming specially in view of the fact
that our economy is largely dependent on the remittances from
the expatriates working abroad. It may be mentioned here 65
lakh Bangladeshis are working abroad including 22 lakh in
Saudi Arabia alone and the expatriates remitted 6.1 billion US
dollars in first eight months of this year. A drastic fall in
the manpower export is destined to adversely affect the inflow
of remittances and thereby the foreign exchange reserves.
Against this backdrop, more and more export of manpower is
vital for our economic progress and stability.
Man-power export and expatriate Bangladeshis are important
issues, not only because expatriates send a huge amount of
foreign currency back home, but also because they are sons of
this soil and the state is unable to provide jobs for them at
home to enable them earn the bread for themselves and their
family members.
Meanwhile, it is a good news that a plan has been undertaken
to export manpower under the government management. If this
can be done effectively, the job seekers abroad will be
benefited most as they will be able to spend less for the
purpose and anomalies, cheating and exploitation in manpower
export will be checked to a great extent. The private manpower
exporters realize unreasonably high amount of money for the
job seekers but in many case even after payment of huge money
they are deprived of the promised jobs.
Many expatriate Bangladeshi have to suffer on foreign lands
for different reasons and the employees of Bangladesh mission
are reluctant or unable to redress their sufferings. Some of
these employees are even accused of indulging in manpower
export business in connivance with the manpower agencies in
violation of rules and in clear negligence of their official
duties. The government has to look into these issues and
address them properly. Above all, the government should
continue its efforts to boost manpower export in the national
interest.
Managing disasters
Science
and technology have helped mankind discover, invent and
conquer many places and things, but nature still remains
beyond human control. Despite spectacular advancement of
science, human beings are still terribly helpless before the
fury of nature. This has again been evident from the deaths
and destruction caused by the severe earthquake that struck
Haiti in January and Chile in late February.
Earthquake can cause huge loss of lives and massive
devastation to properties. What may happen if an earthquake
strikes the capital city has been stated in the Parliament on
Monday by the Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr M Abdur
Razzaque. He said, 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, He further 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 by 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 and a 25-tons 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.
The possible catastrophe which may be caused by an earthquake
in this city is dreadful and more so because Dhaka is
ill-equipped to combat a major natural calamity. From the
minister's statement people have come to know the possible
scenario of deaths and devastations, but nothing about how
such a calamity will be faced. As the picture of a possible
disaster is not totally unknown to us, we should make all
necessary preparations well in advance for disaster management
to save the lives and properties as much as possible.
Analysis
Americans in Afghanistan
History is witness that the Afghans never
surrender before foreigners. They will not agree to be
subservient to the US or Pakistan or a combination of both.
Dr Mubashir Hasan
While innocently
attributing the assertion to unnamed Pakistani and American
officials, Jane Perlez, Eric Schmitt and Carlotta Gall, in
their despatch to The New York Times (NYT) on June 24, 2010,
unfairly accuse Pakistan of "exploiting the troubled US
military effort in Afghanistan to drive home a political
settlement with Afghanistan that would give Pakistan important
influence there but is likely to undermine US interests".
For a long time, the US has considered Pakistan a reliable
partner. Since its birth, Pakistan has served the US slavishly
enough to earn the title of a client state. Even today, the
rivers of Afghan blood irrigate the American killing fields in
Afghanistan with the crucial help of Pakistan.
History is witness that the Afghans never surrender before
foreigners. They will not agree to be subservient to the US or
Pakistan or a combination of both. In today's situation, the
best course for the US is to work in collaboration with
Pakistan so that one day, with the permission of Afghanistan,
it is in a position to make investments in that country.
According to these journalists, Afghan officials alleged that
"General Kayani had offered to broker a deal with the Afghan
Taliban leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, and had sent envoys to
Kabul from another insurgent leader and longtime Pakistani
ally, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, with the offer of a 15-point peace
plan in March."
The NYT piece also asserts, "Pakistan is presenting itself as
the new viable partner for Afghanistan to President Hamid
Karzai, who has soured on the Americans.
Pakistani officials say they can deliver the network of
Sirajuddin Haqqani, an ally of al Qaeda who runs a major part
of the insurgency in Afghanistan, into a power-sharing
arrangement."
According to Jane Perlez and her fellow journalists, General
Ashfaq Parvez Kayani is a friend of President Hamid Karzai and
the Pakistani general also exercises significant influence on
Afghan Taliban leaders Mullah Muhammad Omar and 'longtime
Pakistani ally' Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The question arises then,
what is the US waiting for? It has a golden opportunity to
make its exit from Afghanistan by negotiating the best
possible terms in these exigent circumstances.
And that is not all. They also say, "There have long been
suspicions among Afghan, American and other western officials
that the Pakistanis were holding the Haqqanis in reserve for
just such a moment, as a lever to shape the outcome of the war
in its favour...On repeated occasions, Pakistan has used the
Haqqani fighters to hit Indian targets inside Afghanistan
according to American intelligence officials. The Haqqanis
have also hit American ones, a possible signal from the
Pakistanis to the Americans that it is in their interest too,
to embrace a deal."
The Pakistani generals are at war. The country has lost more
than 3,000 soldiers on its own soil in this fight. Because of
the war and its economic burden, Pakistan is a bankrupt,
lawless and corruption-ridden country. It is fighting for its
existence. In such a situation, what is wrong if the
Pakistanis are doing as the writers say they are? As for their
reference to the Indians, may one ask what are the Indians
doing in Afghanistan?
There is yet another important factor that should tempt the US
to listen to the Pakistani general. According to the NYT, "The
Taliban, including the Haqqani group, are ready to 'do a deal'
over al Qaeda, a senior Pakistani official close to the
Pakistani army said.
The Haqqanis could tell al Qaeda to move elsewhere because it
had been given nine years of protection since 9/11."
It is in the highest interests of the US, Pakistan and also
Afghanistan that the present window of opportunity of the
American exit from Afghanistan is not missed.
The end of American occupation is the key to the beginnings of
peace in the region.
The sooner the US leaves Afghanistan and the sooner the
Pakistan Army forgets that it should have a role for
maintaining its influence in its neighbour, the better it
would be for all concerned.
The writer can be reached at mh1@lhr.comsats.net.pk
Japan’s new
civil nuclear diplomacy
Aside from such long-term perspectives, Japan's
latest civil nuclear initiative towards India is
reflective of a softening of stand by an ardent NPT
protagonist.
P.S. Suryanarayana
The
Japan-India talks on civil nuclear cooperation, which
began in Tokyo on Monday, are a pointer to a new trend in
the politics of East Asia. Not yet a political process
that cannot be reversed, this new trend is the gradual
recognition of India's growing relevance to a future
geopolitical order in East Asia.
For several decades now, Japan has enjoyed a "unique"
position across the world as a proactive non-proliferation
guru. Surely, therefore, its latest decision to
"negotiate" a civil nuclear cooperation pact with India is
of unprecedented importance to the changing regional
realities. In September 2008, the Nuclear Suppliers Group
granted India an "exceptional status." With "pacifist"
Japan being privy to the NSG's unusual consensus at that
time, India gained exemption from the cartel's guidelines.
Japan was fully cognisant of why New Delhi was so treated
at the behest of the United States. Yet, Tokyo rose above
its status as an American ally and chose to stay clear of
the nuclear rush towards India that followed the NSG's
September 2008 decision.
Attitude of scepticism
Even as Russia, France, and the U.S. lost no time
thereafter to look at the new prospects of doing business
with India in the peaceful atomic energy sector, Japan
remained unimpressed by such a nuclear rush. In a sense,
Tokyo's hesitation, until now, symbolised the general East
Asian attitude of scepticism about India's real
intentions. While Japan is a globally recognised player
from East Asia in the civil nuclear energy sector, China's
capabilities in this domain are also well known. South
Korea, too, is a keen player in the field of peaceful uses
of atomic energy.
And Australia, with its vast uranium deposits, is a
nuclear supplier of considerable importance in the
geopolitical space of East Asia.
Of these East Asian countries, China is in a privileged
position with reference to India. At one political level,
China's relentless rise as potential global superpower
gives it a perspective different from the U.S. worldview.
At another echelon, New Delhi is aware of China's
geo-strategic interests in Pakistan. So, China's assent to
the NSG's U.S.-brokered consensus in September 2008
amounted to a gesture of being mindful of the interests of
the U.S. and India, as articulated by their governments,
at two different levels.
South Korea and Australia are of course allies of the
U.S., although not in the same category as Japan. The
U.S.-led consensus in favour of New Delhi in the NSG is
something that these three East Asian countries have had
to reckon with, notwithstanding their individual views on
the regional implications of the upward trajectory of
India's civil nuclear energy programmes.
As a matter of additional diplomatic nuance, Japan and
Australia, active partners in the global non-proliferation
debate, are in a sub-category that does not include South
Korea as a proactive player. Moreover, these three
countries have acknowledged, over time and not necessarily
in unison, that India has maintained impeccable
non-proliferation credentials. India's track record of
this order, even while continuing stay outside the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, has invariably come in for
particular notice in this context.
This does not, of course, imply that these countries share
India's scepticism of the NPT as a discriminatory piece of
international law.
Seoul's move
Unsurprisingly in these circumstances, South Korea moved
ahead of Japan and Australia last January in seeking to
establish new civil nuclear links with India. Seoul
clearly sought to capitalise on its success in bagging a
civil nuclear contract with the United Arab Emirates in a
competitive process of international bidding.
The civil nuclear energy market in India, given New
Delhi's non-proliferation credentials, was, in Seoul's
calculations, an attractive destination worth exploring.
This issue was first placed on the Seoul-New Delhi agenda
during South Korean President Lee Myung-bak's visit to
India as its Republic Day guest this year. And, on June
18, External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna announced in
Seoul that India and South Korea would soon commence
negotiations for a civil nuclear energy pact. A day
earlier, he told Mr. Lee that there was much scope for a
new trajectory of bilateral cooperation in the domain of
space. South Korea promptly agreed to explore the
possibilities of launching its satellites aboard India's
space launch vehicles. It is not immediately clear,
though, whether there can be some kind of a diplomatic
trade-off between New Delhi and Seoul on these unrelated
science-and-technology issues.
Australia's stand
By contrast, Australia's Labour government, which sailed
with the U.S. without demur in the NSG in September 2008,
has not evinced interest in selling uranium to India.
Canberra's reasoning, in this context, is that India
remains outside the NPT framework.
So, with Julia Gillard having now assumed office as
Australia's Prime Minister and promised to seek a mandate
of her own in "the coming months," it will come as a
surprise if the closed issue of uranium sales to India is
reopened in the present context.
A relevant poser, therefore, is why has the new Japanese
Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, decided to break ranks with
Australia in choosing to negotiate a civil nuclear
agreement with India.
Tokyo's latest move followed "consultations" with New
Delhi. Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said on
June 25 that Tokyo took this new initiative only "after
confirming that India has been steadily carrying out its
commitments and actions" as stipulated in the terms of New
Delhi's exemption from the NSG guidelines as approved in
September 2008. Also cited by Mr. Okada as factors
relevant to this new initiative were "India's importance
for Japan," the urgent necessity of combating global
warming, and Tokyo's own updated energy and industrial
policies.
The proverbial intricacies of rocket science are not
required to discern Japan's strategic compulsions that go
beyond the political reasons it cited now. Mr. Kan has
already committed himself to accommodating U.S. military
interests in Okinawa, an issue over which his predecessor,
Yukio Hatoyama, quit as prime minister. This emotive issue
is intricately linked to the dynamics of Japan's domestic
politics. However, Mr. Kan's foreign policy message is
that he is mindful of Washington's heightened interests in
East Asia at this time of new geo-strategic cross currents
in the region.
Mr. Kan's decision to negotiate with India for
"cooperation in the peaceful uses of atomic energy" is
reflective of a desire to enlarge the base of Tokyo's
geopolitical reach. This makes sense in a context
dominated by the continuing rise of China. Surely, both
China and Japan have been pursuing a qualitatively
improved bilateral engagement in recent months.
At the same time, the regional scene is becoming more
complex, with the Association of South East Asian Nations
seeking to invite not only the U.S. but also Russia to a
new ASEAN+8 dialogue forum. China and India, which is
widely seen in the region as a U.S.-friend, besides the
U.S. itself and Russia, will be among the proposed eight
partners of the 10-member ASEAN.
Aside from such long-term perspectives, Japan's latest
civil nuclear initiative towards India is reflective of a
softening of stand by an ardent NPT protagonist. A
relevant question, with no easy answer, is whether this
may impinge, in some way, on the NSG's unsettled thinking
on China's current move towards Pakistan in the civil
nuclear domain.
Viewpoints
Rifts or policy drift?
The
derogatory remarks ascribed to McCrystal by Rolling Stone
magazine was seen by the White House as a step too far.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi
The
storm in Washington over Gen Stanley McCrystal's egregious
conduct culminated in his swift dismissal and replacement. But
the reverberations from this expose of the Obama
administration's dysfunctional national security team will
haunt its Afghan mission for months to come. The episode laid
bare the disarray not only in President Obama's team but also
his strategy. This is bound to revive the debate about the
faltering approach and renew scepticism about a war effort
that is teetering on the brink of failure.
President Barack Obama had little choice but to force the
resignation of his top commander in Afghanistan after the
disparaging remarks he and his aides had made in a magazine
about the administration's top officials, including Vice
President Joe Biden and the president himself. In doing so he
brushed aside the view of Defence Secretary Robert Gates and
those in the media who argued that removing McCrystal at this
critical juncture would be disruptive for the military
campaign. With this effort in trouble anyway-evidenced by
rising coalition casualties, a five-month-old offensive that
failed to secure Marjah, the Kandahar operation delayed for
lack of local support and the Taliban insurgency gaining
strength-Obama framed his decision in terms of military
accountability to civilian authority and the issue of trust.
The derogatory remarks ascribed to McCrystal by Rolling Stone
magazine was seen by the White House as a step too far. Twice
before, media leaks attributed to the general or his public
utterances embarrassed the president. Last September
McCrystal's confidential report on Afghanistan was leaked to
the press. This disclosed his request for a large troop surge
and was construed by the White House as an effort to pressure
the president when the strategy review was still in progress.
The following month, during a public address in London,
McCrystal characterised the vice-president's proposal for a
more limited mission in Afghanistan as one that would lead to
"Choas-istan." Summoned to meet the president in Copenhagen,
he is said to have received a dressing down and a warning to
keep such advice private. After the general's remarks that
mocked senior administration officials, he was asked to go-a
decision for which the president received Congressional
support even from his fiercest political adversaries. The
appointment of Gen David Petraeus, architect of the Iraq
surge, to replace McCrystal helped to dampen criticism.
The affair revealed not just tensions between the civilians
and the military but bitter infighting and animosity among
Obama's team. As the war effort has faltered, frustration has
risen and members of the team have taken to blaming one
another. Personal and policy clashes have deepened the rifts.
Acknowledging the need for his national security team to pull
together, Obama declared in a speech after the change in
command that this was an obligation, not an option. He
encouraged debate but would not tolerate division.
The fissures in his team can be tracked back to last year's
deliberations during the strategy review that led up to
Obama's announcement of the surge and exit plan in December.
The protracted discussions that included ten meetings chaired
by him were described as the most detailed presidential review
of a national security decision since the Cuban missile
crisis.
The review process saw views polarize around the Biden plan
and the military's advocacy of a substantial increase in troop
strength to undertake a large scale counterinsurgency
campaign. McCrystal originally asked for over 40,000 more
troops so that he could eventually have 170,000 forces under
his command for a period of ten years. At the time several
analysts invoked the Vietnam parallel to compare McCrystal's
call for more troops to Gen William Westmoreland's plan for
military escalation that President Lyndon Johnson acceded to,
with disastrous consequences.
McCrystal argued for an open-ended, full blown
counterinsurgency (COIN) strategy while the vice president
pressed for a narrowing of the mission to focus on dismantling
Al-Qaeda. Biden's call for a lighter footprint sprang from the
concern that the US could become trapped in a Vietnam-like
quagmire. He argued that adding more troops would make the US
a bigger target and act as a recruiting sergeant for the
Taliban.
President Obama confronted these stark choices having to
balance rising opposition to the war from his party ranks with
the risks of not accepting the military's recommendation for a
surge without which McCrystal warned publicly the US faced
"mission failure."
In trying to reconcile different points of view Obama struck a
compromise instead of forging a consensus. A compromise meant
conceding something to opposing points of view; a consensus
would have entailed finding common ground around which to
rally the proponents of different opinions. It also meant that
differences were papered over and not resolved. This contained
the seeds of the rifts that were to surface frequently after
the presidential announcement of the new policy.
Obama gave the military substantially what it wanted and
endorsed the McCrystal COIN plan, but he also sought to
placate opinion in his political base by declaring he would
start drawing down troops from Afghanistan in July 2011. This
left the strategy with inherent and unresolved tensions and
imposed the pressure of a tight deadline on the military.
A recent book on Obama's first year titled The Promise (which
I also referred to last week) offers instructive insights into
the tension between the Pentagon and the White House during
the strategy review. The author details how these strains
intensified in the summer of 2009. "In the first week of
October Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen were summoned to the
Oval Office where the president told them he was exceedingly
unhappy with the Pentagon's conduct." Obama is cited as
telling them that the leaks-by McCrsytal and others-and
positioning in advance were "disrespectful of the process."
Based on interviews with senior White House officials, the
book depicts Obama's eventual decision as a "speeded-up
combination" of the McCrystal and Biden plans. It says that
"the McCrystal team had won on troop strength and Biden won on
narrowing the mission." This made the president "more
comfortable with where he was headed." But nowhere does the
book hint that Obama anticipated the personal and policy
clashes that would continue in the wake of this compromise.
It is this feuding at the highest echelons that Obama now
wants an end to. He has been anxious to characterise the
decision to remove McCrystal as a "change of personnel, not of
policy" and has reaffirmed his determination to stay the
course. But a strategy that, nine years into the war, has been
running aground in Afghanistan, is set to be the subject of
renewed debate in America and beyond. A review of that
strategy is scheduled for December. Biden has portrayed it as
a "proof of concept" moment. Closer scrutiny of the plan may
however come earlier if Congressional and media questioning
intensifies. Confirmation hearings for Petraeus later this
week will indicate the mood on the Hill.
The key question is whether a course correction can emerge
from the extraordinary developments of the past week. Can the
Obama administration use this opportunity to fix a flawed and
foundering strategy? So far there is little indication of
this. But a radical rethink is urged by the grim facts on the
ground. A reassessment should involve making the political
strategy the paramount element in the US approach to reverse a
situation where a failing military strategy has been trying to
dictate the political approach.
Unless Washington is able to shift gears and pursue a
political settlement to end the war through dialogue, the
crisis in Afghanistan will only worsen with grave regional
repercussions, especially for Pakistan. The Obama
administration should heed the counsel of Henry Kissinger who
wrote a few days ago that America needs a strategy in
Afghanistan, not an alibi.
The writer is a former envoy of Pakistan to the US and the UK,
and a former
editor of The News.
Arab-Turkish
ties: Possibilities, challenges
As long as the
Arab-Turkish cooperation is based on economic and not on
military grounds, the relationship is not going to be
directed against any party and will not upset any regional
or international balance of power.
Abdulaziz Sager
The
Turkish wish to shift to the East is not a new one, and it
certainly did not begin with the Israeli war on Gaza or
with the "Freedom Flotilla" accident.
It stems from higher national interests that have
accumulated since the mid-1970s, i.e. after Turkish troops
entered parts of Cyprus in 1974 and after Turkey hosted
the summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
in 1976.
Success in this area will depend on several factors
including mutual economic interests, the need of the
region to create a positive balance to counter extremist
groups, and a concerted move away from political hegemony,
polarization and the policies of axes and military or
ideological alliances.
Does the Turkish shift toward the East mean that Turkey
has abandoned the West? Is this shift transitory and
governed by the interests of the ruling Justice and
Development Party? Is this rapprochement with the Arab
world contradictory to American and Israeli interests or
not? And are Arabs prepared for this rapprochement?
To begin with, Turkey has never been distant from the Arab
region. Ottoman Turkey maintained strong relations with
the Arab world over four centuries until the Caliphate
fell and the Republic of Ataturk was founded in 1923. It
was the Ataturk Republic that moved the country in a
Westward direction. Consequently, Turkey joined the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952. Turkey was
also the first Muslim country to recognize Israel in 1949.
After 80 years, however, Turkey has begun to realize that
there are limitations to what it can obtain from the West.
The door to the European Union appears locked. The growing
power of Iraqi Kurds may lead to the emergence of a
Kurdish state in the Kurdish Triangle in Iraq, Iran and
Turkey. The shifts push Turkey back in the direction of
the Arab world.
There is an economic rationale too. Turkey imports 95
percent of its oil requirements at an annual cost of more
than $20 billion. On trade, Ankara wants to see its trade
exchange with the Arab states increase to $100 billion
annually, from $40 billion in 2008. Turkish Minister of
Finance Mehmet Simsek said recently: "The period of
reduced Arab-Turkish relations that prevailed over the
past one hundred years has come to an end; we have begun a
new phase comprising mutual openness, developing
investment environment and entering into joint projects."
This desire for increased cooperation is shared by Arabs
too. The Turkish economy currently ranks as the largest in
the Muslim world and 15th globally. The fact that Turkey
has vast agricultural lands and fresh water makes the
country a breadbasket of the Arab region. The Southeastern
Anatolia Project, for example, targets cultivating 2
billion hectares by investing $12 billion. Turkey also
ranks 10th worldwide as a tourist attraction and
anticipates that 30 million tourists will visit Turkey by
the end of this year providing an income of $30 billion.
Direct foreign investment in Turkey today is nearly $30
billion compared to only $1.1 billion in 2001. In
addition, Turkey's size of foreign trade is nearly $290
billion with plans to increase this to one trillion
dollars by 2023. Given its huge water reserves, Turkey is
willing to provide the Gulf countries with fresh water.
There is thus ample evidence that there is a slow
convergence between the Arab states and Turkey when it
comes to economic and political cooperation. But the
question is whether Arab-Turkish relations will grow in
proportion to the ambitions of the two parties. While the
factors for possible success certainly exist, the actual
realization is contingent on domestic developments in
Turkey in addition to the positions of America, Israel and
the EU countries.
Inside Turkey, the relationship of the military
institution with the political authority and its outlook
on Turkish-Arab cooperation is one issue to consider. The
military put an end to the initial rule of the Welfare
party under the leadership of Necmettin Erbakan when
Erbakan wanted to freeze the agreement of military
cooperation with Israel. This forced him to submit his
resignation in June 1998. Outside of such domestic
factors, the Turkish-Israeli military alliance continues
to raise suspicions on the Arab side, especially in case
of a change in the ruling political elite in Turkey. The
Arab- Turkish rapprochement might collapse altogether if
the military seizes power in Ankara, or if other
nationalist parties with different political orientation
come out on top. So, the rapprochement with the Arab world
must stem from a real desire across the full spectrum of
political elites in Turkey and be in accordance with a
long-term strategy of all the parties involved.
External challenges, meanwhile, are represented by the
positions of Israel and the United States. The former
fears that the Arab-Turkish rapprochement is going to be
at its expense and, therefore, Israel has resorted to
trying to fuel the domestic conflict in Turkey either
between the Turkish military and the political authority,
or by supporting a coup d'etat against the Justice and
Development party, or by assisting separatist Kurds to
destabilize the system of rule in Ankara.
The US might perceive this rapprochement as coming at the
expense of its influence and interests, especially now
that there is a regression of the American role in the
Middle East. Washington also fears the emergence of a new
power at loggerheads with some of its policies including
the handling of the situation in Iraq and the scenarios
for US withdrawal, the shortcomings in Afghanistan, and
the confusion regarding the Iranian nuclear program. As a
result, the US is likely to use the "carrot and stick"
policy with Ankara. The carrot would be exercising
pressure on Europe to accept the membership of Turkey in
the European Union whereas the stick is embodied in waving
the card of the massacres of Armenians. This is a highly
contentious issue in Turkey and could have domestic
repercussions.
As long as the Arab-Turkish cooperation is based on
economic and not on military grounds, the relationship is
not going to be directed against any party and will not
upset any regional or international balance of power.
A careful reading outside of the economic domain will
nevertheless reveal common interests supporting a broad
Arab-Turkish rapprochement that bring the Arab world and
Turkey closer together. Whether this is a sufficient
foundation remains in doubt given the tremendous internal
and external pressures that exist on the Turkish
government to end its honeymoon with the Arab world.
Similarly, the conflict of interests and strategic vision
that has shadowed relations between the two parties for
long might once again come to the surface.
The major parties to Arab-Turkish relations or the
Arab-Turkish alliance, so to speak, are specifically the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. For
these states, it is important that they adopt a long-term
view to ensure that no differences that threaten this
alliance or rapprochement will materialize. This includes
preventing Turkey from monopolize influence on issues that
are peculiarly Arab in nature such as the Palestinian
question, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
Abdulaziz Sager is chairman, Gulf Research Center. He
can be contacted
at: sager@grc.ae
But where is Russia?
The Russian president seems to be saying something
different. Only time will tell whether Medvedev can
deliver.
Mark Medish
We
are not a member of the EU, but we are a European
country." So spoke President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia in
an interview with Western journalists last week, on the
eve of the G-20 summit and a key meeting with President
Barack Obama in Toronto. His words are worth thinking
about.
The Russia we know today has been looking for its place in
the world ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union 20
years ago. Stripped of the shell of Soviet empire, the
country's identity has been in flux. The search is at once
geopolitical, philosophical and profoundly psychological.
The quest has been complicated by the fact that the world
around Russia has been changing too.
Russian officials have had trouble concealing their
pleasure at the perception that the West is in strategic
decline due to Middle East quagmires and cascading
financial crises. Certainly Moscow is not alone in
wondering about the future of the West. A pattern of
strategic hedging is obvious from Turkey and Israel to
Brazil and China. The balance of power in the world is
more fluid than at any time since the beginning of the
Cold War.
What should Russia do? In recent years Russia has
experimented with several geostrategic options, most of
which have proven either illusory or of limited value.
One option was a "strategic partnership" with China.
Indeed one of the biggest diplomatic achievements of
Vladimir Putin's presidency was a final settlement in 2005
of the decades-long border dispute with China. The
economic complementarities between the two countries seem
obvious: Russia has excess natural resources and a labour
shortage, while China has the opposite. But practical
cooperation has been severely limited by deep-seated
mutual mistrust. The Russians and Chinese have mutual
superiority complexes that make partnership all but
impossible. Another tack for Moscow has been to trumpet
its membership in the club of mega-emerging markets, the
so-called BRICs. But, in terms of sheer economic dynamism,
Russia is clearly an outlier, if not a total misfit, in
the company of Brazil, India and China. Russia has a weak
manufacturing base, apart from arms. Russia would be a
more natural member of OPEC, which only underscores its
dependence on hydrocarbon extraction. The most problematic
phase of Russia's identity quest culminated in outright
confrontation with the West during the deadly Georgia
conflict of August 2008.
Oil was touching $150 per barrel and Russia's currency
reserves soared to almost half a trillion dollars. The
Russians felt powerful and were spoiling for a fight. The
newly installed President Medvedev found himself spokesmen
for hard-liners who wanted to teach Georgia and its
Western patrons an object lesson about Russia's interests
in the post-Soviet borderlands.
To be sure, the confrontation was baited by Russophobes in
the Bush-Cheney administration. From their hyper-realist
viewpoint, it was probably a "win-win" scenario - either
the Georgians would surprise the Russians with new
defensive technologies or Russia would show its true
colors as a brutal, imperialist meddler, further
diminishing its European credentials.
Rarely has a country moved from hubris to humility as
quickly as Russia after the events of 2008. Russia
celebrated its victory and rushed to recognise South
Ossetia and Abkhazia, despite the fact Moscow had always
counselled the West against recognising breakaway
provinces such as Kosovo. Within a few weeks, the Wall
Street collapse brought reality home, with Russia this
time on the receiving end of acute market contagion.
It is against this dangerous backdrop that the newly
elected Barack Obama put forward the idea of a "reset" of
bilateral relations. The Russians at first reacted with
scepticism but now tend to view Obama as somebody they can
do business with. More important, the Russian elite has
had time to reflect on where their long-term interests
lie. A recently leaked Russian foreign ministry "white
paper" suggests an important debate is under way. The
paper echoes President Medvedev's themes of the urgent
need for modernisation and closer association with the
West.
It is doubtful that the hard-line camp based around
Russia's security services has come around to this view.
They are still wedded to the notion that the West is in
civilizational decline and that Russia has an opportunity
to press its short-term interests in the immediate
neighbourhood including Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central
Asia.
The Medvedev camp is not persuaded by the end-of-the-West
thesis, and they are clear-eyed about Russia's own
national decline. They probably do not underestimate the
organic strength of the West to recover from its current
economic woes. They also know that the other BRICs are
humming along. They know that Russia cannot afford
neo-imperialist delusions.
Prime Minister Putin is usually assumed to represent the
security camp, and his fingerprints are certainly on a
number of brutal policies at home and abroad. However, his
record also suggests that he is an arbiter between
opposing factions and is capable of policy pivots. The
recent rapprochement with Poland over Soviet-era crimes
was a smart and possibly significant step.
The abiding trouble with Putin is that while he wants
modern results, he does not limit himself to modern
methods at home. Instead, faith in autocracy - which
doomed czars and commissars alike - still haunts Russia.
Medvedev talks about promoting nanotechnology in Russia.
This is a perfectly rational economic objective, but
Russia's deeper challenge is that it needs a new operating
system, preferably a European-oriented one based on
representative government, civil liberties, property
rights and true federalism.
The great Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky wrote of
the 18th-century czar Peter the Great: "He did not want to
borrow the results of Western technique, but wanted to
appropriate the skill and knowledge, and build industries
on the Western European model." Peter himself said: "We
need Europe for a few decades; later on we must turn our
back on it."
The Russian president seems to be saying something
different. Only time will tell whether Medvedev can
deliver. His Western counterparts, including President
Obama, Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas
Sarkozy, should continue to encourage the idea that Russia
can become a European country.
Mark Medish, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, was senior director for
Russian, Ukrainian and Eurasian affairs on the National
Security Council under President Bill Clinton.
International
16 killed in
string of Afghan attacks
AFP, Kabul
Sixteen people including civilians and policemen have been
killed in separate attacks in Afghanistan blamed on the
Taliban over the past 24 hours, police said on Tuesday.
Seven Taliban fighters were also killed after ambushing a
police convoy in western Afghanistan, provincial police
said.
Two civilians were killed and two wounded on Tuesday when
a roadside bomb struck a vehicle in the Khakrez district
of the southern province of Kandahar, Zalmai Ayobi,
spokesman for the provincial governor, told AFP.
On Monday, six policemen were killed by a roadside bomb
that ripped through their pickup truck in the Bala Buluk
district of the western province of Farah, said local
police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi.
A bomb blast also hit a motorcycle in Bala Buluk the same
day, killing two civilians, he said.
Elsewhere in Farah province, seven Taliban militants
including a local commander, were killed, three wounded
and two arrested after they ambushed a police convoy on
Monday, provincial police chief Mohammad Faqir Askar said.
In the southern province of Zabul, insurgents attacked a
security company vehicle in the Shahr-e-Safa district on
Monday, killing six security guards and wounding five,
provincial spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said.
Taliban militants have waged a bloody insurgency against
Afghan and international forces since their ouster from
power in late 2001. The insurgency has claimed thousands
of lives, mostly civilians.
US drone strike kills
six militants in Pakistan
AFP, Peshawar, Pakistan
A US drone fired two missiles into a compound used by
Islamist fighters in Pakistan's tribal belt Tuesday,
killing at least six militants, security officials said.
The missiles targeted the compound in Karikot village,
about 10 kilometres (six miles) southwest of Wana, the
main town in South Waziristan district, a senior security
official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Six militants have died in the attack and at least two
were wounded," he said. The compound belonging to a
militant commander, Maulana Halimullah, had been
destroyed.
"The dead included some foreign militants," he said, using
official Pakistani jargon for Al-Qaeda militants.
Officials in Wana also confirmed the attack and the toll.
South Waziristan, considered a stronghold of militants,
was the scene of a major Pakistani offensive last year.
The district borders North Waziristan, where a similar
drone strike on Sunday also killed six militants.
Washington has branded the rugged tribal area on the
Afghan border a global headquarters of Al-Qaeda and the
most dangerous place on earth.
Around 950 people have been killed in more than 100 drone
strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number
of senior militants. However the attacks fuel
anti-American sentiment in the conservative Muslim
country.
The US military does not, as a rule, confirm drone
attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence
Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that
deploy pilotless drones in the region.
Militants based in the rugged tribal terrain attack US-led
forces across the border in Afghanistan, where the Afghan
Taliban are waging a nearly nine-year insurgency to evict
the estimated 140,000 foreign troops.
On June 1, Al-Qaeda said its number three leader and Osama
bin Laden's one-time treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid had
been killed in what security officials said was an
apparent drone strike in North Waziristan.
Three more die as protests
escalate in Indian Kashmir
AFP, Srinagar, India
Indian security forces opened fire on demonstrators in
Indian Kashmir again on Tuesday, killing three teenagers
in violence that risks fuelling more protests.
Six people have been killed in the last three days and
eleven in less than three weeks during demonstrations
against the killing of Kashmiris by Indian forces which
began with the death of a schoolboy on June 11.
The fresh shooting in southern Anantnag district, about 55
kilometres (34 miles) south of the Kashmiri summer capital
Srinagar, came as police widened a crackdown on unrest,
placing more towns under curfew and banning mobile phone
text messages.
"Two teenagers were killed when paramilitary forces opened
fire to disperse a violent demonstration," a police
officer said, asking not to be named.
He said that a third who was injured in the shooting died
while being taken to hospital, while the condition of
another injured victim was critical. The situation in the
area remains "very tense," he said.
Indian Kashmir has been wracked by street protests since
June 11, when a 17-year-old student died after being hit
by a teargas shell fired by police during a
pro-independence demonstration in Srinagar.
Crowds of young men have since taken to the streets
chanting "Blood for Blood!" and "Freedom for Kashmir!",
throwing rocks at security forces and attacking them at
their checkposts and bunkers.
India deploys an estimated 500,000 soldiers in Kashmir,
which is jointly administered by India and Pakistan, a
legacy of British colonial rule on the subcontinent.
Both countries claim Kashmir in full, however, and have
fought two of their three wars over it.
Kashmiri separatists and insurgents, who have fought a
decades-long battle against India, want independence for
the region or for it to join neighbouring Muslim-majority
Pakistan.
The chief minister of Kashmir and neighbouring Jammu, Omar
Abdullah, appealed for calm and said young people were
being "exploited" in the protests by anti-India forces.
Pakistan's president to
visit China in July
AFP, Beijing
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will visit China in
early July, Beijing said Tuesday while reiterating its
defence of the two countries' nuclear cooperation.
Zardari will visit from July 6 to 11, meeting President Hu
Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, foreign ministry spokesman
Qin Gang told reporters.
He said he had no information on whether any trade or
other agreements would be signed during the trip.
Last month, the United States said it had asked China to
clarify the details of a nuclear reactor deal between the
two sides.
The state-run China National Nuclear Corporation has
agreed to finance two civilian nuclear reactors in
Pakistan's Punjab province, despite fears abroad about the
safety of atomic material in the Islamic nation.
The deal comes after China in 2004 entered the Nuclear
Suppliers Group (NSG), a group of nuclear energy states
that forbids exports to nations lacking strict
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said earlier
the deal must be approved by the NSG and Washington sought
further information from Beijing.
Qin on Tuesday repeated earlier Chinese statements that
the two nation's nuclear cooperation was in line with
international accords.
"The civilian nuclear energy cooperation between China and
Pakistan is completely in line with the international
obligation of nuclear non-proliferation and is completely
for peaceful purposes and subject to IAEA safeguards and
supervision," he said.
China struggles to find 106
still buried in landslide
AFP, Beijing
Hundreds of rescuers struggled in treacherous conditions
Tuesday to find 106 people buried in a landslide in
southwest China, as the first victim's body was pulled
out.
The corpse of a child was dug out of the mud and debris,
Xinhua news agency said, as rescuers searched for signs of
life in Dazhai village in Guizhou province after Monday's
landslide, with hope for survivors considered slim.
"The rescue is under way but it's still raining hard and
the local terrain is complex, which is affecting the
rescue process," Pi Yingfang, a spokeswoman for
authorities in Guanling county, told AFP.
"Some of the rescuers have stopped work due to fears of
more landslides, but others are still searching for
survivors."
Xinhua gave no other details on the dead child.
State television showed rescuers walking on a wide thick
trail of mud that appeared to have almost entirely covered
houses in its wake, and diggers were sifting through the
dirt and rocks.
More than 100,000 cubic metres of mud and rocks, the
equivalent of 40 Olympic-size swimming pools, have fallen
on the houses, the official People's Daily newspaper said.
The landslide was the latest weather-related disaster to
hit China, which has suffered floods and landslides for
more than two weeks since summer downpours have pounded
parts of the nation's south, east and centre.
So far this month, at least 235 people have died and more
than 100 gone missing in rain-related accidents, not
including the Guizhou landslide, according to China's
civil affairs ministry.
Millions more have had to flee their homes and authorities
said Sunday that nearly 69 million people had been
affected.
The local rescue headquarters in Guanling said the victims
had a "slim" chance of survival, the official Xinhua news
agency reported.
Villager Cen Chaoyang said he had managed to escape his
house when he heard the landslide.
"I called for the others to flee, but it was too late. I
saw some people behind me being buried," he was quoted as
saying by Xinhua.
Foreign troop deaths in
Afghan war hit 100 in June: AFP
AFP, Kabul
A total of 100 foreign soldiers fighting the Taliban in
Afghanistan have died in June, the deadliest month for
NATO in nine years of conflict, intensifying concerns
about the conduct of the war.
An announcement by the US Department of Defence of the
death of an American soldier on June 24 in the strife-torn
western province of Farah took the toll for the year to
date to 320, compared with 520 in all of 2009.
AFP's figures are based on a tally kept by the independent
icasualties.org website.
The Defence Department said 20-year-old Private Robert
Repkie of Tennessee had died on June 24 of "injuries
sustained from a non-combat related incident" that was
under investigation.
A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF) said 81 international troops had been killed
in combat so far in June.
He said 12 troops had died of non-combat related causes.
The remainder, who are not counted by ISAF, had died of
injuries after returning home for treatment.
No NATO troops deaths were reported in Afghanistan on
Monday, the spokesman said, adding: "A rare good day for
us this month."
The previous highest monthly toll was last August, at 77.
The United States and NATO have 140,000 troops in
Afghanistan, set to peak at 150,000 by August in an effort
to quell the intensifying war against the hardline
Islamist Taliban.
The military alliance also said Tuesday that the search
for an American serviceman kidnapped by the Taliban in
Afghanistan a year ago remains a "top priority" for the
US-led NATO forces.
Rare white elephant caught
in Myanmar
AFP, Yangon
A rare white elephant, historically considered in Myanmar
to herald good fortune, has been captured in the west of
the military-ruled nation, state media reported Tuesday.
The female pachyderm was captured by officials on Saturday
in the coastal town of Maungtaw in Rakhine state, the New
Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
She is aged about 38 and seven feet four inches (more than
two metres) tall, the English-language paper said,
although it did not mention where she would be kept.
Kings and leaders in Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist
country, have traditionally treasured white elephants,
whose rare appearances in the country are believed to
herald good fortune, including power and political change.
Two private planes for Myanmar's Senior General Than Shwe
and four other top leaders were named "White Elephant"
this year on the advice of astrologers, according to the
Irrawaddy, a respected Thailand-based magazine on Myanmar.
The junta chief is described by critics and some experts
on the regime as deeply superstitious.
A popular Yangon astrologer told the Irrawaddy that the
name was not only designed to avert bad luck but also a
portent to defeat enemies.
Myanmar, which has been military-ruled since 1962, is due
to hold its first elections for two decades later this
year, although a date has not yet been announced.
Despite their name, the elephants' skin is more pink than
white.
Russia
demands explanation for US spy arrests
AFP, Moscow
Russia angrily hit back Tuesday at US claims that it had
smashed a Moscow-organised spy ring, warning the spat
could damage efforts to improve relations.
US authorities said 10 "deep-cover" suspects, accused of
infiltrating policymaking for the Kremlin, had been
detained for seeking details of US nuclear weapons and
foreign policy.
Five accused appeared in court in New York on Monday and
some of the suspects are apparently Russian nationals.
According to US documents, the spy ring had been under FBI
surveillance for a decade.
The Russian foreign ministry condemned the spy allegations
made by the US Justice Department. Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov demanded an explanation of the charges.
"In our opinion, such actions are groundless and pursue
unseemly aims," a foreign ministry spokesman said.
"In any case, it is highly deplorable that all of this is
happening against the background of the reset in Russia-US
ties announced by the US administration itself."
The arrests Sunday in four northeastern US states came
only three days after President Barack Obama described his
Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev as a "solid and
reliable partner" at a White House summit.
"They did not explain what the matter is about. I hope
they will," Russia's Lavrov was quoted by Russian news
agencies as saying during a visit to Jerusalem. "The
moment when it was done has been chosen with a special
finesse," he said with apparent sarcasm.
Russian foreign ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov told
AFP there were a "lot of contradictions" in the
information about the case.
The White House has yet to comment on the case which harks
back to Cold War hostilities with the use of false
identities and tales of buried money and hidden video
cameras. US authorities said an 11th suspect remains at
large.
"You were sent to USA for long-term service trip," read a
message decrypted by the FBI and said to be from the
Moscow headquarters of the SVR intelligence service, a
successor to the communist-era KGB.
"Your education, bank accounts, car, house etc.-all these
serve one goal: fulfill your main mission, i.e. to search
and develop ties in policy-making circles in US and send
intel to C (Moscow Center)."
The 10 are charged with acting as an agent of a foreign
government, which carries a maximum of five years' jail.
Nine were also charged with conspiracy to commit money
laundering, carries a maximum penalty of 20 years prison.
The Justice Department charge sheet told how one message
from Moscow asked for "info on current international
affairs".
"Try to single out tidbits unknown publicly but revealed
in private by sources close to State Department,
government, major think tanks," it said.
Dialogue over nuclear
fuel swap to continue: Iran
AFP, Tehran
Iran said on Tuesday that its decision to freeze talks
with world powers for two months relates only to its
overall atomic programme and does not include discussions
on a nuclear fuel deal.
Moscow meanwhile said that Russia, France and the United
States have asked the UN atomic watchdog to organise a
meeting with Iran over the fuel deal on condition Tehran
halts its 20 percent uranium enrichment programme.
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters
the issue of Iran's nuclear programme is separate from
that of a proposed swap deal that would ensure a fuel
supply for the Tehran research reactor.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday ruled out talks
with the P5+1 world powers-Britain, France, Russia, China,
the United States and Germany-on Tehran's nuclear
programme until the end of the Iranian month of Mordad,
around late August.
Asked at a news conference Tuesday whether the freeze
declared by Ahmadinejad includes discussions on the fuel
swap deal, Mottaki replied: "The question of Mordad is
(only) about the five-plus-one.
"Negotiations about the fuel swap are only about the fuel
swap and negotiations with five-plus-one are about the
common points of the proposed packages... these two things
are separate," he said.
The six world powers have offered to talk with Iran about
its nuclear programme, especially its uranium enrichment
drive, which they want halted fearing it is aimed at
making weapons.
Suicide bomber kills
five as eight die in Iraq unrest
AFP, Tikrit
A suicide bomber killed five people in northern Iraq on
Tuesday as bombs in the capital Baghdad killed three
people, including an Iraqi general, security officials
said.
The suicide attack in the refinery and power station town
of Baiji targeted a police patrol and also wounded 18
people, police in the Salaheddin provincial capital of
Tikrit told AFP.
In the capital, the general, whom police identified only
by his first name Khodr, was blown up by a magnetic bomb
in Aden Square in the Shiite shrine district of Kadhimiya
in the north of the city.
A second magnetic bomb killed one person and wounded two
outside an army officers' club in Al-Hurriya in northwest
Baghdad, police said. There was no immediate word on
whether the casualties were soldiers or civilians.
A roadside bomb killed one person and wounded four in a
car in the mainly Sunni Arab southern district of Dora,
police said.
In the heart of the capital, police thwarted a bomb attack
on a convoy transporting cash to and from the central
bank, detonating it in a controlled explosion after
clearing the area, the interior ministry said.
The bomb was planted in a rubbish skip in the Rasheed
Street area in the heart of the capital Baghdad and the
explosion was heard across the city centre.
Navy may need to blow up
ruptured oil well: Bill Clinton
AFP, Washington
The US Navy may have to blow up a ruptured well gushing
oil into the Gulf of Mexico if efforts to cap the leak
with relief wells fail, former US President Bill Clinton
said Monday.
"This is a geological monster," the former president told
CNN.
"That is one heck of an oil well. There's more oil down
there than I ever dreamed."
Clinton said the "most important thing is to fix the
leak," followed by the need to keep the oil from reaching
shore, minimize the damage and then "figure out what went
wrong and hold them accountable, whether it was somebody
in British Petroleum or someone in the US Government."
Asked if he was concerned that the two relief wells
currently being drilled may not work, Clinton said "yeah"
and said blowing up the well "may become necessary."
"The navy could probably stop it, but there are all kinds
of consequences that would have to be considered," Clinton
said. "You could stop that well, but what else might you
do that might upset the ecostructure of the Gulf?"
The navy would not need to use a nuclear weapon, Clinton
said, explaining that the navy could simply "blow up the
well and cover the leak with piles and piles and piles of
rock and debris."
Clinton expressed concern that there was little else the
federal government could do if BP's experts failed.
"Unless we're going to do all that, we're dependent on the
technical expertise of these people at BP," Clinton said.
Clinton insisted that BP is "trying to do the right thing"
and should be given more time to plug the leak.
He also defended President Barack Obama who has been
criticized for failing to show sufficient emotion when
dealing with this and other disasters.
"On the empathy issue, I personally think it's a bum rap,"
Clinton told CNN.
Egypt bars Jordanian
activists from reaching Gaza
AFP, Amman
A group of Jordanian trade unionists urged Egypt on
Tuesday to grant them entry into the Gaza Strip through
the Rafah crossing to show solidarity with the blockaded
Palestinian enclave.
"The 12-member group, which includes journalists, has been
waiting at Rafah for the past four days but the Egyptian
authorities are banning them from Gaza for unknown
reasons," said Alaa Borqan, who is in charge of public
relations at the Islamist-dominated trade unions.
"They carry nothing but solidarity for the people of
Gaza."
Borqan added that the unions sent a letter to Egyptian
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif urging him to allow the
delegation into Gaza.
"We don't understand why Egypt is doing this. They granted
entry to a Lebanese delegation on Monday and we have
information that a Malaysian group will enter the strip
today," Borqan told AFP.
Jordan's Islamic Action Front, the main opposition party,
urged Egypt in an online statement to "help all those who
want to ease the sufferings of Palestinians in Gaza."
The impoverished Palestinian territory of 1.5 million
people has been under a crippling blockade since militants
based in the enclave captured an Israeli soldier in a
deadly cross-border raid in 2006.
Israel tightened its grip after the Islamist Hamas
movement seized control of Gaza the following year.
The Rafah border is Gaza's only crossing that bypasses
Israel.
African cities among world’s
costliest for expats: Survey
AFP, London
The Angolan capital Luanda is the most expensive city for
corporate expats, according to a study Tuesday which
includes three African cities in the top 10 for the first
time.
Tokyo is second and Moscow and Geneva are also among the
most costly cities in the world. At the other end of the
scale Pakistan's second city Karachi is the cheapest,
according to consultants Mercer.
In the Middle East, Tel Aviv is the most expensive city in
19th spot followed by Abu Dhabi in 50th place and Dubai in
55th, while Tripoli is the cheapest at 186th, followed by
Jeddah and Muscat in 181th and 176th place.
"African cities now figure prominently, reflecting the
growing economic importance of the region to global
companies across all business sectors," said Nathalie
Constantin-Metral, in charge of compiling the annual
survey.
After Luanda in first place, the Chadian capital N'Djamena
is in third place followed by Libreville in Gabon in
seventh place-the biggest number of Africa capitals in a
top 10 usually dominated by Asian and European cities.
"Many people assume that cities in the developing world
are cheap but this isn't necessarily true for expatriates
working there," said Constantin-Metral, saying firms have
to provide staff with the same standard of living as at
home.
Three Asian cities join the African trio in the top 10 --
as well as Tokyo in second, Japan is also represented by
Osaka in 6th place, while Hong Kong is in 8th position.
Diplomats in Britain owe
millions in fines, accused of crime
AFP, London
Foreign diplomats in Britain have been accused of human
trafficking, domestic violence, drink driving and threats
to kill-and owe more than 36 million pounds in traffic
fines, new figures reveal.
Foreign Office figures show diplomatic missions owe
36,057,690 pounds (54.16 million dollars, 44.43 million
euros) for not paying London's congestion charge since
2003 -- and half a million in parking and traffic fines in
2009 alone.
But the 25,000 people entitled to diplomatic immunity in
Britain are not simply using it to avoid traffic
penalties, according to the figures revealed Monday.
Last year, 17 people were accused of drink driving and
serious crimes-those warranting at least a year in jail.
This includes two people accused of human trafficking, one
from the Saudi Arabian embassy and one from the Sierra
Leone mission, a Saudi accused of sexual assault and a
Pakistani official accused of threatening to kill someone.
A member of the Gambian mission was accused of
shoplifting, a Nigerian of actual bodily harm and numerous
officials-including from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain-were
accused of drink-driving.
Previous years saw further accusations of drink driving as
well as of dangerous driving by a Russian diplomat,
domestic assault and car theft by South African officials,
and robbery by one of Guyana's diplomats.
The biggest offender in non-payment of the London
congestion charge is the United States embassy, which owed
3,821,880 pounds at the end of January. It is followed by
Russia (3.20 million pounds) and Japan (2.77 million
pounds).
The embassies say they are exempt from all taxes in their
host nation but authorities in the British capital insist
the congestion charge, levied on vehicles entering the
city at peak times, is not a tax and they must pay up.
Other parking and traffic fines incurred by diplomatic
missions and international organisations last year
totalled 534,060 pounds, of which only 7,760 pounds have
so far been paid.
Business/Economy
Yunani,
Ayurvedi to get agro-based industry status: Dilip Barua
BSS, Dhaka
The Yunani and Ayurvedic medicines are likely to get a
status of agro-based industry as Industries Minister Dilip
Barua today assured of extending further support to the
sector from the government.
"The government would also extend credit facilities to the
sector under the package of small and medium enterprise
development," he said as the chief guest at a workshop on
Ayurvedic Medicine in the city.
Bangladesh Ayurvedic Oushad Shilpa Samity (BAOSS)
organized the workshop with support from Medicinal Plants
and Herbal Products Business Promotional Council (MPHPBPC)
of the Ministry of Commerce.
President of BAOSS Dr Selim Mohammad Shahjahan, who
chaired the function, said more than 70 percent of total
population, especially the rural poor, mostly depends on
homeopathy, Ayurvedi and Yunani herbal medicines because
of their low cost and no side effects.
He said the herbal medicine sector could earn a sizable
amount of foreign exchange provided the government extends
necessary fiscal and cash incentives.
"I urge the government to keep the import of raw materials
for the sector completely free from VAT net for next five
years," Dr Selim said, adding the demand of herbal
products and cosmetics has gone up recently all over the
world.
Dilip Barua agreed with the perception of Dr Selim and
said steps should be taken to ensure smooth of supply raw
materials for the production of herbal items in
Bangladesh.
More than 500 species of herbal plants are now being on
the verge of extinction, he said urging the sector leaders
to focus more on developing new gardens of medicinal
plants across the country.
The minister also urged the big industry and corporate
houses to invest in plantation programmes of medicinal and
herbal plants as part of their social responsibilities.
The plantation, he said, would not only help meet the
existing demands but also open up further avenues to boost
export earnings from herbs.
He, however, reminded people not to be allured by
lucrative advertisements from fake companies of herbal
medicines in Bangladesh. In this context, he urged the
Yunani and Ayurvedi medicine producers and doctors to
remain cautious against a vested group who has been
creating image crisis of the sector.
Joint secretary of Commerce Ministry Monoj Kumar Roy,
chairman of Bangladesh Homeopathy Board Dr Dilip Kumar
Roy, president of Yunani Medical Association Dr Mohammad
Yusuf Harun Bhuiyan, deputy coordinator of Business
Promotional Council Mohammad Atiqur Rahman Khan, president
of Bangladesh Homeo Yunani Ayurvedic Federation Dr Rezaul
Karim, among others, spoke on the occasion.
Indian
PM defends fuel price hike as ‘much needed’ reform
AFP, New Delhi
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh rejected Tuesday
criticism of the government's decision to hike fuel
prices, saying the move was a "much-needed" reform.
New Delhi announced last week an across-the-board fuel
hike at the same time as declaring it would scrap petrol
subsidies immediately and abolish diesel subsidies later.
"The fact petrol prices have been set free, that the same
is going to be done to diesel prices, are much-needed
reforms," he said on a flight home from the G20 summit in
Toronto.
The government released the statement to journalists after
demonstrators burnt effigies of Singh in protests across
India against the fuel price hike, which economists say
will spur the country's double-digit inflation.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has vowed
to fight the rises "on the streets" and in the next
parliamentary session.
The price hike is part of moves by the government to lower
its deficit and slash huge subsidies it gives state-run
oil firms.
Petrol prices were raised 3.5 rupees (seven cents) a litre
while diesel prices rose by two rupees. Kerosene increased
by three rupees a litre and cooking gas by 35 rupees a
cylinder.
Economists said the announcement marked the first "big
bang" reform by the Congress-led government, which was
re-elected last year with a strong mandate that increased
hopes it would push ahead with economic liberalisation.
Singh, the architect of India's moves in the early 1990s
to open up the nation's economy, told reporters there
should be no "excessive populism".
Strong yuan will
benefit all economies
AFP, Singapore
A stronger Chinese yuan would be beneficial to the global
economy as well as China, an International Monetary Fund (IMF)
consultant and other economists said Tuesday.
Speaking at a trade risk seminar in Singapore, IMF global
consultant Rajan Govil said an appreciating yuan would
address the current account disparities between Asia and
the United States.
"I think it's positive from the global perspective and
(the) Chinese economy perspective," he said at the seminar
organised by French risk analysis group Coface.
"It's a very positive stance taken by the (Chinese)
authorities and given the current account surpluses that
China had, and given the global imbalances... this will
help address that issue from a global perspective."
China's central bank earlier this month pledged to let the
yuan trade more freely against the dollar but ruled out
dramatic moves in the currency or a one-off appreciation.
Govil's comments follow IMF managing director Dominique
Strauss-Kahn's statement on Monday that the yuan was still
undervalued.
Standard Chartered Bank global head of trade finance Tan
Kah Chye said a stronger yuan, or renminbi, would make
China's imports more attractive to Chinese consumers.
"Imports for the Chinese consumer are a lot cheaper, so
from that perspective it is all good news," he told the
forum.
Coface chief economist Yves Zlotowski added that a robust
yuan would ease concerns of unfair Chinese advantage
resulting from allegations it was deliberately
undervaluing its currency.
However, Zlotowski did warn that the currency's
appreciation would add volatility to the Chinese corporate
sector.
"Appreciation of the yuan is increasing risks in terms of
corporate risks. What we have seen is we have many sectors
in China... which are extremely vulnerable to exchange
rates," he told AFP.
Zlotowski added that a weakening euro would give Beijing
an excuse to control the pace of the yuan's appreciation.
Iraq signs
multi-billion gas deal with Shell, Mitsubishi
AFP, Basra, Iraq
Iraq approved a multi-billion dollar deal with Royal Dutch
Shell and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp on Tuesday that will
provide much needed electricity from natural gas currently
being wastefully burned off. State-owned South Gas and
Basra Gas companies in southern Iraq will take a 51
percent stake in the contract, with Shell and Mitsubishi
taking a 49 percent share, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh
said in a statement.
Iraq produces a negligible quantity of gas compared with
the size of its reserves, and currently flares off most of
what comes out with its crude output as it lacks the
capture technology needed to use the gas for power
generation.
The joint deal with Shell and Mitsubishi will exploit gas
in the Rumaila, Zubair, West Qurna and Majnoon fields near
Basra.
The contract was rubber-stamped at a cabinet meeting in
Baghdad, almost two years after it was initially agreed in
September 2008.
The government at the time said the deal was expected to
be worth around four billion dollars, but no specific
financial figures were given on Tuesday.
Iraq last month invited international energy firms to
submit bids in a September 1 auction of three gas fields,
in a third major tender aimed at developing the war-torn
state's oil and gas sectors. Existing power plants in Iraq
have proved incapable of generating sufficient electricity
to meet peak summer demand, forcing draconian rationing
that sees consumers receive supply for one hour in five,
or less.
As temperatures have hit highs of 54 degrees Celsius (130
degrees Fahrenheit), angry protesters have taken to the
streets across central and southern Iraq, sparking clashes
with police in which two demonstrators were killed.
Taiwan, China
to sign trade pact amid controversy
AFP, Chongqing, China
Taiwan and China will sign a landmark trade pact Tuesday,
a deal that could yoke the two sides closer than at any
time since their split more than 60 years ago.
The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), to be
signed in the mainland's southwestern city of Chongqing,
could unlock massive trade opportunities lying dormant
because of existing rules.
But many Taiwanese fear it could also chip away at the
island's hard-won de facto independence. "It adds to the
concerns about the agreement that it could bring the
island a step closer to the mainland," said Yang Yung-ming,
a political scientist at Taipei's Soochow University.
"As Taipei becomes more reliant on Beijing economically,
its political options could be reduced."
This is a scenario few Taiwanese would relish, as survey
after survey has shown a majority on the island prefers
the status quo of prosperous self-rule. But even though
Taiwan has been its own master since the end of a civil
war in 1949, China considers the island part of its
territory and has never renounced the potential use of
military force as a way of getting it back.
The Taiwanese government under Beijing-friendly President
Ma Ying-jeou, in power since 2008, is keenly aware that
its policy of rapprochement towards China could trigger
fears in a public worried about Beijing's real intentions.
To counter such concerns, which have not decreased ahead
of Tuesday's signing of the ECFA, Taiwanese officials have
underscored the peace that has descended on the Taiwan
Straits under Ma.
"We have allowed the peaceful development between the two
sides to take a stride forward," top Taiwanese envoy
Chiang Pin-kung said on his arrival in Chongqing Monday.
"The tension of the past has turned into peace. The
confrontation has become cooperation."
Japan
unemployment rises as output slows
AFP, Tokyo
Japan's unemployment rate rose unexpectedly in May as
household consumption fell and factory production
declined, illustrating the fragile nature of Japan's
gradual recovery from recession.
The unemployment rate edged higher in May to 5.2 percent,
rising by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month,
government data showed Tuesday.
The rate fell below market expectations of 5.0 percent
forecast by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.
It was the 28th consecutive monthly decline in the number
of people in employment, the government said, with the
workforce now standing 470,000 lower than a year earlier.
Average household consumption also fell unexpectedly in
May by 0.7 percent on-year, the government said, defying
expectations of a 0.5 percent rise as weak domestic demand
continues to burden the Japanese economy.
Crippling deflation, and weak domestic demand continue to
weigh on growth as consumers defer purchases in the hope
of further price falls. The government has said it aims to
end deflation by fiscal 2011.
Factory output was down 0.1 percent on month in May, the
first drop in three months following a 1.3 percent gain in
April.
The latest data may raise concerns about Japan's output
growth in the months ahead, given a recent slowdown in
export growth amid anxieties over both the impact of
global stimulus withdrawal and European debt on exports.
National
Urgent preparations needed to
reduce earthquake impact in capital
UNB, Dhaka
As earthquakes cannot be forecast, massive preparation
must be taken immediately to reduce the impact and risk
posed by any such disaster through increased knowledge and
education for the masses.
Bangladesh, especially its capital Dhaka, is one of the
most highly vulnerable countries in terms of potential
damage from an earthquake, and so measures to increase
knowledge and education on how to mitigate the damage can
be helpful in building a culture of safety at all levels.
UNB spoke to a number to experts who identify the most
immediate impacts of the earthquake as destruction of all
kinds of property, casualties under infrastructure debris,
outbreaks of fire, damage to infrastructure such as roads
and bridges, damaged medical centers being unable to treat
patients, and people living in chaos due to damage caused
to water, gas, electricity and telephone lines.
The long-term impacts of the earthquake may manifest
themselves in unemployment and financial meltdown, as well
as people becoming handicapped.
The Islamic Relief-Worldwide in collaboration with the
European Union has recently prepared an action plan with a
view to building disaster resilient and safer communities
in Bangladesh.
They have outlined some measures that may be useful
before, during and after an earthquake.
Dilip advocates developing herbal and Unani treatment
UNB, Dhaka
Industries Minister Dilip Barua has stressed the need for
developing herbal and Unani treatment methods to reach
healthcare services to the doorsteps of the people.
"People of many developed countries have been preparing to
take herbal and Unani treatments instead of allopathic
medicine, as it has no side effects. We can ensure
healthcare service among the people at the grassroots
level in Bangladesh by modernizing treatment," he said
while addressing a workshop at Bangladesh Diploma
Engineers Institute on Tuesday.
Bangladesh Herbal Medicine Industry Association (BHMIA)
and Medicinal Plants and Herbal Product Business Promotion
Council (MPHP-BPC) jointly organized the workshop.
Chaired by BHMIA president Dr Selim Mohammad Shahjahan,
the workshop was addressed, among others, by Homeopathic
Board chairman Dr Dilip Kumar Roy, Unani Medical
association president and Hamdard managing director Yusuf
Haroon Bhuiyan, Industries joint secretary Monuz Kumar Roy
and Homeo Unani and Herbal Federation president Dr Rezaur
Rahim.
Addressing the event, Dilip Barua said the demand for
herbal products including herbal soap, cosmetics and other
herbal beauty products apart from herbal medicine has been
gradually increasing across the globe.
"We can easily catch this opportunity in the global
market. We can export herbal products by producing quality
herbal products and medicine," he observed.
As a result the country's export basket and employment
opportunities will be augmented, which will contribute
towards becoming economically self-reliant, he added.
Recalling the country's heritage, Barua said some 500
species of herbal plants have been critically endangered
in the country and those species have to be conserved for
sustaining traditional herbal treatment.
He urged the herbal entrepreneurs and physicians to create
awareness among people over the necessity of the herbal
plants.
The Industries Minister said the Unani and herbal medicine
industry is a mentionable service sector and the
government has been considering plans to develop the
sector.
He hoped that the Unani and herbal medicine industry
sector initiated by Public Private Partnership (PPP) will
be raised soon as a revenue earning sector.
The Industries Minister also urged all to plant at least
four herbal saplings within their own premises during this
monsoon.
Call to reduce dependence on tuition, coaching, notebook
BSS, Rajshahi
Students must be habituated to reduce their dependence on
tuition, coaching and notebook in the greater interest of
flourishing their creativity.
To attain the goal, the teachers and others concerned
especially guardians have a pivotal role to play.
Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation AHM Khairuzzaman Liton
made this observation while distributing bank-cheque among
the retired teachers and staffs organized by the
Non-government Educational Institutions Teachers-Staff
Welfare Trust at Rajshahi Collegiate School here yesterday
afternoon as the chief guest. He mentioned that the
students are loosing their thinking and creative power due
to exorbitant dependence on tuition, coaching and
notebooks since beginning of their lives. "We have no way
but to come out from the adverse situation to make the
next generation competent in every spheres of life," said
Liton.
He added that importance should be given to making the
education sector free from commercialization and all sorts
of irregularities. Terming the teachers community as a
respectable section of the society, he urged them to
depict the implementation legend of the present
government's charter of change before the students.
Mayor Liton said the present government has been working
relentlessly for successful implementation of the
Vision-2021 for building digital Bangladesh.
He, however, called for collective efforts of the
concerned quarters to make the government's effort a total
success so that the Bangladesh could be built as a
prosperous and happy nation.
Chaired by principal of Madinatul Ulum Kamil Madrasa
Mokaddasul Islam, the ceremony was addressed, among
others, by deputy director of Department of Secondary and
Higher Education Tarun Kumar Sarker and principal of
Rajshahi Court College Shafiqur Rahman Badsha.
BD Representative
elected to CEDAW
UNB, Dhaka
A Bangladesh Representative was elected to a body of
United Nations in an elections held at the United Nations
in New York on Monday.
Ismat Jahan, the Bangladesh candidate for the 'Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women' (CEDAW)
secured the highest votes in elections held at the United
Nations.
Ismat, a former Permanent Representative to the UN and
currently Bangladesh Ambassador in Brussels, got 153 votes
in the 185 member treaty body, said a message received
here on Tuesday.
This is the highest number of votes secured by a candidate
in the history of CEDAW elections.
She will serve as a member of the committee for 4-year
terms 2011-2014.
The credentials of the candidate, Bangladesh's commitment
to women's empowerment, an effective and sustained
election campaign and Bangladesh's standing as an active,
responsible and contributing member of the international
community are among factors credited for this impressive
showing.
Bangladesh is currently elected member of 32 UN
Committees/ Commissions/bodies/caucuses, which is the
highest in recorded history.
Ismat Jahan, a career diplomat, is the highest ranking
woman diplomat of the country. Educated at Dhaka
University and Fletchers School of Law and Diplomacy at
Tufts University, she was also a visiting fellow in the
School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. A total
of 21 candidates contested for 12 seats in the election.
Yoko Hayashi of Japan, with 143 votes secured the second
highest place.
Ten other newly elected members of this Committee are from
Turkey (132), Slovenia (130), Egypt (130), Switzerland
(129) Paraguay (119), Croatia (118), Mauritius (114),
Timor-Leste (113), Israel (103) and Algeria (96).
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr. Shirin
Sharmin Choudhury, who is leading the Bangladesh
Delegation to the CEDAW Meeting of State Parties, cast the
ballot for Bangladesh. The delegation includes Foreign
Secretary Mijarul Quayes, Permanent Representative to the
UN Dr. AK Abdul Momen and members of the campaign team.
Ismat Jahan's candidature began on May this year, with
formal introduction of the candidate by the Foreign
Minister Dr. Dipu Moni in New York and Geneva.
Empowerment of female UP members stressed
BSS, Rangpur
The process of building digital Bangladesh, national
developments and women empowerment could be accelerated
through ensuring just rights of the female public
representatives at the grassroots, experts said.
The government steps to strengthen the local government
bodies for ensuring smooth development, women empowerment,
protecting human rights and justice are yet to be
effectively and fully implemented to achieve the long
cherished national goals, they said.
Social experts, educationists, women and human rights
activists narrated their field level grim experiences
about deprivation of the female public representatives and
stressed the need for ensuring their rights in making
local government institutions more effective.
They said relaxation of administrative control in the
activities of union and upazila parishads along with due
constitutional empowerment of female union members and
vice- chairmen are a must for ensuring women empowerment
and uniform developments.
They urged for local participatory work-plans, preparing
policies and allocation of funds and just facilities to
the female representatives and properly involving them in
all development activities of the local government
institutions for smooth developments.
The social experts, female union members and female
upazila vice-chairmen of different unions and upazilas of
Rangpur, Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha,
Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and Dinajpur districts also
expressed such views.
UNICEF condoles tragic loss of lives in BD fire incident
UNB, Dhaka
The UNICEF Executive Board has expressed its deep
condolences and sympathy at the tragic loss of lives of
over 100 people including women and children from the
devastating fire in the capital on June 3.
While participating in the discussion on June 4, different
delegations from the USA, UK, China, France, Iceland,
Australia, Rwanda, Belarus and Kazakhstan conveyed the
condolences to the government and people of Bangladesh and
wished the early recovery of the injured people, according
to a message received here Tuesday.
The UNICEF Executive Director Dr Anthony Lake also joined
the different delegations in expressing his heart-felt
condoles.
Earlier while opening the session on June 4, the President
of the Executive Board and Bangladesh Ambassador and
Permanent Representative to the UN Dr AK Abdul Momen
informed the Executive Board Members about the tragic fire
that killed over 100 people including children and women.
Taka 27.88 cr budget of Jhenaidah pourasabha announced
BSS, Jhenaidah
A Taka 27.88-crore budget of Jhenaidah pourasabha for
2010-11 fiscal was announced at Nagar Bhaban auditorium
here on Tuesday.
Pourasabha Mayor Abdul Malek announced the budget in
presence of ward commissioners, local journalists and
elite of the town. Taka 21.50 crore has been earmarked for
the development of the town including construction of
drainage, repairing of roads and improvement of water
supply system for the town dwellers. Of the total budget,
Taka 21.50 crore will come as grant from development
partners and Taka 70 lakh for the government. Taka 4.59
crore has been fixed as revenue income. Taka 4.8 crore has
been earmarked for administrative expenditure. No new tax
was proposed in the new budget.
Five get life term for killing schoolboy
UNB, Madaripur
A court on Monday convicted five people and sentenced them
to life term imprisonment for killing a school boy in
2007.
The court also fined them Tk 10,000 each, in default, to
suffer one year more RI.
The lifers were Yeakub Ali Khan, 60, Al Amin Khan, 25,
Afzal Khan, 22, Shahjamal, 23, and Mosharref Khan, 24.
According to the prosecution, Sumon, a student of class IX
and son of Soleman Yunus of Kulpuddi village of Sadar
upazila, was hammered to death by Al Amin Khan and his
associates on 26 June in 2007.
Later a case was filed in this connection.
After examining all records and witnesses the District
Session Judge M Ataur Rahman pronounced the verdict
acquitting four others.
‘No Rajuk approval to non-registered companies for plots,
flats from July 1’
BSS, Dhaka
Private land developers and real estate companies, who are
not registered with Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK),
will not get its approval for developing plots and
constructing apartments from July 1.
Only nine, out of 728 members of Real Estate Housing
Association of Bangladesh (REHAB), have so far applied for
registration in prescribed forms as the authority made it
mandatory before June 30, officials said. They said there
are around 1,500 other private companies, who are neither
members of REHAB and nor affiliated with RAJUK.
The capital development authority asked private land
developers and real estate companies to get enlisted with
it as per the Dhaka Metropolitan Building (construction,
development, preservation and removal) Rules, 2008. RAJUK
Chairman Engineer Md Nurul Huda told BSS that registration
of private land developers have been made mandatory to
provide planned building construction services to the city
dwellers by implementing the country's existing building
code. Real estate companies and other private land
developers, who are still out of RAJUK enlistment, he
said, would not get any approval from now on for making
plots and constructing apartments in the metropolitan
area.
Nurul Huda said, "We have already published cautionary
notices for prospective buyers of plots and apartments and
asked them to confirm first whether the real estate
companies have RAJUK registration."
809.08 acres Railways land under illegal occupation:
Minister
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban
A total 809.08 acres out of 10,842.56 acres of Railways
land remained under illegal occupation, Parliament was
told Tuesday.
Replying to a starred question of Waresat Hossain Belal (Awami
League-Netrakona), Communications Minister Syed Abul
Hossain said that of the total 10,842.56 acres of Railway
land, 10,432.78 acres are cultivable and 409.78 acres
meant for commercial purpose.
He said that from July 2009-May 2010, a total of 15.42
acres of railway land was recovered from illegal
occupation.
The Minister mentioned that the Railway often conducts
eviction drive. But sometimes the illegal occupiers return
to their old place and construct illegal structures. "But
the eviction drive is a continuous process and it is
continuing," he said.
PM visits injured PWD engineer at city’s Square Hospital
UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visited PWD engineer Abul
Kasem, injured by pickets during Sunday's hartal, at
city's Square Hospital Tuesday morning.
Abul Kashem, superintending engineer of Public Works
Department (PWD), was admitted to the intensive care unit
of Square Hospital with severe head injury sustained as
the picketers vandalised his car in front of Aziz
Cooperative Supermarket at Shahbagh during Sunday's
dawn-to-dusk hartal. Hasina inquired about the condition
of Abul Kashem and conveyed her sympathy to his family
members.
Amendment to drug addiction treatment rules demanded
BSS, Dhaka
Different organizations on Tuesday demanded amendment to
the Drug Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre
Rules-2005 for making it time-befitting.
Service-oriented organizations Dhaka Ahsania Mission,
BARACA and NARCOB raised the demand at a press conference
at the Dhaka Reporters Unity auditorium.
Addressing the press conference, President of Dhaka
Ahsania Mission Kazi Rafiqul Alam said the existing rules
have many limitations because of lack of general ethics in
conducting drug treatment and rehabilitation services.
This is creating a problem to the rehabilitation, he
added.
Sports
Brazil ease past Chile, set-up
Dutch showdown
AFP, Johannesburg
Brazil set up a mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final clash
against the Netherlands with a convincing 3-0 win over Chile
on Monday at Ellis Park.
First-half goals by centre-back Juan and striker Luis Fabiano
gave Dunga-coached Brazil a 2-0 lead before Robinho made sure
of their quarter-final berth with the third goal after an
hour. "We have to improve in all sectors of our play, but it
was a nice game against Chile," said Brazil coach Dunga.
"We have already said we are trying to play the open football
which everyone wants to see. The players did well and we got
forward a lot. "We know the Netherlands are a very difficult
team to beat and they are very able technically, they play
their football like South Americans."
Brazil will face the Netherlands, who earlier saw off Slovakia
2-1, in Port Elizabeth on Friday.
This was Brazil's 47th win in 66 matches against Chile, who
have only seven wins. "We made it to the last 16, the
elimination of the team is justified, perhaps we could have
lost by less, but the superiority of Brazil was too much for
us," said Chile coach Marcelo Bielsa.
"We were unable to slow them down. As to my continuity in the
job as coach, this is not the right time to talk about that."
Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo said his side had given it
their best shot.
"We have been beaten by one of the best teams in the world. We
gave everything but we came up against a team that was very
solid and played good football. We are good going forward but
we have a fair bit of progress to make when it comes to
defending," Bravo admitted.
Chile made a bright start, but Brazil quickly got into their
stride as Luis Fabiano and Gilberto Silva both forced Bravo
into early saves.
Brazil had a loud appeal for a penalty on 27 minutes when
defender Pablo Contreras took away Lucio's legs, but referee
Howard Webb waved play on.
Real Madrid's Kaka, back in the side after serving a one-match
ban for his red card against the Ivory Coast, picked up the
first yellow card when he went for the ball, but caught
Chile's Arturo Vital on the ankle on 30 minutes.
Brazil took the lead on 34 minutes when Maicon swung in a
corner and Roma defender Juan rose the highest to head past
Bravo. Luis Fabiano made it 2-0 four minutes later after Kaka
took a pass from Robinho on the left wing and slid the ball
through for the Sevilla star to draw Bravo and slot home.
Blatter
apologizes to England, Mexico for errors
AP, Johannesburg
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has apologized to England and
Mexico for the refereeing errors that helped eliminate them
from the World Cup and says FIFA will reopen the debate on
introducing video technology.
Blatter said Tuesday that he said sorry to team officials, and
that the delegations of both teams accepted his apology.
"Naturally we deplore when you see the evidence of refereeing
mistakes," said Blatter, who attended Sunday's matches in
Bloemfontein and Johannesburg.
Blatter said FIFA will "reopen the file" on video technology
at a meeting of its rule-making panel in Wales next month. He
added that it would be "a nonsense" for the International
Football Association Board not to consider changes. "Naturally
we will take on board again the discussion about technology.
Something has to be changed," Blatter said, while adding that
the system could not be changed midway through the World Cup.
Blatter said he apologized to England and Mexico team
officials at Sunday's matches. "The English said 'thank you.'
The Mexicans, they just go with the head," Blatter said,
indicating that they nodded. "I understand that they are not
happy. It was not a five-star game for refereeing."
England was denied a clear goal that would have leveled its
match against Germany at 2-2, while Argentina took the lead
against Mexico with a goal that was clearly offside.
Germany advanced 4-1 and Argentina won 3-1. The errors created
a worldwide furor and put pressure on FIFA, which has long
opposed allowing officials to use technology to assist in
decision making. FIFA also will update its referee training
program. Blatter said FIFA has set a deadline of October or
November to create a new concept for improving match control
at top tournaments. Blatter said the dossier is "on the
presidential table." He said FIFA spent $40 million on a
program to prepare match officials worldwide before selecting
30 referees and 60 assistants to work in South Africa.
Optimist
Chanderpaul backs West Indies for win
AFP, Bridgetown
West Indies left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul still
believes his side can pull off a shock win in the the
third and final Test against South Africa.
Despite another inexplicable batting collapse that left
them on the brink of defeat, Chanderpaul believes
"anything" can happen even though the side sank to 134 for
seven in their second innings on the third day at
Kensington Oval on Monday. They are leading by a mere 19
with three wickets standing.
"If we get a lead over 100, anything is possible on that
pitch," said Chanderpaul, who is unbeaten on 57. "Then if
we bowl well and field well, we can probably win the game.
"We have to make sure we take whatever we can get out
there. We can't get bogged down because if you get bogged
down, you get out.
"Make sure we keep putting runs on that board, and take as
much as we can, and whatever we get, we will have to work
with."
To accomplish a result, which now seems like a long-shot,
Chanderpaul is hoping that Sulieman Benn in particular, as
well as fast bowlers Kemar Roach and Brandon Bess can stay
with him long enough to build a partnership that will help
West Indies to stay in the match. "It is one of those
pitches that you have to keep fighting on, especially when
the spinners are bowling," he said.
"When the pacers are bowling one side of the wicket, and
they are not trying anything much, they are not giving you
any opportunity to score, and just block up one side, they
are being patient, waiting for you to make a mistake. You
just have to be patient and keep fighting." He noted:
"It's always good to have a good start, and get a big
score in your first innings, but it didn't happen for us.
"In any Test match it is a major setback. It would have
been better if we had a huge total; maybe 400-plus, so
that we could run at them later in the match."
Chanderpaul also praised Benn for earlier claiming a Test
career-best of six wickets for 81 runs. "He's bowled
pretty well in this game, and the couple games we played
he bowled pretty well in this tour so far,"he said. "His
bowling has really come a long way."
Benn's 15 wickets, at 30.66 runs apiece, puts him in a
two-way tie with South Africa's Dale Steyn for the prize
of leading bowler in the series.
Confident Brazil primed for Dutch
test, says Dunga
AFP, Johannesburg
Coach Dunga is confident he has assembled a mature and
skilful Brazilian squad ready for their first big
challenge at the World Cup against the Netherlands.
Brazil cruised into the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over
Chile at Soccer City on Monday and now face the Dutch in
Port Elizabeth on Friday.
The Netherlands, two-time beaten finalists in 1974 and
1978, stretched their longest-ever unbeaten streak to 23
games with a 2-1 round-of-16 victory over Slovakia in
Durban on Monday. The Brazilians, aiming for a record
sixth world championship, have beaten the Dutch twice in
their two previous World Cup encounters.
The Oranje fell 4-2 on penalties after drawing their 1998
semi-final 1-1 in France and lost 3-2 in the
quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup in the United States
where Dunga went on to lift the trophy as captain.
There are huge expectations weighing on Brazil to win the
world crown at Soccer City on July 11, but Dunga is
confident his team, unbeaten in four matches here, is
coming along nicely ahead of the business end of the
tournament.
"Given the quality of the team, there is always the
expectation, but you don't win the World Cup by being
favourites alone," he said.
From Bayern’s
reserves to World Cup glory for Mueller
AFP, Johannesburg
With the World Cup at his feet and a chance of being voted
the best young player at South Africa 2010, Germany's
Thomas Mueller has come a long way from Bayern Munich's
reserves.
He has taken the tournament by storm and having scored in
Germany's opening 4-0 win over Australia, he showed
devastating finishing for both of his two second-half
goals to seal Sunday's 4-1 rout of England in the Round of
16. It has been an extraordinary season for the
20-year-old.
Plucked from Bayern's reserves by coach Louis van Gaal,
Mueller started his first Bundesliga game last August,
played in May's Champions League final and now takes on
Diego Maradona's Arg-entina in Saturday's World Cup
quarter-final.
He played in all of Bayern's 34 Bundesliga matches,
scoring 13 goals, on the way to the domestic double and
made his debut for Germany against Argentina in a friendly
last March.
But the Roy of the Rovers-style story continues here as he
helped floor Australia in Durban on June 13 and then
finished off two flowing moves as Germany ripped open
England's defence in Bloemfontein last Sunday.
"Thomas has unbelievable qualities and skills and is
ice-cold in front of goal," said Germany coach Joachim
Loew. "With such brazenness, he can be imposing and takes
his chances - all at the age of 20."
Mueller is the rising star in a cluster of bright young
German talent. His second goal against England was set up
by attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil, who is showcasing his
complete range of skills here, while goalkeeper Manuel
Neuer has conceded just two goals here so far.
Sami Khedira has slotted seamlessly into the role vacated
by injury to captain Michael Ballack and winger Marko
Marin is testing defences with his dazzling runs. With the
exception of 22-year-old Khadira, all of them are 21.
While most youngsters would lack the maturity to cope with
Mueller's situation, the attacking midfielder has his feet
on the ground, but knows what he wants.
"This will all have been for nothing if we lose to
Argentina in the quarter-finals," said Mueller, who was
man-of-the-match against England.
Spain yet to hit
their stride, warns Torres
AFP, Cape Town
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres says Spain has yet to
find its best form, forecasting greater things to come for
the European champions. Spain line-up against their
Iberian arch-rivals Portugal here later on Tuesday in an
eagerly-anticipated round of 16 clash, with the winner
facing either Paraguay or Japan in the quarter-finals.
Torres - who is yet to score in the tournament - said
anxiety prevented them from playing their usual brand of
football up till now, which has seen them suffer a shock
1-0 opening game loss to Switzerland before beating
Honduras 2-0 and Chile 2-1.
"The boss wants us to rediscover our usual form," he told
fifa.com.
"Spain still haven't shown their best form or hit the
heights we were hoping for. I think it has to do with the
defeat against Switzerland. "The fact we needed to win our
subsequent games, along with the anxiety that brings,
stopped us playing the way we would have liked. "But now
we're at the stage we'd aimed to reach before we came
here. We managed to top our group and now it's up to us to
play the football we enjoy playing. We're certain that the
team's going to get stronger."
Coach Vicente Del Bosque made clear on Monday that the
entire Portugal team was dangerous and Torres said he had
told the players to operate more as a unit.
"I think that we didn't press aggressively enough in our
previous games. We didn't play close enough to each
other," he said.
"We need to play more as a unit, especially against teams
like Portugal who are very strong defensively and will
wait for us to bring the game to them.
"They've not conceded a goal yet in South Africa, so a
team like that will be very tough to break down.
Capello admits England must change to progress
AFP, Rustenburg
Fabio Capello has given an insight into how he sees the
future England as he picks over the ashes of his team's
miserable World Cup exit.
The England manager, who says he wants to stay in the
post, has been told he must wait two weeks before his
employers, the Football Association (FA) decide whether he
will complete the two remaining years of his current
contract, which takes him up to the end of the Euro 2012
finals.
But the Italian is already discussing ways of refreshing
his team for the Euro 2012 qualifiers after seeing the way
his experienced side, many of whom have played in two or
even three previous major tournaments, failed to deliver.
With typical self confidence the former AC Milan, Juventus,
Roma and Real Madrid manager feels he did everything right
to prepare his team but was let down by his players,
particularly in a 4-1 last-16 exit against Germany which
was England's biggest World Cup finals defeat.
Now, his own future aside, the biggest debate in England
is which players should be dropped and who should be
brought in to rescue English football from yet another low
point.
Capello was, as expected, tight-lipped on the former of
those two questions but happy to discuss the players who
could potentially be drafted in for a new era next season.
"We talked about this with my staff," he said. "I think we
will find two or three new players, probably, for the
Euros. "Adam Johnson, the Arsenal left-back Kieran Gibbs.
Also Michael Dawson, although he is not young. Also
Gabriel Agbonlahor and Bobby Zamora, who was injured this
time. And another player we will hope will be fit is Owen
Hargreaves.
"The best young players are in the under 21s and are not
ready to play here at the World Cup. But I hope in the
next year or six months people will come through. I hope
Theo Walcott will be back and his shoulder is ok. And Jack
Wilshere is another interesting player. I hope some good
players will be ready in six months, it's possible."
Capello, who also hinted at a big future for goalkeeper
Joe Hart, knows his brave new world with England will be
subject to the same restrictions and problems that
affected the current squad, however. With only 38 per cent
of players in the Premier League eligible to play for
England the talent pool remains shallow and the intense,
physical nature of the league means injuries and tiredness
are par for the course. "I know a lot of things about the
players and what happened", insisted Capello as he made a
case for two more years in charge. "I know more now than
before because I realised what happened when we arrived at
the World Cup. I understand more things.
"And I understand one thing really important, I understand
why England didn't win before. The England players arrive
at the end of the season tired.
"Every game we played in this period, seven games in all
including friendlies and at the World Cup, I never saw the
players that I can see in the autumn or two months after
Christmas. They were training well, were focused, but they
are not the same players, not as fast or quick, as I know.
"I want to change something but it's impossible, there are
too many games in the season. They play, Saturday,
Wednesday, Saturday, Wednesday."
That, if Capello does remain in charge, could prove to be
his biggest challenge, but he is adamant he wants a chance
to prove he can change England's fortunes.
Dutch stand in way of
Brazil juggernaut
AFP, Johannesburg
Brazil swept into a World Cup quarter-final showdown with
the Netherlands after a clinical and uncompromising 3-0
victory over Chile at Ellis Park on Monday.
Bert van Marwijk's Dutch side saw off Slovakia 2-1 earlier
in the day, with star winger Arjen Robben marking his
first start of the tournament with the opening goal.
The sides will meet in Port Elizabeth on Friday, in a
repeat of their 1998 semi-final encounter in France, which
Brazil won on penalties.
The Selecao went on to lose to the hosts in that year's
final, but they look on track to capture a
record-extending sixth World Cup title after handing Chile
the fate of the first South American side to be eliminated
from the competition.
Chile had charmed neutrals with their enterprising play in
the group phase, emerging from Group H as runners-up
behind Spain.
They took to the field against Brazil with the same sense
of endeavour but were undone by goals in the 34th and 38th
minutes and never recovered.
Roma centre-back Juan put Dunga's men in front when he
rose to convert Maicon's corner with a thumping header,
before Kaka adroitly set up Luis Fabiano to round Claudio
Bravo and tap the ball into the unguarded net for his
third tournament goal.
Marcelo Bielsa's side continued to attack gamely but they
were undone once again in the 59th minute when Ramires's
dribble opened up the Chile defence and Robinho curled
home in masterful style from the cusp of the penalty area.
"We have to improve in all sectors of our play, but it was
a nice game against Chile," said Dunga, who captained his
country to World Cup glory in 1994.
"We know the Netherlands are a very difficult team to beat
and they are very able technically, they play their
football like South Americans."
Two-time finalists Holland have reached the last eight
despite failing to hit top gear in any of their four
matches to date. Robben set them on their way in the 18th
minute against Slovakia in Durban, cutting inside and
unleashing a low shot that flew past goalkeeper Jan Mucha,
and the Dutch always looked superior to the team that sent
champions Italy packing.
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