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Leading News
Nearly
80 pc pass SSC exams
82,961 candidaes get GPA-5, up by 24.90 per cent
UNB, Dhaka
The results of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and
its equivalent examinations for 2010 were published on
Saturday, with a record 79.98% success rate, a rise of
9.09% percent over the previous year.
The Madrasah Board, with an 86.70% pass rate, came out as
the most successful of all 10 educational boards.
The Rajshahi Board followed with a pass rate of 85.61%,
the Technical board with 82.72%, Comilla 81.03%, Jessore
with 79.18, Dhaka 77.99%, Sylhet 78.42%, Barisal 74.64%,
Chittagong 72.31%, and coming last with Dinajpur 71.70%.
A total of 12,00975 sat for the examinations across the
country, with 960,492 passes. That translates to more than
200,000 more students having passed the exams this year,
compared to 2009.
Of the total number of passes, 511,971 were male, and
448,521 were female. The pass rate amongst male students
was 81.84%, while for the females it was 77.95%.
Of them, a total of 82,961 students achieved the
distinction of securing the maximum GPA (Grade Point
Average) of 5, some 20,656 more than last year.
All students from a total of 2927 schools passed the exams
this year, against a figure of 2726 last year.
Unfortunately, 49 schools failed to return a single
success story from amongst their examinees, although this
represents a drop from 72 such underperforming schools in
the last SSC exams.
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid announced the results
at a press conference from his office on Saturday
afternoon.
Before doing so, the Education Minister formally handed
over the results to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the
morning.
Some 26,192 educational institutes took part in the exams
under the eight general education boards, the Madrasah
education board and the lone Technical education board.
From Dhaka, a total of 211,761 passed exams (out of
271,523 candidates), out of whom 21,142 students secured
GPA-5.
A total of 133,895 students appeared for the examination
under the Rajshahi board, the most successful of the
regional boards, with 114,629 passes and 10,568 GPA-5s.
Under the Comilla board, 82,694 students out of 102,050
managed to pass, with 5,863 securing GPA-5.
Jessore had 123,019 examinees, out of whom 97,403 secured
passes and 7,399 secured GPA-5.
A total of 49,451 examinees passed the exams under the
Chittagong board out of 68,386 candidates. 5800 students
achieved GPA-5.
Under the Barisal board, a total 55,342 students appeared
in the exams, with 41,309 students passing out of which
2,751 attained GPA-5.
Sylhet had the fewest number of examinees with 41,233. Of
them, 32,336 managed to pass, 1977 of them with the
maximum GPA.
By comparison, Dinjapur had 117,129 candidates, out of
which 83,977 passed the exams and 6,634 secured the
maximum GPA.
Out of the regional boards, a total of 210,419 students
appeared in the Dakhil examinations under the Madrasah
board, out of whom a very impressive figure of 182,432
students secured passes, which is a record. A whopping
20,755 of them secured the maximum GPA.
The Technical Education Board had 64,501 students passing
out of total 77,979 candidates, but they had the lowest
number of GPA-5 achievers, with only 72.
Meanwhile, BSS adds: The number of GPA-5 holders in the
SSC examinations rose sharply by 24.90 per cent compared
to that of previous year.
A total of 82,961 candidates of SSC and equivalent
examinations under 10 education boards secured GPA- 5 this
year, while the number was 62,307 last year.
This year, a total of 62,134 students secured GPA-5 under
eight education boards while the figure was 45,934 last
year.
The number of GPA-5 achievers stood at 21,142 in Dhaka
Board, 10,568 in Rajshahi Board, 7,399 in Jessore Board,
6,634 in Dinajpur Board, 5,863 in Comilla, 5,800 in
Chittagong Board, 2,751 in Barisal Board and 1,977 in
Sylhet Board
In Madrasa Board, 20,777 students secured GPA-5 this year
while in Technical Education Board only 72 students got
GPA-5.
JSS-UPDF
gunfight leaves five killed in Rangamati
UNB, Rangamati
At least five people were killed and several others
injured in a fierce gun battle on Saturday between Jana
Sanghati Samity (JSS) and United People's Democratic Front
(UPDF) at a remote village of Jurachhari upazila.
Confirming the incident upazila chairman Probartak Chakma
told UNB by phone that the two tribal groups fought near
the Chhoto Panchhari government primary school in the
morning.
The rival groups fought over extortion and supremacy in
the area. UPDF is opposed to CHT peace accord signed by
PCJSS (now JSS) with the government in December 1997.
The upazila chairman identified those killed as Sohel
Chakma, 23, Tapan Chakma, 22, Baro Bija Chakma, 27,
Purnamoni Chakma, 32 and Kankan Chakma, 26.
The injured are undergoing treatment in hospital and
clinics but their identity was not immediately known.
Police Super Masud-ul-Hasan said the armed members of JSS
and UPDF exchanged gunfire for an hour near Panchhari
Government Primary School at about 7:30 am.
He said a joint team of police and army rushed to the spot
but they did not find the victims. Locals informed them
that two persons - Suvash Chakma and Kankan Chakma - died
in the armed clash.
5
DU students injured in clash with Birdem employees
UNB, Dhaka
Five students of Dhaka University were injured in a clash
with the employees of BIRDEM hospital in city's Shahbagh
on Saturday noon.
Witnesses said the incident took place inside the BIRDEM
hospital when Jewel, a student of Linguistics department
of Dhaka University, who was waiting for the lift at about
12:00 pm, had an altercation with the security guard over
breaking serial to board the lift. At one stage of the
altercation, some employees of the hospital physically
assaulted Jewel.
As the news reach the campus, around 70-80 DU students
went to the BIRDEM hospital and protested the assault on
Jewel that led to a clash with the hospital employees at
about 2:30 pm.
During the clash, the students hurled brickbats towards
the outdoor of the hospital and damaged glasses.
Additional police rushed to the spot and lobbed several
teargas shells to disperse the unruly students.
Sayeed, Enam, Zahir and Ziauddin, all students of DU, were
injured in the clash. Of them, Ziauddin was undergoing
treatment at the ICU of the hospital.
At one stage of the clash, the DU students came out onto
the street at Shahbagh crossing and put barricade on the
busy road halting vehicular traffic in the area for nearly
one and half hours. Later, the barricade was withdrawn at
about 4:00 pm.
Meanwhile, a three-member committee headed by Prof. Dr
Salam Khan of BIRDEM was formed to probe the incident. The
two other members of the committee are Associate Prof
Aftab Ahmed of Dhaka University and Director (Admin) of
BIRDEM Hospital Paresh Roy Chowdhury.
The Committee was asked to submit its report within three
days.
Dhaka grand rally
Govt will be responsible for any untoward incident: BNP
UNB, Dhaka
BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain today
(Saturday) warned that the government will have to take
the responsibility if any untoward incident takes place
centering the party's May 19 grand rally in the city's
Paltan Maidan.
He made the warning after a joint meeting of BNP and its
front and associated organizations held at the party's
central office.
The joint meeting was held to chalk out programmes to
observe 29th death anniversary of President Ziaur Rahman,
founder of BNP, who was assassinated on May 30, 1981.
Khandaker Delwar said they want to hold the Dhaka
divisional grand rally peacefully and democratically. He
said they have requested the government to provide
necessary facilities to conduct the normal activities of
the rally. But he alleged the government is trying to
obstruct the rally in different ways defying their
request. "As a result if any untoward incident takes place
the government will have to take the responsibility," he
cautioned.
Urging the government to supply necessary electricity in
the Paltan Maidan grand rally he said "we don't want any
untoward incident takes place. We are hoping that the
government will supply necessary electricity to conduct
our programme," he said.
BNP
trying to make issue against govt: AL
BSS, Dhaka
Acting General Secretary of Awami League (AL)
Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif on Saturday said after failing to win
the Bhola by-poll, BNP is now trying to make an issue by
organizing a grand rally in the capital.
He also said that BNP is hatching a conspiracy against the
government through creating chaos among the partymen in
the name of grand rally.
Hanif revealed it to reporters after a joint meeting of
the party held at its Dhanmondi office here. AL presidium
member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury chaired the meeting.
Replying to BNP's allegation that the government is
creating obstruction to its grand rally, Hanif said
finding no other means, they are now trying to foil the
government's move of trying the perpetrators of crimes
against humanity during the War of Liberation.
"BNP has started such allegation against the government
since the Bhola by-poll," he said adding that the
government had actually done nothing to foil the rally
organized by BNP.
Referring to the programme to siege the Election
Commission (EC) office by BNP, Hanif said, "AL believes in
democracy and it is absurd on the part of our party to
create any barrier against the main opposition's programme."
Calling upon the main opposition to hold rallies and
meetings in a democratic manner, the AL leader said the
people would not accept if BNP tries to create any anarchy
in the name of political movement. He asked the BNP
leaders to stop such false propaganda against the
government.
10 injured in
Sylhet clash
UNB, Sylhet
Alleged sexual harass of a female student by BCL leader of
the Polytechnic Institute led to a clash on the campus on
Saturday leaving 10 activists wounded.
Witnesses said general students brought out a procession
on the campus and held rally condemning sexual harassment
of female student of computer on May 13 by Saikat Chandra
Rimi.
They branded Rimi and his associates as extortionists and
Eve teasers. A memorandum was submitted to the Principal
demanding expulsion of Rumi and his associates from the
Institute.
BCL activists attacked the demonstrators with lethal
weapons triggering the clash. At least 10 activists were
wounded.
BCL leader of the Institute Zahirul Alam dismissed the
allegation against Rimi. He said the demonstration was
orchestrated by Shibir and JCD.
Two more killed
in gunfight with RAB
32 extrajudicial killings in four and a half months
TBT Report
Two more outlawed party leaders were killed in 'gunfight'
with RAB in Pabna and Kushtia on Saturday taking the total
of such extra judicial killings to 124 in over nine months
from August 1, 2009 to May 15, 2010. With this 32 extra
judicial killings took placed in the year of 2010.
Meanwhile, . RAB DG recently said as many as 622 people
were killed in 'crossfire' since the formation of RAB on
March 26, 2004.
UNB news agency reports: An outlawed party leader was
killed in a gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
personnel near Saradganj bazaar in Sathia upazila early
Saturday. The deceased was identified as Abdul Malek, 35,
regional commander of JSD Ganabahini.
Acting on a tip-off that a gang of extremists were holding
a clandestine meeting a patrol team of RAB-12 raided the
bazaar at about 2:30am. Sensing their presence the outlaws
opened fire on them forcing the RAB to fire back that
triggered a gunfight. At one stage Malek was caught in the
line of fire and died instantly.
Another UNB report said, an outlawed party leader was
killed in a shootout between his cohorts and RAB members
at Atigram in Mirpur upazila early Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Saidul Islam alias Syed,
regional leader of Jasad Gonobahini. RAB sources said
acting on secret information, a RAB team conducted a drive
when Syed along with his cohorts were holding a
clandestine meeting early in the morning. As soon as they
reached the spot the outlaws opened fire on the law
enforcers, forcing them to fire back that trigger a gun
battle. At one stage, when the outlaws fled away the RAB
members recovered the body from the scene.
Back Page
12 killed, 28 injured in road
crashes
UNB, Bogra,
Four people were killed and three others injured in two
separate road accidents in Shahjahanpur upazila on Friday.
The deceased were identified as Obaidul, 34, auto-rickshaw
driver Mizan, 35, Nurul Islam and the identity of another
deceased could not be known immediately. Obaidul hailed
from Dinajpur district.
Witnesses said a CNG-run auto-rickshaw carrying five
people collided with a truck at Andharghat area on Dhaka-Bogra
highway leaving Obaidul and an unknown young man dead on
the spot and three others injured. Obaildul hailed from
Dinajpur district.
Another injured victim driver Mizan died at Bogra Shaheed
Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital. Police seized the
truck.
In another accident, a three-wheeler 'Bhotboti, driver
Nurul Islam, died on the spot when a truck coming from
opposite direction rammed his vehicle in front of
Shajahanpur thana early in the morning.
BSS says from Barguna: One person was killed and 25 others
were injured in a road accident in Gahtkhali station area
on Amtali-Patuakhali highway in the district on Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Kulsum Begum, 25, of
Sarishabari village under Bethagi upazila of the district.
Police quoting the locals said the accident occurred when
an overloaded passengers bus coming from opposite
direction knocked another bus that killed one person on
the spot and injuries 25.
The injured persons admitted to Amtali, Patuakhali and
Barisal Hospital for treatment.
UNB adds from Comilla: At least five people, including a
police constable, were killed and five people injured in
separate road accidents in Comilla and Sherpur districts
Friday-Saturday.
In Comilla, two people were killed and another was injured
as a bus rammed into an autorickshaw at Chapapur in Sadar
Dakkhin upazila on Comilla-Feni highway on Saturday.
Police said the accident took place when a Kashinagar
bound bus hit an auto rickshaw from behind, leaving the
auto rickshaw driver dead on spot and two passengers
injured.
Of the injured, Babul (30) died on way to Comilla Medical
College Hospital.
In Sherpur, three people were killed and four others
injured in a collision between a human hauler (Bhatbhati)
and an auto rickshaw at Dakpara Bangermore on
Sherpur-Jamalpur road on Friday evening.
The deceased were identified as Jahangir Hossain, 45, a
constable of Sherpur Police Lines, Jasim Uddin, 80, a
businessman of Tirutha area of Jamalpur and an
unidentified child.
Police said the human hauler from Sherpur collided with an
auto rickshaw, leaving seven passengers from both vehicles
critically injured.
The injured were first rushed to Jamalpur General Hospital
where three of them succumbed. Four other injured were
shifted to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
UNB adds: Two motorcyclists were killed when their
motorbicke was by a truck at Rupatali village on
Barisal-Patuakhali highway in Sadar upazila on Saturday.
Police said Mehedi, 26, of Kaunia and Shipon, 24, of
Alekanda in the city, traveling one motorbike died on the
spot in the accident at about 9am. However, teh drive and
helper of the truck fled away following the accident.
Women empowerment
powerful instrument against discrimination: Dipu Moni
UNB, Dhaka
Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni on Saturday said
Bangladesh's advancement in women empowerment is the most
powerful instrument against discrimination against women.
"Our government is committed to take action to further
integrate women in national development efforts through
targeted literacy programmes, increased representation in
the workforce, economic emancipation, and political
representation," she said.
The Foreign Minister was speaking at a function at
Sonargaon Hotel marking the launching of the directory,
Who's Who, Women Leaders of Bangladesh at a Glance,
published by Bangladesh Alliance for Women Leaders.
Dipu Moni said stringent laws and practical measures have
been put in place to address violence against women. The
Cabinet has recently approved a law on the prevention of
domestic violence and sent it to the parliament for its
consideration and adoption.
"This, we are confident, would help prevent domestic
violence where most of the victims are women and girls,"
she said, adding similar policies for the promotion and
protection of the rights of children, especially of the
girl child, are being put in place.
The stern stance of the government against eve-teasing is
a case in point, she added.
The Foreign Minister said education, particularly for
girls, is a priority of the government and the education
sector receives the single largest share of the annual
budget - about 15 per cent.
She said Bangladesh has been successful in achieving
gender parity in net enrolment in primary and secondary
schools - a key Millennium Development Goal (MDG). The
government has a plan to provide free tuition for girls up
to under-graduate level.
The present government, she added, has introduced
provision of meal in primary schools in order to address
the issue of school dropout.
Dipu Moni said improvement of maternal health is a
priority area in Bangladesh's overall healthcare strategy.
A healthy, enlightened and empowered mother is critical
for ensuring healthy children, and by extension, a healthy
nation.
She said Bangladesh has made substantial progress in the
health and population sector, particularly in reducing
fertility and child mortality, and also in improving
maternal health.
"Still nearly 10 mothers die every single day from
preventable causes. This is not merely untenable, this is
a crime."
The Foreign Minister said the publication of a list of 133
female achievers is simply recognition of the tip of the
iceberg. The women workforce has been contributing to the
shaping of Bangladesh for a long time.
"The identity of a woman is culturally constructed. So, to
re-define the scope and role of women, we must reconstruct
the cultural programming that is heavily tilted towards
masculinity. The publication of Who's Who, exclusive to
women may be one step towards that cultural
reconstruction," she said.
BNP protests killings
of two Bangladeshis by BSF
UNB, Dhaka
BNP has strongly protested the barbarous killings of two
Bangladeshi people in Thakurgaon district border area by
bullet firing of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on
Friday.
In a statement on Saturday BNP senior joint secretary
general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Friday BSF
without any provocation shot at four Bangladeshi people at
Ratnai Barsa village of Baliadangi upazila in Thakurgaon
district.
Of the four, Mojibur Rahman died on the spot and
adolescent girl Parul died at a hospital.
The BNP leader said BSF for long days are committing
heinous activities at the border areas illegally violating
the sovereignty of Bangladesh and killing Bangladeshi
citizens by firing bullets.
He said BDR could not make counter measure due to lack of
arms whereas the government is silent with the incident.
Mirza Fakhrul said the government is not even registering
any protest.
He alleged that the BSF now become desperate due to
subservient policy of the government. He protested the
government's submissive foreign policy.
Nor'wester kills 3, injures
over 100 in Rajshahi, Laximpur
UNB, Rajshahi
Two people were killed and over 100 others injured when a
severe nor'wester tore through the city and other parts of
the district on Friday evening.
Local sources said, Shokhejan Bewa, 55, of Jhargram
village in Bagmara upazila died in a tree collapse while
returning home during the storm.
They said in another incident, Ratan, 20, a first year
student of Rajshahi University was killed as thunderbolt
struck him at about 7 pm. He hailed from Maria Sahapara
village in Puthia upazila.
UNB adds from Laxmipur: A man was killed and over 300
trees were uprooted when a nor'wester swept over Ramgati
upazila of the district on Friday night.
The deceased was identified as Nurul Islam, of Balurchar
village of the upazila.
Tough
competition awaits for top scorers in SSC
BSS, Dhaka,
Students with better scores in the Secondary School
Certificate and its equivalent examinations under the 10
boards of the country will face tough competition to get
admission in well-known colleges.
Only a dozen or some more colleges in the capital have
traditionally attracted the top scorers in SSC and
equivalent exams.
According to the SSC exam results published today, a total
of 82,961 students have scored GPA-5, but there are less
than 20,000 seats in the reputable colleges. Like the
previous years, most of the GPA-5 achievers are expected
to rush to Dhaka for a seat in
these colleges. About 60,000 GPA-5 achievers will have to
go for second-choice colleges.
A total of 9,60,492 students under 10 education boards
came out successful this year. Students with scores of
GPA-4 and above but below GPA-5 fear that they would not
be able to get admitted to colleges of the first rank.
'Students usually try to get admitted to only a dozen
renowned colleges in the capital,' said Principal of the
Notre Dame College, Father Banjamin Costa CSC.
'We have decided to introduce higher secondary courses in
some colleges from this year to meet the demand of seats.
The admission system, however, will remain unchanged,'
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid told reporters .
According to the statistics available with the Bangladesh
Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics, about
3,150 government and private colleges have more than 4.8
lakh seats to offer higher secondary courses.
According to admission guidelines set by the education
ministry, students will be enrolled in both government and
private colleges on the basis of their results in the
Secondary School Certificate or equivalent exams.
Notre Dame College, Dhaka College, Viqarunnisa Noon School
and College, Ideal School and College, Holy Cross School
and College, Residential Model School and College, Dhaka
City College, Dhaka Commerce College, BAF Shahin College,
Rajuk Uttara Model College and Motijheel Model College are
some of the coveted colleges are in the capital.
Editorial
Eliminating child
labour
Minister
for Labour and Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment
Khandakar Mosharraf Hossain has stressed the need for
political will and collaboration among government, workers and
employers' organizations for realizing the objective of a
world free from child labour. He said Bangladesh government
under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is
committed to eliminate the child labour from the country. The
minister said this while exchanging views with journalists at
Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday night after
attending a two day global conference on Child Labour at Hague
in Netherlands on May 10-11. He said Bangladesh has reiterated
its commitment to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in
the country by 2016.
Elimination of child labour is a noble target no doubt,
because due to extreme poverty a large number of children of
this country are engaged at various establishments and
household as child labourers at the cost of the future of
their lives. According to an estimate by Save the Children
Sweden-Denmark (SCSD) over 9 million children of Bangladesh
are trapped in the worst forms of child labour living in
slavery-like conditions, separated from their families or
exposed to serious danger and illness. Some children have to
work in appalling and dangerous conditions. Some are kept in
institutions, separate from their families and communities.
Some are exposed to abuse, violence, exploitation, neglect and
kidnapped or tricked into going thousands of miles from home.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2002-03 data had put the
number of child labourers in the country at 7.4 million. A
large section of them are engaged in risky jobs in mills,
factories and elsewhere. Many parents despite their earnest
desire cannot send their boys or girls to schools due to
abject poverty. As a result the child labourers are being
deprived of the opportunity to grow up as educated citizens.
With the passing of time, more and more people are raising
their voices against child labour in our country. They call
for the elimination of child labour and say it is vital to
ensure education of children and development of human
resources. They observe that child labour has no occupational
mobility, it also tarnishes international image and with 70
percent working children facing serious hazards at work, they
gradually become physically inactive. All are vocal against
child labour, but in reality the number of children at works
is increasing day by day. This is simply because they need to
earn the bread for themselves and their families also. Child
labour is prohibited worldwide including our country, but in
fact children are engaged as labourers in almost all
developing countries including Bangladesh. Poor parents also
send their children to work to support the family.
The Government should take steps to provide for children the
basic needs like education, treatment, food and shelter. As
poverty is the main cause behind child labour efforts should
be made for poverty alleviation. No doubt, alleviation of
poverty and elimination of child labour are very difficult
tasks in a country like ours where poverty is massive and many
poor parents are accustomed to treating their children as
supporting hands in their struggle to sustain. Yet, the
government should go all out for accomplishing these tasks as
child labour is a scourge for the society and a challenge to
the humanity because it impedes the growth of a child to a
citizen with dignity. In fact, elimination of child labour, if
possible, will be a great service not only to the unfortunate
working children but to the humanity and civilization as well.
Death traps on
mid-way
Death
traps in large number are there on both roads and waterways in
the country. Hardly any day passes off without any road
accident taking place somewhere in the country killing and
injuring some travelers. In the waterways, the accidents are
less frequent, but sometimes more fatal as a launch capsize
may cause deaths of scores of people. Even a motor boat
capsize in Meghna River in Bazitpur upazila in Kishoreganj on
Wednesday claimed 16 lives. The trawler was overloaded with
about 100 passengers, several hundred maunds of paddy and
other commodities. Steering through the strong current the
vessel lost balance and capsized near Ainargop.
Launch or trawler accidents may take place for various reasons
including storm, collision between two river vessels and also
for overloading. In the present case the trawler accident
occurred mainly because it was heavily overloaded. Plainly
speaking the trawler owner's greed to earn more led to the
fatal accident. Unless this tendency to maximize profit by
putting passengers' lives at risk can be stopped, such tragic
accidents will continue to happen.
In the last such accident five people, including three
children and two women, drowned and 15 went missing as a
motorboat capsized in the river Kalabadar under Mehendiganj
Upazila in Barisal on April 11 last. As many as 206 people
died in six launch accidents in the country in 2009. Over 6215
people died in 517 major launch disasters at different places
during the 32 years till November 2009. But despite so many
accidents and such huge number of deaths, no body is learnt to
have been punished or no compensation has been given to the
victims. It is widely believed that the government's
indifference to the violation of laws and the scope for launch
employees and owners to go scot free after fatal accidents is
considered as main causes of the frequent accidents. So, there
should be stringent laws to punish those responsible for the
launch accidents and to compel the offenders to compensate the
victims of the accidents.
Analysis
America's enemy-friend
The attendant consequences on the economy,
demonstrated by the lack of investor confidence--the Friends
of Pakistan are unwilling to release their pledges without IMF
clearance--is already well known.
Zafar Hilaly
For Hillary
Clinton to threaten fire and brimstone if another "idiot
bomber" was to emerge from the tribal badlands when, a while
earlier, she was assuring Pakistan that "come what may, we
will stick by you," suggests that for America Pakistan is an
enemy-friend. But what was more absurd was to hold US-Pakistan
relations hostage to the actions of the next "idiot" who may
come along with a cheap car and some non-inflammable
fertiliser. Genius may have its limitations, but clearly
stupidity is not similarly handicapped.
Poor Holbrooke, who "lost it" when he lost out on the
secretary of state job, attempted to dilute Hillary's threat
by saying that her words had not been "correctly presented."
But we know better. No altered presentation would have helped.
Her words spoke for themselves. The fracas, however, did
remind us that nations do not have permanent friends but only
interests, and that, in the final analysis, they stand alone.
No announcement is guaranteed to make the blood of our anchors
boil more than critical references to Pakistan by an American
politician. And Hillary's remarks had them shrieking on their
talk shows, which happen to be the best advertisement for
euthanasia.
One anchor, who looks like a half-melted rubber bulldog,
hosted a programme which had it all--offensive racial and
religious undertones with dollops of juvenile posturing.
Another who is not a complete idiot, only because some of his
parts are missing, went on and on about why Pakistan must
shoot down drones. When told that they actually take off from
Pakistan, he gyrated as if in an apoplectic fit.
The best and the most erudite, however, did say something that
was remotely interesting: "Force is not the solution to
problems, only America thinks it is." When rung up, he
confessed he was paraphrasing (of all people) an American
columnist.
There are many reasons why American well wishers, but more so
Pakistanis, should be concerned with the state of affairs in
the country. And foremost is the inability of the Zardari
troupe to do anything about corruption other than to stoke the
embers vigorously. A host of new revelations, said to be in
the offing, will only further confirm fears that a functioning
kleptocracy is what Pakistan has become.
The attendant consequences on the economy, demonstrated by the
lack of investor confidence--the Friends of Pakistan are
unwilling to release their pledges without IMF clearance--is
already well known.
The level of foreign and domestic investment has plummeted.
The new finance minister is already talking of a new loan from
the IMF. For the next five years Pakistan's growth rate, if
one subtracts the annual population growth, will be
negligible--an insignificant 1.5 per cent. Merely blaming it
on the recession or the militancy won't do. The populace is
becoming restive. They cannot forever be exploited by their
rulers for whom the perpetual menace of war or patriotic
terrors seem to have become an abundant source of gain. They
will take to the streets momentarily, and perhaps the next
budget incorporating the bitter IMF regimen of higher taxes
will provide the proverbial spark.
Another notion gaining currency among Washington insiders and
some of our own, based on the writings of intrepid reporters
who have visited the troubled areas, is that the army action
is souring. Notwithstanding what all acknowledge has been a
brave and determined effort on the part of the army to turf
out militants, the level of re-infiltration has picked up, if
not as much in Swat then certainly in Bajaur and elsewhere.
There is, at the same time, the realisation that the army can
only do so much, and with the civilian government unable to
fulfil its role, setbacks are inevitable.
FATA, where most of the resettlement effort is needed, is the
responsibility of the federal government, and it is shameful
that neither the president nor the prime minister have ever
deigned to visit their parish, notwithstanding the need to
show their concern and lend encouragement to those whose lives
have been ruined by the desolation and destruction that war
has brought; and only because of the physical danger posed by
such visits. That they have chosen to shirk their duty shows,
more than words ever can, a lack of concern for their
unfortunate countrymen and a fixation with their own well
being that is frankly inexcusable.
Similarly the lack of seriousness on the part of the
government to deal with the shambolic education system has
seldom appeared more glaring.
The statistics are scandalous: 42,000 government schools
without toilets of the most rudimentary kind is one;
absenteeism, which is rife, is another; and the dilapidated
condition of the schools, which in some
cases are reminiscent of the ruins of Taxila, is a third.
The likely imposition of VAT on private schools in the
forthcoming budget, which are doing their best to take up the
slack left by dysfunctional government schools, shows not only
how dupable our leaders are but also how those of the IMF, who
should know better, can exploit their lack of concern.
The Americans have promised to help in a manner that is
directly linked to employment, and that is by investing in
higher and technical education. They have also set aside $36
million for rebuilding schools in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, but that
is a drop in the ocean when set off against the amount
required.
The incessant argument as to who owes what, on the circular
debt issue, has floored the government and made life a
nightmare for the population. The Americans say that they will
be rewinding the turbines at Tarbela, replacing inefficient
pumps, helping four electricity distribution companies to get
their act together and reduce power theft by installing
"smart" meters. They also intend to complete two dams, in
Skardu and South Waziristan, and install a 50MW wind-power
project in Sindh. It's strange that even the "moderately
enlightened" Musharraf never thought of it in his eight years
of unleavened power.
Had there been a modicum of respect among Pakistanis for the
major players in this regime, then hope, "the physician of
each of our miseries," could no doubt shine and lead us to
believe that this country that we love so much will find
dignity, peace and progress once again. Alas, there is none.
And the worry is that people will not readily bear pain much
longer unless there is hope. However, because it would be
wrong to end on a pessimistic note when it comes to divining
our future, one can only hope that the darkest hour, as the
proverb says, is just before the dawn, and hence our salvation
is around the corner.
The writer is a former ambassador of Pakistan. Email:
charles123it@hotmail.com
After Thimphu
It would
help Afghanistan if India were able to convince Pakistan
that its intentions in Afghanistan are not mala fide, just
as it would help if Pakistan were to convince India that
it is opposed to Afghanistan's being used for terrorist
attacks on India and Indians.
Radha Kumar
The
announcement that the foreign ministers of India and
Pakistan will meet in July is a welcome follow-up to the
talks between Prime Ministers Singh and Gilani at the
recent SAARC Summit in Thimphu. But it is still not
certain whether they will match in substance the peace
process that was put on the backburner in 2007 following
the Laal Masjid violence.
Traditionally our foreign ministers meet when our prime
ministers and/or leading political parties are hesitant to
commit but wish to get a process started. There are of
course exceptions, as when Swaran Singh met with his
counterpart to map Siachen; but in the past 20 years the
big breakthroughs have come when the two countries'
leaders met, not when their foreign ministers did.
Much of what happens in July, in fact, will depend on what
happens between now and then. The Indian Home Minister's
June visit to Islamabad for the SAARC interior ministers'
meeting will be the first test. If he is convinced by his
Pakistani interlocutors that the Pakistani government will
push ahead with the 26/11 prosecutions (and in his turn,
updates the Pakistani government on progress in the
Samjhauta prosecutions), then we can hope that the agenda
for the July meeting will be substantive.
What would a substantive agenda include? The Pakistani
government has said water will be high on their list of
priority issues. There is little doubt that it is a
critical concern for both countries, each of which suffers
from growing demand on a resource that has not been
conserved and is not managed.
Each year we lose both water and land to our lack of water
management policies, including even such measures as
embanking our rivers. Water is an issue that calls for us
to move from the zero-sum approach of water-sharing
disputes to the positive sum of cooperation on best
practices for water conservation and regeneration.
But water is only one of the issues that need to be
tackled. Security is another, from CBMs to allay Pakistani
threat perception to infusing the Joint Anti-Terrorism
Mechanism with life. One way to jump-start the mechanism
is to set up a secretariat with full time staff deputed by
the two countries' intelligence and law enforcement
agencies.
That would ensure the regular contact required for
trust-building.
The best way to devise CBMs to allay threat perceptions
would be through a direct military-to-military dialogue
between the two countries' top brass. As far as I know,
however, that has never happened. There are plenty of
Track II India-Pakistan military to military dialogues,
mostly third-party organised, but Track I has met mainly
to negotiate, not to talk. Would it be so revolutionary
for them to meet for open-ended talks to discuss
misperceptions and/or security dilemmas? Why does it seem
inconceivable?
Then there is Jammu and Kashmir. As Pakistan's former
Foreign Minister Kasuri's recent article in the Times of
India states, considerable progress was made in the
official back channel during the Musharraf rule. The
points that were agreed then were not new - they had, at
prior and different times, been supported by former Prime
Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif - but there is
still little clarity of whether the present Pakistani
government would wish to pick up where the back channel
left off. It would be a pity if the progress made then was
rolled back. It was considerable and deserves continuity,
and it was broad brush with many elements still to be
filled out. Picking up where it left off would not mean
accepting what Musharraf negotiated - he was in any case
one stop on the line of attempted peace initiatives -
because it would entail further out-of-the-box thinking to
turn into a comprehensive and lasting peace agreement.
It is also true that the priority for Kashmir today is for
the parallel tracks of the peace process to be revived -
India-Pakistan, India-Kashmiri nationalists (from all
parts of the former state), Pakistan-Kashmiri nationalists
- and for the discussion of a solution to be public (as
well as privately in the back channel) and inclusive. Most
importantly, it will have to be held in an atmosphere free
of violence.
Finally, there is Afghanistan. While the tensions between
India and Pakistan cannot be blamed for escalating
insecurity in Afghanistan, they are a contributing factor
as the attacks on the Indian embassy and personnel in
Kabul indicate. Clearly it would help Afghanistan if India
were able to convince Pakistan that its intentions in
Afghanistan are not mala fide, just as it would help if
Pakistan were to convince India that it is opposed to
Afghanistan's being used for terrorist attacks on India
and Indians.
Back in 1942, when Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah wrote
The Future of India's Constitution, he argued that the
creation of a separate homeland for India's Muslims,
Pakistan, would secure India's stability because the new
state would act as a buffer against instability or
security threats from Afghanistan. Ironically, 60 years
later our two countries are bristling at each other there.
Afghanistan is unlikely to be on the July agenda, or
anytime soon,
though it is being discussed in Track II forums, both
bilateral and trilateral. In any case the first priority
is improving India-Pakistan relations, whose benefit will
also be felt in Afghanistan. Meanwhile Track II can help
pave
the way.
The good news is that Indian and Pakistani civil society
organisations, from think tanks to powerful media groups
and industrial associations, are gearing up to support and
lobby for peacemaking initiatives. In 1998-2000, a similar
buildup of civil society support led the leaders of the
two countries to initiate and then chart what would become
the roadmap that subsequent leaders built upon in the
years
2004-06.
Let us hope there is a similar groundswell for July.
Radha Kumar is Professor of Peace and Conflicts Studies
at Jamia Millia Islamia university and trustee of the
Delhi Policy Group
Viewpoints
Muslims and UK election
From poll
campaign one would scarcely have guessed that Britain was a
multi-ethnic society.
Neil Berry
For
all that British General Election on May 6 yielded a messy
outcome, with no single party able to claim outright victory,
it at least delivered an unequivocal rejection of the
blatantly Islamophobic British National Party, which had
seemed close to achieving a historic breakthrough. Contesting
the East London parliamentary constituency of Barking and
Dagenham, the BNP leader Nick Griffin suffered humiliating
defeat at the hands of the sitting Labour MP Margaret Hodge;
his party's seemingly strong bid to take control of local
government in the area similarly came to nothing. When last
year, Griffin controversially appeared on BBC television's
flagship discussion program Question Time, the impression was
that fascism was edging into the British political mainstream.
Yet in the space of 24 hours, Griffin and his party were not
so much marginalized as decimated.
The routing of the BNP in Barking owed more than a little to
the non-partisan "Hope not Hate" campaign instigated by the
anti-fascist magazine, Searchlight, with the support of trade
unions, Muslim and Jewish groups and the charismatic
Barking-born musician and writer, Billy Bragg. Equally, it
owed much to Margaret Hodge's efforts to address the
grievances of local people who believe that immigrants to the
area receive preferential treatment in the allocation of
public housing. The BNP was perhaps also undermined by the
changed demography of Barking and other areas where it sought
to make an impact. There may even be something in claims that
the outgoing Labour government cynically encouraged
immigration in the hope of securing permanent Labour dominance
in key parts of urban Britain.
Not the least reason for the BNP's debacle, however, is
Britain's winner-takes-all electoral system, which means that
the number of votes cast for a given party is irrelevant
beside the number of seats it obtains. Under proportional
representation, the BNP, along with other minority parties,
could be expected to enjoy some degree of electoral success,
and that is the system favored by the Liberal Democrats led by
Nick Clegg who now form Britain's new coalition government
with the Conservative Party under the leadership of Prime
Minister David Cameron. Whatever its inadequacies, the
existing British democratic system has had the advantage for
Muslims and other British minorities of consigning the BNP to
electoral oblivion.
In the event, instead of a triumphant BNP, the general
election saw Britain's black and Asian MPs increase from 14 to
27, with 8 of that number Muslims, 3 of whom are women. It is
worth adding that concern about immigration, which the BNP
tried to exploit, has begun to be shared by established
immigrant groups in Britain who believe that the open labor
market that has operated in recent years has led to a far
greater influx of migrant workers than the country's ravaged
infrastructure can sustain. The time may come when immigration
will be routinely discussed by British politicians, including
those from immigrant backgrounds, in hardheaded and pragmatic
terms. Yet from the general election campaign as projected by
the media you would scarcely have guessed that Britain was a
multi-ethnic society at all, let alone that it faces many
challenges on that score. The much-publicized television
debates between the three main party leaders were pre-occupied
to a shaming degree with domestic economic issues. A visitor
from another planet would have had little inkling that Britain
is a country that has been at war in Iraq and is still at war
in Afghanistan, or that many British people, not least
Muslims, feel deeply about these matters and about
infringements of civil liberties that have been justified in
the name of national security. So insular were the leaders'
exchanges it often seemed that the world outside Britain
barely existed. The widespread unease about the role that, in
concert with the United States, Britain is supposed to be
playing in fighting global terrorism was simply not reflected
in the debates.
Much of this stems from the leaders' pusillanimous reluctance
to utter a word that could disturb US confidence in Britain as
a dependable ally or that might be unpalatable to the
right-wing, pro-US moguls who own much of the British media
and exercise a vastly disproportionate influence over British
politics. The case has often been made that Britain is
effectively ruled by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian billionaire
who is an American citizen and who, despite paying no British
taxes, controls an inordinate share of the British media. It
was his Sky television network that staged the second of the
leaders' debates, for all the world as though British
democracy was a Sky production that Murdoch had
public-spiritedly brought to his UK subscribers.
The irony was that despite the leaders' determined efforts to
eschew controversy, the aftermath of the election found them
contending with a vast media uproar over the result. The truth
is that the election's inconclusive outcome (the product in no
small degree of public contempt for politicians in general
inspired by the recent scandal over MPs' expenses) has called
into question the viability, if not the very legitimacy, of
the British Constitution. While the Conservative Party won
more seats than its rivals, no single party actually won the
election. It may be that in addition to its severe economic
difficulties Britain is destined to endure a protracted period
of constitutional crisis until the British public has had the
chance to affirm its faith in a reformed electoral system.
British democracy can hardly be said to be in rude health.
Observing the extraordinary spectacle of voters being turned
away from polling booths and denied a vote because they had
arrived too late, a Kenyan correspondent thought that he was
witnessing not a British but an African election.
Yet Britain is riddled with paradox. Decrepit though the
once-vaunted "mother of Parliaments" may be, the enhanced
representation in it of racial minorities is a notable
democratic advance. Britain's 19th old Etonian prime minister
takes charge of a most peculiar country, one that often
appears to be clinging desperately to the past even as it
embraces the future.
Obama’s Burma
policy slips
Washington's primary concern may not be human rights at
all, but the junta's suspected arms trade with North Korea
and reports that the two countries may be cooperating on
nuclear weapons-related projects.
Simon Tisdall
Barack
Obama's policy of 'pragmatic engagement' with the Burmese
military junta is in danger of falling apart as the
generals press ahead with plans for elections later this
year from which the country's main opposition party, the
National League for Democracy, has been effectively
excluded. Pressure is now growing for a tougher approach -
though it's unclear what, if anything, can make the regime
change its mind.
Speaking following a visit to Burma recently, Kurt
Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state, expressed
Washington's "profound disappointment" at the lack of
progress there. The junta had ignored proposals for a
national dialogue involving all political and ethnic
groups and was instead moving ahead unilaterally with its
poll plans, he said.
"As a direct result, what we have seen to date leads us to
believe that these elections will lack international
legitimacy. We urge the regime to take immediate steps to
open the process in the time remaining before the
elections," Campbell said. A date has not yet been
announced for the polls.
Campbell was sharply critical of the junta's treatment of
an estimated 2,100 political prisoners and its continuing
human rights abuses, including army attacks on ethnic
minority groups. In March a report by the UN special
rapporteur on human rights said the systematic attacks
could constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity
and called for a judicial investigation.
Washington's primary concern may not be human rights at
all, but the junta's suspected arms trade with North Korea
and reports that the two countries may be cooperating on
nuclear weapons-related projects. After North Korea
conducted a nuclear test last year, the UN security
council passed resolution 1874 banning weapons trading
with Pyongyang. Campbell hinted at unspecified, unilateral
US action if the regime did not cooperate.
Criticism of the generals' election plans, and the
detention of the NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi (who met
briefly with Campbell), has also been voiced by Britain,
which backs a war crimes inquiry, by the EU, and in Asean
(the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Last month
EU foreign ministers renewed sanctions on the regime.
But the criticism has been ignored by the junta, which
continues to enjoy diplomatic contacts and unimpeded trade
with some neighbouring countries, notably China - a big
customer for its timber and other natural resources.
State media reported recently that an election commission
official, Thein Soe, told Campbell that international
election observers would not be allowed in. "The nation
has a lot of experience with elections. We do not need
election watchdogs to come here," he said.
In a further sign of fraying American patience, a
bipartisan coalition in the US House of Representatives
called this week for a "tougher and more robust
application of sanctions on Burma" and urged the Obama
administration to back an international war crimes
inquiry.
The de facto banning and forced dissolution of the NLD,
which won Burma's last free vote in 1990, has split the
opposition - as the generals doubtless intended. A
breakaway NLD faction, the National Democratic Force, has
said it will contest the elections. Another four of the
existing 10 parties have also applied for permission to
run. One of them, the Union Solidarity and Development
Association, has been promoted on state-controlled
television, raising suspicions that is has been co-opted.
Htet Aung of Irrawaddy magazine, writing in Asia Sentinel,
suggested the NLD had made a "strategic error" in refusing
to comply with new electoral rules, arguing that it could
have forced change from within the new approved
parliamentary structure. But analyst Frida Ghitis, writing
in World Politics Review, said the junta had set a trap
for the NLD. Its decision to pull out marked "another
defeat" for Obama's policy of engaging rogue regimes, she
said.
Maid under the stairs
However, economically empowered South Asian women are also
silent victims of domestic violence because of the
cultural handcuffs and the shame factor.
Betwa Sharma
Thousands
of South Asian women in the United States are silent
victims of domestic and sexual violence unleashed by
partners who control their lives.
They are helpless in a foreign country because of language
constraints, economic exile and a cultural stranglehold.
The troubles of the South Asian women in the US are
reflective of other immigrant communities from South
America and Africa that also battle domestic violence.
Experts note that victims, across the board, get stuck in
the cycle of abuse because of language and education
barriers, lack of legal access and the risk of
deportation.
The Hispanic community, for instance, has the same
tradition of extended families as the South Asians that
make it more difficult for women to break from the ranks.
"Many of the struggles South Asian survivors face echo
across other immigrant groups," said Purvi Shah, a
consultant on violence against women who has worked in the
field for 15 years. "It is for this reason that we all
must work to eliminate these barriers and to mobilise our
communities to end abuse before it even begins."
Domestic violence is described as the "most pervasive yet
the least recognised human rights abuse in the world" by
the United Nations. One in three women has been physically
assaulted at least once in her lifetime as has one in four
pregnant women.
Voices that oppose the abuse in the immigrant community
have grown stronger than ever before but poorly funded
grassroots groups have their limitations. Despite social
and financial constraints in the past two decades, more
than 20 support and advocacy groups against domestic
violence have grabbed a toehold in the immigrant
community.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported
that in the US each year, women experience about 4.8
million intimate partner-related physical assaults and
rapes. In 2005, 78 per cent of victims from the resulting
1,510 deaths were women.
"The number of women being battered may not have decreased
but the women seeking help has increased," said Mallika
Dutt who runs Breakthrough, an international human rights
organisation that operates in India and the US. In 1989,
Dutt co-founded the first domestic violence group for
South Asian women in New York. The activist describes how
painful it was for a new community launching itself in
America to see its dirty linen aired in public. "Men would
come and spit at us during rallies. They would call us
home breakers and lesbians," she said.
The situation is different now. The community has
transformed from first-generation immigrants to confident
second-generation citizens who are not solely preoccupied
with making a living but are more sensitised to social
problems of their neighbourhood.
Even as more women reach out to domestic violence groups,
a toxic set of circumstances prevent the majority from
getting assistance. Brides coming from South Asia are
particularly vulnerable if they do not speak English and
are dependent on their husbands to survive because their
visa status prohibits them from working, getting a driving
license or a social security number.
A few women try to earn some under-the-table cash but men
keep them isolated by locking them in the house without a
phone. This has caused domestic violence groups to
concentrate on economic empowerment through programs like
computer training, language classes, assistance with
college applications and placement agencies.
Still, others keep quiet because they cannot afford to
lose face in the community or shame their families. If the
couple has a dubious immigrant status, then the risk of
deportation seals the silence.
Reaching out for support also means lying and risking
discovery. "We have had situations where he has followed
her right up to our center," said Rosaana Conforme who
works with Sakhi. "They usually cannot come back."
A large number of women who seek help return to abusive
relationships due to lack of options coupled with false
hopes of change in her partner. "It can be very
frustrating to see this but in the end it is her
decision," said Conforme.
Studies also show that the present financial crisis has
led to an increase in violence because men who are
stressed out let off steam by beating their wives. "We are
seeing more women coming in because of the instability in
the family," said Tiloma Jayasinghe, head of Sakhi.
However, economically empowered South Asian women are also
silent victims of domestic violence because of the
cultural handcuffs and the shame factor. Once children
come into the picture, plans of leaving are retired.
Geography offers no respite for the South Asian woman.
Back home the community will OK the violence while the
family blames the woman for being a bad wife. Abroad,
state protection is more accessible but she is completely
alone, which gives the husband greater license to abuse.
The US offers better services for battered women compared
to the countries they leave behind where, despite
stringent laws, victims are subject to harassment by the
police especially in rural areas. "The legal system is
broken and enforcement is a big fat mess," said Dutt. On
the other hand, many South Asian immigrants cannot access
government services because of the language deficiency.
"She would do a double take before going to the cops,"
said Jayasinghe. After surveying 158 courts in 2006, the
National Centre for State Courts concluded that courts had
sparse non-English language instructional material on
protection orders, rarely posted signs on availability of
interpreter services and had limited relationship with
community-based organisations. Sakhi plans to introduce a
scheme where a woman going to a precinct or courthouse
will carry an index card that reads "I have the right to
communicate in my language." The inability of governments,
even in developed countries, to cope with the widespread
epidemic makes prevention vital.
Betwa Sharma is the New York/United Nations
correspondent for the Press Trust of India and is a
freelance journalist
International
JI chief calls
for talks with Taliban
Dawn Online, Lahore
Jamaat-i-Islami chief Syed Munawwar Hasan says the only
way to answer US threats and counter its pressure for
military operation in North Waziristan is to stop all
ongoing army operations and initiate a dialogue with all
Taliban groups.
"If composite dialogue can be held with India again and
again, why not to engage Taliban of our own country," he
said here on Friday.
He said Swat Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad was accused of
violating the Constitution and the peace agreement with
him was scrapped but nationalist parties were openly
talking against the Constitution and the law did not move
against them.
He said Pervez Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice
but instead of punishment, he was given a red carpet
farewell.
He said Sufi Muhammad's only fault was that he demanded
enforcement of Sharia, perturbing 'Satanic' forces within
the country and abroad. He said the agreement with Sufi
Muhammad was scrapped under US pressure.
Hillary clarifies
'serious consequences' remark
ANI, Washington
While doing nothing to 'clarify' her recent 'serious
consequences' warning over attacks in the US by Pakistan
based militants, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton once
again stressed that Islamabad has to do more against what
she described as a 'common enemy'.
Clinton reiterated that militants breeding on Pakistan's
soil are a matter of great concern for the Obama
Administration.
Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, Clinton told a
gathering of experts that though Pakistan has been
assisting America in the probe concerning the botched
Times Square bombing, there is more that it has to do to
tackle the scourge of terrorism in that country.
"There is a lot of effort that is being undertaken on the
Pakistani side to provide information to our teams over
here. And we just believe strongly that there is more that
Pakistan must do to face what is now a common enemy," The
Daily Times quoted Clinton, as saying.
"The attacks by the extremists inside Pakistan are no
longer aimed across their borders. They are aimed at
destroying and killing people in mosques, in markets, in
every walk of society. So this is a matter of great
concern to the American people and to our government," she
added when asked to clarify her earlier comment that
Pakistan would have to face "severe consequences" if
terrorists from that country succeed in attacking the US
in future.
Karzai, new British PM
agree to strengthen ties
AFP, London
David Cameron agreed his new government had to strengthen
Britain's ties with Kabul as he met Afghan President Hamid
Karzai on Saturday in his first meeting with a foreign
leader as prime minister.
Karzai, on his way home from Washington, stopped off in
Britain to meet Cameron, whose new government has put
Afghanistan top of its foreign policy agenda.
The visit was the first to Britain by an international
leader since Cameron's Conservative-Liberal Democrat
coalition took office on Tuesday, following the May 6
general election.
"President Karzai is visiting the United Kingdom and
clearly wants to meet the prime minister as one of his
early meetings," a Downing Street spokeswoman told AFP.
"Clearly it's an important meeting for the prime minister
to meet President Karzai considering the importance of the
Afghan mission and our involvement there in the campaign."
The meeting came the day after Britain's new Foreign
Secretary William Hague met US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton in Washington for talks dominated by Afghanistan.
The president is to hold a "peace jirga" meeting of
Afghanistan's tribal and community leaders at the end of
the month.
Karzai and Cameron met at Chequers, the prime minister's
country residence, northwest of London.
"The prime minister was delighted to invite President
Karzai to Chequers, the first formal visit by an
international leader since the election," a spokesman for
Downing Street said.
Implementation of NRO
verdict
Pak SC asks law minister to explain what steps taken
Dawn Online, Islamabad
Pakistan Supreme Court has summoned Law Minister Babar
Awan on May 25 to inform it about steps taken by the
government to implement its verdict nullifying the
National Reconciliation Ordinance and reopen Swiss cases
against President Asif Ali Zardari.
"Now the stage has come that we should call the law
minister and he should tell us about the implementation of
the NRO verdict," observed Justice Nasirul Mulk, the head
of a five-judge bench, after a brief hearing on Friday.
The bench which includes Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed,
Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, Justice Rehmat Hussain Jafferi
and Justice Tariq Parvez was constituted to oversee the
implementation of the court's verdict against the NRO.
Mr Awan is the second minister summoned by the Supreme
Court. Earlier, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had been
called to face contempt of court charges.
Mr Awan was summoned when former law secretary Justice (retd)
Aqil Mirza, who was required to attend Friday's
proceedings, failed to appear. An application submitted in
the court said there was no need for the secretary's
appearance because he had already resigned. He was unwell
and recuperating in Lahore after a surgery, it said.
Obama extends sanctions on
Myanmar
AFP, Washington
President Barack Obama on Friday formally extended
sanctions against Myanmar, keeping US pressure on a
military regime aiming to hold its first elections in more
than two decades later this year.
Obama extended the emergency sanctions, first employed in
May 1997, "because the actions and policies of the
government of Burma continue to pose an unusual and
extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign
policy of the United States," he said in a message to
Congress.
The move, merely a formality, bars American firms from
investing in Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- and
bans Myanmar exports to the United States. The sanctions
also target individuals in and linked to the Myanmar
junta.
The extension comes just days after the National League
for Democracy (NLD) headed by pro-democracy icon Aung San
Suu Kyi was forcibly dissolved after refusing to meet a
May 6 deadline to re-register as a political party -- a
move that would have forced it to expel its own leader.
The dissolution was prompted by widely criticized laws
governing the elections, which are scheduled for some time
later this year.
Under election legislation unveiled in March, anyone
serving a prison term is banned from being a member of a
political party and parties that fail to obey the rule
will be abolished.
The junta has kept Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for
nearly 20 years. The Nobel peace laureate led her party to
victory in 1990 but the junta never allowed the election
to stand.
The 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate was allowed to meet
this week with a top US diplomat visiting the country.
Poverty at root of deadly
Maoist insurgency, says Gandhi
AFP, New Delhi
India's ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi has
spoken out in a mounting debate over a deadly Maoist
revolt, saying poverty was at the heart of the insurgency.
Maoist influence is greatest in impoverished, remote
areas, fuelling the argument that growing social
disparities thrown up by India's blistering economic
growth have been a major factor behind the rebels'
expansion.
"While we must address acts of terror decisively and
forcefully, we have to address the root causes" of the
revolt, wrote the widow of assassinated former prime
minister Rajiv Gandhi in an open party letter.
The Maoists' growing strength highlights the need for
development efforts to reach the "most backward
districts", Gandhi said in the latest issue of the
Congress party journal "Congress Sandesh," which appeared
at the weekend.
Gandhi is president of the left-leaning Congress and
regarded as the power behind the government.
Analysts see her intervention as a sign the leadership is
uneasy with the government's "law-and-order" approach in
an increasingly heated party debate on ending the unrest
that has spread to 20 of India's 29 states.
The rise of the Maoists reflects the need "for our
development initiatives to reach the grassroots," said
Gandhi, who has aggressively championed the party's
pro-poor programmes.
Late last year, the Congress-led coalition government
launched a large-scale offensive involving six states
worst-hit by Maoist violence.
Shutdown in Siliguri against
separate state demand
ANI, Siliguri
A regional non-political group, Bangla O Bangla Bhasha
Bachao Committee, called for a 24-hour shutdown in West
Bengal''s Siliguri District on Friday to protest the
Gorkha Janamukti Morcha''s (GJM) demand for a separate
state of Gorkhaland.
Opposing the demand of the GJM, the members of the
committee said that West Bengal is for Bengalis, and the
Gorkhas residing in the hills are outsiders.
"Bangla O Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee called a 24-hour
strike throughout West Bengal to protest and oppose the
interim self-government as demanded by the Gorkha
Janamukti Morcha, which amounts to partition of the
state," said Mukunda Majumdar, President of the Bangla O
Bangla Bhasha Bachao Committee.
S.Korea, Japan, China
ministers hold talks
AFP, Seoul
Foreign ministers from South Korea, Japan and China held
talks Saturday on regional issues, amid growing tension on
the Korean peninsula over the sinking of a Seoul warship.
The ministers expressed sympathy at the heavy loss of life
and exchanged views on the incident, South Korean Foreign
Minister Yu Myung-Hwan told a press conference after talks
with China's Yang Jiechi and Japan's Katsuya Okada.
Suspicions are growing that a North Korean torpedo downed
the warship near the disputed inter-Korean border on March
26 with the loss of 46 lives.
A multi-national investigation is to report by next
Thursday and Seoul is weighing its diplomatic and economic
options if the North-which denies involvement-is found to
have sunk the corvette.
In bilateral talks earlier Saturday with Yang in the
southern city of Gyeongju, Yu sought Beijing's support in
dealing with the issue.
China is the North's sole major ally and its economic
lifeline. As a veto-wielding member its backing would be
crucial if the South takes the matter to the United
Nations Security Council.
Maliki
edges nearer power as rival warns of civil war
AFP, Najaf
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday took a major
step forward to staying in power in Iraq when a leading
Shiite cleric said he would not block him, but an
arch-rival warned of civil war.
A spokesman for radical, anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr
told AFP the movement would drop a veto against Maliki
seeking a new term as premier as long as he met its
condition that around 2,000 Sadrist prisoners be freed.
Sadr has previously opposed the incumbent keeping his job
but Saturday's conciliatory statement, which followed
discussions between the two sides in the past 48 hours,
would eliminate Maliki's biggest hurdle.
Several public statements, delivered by Sadrist spokesmen
or senior aides, have been highly critical of Maliki, but
the tone was different on Saturday.
"If he will give us sufficient guarantees to end our
reluctance, especially concerning the arrests of Sadrists,
then we will not block his candidacy for a second term,"
spokesman Saleh al-Obeidi told AFP from the Shiite holy
city of Najaf in southern Iraq.
But he added: "Maliki has not yet succeeded in giving us
assurances about these conditions."
The Sadrists are part of a recently formed Shiite
coalition that includes Maliki's State of Law Alliance,
but the cleric's political bloc had previously opposed the
prime minister's desire to serve a second term.
Sadr, who is in self-imposed exile in Iran, in an
interview with Al-Jazeera television after the election,
said he had "tried not to have a veto against anyone, but
the masses had a veto against Maliki."
The latest announcement came as former premier Iyad Allawi,
who narrowly beat Maliki in a March 7 general election,
said if a "new wave" of violence sweeping Iraq were to
continue then the country was headed for civil war. Allawi
told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that Iraq's security
situation had deteriorated in recent weeks and even worse
could lie ahead.
N.Korea blasts
Israel's foreign minister as 'imbecile'
AFP, Seoul
North Korea Saturday blasted Israel's Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman as an "imbecile" and denied his claims
that it was supplying Iran and Syria with weapons
technology.
Lieberman, in a visit to Japan Wednesday, accused the
North of creating a world-threatening "axis of evil" with
the two Middle Eastern countries.
He mentioned the seizure in Bangkok in December of arms
from North Korea "with huge numbers of different weapons
with the intention of smuggling these weapons to Hamas and
to Hezbollah," the militant Islamist and Shiite movements.
The Israeli minister also alleged the North was giving
"crucial" assistance to Iranian and Syrian missile
programmes.
A spokesman for Pyongyang's foreign ministry described
Lieberman as an "ultra-rightist" and "an imbecile in
diplomacy".
The spokesman, quoted by the North's official news agency,
said Israel was itself being criticised for its nuclear
programme and the expansion of settlements in the occupied
territories.
The North "has nothing to do with any spread of WMDs"
(weapons of mass destruction)," the spokesman said.
In 2008 the United States accused North Korea of helping
Syria to build a nuclear reactor destroyed in an Israeli
bombing raid the previous year.
Gaza rally raises
Palestinian reconciliation hopes
Reuters, Gaza
Leaders of rival Palestinian factions displayed rare unity
on Saturday as they marked their "day of catastrophe" or
nakba at a rally in Gaza, raising hopes of reconciliation
between the two bitter rival parties.
It was the first time leaders from Islamist Hamas and the
more secular Fatah movement of Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas had shared the platform at a large public
gathering since Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from Fatah in
a 2007 civil war.
Palestinians mark "nakba day" on May 15, the day in 1948
when Israel declared statehood after which some 700,000
Arabs fled or were expelled in the war that ensued.
The rally, which was organised by the much smaller Islamic
Jihad group to commemorate the nakba's 62nd anniversary,
coincided with reports of serious talks between Hamas and
Fatah to find ways to resolve their differences.
Top Palestinian businessman Munib al-Masri who has been
heavily involved in recent mediation efforts, expressed
cautious optimism, telling Reuters that "the coming days
may result in a positive outcome but we should not expect
too much".
Masri has been mediating between the two groups' leaders
in the Palestinian territories and in exile and has
enlisted the support of Arab diplomats to help narrow the
differences. Over two years of Egyptian mediation efforts
have so far failed.
Masri's efforts have led to a phone discussion between
senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar and Fatah official
Azzam al-Ahmed that has been well publicised among
Palestinians. Zahar told Reuters that if discussions with
Fatah were successful the two sides would bring a joint
proposal to Egyptian officials who are leading talks,
saying that "reconciliation has become an urgent
necessity".
Home of Swedish cartoonist
attacked
AP, Stockholm
The home of a Swedish artist who once drew a cartoon of
the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a dog has been hit by a
suspected arson attack, police said Saturday.
Lars Vilks, who lives in Nyhamnslage in southern Sweden,
was not at home during the attack late Friday night and no
one was reported injured.
It was the latest in a week of attacks on the 53-year-old
cartoonist, who was assaulted Tuesday by a man while he
lectured at a university and saw his Web site apparently
attacked by hacker on Wednesday.
Police were alerted just before noon Saturday, as people
passing by the artist's house noted that several windows
had been smashed. When officers arrived, they discovered
plastic bottles filled with gasoline and fire damage on
the surface of the building. Attackers are also suspected
of having tried setting the inside of house on fire, but
the flames are thought to have fizzled out.
Police have no suspects in the case, police Spokeswoman
Sofie Osterheim said.
Vilks, who often jokes about the threats he has received
since his 2007 sketch of Muhammad, including from al-Qaida,
said the latest attack doesn't raise his fears more than
usual.
"I'm not really more afraid than what I think is
realistic," he told the Associated Press over the
telephone.
Vilks has faced numerous threats over his drawing. Earlier
this year, U.S. investigators said Vilks was the target of
an alleged murder plot involving Colleen LaRose, an
American woman who dubbed herself "Jihad Jane," and who
now faces life in prison.
'Inept' US cannot fix Afghanistan:
top Saudi prince
AFP, Riyadh
An "inept" United States cannot fix Afghanistan's problems
and should simply focus on "chasing the terrorists" there,
former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal
said on Saturday.
The ex-Saudi ambassador to the United States also
challenged Washington to produce results in just-started
Palestinian-Israel peace talks, and accused US Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton of undermining efforts to
establish a Middle East nuclear-free zone.
In a speech to a Riyadh audience which included numerous
diplomats, Turki said the US-led NATO troop presence in
Afghanistan has irrevocably alienated the Afghan people
and has no hope of rebuilding the country.
"What Afghanistan needs now is a shift from
nation-building to effectively countering terrorists,"
Turki said at the Arab News one-day media conference.
US President Barack Obama "should not be misdirected into
believing that he can fix Afghanistan's ills by military
means."
"Hunt down the terrorists on both sides of the
Afghan-Pakistan border, arrest them or kill them, and get
out, and let the Afghan people deal with their problems.
"As long as GI boots remain on Afghan soil, they remain
targets of resistance for the Afghan people and
ideological mercenaries."
Turki, who has long served a central role in Saudi-Afghan
relations, scolded Washington's handling of relations with
Kabul.
"The inept way in which this administration has dealt with
President (Hamid) Karzai beggars disbelief and amazement."
Hackers can attack car
control systems, warn experts
ANI, London
A technological hazard is looming over auto industry.
Scientists have warned that, in the future, hackers could
be able to take over the control systems of car, disable
the brakes and turn off the engine while the vehicle is
moving.
Tadayoshi Kohno at the University of Washington in Seattle
and Stefan Savage at the University of California, San
Diego, have come up with info on the threat and the
possible solution to it.
Computers help control many systems in modern vehicles,
from anti-lock braking systems to the timing of ignition.
Each system typically has its own dedicated computer
controller, which is connected to a network that can be
accessed by mechanics via a socket under the dashboard.
The experts tested two 2009 sedans of the same make and
model, which they decline to name. They plugged a laptop
into the control socket and used software called CarShark
to send signals into the car's networks. By sending random
commands and observing the effect of each, they were able
to decipher the language used by the control systems.
In tests on a disused airfield in Washington state, with
the laptop plugged into a control network, the researchers
were able to kill the engine and disable the brakes of a
car moving at 65 kilometres per hour.
Race for UK Labour
leadership becomes family affair
Reuters, London
Former Energy and Cimate Change Secretary Ed Miliband
joined his elder brother in the race for leadership of
Britain's Labour party on Saturday, saying the centre-left
party had lost touch with its progressive values.
On Wednesday former Foreign Secretary David Miliband was
the first senior party figure to announce his bid for the
leadership, a day after Gordon Brown resigned as prime
minister and leader of the centre-left party.
"I have decided to stand to be leader of the Labour
party," Ed Miliband, 40, said in a speech to the Fabian
Society, a centre-left think tank.
"We lost touch with the values that made us a progressive
force in politics and we lost touch with the people we
sought to represent."
The Labour leadership race is likely to turn into a battle
between left and right wings of the party, both of which
will draw different lessons from its defeat in last week's
election.
David Miliband, regarded as a "Blairite", is the favourite
of the right of the party. The brothers are likely to face
a challenge from a more left-leaning candidate such as
former Schools Secretary Ed Balls.
While Ed Miliband is less well known to the public than
his brother, he is popular within the party and has the
support of the trade unions, Labour's biggest financial
backers, giving him support from both left and right.
The party, which grew out of the trade union movement and
was founded in 1900, swung to the left in the 1980s and
lost a string of elections before Tony Blair moved it to
the centre. He was prime minister for a decade from 1997
before handing over to Brown.
Business/Economy
BGMEA
welcomes opening of Benapole for yarn import
BSS, Dhaka
BGMEA, the apex body of the country's garment
manufacturers and exporters, has welcomed the government
decision to open the Beanpole land port for import of
yarn.
In a press release, Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA) said the move withdrawing the earlier
ban will not only stop spiraling of yarn prices in the
domestic market but also contribute to stabilizing supply
and its prices.
BGMEA said it was requesting the government to this effect
for quite long as yarn prices were soaring and the
decision came at the right time.
It said it stands for competitive prices in the free
market economy and the decision will bring good to garment
manufacturers and local weavers.
The association said yarn prices are relatively lower in
India to benefit garment manufacturers here at a time when
its prices in global market is higher forcing the local
industry to buy it at a higher cost.
But the organization has also demanded caution at the same
time to make sure that local spinners and weaving mills
are not facing troubles as a result of this opening. It is
a time for balancing, it said.
It also demanded caution against smuggling of yarn by
dishonest traders taking advantage of the opening of
border with India at the cost of local spinners.
Qatar
blames oil price volatility on eurozone woes
AFP, Manama
Qatar's energy minister on Saturday blamed the uncertainty
over eurozone debt problems for the volatility in the oil
market and the slide in crude prices.
"The uncertainty, especially in Europe, the bailout (for
Greece), and the euro (dropping value)... all those put a
lot of pressure on the economy and oil prices," Abdullah
bin Hamad al-Attiyah told reporters on the sidelines of an
economic forum in Bahrain.
"It is volatile. There is uncertainty, and we are watching
with nervousness," he said after oil prices tumbled to a
three-month low on Friday.
"Oil prices are not reflecting demand and supply," he
said, adding that it was "very difficult to predict" their
movement.
On Friday, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for
June delivery, shed 2.79 dollars to close at 71.61 dollars
a barrel. The price had fallen to 70.83 dollars, the
lowest since February, before recovering slightly.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for June shed 2.93 cents
to 77.18 dollars a barrel.
Oil prices had soared on Monday as investors reacted
positively to the European Union and International
Monetary Fund aid package, worth 750 billion euros, to
resolve the debt and budget deficit situation in Europe.
However, prices have since fallen as market enthusiasm
waned for the massive bailout plan, while concern grew
about higher Chinese inflation that could slow global
economic growth.
The euro also tumbled to under 1.24 dollars on Friday as
the single European currency was plagued by concerns about
debt and deficits in the eurozone.
Earlier, Attiyah told participants in the Bahrain Global
Forum that oil "will be sustainable" dismissing what he
considered to be theories claiming that the "oil era is
over."
Development goals
require pro-poor growth
AFP, Johannesburg
Global targets to halve poverty and improve basic health
by 2015 can be reached, if nations focus economic policies
on helping the poor, the UN development chief said on
Friday.
"Fast economic growth hasn't had a lot of impact on
poverty," Helen Clark, administrator of the UN Development
Programme, told a press conference at the end of a
four-nation Africa tour to assess the progress so far.
World leaders agreed in 2000 to a plan known as the
Millennium Development Goals, which aim to meet specific
targets in fighting hunger and poverty, while improving
health care and education.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called a September
summit in New York to boost progress toward reaching the
scheme's 2015 deadline.
A series of recessions among rich countries has hindered
the anti-poverty drive.
But China's booming economy has made it possible to reach
the target of halving the number of people living on less
than one dollar a day, Clark said.
"Chances are that despite the international recession and
the other crises that have been experienced, the poverty
goal can be achieved," she said.
"The incredible progress and achievement of China in
lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty of
course lifts the global figure."
The goal of universal primary education is also within
grasp, Clark said.
Other targets will be harder to meet, she said-in
particular goals for reducing the number of women who die
in childbirth.
"Maternal health is a goal that is struggling pretty much
at a global level," she said.
But Clark told reporters she is optimistic going into the
September summit.
Switzerland
should contribute to EU bailouts
AFP, Vienna
Non-EU countries like Switzerland, who nevertheless have
close ties with the bloc, should also chip into financial
rescue packages, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann urged
Saturday.
"Other countries who do not belong to the eurozone could
also contribute, so that when it comes to rescuing banks,
rescuing financial markets, etc... we also get something
out of them," Faymann told Austrian radio ORF in an
interview.
As a non-EU member with many of the same privileges as
members of the bloc, Switzerland "can afford to pick and
choose" where it wants to be involved, the chancellor
noted.
"It is undeniable that Switzerland tries to get all the
benefits it can."
"But if it costs something or it could turn out to be
negative, they quickly put up a wall," he said. The
comments came after a senior politician of Faymann's
Social Democratic party slammed Switzerland in a rare
outburst Thursday. "These Swiss freeloaders are getting on
my nerves," Josef Cap told the Austrian daily Kurier.
"They have illegal earnings from Greece and the rest of
Europe in their banks and in that sense are depriving
other states of their money."
"The EU should call for Switzerland to contribute to
stabilising the euro," he added. The European Union agreed
a 750-billion-euro (938-billion-dollar) rescue package
last weekend with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to
shore up weak eurozone economies.
The EU and IMF also approved earlier this month a
110-billion-euro aid package for debt-stricken Greece over
three years.
India's poor
students to get edn loan at 4pc interest
PTI, New Delhi
The Indian government is planning to provide education
loans at four per cent interest rate to help students from
weaker sections of society to pursue higher studies.
Discussions are on between the Human Resource Development
(HRD) Ministry and the Planning Commission on this
innovative concept, which is seen as a significant
initiative of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government.
"It (education loan at four per cent proposal) is at a
preliminary stage. We have discussed this idea with the
Planning Commission and it is supportive," HRD Minister
Kapil Sibal told PTI. This loan will be provided by banks
while a proposed funding corporation for higher education
will re-finance the banks to help them compensate the
loss. The mandate and functioning of the proposed National
Higher Education Finance Corporation (NHEFC) are now being
worked out.
"I hope it will be crystallised soon," Sibal said.
The detailed modalities are being worked out for the
scheme, including the weaker section criteria.
The scheme will have another component of providing loans
to students at the rate of seven per cent, subject to a
ceiling. There will a cap on loan amount in this category.
There may another provision of extending loans at nine per
cent without a cap on the amount.
According to sources, the NHEFC, which will also provide
low- interest loans to higher educational institutions for
capacity building through commercial banks.
The HRD Ministry has already prepared a concept note on
creation of NHEFC. As per the HRD Ministry's plan, the
proposed NHEFC will be an institutional mechanism to
address the investment needs in higher education sector.
Obama urges
passage of Wall Street reform
AFP, Washington
US President Barack Obama urged the US Senate on Saturday
to pass Wall Street reform, saying it would help secure
the country's economic future.
"The reform bill being debated in the Senate will not
solve every problem in our financial system: no bill
could," Obama said in his weekly radio address.
"But what this strong bill will do is important, and I
urge the Senate to pass it as soon as possible, so we
can secure America's economic future in the 21st century."
Obama is promising the most sweeping regulatory reform
drive since the 1930s Great Depression.
To push that through, he is trying to build momentum for
Democrat efforts in Congress to overcome the Republicans'
resistance and pass a new Wall Street reform law.
Republican leaders have so far been united in opposition
to the bill, which seeks to impose tougher regulations on
banks and finance firms, and to set up a new consumer
financial protection agency.
They say Obama's reforms would introduce the heavy hand of
government deeper into the US free enterprise system,
which would lead to a culture of financial bailouts, a
charge that the Democrats deny.
Obama argued that the proposed reform would help level the
playing field in the financial industry by ensuring that
all lenders, not just community banks, were subject to
tough oversight.
The bill under consideration would prevent banks from
taking too much risk, he argued: and it would give
shareholders more say on executive pay. "The Wall Street
reform bill in Congress represents the strongest consumer
financial protections in history," the president said.
British minister takes
tough line with banks
AFP, London
The business minister in the new British government warned
banks on Saturday there would be no return to the "status
quo" and they faced being broken up and having tougher
curbs on bonuses.
Vince Cable, a veteran member of the Liberal Democrats,
the coalition partners of Prime Minister David Cameron's
Conservatives, told the Financial Times Britain was
prepared to go it alone in restructuring the banking
sector.
"We're not going back to business as normal," he said.
"The banking sector is going to have to accept disciplines
on the way it operates, regulatory disciplines, and there
is going to be restructuring."
Cable insisted the government's independent review into
splitting up the big banks into their everyday retail
divisions and their riskier investment arms would result
in concrete changes, even if Britain failed to get global
backing.
World lags far behind
on sustainable dev goals
UN chief warns
Xinhua, United Nations
The United Nations commission entrusted with harmonizing
economic development with environmental conservation
wrapped up its annual session here on Friday with UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warning that the world is
way behind schedule in setting its ecological house in
order.
"Few of the challenges identified at the Rio Earth Summit
have been adequately tackled," he told delegates attending
the 18th session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development, referring to the 1992 UN conference in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, which sought to recast development and
halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources
and the pollution of the planet. "New ones have gained
added urgency."
Ban announced the appointment of UN
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
Sha Zukang as chairman of the "Rio+20" conference, to be
held in Brazil in 2012 in an effort to spur further
action.
"Let us recapture the solidarity and creativity of the
Earth Summit," he said. "We have a responsibility to
future generations to implement what we have pledged. Good
ideas are not enough. We need focused action. We know what
we need to do. We know what works. The time for delay is
over. The time for delivery is now."
The Rio+20 Summit, mandated by the UN General Assembly in
2009, will focus on four areas: review of commitments;
emerging issues; green economy in the context of poverty
eradication and sustainable development; and institutional
framework for sustainable development. The Commission is
the main UN forum addressing the inter- linkage between
the need to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
that seek to slash eight major social ills from extreme
poverty and hunger to maternal and infant mortality to
lack of access to education and health care, all by 2015,
and the equally imperious need to save the planet.
National
Rajuk tops Dhaka, Collegiate in
ctg, Cadet Colleges in other boards
BSS, Dhaka
Rajuk Uttara Model School and College clinched the top
position at SSC examination this year at the top 20
ranking of the Dhaka board and Chittagong Collegiate
School at Chittagong while the cadet colleges uphold their
supremacy at the other boards.
Under the Dhaka board, Rajuk was followed by Dhaka
Residential Model College clinching the second position
with 92.79 points while Ideal School and College of
Motijheel secured the third position with 92.521 points
and Viqarunnisa Noon School
came up at the fourth position with 92.07 points.
Though the one of the best girls school of the country
Viqarunnisa Noon School got the fourth position, it
grasped the highest number 926 of GPA 5 out of its 1,115
examinees while Mymensingh Girl's Cadet College managed to
clinch GPA 5 for its all 50 examinee securing fifth
position in the ranking with 91 points.
The Top Rajuk Uttara Model School clinched 344 GPA 5 out
of its 366 examinees while Dhaka Residential Model College
332 GPA-5 out of 371 examinees and Ideal School and
Collage of Motijheel 742 GPA-5 out of 919 examinees. At
Chittagong board, the top ranked Collegiate School
clinched 90.92 points with 354 GPA 5 out of its 452
examinees while Fauzdarhat Cadet College managed to
secured second position attaining 89.43 points with GPA 5
for its all 43 examinees.
Two boy's and one girl's Cadet Colleges under the Rajshahi
board secured the first, second and third positions. Pabna
Cadet College came up at the top school of the Rajshahi
board with 91 points of the ranking while Rajshahi Cadet
College got second position attaining 90 points and
Joypurhat Girl's Cadet College clinched the third position
with 89.70 points.
In Comilla board, Feni Girl's Cadet College clinched the
first position at the ranking with 90 points while Comilla
Cadet College came up as second with 89.5 points. Under
Jessore board, Jhenidah Cadet College won the race of top
schools bagging 89.48 points while Military Collegiate
School Phultala (Mcsp) in Khulna secured the second
position with 89.40 points.
In Sylhet board, Sylhet Cadet College clinched the first
position with 89.49 points at the ranking while Sylhet
Govt Pilot High School came up as second attaining 80.94
points. Barisal Cadet College and Barisal Zilla School
came up as the first and second under the barisal board
while Rangpur Cadet College and Syedpur Govt Technical
High School and College clinched the first and second
positions respectively at the Dinajpur Board.
100 injured in a clash between rival villagers in Habiganj
UNB, Habiganj
Over 100 people, including women, were injured in a two
hour clash between rival villagers over a trifling matter
at Ujirpur village in Baniachong upazila on Saturday.
Local sources said Mahmud Mia, resident of same village,
used to talk to co-villager Lucky Begum, wife of an
expatriate, over cell phone by identifying himself as
Ashik.
As the matter came to be known, Ashik locked in
altercation with Mahmud, resulting in a scuffle between
them.
In a sequel to the incident, supporters of two men
equipped with home made lethal weapons clashed at Ujirpur
Bazar, leaving 100 people injured at 9am.
On information, police from Sadar and Baniachong thanas
rushed in and dispersed the feuding groups.
Two people, including a UP Member, were also arrested by
police.
Of the injured, 25 were admitted to Sadar Hospital in a
critical condition.
None pass from 49 schools
UNB, Dhaka
Students of at least 49 schools, madrasas and polytechnic
institutes could not keep minimum prestige of their
respective institutions as none from these
educational institutions could come out successfully in
the SSC and equivalent examinations. As per results
published on SAturday it was revealed in the statistics of
the institutions having "0" percentage of pass in SSC,
Dakhil and SSC (Vocational) examinations that no students
were passed from 49 institutions. Of such unfortunate
institutes, 31 are under Bangladesh Madrasa Board, 8 under
Bangladesh Technical Education Board while the rest 10 are
under eight secondary and higher secondary education boars
of the country.
However, the highest consolation of such institutions is
that their number this year has drooped from 72 to 49 in
comparison to the last years' performances. The names of
such 'fortunate' institutions could not be collected
immediately.
Meanwhile, during press briefing at his ministry's
conference room on Saturday Education Minister Nurul Islam
Nahid said stern actions would be taken against such
institutions for their grave performances.
The minister said, a committee would be formed soon to
investigate into such poor performances of such a large
number of educational institutions. As per the
recommendation of the committee, necessary measures would
be taken to improve their performances while actions would
also be taken for their failures.
DB nabs 7 dacoits, burglars from
Dhaka, Gazipur
UNB, Dhaka
The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police
arrested four alleged dacoits and three alleged burglars
from Dhaka and Gazipur on Friday night, in connection with
a dacoity at a jewelry shop, and a burglary at another in
the city's Mirpur area.
It is suspected that dacoits numbering 8 to 9 took away
267 tolas of gold ornaments worth about Tk 8544000,
keeping employees of "New Sananda Jewelers" on the ground
floor of the Muktijuddhah Super Market under Shah Ali
police station in Mirpur hostage. The incident is said to
have taken place around 2.45PM on March 9.
In the other incident, burglars looted 782 tolas of gold
ornaments worth about Tk 2.34 crore from "Dewan Jewellers"
of the same market in the early hours of April 25.
Top 20 schools under Dhaka
Board
BSS, Dhaka
The list of the top 20 schools under the Dhaka Board of
Intermediate and Secondary Education of the Secondary
School Certificate (SSC) examinations are as below -
1. Rajuk Uttara Model School and College, Uttara, Dhaka
Mahanagari, Dhaka 2. Residential College, Mohammadpur,
Dhaka Mahanagari 3. Ideal School and College, Motijheel,
Dhaka Mahanagari 4. Viqarunnisa Noon School, Ramna, Dhaka
Mahanagari,
5. Mymensingh Girls' Cadet College, Mymensingh, 6. ST
Joseph high School, Mohammadpur, Dhaka Mahanagari, 7.
Mirzapur Cadet College, Mirzapur, Tangail, 8. Monipur High
School,Mirpur, Dhaka Mahanagari, 9. Holy Cross Girls' High
School, Tejgaon, Dhaka Mahanagari, 10. Govt, Laboratory
High School, Dhanmondi, Dhaka Mahanagari, 11. SOS Hermann
Gmeiner College Mirpur, Dhaka Mahanagari, 12. Bangladesh
International School, Dhaka Cant, Dhaka Mahanagari, 13.
Shaheed Bir Uttam LT, Anwar Girl's College, Dhaka Cant,
Dhaka Mahanagari, 14. Savar Cantonment Public School,
Savar, Dhaka 15. Adamjee Cantonment Public School, Dhaka
Cant,
Dhaka Mahanagari, 16. Faizur Rahman Ideal
Institute, Shabujbagh, Dhaka Mahanagari, 17 Bir Shreshtha
Noor Mohammad Rifles Public
School & College, Lalbag, Dhaka Mahanagari 18. Motijheel
Govt. Boys' High School, Motijheel, Dhaka Mahanagari 19.
Mymensingh Zilla School, Mymensingh, Mymensingh and 20.
Mohammadpur Preparatory & Girls' High School, Mohammadpur,
Dhaka Mahanagari.
Sports
Robi Asiad hockey qualifiers
Bangladesh humiliated by Singapore 1-0
TBT Report
Bangladesh's woes continue in the Robi Asian Games hockey
qualifying round as the hosts suffered an ignominious 1-0
defeat against Singapore at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey
Stadium in the city on Saturday.
Farhan Kamsani scored the only goal of the match from a
penalty corner 16 minutes into the first half and the
Singapore players did well to preserve their lead till the end
of the game to snatch full points from the hapless hosts, who
lost all their energy and rhythm against the determined
Singaporeans.
Conceding the goal, Bangladesh players tried hard to make a
comeback but their inept functioning was not enough to break
the Singaporean defence. Bangladesh forwards faltered every
time when they entered into the opponents' area.
It was the hosts' second defeat in the seven-team competition
after losing to Chinese Taipei 7-5 in their second match.
Bangladesh then drew with Hong Kong (2-2) and Sri Lanka (3-3)
after defeating Thailand (8-1) in its opening match.
Bangladesh hockey team's coach Gerhard Peter Rach said the
Bangladesh players failed to apply themselves properly against
the Singaporeans.
"They failed to follow the game plan and make capital of their
chances that came their way. We had to pay for missing a
number of easy chances," Rach told the reporters after the
match.
However, the German sounded optimistic about his team's
chances in today's match against Oman and said his team would
play to win the game.
Singapore is facing Sri Lanka today.
Earlier, Sri Lanka defeated Thailand 4-3 in the first match of
the day. Oman thrashed Chinese Taipei 5-1 in the day's other
fixture. Hong Kong takes on Thailand in today's first match,
staring at 10:00 am.
Hussey
leads Australia to stun Pakistan
AFP, Gros Islet
Michael Hussey's latest rescue mission saw Australia beat
defending champion Pakistan by three wickets with just a ball
to spare to reach the World Twenty20 final here on Friday.
Set a huge 192 to win, Australia collapsed to 62 for four.
But, initially through Cameron White, who made 43, and
Hussey's unbeaten 60, they recovered and will now face old
rivals England in Sunday's final at Barbados's Kensington
Oval.
Australia needed 18 to win off the last over, from off-spinner
Saeed Ajmal.
Mitchell Johnson took a single off the first ball and then
Hussey took over.
The left-hander pulled Ajmal for six, struck him over long-on
for six more, brought the scores level with a four and thumped
another six for good measure as Australia finished on 197 for
seven in pursuit of 192. The man-of-the-match faced just 24
balls, but hit six sixes and three fours.
Hussey had come in after brother David had fallen to leave
Australia 105 for five in the 13th over.
But the elder Hussey refused to be cowed and together with
Johnson, who made a mere five from three balls, put on an
unbroken 53 in just 16 balls.
Cameron White sparked the initial revival, with 43 off 31
balls, including five sixes, and Michael Hussey said: "Cameron
has batted really well all tournament, we needed someone to
change the momentum and he did that really well."
Elated Australia captain Michael Clarke said: "Michael Hussey
is an absolute freak...Once Cameron got out I thought it was
going to be really tough but with Hussey in you never know."
Defeated Pakistan captain Shahid Afrid added: "It was a very
good (Pakistan) total but the way White and Hussey played,
they played mature and good innings.
"We perhaps lost it in the last over but Ajmal has bowled
really well in this tournament."
Opener Kamran Akmal's 50 and younger brother Umar's even more
rapid 56 not out came against an Australia side, yet to lose
at this tournament, which had thrashed them by 34 runs in a
first round group match.
Left-arm quick Mohammad Aamer, who led the attack with three
wickets for 35 runs, removed Australia openers David Warner (nought)
and Shane Watson (16).
And when wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal completed two neat
stumpings off left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman and leg-spinner
Afridi to dismiss Brad Haddin and captain Michael Clarke
respectively, Australia were 62 for four inside nine overs.
David Hussey and White staged a brief revival before the
former was caught and bowled by Rehman.
White though kept swinging away but when he drove an Aamer
full toss straight to Mohammad Hafeez, Australia were 139 for
six in the 17th over.
Australia though, thanks to Michael Hussey, kept going to seal
a superb come-from-behind win.
Pakistan, sent in by Clarke after rain delayed the start, saw
their innings start with a Dirk Nannes maiden.
But Kamran Akmal and left-hander Salman Butt (32) shared a
first-wicket stand of 82 as Australia's pace trio of Nannes,
Shaun Tait and Johnson failed to make an early breakthrough.
Nannes's second over saw the match's first boundaries when
Kamran Akmal, stepping away to leg, lofted him high over the
covers. Next ball he drove straight down the ground for
another four.
Kamran Akmal was severe on Watson, driving the medium-pacer's
first ball back for a huge six.
Akmal then took two more boundaries off Watson to complete a
fine fifty off just 32 balls with two sixes and six fours. But
he was out for 50 after Warner, running round from the
extra-cover boundary, took a fine diving catch off Johnson.
Umar Akmal smashed Johnson for two enormous sixes, the second
a crunching pull over midwicket that saw him to fifty in just
29 balls, with four sixes and two fours.
Scorecard
Pakistan:
Kamran Akmal c Warner b Johnson 50
Salman Butt c Warner b Smith 32
Umar Akmal not out 56
Shahid Afridi c Haddin b D Hussey 8
Khalid Latif c Warner b Nannes 13
Abdul Razzaq run out (Haddin/Tait) 12
Misbah-ul-Haq run out (Tait) 0
Extras: (b10, lb1, w9) 20
Total: (6 wkts, 20 overs) 191
Falls: 1-82 (K Akmal), 2-89 (Butt), 3-114 (Afridi),
4-145 (Latif), 5-189 (Razzaq), 6-191 (Misbah).
Bowling: Nannes 4-1-32-1 (2w); Tait 4-0-25-0 (2w);
Johnson 4-0-37-1 (1w); Watson 2-0-26-0 (1w); Smith 2-0-23-1; D
Hussey 3-0-24-1 (2w); Clarke 1-0-13-0.
Australia:
Warner c U Akmal b Aamer 0
Watson c Rehman b Aamer 16
Haddin st K Akmal b Rehman 25
Clarke st K Akmal b Afridi 17
D. Hussey c and b Rehman 13
White c Hafeez b Aamer 43
M. Hussey not out 60
Smith st K Akmal b Ajmal 5
Johnson not out 5
Extras: (lb7, w5, nb1) 13
Total: (7 wkts, 19.5 overs) 197
Falls: 1-1 (Warner), 2-26 (Watson), 3-58 (Haddin), 4-62
(Clarke), 5-105 (D Hussey), 6-139 (White), 7-144 (Smith)
Bowling: Aamer 4-0-35-3 (2w); Razzaq 2-0-22-0; Rehman
4-0-33-2 (1nb); Ajmal 3.5-0-46-1 (1w); Afridi 4-0-34-1; Hafeez
2-0-20-0
Toss: Australia
Result: Australia won by three wickets.
Federer gains
Gulbis revenge, Nadal breezes into semis
AFP, Madrid
Roger Federer clinched a revenge win over Ernests Gulbis
to reach the Madrid Masters semi-finals on Friday while
Rafael Nadal also made the last four to move closer to
reclaiming the world number two spot.
Defending champion Federer claimed a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory
over his Latvian opponent, who had won their second-round
meeting three weeks ago in Rome.
Federer will face Spanish ninth seed David Ferrer who
defeated British third seed Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3 in a
match which ended just before 1am on Saturday.
"I knew it would be a tough match after losing to him,"
said 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer.
"I was always a bit worried. I got off to a slow start in
the first set and paid the price. In the second I
recovered and won six games in a row and got on a tear.
"I'm very happy with my performance and very glad to be in
the the semis. I didn't have much rhythm in the first set
- but I recovered well. I served well and hit the ball
very cleanly. I thought it was a good performance even
after my poor start." There was a 6-1, 6-3 win for Nadal,
the 2005 champion here when it was played indoors, over
Frenchman Gael Monfils.
The world number three kept his clay record in 2010 at a
spotless 13-0, with Masters 1000 titles at the only two
tournaments he has completed so far, Monte Carlo and Rome.
Nadal improved to 6-1 over Monfils, whom he beat while
carrying an abdominal injury at the US Open last autumn.
The second seed next faces compatriot Nicolas Almagro, who
put out Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1, where a victory will
return him to the number two ranking. "He's a very good
player, he's good for the show," said Nadal of Monfils.
"Sometimes he takes things to the limit but he's great."
Nadal advanced in a brief 78 minutes over the 12th seed,
producing 16 winners and the same number of unforced
errors. He also broke four times.
"He has been showing a high level in every match," Nadal
said of his next opponent Almagro. "He has played against
great opponents this week. He's going to be a very tough
rival and I'll do my best."
In the WTA event, Venus Williams reinforced her pending
move back to the world number two ranking with a 6-3, 6-3
defeat of Australia's Samantha Stosur to reach the
semi-finals.
Venus, who began this week in fourth place, will fall in
behind her top-ranked sister Serena on the Monday WTA
rankings list, with the pair heading the table for the
first time in seven years.
French Open semi-finalist Stosur, set for a career-high
boost to seventh, has been the standout of the clay
campaign, winning 14 of 15 matches coming into her clash
with the American with a title in Charleston and a losing
final - her only other clay defeat in 2010 - to Justine
Henin.
But as in their three previous meetings, Williams claimed
victory, going through to the last four against Israeli
Shahar Peer, who defeated Li Na of China 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
"Sam's been playing well this season," said Williams,
winner of title this year in Dubai and Acapulco.
"I like to hit hard, and it looked like her game plan was
to attack everything. She tried to take time away from me,
but I knew I would not be pushed back. We both served and
hit as hard as we could."
France's Arvane Rezai upset seventh seed Jelena Jankovic
7-5, 6-4 and will face Czech Lucie Safarova, the Paris
Indoor finalist in February. Safarova reached the semis
with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 win over Russian 16th seed Nadia
Petrova, who put out Serena Williams.
South Korea defeats China in Uber
Cup badminton
AFP, Kuala Lumpur
South Korea made history Saturday by ending China's
12-year stranglehold on the Uber Cup with a 3-1 victory
that saw China's world number one Wang Yihan sensationally
lose in straight sets.
The South Koreans were expected to buckle under the might
of a team that fired a massive 686 points in four ties,
finishing victors in every one of their 16 rubbers and
winning 32 sets while conceding just one.
But the fans sensed an upset when Bae Seung Hee, ranked
16, out-battled, out-thought and outclassed Wang in the
first singles rubber and set the tone for five gruelling
hours of stunning badminton from the South Koreans.
Bae, who has been impeccable after losing in the group
stages, kept her cool to pip Wang 23-21 in a tense first
set before pressuring her opponent into a series of errors
to seal the rubber with a 21-11 win at Kuala Lumpur's
Putra Stadium. Wang, crowned world player of the year on
Sunday, was uncharacteristically indecisive at the net and
on four occasions let the shuttle fly over her head,
expecting it to go long only to see it land inside.
The Uber Cup debutante had done her homework, analysing
Wang's gameplay on video before the match. She said she
realised pushing the ball long would be her best chance of
winning.
Desert storm
powers Powell to Doha victory
AFP, Doha
Former world record holder Asafa Powell, powered by a
gusting desert wind, stormed to victory in the 100m in
9.81sec at the Doha Diamond League meeting on Friday, the
opening leg of the 14-leg competition.
Helped by a favourable following wind of 2.3m/sec, Powell,
the third fastest man in history and the world
championship bronze medallist in 2009, finished ahead of
Jamaican compatriot Nesta Carter who timed 9.88sec.
America's Travis Padgett took third place in 9.92sec.
Powell, desperate to launch an assault on compatriot Usain
Bolt's world record of 9.58sec this year, had been even
quicker in the heats, clocking 9.75sec, backed by a
2.6m/sec wind on a sweltering 30-degree night in the
Qatari capital.
"I'm satisfied as it's my first 100m of the season. Sadly,
it was with the wind," said Powell.
"In any case, I have rarely started my season so well. For
the world record, I'm going to take it step by step and if
it happens, so much the better."
It wasn't Powell's most technically attractive race with
the windy conditions compounded by sand swirling across
the stadium.
"The starter was quick and I got away badly. I also wanted
to work on two or three things. The first race in the
evening was better, especially in terms of the start,"
added Powell.
The Jamaican had also crossed into the lane of the runner
on his inside, an act which would have prompted a
disqualification in a major championships.
This first Diamond League meet of 2010 witnessed nine
season-best performances.
They included Americans Christian Cantwell (shot) and
Allyson Felix (400m) as well as Kenyans Ezekiel Kemboi
(3000m steeplechase) and Nancy Langat (1500m).
In the women's high jump, Croatian world champion Blanka
Vlasic, struggling with the testing, blustery conditions,
won with 1.98m, a long way off breaking the world record
of 2.09m.
The Diamond League awards points depending on performances
throughout the 14-date programme with the winners of the
16 events taking home a diamond trophy worth around 10,000
dollars (8,000 euros) and a cheque for 40,000 dollars
(31,000 euros).
The next round is in Shanghai on May 23 where Bolt will
run in the 200m, four days after a 100m in Daegu.
Tokyo holds J-League
leader Shimizu
AFP, Tokyo
Japan international Yuto Nagatomo scored an impressive
goal as FC Tokyo came from two goals down to hold league
leader Shimizu S-Pulse to a 2-2 draw in the J-League on
Saturday.
With the World Cup weeks away, the 23-year-old defender
netted from outside the area after Shimizu goalkeeper
Yohei Nishibe punched out a corner in the 85th minute.
Only two minutes later, midfielder Toshihiro Matsushita
quickly collected a rebound off defender Shinji Tsujio's
clearance and flicked in the equaliser.
Nagatomo said it was the best goal he had ever scored. "I
hit it as hard as possible towards the goalmouth,." he
said.
"Everybody is expecting us to do well in South Africa. I
want to cause a surprise there," he added of Japan's World
Cup ambitions.
Shimizu remain top of the league on 25 points, three
points above Nagoya Grampus and five points above Kawasaki
Frontale and Urawa Red Diamonds. They were followed by
Kashima Antlers and Yokohama Marinos on 18 points.
Venus reaches
final
AFP, Madrid
Venus Williams won the last nine games in a dominant
display as she crushed Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 6-0 to
reach the final of the WTA Madrid Masters on Saturday, her
fourth final from six events in 2010.
The American fourth seed - who will move to second on the
WTA list behind her sister Serena on Monday - will be
bidding for her 44th career title and third of the year
when she faces either of the unseeded duo France's Aravane
Rezai or Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.
Williams overcame a minor niggle through an opening break
of serve by the 22nd-ranked Israeli, who upset fifth seed
Svetlana Kuznetsova in the opening round a week ago.
Williams improved to 12-1 this season on clay, requiring
just 66 minutes to complete her rout.
The 29-year-old who turns 30 in June, stands 5-0 against
Peer, having never lost a set in their series. The victory
marked by 17 winners and six breaks of serve was her third
of the year over Peer after Dubai and Rome.
Williams got her powerful game together from the fourth
game of the contest to ease to victory, winning three love
games in the first set and another in the second.
Williams will be bidding for her tenth career title on the
dirt, but has claimed only two at the top WTA tournaments,
in Rome 11 years ago and Charleston in 2004.
Peer failed to get past a Top-10 opponent for a sixth time
in her career, but maintained her pace in winning
statistics with a 27-10 record this season, best on the
women's tour.
Rooney’s
new-found maturity boosts England
AFP, London
Wayne Rooney believes England will feel the benefit of his
new-found maturity when the Manchester United striker
leads his country's bid to win the World Cup.
Rooney has been in superb form this season and his
performances for United have been recognised by a host of
player of the year awards over the last month.
Aside from his 34 goals and countless match-winning
displays, the most impressive aspect of Rooney's campaign
has been his ability to stay out of trouble on the pitch.
The sight of Rooney snarling at opponents and referees
after yet another flashpoint was commonplace during his
early years at Everton and then United.
But, after initially earning a reputation as a hot-head
who was liable to get himself sent off at the first sign
of provocation, Rooney was booked just eight times this
term.
He admits the process of growing up in the spotlight had
taken a while to get used to, but now he is fully aware of
his responsibilities to United and England.
"A few years ago, I was still a very young lad playing for
my country and in the Premier League," Rooney said. "You
are excited and emotional when you make decisions, but now
I have matured, on and off the pitch.
"With age, it has helped me and now I probably take my
anger out during training the week before the game."
Rooney's most infamous meltdown came when he was sent off
for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho during England's
quarter-final defeat against Portugal at the 2006 World
Cup.
Now Rooney is married and recently became a father and the
calming effects on his game have been clear for all to
see.
With his mind more focused and his form reaching new
heights this season, Rooney hopes to make a major impact
in South Africa after his previous two international
tournaments ended in disappointment.
As well as being sent off against Portugal, Rooney also
suffered a broken foot that forced him to come off during
England's Euro 2004 exit to the same opposition.
"The two tournaments I have played in both ended in
disappointment for me. I broke my foot and then got sent
off," Rooney said.
"In the last World Cup I did not really show enough of my
quality and enough excitement, which I wanted to. "I am
looking forward to this one and want to try to take my
club form in with England, to help us win the World Cup."
McGlashan sets
up New Zealand-Australia final
AFP, Gros Islet
Sara McGlashan saw New Zealand into the final of the
women's World Twenty20 against archrival Australia as her
superb innings of 84 set up a 56-run win over the West
Indies here on Friday.
McGlashan's innings was the cornerstone of the White
Ferns' 180 for five, the highest total of this tournament
so far. In reply, the West Indies chased gamely but were
held to 124 for eight.
Now New Zealand, last year's losing finalists against
England at Lord's will face Australia - a side they've
beaten six times in a row - in Sunday's final at
Barbados's Kensington Oval.
The destiny of the match was far from certain when New
Zealand were 49 for two but a strand of 93 at nearly 11 an
over between McGlashan and Sophie Devine took the game
away from the home side.
McGlashan, whose brother Peter has played for the New
Zealand men's team, faced just 55 balls with two superb
straight sixes and six fours.
"West Indies are a strong team and they have some
explosive batters, so we knew we had to put on a big
score," McGlashan told AFP.
Reflecting on her own innings, the 28-year-old added:
"When you've been in the team as long as I have, you are
expected to perform." Looking ahead to the final,
McGlashan said: "We've got to take each game as it comes.
What we've done in the past doesn't matter too much but we
will take a lot of confidence into the game."
Meanwhile New Zealand captain Aimee Watkins was delighted
to have another chance at World Twenty20 glory so soon
after last year's disappointment.
"We are lucky we've got two bites of the cherry, to have
another crack at the Twenty20 World Cup," she said. "It's
not often you'll have another one within 12 months of the
last one.
"The girls have worked really, really hard, so to win on
Sunday would be massive for us. Arch-rivals Australia:
it's going to be a good game."
Earlier, it seemed McGlashan might join West Indies'
Deandra Dottin in scoring a century at this tournament
until she was run out by Shakera Selman's direct hit from
short third man.
West Indies, coached by former Test batsman Sherwin
Campbell, made a bold start under the Beausejour
floodlights with Stafanie Taylor in fine form as she
struck two sixes off leg-spinner Erin Ber-mingham to the
delight of home fans. But Taylor was run out for 40 made
at better than a run-a-ball by McGlashan.
The West Indies' collapse continued when teenage sensation
Dottin fell for just one, caught by wicketkeeper Rachel
Priest off Nicola Browne.
That left the home team 76 for four and there was no way
back with Watkins finishing with figures of three wickets
for 26 runs.
"Chasing 180 in a semi-final game is a lot, it was 20-30
runs just too much to chase," said Campbell.
But he was proud of the way his youthful side, who knocked
champions England out in the pool stage, had performed
during the tournament.
Mphela hopes to
end goal drought
AFP, Johannesburg
Katlego Mphela hopes to get back on the goal trail when
host South Africa launches its World Cup countdown today
against lowly Thailand at tournament venue Nelspruit.
Lucky to win a place in the Confederations Cup squad last
June, the Mamelodi Sundowns star made his first appearance
as a substitute against Spain in the third-place play-off
and scored twice.
Although Spain snatched an extra-time victory, Mphela had
the consolation of scoring the goal of the tournament off
a long-range free kick that proved too hot even for
world-class goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
More goals followed in friendlies against Serbia and
Madagascar and South African supporters dreamt that a
successor to problematic Benni McCarthy had been
unearthed.
But a long-standing South African inability to score
heightened with just seven goals in as many friendlies
against largely modest opponents since Brazilian coach
Carlos Alberto Parreira took charge last November.
And Birmingham City-linked Mphela lost his predatory
touch, managing to put the ball in the net just once to
salvage a 1-1 draw at home against southern Africa
neighbours Namibia.
The powerfully built 25-year-old, who is expected to make
the starting line-up when South Africa tackle Mexico in
the June 11 World Cup opener, believes the drought can end
against the Asians.
Anxious after the World Cup first-round draw pitted Bafana
Bafana (The Boys) against former champions France and
Uruguay and street-wise Mexico, home supporters hope
Mphela can deliver after so many false promises from the
side.
Thailand may be ranked only 105 in the world, but that is
one place higher than World Cup qualifiers North Korea,
who forced a 0-0 draw against South Africa in Germany last
month without great difficulty. Parreira claims he will
field most of the starting line-up from a 2-0 win over
ill-prepared Jamaica in another Germany friendly, meaning
no place for McCarthy, whose 32 international goals is a
South African record.
A hot-and-cold relationship with officials has seen the
player in and out of the national team and he ended an
injury-marred season at English Premier-ship clubs
Blackburn and West Ham overweight and unfit.
Thailand are coached by former Manchester United and
England midfield ace Bryan Robson, who is trying to stem a
flow of defeats having fallen at home against Poland and
Denmark and in Iran since mid-January.
Tranquil Nelspruit near the world famous Kruger National
Park was in danger of being scratched from the nine-city
World Cup venue list as it battled to create a pitch
befitting the most watched global sport event.
But Republic of Ireland-born expert Richard Hayden was
hired and transformed a lunar-like surface into a green
'jewel' he predicts will be among the best in the world
when the carnival arrives on June 16 with Chile playing
Honduras.
Van Marwijk
trims Dutch squad to 27
AFP, The Hague
Dutch coach Bert van Marwijk on Friday trimmed his
preliminary World Cup squad from 30 to 27 players with
Otman Bakkal (PSV Eindhoven), Wout Brama (FC Twente) and
David Mendes da Silva (AZ Alkmaar) dropping out.
The squad will take part in a training camp in Austria
next week although Wesley Sneijder, Mark van Bommel and
Arjen Robben, who are involved in the May 22 Champions
League final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan,
joining their teammates later. Van Marwijk will make his
final 23-man squad decision on May 27.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht), Maarten
Stekelenburg (Ajax), Sander Boschker (FC Twente)
Defenders: Vurnon Anita (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (VfB
Stuttgart/GER), John Heitinga (Everton/ENG), Joris
Mathijsen (SV Hamburg/GER), Andre Ooijer (PSV), Giovanni
van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax),
Ron Vlaar (Feye-noord), Edson Braafheid (Celtic/SCO)
Midfielders: Ibrahim Afellay (PSV), Orlando Engelaar (PSV),
Nigel de Jong (Manchester City/ ENG), Wesley Sneijder
(Inter Milan/ITA), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar), Demy de
Zeeuw (Ajax), Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich/GER), Rafael
van der Vaart (Real Madrid/ ESP).
Attackers: Ryan Babel (Liverpool/ENG), Eljero Elia (SV
Hamburg/GER), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan/ ITA), Dirk
Kuyt (Liverpool/ ENG), Robin van Persie (Arsenal/ ENG),
Jeremain Lens (AZ Alkmaar), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/
GER).
Ri Pak leads Bell
Classic golf
AFP, Mobile
South Korea's Se Ri Pak shot a six-under 66 on Friday to
take a one-shot lead over Brittany Lincicome and Wendy
Ward at the 1.3 million dollar LPGA Bell Micro Classic.
Pak rolled in five birdies in a six-hole stretch on her
final nine holes to top the second-round leaderboard at
nine under on The Crossings course.
Many of the players wore purple ribbons and wristbands
with "EB" and a heart honouring Erica Blasberg, a
25-year-old tour player who was found dead in Las Vegas on
Sunday. The clubhouse flag was also at half-staff. Ward
had the low round with a 65, six strokes better than her
opening round.
Lincicome came out quickly with birdies on six of her
opening seven holes, but closed with a bogey on the final
hole. First-round leader Azahara Munoz was in a group of
four players three strokes back after shooting a one-over
73.
Stars flock to
Austria
AFP, Vienna
Austria plays host once again to the world's top
footballers starting this week, with teams like England,
Spain and the Netherlands converging on the small alpine
nation for their pre-World Cup training camps.
Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and company will lead the
pack as England arrive in the small Styrian town of
Irdning on Monday.
Eight other teams will follow over the course of the
month, from European champion Spain and Asian hopeful
South Korea, to the Netherlands, Cameroon, Serbia,
Slovakia, New Zealand and Honduras.
Another nine national teams will travel to Austria for
friendly matches, including World Cup contestants Japan,
Greece and North Korea.
The small alpine nation has been a regular summer training
spot for Europe's top football clubs, including Arsenal
and Real Madrid, and was able to show off its excellent
training facilities during the 2008 European football
championships, held jointly with Switzerland.
England will spend two weeks in Irdning, with a brief
interruption from May 23 to 26, before facing Japan in a
friendly on May 30 in the southern town of Graz.
The Netherlands will follow from May 19 to June 1 in the
Tyrolian resort of Seefeld. Also in Tyrol will be South
Korea, which takes up camp in Neustift im Stubaital from
May 25 to June 4.
Further west, Spain will be training in Schruns-Tschagguns,
in Vorarlberg province, from May 29 to June 3.
Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa will also
play two friendly matches during their time in Austria,
against Saudi Arabia on May 29 and South Korea on June 3,
both in Innsbruck.
Australia
targets Pietersen ahead of final
AFP, Bridgetown
Australia captain Michael Clarke wasted little time in
upping the pressure on England's Kevin Pietersen ahead of
the World Twenty20 final between cricket's oldest rivals
here today.
Pietersen has led the way for England with 201 runs at an
average of 67, including match-winning fifties in the
Super Eights against both defending champion Pakistan, who
lost to Australia in a thrilling semi-final, and his
native South Africa.
Only a brief break to return to London for the birth of
his son staunched the flow of runs and there was no sign
of jet-lag as South Africa-born Pietersen made an unbeaten
42 off just 26 balls in England's commanding seven-wicket
semi-final win over Sri Lanka. "Kevin Pietersen coming
back into form plays a huge part," Clarke told reporters
after Australia had chased down a mammoth 192, thanks
mainly to Michael Hussey's superb unbeaten 60, to beat
Pakistan by three wickets with a ball to spare.
"He (Pietersen) is a wonderful player in all three forms
of the game. He'll be a big part of the final.
Pietersen's was seen giving his team-mates stick over some
lax fielding during the match against Sri Lanka, last
year's losing finalists.
"There is a fine line between demanding high
standards...and then stepping over that line into a
petulant world, and a world that damages the team in any
way," said England coach Andy Flower. But he was at pains
to stress how Pietersen was a "good professional athlete"
who was bound to benefit from becoming a father for the
first time.
"It can only be a positive experience. I think anything
that our guys find to keep sport in perspective is a good
thing." Perspective is set to be in short supply in a
match now being billed as a scene-setter for England's
Ashes defence in Australia later this year.
The Kensington Oval pitch has suited Australia's fast
bowlers, with the trio of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and
Mitchell Johnson not just quicker than their England
counterparts, but quicker than any attack England's
batsmen have faced so far in this tournament.
However, Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom and Tim Bresnan are
more than mere 'pie-throwers', although they would love to
be underestimated by Australia.
England, like Australia, have until now struggled to make
an impact in Twenty20. In part this is because it is only
recently that the world's two oldest cricket cultures have
taken the 'upstart' format seriously. But while England
have yet to have their batting depth truly tested at this
event, the same cannot be said of Australia.
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