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Leading News
Hasina accuses Khaleda of impeding
development by threatening officials
UNB, Tongi
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday accused opposition
leader Khaleda Zia of threatening officials not to sign
files to impede the development, but said that such threat
cannot halt the current pace of development. "The
opposition leader wants to obstruct the development
process by asking the officials not to sign files and
issuing threats to sue them…whatever be the threat, the
present trend of development won't stop," she told a rally
at Telephone Shilpa Sangstha (TSS) maidan after opening
Shaheed Ahsanullah Master Flyover for public.
Criticizing Khaleda's hartal call for June 27, Hasina said
war criminals who committed crimes against humanity in
1971 cannot be protected by calling hartal or agitation.
"Trial of war criminals is the public demand," she said,
adding that Khaleda Zia had always tried to "trample" the
people's demand in the past but failed. "This time around
she won't succeed either. She always takes the opposite
route against the will of the people," Hasina told the
public rally.
She alleged that Khaleda Zia's husband, Ziaur Rahman, had
tried to save the killers of Father of the Nation
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman by introducing indemnity
law, but ultimately could not succeed. "You (Khaleda Zia)
also won't be able to save the war criminals," the Prime
Minister said.
Recalling the brutal killing of Awami League leader
Ahsanullah Master, she said the witness of the murder case
was also killed and the police officer, who found evidence
of the BNP terrorists' involvement in the murder, was
implicated in a fake incident of bribery. She also alleged
that some 21,000 Awami League leaders and activists were
killed during the BNP-Jamaat misrule.
Hasina, also the Awami League president, said when the
BNP-Jamaat alliance comes to power they establish a "rein
of terror" across the country. "But when Awami League
comes to power, it works for the people and for their
development."
She said that during her last tenure, price of rice was Tk
10 per kg, but later during their five years the
BNP-Jamaat alliance had taken the price to Tk 45 per kg.
"This was the result of their endless corruption and
negligence towards people."
The Prime Minister said the last Awami League government
had facilitated workers with part ownership of mills and
factories, but the next four-party alliance government had
shut down most of the industries.
"Now again when we are voted to power, we are giving
rations to the garments workers," she said.
Referring to various allegations of the opposition leader
over government's activities relating to electricity and
food price, Hasina said: "Khaleda Zia is champion in
telling lies… the person who do not hesitate to tell lie
over her birthday and who has several birthdays can tell
lies about everything."
She renewed her allegation that Khaleda Zia and her two
sons have amassed huge money through corruption and that's
why they had to give fine to whiten their illegally earned
money.
"Khaleda Zia had to live on widow allowance and her two
sons had to take orphan allowance. Where from they amassed
so much money?" the Prime Minister said.
HC
bars requisition of private vehicles except in public
interest
UNB, Dhaka
The High Court has put embargo on the law enforcers from
requisitioning private vehicles except in public interest.
Passing an interim five-point directive following a Public
Interest Litigation (PIL) writ petition, a division bench
of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice M Delwar
Hossain also issued a rule Sunday asking the government to
explain why section 103(ka) of the Dhaka Metropolitan
Police Ordinance 1976 should not be declared illegal and
ultra vires of Constitution.
The High Court in its directives asked the police to pay
within a week the hiring charge to the owner or driver of
the requisitioned vehicle at the existing rate and
compensate if any damage is caused to such vehicle.
It further asked the law enforcers not to harass the
vehicle owners or drivers during their requisition drive
on the streets and refrain from using the requisitioned
transport for personal purpose of a government officer.
In addition, the High Court directed the DMP Commissioner
to submit before the court within three days the names of
the three policemen who were involved in altercation with
the drivers over taxicab requisition as published on May
14 in the daily Jugantor.
On May 13, an unusual row over taxicab requisition led to
a clash between police and cab drivers leaving 20 people
injured in Farmgate, Manik Miah Avenue and Bijoy Sarani
areas of the capital.
Besides, the High Court bench appointed an eight-member
panel of amicus curiae to assist the court during hearing
on the writ petition. They are Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam,
Barrister Rafique-ul Huq, Mahmudul Islam, Barrister
Rokanuddin Mahmud, Barrister Azmalul Hossain, AFM
Mesbahuddin and Khandker Mahbub Hossain and Barrister
Bodruddoza Badal. The HC fixed June 7 for next hearing on
the writ petition.
Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed the PIL
writ petition following recent newspaper reports that the
law enforcers requisitioned motorized vehicles plying on
the streets at their whim by enforcing section 103(ka) of
the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1976 as a weapon.
The report further alleged that police indulged in
extortion of money from the vehicle owners or drivers to
spare them from requisition by abusing the law.
Secretaries to the ministries of Home Affairs and Law,
Inspector General of Police (IGP), DMP Commissioner and
Deputy Police Commissioners (Traffic) have been made
respondents in the case. Advocate Manzill Murshid appeared
for the PIL petitioner.
Nat’l
Mass Inquiry Commission to publicly try 1/11 actors:
Maudud
UNB, Dhaka
BNP leader Barrister Maudud Ahmed on Sunday said that a
National Mass Inquiry Commission (NMIC) will be formed
soon with representatives of different professional groups
to publicly try six actors of 1/11 "illegal" caretaker
government.
The six actors are: Former army chief Gen (retd) Moeen U
Ahmed, former chief advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed, Lt Gen
Masud Uddin Chowdhury, ex-Home Advisor Maj Gen (retd)
Abdul Matin, Maj Gen (forced retd) Amin, and Brig Gen Bari
who was called back from Bangladesh Mission in Washington
but did not return.
Addressing a press conference at his Motijheel chamber,
Maudud said all the six will be put on 'mass trial' for
unconstitutionally ruling the country causing harm to the
national interest.
He said the planned NMIC will not be formed under any
political party' s banner. The mode of the NMIC and its
terms of reference will be determined soon through
discussions with cross-sections of people and leaders of
professional groups - teachers, engineers, businessmen,
former judges, legal experts and journalists.
Maudud said the NMIC will be set up as the present
government does not want to hold trial of the main actors
of the 1/11 emergency government. Awami League has come to
power with their support, he alleged.
He said primarily, the NMIC will examine how the last
caretaker government violated the Constitution, identify
the economic and social sectors that suffered during its
rule, and also see how it damaged politics, politicians
and political institutions in the name of anti-corruption
drive.
The BNP leader said the NMIC will also find out data and
information of violation of human rights, torture on
people, injustice, killing, arrest, torture on remand and
killing in police custody during the last caretaker
government.
Replying to a question, Maudud, former Law Minister of the
previous BNP government, said he wants to remain as a
lawyer of the planned NMIC, not as BNP leader.
Though pressed hard, he would not say the possible date of
setting up the NMIC. "It would be formed soon," he told
reporters.
Replying to a query, he said ex-judges will also remain on
the NIMC.
Madhyapara mine
workers go on indefinite strike
UNB, Dinajpur
Madhyapara Hard Rock Mine workers went on an indefinite
strike from 9am on Sunday, demanding regularization of
their jobs and payment of arrear salaries and allowances.
They took out a procession in front of the main gate of
the mine in Parbattipur upazila in the morning.
Some 292 workers working at Madhyapara Coal Mining Company
Limited are agitating to press home their demand.
The workers said they went for the strike as the
authorities failed to accept their demand in an ultimatum
by May 18.
Mominul Haque, president of Madhyapara Granite Mining
Company Limited Sramik-Karmachhari union, said the
authorities were to regularize the jobs of workers as per
rule after a six-month training following their
recruitment in 2000. But, their jobs are yet to be
regularized, he said.
Mine sources said the jobs of the workers could not be
regularized due to financial problem and other reason.
Rental power plants
Poor progress in implementation frustrates power ministry
UNB, Dhaka
Poor progress in the implementation of 4 rental power
plant projects has frustrated the Power Ministry
officials, ministry sources said.
The projects are Bheramara 105 MW diesel-fired plant,
Thakurgaon 50 MW diesel-fired plant, Noapara 105 MW
furnace oil-fired plant and 50 MW Barisal furnace
oil-based power plant.
These projects were undertaken by the present government
to mitigate the nagging power crisis. Of the projects, the
Bheramara and Noapara plants were awarded to local firm
Otobi which later sold its share to Quantum power. The
Thakurgaon plant was awarded to Rahimafrooz while the 50MW
Barisal plant was awarded to Coastal Saba.
As per the agreements, the Bheramara, Noapara and
Thakurgaon projects are supposed to come into operation by
June 5 while the Barisal project is to be commissioned
sometimes in July as the sponsors have to install and
commission their plants within 120 days from the signing
date of contracts. These projects were undertaken by the
Awami League government on fast track basis aimed at
increasing power generation before irrigation season. But
all the projects failed to come into operation before
irrigation.
Irrigation season is already over, but no project could
come into operation as per initial plan. Later, first week
of June was fixed as the commissioning date for the first
three plants and July was set for the last one.
"But, so far, no project's implantation rate has been more
than 75 percent," said a Power Ministry official.
Joint committee for
power to sit in Delhi in June
BSS, Dhaka
The joint steering committee for cooperation in power
sector between Bangladesh and India will sit in New Delhi
next month to discuss the development on grid connectivity
and other related issues.
The committee will also discuss the report of the
feasibility study on the proposed coal-fired power plant
in Bangladesh.
In March last, a joint technical team of Bangladesh and
India had conducted the feasibility study to oversee the
pros and cons of installing two coal-fired power plants in
the country.
"We will sit in Delhi in June next to discuss the
feasibility reports for two coal- fired power plants and
other related issues," ASM Alamgir Kabir, Chairman of BPDB
told BSS today.
As per the agreement of the first steering committee for
cooperation in power sector between Bangladesh and India,
a six member technical committee has been formed to work
out every detail of the MoU (memorandum of understanding)
on the grid inter-connectivity between Bangladesh and
India as well as cooperation between NTPC (National
Thermal Power Company) and BPDB (Bangladesh Power
Development Board). According to the BPDB, one of these
projects would be developed by NTPC in joint venture with
BPDB.
Primarily the BPDB has selected two sites, Khulna and
Chittagong. However, the capacity of these projects would
be 1,320 MW each (approximately).
Now we are considering to install both the coal-fired
plants in Chittagong, he added.
Detective police
accused of extortion, threat on life
UNB, Dhaka
A businessman of the city Sunday filed a case against 6
detective police personnel accusing them of extortion
under threat on his life.
After hearing the petitioner, Shahadat Hossain, judge of
the Chief Metropolitan Court, deferred his order.
Plaintiff Mohammad Zahirul Ismal, a resident of south
Manda, in his petition said Assistant Police Commissioner
of the Detective Branch Matiur Rahman, Inspector Kibria
and four others picked him up from Zahir Dairy Farm on the
ground floor of his house on May 18. They demanded a toll
of Tk 20 lakh from him.
Zahir further said that he was handcuffed and taken to a
field at Azimpur where he was beaten for extortion of
tolls. After payment of Tk one lakh, he was set free on
condition of payment of more tolls.
The petitioner said that he went to file a case with
Sabujbagh thana but the police refused to accept the case.
Back Page
President emphasizes collective
initiatives to tackle natural calamity
UNB, Dhaka
President Zillur Rahman on Sunday emphasized on collective
initiatives to tackle the natural calamities like flood,
draught, earthquake and Tsunami as well as environmental
degradation through exchange of weather and climate data
among the South Asian countries.
"I believe that exchange of data on weather and climate as
well as technological and IT knowledge are important to
address these issues," he said, addressing the 9th Apex
Body Meet and International Seminar of SAARC Diploma
Engineers Forum (SDEF) in the city's IDEB Bhaban.
The President noted that about 1.5 billion people are the
proud members of SAARC - one-fifth of total civilization.
"The role of SAARC, therefore, is of paramount importance
in developing the socio-economic, cultural, and living
standard of this large population," he said.
He mentioned that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has made
some proposals to the leaders of South Asia to free this
region from terrorism and poverty.
The proposals, he said, include the formation of Regional
Taskforce for eradicating terrorism, a unified currency,
forming visa-free South Asia, exchanging information
technology, establishing SAARC University and SAARC Bank,
developing and protecting flora and fauna in the region
with a view to improving the quality of life and
accelerating economic growth and social progress.
Zillur Rahman also mentioned that the SAARC Leaders have
agreed to form a 'South Asia Forum' to expedite the
activities of SAARC. The 'SAARC Charter of Democracy', a
proposal made by the Government of Bangladesh, has also
been accepted in the Summit to evolve into multi-party
democracy and good governance in the member states of
SAARC, he said. He noted that the agenda of food security,
environment, agriculture, energy, trade and commerce,
tourism, combating terrorism, and facing the natural
disasters have widely been discussed in the last SAARC
Summit in Thimpu.
Hasina for
continuation of dev projects by successive govts
UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has underscored the
continuation of development projects by successive
governments for the greater interest of the country and
its people.
"It is not justified that a development project undertaken
by Awami League government will be scrapped by BNP-Jamaat
alliance government… this is not acceptable by any means,"
she said at the 2nd meeting of Bangladesh Haor and Wetland
Development Board at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
Sunday.
The 2nd meeting of the Board, which was presided over by
its chairman Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, was held after
long nine years. The first meeting was held on April 29 in
2001 after the Board was formed on September 11 in 2000
during the previous tenure of the AL government. After
that the Board remained ineffective. Press Secretary to
the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed the reporters
after the meeting. Addressing the meeting, the Prime
Minister said it was unfortunate for the people that the
development projects that were taken during the previous
AL government were not continued by the BNP-Jamaat
alliance government. She said that it was quite
disappointing for the people that the governments would
not ensure optimum use of the country's resources. Hasina
termed the haor and wetlands of the country as a valuable
resource. "We could use these haors and wetlands for
preserving water during the rainy season for use during
the dry season," she said.
She mentioned that these wetlands are also very useful for
augmenting the groundwater level. "We've to save these
haors and wetlands for the sake of our future," she said.
The Prime Minister put emphasis on farming fish, crabs,
snails and oysters (jhinuk) in the haors and wetlands,
saying that the environment and type of water in
Bangladesh is quite suitable for this.
7 killed in
road accidents
UNB, Rajshahi
The death of a college student in a road accident sparks
off violence at Barnali crossing in the city on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Tushar, 23, student of
Rajshahi Government Coll-ege and son of Tozammel Haque of
Kadamhazir crossing in Godagari upazila.
Local sources said the accident occurred at about 10am
when a sand-laden truck hit him while he was crossing the
road, leaving him dead on the spot.
Angered by the accident, local people rushed to the spot,
damaged the truck and set it on fire and blocked the road,
which hampered traffic movement.
The truck driver and his helper, however, managed to
escape. Fire service personnel later doused the fire.
Police also rushed to the spot and persuaded the mob to
withdraw the blockade. Police sent the body to Rajshahi
Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Tushar, who along with mangoes came to visit his relatives
at Ambagan in city, met the tragic end of his life while
returning to his home.
Two people were killed and three others injured in
separate road accidents in Belkuchi and Tarash upazilas on
Sunday.
Police said Marufa, 7, daughter of A Rahman of Ajupara
village, died on the spot as a bus hit her at the village
in Belkuchi upazila at about 9am.
In another accident Hamidur, 53, was killed and three
others injured as a truck rammed into a rickshaw van near
Nado Syedpur village on Hatkumrul-Bonpara highway in
Tarash upazila at about 10am. Two young men were killed
and one was injured as a baby taxi collided with
Mymensingh bound bus at Bangra in Kalihati upazila Sunday.
Taxi driver Shawkat Ali, 22, and passenger Hitu Mia, 20,
died on the spot. Another passenger Liton, 30, injured was
rushed to Dhaka in a critical condition, witnesses said.
Another report from Pabna said Shourav, 7, was knocked
down by a motor cyclist police sub-inspector at Bdher Haat,
Nagarbari today. Shourov was student of Gopalganj Shishu
Niketon and only son of Pabna income-tax employee Achintya
Guha.
BSS adds: An young man was killed on the spot when a
speeding truck ran over him at Bornali crossing under
Rajpara police station here Sunday.
Police said, Tusher, 30, son of Tozammel Haque hailed from
Godagari of the district, met the tragic end of his life
when a sand-laden truck knocked him while he was crossing
the road.
Protesting the killing local people became agitated and
put the road on blockade disrupting traffic movement on
the road for about half an hour. The mob also set the
truck on fire.
Later on, police brought the situation under control and a
case was recorded with the concerned police station.
Parliamentary watchdog aims
at tightening tax net
UNB, Dhaka
A parliamentary watchdog on Sunday recommended that the
government should make it mandatory for all the elected
representatives including MPs, city mayors and councilors,
poura mayors and councilors to submit their income tax
returns.
The recommendation was made at the 23rd meeting of the
parliamentary standing committee on Finance Ministry with
its chairman AHM Mustafa Kamal in the chair.
The meeting also emphasized on simplifying the return form
and introducing tax cards to encourage the tax payers
while paying tax.
It also suggested the concerned authority motivate the
common people to pay taxes as well as to conduct
whole-hearted efforts so that the taxpayers don't face any
harassment.
The meeting also decided in principle, not to keep the
provision for whitening black money in the upcoming budget
except any investment on capital and productive sector.
The meeting also recommended the concerned authority to
increase the income tax net, as well as to simplifying the
tax collection system. It also suggested the full
automation of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) steps to
regain the confidence of the general tax payers.
Standing committee member Prof M Ashraf Ali, AKM Maidul
Islam, MK Anwar, M Matiur Rahman, Golam Dastagir Gazi and
Begum Farida Rahman were present. The meeting was also
attended, among others, by Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr.
Atiur Rahman, Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary
Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, NBR chairman Dr. Nasiruddin
Ahmed, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman M
Ziaul Haque Kha-ndaker and Banking and Financial
Institution Division Acting Secretary Shafiqur Rahman
Patwari.
Police asked to
stop extortion at Kawrakandi Ghat
BSS, Madaripur
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan Sunday instructed the
police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to take
immediate steps to stop extortion at the Kawrakandi Ghat
under Shibchar upazila here.
"The incidents of extortion at Kawrakandi have recently
reduced to some extent but it is still continuing," he
said while addressing a district law and order
coordination meeting at Madaripur Circuit House.
The Minister also alleged that the extortion at Daulatdia
Ghat is still continuing but the police and other law
enforcement agencies are not taking appropriate actions
against the culprits.
Besides, the movement of armed terrors increased at
Khojpur, Rajar Char and Chhilar Char recently, he said
adding that all these misdeeds must be stopped by the
administration.
Shahjahan Khan also expressed his dissatisfaction alleging
that the officials of the local administration including
the Thana Nirbahi Officer (TNO) and the Officers-in-Charge
(OCs) are not showing adequate honour to the local elected
representatives. He also directed all the government
officials to honour the elected representatives.
The Minister asked the officials of the civil and police
administration to take stern actions against the illegal
movement of transports.
US Food aid to
BD to increase: Rollins
UNB, Dhaka
US Agency for International Development (USIAD) anno-unced
here Sunday the expansion of its annual food aid and
agriculture support program in Bangladesh with a new focus
on agriculture and nutrition sector.
At a roundtable on the U.S. development assistance
priorities at American Club, USAID Mission Director Ms
Denise Rollins said Bangladesh would now receive US$ 220
million as food aid for next five years.
In previous years, Ban-gladesh received US$ 32 million as
annual food aid, which will be enhanced to $42 million
from June this year, an annual increase of $10 million.
Ms Rollins said Bangl-adesh's agriculture sector did not
get much attention by donors in the past. Now the USAID
has redirected its focus on agriculture development and
nutrition, and decided to allocate fund of $15.5 million
this year to ensure the food safety net and improve the
nutrition status of the people, particularly the children
below five years.
The USAID chief said Bangladesh is going to be the first
among 20 countries to get access to the Global Agriculture
and Food Security Trust Fund. Dhaka will have to apply for
the fund by mid-June.
The US government, she said, contributed US$ 475 million
to the Trust Fund. Other donors like Spain, Canada,
Australia and South Korea will be contributing to the Fund
to be operated by the World Bank. The total amount of the
Trust Fund will be US$ 1.3 billion for next three years.
Ms Rollins said Bangladesh needs to finalize its Food
Security Action Plan and Food Security Investment policy.
She also announced the visit of USAID chief Dr Rajiv Shah
- his first to Bangladesh - to attend as special guest the
opening of the Food Security Investment Forum to be held
in Dhaka on May 25-26. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will
inaugurate the meeting.
President Obama appointed Dr Shah as the 16th
Administrator of USAID.
Ms Rollins said the forum highlights an important element
of President Obama's Feed the Future Initiative,
supporting countries in developing their own food security
investment plans. Feed the Future Initiative is one of
Obama's four initiatives. Other initiatives are: Global
Health, Climate Change and Global Engagement, which is a
result of his historic Cairo speech.
Editorial
Drop out of students
The rate of
drop out of students at different levels in the country
continues to be alarming. The main cause of this is learnt to
be widespread poverty. According to a report carried by a
leading national daily on May 22: According to the
registration in Class 1X as many as 13 lakh 61 thousand and
233 students were supposed to sit for the SSC examinations in
2010, but from among the registered students 4 lakh 90
thousand and 732 students dropped out. None of them appeared
at the examination.
Another report published early in June last year stated: 12
lakh 67 thousand and 634 students had registered them in class
1X in the 2007-08 academic year. But only 7 lakh 33 thousand
324 of them sat for trhe Secondary School Certificate (SSC)
examination in 2009. As many as 5 lakh 34 thousand 310
students, mostly girls, did not appear at the SSC examination
as they dropped out. The rate of drop out was as high as 42.15
per cent. The report quoted the Chairman of Dhaka Education
Board as saying that the high rate of drop out resulted from
social and economic factors. Because of financial crisis many
guardians were forced to withdraw their wards from schools and
engage them in different jobs to earn some money.
Even at the primary level a large number of children in the
country are being compelled to give up the pursuit of
education due mainly to poverty. About 90 lakh children
attaining the school-going age are out of the primary
education system according to press reports. Around 55 percent
of the primary students coming mostly from poor and middle
class families suffer from malnutrition which causes drop out
of about 33 per cent children. Education Minister Nurul Islam
Nahid told a seminar, ten percent of the children eligible for
going to schools do not get admitted to educational
institutions. 48 per cent students drop out at primary level
and 42 per cent do the same at secondary level.
This is a grim and painful reality caused by severe poverty
and serious food problem. In the words of Nobel Laureate
Amartya Sen : 'Empty stomach also empties class rooms' and the
situation in Bangladesh testifies that he is right. It goes
without saying that poverty and food shortage and malnutrition
are keeping many out of educational institutions and worse
still, forcing a large number of them to leave the schools. No
immediate end to this alarming condition is in sight. In
recent times 42 lakh more people in Bangladesh have been
pushed below the poverty line according to a newspaper report.
This indicates that despite continued efforts for alleviation
of poverty it has rather intensified. A recent study report
said: At least 36 million people in the county, around a
quarter of its population, face acute poverty and hunger. In
short, poverty has been playing a major role in worsening the
education situation which is alarming due to corruption,
anomalies, textbook crisis and other factors.
Against this backdrop, the government should make concerted
efforts to eradicate poverty on the one hand and on the other
free the education system from corruption and irregularities
on priority basis. Alongside, budget allocation to education
sector should be enhanced considerably so that education up to
secondary level can be made free and compulsory for all and
quality of education can be improved. The government should
also take necessary steps to reduce the rate of dropout of
students at all levels of education. Reducing the overall cost
of education may an important measure in this regard.
RAB must be
careful
Villagers
confined a team of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) for eight
hours in a house at Nathuardanga village in sadar upazila of
Satkhira on Saturday when the team allegedly tried to
implicate a local Awami League leader in arms possession
charge. The RAB-6 team went to Shafiqul Islam's house Friday
midnight in the name of recovering arms. Shafiqul, joint
secretary of Sreenagar Union AL and owner of a shrimp
enclosure, claimed that the RAB members had thrown three
revolvers into his house through a window and asked him to
open the door. As he refused to comply, the law enforcers
entered Shafiqul's house by cutting the collapsible gate and
accused him of illegal possession of arms. Hearing hue and
cry, hundreds of villagers thronged his house and confined all
the RAB members inside. On information, sadar thana O/C MA
Hasem and upzila vice-chairman SM Shawkat Hossain reached the
spot with a contingent of police, rescued the RAB team at
7:30am.
This incident has proved, whatever RAB says is not necessarily
true and whatever it does is not always justified. Moreover,
it appears that the growing allegations against RAB of
arresting even some innocent people as criminals are not
unfounded at all. The RAB stepped into its seventh year of
functioning on 26 March last amid both appreciation and
criticism. People have welcomed its success in capturing some
top criminals and militant kingpins, but vehemently criticized
it for resorting to extra-judicial killings. According to the
DG of RAB, 622 people have been killed so far in encounter
with RAB. However, there are allegations that at least in some
cases innocent people have been killed in crossfire.
RAB to realise that they should be sure about the authencity
'information' they receive before going into action and take
maximum pre-caution against committing mistake. Because even
their 'mistake' due to 'misleading and wrong information' can
cost the life of an innocent man.
Analysis
Divergent perspectives
Pakistan's salvation lies in focusing on its
internal problems while recognising the importance of being an
active and reliable player of the international system.
Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi
There
is a widely shared concern at the international level about
the future of Pakistan's state and society. This perspective
talks of the possibility of Pakistan becoming an increasingly
non-performing state in terms of its primary obligations of
political coherence, internal peace and security and an
assured future to its citizens. It may also face problems in
functioning effectively as a member of the international
community. The societal concerns focus on growing ethnic,
regional, religious-sectarian cleavages and religious and
cultural intolerance that seem to dominate the orientations of
the people more than the notion of Pakistan as a nation state
and the obligations of citizens towards it.
These concerns are understandable because Pakistan comprises
170 million people located in a strategically important
region, which is the meeting point of South, Central and West
Asia. Pakistan's success and failure have implications beyond
its border. Many countries around Pakistan like Afghanistan,
the Central Asian states, and the Gulf region are not
necessarily secure states. Whatever happens in Pakistan and in
these states has implications for each other.
In Pakistan, a number of Islamic militant groups based in the
tribal areas and mainland Pakistan challenge the primacy of
Pakistan by establishing or extending their domain through
intimidation and violence. They also have agendas beyond
Pakistan's territorial borders or their actions have
implications for other countries. This problem is very acute
between Pakistan and Afghanistan because the divergent
militant groups move both ways across the Pakistan-Afghanistan
border to support each other.
The issues and problems of Pakistan's state and society, the
region and the concerns of the international community came up
in an interesting conference organised by the Brookings
Institution last week in Bellagio, Italy. The main focus was
on interpreting what has been happening in Pakistan over the
last 4-5 years and the possible directions of these
developments during the next five to seven years. The
participants included academicians, former diplomats and
others working on Pakistan and the region from the US, the UK,
Norway, Pakistan and India, who provided informative insights
on how the world views what is happening in and around
Pakistan.
The general consensus was that Pakistan faces most serious
challenges in the domestic context, which are multiplying
because of poor governance and political management, and the
inability of the political class to set their priorities for
addressing these internal problems. Though Pakistan's domestic
problems have an external dimension, the key to their solution
lies within Pakistan. The international community should
continue to help them but unless the civilian government and
the political leadership recognise the internal challenges and
works together to cope with these problems, Pakistan is not
expected to overcome its current predicament.
Pakistan is seen as a country 'at the brink', faced with
internal turmoil, urban unrest and mini-insurgencies in
different parts of the country that can make it extremely
difficult to assert its primacy vis-à-vis violent non-state
actors, and perform its obligations towards the citizens,
accentuating the latter's alienation from the state, thereby
strengthening those challenging its writ.
The major internal challenges include persistence of religious
extremism and militancy, the relative freedom of mainland
militant groups and their infrastructure in major cities, the
feeble economy, the alienation of youth from the notion of the
nation-state and citizenship, urban violence and societal
polarisation. This is in addition to terrorist attacks, car
bombings and suicide attacks.
The military has successfully pushed back the Taliban and
other militant groups from Swat/Malakand and South Waziristan
and it is taking a firm action against them in other tribal
areas. However, the civilian administrative and security
follow-up is poor in the areas freed from the Taliban. Another
issue that requires more attention is the reconstruction of
the insurgency affected areas and the rehabilitation of the
displaced persons.
In addition to the above challenges to stability and civilian
democratic order, the growing activism on the part of the
superior judiciary can derail the current efforts to sustain
democracy and address the internal challenges. It seems that
the federal government's energies are being spent defending
itself against the ongoing pressure of the superior judiciary.
This can lead to a clash between the two state institutions
that will be as much detrimental to the future of democracy
and internal stability as has been the military's direct
intervention in politics.
While recognising the growing troubles for Pakistan in the
future, Pakistan is also viewed as a country that has the
potential to overcome these challenges. It has an experienced
bureaucracy and military as well as a sufficiently large pool
of trained professional human power that has ample experience
and desire to cope with the problems.
This makes Pakistan different from many countries in Africa
and Asia. Pakistan has the potential to pull back from the
'edge' and function as a reasonably efficient and effective
state. However, this is not possible unless Pakistan's
leadership (in power and outside) makes a shared and earnest
effort to evolve solutions to these problems and the
international community continues to support Pakistan.
The external financial, technological and diplomatic support
is going to be crucial for the future of Pakistan. More
important than this is how the Pakistan leadership views the
domestic problems, especially religious and cultural extremism
and militancy. Are they prepared to change Pakistan's profile
from a state obsessed with an aggressive posture towards the
region and the international system to a state focused on
internal socio-economic development and stability?
International perceptions of Pakistan diverge from the
perspectives held by politically informed and active circles
in our country. Pakistanis often blame the US and the
international system for our current predicament. The emphasis
is on "who has done wrong to Pakistan" rather than "what has
gone wrong with Pakistan".
There is a need to bridge the gap between the two visions of
Pakistan's present and the future. Further, there is a need to
understand how and why the world looks at Pakistan in a
specific manner because their policies are going to be
determined by their perceptions of Pakistan rather than how
Pakistan's political circles interpret our developments.
This calls for a greater emphasis on active international
diplomacy and strengthening ties with other countries rather
than overplaying the notion of Pakistan's sovereignty and
talking of defiance of the international system. There is a
need to pay attention to other's concerns about Pakistan.
Pakistan's salvation lies in focusing on its internal problems
while recognising the importance of being an active and
reliable player of the international system.
Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi is a political and defence analyst
Asia rides
the crisis
In China and India, where foreign participation in the
bond market is very limited, foreigners would need to be
given full market access.
Dominique Dwor-Frecaut
The
trillion-dollar bailout put together this month by
euro-zone countries has bought them a temporary reprieve,
but it has also weakened their credibility. The European
dream of dislodging the United States as the supplier of
the main world reserve currency now looks unattainable.
Yet Asia - where a number of economies are now stronger
than in the United States or Europe - is unlikely, at
least for now, to supply the next reserve currency because
its economic rise has not been matched by its financial
development. The global financial crisis may have
originated in advanced economies, not in emerging markets,
but Asia should not be deterred from pursuing financial
liberalisation.
Until recently, the euro's share of global foreign
reserves had been increasing - by 9 per cent since its
launch in 1999 to 27 per cent last year - at the expense
of the dollar, whose share had decreased by an equivalent
amount to 61 per cent last year. These trends are now
likely to stop, if not reverse.
The dollar remains the world's main reserve currency,
although that is more by default than by choice. The US
public debt and deficit, relative to the size of its
economy, are the same as Portugal's. The US banking system
is not fully recovered from the crisis, and losses on
commercial real estate lending are mounting. But the US
dollar has a formidable advantage: If countries stopped
investing their foreign reserves in dollars, their
currencies would appreciate against the dollar and they
would suffer capital losses on their large dollar
holdings. These capital losses could be high in countries
such as China and Malaysia, which have high foreign
reserves. The United States also has the largest, deepest
and most liquid government bond market in the world.
So for all its fundamental weaknesses, the US remains the
safe heaven of last resort. That is why, even though the
global crisis originated in the US, the dollar has
strengthened whenever global markets have sold off.
In addition, two thirds of global trade is transacted in
dollars. This reflects the former economic dominance of
?the US, which until 2003 was the largest ?exporter in the
world (before it was overtaken by Germany and China).
China's rise last year to become the world's largest
exporter is symbolic of Asia's rising economic power.
Excluding Japan, Asia now accounts for one quarter of the
world economy and one third of exported manufactured
goods.
Yet Asia (again excluding Japan) accounts for only 12 per
cent of global foreign-exchange-markets turnover, 6 per
cent of domestic bonds and 2 per cent of global bonds.
This reflects institutional and regulatory shortcomings as
well as limited foreign participation in Asian bond
markets. Bond market development, crucial if Asia is to
supply the next global reserve currency, has been limited
by factors such as accounting standards that are not
internationally recognised, a lack of hedging mechanisms,
and restrictions on foreign participation.
In China and India, where foreign participation in the
bond market is very limited, foreigners would need to be
given full market access.
South Korea, which has one of the most developed and open
bond markets in the region, would benefit from greater
participation in global bond indices. It could also
benefit from a relaxation of foreign exchange rules that
would give foreign investors more flexibility to manage
their currency risks.
These changes would increase the capital flowing to Asia
and likely lead to currency appreciation. But currency
appreciation would help Asia reduce its dependency on
external demand when external demand is likely to weaken
over the medium term as crisis countries raise their
savings to reduce public and private indebtedness.
In the long run Asian currency appreciation appears
unavoidable. Because they have not gone through financial
crises, Asian economies are likely to continue to grow at
faster rates than advanced economies. This is bound to be
reflected, sooner or later, in currency valuations. With a
strong financial regulation and supervision, Asia could
become more open to capital inflow without experiencing
financial instability. China would be better off if its
capital inflow took the form of legal investments in its
bond markets rather than of unregistered hot money
inflows, as is currently the case.
The financial deepening that Asia needs to go through if
it wants to supply the next global reserve currency is a
long term process. That is why Asia must not let the
European debt crisis get in the way of progress. Asia
needs to get on with financial liberalisation if it wants
one day to see its financial power match its economic
might.
Dominique Dwor-Frecaut is a senior economist for the
Royal
Bank of Scotland
Reviving the
legacy
"His position is older than democracy," a historian wrote.
"[It is] older than parliament, older than Magna Carta,
older than the Norman Conquest."
Afua Hirsch
The
lord chancellor has been described in many ways through
history, but one account stands out. "His position is
older than democracy," a historian wrote. "[It is] older
than parliament, older than Magna Carta, older than the
Norman Conquest." Nowhere is this legacy more apparent
than in the lord chancellor's swearing-in ceremony, which
took place on Friday at Royal Courts of Justice in London.
The new appointee, Ken Clarke, made his entrance to the
court flanked by a series of men with weird and wonderful
titles including the clerk of the crown and a gold
mace-wielding assistant serjeant-at-arms. The procession
was also an opportunity for a rare sighting of a
'purse-bearer' - most of whose outings in England are
confined to state openings of parliament.
Then there were the outfits. It may not have been his
intention, but the one thing Jack Straw, the last holder
of the office, will be remembered for among staff at the
Royal Courts of Justice is refusing to wear his
shoulder-length wig. There was no such rejection of
tradition by Clarke, who looked perfectly at home in his
wig, elaborate lace collar and gold brocade gown complete
with silk stockings and brogues.
The procession made its way to the lord chief justice's
court, which was packed from floor to gallery with the
buzz of judicial gossip as the ranks of high court and
court of appeal judges crowded round the bench. After much
deep bowing, Clarke took his seat beside the lord chief
justice, Sir Igor Judge, and the heads of division of the
most senior courts in England and Wales. The dizzying
spectacle of so many senior judges in such a small space
was almost too much for some of the audience.
On a bench at the back of the court, two women who work as
clerks for lord justices of appeal were arguing over which
was the most lovable. "Oooh, look there's Lord Justice
Laws," one said. "He is definitely my favourite." "No, I
like Lord Justice Jackson," said another. "There he is,"
pointing to the indistinguishable crowd of men in gold
brocade gowns and long wigs at the front of the room.
Two men complained about the budgetary implications of
current robe policy. "Of course, now every judge gets a
brand new robe," said one, to the tut-tutting disapproval
of his neighbour.
Protecting the courts' budgets is in fact a key part of
the lord chancellor's role, reflected in the oath, which
involves swearing to "discharge my duty to ensure the
provision of resources for the efficient and effective
support of the courts for which I am responsible".
Viewpoints
Speaking too much
In spite of
being the country's chief executive, Mr Gilani does not seem
to be conversant with its constitution.
Anwar Syed
Asif
Ali Zardari used to speak much too often. But wiser counsel
seems to have prevailed and he has been fairly quiet for the
last several months. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has
either not received such counsel or, if he has, he has chosen
to ignore it.
He feels he must compensate for Mr Zardari's taciturnity.
However, it appears he hardly has any time or inclination to
think before he speaks. Addressing a group of people in
Karachi a couple of weeks ago, Mr Gilani extended his
condolences to the residents of Hyderabad who, he said, had
greatly suffered as a result of their district having been
split into four units and promised them that its original
status would be restored.
The MQM leaders - his party's allies in the government of
Sindh and at the centre - were greatly annoyed at his
statement because they prefer the present shape of Hyderabad.
In fact, so annoyed were they that Rehman Malik, the interior
minister, had to go to London to reassure Altaf Hussain that
Mr Gilani's statement had been a slip of the tongue, and that
it should be ignored.
Soon after this event Mr Gilani went to Muzaffargarh to
support the election campaign of Jamshed Dasti for a seat in
the National Assembly. Mr Dasti resigned his NA seat after it
became clear that he had a fake degree in Islamic studies.
Nevertheless Mr Zardari, to whom Jamshed Dasti had been close
and who did not appear to consider dishonesty on the part of a
politician as anything to get too worried about, awarded him
the PPP ticket for the election in Muzaffargarh. Mr Gilani was
widely criticised for his vigorous support of a man who had a
fake degree. He presented a strange defence of his move. He
indicated that Mr Dasti should not have been awarded the PPP
ticket, for it embarrassed the party. But since he had been
given the ticket, party discipline required him to go and
support the gentleman's election campaign. He implied that PPP
chief Asif Ali Zardari had ordered him to go and speak in
support of Mr Dasti.
Normally a prime minister need not be so abjectly subservient
to the head of his party. Let us say that Mr Gilani is not the
normal type of prime minister, and nor is Mr Zardari a normal
party head. Mr Gilani had no way of setting aside 'party
discipline'. But he did not have to be quite as vigorous and
eloquent in praising someone guilty of holding a fake degree.
In spite of being the country's chief executive, Mr Gilani
does not seem to be conversant with its constitution.
Referring to the re-establishment of the Islamabad High Court
during a speech in the National Assembly, Mr Gilani said he
would like to choose someone from Fata to be its chief
justice. He did not seem to know that the appointment of a
high court chief justice is none of the prime minister's
business; it is the judicial commission's preserve.
There are costs for thoughtlessness in political speech. Mr
Gilani may not even be aware that there are costs and, as
such, they are to be avoided. He may well be the only head of
government in the world who is a compulsive talker. He is
present on the floor of the National Assembly nearly every day
that it is in session. That is good. He doesn't have to speak
on every such occasion, but he does.
In America a White House spokesman holds a press briefing. It
is only once in a while that President Obama goes out to
deliver a public speech. It is pretty much the same way with
Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, and David Cameron,
the new British premier.
Talking too much is bad enough. It is made worse in Mr
Gilani's case because his words - even when they are in the
nature of promises - are not followed by action. His
government seems to be of the view that, as far as possible,
inaction is the best policy.
One may be sure that he has a large and well-appointed office
with a whole array of secretaries and assistants, but one may
still have no idea of what he does there. It should not come
as a surprise if he were replaced by a party notable who talks
less and does more work.
The writer is professor emeritus at the University of
Massachusetts.
anwarsyed@cox.net
Bidding adieu
to arms
But the road to global nuclear disarmament will be long
and bumpy. To begin with, the capacity to dismantle and
destroy nuclear warheads is limited, and likely to remain
so.
Klaus Naumann
As
the recent UN and Washington summits have demonstrated,
nuclear arms control and disarmament are among the top
issues on the world's political agenda. They are likely to
remain so for the foreseeable future. Indeed, 2010 will
determine whether US President Barack Obama's vision of a
nuclear-free world will remain a distant but achievable
hope, or must be abandoned.
No one should be under any illusions. Even if all of the
world's nuclear-weapon states embrace the vision of a
world free of the threat of nuclear conflict, nuclear
weapons will remain with us for two decades at least, and
even that would require the most favourable conditions for
disarmament.
This year is crucially important. The agreement signed in
early April in Prague between Russia and the United States
on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons and possibly
on further cuts was accompanied by the publication of the
US Nuclear Posture Review, identifying the nuclear
capabilities that Obama's administration wishes to
preserve for the next four years. The Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference will begin the
work of adapting the NPT to our rapidly changing world.
Many policymakers hope that 2010 will bring clarity on the
North Korean and Iranian nuclear programmes.
There are roughly 23,000 nuclear weapons today, which is
40,000 fewer than at the Cold War's height. These weapons'
total yield is greater than 150,000 Hiroshima-size nuclear
explosions. Nuclear disarmament is therefore still
urgently needed, and prominent politicians in the US and
Germany have produced the US-led Global Zero initiative
and created the International Commission on Nuclear
Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND), sponsored by
Australia and Japan and co-chaired by former Foreign
Ministers Yoriko Kawaguchi and Gareth Evans.
The US, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and China -
all NPT signatories - possess nine-tenths of the world's
nuclear weapons, while India, Pakistan, and probably
Israel possess around 1,000. North Korea presumably has a
few, and Iran is most likely pursuing a nuclear-weapons
programme. Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev
have agreed to reduce their strategic arsenals to 1,550
weapons each - far more than the 1,000 that Obama had in
mind, but nonetheless a huge step that could bring about
further cuts.
But the road to global nuclear disarmament will be long
and bumpy. To begin with, the capacity to dismantle and
destroy nuclear warheads is limited, and likely to remain
so. Current capacity is roughly 500 weapons annually in
both Russia and the US, which means that the total of
2,000 weapons each that the ICNND Report suggests for the
year 2025 cannot be fully implemented much before 2028.
Then, there is the risk that other countries, particularly
in the Middle East, will follow the example of North Korea
and Iran. The ICNND report Eliminating Nuclear Threats,
released late last year, proposes meeting these challenges
with a comprehensive agenda for reducing nuclear risks. As
the German ICNND Commissioner, I believe that this report
is the first and only one so far to suggest precise and
feasible steps towards a nuclear-free world.
The report consists of 20 proposals to be decided on at
this year's NPT review conference, and ends with proposed
decisions to be taken after 2025. It leaves no room for
doubt that a nuclear-free world is achievable without any
risk to the security of individual states, provided that
for the next 20 years or so there is sustained political
will around the world, particularly in the nuclear-weapon
states. In addition, the report proposes a declaration by
these states that the sole purpose of nuclear weapons is
to deter others from their use, coupled with an obligation
not to increase their stockpiles.
For the 2025 timeframe, the aim is to reduce the global
nuclear stockpile to 2,000, or less than 10 per cent of
today's total. A "No First Use" declaration should be
collectively agreed upon, in conjunction with
corresponding verifiable force structures, deployments,
and readiness status. As supplementary steps, the report
suggests negotiating limitations on missiles, strategic
missile defense, space-based weapons, and biological
weapons, as well as holding talks on eliminating
conventional weapons imbalances."
Achieving this ambitious agenda by 2025 would usher in the
last phase in the quest for a nuclear-free world, and
requires, first and foremost, political conditions that
reliably rule out regional or global wars of aggression.
Nuclear weapons would thus become superfluous. Only then
could they be banned and their total elimination begin. In
parallel, mandatory measures would penalise any states
attempting to circumvent the ban, as well as individuals
involved in producing nuclear weapons.
Obama's vision could thus become reality 20 years from
now, provided that the US and Russia take the first steps
this year. Immediate further cuts must include
sub-strategic weapons, with the few remaining American
nuclear weapons in Europe withdrawn in exchange for the
elimination of the still substantial Russian stockpile.
But the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from Europe
is by no means the first step towards nuclear disarmament.
To suggest it as an opening move could damage European
security and jeopardise transatlantic cohesion, so the
message has to be "no" to unilateral withdrawal, but "yes"
to including these weapons in future arms-control
negotiations. Withdrawal of these weapons would not mean
the end of nuclear deterrence for Europe, as deterrence
will remain necessary until the last nuclear weapon is
dismantled. But the sole purpose of retaining some degree
of deterrence will be to deter the use of nuclear weapons.
Europe perhaps benefited more than any other part of the
world from nuclear deterrence, because it helped to
preserve peace during the Cold War and prevented nuclear
proliferation. But the time has now come to join
Presidents Obama and Medvedev in bringing about
disarmament. Indeed, without the US and Russian examples,
the world would see more, not fewer, nuclear-weapon
states.
Klaus Naumann was Chairman of the NATO Military
Committee and Chief of Staff of the Bundeswehr
www.project-syndicate.org
Don’t derail the Iran deal
There are at least three good reasons for the US to try
responding positively to the new deal, rather than
dismissing it out of hand and pressing ahead with its
drive for harsh sanctions on Iran.
Stephen Kinzer
Just
one day after the announcement of a deal brokered by
Turkey and Brazil to defuse the gathering crisis over
Iran's nuclear programme, the United Nations has finally
come up with a draft resolution to press for harsh
sanctions on Iran.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that the
five permanent members of the UN Security Council have
drafted a resolution setting out a new sanctions package
designed to pressure Iran to curtail its nuclear programme.
The draft, which Clinton said Russia and China had
accepted, was being circulated to the full Security
Council.
Should the UN continue pressing for harsher sanctions even
as Turkey and Brazil work to arrange a nuclear fuel swap
that would send 1,200 kilograms of Iran's stockpile of
low-enriched uranium to Turkey?
No, say the Turkish and Brazilian leaders who brokered the
deal. "This plan is a route for dialogue and takes away
any grounds for sanctions," Foreign Minister Celso Amorim
of Brazil told reporters after the breakthrough in
Teheran.
Not so fast, the Obama administration has replied. White
House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement in
Washington suggesting that the new deal was "simply
words." He insisted that if Iran does not make more
concessions, it must "face consequences, including
sanctions."
The Turkey-Brazil deal does not end the possibility that
Iran could one day develop nuclear weapons. Specialists
have already begun picking it apart, and they have found
worrying loopholes. Nonetheless it includes some
tantalising concessions. By reflexively dismissing it, the
United States risks seeming unreasonable and petulant. A
wiser course would be to welcome the deal as a promising
foundation, and seek positive ways to build on it.
If this crisis were about almost any country other than
Iran, the US and its friends in London and Paris would
probably have taken this tack. In their dealings with
Iran, though, Western powers often seem guided more by
emotion than cool calculation. They sometimes behave as if
they will accept nothing less than a full Iranian
surrender, preferably including a strong dose of public
humiliation. That approach to a proud country with 25
centuries of rich history is doomed to fail.
When President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran turned up in
New York to address a nuclear review conference a couple
of weeks ago, the US might have seen his appearance as a
splendid opportunity. The White House could have assembled
an all-star team of diplomats to engage him, try to
understand more fully what he is seeking, and look for
areas of possible compromise. Instead, like spoiled
children accustomed to having their way, American
delegates to the conference stood up and left the hall in
the middle of his speech.
Actions like this reflect how difficult it is for Western
powers, and especially the US, to accept their diminished
authority in the world. They face a rebellion from the
periphery, represented in this case by Turkey and Brazil.
These emerging powers refuse to be hemmed in by the
either/or dichotomies that have been the basis of
America's approach to the world since the early days of
the Cold War.
By brokering the deal with Iran, Turkey and Brazil have
immensely complicated the American push for sanctions.
There was undoubtedly much dismay in Washington when,
hours after the deal was struck, Foreign Minister Yang
Jiechi of China said his country "expresses its welcome"
and looks forward to more negotiations.
This is the path Turkey's visionary foreign minister,
Ahmet Davutoglu, urged the US to follow. "Discussions on
sanctions will spoil the atmosphere," he warned after
returning to Istanbul. "Each side now should have a
positive approach, constructive style and a real intention
and objective of dialogue rather than focusing on mutual
suspicion, skepticism, mutual threats, sanctions or other
options."
There are at least three good reasons for the US to try
responding positively to the new deal, rather than
dismissing it out of hand and pressing ahead with its
drive for harsh sanctions on Iran.
First, the sanctions proposal has considerably less global
support now than it did before the Teheran deal was struck
on Monday.
Second, experience from Belgrade ?to Baghdad shows that
sanctions tend to punish the poor and enrich a criminal
class of smugglers; in Iran they might also help turn a
remarkably pro-American population toward
anti-Americanism.
Third and most important, the Turkey-Brazil deal holds out
a glimmer of hope for resolution of a crisis that, if left
unsolved, could gravely destabilise the world's most
volatile region. It may be true, as the US insists, that
Iran has managed to fool its Turkish and Brazilian
interlocutors and has no real interest in compromise on
the nuclear issue. Given the high stakes, though, it is
self-defeating for the US not to seize this chance and see
what can be made of it. Not doing so encourages the view
that the West does not really want a deal at all.
Stephen Kinzer, author of the new book "Reset: Iran,
Turkey and America's Future," has just left Iran, where he
had a rare glimpse inside the country at a time when many
correspondents are being denied journalist visas
www.globalpost.com
International
Pak PM steps in
to avert face-off, reassures chief justice
Dawn Online, Lahore
Pakistan Prime Minister took an initiative on Saturday to
allay fears of a showdown between the judiciary and the
executive by vetoing a 'show of force' planned by some
federal ministers during the hearing next week on the
National Reconciliation Ordinance and by reassuring the
chief justice that the government would respect any
verdict delivered by the Supreme Court.
Talking to the media after inaugurating the Expo Centre
here, Yousuf Raza Gilani said he had told the People's
Lawyers Forum to drop its plans to assemble outside the
court during the hearings.
"Only a few lawyers and ministers will go with the law
minister to the Supreme Court and explain the government's
point of view. Any clash between institutions will not
benefit anyone," the premier said. "The current tension
between the government and the judiciary is a part of
democracy's evolution. The parliament and judiciary are
trying to find their feet in a new set-up and define their
roles. All other institutions are evolving and they know
it. Only the media sometimes get aggressive." In reply to
a question about the reopening of Swiss cases against
President Asif Ali Zardari, Mr Gilani said writing a
letter to any government was not a problem.
Different options were being looked into about writing to
the Swiss government, but "law and constitution" would
determine the 'final action', Mr Gilani added.
About his telephonic conversation with Chief Justice
Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, he said: "I rang up the chief
justice and assured him that the government has all the
respect for the judiciary."
Pak govt.comes out in
support Zardari in Swiss cases
ANI, Lahore
The Government of Pakistan has decided not to write any
letter to the Swiss Government to reopen the cases against
President Asif Ali Zardari as long as the president enjoys
immunity under the country's Constitution.
The Daily Times quoted a private television channel, as
reporting on Friday that there was unanimous view in
federal circles that Pakistan's Constitution must be
respected and that President Zardari enjoys immunity under
it.
Speaking at a dinner hosted for government ministers and
officials, President Zardari affirmed his government's
respect for the Constitution and added that he would
accept all verdicts of the Supreme Court "with an open
heart and mind".
However, he said all institutions should work within their
ambit.
He termed the joint consensus and approval of the 18th
Amendment "a historical feat", and declared the Supreme
Court had full authority to review any article it wanted
to. Deliberating the issue, Senator Raza Rabbani said he
had also received a notice from the Supreme Court and
would send its reply to the SC.
The government has also constituted a committee of senior
members of the PPP to defend Law Minister Babar Awan
during the apex court's hearing on May 25.
Hunza IDPs outraged by govt
'apathy'
Dawn Online, Hunza
The people affected by the lake in Hunza valley held a
20-hour-long protest on Saturday against what they called
indifference of the government and non-announcement of a
compensation package by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani,
who visited the region on Friday. They ended their protest
after an assurance by the district administration that a
financial package would be announced within a week.
Another protest by women and children blocked the
Karakoram Highway (KKH) in Ganish for more than six hours.
They raised slogans against the government.
Talking to media, the protesters said that they wanted to
go back to their villages even though they had had been
declared dangerous. They accused the government of lack of
seriousness, saying since the crisis began only some NGOs
were helping them. They said the government had not taken
concrete steps for solving their problems.
The affected people of landlocked Gojal tehsil have also
shown their disappointment on the prime minister's visit.
Talking to Dawn, some of them said that the lake had
submerged large portions of Ayeenabad, Shishkat, Gulmit,
Ghulkin and Hussaini villages in the strategically located
tehsil but the prime minister not bothered to visit the
area upstream. They said the government had not provided
relief items to affected people in Gulmit, adding that
government officials had just made the site as a picnic
point. The lake continues to submerge the lower settlement
of Gulmit, Shishkat and Ghulkin. According to reports, the
lake has submerged 106 houses, 120 shops, 5 hotels along
with thousands of kanals of land and domesticated plants.
Hunt for clues in deadly
Indian air crash
BBC Online
Investigators at the site of Saturday's air disaster in
southern India are searching for the plane's data
recorders to find out what went wrong.
Some 158 were killed and eight survived when the Air India
Express plane overshot Mangalore airport's hilltop runway
and crashed.
Relatives of the victims have started to collect the
remains of their loved ones and prepare their funerals.
It is India's first major air disaster in nearly 10 years.
An investigation into the cause of the accident is under
way, with the help of a team from the US which has arrived
in India.
DNA testing will be carried out on some of the most badly
burned bodies to help identify them; the results of those
tests may take up to a week to come through.
Investigators used cutters to search for the "black box"
cockpit voice and flight data recorders in the wreckage,
reports say.
Most of the passengers on the flight, which was flying in
from Dubai, were Indian nationals, with many returning
from jobs in the Gulf to visit their families.
Some 87 bodies have been identified so far and handed to
relatives for their funerals, an airline spokeswoman said.
Some relatives arrived on a special Air India flight from
Dubai, and others from the southern Indian states of
Karnataka and Kerala.
One man, Samir Sheikh, lost 16 family members who were
travelling to India to attend the funeral of another
relative, according to the Dubai-based newspaper Khaleej
Times.
Insurgents attack NATO's
southern Afghan base
AP, Kabul
The Taliban claimed responsibility Sunday for a nighttime
assault on NATO's biggest base in southern Afghanistan in
which insurgents firing rockets, mortars and automatic
weapons tried to storm Kandahar Air Field.
It was the second such attack on a major military
installation this week. Several coalition troops and
civilian employees were wounded in Saturday night's
assault, but there were no reports of deaths, officials
said.
Militants unleashed rockets and mortars about 8 p.m. (1530
GMT) and then tried unsuccessfully to storm the northern
perimeter, officials said. Artillery and machine-gun fire
reverberated through the base, about 300 miles (500
kilometers) southwest of Kabul, for more than three hours
afterward.
One of the rockets hit a shop-lined boardwalk where
soldiers go in the evening to socialize. A bloodstain
could be seen on the walkway outside a T.G.I. Friday's
restaurant on the boardwalk Sunday morning, said Maura
Axelrod, a reporter with HDNet who was inside the base.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Armada told The Associated
Press that its fighters attacked the base from two sides
and fired more than 15 rockets.
It was the third major attack on NATO forces in
Afghanistan in six days.
Thai PM extends curfew; no
polls until unrest over
AP, Bangkok
Thailand's prime minister on Sunday extended a nighttime
curfew in the capital and said he will consider early
elections only after the violence that has wracked the
nation for the past two months is completely over.
Elections are seen as a key step toward healing the deep
divide that has split Thailand between supporters of Prime
Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the so-called Red Shirts,
who are made up mainly of the urban and rural poor and see
Abhisit's government as elitist and illegitimate.
The rift with the Red Shirts, who have strong support in
the country's north and northeast, came to a crescendo of
violence after they occupied the heart of Bangkok,
sparking a military crackdown that ended in a rampage of
grenade attacks and arson at dozens of buildings,
including the country's stock exchange and biggest
shopping mall.
In all, 85 people were killed in the violence - the worst
the Thai capital has seen in decades. Abhisit said in a
weekly address that while he is still willing to call
elections before his term expires late next year, he will
not do so under the threat of violence.
He accused Red Shirt followers of planning further mayhem,
although he stressed the government was in control and the
capital has largely returned to normal after a final push
by the military to clear the main protest site on
Wednesday left 16 dead and more than 100 injured.
"It is now entirely up to me to see when is the most
appropriate time to hold the election," Abhisit said. "At
the moment, no one can tell when is the best time. We
don't know what will happen next."
Hoping to appease the protesters, Abhisit earlier this
month offered to hold elections on Nov. 14.
US seeks good ties with
India and Pakistan
Dawn Online, Washington
The United States wants to build strong partnerships with
both India and Pakistan and is not going to refuse to deal
with one because the other doesn't want it, says a senior
US official. Explaining US policies for South Asia at a
briefing at the Council on Foreign Relations, Deputy
Secretary of State James B. Steinberg also stressed the
need for building a multi-faceted and long-term
relationship with Pakistan by removing Islamabad's
suspicions about Washington.
But this desire, he noted, would not prevent the US from
seeking an equally strong partnership with India.
"We are not going to refuse to deal with one because the
other doesn't want it," said Mr Steinberg. "But it's
symmetrical, which is why we're also not going to refuse
to deal with the other because the first is against it."
While explaining how India-Pakistan differences affected
America's efforts to build separate partnerships with
both, Mr Steinberg hoped that over time the two neighbours
would be able to appreciate the US approach. "As we build
trust, we build depth and breadth to those relationships,
it becomes easier to tolerate those places where they
still see it in the zero sum way with each other," he
said.
Okinawans angry over U.S.
base plan, PM at risk
Reuters, Tokyo
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Sunday abandoned
a pledge to move a U.S. air base off Okinawa, fanning
local anger, upsetting a coalition partner and risking
another blow to his ratings ahead of a mid-year
election.Hatoyama said he had concluded the base should be
shifted to the Henoko area of the northern Okinawa city of
Nago-largely in line with a 2006 U.S-Japan agreement. But
the governor of Okinawa quickly said it would be tough to
accept such a plan.
Voter perception that Hatoyama has mishandled the Futenma
air base row has eroded government support, threatening
the ruling Democratic Party's chances in the upper house
election, which it must win to avoid policy
deadlock.Hatoyama has set himself an end-May deadline to
resolve the problem, which has frayed ties with Tokyo's
key security ally Washington just as the two countries
confront security challenges such as an unpredictable
North Korea and a rising China. "Concerns and anger that
people in Okinawa have are understandable," Hatoyama told
Okinawa Governor Hirokazu Nakaima in a meeting at the
Okinawa prefecture office, as a crowd of protesters stood
outside carrying signs opposing the plan and shouting "Go
home".
US
can’t act alone in world: Obama
Reuters, West Point, N.Y.
President Barack Obama declared on Saturday the United
States cannot act alone in the world and pledged to shape
a new "international order" as part of a national security
strategy to seal his break with Bush-era policies.
Setting out his vision for keeping America safe as it
fights wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama stressed
international engagement over predecessor George W. Bush's
"cowboy diplomacy" and signaled his likely repudiation of
Bush's justifications for pre-emptive war.
"The burdens of this century cannot fall on our soldiers
alone, it also cannot fall on American shoulders alone,"
Obama told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy
at West Point. "Our adversaries would like to see America
sap its strength by overextending our power." Obama's
speech previewed his new National Security Strategy --
required by law of every U.S. president -- to be released
next week. His words suggested it would deviate sharply
from Bush's go-it-alone approach that placed U.S. power
over diplomacy in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001,
attacks. Bush in 2002 laid out the "Bush Doctrine"
asserting the right to wage pre-emptive war against
countries and terrorist groups deemed a threat to the
United States, part of a policy he called a "distinctly
American internationalism."
What followed was the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq
despite the lack of formal U.N. authorization. Since
taking office last year, the Obama administration has
fueled speculation that the president's new strategy will
officially back away from that controversial concept.
Iran threatens to
drop nuclear fuel deal
AFP, Tehran
Iran could abandon a nuclear fuel deal, which it says
recognises Tehran's right to enrich uranium, if world
powers do not accept it in full, parliament speaker Ali
Larijani said on Saturday.
"Parliament backs the Tehran Declaration (on a fuel swap
deal) in its entirety. If they seek to consider it
partially, the house will not accept that," Larijani said,
quoted by the state IRNA news agency.
"It will not be compatible with the Tehran Declaration if
they have extra demands and pursue deception," he said,
without elaborating. A deal brokered this week by Brazil
and Turkey to ship half of Iran's low enriched uranium (LEU)
to Turkey for a swap with reactor fuel recognises Tehran's
right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, according
to a joint declaration carried by Iranian media. But the
UN Security Council has called on Iran to halt uranium
enrichment in five resolutions, and world powers led by
the United States are seeking further sanctions against
Tehran over its defiance.
Larijani insisted the deal has "things to offer for us and
for the other party, and it is a logical framework for
talks."
The comments came after his deputy Mohammad Reza Bahonar
also warned Iran would pull out of the fuel deal if the UN
Security Council slaps further sanctions on the Islamic
republic over its continued uranium enrichment. Washington
and its Western allies have been dismissive of the new
deal, saying it does not address international concerns
about Iran's nuclear programme.
But a spokesman for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula
da Silva, a driving force behind the deal, said on
Saturday that the agreement contained "to a great extent"
provisions that US President Barack Obama suggested in a
letter sent to Lula two weeks ago.
Israel holds defense drill
amid regional tension
AP, Jerusalem
Israel held a dress rehearsal for disaster Sunday,
beginning a defense drill to test the response of
soldiers, emergency crews and civilians to simulated
missile barrages, terrorist attacks and chemical strikes.
Israel embarked on its fourth annual home front drill at a
time when Iranian-backed militants are rearming to
Israel's north and south, and Iran itself is suspected of
developing nuclear arms, despite its denials.
The five-day exercise, the biggest in Israel's history,
has raised allegations by the country's enemies that it is
preparing for war - a concern Israel has sought to allay.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the drill
is a "routine exercise that was scheduled long ago." "I
want to emphasize that this is not a result of any
abnormal security development," he told his Cabinet on
Sunday. "On the contrary, Israel wants quiet, stability
and peace, but it is no secret that we live in a region
that is under threat of missiles and rockets."
Israel began carrying out the annual exercise, code-named
Turning Point, after its 2006 war with Hezbollah militants
in Lebanon showed the country's bomb shelters, air raid
sirens and civil defense authorities were unprepared. The
exercise also incorporates lessons from Israel's 2009 war
against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Tensions
have risen in recent weeks after Israel accused Syria of
smuggling Scuds and other missiles to Hezbollah. Syria
denied the charge.
Israeli media reported that Hezbollah heightened its alert
status ahead of what it branded Israel's "war game." And
they quoted Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri as saying
the Israeli exercise defies peacemaking efforts.
Israel has tried to allay regional concerns with
assurances through diplomatic channels that the drill is
not a cover for a military strike, defense officials said.
Fixing US oil spill is ‘no
feat’, say Iranians
Reuters, Tehran
Plugging the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico is no great
challenge compared to what Iran has dealt with in the
past, an official at Iran's drilling company said on
Sunday.
A long-standing adversary of the United States, oil
producer Iran has offered to help fight the spill -- a
gesture unlikely to be taken up by Washington which is
pushing for new U.N. sanctions against Tehran's nuclear
programme. Two U.S. cabinet members were to visit the Gulf
Coast on Sunday, underscoring serious concerns over what
some believe may be the worst oil spill in the United
States.
Mehran Alinejad, the head of special drilling operations
at the National Iranian Drilling Co., said Iran had
successfully dealt with huge oil leaks in the past,
particularly when rigs were bombed during a war with Iraq
in the 1980s.
"Iranian technical teams have had major achie-vements in
oil well capping compared with which the Gulf of Mexico
oil rig is no feat," he told IRNA news agency.
Alinejad repeated Iran's offer of help. "There is at any
rate an ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico whose
negative consequences include everyone.
That is why if we receive a suitable resp-onse from the
officials of that country we can examine the issue and
contribute to its resolution."
French FM meets Assad,
calls for easing of tensions
AFP, Beirut
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called on Sunday
for an easing of tensions between Israel and its Arab
neighbours, urging all sides to respect a 2006 ceasefire
in Lebanon.
"We cannot be resigned to a constant state of tension,
even if it is decreasing," Kouchner told journalists on
his plane to Beirut after a meeting in Damascus with
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On landing in the
Lebanese capital, Kouchner went into talks with President
Michel Sleiman and later continued on to Cairo to meet his
Egyptian and Spanish counterparts, Ahmed Abul Gheit and
Miguel Angel Moratinos.
"Minister Kouchner informed the president that his
regional tour aims to ease recent tension, which began to
decline over the past few days especially as concerns
Israel's threats," Sleiman's office said after the
meeting.
France's foreign minister in his briefing of reporters
travelling with him renewed an appeal for all sides to
respect UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which ended a
devastating month-long war in 2006 between Israel and
Lebanon's Shiite militant group Hezbollah.
The resolution bans the supply of arms to the Iranian- and
Syrian-backed Hezbollah. In Damascus, Kouchner expressed
France's concern over Hezbollah's weaponry, to which Assad
gave assurances it was not in the interests of Damascus,
Tehran or Hezbollah to trigger a new conflict, a French
diplomatic source said.
Bullying can be a good
thing for kids
ANI, London
Getting bullied can sometimes help children in their
development, claims a new study.
Psychologists from the University of California, Los
Angeles (UCLA), claim that being shouted at, or ostracised
on Facebook can often have positive results.
In a series of experiments, psychologists from the
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), measured the
friendships and hostile relationships of 2,000
schoolchildren aged 11 and 12. Researchers compared
children who reciprocated a fellow pupil's dislike with
those who tried to ignore or placate their enemy. Those
with the highest "antipathy" marks - repaying hostility
with hostility - seemed the most mature.
Girls who gave as good as they got scored significantly
higher on teachers' ratings of social competence. They
were more popular in class and often admired throughout
the school. Boys who stood up for themselves were judged
to be better behaved in the classroom than those who
suffered in silence. "The children who are not disliked by
anybody are the most well-adjusted, not surprisingly," the
Times quoted Melissa Witkow, who led the study, as saying.
She added: "However, among kids who are disliked by a
peer, our research suggests it may be helpful for some
young adolescents to return that peer's dislike than to
either not be aware or to continue liking that peer." Such
experiences, according to researchers, give children an
early lesson that not everybody is going to like them in
life and teach them about conflict resolution.
Nick Clegg says cuts move
‘painful but necessary’
BBC Online
Imminent spending cuts will be "painful and
controversial", Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has
admitted.
Ahead of Monday's announcement of the details of £6bn in
cuts this year, Mr Clegg said the squeeze was necessary to
"bring sense" to the public finances. He said the
coalition government would have to "hold its nerve" over
tough decisions and attacked what he said had been
irresponsible spending by Labour.
The BBC has learned the business department's budget will
fall by £700m.
The BBC's Political Correspondent Carole Walker said a
further £500m would come from trimming or axing public
bodies.
'Difficult decisions'
Ministers say cuts must be made quickly to show Britain is
serious about cutting the deficit but Labour says this
could put the recovery at risk. "These are difficult
decisions," Mr Clegg told BBC One's Andrew Marr show.
"No-one went into politics to seek to deliver cuts but we
all know as a country it is necessary. It is going to be
painful and controversial." Action on spending was needed
this year, he added, because of the "deteriorating" state
of Europe's finances and as an "early instalment" to show
the UK was serious about tackling the deficit. He said the
government should be judged on whether the cuts were
"fairly administered", did not hit the most vulnerable in
society and no regions of the country were singled out.
"If we don't bring sense to the public finances, we can't
do any of the good things that we want to do," he said.
Quangos targeted
The government, which will hold an "emergency Budget" on
22 June, has said frontline services will be protected
from cuts in spending. Our correspondent said savings at
the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills would
mean "significant cuts" to regional development agencies
in the south of England.
There would also be some savings on the universities
budget, and reductions in administration costs. A further
£513m would be cut from quangos, with some like the QCDA -
which oversees the national curriculum - due to be
scrapped, she added. Mr Clegg said it was "quite right"
the Business Department should shoulder its fair share of
the cuts and denied that Vince Cable, his Lib Dem
colleague who runs the department, was unhappy about this.
Business/Economy
HBFC
disburses Tk 165.76 cr loans in nine months
BSS, Chittagong
Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) has
disbursed housing loans amounting to Tk165.76 crore in the
first nine months of the current fiscal (2009-10).
The loans were disbursed through 10 zonal and 12 regional
offices across the country. A total of 853 applicants, out
of 913, were given the credit facility, according to HBFC
sources.
The total amount of disbursed loans during the nine-month
period is Taka 194.80 crore. The HBFC is working with a
target of disbursing loans amounting to Taka 250 crore in
the current fiscal.
HBFC Public Relations Officer Zahirul Islam told BSS that
477 persons under four zones in capital Dhaka have
received housing loans amounting to Taka 11.23 crore. Of
them, 154 recipients are in zone No. 1, 174 recipients in
zone No. 2, 118 recipients in zone No. 3 and 23 recipients
in zone No. 4.
In Chittagong, 73 persons have received a total of Taka 15
crore as house building loans under a single zone. The
rest of the loans were disbursed in different areas of the
country through the zonal and regional offices. HBFC
Managing Director Raihana Anisa Yusuf said it is possible
to expand the area of loans further with the cooperation
of the government. She said the loan recovery rate of the
HBFC is about 90 per cent, which is satisfactory.
The HBFC is a profitable organisation since its inception.
The corporation is now working on providing the middle
class people with loans at lower rates, the HBFC managing
director said.
Senior Principal Officer of HBFC Chittagong Zonal Office
Prolaya Bhattacharya said the government has recently
asked the HBFC to disburse more loans in areas of growth
centres at district and upazila levels, outside the
capital and divisional cities.
He said an applicant can get loan amounting to Taka 40
lakh in Dhaka and Chittagong, Taka 20 lakh at the district
level and Taka 15 lakh at upazila level.
The rate of interest is 12 per cent in Dhaka and
Chittagong and 10 per cent in district and upazila levels.
The recipients of the 15-year loans have to start paying
installments after 12 months of receiving cheques for the
credit money.
DSE
index crosses 6000-point mark on huge rally
BSS, Dhaka
The benchmark price index of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE)
crossed the 6100-point mark Sunday on a huge rally.
The index finished at 6096.88, which was 115.02 pointes or
1.92 per cent higher than the last week's closing of
5981.85. The index, however, reached at 6110.03 just
before the closing.
Significant leap at shares of GP in particular and in
issues from power, banking and financial sectors in
general contributed to the big rally, which has been
persisting on the stock exchange since May 16.
GP shares gained 6.16 percent today after losing some edge
in the past few weeks trading.
ACI Formulation was another major gainer of the day, which
advanced by over 19 per cent on ex-dividend buoyant
trading.
Issues from pharmaceuticals and power sectors were also
traded voluminously, taking the index to the highest ever
position.
The daily turnover increased to Taka 2,054 crore from the
last week's average turnover of Taka 1,995.13 crore.
Market capitalization rose to a new high of Taka 253,124
crore at the day's close.
Stockbrokers said that the rally would continue mainly
because of the high inflow of black money into the stock
market.
There is strong indication that the government would no
more allow money whitening, so this is the last year for
taking such opportunity.
RAKUB should
work for bolstering NW-region's agro-based economy
BSS, Rajshahi
The Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) has a vital role
to bolster the country's northwest region's agro-based
economy through expanding credit support to both the farm
and non-farm potential sectors. So, the farmers-friendly
banking in the specialized bank must be ensured for
substantial development of the region through the best
uses of its existing natural resources.
To this end, the RAKUB services must be reached to the
doorsteps of the farmers to help them derive benefits from
the services.
This was reiterated at the 346th meeting of the Board of
Directors of the bank at its board room here Sunday with
RAKUB Chairman Yahiya Molla in the chair.
Directors Dr Syed Naquib Muslim, Dr Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan,
Khandaker Jahangir Kabir Rana, Dr Rustam Ali Ahmed and
Yunuus Ali attended the meeting.
Managing Director (Additional Charge) of the bank Delwar
Hossain Bhuiyan and Council-Secretary Aminul Islam
Khandaker were also present at the meeting.
The meeting reviewed overall activities of the bank and
took some important decisions relating to its commercial
and administrative matters. The meeting laid emphasis on
intensifying the bank's activities to supplement the
government's effort to expand social safety net and ensure
poverty reduction and food security side by side with
removing the seasonal monga, sources said.
"We have no way out but to boost up agriculture production
for more income generation and to reduce dependence on
import," Yahiya Molla said adding that the RAKUB has a
vital role to play in this regard. Besides, he viewed that
most of the agricultural sectors and its sub-sectors
especially poultry, fishery and livestock could be
enriched through extending credit to the sectors.
NCC Bank opens
68th branch at Kamal Bazar
TBT Report
NCC Bank Limited opened its 68th branch with online
facility at Kamal Bazar in Kalurghat in Chittagong on
Sunday. Chairman of the Bank Yakub Ali Montu inaugurated
the branch as chief guest. Managing Director & CEO
Mohammed Nurul Amin presided over the function, says a
press release.
Chairman Yakub Ali Montu said that Kamal Bazar is playing
important role in national economy with various industries
& trades and NCC Bank is giving priority to this sector to
encourage entrepreneurs.
Vice Chairman of the Bank Md. Harunur Rashid MP, Director
Mohammed Ali, Khairul Alam Chaklader, Saleh Mohd. Abu
Fayez & Sponsor Anwar Pasha attended the function as
special guests. Among others Deputy Managing Director
Golam Hafiz Ahmed, local elites, businessmen & clients
were also present on the occasion.
Australia says door open on changes to mining
‘super tax’
AFP, Sydney
Australia signalled Sunday it is open to compromise on the
controversial plan to tax the "super profits" of the
Asian-driven mining boom but insisted the 40 percent
headline rate will stay.
Resources companies have launched a fierce campaign
against the tax, arguing that it is damaging to Australian
investment and jobs and will cut their ability to compete
with foreign miners.
But the government has insisted it is a fair measure which
will allow it to lower company tax and fund other
measures, thereby ensuring the benefits of the mining boom
are spread more evenly around the country.
Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said the government
wanted to consult with the nation's most valuable export
industry on the tax because there were technical issues to
resolve.
"The headline tax rate is correct," Ferguson said.
"But there is room for compromise, as I've said on a
number of occasions, with respect to how you apply the
proposed tax regime."
Ferguson said the government would await a report from its
consultation committee on whether the point at which a
"super profit" was reached-currently deemed to be when a
company's profits pass six percent of current earnings
after rebates for some expenses are deducted-would change.
"I am not prepared to suggest that there is any movement
but we will wait the outcome of those discussions," the
minister told Network Ten's "Meet The Press" programme.
"I think it's time the mining companies of Australia got
used to the idea that they need to return a fairer share
to all Australians, for the resource which all Australians
own," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Sunday.
Egypt and Pakistan to boost trade
AFP, Cairo
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on
Sunday that his country plans to boost trade with Egypt,
during a visit to Cairo where he met with President Hosni
Mubarak.
Qureshi, who was accompanied on his trip by several
ministers and a large delegation of businessmen, praised
the "excellent" relations between Pakistan and Egypt, the
official MENA news agency reported.
During talks with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul
Gheit on Saturday, the two diplomats agreed to set up a
ministerial level committee to oversee bilateral trade
that would meet every two years, Qureshi told MENA.
The two countries would also hold political consultations
once a year, Qureshi said.
The talks focused on "exploring new trade opportunities
between the two countries, including exporting Pakistani
wheat as well as medical and surgical equipment to Egypt,"
MENA said. The two sides also looked into exporting
Egyptian goods to Pakistan, including fertilizers," it
said. The annual volume of trade between Egypt and
Pakistan currently stands at four million dollars,
according to MENA.
Ansar-VDP Dev Bank should work for sustainable
livelihood of the Ansar-VDP personnel
BSS, Rajshahi
The Ansar-VDP Development Bank has a vital role for
sustainable livelihood development of the Ansar- VDP
members as they contribute a lot to the nation especially
in its in maintaining peace, facing disaster situation and
working hand-in-hand in achieving rural uplift.
This was stressed in the regional managers and field
workers conference of the bank held at the Ansar-VDP range
office conference hall here Saturday.
Managing Director of the bank Dr Nurul Huda Chowdhury, who
addressed the conference as the chief guest, said the
socio- economic development of the Ansar- VDP members
could be uplifted through intensifying the bank's
micro-credit activities.
He called upon the regional managers and field workers to
render their services with utmost sincerity, honesty along
with patriotic zeal so that the cherished goal of the bank
could be attained as a whole.
Dr Chowdhury stated that the well-disciplined organization
has been contributing the maximum in building a healthy
and better society through creating social awareness and
eliminating social discriminations and superstitions by
disseminating right knowledge.
So, the Ansar-VDP-friendly banking in the specialized bank
must be ensured for substantial development of all the
members of the organization. Dr Nurul Huda Chowdhury laid
emphasis on making the bank's activities more intensified
to supplement the government's effort to build social
safety net, poverty reduction and food security.
Clinton calls for fair
trade ahead of China talks
AFP, Shanghai
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Sunday for a
level playing field in commerce with China as the two
sides prepared for talks on trade and other thorny issues.
"For trade to work in any economy and for it to produce
the benefits we know it can, there must be a level playing
field where domestic and international companies can
compete freely and openly," Clinton said in Shanghai.
Clinton's comments came as she prepared to travel to
Beijing, where she and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner
will meet Chinese officials for the two-day annual
Strategic and Economic Dialogue, beginning Monday.
The two sides were expected to discuss contentious trade
issues such as the level of the Chinese yuan, amid
accusations Beijing keeps the currency artificially low to
boost its exports.
In recent months there have also been mounting accusations
that China was backsliding on its commitments to free
trade.
National
President for preserving rich
culture of indigenous people
BSS, Dhaka
President Sunday said all kind of initiatives would be
taken to preserve the rich culture of the indigenous
people as they are an integral part of the development
process of the country.
The President made the remark while State Minister for
Cultural Affairs Promode Mankin called on him at
Bangabhaban here.
During the meeting, the President said there are many
things could be learnt from the practice of rich culture
and matriarch family structure of the indigenous people
where men and women work with same dignity.
"Entire women community can be inspired by the lifestyle
of indigenous women for contributing more in the
development of the society," Zillur Rahman observed.
The President also expressed his desire to visit some
communities of the indigenous people to observe their
practice of culture and lifestyle.
The State Minister apprised the President about various
ongoing activities of the Ministry and formally invited
the President to be chief guest at the national programmes
of the Birth Anniversary of National poet Kazi Nazrul
Islam, to be held in Trishal on May 25.
President Zillur Rahman gave his consent to attend the
programme in Trishal. Concerned secretaries of the
President Office were also present during the meeting.
Shahjahan asks police to stop extortion at Kawrakandi Ghat
BSS, Madaripur
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan Sunday instructed the
police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) to take
immediate steps to stop extortion at the Kawrakandi Ghat
under Shibchar upazila here.
"The incidents of extortion at Kawrakandi have recently
reduced to some extent but it is still continuing," he
said while addressing a district law and order
coordination meeting at Madaripur Circuit House.
The Minister also alleged that the extortion at Daulatdia
Ghat is still continuing but the police and other law
enforcement agencies are not taking appropriate actions
against the culprits.
Besides, the movement of armed terrors increased at
Khojpur, Rajar Char and Chhilar Char recently, he said
adding that all these misdeeds must be stopped by the
administration.
Shahjahan Khan also expressed his dissatisfaction alleging
that the officials of the local administration including
the Thana Nirbahi Officer (TNO) and the Officers-in-Charge
(OCs) are not showing adequate honour to the local elected
representatives. He also directed all the government
officials to honour the elected representatives.
The Minister asked the officials of the civil and police
administration to take stern actions against the illegal
movement of transports.
Seven robbers arrest in Shariatpur
UNB, Shariatpur
Seven robbers, who swooped on businessmen, were arrested
while looting the money of the businessmen near
Mongalmajhi-Sattar Matbor ghat in Padma river in Jazira
upazila early Sunday.
The arrested were identified as Harun Chowkider, Sagor
Bepari, Najir Hawlader, Zakir Hawlader, Mujibur Akand,
Raju Hawlader and Nuru Darji.
Local sources said about 10 businessmen from Jazira
upazila were going to Mawa ghat from Mongalmajhi-Sattar
Matbor ghat of the upazila by a trawler for buying fish
and domestic birds.
Seven bandits coming on a sea-boat swooped on the trawler
in the mid river and looted the money of businessmen.
As the sea-boat of the criminals went out of order, the
victims raised alarm for help. Responding to the call,
local people rushed to the spot, caught seven robbers and
handed them over to police after giving them a mass
beating.
RAB seizes huge phensidyl,
recovers arms and arrests 7 criminals from 2 N-dists
BSS, Rangpur
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) seized huge quantities of
smuggled phensidyl, arms and vehicles and arrested seven
criminals from different places of two northern districts
during the past 24 hours till Sunday morning, RAB sources
said.
A RAB-5 team from Rangpur camp led by ASP Shameema and ASP
Anwar seized 3,090 bottles phensidyl and a microbus and
arrested two criminals from Kashibari Raniganj LSD Godown
area in Ghoraghat upazila of Dinajpur at 8:20 am this
morning.
The arrested drug smugglers were identified as Alamgir
Hossain, son of Azizul Haque of village Pagla Nischintapur
under Fotulla upazila of Narayanganj and Nuru, son of
Abdul Gafur of village Mohisharchar under Meghna upazila
of Comilla.
Earlier, in another raid, the same RAB team seized more
2,137 bottles of phensidyl and a truck and arrested three
criminals from Sharif Durgapur Mazar area under Birampur
upazila of Dinajpur district at about 7:10 am this
morning.
The arrested criminals are Abdus Sattar, son of Johir
Uddin, Hafizur Rahman, son of late Habu Mian and Ershad,
son of Awlad Hossain of village Bhajanbari under Savar
upazila in Dhaka district.
Another RAB-5 team from Joypurhat camp seized a one
shutter gun with one round live bullet and arrested
illegal arms trader Shujan, son of Kishmat Ali from
Satkuri Railgate area in village Satkuri under Hakimpur
upazila in Dinajpur yesterday.
A RAB-12 team of Bogra camp led by Major M Mostafa Asad
Iqbal arrested notorious criminal Rabiul alias Kanu, son
of late Mofiz Uddin with a foreign origin revolver from
his bedroom in Jamil Nagar area of Bogra in early hours
Saturday.
After filing separate cases in these connections, the
elite force handed over the arrested criminals to the
concerned police stations yesterday and this afternoon,
the sources said.
Sports
Collingwood ruled out of Test series
against Bangladesh
AFP, London
Paul Collingwood has been ruled out of England's two-Test
series against Bangladesh with a shoulder injury, it was
announced on Sunday.
But batsman Eoin Morgan, who played in the side captained by
Collingwood that last Sunday won the World Twenty20 final
against Australia in Barbados, has been called up into a
12-man Test squad for the Bangladesh series opener, which
starts at the Middlesex left-hander's Lord's home ground on
Thursday.
Meanwhile England fast bowler Stuart Broad will miss the
series in order to undergo a "strengthening programme".
Collingwood's absence has created room in the Test squad for
23-year-old former Ireland batsman Morgan, although South
Africa-born Jonathan Trott also remains in contention. For
middle-order batsman Collingwood, a mainstay of England's team
across all three formats-Tests, one-dayers and Twenty20 -- a
left shoulder injury sustained during the World Twenty20 will
give him a break from the international treadmill.
"Paul will undergo a period of rehabilitation for a shoulder
injury and has been ruled out of the Test series against
Bangladesh," England national selector Geoff Miller said after
announcing the Lord's squad on Sunday. "There's a need for
Stuart to undertake an intensive strengthening programme
before an arduous summer and a busy winter, and the next three
weeks have been identified as the ideal period for this
programme.
"We believe we've selected an exciting squad - and with Paul
Collingwood and Stuart Broad taking no part in this series,
the opportunity arises for a number of younger players to make
a mark at Test level."
Turning to Morgan, former England off-spinner Miller added: "Eoin
Morgan has impressed everyone since his inclusion in England's
one-day squad and he now has the opportunity to play a role in
the Test team. "He has always held ambitions of playing across
all forms of the game, and we believe he has earned his place
in this Test squad." Morgan's county colleague Steven Finn
retains his place in the Test squad, the fast bowler having
played in both of England's wins in Bangladesh two months ago.
Their fellow Middlesex team-mate Andrew Strauss returns to
captain the side, having been rested from the Bangladesh tour
and then missing the World Twenty20 as the opener has opted
out of international cricket's shortest format.
Regular Test wicketkeeper Matt Prior returns while there is
also a place for Yorkshire quick Ajmal Shahzad in a squad
missing injured quick Graham Onions. "We were encouraged by
Steven Finn's Test debut in Bangladesh during the winter, and
he has had a fine start to the domestic season for Middlesex,"
Miller said.
"He is aware of what is involved at the international
level-and along with Ajmal Shahzad, who has also made a bright
start to the county season after touring Bangladesh over the
(northern) winter, offers us a great deal of depth in the
bowling ranks."
Alastair Cook, who captained England in Bangladesh, is set to
resume his opening partnership with Strauss. As well as
Collingwood and Broad, other players from England's victorious
side in the Caribbean not selected for Lord's include openers
Michael Lumb and wicketkeeper/batsman Craig Kieswetter,
left-arm pace bowler Ryan Sidebottom, left-arm spinner Michael
Yardy and all-rounder Luke Wright.
The four 'survivors' are Morgan, star batsman Kevin Pietersen,
seamer Tim Bresnan and off-spinner Graeme Swann. Paceman James
Anderson, in the squad in the Caribbean but who didn't play,
is in England's 12 for Lord's as is batsman Ian Bell. "We were
all delighted and extremely proud of the the way the Twenty20
squad performed at the ICC World Twenty20," said Miller. "The
focus now shifts back to the longer form of the game and we
look forward to the first npower Test against Bangladesh." The
second Test starts at Old Trafford on June 4.
England first Test squad
Andrew Strauss (capt), Alastair Cook, Ian Bell, Kevin
Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Eoin Morgan, Matt Prior (wkt),
Graeme Swann, Tim Bresnan, James Anderson, Steven Finn, Ajmal
Shahzad.
Arambagh
prevails over Rahmatganj 2-1
TBT report
Arambagh Krira Sangha defeated Rahmatganj Muslim Friends
Society 2-1 in the Bangladesh Football League at Bangabandhu
National Stadium in the city on Sunday.
After a scoreless first half, Sharif opened scoring for
Arambagh on 57 minutes, while former national striker Alfaz
Ahmed doubled the lead three minutes later.
Down by 2-0, Rahmatganj went flat out to score a goal and
managed to reduce the margin to 2-1 just in the final minute
of the match through Kabir. Away in Sylhet, Biani Bazar
Sporting Club eked out a 1-0 win against Chittagong Abahani in
the other match of the day at Sylhet Stadium.
Abid Hossain scored the only goal for Biani Bazar team just
six minutes after the kick-off as the hosts stood firm to foil
all goal-bound attempts by the Chittagong players to earn
three valuable points to bolster their position at the 13-team
standings.
Two first half goals helped Agrani Bank helped blank Victoria
Sporting Club 2-1 in the Basundhara Senior Division Football
League at Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Mohammad Mustafa Sta-dium in
Dhaka. Atif scored after 13 minutes, while Sifat consolidated
the bank men's victory with the second goal on 38 minutes.
HAHC wins in
school kabaddi
TBT report
Haider Ali High School (HAHS) outplayed Sher-e-Bangla
Nagar Government High School 82-56 in the Standard
Chartered Natio-nal School Kabaddi Cham-pionship at Dhaka
Kabaddi Stadium in the city on Sunday.
Shaheed Nabi High School posted an emphatic 61-45 victory
over Ali Ahmed High School, Jatrabari Ideal High School
beat Nababpur Govern-ment High School 65-24 in the other
matches of the day.
Champion Kuznetsova eases into
top gear
AFP, Paris
Defending champion Svet-lana Kuznetsova reeled off 11 of
the last 12 games to move into the French Open second
round with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Romania's Sorana Cirstea
on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Kuz-netsova arrived in Paris having won
just one claycourt match this season and was in trouble
early on against her 20-year-old opponent who made the
quarter-finals last year.
Kuznetsova was 1-3 down as Cirstea, the world number 34
who just missed out on a seeding, quickly settled into her
rhythm on a sweltering spring day in Paris.
But the Russian, who had won the pair's only other clash
in the second round of the 2008 US Open, rattled off the
next five games to claim the opener after 38 minutes on
Court Philippe Chatrier. Kuznetosva then sped into a 3-0
lead in the second set before Cirstea got on the board
again.
But the champion was quickly back on top, wrapping up the
tie after 72 minutes. The Russian sixth seed will face
either compatriot Elena Vesnina or Germany's Andrea
Petkovic for a place in the last 32.
Also going through in early action were Slovakia's 26th
seed Dominika Cibulkova and South African qualifier
Chanelle Scheepers who reached the second round of a Grand
Slam for the first time with a straight sets win over
French wildcard Mathilde Johannson.
Later Sunday, world number two Venus Williams, whose best
performance in Paris remains her runners-up spot to sister
Serena in 2002, opens her campaign against Swiss veteran
Patty Schnyder, a two-time quarter-finalist.
Williams has won all of the pair's 10 meetings in a
sequence stretching back 12 years. In men's first round
action, Swedish fifth seed Robin Soderling, last year's
runner-up to Roger Federer after sending four-time
champion Rafael Nadal to a first career
defeat here, starts
against France's Laurent Recouderc.
Destiny beckons for Maradona and
his men
AFP, Paris
Having already etched his name into World Cup folklore as
a player, Diego Maradona's next challenge is to silence
the doubters by leading Argentina to glory in South Africa
as a coach.
Silky as his playing skills may have been, cast in the
role of coach Maradona has presided over a team that has
at times looked to be as leaden as the one he played in
was fleet of foot.
A surprise choice to replace Alfio Basile, who quit in
October 2008, Maradona endured a humiliating series of
losses-the nadir being a 6-1 hiding in Bolivia-before
Argentina ultimately came through with victory against
Uruguay in their final qualifying match. There are now two
questions on the lips of the Albiceleste's fans.
The first: has Maradona got what it takes to emulate Mario
Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer by winning World Cup glory
for the nation as both player and coach? The second: can
he get the best out of the world's best player, Lionel
Messi, who has yet to consistently replicate his sparkling
Barcelona form in the sky blue and white of his country?
Maradona says that Messi himself holds the answer to the
second question. Messi, a junior world champion in 2005,
was left on the bench by former coach Jose Pekerman for
the 2006 World Cup quarter-final exit to Germany and he
knows that to enter the all-time hall of fame he has to
cut it beyond club level.
"To become a legend, to become great, you have to also win
the World Cup," he said in a recent interview with El
Mundo newspaper.
Raising the bar to that height does not entirely torpedo
the claims to sporting immortality of Johan Cruyff, a
success as player and coach at Barcelona a generation
before Messi.
But those who stand at the apex of the sport-including
Pele, Beckenbauer and Maradona himself-all have World Cup
winners' medals in their collections.
Maradona already knows that Messi is his key ingredient
but he also appears to have well-developed ideas about the
rest of the recipe.
An impressive 1-0 friendly win in Germany in March was
built upon a defence featuring four centre-backs in
Nicolas Otamendi, Martin Demichelis, Walter Samuel and
Gabriel Heinze, and Maradona says he intends to stick with
this defensive formula. Captain Javier Masche-rano will
shield the defence, with veteran Juan Sebas-tian Veron
slightly further forward and flying Benfica winger Angel
Di Maria stationed on the left.
Newcastle United's Jonas Gutierrez is likely to perform a
largely defensive role on the right flank, with in-form
Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain-scorer of 27 league
goals last season-completing the outfield line-up.
Amla, De Villiers hit tons to lead victory
AFP, North Sound
Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers scored hundreds as South
Africa defeated West Indies by 66 runs in their
rain-affected One-Day International on Saturday.
Amla anchored the top half of the South African batting
with 102 from 109 balls, and de Villiers kept the momentum
going with the same score from 101 balls, as the Proteas,
put in to bat, reached 280 for seven from their
rain-reduced 48 overs on a slow Vivian Richards Cricket
Ground pitch.
South Africa then dismissed West Indies, who had been set
a Duckworth/Lewis target of 288, for 215 in 44.1 overs to
clinch a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which
continues on Monday at this venue. Morne Morkel was the
most successful South African bowler with three wickets
for 40 runs from eight overs, while Dale Steyn, Ryan
McLaren, and Johan Botha collected two wickets apiece.
"We want to play well, and we want to win this series,"
said South Africa captain Graeme Smith.
"We want to have a very successful tour of the Caribbean.
I have said this a number of times. We have a lot of
bouncing back to do, following the Twenty20 World Cup, and
we want to do it well." "This is just the first match, and
the matches are very close together, so recovery is going
to be important to us being successful." West Indies
captain Chris Gayle, whose 45 from 39 balls was the home
team's top score, felt let down by the batting again.
"It's one of those things that we can't seem to catch a
break with our batting, so we will have to go back to the
drawing board," said Gayle. "We are not going to give-up.
We know that we are not playing good cricket now." Steyn
set West Indies back early, when he had Andre Fletcher
caught at slip for four in the third over.
South Africa were put on the defensive, however, when
Gayle gave West Indies a typically flourishing start.
Ryan McLaren had Dwayne Bravo caught behind for 15, and
Morkel had Gayle caught in the deep to leave West Indies
69 for three in the 13th over.
The South Africans then saw Ramnaresh Sarwan make 38, and
left-handed compatriot Narsingh Deonarine get 26 to stage
a recovery with a stand of 61 for the fourth wicket.
Inter wins Champions League title
AFP, Madrid
Diego Milito scored both goals as Inter Milan beat Bayern
Munich 2-0 in the Champions League final at the Santiago
Bernabeu on Saturday as charismatic coach Jose Mourinho
engineered an historic treble.
Argentine striker Milito embarrassed each of Bayern's
centre-backs in turn as the Bavarians' vulnerable
defensive core was ruthlessly exposed.
In their first Champions League final since 1972, Inter
won its third European title and first since 1965.
It also became the first Italian team to achieve the
treble of Serie A, Italian Cup and Champions League.
But the celebrations were tempered by Mourinho admitting
that the match would almost certainly be his last as he
seeks new challenges having become only the third coach to
win the European title with two different clubs.
"I want to be the only coach to win the Champions League
with three different clubs," he said. "It's more likely
that I will leave rather than stay."
Real Madrid are widely expected to be Mourinho's new
employers.
Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal, who once worked with Mourinho
at Barcelona, was not impressed by the Italian side's
tactics. "Inter are a hard team to play and I think we
played attractive football," said the Dutchman.
"We tried to attack in tight spaces. We choose to play
offensively. Inter won and they have every right to play
the way they want."
Milito said: "I'm 30, I had to wait a long time to win a
trophy like this but this is football and football always
gives you a chance to make amends.
"I thank Jose Mourinho and the president for bringing me
here last summer, tonight was just fantastic."
Inter's Samuel Eto'o became only the fourth player to win
the competition in successive seasons with different clubs
having been on the Barcelona winning team a year ago.
Bayern came closest early on as Arjen Robben beat Cristian
Chivu and Walter Samuel with some wing wizardry down the
right but Ivica Olic prodded his cross wide of the near
post. Hamit Altintop then created space on the edge of the
Inter box on 13 minutes but his shot was deflected for a
corner.
Bayern had a decent penalty shout when Daniel Van Buyten's
header hit Maicon's arm.
Wesley Sneijder tried his luck with a 40-yard free-kick
which skimmed off Altintop's head but goalkeeper Hans-Jorg
Butt was alert to punch clear.
Robben had an opportunity with Inter bodies around him but
he hurried it and shot embarrassingly off target.
Milito's first goal on 35 minutes came against the run of
play and from a defensive lapse as Inter targeted the
fragile heart of Bayern's defence.
Goalkeeper Julio Cesar punted the ball upfield and Milito
held off Martin Demichelis to flick it on to Sneijder.
Rivals Japan,
South Korea vow to go full pelt
AFP, Tokyo
Japan and South Korea say they will not give an inch as
the Asian rivals face up today in a pre-World Cup friendly
which they are treating as seriously as the showpiece
tournament itself.
With Japan seeking revenge after an embarrassing 3-1 home
defeat to their neighbours at the East Asian Championships
in February, albeit with a weakened team, the clash in
Saitama promises to be anything but "friendly".
Both sides are likely to be at full-strength as they tune
up for South Africa, where they will attempt to do better
than four years ago, when each crashed out in the group
stages.
"We are very aware that this match is a serious build-up
for the World Cup. I think South Korea are as strong as
Cameroon," said Japan coach Takeshi Okada, whose target of
a semi-final spot in South Africa has raised eyebrows.
The Blue Samurai face Cameroon in their opener in
Bloemfontein on June 14 in Group E, followed by games
against the Netherlands and Denmark.
Okada has been ordered by Japan Football Association
president Motoaki Inukai to beat South Korea "no matter
what" after Japan-without their overseas stars-lost to a
second-string Serbia 3-0 in their last international in
April at home.
FC Tokyo left-back Yuto Nagatomo summed up feeling in the
Japan camp, saying: "We can't let ourselves go down
against South Korea. We were humiliated in our last match
against them. We will go all-out."
It is a sentiment echoed by their rivals.
"I am highly motivated for the Japan match," said South
Korea captain and Manchester United winger Park Ji-Sung as
Huh Jung-Moo's squad arrived in Japan on Saturday.
Huh said the game was key to his team's preparations and
he would use as many players as possible to get them fit
for the big kick-off.
His opposite number Okada is counting on four Europe-based
players-rising CSKA Moscow star Keisuke Honda, Wolfsburg
midfielder Makoto Hasebe, Grenoble midfielder Daisuke
Matsui and Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto-to overcome
his squad's perennial lack of firepower.
Recent J-League returnee, former Celtic star and dead-ball
specialist Shunsuke Nakamura, is also available.
"I see their midfielders as dangerous," the South Korea
coach said.
South Korea, who reached the 2002 World Cup semi-finals at
home, also boast in their ranks Lee Chung-Yong, Bolton
Wanderers' player-of-the-year, Park Chu-Young of AS Monaco
and Celtic's Ki Sung-Yueng.
Huh added he would use Monaco striker Park, who has just
come back from a right thigh injury. "I want him to regain
his touch in the game. I will have him play, if not for
long."
The Koreans, appearing in their seventh straight World
Cup, open their 2010 campaign against Greece in Port
Elizabeth on June 12 in Group B, which also includes
Argentina and Nigeria.
In Saitama, all eyes are expected to be on Honda, who
moved to Moscow from Dutch side VVV Venlo in January.
He has emerged from Nakamura's shadow with his midfield
prowess and helped CSKA reach the UEFA Champions League
quarter-finals for the first time.
United's Park said: "I haven't seen Honda play but I heard
he is a skillful player."n
Lorenzo wins
French Grand Prix
AFP, Le Mans
Spain's Jorge Lorenzo, on a Yamaha, won the French Grand
Prix, the third race of the season, here on Sunday to
cement his lead in the MotoGP championship.
Lorenzo's teammate, world champion and pole sitter
Valentino Rossi, took second with Honda's Andrea Dovizioso
finishing third at the historic Bugatti circuit.
Mourinho to sign four-year deal at Real Madrid
AFP, Madrid
Jose Mourinho, fresh from guiding Inter Milan to Champions
League glory, will sign a four-year deal with Real Madrid
worth 10 million euros a year, Spanish newspapers reported
Sunday.
AS claimed the Portuguese coach had come to an agreement
with Real president Florentino Perez on Friday, the day
before Mourinho's Inter Milan side beat Bayern Munich 2-0
in the Champions League final in Madrid.
Marca, which headlined "Real Madrid recruits a champion",
said the new coach of the Spanish giants would be unveiled
on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
The two sports dailies concurred that the length of the
contract would be four years, with the former Chelsea
coach netting 10 million euros a season.
Some Inter players could also follow Mourinho to Madrid,
according to the papers, notably Brazilian right-back
Maicon and Argentinian striker Diego Milito, the former
Zaragoza player who scored a brace against Bayern on
Saturday.
Mourinho, who also guided Porto to European glory in 2004,
follows Ernst Happel and Ottmar Hitzfeld as a member of
the select band of coaches to have won the Champions
League with two different clubs.
The Portuguese, who joined Inter two years ago, has also
won two Serie A titles and an Italian Cup.
And speaking after the Champions League final, he
acknowledged to having his eye on making history and
confirmed that he would meet Perez on Monday.
Bae wins SK
Telecom Open
AFP, Seoul
A fired-up Bae Sang-Moon won the SK Telecom Open Sunday by
three strokes after firing a closing round five-under 67
as a nervous Kim Dae-Hyun, seeking a wire-to-wire win,
struggled in the fierce winds.
Bae, sealing his second OneAsia title, finished with a
22-under total of 266, three shots clear of Kim, who ended
with a 73 at the Sky 72 Golf Club in Seoul after coming
into the final round leading by three.
Korean legend K.J. Choi was one behind Kim after matching
Bae's best-of-the-day 67 with Japan Tour star Kim
Kyung-Tae fourth on 13-under, one ahead of Michael Hendry
of New Zealand. Bae, who became OneAsia's first Korean
champion at last year's Korea Open, led for the first time
at the eighth and held on to record his seventh strokeplay
title since turning pro in 2004.
"I feel great. My putting was perfect this week. It was an
intense day and I had a lot of fist-pumps, probably 10,"
said Bae, who has topped the Korean Tour Order of Merit
for the past two years.
"Dae-Hyun is very nice and he played well this week. I
feel lucky."
Bae, who also won the title in 2007 at a different venue,
bogeyed hole two, but birdied the sixth to get back to
within three strokes of the big-hitting Kim, leading since
the first round.
However, on the par-five seventh, Kim hit a double-bogey
after losing his ball following a wayward tee-shot.
Pouncing on the chance, Bae sank a 15-footer to draw
level, then took the outright lead on eight after Kim
missed a short par putt. Kim sank a huge birdie putt on 16
and it looked likely he would pull back to within one
stroke as Bae faced a 20-footer just to save par but he
sank the crucial putt to stay two ahead with two to play.
"The putt on 16 was my most important putt of the day. I
was really scared then," Bae admitted.
Kim, bogey-free for the first two rounds, dropped a shot
at the par-five 18th to complete an erratic round
featuring a double-bogey, four bogeys, three birdies and
an eagle.
The 22-year-old, ranked the Korean Tour's longest hitter
for the past two seasons, admitted to suffering from
nerves for the first time in his career.
"I'm still a little nervous. All day I felt nervous. I've
never felt like this. I always lose to Sang-Moon," said
Kim.
Choi, who won the title in 2003, 2005 and 2008, played
with Bae and Kim for the last two rounds, but the
seven-time PGA Tour winner could not add to his title
haul. "The fact both Sang-Moon and Dae-Hyun played well in
these conditions shows you just what special talents they
are," said Choi.
"I tried my best, played well and I have no excuses. They
outplayed me and I take my hat off to them."
New Zealand
edges Sri Lanka in US bow
AFP, Florida
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 28 runs in the first of two
Twenty20 matches on Saturday as international cricket made
an historic attempt to break into the American market.
However, the format's reputation as a carnival of brutal
power-hitting suffered on a slow, lifeless pitch at the
20,000-capacity Central Broward Regional Park Stadium at
Lauderhill.
New Zealand struggled to a modest 120-7 off their 20 overs
before Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 92.
On a day of tough batting and bowling conditions, only two
sixes were hit in the entire match, which was hardly the
kind of advertisement the International Cricket Council (ICC)
would have wanted.
Saturday's match and a second on Sunday are the first
cricket games on US soil between two ICC full members.
Only two Sri Lankan batsmen managed to adapt to the
conditions with skipper Kumar Sangakkara making 17 and
Angelo Mathews top-scoring with 27 before the 2009 World
Twenty20 runners-up lost their last six wickets for just
30 runs. Experienced medium pacer Scott Styris did the
damage with 3-10 off three overs. Styris said: "It wasn't
too bad, this wicket suited me."
Ross Taylor top-scored for New Zealand with 27 off 30
balls with skipper Daniel Vettori contributing 21.
For Sri Lanka, spinner Ajantha Mendis starred with the
ball, taking 2-18 off his four overs.
Vettori admitted his team's batting had been a worry.
"It wasn't much of a total, but we bowled well. We bowl
well on these wickets, and the big boundary helped us too,
you can't just hit a couple of sixes any time."
Sangakkara praised the Kiwis. "They got a great start,
they pushed us back in the first six overs, and New
Zealand were a bit more disciplined than us, both with the
bat in the field."
Greece out to
upset odds at World Cup
AFP, Paris
Greece is gracing the World Cup stage for only the second
time in its history after a baptism of fire on its debut
back in 1994.
In the United States there was never any danger of the
Greeks shedding their minnow status as they sank to 4-0
defeats to Argentina and Bulgaria and a 2-0 loss to
Nigeria to get sent home at the first hurdle.
Under Otto Rehhegal the class of 2010 will be disappointed
not to leave South Africa having made a far greater
impression on proceedings than was the case 16 years ago.
With the tactical nous and backbone instilled by their
veteran German coach Greece have established a recent
record that many a more established footballing power
would be happy to hold. Six years ago they ran amok in
Portugal, turning up at Euro 2004 as rank outsiders and
leaving Lisbon as continental champions - Rehhegal feted
as a celebrity on his return to Athens.
The 'galanoleyki' then failed to put up much resistance in
trying to hold on to their title in Switzerland and
Austria in 2008 - failing to get past the first round.
That limp showing on top of failure to reach the 2006
World Cup may have brought Rehhegal's tenure to a
premature end but the Greek Football Federation stuck by
their man.
And he repaid the vote of confidence in style by guiding
the national team to South Africa with his men drawn in
Group B where they come up against old foes Nigeria. Also
in their first round pool are former champions Argentina
and 2002 semi-finalists South Korea.
Greece were quick out of the blocks in qualifying for
South Africa, racing to wins in their first three
qualifiers, firing in eight goals against Luxembourg,
Latvia and Moldova to none conceded.
Two subsequent defeats to Switzerland and a draw with
Moldova made things interesting but Greece sealed a
play-off spot behind Switzerland with a final day win over
Luxembourg.
In the play-offs Greece faced a side they knew only too
well in the shape of Ukraine, who had taken four points
off them in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup where
Ukraine fell to eventual winners Italy in the
quarter-finals.
But this time around it was the Greeks who were
celebrating, a goalless first leg draw in Athens followed
by a 1-0 win in Kiev with Dimitrios Salpingidis producing
the crucial goal.
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