SUnday, MAY 9, 2010 BAISHAKH 26, 1417, JAMADIuL AWAL 23, 1431 Hijri

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Leading News

Petrol pump, tank lorry owners, to start indefinite strike today

UNB, Dhaka

Petrol pump and tank lorry owners and workers will go for an indefinite shutdown on Sunday to press home their 13-point demand.
The demands include raising commission on the sale of petrol from present 2 percent to 7 percent, enforcing the decision for setting up testing laboratory at the petrol depots, issuing arms licenses to the petrol pump owners and raising tank lorry fare.
Petrol Pump and Tank Lorry Owners-Workers Unity Council, a newly floated organisation comprising Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners Association (BPPTLOA) and Tank Lorry Workers Federation (BTLWF), earlier announced the work abstention programme from a press conference in Dhaka on April 12.
"We'll start our strike programme from Sunday as per earlier announcement as nobody from the government side yet contacted us to consider our demands," Mohammad Nazmul Haque, convenor of the Unity Council and also the President of Bangladesh Petrol Pump Owners Association, told UNB Saturday.
Earlier, the same organisation enforced a half-day strike on March 14 at the petrol pumps and depots across the country to press for their demands. At that time, they gave an ultimatum to the government for implementing their demands by April 11, but there was no initiative to address their demands. Finally, the petrol pump and tank lorry owners and workers are going to start the strike for an indefinite period from Sunday.
Reiterating their demand for issuing arms licenses to the pump owners, Nazmul Haque alleged that incidents of robbery and looting have increased sharply at the petrol pumps in recent days. "These incidents are taking place frequently… Only in last few months, more than 100 incidents of robbery and looting took place at different petrol pumps, including one belonging to me," he said. At present, there are about 3,000 petrol pumps across the country with more than 300 alone in the capital city.

 University like Shantiniketan to be set up at Shilaidah: PM
She calls for spreading cultural practices among young generation

UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the cultural activists in the country to spread cultural practices among the young generation so they do not go astray.
"Spread the cultural practices the new generation to keep them on the path of a brighter way of life," she said while inaugurating the 149th birth anniversary of Nobel Laureat poet Rabindranath Tagore at the national level at a function at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium.
Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad presided over the function with State Minister for Cultural Affairs Advocate Promod Mankin present as special guest.
The Prime Minister said that the new generation of the country is now busy with other things rather than practicing cultural activities.
In this connection, she mentioned that some among the young generation are addicted to drugs while some others engaged in money making at any cost.
Stressing the need for bringing such errant members of the young generation back to the brighter side of life, she said there is no other way but to engage them in cultural activities.
She said Rabindranath Tagore is omnipresent in all areas for the Bengali nation. "We find him and his literature in all our day to day activities. We find him and his works in peace, happiness and depression; we find him in agitation and revolution."
Hasina said Rabindranath Tagore established the Bengali language and Bengali nation in the world arena with his great creation 'Geetanjali'.
In this regard, she mentioned that father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the other person who established Bengali nation in the world arena apart from Rabindranath. She also noted that poet Kazi Nazrul Islam was the creator of the slogan 'Joy Bangla'. The Prime Minister said that her government has taken an initiative to set up a university like the Shantiniketan in Shahjadpur and Shilaidaha for the preservation and practices of and research on Radindranath Tagore and his works.

 Khaleda declares start of uprising against govt
UNB, Dhaka

BNP Chairperson and leader of the opposition Begum Khaleda Zia on Saturday said that the protest and uprising against injustice, misrules and autocracy of the government would ensue from Saturday's rally.
"I sincerely believe that the protest and uprising against injustice, irregularities, misrule and autocracy will ensue from this lawyers' conference," she said as chief guest at a lawyers' grand conference held at the Supreme Court.The daylong conference was presided over by BNP chairperson's advisor advocate TH Khan, and was attended by lawyers from across the country.
Khaleda Zia, also former Prime Minister, called upon the lawyers' community to play a courageous role to keep people alert and united against the upcoming movement.
"We have ousted misrule through struggle in the past. We will have to come across arduous days in the critical juncture of the nation," she said.
Accusing the present government of impeding the rule of law, Khaleda said an evil design is on to push the country into a mess of savagery. "So, lawyers' duty and responsibility to preserve an unhindered, independent and smooth judicial system is important in this regard."
Khaleda Zia said a vile move is underway to cripple the independent judiciary, and pollute it as an affiliated organization of the ruling party by snatching away the fundamental rights of the people. She called upon the judges to stand beside the oppressed people and against the administration to protect justice and the rule of law. Referring to the duty and responsibility of the opposition, the BNP chairperson said that they want to play a significant role as opposition in the Parliament.
"We told the government that we will cooperate with them when they (government) take good initiatives. But, we will announce movement against the government's anti-people moves," she said.
Khaleda also warned that a strong movement will be launched if the government takes initiatives in implementing recently signed treaties and agreements which are anti-people.
"If the government implements the recently signed anti people agreements, the country's people will lose their employment opportunity, mills and factories of the country will be closed and finally, the country will lose its sovereignty," she claimed.
Recalling her the party's contribution in establishing democracy in the country, Khaleda said the rule of law could not be established in the country without democracy. She alleged that the ruling government wants to establish 'one party rule' in the country in a new format by removing the opposition.
About the war criminals' trial, she called on the government to find out the war criminals from the ruling party before the beginning of the trial.

  Launch services partially resume
River vessel workers’ strike causes sufferings to people

UNB, Dhaka

At least 15 launches left Sadarghat terminal this evening resuming partial operation of river transport services affected by strike since Friday midnight enforced by the Noujan Sramik Federation on all 42 routes connecting capital Dhaka with southern districts.
Report from Sadarghat terminal at 7-40 pm said 15 launches left in the evening on Chandpur, Barisal, Patuakhali and Shariatpur routes. About 70 launches at four terminals of Sadarghat are waiting to leave for destinations in southern districts.
President and secretary of the striking sramik federation Shah Alam and Chowdhury and Ashiqul Alam Chowdhury told UNB that the strike will end at midnight today following their fruitful discussions twice with the Shipping Minister.
Informed sources said federation leaders belonging to the ruling Awami League are in favour of calling off the strike. But their opponents want to continue the strike until the demands are fully met.
An earlier UNB report said: River transport strike on more than 42 routes continued for the second day Saturday disrupting river communication between the capital Dhaka and southern districts.
Abul Hashem and Ekin Ali, president and secretary of the district committee, and the central committee members of the Noujan Sramik Federation rejected the government announcement of new pay scale for river transport workers.
They held that 50 to100 percent increase in wage as announced by the government seems to be vague. Why not government clearly comes out with the figure, who will get what?
The leaders claimed that launch workers are wholly behind the strike. The launches that left the port were forced by the authorities and ruling party leaders and cadres.
Ruling party cadres and government officials were found at major ports in their bid to cause division in the striking River Transport Sramik Federation that enforced the indefinite strike. The efforts apparently failed.
In the absence of launch services, a large number of engine propelled boats and trawlers are operating in short distance routes. Passengers say these transports are charging much higher fares taking advantage of launch strike.
Buses operating on local and inter-district distance routes are overcrowded. Because of rush of passengers, bus tickets are sold in the black market at high rates.
Business people are the worst affected by the strike as movement of goods and commodities including perishable ones are halted.

    10 per cent penalty for cartel and syndicate
Draft of competition law prepared

BSS, Dhaka

Market manipulators has to be slept with a penalty of either three percent of their profit or 10 percent average annual turnover for the last three years as a stringent law is going to be enacted to ensure competition in the market by removing distortions.
A commission has been suggested titled 'Competition Law, 2010' and it could go for inquiry into any anti-competitive practices and then pass order to impose penalty for anti-competitive practices like cartel and syndicate.
The commission would be comprised of five members along with a chairperson from the government and the commission shall issue interim orders or may direct any person to furnish trade related documents.
Commerce Minister Lt Col (Retd) Faruk Khan earlier told BSS that formulation of such a law has become inevitable to develop capacity in the market system to check formation of alleged cartels.
"The law will help businesses grow, not to damage those and keep the prices within the reach of the common people rather than imposing control over them," he said.
Faruk Khan said a draft of the Competition Law has already been readied and it would be placed before the Jatiya Sangsad during the forthcoming budget session after finalizing it by next month.
Director General of WTO (Ministry of Commerce) Amitava Chakbarty, said Bangladesh started liberalization and deregulation of trade regime since mid 80s and from then on all sorts of the government controls had been withdrawn, encouraging the private sector entrepreneurs.
Though liberalization and deregulation encourages competition, such policy alone do not guarantee for fair competition, said Chakbarty, who is in the core committee working for finalizing the draft law.
He said with the growing business activities, market is becoming very complex with diverse nature and dynamics of production and supply chains.
There is a widespread belief that irrational price hike for the last few years is the result of market manipulation through cartel and syndicates, said the WTO DG.
Experts say it needed extensive discussion with stakeholders rather than enacting the law so that it do not face legal barriers that was occurred in India while enacting the competition law.

    1000 prisoners to be released from jail
UNB, Dhaka

In a fresh move, the government is going to release 1000 prisoners under five categories.
The decision was taken on Saturday evening when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sat in a meeting with Jail Authorities where Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun was also present.
The meeting was arranged after the Prime Minister inaugurated Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Jail Memorial Museum and Four National Leaders' Jail Memorial Museum inside the Dhaka Central Jail.
Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad said the PM ordered the authorities concerned to properly make a list of 1000 prisoners who are aged, females, disabled, children and those who are suffering from serious diseases.
During her over one-and-half-hour stay inside the jail area, the Prime Minister also visited the ward of the female prisoners.

Back Page

ACC should function independently, parliament hold more dialogue: EU

UNB, Dhaka

The European Union says the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) here should function independently and parliament should hold more dialogues to ensure development and strengthen democracy.
"Parliament has improved compared with past with all parliamentary committees in place… But we acknowledge there is not enough dialogue. We're not happy. There is too much confrontational dialogue," EU Head of the Delegation Ambassador Stefan Frowein told a press conference Saturday on the eve of the Europe Day.
He said the political parties need to resolve all problems through dialogue.
Asked about the functioning of the ACC, Frowein said the Anti-Corruption Commission is an essential element and to make it meaningful it should work independently financially and politically. Likewise, the judiciary also needs to function independently.
Danish Ambassador Einar H Jensen, French Ambassador Charley Causeret, German Ambassador Holger Michael, Italian Ambassador Dr Itala Occhi, Spanish Ambassador Arturo Perez Martinez, Swedish Ambassador Britt F Hagstrom, Anja Roelofs, Frist Secretary of the Netherlands embassy, and honorary consuls of different EU countries were present at the press conference at Hotel Sheraton.
On the situation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Frowein said the EU wants full implementation of the CHT peace accord to improve the situation over there.
About EU funding for tackling climate change in Bangladesh, the EU Ambassador said more new money is in the pipeline and Bangladesh needs to take assistance from the World Bank for interim period to increase her financial management capacity.
He said Bangladesh, Maldives and Cambodia are the three countries in Asia to be receiving additional funding from the EU for adaptation to the climate change.
Frowein praised Bangladesh's role on climate change issue, saying that Bangladesh needs to take the lead of the LDCs in Asia.
He said Bangladesh will host a conference of the Global Climate Change Alliance on May 30-31 where the EU Commissioner for Climate Change will attend.
He said this conference will be a vital step in building momentum needed to get to a global agreement to bring climate change under control as well as ensuring that countries such as Bangladesh get the additional funding they need to cope with the cost of climate change.
Asked about Rohingya refugees, Frowein said Rohingyas came from Myanmar and it is Myanmar who would have to resolve this problem. He praised Bangladesh for hosting so many refugees for long 18 years.

   BDR Mutiny: Special Court 6 sets charge-framing date
UNB, Dhaka

A special court here Saturday set December 19 as charge framing date against 113 accused of RSU in connection with Pilkhana headquarters mutiny which occurred on February 25-26 last year.
Earlier in the morning, the same court fixed December 5 as the charge-framing date against 187 accused of signal sector in connection with the mutiny.
Court sources said the special court-6, consisting of three members with the outgoing BDR Director-General Maj General Mainul Islam in the chair, has begun its proceedings to try 187 alleged mutineers of Signal Sector in presence of them at about 10:15am and continued hearing till 11:15 am.
Prosecutor Lt.Col. Nazrul Islam Sarkar described the acts committed by the accused and observed that they had committed punishable offences under the Bangladesh Rifles Order, 1972 section 10A (1).
After hearing, the court set December 5 to frame charges against the accused and adjourned till 10:00 am on December 5.
Earlier on May 6, Subedor Mohammad Neyamotullah brought allegations against 187 BDR members under the Signal Sector in the same court. Meanwhile, the special court-6 sat again at about 12:20 pm to try the 113 alleged mutineers of Rifle Security Unit (RSU) and continued for about one hour. Prosecutor Lt. Col Atiquzzman described the activities of the mutineers in presence of the accused.
After hearing the court fixed December 19 as charge framing date and adjourned till 10:00 am on the day.
Earlier on May 5 Nayek Subedar Md. Abdul Matin of the RSU brought allegations against the 113 BDR members.
Two other members of the court were Lt Col Md Nurul Alam and Maj Mohammad Ali Mustain Khan, while representative of the Attorney-General, Deputy Attorney General Kazi Izarul Haque assisted the court during the hearing.

   Importance of creating employment in rural areas stressed
UNB, Dhaka

Speakers at a seminar on Saturday emphasized creating employment opportunities rather than depending on micro credit programmes to eliminate poverty.
They observed that mere micro-financing is seen as less effective in reducing poverty. They also strongly suggested that the credit package should include insurance for health and crops and the products and services the borrowers offer.
Local Government Division organized the seminar to discuss its Rural Employment Opportunities for Public Assets (REOPA) project at the BIAM in the city.
Eminent economist and Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Chairman Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad was present in the seminar as the chief guest where Planning Commission Member Professor Shamsul Alam and UNDP International Team leader for rural employment project Goran Jonsson spoke on the issue.
REOPA project director Akmal Hussain made a presentation on the project.
In his speech Dr. Qazi Kholiquzzaman underscored the need for strengthening local government to help rural poor with effective financial supports. It would help cut poverty as well as to reduce the gap between rich and poor ensuring gender equality, he added.
The eminent economist said health insurance, skilled development and nutrition awareness programmes should be incorporated in the financing activities so that people could use their maximize their potential.
The PKSF Chairman observed that the REOPA project would help reduce rural poverty. Prof Shamsul Alam said the country needs to reduce poverty urgently so that the people can at least get the basic support for their livelihood.
He also emphasized technical education to build a huge as well as skilled workforce.
Goran Jonsson underscored the need for income generating facilities in the non-crop sectors for rural people as agriculture alone could not absorb the increasing workforce. He said REOPA would be a model project in income generation and creating jobs in non-crop areas.

   My first task is to mend rift in Bangali community: Rushanara

UNB, London

Rushanara Ali, first ever Bangladeshi-born Briton elected to the British parliament (House of Commons), Friday said her win materialized the long dream of all Banglais living in Britain and Bangladesh.
"From today I am MP of everybody. Please, pray for me so I can fulfill my commitments," she told UNB in her instant reaction.
Expressing her deep gratitude to her electorates, Rushanara said it is the day of fulfillment of dream. She also expressed her gratitude to Labour Party for giving her the party ticket to contest in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency.
MP-elect Rushanara said her Labour Party has been upholding the prestige of the immigrants in UK.
"My first task is to repair the split in the Bangali community as quickly as possible," she said.
Rushanara said 'we will have to do everything working with the mainstream. We won't be able to do anything by staying divided. This will only help our enemies."
She recalled the Labour Party's contribution to Bangladesh's war of liberation in 1971.

    ‘Excess use of under groundwater may cause earthquake’
BSS, Chapainawabganj

Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen said on Saturday that the country would suffer acute scarcity of water for excess use of under groundwater and this is likely to cause earthquake.
Taking this into consideration, he added, the government has planned to dredge four main rivers of the country in the next three years so that the flow of these rivers can be increased. The minister said this while visiting the left bank of the Padma protection project at Mohodipur in Shibganj upazila.
He said the use of underground water would be reduced and surface water like river water would be lifted and supplied to crop fields through canals.
He also assured of Ganges project near Rajshahi to reserve water of the rivers. At this, the southwestern zone of the country as well as the Sundarbans would be saved.
He further assured of constructing of rubber dam over the Mohananda and making the Padma straight by dredging to save Chapai-nawabganj and Shibganj upazilas from erosion.
The left bank of the Padma protection project is being executed at a cost of Taka 32 crore in Chapainawabganj Sadar and Shibganj upazilas.
During his visit, officials of district and police administration accompanied him.

Editorial

Water crisis and WASA

A parliamentary body on Thursday came down heavily on the high officials of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) for their failure to resolve the water crisis in the city, according to a report. The committee asked the officials to explain why people are still facing water crisis while they say that a total of 38 deep tube -wells had been set up in the city. Chief of the Parliamentary Standing Committee said that they wanted to know whether the deep tube- wells were at all installed . He pointed out that people in different parts of the city are staging demonstrations and forming human chains demanding smooth water supply. At the end the committee again asked the officials to resolve the water crisis immediately.
The Parliamentary body chief pointed out that on March 21, WASA proposed a number of activities before the parliamentary body to ease the water crisis but the situation has hardly improved. As the water crisis in the city is now severe and acute, even the lawmakers of Dhaka city in a meeting with LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam on March 31 expressed concern over the grave situation and apprehended that the suffering citizens might burst into anger if the problem is not immediately mitigated. However, the people continue to face the water crisis and the water crisis is yet to be eased.
Meanwhile, diarrhoea has broken out in a serious form in the city this year due mainly to use of contaminated water. According to reports, the patients coming to ICDDRB for diarrhoea treatment are from the impoverished areas and outskirts of the city where water supply is very poor. In a sense the WASA has contributed to this crisis enormously by failing to ensure supply of safe drinking water
WASA is reported to have taken up a ten-year programme to ensure smooth supply of water to the city dwellers. The long-term project included setting up of new water treatment plants , repair and alteration of WASA's distribution lines, development of sewerage system etc.The cost of the project is estimated at US $ 550 million which would be provided jointly by Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. This report on WASA's development initiative has come at a time when the city has been going almost dry with a severe water crisis hitting hard millions of people.
In the capital Dhaka, only 45 percent of the dwellers have access to safe drinking water as the people living here get much less water than they need. The WASA MD had disclosed that at present, WASA produces around 186 crore litres of water as against the daily demand of 220 crore litres. The shortfall is attributed to deficiency in production, system loss, theft, wastage and misuse of water. It appears to be a cruel joke with the city dwellers that the WASA authorities were talking of a giant long term project instead of taking urgent steps to redress their sufferings by ensuring smooth supply of water.
Any long -term project to ensure regular water supply is welcome, but the authorities should give priority to addressing the existing water crisis first. They should not forget that right now most of the city dwellers do not get adequate water while in many areas water supplied by WASA is contaminated, stinking and full of dirt and worms. They should also keep in mind that it will not be fair to expect the suffering people to wait for years for smooth water supply. They want water now and WASA must do the needful to meet their demand.

  Movement against stalking

As stalking and sexual harassment of girls by misguided youths are on the rise, experts have expressed the opinion that apart from building resistance to these the offenders should be boycotted socially and politically. Talking to a news agency on Friday they also stressed the need for creating a social movement against harassment of girls to ensure a congenial atmosphere in the educational institutions. "If we are able to raise our voice unitedly against the harassment of girls through waging a social movement, the culprits will fear to commit crime and law enforcement agencies can also play a key role in resisting harassment to girls", said an expert. Terming stalking a social curse the expert stressed the need for freeing the society from it to ensure participation of girls and women in different activities. Another expert said the stalkers are often backed by influential people. He called upon political and influential personalities not to give shelter to stalkers. Experts urged the media, especially electronic, to become more cautious about their programmes, advertisements and cinemas that may provoke and encourage stalking.
Stalking is a complicated problem as it is spreading fast due to various reasons. Massive social awareness about and stern action against stalking is very essential as this has become a dangerous social disease among a section of the youths. Even a few years ago this scourge was not so much acute as it is today. In many cases young girls find it difficult to move on the roads and go to schools, colleges or universities due to this problem. This alarming situation has developed due mainly to the moral degradation of the youths. So along with stern administrative measures, people should build strong social and political movement against stalking.

Analysis

The challenge ahead

To succeed today, it seems essential that first and foremost the power of the armed groups within Pakistan be broken.

Zafar Hilaly

The outside world does not see us as we see ourselves and that is understandably a cause of much anguish and hand wringing. And while often, all too often, our critics get us wrong, rather than dismiss their perspective of Pakistan out of hand, let us concede that, on occasion, they are right and that the image and the reality do not conflict, and that we do indeed seem to dream when we are awake and not only when we are asleep.
The fact is that nowhere else today have so many armed foreign outlaws been able to use the territory of a sovereign state to wage war for so long, and with such impunity, against other countries. And now, these foreigners who roam more or less unchallenged have become the junior partners of more powerful homegrown extremists in a war against the country itself.
Another reality is that nowhere else has a country been in denial for as long as we have been in the face of such open threats and attacks when our future, perhaps our very existence, depends on eliminating this self-created monster.
Half-baked measures and flaky concepts such as the 'good' and 'bad' Taliban, 'soft' or 'hard' strategic depth, have failed time and time again and the country continues to spiral downwards, creating an anarchical situation which weakens the state further while strengthening the non-state elements. It is best, therefore, that this vicious cycle is broken, and now, through a decisive long-term strategy rather than hesitant, patchwork measures, which, because they have not been thought through, carry little conviction.
Strategic depth, for example, was never a sensible idea. National security must be built on national strength, buttressed, when necessary, by traditional alliances and not through an idea that encroaches on the sovereignty of another country, which can as easily be directed against Pakistan by others seeking similar strategic depths. Besides, how can one, from the practical standpoint, fight an adversary, in our case India, from beyond our borders, without becoming dangerously dependent on the goodwill of the other state? Would it not be far better to repair and rebuild our state-to-state relationship with Afghanistan? Not only would that make it considerably easier to offset the Indian influence in Afghanistan but, given Afghanistan's geographical imperatives, Kabul too would be far better off politically and economically developing a cooperative relationship with Pakistan.
As for the notion of 'good' and 'bad' Taliban, the Taliban are now frankly an autonomous force beyond the control and manipulation of Pakistan or, for that matter, any other country or militant umbrella group.
As long ago as 1995-96, when the Taliban were almost wholly dependant on Pakistan's goodwill for recruits, supplies and funding, they had balked at being ordered around. And on even a matter as strategically peripheral as blowing up the Buddhas of Bamiyan had scornfully rejected our counsel. Perhaps that was the time for us to draw the conclusion that the Taliban mindset could as easily be directed against our civilisational values and pose as great a threat to us as they did to our adversaries. And to be fair, Benazir Bhutto saw the danger. Her antipathy to the Taliban cause was no secret and nor was their animus towards her. And she did try and gather support, but to no avail. Her counsels were rejected and her orders flouted. The prospect of Afghanistan and subsequently Central Asia being drawn into an axis of Islamic fundamentalist states centred around Kandahar and dominated by Pakistan was a prospect that was simply too alluring. When nationalism and religion combine with the personal aggrandisement of some, nothing can stand in the way and certainly not a woman.
Of course, we can continue to blame it on others and there is so much blame to spread around that attention is easily deflected. But that is hardly the answer or the requirement of the moment. To succeed today, it seems essential that first and foremost the power of the armed groups within Pakistan be broken. Without an all-out effort to do so, the terrorised population will not lend us support. They will sit on the fence as spectators, rather than players. They will be coerced to provide the enemy shelter and supplies. They will be forcibly recruited and serve as foot soldiers and once in the service of the enemy, albeit reluctantly, they become the enemy.
But defeating the extremists can only be one dimension of the strategy. The other is to seek the reintegration of rank and file elements and this is a no less challenging task. Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants are concepts that the UN has pursued in many civil conflicts around the world. The idea is to wean away former combatants, including non-state elements, with the assistance of donor countries in situations where such elements have agreed to lay down arms or have been captured. We see no signs of such a policy at present.
Since Pakistan is effectively at war, the country should be brought on a war footing. That will help the public realise that sacrifices are inevitable. It cannot be business as usual. Civil-military relations, that have never been good, must be repaired and rebuilt. A united front must be forged against terrorism. Moreover, since the armed power of the extremists can only be curbed by the army, and since the army will require broad political support, the initiative for putting the country on a war footing must come from the army. The mainstream political parties undoubtedly will provide the required support and also help galvanise civil society. In this regard, the role of Punjab, where extremism is entrenched, will be crucial, which means that Punjab will have to emerge from its current mood of denial.
Only such dramatic measures would ensure long-term stability and send a powerful message to friends and foes alike that Pakistan finally means business. The world has been waiting for such a message. It would encourage them to do more to help the country economically and in other ways. Under Obama, the US has certainly shown welcome signs of that and so may others if they see us manifestly willing and determined to measure up to the challenge.


The writer is a former ambassador. He can be reached at charles123it@hotmail.com

  Breaking Burma’s isolation

With Myanmar's ruling generals preparing to hold elections later this year - for the first time since 1990 - it is time to try something different.
 
Wesley K. Clark, Henrietta H. Fore and Suzanne DiMaggio

The Obama administration's decision to seek a new way forward in United States-Burma relations recognises that decades of trying to isolate Burma (Myanmar) in order to change the behaviour of its government have achieved little.
With Myanmar's ruling generals preparing to hold elections later this year - for the first time since 1990 - it is time to try something different.
Attempting to engage one of the world's most authoritarian governments will not be easy. There is no evidence to indicate that Myanmar's leaders will respond positively to the Obama administration's central message, which calls for releasing the estimated 2,100 political prisoners (including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi), engaging in genuine dialogue with the opposition, and allowing fair and inclusive elections. In fact, the recently enacted electoral laws, which have been met with international condemnation, already point to a process that lacks credibility.
This past fall, we convened a task force under the auspices of the Asia Society to consider how the US can best pursue a path of engagement with Myanmar. We concluded that the US must ensure that its policies do not inadvertently support or encourage authoritarian and corrupt elements in Burmese society. At the same time, if the US sets the bar too high at the outset, it will deny itself an effective role in helping to move Myanmar away from authoritarian rule and into the world community.
During this period of uncertainty, we recommend framing US policy toward Myanmar on the basis of changes taking place in the country, using both engagement and sanctions to encourage reform. The Obama administration's decision to maintain trade and investment sanctions on Myanmar in the absence of meaningful change, particularly with regard to the Burmese government's intolerance of political opposition, is correct.
Yet there are other measures that should be pursued now. The US should engage not only with Myanmar's leaders, but also with a wide range of groups inside the country to encourage the dialogue necessary to bring about national reconciliation of the military, democracy groups, and non-Burmese nationalities. The removal by the US of some noneconomic sanctions designed to restrict official bilateral interaction is welcome, and an even greater relaxation in communications, through both official and unofficial channels, should be implemented. Expanding such channels, especially during a period of potential political change, will strengthen US leverage.
To reach the Burmese people directly, the US should continue to develop and scale up assistance programmes, while preserving cross-border assistance. Assistance to non-governmental organisations should be expanded, and US assistance also should be targeted toward small farmers and small- and medium-sized businesses. Educational exchanges under the Fulbright and Humphrey Scholar programmes and cultural outreach activities should be increased. These programmes produce powerful agents for community development in Myanmar, and can significantly improve the prospects for better governance. US policy should shift to a more robust phase if Burmese leaders begin to relax political restrictions, institute economic reforms, and advance human rights. If there is no movement on these fronts, there will likely be pressure in the US for tightening sanctions. If there is no recourse but to pursue stronger sanctions, the US should coordinate with others, including the European Union and ASEAN, to impose targeted financial and banking measures to ensure that military leaders and their associates cannot evade the impact of what otherwise would be less-effective unilateral sanctions.
In adjusting its policy toward Myanmar, the US must face reality with a clear vision of what its foreign policy can achieve. US influence in Myanmar is unlikely to outweigh that of increasingly powerful Asian neighbours.
In every respect, conditions in Myanmar are among the direst of any country in the world, and it will take decades, if not generations, to reverse current downward trends and create a foundation for a sustainable and viable democratic government and a prosperous society. The US needs to position itself to respond effectively and flexibly to the twists and turns that a potential transition in Myanmar may take over time, with an eye toward pressing the Burmese leadership to move in positive directions.
Wesley K. Clark, a former NATO Supreme Commander, is a Senior Fellow at UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations. Henrietta H. Fore is a former Administrator of USAID. Both are co-chairs of the Asia Society-sponsored Task Force on US Policy toward Burma/Myanmar. Suzanne DiMaggio, Director of Policy Studies at the Asia Society, is Project Director.

  Can Obama and Karzai still work together?

US President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, allied in war but lacking in personal chemistry, face a critical test next week of whether they can just get along.
 
Matt Spetalnick

From Washington to Kabul, the consensus is clear - the two leaders have no choice but to use their White House meeting to move beyond a recent war of words between their governments and try to restore trust and mend frayed relations.
How well they do could have implications for the success or failure of Obama's military buildup aimed at stabilizing Afghanistan and fulfilling his pledge to start bringing US troops home in mid-2011. "We don't have the luxury of having a dysfunctional relationship in such an important war," said Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution in Washington. "It's time for cooler heads to prevail." Still, it could be an awkward encounter on Wednesday, just weeks after Obama flew across the world to Afghanistan to lecture Karzai about corruption.
After that visit, Karzai and Obama's aides traded public rebukes before Washington finally backed off.
The flare-up marked a new low in US-Afghan ties under Obama and was widely seen as a sign the White House was struggling to craft a coherent strategy for dealing with the Afghan president.
Obama has broken with predecessor George W. Bush's chummier approach to Karzai but now must find the right balance. Karzai, as a Washington Post foreign affairs columnist wrote, poses a classic dilemma for the United States of "you can't win with him, you can't win without him." US officials have little faith in Karzai, but alienating the prickly Afghan leader would risk the support they need from Afghans to make Obama's war strategy work.
There is no viable replacement for Karzai at this point, and though Washington is increasingly reaching out to other Afghan officials there is little support within the administration for trying to marginalize him.
Karzai is just as mindful of how much he depends on Washington for support, aid and even his own survival in the face of a resurgent Taleban.
Against this backdrop, every utterance and bit of body language will be scrutinized for signs of tension when the two men meet. Expect smiles, a handshake and the usual diplomatic niceties in front of the cameras. In private, Obama is likely to stick to his arms-length approach of pressing Karzai to do more to crack down on rampant corruption and show Americans he is a reliable partner.
Would anyone blame Karzai if he felt a little nostalgic for the Bush era? His close bond with the back-slapping Republican included regular video conferences, praise and US visits.
By contrast, the current US leader, who cultivates a "no-drama Obama" image and relies less on personal diplomacy with foreign leaders, has opted not to become Karzai's pal. Obama advisers believe Bush's embrace gave the Afghan leader too much cover for his failings. While some experts agree, they say it could pay dividends for Obama to develop better rapport with Karzai.
Many analysts believe US public pressure tactics became counterproductive after Karzai was declared the winner of Afghanistan's fraud-marred election last year. Incensed at his treatment, Karzai even hosted Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Kabul and stood by as the Iranian president railed against the United States.
After Obama's visit, Karzai responded to heightened US criticism with a series of anti-Western diatribes. That culminated in US news reports - denied vehemently by Karzai aides - that he told a closed-door meeting he might consider switching sides to the Taleban.
With critics at home accusing the White House of browbeating a vital ally, Obama sought to defuse the situation in April when he reaffirmed Karzai's invitation to visit.
Some analysts said Obama may have learned a lesson and expect him to put relations on a more even keel.
Karzai's recent outbursts were seen as calculated in part to show the Afghan public he is no US puppet. That could also be a subtext during his trip to Washington.
"The president must show that he has self-determination and must not be carried away by Obama's patting" him on the back, said Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, a former Afghan prime minister.
Ryan Crocker, former US ambassador to Pakistan and Iraq, urged Obama to cut Karzai some slack. "It is hard to over-stress the challenges that Karzai faces," he said. Obama will also be playing to a domestic audience, a public weary of what was supposed to be a "good war" compared to the more unpopular conflict in Iraq.
The Democratic president wants to keep Afghanistan from becoming another drag on his party in pivotal congressional elections in November when voter anxiety over high unemployment and a fragile economy is already expected to take a toll.

Viewpoints

Berlusconi’s a little bit better

But no one in Pakistan's history comes close to the scale on which Zardari has operated. There has been nothing petty or smalltime about his exploits.

Ayaz Amir

If we think we have a leadership problem, we should look at Italy. The Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, also known as Emperor Silvio, has turned politics into one never-ending soap opera in which the star performer is, as you may have guessed, himself.
He is the subject of scandal and titillating gossip but it harms him not. Far from being chastened by the attention his behaviour attracts, he revels in it. Economically Italy is in a mess but he rides the tide of popular approval in a way few other leaders in Europe and North America can match.
Perhaps this says something about Italy. Politics, Italian-style, is a lot more fun than in most other places, certainly more fun than in Pakistan where we have made a national pastime of constant moaning. We are too grim about things. If we need a strategic partnership with any country it should be Italy. At least we would take a less frenzied view of the universe.
La Dolce Vita, the sweet life, is not just about material things. It is first about a mental attitude, which we used to have once upon a time until, our luck giving out, we fell into the Zia era. Since then we haven't been able to live life as a normal nation.
Our politics, however, is not all grey. There are colourful figures in it, none more so than the President, our accidental President as we like to call him when other words fail us when it comes to describing the emotions he arouses.
President Asif Zardari is a man with a reputation which rests for the most part on his extraordinary skill in high financial matters, the fortune by all accounts that he has amassed, some of it here but mostly abroad, his Swiss bank accounts which despite the occasional fits the Supreme Court has when it considers this issue remain safe and untouched, his taste in necklaces, one of which was supposed to have been bought for his wife but, if well-founded gossip is to be believed, actually went to some one else.
This is an impressive portfolio. Power players in Pakistan don't wear kid gloves. Whether from the army, the bureaucracy, the turbulent fields of politics, or commerce and industry, they need no education in how to work the system to their advantage. But no one in Pakistan's history comes close to the scale on which Zardari has operated. There has been nothing petty or smalltime about his exploits.
But compared to Berlusconi this still looks tepid. Berlusconi heads a media empire, which includes the three largest private television networks. Since 1970 his TV stations have offered a staple diet of scantily-clad women. This has been done so consistently-two sexy showgirls on either side of the male TV host-that it has reshaped the political landscape, making celebrity more important than ideology.
For years Berlusconi has been dogged by charges of corruption, bribery and even contacts with organised crime. But he remains unfazed and no questions arise about his grip on power.
The NRO, a law drawing a curtain on previous corruption cases, was passed by Pervez Musharraf, not Zardari, although Zardari was its principal beneficiary. But Berlusconi has had about eighteen laws passed-some record this-to protect his person.
But the field in which Berlusconi outshines all rivals relates to his lifestyle, which he flaunts in a way no one else would dare to do. To go about with pretty women is one thing. But to consort with ladies of the night publicly, to the extent of inviting them to official functions, is somewhat different.
We are too straitlaced, too preoccupied with thoughts of the hereafter to come close to this idea of political liberation. But it would certainly lift the atmosphere of Parliament if we had some faces from the arts and the world of culture in it. Imagine Maulana Attaur Rehman as minister of tourism and then consider Berlusconi'e choice for the same position.
One of the Maulana's first steps as tourism minister was to seal the liquor outlet at Flashman's Hotel, Rawalpindi. As a result, 20 lakhs worth of beer has gone flat, of no use to man or beast. We might be closer to redemption but money has been lost, to say nothing of the parched throats, certified license-holders, which would have benefited.
Compared to Muslims, soldiers of the faith, our Christian brothers and sisters are thrice empowered. They have two votes, one for general seats, the other for their own representatives. And they have the right to have a liquor permit, which makes them the envy of the more errant members of the majority community. When we talk of minority persecution we should consider this aspect of the matter too.
Dino Boffo, editor of a Catholic newspaper, wrote something criticising Berlusconi's private conduct. A Berlusconi newspaper countered with a story suggesting that Boffo had wayward tendencies (I hope my meaning is clear). This distracted attention from the scandals relating to Berlusconi then playing in the media. Boffo was forced to resign. Compared to the charge against him, Berlusconi's own conduct seemed like old-fashioned fun.
Berlusconi has a villa on the island of Sardinia where he throws interesting parties, photos of which have appeared in the press showing both girls and politicians in a revealing light (let me say no more). A businessman, Gianpaolo Tarantino, hoping to gain access to Berlusconi, rented a villa close by for $100,000 a month. He gave a string of parties full of attractive girls. His efforts were soon rewarded.
He and his associates obtained contracts for the rebuilding of the city of Aquila, hit by an earthquake. To quote the Review, "The center of the city was fenced off as a construction site and television cameras were kept out until angry citizens broke through a police barrier in order to see what had become of their homes. They were stunned to find everything exactly as it was on the day of the earthquake."
Things like this happen here too and there are officials and businessmen who know how to pander to the tastes of bosses in power. But given our closed society, these things remain largely behind wraps. We will never have Italian-style politics-no fun, please, we are Pakistanis-but a bit of Italian openness should be welcome. And in our Parliament we could do with some of the talent that Berlusconi has so successfully promoted in Italy.

Ayaz Amir is a distinguished Pakistani commentator and Member of National Assembly (parliament).

  For a secure world

We seek an open and increasingly united Europe in which all countries, including Russia, play their full roles.

Joe Biden 

This week I will sit down with NATO ambassadors to advance the ongoing dialogue between the United States and its closest allies on the future of European security. I do so because the US is firmly committed to the view that any decisions about Europe's security must be made in close coordination with our European allies and partners. We will decide nothing about our European allies and partners without them.
The US and Europe can take much pride in what we have achieved together: We have built the most successful alliance in history, one that has kept the peace in the Euro-Atlantic region for more than 60 years and helped transform Europe into a beacon of democracy and prosperity.
These achievements have been sustained by security institutions, principally NATO and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, built through the cooperation of Americans and Europeans over decades. But now it is vital that we ask how these institutions, which have served us so well, should adapt to the challenges - and opportunities - of a new era.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined our approach to European security in a speech in Paris in January. As she pointed out, the United States does not believe Europe needs new treaties or institutions, but will instead seek to create a more secure Europe that takes into account the changing nature of the threats we face, and respects the core principles of existing institutions such as NATO and the OSCE.
We will seek to uphold these principles by moving forward along the following, parallel tracks. First, we need to work together to broaden our commitments to reciprocal transparency about all our military forces, including both conventional and nuclear forces, and other defensive assets in Europe, including missile defenses. Our hope is to do this with Russia. We no longer see Europe in zero-sum, Cold War terms.
Promoting trust within Europe requires understanding how neighbors understand their security challenges and how they intend to confront those challenges. And the new START treaty demonstrates that trust and certainty are best built by increasing the exchange of information about our doctrine, forces and intentions.
We will come forward with proposals to improve military transparency through a variety of steps, including enhanced exchanges of military data and site visits. Just this week, the United States released information about the size of its nuclear weapons stockpile. We think it is in our national security interest to be as transparent as we can about the US nuclear programme. We call on other states to do the same.
Second, we will explore reciprocal limitations on the size and location of conventional forces. These should be relevant to the world of today and tomorrow, not yesterday's world. We should also be steering our militaries away from basing their exercises on scenarios that bear little resemblance to reality, instead working together to plan for real threats, especially those that come from outside of Europe.
Third, we have to devote more attention and resources to deterring and combating security threats to Europe that come from outside Europe. The threat of war among major powers that haunted Europe for centuries has receded, even if regional flashpoints remain. No nation in Europe is immune from such threats; they affect all countries on the Continent equally. Our common efforts, including through NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan and our efforts to combat global terrorism, underscore this. We must focus our efforts to address these external challenges and update our security arrangements to meet the true risks we face today.
Fourth, we need a more effective conflict-prevention, conflict-management, and crisis-resolution mechanism to defuse crises before they escalate. The Russia-Georgia crisis in August 2008 reminded all of us that we cannot take security in Europe for granted or become complacent. Finally, we must affirm that security in Europe is indivisible, the importance of territorial integrity for all countries in Europe, and the right of states to choose their own security alliances. Sustainable security in Europe requires peace and stability for all of Europe - not old or new Europe, East or West Europe, NATO or non-NATO Europe. It includes the partners and friends who seek the stability and prosperity that comes with the democratic standards of the EU and NATO.
We seek an open and increasingly united Europe in which all countries, including Russia, play their full roles. The indivisibility of security also means that all European countries must abide by certain shared rules: above all, a commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the right of all countries to choose their own alliances freely. The threat or use of force has no place in relations among European powers. Nor can we allow large countries to have vetoes over the decisions of smaller ones. And most importantly, we cannot permit the re-establishment of spheres of influence in Europe.
There is still much to do as we seek a fully democratic, secure, peaceful and prosperous Europe. With these principles, we can reinvigorate and guarantee European security for a new era.


Joseph R. Biden Jr. is Vice President of the United States ©IHT

  The next bomb in America

As long as US troops are occupying Muslim countries, Al-Qaeda's cause will prosper.

Gwynne Dyer 

As long as US troops are occupying Muslim countries, Al-Qaeda's cause will prosper Faisal Shahzad was no Timothy McVeigh, let alone a Mohamed Atta. McVeigh, who killed 168 people in Oklahoma City in 1995 with a massive truck-bomb, took the trouble to learn how to make a bomb that actually works. Atta, who piloted one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, even learned how to fly. Shahzad, who left a vehicle rigged to explode near New York's Times Square on Saturday night, was a bumbling amateur.
He might still have killed some people, of course. "(The bomb) certainly could have exploded and had a pretty big fire and a decent amount of explosive impact," said New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. But the casualties would have been in the dozens, at worst, and more likely only a few. Not enough, in other words, to drive Americans crazy again.
I'm choosing my words carefully here. Ever since the 9/11 attacks nine years ago, the US media (with the eager assistance of the Bush administration until the end of 2008) have worked to persuade Americans that terrorism is the greatest threat facing the country. The enterprise has succeeded, and most Americans actually believe that terrorism poses a serious danger to their personal safety.
Quite a few Americans have already died as a result of that belief, not just in the wars overseas that were justified in the name of fighting terrorism but even at home. In the first year after 9/11, for example, many Americans chose to drive long distances rather than risk flying, and highway deaths went up by 1,200 people as a result. Nobody died in the planes.
Nobody has been killed by terrorists in the United States since 9/11, but the fear is so great that just one big attack with lots of casualties would still have disastrous consequences. There would be huge public pressure for the government to do something very large and violent, in the delusionary belief that is the way to defeat terrorism. That is what I mean by "driving Americans crazy."
The main goal of terrorist attacks anywhere is to drive the victims crazy: To goad them into doing stupid, violent things that ultimately play into the hands of those who planned the attacks. Terrorism is a kind of political jiu-jitsu in which a relatively weak group (like Al-Qaeda) attempts to trick a far stronger enemy (like the US government) into a self-defeating response.
The US response to 9/11 was certainly self-defeating. A more intelligent strategy would have been to try to split the Taleban regime of Afghanistan, many of whose leading members were outraged by the threat of an American invasion that the action of their Arab guests had brought down on their heads. A combination of threats and bribes might have persuaded the Taleban to hand over Osama Bin Laden and his whole Al-Qaeda crew.
It was certainly worth trying first, but the political pressure on the White House to invade Afghanistan was extreme. Even though those who knew anything about terrorist strategies understood that that was exactly what Bin Laden wanted Washington to do.
Osama Bin Laden's goal was to build support among Muslims for his militant ideology by convincing them that they were under attack by the "infidels." The best way to do that was to sucker the "infidels" (i.e. the Americans) into invading Muslim countries.
The 9/11 attacks succeeded in triggering a US invasion of Afghanistan (and Bush then gave Bin Laden even more help by invading Iraq as well). As a result, Al-Qaeda has made some progress toward its ultimate goal of sparking militant revolutions in the Arab world and even the broader Muslim world, though probably not nearly as much as Bin Laden hoped.
Since Washington was already doing what Bin Laden wanted, he had no reason to carry out further major terrorist operations in the United States after 9/11, and there is no evidence that Al-Qaeda has attempted any. Shahzad's amateurish bomb certainly did not meet that organization's highly professional standards.
Would Al-Qaeda have gone with a bomb triggered by dozens of firecrackers, which were intended to set two jugs of petrol (gasoline) alight, in turn causing three propane gas cylinders to explode, and finally setting off a much bigger explosion of eight bags of fertilizer (except that it was of the non-explosive kind)? I think not.
But would Al-Qaeda now be interested in carrying out a big attack in the United States, if it could manage it? Probably yes, for by the middle of next year US troops will be gone from Iraq. There is reason to suspect that Barack Obama's ultimate goal is to get them out of Afghanistan too, even if he first has to protect his flank politically by reinforcing them.
As long as American troops are occupying Muslim countries, Bin Laden's cause prospers. If they leave, the air goes out of his balloon. He therefore now has a strong motive for mounting a major terrorist operation on American soil.
The goal would be to drive Americans crazy enough that they decide to keep fighting the "war on terror" on Arab and Afghan soil. The last thing Al-Qaeda wants is for the "infidels" to go home.

International

Hillary warns Pakistan of ‘severe consequences’
Dawn Online, Washington

Pakistan faces "very severe consequences" if a terror plot like the failed Times Square bombing was traced to that country, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in remarks made public on Saturday. However Clinton also acknowledged Pakistan's increased cooperation in the war on terror, but said the United States expected more.
"We've made it very clear that if - heaven-forbid - an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences," Clinton told CBS's "60 Minutes" program, according to excerpts released by the TV network. The interview is scheduled to be broadcast Sunday.
Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born US citizen whose large but poorly-made bomb failed to detonate in New York's Times Square a week ago, has been grilled since he was arrested Monday aboard a plane as it prepared to take off for Dubai.
The 30-year-old son of a retired Pakistani Air Force officer is facing five terror charges.
Shahzad's family knew at least two key Pakistani militants who were involved in terrorist activities, The Los Angeles Times reported late Friday.
Clinton said Pakistan's attitude toward fighting terrorists had changed remarkably.
"We've gotten more cooperation and it's been a real sea change in the commitment we've seen from the Pakistan government," she said. "We want more. We expect more," she added.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported Saturday that a Federal Bureau of Investigation team arrived in Pakistan on Friday, with investigators focusing on whether foreign terrorist money helped finance the operation.
 

   Shahzad a 'lone wolf': Petraeus
Dawn Online, Washington

A senior US military commander and a lawmaker said on Friday they believed the man who tried to bomb New York's Times Square was a 'lone wolf'.
Gen David Petraeus, who oversees America's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, told a US news agency there was no indication that Faisal Shahzad worked with others in concocting the terror attack or the homemade bomb.
"We don't know that this individual did something that escaped in some way our ability to pick up on either his trip to Pakistan or some other case," said Congressman Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, when asked at a news conference why US intelligence agencies failed to learn about Faisal's links to the Taliban. Gen Petraeus, however, told AP that Faisal was "inspired by militants in Pakistan but didn't have direct contact with them".
On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that US investigators were "increasingly convinced that (Faisal's) accounts to interrogators, in particular his assertion that he was trained by the Pakistani Taliban, are on the mark". The report, quoting anonymous intelligence sources, also claimed that US officials had identified an "overseas courier" who funnelled money to Shahzad for the failed terrorist attack.
The Obama's administration believed that drone attacks were not adequate in thwarting militant attempts on the West. And it was considering an "expanded training mission" by US Special Forces to establish enough "confidence" in the Pakistani military to launch offensives against militant strongholds in North Waziristan, a press report said. The US administration did not share the media's enthusiasm, particularly when it came to browbeating Pakistan.
"We have dramatically increased our partnership with Pakistan - intense security cooperation, supporting Pakistan's largest offensive against terrorism within borders - within its borders in years, an offensive that is focused not just on Al Qaeda, but on the Pakistani Taliban as well," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

  Pakistan tests 2 missiles, wants nuke recognition
AP, Islamabad

Pakistan successfully test-fired two ballistic missiles Saturday capable of carrying nuclear warheads, the military said, as the Islamic nation's leader urged the world to recognize it as a legitimate nuclear power.
The Shaheen-1 missile has a range of about 400 miles (650 kilometers), while the second Ghaznavi missile could hit targets at a distance of 180 miles (290 kilometers), an army statement said. Both can carry conventional and nuclear warheads.
Pakistan's missiles are mostly intended for any confrontation with archrival India, and the range of the Shaheen-1 would include the Indian capital of New Delhi. Saturday's tests - which featured the rare launch of two missiles - are unlikely to aggravate tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, since they both routinely conduct missile tests.
The latest Pakistani missile test came more than a week after the leaders of two sides met in Bhutan on the sidelines of a regional conference, hoping to improve relations that have been strained since the deadly 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other senior army and civil officials witnessed the launches at an undisclosed location, and the missiles "successfully hit the target areas," the statement said.
Gilani also urged world powers "to recognize Pakistan as a dejure nuclear power with equal rights and responsibilities," the army statement said. The prime minister called for cooperation on civilian nuclear power, which would help relieve Pakistan's chronic energy shortages.
Pakistan has refused to sign nonproliferation accords and faces a nuclear trade ban.
"Energy is a vital economic security need of Pakistan and nuclear energy is a clean way forward," the statement said.
Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in 1998 by conducting nuclear tests in response to those carried out by India. Islamabad test-fired its first missile that same year. The safety of its nuclear arsenals has been a matter of concern since 2004 when the architect of Pakistan's nuclear program, A.Q. Khan, confessed to spreading sensitive technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

  'Taliban plan attacks on foreigners in Afghanistan'
AFP, Kabul

The Taliban announced a new campaign of attacks on "foreigners and their surrogates" in Afghanistan on Saturday, a day before President Hamid Karzai leaves on a crucial visit to Washington.
A statement emailed to AFP said the operation would begin on May 10 and would target diplomats, members of the Afghan parliament and foreign contractors as well as foreign forces operating in Afghanistan.
"The Islamic Emirate announces this spring operation by the name of Al-Faath (victory), to be launched against Americans, NATO members and their surrogates," said the statement, using the official name of the Taliban.
"The Al-Faath jihadic operations will start in 10th May 2010 this year to include operations against the defeated foreigners and their surrogates all over the country."
Tactics would include bombings, assassinations and kidnappings, the announcement warned.
It came as Karzai prepares for talks with US leaders ahead of a major military offensive.
The United States is pouring thousands more troops into the war-ravaged country ahead of the planned operation in the southern province of Kandahar, the heartland of the Taliban. The militants have waged a nine-year insurgency against Karzai's Western-backed government since their own administration was overthrown by a US-led invasion in late 2001.

  Candidates wind down Philippine election campaign
AP, Manila

Candidates finished campaigning for next week's Philippine national elections Saturday amid a rush to replace faulty software in more than 76,000 machines that will count the country's first electronic vote.
Political hopefuls drove in motorcades and held last-minute rallies to win over undecided voters around Manila and in the provinces before official campaigning for Monday's polls ended at midnight.
More than 17,000 positions from president to municipal councilors will be contested. The country has about 50 million registered voters. Pre-election surveys show opposition Senator Benigno Aquino III, the son of the country's democracy icons, has widened his lead over eight other presidential candidates.
"This fight is not yet over," Aquino, who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, told thousands of cheering supporters at his final rally in Manila late Friday. "The people are very hungry for a new leader." On Saturday, Aquino traveled in a motorcade through his northern home province of Tarlac, where he will cast his vote Monday.

  US official to meet Suu Kyi
Reuters, Yangon

United States Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will visit army-ruled Myanmar in the next two days to meet with government ministers and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, a diplomat said on Saturday. Campbell, Washington's top official for East Asia and the Pacific, will travel to the new capital, Naypyitaw, on Sunday to meet officials from the ruling junta. He is expected to meet Suu Kyi and opposition politicians the following day.
A senior U.S. State Department official said on Friday Campbell would only go to Myanmar if he was allowed by the regime to meet the long-detained Suu Kyi.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner's National League for Democracy (NLD) party was effectively disbanded on Friday after it chose not to re-register as a political party ahead of this year's long-awaited election in the former Burma.
"Frankly, I don't think his visit will produce any outcome that will have some meaningful impact on ties between the regime and the NLD," an Asian diplomat, who requested anonymity, told Reuters on Saturday.
"I understand that the regime will go ahead with the elections with or without the NLD. All Campbell can do is to urge the regime to make the elections free and fair," he added.
The U.S. embassy in Bangkok said Campbell, currently in Manila, will brief reporters in the Thai capital on Sunday morning but made no mention of his visit to Myanmar.

  Qureshi assures India's fears over diversion of US supplied weapons

ANI, Lahore

Allaying India's concern over the misuse of weapons that Pakistan is receiving from the United States, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has assured New Delhi that the armaments would be put to use only against the extremists.
Referring to Defence Minister A K Antony's statement that India is concerned about the possibility of weapons being diverted towards the Indian border, Qureshi said India should not worry, as the weapons would only be used in anti-terror operations.
"The military equipment that we are getting from the United States should not worry India, because it is meant for counter-terrorism and to enhance our capacity to fight terrorist networks," The Dawn quoted Qureshi, as saying.
"They (India) should not be afraid of this because it will be used against terrorist networks who have made this region unsafe," he added.
On Friday, Antony had said that New Delhi has already warned Washington about the possibility of the equipments supplied by it to Islamabad to fight against the Taliban being diverted to target India.
"We have already conveyed our concern about transfer of (U.S.) equipment to Pakistan. We told them (Americans) our fear, even though US is giving equipment to Pakistan to fight against Taliban," Antony had told media persons media on the sidelines of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Border Road Organisation (BRO) in New Delhi.

  North Korea's Kim committed to disarmament talks: KCNA
AFP, Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il said the isolated state remains committed to nuclear disarmament, Pyongyang's official media reported Saturday, a year after quitting talks on its atomic arsenal.
During a visit this week to Beijing, he also said ties with China will be unchanged by the "replacement of one generation by a new one," amid reports he is paving the way for his son to take control of the isolated communist state.
North Korea, which has tested two nuclear bombs, last year bolted from six-nation talks but in remarks reported Saturday, Kim "expressed the DPRK's (North Korea's) willingness to provide favourable conditions for the resumption of the six-party (disarmament) talks."
He said the North "remains unchanged in its basic stand to preserve the aim of denuclearising the Korean peninsula, implement the joint statement adopted at the six-party talks and pursue a peaceful solution through dialogue."
The comments, carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), came with the first North Korean confirmation of a secretive five-day trip to China and echoed statements reported by official Beijing media on Friday.
"Both sides decided to make joint efforts to attain the objective of denuclearising the peninsula in accordance with the stand clarified in the September 19 joint statement," KCNA said, referring to a 2005 agreement under which North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear programme in return for badly needed aid and security guarantees.

 UK Liberal Democrats mull pact with Conservatives
AP, London

Britain's Liberal Democrats, who hold the balance of power following an inconclusive national election, will meet Saturday to discuss their terms for supporting a new government led by the Conservative Party.
It's not at all certain that the two parties could work together, but Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg says the Conservatives deserve a chance to try to form a government because they won the most seats in Thursday's voting. With 306 seats in the House of Commons, David Cameron's Conservatives are still 20 short of a bare majority. Backing from the 57 Liberal Democrat legislators would give the Conservatives a comfortable cushion for passing legislation. Simon Hughes, a senior Liberal Democrat legislator, said the talks among the party's legislators would continue through the weekend. "There won't be a deal on the table because the talks have only just begun, but we will discuss where we want to go," Hughes said in a BBC radio interview. "Everybody in Britain will expect us to be responsible. We know what the timetable is, it's between now and next Wednesday when Parliament comes back," Hughes said. The two parties have important disagreements, including on whether to build a replacement for the nuclear-armed Trident submarine fleet and whether to reform the nation's voting system.
Govt pact unlikely before Monday
Reuters adds: Britain's opposition Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will hold more talks on Sunday on a pact after Thursday's indecisive election, but they are unlikely to reach a deal before Monday, the Conservatives said on Saturday. The Con-servatives won most parliamentary seats in the election but fell short of a majority and are seeking the support of the smaller Lib Dems to end 13 years of Labour rule.

  Iran welcomes Turkish, Brazilian nuclear fuel ideas
Reuters, Tehran

Iran gave an upbeat assessment of Turkish and Brazilian mediation efforts in its nuclear dispute with the West, welcoming "in principle" ideas aimed at reviving a stalled U.N.-backed atom fuel swap deal with major powers.
"New formulas have been raised about the exchange of fuel ... I think we can arrive at practical agreements on these formulas," Foreign Ministry spokes-man Ramin Mehmanparast said in remarks published by the Iran daily on Saturday.
"That is why we welcomed the proposals in principle ... and left the details for more examination." He did not elaborate on the content of the proposals. His comments appeared part of an Iranian attempt to avert a possible new round of U.N. sanctions on the Islamic state over a nuclear programme the West fears is designed to develop bombs. Turkey and Brazil are currently non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Analysts say Iran may be trying to buy time and to split the six world powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China -- which are discussing additional punitive measures against the Islamic Republic.
Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude exporter, says it only seeks to generate electricity and has repeatedly refused to bow to international demands to halt sensitive atomic activity.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this week agreed "in principle" to Brazilian mediation on the proposed fuel swap exchange, Iranian media reported.
The powers see the plan as a way to remove much of Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile to minimise the risk of this being used for atomic bombs, while Iran would get specially processed fuel to keep its nuclear medicine programme running.
But the proposal broke down over Iran's insistence on doing the swap only on its territory, rather than shipping its LEU abroad in advance, and in smaller, phased amounts, meaning no meaningful cut in a stockpile which grows day by day.

  Ash cloud closes 19 Spanish airports, could spread
Reuters, Madrid/Brussels

Spain shut 19 northern airports including Barcelona on Saturday because of the cloud of ash blowing south from a volcano in Iceland.
The government said over 400 flights would be canceled, leaving almost 40,000 people stuck in airports stretching from La Coruna in the northwest to Barcelona in the northeast.
Air traffic was expected to be affected until 2 a.m. (8:00 p.m. EDT Saturday) on Sunday morning, at which time flights would gradually resume. However, the government said there was a chance the cloud could still be affecting Spain next week.
"We don't rule it out and we will make alternative plans," Transport Minister Jose Blanco told a news conference.
He said extra places had been made available on long-distance trains, and extra buses and boats were being laid on to help people reach their destinations. Transatlantic flights were being re-routed around the affected area, causing substantial delays.
Sweeping closures of European airspace last month disrupted the travel of millions of passengers in Europe and elsewhere, and cost airlines over a billion euros in revenues.
Scientific assessments led to a decision to restrict closures to areas of higher ash concentration, after lower concentrations were found not to be damaging aircraft engines.

  Palestinians approve indirect talks with Israel
AP, Ramallah, West Bank

Palestinian leaders gave their backing for indirect peace talks with Israel, clearing the way for the Obama administration's first sustained on-the-ground Mideast peace effort.
U.S. Mideast envoy George Mitchell will now shuttle between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders for up to four months to try to narrow the vast gaps on the terms of Palestinian statehood.
Saturday's decision by the PLO Executive Committee and the Fatah Central Committee was widely expected since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has expressed interested in the indirect negotiations and has received Arab League support.
PLO general secretary Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters the Palestinians decided to engage Israel, even if indirectly, because they received U.S. guarantees "regarding settlement activities and the necessity of stopping them."
Abbas has said he will not hold direct talks Israel stops all settlement construction on war-won lands the Palestinians seek for their state. Israel has only agreed to a partial slowdown in the West Bank, but not in east Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim as a future capital.
The indirect talks were devised as a compromise, but that arrangement was thrown into doubt in March when Israel announced new plans to build 1,600 homes for Jews in east Jerusalem, enraging the Palestinians and prompting them to back out of negotiations just as they were to start. Since then, the U.S. has worked to coax the Palestinians back to the table.
Abed Rabbo said the U.S. also assured the Palestinians that all so-called core issues would be raised in indirect talks, such as the borders of a future Palestinian state and a partition of Jerusalem.

  Pope accepts resignation of German bishop in sex probe
Reuters, Vatican City

Pope Benedict on Saturday accepted the resignation of a German bishop who has been accused of sexually abusing minors, the latest in a string of Roman Catholic prelates forced to resign over an abuse scandal.
A Vatican statement said the pope agreed Bishop Walter Mixa of Augsburg in Bavaria should step down. He became the first bishop to quit in the pontiff's native Germany over the child abuse scandal that has rocked the Church in several European countries and the United States.
In recent weeks, a Belgian bishop resigned after admitting he had sexually abused a boy and three Irish bishops quit over their handling of sexual abuse cases.
German prosecutors and church officials said on Friday authorities were investigating accusations of sexual abuse by Mixa, who had already offered to step down after being accused of hitting children.
A spokesman for the diocese of Eichstaett said the accusations referred to a time between 1996 and 2000 when Mixa was bishop of Eichstaett, which like Augsburg is in predominantly Catholic Bavaria.
The Augsburg diocese said it had provided information to prosecutors after a meticulous examination of the accusations.
The Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper reported, without naming its sources, that Mixa was accused of abusing a boy while bishop of Eichstaett.
Mixa's lawyer, Gerhard Decker, has denied the accusations against the 69-year old bishop, who also faces allegations of financial misconduct, and said Mixa would work with prosecutors to clear up the matter.
Mixa wrote to the pope in April to offer his resignation, after denying for weeks that he had hit children in the 1970s and 1980s before later admitting he had slapped them. Some victims say he hit them with full force in the face.

  Too much driving may up skin cancer risk
ANI, Washington

Too much driving may increase the risk of skin cancer, according to a new study.
Among a group of about 1,050 patients in Saint Louis, facial skin cancers were found to occur more often on the left-side - the side that''s next to the window while driving, reports Live Science.
What''s more, the findings were most significant for men.
"Drivers need to be aware of the amount of sun exposure they receive behind the wheel," said study researcher Dr. Scott Fosko, chair of dermatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. "The cumulative effect of being exposed to the sun builds up over many years."
"Professional drivers learn to wear proper safety equipment be it gloves, steel-toed boots or safety glasses when appropriate," Fosko said. "Sunscreen should be added to the list. An ounce of sunscreen applied as prevention on the road can be worth a lot of time and expense parked in a doctor''s office later on."
The study will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

  Russia gives Poland long-sought Katyn files
AP, Moscow

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday turned over scores of volumes from an investigation into the Katyn massacre to his Polish counterpart, a move underlining Moscow's new willingness to repair long-troubled relations with Warsaw.
The World War II massacre of some 20,000 Polish officers and other prominent citizens by Soviet secret police has been an issue that soured relations between the countries for decades. After decades of blaming the 1940 massacre on invading Nazi troops, the Soviet Union in 1990 acknowledged responsibility, part of Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost initiatives. But officials refused to refer to it as a genocide attempt - a designation that Poland had sought because international law generally considers that genocide has no statue of limitations.
The Soviet Union began a criminal investigation the same year, but it was closed in 2004. The chief military prosecutor later said the case was closed because the killings were not found to be genocide. The 67 volumes that Medvedev turned over to acting Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski are files from that investigation, Russian news agencies said. Polish historians have agitated for access to the case files, and Medvedev indicated there was information to come.
"Work on the criminal case, including the declassifying of material, will be continued by my order," Medvedev was quoted as saying by the state news agency RIA Novosti.
Komorowski expressed gratitude. "The Katyn crime, the Katyn lie, is a stumbling block between our countries.

Business/Economy

Sonali Bank to disburse Taka 90-crore loan for SMEs
BSS, Khulna

Sonali Bank (SB) in Khulna division will disburse Taka 90 crore among 4,099 small and medium entrepreneurs (SME) from June to December this year for strengthening the SME sector in the south-west region of the country.
The bank would implement the specialized loan programme for bolstering the economic activities in the region. Officials concerned said the SB will adopt the programme for poverty alleviation and creation of more jobs through establishing more SME units.
The main target of the programme is to create an intensive investment scope for the agro-based SMEs in line with the government industrial policy and for supplementing the government's efforts to attain food security and economic emancipation.
Senior officer of SB bank corporate branch here Abdus Salam told the news agency that this is the first ever highest allocation during the present government for the region while Tk 5.10 crore was allocated in the last year. Under the Khulna General Manager Office, Khulna corporate branch and Jessore corporate branch will disburse Tk 10 crore each while Narail and Bagerhat regional branches will disburse Tk 5 crore each.
Meanwhile, six principal offices under the same office will disburse Tk 10 crore each. The offices are at Khulna, Satkhira, Chuadanga, Jessore, Kushtia and Jhenaidah. Magura and Meherpur, he said.
The loans will be sanction in the fields of software, agro processing, agriculture plantation, fisheries, poultry, dairy farm, tissue culture, grocery shop, stationery, construction materials, light engineering workshop, decorator, saloon, tailors, phone-fax shop, library, nursery, electric goods, hardware machinery shop, shoe, cloths, house-hold business, rickshaw-van, handicrafts, health service and diagnostic centers.
Sonali Bank general manager told BSS that the programme will provide easy credit facilities for the small and medium entrepreneurs.
Apart from this, he said the scheme would also create huge job opportunities and increase the flow of loan disbursement and recovery.

 Australia declares strength against Greece shocks
AFP, Sydney

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan said on Saturday the nation was well positioned to weather economic shocks emanating from Greece, after the central bank warned that world jitters could intensify. Swan said he had been briefed by Treasury officials on developments in the eurozone, where leaders launched plans to create a new crisis fund for troubled countries as Greece grappled with debt chaos.
"There is obviously intense activity internationally over the weekend between national governments, particularly European governments and international financial institutions," Swan told reporters. "Australia is in a strong position relevant to other advanced economies," he added. "Of course, we take these events seriously."
Australia's central bank Friday warned that the situation in Greece was weighing on public sentiment and posed an ongoing downside risk for the global economy.
"It is possible that the fiscal problems in Europe could intensify, prompting a retreat from risk-taking by investors and a sharp slowing in the world economy, although, to date, the impact has been largely confined to Europe," the Reserve Bank of Australia said in its quarterly statement on monetary policy.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said sharply falling world markets had judged rescue plans to date "inadequate", adding that Australia was watching efforts to restore confidence with "considerable concern".
The 16 heads of the countries that share the euro currency Saturday said they want to build an emergency fund for countries targeted by powerful bond markets, after the region's debt mountain sent global bourses tumbling and triggered alarm from the United States to Asia.
The leaders, meeting for a late-night crisis summit in Brussels, acknowledged that the scale of the problem had gone beyond Greece, plunging the 11-year-old eurozone into a state of emergency.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the "stabilisation" fund would send "a very clear signal" to market speculators to back off.

  Portugal to speed up deficit reduction
AFP, Lisbon

Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates has announced plans to delay some major public projects to speed up reducing the country's public deficit this year, local media reported Saturday.
"The government has decided to reduce the deficit this year to 7.3 percent of GDP," Socrates told Portuguese journalists late Friday after a meeting of eurozone leaders in Brussels.
Portugal, which is struggling to fend off comparisons to Greece, had previously said it would cut its public deficit from a record 9.4 percent of output last year to 8.3 percent in 2010. It expects to be under the EU limit of three percent by 2013.
To speed up the deficit reduction, the Socialist premier said the goverment would delay several major projects including the construction of a new airport at Lisbon and a third bridge over the river Tage which is aimed at accommodating a future high-speed train link between the Portuguese capital and Madrid.

  Gloom in Greece despite EU loan relief
AFP, Athens

Relief in Greece over an imminent EU-IMF loan rescue failed to dispel gloom on Saturday over giant budget cuts which observers say could plunge the recession-hit country into an uncertain future. News that the eurozone would soon unblock billions of euros for urgent Greek debt payments made little impact amid lingering shock from this week's deadly riots and fear of the coming austerity storm.
"There are a lot of hidden sides (to the crisis) which we still ignore. But they all mathematically point to disaster, to unbelievable recession, the worst our economy has seen," pro-opposition daily Eleftheros Typos said Saturday.
"There is enormous danger for the country and the nation's cohesion," the conservative daily warned. "The country is desperately asking for development measures to be implemented immediately to get production going and reduce unemployment, which mainly strikes the young," added left-wing Eleftherotypia. With the country in urgent need of nine billion euros (11 billion dollars) by May 19 to service existing debt, Greek PM George Papandreou reported with relief early Saturday that rescue funds would arrive within days.
"In the following days, Greece will receive the first tranche of the 110 billion euros from the EU and the IMF," Papandreou said after an emergency late-night summit of euro leaders in Brussels. "This will allow us to implement our (austerity) programme and our reforms," he underlined.
Greece's total debt stands at nearly 300 billion euros and there is growing concern that the government will face severe difficulty in implementing the harsh cuts in a worsening recession and with strong union opposition.

  Spain scrapes out of recession but dark clouds remain
AFP, Madrid

Spain scraped out of recession in the first quarter, the central bank said on Friday, becoming the last major world economy to return to growth but analysts warned any upturn could be short lived.
The Spanish economy, which is struggling to rein in a ballooning public deficit, grew by 0.1 percent during the first three months of the year over the previous quarter, its first rise since the second quarter of 2008, the bank said in a preliminary estimate. It contracted on a yearly basis by 1.3 percent.
Stimulus measures enacted by the Spanish government including a cash-for- clunkers scheme "have triggered a recovery in some aspects of spending, particularly household spending," it said.
The government predicts the economy, Europe's fifth largest, will shrink by 0.3 percent overall this year, after contracting by 3.6 percent last year, before returning to growth of 1.8 percent in 2011 and 2.9 percent in 2012.
Spain entered its worst recession in decades during the second half of 2008 as the global financial meltdown compounded a crisis in the Spanish property market, which had been a major driver for growth in previous years.

  Washington Post Co. reports first-quarter profit
AFP, Washington

The Washington Post Co. reported a net profit on Friday, reversing losses of a year ago, on better results at its educational and television divisions.
The Post Co., which announced plans this week to sell money- losing Newsweek magazine, posted a first-quarter net profit of 45.4 million dollars compared with a net loss of 19.2 million dollars in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue increased 11 percent to 1.17 billion dollars in the quarter. The Post Co. said its newspaper division, which includes its flagship The Washington Post and a string of community newspapers, had an operating loss of 13.8 million dollars in the quarter compared with an operating loss of 53.8 million dollars a year ago.
Newspaper division revenue fell three percent to 155.8 million dollars, with print advertising revenue dropping eight percent at The Washington Post to 68.7 million dollars.
Online publishing revenue, which includes WashingtonPost.com and Slate.com, grew eight percent to 23.7 million dollars.

  Drive against child workers slackening
AFP, Geneva

A global drive against child labour has slackened in recent years, with some 215 million children and a growing number of boys locked in the practice, the UN labour agency warned on Saturday.
The number represented a decline of just three percent from 222 million child workers in 2004 who were more than five years old, said an ILO report released ahead of the Global Child Labour conference in The Hague on Monday.
Of the 2008 global total, the latest data available, more than half -- 113.6 million children --- were based in the Asia- Pacific region despite recent progress there, the International Labour Organisation said.
And while progress worldwide against the practice was most marked among girls, the ILO said it was alarmed about the growing plight of 15 to 17 year old youngsters of both sexes.
The number of working older teenagers grew by 20 percent in 2004-2008 to 62 million, while the number of boys in child labour rose by seven percent to 127.7 million.

National

Housing area to be built on riversides: Ramesh
BSS, Rajshahi

Water Resources Minister Ramesh Chandra Sen has said housing area to be built on both sides of the major rivers after dredging and training those, which will help increasing water flow in the rivers side by side with creating new more residential areas.
He stated this while talking to journalists during visit to the ongoing work on the Secondary Town Infrastructure and Flood Protection Project (2nd Phases) on the Padma riverbank at Shayampur here Friday afternoon. Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) has been executing the 1.66-kilometer bank revetment work at a cost of Taka 29 crore. The minister said the river points widening over five- kilometer in the country would be brought under the dredging activities on a priority basis. Simultaneously, both sides of the rivers would be dumped after reducing the existing width for creating residential and industrial area. To this end, he said necessary process for purchasing dredger has been completed and on arrival of the dredger the Jamuna river would be dredged first to be followed by the others in phases.
Replying to a query, Minister Ramesh Sen said water of the Padma river would be conserved after constructing Ganges Barrage at Pangsha in Rajbari. Similarly, he said need-based steps would be taken to conserve the irrigation water after re- excavating the tributaries of the mighty Padma river. For easing the irrigation activities in the high Barind tract, he assured that the proposed North Rajshahi Irrigation Project would be executed during the tenure of the present government. BWDB Northwest Chief Engineer Sazedul Karim Chowdhury and its Superintending Engineer Mahtab Uddin and Executive Engineer Nizamul Haque Bhuiyan and Sub-divisional Engineer Abul Kashem accompanied the minister during his visit.
Later in the night, he held a views-sharing meeting with local administration, BWDB officials, public representatives, political leaders and civil society members at Circuit House illustrating the present government's water resources development programs and so far achievements.
Fazley Hossain Badsha, MP, Ziaur Rahman, MP, Commissioner of Rajshahi Division Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan, Deputy Commissioner Shefaul Karim and the concerned BWDB officials were, among others, present at the meeting. Taking part in the discussion, local lawmakers and others called for proper re- excavation of the derelict canals and rivers for sustainable improvement of the surface water resources side by side with halting the lowering trend of the groundwater table to protect the vast Barind tract from desertification. Minister Ramesh Chandra also visited the project for protecting Chapainawabganj Sadar and Shibganj from Padma river erosion and the river bank protection embankments at Lalpur and Narod River re-excavation works in Natore district during the last two days.

  Call for incorporating info on child injury prevention at NCTB's books

UNB, Dhaka

Speakers at a roundtable in the city Saturday called upon the authorities to incorporate text material on child injury prevention in formal education at primary and secondary level to create awareness for protecting children from various injuries.
Every year, a large number of children die and sustain injuries from various injuries caused mainly by drowning and road accidents across the country. Awareness by parents and community can save them from the risks, they said.
Prevention is better. Incorporating information on prevention of child injury and its primary healthcare at NCTB's books can help raise awareness among people for prevention of injuries and receiving treatment, they said, regretting that adequate information were not incorporated in the school level textbooks.
The matter of life and death should never be neglected, they said, adding that textbook of National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB should provide information on life saving and primary healthcare programme.
They underscored the need on making the school level textbooks as child-friendly, scientific and transparent for reducing risks of children.
School-based programme and practical training can also play role in saving children from various injuries, they said, calling upon all to come forward for protecting children from the injuries.
Dr AKM Fazlur Rahman, Executive Director of CIPRB, Mohammad Shahjahan, Curriculum Specialist of NCTB, Dr Aminur Rahman, technical Director of CIPRB, Dr Akhtaruzzaman, teacher of Islamic History department of Dhaka University, Dr Mohammad Ibrahim, a teacher of Physics Department of DU, Dr Ansarul Karim, former Chairman of NCTB, among others, took part in discussion.

  Nat'l vitamin A+campaign on May 29
UNB, Dhaka

The government is preparing to observe vitamin A+ campaign on May 29 to feed over two-crore children under the age of 5 vitamin A capsules and de-worming tablets. The national vitamin A+ campaign is observed twice every six months with a view to preventing childhood blindness, reducing child mortality and strengthening immunity.
During the campaign, children aged 1-5 years will be fed a high powered vitamin A capsule (200,000 IU), while children aged 2-5 will be given a de-worming tablet(Albendazole 400mg) along with the vitamin A capsule. Over 400,000 health workers and volunteers will work together to make this initiative a success. Besides all permanent health centers, mobile centers at bus stands, railway stations, launch terminals and airports will remain open from 9am to 5pm, to ensure all children receive the doses.
The proposed slogan for the national vitamin A+ campaign 2010 is "supplement vitamin A capsule for better survival of your child."
The Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN) has conducted some orientation programmes with the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officers (UP and FPO) in several phases aimed at making the upcoming campaign a success.

Sports

Sri Lanka thrashes Windies by 57 runs
AP/UNB, Bridgetown

Mahela Jayawardene slammed an unbeaten 98 off 56 balls to help inspire Sri Lanka to a 57-run victory over the host West Indies in the World Twenty20 Super Eights on Friday.
The in-form Jayawardene lashed nine fours and four sixes as the visitors compiled 195-3 off 20 overs, the highest total of the tournament.
The 32-year-old got sound support from captain Kumar Sangakkara, who supplied 68 off 49 deliveries. The left-hander struck five fours and three sixes.
The pair's second-wicket stand of 166 was an overall partnership record for Sri Lanka in Twenty20s.
West Indies never challenged and limped to 138-8 off 20 overs. Spinner Ajantha Mendis claimed 3-24 while pace ace Lasith Malinga grabbed 3-28.
Earlier, the hosts had early success after Sri Lanka won the toss and batted as Kemar Roach (2-27) removed Sanath Jayasuriya on 6 to a miscue to short fine leg. But West Indies was scrappy in the field and the experienced pair made them pay.
Sangakkara was let off early by captain Chris Gayle at slip and also had a let-off when Kieron Pollard floored a difficult return catch.
Jayawardene, after passing 50 off 29 deliveries, had a reprieve on 66 when a top-edged skier landed safely in between wicketkeeper Andre Fletcher and Wavell Hinds.
The silky Jayawardene, with scores of 81 and 100 in his previous innings in the competition, narrowly miss-ed out on the chance to be the first player to register two centuries in Twenty20 internationals as the overs expired with him two short. West Indies' reply hinged
on its skipper Gayle and
the veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the top of the order.
But they both fell inside the first two overs and the pursuit faded meekly.
Chanderpaul hit a six and a four for 11 before he sliced to backward point off Angelo Mathews.
Gayle followed two runs later for 5 when he skewed a leading edge to extra cover off Nuwan Kulasekara.
Ramnaresh Sarwan (28) and Dwayne Bravo (23) shared a stand of 53 for the third wicket but never achieved the necessary momentum. Bravo drove to extra cover to give Malinga his first wicket and Sarwan followed soon afterwards as he chipped back to Mendis. Big-hitting Kieron Pollard misfired again as he holed out to Mendis for 9.
West Indies next faces India on Sunday at the same venue while Sri Lanka meets Australia on the same date.

  Bangladesh League
Arambagh defeats Muktijoddha 2-1

TBT report

Arambagh Krira Sangha handed a 2-1 defeat to Muktijoddha Sangsad Krira Chakra in the Bangladesh Football League at Banga-bandhu National Stadium in Dhaka on Saturday.
Both sides tried hard to score from the outset of the match but their attempts failed to produce any goal before the breather. Their forward wasted a number of easy chances and made a mess in front of goal.
With the first session ended in a scoreless draw, Subir Mohammed scored the first goal for Arambagh on 49 minutes, while experienced striker Alfaz Ahmed doubled the advantage four minutes later.
Down by 2-0, Muktijoddha started to hit back to reduce the margin and got its only success when its overseas recruit Rafael scored on 67 minutes to pull the deficit back to 2-1.
Today's match: Brothers Union vs Dhaka Abahani (Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka) and Shuktara Jubo Sangsad
vs Rahmatganj Muslim Friends Society (Narayan-ganj Stadium).

   Bangladesh faces Thailand today
TBT report

Bangladesh plays its first match in the Robi Asian Games hockey qualifiers
against Thailand today at Moulana Bhasani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka.
The match is scheduled to start at 2:00pm.
Sri Lanka takes on Hong Kong, while Chinese Taipei and Singapore are facing each other in the other math of the day.
The seven-team Asian Games qualifiers started on Friday with three matches held on the opening day.
Oman and Hong Kong played to a 1-1 draw, Sri Lanka and Chinese Taipei settled for a 3-3 draw, while Singapore outplayed Thai-land 5-2 in the opening day's fixture.

  Australia wraps up Davis Cup tie over Japan
BSS/AFP, Brisbane

Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley wrapped up Australia's Davis Cup tie with Japan Saturday with a straight-sets doubles victory to qualify for the World Group playoffs.
The 7-5, 6-4, 6-0 win win gave Australia an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the best- of-five tie, with Sunday's two return singles matches to come. The home nation, playing the Japanese on a specially laid claycourt surface on Pat Rafter Arena, led 2-0 after Hewitt and Carsten Ball won their opening day singles in the Asia/Oceania Group I clash in straight sets on Friday.
Despite the lead captain John Fitzgerald did not take any chances, replacing Ball with former world number one Hewitt in his doubles line-up to wrap up the tie.
Hewitt, currently ranked 29, showed his big-match experience by helping absorb early resistance to eventually overpower the Japanese in 114 minutes.
Hewitt and Hanley have a 4-1 Cup doubles record together, with their only loss coming in a World Group playoff against Serbia in Belgrade in 2007.
Hewitt said Australia were mounting a bid for qualification to the elite group.
"Knowing what we are playing for (motivates us)," Hewitt said. Fitzgerald said he will make a decision on who will play on Sunday as Hewitt looks to return to Europe to continue his French Open preparations.

  Frodeno, Ryf win ITU Triathlon round two
AFP, Seoul

Germany's Jan Frodeno, the 2008 Beijing Olympic gold medallist, edged past Australian Courtney Atkin-son at the finish to win the Triathlon ITU World Cham-pionship Saturday.
Frodeno clocked one hour 51 minutes 49 seconds, just ahead of Atkinson, after they ran side-by-side for the entire 10-kilometre run until the German pulled it off at the finish in Seoul.
"Courtney went out really hard on the run and it was tough to catch up to him" Frodeno said. "When I finally did, we started working together very well and were able to build a nice gap on the rest of the guys," he said. "I just wanted to hold on until the finish line," Frodeno said.
"I had a bit of confidence in my sprint. It was a nice long finishing straight which really played into my favour."
Atkinson said he had not planned to take off so early. "But when I found myself in a good spot out of transition I decided it was a good idea to get to the front and spread things out," he said.
Atkinson's compatriot Brad Kahlefeldt came third with 1:52:17.
Sixty-eight men took to the chilly water of the Han River to kick off round two of the 2010 series.
In women's event, Switzerland's Daniela Ryf upset world number one Barbara Riveros Diaz of Chile and reigning world champion Emma Moffatt of Australia, breaking the tape in 2:00:59.
Riveros Diaz finished second in 2:01:02, followed by Moffatt who clocked 2:01:04. "I was really suffering toward the end," Ryf said. "I'm so surprised I was able to pull it out. I just tried to focus on my technique to keep it together at the end," she said.

  Tensions high in Serie A title run-in
BSS/AFP, Rome

The Serie A title run-in between Inter Milan and AS Roma is hotting up with just two games left amid accusations and legal threats providing an intriguing back-drop.
Reigning champion Inter entertain mid-table Chievo on Sunday while Roma host Cagliari, who have nothing left to play for. Then next weekend Inter travel to already relegated Siena while Roma will be at Chievo.
And as if the tension was not already stoked to breaking point during Wednes-day's fractious and ill-tempered Italian Cup final between the two scudetto protagonists - which Inter won 1-0 ‘comments from the champions' coach Jose Mourinho following that match have done nothing to calm the situation.
Mourinho was commenting on a rumour that Siena president Massimo Mezza-roma will give his players the bonus they would have got for escaping relegation if they beat Inter.
"We have two difficult matches left, Chievo and Siena who don't deserve the position they are in," he said.
Roma responded by saying they would be looking into possible legal ramifications, although Mezzaroma saw the funny side but suggested he had been motivating his players by other means.
"I like that kind of joke because given the cunning person who said it, that's the only way you can take it," he said. "But I'm convinced that in sport more than finance, which is a pitch on which no-one can compete with Inter, the group's cohesion, their pride and their attachment to the shirt are fundamental motivations.
"And maybe even the Inter coach, at the beginning of his career before he was operating with big budgets, used the same argument to construct his numerous victories."
Coming on the back of the fall-out from Roma club captain Francesco Totti's violent kick at Inter teenage forward Mario Balotelli - for which he earnt a red card during the Cup final - it is clear there will still be much noise made before the season is up.
Totti came out and accused Balotelli of having insulted and provoked him while the Italian of Ghanaian origin reported that the veteran had racially abused him.

  Garrincha - bandy-legged 'banana shot' king
BSS/AFP, Rio De Janeiro

As a youngster, Manuel dos Santos Francisco - Garrincha - could never have dreamed he would become one of Brazil and World Cup folklore's most cherished footballers.
Born half-crippled in 1933, an operation which finally enabled him to walk left the youngster with legs of uneven length, one bending outwards and the other twisting inwards.
Against the odds, Garrincha's physical disability proved no obstacle to a career as a professional footballer, and he joined Botafogo in 1953, earning his nickname 'little bird' after scoring a hat-trick on his debut.
It was in the hurly-burly of Brazil's national championship that Garrincha perfected a repertoire of beguiling free-kicks, becoming the scourge of goalkeepers everywhere with his bamboozling dead ball efforts.
The banana kick and the 'falling leaf' shot - so-called because the ball swerved twice during its flight towards goal - were to become Garrincha's trademarks.
As a dribbler of the football he also had few peers, cruelly teasing and tormenting defenders who made the mistake of watching the man instead of the ball.
Although Garrincha's prowess had earned him an international debut three years earlier in 1955, it was at the 1958 World Cup where he finally cemented his place in the Brazil line-up after missing the opening matches.
After pleas from other members of the squad, coach Vicente Feola decided to gamble on Garrincha and it paid off, the winger linking brilliantly with a teenage Pele as Brazil clinched the title. While 1958 will be remembered as Pele's tournament, Garrincha got the opportunity to take centre stage when his friend and attacking partner was injured early in the 1962 finals in Chile.
He scored two goals against England in the quarter-finals and added two more in the semi-finals - including one miraculous swerving effort from the byline - during the 4-2 defeat of hosts Chile.
Though sent off in the semi-final, he was allowed to play in the final, where Czechoslovakia spent so much time trying to quell Garrincha's threat that they forgot about the rest of the Brazilian side, who ran out 3-1 victors.
As his sending off in the 1962 semi-final hinted, Garrincha was no stranger to controversy. In 1963, he scandalised Brazilian society when he left his wife and eight children to take up with a well-known nightclub singer.
Tales of all-night drinking sessions and a series of blazing rows with Botafogo over pay also dogged Garrincha in the build-up to the 1966 World Cup.
At the finals in England, the diminutive Brazilian was given a torrid time by European football's hatchet men and he retired from international football following the 3-1 loss to Hungary.
Incredibly, it was the first time he had been on the losing side for his country in 60 games for Brazil.
He continued to play at club level, turning out for Flamengo, Bangu, Corin-thians and Portuguesa Santista before brief spells in France and Italy.
"Without Garrincha, I would never have been a three times world champion," Pele once said. Garrincha died aged 49 in 1983.