TUESday, MARCH 9, 2010 FALGUN 25, 1416, RABIUL AWAL 22, 1431 Hijri

   Leading news  Back Page  Editorial   Analysis  Viewpoints   International   Business/Economy   National   Sports    Back

Leading News

Cabinet okays salary boost of bigwigs
UNB, Dhaka

The remunerations of the President, the Prime Minister, ministers and the high-ups in eight other constitutional posts are getting up to 83 percent raise as the cabinet Monday approved a government proposal for the high-ups' pay hike.
State ministers, deputy ministers, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Chief Justice and the judges of the Appellate Division and the High Court Division of the Supreme Court, and Members of Parliament are the other high-profile persons getting the rise in their pay and perks.
The cabinet endorsed the increased remuneration package at its weekly meeting held at the Prime Minister's Office with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
The cabinet meeting also decided to increase their allowances, Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad told reporters in a press briefing after the meeting.
He said, "The cabinet took the decision in view of the changed economic condition of the country and the recent salary hike for the public's servants."
The basic salaries of government officials and employees were raised 52 percent, an average, in the seventh national pay scale implemented recently, fixing the highest salary at Tk 40,000 and the minimum Tk 4,100. The highest increase was 74 percent. Following implementation of the new pay scale for the highest echelon in the republic, the salaries of the Principal Secretary and the Establishment Secretary will also have an 83 percent increase, Azad said.
The President's (Re-muneration and Privileges) Act 1975, The Prime Minister's (Remuneration and Privileges) Act 1975, The Ministers, Ministers of State and deputy Ministers (Remuneration and Privileges) Act 1973, The Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Remuneration and Privileges) Act 1974, The Supreme Court Judges (Re-muneration and Privileges) Ordinance, and The Members of Parliament (Re-muneration and Privileges) Order have to be amended by parliament to implement the changed pay package.

 BDR-BSF confce begins in New Delhi
Dhaka to raise BSF border killing issue

BSS, New Delhi

The Director Generals of paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) began a six-day conference at the BSF headquarters here Monday morning. BDR chief Major General Mainul Islam is leading a 19-member Bangladesh delegation while his BSF counterpart Raman Shrivastava is heading his team at the conference.
"The shootout by BSF men at frontlines is to dominate our agenda in the talks as the earlier India assurance to stop it during our talks (in Dhaka in July 2009) was not reflected in their actions in the past months," BDR chief Major General Mainul Islam had told BSS in Dhaka on Saturday ahead of his departure for the Indian capital.
Cross-border trafficking of illegal weapons and drugs appeared as another major frontier problem for Bangladesh is likely to be discussed in on Monday's meeting.
Besides the "trend of occupying 'land of adverse possession' by Indian border guards particularly in (northeastern) Sylhet region" is likely to come up for discussion in the meeting.
While the Indian side is expected to raise the issues like trespass of Bangladeshi "terrorists" and involvement in cross- border crime, formulation of joint border management planning, trafficking of child and women and construction of illegal establishments within the 150 yards of the zero line in the conference.
Bangladesh side is also scheduled to discuss the issues of joint patrolling in the border, formulation of joint and coordinated border management, illegal entrance and firing towards Bangladeshi villages by BSF and Indian terrorists, push- in and construction of establishment, road, drain or barbed wire fence within 150 yards from the zero line in the conference.The cross-border killings of particularly the Bangladeshis in BSF shootouts largely dominated the director general level border talks earlier this year in Dhaka between the BSF and their Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) counterparts, sources said.
The BDR chief is due to meet Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram and the Home Secretary G K Pillai later in the day.
UNB adds: When contacted, Press Minister of Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi Enamul Haq Chowdhury told UNB that all issues related to the border were discussed with posetive approch from the both sides. The discussion was held in a cordial atmosphere.
He said many formal and informal meetings will take place in next few days.

 Laws discriminatory to women to be amended: PM
UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday said the government, if necessary, will amend or repeal laws that are harmful and discriminatory to women in the country.
Besides, she said the Women Development Policy formulated during the last Awami League rule will soon be made effective to ensure socio-economic security and development of the women.
The Prime Minister made the remarks while addressing the inaugural function of the centenary of International Women's Day at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the morning. In 1910, Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, called for an International Women's Day. She was inspired by the historic struggle of immigrant women garment workers in New York City who were fighting for their better working conditions and living wages.
At the time, most garment workers didn't live past their early twenties because of the horrendous working conditions. They went on strike for 13 cold winter weeks and in the end they were victorious.
This year, the International Women Day is being observed with the slogan - Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity and Progress for All.
With State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chowdhury in the chair, the inaugural function was also addressed by Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry Meher Afroz Chumki MP and acting secretary of the Ministry Razia Begum.
At the function, the Prime Minister released a postage stamp of Tk 5 denomination and a first day cover of Tk 6 on the occasion of International Women's Day' 2010.
Sheikh Hasina in her speech paid rich tribute to women who were violated and killed during the 1971 liberation war.
She also recalled the women who had made tremendous sacrifices for women development across the world.
Regarding the women development policy, the Prime Minister said that the last BNP-Jamaat government had brought changes "silently" in the policy. "We'll restore the previous provisions and make the policy more up-to-date."
She said Awami League in its election manifesto also promised to ensure women's equal rights in every sphere of life. To ensure social dignity of women, Hasina identified two priority areas - education and financial self-reliance of women.

   20 pc women subjected to repression in last 13 months : Khaleda

UNB, Dhaka

Opposition leader Khaleda Zia on Monday regretted that International Women Day is being observed at a time when 20 percent women of the country have been subjected to repression by the ruling party during the last 13 months.
"The present government talks tall about women empowerment. But 20 per cent women were repressed in the country in last 13 months. It is unfortunate," Khaleda told a function on the occasion of International Women Day. BNP organized 'word-exchange' programme with women of different professions at the city's Lakeshore Hotel in the afternoon to mark the 100 years of the 'International Women Day' on Monday.
In her brief speech at the function Khaleda said the ruling party's different fronts including Chhatra League and Jubo Legaue are involved in the women repression. The government has no control over them.
She alleged the government is busy more with dishing out falsehood and changing names of institutions than doing any good to the people. She asked the government to implement its election pledges.
The BNP chief talked to and exchanged pleasantries with women of different professions. Lady representatives from some foreign missions in Dhaka present at the function also exchanged enquired about the political and economic situation prevailing in the country.
The function was followed by a cultural function.

   Japan wants to see BD graduate from aid-dependence
UNB, Dhaka

Japan, the largest bilateral donor to Bangladesh, suggested on Monday that the country should choose its core industry after RMG, strengthen social infrastructure and investment in sectors like transportation, stop the brain-drain and consider coal as an alternative fuel in its efforts to graduate from a position of dependence on foreign aid.
"After World War II, Japan was an aid recipient country…Japan would be really happy to see Bangladesh's graduation from foreign aid-dependence, achieving further prosperity with a poverty-free society in the near future," Japanese Ambassador Tamotsu Shinotsuka told a seminar on "Contribution of Japan for Development of Bangladesh."
JICA Chief Representative Takao Toda, JETRO Representative Takashi Suzuki, former Vice-Chancellor of BUET Prof Dr. Anwarul Azim and Chairman of Bangladesh-Japan Friendship Association Aminul Islam Khan Bulbul also spoke at the seminar held at the National Press Club.
Explaining his 5-point suggestion, the Ambassador felt that more skilled workers are needed in Bangladesh to achieve further industrialization. He said vocational training and secondary education should be prioritized to enhance quality education in Maths and Science subjects in primary schools being conducted by JICA.
On his second point, Shinotsuka said the Bangladesh government should make a bold decision in choosing the core industries after huge success in RMG. "Moreover, once the policy is set, it should be pursued consistently even when the government changes. It has remained as a major problem in Bangladesh," he observed.
Citing examples from Japan, the Ambassador said investment is needed in basic infrastructure like transportation, telecommunications and industrial equipment. He said the effect of investment in infrastructure on economic development is very telling, as infrastructure strengthens business opportunities by increasing efficiency in production and transportation.

  Two more killed in ‘shootout’
107 extra judicial killings in over seven months

TBT Report

A robber and an outlaw were killed in 'shootouts' between their cohorts and law enforcers in the capital and Kushtia early Monday taking the total of such extra judicial killings to 107 in over seven months from August 1, 2009 to March 8, 2010.
With these two incidents 15 extra judicial killings took place in the new year 2010. Earlier, an outlawed party leader, a ringleader of a robber gang, a criminal, an outlawed party leader, a terrorist, an alleged outlawed party leader, a ring leader, two terrorists, two dacoits and a terrorist were killed in shootouts on 9, 11, 12, 30 January and 10, 16, 19, 23, 25, 28 February and 2 March respectively.
According to UNB News Agency, a robber was killed in a 'shootout' between his cohorts and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) in city's Jatrabari area in Dhaka early Monday. The deceased was identified as Monir Hossain, alias Kosai Monir, son of Salamat Driver of Dhalpur under Jatrabari thana.
Police said, infamous robber Monir was wanted in at least 20 criminal cases in different police stations, including Demra, Jatrabari and Siddhirganj.
In Kushtia, Monzurul Islam alias Monju, 32, a regional leader of outlawed Gono Bahini was killed in a 'shootout' between his cohorts and police at Pyiarpur village in sadar upazila. Monju, son of Ayub Munshi, was caught in the line of fire and died on the spot, police said. The accomplices of Monju, however, managed to flee. Monju was accused in eight cases, including four for murder, police said.
The unlawful killings are taking place despite mounting protests by human rights activists, civil society members and political parties and repeated assurances of the government that such killings would be stopped and actions would be taken against those found responsible.
Rights groups at home and abroad as well as some donor agencies/countries have called for an end to such extrajudicial killings.
RAB recently said as many as 577 people were killed in 'crossfire' in 472 incidents until Aug 31, 2009 since the formation of RAB on March 26, 2004.

  Deptt for madrasas likely soon: Nahid
BSS, Dhaka

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Monday said the government would set up a department for madrasas soon to expand madrasa education, improve its quality and increase facilities.
He was exchanging views with a delegation of Bangladesh Jamiatul Modarresin in the conference room of the ministry, an official release said.
Modarresin President and the daily Inqilab Editor AMM Bahauddin led the 29-member delegation.
Referring to the madrasa education and its long tradition, Nahid said, "We want that madrasa-educated students will be equally equipped with the knowledge of science and technology." Madrasas will produce DCs, SPs and secretaries as well as learned ulema, he hoped. Considering the realities, he directed the concerned authorities to relax conditions in appointment of women teachers in madrasas.

Back Page

President for expanding education to transform population into human resources

UNB, Gazipur

President Zillur Rahman on Monday stressed the need for expanding the education of science and technology for transforming the country's huge population into human resources.
"It's necessary to expand the education of science and technology," he said while addressing the 1st convocation of the Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET) at its campus here.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid was the special guest at the function while Prof. Jamilur Reza Chowdhury delivered his speech as the convocation speaker. Mentioning that Bangladesh is a country of immense potential, the President said the country's huge population needs to be transformed into human resources for an accelerated development. "DUET is playing an important role in creating skilled manpower in this regard."
He emphasized on making the country's education curricula, including the study of engineering, more time-befitting with a view to keeping pace with the global standard of education. "Education system and curricula in the present world are always being changed to keep pace with the time… our engineering education needs to be made time-befitting," he said. President Zillur said besides education, the research studies would have to be strengthened at the universities to achieve the desired goal in keeping with providing such education to the students so that they acquire the ideas of solving various problems in their lives imbued with patriotism. He said various programmes also need to be taken with a view to expanding the students' horizon of thoughts.
The President expressed his satisfaction that the present government is working relentlessly in the education time-befitting and people-oriented.
Describing the present century as a century of information technology, he said the nation's desired development and progress are interlinked with the development of science and technology and their successful application. "Perceiving the holistic concept, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has declared Vision-2021 aiming to build a prosperous Bangladesh based on IT during the country's golden jubilee of independence in 2021." He said that more emphasis should be given on IT education for implementation of the various programmes to achieve the objective of Vision-2021.

   Tarique will be brought back home through movement: Dr. Mosharraf

TBT Report

BNP standing committee member Dr Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said the nationalist forces will bring back Tarique Rahman to the country through massive movement.
He was addressing a protest rally on the occasion of the 3rd Imprisonment day of Tarique Rahman organised by Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal in front of the BNP central office in the capital on Monday.
Dr Mosharraf Hossain said party's newly appointed vice-chairman Tarique Rahman was the symbol of unity among the leaders and activists which had been established at grassroots levels throughout the country. In order to smash his popularity in the country, the immediate past caretaker government had hatched conspiracy to minas him and party's chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia from politics but failed. The ruling party is engaged in doing the same but it will also be failure. The nationalist forces will expedite his return to the country through movement.
He said the ruling party is still engaged in lodging cases against Tarique Rahman intentionally. It is hatching conspiracy to destroy BNP and the family members of Shaheed president Ziaur Rahman in a planned way.
Dr Mosharraf Hossain said chief of the undemocratic caretaker government Fakhruddin and army chief Mieenudding were the main conspirators behind the then political unrest throughout the country. Country's overall economy, investment and production in different local factories were destroyed seriously. Repression and oppression against the leaders and activists of political parties including BNP were launched during their tenure. So sedition case against Fakhruddin and Mieenuddin and their close accomplices will have to be lodged but the ruling party did not do this.
Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal president Moazzem Hossain Alal presided over the programme while standing committee member Mirza Abbas, Salauddin Kader Chowdhury, joint secretary general Amanullah Aman and Barkatullah Bulu spoke among others.

   Health Minister admits presence of unauthorized medicines in market

UNB, Sangsad Bhaban

Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Huq admitted in parliament that some medicines not approved by the government's drug administration could be found on the market, thereby lending some credence to reports about the marketing of various spurious drugs.
Responding to Mostaque Ahmed Ruhi (AL), the Health Minister said due to the presence of unauthorized medicines in local markets patients are receiving treatment abroad.
The Health Minister said the Drug Administration Dire-ctorate is conducting regular drives against these medicines and taking legal action. "Such drive would be strengthened in the future."
In reply to Apu Ukil (AL), Huq said free medicines and cash money were distributed among government hospitals in the past fiscal year. A sum of Tk 40,000 per bed for government hospitals was allocated. From the money, 70 percent was allocated for buying medicine.
Besides, Tk 25,000 per bed was allocated for Upazila Health Complex and Palli Chikitsak Kendra (Rural Healthcare Center) and Tk 75,000 per bed for union Sub-sector. For both the cases, 75 percent of the allocated money was spent on purchasing medicines. Dr Huq said Tk 45,00,00,000 was allocated for MSR sector in District Hospitals. Of the money, Tk 31,50,00,000 was spent on the purchase of medicine.
For Upazila Health Complex and Rural Healthcare Center , Tk 65,28,00,000 was allocated for MSR sector, of which Tk 48,96,00,000 was spent for buying medicines. "Besides, money was allocated for buying medicines for free distribution from Essential Service Delivery (ESD) operational plan," the Health Minister told the lawmakers.
In reply to Hafiz Uddin Ahmed (JP), the Health Minister said 85 ambulances and 28 new x-ray machines were supplied to hospitals in the last one year under the Grand Alliance government. Responding to KH Rashiduzzaman (AL), Dr Huq said the total number of govt hospitals in the country is 713-15 at national level, 56 at division level, 221 at district level and 421 at upazila level. The minister disclosed a plan under which 31-bed hospitals will be upgraded to 50-bed ones gradually.

   SEC relaxes credit facility for mutual funds
BSS, Dhaka

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relaxed the credit facility for mutual funds so investors could mobilize more funds into the capital market.
The commission on Sunday in a directive doubled the ratio between the market price and the net asset value of a listed mutual fund in providing loans for buying shares.
From now on, share investors can get loan against the units of mutual fund, which price on the board exceeds 15 percent of the latest disclosed net asset value based on market price.
The SEC on December 17 last year fixed the ceiling at 7.5 percent, asking all concerned not to consider any mutual fund as marginable securities with market prices above the ceiling. But the commission directed all merchant bankers and portfolio managers to follow the new criteria from March 8.
The commission also allowed trading of Aims 1st Mutual Fund on Monday, trading of which remained suspended for days after the fund declared dividend and sought the SEC's consent.
The SEC, however, rejected the plea, claiming that the declaration would not bring its shareholders ultimate benefits; rather it will enhance the market volatility. The mutual fund suffered around 20 percent loss on the resumption, but the volume was much lower than its usual transaction.
Meanwhile, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) plunged to 5486.43, losing over 116 points or 2 percent on another market correction.
Most of issues across the board incurred loss on heavy selling by the investors who booked the shares before the recent price spiral, said some share brokers.
There is concern about further slide as a section of investors thought most of the issues were still over priced even after the latest fall.

    Inu for govt to break syndicate
UNB, Sangsad Bhaban

JSD lawmaker Hasanul Huq Inu in parliament Monday asked the government to go for social economy to break the syndicate, which is the "child of free market economy."
Referring to a statement by the Finance Minister, he said: "I'm very much anxious about the price-hike of essentials. Finance Minister recently said there will be syndicate in free market economy. Let me ask him a question, is that syndicate stronger than the state mechanism?"
Inu, the president of JSD, a component of the ruling Awami League-led grand alliance, said if that syndicate is stronger than the state mechanism then this free market economy must be scrapped.
"Let us say good bye to the free market economy. Let us start walking on the path of social economy," he said taking part in the thanksgiving motion on the President's speech in Parliament.
The JSD lawmaker asked the government to bring the prices of rice, pulse, edible oil, flour and kerosene with the common man's reach. "I don't want to hear any excuses in this regard," he said.
He also suggested activating the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and starting government to government import of essential items. "Don't just rely on the private importers," he said.
Inu said that the government has the responsibility to supply electricity, whatever is the source.
He asked the government to deal with the tender-grabbers with iron hand as they are eating up the successes of the government.
The JSD lawmaker criticized the silence of the BNP leaders after the execution of the Bangbandhu's killers. "By keeping mum, they took the side of the killers," he said.
He said that the first year of the grand alliance was the year of "series of conspiracies to destabilize the government."
About the BDR carnage, he said that none should be spared if found involved with the heinous incident. "Find out the culprits."
Inu also urged the government to wipe out militancy from the country and find out those who are encouraging the militants.
He said that JSD never kept mum when the constitution was violated and that's why they tied up with the AL-led grand alliance.
The JSD president said that the victory of the grand alliance achieved in the last general election should be continued. "There is no scope to ruin this victory. The only way to keep this victory is unity, unity and unity," he said.

    Electric metre explodes into fire in Panchagarh
Some 500 houses burnt

UNB, Panchagarh

An electric metre exploded into fire in at Dohapara frontier village in Atoari upazila Monday, burning down Some 500 houses in the big blaze.
Police and Fire Service sources said the fire broke out as the palli bidyut metre exploded with a 'big bang" at the house of Naimuddin.
"The fire spread fast as strong wind was blowing at the time and soon engulfed the adjacent houses," says a report from the area.
On information, two firefighting units from Panchagarh and Thakurgaon drove in late when the houses and valuables had already burnt into ashes, the sources said.
UP chairman Touhidul Islam said the government distributed one-and-a-half-kg rice and Tk 1000 to each of the victims.
The estimated loss caused by the fire could go up to Tk 1 crore.

    Fisheries Hatchery Bill 2010 passed
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

The Fisheries Hatchery Bill 2010 was passed in the Jatiya Sangsad on Monday.
Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Minister Abdul Latif Biswas proposed for passage of the bill in an amended form in the House.
Earlier on January 19, the minister introduced the bill with provisions for properly setting up fish and prawn hatcheries and their appropriate maintenance to produce quality spawn, post larvae and fish fry to ensure desired fish production and their sustainable development.
Besides, proposals were made in the bill for separately setting up nursing, production and mechanical units at the prawn hatcheries. Any individual, organization or center other than the government recognized fish research and extension centers or organizations cannot conduct hybridization, the bill said.
The bill also proposed for imposing ban on import of live fishes, spawn, fry and post larvae for artificial breeding without prior approval from the inbreeding authority.
Besides, provisions have been made in the bill to make it mandatory to write the date of production and expiry on the packets of brood fish, spawn, fry, fish food specimen for testing and also on packets of fish food and chemicals.

    HC verdict in MIG purchase graft case against Hasina today

BSS, Dhaka

The hearing on the writ petition filed by Awami League President Sheikh Hasina challenging the framing of charge of misappropriation of public money by purchasing MIG fighter jet ended on Monday before a High Court bench.
A two-member bench comprising Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Borhanuddin after conclusion of the hearing said that the verdict would be pronounced today (Tuesday). The anti-corruption bureau lodged the case on December 11 of 2001 accusing Sheikh Hasina and four others of misuse of public money worth about Taka 700 crore by purchasing MIG fighter jet from Russia when Awami League government was in power from 1996 to 2001. The other accused are former Air Chief Air Vice Marshal (retd) Jamaluddin, former Secretary Syed Yousuf Hussain, Joint Secretary Brigadier General (retd) Iftekerul Basher and Deputy Secretary Hasan Mahmud Delwar, all from the Ministry of Defence.
On January 29 of 2003, the investigation officer (IO) submitted the chargrsheet to the court accusing seven persons including Sheikh Hasina, but FIR named accused Iftekar Basher and Hasan Mamud Delwar were relieved of the charge.
Others who were included in the chargesheet are Air Vice Marshal (retd) Jamaluddin, Syed Yousuf Hussain, former Chief of Staff Lt Gen (retd) Mustafizur Rahman, former Joint Secretary Mohammad Hossain Sarniabat, Air Commodore (retd) Mirza Akhter Maruf and Managing Director of the UNIC group Noor Ali. The trial court framed charges against them on August 20, 2008, but Sheikh Hasina was not present in the court during the framing of charges.
Taking part in the hearing, Hasina's counsel Barrister Rafiq- ul-Haque said the trial court framed charge against her client in her absence which is violation of the existing laws. "The fundamental principle of law was not followed while charge was framed in the case," the counsel said adding that no specific charge of enjoying any monetary benefit against Hasina was brought in the FIR of the case.
He said the process to purchase MIG fighter jet was initiated in 1994 when BNP government was in power. "Ninety percent process of purchasing the jets was completed during the previous BNP government period and the Awami League government did the remaining 10 percent work to purchase the war craft.

    Acid Control (amendment) Bill-2010 placed in JS
BSS, Sangsad Bhaban

The Acid Control (amendment) Bill-2010 was placed in the Jatiya Sangsad on Monday aimed at amending the Acid Control Act-2002.
Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun introduced the bill with a proposal to constitute a 22-member National Acid Control Council.
In the bill, a proposal has been made to include secretaries of the ministries of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and the Social Welfare, Inspector General of Police, Presidents of Jatiya Mohila Parishad and Jatiya Mohila Samity and the Chairman of Jatiya Ainjibee Samity in the council.
The bill proposed that in the district committee of the council, the public prosecutor and the president of District Mohila Sangstha, a representative of local press club, the District Women Affairs Officer and the elected woman upazila vice-chairman will be included in it.
To check the trend of filing false cases regarding the acid violence, a proposal has been made in the bill to raise punishment of the offence to maximum seven years instead of five years and minimum two years.

Editorial

Power, water, gas crises

Serious crises of power, water and gas have gripped the city dwellers simultaneously and there seems to be no end to it. With every passing day the crises are worsening instead of being eased. Along with the dwelling houses and industries, CNG stations are also facing serious crisis due to short supply of gas and its low pressure. Supply of power, gas and water are co-related and so is the situation relating to the state of the crises. In fact, it is difficult to resolve the problem separately and isolatedly, because water supply is disrupted due to power shortage and power crisis is caused by gas shortage. At present many households are facing serious problems because of gas shortage. Moreover, power and water shortage is almost everywhere.
In this city of 15 million, most people are hit hard by gas, power and water crises. Presently gas supply is irregular in vast areas of the capital and as a result in many houses cocking faces serious setback. People are forced to buy kerosene and stoves as well as wood at high prices to use for cooking purpose. Besides, CNG gas rationing is affecting the transport sector adversely. Worse still, electricity production is being seriously hampered due to constant gas shortage.
In its turn, the grave power crisis is impeding production, disrupting irrigation, harming business and causing immense sufferings to the people at all levels. Disruption to electricity supply and frequent loadshedding are regular phenomenon in the capital. The government has decided to divert electricity from urban areas to rural areas to facilitate irrigation for boosting rice production. This step is sure to aggravate the electricity shortage in the city and intensify the peoples sufferings.
Meanwhile, the water crisis is continuing in the capital as the WASA water supply falls huge short of the needs with only 45 percent of the city dwellers having access to safe water. The government is speaking of various projects to resolve these crises, but implementation of those will need a few years while the crises are already acute and require immediate solution. So the government should workout some plans for immediate execution to resolving the nagging gas, power and water crises.

  Jute export

Jute export to India through Benapole landport resumed Saturday after a recess of three months due to a government ban. According to UNB news agency 247 tons of jute worth about Taka 13 million were exported to India since resumption of the export. The government on December 7 had banned export of jute because of a scarcity and to meet the demand of domestic jute mills.
The ban on jute export was imposed in December to ensure adequate availability of raw jute for local mills to keep them running. But the ban sparked protests from the jute traders specially the exporters. The government was rather forced to ban export of raw jute as the local mills were facing problems in procuring the raw material due to shortage of stock of raw jute in the country and their high prices. Raw jute production this year is estimated at 55 -60 lakh bales. 32-33 lakh bales of jute are needed to run the jute mills while the rest are exported to different countries including India, Pakistan and China.
Media reports indicated that there was no adequate stock of raw jute in the hands of the farmers and as a result production in the jute mills was apprehended to be hampered. Against that backdrop, the government had banned raw jute export. But under continued pressure from the jute exporters the government on January 3 lifted the ban on raw jute export. However, the withdrawal order was made effective only for the export of jute awaiting shipment. Later, the Prime Minister on January 5 ordered for the resumption of raw jute export.
It may be pointed out here that after a long time there are good opportunities before us to regain the lost glory of jute which was once known as golden fibre. There was a time when the country used to produce huge quantity of jute every year as it was the main cash crop. During the Pakistan period 90 per cent of export earnings used to come from jute export. In 1952-53 jute production was estimated at one crore bales in then East Pakistan which used to produce about 75 per cent of total raw jute in the world. Even after the independence of Bangladesh jute production stood at 75 thousand bales, but later area under jute cultivation shrunk and production declined due to different reasons including anomalies in the jute sector after nationalisation of the jute mills.
Later, a major damage was done to jute by arrival of synthetic fibres. Now, the trend of using synthetics has weakened and the popularity of environment-friendly jute has enhanced globally. In the changed global and domestic situation, time has come to revitalise the jute sector. In the given circumstances, jute cultivation should be encouraged and closed jute mills opened immediately to boost jute goods production. Besides, raw jute export should be continued to prevent international market from slipping out to other countries.
The Prime Minister is the highest and most powerful executive of the country. If his orders are not executed with right earnest the country cannot run properly. But it is strange and disappointing that an order of the Prime Minister on resumption of jute export has allegedly been ignored. According to a report published in a national daily on Tuesday, in a file relating to jute export Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wrote on January 5 in her own hand, "There is no justification in retaining suspension on jute exports. Exports may be resumed." But this order is yet to be implemented. Why the Prime Minister's order continues to be ignored by the Jute and Textile Ministry remains a mystery.

Analysis

How it may have been done differently

Much more than the political, territorial and security aspects, our civilisational existence is at stake.

Shahzad Chaudhry

Both India and Pakistan today are at the verge of being water-stressed, at least figuratively. But that will become real very soon if we remain hostage to viewing our problems in a historical perspective. Much more than the political, territorial and security aspects, our civilisational existence is at stake
A done deal is a done deal, and sulking over it post-facto does not pay much. But then India-Pakistan matters are hardly ever the last word that may seem to have been spoken. The foreign secretaries' day-long parley in Delhi was one such event. Salman Bashir, after having said that he had invited the Indian foreign secretary to Islamabad for a follow-up, countered his own statement the next day by declaring that no such invitation was proffered. Nirupama Rao, the Indian foreign secretary - Salman's two-year long colleague in Beijing - iterated that the two foreign secretaries only promised to keep in touch. So much for the bonhomie of having served at the same station!
Was enough homework done on both sides before taking this most crucial step of resuming the dialogue? Did our mission in Delhi, which was in constant touch with the leaderships on both sides, convey to their capital the likely Indian stance at the dialogue, which could have been easily surmised to centre on terrorism? Was the mission overly enthusiastic to somehow enable a coming together of the foreign secretaries without ensuring any likelihood of a positive result, perhaps only to have shown some activity at their end? Keep in mind that envoys on contract are up for a review of their contract every year, and our man in Delhi is now becoming due for his third extension. Most importantly, did our Foreign Office have the flexibility to exercise the requisite initiative to cause a dialogue to be sustained by proposing a different, more innovative and engaging route to raising common stakes and interests for both sides beyond the now dead and beaten track of the need for peace? Was handing over a dossier of complaints on the water issue the only Pakistani strategy to resuscitate the dormant composite dialogue?
Here is how our next parleys may be initiated. Before a foreign secretary embarks on another bilateral jaunt, he may write to his counterpart the following epistle: "Excellency, in our engagement in Delhi, we did well to remind our countrymen of the respective positions that we two hold on various issues of bilateral concern. Going by the great support that we both elicited from our political leaders, particularly from the extreme right, we may have saved our skin by avoiding any initiative, but we got blasted for lack of innovation and enterprise, and for hiding behind studied dourness of demeanour for fear of exposing any vulnerability.
"We do however know that history beckons and our future generations call for better sense; with some extraordinary newness generally considered beyond our pale, we may just be able to leave some good as a legacy. Excellency, in our various interactions in Beijing we had spent quite some time discussing the need to move away from the futility of historical and entrenched positions that our two sides have held as mental blockades to fresher thought and innovation. It is time we made the change that we talked about so often.
"Our region is beset with the biggest threat of a worsening environment that is likely to wipe out our future generations. I say this, keeping in mind that two-thirds of our populations live below the relational margin of two dollars a day. Poverty has an inexorable linkage with disease, and together these become the deadliest agents of civilisational extinction. The deteriorating environment and global climatic change phenomenon will affect weaker nations much more, since they even today stand most vulnerable; their resilience against such shocks will be almost be non-existent. Climatic variations directly impact variations in rainfall patterns causing cyclical events of drought and flooding, both ill timed for our very largely agrarian societies and economies. Cropping patterns, their yields and quality of product all will suffer hugely, reinforcing poverty. Excellency, poor, hungry and sick people are difficult to contain. They do not recognise borders. To avoid extinction, they will move to the areas where food exists. Large-scale migrations within our larger South Asian region will become a reality. The rampage that such hordes may go on will become destructive much more than any disruption caused by the likes of terrorism and its offshoots; trends in lawlessness and vigilantism will be unleashed with destructive consequences. Our civilisations will simply not remain the way we know them today. You will agree that the consequence of the environment bomb is deadlier than the impact of the nuclear bomb and needs our immediate attention.
"Excellency, just as our troubles, the answers to our newer dilemmas too lie in Kashmir, not in divvying it up for spoils but for the need to evolve, develop and put in place a joint cooperative effort to secure our future civilisations and the future of our children. Kashmir is the source of the waters that will keep our societies going. Both our nations today are at the verge of being water-stressed, at least figuratively. But that will become real very soon if we remain hostage to viewing our problems in a historical perspective. Much more than the political, territorial and security aspects, our civilisational existence is at stake. Excellency, we need to put in place a joint group of water, environmental and conservation experts from within India, Pakistan and both sides of Kashmir, if required, under the leadership of an agreed nominee of the World Bank for some initial period, which shall take on the task of studying, monitoring, preserving and conserving our joint sources of water in the glaciated north of our combined northern regions. They will also take on the crucial role of controlling and managing the watershed and its disruption under the weight of population movement and expansion; they will need to control its preservation. They should develop a transparent system of monitoring and recording rainfall and stream water inflows into larger river bodies to ensure efficient distribution according to the Indus Waters Treaty; they will also be primarily responsible to raise awareness and put into place remedial measures for conservation of water and eliminating water waste. By doing the water thing, we will be able to mitigate our energy deficiencies too.
"As we do this, and are able to sufficiently convince our principals to look anew at the nature of problems that afflict our joint survival, we may just be able to comprehend the urgency to work together towards the benefit of our common stakes. Competitiveness will be replaced with cooperativeness. Kashmir will cease to be a problem. It will become the solution to our future security. Politics will subsume in the larger battle of economic and physical survival. The people of Kashmir will become the principal agents of enabling the politico-social resilience of South Asia. We may just be able to turn the corner and create a success story with an alternate paradigm of cooperative engagement, forever eliminating the litany of conflict from our conjoined existence.
"Shall we give it a try?".

Shahzad Chaudhry is a retired air vice marshal and a former ambassador.

  Deplorable double standards

Ultimately, tyranny in whatever form carries neither religion nor can ever be wrapped around with moral justification.

Farhan Bokhari

America, a nation that uses excessive violence in the name of fighting terror carries little justification in targeting another nation, Turkey, over 'genocide' Turkey's decision last week to recall its ambassador to Washington for consultations in reaction to a vote in a US congressional panel to label as "genocide" the First World War killings of Armenians by Turkish Ottoman forces, deserves wider attention.
There is never any justification for mass killings of innocent civilians by armed forces in any conflict. If indeed innocent civilians were targeted in that unfortunate incident, there needs to be condemnation.
And yet, the irony is indeed that the world continues to witness double standards even in a century which was expected by some to bring in an era of technological harmony and economic progress. Trouble spots ranging from Kashmir to Palestine, under occupation by Israel, may qualify as spots targeted in varying degrees of genocide.
Similarly, conflicts in war-ravaged areas, be it the way Iraq and subsequently Afghanistan were targeted by the US, or indeed Chinese targeting of Muslims in Xinjiang province, can be considered examples of conflict with events involving genocide.
Common theme
A close microscopic search through history of the so-called modern era in the past century will probably reveal a common theme which is essentially that genocide has no religion.
In sharp contrast, it involves the use of brute force by armed groups, seeking revenge against helpless civilians, all to settle a real or imaginary score.
But the ongoing spat between Turkey and the US also brings up a fundamentally vital question. The accusation in this case, emanating from a country which in itself can be characterised as a perpetrator of excessive violence in the name of fighting terror, carries little justification by targeting another on the basis of a case that remains locked in ancient memory.
In contrast, the US could have done well for itself by adopting a legislative initiative that sought to take a position against states, other entities and individuals, proven to have been involved in genocide. Such legislation should have then been tied to a more global initiative to seek a wider international consensus in dealing with cases at the centre of genocide-related accusations. However, it is amply clear that the US legislative initiative that has apparently caused offence to Turkey, was neither well considered nor mindful of its implications. To many around the world, a US initiative of this kind is tantamount to the pot calling the kettle black.
Ultimately, tyranny in whatever form carries neither religion nor can ever be wrapped around with moral justification.
To the Turks, the US action is not just offensive because it fails to recognise their peculiar perspective which may stand in sharp contrast to the global view of the concerned event.
More importantly, it is probably another example of a case where countries, groups and individuals targeted for reprimand are chosen not on the basis of their religious beliefs and ideological orientation. For the moment, it is impossible to tell exactly how much damage will be caused to Turkey's relations with the United States. The decision by the Turkish government to recall its ambassador may not necessarily be a permanent one. Indeed, it is possible that the ambassador concerned will eventually return to the United States once the decision to recall him has been seen in Turkey as an adequate expression of anger.
It is even possible that the action taken in the US Senate is followed by other symbolic steps that are meant by the US to underline Washington's appreciation of Turkey's central role as an Islamic state.
But the damage that this incident has done to reinforce an already popular view in predominantly Muslim countries, of the Islamic world being the target of prejudice in the Western world may still remain around for some time to come.
Consequently, rather than bridging the divide between Muslims and the Western world, the divide is more than likely to remain potentially wide.
The best that can be expected under the prevailing circumstances is at least the recognition that ways have to be found to stop further aggravation of an already fragile atmosphere surrounding the Muslim world and its relations with the West.

Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.

  The Wrong Within

No wonder Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden see these regimes as key targets and fertile recruiting grounds.

Phillip Knightley

There has been a dangerous development in the never-ending war on terror. Many polls in the United States, which leads the war, find that a majority of Americans now believe that torture is necessary to keep the homeland safe from terrorist attack.
How could this have happened? How could the land of liberty and constitutional rights have reached such a situation in such a short time? The main reason is irrational fear. Although statistically the average American is in greater danger from drowning in his or her bath that from terrorist attack-and far great danger from being killed in a car accident-fear is now a permanent feature of American life. This is the opinion of a level-headed American who has published in some of America's finest journals, Mark Danner. The New York-born reporter has made violent conflict his specialty and is greatly disturbed by his country's use of torture on "enemy combatants".
He is disappointed by President Obama's failure to close Guantanamo Bay and his unwillingness to challenge the crimes of the Bush years. He places a large part of the blame for this on the abysmal performance of the American media. Last March Danner obtained a secret International Committee of the Red Cross report on torture at Guantanamo Bay and other sites. The report contained details of the CIA's "extreme interrogation techniques".
"The job is to give people information and to hope that they pay attention to it," Danner says. "Unfortunately there seems to be a great many people in the United States prepared to accept the use of torture. One vital service the press can perform is making clear what those techniques actually are."
But Danner has criticised the seeming inability of the corporate press to report honestly on what is really going on in the United States. He told an Australian reporter: "What the press did in the run-up to the Iraq war was a terrible job. One of the mitigating reasons for that was that the Bush administration chose to make its case over Iraq on intelligence grounds. That put journalists in the position of being seals wanting fish. The ones who clapped most agreeably got the biggest fish. Intelligence stories depend on leaks. And secondly, the political elites essentially closed ranks over the invasion."
He is pessimistic about quality journalism in the USA, fearing that financial pressure being exerted on the media by declining sales and advertising revenues is seeing his brand of first-hand, fact-digging reporting being swamped by a tide of opinion. "Reporting is expensive compared to commentary which is exploding because it is cheap. You see it especially on television. They get a bunch of people and they shout at one another and people like to watch it. Listening to reporting, you have to make your own opinion and that is harder. You have to think, and that is becoming increasingly unpopular in the US." Yet there has never been more to report and more to think about. Washington seems to ignore the contradictions of a president who talks about democracy and human rights while still backing dictatorial regimes like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Danner observes that while such inconsistencies may escape the average Western voter, they are at the very centre of the way the people of non-Western countries see American behaviour. Obama's reluctance to condemn the brutality of such regimes plays directly into the hands of those who call America as "the great hypocrite".
No wonder Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden see these regimes as key targets and fertile recruiting grounds. Danner only wishes that Obama's eloquent address in Cairo last June, in which he spoke of the importance of reframing the relationship between the West and the Muslim world, had received more attention and had produced a more positive response.

Phillip Knightley is a veteran London-based
journalist and commentator.

Viewpoints

The Gap Between Promise and Delivery

Frankly, if by 2050 we have not managed to eliminate poverty, there won't be much of an Indian state left? to overthrow.

M J Akbar

It was such a relief to learn, from no less an authority than Home Secretary G.K. Pillai, that Maoists aim to overthrow the Indian state by 2050. That gives us four decades during which the plus-40 bourgeois can die in their beds; those blessed with first jobs in 2010 can retire in comfort, and hope for a ringside view of the revolution; and those below 20 can worry - unless, of course, they have joined ?the revolution.
Frankly, if by 2050 we have not managed to eliminate poverty, there won't be much of an Indian state left? to overthrow.
The government has a shorter timeframe: it believes it can eliminate Naxalites from the 34 districts where they are still impregnable, within seven to eight years. Pillai is a fine officer and an excellent home secretary, but the solution to the Maoist threat does not lie in his domain. Whether the Naxalites fortresses increase from 34 to 100, or dwindle to zero, will depend on whether the government can make impoverished India part of the narrative of rising India. This will not happen if government functions on the static principle of "business as usual".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called Maoists an existentialist threat. So far, his government is treating it as a law and order matter. It is a hunger and oppression problem: life subsists at near-starvation levels in the catchment areas of Maoism; and public protest is suppressed brutally by the police, who treat the tribal poor as a contemptible species. This brutality is hidden behind a thin veneer of lies, which we - the whole establishment, whether politicians, civil servants, businesspersons or media - condone through our silence.
There seems to be a curious, and incomprehensible, edge of helplessness in the Prime Minister's statements, as if he is unable to escape the trap of 'business as usual'. He told Parliament, for instance, that the government had been a failure on sugar prices. To begin with, it is his government that he is ?talking about.
Second, he is publicly and directly accusing a senior colleague, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, of mismanagement. So what happens? Nothing. Mea culpa is meaningless if those who are culpable are not held accountable. But, of course, to apply this dictum to only Pawar would be subjective. Dr Singh admitted in Parliament that minorities [code word for Muslims] were under-represented in government jobs. Admission is fine, but this government has been in power for six years: what has it done to resolve the problem? The Prime Minister did try, which is why the Ranganath Mishra commission was constituted; but he has not found the will to implement its recommendations. The Marxists in Bengal have done so, incidentally. Our democracy's parameters have shifted from ?promise to delivery.
The gap between promise and delivery could also affect the principal thrust of the Prime Minister's second term, progress in relations with Pakistan. Certainly, Dr Singh means well, but good intentions are, alas, not good enough. BBC News - not an Indian propaganda vehicle - has just sent out a story from Islamabad, which says: "Since 2009 militant activity has been on the increase in the Kashmir region. Initially militant groups in Kashmir appeared to be operating on their own - but there is evidence to suggest that they are once again under the protection of Pakistan's intelligence establishment. Training camps are once again being set up on the Pakistani-controlled side of Kashmir. Recruitment is also up in Pakistan's Punjab province, which has provided most of the shaheeds or 'martyrs' for the militants. In fact, so emboldened have the militants become, that one militant alliance, the United Jihad Council (UJC), held a public meeting for militants in Muzaffarabad in mid-January 2010. The meeting was chaired by, among others, former ISI chief Lt Gen Hamid Gul. It called for a reinvigorated jihad [holy war] until Kashmir was free of ?'Indian occupation'."
The resurgence of militancy coincides with Dr Singh's efforts to revive the peace process, which began through second-track channels and led to the joint statement at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Cairo. Islamabad, in other words, read Delhi's goodwill as weakness. It also believes that India will buckle under pressure from two prongs: escalation of terrorism, and American pressure on India to settle on Kashmir. Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir nodded discreetly towards the international community during his press conference in Delhi, even as he thanked Dr Singh personally and profusely ?for reopening talks.
Delhi has to get real if it hopes to fend off impending crises. India will survive the Maoist insurgency by ending poverty, and in no other way. This is only possible through good governance, which is impossible without accountability. And peace with Pakistan is a welcome hope, which we applaud; but it is risky to shake hands with anyone ?holding a gun.

M J Akbar is editor of The Sunday? Guardian, published from Delhi, India on Sunday, published from London

  Women and power

Out of the 58 private member's bills moved in 2010 in the 13th National Assembly sitting, 85 per cent of the bills were moved by women on reserved seats. So some statistics do look good.

Sherry Rehman    

International Women's Day is always a day for stock-taking, especially in countries where women's identities are in a constant state of stressful negotiation with society.
If empowerment is seen as the ability to make choices in an environment where it was not previously possible, Pakistan offers a hugely polarised landscape. A woman's experience of power shapes her ability to affect change in her world, yet today the standard measure of class, or labour participation, that correlate to more empowerment, often fails. Pakistan today is the most urbanised country in South Asia, more so than India or Bangladesh, and rapid social change, with enclaves of exception, has paradoxically brought an overall degradation in the average woman's status. Growing poverty and religious extremism have brought a dual-burden of vulnerability.
If she is an income-generator, rarely is she a decision-maker. Urban women have better access to information, but even as entrepreneurs, if not factory fodder, they have low investment capacity, even less business exposure, and remain subordinate to male peers.
In contrast, the life of a rural woman is often stereotyped as one at the bottom of the pyramid, but where commercialisation has not broken traditional structures, she still retains some degree of autonomy as compared to the faceless tribal woman, who is the least empowered in terms of making strategic choices.
Terrorism, militancy and religious extremism ravage all of society, but even at its least aggressive, its long shadow in Pakistan now defines social exclusion for women even in areas where the Taliban have been officially flushed out, such as Swat. These areas were once hospitable to women in public spaces, now as outposts to many tribal regions and agencies, they have been transformed into altered, harsher, gender-hostile realities. In fact, according to the World Economic Forum's task force on gender disparity, Pakistan now ranks third from the bottom, 132 out of 134 countries, better only than Chad and Yemen.
But our rural and tribal areas are not the only type of terrain that is threatened by the misogyny of militant extremism. The patriarchal social mores of tribal society have seeped into our most metropolitan environments, creating sub-cultures of restriction in major cities as well. Karachi, for instance, is now home to the largest number of semi-migrant tribal men, with higher demographics than either Kabul or Peshawar, lowering the city's social bandwidth for gender freedoms. In urban Punjab, decades of sectarian violence and state tolerance for jihadist outfits has expanded the appetite for anti-women discourse and created new inhibitors where less existed. In Quetta or Peshawar, the walls close in on women and their opportunities.
A breakdown in the architecture of laws and challenges to state writ means women's rights suffer a downslide. According to human rights lawyers, many areas of Pakistan witness a silent case of honour killing every single day; in the most populous province a woman is raped every hour. These are sobering, if not shocking, statistics.
What can then be done? The state is no match for the creeping Salafism of our society, which is used and abused for repressing and imprisoning women, but it can start to challenge this trend by investing in better governance of social programmes. The only indicator that remains stable in most correlations to empowerment is access to education, not just access to jobs, and to a large extent, better healthcare. On an average, all those who seek to influence policy discourse in Pakistan can target traditional social indicators and Millennium Development Goal targets as indices we need to work on, and can safely invest in.
While framing new legislation is critical, as laws provide the foundation for the option of state relief or affirmative action, laws often provide for little reform on the ground if public knowledge of their utility remains obscure. Women are unable to navigate the programmes on offer for them, or to seek relief from empowering laws because of lack of information. This is where media initiatives can actually transform the relationship of women with the state, as well as with society.
An effective case in point is an animated public service campaign run by a private channel that iterated the message that women do not have to tolerate harassment, now that the sexual harassment bill is law, and can now start reporting such incidents to the police, the courts, an ombudsman, or a mandatory committee if they work in a corporation. This is indeed a powerful message.
Yet bucking all these trends, we have empowered women like a legislator in the Punjab Assembly squandering women's rights, probably because she is oblivious of the devastating effect that existing laws on polygamy, in their easy abuse, have on the average woman in urban Pakistan. She forgets that the strict permissions which are rightly required by the law in Pakistan, are cast aside for thousands of women every year who become half-citizens in a contractual vacuum when their husbands shed them without support, without either Islam's justice system or the state's intervention. They remain legally 'married', saddled with children who need regular support, and become part of the informal domestic servant class that comforts the lifestyles of other working and leisure-class women.
The good news is in the nuance. A burgeoning urban youth culture accommodates middle-class aspiration, and provides a gender-neutral public space in the media. Women are serving as role models in traditionally all-male professions. A higher participation of women in the legislatures has redefined the agenda in parliament. In fact, the vilified reserved seats have done more in seven years for women's empowerment laws than anyone in 50 years. Out of the 58 private member's bills moved in 2010 in the 13th National Assembly sitting, 85 per cent of the bills were moved by women on reserved seats. So some statistics do look good.
Now it is up to all of us, the executive, civil society, the media, and politicians, to chip away at the social, cultural and economic barriers preventing women from exercising power as full citizens of Pakistan. We hold up half of Pakistan's sky. No one should be allowed to take that away from us.


The writer is a member of the National Security Committee of the National Assembly and former information minister of Pakistan.

  Mossad Comes to US

Among the Mossad agents who entered Dubai to kill Mabhouh, 12 agents used stolen or forged British passports, three Australian, three French, one German and six Irish.

Prof James Petras  

The principal propaganda mouthpiece of the Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations (PMAJO), the Daily Alert (DA), has come out in full support of Israel's policy of extra-judicial, extra-territorial assassinations.
In the face of worldwide condemnation (except from the White House and US Congress), the PMAJO backs any brutal murder committed by the Israeli secret police anywhere in the world and at anytime. The recent assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Mabhouh in Dubai is a case in point. The PMAJO has defended all of Mossad's criminal actions leading up to the murder, including extensive identity theft and the stealing or falsification of passports from several European countries.
Among the Mossad agents who entered Dubai to kill Mabhouh, 12 agents used stolen or forged British passports, three Australian, three French, one German and six Irish. These agents assumed the identity of European citizens in order to commit murder in a sovereign nation.
Once again the PMAJO demonstrates that its first loyalty is to Israel even when it violate the sovereignty of major US allies. No doubt the PMAJO would readily support the Mossad, even if it had used US documents to assassinate Mabhouh. In fact, two of the 26 Israeli assassins, carrying fake Irish and fake British passports, are known to have entered the US after the killing and may still be here. The position adopted by the DA and the PMAJO in defence of Israel's international terrorist act followed several lines of attack.
These include:
l Blaming the victim
l Claiming that extra-judicial, extra territorial murders are legal
l Minimising the murder of 'one' individual
l Deflecting attention from the Zionists by blaming other Arabs
l Discrediting the Dubai police investigators rather than the Israeli perpetrators.
Articles have appeared in the op-ed pages of several US, UK, Canadian and Israeli newspapers, as well as in magazines like Forbes and Commentary. The mainline Zionist propaganda technique is to avoid any discussion of Israel's egregious crimes against sovereignty, due process, international law and the personal security of individuals. In doing so, the Daily Alert adopts the propaganda techniques common to all totalitarian regimes practising state terrorism.
On February 22, the DA headlined two articles, which were entitled: "Killed Hamas Official betrayed by Associates says Dubai Police Chief" and "Hamas: Assassinated Operative put Himself at Risk".
The DA forgot to mention that Israeli secret police had been tracking their prey for over a month. Needless to say, if we were to accept the American Zionists' argument that any leading opponent of Israel, who travels without an army of bodyguards, is "putting himself at risk", then we must acknowledge that ours is a lawless world where Israeli hit squads are free to commit murder anywhere, any time.
If Israel's murder of an adversary in Dubai is legal, why not assassinate opponents in the US, Canada, England or any other country where they might travel, live, work or write? What if the critics and opponents of Israel decided that it was now "legal" to murder Israel's supporters wherever they lived citing the DA's definition of legality? We would then find ourselves in a lawless world of "legal" murder and totalitarian cross-border surveillance. The February 22, 24, and 25 issues of the DA deflect attention from the Mossad murder by making comparison to the hundreds of Afghan civilians killed by US drone attacks. The claim is that "targeting individuals" is less a crime than mass killings. The problem with this argument is that for decades Mossad has "targeted" scores of opponents overseas and killed thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territories. Moreover, this argument linking Israel's extra judicial assassinations with US colonial killing of Afghans is hardly a defence of either. By implicating the US in its defence of state terror, Israel is holding up the worst aspects of US imperialism as a standard for its own political behaviour. One state's crimes are no justification for another's.
In other words, all the forged or stolen European passports of Israeli dual citizens, and the Dubai security videos of Mossad operatives in various costumes was in reality 'Arab tricks'. This crude propaganda ploy reveals their own descent into a fantasy land of self-delusion, possible only in the closed world of US Zionist politics.
The DA published several articles praising the technical details of the Mossad assassination in Dubai, an aspect of the operation, with which few Israel security experts would agree. The February 24 DA article entitled, "Assassination Shows Skilful Planning" chastises Israel's critics for not recognising the 'high quality' of the killings and recommends its "lessons for all intelligence services around the world". Like sociopaths and serial killers, US Zionists openly promote Israeli death squad techniques to all fellow state terrorists.
The DA on February 25 cited a long and tendentious attack on the Dubai police, published in Forbes, which ridiculed their meticulous investigations uncovering Mossad's roles in the murder. In the article, the Dubai authorities were condemned for uncovering Israeli involvement while not investigating the source of the murder victim's Iraqi passport! The US Zionist propaganda campaign in defence of Israeli state terror and, specifically, murder of the Hamas leader, relies on lies, evasions and specious legal arguments.
This "defence" violates all precepts of a civilised society as well as the most recent US federal laws prohibiting all forms of support for international terrorism. The PMAJO can pursue its defence of Mossad's acts of terrorism with impunity in the US because of its power over the US Congress, the White House and the US media.
This ensures that only its version of events, its definition of legality and its lies will be heard by legislators, echoed by Zionist activists and embellished by its solemn defenders in academic and journalistic circles. To counter the Zionist defence of Israel's practice of executions by the Mossad, we need American writers and academics to step forward. It is time to expose their flimsy arguments, bold-faced lies and immorality. It is time to speak out against their impunity, before another Israeli secret police murder takes place, possibly inside the US itself and with the shameless complicity of Zionist accomplices.
The authorities in Dubai have found clear evidence that the Mossad assassination team received support from European Zionists. The hotels, air tickets and expenses were paid with credit cards issued in the US. Two of the killers may be in the US now. Will a time come when American Zionists cross the line between propaganda for the deed to become accomplices of the deed? The robust American Zionist defence of Mossad's overseas assassinations does not augur well for the security of Americans in the face of Israel's willing US accomplices.

James Petras is a Bartle Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. He is the author of 64 books published in 29 languages.

International

Pakistan Taliban suicide bomb kills 13 in Lahore
AFP, Lahore

A suicide car bomber devastated offices used to interrogate suspected militants in Lahore on Monday, killing up to 13 people in the latest attack on Pakistan's cultural capital.
Pakistan's Taliban faction claimed responsibility for the attack after the bomber tried to ram a car packed with up to 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds) of explosives into the investigations unit in the country's second largest city.
There were scenes of panic as volunteers and rescue workers dug with bare hands under the collapsed two-storey building and a severely damaged Muslim seminary, searching for survivors with the number of wounded at 65.
The blast underscored the rampant insecurity in nuclear-armed Pakistan, an ally in the US-led war on Al-Qaeda and eight-year conflict against the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan despite a recent lull in violence.
A wave of suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan have killed more than 3,000 people since 2007. Blame has fallen on Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants bitterly opposed to the government's alliance with the United States.
"We had just assembled in our classroom when it looked as if hell had broken with a huge blast," Noor Mohammad, a student at the seminary told AFP.
A thick pall of smoke accumulated outside the window as wood panels broke into pieces, hitting and wounding students.
"There was panic as students, many of them carrying their injured friends, rushed to the exit in a bid to find a safe place," Mohammad said.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called on members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party in Lahore to donate blood for the wounded.
At least eight government employees and four civilians, including a woman, were among the dead in the city of eight million. Among the wounded were office workers or parents dropping their children at school.

  Pakistan: American al-Qaida suspect nabbed
AP, Islamabad

An American member of al-Qaida was picked up in a raid in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi, Pakistani officials said Monday, but reversed earlier assertions that the detained man was the terror network's U.S.-born spokesman.
They identified the suspect as Abu Yahya Majadin Adam, but gave no details on his background or role within al-Qaida.
A name very close to that is listed on the FBI's Web site as an alias for Adam Gadahn, the 31-year-old spokesman who has appeared in several videos threatening the West since 2001. The resemblance created confusion among officials Sunday, leading them to believe that the suspect was Gadahn, an army officer and a senior intelligence officer said. "The resemblance of the name initially caused confusion but now they have concluded he is not Gadahn," said an intelligence officer, who like all Pakistani intelligence agents does not allow his name to be used. "He feels proud to be a member of al-Qaida."
U.S. Embassy spokesman Rick Snelsire said the embassy had not been informed of any American being arrested.
A senior U.S military intelligence official said Monday the man arrested does not appear to be Gadahn. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive Pakistani operations.
On Sunday, two intelligence officers and a senior government official identified the detained man as Gadahn and said he was arrested in recent days. They, too, spoke on condition of anonymity. The government official said his name could not be used because of the sensitivity of the information. None of those officials were available for comment Monday.
Pakistan is under intense U.S. pressure to arrest al-Qaida and Taliban leaders living on its soil.
Last month, the country arrested the Afghan Taliban No. 2 commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi. Officials have also claimed to have detained other leaders in the movement. News of the arrests has been murky, coming primarily through Pakistani and Afghan officials speaking anonymously. None of the suspects have been presented before a court or charged.

  Gates in Kabul, cautions against over-optimism
Reuters, Kabul

Defense Secretary Robert Gates cautioned against over-optimism despite "bits and pieces of good news" from Afghanistan, warning of hard days ahead as he arrived on Monday to meet generals and President Hamid Karzai.
Hours after Gates arrived, militants demonstrated their growing ability to strike inside Afghan cities, with gunmen launching a commando-style raid in the town of Khost near the Pakistani border in the southeast.
A Reuters reporter heard a blast and gunfire, and saw smoke rising from the center of town. An Afghan army general said two fighters were surrounded.
The Taliban have increasingly used the tactic of commando-style raids, with bombers and gunmen storming government buildings across southern and eastern towns and in Kabul.
Gates, on his first Afghan trip since President Barack Obama's surge of 30,000 forces began arriving in the country last December, said NATO forces had recently made gains, including a push to take control of the Taliban stronghold of Marjah.
But he cautioned against reading too much into "bits and pieces of good news" on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistan border and said it was too soon to say whether the momentum in the more than 8-year-old conflict had finally shifted.
"I don't think we should lean too far forward in reading too much into specific, positive developments," he told reporters before his arrival.
"The early signs are encouraging. But I worry that people will get too impatient and think things are better than they actually are. There are still some tough times ahead."
Controlling expectations will be critical for Washington and its allies to maintain support for a war in which military casualties and costs are rising. Obama has said U.S. forces will begin to draw down in July 2011, although officials stress a military role will continue beyond that date.

  Asia ‘missing’ 96 million women: UN
AFP, New Delhi

Asia is "missing" about 96 million women-the vast majority in China and India-who died from discriminatory health care and neglect or who were never born at all, the UN estimated on Monday.
Female infanticide and sex-selective abortion have caused a severe gender imbalance in Asia, and the problem is worsening despite rapid economic growth in the region, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report said.
"The old mindset with its preference for male children has now combined with modern medical technology" that makes it easier to predict and abort unborn girls, said Anuradha Rajivan, the report's lead author.
"It is not just female infanticide but sex-selective abortion of unborn girls that cause so-called 'missing' females," she said, contrasting the issue with recent improvements in female life expectancy and education.
The UNDP report found that East Asia had the world's highest male-female sex ratio at birth, with 119 boys born for every 100 girls.
This far exceeded the global world average of 107 boys for every 100 girls.
"Females cannot take survival for granted," it said.
"Sex-selective abortion, infanticide, and death from health and nutritional neglect in Asia have left 96 million missing women... and the numbers seem to be increasing in absolute terms."
The regional figure was skewed by enormous birth gender disparities in China and India, which between them accounted for about 85 million of the report's "missing" figure.
The number was calculated from the actual sex ratio in the population compared to what it would theoretically be, if equal treatment were given to the sexes during pregnancy, birth and afterwards.

  Thailand to impose security law for rally
Reuters, Bangkok

The Thai government plans to invoke a tough security law giving the armed forces broad powers to control a rally in Bangkok by supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a minister said on Monday.
The Internal Security Act (ISA) allows the country's top security agency, the Internal Security Operations Command, to impose curfews, operate checkpoints and restrict the movement of demonstrators if protests by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) turn violent.
"Based on information we have received, there are many groups of protesters and some may attempt to use violent means," Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said after a meeting with top security officials, adding that violent acts may include bombings and the seizure of government offices.
The ISA, to be formally invoked after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, would be imposed from March 11 to March 23 in Bangkok and surrounding areas, where anti-government protesters plan to rally to press for new elections.
Following the decision to use the ISA, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva cancelled a visit to Australia planned for March 13-17, a spokesman said, without elaborating.
Thaksin's red-shirted supporters plan to kick off their rallies in parts of Bangkok and the provinces on March 12.
They plan to merge in the historic part of the city on March 14 in an operation that they said would "peacefully halt Bangkok".
The UDD has said it would rally peacefully for at least seven days in what has been dubbed "a million-man march", although analysts doubt the group can mobilise that number.

  Myanmar enacts election laws, paving way for polls
AP, Yangon

Myanmar announced the enactment of long awaited laws on Monday that set the stage for the country's first election in 20 years to be held sometime this year.
State radio and television said the new laws would be published in state newspapers beginning Tuesday; it gave no details about them. The laws will set out the mechanisms and rules for the election and campaigning, and the conditions under which parties may participate.
Myanmar's military government announced in early 2008 that the election would take place in 2010, but has not yet set any date for it. A 1990 election was won by the National League for Democracy party of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, but the military refused to hand over power.
The party of Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest until November, has not yet committed itself to taking part in the polls because it claims the new constitution of 2008 is unfair. It has clauses that would ensure that the military retains a controlling say in government and bars Suu Kyi from holding office.
The party has said the election laws will help it determine whether it will participate.
A spokesman for the National League for Democracy said Monday that he could not yet comment on the laws.
"We don't know what's in the laws. I can at least say that if elections are held this year, it won't be fair because political parties are not given enough time," said Nyan Win.
"Political parties need sufficient time for registration and for campaigning. Now that the laws have been enacted, it is more urgent for the party leaders to have a meeting as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has requested in her letter in November," Nyan Win said, referring to a letter from Suu Kyi to junta chief senior Gen. Than Shwe.

  NKorea says ready to ‘blow up’ SKorea, US
AP, Seoul

North Korea's army said Monday it is ready to "blow up" South Korea and the U.S., hours after the allies kicked off annual military drills that Pyongyang has slammed as a rehearsal for attack.
South Korea and the U.S. - which normally dismiss such threats as rhetoric - began 11 days of drills across South Korea on Monday morning to rehearse how the U.S. would deploy in time of emergency on the Korean peninsula.
The U.S. and South Korea argue the drills - which include live firing by U.S. Marines, aerial attack drills and urban warfare training - are purely defensive. North Korea claims they amount to attack preparations and has demanded they be canceled.
The North's People's Army issued a statement Monday, warning the drills created a tense situation and that its troops are "fully ready" to "blow up" the allies once the order is issued.
The North also put all its soldiers and reservists on high alert to "mercilessly crush the aggressors" should they encroach upon the North's territory even slightly, said the statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
The communist country has issued similar rhetoric in the days leading up the drills. On Sunday, it said it would bolster its nuclear capability and break off dialogue with the U.S. in response to the drills.
South Korea's military has been closely monitoring Pyongyang's maneuvers but hasn't seen any signs of suspicious activities by North Korean troops, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier Monday.

 US lawmakers move to toughen Iran sanctions
AFP, Washington

A group of US representatives pushed Monday to toughen a 1996 law aimed at punishing companies that invest in Iran's energy sector, noting no action has ever been taken under the measure. The nine lawmakers, led by Republican Mark Kirk and Democrat Ron Klein, announced the move after The New York Times reported late Saturday that Washington has awarded more than 107 billion dollars in payments to foreign and US companies doing business in Iran despite US sanctions. That sum included nearly 15 billion dollars paid to companies that defied US sanctions law by making large investments that helped Iran develop its vast oil and gas reserves, said the paper. Kirk and Klein's bill would toughen the 1996 Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), requiring President Barack Obama's administration to investigate potential violators of the act and notify Congress of known offenders.
The 1996 law authorizes sanctions against non-US companies that invest more than 20 million dollars in Iran's oil and gas sectors. In a letter to fellow lawmakers last week, Kirk and Klein noted that "while the original ISA was intended to deter investment in Iran's energy sector, no entity has ever been held accountable under the Act."
The Iran Sanctions Enhancement Act would require the Government Accountability Office-the investigative arm of Congress-to publish a list of potential violators every month. It calls for the president to conduct an immediate investigation based on that information and report back to the US Congress. US lawmakers have stepped up calls on Obama to impose sanctions on Iran, as well as companies that do business with Tehran, in response to the Islamic Republic's refusal to freeze its suspect nuclear drive.
Tehran denies Western charges that its atomic program hides an effort to develop nuclear weapons and has rebuffed UN demands that it halt uranium enrichment, which can be a key step towards building an atomic arsenal.

  Palestinians: indirect talks last chance for peace
Reuters, Jerusalem

US-mediated indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians will be a last chance to keep the Middle East peace process alive, the Palestinian chief negotiator said on Monday.
"The relationship has deteriorated to this stage where the U.S. is trying to save this peace process with the last attempt-by the way, mark my words-this will be the last attempt in order to see if it can be a tool to make decisions between Palestinians and Israelis," Saeb Erekat told Israel Army Radio.
US envoy George Mitchell held talks in the West Bank city of Ramallah with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas following meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on restarting statehood negotiations.
Both sides have agreed to indirect contacts to revive talks suspended since December 2008, in a boost to U.S. President Barack Obama's difficult quest to end decades of conflict. "Today President Abbas will hand a written response to Senator Mitchell about our acceptance of the proposal of the proximity talks," Erekat told Reuters.
But many observers and politicians doubt the negotiations, in which Mitchell is widely expected to shuttle, at least initially, between Jerusalem and Ramallah, can succeed where years of talks have failed.

  Heavy security is the new normal in China’s Tibet
AP, Lhasa

The troops with automatic rifles patrolling the Tibetan quarter of the capital of Chinese-controlled Tibet are as ever-present as Buddhist pilgrims.
Two years after Lhasa erupted in a riot that set off anti-government protests across Tibetan areas of China, heavy security is the new normal. Helmeted paramilitary police stand guard behind spiked barriers at some street corners. Men on rooftops train binoculars on the square and streets in the Barkhor, the heart of the old city that surrounds a holy temple.
Their presence is so common that people in Lhasa were startled last week when the uniformed patrols seemingly disappeared. In their place, fit young men with military crewcuts - some wearing yellow and black track suits - marched in groups. The reason: a rare visit to the tense Tibetan capital by foreign reporters arranged by the government.
"Walking in the streets of the Barkhor and other parts of Lhasa, I realized all the army people had become plain-clothed overnight. Only today I learned that it was because the journalists were visiting," said a Tibetan woman who declined to give her name for fear of official retribution.
This week opens an always edgy time in Lhasa: two weeks of anniversaries marking a Tibetan revolt in 1959 that failed, led Tibet's theocratic ruler the Dalai Lama to flee into exile and brought the long-isolated, Himalayan region under Beijing's direct control. In 2008, demonstrations that sputtered for days flared into a riot on March 14. Sympathy protests spread to Tibetan communities across a quarter of west China - the widest uprising against Chinese rule in a half-century.

  Nigeria religious clash ‘kills 500’ near Jos
BBC Online

Some 500 people, including many women and children, are now reported to have died in a weekend religious clash near Nigeria's city of Jos, officials say.
The figure was earlier put at 100 and it is hard to verify casualties. Troops have been deployed and local officials said dozens of arrests had been made. They said three mainly Christian villages near Jos were attacked from nearby hills by people with machetes.
There is a long history of local tension between Muslims and Christians.
The attacks are said to have been in revenge for the killing of several hundred people around Jos in January. The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says that although these clashes are often painted as religious, they are more accurately a struggle for land and resources among different ethnic groups.
'Heinous act'
Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has put security forces on alert to stop the flow of weapons to the area.
The AFP news agency reports that troops and military vehicles have entered the villages, which are now said to be calm. An adviser to the Christian-dominated Plateau state government, Dan Manjang, told AFP: "We have been able to make 95 arrests but at the same time over 500 people have been killed in this heinous act."
Another Plateau state official, Gregory Yenlong, urged people to "remain calm and be patient as the government steps up security to protect lives and property in this state".
Our correspondent, Caroline Duffield, says that for weeks there had been rumours of retaliation in the area and many families had left.
Many of the dead in the villages of Zot and Dogo-Nahawa are reported to be women and children.

  EU to issue climate warning, target CO2 loopholes
Reuters, Brussels

Loopholes in the United Nations climate treaties could actually amount to an increase in global climate-warming emissions and the chance to rein in temperatures may be slipping away, a draft European Union report showed.
"Optimistic assessments...indicate that a pathway towards limiting the global temperature increase to no more than 2 degrees Celsius is still feasible, but more pessimistic assessments indicate this chance is disappearing fast," it added. European Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard will announce her strategy on Tuesday for advancing international climate talks after the conclusion of a weak deal in Copenhagen in December.
She is expected to outline a roadmap towards a legally-binding global climate treaty, and put the focus on strengthening the integrity of U.N. rules.
An EU report to back that announcement estimated rich countries' current ple-dges for carbon dioxide cuts will add up to a reduction of between 13.2 percent and 17.8 percent over the next decade. The difference comes from the fact that some rich countries have pledged a range of possible cuts. That would fall far short of the 25-40 percent cut recommended by U.N. scientists to keep temperature rises to within 2 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial temperatures-beyond which the delicate climate system might become unstable.
LOOPHOLES
"Whilst the Kyoto Protocol remains the central building block of the U.N. process, its key shortcomings will have to be addressed-its coverage and the weaknesses it contains," said the report, seen by Reuters on Monday.

  Bigelow makes Oscar history as war drama triumphs
Reuters, Los Angeles

Hollywood finally entrusted a female director with an Oscar on Sunday.
Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman in the 82-year history of the Academy Awards to take the prize as her gritty Iraq War movie "The Hurt Locker" outshone "Avatar" after a nail-biting campaign season.
"The Hurt Locker" also took home the top prize, best picture, and four awards in other categories. "Avatar," the 3D smash directed by Bigelow's ex-husband, James Cam-eron, ended up with three awards, all in technical categories. The acting races finished as expected and all four honourees took home the first statuettes of their careers.
Jeff Bridges won for his lead role as a drunken country singer who gets a shot at redemption in "Crazy Heart." Sandra Bullock got the gold for playing a suburban mom who guides a homeless black teen to football stardom in "The Blind Side."
In the supporting field, the prizes went to Austrian actor Christoph Waltz for the Nazi revenge fantasy "Inglourious Basterds," and stand-up comic Mo'Nique for the dark urban drama "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire." The biggest shocks were in the adapted screenplay and foreign-language film categories. Geoffrey Fletcher became the first African-American to win the writing prize, for his work on "Precious." The prize had been expected to go to "Up in the Air," a six-time nominee that was snubbed.
The Argentine crime drama "The Secret in their Eyes" (El secreto de sus ojos) beat Germany's "The White Ribbon" (Das weisse Band) and France's "A Prophet" (Un prophete) to claim the country's second prize in the field.

  6.0 earthquake hits eastern Turkey, kills 57
AP, Okcular, Turkey

A strong, pre-dawn earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6 struck eastern Turkey on Monday, killing 57 people as it knocked down stone or mud-brick houses and minarets in at least six villages, the government said.
Turkey's crisis center said about 100 other people were injured in the quake, which hit at 4:32 a.m. (0232 GMT, 9 p.m. EST Sunday) in Elazig province, about 340 miles (550 kilometers) east of Ankara, the capital.
The earthquake, which caught many people as they slept, was centered near the village of Basyurt and followed by more than 50 aftershocks, the strongest measuring 5.5 and 5.3, the Kandilli seismology center said.
The worst-hit area was the village of Okcular, where some 17 people were killed and homes crumbled into piles of dirt. As relatives rushed in for news of their loved ones, authorities blocked access to Okcular so ambulances and rescue teams could maneuver on the village's narrow roads. Villagers lit fires to keep warm.
"The village is totally flattened," village administrator Hasan Demirdag told private NTV television. Ali Riza Ferhat of Okcular said he was woken up by the jolt. "I tried to get out of the door but it wouldn't open. I came out of the window and started helping my neighbors," he told NTV television. "We removed six bodies."
Another 13 people were killed in the village of Yukari Demirci, Gov. Muammer Erol said, adding that by noon everyone had been removed from the rubble and there was no one left buried inside the debris.
"Everything has been knocked down, there is not a stone in place," said Yadin Apaydin, administrator for the village of Yukari Kanatli, where he said at least three people died.

Business/Economy

ADB revises growth forecast upward
BSS, Dhaka

In only three months, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised its growth forecast for Bangladesh upward.
The customary report of the multi-donor agency for October- December quarter of 2009 was released today with a projection of 5.5 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the current 2009-10 financial year. The ADB in its report for the quarter ended September last year showed a 5.2 percent GDP growth, down from 5.9 percent in fiscal year 2008-09. The recent report showed the slower growth due mainly to the belated global recession fallouts.
But the report overlooked the prospect of the global turnaround, which promises considerable progress in the country's external trade and eventual positive impact on the economic growth.
The Bangladesh Bank report for the same period drew the changing scenario, which supports the prospect of achieving projected six percent GDP growth by June this year.
The central bank's report pointed at two major progresses during this period including increased domestic demands and steady recovery in major economies and their expected positive impact on economy. These points are missing from the ADB report. The ADB, however, recommended diversifying export base, improving investment climate and building more capacity to attain higher medium term growth.
As of earlier, the ADB in the latest report kept its forecast for agriculture sector unchanged at 4.1 percent for the current fiscal, but it endorsed the government's success in helping farmers offset the adverse weather effects on the crop production. It lowered the industrial growth forecast to 5.6 percent from the previous year's 5.9 percent because of slow pace in investment.
The service sector, which accounts for half of the GDP, is projected to grow by 5.5 percent, slightly lower than 5.9 percent, projected in ADB's September report.
Like the Bangladesh Bank, ADB also showed increasing trend in the inflation, spurred by supply constraints in certain commodities and an upturn in international commodity prices.
The report monitored year-on-year inflation at 8.5 percent in December from 2.3 percent in June this year.

 Brussels to float Euro IMF plans today
AFP, Brussels

The European Commission will float proposals within 24 hours to create a "European IMF," a body that could rescue debt-hit countries like Greece, a commission official said on Monday.
Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn will "inform" the full commission executive on Tuesday of ongoing "discussions" on the issue, his spokesman said. Plans to "reinforce economic coordination and country surveillance" across Europe will centre on the 16 nations that share the euro currency, which has come under pressure as a result of the Greek budget crisis.
The spokesman, Amadeu Altafaj Tardio, said the commission was "ready to propose such a European instrument" and gave a tentative deadline of the end of June for full details on how and by whom it will be funded. Rehn earlier told Monday's Financial Times Deutschland newspaper that financial aid, whether through loans or other guarantees, made available via such a body would be linked to "strict conditions."
In other words, budget cuts or economic reforms mandated by Brussels.
"Things are happening quickly," the commission spokesman said, noting a "clear will on the part of actors in the eurozone to draw lessons from what happened (in Greece) and to take advantage of this opportunity." The commission said the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank was involved in the planning but would not comment on German press reports to the effect Berlin wanted concrete "sanctions" for wayward members written into new arrangements.
According to the FT, these could include the loss of standard European funding, the temporary loss of voting rights in EU decision-making and even provisional exclusion from the eurozone. The Greek deficit crisis has triggered intense debate over how the euro countries deal with localised internal problems, reviving arguments for bailout funding-rejected at the time by Germany-first advanced at the birth of the currency a decade ago.
Paradoxically, the 27-nation European Union can give emergency loans to non-euro members, as seen last year with Hungary, Latvia and Romania, with conditions attached, similar to practices by the International Monetary Fund.

  7th int’l tourism fair March 11
UNB, Dhaka

The 7th international tourism fair -'Dhaka Travel Mart 2010' - begins on March 11 at Hotel Sheraton in the capital.
Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism GM Quader will formally inaugurate the fair at 10:30am at the marble room of the hotel.
A total of 45 organizations from seven countries- Malaysia, Nepal, UAE, Kuwait, India, China and host Bangladesh will take part in the three-day fair being organized by the Bangladesh Monitor, the country' s premier travel and tourism publication in association with Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Eastern Bank Ltd and GMG Airlines.
National tourism organizations, airlines, tour operators, hotels, resorts, travel trade bodies, financial and educational institutions will be among the participating organizations.
Editor of Bangladesh Monitor and also chairman of the Dhaka Travel Mart (DTM)-2010 organizing committee Kazi Wahidul announced the programme of the fair at a press meet Monday.
He said the fair held regularly for the last seven years to promote travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors of the country. The exhibition has been attracting more and more visitors every year, leading to increased business volume of the participants.
A roundtable conference on "Present Scenario of Bangladesh Tourism and Role of Public and Private Sectors" will be held at the sideline of fair on March 13, he added. Visitors are allowed to visit the fair from 10am to 8pm every day on an entry fee of Tk 20.

  Bank Asia opens branch at Moghbazar
TBT Economy Desk

Bank Asia opened the 43rd branch of the bank at Moghbazar in the capital on Monday. Anisur Rahman Sinha, Chairman of the bank inaugurated the branch. AM Nurul Islam, Vice Chairman, Sohana Rouf Chowdhury, Director and Erfanuddin Ahmed, President and Managing Director of the bank were present on the occasion. Members of the business community, local elite and a large number of people also attended the auspicious inaugural ceremony. The Moghbazar Branch of the bank has all the modern banking facilities including ATM., says a press release.

  Europe ready to help Greece ‘if necessary’: Sarkozy
AFP, Paris

European governments are ready to help Greece pull itself out of its financial crisis "if necessary", French President Nicolas said Sunday following talks with the Greek prime minister.
"I want to be very clear. If necessary, eurozone governments will fulfil their commitments and there can be no doubt about that," Sarkozy told a joint news conference with George Papandreou.
"If Greece needs us, we will be there," he said.
The French president said governments of the 16-nation eurozone were working on a "certain number of specific measures" to address Greece's debt crisis but did not provide details.
Sarkozy noted however that "today, Greece is not in need of financing", suggesting that a bailout package was not on the cards.
"The Greek government has taken the measures that we expected. The eurozone governments must now be ready to take theirs," he added. Following talks in Berlin, Papandreou was in Paris to seek French backing, just two days after Athens adopted new austerity measures to steer debt-crippled Greece away from financial ruin.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders have so far refused to offer a bailout to Greece, which desperately needs to come up with 20 billion euros (27 billion dollars) by May to refinance debt.
Overall, Greece is looking at borrowing more than 50 billion euros this year.
Sarkozy is seen as less reluctant than Merkel to offer aid and had said ahead of the meeting that Greece's eurozone partners had no choice but to support Athens. For his part, the Greek prime minister noted that "solutions exist to address problems if our country needs to borrow" and suggested these could include measures to combat speculation.
"We want to be able to borrow, like any other country of the eurozone, according to similar rates, perhaps not identical, but comparable," said Papandreou.

  US jobs data lifts Asian markets
AFP, Hong Kong

Gains on Wall Street after better- than-expected US jobs data boosted Asian markets today, as a weaker yen and hopes for fresh stimulus steps by the Bank of Japan lifted Tokyo shares. Investors across the region had their first chance to react to Friday's US Labor Department report showing the unemployment rate holding steady at 9.7 percent in February despite adverse winter conditions.
In Tokyo the Nikkei-225 rose 1.76 percent in morning trade, also buoyed by a weaker yen and expectations the Bank of Japan will expand its emergency corporate funding programme when it meets next week.
Exporters gained as investors sold the safe-haven yen on the jobs report. Sony soared 3.90 percent and Canon added 2.57 percent. Hong Kong powered 1.87 percent ahead and Shanghai added 0.40 percent as China's leaders pledged at the ongoing National Party Congress to keep "moderately" loose policies to support growth, buoying sentiment, dealers said. Apprehensive investors have eyed the key parliamentary session in China for policy clues, as the world's third-largest economy looks to rein in lending and eventually manage a transition from huge stimulus measures.
Sydney was 0.97 percent higher, driven by resource stocks after a 2.96 billion US dollar bid by Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina to jointly takeover coal seam gas company Arrow Energy Ltd was announced. Singapore was 1.35 percent higher. The US jobs data and easing worries about Greece's debt woes boosted risk appetite in the region, with the dollar mixed against other major currencies.
The euro rose to 1.3680 dollars in Tokyo midday trade, up from 1.3621 in New York late on Friday, and to 123.49 yen from 123.00. The dollar was at 90.42 yen-off a high of 90.68 -- compared with 90.28 in New York.
The euro was well supported after Greece's parliament on Friday approved a new package of tough tax hikes and spending cuts to tackle the country's debt crisis, which has dented the single European currency.

  Poverty compels Gaza housewives to seek employment
Xinhua, Gaza

Um Murad, a Palestinian mother in the impoverished Gaza Strip, decided to look for a job to support her family after her husband, the family's sole breadwinner, lost his job due to the Israeli blockade.
The only job the 34-year-old mother found is to work as a servant for rich families in Gaza City. She washes dishes and cleans the houses to feed her children, instead of turning them into beggars.
Although she is pregnant, and is supposed to give birth in two months, the International Day of Woman, which falls on March 8, is nothing special for Um Murad, who decided to devote her time to work and work.
"I have never worked as a servant and never done this kind of jobs, although I worked in the farm of my father a long time ago before I got married," said the mother of two, adding that "I had no other choice after my husband lost his job over a year ago."
Um Murad, who declined to give her full name, is not the only mother in Gaza that struggles for feeding her family. Dozens of Palestinian women, mainly in the Gaza Strip, are obliged to support their families, following a 1,000-day of a tight Israeli blockade. The Gaza Strip, which is inhabited by 1.5 million Palestinians, has been under the tight Israeli blockade since the Islamic Hamas movement seized control of the enclave by force and routed security forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

  KSA stresses ‘moderate’ oil policy
AFP, Riyadh

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said on Sunday that the oil giant would maintain its moderate policies which had helped limit the damage of the global financial crisis.
"The kingdom has continued to be moderate in its approach to the global oil situation," Abdullah said in his annual address to the Shura Council, the country's consultative assembly.
Saudi Arabia "sought in the wake of the global financial and economic crisis to minimise the impact of the crisis on the stability of oil markets and on the interests of producing and consuming countries alike," he said.
"We will continue to follow the approach of moderation and maintain the wealth God endowed us with," Abdullah added.
The statement from the Saudi king comes amid rising concern that US-led sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear programme could disrupt the global oil markets.
With Saudi production hovering at around nine million barrels a day, Saudi Arabia is by far the OPEC cartel's largest oil supplier and the key swing producer, adding or reducing output to moderate sharp swings in the market.

  Protectionism avoided despite crisis: global bodies
AFP, Paris

Leading industrialised and emerging market countries have largely avoided protectionist measures as they try to cope with the impact of the worst global economic slump in decades, major international groups said Monday.
World trade fell 12 percent in 2009, the sharpest downturn since 1945 as the global economy tumbled into recession, with many leaders and officials worried that countries would resort to protectionist measures to limit the damage.
The fear was that there could be a repeat of the 1930s Great Depression when protectionist policies only undercut trade further, pushing the global economy even deeper into the mire.
But the World Trade Organisation, the OECD and UNCTAD said in a joint report that most of the Group of 20 major developed and developing countries had respected their commitments to avoid protectionism
"However, past experience shows that prolonged periods of job losses and unemployment are one of the main catalysts for more restrictive policymaking," it said, adding that they must "remain vigilant in opposing protectionism."

National

Ensured women dev needed for their economic uplifts
BSS, Rangpur

After achieving economic self- reliance and saying good-bye to monga for ever, many distressed women, who lived in utter poverty a few years back, are now moving towards sustainable uplifts in the northern districts including char areas.
Earlier, they had to live under indescribable miseries due to poverty, they are now ensuring education of their children eradicating school drop outs to make them worthy citizens though they never thought about education of their children in the pasts.
The successful women have also brought them under complete sanitation coverage, rose their voices against repressions, child marriage, dowry, polygamy, superstitions and have adopted proper family planning that has also reduced their high population growth. Because of their present appreciable awareness, the number of maternal and neonatal deaths and extent of malnutrition of the children, women and pregnant women have also been reduced to the minimum among them and their neighbours.
While talking to BSS recently, the successful women said that it became possible only after attaining economic self- reliance through their hard endevours at their own or under the assistances of various ongoing programmes of the government and some NGOs. They also said that the process of achieving sustainable and balanced socio- economic and national advancements and women empowerment can be accelerated by properly developing the country's womenfolk and empowering them with equal rights. They expressed their confidence that the women could the driving forces in attaining hundreds percent literacy for their children and completely stopping school drop outs if all of the downtrodden womenfolk could be made economically solvent.
For this, the government and NGOs could take pragmatic steps for poverty eradication as poverty is the main enemy and obstacle to the path of attaining complete social advancements and sustainable developments, the successful women said.
They suggested for involving the female union parishad members and upazila female vice chairmen to strengthen local government bodies for ensuring development and empowerment of the women for building a developed digital Bangladesh by 2021.

  ICT revolution keeps agriculture in leading position
BSS, Dhaka

The country has witnessed a considerable growth in the production of staples (rice, wheat and maize) for over a last decade as a result of ICT revolution, said an in-depth study.
The study titled "Technology and Human Development in South Asian' said the growth in the rice economy has primarily been the outcome of a shift from local to high-yielding varieties (HYVs). Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre (MHHDC), a leading independent research organization conducted the study, which was released here recently.
The higher growth in the staples has kept Bangladesh in dominating position in the region, the study said pointing to the 3.6 percent growth during 1996-2008. The production of rice increased from 17.68 million metric tons in 1995-96 to 28.37 million metric tons in 2007-08 as the hybrids have come on the scene resulted in technological developments. The study observed that Bangladesh's agriculture sector must be lauded as a comparatively bright spot against the backdrop of the experience elsewhere in the region.
For an instance, it said, per capita production of staples (rice, wheat and corn) has grown at a much lower rate of 1.1 per1cent annually in India. The study, however, said the prominence of wheat in the crop mix has waned significantly since the late 1990s and its place seemed to have been taken by maize (corn). The roll-out of maize is entirely driven by the private sector but hybrids have not been scene in the cultivation like rice. It was revealed in the study that the improvement in agricultural yields, multi- disciplinary research and rural electrification would be most prolific drivers to cut rural poverty in Bangladesh.
Adoption of seed-water fertilizer technology has rolled back the growing season, shortened production cycles and enhanced cropping intensity. The agriculture has now around 23 percent contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh.

 Irregularities in appointing fertilizer dealers endangering public health

UNB, Barisal

Irregularities in appointing retail fertilizer selling dealers is not only creating distribution problem but also polluting environment in the district.
Sources said 99 fertilizer dealers, including nine in Barisal City Corporation areas and rest 90 in 9 unions of Barisal Sadar upazila, have been appointed by agriculture department under the supervision of district administration.
As per rule, the fertilizer selling shops must be at least 10 yards far from food shops and markets to avoid poisonous intoxication and must have valid dealer card issued by the authority.
However, due to irregularities in selecting dealers many fertilizer selling shops are situated at densely populated area, near the food shops or markets.
Even fertilizers are also available in grocery shops without having any dealership card hampering business of the appointed dealers.
Mohammad Ripon, a fertilizer seller in the city without dealership card, said he collected trade license from the municipality to sell fertilizer by giving Tk 10,000 as security deposit to a dealer.
On other hand, Montu Mia, an appointed fertilizer dealer of the city, said if grocery shop owners, traders without dealership card, could sell fertilizer then why we should collect dealership card following rules and regulations and depositing Tk 30,000 as security money.
Manirul Alam, Barisal Sadar Upazila agriculture officer, acknowledging the fact of irregularities in appointing fertilizer dealers and selling fertilizer, said authority has directed each of the appointed dealers to deposit Tk 30,000 as security deposit which may be confiscated if any irregularities are found in their business.
Kaiser Ahmed, deputy director Barisal divisional office of directorate of environment, Dr Abdur Rashid, divisional health director, opposed the open sale of fertilizer in densely populated public places, market area and food shops, saying that this may create serious health hazards and environmental pollution.

 ‘Proper pre-deployment training for Formed Police Units must’

BSS, Dhaka

Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun Monday said that the members of Formed Police Units (FPUs) should uphold the highest levels of democratic principles of policing keeping in mind that there is no alternative to proper pre- deployment training for the FPU Members.
"Bangladesh has already formed a female FPU which will be deployed in United Nation field mission very soon," she said while addressing the inauguration of the 3rd meeting of the Doctrine Development Group (DDG) on FPU at a hotel here Monday morning.
She told the function that a total of 6,203 policemen including 1,599 officers are now working in different UN peacekeeping missions. Decision of deployment of female FPU reflects the contribution as well as determination of Bangladesh to International peace and security, she added.
She said the DDG is a group to develop a uniform training curriculum of FPUs. The objective of the meeting is to finalize the standardized UN FPU Pre-Deployment Training curriculum as well as FPU equipment.
It will also enhance the capability of standard policing, Sahara Khatun added.
She expressed her hope and said that I believe the pre- deployment training when implemented will enhance the participant's knowledge of basic human rights, particularly in case of arrest and detention and use of force.
A total of 52 police officers from 35 countries and five organizations including three Bangladeshi police officers are being participating the 5-day conference that will end on March 12.
The first meeting of DDG was held in Italy in 2008, while the second meeting was held in New York in 2009.
For the last three years, Bangladesh becomes the highest police contributing country in UN peach keeping missions. Bangladesh police has been participating in UN peace keeping missions since 1989.
Chaired by Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad, the inaugural function also addressed by State Minister for Home Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku, Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder and Chief of Strategic Planning Development Section of Peace Keeping Operations Andrew Carpenter.

 Treatment at medicine ward of DMCH begins
BSS, Dinajpur

The treatment of indoor and outdoor patients at the medicine ward of the 500-bed Dianjpur Medical College Hospital (DMCH) began here Sunday.
Local lawmaker and chairman of board of directors of the hospital M Iqbalur Rahim inaugurated the treatment programme at the ward.
Hospital sources said treatment at other wards of hospital will begin very soon.
A total of 72 outdoor patients received treatment on the first day while 15 patients were admitted into the ward.
DMCH Director Dr SM Samsul Alam said the government approved a 227-member organogram, including doctors, nurses and officers, for the hospital.
A total of 63 staff members have already joined their services and the rest are expected to join within 15 days, he said. Dr SM Samsul Alam said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is likely to inaugurate the hospital after 15 days. Preparations are afoot to open the hospital within the stipulated timeframe. Health Minister Professor Dr AFM Ruhul Haq and director general of the health department Dr Shah Munir Ahmed would to visit the hospital before the inauguration. The hospital director has expressed the hope that the hospital would play a pioneering role in providing improved medicare services to the people of northern Bangladesh particularly Dinajpur district.

 Distribution of cards for farmers begins in Gaibandha
BSS, Gaibandha

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) started distribution of agri-inputs assistance cards to the farmers of sadar upazila in the district on March 7.
A simple ceremony was held at the auditorium of Ballamjhar Union Parishad under the upazila on Sunday afternoon. Deputy Commissioner (DC) M. Shahidul Islam attended the function and addressed it as the chief guest and sadar upazila parishad chairman Abdur Rashid Sarker was present as the special guest.
Presided over by UNO Asib Ahsan, the function was also addressed, among others, by upazila agriculture officer M. Mozaffar Rahman, branch manager of Janata Bank Ltd. Abdus Sobhan, UP Chairman Mojammel Haque Mondal and farmer Hasan Ali. Later, the DC formally inaugurated the programme in the upazila by distributing cards to the farmers of the union. Office sources said a total of 4,12,500 cards would be distributed to the farmers of seven upazilas of the district by March 31, 2010.

 Speakers for establishing women rights to ensure country’s
overall development

UNB, Dhaka

Speakers at a discussion on Monday stressed the need for establishing the rights of women and upholding their dignity in the society to ensure overall development of the country.
They said it is impossible to achieve progress and development of a country like Bangladesh keeping half of its population neglected.
They urged all to extend their cooperation for eradicating gender discrimination and protecting women from various repressions.
Centre for Services and Information on Disability (CSID) in partnership with Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) organized the discussion at Eidgah ground in city's Mirpur-12.
Chaired, by Shamsad Ali, president of Community Disability Development Committee, lawmaker Elias Uddin Mollah attended the discussion as chief guest. CSID Director Khandaker Zahurul Alam and others also addressed the discussion.
Addressing the function Elias Uddin Mollah said though the women's contribution in different fields is satisfactory, they get less than male.
He urged all to come forward for removing prevailing discrepancy against women in the society.
CSID, a NGO for disabled, also organized a rally on the occasion of the International Women's Day.
The rally started from Kurmitola Camp, Mirpur-12 and terminated at the Eidgah ground in Mirpur-12 in order to raise awareness about the rights of women.
About 150 people, including children, disabled women and their family members, participated in the rally.

 DMP accords reception to women police personnel
BSS, Dhaka

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Monday accorded a colourful reception to the women police personnel at a function at Rajarbagh Police Telecom Auditorium here.
Chaired by DMP Commissioner AKM Shahidul Haque, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Mohammad was present at the function as chief guest while Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the Special Branch (SB) Fatema Begum and wife of the IGP and President of Police Nari Kallayan Samity Begum Ismot Nur were present as special guests.
The function was also addressed, among others, by Director General (DG) of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Hassan Mahmud Khandkar, Additional Deputy Inspector General (Add. DIG) of Dhaka Range Mili Biswas, Principal SB Training School Add. DIG Yasmeen Gafur and Principal Detective Training School (DTS) Add. DIG Begum Rowshan Ara.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) of the DMP Md Habibur Rahman red out a citation in honour to Fatema Begum who first joined the police department as a class one officer after passing the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination in 1984. All the women police officers and employees of the department were given crest and credentials by the DMP.
The DMP organised the reception in observance of the World Women Day which is being observed on Monday throughout the world including Bangladesh.

 Nanak leaves for China
UNB, Dhaka

Awami League organizing secretary and state minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanak left for China early Monday to attend a seminar on Poverty Alleviation and Rural Development.
In response to an invitation from the central committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Nanak along with the Awami League's central working committee member Sujith Roy reached Beijing later in the day to attend the seminar on behalf of their party, said a press release.
While there, Nanak will hold elaborate discussions on various issues including Digital Bangladesh, the Vision-2021 initiated by the present government, poverty alleviation, rural development and One House, One Farm project at the seminar and on its sidelines.
The AL delegation will also visit different provinces of the rising superpower in an effort to exchange views on climate change.
They are expected to return home on the night of March 18.

 International Women’s Day observed in Gaibandha
BSS, Gaibandha

The International Women Day was observed in the district Monday with due respect and in a befitting manner as elsewhere in the country and the globe.
This year's theme of the day was 'Nari Purusher Samo Sujok, Samo Adhikar, Din Bodoler Augrajatrya Unnayoner Angiker'.
In the celebration of the day, Friendship, a leading NGO working in the chars of the country, chalked out the elaborate programmes with the financial support of Manusher Jonno Foundation under its Accessing to a Better Life Project.
A discussion on the significance of the day was held at Batikamari Char under Kamarzani Union of Sadar Upazila in the district Monday morning with M Delwar Hossain, Supervisor of Friendship in the chair.
The meeting was also addressed among others by UP members Most. Hamida Banu and Mozibar Rahman, Family Welfare Assistant Most. Nasima Begum and Health Assistant M Ruhul Amin. The speakers in the speeches stressed for implementing the equal rights in all spheres of the society by evaluating them appropriately.
Besides, a big colorful rally jointly organized by district adminstration and Friendship and led by deputy commissioner M Shahidul Islam was brought out from the Independence Square and paraded the main roads of the town. Project Coordinator of Friendship M Zakir Hossain, Project Manager Amal Kumar Pramanik and other officials and employees of the organization participated in the rally. 

Sports

Trott hits ton in practice match
AFP, Chittagong

England's Jonathan Trott regained form ahead of a Test series against Bangladesh with an impressive century in a warm-up match on Monday.
Trott, with just one half-century in his last four Tests in South Africa recently, hit 14 fours in his 134-ball 101 before retiring to help the tourists gain the lead on the penultimate day of the three-day game.
England declared their first innings closed at 281-7 in reply to Bangladesh A's 202.
Trott steadied the innings with a 96-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ian Bell after three wickets fell for 64. Bell contributed 47 before being trapped leg-before by left-arm spinner Mehrab Hossain in the morning session.
Wicket-keeper Matt Prior also gained valubale batting practice before the two-Test series starts in Chittagong on Friday, scoring a brisk 73 not out with the help of one six and eight fours.
The second and final Test begins in Dhaka on March 20.
The hosts, trailing by 79 runs, were 131-3 in their second innings at stumps, with Raqibul Hasan (50) and skipper Mohammad Ashraful (14) at the crease.
England off-spinner James Tredwell, who bagged six wickets in the first innings, was again the most impressive bowler with 2-50.
Brief scores
Bangladesh A: 202 (Raqibul Hasan 107 not out; J. Tredwell 6-95, S. Finn 2-13) and 131-3 (Raqibul 50 not out, Junaid Siddiqui 37; Tredwell 2-50).
England XI: 281-7 decl (J. Trott 101 retd, M. Prior 73 not out, I. Bell 47; Mehrab Hossain 2-59, Mahbubul Alam 2-38).

  Chittagong trails by 106 runs against Rajshahi
UNB, Dhaka

Chittagong Division still trailed by 106 runs in reply to Rajshahi Division's 1st innings total of 372 runs on the 3rd day of the five-day final of the EBL 11th National Cricket League at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Resuming with overnight 21 for no loss, Chittagong Division faced early batting jolt and scored 266 for 6 in 99 overs at stumps on the day.
Two down Nazim Uddian and number seven Mominul Haque, however, played responsibly to score half centuries that guided Chittagong Division to somewhat steady the innings.
Rajshahi Division bowlers, especially Sohrawardi Shuvu, were on fire and inflicted early blow to Chittagong taking couples of early key wickets.
Shuvo sent back opener Gazi Salhuddin (19), who was trapped leg before wicket, while one down Abdullah Al Mamun (0) was clean bowled by Shubashish Roy.
Another opener Mahbubul Karim gave a catch to Jahurul off Shuvo delivery. He scored 25 runs off 74 balls.
Middle order Faisal Hossain scored 28 runs off 41 balls with four fours and a six before being caught by Sohrawardi Shuvu off Mohammad Shahajada while Shuvo got his 3rd wicket as he trapped Mahmudul Hasan (0) trapped leg before wicket.
Later, Nazim Uddin played a match-saving 80 runs off 160 balls to steady the team position. He cracked 12 fours before giving a catch to Anisur Rahman off Saqlain Sajib.
Mominul Haque and Elias Sunny were batting on 72 and 29 runs as the bails were drawn for the day.
Sohrawardi Shuvu claimed three wickets for 71 runs while Mohammad Shahajada, Shubashish Roy and Saklain Sajib took one wicket each for 48, 52 band 55 runs respectively.
Brief score
Rajshahi Division: 1st innings - 372 all out in 169 overs (overnight 208 for 5 in 90 overs); Dhiman Ghosh not out 66, Jahurul Islam 59, Khaled Mashud 55, Anisur Rahman 52, Sabbir Rahman 41, Sohrawardy Shuvo 32, Nasir Hossain 28, Farhad Hossain 11, extras 19, Abdullah Al Mamun 3/44, Elias Sunny 2/73, Kazi Kamrul 2/84, faisal Hossain 1/17, Mahmudul Hasan 1/47 and Alauddin Babu 1/71
Chittagong Division: 1st innings -- 266 for 6 in 99 overs, Gazi 19, Karim 25, Mamun 0, Nazim 80, Faisal 28, Hasan 0, Mominul batting 72 Elias batting 29, extras 13, Shjovo 3/71, Shahajada 1/48, Shubashish 1/52 and Saklain 1/55.

  Spain, Russia and Argentina reach last eight
AFP, Paris

Defending champion Spain proved its is life without Rafael Nadal when it swept aside Switzerland 4-1 to set-up a mouthwatering Davis Cup quarter-final clash with France on Sunday.
Russia also went through thanks to a 3-2 win over India, their 17th successive home win, which gave them a last eight clash against Argentina who defeated Sweden 3-2 in Stockholm.
Croatia, the 2005 champions, the Czech Republic, who were runners-up to Spain last season, and France had already wrapped up their quarter-final places on Saturday.
In Logrono, world number 16 David Ferrer scored the winning point for Spain as he easily saw off an exhausted Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to give the hosts an unbeatable lead after they had led 2-1 overnight.
Nicolas Almagro then eased past Marco Chiudinelli 6-1, 6-3 in the dead rubber.
Despite his heroics, Ferrer admitted that his place in the team for July's clash with France was not guaranteed with Nadal and Fernando Verdasco expected to return.
France maintained their 72-year domination of Germany when they wrapped up a 4-1 win in Toulon, leaving the French eager to face Spain on home ground.
France will have the advantage of playing the tie at home and will - not surpisingly - opt for a hard court rather than the clay courts favoured by the Spanish.
In Belgrade, world number two Novak Djokovic won a five-set thriller to defeat America's John Isner and hand Serbia a first ever place in the quarter-finals.
Serbia will face bitter rivals Croatia at home on July 9-11 after Djokovic claimed a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 win over Isner in a four hour, 16 minute marathon as his team took an unassailable 3-1 lead. Croatia wrapped-up a 5-0 win over Ecuador in their first round tie.
In Moscow, Mikhail Youzhny eased Russia into the last eight when he beat Somdev Devvarman 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 to give his side a 3-1 lead over India.
Rohan Bopanna won the dead rubber, beating Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, to ensure a final scoreline of 3-2, after veteran doubles pairing Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi won Saturday's doubles to keep India in the tie.

  ICC President to visit Bangladesh
TBT deport

International Cricket Council (ICC) President David Morgan is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on March 22 for a three-day visit at the invitation of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President AHM Mustafa Kamal.
Morgan will meet the BCB President and the Directors. He is also expected to witness the second Test match between Bangladesh and England at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka during his stay in Bangladesh.

   Mallorca keeps pressure for Champions League spot
AFP, Barcelona

Real Mallorca moved into the Champions League places after a comfortable 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon in the Spanish first division on Sunday.
Mallorca are in fourth place, ahead of Sevilla on goal difference, after victory against an in-form Sporting side looking for their third consecutive win.
A long range shot from Julio Alvarez surprised Sporting keeper Juan Pablo Colinas to put Mallorca ahead and while they were always in control they did not extend the lead until the last 15 minutes when Victor Casadesus and Pierre Webo wrapped up the match.
"We are opening up a significant gap between ourselves and the teams in mid-table. We will keep on battling for a place in Europe and hope that maybe one of the sides above us in the top four has a loss of form," said Mallorca coach Gregorio Manzano.
A Gaizka Toquero double gave Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 win over Valladolid to boost their European ambitions.
Athletic are now just one point behind sixth-placed Deportivo La Coruna while the result has put Valladolid in further trouble at the other end of the table and they are now four points from safety.
In Sunday's late match, a last ditch header from Ibrahima Balde gave ten-man Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Zaragoza.
Defender Jiri Jarosik put Zaragoza in front when he headed in a corner after seven minutes and it was the home side that continued to have the better openings with Jose Antonio Reyes the only player from Atletico to pose any threat.

  Mourinho fumes as Inter fires blanks
AFP, Rome

Inter Milan maintained a four-point cushion in the Serie A title race on Sunday but only after a dour 0-0 draw against Genoa which left coach Jose Mourinho frustrated in the stands.
Despite fielding a three-pronged attacking force of Mario Balotelli, Goran Pandev and Diego Milito, Inter were unable to break down a stubborn Genoa side.
Mourinho, who was serving the second of a three-match touchline ban, was so unimpressed that he charged out of his seat to get as close as possible to the pitch to bark his orders.
It wasn't until the last 15 minutes that Inter looked dangerous with Maicon, substitute Samuel Eto'o and Wesley Sneijder coming close.
Inter moved onto 59 points, four clear of AC Milan, who also finished goalless against Roma on Saturday.
Inter director Marco Branca blamed fatigue from midweek international duty for the stalemate.
"The point earned should be read within the context of the many international players who were used in friendlies midweek," said Branca.
"Many of them played from the start for their countries and therefore came back rather tired."
Unheralded Palermo underlined their bid for a place in the Champions League next season as well as their burgeoning domestic title credentials with a 1-0 win over Livorno.
The three points, garnered courtesy of Fabrizio Miccoli's goal nine minutes from the end, took the Sicilians into fourth place in Serie A, two points clear of Juventus, who Palermo had seen off in Turin last weekend.
Juve slid back a place into fifth having won 2-1 at Fiorentina on Saturday.
Sampdoria are sixth, a point further back, after a 2-1 home win over Lazio.
The visitors took a seventh-minute lead through Sergio Floccari but quickfire ripostes around the half hour mark from Stefano Guberti and Giampaolo Pazzini proved enough for Samp to take the three points.
While Palermo rise, so Napoli are sliding back and their top four aspirations took a knock after a 2-1 loss at Bologna, for whom Marcelo Zalayeta and Brazilian Adailton were on target inside the opening 12 minutes.
Leandro Rinaudo scored Napoli's consolation as they dropped to seventh, five points adrift of Palermo, after a run of just four points from a possible 18 in their last six outings.
David Beckham appeared for just 18 minutes from the bench for Milan on Saturday, no doubt with one eye on Wednesday's emotional Champions League trip to Manchester United.
Milan coach Leonardo insisted his men can overturn their 3-2 deficit at Old Trafford to reach the quarter-finals.
"I have great faith in this team, many times I've asked a lot of them. We believe in ourselves, we have to win well at Old Trafford and we'll go there trying to score goals."
Elsewhere Sunday, Cagliari, hoping for a Europa League finish, dropped home points in a 2-2 draw with struggling Catania to remain two points behind Napoli, while Bari beat Chievo 1-0 in a midtable meeting.
Atalanta and Siena did their hopes of avoiding the drop little good with home draws, 0-0 against Udinese and 1-1 against Parma respectively.

  China secures easy passage
AFP, Kuala Lumpur

Top seeds China, Indonesia and Malaysia secured easy positions at this May's Thomas Cup finals in a draw on Monday.
"China will start as favourites," Ganga Rao, secretary of the Badminton Association of Malaysia told reporters.
The Thomas Cup finals will be held from May 9 to 16 in Malaysia. The draw was carried out by the Badminton World Federation.
Defending champions China were drawn against South Korea and newcomer Peru in Group A.
China defeated South Korea in the finals in Jakarta two years ago. Lin Dan and Chen Jin are expected to help China secure the Thomas Cup for a fourth straight time this year.
Malaysia which last won the competition in 1992, will be led by world number one Lee Chong Wei.
Malaysia, ranked third seed, are in Group B with Japan and Nigeria-considered a favourable group for Malaysia.
"Either Malaysia or Japan will top Group B and both teams will easily qualify for the quarter-finals because the third team in the group is minnows Nigeria," Ganga said.
"We'll face the acid test in the quarter-finals."
Group C comprises fourth seed Denmark, Germany and Poland. Group D pools second seed Indonesia, India and Australia.

   Parachute International Chess begins in Cox's Bazar
UNB, Dhaka

The Parachute Advanced International Chess Tournament, organized by Six Seasons Chess and sponsored by Marico Bangladesh Limited, began on Monday at Uni Resort in Cox's Bazar M Nurul Islam, Editor of Dainik Cox's Bazar and the Vice-President of Cox's Bazar Awami League inaugurated the meet as chief guest. Head of the Six Seasons Chess GM Niaz Murshed was also present.
FM Syed Mahfuzur Rahman Emon of Bashir Memorial and Minina Veronika earned full points after winning their first round matches.
In the day's match, Emon beat Saifuddin Lavlu of Titas Club, Veronika beat FM Peter Long of Malaysia. FM Abu Sufian Shakil drew with his team-mate FM Abdul Malek, national women's runner-up WFM Samima Akter Liza of Narayangonj drew with WFM Tanima Parveen of Chittagong while WIM Kiran Manisha Mohanty of India drew with Dhyani Dave of India Seven points will required for a Woman Grandmaster norm while five points will required for Woman International Masters norm from nine matches. A total of 10 players, including 4 Fide Masters, one International Women Master and three Women's Fide Masters from India, Malaysia, Russia and hosts Bangladesh are taking part in the nine-round round-robin league basis matches.
The 2nd round matches will be held tomorrow (Tuesday) from 10:00 am at the same venue.

   Bilbao boosts European ambitions
AFP, Barcelona

A Gaizka Toquero double gave Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 win over Valladolid on Sunday to boost its European ambitions.
Bilbao is now just one point behind sixth-placed Deportivo la Coruna while the result has put Valladolid in further trouble at the other end of the table and they are now four points from safety.
Valladolid had been holding their own but a Fernando Llorente header, saved well by keeper Justo Villar, was a warning they did not heed and a minute later they were behind as Toquero headed home a corner.
Markel Susaeta wasted an excellent opportunity, shooting wide after successfully rounding the keeper, but Toquero did not miss after he was set up by Llorente. Valladolid had more possession in the second half as Athletic sat back but they failed to create the clear cut chances to worry the home side although Haris Medunjanin went close on a couple of occasions from distance.
Mallorca moved onto the fringes of the Champions League places after a comfortable 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon.
Their remarkable season continues and now sees them behind fourth placed Sevilla only on goal difference after the victory against an in-form Sporting side looking for their third consecutive win.