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Leading News
Nimtali and Begunbari tragedy
Country observes National Mourning Day
BSS, Dhaka
The country observed the national mourning day Saturday in
memory of those killed in Nimtoli fire and Begunbari
building collapse.
The national flag was hoisted at half-mast at all
government and non-government organizations as well as
Bangladesh missions abroad.
Special prayers were held at mosques and other places of
worship across the country seeking eternal peace of the
departed souls and early recovery of the injured.
Islamic Foundation arranged a milad and doa mahfil at
Baitul Mukarram National Mosque after Zohr prayers.
A large number of devotees including State Minister for
Religious Affairs Advocate Md Shahjahan Mia and Director
General of the Islamic Foundation Shameem Mohammad Afzal
joined the milad and doa.
Speaking on the occasion, the state minister prayed for
eternal peace of the departed souls and early recovery of
the injured. He also urged the families of the victims to
keep patience and turned the shock into strength.
Mentioning that the government would bear the treatment
cost of the injured, he called upon the well-off people to
stand beside the distressed people.
Pesh Imam of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Mufti
Muhammad Mizanur Rahman conducted the milad and doa in
which peace, progress and prosperity of the country were
also sought.
A special prayer was held at Dhakeswari National Temple in
the city seeking divine blessings for the Nimtoli fire
victims.
The members of the Hindu community prayed for salvation of
the departed souls and wished early recovery of the
injured people undergoing treatment at different city
hospitals.
Conducted by chief priest of the temple Prodip Chakraborty,
the prayer was attended, among others, by President of
Puja Udjapan Parishad noted journalist Swapan Kumar Saha,
Advocate Subrata Chowdhury, General Secretary Advocate
Satyendra Chandra Bhakta, President of City Puja Committee
Advocate Kajal Devnath, General Secretary Advocate Tapas
Kumar Pal, Joyanta Sen, Sabitri Chaterjee, Mongal Ghose
and Biresh Chandra Saha.
The devotees also prayed for eternal peace of the victims
of the Begunbari building collapse tragedy and wished
early recovery of the injured people.
A message from Abu Dhabi said the national mourning day
was observed in the Bangladesh embassy there.
The national flag was hoisted at half mast both at the
Chancery and the Embassy Residence.
A milad mahfil and special prayers were arranged in the
morning at the Chancery. Members of the embassy,
Bangladesh Biman, Janata Bank and Bangladesh School joined
the milad and prayers.
High
rise building in city develops cracks
Yet another building at Nakhalpara tilts
BSS, Dhaka
A 22-storey building overnight developed critical cracks
in the capital as Bangladesh Saturday observed a
nationwide state-mourning for victims of Thursday night's
deadly inferno in old part of Dhaka claiming so far 117
lives.
"We are now concentrating on the cracks that developed in
the high-rise apartment building in Shantinagar area . . .
as the enquiry on the (old Dhaka's) Nimtali fire is
underway," fire service director general Brigadier General
Abu Nayeem Mohammed Shahidullah told BSS.
Witnesses said panic gripped people coming down hurriedly
through staircases instead of elevators as fire brigade
rescuers and police called for evacuation using
loudspeakers while hundreds of onlookers crowded outside
the huge structure as anxiety gripped the neighbourhood.
Residents of the nearby buildings including shops and
offices were also seen leaving the scene defying heavy
rains outside at the central Shantinagar area fire engines
and ambulances awaited outside the Concord Grand apartment
building for emergency responses.
Police said utility services already snapped electric, gas
and water lines as part of safety measures ahead of any
possible collapse of the private apartment building while
fire service, RAJUK, BUET and police experts and officials
were examining the cracks.
"Two expert teams of RAJUK and BUET now examine the cracks
and we await their comments," the fire chief told newsmen
briefly emerging from a meeting of concerned government
agencies also joined by state minister for works Abdul
Mannan.
The fire chief said he still thought the building has not
tilted as the cracks developed at its outer structure "but
we have sought the structural design and soil test report
from the Concord constructors".
Deputy commissioner of police Krishna Pada Roy said the
cracks apparently developed on outer structure without
affecting the main structure of the building.
UNB says: Yet another 5-storey building at Nakhalpara
Samity Bazar in the capital tilted and its gas pipeline
developed leak Saturday afternoon creating panic among the
residents and local people.
Residents of the building at 237/1, Nakhalpara Samity
Bazar were immediately evacuated.
UNB adds: Experts from BUET on Saturday examined the
cracks that developed on the 22-storey Concord Grand
building at Shantinagar in the city and found the sky
scrapper "apparently not risky" for living.
After nearly four-hour examination from 2:30pm, Prof Dr
Syed Fakhrul Amin of BUET said at a press briefing that
residents can live in their apartments without being
scared.
"Some cracks were detected but those are not on the main
structure of the building," he said, adding: "It does not
appear risky for living."
BSS further says, Dhaka last week witnessed collapse of
five-storey building also flattening three other
structures at Begunbari of Tejgaon industrial area where
25 people were killed.
Some 100 inmates of another seven-storey building was
evacuated overnight as it tilted creating panic in the
neighborhood while officials said the structure was raised
without proper safety and regulatory clearances.
Officials said Rajuk has decided to demolish the
structure.
College
student killed in city road accident
TBT Report
Kamrun Nahar Joti a college student met the tragic end of
her life in a road accident in the city on Saturday. She
fell victim to the reckless driving of a city service bus.
This painful incident took place only a few days after the
tragic death of a BUET student at Azimpur in a road crash.
Joti's death came as the rickshawa carrying her was hit by
a speedy bus driven by an unscrupulous driver at Malibagh.
She was seriously injured and removed to DMCH the doctor
there declared her dead.
Joti, an honours second year student at the Siddheswari
University College and a resident of Mitijheel TNT Colony,
was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where
doctors declared her dead.
Police has seized the bus but the criminal driver fled
away.
Steps taken to
rehabilitate Nimtoli blaze victims: Razzaque
BSS, Dhaka
The government has taken initiative to provide all
supports to the families affected in country's worst ever
blaze that took place at Nimtoli in the old part of the
city.
Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque
told BSS today that the government has already allocated
Taka 35 lakh as emergency assistance. Besides, all out
measures would be taken for rehabilitation after
determining causalities, he said.
The process of determining losses has already been
started, Dr Razaque said adding: "the process is being
done speedily under the leadership of Disaster Management
Depart-ment involving the district administration, local
lawmaker and peoples' representatives.
A list of the affected people and families has already
been made, he said adding this list is now being examined
with the help of local lawmaker and peoples'
representatives. "After finalizing this list, the main
task of rehabilitation would be started as per that list,"
he said.
Razzaque said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given
specific guidelines to his ministry and other concerned.
"Tasks have already been initiated as per the guidelines,"
he added.
He said the neighbouring friendly countries have expressed
sympathy for the devastating incident. Some countries have
given proposals for rendering their supports, he said
adding the government is considering over the proposals.
After determining the total loss, it would be considered
whether international aid is required or not.
But the government has taken quick initiative for
rehabilitating the affected people rather than waiting for
international aid, he said.
Factional
clashes: BCL activist killed, 25 AL workers injured
UNB, Bogra
A BCL activists was shot dead and another wounded
allegedly in internal clash at Shib-bati in the town
Friday midnight.
Witnesses said Sakhwat Hossain Jewel, 40, former joint
secretary of Bogra district BCL, and his associates were
witnessing TV at Sebak Samity.
Suddenly there appeared six or seven men in motorbikes and
fired two gunshots at Jewel from a close range. The gunmen
then hacked him with sharp weapon to ensure his death.
His close associate Nurul Haque Ujjal, 34, was hacked and
badly wounded when he tried to protect Jewel. He was
rushed to Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital
and admitted there.
The namaj-e-janaja of Jewel was held in front of Temple
Road AL office after the zohr prayer.
Awami League sources said Jewel was killed in a sequel of
clashes with Ripon group of Jubo League over sand trade.
His father filed a case but none was arrested till late in
the afternoon.
UNB adds from Jhenidah; At least 25 people were injured in
a series of clashes and attack between two groups of Awami
League over establishing their supremacy in Kaliganj
upazila on Saturday.
Police said supporters of local lawmaker Abdul Mannan cut
the tendons of two legs of Abdul Barik, president of
Devrajpur village AL and supporter of upazila chairman
Anwarul Azim, at Ektarpur village in the morning.
The injured was rushed to a hospital in Jessore.
In a sequel to the incident, supporters of both the groups
equipped with home made lethal weapons clashed at Ektarpur
and Devrajpur villages, causing injuries on both the sides
One hand of Babul, a college student, was chopped off
during the clashes.
Being informed, police rushed in and brought the situation
under control. The injured were admitted to different
hospitals in Kaliganj and Sadar upazilas.
BNP prepares for June
nine mass sit-in in capital
UNB, Dhaka
Opposition BNP has shifted its planned June 17 countrywide
demonstration to June 20 due to Chittagong City
Corporation elections on the day while it is taking all
out preparation for the June 9 mass sit-in in the city.
BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia is scheduled to join the mass
sit-in programme at the premises of Institute of Engineers
from 10 am-2 pm.
The mass sit-in has been called to protest government
"interference" with the judiciary and appointment of
"inept and controversial" judges as well as demanding to
protect the independence and dignity of judiciary and
ensure justice to people.
The mass sit-in will be the first of a three-day
anti-government programme that also includes June 27
countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal announced by Khaleda Zia
from the BNP's May 19 grand rally at Paltan Maidan in the
city.
The June 17 agitation programme has been shifted due to
Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) elections, said a
front-ranking BNP leader.
The CCC polls is scheduled for June 17 to elect the mayor
and councilors.
BNP has taken the election seriously seeking victory of
its supported candidate Manjur Alam Manju to infuse
dynamism in the ongoing anti-government movement.
The June 17 programme of BNP is designed to hold
demonstration and processions at district and upazila
headquarters across the country including capital Dhaka
demanding trial of the killing of journalists and a halt
to attack and repression on them as well as to protest the
closing down of private TV Channel 1 and government's
control on news and talk-show.
The BNP is taking all out preparation like its May 19
Paltan Grand Rally to make the June 9 mass sit-in a
success, a BNP mid-level leader told UNB.
He said participation in the progarmme will be mainly from
the Dhaka city while representatives of lawyers and
teachers from some districts and universities outside the
capital will join the mass sit in.
Meanwhile, leaders of various like-minded political
parties including Islami Oikya Jote, Bangladesh Jatiya
Party, JAGPA, NPP, Muslim League and different
professional groups during recent meetings with Khaleda
Zia have extended their support to and assure active
participation in the June 9 sit-in programme.
Back Page
Leaders of Bhutan, Afghanistan and
China condole deaths in fire
BSS, Dhaka
Acting Bhutanese Prime Minister Lyonpo Yeshey Zimba
Saturday joined a prayer at the Bangladesh embassy in
Thimphu for the Thursday's fire victims in old Dhaka as
Bang-ladesh observes a nationwide mourning.
According to a message received here from Thimphu the
Bhutanese premier visited the embassy along with education
minister of the Himalayan Kingdom Lyonpo Thakur Sing
Powdyel and several other senior officials to join a
special prayer seeking eternal blessings for the departed
souls.
"The acting prime minister, on behalf of His Majesty the
King of Bhutan, the Royal Government of Bhutan and the
Bhutanese people, expre-ssed the deepest condolences for
those who died in the deadly fire out break and conveyed
sympathies to the relatives of the victims," read the
message signed by Head of Chancery Shaikh Moha-mmad Sharif
Uddin.
The embassy officials and staff and Bangladesh community
in Bhutan also attended the prayers widely covered by the
Bhutanese media.
The national flag was kept half mast at the embassy in
Thimphu as part of the mourning in line of the government
announcement asking for keeping the standard half mast
atop government and private buildings across the country
and its missions abroad.
UNB adds: The Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan and China
expressed their deep shock over the fire accident that
took a heavy toll of lives in city's Neemtoli on June 3.
Dr. Zalmai Rassoul, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Afghanistan, made a phone call to the Foreign Minister Dr.
Dipu Moni on Saturday and conveyed his deep grief and
condolence at the loss of lives in the deadly incident.
He said that he was joined by the President, Prime
Minister and the citizen of his country in expressing deep
shock over the sad incident. He prayed for peace of the
departed souls and wished early recovery of the injured.
The Foreign Minister of China Yang Jiechi in separate
condolence message to Dr. Dipu Moni expressed his profound
shock at the loss of lives at the accident and extended
his sincere sympathies to the bereaved families and those
injured.
Thousands protest in
London over Gaza flotilla killings
AFP, London
Several thousand people gathered outside Downing Street in
London Saturday for an angry protest against the killing
of nine activists by Israeli forces in this week's botched
aid fleet raid.
Waving flags and placards and chanting loudly, prote-stors
urged the British government to step up pressure on Israel
following the deadly commando raid on the Gaza-bound
ships.
They were headed to the Israeli embassy in a march that
will wind through central London. Lindsey German of
organisers Stop The War Coalition told the crowd the event
was to show victims "that their death has not been in
vain-what it has done is bring to the world's attention
the terrible crime of the blockade of Gaza".
Demonstrators outside the prime minister's residence waved
Palestinian flags and waved placards saying: "Gaza End The
Siege" and "For Freedom We Sail", while others cha-nted:
"Stop Israeli piracy". Many of those attending were from
London's large Turkish community such as 38-year-old Ali
Seylan who said his brother had been on board the
flotilla.
"Thank God nothing happened to my brother-if anything
happened to him I was going to get my revenge myself," he
told AFP. "Israel made a big mistake, Israel's government
managed to get all Turkish people the enemy of Israel". He
said many London-based Turkish people were joining the
march, adding: "Reli-gionists are here, socialists are
here, even Turkish drunks are here".
Sami Mehmet, 65, who lives near London but is originally
from Cyprus, described Israel's behaviour as "piracy". "I
want (British Prime Minister David) Cameron and his
colleagues and the rest of the EU to take notice and bring
Israel to book because they have been doing it for far too
long," he said.
Asked what the mood was like of people on the march, he
added: "They're very angry, rightly so. I'm angry but I
don't shout because I'm not well. I wish I could shout".
On Saturday, Israeli forces peacefully boarded another
ship, the Rachel Corrie, as it headed for Gaza in defiance
of Israel's blockade.
Qatar agrees to
supply 500 mmcf LNG
BSS, Dhaka
The government of Qatar has agreed to supply 500 mmcf
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Bangladesh.
Mohamed Saleh Al-Sada, the state Minister for Energy and
Industrial Affairs gave this assurance to Bangladesh's
delegation during a meeting between the two countries at
Doha on Thursday, a top official of the energy ministry
told BSS today.
To start negotiation with the Qatar government for
importing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), a high-powered
government team visited Qatar on June 1 and returned home
today. Energy Secr-etary Md Mesbahuddin led the Bangladesh
team comprising members from the IMED, CPU (Central
Procu-rement Unit), Law ministry, Energy ministry,
Petrob-angla and GTCL (Gas Transm-ission Company Ltd).
"We sat with the top officials of the Petroleum Department
of the government of Qatar to discuss installations of
terminal and gas transmission line, price of LNG and other
related issues of LNG import from Qatar", official of the
energy ministry said adding that the team will submit a
report on the visit to the PMO soon.
In February last, the government formed a taskforce,
headed by power and energy secretaries, for construction
of an LNG terminal at Chittagong involving about one
billion US dollar. "During the meeting we sought all-out
support including technology transfer and development of
human resources from Qatar, however, we need more meetings
to settle the issue," he said.
To mitigate the ongoing energy crisis, especially in the
Chittagong zone, the government has decided to import LNG
to tackle the matter on an emergency basis.
The country at present is facing gas shortage of around
400 million cubic feet per day as Petrobangla supplies
around 1,960- 1,980 mmcfd gas against the demand for 2,400
mmcf. According to Petrobangla, Bangladesh would need
around six to seven million US dollar to import 500
million cubic feet of LNG per day.
Prices of seeds and
fertilizer reduced to help farmers: Matia
BSS, Habiganj
Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury has said the
government has reduced the prices of seeds and fertilizer
to help farmers of the country.
"The present government has also taken various programmes
for the welfare of the people," she said while
distributing relief materials including food among the tea
workers under the Support Services Programme at Surma Tea
Garden under Madhabpur upazila of the district Friday.
Social Welfare Minister Enamul Haq Mustafa Shahid,
Mohammed Abu Jahir MP, Advocate Abdul Mazid Khan MP and
Social Welfare Secretary Kamrun Nesa Khanom, among others,
were present.
District Awami League president Dr Mushfiq Hossain
Chowdhury, Madhabpur upazila chairman Zakir Hossain
Chowdhury and Advocate Akbar Hossain also addressed the
function with additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammed
Nurunnabi in the chair.
Begum Matia Chowdhury said Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman gave the rights of vote
to the tea workers while Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina give
the rights to food.
Biogas Week
ends with target of setting up 36,000 plants by 2012
BSS, Dhaka
The Biogas Week-2010 ended here Saturday with a target of
installing 36,000 biogas plants in the country by 2012.
Infrastructure Develo-pment Company Limited (IDCOL), a
state- run non-banking financial institution, observed the
Week amid different programmes. The programmes included
declaration of a 'Biogas Union', holding district level
rallies and awareness-creating campaigns, IDCOL sources
said.
Talking to BSS, Chief Exec-utive Officer of IDCOL Islam
Sharif described the weeklong campaign as successful and
said it will help meet the growing demand for gas. "We
have successfully fulfilled the target of declaring a
village and a union as 'Biogas Village' and 'Biogas Union'
respectively. A process is underway to declare a 'Biogas
Upazila' by next year," he said. Sharif said the main
objective of IDCOL is to develop the biogas sector viable.
Experts say only three-percent people of the country
living in cities are now getting the natural gas through
pipelines for their household cooking and 70 percent of
the total population are not getting it.
Like developing countries, the people in remote areas of
Bangladesh use dry wood, cowdung and various other wastes
for cooking, endangering the forest resources and risking
the environment, they added. Under these circumstances,
according to experts, there is no alternative to going for
setting up large scale biogas plants as a source of energy
to meet the growing demand for the utility. IDCOL has so
far installed some 4, 54,170 Solar Home Systems (SHSs)
along with 31,909 small SHS and also has a target to
install 6.5 lakh by this year and one million by 2012. It
has already invested Taka 8, 00 crore, of which Taka 6,00
crore has come as loans while Taka 2,00 crore as grants.
It has also an amount of Taka 1,000 crore ready for
investment in the coming days, IDCOL sources said.
The non-banking financial institution is also going to
start work to set up a solar panel manufacturing unit from
this month with a view to reducing the cost of Solar Home
Sys-tems (SHSs) substantially.
100-bed
Rajshahi Shishu Hospital opens
BSS, Rajshahi
The long-cherished 100-bed Rajshahi Shishu Hospital was
opened at a three-storied building in Sepoypara here
Saturday with the help of Dhaka Shishu Hospital.
Mayor of Rajshahi AHM Khairuzzaman Liton, who opened the
hospital as the chief guest, said his election pledge and
the long-standing demand of Rajshahi people was fulfilled
with the opening of the hospital.
He mentioned that the initiative had been taken to build a
full-fledged 500-bed Shishu (Child) Hospital in the
metropolis based on the commitment of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina and she directed the Bangladesh Child Health
Institute (BCHI) to take necessary measures to build a
shishu hospital in the Rajshahi divisional city. Mayor
Liton expected that the hospital would be upgraded to
500-bed one in phases after constructing a 10-storied
building on the abandoned place of Alamgir Hostel of
Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
In this regard, he hoped that the government allocation
for construction of the hospital building would be
available. Mayor Liton viewed that the children of the
poor and marginalized families suffer a lot due to lack of
shishu hospital here and urged all concerned to expedite
the necessary works so that the hospital could be
established as soon as possible.
Chaired by Director of the hospital Prof Dr AB Siddique,
the opening ceremony was addressed, among others, by
Principal of Rajshahi Medical College Prof Dr Abdul Hannan,
Vice-principal Prof Dr Shahidur Rahman Tarafder and
Director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital
Brigadier General Abdul Latif as the special guests.
Editorial
Illegal arms and crimes
Spread
of illegal firearms among the criminals and incidents of
crimes are inter-related. Huge illegal firearms remaining in
the possession of the terrorists and criminals are posing a
real threat to the country's law and order and peace. Using
the unauthorized firearms the criminals are committing crimes
of various types including murders and also attacking the law
enforcers. In such attacks some policemen have been killed
also in recent days.
A report published in the press recently said: There are four
lakh illegal firearms in the hands of terrorists in the
country and of these 1.5 lakh arms are being used for criminal
activities. Most of the godfathers of these crime syndicates
are linked with political parties. Of these unauthorised
firearms, 60 per cent are controlled by terrorists belonging
to political parties and 25 per cent by smugglers and border
criminals while the rest 15 per cent are in the hands of
extremists, coastal terrorists and pirates.
The report further said: The illegal arms are used mostly in
Dhaka, Chittagong and Bandarban. In the city there are certain
points where these arms are sold directly. At least 40 crime
syndicates are now working in the capital. In 1998-99 as many
as 80 such syndicates were active across the country. The
number rose to 124 in 2005 and reached 150 this year. Small
firearms are in high demand in the country as the politics is
now largely dependent on terrorism.
It is an open secret that large scale influx of illegal
firearms into the country from across the borders has been
going on unabated posing a serious threat to the law and order
situation since long. Although the law enforcers are
continuing their drives and recovering illegal arms on a
regular basis, the situation is not improving as huge illegal
arms, specially small firearms are entering the country afresh
everyday. These illegal firearms are being smuggled into the
country through nine points on the border. The continued
inflow of smuggled firearms from across the border has been
frustrating the efforts to reduce the number of illegal arms
in the hands of criminals through recovery. The criminals are
reportedly engaging floating women and children in carrying
the illegal arms from one place to another.
Press reports said, three rebel groups of Myanmar are selling
arms to the terrorists of Bangladesh in the border areas of
Cox's Bazar and Bandarban. The report indicates that the arms
smugglers, who are always active in coastal belts of
Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, have stepped up the supply of arms
to Bangladesh in the recent days. All these reports are
alarming as the vast coastline in the Bay and the border
points between Bangladesh and Myanmar have become a sanctuary
for the arms smugglers who are bringing sophisticated firearms
including AK-47, M-16 rifles, long-range pistols, revolvers,
grenades etc to Bangladesh. Huge arms, ammunition and
explosives are coming to the country from across not only
Bangladesh-Myanmar borders but also from India and the
continued inflow of illegal firearms and ammunition has been
contributing largely to the deterioration of the country's law
and order situation. Hundreds of murders are being committed
in the country every year using mainly these arms.
The continued inflow of smuggled arms and explosives to the
country may cause further deterioration in the law and order
situation. In view of this the government should immediately
take stringent and effective measures to check smuggling of
arms into the country, recover the illegal arms and nab the
illegal arms holders. In this connection, the government
should also take tough actions against a section of
politicians and a section of police officials who are
allegedly providing patronage or protection to the illegal
arms traders, terrorists and criminals.
Atrocities of BSF
Atrocities
of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on the Bangladesh border
continues unabated despite their repeated assurance of
maintaining restrain and obeying international norms. In the
latest incident, BSF killed one more Bangladeshi along
Benapole border on Friday June 4. According to a UNB report, a
Bangladeshi cattle trader was beaten to death by BSF along
Gatipara border early Friday. The deceased was identified as
Samir, 25, son of Nara of Gatipara village. BDR and villagers
said BSF members of Kaliani camp caught Samir while he was
returning home from India along with cattle. Then the Indian
border guards beat him to death and dumped his body to
frontier Isamoti River. Police later recovered the body and
brought it to Bongaon thana.
With this, BSF killed 26 Bangladeshi nationals in over four
months and 106 in last 13 months. The number of Bangladeshis
killed by BSF during the nine years period from January 1,
2000 to May 10, 2010 stands at 831. BSF also injured 860 and
abducted 903 Bangladeshis in the same period.
The killings of unarmed Bangladeshis by the BSF on the border
are continuing in clear violation of the spirit of good
neighborliness as well as international law and despite
repeated pledges by the Indian authorities to stop it. In
every meeting between BSF and BDR and also between the higher
level officials of the two countries, the Indian side assures
that killing of Bangladeshis by its forces on the border would
come to an end immediately. But this pledge is seldom
implemented. What the BSF is doing for years are against
international norms and rules and hence are unfortunate and
unwarranted. India must be true to its words and the killings
of Bangladeshis and trespassing inside Bangladesh by BSF must
be stopped forthwith. With the rest of the nation we are
profoundly shocked and aggrieved at the BSF atrocities and we
find no words strong enough to condemn these. We urge the
Indian government to behave properly if it really wants good
relations with neighbors.
Analysis
N Waziristan: The final frontier
North Waziristan, and what the Pakistan army is
able to do there, seems to have become the litmus test for
relations between Islamabad and Washington.
Sherry Rehman
There is a saying
that if you can't defeat your enemy, befriend him. This is
particularly applicable to the tribal areas that border
Afghanistan, where in six agencies the army is in the midst of
an unprecedented military offensive against the militants. The
cornerstone of security policy here is to attack militants
close to Al Qaeda, but spare armed syndicates that protect
Pakistan's flanks.
The turbulence in the border zone has led to Washington
putting out ill-advised strategic leaks about a possible
military intervention inside Pakistan's borders. North
Waziristan, and what the Pakistan army is able to do there,
seems to have become the litmus test for relations between
Islamabad and Washington. After the Faisal Shehzad incident in
Times Square, Washington's pressure has mounted on Islamabad
to act against the Taliban operating out of North Waziristan.
After the United States' failure to build institutional
structures in Afghanistan and install governance or central
authority there, for Washington, the test of US-Nato ground
offensives in the south and Loya Paktiya is now being linked
to Pakistan's push on the Haqqani-led groups from North
Waziristan. Despite a massive offensive in the Afghan town of
Marjah, the expected Taliban reversals have not materialised.
For Pakistan this is a battle for its stability and survival.
The imperative to act against terrorist and sectarian groups
in Punjab and Balochistan, as well as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, are
long overdue. After the massacre of nearly a hundred Ahmadis
in Lahore last week at the hands of banned sectarian outfits,
the need to act against entrenched extremist groups is
compelling. In Punjab, the provincial government needs to go
in with a police-run counter-terror sweep against militants
embedded in the warrens of its cities. The federal government
needs to back up this action with pro-minority legislation to
show support for victims of extremist actions.
The challenge in North Waziristan is that Islamabad does not
have the military or civilian capacity to open all fronts at
the same time. Despite impressive successes in other tribal
agencies, the Pakistani army faces a 50,000-strong critical
mass of armed guerrilla combatants in North Waziristan. They
have learnt to avoid set-piece battles. After army operations
in surrounding areas, a hardened assortment has sought
sanctuary there. From the Tehrik-e-Taliban that attacks
Pakistan, to the Haqqani-group that doesn't, and Punjab-jihadist
outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi,
Lashkar-az-Zil, Al Qaeda veterans and Salafists, all the
hardcore elements are said to be holed out there. Islamabad's
fear is that if it disturbs this hornets' nest, maintaining
the fragile consensus against terrorism at home will be as
difficult as protecting its cities from bombings.
This will be no shock-and-awe exercise that can be switched
off with a remote-control device. Pakistan has already lost
over 3,000 people as a result of backlash terrorist attacks
and taken an economic hit of $35 billion. The question is:
will the US be around to even hold down the hammer to
Pakistan's fist when its army swoops down on this final
frontier for targeted strikes at Al Qaeda strongholds like Mir
Ali? In any counterinsurgency initiative in mountainous
terrain, the military gains tactical advantage from choking
the escape routes of enemy combatants. The Waziristan trails
that run through some of the world's highest mountains are
legendary for affording escape routes to Afghanistan, so
without the obvious rush to block contiguous border conduits
from NATO commanders in Afghanistan, the whole exercise will
lead to enemy dispersal into hospitable terrain.
Given the asymmetry in border check-posts on both sides of the
Durand Line, it is unlikely that any permanent flush-out of
the two Waziristans is possible. If North Waziristan is grand
central for terrorists, then Afghan border provinces provide
their strategic depth. For the whole terrorism endeavour to
turn the tide, it is actually the US and Nato that will have
to pull weight on their own side. Pakistan too will have to
step up border checks and review unwritten peace deals with
tribal leaders that play too many sides.
Another key question is: how long can the Pakistani army stay
bogged down in the agencies it has actually secured? What
capacity do we have for a civilian build, hold and transition
component to the project? Once again, before pressuring
Pakistan with warnings of escalation of a war that the US
itself cannot manage in Afghanistan, huge governance
commitments like ROZ assistance will have to roll off the US
machine.
Why expect Pakistan to do more than reverse the tide of the
Taliban in some areas when Washington has not been able to
broker a new post-insurgency model for Afghanistan? Pakhtun
alienation is not a concern for exiting nations, but it has
huge potential for blowback in Pakistan, where Karachi is host
to five million Pakhtuns, who are mostly undocumented in the
formal sector.
What will help is a phase-by-phase plan for securing the area,
holding it until the tribes that have been terrorised by the
Taliban are able to return and do business. Secondly, while
lessons are useful, Waziristan is not Malakand. The elites in
the tribal areas have been marginalised by the Taliban for a
much longer time, yet they will resist governance models that
diminish their pre-Taliban political powers. The military will
have to stay in Waziristan until the police and FC there are
strengthened by quantum proportions, and the tribal leadership
prepared for critical reforms and political activity by
mainstream parties.
Fata reform will only work if introduced incrementally, and
the government's recent announcements, if implemented, will be
a very brave start. At the federal level, security-sector
reform is critical to this project, because peace deals with
militants that promise not to attack government installations
at one time almost always have turned against the hand that
fed them. As a temporary tactical move that gives one flank
relief doing an operation where defeat is not an option, there
is some use to neutralising militants to focus on the
first-line enemy, but never in the long-run. Tribal lashkars
too fall into that category. The state must start assuming
charge of security.
The politics of a military operation are never easy. No
military relishes fighting inside its own borders, and no
civilian, elected government embraces the use of force as a
first, or even second, option. Clearly, this cannot be a
hair-trigger plan. The government has put its full weight
behind the operations, despite the costs that invariably
accrue from such initiatives. Pakistan now has a generation of
lost people, human tragedies, economic crises, internal strife
and political instability.
While the military presses an offensive in Orakzai Agency,
there will be little room to divert forces for anything more
than strategic strikes on North Waziristan areas where the
terrorists cluster. Pakistan must dismantle Al Qaeda as a
priority, as well as the India-centric jihadist outfits. It
also must allow Kabul to form its own stable government and
hope for a friendly partner. But it will need Pakhtun
reconcilables to maintain stability from Afghan border
provinces after the expected US troop drawdown in 2011, and
seeking more than surgical raids in North Waziristan is asking
too much. Pakistan must act decisively against terrorists, but
on its own game-plan.
The writer is member of the National Security Committee in
Parliament of Pakistan and former federal minister for
information.
A tale of two
hatreds
One was the carnage in Lahore; the other was the attack on
a defenceless flotilla carrying supplies to Gaza. I call
them the consequences of two 'hatreds'.
Dr Tariq Rahman
I
had decided not to write in newspapers because I am trying
to finish a book. But two traumatic happenings have made
me break my self-imposed silence. One was the carnage in
Lahore; the other was the attack on a defenceless flotilla
carrying supplies to Gaza. I call them the consequences of
two 'hatreds'.
The first happened because we have been brainwashed into
hating the 'other'. This 'other' constituted the Hindu and
Sikh in the late 1940s and the worst rioting against them
took place in our part of the world. Of course, the Hindus
and Sikhs were no angels either and made Muslims their
targets. In our Punjab and in Indian Punjab the parties
did a very thorough job of converting their hatred into
bloodshed. More than 60 years down the line, nobody has
had the decency to say 'sorry' and mean it.
Then our 'others' became Ahmadis (the Christians and
Pakistani Hindus too were added to this list of enemies
later). The Ahmadis had migrated to Pakistan and the whole
religious community had opted for the new country and
Jinnah trusted Zafrulla Khan his foreign minister from
this community. And yet the movement against them grew so
much that they were persecuted mercilessly in 1953.
Martial law had to be enforced and calm was restored but
the hatred lived on.
In 1974 the antagonism resurfaced. This time, for
temporary political benefit, the PPP government injected
religion into the definition of a citizen. Then came Gen
Zia who made laws in order to make Ahmadis the victims of
all possible attacks. And this is precisely what happened.
They could be sent to prison for saying 'salaam' to
somebody - and if they had an enemy bent on mischief they
were thrown in jail.
Then came another bit of diabolical policymaking under Zia
and those who held real power after him (they were not the
poor prime ministers). This was the idea of creating a
force of religious zealots to 'bleed' India in Kashmir and
create 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan. Both policies
failed in their stated mission but the informal 'army'
remained. They killed Shias, Christians and each other
before the Americans' infinite stupidity led them to offer
their soldiers as targets for these battle-hardened
guerrillas.
Now they fight the Americans in Afghanistan and the
Pakistan Army at home. In between, just in case India and
Pakistan actually achieve peace, they do a Mumbai or two
to keep the pot boiling. That there are such fanatics in
India too is only to be expected. Hatred, like love, lives
on both sides. And, of course, the Ahmadis are targeted
and massacred because the hatred against them is so great.
The other hatred is the Israeli hatred for the
Palestinians - or is it all Arabs? And, in retaliation,
the Palestinian hatred for the Israelis. Israel actually
stole Arab land as Palestine was an inhabited country, not
a no-man's land. They had faced Nazi hatred in Germany but
this did not translate into the desire for peace
afterwards. In their view that was not real politics; that
was appeasement.
In any case the Arab attacks helped the hard-liners in
Israel consolidate their hold over the public imagination
so that Israel became a state which lived on hatred. Thus
all chances of Israel being accepted as a neighbour were
extinguished as Zionism kept the warfare state on its path
of aggression. It kept expanding; gobbling up Arab lands;
reducing Arabs to the status of servants; humiliating men,
women, children - more than half a century of aggression
and exploitation.
The liberals in Israel kept protesting against the
insanity of it all. They spoke of the rights of the Arabs;
this didn't work. The rights of human beings? No! The law?
What law? And the Palestinians paid back in the same coin
- or not in the same coin because they didn't have this
coin. And thus began the Intifadas, suicide bombers, more
wars, more loathing … the tale of hatred goes on and on.
And then, among a series of insanities, came this
incredible insanity of attacking a ship which just could
not be a threat to Israel. It had, after all, only some
journalists and philanthropists. These unarmed people were
bringing in food and other necessities for the desperate
people of Gaza. They were just making a point; just
tickling the conscience of the world.
After the Israeli attack on the flotilla carrying goods
for Palestinians, there were rallies all over Pakistan. We
cried out because Pakistanis, including the highly
respected anchor Talat Hussain, was on board. Talat
Hussain whom we have come to admire for his courage under
fire in Karachi; his enthusiasm; his hard work; his
sobriety; his dignified behaviour. There were other
Pakistanis too and that shocked us. But men, women and
children have been crying out since more than half a
century as they face bullets, discrimination, humiliation
and aggression from Israel day in and day out.
That it hurts Palestinians is obvious enough. That it
hurts Israel should be known to the ordinary citizens of
that country who bear the brunt of the retaliatory fury.
But that it hurts US citizens and the world as a whole
goes unacknowledged because few see the connection between
American support for Israel's excesses and the desire for
vengeance it whips up among Muslims and other citizens.
For how long will Israel continue with this barbarism? For
how long will the actions of war-mongers and Zionists
among Israeli decision-makers endanger the Arabs, the
Israelis, the Americans and, indeed, the citizens of the
world itself? The hatreds do not show any signs of coming
to an end. After all, with everyone trying to increase
hatred and only a few saints or fools trying to quell it
is it any wonder that tales of hatred go on and on?
Viewpoints
Will Israel be let off the hook,
again?
It all boils
down to this: There is no law but Israeli law, no legitimacy
but Israeli legitimacy and no truth but Israel's version of
the truth.
Osama Al Sharif
It
all boils down to this: There is no law but Israeli law, no
legitimacy but Israeli legitimacy and no truth but Israel's
version of the truth.
In spite of the shock, pain and anger that was felt across the
world in reaction to Israel's bloody dawn attack against the
humanitarian aid flotilla heading to Gaza on Monday, which
killed and injured scores of international activists, the
Jewish state brushed aside condemnations and criticisms and
appeared unrepentant and shameless.
Not only that, but Israeli officials were quick to justify the
massacre that its soldiers had perpetrated, alleging that the
elite commando force was attacked, with sticks and knives, and
even fired upon. One official said those on board were not
peace activists and aid workers but sympathizers of Hamas and
supporters of terrorism. The organizers of the aid-to-Gaza
flotilla had expected all possible scenarios; to be forced to
turn back from where they came, to be diverted to an Israeli
port and even to be arrested and later deported. But no one
imagined that a cold-blooded massacre was in store; that
unarmed civilian opponents of the three-year Gaza siege will
be gunned down while the entire world was watching.
The flotilla of six ships, carrying around 700 international
activists, including European parliamentarians, and laden with
10,000 tons of essential aid and building material to the
people of Gaza, was on its way to the stricken strip when it
was intercepted by Israeli helicopters and navy ships in
international waters.
Video clips sent almost immediately by those on board showed
Israeli commandos being lowered from helicopters onto the
largest vessel, Marmara, followed by scenes of dead and
injured passengers lying on the ground. The rattle of gunfire
could be heard in the background.
Nothing can justify this latest Israeli crime. The attack was
deliberate, ordered by Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak
and blessed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in
Canada preparing for a visit to Washington on Tuesday to meet
President Barack Obama.
Diplomatic nightmare
There were many quick and fiery reactions from world capitals,
both public and official. From a PR point of view, it was a
nightmare for Israeli diplomacy. But if Israel thought it can
sustain few days of bashing by the international community
before it could walk away, free of guilt and accountability,
it was wrong.
Of all the angry reactions that poured from Arab, Muslim and
foreign capitals, Turkey's was the most profound and sincere.
After all, the Liberty Fleet mission was organized and
supported mainly by Turkish humanitarian agencies and donors.
The biggest ship in the flotilla carried a Turkish flag and
many of the dead and injured were Turkish nationals.
Turkish-Israeli relations have been strained for months, and
the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to denounce
the attack, accusing the Israeli government of violating
international law and of committing an act of piracy.
'Act of state terrorism'
It called for an emergency meeting of the UN's General
Assembly and said Israel must endure the consequences of its
action. Erdogan, who interrupted a visit to South America and
headed home, described the Israeli interception as an act of
state terrorism. They were tough words coming from a man who
does not beat around the bush when it comes to expressing his
emotions, especially on the continuing plight of Gazans.
Even in Israel there were voices that debunked the official
version and expressed doubts about the wisdom of the
government's action and long-term strategy on Gaza. Bradley
Burston, writing in Haaretz, said that "we are no longer
defending Israel. We are now defending the siege, which is
becoming Israel's Vietnam." He concluded by saying that
instead of focusing on Iran, "Netanyahu must recognize that
the world is now focused on Israel and the threat it poses to
the people of Gaza."
The Arab reaction was confused and confusing. Qatar and Syria
called for an emergency session of the Arab League at
ministerial level, but between threatening to withdraw the
Arab peace initiative and waiting to see where the White House
will finally draw the line, nothing much was forthcoming.
President Obama finds himself once more trumped by Netanyahu,
who always puts himself one step ahead of his American allies.
Now he is exerting pressure again on the Obama administration.
As the Security Council debated Turkey's draft statement, the
US stepped in to water down its wording; a gesture toward
Israel, which could always rely on the blind backing of
Washington, no matter the crime.
It is a setback for peace efforts, but the tragic death of
humanitarian activists rallying to support over 1.5 million
Palestinians in Gaza under siege should not be in vain. This
is an opportunity to end this unlawful, criminal and
unjustified blockade once and for all.
It is ironic that there are those, among the Arab countries,
who would not be happy if the Gaza siege is lifted, but this
is no longer about politics; Hamas, Israel and Palestinian
power struggle. The humanitarian crisis in Gaza is
unprecedented in modern history; it is a crime against
humanity and an affront to international law and the Geneva
Conventions. It must end and the time to end it is now.
On the other hand, Israel's disregard for international law
must be brought to a just conclusion. The West, especially
America, have justified Israeli atrocities and its fascist
policies against the Palestinian people for too long. The time
for reckoning has come and Israel's crime in the high seas
should not go unpunished.
Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and a political
commentator based in Jordan.
Gaza blockade
harming citizens
The blockade, preventing all exports from Gaza and
confining imports to a limited supply of humanitarian
goods, has failed to bring down Hamas but has heaped
misery on Gaza's 1.5 million residents.
Haroon Siddique
The
aid flotilla attacked by Israeli troops on Monday was
trying to break the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip
imposed by Israel in June 2007.
Israel said the blockade was intended to hold Hamas -
which it views as a terrorist group - "responsible and
accountable" for rocket attacks on Israeli territory. It
is also intended to constrain Hamas's ability to rule in
Gaza, and to put pressure on it to release Gilad Shalit,
an Israeli soldier held captive for four years.
The blockade, preventing all exports from Gaza and
confining imports to a limited supply of humanitarian
goods, has failed to bring down Hamas but has heaped
misery on Gaza's 1.5 million residents.
The U.N. humanitarian co-ordinator said last week that the
formal economy in Gaza has "collapsed" and 60 per cent of
households were short of food. According to U.N.
statistics, around 70 per cent of Gazans live on less than
$1 a day, 75 per cent rely on food aid and 60 per cent
have no daily access to water.
Luxury foods are banned and a U.N. report last year said
that on average it took 85 days to get shelter kits into
Gaza, 68 days to deliver health and paediatric hygiene
kits, and 39 days for household items such as bedding and
kitchen utensils. It said that school textbooks and
stationery had been delayed.
The effect of the blockade was felt even more acutely in
the aftermath of the invasion of the strip by Israeli
forces in the winter of 2008-9, as materials needed for
reconstruction were delayed or banned from entering Gaza.
A U.N. fact-finding mission described the blockade as
"collective punishment".
In the absence of imports, goods have been smuggled in
through tunnels built under the Gaza-Egypt border. The
World Bank estimates that 80 per cent of Gaza's imports
arrive by tunnel. The goods, which are taxed by Hamas,
attract inflated prices that are out of the reach of most
ordinary residents.
The Free Gaza Movement, an international human rights
organisation, first sailed from Cyprus in August 2008 in
an attempt to highlight the plight of the citizens of Gaza
suffering under the blockade.
The first sailing made it to Gaza, but subsequent boats
carrying supplies during the Gaza conflict were
intercepted and in June last year Israeli forces boarded a
boat taking aid to the strip and detained campaigners, who
were later deported.
Tokyo’s another show flops
Believe it or not, Japan still matters - but it is being
undermined not as much by China's rise as its own
political pratfalls.
Tom Plate
The
current prime minister of Japan has just resigned. Big
deal. That's the reaction most everywhere - and
particularly in the United States (to the extent anyone
noticed). Yes, the important neo-national dailies (Wall
Street Journal, New York Times) plopped the story on page
one, where it belonged - but it was dutiful play at best.
Japan, with the relatively modest population of 127
million, is still the world's second largest economy. But
it is no longer what it once was geopolitically: The land
of the rising sun is now overshadowed by China, and
further diminished by its own political ineptitude. Yukio
Hatoyama, collapsed on center stage, is the fourth
Japanese PM in the last four years to resign. What a
circus! In the nineties so many Japanese politicians
whizzed through the PM door that you could barely keep
count. The Clinton White House was known to quip: "We're
just figuring out how to pronounce the new PM's name and
then he's gone."
Hatoyama was the latest of the "blue blood" PMs cast in
the star role by virtue of family eminence. His
grandfather has been a founder of the Liberal Democratic
Party, the long-standing ruling party with a stranglehold
over Japanese national politics. But, as generational
paradox would have it, Hatoyama, leading the opposition
Democratic Party, decimated the LDP last year. It's too
bad that blue blood is no guarantee of true blood. Like
the royal family in Britain (and that of embroiled
Thailand), blue blood can run dysfunctionally thin - and
sometimes pathetically anemic. Junichiro Koizumi remains
the only politician in the last two decades to serve out a
successful five-year maximum term: And his blood was not
that of the blue variety but of the red - as in
red-blooded politician.
Koizumi understood that leadership required a steadiness
of conviction, persuasiveness and decisiveness. But
Hatoyama wavered more than an exhausted office-worker
after a midnight bout with sake.
Few Americans may care one way or the other about this or
that unpronounceable Tokyo politician. But Japan remains a
very important player in Asia. Together, Tokyo and
Washington can balance China if it were to get out of
hand. Japan, in effect, is East Asia's "unsinkable
aircraft carrier," in the memorable phrase of Yasuhiro
Nakasone, now 93 and once Japan's legendary PM of the
high-flying 1980s.
The Japanese are a deeply patient people, but they are
human beings, not Oriental statuettes - and their patience
with their broken political system cannot possibly be
endless.
A politically unstable Japan would destabilise East Asia.
China, with its history of feral enmity with Japan, would
be shaken. Japan's enemies might foolishly try to take
advantage (think of North Korea). Taiwan might fear new
mainland pressure.
Americans have no comparable concerns. Asia seems far, far
away, and with campy Canada and otherwise mellow Mexico on
its borders, the popular attitude is: Why worry?!
But America's friends in Asia are deeply worried about
Japan - and that should concern us. The resentful ruckus
among the Japanese public over the US military base in
Okinawa struck many as short-sighted. The Asian response
will thus attempt to accommodate the needs of the American
military presence, though in a quiet way. China may be
"peacefully rising," as it proclaims over and over again.
But in terms of sheer geopolitical power, only
countervailing power can guarantee that China won't wake
up some day and decide to continue its rise in a far more
menacing way. Japan's ongoing failure to get its political
house in order thus might have significant consequences.
Only India has the potential to stand up to China and
provide the counterweight from the East; and it is only
Japan and the US from the West, as it were, which can do
that. Southeast Asia, if it too could ever get its
regional act together, could play a huge role. But the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains a
paper tiger.
Believe it or not, Japan still matters - but it is being
undermined not as much by China's rise as its own
political pratfalls. It's a sad sight indeed to see this
world economic power, otherwise brilliant society, and
invaluable US ally writhe in leadership ineptitude.
Columnist and veteran journalist Tom Plate is writing a
trilogy of books called "Giants of Asia
Danger in the land of calm
Mrs Clinton is a newcomer to diplomacy. Her foot stamping
won't achieve much. Unless Beijing squeezes North Korea,
the only option may be putting up with the annoying "Dear
Leader."
Eric S. Margolis
Korea
is known as the "Land of the Morning Calm." This week, as
so often, there is nothing calm about the Korean
Peninsula. The two Koreas are once again on what appears
the verge of war after the March 26 sinking of a South
Korean Navy corvette that killed 46 sailors. South Korea
insists it has found parts of a North Korean torpedo that
sank its corvette patrolling the disputed Yellow Sea
maritime border over which the two sides have battled in
the past, most recently last fall.
Seoul's powerful 687,000 man armed forces are on high
alert.
Many enraged South Koreans are demanding conservative
President Lee Myong Bak punish North Korea.
Interestingly, in the event of war, all of South Korea's
armed forces fall under US military command. South Korea
is the world's only major industrial nation whose armed
forces are controlled by another nation - a point North
Korea ceaselessly uses to denounce South Korea as a "US
colony."
North Korea denies guilt, a position supported by Russian
and Chinese military experts. North Korea's 1.1-million
man armed forces are also fully mobilised. North Korea's
"Dear Leader," Kim Jong-il, threatens "all out war" if the
US or South Korea take reprisals.
In spite of Mrs Clinton's bellicose talk, the US and South
Korea have three poor options:
First, launch punitive air and missile raids on North
Korea, and blockade its ports. North Korean troops could
erupt from the many tunnels secretly dug under the DMZ.
I've been in some of them: a 12,000-man North Korean
division could jog through one each hour, taking South
Korean and US DMZ defenses from the rear.
North Korea has some 1,000 missiles targeted on South
Korea and its vital Osan and Kunsan US air bases. North
Korean Nodong missiles could deliver chemical or nuclear
warheads as far away as US bases in Okinawa and Guam, and
Japan's mainland, including Tokyo and Osaka. North Korea
also has the world' largest commando force, 88,000
"suicide' fighters tasked with attacking US and Korean air
bases, communications, headquarters, political targets and
supply depots in Korea and targets in Japan. The US is
loathe to tangle with a powerful enemy that can fight back
and inflict serious American casualties - particularly one
with a nuclear arsenal. Russian military experts say the
US cannot defeat North Korea using conventional weapons.
Second option: do nothing and allow Kim Jong-il to mock
the US and South Korea's leader Lee, whom he despises,
causing them both huge loss of ?face in Asia.
Third, somehow convince China and Russia to rein in the
unruly North Koreans. China supplies all North Korea's
oil, some of its weapons, spare parts, food, and links to
the outside world. China could make "Dear Leader" Kim
behave - or even send its army to remove him. But China
and Russia like an independent, defiant North Korea.
Neither wants to see the Kim dynasty collapse and be
replaced by a US-dominated regime. North Korea is next to
strategic Manchuria, China's highly sensitive province
filled with military industries and bases, and to Russia's
vulnerable Far East. North Korea is far too useful to
Beijing and Moscow for them to risk its regime collapsing.
Getting China and Russia to impose an embargo on North
Korea would cost Washington dearly in political
concessions, such as it is now making to secure their
limited cooperation over Iran and Afghanistan. South Korea
desperately fears "unexpected reunification," the collapse
of Kim's Stalinist regime that sends millions starving
people south. Japan likes the status quo. Tokyo does not
want a rival, united Korea.
Mrs Clinton is a newcomer to diplomacy. Her foot stamping
won't achieve much. Unless Beijing squeezes North Korea,
the only option may be putting up with the annoying "Dear
Leader."
Eric Margolis is a veteran US journalist who reported
from the Middle East and Asia for nearly two decades
International
Afghan peace
jirga backs Karzai Taliban talks proposal
BBC Online
Afghan tribal leaders have endorsed President Hamid
Karzai's plan to seek peace with the Taliban, on the final
day of national peace talks in Kabul.
The "peace jirga" ended by backing an amnesty and job
incentives to induce militants to give up arms.
But disagreements remained after the three-day meeting
over the details of what the Taliban should be offered.
Correspondents say there are few signs that the Taliban
are ready to agree to any deal.
The jirga is being seen as the start of what will be a
long and complex process, says the BBC's Martin Patience
in Kabul.
The gathering - which was boycotted by opposition
politicians and had no Taliban representation - was marked
by fierce debate on Mr Karzai's plan to end the country's
nine-year civil war.
It will be up to the Afghan government to decide which of
the jirga's recommendations it chooses to implement, says
our correspondent, but most Afghans and Western officials
think any deal with the Taliban is a long way off.
The group has said in the past that it would negotiate
with the government only once foreign troops had left the
country. The Taliban have been waging a battle to
overthrow the US-backed government and expel the 130,000
foreign troops there.
Amnesty plan
The jirga called on the authorities and international
forces to guarantee the safety of former Taliban members,
and release those being held in American and Afghan
prisons.
It also backed the president's proposals to offer an
amnesty and reintegration incentives to low-level Taliban
who accept the constitution, while removing the names of
Taliban leaders from a UN blacklist saying they should be
killed or captured.
Mr Karzai had suggested offering certain leaders asylum in
another Islamic country for the purpose of holding peace
talks.
"Now the path is clear, the path that has been shown and
chosen by you, we will go on that step-by-step and this
path will Inshallah, take us to our destination," Mr
Karzai told the gathering of 1,600 tribal leaders.
While it concluded with an endorsement of Mr Karzai's
proposals in principle, the BBC's Martin Patience in Kabul
says there was disagreement over the details of what the
militants should be offered.
Rocket attack
Security was tight at the venue after Taliban militants
tried to attack the meeting when it opened on Wednesday.
Three rockets landed close to the meeting place in the
Afghan capital. Officials said two attackers were killed
and one captured.
Some 1,600 delegates at the jirga - including tribal
elders, religious leaders and members of parliament from
all over the country - were far outnumbered by the 12,000
security personnel guarding against attacks.
On the eve of the conference, the Taliban issued a
statement saying that the jirga did not represent the
Afghan people and was aimed at securing the interest of
foreigners.
Another insurgent group, Hizb-i-Islami, led by ex-Prime
Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, called the conference a
"useless exercise".
Meanwhile, Nato, US and Afghan forces are preparing their
biggest offensive against the rebels in the southern
province of Kandahar.
Foreign troop numbers are set to peak at 150,000 by August
before US President Barack Obama starts a planned
withdrawal of troops in July 2011.
SKorea’s Lee rules out possibility of
war with North
AP, Singapore
South Korea's leader on Saturday ruled out going to war
with North Korea, hours after his government asked the
United Nations to punish the communist nation over the
sinking of a warship.
"There is absolutely no possibility of a full-scale war on
the Korean peninsula," President Lee Myung-bak told a
group of businesspeople in Singapore. The meeting was
closed to the media, and the comments were posted by Lee's
spokesman, Park Sun-kyu, on the presidential website.
"But occasionally, there has been locally
peace-threatening behavior" from North Korea, Lee said,
adding that "we will strongly suppress it." He did not
elaborate. It was the first time since the ship sinking
that Lee has categorically ruled out war with North Korea.
The North, however, has warned that any move to punish it
over the sinking could led to war.
Lee's comments were aimed at assuaging prospective
investors. "Don't worry about a war, invest," he was
quoted as telling the businesspeople. The two Koreas
technically remain in a state of war because their
three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty,
in 1953.
North Korea denies it is responsible for the March sinking
of the South Korean corvette Cheonan which killed 46
sailors. An international probe concluded that a North
Korean submarine torpedoed it.
On Friday, South Korea officially referred North Korea to
the U.N. Security Council, taking its strongest step ever
toward making the communist North face international
punishment. It set the stage for the possibility of the
most intense confrontation between North Korea and the
U.N. Security Council since the 1950-1953 Korean War,
which was authorized by the council in response to an
invasion of South Korea by North Korean forces.
Closed-door council consultations on the Cheonan incident
were scheduled for Monday morning, according to the U.N.
spokesman's office.
Manipur pushed to brink by
Nagas
Internet
Manipur has been severed at the throat for more than 50
days now. Its highways blocked by Naga protestors, there
is neither fire nor food, neither medicines nor miracles
in the state. Petrol is selling for Rs 170 a litre and LPG
for Rs 1,500 a cylinder. It's time the Centre woke up to
Imphal's misery
There is not much hope in Manipur these days, not enough
food either, or medicines, cooking gas and petrol. The
only thing in abundance is despair, fear and bitterness at
being on India's fringes, literally and metaphorically.
At its hospitals in Imphal, the shelves are bereft of
medicines, even common antibiotics , and doctors go around
with forlorn , sorrowful expressions on their faces,
cringing every time a patient is wheeled in. There is an
acute shortage of lifesaving drugs and oxygen. And even
the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences and Jawaharlal
Nehru Hospital, the top care centres in Manipur, have
stopped all routine surgeries. "There are no oxygen
cylinders, no syringes, nothing,'' says a nurse. "The
blockade will kill us all.''
It's been more than 50 days since Manipur , which depends
entirely on National Highway 39 for all its supplies, has
remained choked. The All Naga Students' Association of
Manipur (Ansam) enforced an economic blockade beginning
April 11 this year, opposing local body elections which
they allege will suppress their tribal rights, and there's
no telling when the roads will open again and ease the
stranglehold.
In fact, the blockade has only intensified after the
National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah ), or
NSCN (IM), a group that has been demanding the creation of
Greater Nagaland - 'Nagalim' as they call it - by merging
Naga inhabited areas of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and
Manipur with Nagaland, lashed out at Manipur recently.
NSCN (IM)'s separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah wanted to
visit his ancestral village in Somdal, Ukhrul district of
Manipur, but Imphal wouldn't allow it fearing mischief.
Nato and Pakistan seek to
boost non-military ties
AP, Brussels
Nato and Pakistani leaders agreed on Friday on the need to
strengthen their political ties.
Measures could include high-level exchanges and
parliamentary visits, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
said after meeting Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh
Rasmussen at the alliance's Brussels headquarters.
"Cooperation should not remain confined to only terrorism
and extremism," Mr Gilani told a joint press conference,
referring to the fight against militants in the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border area.
"We have to look beyond that so that we can work together
in future as well... there should be more cooperation with
the parliamentarians.. and with high-level exchange of
visits," he added.
"It has to be a process that is demand driven," said Mr
Rasmussen, adding: "We have already started
military-to-military cooperation and we stand ready to
further develop that."
But "we should expand the political dialogue, personally I
attach a lot of importance to dialogue with the
parliaments," he added, echoing his Pakistani guest.
Mr Rasmussen said Pakistan should define the area where
the Nato alliance could offer its support. Nato and
Pakistan have been fighting militants in the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. Both said they were
ready to continue the military efforts.
Mr Rasmussen underlined that "Nato will stay in
Afghanistan as long as it takes to finish our job. There
should be no misunderstanding about that.
"We count on Pakistan as a partner and we will be a
partner to Pakistan as well."
Address to council: Mr Gilani addressed the North Atlantic
Council and raised Indias Pakistan-specific military
doctrines such as the Cold Start. He urged Nato to take
active interest in South Asian security.
"We remain concerned over Pakistan-specific Indian
military doctrines such as the Cold Start envisaging a
limited conventional war under the nuclear over-hang; huge
increase in Indian military budget and massive weapon
acquisitions.
Afghan, Pak ministers to
meet in Turkey
AFP, Ankara
The foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan will
meet in Istanbul next week for talks aimed at bringing the
troubled neighbours closer, the Turkish foreign ministry
said Saturday.
Zalmai Rassoul of Afghanistan and Shah Mehmood Qureshi of
Pakistan will meet with their Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu Monday ahead of an conference on
confidence-building measures in Asia, a ministry statement
said.
NATO member Turkey, which has had traditionally close ties
with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been pushing for
the two countries since 2007 to overcome their differences
and cooperate against Islamist extremists.
It has hosted four meetings between the Afghan and
Pakistani presidents, accompanied by their military and
intelligence chiefs, which have ended with pledges of to
step up cooperation against extremists.
In Monday's meeting, the ministers will share their views
on progress in the trilateral process and steps to be
taken in the future, the statement said.
Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have become strained
as extremists who fled the US-led ouster of Afghanistan's
Taliban regime in late 2001 found a safe haven in
Pakistan's northwestern tribal regions.
Afghanistan claims much of its insurgent violence,
including attacks on US and NATO soldiers, is planned in
Pakistan and has accused its neighbour of not doing enough
to curb the militants.
Afghan and Western officials have long suspected that some
of the Pakistani establishment, particularly the powerful
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency, offer
support to the Afghan Taliban despite the government's
policy.
Islamabad denies the charges and points to its own
military efforts against the militants and a wave of
insurgent attacks that has killed hundreds of people
inside Pakistan.
Bhopal survivors demand
prosecution of Union Carbide officials
AP, New Delhi
Survivors of the 1984 gas leak in Bhopal, India on
Saturday demanded the creation of a special prosecution
cell for extradition and speedy trial of foreigners
accused in the case, news reports said.
A court in Bhopal, the capital of the central state of
Madhya Pradesh, is expected to give a verdict Monday on
the disaster at a local pesticide plant belonging to
multinational Union Carbide.
At least 3,500 people died immediately after deadly methyl
isocyanate gas leaked from the plant in the early hours of
December 3, 1984.
In the weeks that followed, 15,250 more people who had
inhaled the gas or drank contaminated water died,
according to official figures. Victims' rights group claim
the death toll was 25,000.
Dow Chemical Company, which took over the United
States-based Union Carbide Corporation in 1999, says all
the liabilities were settled when the company paid 470
million dollars compensation in a settlement brokered by
India's Supreme Court.
Groups representing the victims argue that the payment was
not enough for tens of thousands of people affected and
hope a "fair" verdict from a trial in a local court would
help their case.
The court in Bhopal has heard from 170 witnesses and
examined over 3,000 documents. Arguments in the case
closed on May 13 and chief judicial magistrate Mohan P
Tiwari said he would announce a verdict on June 7.
The accused in the case include senior Indian executives
of Union Carbide India Limited and Warren Anderson, former
chairman of Union Carbide Corporation, US, who has
absconded.
Israeli
troops board, seize new Gaza aid ship
Internet
The Israeli military says its troops have boarded and
seized an aid ship heading for Gaza, but there was no
violent confrontation.
The action comes after Israel warned that its forces would
board the Gaza-bound aid ship -- the "Rachel Corrie"
carrying some 19 people -- if it did not go to a port in
southern Israel.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay
responded to the news by calling the Gaza blockade
"illegal" and saying it "must be lifted."
Israel has faced a storm of criticism since its deadly May
31 raid on a humanitarian-aid flotilla similarly bound for
Gaza.
'Compliance Boarding'
Israeli Defense Forces spokeswoman Avital Leibovich told
CNN the action was a "compliance boarding" with the
consent of those aboard, and that it took place in
international waters.
Leibovich added that "there was no resistance or violence
on the boat."
Organizers of the private aid ship previously said they
would not resist in any encounter with Israeli forces.
Satellite communication with the "Rachel Corrie" was said
to be blocked, presumably by Israeli authorities. Nobel
peace prize winner Mairead Maguire was aboard the ship.
Israel had ordered the ship, which was some 50 kilometers
off the Gaza coast, to divert to the port of Ashdod.
Organizers of the private aid ship had previously said
they will not resist in any encounter with Israeli forces.
CNN reported that the cargo would be off-loaded and its
cargo screened and checked against a list of items banned
under the Israeli embargo.
Pressure On Israel
Reuters quoted Pillay as saying Israel's Gaza blockade "is
illegal and must be lifted," echoing anearlier appeal from
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for an immediate end to
the Israeli cordoning.
"International humanitarian law prohibits starvation of
civilians as a method of warfare and...it is also
prohibited to impose collective punishment on civilians,"
Pillay said.
Staunch Israeli ally the United States has suggested the
blockade of long-suffering Gaza cannot continue in its
present form.
"We are working urgently with Israel, the Palestinian
Authority, and other international partners to develop new
procedures for delivering more goods and assistance to
Gaza," a spokesman for the White House National Security
Council said in a statement, according to Reuters. "The
current arrangements are unsustainable and must be
changed. For now, we call on all parties to join us in
encouraging responsible decisions by all sides to avoid
any unnecessary confrontations."
Turkey, whose citizens bore the brunt of the deaths
reported in the May 31 boarding, has warned that Tel Aviv
risks losing an important regional partner and its
standing in the international community.
Deputy Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told parliament
this week that "new cooperation will not start and
relations with Israel will be reduced" in the wake of the
flotilla deaths.
Turkish prosecutors probe Israeli
leaders over raid
AFP, Ankara
Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation against
top Israeli leaders over the raid on aid ships bound for
Gaza which left nine people dead, Turkish press reports
said Saturday.
If the prosecutor's office in Bakirkoy, Istanbul, compiles
enough evidence, it will press charges against Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Mininster Ehud
Barak and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, the
English-language Today's Zaman said.
The charges would include murder, injury, attacking
Turkish citizens on the open seas and piracy, it added.
The prosecutor's office was not immediately available for
comment.
Nine Turkish citizens-one of whom also held US
citizenship-were killed when Israeli forces stormed a
fleet of ships carrying supplies to the Gaza Strip, which
has been under a crippling blockade since 2007.
Most of the violence in the pre-dawn raid occurred on the
Turkish ferry, Mavi Marmara, the lead ship of the aid
flotilla carrying some 600 activists, the majority of them
Turkish. The prosecutor's office will use the results of
the autopsies of the nine victims and testimonies from
activists on the stormed ships to see whether there is
enough evidence to build a case, the liberal Radikal
newspaper said.
Forensic experts have found multiple gun wounds on the
victims and determined that many were shot at close range,
Britain's The Guardian newspaper reported Saturday.
Prosecutors have also interviewed most of the 24 wounded
activists under treatment in Istanbul to use their
testimonies in the probe, Today's Zaman said.
A possible legal case would argue that the Israeli raid
was "illegal" as the aid ships were in international
waters, carrying humanitarian aid and the the people on
board were waving white flags.
An infuriated Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Tel
Aviv and scrapped joint war games as Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan slammed the Israeli raid as a "bloody
massacre".
Ex-general James Clapper to
be named as new spy chief
AFP, Washington
President Barack Obama has chosen a US intelligence
veteran, retired lieutenant general James Clapper, as his
new director of national intelligence.
Clapper, whose nomination comes at a time of mounting
domestic security threats, would replace Dennis Blair, who
stepped down late last month amid heavy criticism after a
string of security shortcomings, among them failure to
thwart planned attacks including one by an al-Qaida linked
group to bring down a US airliner on December 25. "Clapper
will be named," an intelligence source said, asking not to
be identified.
An administration official also said he could confirm
Clapper would be picked for the post, which was introduced
after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to oversee
the 16 agencies that make up the US intelligence
community. If confirmed, Clapper would become the fourth
DNI since the cabinet-level position's creation five years
ago.
Obama is expected to announce his nomination of Clapper --
currently the undersecretary of defence for intelligence,
the top intelligence post at the Pentagon -- during a
ceremony at the White House, said a third source, who also
spoke on condition of anonymity.
He is also the director of defence intelligence, which
reports directly to DNI, therefore giving him
comprehensive knowledge of the post for which he is being
nominated. Clapper retired from the US Air Force in 1995
after a 32-year career, and spent much of the following
years working for private defence contractors and
teaching.
But he also has held key intelligence positions, including
serving from September 2001 to 2006 as the first civilian
head of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which
collects and analyses data from commercial and government
satellites or aircraft, among other sources. The
nomination has already ruffled some feathers on Capitol
Hill, with a key congressman, House intelligence committee
ranking minority member Pete Hoekstra, reportedly warning
that Clapper is "not forthcoming, open or transparent" in
dealing with Congress.
Medvedev hopes
‘irresponsible’ Iran listening
AFP, Meseberg
Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday he hoped an
"irresponsible" Iran would heed the world community after
the UN Security Council permanent members agreed a draft
sanctions resolution.
"The situation is this: an agreement on sanctions exists,"
the president said in Germany after talks with Chancellor
Angela Merkel. "We hope that the voice of the
international community is heard by Iranian leadership.
"Such expressions of irresponsible behaviour cannot be
continued. What is said internationally needs to be
listened to. Only this way can the most complex tasks be
solved," he said.
The comments came after the five permanent Security
Council members -- the United States, Russia, China,
Britain and France -- agreed on a new draft resolution
that includes fresh sanctions against Iran over the
Islamic republic's sensitive nuclear work.
The White House said Thursday it was confident the council
would back toughened sanctions on Iran in the next week.
Both Russia and China have been more reticent than the
others on sanctions, but Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov said on Friday that "paralysing sanctions" had been
purged from a new draft resolution to take into account
"the economic interests" of Moscow and Beijing.
Obama lashes out at BP on
third visit to Louisiana
Internet
U.S. President Barack Obama warned energy giant BP on
Friday not to "nickel and dime" Gulf coast residents over
oil spill damage claims while paying out billions of
dollars in dividends to shareholders.
"My understanding is that BP has contracted for $50
million worth of TV advertising to manage their image
during the course of this disaster," Obama said. "In
addition, there are reports that BP will be paying $10.5
billion -- that's billion with a "B" -- in dividend
payments this quarter."
BP on Friday resisted pressure from some U.S. lawmakers to
stop dividend payouts until the full cost of cleaning up
the spill is known.
The company is due to announce its second-quarter dividend
and results on July 27. The $10.5 billion figure quoted by
Obama covers dividend payments for the whole year and not
just for this quarter as he said.
Obama was speaking on his third trip in a month to the
oil-stained Louisiana coast. The six-week-old spill, the
biggest in U.S. history, has caused environmental
devastation and threatens the future of a
multibillion-dollar fishing industry.
Obama said it was too early to say whether BP's latest
attempt to control the spill, placing a containment cap
over a gushing deep-sea oil well, would be successful, but
it appeared to be working so far. The president has vowed
to hold BP accountable for the disaster, saying it must
pay the costs of capping the well and dealing with the
massive oil spill.
"I don't have a problem with BP fulfilling its legal
obligations, but I want BP to be very clear they've got
moral and legal obligations here in the Gulf for the
damage that has been done," he said.
Parents of 49 kids killed
in fire demand justice
AP/UNB, Mexico City
Relatives of 49 children killed in a day care fire a year
ago held an overnight vigil Friday in their memories and
to demand punishment for officials who they say failed to
ensure the center's safety.
Parents lit candles and placed photos of their children on
the steps of the landmark Independence Monument in Mexico
City. A group of children held a sign that read "The
people of Mexico demand justice. Jail for those
responsible for the fire at the ABC day care center."
Officials say the June 5, 2009 fire at the day care center
in Hermosillo, the capital of the northern state of
Sonora, started when an air conditioning system overheated
at an adjoining tire and car warehouse leased by the state
government. It eventually spread to the roof of the day
care, filling the building with smoke and sending flaming
pieces of tarp raining down on the children. In addition
to the dead at least 70 children were hurt at the
privately run center, which operated under contract from
the federal Social Security Institute.
Abraham Fraijo, whose 3-year-old daughter Emilia died in
the fire, said he traveled to the capital to protest the
slow pace of justice.
"We should be at a solemn ceremony in Hermosillo but
instead, after a year, we continue demanding justice,"
Fraijo said.
Climate talks: Parties
divide in camps on points
BSS, Bonn, Germany
With climate negotiators from 185 countries are grappling
line-by-line to finalize a 42-page draft for next climate
summit, the nations are still divided into camps on
various points of debates.
The points include the status of the Copenhagen Accord,
ways of steep up emissions cuts, technology transfer and
modalities of governance of the climate funds, according
to the delegates.
Negotiators inside the plenary said, the parties had
mainly repeated their positions during first week talks
going for a one- day recess today.
With the reports of the contact groups, the talks will
resume on Monday again and continue until June 11 to
finalize the draft for upcoming climate summit in Cancun,
Mexico, in December.
"Expectations of a big agreement are not high after the
failure of the Copenhagen summit six months ago", said a
top official of the UNFCCC. But Mexico's chief negotiator
criticized it for 'lowering expectations'. Developing
countries have raised new demands and pressed developed
countries to take greater responsibility for climate
change.
China and the G77 and China said the new text needs to
emphasize more emissions cuts to be made by developed
countries.
While developed countries argued that atmospheric
greenhouse concentration would not be stable without
emission reduction of growing economies which consists
over 30 percent of total emission.
Some individual parties of the G-77 and China particularly
Pakistan and Colombia opposed the 'most vulnerability
issue' terming it 'confusing'. General notion is that
Pakistan has support India and China from behind to raise
the issue. Bangladesh, the Maldives and Small Island
States (SIS) raised their voice in the LDC coordination
meetings against the move saying they want preferential
treatment for the countries which are more exposed to
climate change. African countries, termed as most
vulnerable to climate change, want a "binding, inclusive,
effective" deal made in Cancun and implementing second
commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Small island states said the emissions cuts pledges of the
big emitters so far are not enough and constituted a
"death sentence" for many island states.
A group, including the United States, Japan, Russia,
Canada, Australia, Ukraine, New Zealand, Kazakhstan and
Iceland, said they want a "long-term framework" beyond
2010, climate aid and the saving of forests.
Bolivia suggested for 6 percent of GDP for climate budget
in line with defense budgets. It also wanted the text to
include a target for levels of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere.
Business/Economy
Governor
for institutional support to microenterprises
BSS, Dhaka
Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr Atiur Rahman has
suggested providing microenterprises with strong
institutional support for mobilizing and motivating the
unemployed and underemployed masses into creative and
innovative entrepreneurship.
Addressing the fifth Global YES Summit in Leksand, Sweden,
he also suggested expansion of the general and technical
education and training facilities, focusing on promoting
entrepreneurship and nurturing innovativeness, according
to a message received here Saturday.
Dr Atiur highlighted the prospect of micro and small scale
enterprises in generating employment and promoting
entrepreneurships.
Organised by the Tallberg Foundation and YES Inc., with
support from the Swedish government, this summit brings
together 2000 participants from around the world.
The major objectives of the summit is to address the
converging crises of youth unemployment, the economy and
the environment-by bringing sustainability business ideas
and entrepreneurs, resources and implementing capacity,
together.
Speaking on the issue, Dr Atiur said extensive employment
creation in micro, small and medium scale enterprises
remains crucial for generating employment and income on
the backdrop of the sluggish recovery of the post-meltdown
formal job markets.
But, he said, "The risks in financing small scale self-
employment initiatives are high, and the formal financial
sectors are not adequately geared to address the financing
needs of micro and small enterprises, either in developed
or developing economies". In Bangladesh, the governor
admitted that there is no risk mitigation arrangement for
micro and small enterprise borrowers by way of partial
loan guarantees.
Apart for the access to financing, Dr Atiur recommended
viable linkage among public authorities, NGOs, civil
society initiatives, official donor agencies,
philanthropies and socially responsible businesses to
remove major gaps and shortcomings in institutional
support arrangements for self-employment initiatives.
Expatriates
contribute 30pc to GDP: Mosharraf
BSS, Dhaka
Minister for Labour and Employment, Expatriate Welfare and
Overseas Employment Engineer Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain
has said the people of Bangladesh working in different
countries of the world are contributing 30 percent to the
GDP every year by sending home remittances from their
hard- earned foreign currencies.
"As many as 70 lakh Bangladeshis are now working in around
100 countries of the world and sending remittances home
regularly, contributing enormously to the national economy
every year," he said while addressing as the chief guest
the concluding ceremony of the annual convention of Lions
Clubs International Multiple District 315 here last night.
Engineer Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain said around 500,000
Bangladeshis went abroad with jobs last year and this year
it would be more as the present government as part of its
election pledges has been pursuing a pro-people policy to
provide employment to the unemployed youths at home and
abroad.
"The way the present government is running the governance
by upholding the national interest, I foresee around 10
million Bangladeshis will be able to work abroad after a
few years and they will be the main contributors in the
national economy," he said.
Referring to the global recession that even brought the
world's biggest economies on the brink of collapse last
year, the Minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's
excellent managerial efficiency and farsightedness saved
the Bangladesh economy from the wrath of that adversity in
the global economy.
"Inshallah, we will go ahead with our vision and mission
towards fulfilling the Vision-2021 under the able and
dynamic leadership of Bangabandhu's daughter and Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina," he said.
Later, Engineer Khondoker Mosharraf Hossain joined a Lions
Club being imbued with their spirit of service to humanity
and congratulated them on their instant contribution of
Taka 25 lakh to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for helping
the city's Nimtoli fire victims.
Govt. working
for employment of all unemployed youths
BSS, Naogaon
Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and
Disaster Management Ministry Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury MP
has said that the present government is committed to
rooting out unemployment from the country.
The MP from Naogaon-3 (Badalgachi and Mohadebpur)
constituency also said the present government led by Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina has been working relentlessly for
creating job opportunities for the country's all
unemployed youths.
He was addressing a views exchange meeting titled 'Digital
Bangladesh: Roles of Unemployed Youths of Mohadebpur
Upazila' at Duck Bungalow Hall Room in Mohadebpur upazila
town in Naogaon on Friday afternoon as the chief guest.
Mohadebpur Upazila Nagorik Committee (MUNC) and Centre for
E Parliament Resource (CEPR) of Dhaka jointly organized
the meeting with a view to creating job opportunities for
the unemployed youths in building a digital Bangladesh.
UNO of Mohadebpur Akhteruzzaman, Joint Secretary of Thana
AL Ferdous Alam Milton, its Organising Secretary Dr
Majibar Rahman, Tomal Islam and Officer-in-Charge of
Mohadebpur Thana Nur Islam, addressed among others. Dr
Chowdhury said that nine Digital Training Centres will be
set up at the primary stage in each ward of Mohadebpur
Sadar union parishad area and later in all wards
throughout the upazila for training and crating
employments of the unemployed youths.
Potentials of the unemployed youths of the upazila will be
properly utilized and they will be turned into as worthy
and skilled human resources to pave ways for them in
actively contributing to the process of building a
developed digital Bangladesh, he said.
Later, Dr Akram Hossain Chowdhury answered various
questions asked by the attending unemployed youths in the
meeting on the concept of Digital Bangladesh, Charter of
Changes and Vision 2021 as envisioned by Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina.
EU and Pakistan
agree five-year plan to boost ties
BSS Brussels
The European Union and Pakistan yesterday set out a
five-year plan for boosting ties, while failing to come up
with any major breakthroughs on liberalising bilateral
trade at their second summit.
The new plan, agreed by EU president Herman Van Rompuy and
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani still lacks
detail but is aimed at boosting cooperation in the areas
of regional security, trade, development and the fight
against terrorism.
On trade the two sides agree to seek to further liberalise
the movement of goods though it was clear that Pakistan
would not for the time being benefit from the sought after
"GSP+" preferential tariffs.
Currently trade between the two amounts to some seven
billion euros, with most of the goods already eligible for
the preferential tariffs.
The EU is already Pakistan's largest trading partner and a
major aid donor but Lahore argues that Europe should
further open its markets, particularly to its key textile
sector.
There was good news for Pakistan on the aid front, with EU
Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso announcing that
Europe agreeing to increase its annual funding from 50
million euros to 75 million in 2011.
At a joint press conference, however, Van Rompuy took aim
at Pakistan's human rights record, voicing concerns
"regarding women's rights and discrimination against
religious minorities."
The Pakistani leader insisted that "we are a democratic
country which is totally supporting looking after human
rights and also looking after the minorities." He cited
the creation of a government minister for the minorities.
The two sides also discussed their cooperation in the
fight against terrorism.
15.5 pc growth
in foreign tourist arrival India
BSS, New Delhi
Despite advisories by the US and some countries against
travel to India, foreign tourist arrivals in the country
jumped by over 15 per cent in May against the same period
as the figure touched 3.45 lakh.
In May last year, 2.99 lakh foreign tourists visited India
which was lower than 3.04 lakh in the same month in 2008.
India also earned Rs 4,358 crore as foreign exchange from
tourism in May as against Rs 3,249 crore in the
corresponding period last year - an increase of over 34
per cent.
Foreign tourist arrivals have registered a growth of 15.5
per cent in May this year over May 2009 as compared to a
negative growth of 1.9 per cent registered in May 2009
over May 2008. The US, UK and Australia issued advisories
in April and May warning against travel to India saying
there was possibility of terror attacks. Between January
and May this year, 22.63 lakh foreigners visited India as
against 20.33 lakh last year, marking a growth rate of
11.3 per cent.
As far as foreign exchange earnings is concerned, India
earned Rs 4,358 crore as compared to Rs 3,249 crore in May
2009 and Rs. 2988 crore in May 2008.
Zone and Branch Manager conf. of IBBL held
Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) has continued its
flow of success in deposit, investment and foreign trade
including banking operations, says a press release.
The total deposit of the Bank reaches Tk.25,887 crore upto
May 31, 2010; showing a growth rate of 20% against the
same period of the last year. The total investment reaches
Tk.25,372 crore showing a growth rate of 18%. The Bank
handled foreign exchange business amounting to Tk.22,439
crore for these five months showing a growth rate of 25%
against the same period of the last year including import
of Tk. 8,345 crore, export of Tk. 5,291 crore and
collected remittance of Tk. 8,803 crore showing growth
rate of 37%, 23% and 17% respectively.
The information was disclosed in a day-long 'Zone and
Branch Manager Conference' of the Bank held on 03 June
2010, Thursday at the Mohammad younus Auditorium of Islami
Bank Tower.
Prof. Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher, Chairman, Board of
Directors of the Bank was present in the Conference as the
Chief Guest while Engr. Md. Eskander AH Khan, Chairman,
Executive Committee and Md. Shahidul Islam, Chairman,
Audit Committee of the Bank were present as Special
Guests. Presided over by Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing
Director of the Bank the program was addressed among
others by Engr. Muhammad Dawood Khan, Mohammed Nazrul
Islam and Md. Abdus Salam, FCA, PCS, Directors, Deputy
Managing Directors, top Executives of Head office, Zonal
Heads and Branch Managers 01 the Bank were present in the
Conference.
Prof. Abu Nasser Muhammad Abduz Zaher inaugurated the
three months long tree-plantation program 3 June 2010 at
Mominbag in the city organized by Rural Development Scheme
of the Bank following the slogan 'Sabuj Nagar Sabuj Desh'.
Mohammad Abdul Mannan, Managing Director, Directors and
top Executives of the Bank were present in the program.
The Bank took: a move to implant 5 lac plants this year
and 1 million plants already implanted in the previous
years at different areas of me country under this program.
National
Call to ensure quality education
UNB, Rangpur
Speakers at a seminar in Rangpur district Council
auditorium on Saturday stressed the need for ensuring
quality education in the interest of reaching the country
to its cherished goal.
The National Association of UNESCO Clubs in Bangladesh in
co-operation with Bangladesh National Commission for
UNESCO, Ministry of Education and UNESCO Dhaka Office
organized the seminar on "EFA Global Monitoring
Report-2010". Deputy Commissioner BM Enamul Haque attended
the seminar as chief guest which was presided over by Prof
Hosne Ara, Principal, Teachers Training College.
Among others AKM Abdur Rouf, Mayor, Rangpur Pourashava, M
Shafiqul Islam, District Education Officer, Abul Kalam
Azad, District Primary Education Officer, Sadrul Alam Dulu,
president, Rangpur Press Club, and local teachers and
cultural activists spoke. Professor Masuda M. Rashid
Chowdhury of Dhaka University presented the keynote paper,
said a press release.
Referring to country's existing education system, the
speakers said various programs are being implemented by
the government and non-government organizations, aimed at
reducing gender disparity and ensuring quality education.
Boro harvesting completed in Gaibandha
BSS, Gaibandha
The harvesting of Boro paddy is almost completed in all
the seven upazilas of the district during the current
season amid getting a bumper production of the crop.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said the
department had fixed a target to cultivate Boro paddy on
1,17,998 hectares in the district during the current
season with the production target of 4,66,347 metric
tonnes (MTS) of paddy.
Later, additional 3,942 hectares of land were brought
under this
cultivation programme this year exceeding the
target fixed by the department, sources said.
Over 95 percent harvesting has already been completed and
the rest will be completed with in a week, said an
official of DAE.
To make the programme a grand success, the government
distributed high quality seeds, fertilizers and other agri-inputs
among the farmers at fair prices and also provided them
with training on modern agro-technologies to help them get
more yield.
The Power Development Board and Rural Electrification
Board also ensured the supply of electricity for
irrigation.
Besides, various commercial banks including RAKUB also
disbursed agri-loans to the growers on easy terms to help
them boost production of Boro paddy this season.
Meanwhile, with the appearance of newly harvested paddy,
the food department here has started procuring Boro paddy
from the farmers directly to make them economically
benefited. District Controller Food M. Jamal Hussain said
a total of 3,791 MTs of paddy and 30,725 MTs of rice would
be procured in the district through 11 purchasing centres
till August 31,2010.
Community leaders can play vital
role to prevent HIV/AIDS
BSS, Joypurhat
Participants at an advocacy meeting here on Thursday
viewed that community leaders could play a vital role play
to make the nation free from the risks of HIV/AIDS.
In this context, they said all the community leaders can
help preventing HIV/AIDS. They underlined the need for
creating awareness among the community leaders about the
curse of the disease so that they could contribute to this
effect.
Any single organization or the government is not capable
of preventing the virus as its prevalence is gradually
becoming high in the neighboring countries, they said.
So, they called for collective efforts of all concerned,
including the community leaders, to make the nation risk
free and stressed the need for creating massive awareness
among the target group about prevention of the disease and
said all the authorities and individuals concerned should
work together to change the vulnerable and risk behaviors
for the disease.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under its National
AIDS/STD Programme arranged the advocacy and awareness
meeting titled " Role of Community Leaders in HIV
Prevention and Control" at the Nursing Institute
Auditorium here.
A good number of community leaders attended the meeting
with civil surgeon of Joypurhat Dr. Abu Bakkar Siddiqi in
the chair.
Caretaker of district modernized hospital Dr. Santi
Proshad Roy was present as the chief guest while AIDS/STD
Programme Manager Dr. Abdur Rahman and secretary of
district BMA Dr. Mozammel Huq spoke at the function.
Fertilizers distributed to farmers
at free of cost
BSS, Mymensingh
The chemical fertilizers distribution programme to the
selected farmers at free of cost started today at
Muktagacha upazila for boosting Aus cultivation during the
current season.
The programme was held at the training centre of upazila
agriculture extension, which is organised by the local
office here. Lawmaker of Muktagacha Al-haj Khaled Babu
formally inaugurated the programme as the chief guest
while UNO Nasreen Jahan was in the chair.
The function was addressed, among others, by upazila
chairman of Muktagacha Advocate Badar Ahmed, Vice-chairman
Debashih Goash, President of Diploma Krishibid Samity,
Muktagacha upazila unit A B Siddique and upazila
agriculture extension officer Ahsanul Bashar.
The selected marginal farmers received 20 kg's of uria, 10
kg of Tsp and 10 kg of MoP fertilizers under this
programme.
A total of 8,23 marginal and small farmers received 16.46
metric tons of uria, 8.23 mts of Tsp and 8.23 metric tons
of fertilizers in this upazila.
Agriculture extension Dept has fixed of Aus cultivation
under 2225 hectares of land with a production target 5504
metric tons of rice this year.
Lawmaker KM Khalid Babu said present government is a
farmers friendly govt, this govt is committed to provide
all kinds of support to the farmers. He also said the
govt. ensured to the farmers for their collection of
fertilizers system as easier then previous system.
In this field, all kinds of fertilizers, quality seeds,
irrigation and agri-inputs must be ensured expected
production, the sources said.
2898 VDP members receive training
BSS, Gaibandha
A total of 2898 VDP members of the district received
training on different issues during the current fiscal
year.
The aim of the training was to turn the members into
skilled manpower and help them involve in income
generating activities to achieve self-reliance and
encourage live a disciplined life avoiding anti-social
activities, concerned sources said.
Department of Ansar and VDP here imparted the training on
kitchen gardening, nursery establishment, cow and goat
rearing, poultry farming, fish culture, family planning,
health, sanitation and law and order.
Of the total, some 2688 members coming from seven upazilas
of the district took part in the 10-day training in 42
batches in last 10 months of the current fiscal and the
rest 210 members were imparted 5-day training on club
samity by the department from May 30 to June 03, said an
official.
District adjutant of Ansar and VDP told BSS that district
and upazila level officials concerned conducted the
training sessions for the members as resource persons.
Steps to preserve coastal environment demanded
UNB, Khulna
Upakuliya Paribesh Surakkhae Nagarik Mancha, a civic
platform to preserve coastal environment, organised a
press conference and staged a boat rally in Bhairab River
here Friday to drum up support for their 14-point demand.
Convener of the platform Advocate Firoz Ahmed read out a
written statement to the media men. The conference was
held at 11am on boats in the river.
It was followed by a boat rally, organized to press home
their demands. The demands are: Better river management in
south-western region and steps to preserve its
environment, dredging of rivers and reclaim the occupied
canals and water bodies.
Member Secretary of the organization M Nazmul Azam David
and its members Abu Hassan Bakul, Khalid Hossain, Merina
Zuthi, Mahfuzur Rahman Mukul and Mamunur Rashid were
present at the press conference.
They also demanded allocations for preserving country's
environment in the forthcoming budget, ensuring
uninterrupted supply of drinking water to Aila-affected
people, government measures to retrieve all natural canals
in south-western region, setting up of environment court
in all the divisional headquarters, recovery of parks in
Khulna city from land grabbers, continuous dredging of
Rupsha River and setting up linier park on the bank of
river Mayur.
Other demands include, effective steps to check river
erosion and prevent river pollution, recovery of occupied
low lands that hold rain water, stop unauthorized housing
projects, implementation of WASA in Khulna using surface
water after setting up a water treatment plant following
reclamation of rivers and canals, etc.
Speakers stress for application of bioethics to face
social and environmental challenges
BSS, Dhaka
Speakers at a function Saturday stressed the need for
application of bioethics to face medical, social and
environmental challenges in Bangladesh.
They said society will be benefited, if bioethics is
practiced in various field of knowledge.
They were addressing the inaugural function of a
month-long course on 'Bioethics: Education and Research'
jointly organized by National Academy for Education
Management (NAEM) and Bangladesh Bioethics Society(BSS) in
the seminar room of NAEM here.
Chairman of the University of Grants Commission (UGC)
Professor Nazrul Islam addressed the function as the chief
guest with BBS President and Teacher of Department of Law
of Dhaka University Prof Taslima Mansoor in the chair.
Director(Training and Implementation) of NAEM Prof Shaikh
Ekranmul Kabir, among others, addressed the function.
General Secretary of the BBS Prof Shamima Parvin Lasker
conducted the inaugural session of the course.
The speakers said bioethics include ethical issues related
to all branches of knowledge-environment, life science,
medicine and associated technologies.
The month long course will focus on methodologies of
application and integration of Asian ethical knowledge,
epistemology and ideas into practice.
AL chalks out elaborate programmes to observe historic
June 7
UNB, Dhaka
The ruling Awami League (AL) has chalked out elaborate
programmes to observe the historic June 7 to commemorate
the six-point movement, which was launched 42 years ago
demanding autonomy of the then East Pakistan.
The programmes include hoisting of national and party
flags at party offices, including central office, across
the country early hours (5:10am), and placing wreaths at
the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at
Bangabandhu Bhaban at 7:30am and discussion at 4pm.
Party President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will
attend the discussion as chief guest, which will be held
at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium at about 4pm, said a
party press release.
AL presidium member and Deputy Leader of the Jatiya
Sangsad Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury will preside over the
meeting.
Acting general secretary of the party Mahbub-ul-Alam Hanif
in a statement on Saturday urged all, including party men,
to observe the day with due manner.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had announced his
historic six-point political and economic programme in
Lahore in 1966, aiming to attain greater autonomy of the
then East Pakistan.
Sports
Sabrina bags another gold in National
Shooting
UNB, Dhaka
Sabrina Sultana of Dhaka Rifle Club bagged yet another gold
medal in the Women's 50-meter Rifles Three Position scoring
565 on the 4th day of the 24th National Shooting Cham-pionship
at the National Shooting Complex in city's Gulshan on
Saturday.
Earlier, on Friday, Sabrina secured gold in Women's 10-meter
Air Rifles event.
Sharmin Sultana of Dhaka Rifle Club grabbed silver scoring 556
while BKSP's Tripti Dutta, who secured gold in the Girls'
10-meter Air Rifles on Friday, took the bronze scoring 549 in
the Women's 50-meter Three Position.
Armin Asha of Narayanganj Rifle Club clinched the gold medal
in the Women's 10-meter Air Pistol scoring 457.2 while Ardina
Ferdous of Kushtia Rifle Club secured the silver scoring 449.2
and Anamika Haq Mukta of Ansar & VDP Shooting Club got the
bronze scoring 448.7.
Moklesur Rahman of Army Shooting Club won the gold medal in
the Men's 25-meter Pistol making 511 while his teammate M.
Selim Azad grabbed the silver scoring 486 and M. Nadimul Islam
of Savar Army Shooting Club took the bronze scoring 484 on the
4th day of the 5-day meet.
Ferdinand
feels ‘cursed’ after World Cup exit
AFP, London
Rio Ferdinand admits he feels cursed after the England captain
was ruled out of the World Cup with a knee ligament injury.
Ferdinand's World Cup is over before a ball has even been
kicked in the tournament as a result of the left knee damage
he suffered in a training session tackle with Emile Heskey on
Friday. The Manchester United defender was on crutches as he
left a hospital in Rustenburg after scans showed he would be
out for six weeks. The 31-year-old had arrived in South Africa
finally fit after an injury-ravaged campaign restricted him to
just 13 Premier League games for United. But now he is
condemned to follow England's bid for World Cup glory from the
sidelines as Steven Gerrard takes over the captain's armband.
His agent Pini Zahavi told The Sun: "Rio said: 'I think
somebody cursed me.' That is honestly how he feels.
"Rio is very down. He cannot understand why this has happened
to him.
"This injury is nothing to do with the ones he had before. It
is completely different and it is very bad luck. "Rio was
feeling sharp and was ready for the World Cup. He has waited
so long for this tournament and to try and help England win
it. He had prepared himself so well.
"But he is a very strong man and he will be back. I'm sure he
will be leading England in four years time at the next World
Cup."
Ferdinand's injury is the latest blow for England coach Fabio
Capello in a troubled few months.
The Italian has already had to deal with stripping John Terry
of the captaincy as a result of the defender's affair with the
ex-partner of Wayne Bridge, who then added to Capello's misery
by retiring from international duty. Capello was also forced
into a hasty climb-down over his involvement in a website that
would have made public his ratings of the England players'
performances during the World Cup. The former AC Milan coach
admitted it was a terrible start to England's World Cup
campaign.
"It's the curse of being captain. It was a tackle and then
there was big pain. He (Ferdinand) put his feet in the grass
with Heskey and then he moved," Capello said. "The other
players were upset. They stopped training. All the players who
are here with me are important. But he is one of the starting
players, the captain, a leader. "It couldn't have been much
worse on my first day. We have to pray 'help us'. No more."
Danone
Nations Cup begins today
TBT Report
The final round of the Grameen Danone Nations Cup begins
today at Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city.
Eight teams are taking part in the two-day meet, organised
by Bangladesh Football Federation. The teams are: Tangail,
Jessore, Thakurgaon, Bogra, Kustia, Comilla, Jhalkathi and
Rajbari district football teams.
The boys aged 10-12 years old are eligible to take part in
the competition. The final of the tournament takes place
tomorrow.
The champion team will take part in the Danone Cup
international football competition in South Africa in
October next.
Younus wins appeal against ban
AFP, Lahore
Former Pakistan captain Younus Khan Saturday won his
appeal against an indefinite ban and is now likely to be
considered for the national team ahead of their England
tour.
"The appeal of Younus against an indefinite ban is
accepted and the order (punishment) is set aside," the
arbitrator, retired justice Irfan Qadir, said in his
order.
Younus was one of seven players who were banned or fined
in March this year.
The penalties came after an inquiry committee investigated
on and off-field problems during team's tours to the
United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Australia between
November and February.
Younus and another former captain Mohammad Yousuf were
handed indefinite bans over "infighting in the team which
let the team down." Younus's lawyer said he was delighted
with the outcome of the appeal.
"Younus's stance was based on principle and we are
delighted to get the ban revoked," lawyer Ahmed Malik
Qayyum told AFP. The former captain was named in a
preliminary squad of 35, subject to his clearance from the
arbitrator, but was not selected in the 15-man Asia Cup
squad announced on Thursday.
He is, however, likely to be considered for team's tour of
England to be announced later.
Pakistan take part in the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka from June
15-24. They will then play two Twenty20 and two Tests
against Australia before playing hosts England in four
Tests, five one-day and two Twenty20 -- all in England.
The arbitrator last week lifted Shoaib Malik's one-year
ban and reduced his two million rupees (24,000 dollars)
fine to half. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal adviser
Talib Rizvi confirmed Younus's appeal was accepted.
"The arbitrator has accepted Younus's appeal and the PCB
will now complete the legal process," Rizvi told AFP.
The arbitrator also quashed the fine on current captain
Shahid Afridi and reduced the fine on Kamran Akmal and
Umar Akmal. "The appeals of Afridi, and Akmal brothers
were also taken up and the arbitrator quashed the fine on
Afridi and reduced the fines on Akmal brothers," said
Rizvi.
Afridi was fined on charges of ball-tampering in a one-day
match against Australia, while the Akmal brothers were
punished for discipline violations.
"Afridi confessed his act earned a bad image for the
country, but since he was already punished by
International Cricket Council (banned for two Twenty20
matches), he cannot be punished twice, so his fine is
revoked," said Rizvi.
Another former captain Yousuf, banned for an indefinite
period, did not appeal, while all-rounder Rana
Naved-ul-Hasan's appeal against a one-year ban and fine of
24,000 dollars will be heard on June 19.
Easy win for
Irie at Japan Open swimming
AFP, Tokyo
World silver medallist Ryosuke Irie coasted to an easy
victory defending the men's 200-metre backstroke title at
the Japan Open swimming championships on Saturday.
The 20-year-old from Osaka, also the 2006 Asian Games gold
medallist in the distance, achieved one minute 55.67
seconds, beating Yuki Shirai into second and Kazuki
Watanabe into third. Irie, who failed to repeat last
year's hat-trick here after losing to arch-rival Junya
Koga in the 100m on Friday, claimed a new world record in
May last year but it was rejected by FINA because of an
unapproved swim suit.
The three-day competition is a tune-up for the Pan Pacific
championships in Irvine, the United States, from August
18-21.
The Beijing Olympic 200m butterfly bronze medallist
Takeshi Matsuda, the winner in the same category on
Friday, added his second title by winning the men's 400m
freestyle with a time of 3:50.12. Ryo Tateishi and
Yoshihiro Okumura also notched up their second titles this
week with Tateishi winning the 50m breaststroke in 27.89
in the absence of two-time dual Olympic champion Kosuke
Kitajima, who trains in the United States.
Okumura, the winner in the 200m freestyle on Friday,
clocked 49.86 to win the 100m freestyle, beating Takuro
Fujii and Ranmaru Harada.
Other men's winners included Kohei Kawamoto in the 50m
butterfly and Yuya Horihata in the 400m individual medley.
Deng powers China to
defeat France
AFP, Réunion
A vicious free-kick by Deng Zhuoxiang earned China a 1-0
win over France here on Friday as Les Bleus slumped to a
dispiriting defeat in their last World Cup warm-up game.
France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been one of the most
vocal critics of the lightweight Jabulani ball designed
for the World Cup and he was completely bamboozled by the
dipping trajectory of Deng's 68th-minute strike.
The hosts largely controlled the game but did not begin to
threaten until they had gone behind and they sign off
their pre-tournament preparations with a win, a draw and a
loss after beating Costa Rica 2-1 and tying 1-1 with
Tunisia.
The 2006 runners-up travel to South Africa on Saturday and
begin their World Cup campaign against Uruguay on June 11.
Playing on the French island of Reunion for the first time
in their history, France persisted with the 4-3-3
formation that they have adopted since the start of their
pre-World Cup training camp and, as in their last two
matches, the majority of their best play came down the
left. Florent Malouda had a sight of goal in the first
minute after his run down the inside-left channel was
spotted by Nicolas Anelka but his low centre was diverted
away from goal by China goalkeeper Zeng Cheng's left leg.
Franck Ribery and Yoann Gourcuff both had shots from
distance saved, while William Gallas saw an instinctive
backheel ruled out for offside.
Gallas headed narrowly wide from a corner later in the
first half but for all their territorial dominance, France
were often careless in possession and lacked a cutting
edge. Ribery was the source of France's most purposeful
attacking play, but with just under half an hour to play
he ceded his place to Andre-Pierre Gignac.
Thierry Henry and Abou Diaby also entered the fray but it
was China who broke the deadlock when Deng embarrassed
Lloris from 35 yards with his side's first shot on target
of the game. Zeng then had to save twice in quick
succession from Govou and Henry, while Henry headed wide
from Diaby's pass and Gignac curled a low effort straight
into Zeng's midriff.
Domenech
‘worried’ by France defeat
AFP, Réunion
France coach Raymond Domenech admitted he was concerned
after seeing his team slump to a 1-0 defeat against China
in their final World Cup preparation match here on Friday.
Domenech's side bossed possession for long periods of the
game but lacked a cutting edge and were ultimately undone
by a wickedly dipping free-kick by Deng Zhuoxiang in the
68th minute - his side's first shot on target.
After a 2-1 win over Costa Rica and a 1-1 draw with
Tunisia, it means France will go into their World Cup
Group A opener against Uruguay on June 11 in underwhelming
form.
"There are always reasons to worry when you lose a match,"
said Domenech.
"There are days like that, that make you think you should
have done better. We're always worried when we don't score
a goal." Defeat to China, ranked 84th in the world,
brought France's World Cup preparations to an unhappy
conclusion but Domenech sought to play down the
significance of the result. "We were against a team that
did what they needed to do to frustrate us. We were
lacking freshness and spontaneity," he said.
"Something was missing. I'm not saying it's not worrying,
but I also say that it's only a warm-up match.
"In front of goal, spontaneity and freshness make the
difference and we were lacking there. We have a week of
work ahead of us." Stunned into life by Deng's opener,
France laid siege to the China goal in the latter stages
and were only prevented from equalising by a combination
of inspired goalkeeping from Zeng Cheng and some
profligate finishing.
Sidney Govou, Thierry Henry, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Abou
Diaby and Yoann Gourcuff all had late efforts saved, while
centre-back William Gallas miscued when presented with an
unprotected goal deep into injury time. "If we look at the
match and the number of chances - I don't know how we
managed to miss the last one - we knew how to create
chances," said Domenech.
"We were missing the final touch and against us there was
a goalkeeper who performed miracles."
Nadal calls
truce with title rival Soderling
AFP, Paris
Rafael Nadal insisted on Saturday that there has been a
dramatic warming in his relationship with French Open
final opponent Robin Soderling, once regarded as the
snarling, lone wolf of the men's tour.
The world number two takes on the big-swinging Swede in an
eagerly-anticipated Roland Garros showdown today, a year
after Soderling sent the Spaniard to a stunning first
defeat in Paris.
Nadal is chasing a fifth French Open, just one behind the
record of Bjorn Borg, as well as a return to the world
number one spot which a victory would guarantee.
Soderling, who reached the final last year only to lose to
Roger Federer, is desperate to be Sweden's first champion
here since Mats Wilander completed a hat-trick in 1988.
Adding spice to the occasion is Nadal's assertion three
years ago that Soderling was one of the most unpopular
players on the tour.
It was an accusation fuelled by the Swede's audacious
mimicry of Nadal's habit of picking at his shorts amid
claims of time-wasting and gamesmanship during a stormy
Wimbledon centre court duel in 2007.
But three years on, Nadal says 25-year-old Soderling has
grown up.
"I had a little bit more tension than usual at Wimbledon
in 2007, but after that I didn't have one problem with
him. I think he's doing well, and at the same time he has
improved his level of tennis," said Nadal.
"He has improved his personality. He says hello more times
to the rest of the players. "I think he was very shy in
the beginning. For sure it is good to have a player like
Robin playing at this high level in the tour."
Soderling has always insisted he has preferred to keep
himself to himself.
"I'm not going to change the way I am. It's just tennis.
Maybe I don't say hello to the players all the time, but
I'm always nervous and tense before a match," he said
after defeating Nadal here last year.
"I don't like to speak much before a match. It's nothing
to do with the other players. I just don't like to lose.
All I want to do is win matches."
Soderling has already defeated Federer at this year's
Roland Garros, and has no time for those who argue that
his stunning victory over Nadal 12 months ago was partly
due to the Spaniard's long-running knee injury problems.
"I think he's definitely not the only player who has some
problem with his body. I think we all have that from time
to time," said the Swede after beating Tomas Berdych on
Friday in his semi-final.
"I was very happy with the win and my run here last year.
I still am. It doesn't matter who I played or who I beat
or if he was injured or not."
England all out
for 419
AFP, Manchester
Bangladesh scored 61 for none in 10 overs against England
in the first innings of the second Test at Old Trafford on
Saturday.
Tamim Iqbal with 40 and Imrul Kayes with 12 were batting
after England, after winning the toss, was bowled out for
419 against Bangladesh on the second day.
James Anderson was two not out after Bangladesh captain
Shakib Al Hasan took five wickets for 121 runs.
England leads the two-Test series 1-0.
Cricinfo adds: Ian Bell completed his eleventh Test
century, and Matt Prior closed in on a valuable hundred of
his own, as England assumed control of the Old Trafford
Test in a disciplined morning's work on an increasingly
spin-friendly surface. By lunch, they had added 124 runs
to their overnight 275 for 5, to go to the break healthily
placed on 399 for 7.
England's apparently serene progress was jolted with 15
minutes to go until lunch, when Shakib Al Hasan bowled
Bell with an absolute beauty that gripped and turned to
ping the top of his off stump, and Graeme Swann was later
pinned lbw by Abdur Razzak from the final ball of the
session. But with runs on the board, and Swann itching to
exact his revenge with the ball, England will not be
remotely unhappy to see the assistance in the track.
After their spirited display on the first day,
Bangladesh's grip on the contest was loosened, finger by
finger, by an impressive sixth-wicket partnership of 153
that started cautiously but grew in confidence as the lead
passed 300. Though it took something special to part the
two men, by lunch Prior was still in situ on 80 not out,
with Swann's typical quickfire 20 coming from just 17
balls.
Until his dismissal, Bell had been mightily effective, as
he played the ball on its merits and showcased a technique
against spin that is arguably unrivalled among members of
the England team. He persuaded Shakib to take the new ball
in the third over of the morning by belting him out of the
attack with two cherry-picked drives down the ground,
before turning his attentions to a less-than-effective
pace pairing.
Though Shafiul Islam was a handful once again, having
overcome the cramp that had limited his role on the first
day, Shahadat Hossain remained a disappointment, as he
abandoned the line and length that had served him so well
at Lord's, and settled for the type of scattergun
aggression that his mid-70mph pace couldn't justify. Both
men opted to use the bouncer more often than not, and
while Shafiul's pace had Prior in some trouble on
occasions, including a top-edged pull that landed safe at
midwicket, the tactic rarely looked like breaking the
stand.
That honour instead fell to Shakib, who produced a
delivery that brought to mind Shane Warne's nailing of
Mike Gatting on this same ground 17 years ago. While the
turn was nowhere near as prodigious, the ball nevertheless
drifted from off to leg before biting the turf and beating
a bamboozled outside edge. Shakib's reaction, however, was
to stand stock-still and ponder. He doubtless recognises
that his own men will have to take on these conditions
before long.
Scorecard
England 1st Innings:
(overnight: 275-5)
A. Strauss c Kayes
b Shafiul 21
A. Cook c Siddique
b Razzak 29
J. Trott b Shafiul 3
K. Pietersen st
Mushfiqur b Shakib 64
I. Bell b Shakib 128
E. Morgan c Jahurul
b Shahadat 37
M. Prior c Jahurul
b Shakib 93
G. Swann lbw b
Razzak 20
A. Shahzad c
Razzak b Shakib 5
J. Anderson not out 2
S. Finn lbw b Shakib 0
Extras: (b6, lb5,
w4, nb2) 17
Total: (all out, 121.3
overs, 483 mins) 419
Falls: 1-44 (Strauss), 2-48 (Trott), 3-83 (Cook), 4-153 (Pietersen),
5-223 (Morgan), 6-376 (Bell), 7-399 (Swann), 8-414 (Shahzad),
9-419 (Prior), 10-419 (Finn)
Bowling: Shahadat 21-3-84-1 (2nb, 3w); Shafiul 21-2-63-2
(1w); Mahmudullah 12-1-31-0; Shakib 37.3-4-121-5; Razzak
30-3-109-2
Hiddink rules
out Liverpool job
AFP, London
Guus Hiddink has ruled himself out of the race to become
Liverpool's new manager, but Sven Goran Eriksson admits it
would be a dream to take charge of the Reds.
Hiddink has been linked with the vacant Liverpool job
since Rafael Benitez departed Anfield by mutual consent on
Thursday.
The 63-year-old enjoyed a successful spell in the Premier
League as interim Chelsea boss in 2009, but the former
Australia manager has just taken over as Turkey coach and
has no intention of walking out on his new employers.
Hiddink's agent, Cees van Nieuwenhuizen, told BBC Sport: "Guus
has shown over the years that he is loyal to agreements
that he signed. There is no reason today why he would
change such behaviour. "Guus just started two weeks ago in
Turkey and as much as he likes the Premier League and as
much as he respects Liverpool as a legendary club with a
great future ahead, a switch would be hardly doable.
"Two weeks ago for the same reason he refused the position
at Inter Milan post-Jose Mourinho.
"I know, never say never and especially in football this
is true, but for me this is an impossible thought."
The Reds are believed to be looking at several other
candidates including Aston Villa boss Martin O'Neill and
Fulham's Roy Hodgson.
One man who could be interested in the Anfield post is
Ivory Coast coach Eriksson.
The former England boss has only agreed to manage Ivory
Coast until the end of the World Cup and the Swede gave a
strong indication that he would be ready to succeed
Benitez after revealing he supported Liverpool as a boy.
Eriksson told The Sun: "I have been a Liverpool fan all of
my life. I never mentioned it when I was in charge of
England because I didn't think it was fair.
"I was shocked when I discovered Rafa Benitez had left.
Would I want to be the manager of Liverpool? It is every
manager's dream to manage Liverpool.
"My father was also a Liverpool supporter and every
Saturday we would watch an English match on television. It
was the highlight of the week.
"Liverpool matches were televised quite regularly and we
would cheer them on. They have always been my team and
nothing has changed.
"When I was starting out in coaching I was invited to
Liverpool to see how they did things. Joe Fagan was the
manager at the time. "I remember him showing me around
Anfield and taking me into their legendary boot room.
"It was such a privilege and an honour for me to be
invited in there. I will never forget that moment.
Liverpool will always hold a special place in my heart."
Fowler leads
with record score
AFP, Ohio
Rookie Rickie Fowler fired a six-under 66 Friday to match
the two-round tournament record at the Memorial with a
13-under total of 131 that gave him a three shot lead over
Justin Rose.
Fowler, 21, produced a round highlighted by an eagle and a
late three-birdie burst to put himself in position to
become the latest to join the youth movement on the US PGA
Tour, which has seen victories by then 20-year-old Rory
McIlroy and 22-year-old Jason Day in recent weeks.
His 13-under total equalled the tournament record set by
Scott Hoch in 1987.
"Just being in contention the few times I have over the
last eight months, this is by far the best I've felt,"
said Fowler, whose exploits took some of the spotlight off
defending champion Tiger Woods and Masters champion Phil
Mickelson's bid to supplant Woods atop the world rankings.
Woods started the day just inside the projected cut line
after a first-round even-par 72.
Any concern that he could miss a cut for the second time
this season evaporated as he birdied three of his opening
five holes. He had a another batch of three in a row en
route to a three-under 69 that put him on 141, 10 shots
off the lead.
"I hit more good shots today than I did yesterday, and
really putted well," Woods said.
Mickelson, who couldn't capitalize on his last chance to
take over the world number one spot as he missed the cut
at Colonial, appeared to be setting up a charge with one
stretch of birdie-birdie-eagle on the front nine.
But a cold putter cost him precious strokes coming in,
before he closed out a one-under 71 with back-to-back
birdies.
He had a two-round total of six-under 138, seven off the
pace but still in the hunt.
"It's frustrating for me because I played very well and
didn't shoot the number I thought I should," Mickelson
said.
Rose had shared the first-round lead with Fowler and Geoff
Ogilvy, who ballooned to a 77.
The Englishman carded a 69 that was capped with a birdie
at the last.
Rose was 17 when he finished equal fourth in the 1998
British Open and predicted Fowler wouldn't be hampered by
doubts on the weekend.
"I know he's a cool guy," Rose said of Fowler. "I've seen
the way he plays - pretty fearless."
US veteran Jim Furyk missed a short birdie putt at the
last in a 67 to settle for a share of third on 135. He was
joined by Tim Petrovic, who like Fowler shot 66.
Thunderstorms stopped play twice Friday, each time for
about half an hour. With more inclement weather in the
forecast the third round was scheduled to go in threesomes
off both the first and 10th tees.
Furyk said what happens at the top will depend on Fowler.
"If he goes out and plays well, it will be tough to catch
him," Furyk said. "If he goes out and shoots another six-
or seven-under he's going to have a huge lead. If he
doesn't he'll let some other guys back in the tournament."
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