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Leading News
NEC approves Tk 38,500 cr ADP for
next fiscal
UNB, Dhaka
The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the
Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the 2010-11 fiscal,
amounting to Tk 38,500 crore and giving highest priority
to the agriculture, rural development and institutions and
water resources sectors.
The approval was given at the NEC meeting with its
chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair
at the NEC conference room.
Of the total ADP allocation, Tk 23,200 crore will come
from the local currency which is 60 percent of the total
ADP allocation, while Tk 15,300 crore will come as project
assistance, around 40 percent of the ADP allocation, said
Planning Minister AK Khandaker while briefing reporters
after the meeting.
He said that some 910 projects have been included in the
ADP of which 816 projects have been transferred from the
revised ADP of the current fiscal (2009-10). The number of
newly included projects is 94.
As per the ADP, agriculture, rural development and
institutions, and water resources got the highest
allocation of around Tk 8,167.34 crore or 21 percent of
the total ADP allocation.
The much talked-about power, oil, gas and mineral
resources sector received Tk 6,074.81 crore or 16 percent
of the total ADP allocation followed by an allocation of
Tk 5,510.57 crore for the transport sector which is 14
percent of the ADP allocation.
The education and religious affairs sector will get an
allocation of Tk 5,184.16 crore (13 percent) followed by
the health, nutrition, population and family welfare
sector with an allocation of Tk 3,920.25 crore (10
percent). The basic infrastructure, water supply and
housing sectors will get an allocation of Tk 3,530.73
crore or 9 percent of the total ADP allocation.
A block allocation of Tk 1,588.31 crore has been kept in
the upcoming fiscal's ADP which is 4.13 percent higher
than the current fiscal.
Asked whether the Prime Minister gave any specific
direction to implement such a large ADP, the Planning
Minister said as in the past, the Prime Minister has
directed that the concerned ministries would have to start
their work as soon as possible.
Answering a question on the increased number of projects,
AK Khandaker said that the number of projects will not
increase in the next fiscal after the upcoming fiscal
adding, "Efforts will be there so that the number of
projects do not increase."
He told a questioner that some 23 projects have been
included in the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP)
initiative, where the allotments would be made by the PPP
cell of the Finance Ministry.
Replying to another question, the Planning Minister said
that there was no direction in the ADP of 10 percent
allotments to the members of parliament.
Titas
may move again to keep CNG stations closed on weekdays
UNB, Dhaka
Finally, the state-owned Titas Gas company seems to be
moving to implement its order from June 1 about keeping
closed the CNG refueling stations from 9 an to 4 pm in
Dhaka and adjoining districts in the working days from
Sunday to Thursday.
According to official sources, proposing to implement an
order from June 1, the Titas Gas management Tuesday held a
meeting with the CNG pump owners and sought their opinion
in this regard.
But the CNG pump owners, refraining from directly opposing
the proposal, said that if such an order is implemented,
it would result in a terrible situation in the transport
sector in the capital and adjoining areas where most of
the vehicles use natural gas as their fuel. The leaders of
the Bangladesh CNG Association, which represents the CNG
filling stations and the conversion sector, attended the
meeting at Titas Gas head office in the city. Earlier, the
Titas Gas Trans- mission and Distribution Company Ltd,
which is entrusted with the responsibility to distribute
natural gas in the capital Dhaka and adjoining districts,
issued an order on May 20 asking all the CNG filling
stations to remain shut from 9am to 4pm everyday, except
the two days of the weekend, Friday and Saturday. The main
purpose of the order was to mitigate the nagging gas
crisis.
The order, issued in writing, asked to make the
government's decision effective from May 23. But within
hours of serving the letter, the order was suspended
verbally.
After today's meeting with the CNG station owners, Titas
Gas Managing Director Md Abdul Aziz Khan said that it is
yet to be finalized that the order will come into effect
from June 1, 2010. "Still this is under consideration,
we're still thinking about the matter," he told UNB.
CNG filling station owners said that most of the vehicles
in and around the capital city are CNG-run and these
vehicles inject fuel during the working hours. Under the
new order, there will be a huge rush in the pumps that
would create enormous traffic congestion on the streets as
those are located beside the main streets.
Secondly, the purpose of the proposed order will not be
served as the vehicles will consume as much fuel as they
usually consume. The CNG pump owners said that the CNG
stations in Dhaka city consume only 1-2 pc of the total
gas produced in the country.
They also said that gas consumption by the CNG filling
stations throughout the country is about 105 million cubic
feet gas per day (MMcfd) which is only about 5 percent of
the total production of 1900 MMcfd.
"This minimum consumption plays a major role in saving the
environment and also saving foreign currency that needs to
spent on importing liquid petroleum," said a leader of the
Bangladesh CNG Association.
PM
urges doctors to serve village people properly
UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday urged the
country's physicians and surgeons to render health
services properly and timely to the people living in the
villages.
"People living outside the capital are also human beings
and they have also the right to get health services. We'll
give you everything for your professional development. In
exchange, we want you to render health services properly
to the rural people," she said.
The Prime Minister was addressing a function arranged at
the auditorium of Bangladesh College of Physicians and
Surgeons (BCPS) after laying the foundation stone of a new
10-storied building of the college on its Mohakhali campus
this (Tuesday) morning.
Hasina also directed the authorities concerned to maintain
quality of medical services at the government hospitals,
particularly to enhance services of emergency units. She
told the doctors that she understands it well why all
officials want to get posting in the capital city.
"I know that in Dhaka food, accommodation and other
facilities are good. But, if all stay in the capital, then
what will happen to the rural people - the major portion
of the population," she said.
The Prime Minister requested the senior physicians to
encourage their juniors to work in the grassroots level to
ensure proper health services for the villagers. She said
health services on many occasions have been in such
condition that doctors were not found in the hospitals in
upazila and even at district level. "I urge the doctors to
be more respectful to rules and regulations of your
profession."
She reminded the doctors that the masses have spent a lot
of money behind every medical student to make them
doctors.
Hasina said her government will start the 18,000 community
health clinics project which was closed by the last
BNP-Jamaat government again.
"Our last government had set up 10,000 health clinics
under the programme, but the four-party alliance
government stopped the project on political grounds," she
said.
Hasina sought all out cooperation of the doctors to reach
the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by
2015.
The Prime Minister in her speech gave assurances of giving
all types of cooperation and assistance from her
government for improving the skills and facilities of the
doctors.
Madhyapara mine
workers confine 35 officials, staffs
UNB, Dinajpur
Madhyapara Hard Rock Mine workers, on the third day of
their indefinite strike Tuesday, confined its 35 officials
and staffs, including the Managing Director, to the
residential complex of the company.
The Hard Rock Mine workers went on indefinite strike on
Sunday demanding regularization of their jobs and payment
of arrear salaries and allowances.
Managing Director of Madhyapara Hard Rock Mining Company
Faruq Hossain told UNB over phone that the mine workers
had confined them to the residential complex in the
morning.
Additional police have been deployed in the area.
Mustafizur Raman, general secretary of Madhyapara Hard
Rock Mining Company Limited Sramik-Karmachari Union told
UNB that none of the officials would be allowed to come
out until their demands are met.
Some 292 workers of Madhyapara Hard Rock Mining Company
are agitating to press home their demands, forcing the
mine authorities to suspend the sale of rocks.
The company will have to incur a loss of around Tk 14 lakh
every day due to the suspension of production.
BNP to launch
tougher movement to topple AL govt: Moudud
UNB, Dhaka
Mainstream opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)
will take a hard-line course to oust the government if the
present Awami League led Grand Alliance government does
not quit power voluntarily.
BNP front ranking leader Barrister Moudud Ahmed Tuesday
said they will turn the ongoing anti-government movement
into a stage to force the AL government to quit power if
it does not resign voluntarily for its 'misdeeds and
failures'. He blamed AL for pushing the country into
confrontation politics and termed the statements of the
ruling party leaders as the 'trademark of indecency'.
BNP standing committee member Barrister Moudud Ahmed made
the cautious remarks when addressing as chief guest a
discussion meeting at the Engineers Institute, Bangladesh
(IEB) auditorium organized by Jatiyatabadi Swechhasebok
Dal, the voluntary wing of the BNP, to mark the 29th death
anniversary of late President Ziaur Rahman, the founder of
BNP.
The discussion was arranged as part of a10-day programme
chalked out by BNP and its front and associate
organizations to observe Zia's death anniversary. The
10-day commemoration programmes began from this
discussion.
Presided over by Swechhasebok Dal president Habib-un-Nabi
Khan Sohel, the discussion was also addressed by leaders
of BNP and its front and associate organizations including
Mirza Abbas, Dr Abdul Moyeen Khan, Barrister Rafiqul Islam
Mia, Amanullah Aman, Fazlul Huq Milon, Khairul Kabir
Khokon, Abul Khaier Bhuiyan MP, Sarafat Ali Sapu and
Shafiul Bari Babu.
Addressing the discussion, Barrister Moudud said as long
as the politics of confrontation remained in the country,
the politics of stability will not emerge. The Awami
League is responsible for this, he alleged.
He said people had expected that healthy and fair politics
would appear after the last general election, but the AL
has smashed those expectations.
He said the ruling party has turned parliament ineffective
by unnecessarily hatching conspiracies against the
opposition.
He said the BNP chairperson and leader of the opposition
had repeatedly offered to extend cooperation with the
government but it did not respond, rather unleashing
repression, and filing false cases against the opposition
leaders and workers.
The BNP leader said the party which cannot control Chhatra
Legaue and Jubo League has no moral authority to stay in
power.
He said the Awami League, and principles of democracy and
human rights are opposed to each other - AL , democracy
and HR don't go together.
On Ziaur Rahman, Moudud said Zia was the 'Proclaimer of
Independence', as crores of people heard his voice
announcing Independence.
9 killed, 21 injured
as severe storm hits 3 districts
UNB, Dhaka
At least 9 people were killed and 21 others injured in
severe storm that battered parts of Chapainawabganj,
Magura and Faridpur Tuesday afternoon.
In Chapainawabganj, eight people were struck by lightning
and one died under a fallen tree. Strong winds accompanied
by hailstorm and rains battered the sadar, Shibganj and
Gomastapur upazila.
Those killed by thunderbolt are Ripon (12) and Mujibur
(34) of Shibganj upazila, Sufia (15), Jashimuddin(26) and
Yusuf (8) of Sadar upazila, Shefali (10), Abdul Khaleq
(42) and Ashim (8) of Gomastapur upazila. Teenage boy
Hossain was injured by lightning. Serina (40) of Bangabari
died under a fallen tree.
Durlovpur and Paka unions of Shibganj upazila are the
worst affected where more than 400 houses, schools and
mosques in 11 villages were razed to the ground or blown
away.
The storm also left a trail of damage to standing boro
crops, fruits and vegetables.
A report from Magura said severe storm lashed 25 villages
of Sripur upazila in the afternoon leaving 20 people
wounded in house collapse or by flying saucers.
More than 500 houses collapsed, about 2,000 trees uprooted
and crops in the filed damaged.
In Faridpur, more than 100 houses collapsed and many trees
uprooted when the storm swept over 10 villages of Bhanga
upazila in the afternoon.
Back Page
Poet Nazrul’s goals can be
implemented thru presenting humanity: President
UNB, Trishal
President Zillur Rahman on Tuesday said the objectives of
National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam could be implemented
through presenting humanity against fundamentalism and
ending oppression and deprivation along side improving the
condition of the poor people.
"He (Nazrul) was a free spirit in the world of creations
and the next generation got inspiration from his free
thoughts," he said at a function at Darirampur High School
'Nazrul Mancha', marking the 111th birth anniversary of
the rebel poet.
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam was the special guest at
the function, organized by the Ministry of Cultural
Affairs.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs Promod Mankin presided
over the function, where Dr. Karunamoy Goswami gave the
Nazrul Memorial Lecture. Reza Ali MP, Begum Khilkhil Kazi
and Cultural Affairs Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamun also
spoke at the function. Addressing the function as chief
guest, the President emphasized infor-ming the new
generation about Nazrul's multifaceted talent, his
patriotism and profound affection for the poor and
universality. Proper respect could be shown to him through
the implementation of his goal and objectives, he said.
"So, I call upon all for combined efforts to remove
hunger, poverty, illiteracy, injustice, oppression,
conflict and prejudice," Zillur Rahman said, adding: "Nazrul's
creations will inspire us forever." Mentioning Poet
Nazrul's position above everything communal, he said on
one hand he wrote Hamd and Naat explaining Towhid (belief
in monotheism) and on the other he also had written Shyama
Sangeet, Kirton and Bhazan for the Hindu community.
"He (Nazrul) wanted welfare for all people - with
non-communal spirit - irrespective of caste, creed and
color," the President said, adding that in the history of
modern Bengali poetry, Nazrul had been able to present in
his writings the traditions and culture of both Hindus and
Muslims with complete ease and clarity.
Mentioning Nazrul's contributions to Bangla literature and
culture, Zillur Rahman said his literature, especially
poems and songs, had been a great source of inspiration
for the people during the country' s liberation war in
1971.
He said poet Nazrul first raised the demand for the
country's full freedom in his Bangla article, titled 'Bangalir
Bangla'.
Govt planning
sustainable strategy to ensure food security: Razzaque
UNB, Dhaka
Food and Disaster Minister Abdur Razzaque on Tuesday said
that the government has planned a comprehensive and
sustainable strategy by attracting foreign investment to
ensure the food security of the country.
"After nearly 20 years of neglect, the central importance
of agriculture for development is once again receiving the
attention it deserves, including within the international
donor community," the Minister said while addressing a
press conference at the Secretariat on the occasion of the
Bangladesh Food Security Investment Forum 2010.
The two-day long 'Bangladesh Food Security Investment
Forum 2010' will begin tomorrow (Wednesday) in the capital
to discuss and coordinate investment priorities and
strategies to advance agriculture development and achieve
food and nutrition security of the country. Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina is expected to formally inaugurate the forum
at Hotel Sonargaon in the city on Wednesday as the chief
guest.
The Government of Bangladesh is going to organize the
forum with support from the United States Agency for
International Development, the Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies, the International Food Policy
Institute and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations, along with other national and
international partners. Speaking at the session, Abdur
Razzaque said to effectively sustain food security, the
government recognizes the need to address emerging
challenges, including climate change according to one
projection. The minister favoured a figure of 17 percent
for the proportion of coastal land that could soon be
submerged, and said the global food crisis and
uncertainties in the global food market, in foreign trade,
land degradation, and inadequate aid response even after
shocks such as the cyclone that ravaged the country last
year, were other issues that Razzaque said need to be
addressed.
"Bangladesh has little opportunity to expend land for food
production. Sixty percent of the country's land is already
under cultivation, more than other countries," he said.
Describing the government initiatives in developing the
country's agriculture sector, he said that as the
government looks toward the future, the strategy for
agriculture development emphasizes research and extension,
effective water use, availability of inputs, such as
improved seed varieties, credit and fertilizer, crop
diversification and commercialization, and cash subsidies
to the smallholder and other marginal farmers.
HC sets June 6
for hearing on Khaleda’s Cantt house dispute
UNB, Dhaka
The High Court division bench of Justice Nazmun Ara
Sultana and Justice Sheikh Hasan Arif has set June 6 for
the hearing in the long-pending legal dispute over the
leasehold on the Dhaka cantonment house of BNP Chairperson
Khaleda Zia.
After hearing both the parties, the bench passed the order
on Tuesday.
Earlier, Khaleda Zia, also former Prime Minister, had
expressed her lack of confidence in two HC division
benches when the matter came up for hearing.
On May 23, Chief Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim sent
Khaleda'a writ petition to this bench for disposal. On May
27 last year, the High Court upon a writ petition filed by
Khaleda Zia, issued a rule asking the government to
explain why the impugned May 24 house-vacating notice
should not be declared illegal in violation of the
petitioner's fundamental rights guaranteed under the
Constitution. The High Court had also stayed the operation
of the notice that asked Khaleda Zia to hand over her
leasehold on the Dhaka cantonment house to government
authorities.
On May 24 last year, the Directorate of Military Lands and
Cantonments (DMLC) served the latest notice with the tone
of an ultimatum on Khaleda, asking her to leave the Dhaka
Cantonment house by June 30 as she didn't pay heed to
previous notices for vacating the house. The DMLC had
served the notice following a government decision
cancelling the lease on the house inside the Dhaka
cantonment.
On April 8 last year, the new government at a cabinet
meeting cancelled the lease on the much-talked-about house
as the "allocation was not made legally".
The house was allocated to the Zia family after the
assassination of President Gen (retd) Ziaur Rahman in
1981.
Jamaat demands immediate release of
its detained leaders, workers
UNB, Dhaka
Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami on Tuesday demanded the
immediate release of its leaders and workers who were
arrested during the government's "Jamaat combing drive"
over the last couple of months.
Jamaat Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed made
the demand at a news conference at the party's central
office in the city on Wednesday noon.
Referring to the repression on the party's leaders and
activists, the Jamaat leader said the government is trying
to hide their misrule by removing Jamaat-Shibir.
Describing the present situation of the party and its
student wing - Islami Chattra Shibir (ICS), Mojaheed said
more than 250 ICS men were arrested in Rajshahi region
after the RU killing incident on Feb 8, 2010.
"We demanded the formation of a judiciary probe body for
fair investigation of the RU killing. But, the government
ignored our demands and arrested the ICS men," he said. He
also said that 30 Shibir men of Rajshahi University of
Engineering and Technology (RUET) were sued in false
cases, with some 11 still detained now.
"The student lives of the detained Shibir men remain
uncertain as they could not take part in the scheduled
examinations of the university," he said.
Mojaheed alleged that the Rajshahi University authorities
are going to resume academic operations on June 1 without
creating an atmosphere conducive to education on the
campus. He also urged the government to stop repression on
the leaders and workers of the opposition parties,
impeding them from practicing political rights.
Special intelligence unit arrests JMB
chief and 3 cohorts
UNB, Dhaka
A special intelligence unit of Bangladesh police arrested
the most wanted militant Saidur Rahman Jafar, kingpin of
banned Islamic outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB)
from city' s East Dhania, said IGP Nur Mohammad Tuesday
afternoon. Briefing to reporters at Police Headquarters,
the Inspector General of police (IGP) said the special
intelligence unit comprising efficient members from PIO,
SB, CID, DB and DMP also arrested three close associates
of the top JMB leader.
Earlier the government had banned activities of the JMB on
February 23 in 2005. Later, the outfit carried out
countrywide serial bombings on August 17 in the same year.
Nur Mohammad said after several months of fanatical
efforts, the special intelligence unit was able to
identify several loyal accomplices of Saidur Rahman and
their hideouts.
The special team had also confirmed that the incumbent JMB
chief was staying in his cohorts' dens by turn. Following
the information, the special counter terrorism unit
carried out a drive at a three-storey building at
Commissioner Road under Kadamtoli Police Station in the
city Sunday night, when suspected militants hurled two
grenade-like improvised devices injuring eight cops.
Chief of the Military wing of JMB Abu Bakar Siddique was
arrested with injuries while he was trying to flee the
scene and three other suspected militants including two
females fled the scene after the attack. Later, the
special intelligence unit conducted simultaneous drives in
and around Dhaka city Monday night and arrested military
wing coordinator Ameer Hossain Sharif and ehsar (fulltime)
member Nur Hossain Sabuj from Narayanganj. Police
recovered an explosive for a suicide attack, a foreign
made revolver and other devices in their possession.
The special team also arrested JMB chief Maulana Saidur
Rahman and his close cohort Abdullah-hel-Kafi from East
Dhania. Naima Akhter, 3rd wife of Maulana Saidur Rahman
was also detained from the den.
Int’l airport
to be built at Trishal or Tangail: LGRD Minister
UNB, Trishal
LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam said here Tuesday that
the government has a plan to build an international
airport after the name of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mubjibur
Rahman.
Speaking at a function marking the 111th birth anniversary
of National Poet Kazi Nazrul Islam, he said two designs of
the planned airport - one from Tangail and another from
Trishal - were submitted to the ministry concerned for
consideration. Amidst cheers from the audience, Ashraful
said if the people of Trishal wants, the proposed airport
will be established in Trishal.
Paying tributes to the Rebel Poet, he said Trishal will be
made as a 'center of excellence' for academic research on
the life and works of the poet by litterateurs and
scholars from home and abroad.
Editorial
Expatriate Welfare Bank
The
much-expected Expatriate Welfare Bank is going to start its
activities soon as the Cabinet on Monday approved Expatriate
Welfare Bank Act 2010. The bank will be set up for providing
financial assistance to people who will go abroad for various
jobs while they will pay the loan back through earnings in the
foreign country.
Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister's
Press Secretary said that when the Expatriate Welfare Bank
will start functioning nobody will need to sell their
properties to go abroad. The Bank will give them loans for
their safe migration. Through the bank, the expatriates will
also be able to send their hard-earned money to their families
safely and easily. The expatriates will also have ownership of
the bank and they will also be made directors of the governing
body of the bank. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered the
authorities concerned to run the bank not only for profit like
other banks.
The bank will be established with money of the Wage Earners'
Welfare Fund with main capital of Tk 500 crore. The initial
capital's 95 percent will come from the Wage Earners' Welfare
Fund while the rest will be provided by the government.
Officials from the Foreign Ministry, Labor Ministry and
Expatriate Welfare Ministry will be members of the board of
directors of the bank.
The approved of the Expatriate Welfare Bank Act 2010 by the
cabinet is a positive step towards ensuring welfare of the
Bangladeshi workers employed abroad and those who seek
employment in foreign countries. Going abroad to work will be
easier now as the job seekers will not be compelled to sell
out land as the bank will provide loan facilities for them.
Moreover, the most important aspect of this bank is that it
will largely stop the manipulation and corruption indulged in
by manpower exporters over employment abroad. Many job seekers
of the country fell prey to the greed and malpractice of the
manpower exporters and lost everything and faced immense
sufferings on foreign soil. The proposed bank is expected to
put an end to that black chapter. So, the earlier it starts
operation, the better.
Meanwhile, it should be pointed out that the expatriate
Bangladeshis are facing sufferings and harassment abroad in
various ways and effective measures should be taken to
retrieve them from these. It is reassuring that Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina has directed the country's missions abroad to be
fully active in solving the problems of Bangladeshi
expatriates, as many migrants aired grievances about the state
of diplomacy. She also instructed the ministries concerned to
keep watch on activities of the Bangladesh embassies, high
commissions and consulate offices to keep them on stream.
It is encouraging that the attention of the Prime Minister has
been drawn to the plight of the expatriate Bangladeshis and
that she has issued directives for solving their problems.
Unfortunately, Bangladesh missions abroad have been failing
miserably to look after the interests of the expatriate
workers properly. As many as 54 lakh Bangladeshis including
about two millions in Saudi Arabia are now working in over 100
foreign countries and sending huge amount of foreign exchanges
regularly. But our foreign missions seem apathetic to the need
of solving their problems.
The expatriate workers frequently accuse some of the embassy
officials of inefficiency, irregularities and corruption. It
is an open secret that Bangladeshis working or seeking jobs in
different foreign countries do not get necessary assistance
from the officials of the Bangladesh missions when they fall
in trouble. Corruption is rampant among the officials of
Bangladesh missions abroad who are interested more in making
fortunes. Some of these officials are allegedly running
illegal manpower trade themselves in collusion with recruiting
agents. The start of the functioning of the Expatriate Welfare
Bank will be a positive development, but the problems of the
expatriate workers have also to be redressed.
Kidney disease
Medical
experts said at a roundtable in the city on Monday that
raising awareness about kidney disease and expanding treatment
facilities, are vital to save lives of many patients. There
are about 1.8 crore kidney patients in the country and kidneys
of 30,000 patients have already been damaged. The number of
patients has doubled in the last ten years. The experts
suggested creating a fund immediately with donations from
well-off people and organisations and introducing health
insurance for all.
Kidney disease has emerged as a silent killer claiming huge
number of lives every year. The number of patients is
increasing significantly day by day due to lack of awareness
and primary treatment and every hour five persons die of
kidney and urology related diseases as they do not get timely
and proper treatment. Besides, about 75 per cent of people
remain ignorant that they are affected by kidney disease while
most of the patients are unable to take timely treatment as
the cost is very high.
Due to serious poverty our people cannot afford the highly
expensive treatment and the state is also unwilling or unable
to spend enough for this purpose. Prevention is better than
cure and all possible measures should be taken at individual
and state level for the prevention of outbreak and spread of
the disease. To this end creation of awareness among the
people is a must. a massive campaign should be launched to
make the people conscious of the kidney disease so that they
can change their food habit and take such other precaution
necessary to avert attack of kidney disease. Above all the
facilities for the treatment of kidney disease should be
extensive and cheaper to make them affordable for the people.
Analysis
New media, new challenges
The temptation to constantly appear on
television or make headline-making remarks exposes politicians
to another risk: to speak before they think.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi
Earlier
this month when he addressed students at Hampton University
President Barack Obama said that the 24/7 media environment
"bombards" people with all kinds of content some of which
doesn't always "rank that high on the truth meter".
He then went on to hold new technology including iPods and
PlayStations responsible for serving up information that
"becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment
rather than a tool of empowerment (or) a means of
emancipation." This he said was putting new strains on people
and democracy.
Obama is not the first leader to voice concern about the new
forms of media. Just before he stepped down as Britain's prime
minister, Tony Blair famously described a media transformed by
technology and the pressures of the 24/7 news cycle as driven
more by "impact" than accuracy, because impact gives
competitive edge. He also said that the media mixed views with
news and blurred the line between opinion and fact. Fierce
competition made the modern media "hunt in a pack" because of
the fear of "missing out".
Blair drew fire from the British media, just as President
Obama's remarks were portrayed as a rant against technology
by, among others, The Economist. The magazine described the
distinction he drew between good information (that empowered)
and bad (of the misleading or distracting variety) as false.
This, of course, will not end the debate across the world on
aspects of the media: whether its newer forms help or hinder
democracy, empower or distract people, educate or mislead the
public, encourage sensationalism instead of balance and
promote cynicism rather than confidence in the political
process. Blair, for example, said what troubled him most was
the media's problematic relationship with public life, which
he characterised as sapping "the country's confidence and
self-belief" and undermining the leadership's capacity to take
the right decisions.
This critique may well have been a wounded politician's swipe
at a media that had so ferociously attacked his policies. But
they nevertheless raised important questions - as do Obama's
comments - about the role of the media and its relationship
with politics and governance.
These questions are particularly pertinent in Pakistan where
the new media is both loved and lamented (depending on the
vantage point of the person and proximity to power); lionised
and castigated; sometimes regarded as indispensable to enhance
democratic accountability, while at other times depicted as a
partisan and a purveyor of scandal, paranoia and conspiracy
theory.
Certainly the tendency of some in the broadcast media to
present politics as theatre or entertainment devalues the
political process and lowers the level of debate. By making
even the significant so mundane it also ends up wounded by its
own weapon.
On balance however, the net impact of Pakistan's new media has
been positive. It has animated public life and political
debate, enabled greater citizen participation, provided a
voice to the weak and powerless and a platform to those
seeking redress for injustice. It has performed the three key
tasks of an independent media reasonably well: as watchdog,
agenda-setter and gatekeeper of the public space for debate
and discussion.
Its dominating presence today is transforming political life,
governance and the dynamic between state and society in ways
that are not yet fully comprehended by journalists and
politicians alike given the wide ramifications of the changes
it has been effecting.
But while there has been much public focus on the media's
conduct, little attention has been directed to the other end
of the equation: how political leaders and government
officials have been engaging with this new, more powerful and
hyperactive medium.
Because the media explosion has been so fast and furious,
governments, whether at the centre or in the provinces, have
been unsure and faltering in responding to the challenge. Few
public officials have shown the confidence or learnt the
skills to harness the media in the task of governance - not of
course in the sense of making it an official handmaiden, but
in leveraging the media to enhance governance by being able to
communicate with people across the length and breadth of the
country, test ideas, mobilise public consensus for policy
actions and promote well-informed and competent citizenship.
Government officials have often displayed an old-world
approach, by seeking to use the media for their own public
relationing rather than to communicate policy. Nor has the
government yet understood how to get its message across.
Staying 'on message' has also been hard because the government
has lacked a coherent message to convey in the first place.
Officials have struggled to keep up with and react to stories
or agendas set by television channels rather than take
political initiatives to shape that news agenda. Chasing
headlines has become common. So has an excessive craving for
the constant affirmation of the cameras.
Many have been slow to recognise the peril of overexposure.
That may be because the constant parading of ministers on talk
shows is seen to compensate for the government's uninspiring
performance. But the outcome is quite the opposite: a surfeit
of official rhetoric that serves to accentuate the deficit of
policy action.
Frequent TV appearances or press conferences create the
compulsion to make rich claims. This carries another risk:
raising expectations that cannot be fulfilled. The repeated
pledges made last year by the minister for water and power
that the government would reduce even eliminate load shedding
are a case in point.
Running commentaries on foreign relations have had a similar
effect by raising unrealistic expectations and leaving people
flummoxed when a much proclaimed upsurge in ties with a
particular country is suddenly set back by a single event.
Managing foreign policy is delicate business. Portraying every
diplomatic engagement as a breakthrough leaves officials in
the embarrassing position of having to explain a subsequent
downturn which the media then gleefully proclaims as a
breakdown. The compulsion to show an 'achievement' after every
visit impairs the serious conduct of diplomacy.
Just because a microphone is pushed in front of them doesn't
oblige political leaders to say something especially if they
are not adequately prepared. Nor do they need to hold forth on
matters beyond their domain. But the inability to resist
offering instant responses is reflected in the contradictory
pronouncements ministers frequently make on the same subject.
The latest example is the defence minister's statement
speculating on an extension in the army chief's tenure which
was promptly contradicted by the prime minister.
The temptation to constantly appear on television or make
headline-making remarks exposes politicians to another risk:
to speak before they think. This lands them in awkward
situations that they have to untangle from at an avoidable
political cost. A recent example is the prime minister's
declaration on Hyderabad's status which evoked an angry
response from the MQM and forced a retreat.
Government leaders have sought around the clock coverage in
the mistaken belief that this will substitute for governance.
It is as if making all the right noises on television is by
itself enough to ensure governance and obviates the need for
action. But coverage can neither 'produce' governance nor
substitute for it. The obsessive preoccupation with publicity
can distract officials from their real responsibilities and
end up exposing them as all talk and no action, creating an
image of the government as one whose words resonate louder
than its deeds.
What has also become a familiar part of the government's
repertoire is to roll out its combat troops to face issues
raised in TV talk shows. The view that the shrillness of
combative spokespersons will drown criticism overlooks the
fact that it is calm and reasoned argument not angry rants
that win the day on television.
It is true that engaging with a 24/7 medium poses daunting
challenges for governments everywhere. But the lack of vision
or governance philosophy and a paucity of professionalism make
that task infinitely harder for governments that worry more
about publicity than governing.
The writer is a former envoy of Pakistan to the US and the
UK, and a former editor of The News.
Investors
still hope for India reform after mixed year
With 42 percent of Indians living on less than the poverty
line of $1.25 a day, reforms have always been a political
hot potato. Many farmers who receive subsidies for rice
and wheat helped Congress win last year's election.
Krittivas Mukherjee
To
its admirers, India's ruling coalition has had a good year
- sound fiscal policy to stave off a ruinous global credit
crisis, fast growth and some tentative steps toward
reforms.
Those are likely to be stressed by Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh when he gives a news conference on Monday to mark
the coalition's first year in office. But to its critics,
his government has floundered on inflation, struggled
ineffectively against a Maoist insurgency, and managed its
political allies so badly its substantial parliamentary
majority dwindled, hurting its ability to pass pro-market
legislation needed to sustain robust growth.
A sense of bullish self-confidence marked the Congress
party-led coalition's handsome re-election victory last
May, spurring hopes of firm governance and quick policy
changes. A slew of crises then undercut that electoral
momentum, emboldened the opposition and weakened Congress'
hold on allies.
What may be more important though is that many investors
remain optimistic India eventually will take steps to open
the insurance, banking and retail sectors to overseas
players, and India has too much potential for them to
ignore in any case.
Incremental progress on structural reforms is the best
they can hope for in a country of more than a billion
people and 20 official languages still emerging from a
socialist past.
"We do not expect any radical implementation," said
Shubhada Rao, chief economist of Yes Bank in Mumbai.
"But we want the government to progressively start
thinking about opening up the economy cautiously. The
government's reforms agenda is clearly outlined; what is
needed is clarity on the road to implementation." Last
May's election gave prime minister Singh a freer hand, no
longer relying on the communist parties that propped up
his first term government.
Many investors wanted cuts in subsidies for fuel,
fertilizer and food. They expected the government to move
fast on removing supply bottlenecks blamed on
state-controlled prices as well as poor roads and rail.
Instead, the coalition spent much of the year fighting
political fires, from public anger over high prices to
criticism over a growing Maoist insurgency and a
high-profile ministerial resignation over a cricket
funding scandal.
"The government should have been stronger, instead it
moved from one bungle to another," said Paranjoy Guha
Thakurta, a leading newspaper columnist writing about
India's political economy. In March, Singh lost some of
his key allies as he tried to push through a bill reseving
parliamentary seats for women. The thinning majority sent
jitters through Congress before it cobbled the numbers to
defeat a parliamentary vote on high prices.
While many say the government's response to inflation, now
running at an annual rate of nearly 10 percent, was the
single biggest failure, its overall handing of the economy
has been praised.
Car sales are up 40 percent year-on-year, industrial
output grew by 10.4 percent in 2009-10 and consumer
durables production surged by 30 percent in the last five
months.
Recovering quicker than expected from the global crunch,
India's economy is forecast to grow at more than 7 percent
this year and nearly 9 percent in 2011.
The government has also moved to sell stakes in some
state-run firms, worked on a new tax code and is moving to
repair public finances. It has sold spectrum to telecoms
firms, which is expected to bring much needed funds for
the budget.
To sustain grown, investors will be looking to the prime
minister to introduce policies to improve India's
dilapidated roads, ports and airports and allow India's
large savings to be channeled into productive returns.
Analysts expect Singh to continue to support, but make
slow progress on, bills that would liberalize insurance
and banking and open up retail, which could resolve supply
bottlenecks contributing to high inflation.
Another likely slow mover, given problems with Congress'
allies, will be a nuclear liability bill needed to allow
entry of US atomic energy firms into India.
"Gradualism punctuated by political compulsions will
probably remain the key mantra," Macquarie Research said
in a new report that rated the governing United
Progressive Alliance performance at an uninspiring six on
a scale peaking at 10.
With 42 percent of Indians living on less than the poverty
line of $1.25 a day, reforms have always been a political
hot potato. Many farmers who receive subsidies for rice
and wheat helped Congress win last year's election.
"There is a lack of consensus within the Congress party
and it is now increasingly clear the Left was only an
excuse for postponing many important decisions needed to
accelerate growth," N. K. Singh, former finance secretary
wrote in the Mint newspaper.
Despite lack of big-ticket reforms, foreign firms and
investors are getting on with business undeterred. India's
long-term potential is too compelling to ignore.
"India is a delectable emerging economic story that
suffers an unfortunate - but legitimate - discount because
of its government's poor management and implementation,"
the Macquarie report said.
Viewpoints
Mass politics and military power
The protest
in Thailand has sustained itself on the political mystique of
a pro-poor leader opposed to undemocratic military
intervention in governance.
P.S. Suryanarayana
The
latest military crackdown in Thailand against armed protesters
has raised questions about the dividing line between political
dissent and state-subversive terrorism. In a larger
perspective, the different strokes of political dissent in the
wider East Asian region have come into mild focus as a result
of the current Thai crisis. However, the Association of South
East Asian Nations and the East Asia Summit are far from
looking at the differential forms of political dissent in the
region.
By Sunday (May 23), as Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit
Vejjajiva sought to raise hopes of national reconciliation,
political controversies over the May 19 crackdown in Bangkok
were yet to recede from the public domain. It was emphasised,
on behalf of Mr. Vejjajiva, that the crackdown was not the
result of any breach of promise by his administration to allow
some proactive Senators to mediate in its dispute with the
protesting United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD).
The military-backed civilian Prime Minister himself had drawn
a blank in his direct talks with a few UDD leaders several
weeks earlier during the prolonged crisis, it was pointed out.
Shortly before the May 19 denouement, however, the Senate
Speaker informed the government about the UDD's readiness to
negotiate one more time with the Prime Minister's men. At that
stage, the government took the line that such talks would not
be viable in the evolving context of terroristic violence from
armed elements among the protesters. Moreover, Mr. Abhisit
doubted the sincerity of the militant UDD leaders who began
suing for peace in the face of an imminent army action against
them.
Outwardly, such a political narrative may seem too trivial to
merit attention now, after the UDD uprising in Bangkok's
commercial district, the main campsite of the protesters, was
quelled. But the march of events, as it unfolded before the
May 19 crackdown, reveals the relevance of the government's
portrayal of this episode as a sad but inevitable denouement.
The denouement
The most-recent phase in the UDD's over-a-year-long campaign
against Mr. Abhisit began in various parts of the Thai capital
on March 12. The UDD occupied the business hub itself for 45
days before the May 19 crackdown there. The UDD leaders had in
fact converted the area into a barricaded live-in facility for
thousands of protesters, including women, children, and the
elderly. For most part, the protest was punctuated by a
carnival-style political drama of fiery speeches and
theatrical parodies and also patriotic cultural interludes.
However, violence did erupt on occasions, notably twice in
April, at places outside Bangkok's commercial hub. Later,
especially on several days prior to the May 19 showdown,
militants among the UDD leaders engaged the security forces
outside the perimeter of the main barricaded protest site.
And, finally, "weapons of war" greeted the Thai armed forces,
as they moved in to crush the UDD rebellion at its "base" in
the commercial hub. During and for several hours after the
army's triumph over the UDD there, fleeing "rogue protesters"
were blamed for the devastating fires that broke out at a
number of government and private buildings in Bangkok and
elsewhere in Thailand.
Significantly, the flash-point for the military's final
confrontation with the UDD, in the run-up to the May 19
crackdown, was the killing of a former army officer, who had
turned into a protest leader. He came to be viewed as the
UDD's militant-guru by the time he came under an apparent
sniper-attack. No person or group claimed responsibility for
that, but the shooting raised tensions to a new high. In a
sense, this episode is now widely seen to epitomise the basic
political conflict between the UDD and the military-backed
Prime Minister.
Leader-in-exile
The genesis of the UDD's political appeal can be traced to the
Thai military's bloodless coup against Thaksin Shinawatra in
September 2006. He was a twice-elected civilian Prime
Minister. But, when the Army struck against him, Mr. Thaksin
was in fact facing massive political protest from many
interest groups. At that time, his opponents were drawn from
the civilian and military elite as also the royalists. They
view him to this day as their larger-than-life adversary. Now
a proclaimed fugitive in self-imposed exile, Mr. Thaksin
continues to "inspire" or "instigate" the UDD, as seen from
the standpoint of either his supporters or his opponents.
The UDD is an umbrella group of pro-democracy campaigners and
the Thaksin-loyalists, most of them from the rural and poor
sections of the country, besides some left-of-centre
social-conscience activists. While the UDD has often spoken in
different voices, depending on its chief protagonist at any
given time, the group is invariably linked to Mr. Thaksin in
the popular and official perceptions in Thailand. Regardless
of his exact role in the creation of the UDD, he has kept it
going, often against heavy odds, through his video-messages
and phone-in exhortations from unspecified locations outside
Thailand.
To a large extent, the UDD has in fact sustained itself on the
political mystique of Mr. Thaksin's agenda as a pro-poor
leader opposed to any undemocratic military intervention in
Thai governance. While this image is obviously difficult for
the elite to brush aside, the UDD's critics have often sought
to blame it for overlooking Mr. Thaksin's alleged antipathy
towards the royalists. Absolute monarchy was abolished in
1932, and the present constitutional monarch, King Bhumibol
Adulyadej, is universally hailed across Thailand and among all
social groups. 'Network monarchy' is a term used by Duncan
McCargo, a scholar on Thailand, to describe the role of the
royalists and their links with other key interest groups in
the general governance of the country in recent times. It is
in such an ambience that the UDD has sometimes pleaded that
the King direct M. Abhisit to dissolve the House of
Representatives immediately and hold a snap general election.
Well known indeed is the UDD's charge against Mr. Abhisit that
he rose to power without a popular mandate of his own and
through the machinations of the military elite. In the
process, he is alleged to have not only buried Mr. Thaksin's
pro-poor legacy but also given the Thai military free rein
over governance. Obviously, Mr. Abhisit does not see himself
as any such political villain. Yet, he has dismayed many of
his leader-colleagues in East Asia by being slow in setting
the November 14 timeline for a snap poll in Thailand, just
over a year ahead of schedule, and by quickly withdrawing that
poll-offer in the context of the UDD's incremental demands.
In greater regional focus than this aspect of Mr. Abhisit's
political acumen is his perceived dependence on the military
to stay on in power. At one stage before the May 19
denouement, Thai Army Chief Anupong Paochinda did suggest that
Mr. Abhisit seek a political resolution of the crisis. But the
two later gravitated towards each other if only because the
balance of current forces in Thai politics left them with no
other choice. As a Thai scholar, Chairat Charoensin-o-larn,
has pointed out, it is possible that "the political awakening
of the Thai rural masses and the ascendancy of the military in
Thai politics would be the two main contending forces" for
now.
Israel’s
dirty secret is out
Cast your mind
back to South Africa circa 1975 when the segregation of
white and non-white citizens was official government
policy.
Linda Heard
Cast
your mind back to South Africa circa 1975 when the
segregation of white and non-white citizens was official
government policy.
This was a time when mixed marriages were prohibited and
one million black South Africans were stripped of their
nationality before being sent to reserves known as
"homelands." Certain jobs were restricted to whites only,
while government buildings, public transport, parks and
shops had separate entrances for different racial
categories. Drinking fountains, public toilets and even
graveyards were segregated.
Families were pulled apart when certain members were
subjected to racial tests; children whose skin was darker
than their parents or whose hair was more curly were
sometimes abandoned. Those who raised their voices in
protest were tortured, imprisoned or killed; their leaders
were made to disappear under a system of detention without
trial. Spearheading this ugliness and brutality was P.W.
Botha, who together with his massive security apparatus
was blamed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for
many of the horrors of white rule.
At a time when the US and Britain had discontinued weapons
trading with South Africa - and when the UN General
Assembly had requested its members to sever their
political, educational, cultural, sporting and
transportation links with what had come to be seen as a
pariah state - Israel was keen to supply this evil white
supremacist regime with nuclear weapons.
In recent days, a top secret 1975 military agreement
signed by the person who is today Israel's President
Shimon Peres and P.W. Botha - then the South African
Defense Secretary - has been declassified in response to a
request by American academic and author Sasha
Polakow-Suransky.
Code-named "Chalet" the deal centers on the delivery to
South Africa of nuclear-capable Jericho missiles. Minutes
of a meeting disclose Botha's stipulation that the
"correct payload" should also be made available in "three
sizes" - believed to be a euphemism or nuclear and
chemical weapons besides the conventional type. The
documents confirm an earlier admission by a former South
African naval commander, Dieter Gerhardt, who following
the collapse of apartheid disclosed Israel's intention to
equip South Africa with eight nuclear missiles and
warheads.
'Nuclear ambiguity'
It's unsurprising the Israeli authorities did their best
to prevent the South African government from releasing the
agreement and memos, which not only blow a hole in
Israel's carefully contrived so-called policy of "Nuclear
Ambiguity" but also show that Israel has no compunction
about selling such weapons of mass destruction to despised
regimes.
Particularly damning is a declassified letter dated Nov.
22, 1974 from Shimon Peres to the then South African
Information Secretary Dr. E.M. Rhoodie thanking him for
facilitating cooperation between their two countries
"based not only on common interests and on the
determination to resist equally our enemies, but also on
the unshakeable foundations of our common hatred of
injustice and our refusal to submit to it."
Our common hatred of injustice!! That, coming from the
representative of a country known for its brutal
occupation and segregation of its citizens to one that
existed upon racial lines sounds like a sick joke. It
seems that Peres would say anything to get his country
into bed with South Africa whereas, today, Israeli
politicians bristle at any outside comparison between
South Africa under apartheid and the Jewish state.
The documents vindicate Oxford University students who
harangued Peres as a war criminal as he attempted to
deliver a lecture at Balliol College in 2008. In an
unsuccessful attempt to get the lecture canceled, South
African academics and anti-apartheid veterans had written
to the College to remind its Master of Peres' role in
assisting apartheid South Africa procure weapons at the
time it was subject to an international weapons embargo.
In fact, Israel supplied South Africa with six or more
warships, patrol boats, military electronics and
computers, missiles, warplanes, rockets, radar bases,
weapons technology and tanks that were used to murder
non-white South Africans.
Israel's embarrassment is compounded by the fact that the
individual who signed the "Chalet" agreement is today its
president. However, despite the clear evidence, the
president's office has chosen to deny the claims that were
first reported in Britain's Guardian newspaper. "There is
no truth to the Guardian report," said a spokesperson for
the presidential office Ayelet Frisch without elaborating
further or condemning the agreement and supporting
documentation as forgeries.
For Israel, the timing of these revelations couldn't be
worse. It comes when President Barack Obama has embraced
the concept of a nuclear-free Middle East and makes a
mockery of US attempts to ignore Israel's nuclear arsenal
on the basis that Israel is a moral and responsible
democracy that would never sell to rogue entities. The
disclosure also provides grist for the mill of Arab states
that have long been pressing the international community
to ensure Israel comes clean on its WMD status and signs
up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Enough is enough
With Israel's ethical credibility in tatters, it remains
to be seen whether it will be supported by the
international community for much longer. This week,
Australia has taken a leaf out of Britain's book by
expelling an Israeli diplomat in connection with the
Mossad's alleged cloning of British, Australian and
European passports for use by their hit squads.
Israel's democratic rights of free speech have also been
challenged in recent weeks when it was found that Anat Kam,
an Israeli journalist, had been secretly placed under
house arrest for alleged treason, while another Uri Blau
is hiding out in London following his expose of Israel's
murder of a Palestinian.
The fact that the Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai
Vanunu has been thrown back into jail for "the crime" of
chatting with a Norwegian woman exposes Israel's lack of
free speech and has spurred Amnesty International to give
him the designation "Prisoner of Conscience." Israel's
free speech credentials were also challenged last week
when the respected US academic Noam Chomsky was refused
entry to the West Bank to speak to the students of
Ramallah's Bir Zeit University on the grounds that Israel
doesn't like what he says.
One by one, Israel's fabricated ethical pillars are being
toppled. When stripped of its façade what remains is a
nuclear-armed occupier that is has proved itself willing
to sell its WMD to corrupt regimes. Moreover, it is
holding the 1.5 million residents of Gaza under siege
while threatening its neighbor Iran with military strikes
as well as saber-rattling against Lebanon and Syria. This
is a country that pays only lip service to the concept of
free speech and is prepared to track down and assassinate
its enemies wherever it finds them in violation of
international law.
When, oh when, will Washington and its allies have the
courage to say enough is enough… and mean it!
US wants issues, not
solutions
Washington’s reaction to the dramatic Iran nuclear
breakthrough betrays its embarrassment.
SamiMoubayed
US
President Barack Obama, who went to great lengths to
appease the Russians to secure their support for new
sanctions against Iran, hope that this would shake the
Iranian government and deprive it of the support of an
international heavyweight like Russia.
Image Credit: EPA
An old Arabic proverb says, "Do you want the grapes, or
just to fight the night watchman?" Clearly from its
reactions to the dramatic breakthrough on the Iranian
nuclear file, the US is more interested in fighting the
night watchman than wrestling grapes out of Iran.
Shortly after Iran, Turkey and Brazil announced their
high-profile deal last week, US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton said that the five permanent members of the UN
Security Council (including Russia and China), and
Germany, have all agreed on a fourth set of sanctions
against Tehran, throwing dust in the eyes of Brazilian
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had hammered out the
agreement with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The
agreement calls for swapping with effect from next June,
1,200kg of low-enriched uranium with Turkey for
higher-enriched nuclear fuel for a medical research
reactor in Iran.
Immediately, the Iranians fired back furiously through
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, threatening to call off
the agreement altogether if further sanctions were imposed
by the UN. The Iran-Turkey-Brazil agreement, however, is
very significant. First, it is testimony to the rising
influence of emerging nations like Brazil and regional
heavyweights like Turkey, and to the waning clout of the
United States, given that the deal was debated, reached
and announced in complete independence from the US. In
fact, it was the Russians who were consulted at various
stages, during President Dmitri Medvedev's recent visit to
Turkey, after having visited Brazil last April, followed
by Lula da Silva's stopover in Moscow en route to Tehran.
Medical purposes
The agreement, reached after 18 hours of negotiations, is
not new, having been raised in a slightly different form
in October 2009. Back then, the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) called on Iran to hand over 2,640
pounds (1,196kg) of low-enriched uranium and receive from
abroad 260 pounds of uranium enriched up to 20 per cent
for use in the Tehran Research Reactor for medical
purposes. What is new is that the Iranian fuel will be
shipped to Turkey rather than Russia.
The Iranians claim that regardless of the swap agreement,
they have a natural right to continue enriching to the 20
per cent level. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
called the new agreement one of the most important
diplomatic decisions taken by Tehran since 1979, while his
Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov told Clinton that
although his country remained committed to a serious
approach against Iran - in principle - the new agreement
forced everybody to take a step back and have a long look
at the situation.
The Americans, however, are clearly unimpressed. First,
they were not consulted on the recent deal. Second, they
are furious with their Latin American neighbour for
stepping into a territory that historically has been
handled solely by the US. Third, success of the deal
exposes US failure in the Iranian nuclear file - success
by third parties in a domain where the US has reaped
nothing but failure. Fourth, it embarrasses US President
Barack Obama, who went to great lengths to appease the
Russians to secure their support for new sanctions against
Iran, hoping that this would shake the Iranian government
and deprive it of the support of an international
heavyweight like Russia.
Arms embargo
The new set of proposed sanctions would include an arms
embargo on eight categories of conventional weapons,
including tanks and combat aircraft, ban on overseas
activities like uranium mining, and subject ships and
planes heading out of Iran to international inspections,
based on suspicion of carrying illegal material.
Ironically, Saturday marked the 31st anniversary of the US
economic siege on Iran, imposed by then-president Jimmy
Carter who froze around $12 billion (Dh44 billion) worth
of Iranian assets abroad, three months after the Islamic
Revolution.
Unlike every US president, from Carter to Obama, Russia,
Turkey and Brazil prefer to wrestle the grapes out of Iran
rather than fight the night watchman. According to the
International Monetary Fund, Iran is the 16th largest
economy in the world, and has consistently been enjoying
healthy growth rates and trade balances, and in turn, a
low national debt. For 10 years its unemployment rate has
stood at approximately 12 per cent, not bad for a country
with one of the youngest populations in the world.
Petrochemical exports have grown 15-fold since 2000, while
steel and car manufacturing are strongest in the entire
Arabian Gulf, in addition to the fact that Tehran is the
only capital in the entire region to have mastered
nanotechnology, nuclear technology and space exploration.
Such a country, they claim, should not be marginalised by
sanctions under the watchful eye of the international
community. This is the axis that is emerging - a coalition
of small and large states that collectively takes the wind
out of US sails. For them to continue to be taken
seriously, however, to prove they are strong and able -
they need to make sure that the first mega-achievement of
their alliance, the swap deal, sees the light of day.
Sami Moubayed is editor-in-chief of Forward Magazine.
International
Pak SC gives
government two weeks on NRO
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the government a
two-week ultimatum to submit a report on steps being taken
to re-open corruption cases against the head of state and
other politicians.
President Asif Ali Zardari is immune from prosecution
while in office, but the Supreme Court is piling pressure
on the government to reopen and prosecute cases after it
scrapped an amnesty shielding politicians last December.
A panel of five judges questioned Law Minister Babar Awan
in court, giving him two weeks to submit a "concise"
report and adjourning until June 10 its case over the
collapse of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
"There should be a clear reply as to what steps have been
taken in implementing the NRO verdict and whether the
government intends to implement the whole order or not,"
said Justice Raja Fayyaz. During the 90-minute hearing,
Awan said the government was "meeting day and night" to
implement the December 16 verdict.
The five-member panel repeatedly interrupted Awan, asking
the law minister about re-opening cases against Zardari in
Switzerland and steps being taken to bring back 60 million
dollars lying in Swiss banks.
"There is no such amount. This amount is not there. These
are only allegations, and wrong and malicious statements,"
Awan said, referring to "legal complications" and "grey
areas" in approaching the Swiss authorities. Wearing
sunglasses, Awan told reporters after the hearing: "Rumours
about a confrontation between the government and the
judiciary have died down".
He said the government "presented its point of view in a
respectful manner" and welcomed the court's attitude as
"very receptive", saying the attorney general would
represent the government at the next hearing. Security was
tight with police and paramilitary forces deployed outside
the building as Awan arrived flanked by around a dozen
other cabinet colleagues for the hearing packed with
lawyers, former judges and government officials.
Nawaz urges govt to
address people sufferings
GEO TV, Murree
After extensive discussions with his senior party
leadership here today PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif criticised
the government for not doing enough to reduce sufferings
of the people.
He was briefing the journalists after the advisory body
meeting.
PML-N chief said that rulers are focusing on to save
themselves rather than working for reducing pains of
common man.
Nawaz took strong exception of NRO-benefited ministers and
stressed the PPP government for taking austerity measures
in its ranks.
Commenting on the upcoming budget, two-time prime
minister, Nawaz Sharif asked for a people-friendly budget.
He demanded strong action against perpetrators behind
targeted killings in Karachi and Balochistan, killers of
Akbar Bugti and those responsible for May 12 mayhem. PML-N
supremo asked the government to implement the verdicts of
Supreme Court in letter and spirit.
Accords signed with China
to boost anti-terror power
Dawn Online,
Islamabad
Pakistan and China signed on Monday three Memo-randa of
Understanding (MoUs) aimed at enhancing Pakistan's
capabilities to fight terror.
Under the accord, the three services of the two countries
would hold joint military exercises and China would
provide four trainer aircraft for PAF and 60 million yuans
for training of armed forces.
Federal Minister for Defence Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar and
Chinese Defence Minister Gen Liang Guangile signed the
agreements. Earlier, the 17-member visiting Chinese
defence delegation, led by Gen Liang, met Mr Mukhtar and
exchanged views on defence cooperation, geo-strategic
situation of the region and anti-terror efforts of
Pakistan.
They agreed to strengthen the military cooperation and
strategic communication at all levels to overcome
challenges being faced by the two countries.
In order to promote and increase interaction and closer
collaboration bet-ween the armed forces of the two
countries, the two sides agreed to hold joint exercises by
the three services. They discussed security environment in
the region and stressed the need for joint efforts to weed
out terrorism. They also agreed to share intelligence
gathering which was essential for defeating terrorists.
Gen Liang said China would continue to provide military
and economic assistance to Pakistan and support its stance
on different issues.
Appreciating the unflinching support provided by China,
the minister said Pakistan was highly indebted to China
for supporting it in difficult times and especially for
its role in developing and strengthening the defence
sector of Pakistan.
Later, the Chinese delegation called on President Asif Ali
Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Mr Zardari said that defence and commercial ties had
touched new levels because the friendship between the two
countries had matured into a comprehensive strategic
partnership.
Indian Army denies
cautioning Antony on deals with the US
ANI, New Delhi
The Indian Army''s Additional Directorate General (Public
Information) at the General Staff Branch of the Integrated
Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday
that a news report suggesting that the Chief of Army
Staff, General V.K. Singh, had warned Defence Minister A K
Antony on going ahead with Government to Government deals
with the US was wrong and based on "hearsay".
Additional Director General (Public Information) Major
General Sanjeev Madhok said in a release: "The article
(published by the Times of India and reported by the
television channel Headlines Today) mentions a letter
written by the Chief of Army Staff to the Hon''ble Raksha
Mantri Shri A K Antony on Foreign Military Sales (FMS).
The news item is based on hearsay."
The Times of India and Headlines Today reported that
General Singh had red-flagged the FMS purchases from the
US, and written to Antony, cautioning him about problems
that he counter with the FMS.
Over the past several years, the Indian defence
establishment has been using the FMS programme of the US
Government for major defence acquisitions.
In these non-tender purschases, the US Government procures
the equipment on behalf of the Indian Government from its
military companies, and takes a commission for the
services rendered through the Pentagon''s Defense Security
Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
Pak SC seeks record of NA
debate on 18th Amendment
Dawn Online, Islamabad
Pakistan Supreme Court sought on Monday transcripts of
nine-month deliberations of the parliamentary committee
which hammered out the 18th Constitution Amendment and the
subsequent debate in the National Assembly which adopted
it unanimously.
"We want to infer the wisdom of parliament that was
prevailing behind this amendment," Chief Justice Iftikhar
Mohammad Chaudhry said while addressing Attorney General
Maulvi Anwarul Haq to whom a notice had been issued at the
last hearing.
Expectations of high drama at the start of hearing on
petitions relating to the 18th Amendment and the National
Reconciliation Ordinance dissipated when the court
adjourned the proceedings for next Monday.
The hearing was put off at the request of federal
government's counsel Dr Basit and Advocate Ibrahim Satti
who sought more time to file a concise statement on behalf
of the government which opposed the petitions.
"We would be asking, if possible to get copies of the
proceedings of the committee constituted for making the
amendments (18th Constitution Amendment)," observed the
chief justice who is heading a 17-judge full court that
had taken up 15 petitions challenging the setting up of a
judicial commission under the 18th Amendment for
appointment of superior court judges.
"If you (government) claim privilege, it (copies of the
deliberations) can be shared with the court only, but if
you don't the same can be given to the petitioners also,"
the CJ suggested.
The bench also sought transcripts of the National Assembly
debate on the bill.
"More than 900 suggestions were given to the committee (PCCR),"
Justice Jawad S. Khawaja said, adding that
parliamentarians, senators as well as judges were all
(functioning) in the service of people.
"We do not claim any right beyond the will of the people,"
Justice Khawaja observed. He said that this was the first
time in the country's history that the court had taken up
cases to define the contours of institutions.
The chief justice observed that the apex court had taken
up a large number of important cases, but this is one of
the most important cases.
At the outset, Dr Basit insisted that the court should
continue with the proceedings and, in the meantime, he
would prepare and sub
India crash investigators
recover data recorder
BBC Online
Investigators at the site of Saturday's jet crash in
southern India have found the plane's flight data
recorder.
Television footage showed an investigator holding up the
equipment at the crash site. "The flight data recorder is
intact," he said.
The evidence it provides may help uncover the cause of the
disaster.
The Air India Express Boeing 737 from Dubai overshot
Mangalore airport's hilltop runway and crashed into a
gorge, killing 158 people. Eight survivors are being
treated in hospital for burns and other injuries.
'Vital' data
On Sunday, investigators recovered the cockpit voice
recorder, which records communication between the pilots
and with air traffic controllers. Excavators removed parts
of the plane buried under the earth at the crash site to
recover the flight data recorder - or "black box" - after
three days of searching. The equipment contains critical
technical information, including the speed of the
aircraft, its height and details such as any engine or
other possible malfunction.
Both recorders will now be taken to Delhi and examined by
investigators to piece together the sequence of events
leading to the crash. India's Civil Aviation Ministry said
the recorder contained "the most vital source of
information" about Saturday's crash.
"Though apparently impacted by the crash, it will be
subjected to further tests for decoding and made available
to the investigators," the ministry said in a statement.
North Korea severs all
ties with South Korea
AP, Seoul
North Korea says it will sever all ties and communication
with Seoul as punishment for what it calls a "smear
campaign" over the sinking of a South Korean warship.
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency quoted
the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as
saying late Tuesday that Pyongyang would also expel all
South Koreans working at a joint industrial park in the
border town of Kaesong.
Reuters adds: North Korea on Tuesday threatened military
action if the South continued to violate its waters off
the west coast, further stoking tension on the peninsula
after the sinking of a South Korean warship. The
increasingly war-like rhetoric hit Seoul's financial
markets, prompting financial policymakers to call an
emergency meeting on Wednesday to look for ways to calm
investors.
"Should the South side's intrusions into the territorial
waters of our side continue, the DPRK (North Korea) will
put into force practical military measures to defend its
waters as it had already clarified and the south side will
be held fully accountable for all the ensuing
consequences," North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted a
senior official as saying.
Lebanon
PM to Obama: Mideast frustration high
Reuters, Washington
Lebanon's prime minister warned President Barack Obama on
Monday of "pervasive" Arab frustration with Middle East
peace efforts, and the two leaders discussed U.S. concerns
that Syria may be arming Hezbollah guerrillas. Prime
Minister Saad al-Hariri's first official U.S. visit took
place against a backdrop of tensions in the Middle East,
U.S. efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian peace
process and growing momentum toward new U.S. sanctions on
Iran.
Analysts expected Obama to be more encouraging in tone
than demanding of results with Hariri, who heads a
national unity government that includes Hezbollah-a
Shi'ite Islamist guerrilla group which is backed by Syria
and Iran and is listed as a terrorist organization by the
United States. Speaking after the White House meeting,
Hariri praised Obama for seeking to revive Israeli-Arab
peace diplomacy, but said he told the president "the clock
is ticking, and it is ticking against us."
"I also pointed to the pervasive frustration and
skepticism in the Arab and Muslim worlds regarding this
issue," Hariri told reporters. "Have no doubt. Failure
will nurture more extremism and give birth to new forms of
violence."
Israel and the Palestinians launched indirect,
U.S.-brokered talks earlier this month, but broad
differences remain and neither side is optimistic of a
breakthrough soon.
Arab states have largely resisted the Obama
administration's appeals for goodwill gestures toward the
Jewish state. Seeking progress on Middle East peace is a
centerpiece of Obama's outreach to the Muslim world.
Asked whether he and Obama had talked about U.S. concerns
that Syria may have sent missile parts to Hezbollah,
Hariri said, "We discussed all these issues." Obama,
apparently trying to keep the visit low-profile, did not
appear in public with the Lebanese leader.
A White House statement issued after the meeting said
Obama had discussed with Hariri "the threat posed by the
transfer of weapons into Lebanon in violation" of a U.N.
resolution that helped end the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.
Covert U.S.
operations authorized in secret order
Reuters, Washington
A senior U.S. military commander issued a secret order
last year that laid the ground for an escalation of covert
operations across the Middle East and the Horn Africa,
officials said on Monday.
Issued last September by General David Petraeus, the order
authorized an escalation that included boosting military
and intelligence assistance to help Yemeni forces strike
al Qaeda targets, as well as deployment of more unmanned
aerial drones to collect information and track high-value
targets. The order also authorized U.S. Special Operations
units to work with local security forces to counter al
Qaeda and other threats, a goal Pentagon officials have
made no secret of.
As the head of the U.S. military's Central Command,
Petraeus oversees U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and
plays a major role in planning for any possible military
action against Iran over its nuclear program.
The order was first reported by the New York Times, which
quoted a document it obtained as saying the goal was to
build networks that could "penetrate, disrupt, defeat or
destroy" al Qaeda and other militant groups as well as
"prepare the environment" for future attacks by U.S. or
local military forces. The newspaper said the directive
also appeared to authorize specific operations in Iran,
most likely to gather intelligence about its nuclear
program or identify dissident groups that might be useful
for any future military offensive.
Some of the covert military operations that followed the
secret order have been reported. These include a September
2009 attack by helicopter-borne Special Operations Forces
on a car carrying one of east Africa's most wanted al
Qaeda militants, Kenyan-born Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan.
Central Command has been positioning Reaper drones at a
base in the Horn of Africa. Officials said the drones can
be used against militants in Yemen and Somalia, and even
against pirates who attack ships traversing the Gulf of
Aden and the Indian Ocean.
France to consult Russia,
US on Iran nuclear deal
AFP, Paris
France will consult Russia and the United States on a
joint response to Iran's announcement that it reached a
nuclear fuel deal with Turkey and Brazil, the government
said Tuesday.
Foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said France had
received a copy of Iran's letter outlining the deal to the
UN nuclear watchdog IAEA and that "we are going to see
with Russia and the United States" about a response.
Iran on Monday officially notified the IAEA of the nuclear
fuel swap deal brokered by Turkey and Brazil, under which
it would ship some low enriched uranium to Turkey in
return for higher grade fuel for a research reactor.
The United States, France and Russia had themselves
offered to supply fuel to a research reactor in Tehran
under a UN-brokered deal last October but Iran stalled on
that agreement, insisting on a simultaneous swap on its
own soil.
Western governments have been dismissive of the new deal,
which they have said fails to address international
concerns about Iran's nuclear programme.
Settlers lose appeal over
east Jerusalem flats: court
AFP, Jerusalem
Radical Jewish settlers on Tuesday lost a legal appeal to
prevent the evacuation of a controversial block of flats
in a densely-populated Palestinian neighbourhood of
annexed east Jerusalem.
The appeal was rejected by the Jerusalem district court,
which ordered that Beit Yonatan, a seven-storey structure
located in the Silwan neighbourhood, be immediately
evacuated and sealed. The settlers had sought to delay a
previous court order to evacuate the building, which was
built without a permit in 2004 by a company working for
the radical Ateret Cohanim, a far-right organisation
dedicated to settling as many Jews as possible in Arab
east Jerusalem. But Judge Nava Ben-Or ruled against the
appeal and ordered that it be carried out immediately,
according to a copy of the court ruling.
The order is likely to be implemented in days, media
reports said, in a move likely to be fiercely contested by
settler groups.
According to Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, the
courts have been trying since February 2007 to evacuate
the building but have been frustrated by a series of
appeals and counter-appeals by the settlers.
The apartment block, which is draped with enormous Israeli
flags, stands in the middle of a densely-populated
Palestinian neighbourhood, where many of the surrounding
structures are also illegally built.
Ongoing Jewish settlement activity on occupied Palestinian
land, and particularly in east Jerusalem, are among the
thorniest issues in Middle East peace efforts.
Don't let frustration
paralyse climate talks: UN environ chief
IANS, Punta del Este, Uruguay
People are justified in being disappointed with the last
climate summit in Copenhagen, but their leaders must
ensure this frustration does not paralyse negotiations for
a global climate deal, cautions UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
chief Achim Steiner.
The inability to reach a legally binding global treaty at
last year's Copenhagen summit to tackle climate change -
which continues to worsen and is already affecting farm
output, making droughts, floods and storms more frequent
and severe and raising the sea level - has naturally
frustrated many, Steiner agreed.
'But what should not happen is people saying they are not
ready talk any more,' Steiner warned in an interview to
IANS here, shortly after the start of the assembly of the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) -- which takes place
once in four years and where it is decided how countries
will spend the millions of dollars now available for green
projects.
As negotiators from 190-odd governments prepare to meet at
Bonn from May 31 to restart climate talks in an atmosphere
of scepticism in view of the failure at Copenhagen,
Steiner said: 'They should agree on how financing (to help
developing countries more to a greener economy) will flow
after the Copenhagen Accord (which does not have any legal
standing, though many countries including India have
backed it).'
Steiner felt the lack of result at Copenhagen had obscured
the amount of progress made in reducing (carbon) emissions
from deforestation and forest degradation.
'We should recognise how close (to a global treaty) we
came in Copenhagen - recognise the number of miles walked,
not just the last mile that was not,' Steiner, also a UN
Undersecretary General, told IANS.
'Look at the number of commitments made by emerging
economies like India to reduce the intensity of their
carbon emissions even as the countries continue to grow.
Clinton turns on charm in
China
AP, Beijing
Hillary Rodham Clinton tolerates but doesn't share her
husband's appetite for violent action movies. Her
daughter's upcoming wedding is "the most important" thing
in her life. And she thinks Timothy Geithner has great
hair. The U.S. Secretary of State turned on the charm in
Beijing Tuesday, taking a break from intense strategic and
economic talks with Chinese leaders in order to spend some
time promoting people-to-people exchanges between America
and China.
With high-level officials from both countries grappling
with differences over North Korea, Iran and a host of
financial and trade issues, Clinton used a series of
public events to stress the importance of cross-cultural
understanding, offering up details of her own family
experiences.
In an interview with China Central Television, Clinton
spoke proudly of the upcoming marriage of her daughter,
Chelsea, and explained the American concept of bridal
showers to a Chinese audience.
"It is not where you go in and have a shower, it is where
friends of the bride and family come together and you give
gifts to the bride and you tell stories and you show
pictures of when she was a little girl," she told the
host. "There will be a lot of that activity" before
Chelsea Clinton marries longtime beau Marc Mezvinsky this
summer, she said.
"We are looking forward to it," she said of the wedding.
"It is something that every mother dreams of. And so for
me it's ... the most important activity going on in my
life now, I have to confess. Don't tell anybody that but
it is such an enjoyable and exciting time for our family."
Her comments drew approving coos and applause from the
studio audience.
Appearing on another program aired by Hong Kong's Phoenix
television on Tuesday, Clinton and Treasury Secretary
Geithner, the U.S. co-chairs of the official talks,
sounded like a comedy team at times as they spoke about
their moviegoing and hair-care habits, the importance of
child-rearing and nutrition, and other non-controversial
topics.
Queen's Speech: Coalition
government's plans set out
BBC Online
Major plans to reform schools, police, welfare and
Britain's political system are at the heart of the
coalition government's first Queen's Speech. But the Queen
said cutting the budget deficit and restoring growth would
be the new government's "first priority". The 22 Bills set
out in detail what Prime Minister David Cameron hopes to
achieve over the next 18 months.
The programme reflects compromises reached by the
Conservatives and Lib Dems when they agreed to share
power.
Unveiling the proposals in the House of Lords, amid the
traditional pomp and pageantry, the Queen said: "My
government's legislative programme will be based upon the
principles of freedom, fairness and responsibility. It is
the 56th time that the Queen has opened a new session of
Parliament during her reign - and the first time in 14
years that she has outlined a Conservative-led programme
for government, albeit one that has been drawn up in
partnership with the Liberal Democrats following their
coalition agreement.
Schools reform
A second bill in the autumn will give schools in England
greater freedom over the curriculum, give teachers greater
powers to deal with bad behaviour and give head teachers
more freedom over how their schools are run. It will also
establish a "pupil premium", one of the Lib Dems' flagship
policies, to improve schooling for children from the most
deprived backgrounds.
Business/Economy
British
economic growth upgrade boosts new govt
AFP, London
Britain's economy strengthened at a faster pace than
previously thought in the first quarter of 2010, according
to data published Tuesday which boosted the new coalition
government, analysts said.
Gross domestic product (GDP) -- the value of all goods and
services produced in the economy-grew 0.3 percent in the
three months to March compared with the prior quarter, the
Office for National Statistics said in a statement. That
reading, which followed upward revisions to production
data, was in line with market expectations and was
modestly higher than last month's preliminary estimate of
0.2-percent expansion. "Our new coalition government will
welcome this news but growth remains extremely weak and
tenuous," said Mark Bolsom, head of the UK trading desk at
London-based currency group Travelex.
"With the worry of contagion from the financial crisis in
the eurozone and swingeing public spending cuts already
underway, economic recovery remains fragile."
The British economy clawed its way out of a fierce
recession in late 2009 after a historic downturn that
lasted for a record six successive quarters and was rooted
in the global financial crisis.
Some market watchers fear that the country could tip
headlong into a so-called "double dip" recession-or second
phase of the downturn-amid fears about the impact of the
British government's austerity measures.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's
Conservative-Liberal Democrat government presented plans
on Monday to axe 6.2 billion pounds from ministerial
budgets as it seeks to trim a record public deficit.
More spending cuts are widely expected on June 22, when
new Finance Minister George Osborne will unveil an
emergency budget to address the dire state of public
finances.
"The real crux of whether we are going to carry on growing
depends on the extent to which the forthcoming austerity
measures contract the economy," added Bolsom.
Hetal Mehta, senior economic advisor to the Ernst and
Young ITEM Club, said he expected further growth in the
second quarter but admitted that there were downside risks
further afield.
World
stock markets slump on eurozone, Korea fears
AFP, London
Global stocks slumped on Tuesday, rattled by fears the
European debt crisis could torpedo economic recovery and
rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, dealers said.
London tumbled by almost 3.0 percent to strike the lowest
level since early September 2009, Frankfurt shed more than
2.5 percent and Paris plummeted 3.0 percent.
Madrid collapsed by about 3.5 percent after the Spanish
central bank rescued provincial lender CajaSur over the
weekend, heaping more pain on the country's
already-strained financial system.
Sentiment also took a knock following news of an enormous
four-way merger in Spain's troubled banking sector.
Asia meanwhile flicked into sell-off mode on reports that
North Korea had put its civilians and troops on combat
alert following an investigation blaming it for the
sinking of a South Korean ship in March.
Tokyo wiped out 3.06 percent, hitting the lowest level
since November 30, Hong Kong erased 3.47 percent and
Shanghai shed 1.90 percent.
The growing Korea crisis added to the sense of panic
already shaking markets as a result of the eurozone
debacle.
"The bloodbath continues on equity markets as a heightened
sense of concern creeps back in to traders' minds," said
analyst Owen Ireland at trading house ODL Securities.
"Whilst the previous falls could have been interpreted by
some as buying opportunities, there now appears to be
deeper-rooted misgivings about the health of the global
economy."
Stocks were sharply sold off as many traders sought to
exit investments that are deemed as risky.
Crisis-hit Greece to exit recession at end 2011
AFP, Athens
Crisis-hit Greece will emerge from recession at the end of
2011 after "two difficult years" when measures to cut
spending and boost growth start paying off, the country's
development minister said on Tuesday.
"We have a difficult two years ahead of us, but I believe
that the measures will pay off and the exit from recession
will be visible at the end of 2011," Development Minister
Louka Katseli told Naftemboriki daily.
"What is important now is to work hard so that in a few
years we will stop talking about a Greek problem, and talk
about a Greek miracle," she said.
The Greek economy is expected to contract by four percent
this year, complicating the government's titanic efforts
to slash the budget deficit from 13.6 percent of output to
below the three-percent threshold mandated by the European
Union by 2014.
According to the finance ministry, the economy is not
likely to return to growth before 2012.
Greece has narrowly avoided default by drawing on a
110-billion-euro (137-billion-dollar) rescue loan set up
on its behalf by the European Union and the International
Monetary Fund, the first ever involving a eurozone member.
A first instalment of 20 billion euros was released in the
last two weeks to enable Athens to redeem a
nine-billion-euro bond on May 19.
But the bailout came at the cost of wage and pension cuts,
tax rises and hiring freezes in Greece's bloated
bureaucracy, and the release of further loan instalments
will depend on the application of the austerity programme.
IMF’s
Strauss-Kahn: Spain should follow Europe on labour reforms
AFP, Madrid
Spain's labour market is too rigid and must be reformed to
match those in other parts of Europe, International
Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.
"In Spain you have a lot of rigidities, the labour market
doesn't work for many reasons, and I think the labour
unions, the government, business everybody understands
this and knows what should be done," he told Spain TVE
public television on Monday night.
"Even in good times you have a lot of people unemployed
and also a lot of people on short term or temporary
contracts. All these are things which show the labor
market does not work."
His comments followed an IMF report released Monday that
called for "urgent" labor and banking reforms in Spain,
which is struggling to rein in its massive deficit amid
fears it could follow Greece into financial crisis.
Spain's unemployment rate soared to more than 20 percent
in the first quarter, the highest in the 16-nation
eurozone.
The labour market "has to be more effective ... the way
people are hired, or sometime are fired, are to be done
the way it is done in the rest of Europe, no more no
less," said Strauss-Kahn.
Fears grow that banks could send euro crisis global
AFP, Washington
After months of fragile economic growth, fears are
mounting that the global recovery could be derailed by a
debt crisis that began in one small corner of Europe.
At first investors voiced only mild concern about events
in Athens. News that Greece had fiddled deficit figures
did little except increase the country's cost of borrowing
and raise eyebrows at the European Union's Brussels
headquarters.
But as world stock markets were pummeled in recent weeks
and the euro fell sharply against the dollar, that concern
has given way to scarcely concealed panic.
Respected commentators are beginning to echo the
twitterverse's shrill warnings that a once obscure debt
problem could prompt another Great Recession.
If a one trillion dollar EU rescue package fails to calm
markets "US GDP growth could be reduced by half to one
percent over the next couple of years," Deutsche Bank
analysts warned clients.
National
Erosion by Padma threatens
existence of seven unions
BSS, Faridpur
About hundred small villages of Sadar and Charbhadrasan
upazilas of this district are missing from the map as
those were eroded in river Padma during last 10 years
despite some protective measures taken for the last five
years.
Experts and satellite observations revealed that the two
upazilas and also Sadarpur upazila of this district have
been affected by the ruthless and uncertain behavior of
Padma as the river is changing its course from north-east
direction to south- west direction resulting in immense
sedimentation in the river bed.
According to official and concern elected persons of the
local bodies, 56 villages of four unions of Charbhadrasan
upazila were vanished in the unabated erosion during last
10 years causing thousands of people homeless and
devouring crop fields, structures and institutions.
Chairman of Decreer Char union of Sadar upazila, located
adjacent to this district town, Sadekuzzaman Milon Pal
told BSS that his union bore the brunt of Padma to its
maximum as the river has come closer to town eroding about
15 miles during last 10 years. The intensity had increased
in 2003. According to the chairman, Decreer Char union had
lost 25 villages, Aliabad union located also adjacent to
this district town lost 25 five villages during the
period.
According to the administration and elected
representatives, this worst type of unabated erosion has
caused varied pressures on rehabilitation causing loss of
environment and cropland. In most cases particularly in
Charbhadrasan upazilla the homeless people are building
their houses on cropland hampering crop production. On the
other hand, erosion in Decreer Char and Aliabad has
created rehabilitation pressure on the district town,
according to them. Generally two methods of checking river
erosion are followed here. Firstly construction of pucca
pavements on the bank and secondly placing of sand bags on
the riverbed. But concerned sufferers and experts termed
these measures as ineffective and faulty which are full of
corruption also.
Ensuring adequate budgetary allocation for disabled people
stressed
BSS, Rajshahi
Speakers at a daylong roundtable meeting here Monday
underlined the need for increasing allocation for the
disabled people in the forthcoming proposed national
budget to ensure their legitimate rights including
education, health, employment, development, empowerment
and social security.
They stated that the existing allocations are not adequate
for the 10 percent disabled people of the country to
ensure their smooth development and mainstreaming them.
District Badhan Protibandhi Sangstha (DBPS), Protibandhi
Nari Adhikar Bikash Sangstha (PNABS) and Action on
Disability and Development (ADD) jointly organized the
roundtable discussion titled "National Budget: Persons
with Disabilities" at Nanking Darbar Hall with financial
support from Manusher Jonno.
Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information
Ministry Shahriar Alam, who addressed the meeting as the
chief guest, said the present government of Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina is very much positive towards overall
development of the underprivileged section of the society.
He, however, underlined the need for a concerted effort to
establish a sound and friendly atmosphere for the disabled
persons to ensure a dignified position for them in
society.
Shahrier Alam viewed that the under-privileged community
is an integral part of the society and so they must be
given equal opportunity to enjoy all basic rights like
other privileged sections in the country.
He referred to the government's various effective steps
for the welfare of disabled persons in the country and
said all concerned in different tiers of the
administration should make the best use of all facilities
in the greater interest of these people.
Call to expedite trial of war
criminals
BSS, Dhaka
Human chain and protest rally were arranged in
Khagrachhari and Shariatpur Monday demanding expediting
the trial of perpetrators of crimes against humanity. In
Khagrachhari, a human chain was formed at Shapla Chattar
in the town this morning.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of Kahgrachhari Hill
District Council Kujendra Lal Tripura said the trial of
war criminals was an election pledge of Awami League.
"After the formation of the government, trial of the 1971
culprits has started but the opposition BNP has called
hartal to save them," he said. Hundreds of leaders and
workers of different organizations including Ghatak Dalal
Nirmul Committee, Projonmo'71, Amra Muktijoddhar Santan,
Sanatan Chhatra-Jubo Parishad, Sachetan Jubo and Chhatra
Samaj and Bouddha Jubo Sangha joined the human chain that
lasted for 30 minutes.
Earlier, a rally paraded different roads of the town.
During the rally, processionists torched effigies of
Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Golam Azam, Motiur Rahman Nizami
and Delwar Hossain Sayeedi. In Shariatpur, Muktijuddher
Chetona Bastabayan Committee brought out a procession. The
procession started from in front of Reporters Unity Office
and ended at Deputy Commissioner's office after parading
different roads of the town.
After the procession, a rally was held in front of the
deputy commissioner's office, where war wounded Freedom
Fighters Abdus Samad Master, Abul Hossain Khan, Alimuddin
Sheikh, Giasuddin Sheikh and Yasin Sarder spoke, among
others.
Sports
Bangladesh League
Dhaka Abahani thumps Farashganj 4-0
TBT report
Prolific striker Enamul Haque scored a brace as the league
leader Dhaka Abahani dished out a 4-0 drubbing to Farashganj
Sporting Club in the Bang-ladesh Football League at
Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city on Tuesday.
Dhaka Abahani staged a brilliant second half rally after the
first half ended in goalless draw. After missing chances
galore Dhaka Abahani pulled off the first success when Rajani
Kanta slotted the ball into the net on the hour mark.
Abul Hossain made it 2-0 with his 77th-minute strike before
Enamul Haque got into the action. He stretched the lead to 3-0
on 80 minutes and then scored his second goal just a minute
before the final whistle to seal an emphatic 4-0 victory
against Farashganj.
Jatrabari Krira Chakra defeated Mohakhali XI 2-0 in the
Basundhara Senior Division Football League at Bir Shreshtha
Shaheed Mohammad Mustafa Sta-dium in Dhaka.
With the first half failed to produce any goal, the play
picked up pace in the last quarter of the game. Sohel brought
the roofs down when he struck the first goal for the winners
on 70 minutes. Irin then doubled the lead hitting the net on
the last minute of the game.
Dhaka Wanderers Club and T and T played to a goalless draw in
the second match of the Basundhara Senior Divi-sion Football
League at the same venue.
Bangladesh
A takes four-run lead
UNB, Dhaka
Bangladesh A team took a narrow four-run lead over touring
West Indies A team on the 3rd day of the 2nd four-day match at
BKSP in Savar on Tuesday.
Resuming the first innings today with overnight 205 for 5, the
2nd string Bangladesh side were all out for 272 in 98 overs to
take four-run lead after dismissing the visitors for 268 in
the first innings.
Middle order batsman Faisal Hossain, who was batting with 64,
hammered a century making just 100 runs off 199 balls with
eight fours and five sixes. Another night-watch batsman
Sahagir Hossain (26) scored 35 runs.
Odean Brown, who took two wickets for 43 runs on Monday,
finished with 3 for 79 runs while Shane Shillingford also
grabbed three wickets for 82 runs.
In reply, West Indies A team opened their 2nd innings just
before the lunch and scored 109 runs for 3 in 47.3 overs at
the end of the third-day (Tuesday) to take an over all 105
runs lead over the home side.
Opener Omar Phillips and number five Brendan Nash were batting
with 47 and 32 runs respectively. Captain Travis Dowling
scored 54-ball 20 runs with two boundaries. Pacer Syed Rasel,
Nazmul Hossain and Mahmudul Hasan took one wicket apiece.
In the first four-day match, the 2nd string West Indies side
earned an emphatic 114 runs victory over Bangladesh A team in
Dhaka.
South Africa holds
nerve to deny West Indies
AFP, North Sound
South Africa withstood
a late West Indies fight-back led by Darren Sammy to
prevail by 17 runs in the second One-day International on
Monday and take a 2-0 lead in the five match series.
The South Africans appeared to be coasting to victory,
when West Indies, chasing 301 for victory from their 50
overs, slumped to 236 for eight in the 45th over.
But the Proteas came under attack from Sammy, whose
unbeaten 58 from 24 balls contained two fours and six
sixes, as he dominated a ninth-wicket stand of 47 with
Ravi Rampaul.
South Africa was fortunate however, when fast-medium
bowler Ryan McLaren skillfully fielded a drive from Sammy
on his follow-through, and Rampaul was run out off the
last ball of the 48th over backing up too far.
Graeme Smith, the South African captain, had the privilege
of finishing the match, when Kieron Pollard, running for
Nikita Miller, was run out off the first ball of the next
over, with a direct hit by Smith at the bowler's end from
short cover. "We weren't at our best, and we let a few key
chances go earlier, which probably could have gone on to
cost us the game," said a relieved Smith.
"Outside of our fielding, I think we controlled the game
very, very well, and up to Sammy's 58, we were in control,
but our fielding, our catching in particular, we need to
take another look." The third and fourth ODIs will be
contested this coming Friday and Sunday at Windsor Park in
the Dominica capital of Roseau.
South Africa conceded three half-centuries to West Indies,
with Dwayne Bravo hitting the top score of 74 from 70
balls, and the newly-arrived opener Dale Richards 51 from
85 balls.
The Proteas put West Indies under early pressure, but
Richards and Chris Gayle still gave the home team a steady
start of 40.
South Africa tightened their grip, when they reduced West
Indies to 119 for three, but Bravo added 63 for the fourth
wicket with Pollard, as the hosts ran into deep trouble,
and Sammy nearly carried them over the threshold.
"I have to commend the guys for the effort of chasing 300
runs, and in particular, Darren for giving us a bit of
hope at the end," said Gayle. "The middle overs continue
to cause our downfall because there are too many dot-balls
in that period of our innings, and the run rate creeps up
on us, and makes it difficult for the batsmen towards the
end."
Earlier, Hashim Amla continued his rich vein of form with
92, and Jacques Kallis supported with 85 to lead South
Africa to 300 for five from their 50 overs.
Amla struck seven boundaries from 95 balls, and Kallis -
playing his 300th ODI - hit four fours from 89 balls in a
stand of 79 for the second wicket, after the South
Africans chose to bat.
The Proteas benefitted from an opening stand of 89 between
Amla and Smith before left-arm spinner Miller bowled the
South African captain behind his legs for 37 in the 16th
over.
Amla continued to grind away, and reached his 50 from 45
balls with a dab to third man off Bravo before he was
caught at mid-wicket off Jerome Taylor in the 32nd over.
Kallis, who became only the second South African behind
Shaun Pollock to appear in 300 ODIs, and the 15th player
overall, turned Rampaul through square leg for a single to
reach his half century from 59 balls.
A.B. de Villiers joined him to consolidate South Africa's
position with a stand of 71 for the third wicket with
Kallis before he was caught inside the long-off boundary
for 41 off Kieron Pollard in the 43rd over.In the closing
overs, Kallis was caught at point off Pollard in the 47th
over, and Alviro Petersen was lbw playing across Taylor
for one, as South Africa hunted quick runs.
Henin back in business at Roland
Garros
AFP, Paris
Four-time champion Justine Henin made a winning return to
Roland Garros on Tuesday and showed few detrimental
effects from her three-year, self-imposed exile.
The Belgian former world number one, who sensationally
walked away from tennis on the eve of the 2008 tournament,
claiming her big adventure was over, cruised past
Bulgaria's Tsvetana Pironkova 6-4, 6-3.
She showed few signs of Roland Garros ring-rustiness,
firing an impressive 31 winners in her 89-minute outing.
Henin, playing on Court Philippe Chatrier for the first
time since demolishing Ana Ivanovic in the 2007 final,
carved out the only break in the seventh game of the first
set courtesy of her trademark, one-handed backhand.
The 27-year-old was ahead with another break for 1-0 in
the second set before Pironkova, who has never got beyond
the second round of a Grand Slam, levelled at 2-2.
The Bulgarian then squandered two break points in the
sixth game and Henin made her pay by nipping in front for
a crucial 4-3 advantage.
Pironkova's spirit was broken and Henin claimed the tie on
the first of three match points when the Bulgarian went
wide with a sloppy backhand.
Henin will face either Slovenia's Katarina Srebotnik or
Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic for a place in the
last 32, with Maria Sharapova a potential third-round
opponent.
England wins over Mexico
AFP, London
A spectacular solo strike from Glen Johnson lit up an
otherwise workmanlike performance from England as Fabio
Capello's side notched up a 3-1 win over fellow World Cup
qualifier Mexico at Wembley on Monday.
Ledley King marked his first appearance in an England
shirt since 2007 with the opening goal and Peter Crouch
made it 21 goals in 38 internationals as England recovered
from a shaky start to claim control of their final home
friendly before they head for South Africa.
The West Ham striker, Guillermo Franco, responded for
Mexico on the stroke of half-time but Johnson's lovely,
left-footed effort, just after the interval, ensured the
encounter finished with a scoreline that was
morale-boosting if a little flattering for the hosts.
Capello admitted Mexico had given his side problems but
was happy with the evening's workout.
"I'm happy with the result," he said. "I knew Mexico is
good in possession, technically. They are faster than us
and it was not easy to win back the ball. I learned a lot
about some situations on the pitch. Not only me but also
the players - we have to press more to win back the ball
quickly."
His Mexican counterpart Javier Aguirre said that he would
stick to his guns visavis the tactics that his side had
played. "I am not happy with the manner in which we
conceded the goals even if England deserved to win," said
Aguirre, in his second spell as Mexico coach and who
played for them at the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico.
"However, the spirit and the desire shown by the players
was excellent.
"Even when they were behind they showed great spirit. We
are going to stick to our style." With Gareth Barry out
through injury and Frank Lampard rested along with his FA
Cup-winning Chelsea team-mates, Capello granted Michael
Carrick and James Milner the opportunity to impress with
starts in central midfield.
Neither man made a compelling case for promotion and that
was also the case for King, whose defensive lapses might
have gifted Mexico a couple of first half goals.
Leighton Baines had a better night filling in for Ashley
Cole at left-back in a starting line-up that suggests Theo
Walcott, on the right wing, and Peter Crouch, alongside
Wayne Rooney in attack, are in line to start England's
World Cup opener, against the United States in Rustenburg
on June 12.
England's first goal followed an opening period dominated
by the Mexicans, who were unfortunate not to be denied an
early penalty when Franco turned King in the box and had
his shirt pulled by the Tottenham defender before he fired
wide.
There was another moment of anxiety for the home
supporters when Ricardo Osario's driven cross skidded
across the goalmouth before King headed England into the
lead.
Afridi named skipper for Asia Cup
AFP, Lahore
Dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi was Tuesday named
Pakistan skipper for next month's Asia Cup and the
following tour of England, uniting the team under one
captain for all three formats of the game.
The 30-year-old Afridi, who led Pakistan to a semi-final
finish in the World Twenty20 this month, was seen as the
natural choice for all three forms of the game and-more
importantly-someone who can unify the players.
"Afridi will lead Pakistan in one-day and Test cricket and
is our best choice," said Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
chairman Ijaz Butt.
He becomes the latest in a line of Pakistan Test captains
since Shoaib Malik took over from retired Inzamam-ul-Haq
in 2007, followed by Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf.
"It is a great challenge to lead the team in all forms of
the game," said Afridi, made Twenty20 skipper after Younus
retired from the shortest form of the game following the
team's World T20 title win last year.
"I will try to do my best and take all the players as a
unit and build towards winning the World Cup," said Afridi,
referring to the 50-over tournament to be jointly hosted
by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh between Feb-ruary and
April next year.
Pakistan suffered a leadership crisis after several
players fell out with Younus, who was forced to relinquish
the captaincy and pull out of the team's tour of New
Zealand in November.
Yousuf replaced Younus for New Zealand and the following
tour of Australia, where the team lost all three Tests,
five one-day internationals and a Twenty20, resulting in
Yousuf not being retained.
Following the tour, the PCB banned Yousuf and Younus
indefinitely "over infighting in the team over captaincy",
while Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were banned for one
year each and heavily fined.
Afridi and the Akmal brothers-Kamran and Umar-were also
fined heavily and the trio kept under a six-month
probation over breaches of discipline during the Australia
tour.
Except for Yousuf, who retired in protest at the ban, all
six players have appealed. A one-man arbitrator is dealing
with the appeals, with the PCB on Monday promising a
review of the penalties soon.
Pakistan feature in the four-nation Asia Cup in Sri Lanka
from June 15-24 before proceeding to a
two-and-a-half-month tour of England, where they play two
Twenty20 matches and two Tests against Australia.
They then play England in four Tests, five one-day and two
Twenty20 matches in a tour which finishes late September.
Argentina cruises in Canadian
friendly
AFP, Buenos Aires
Two-time World Cup winners Argentina eased to a 5-0
victory over Canada here on Monday for a morale-boosting
win ahead of flying to South Africa on Friday for the
World Cup finals, which run from June 11-July 11.
Even without the side's superstar Lionel Messi, who was
rested and sat watching from the stands, the Argentinians
had little trouble from one of the game's minnows as they
cruised to a fifth successive victory this year, albeit
three have come against second tier opposition.
Nevertheless Argentina's unpredictable coach Diego
Maradona was delighted with the performance and the
outcome in what was the largest victory recorded by his
side since he assumed the post at the end of 2008.
"The most positive thing is that we have made people
happy," said the 50-year-old, who became a national hero
as he virtually singlehandedly inspired Argentina to the
1986 World Cup trophy. "And also that we were eager to
show what we were capable of and a lot more besides that."
Maradona, too, was delighted with the way that his idea of
playing three up front, albeit with Carlos Tevez and
Gonzalo Hiugain playing in a more advanced role than
Carlos Pastore, who stood in for Messi.
"This performance showed that Argentina can play with
three strikers at the World Cup finals," said a confident
Maradona.
Liverpool wing Maxi Rodriguez grabbed a double, scoring
with a 16th minute freekick and then grabbing his second
in the 32nd minute after being teed up by Tevez.
Benfica midfielder Angel Di Maria added a third with a
stunning shot with the outside of his left foot in the
37th minute before Tevez deservedly got on the score
sheet, after superb work by Higuain, who on three
occasions was denied when one on one with the goalkeeper.
Maradona's son-in-law Sergio Aguero rounded off the
scoring with a fine individual effort 18 minutes from
fulltime.
Argentina - who struggled through the qualifiers and whose
squad is lacking several notable players including Inter
Milan duo Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso - are in
Group B at the World Cup finals along with 2002
semi-finalists South Korea, Euro 2004 champions Greece and
African giants Nigeria.
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