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Leading News

PDB faces 728 mw power generation shortfall for gas crisis
Nine units shut or keyed down

UNB, Dhaka

The Power Development Board claimed that it faced with a shortage of 728 megawatts in power generation for gas crunch that knocked down a number of plants.
According a senior PDB official, they had to either shut down or scale down operation of nine generation units at different power stations across the country because of short supply of gas.
The troubled plants include Raujan Thermal Power Station in Chittagong, Shikalbaha, 2 units at Ghorasal, Sylhet, Shajibazar, Haripur, Shiddhirganj and Ashuganj power station.
The PDB generated on Tuesday about 3,500MW electricity against the demand for 4,500MW.
However, experts believe the electricity demand is more than 4,700 megawatts, but PDB is hiding the fact.
For the big demand-supply gap, the PDB and other power utilities have to go for huge load shedding of about 1,200 megawatts to make do with the cut-down production.
The capital city of Dhaka has to experience about 800MW load shedding against its demand for 1800MWs, resulting in frequent outages in these hot days.
According to official website of Petrobangla, the organisation now supplies 695 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) gas to power stations against their demand for 841 mmcfd, which shows a 145 mmcfd supply shortage.
Similarly, the fertiliser factories are getting 289 mmcfd gas against their demand for 233 mmcfd, leaving a supply shortage of 65 mmcfd.
Meanwhile, another UNB report from Chittagong says one of the two units of Raujan Thermal Power Station was shut down completely while the other partially early Tuesday due to poor gas supply, causing frequent load shedding in different areas of the port city.
Power Development Board (PDB) sources said they were compelled to stop power production in unit no-2, which is capable of generating 220mw electricity, at about 1.30am.
The authorities also cut down production to 100 MWs in the 200-MW unit due to short supply of gas.
According to the sources, the station required 56 MMC gas to run the station smoothly. But, since Monday midnight, the Bakhrabad Gas Systems Ltd has been supplying only 20 MMCS for fuelling the plant.
Following the power disruption, city-dwellers are suffering a lot while the outages also hampered production in mills and factories.

BB using reserve cautiously: Governor
Staff Correspondent

In a bid to take precautionary steps for meeting increased payments for imports of food in future, Bangladesh Bank will hold tight the present level of foreign exchange reserve.
"Bangladesh Bank is using the foreign reserve cautiously to meet the payment for import food, fertiliser, capital machinery and power pumps. The reserves will be required in future," the Bangladesh Bank Governor Salehuddin Ahmed told journalists after a meeting with the high officials of non-banking financial institutions at the central bank headquarters in Motijheel.
Despite comfortable reserve position about $5.5 billion in the Central Bank, the Bank has decided to borrow about US$ 220 from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the support of (Balance of Payment) BoP, replying to a query Bangladesh Governor said.
"Today (Tuesday) foreign exchange reserve was US$ 5.6 billion, which is equivalent to import payments for three months. The IMF loan would help avert unexpected pressure on the BoP as the country will have to import of huge quantity of food grains," he added.
When asked about the loan he said the government has got better offer from Standard Chartered Bank than the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to take a loan of US$ 300 million for Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC).
"Bangladesh Bank would hold separate meetings with the individual banks to overcome the problem. The meeting decided to form a committee to look into the delay in issuing IPOs of seven FIs in the capital market," Salehuddin Ahmed said.

 Dr Tamim comes under criticism from Prof Anu Muhammad
Staff Correspondent

Leaders of National Committee for protecting Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources and Power-Port on Tuesday in a letter requested the Chief Adviser for relieving Dr Tamim from the responsibility of Energy and Power Ministry for his alleged involvement in the corruption.
The letter signed by the committee convener Prof Anu Muhammad said, "The Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser for the Energy Ministry Dr Tamim is working against the national interest and serving the benefits of the foreign companies. Even he is trying to bring changes in the proposed coal policy to serve the benefits of some multinational companies."
They said, "the Government has taken all-out preparations to complete the third round bidding in quick time before taking over the power by the next elected Government and recently a group of university teachers at a press briefing also expressed deep concern over Dr Tamim’s controversial role."
The letter mentioned, "Dr Tamim formed an additional committee to review the proposed coal policy only to serve the interests of foreign companies and he is allowing foreign companies for the exploration of some blocks including 12, 13 and 14 instead of the BAPEX which is totally against the national interests. Disregarding the participation opportunity of the local companies, Tamim also strategically is trying to allow the foreign companies to set up power plants."
The committee said, "Dr Tamim himself is taking steps ignoring the government decision regarding lease out of some blocks in shallow and deep shore." They also demanded investigation into the allegations of his corruption involvement by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

 BNP will reopen its party office soon: Hannan Shah
Staff Correspondent

BNP Chairperson’s Adviser Brig (retd) ASM Hannan Shah on Tuesday hoped they will be able to carry out their activities from the central party office soon, which has all along remain closed.
"Make preparations. It is immaterial whether or not the unity in the BNP takes place; we will start our activities from the central party office soon," Hannan Shah told the party workers attended a discussion meeting on the occasion of Independence and National Day organised by Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal, the youth wing of BNP.
Calling upon the government to set free Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina, Hannan Shah alleged, "many had wanted to implement the so-called minus-two theory. But they have already failed; rather in doing so, two essentials rice and atta have already become minus from the reach of the people."
Hannan Shah warned the government of delaying in holding the general election and said of the government, "We are peaceful and we do not want to create any chaos, if things are going on smoothly. So ensure a smooth handing over of power to an elected government by holding the election at the earliest."
Referring to the demand for announcing action programme to secure the release of the detained BNP chairperson, which was raised by almost each and every mid-level leader during their speech, Hannan Shah said, "We will free our leaders either by waging movement or by legal process. But firstly we will conduct legal battle."
Once the BNP Secretary General Khandoker Delwar Hossain returns home, he will decide the next course of action of the party consulting other party senior leaders, he said.
Hannan Shah was very critical of different decisions taken by the government like taking loan from the foreign bank with high interest rate and also of allowing Myanmar to encroach on the maritime territory of Bangladesh.
"Our neighbouring country Myanmar is conduction exploration in some 10000 square mile of Bay of Bengal by encroaching on our territory," said Hannan Shah, adding, "The people of the country will allow nobody to occupy a single inch of the land of our country. So the government must be answerable to the people in future for their present activities."
Hannan Shah asked the party rank and file not to pay heed to allegation against him of not following Begum Zia’s instruction.
Speaking on the occasion, BNP joint Secretary General Goyeshwar Chandro Roy said, "Those who are trying to term me as well as Hannan Shah as the agent of this government are bastards."
BNP acting Office Secretary Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed accused the government of hatching a conspiracy so that an elected government, who will really represent the people of the country, cannot come to power. "The present government is carrying out its activities under the instruction of foreign powers."
Meanwhile, BNP will announce its programmes to demand the release of the party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, after the secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, returns home, the acting office secretary, Rizvi Ahmed, said on Tuesday.
'The party policymakers will announce programmes after the secretary general returns home. The party's fronts have already taken programmes pushing for an end to the present situation,' Rizvi said at a briefing at Khandaker Delwar's house. 'We wanted to move the court for Khaleda's release, but we no more have confidence in what the government is doing with the delivery of justice,' he said.
Rizvi came down heavily on the government for indicting Tarique Rahman, his wife and mother-in-law in false charges and jailing the son of the party's secretary general for 17 years. 'All these have been done to demoralise Khaleda Zia and Khandaker Delwar,' he said. 'The charges against Tarique and wife and mother-in-law do not have any validity. It is clearly false, fabricated and aimed at harassing Khaleda Zia and her family,' Rizvi said. The Anti-Corruption Communion on Monday framed charges against Tarique, his wife and mother-in-law of amassing illegal wealth and hiding information on wealth.
Rizvi demanded immediate withdrawal of all charges against Tarique and release of Khaleda and other leaders.
Tarique's counsel Nasiruddin Ahmed Asim questioned the six-month delay in framing the charges against his client, saying: 'We are losing confidence in the judiciary.'
'My client has submitted his wealth statement to the commission properly and they waited for six months hoping that Khaleda would change her stance,' he said. Nawshad Jamir, another of Tarique's counsels, former BNP lawmaker Akhtaruzzman and front organisation leaders attended the briefing.

 Suspend cases against Hasina until her proper treatment abroad ensured: AL

Staff Correspondent

Leaders of the journalists organizations at a joint protest meeting here Monday condemned strongly the Sunday’s atrocious attacked on BSS head office building in Dhaka by armed goons and demanded of the government immediate arrest of the criminals and their exemplary punishments.
"Terming the Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) as symbol of national pride and dignity in media sector at home and abroad, the speakers said Sunday’s broad day light attack on the BSS building in the name of eviction of commercial establishments at ground floor was " virtually attack on the whole media industry as well as the journalist community".
They called upon the caretaker government particularly the Chief Adviser Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed to take proper steps to probe into the heinous act of vandalism to trace out the mentors of the attack and ensure their proper punishment for the greater interest of the nation.
A large number of journalists working in daily newspapers, news agencies and electronic media were present at the meeting. Addressing the meeting, the journalists leaders said organized broad day light attack by miscreants equipped with lethal weapons on BSS at the heart of the capital and on the nose of the law enforcing agencies was simply unbelievable and astonishing.
CPC President Ali Abbas said "We considered the attack on BSS office as attack on whole media and miscreants would encourage to carry out such further violence on any other media establishments or journalists in the future if the culprits responsible for the crime go unpunished".
Swapan Dutta, Assistant Editor of daily Purbakone and a noted poet said it was the responsibility of the government to protect the image and dignity of the national wire service by taking punitive legal action against the mastans.
The leaders viewed that the attack was part of a well- planned conspiracy with the backing of a vested interest quarter to capture the office building of the BSS.
They said journalists would not hesitate to opt for all means of protest even take to the streets by launching a long term protest programme if legal action against the persons responsible for the attack.

 India reintroduces rice export ban
BBC/ Bdnews24, New Delhi

The Indian government Monday banned the export of non-basmati rice to control soaring domestic food costs but that is not going to affect the already promised 4 lakh tons of rice export to Bangladesh, claim Bangladeshi officials.
The decision, one of a series of measures to curb inflation, was taken during an emergency cabinet meeting. The price for exports of aromatic basmati rice has also been raised to $1,200 per tonne to discourage exports.
The move could have an impact on rice prices globally as the country is the third largest exporter of the grain, a staple food in many countries.
The move is the latest in a series of increases in the export price of non-basmati rice.
The price of such rice was increased from $650 to $1,000 per tonne in the month of March alone. India imposed a total ban on non-basmati rice exports last October but lifted it following protests from exporters.
India is the second-largest rice producer in the world. It usually exports more than four million tonnes of rice a year. The government also announced that it would be scrapping import duty on all crude edible oils as part of its inflation-curbing measures.
India ended its reliance on food imports in the 1970s, largely to the government’s so-called Green Revolution. But two years ago, it imported wheat for the first time in six years following a significant drop in its stockpiles.
The government wants to avoid a similar situation for its rice stocks. In mid-March, in an attempt to bolster its stocks, India abolished import duties on rice. The problem is an international one, as global rice stocks have reached a 25-year low.

 I won’t eat in Bangabhaban if freedom fighters’ wards starve: Akbar Ali

UNB, Dhaka

Chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission (RRC) Dr Akbar Ali Khan on Tuesday said he would never take food in Bangabhaban if the children of freedom fighters remain unfed.
"On March 26, a freedom fighter’s wife had been in Bangabhaban to collect the leftover of guests. As a freedom fighter, I cannot tolerate such thing. If the children of freedom fighters go hungry, I’ ll never take food in Bangabhaban," Dr Akbar said in a sad voice. He was addressing the premier show of telefilm ‘Sidr Tragedy- 2007’ at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).
Dr Akbar said the government is just like a ‘mother’. "Then why the poor and the freedom fighters’ children will go hungry?"
About the telefilm on Sidr, he said it would help the people to know about the destruction caused by the cyclone in the southeastern districts. Dr Akbar further said the government has failed to take adequate measures to reconstruct the infrastructures and improve the lifestyle of the people in the Sidr-hit areas.

 IGP asks new recruits to be accountable
BSS, Rajshahi

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nur Muhammad on Tuesday called upon the new recruit of cadet sub- inspectors and probationary sergeants to be accountable for their every work.
Addressing the passing out ceremony of 13 cadet sub- inspectors and 85 probationary sergeants at Bangladesh Police Academy at Sarda, he also reminded that there is no scope of failure in performing duty.
IGP Nur Muhammad urged them to perform their duties being imbued with the spirit of patriotism and remaining above all sorts of greed and lust.
"Police have to play a pioneering role in protecting rights of the women and children along with ensuring human rights of all sections of people", he said adding that you should be refrained from any cruelty and inhuman behavior to human being.

Back Page

LG poll before Nat’l
UP chairmen & members demand

Staff correspondent

Union Parishad chairmen and members of Dhaka region at a convention on Thursday demanded of the government to hold Local Government election before national.
"If the local government is not strengthened it is impossible to develop the grassroots level. It is possible to keep law and situation under control by strengthening the local government. So we want to see the government will first hold local government election" they said at a Dhaka regional convention to 2008 held at 'Engineering Institute' in the city. They said that the past three political governments had made them beggars in many ways. "During the three past governments we could not work independently for many types of interference and threat of MPs and bureaucratis," they added.
They also placed a set of recommendations in the convention and called upon the government to implement those. "It is a long cherished demand and dream of people from all walks of life including root level to establish strong local government. Within few days, tenure of Union Parishad will expire. So we want immediate election and it will have to be held before general election," they said.
Commerce Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman attended the function at chief guest. A total of twelve thousand chairmen and members of Dhaka and its adjacent six districts took part in the function. On the basis of priority and needs, Zillur said the Central Government will have to develop the local government first. "To achieve the target of Millennium Development Goal (MDG), the main task is to develop the local government. As the local government has become more pro-active, it was possible to rehabilitate the people at their respective areas soon after two times flood and a cyclonic storm," the Commerce Adviser said.

 Procurement plan for Boro stressed
BSS, Dhaka

Economists at a discussion meeting in Dhaka on Tuesday suggested the government for making a procurement plan to ascertain quantity of the crop that would be purchased and stockpiled during the coming Boro crop harvesting season.
They said decisions on volume of rice, allocation of funds, amount of money to be paid to the growers, location of procurement and availability of godowns should be taken just now.
The meeting titled 'Bangladesh Economic Trend -Review by Shamunnay' was jointly organized by Shamunnay and Manusher Jonno at the Jatiya Press club with eminent economist Dr Atiur Rahman in the chair.
Former adviser to the caretaker government Hafiz Uddin Khan attended the discussion as the chief guest while newly elected president of FBCCI Annisul Huq was the special guest.
Economist Dr Selim Raihan presented the key findings of the third issue of 'Bangladesh Economic Outlook' prepared by Shamunnay.
Dr Atiur said a high-level task force could be formed for assessing the country's food demand accurately. He recommended for stockpiling 20 lakh metric tons of rice for price controlling and said the government could renovate the idle godowns of Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) and at the same time lease private buildings for storing the procured rice.
He also suggested starting Open Market Sale (OMS) of rice at union level for easing the suffering of the low-income poor rural people and also increasing the volume of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) programme in the country.
Dr Atiur said, after the short-term measure, medium and long- term plans are needed to be taken in the agriculture sector for increasing the local food production.
"We have to provide support to agro researches as well as increase investment and subsidy in the agriculture sector for ensuring food security in the country," he said.
Hafiz Uddin Khan said mismatch in the demand and supply of food must be removed for controlling the food market.
He suggested introducing food ration programme and building adequate rice stock by the government to check the price hike.
He said we should take a five-year development plan like the past and the annual development programmed would be formulated by following that plan.

Ban Ki-Moon lauds reforms of Emergency Govt
Staff Correspondent

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon lauded the reforms initiatives being undertaken in Bangladesh and expressed the hope that this would render democratic institutions sustainable.
Her said this when Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Foreign Adviser called on him at the UN Headquarters in New York on Monday afternoon, said a PID press release.
The Foreign Adviser had arrived in New York earlier that day and is scheduled to Chair a Session on Poverty alleviation and education on 01 April. He will also address the Plenary of the General Assembly on Millennium Development Goals in his capacity as Chairman of Least Developed Countries.
Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury apprised Ban Ki-Moon about the determination of the Caretaker Government to hold " free, fair and credible elections in accordance with the Road Map before the end of December this year", which the Secretary General " deeply appreciated" and offered any logistic support in this regard that the government may wish to seek.
The Foreign Adviser strongly urged the higher representation of Bangladesh at senior command level appoint in UN Peace-keeping both in the headquarters and field missions in keeping with Bangladesh's troop contributions. The Secretary General responded that positive consideration would be given to this request. He praised the " training and discipline of Bangladeshi soldiers and police on the ground" which he himself had seen whenever visited peace-keeping missions.
Ban Ki-Moon underscored the fact that the manner in which the government in Bangladesh is seeking to strengthen democratic norms " can be example to many other countries."
While apprising the Secretary General about the recent political developments in Bangladesh, the Foreign Adviser informed him that the government will organize a dialogue with political parties on all domestic issues soon.
He added that people in Bangladesh hold the UN in great esteem as a " custodian of international norms and standards ". In this connection the Foreign Adviser alos mentioned that there is a growing demand for trial of war criminals, in which a popular sentiment has been expressed for UN development.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon accepted the invitation by the Foreign Adviser to visit Bangladesh, observed " Bangladesh is always very close to my heart". He hoped that he would be able to make the visit within this year.

Effective preparedness on disaster: Speakers
BSS, Dhaka

Speakers at a view exchange meeting on disaster risk reduction have stressed the need for undertaking effective disaster preparedness to reduce the losses.
They also laid emphasis on creating massive awareness about disasters among the people, particularly the garment workers, who are the most vulnerable to the earthquake. Population Service Training Centre (PSTC) organised the meeting in cooperation with the European Commission (EC) and ActionAid Bangladesh at Meghastar Apparels Ltd on Monday in the city marking the National Disaster Preparedness Day.
The meeting was organized to raise awareness of garment workers and officials to reduce disaster risk through Mobilizing Communities for Disaster Risk Reduction DIPECHO-IV Project.
The function, conducted by Ali Asgar Fakir of the PSTC, was addressed, among others, by community services of the PSTC Foyez Mohammad Mostaque, Rezaul Karim and Sanjib Bishwas Sanjoy of ActionAid Bangladesh, production manager of the factory Helal Uddin and compliance manager Kayechuzzaman.

Mobile rice shops launched
Bdnews24, Dhaka

The government on Tuesday launched mobile shops in Dhaka and other divisional cities to sell rice at low prices, an official said.
The mobile sale of the staple began in Rajshahi, Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal and Sylhet as well, Sefaur Rahman, deputy director of the Directorate General of Food, said.
Rice would be sold every other day throughout April.
A kg of rice would cost Tk 25 and one can buy a maximum of five kg rice, he added.
He told bdnews24.com that 20 trucks hit Dhaka streets with rice, with each truck selling 3060 kgs of rice in the city.
A truck in other divisional cities would sell 2040 kgs of rice a day.
The move is part of the decision the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management took on March 27 to rein in the price of rice.

Crime

CROSSFIRE
Alleged ‘serial killer’ Taj killed in city
UNB, Dhaka
The suspected main hitman of the infamous Imon gang was killed in crossfire during an encounter between RAB men and his cohorts at Jigatola in the city early Tuesday, official sources said.
A release from the Rapid Action Battalion gave his identity as "serial killer" Taj Mohammad Ponir alias 'killer Ponir', 36, suspected as the main hitman in the group of arrested top-terror Imon, recently brought back from his hideouts in India.
Hailed from Srinagar in Munshiganj district, Ponir was wanted in a number of criminal cases, including murders and abductions, the sources said.
The elite-force RAB said based on the confessional statement of Imon, now on remand, plainclothes RAB troops chased a white microbus at Jigatola crossing because of its suspicious movement.
"Sensing the presence of RAB personnel, the microbus turned around and Ponir fired gunshots from the vehicle, forcing the RAB men to fire back," its release said.
"He was caught in the crossfire trying to flee the scene at about 3am and died on the spot," it added.
After the gunbattle, the law-enforcers recovered a pistol and some ammunition from the micro. His body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue.
Ponir had started his underworld activities in 1991 through the killing of a man in the city. He also allegedly committed a number of other murders, including that of JCD Hazaribagh unit general secretary Shibli this past March.
A case was filed with Dhanmondi police station in connection with the encounter incident.

RAB-8 recovers 2 invaluable artefacts
A Correspondent, Madaripur
RAB-8 Madaripur recovered two touchstone statues of the Hindu lord Bisnu weighing about 182 kg and worth about Tk twenty crore in two separate drives in Kalkini upazila under Madaripur and Agouiljhara upazila under Barisal district on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off a team of RAB-8, led by major Anwar-us-Sadat, raided Dhjee village under Kalkini and recovered a touchstone statue of Bisnu (120 kg) worth about Tk twelve crore and arrested a smuggler, Niranjon Bakchi (50), son of Monohor Bakchi resident of the village.
In another drive, a team led by Captain Saleh Uddin raided the village of south Sihipasa under Agouljara upazila of Barisal district and recovered another touchstone statue (62 kg) of the same Hindu god worth about Tk twelve crore and arrested a smuggler Aminul Islam (40) son of Abu Taleb Sadar village of south Sihipasa.
Two separate cases were filed in these connections.

Terrorists gouge out eyes of BNP leader
UNB, Goalundo
Terrorists gouged out eyes of a BNP leader at Daulatdia union in the upazila Tuesday morning.
The victim is Abdul Hamid Mridha,45, president of BNP Daulatdia union unit and also a member of Daulatdia union parishad.
Police said a gang of unidentified terrorists swooped on Abdul Hamid at Alek Sarder para when he was going for his work at about 9:00 am.
They beat him up mercilessly, gouged out his eyes with sharp weapon and left the scene thinking him dead.
Hearing his cry local people rushed to the spot and first took him to local health complex and then shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital. Later he was taken to Islamia Eye Hospital in Dhaka as his condition deteriorated.
Assistant Police Super Mahfuzur Rahman visited the spot.
Police said he might have been killed following past enmity.

Mother along with child commit suicide jumping under train
UNB, Jhenidah
A woman allegedly committed suicide along with her three-year-old son jumping under a train at Barobamundia village in Kotchandpur upazila on Monday midnight.
Police said the Syedpur-bound train from Khulna crushed Tanjia Khatun, 22, and her son Santo, 3, leaving them dead on the spot.
Reason behind the suicide could not be known immediately.

Student commits suicide
A Correspondent, Manikganj
A student committed suicide by taking poison at Hajinagar village in Manikganj on Sunday morning.
The victim was identified as Sabur, son of Mojibar Rahman of hajinagar village under sadar police station in Manikganj. Sabur was a student of class ten of Basuddevpur High School.
Family sources said he took poison as his parents impelled him to study hard.

3 students face actions for adopting unfair means in exams
UNB, Khulna
Punitive action has been taken against three students of Khulna University for adopting unfair means in examinations.
A press release of Khulna University said Tuesday that the decision has been taken at a meeting of the university's Disciplinary Committee recently.
The committee has decided to cancel the second term examination of Sujit Kanti Roy, a 2nd year student of English Department, while all 3rd year examinations of Golam Mostafizur Rahman of Pharmacy Department.
The meeting also decided to cancel second term examination of the 4th year student of Environment Science, Isa Miah, and not to allow him to sit for his term examination of 2006-07 education year.
 
Fake factory unearthed, huge electric equipment seized
UNB, Naogaon
A huge quantity of fake electric equipment worth Tk 10 lakh was seized from a fake electric equipment making factory at Boalia village in Sadar upazila on Monday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of policemen led by Officer-in-Charge of Sadar police station Ekramul Haque raided the house of one Jalal Hossain and unearthed the fake factory.
Later, they seized the fake electric equipment and arrested electric equipment seller Ekramul Haque, its two employees -- Sabuj Hossain and Sohel Rana.
The electric equipment include holders, switches, sockets and plugs.
A case was filed with the police.

3 drug paddlers nabbed, phensidyl seized
A Correspondent, Sirajganj
The members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-12, Sirajganj seized at least 1,000 bottles of Indian phensidyl on Monday.
The team also nabbed three drug paddlers and a car (Dhaka Metro-Ka-03-2120) from Goal Chakkar area, the western side of the Jamuna Multipurpose Bridge.
RAB sources said, acting on tip-top, the team led by Delower Hossain, the deputy assistant director, seized those drugs and nabbed Alamgir Hossain, 20, son of late Ali Hossain, Fazlur Rahman, 37, son of Abul Hossain, and Jahangir Alam, 20, Sahar Hossain, of Benapole area under Jessore district at about 11:30 am.
Later, they were handed over to sadar police station. Major Mostafa of specialized company acknowledged the incident.

Fugitive convict arrested
UNB, Brahmanbaria
A fugitive convict was arrested at Dhamtali village in Nasirnagar upazila Monday afternoon.
The arrested convict was identified as Borhanuddin, 40, of Rajapur village of Sharail upazila.
He was sentenced to 16 years rigorous imprisonment in an arms case and a robbery case by a court in 1997. But he remained absconding since the verdict was delivered.
Acting on a tip-off police raided Borhanuddin's father-in-law's house in the village and arrested him.

70-kg hemp seized
UNB, Moulvibazar
Police seized 70 kgs of hemp worth Tk 3.50 crore from a truck in Jalalabad Gas Office area in Sadar upazila on Tuesday.
On secrete information, CID police raided a truck in front of the office at dead of night and seized the hemp from it. They also arrested truck driver Abdul Haque and his helper Saiful in this connection.

Editorial

Market Monitoring

Bangladesh Rifles authorities have obviously been tasked with monitoring the market for essential food commodities. This appears to be the latest in the Emergency Government's initiatives at controlling prices. The BDR high-ups apparently warned profit-mongering businessmen and traders of severe consequences if and when they are found to be responsible for employing questionable techniques for maximizing profits at the cost of the general public.
People are already reeling under the pressure of a severe economic crisis. Worse still, they are a part of the global order that has been hit by an inflationary pressure, food grains crisis and rise in the prices of fuel oil. These have conspired to make livelihood difficult for the masses of people in this continent as well as in our Country. In Bangladesh however, the problem is evidently not one of merely short supply of goods and services; prices keep on rising even if goods are available. By the look of things problems are apparently being created by some traders and middlemen who have established a monopoly on the market and on prices. We have had our experiences of discussions with traders and businessmen and with market monitoring before and all that has led to further price increases.
The point of the fact is whenever pressures are applied, traders and businessmen band together, stop importing goods or procuring them from local sources and hoard goods locally thus creating an artificial crisis in the market further fueling price rises. The Government then goes for appeasement by slackening its efforts at market monitoring until such times public pressures once again forces some actions on the part of the government. This cat and mouse game has been going on ever since the Emergency was declared.
No one is questioning the efficacy of a free-market economy under normal circumstances but right now we do not have those "normal circumstances"; not when the entire Nation is facing food shortages and unaffordable prices of food commodities. Under such situations no polity can leave, at least, the food economy at the 'tender mercies' of a rapacious and irresponsible private sector; active government intervention and control is mandatory and this so even in such large countries like China which maintains strict control and monitoring of markets for essential commodities. We absolutely must get away from this false notion of a free-market economy which allow traders and businessmen to hold an entire nation hostage and which pushes people to the brink of starvation.
Employing the BDR, on and off, for market monitoring and for running OMS programs is certainly not a solution to the problem; the BDR is a para-military force organized for border security and when it is employed for such purposes, it debilitates the organization's ability to fulfill its original mission and roles. The myriad of government agencies, ministries and departments responsible for trade, commerce and markets have all decided to go into hibernation as soon as BDR and military forces began getting involved in tasks which are not theirs and which they scarcely comprehend. Therefore, it is a non-functioning government, its administration and its bureaucracy who are also responsible for the ills of high prices and uncontrollable markets and it is these which must be revitalized to fulfill their tasks of maintaining an economy that can provide the minimum needs of the people of the Nation.


The Tales of Hungry People

The Yesterday's issue of The Bangladesh Today carried two reports on hunger and hungry people. In one of those, it was stated that two jobless brothers were arrested on Saturday for stealing boiled rice from the kitchen of one Abul Hossain of bus terminal area under sadar upazila. The two brothers identified as Joynal Abedin (35) and Aynal Huq ( 25) came from Ulipur to Kurigram town in search of work and food. But they were unable to find any work and arrange any food. Consequently after starving for two days they resorted to stealing the cooked rice to eat. The other report quoted BNP leader Hannan Shah as saying that a hungry man is an angry ma, so the government should take immediate steps to check the price spiral of food items and solve the food crisis.
Burglary, robbery, snatching etc are nothing new in this country where even many powerful, privileged and affluent people also thrive on stealing the wealth of the state and the people, but theft of boiled rice by two hungry brothers is not definitely a matter to be taken lightly. Because, this incident speaks eloquently of the grave situation arising out of unemployment and hunger in the country. Definitely the hungry people have every reason to be angry as it is the sacred duty of the state to ensure jobs and food security for them. The report mentioned above spoke only of two helpless people who could not arrange their meals themselves, but it could not give the break up of those millions who are forced to skip nights without food. This scenario reflects the failure of the state and the government to create such a secure situation where the helpless people would not be forced to steal rice to keep the body and soul together.
We hope that the people who are running the country will consider Kurigram incident as an indication of the gathering storm on the food front and the take some lesson from it to go all out to resolve the food problem and people's economic hardship before the hungry and angry people get impatient and the situation goes out of control.

Analysis

Ending Corruption: Towards a collaborative strategy

Fighting corruption and installing honesty is a pre condition for good governance for ensuring human rights, human dignity, equality and social justice and better business environment.

Prof. Syed Ahsanul Alam

Corruption in its all shades and color is the illegal tool of accumulating illegal wealth depriving a person which creates inequality and social injustice. Corruption destroys social order, rule of law and all good governance efforts. Corruption and the corrupts are the enemies of the people and the society in any country. That is why fighting corruption and installing honesty is a pre condition for good governance for ensuring human rights, human dignity, equality and social justice and better business environment.
Holding the first position in Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 5 consecutive years has tarnished the image of Bangladesh, and in such a situation majority of the citizens did not know what to do and how to start a fight against this man-made tool of exploitation called corruption. Under the previous oppressive corrupt governance and social system conscious citizens attempted to raise voice against this evil through the media or different civil societies organizations. Today everybody including the Chairman Anti-Corruption Commission emphasizes on the reality of designing a collaborative strategy to limit this evil called corruption. The following nonviolent silent strategies may be used to curb down corrupt practices in every sector of Bangladesh.
Ending Corruption: Naming and shaming strategy
Naming and shaming can be a very effective tactic to eradicate corruption in any country. Even in developing countries, where corruption is accepted as a necessary evil, naming and shaming tactic has been effective in recent years. In India, high profile cases uncovered and actively reported by the citizen action group have led to disgraceful dismissals of high level government officials and even criminal action against public figures. No such example has been set by the political governments in Bangladesh in the past. But citizen action groups or the media demonstrated ability to generate outrage among the public that can be channeled productively to control and eradicate corruption. Nobody can undermine the role and power of media in the society for establishing good governance.
Ending Corruption: Creating awareness strategy among the Stakeholders
Everyday policy makers, professionals, business leaders, sociologist, economists and others independently generate amazing number of ideas and thoughts. The reasons that these ideas don't come to fruition is because like-minded reformers do seldom collaborate to bring changes. There are a lot of international and domestic organizations, NGOs, government agencies, opinion leaders and others that are all individually working on tackling corruption in a piece-meal fashion. A more comprehensive approach to address corruption will be more fruitful. Corruption can be marginalized if not eliminated if all stakeholders work together in a coordinated manner against corruption.
Ideas and thoughts are ineffective if not put to actions. Unless what is thought is acted upon, such thought has no value. What is important is the commitment of all the citizens "leaders of respective fields" to take on the challenge of ending corruption and to do one's own part to address it in a collaborative manner. Corruption, as in all affairs in society may be viewed from the two sides: a demand side and a supply side. The demand side can only be curbed by reforms of institutions, strengthened enforcement of law by a transparent judiciary. As the owner of the country all citizens are affected by corruption everyday, and as such they should insist reforms of the legislative, executive and judicial organ of the country. The stake holders of a corruption free society should get united to raise voice against corruption to curb the supply side. Thus the citizens will have to participate in the battle against corruption and only moral support to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) is not enough to eliminate corruption.
Ending Corruption: Creating awareness among the Civil Society
Citizens face potential corruption practically at every level and every sector of life. It could be the local police, T.N.T, electricity and water authority, Municipal Corporation or the tax department. Government alone cannot succeed in combating corruption without the active participation of civil society and citizen action groups. Civil society is in the best position to articulate the grievances of the citizen and highlight priorities of action on corruption to governments. Civil society can serve many important roles: as observer, critic, analyst, campaigner, or protestor. It can create public awareness against corruption and mobilize citizens to fight against corruption in ways that governments cannot. Civil society can also play a strong role to organize campaigns against corruption. Center For Good Governance is working with many civic organizations for capacity building of such organization.
Ending Corruption: Creating awareness among Chambers and Trade Bodies
As Civil society organizations, Citizens' action groups, NGOs, media, and Chambers can play the largest role in improving governance both in the public and private sector. Similarly Chambers can be more active by organizing seminars, workshops, round tables to generate awareness against corruption and unethical business practice. Chambers can establish anti corruption cell headed by a vice president with adequate funds to establish liaison with media, anti corruption commission (ACC) and other government agencies to combat corruption and protect its members from extortion and corrupt claims. Mega chambers should formulate code of conduct for their members and put pressure on the members for compliance. Awareness regarding code of conduct for members of chambers would have trickle down effect on smaller business enterprises and so on.
Ending Corruption: Creating awareness among Private Sector
The private sector can play a more active role in rooting out the supply side of corruption. It is painful that most businessman and citizens looks at corrupt practice as a system. According to unofficial estimates many business house just account for it on their books "as much as 10%" adding to the cost of doing business. Business leaders as well as the government should take initiatives so that local and foreign investors can set up business enterprise and function in Bangladesh without resorting to corruption and extortion. After 1/11/07 the present Anti corruption commission (ACC) visibly started a crusade against corruption which may be looked upon as a proactive move towards corruption free governance.
For eradicating corruptions the private sector must emphasize on internal controls and auditing mechanisms. Corporate bodies and business houses needs to set clear and enforceable policies against corrupt or unethical business practices. Business house need to periodically train middle and senior management on business ethics to ensure that standards are institutionalized throughout the organization. Business houses should change their mind-set to prefer managers having comprehensive business education with emphasis on ethics. Any business managers can not afford to be unaware of global ethical standards for doing business in Bangladesh.
Conclusion
In a developing country for good governance the fight against corruption is not easy. Bangladesh recently started a drive against corruption. It is expected that the present caretaker government, patriot citizens and other stakeholders will be able to address the most difficult challenge of fighting corruption. Corruption is a tremendous deterrent to good governance and development, and its burden falls heaviest on the shoulders of the poor people. An effective Anti-Corruption Commission with strong political backing, can become a credible tool to deter corruption. All concerned should help the ACC to be fully operative. If Bangladesh wants to establish corruption free business friendly environment, wants to become a country free of poverty and economically strong, where every citizen will enjoy his or her rights and a better quality life, ending corruption is the most important need. It is the responsibility of every stakeholder to respond to this need towards corruption free, transparent, participatory good governance ensuring equity and social justice.
No body will deny that, in Bangladesh the past governance mechanism was far less then satisfactory. Many issues and problems were barriers to ensure good governance, equity and social justice.
Weak watchdog institutions corruption, political interference in administration, nepotism, misuse of power, absence of rule of law, non-accountable and non-transparent governments etc. are the common features of our governance which needs to be addressed on an urgent basis.

(Syed Ahsanul Alam is an Associate Professor of marketing at the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh and Chairman, Center for Good Governance. Fax : 880-31-2550872 or E-mail:centerforgoodgovernance@yahoo.com)

Real Chance for Settling the Kashmir Dispute

Peace between India and Pakistan will give them de facto if not de jure unity because it will restore free movement of people and goods across the cease-fire line.

M.J. Akbar

What do Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Altaf Hussain (chief of the MQM), Asfandyar Wali Khan (leader of the Awami National Party of the North West Frontier Province, soon to be renamed Pakhtunkhwa) and influential opinion-makers in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad have in common?
They have all come to a calculated conclusion: That the Indo-Pak impasse over Kashmir is now seriously detrimental to the economic and strategic health of Pakistan; that Pakistan has been held hostage to the Kashmir dispute and it is time to shake off the fetters of history and move on.
They may not admit it publicly, but it is likely that the leaders of the Hurriyat in the Kashmir Valley accept this privately. Zardari has told Karan Thapar in a television interview that Pakistan can no longer be held hostage on Kashmir to the detriment of its economy and defense. Columnists in influential newspapers like Dawn have written that Pakistan needs to break out of this suffocating straitjacket and get on with life. India and Pakistan have invested too much and too long in death.
This is not the view merely of an enlightened elite. The street is also tired of a hostility that promises nothing. The change on the street is reflected in an interesting shift of perceptions. 2007 was a traumatic year for Pakistan; the Afghan war had spilled over into the west of the country; the people were livid with Musharraf; and the turmoil peaked with the terrible assassination of Benazir Bhutto. But not once in the whole chain of lurching, searing events was India blamed for instigating any trouble. India and Kashmir were totally absent from the rhetoric of the Pakistan elections, for the first time in the nation's electoral history.
That old idiom has worn so thin that it can't be seen anymore. The people know that their problems begin at home and must be addressed there. A self-declared Arab friend of Pakistan was telling me, with despondent acerbity, that the national slogan of Pakistan has changed: "They used to say 'Pakistan Zindabad!' Now they say, 'Pakistan se zinda bhag!'" Terrorism is an internal threat, and far worse than any external threat could ever be, for the enemy within is always much more dangerous than the enemy without. The solution is not with us yet, but it would be fair to suggest that the Kashmir dispute is over. The mutually-acceptable future border will be the present border: The line where the two armies ceased fire on the first of January 1949, and which they have guarded with such zealous ferocity for six decades. Six decades add up to two generations of lost sisters, forgotten cousins, and a relentless hostility that has aborted the potential of two nations. Everyone has heard the question: Why do Indians and Pakistanis get on so well in a third country, and how come they do so well in a foreign habitat? The answer was always simple: Because they were not living in India and Pakistan. Over the last decade India has begun to make such jokes irrelevant, but that is nothing compared to what it could achieve in harmony with a natural economic partner like Pakistan. It would vitalize SAARC, and set the subcontinent on the long route toward self-respect. But of course the moment has to be propitious on both sides. One of the minor tragedies of the Indo-Pak equation is that when one side is ready the other is busy, or seems to be busy: It is easy to manufacture an excuse when you do not want to do anything. However, India is heading into its election season just after Pakistan has cleared its calendar. No one readily fools around with either war or peace on the eve of an election, unless you have become either careless or desperate. Delhi lost a great opportunity when Musharraf was riding high; but even if high drama is not possible, there can be forward movement on trade and travel. But whoever forms the government in Delhi after the next election cannot afford to waste time. Should those Kashmiris who challenged India on the strength of support from Pakistan feel betrayed or relieved by this swivel? Practical sense suggests relief, because they were caught in a deathly squeeze between quarrelling elephants. The idea of an independent Kashmir was always a lemon; neither India nor Pakistan would have permitted such a state on such a sensitive geopolitical flank. Punjab and Bengal were divided in 1947; Kashmir was divided in 1949. Those facts are unlikely to alter. The fate of Kashmir may be settled, but not the fate of Kashmiris. Peace between India and Pakistan will give them de facto if not de jure unity because it will restore free movement of people and goods across the cease-fire line. That is not a small gain in a life that is finite.

Source: www.arabnews.com

Opinion

Wrong time, and move

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's choice of time to wage war on the Mehdi Army, loyal to Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, is questionable.
The Iraqi government has barely restored some peace and stability in the country; to start another battlefield now can only be counterproductive and stir a can of worms.
Maliki may well view the Mehdi militia as outlaws bent on seizing control of the oil wealth in the Basra region, but there must be a better way to rein them in. This is all the more important since Sadr proclaimed a ceasefire, which comes to support the campaign to pacify the country and bring some law and order there.
There is now fear that the fragile ceasefire will collapse if the fighting spreads to other parts of Iraq. The Mehdi forces have already seized control of Nasiriyia and fought the Iraqi army in many other cities. If the fighting spreads even more, all the measures taken so far by the central government to restore a semblance of normalcy in the country are bound to have been in vain.
On a different plan, having the US forces involved in a new war front would surely frustrate President George Bush who mentioned wanting to withdraw US soldiers from Iraq as soon as possible.
The conflict with the Shiite cleric is essentially political. It would be wise, therefore, to seek a political solution to it, rather than a military one.
Iraq is desperately in need of peace and nothing should be done, especially at this level of government, to worsen conditions in the country. Particularly not when the government forces are not doing too well. In a fight with the Mehdi Army, the Maliki government risks losing not only militarily but also political credit.
Bloodletting should stop. Mediation is needed to put an end to fighting. Sadr proffered an olive branch; Baghdad should make a similar gesture.

Source: www.jordantimes.com

Viewpoints

The Shared Heritage of Globalization(s)
Young and Old

Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings'.

Rik Coolsaet

The times we're living in, are not unique. Globalization is old news indeed. Ever since the Great Discoveries of the 15th century, the world has experienced a succession of globalizations, sudden and brutal intrusions of unknown worlds into people's familiar surroundings. But since 'short-termism' has pervaded today's social sciences, globalization is too often seen as a novel, late 20th century phenomenon, unknown to our ancestors, thus making irrelevant reflections upon the past in order to assess today's world.
Globalization has something of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde quality. To some observers, today's globalize world closely resembles Voltaire's El Dorado, where Candide observed that there was so much gold that no one fights over it and clung to the precept that all was for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Other observers - then and now - judge this belief to be overly optimistic and desperately naïve, emphasizing that for times eternal the struggle between have and have-nots has constituted the very nature of politics.
Globalization, a never ending story
Globalization is as old as human history. Remember Stanley Kubrick's movie 2001 - A space Odyssey. Globalization started when the first tribe of anthropoids ran into another tribe of anthropoids. The opening scene of this movie encapsulates the essence of globalization, with both its opportunities and its dark side.
Globalization is no constant process. It goes by waves. Globalizations start, then accelerate, to be followed by standstills and, sometimes, even by a reversal, due to diverse factors, ranging from wars between emerging and old powers or backlashes caused by widespread sentiments of having lost control over one's daily life.
Actors, driving forces and characteristics of today's globalization are strikingly similar to earlier waves of globalization. Globalization is always characterized by the simultaneous presence of two dimensions: a physical dimension, being a compression of time and space - put otherwise: the flattening of the globe, and a mental dimension, the explicit awareness of the world shrinking, with all its opportunities, but also all the risks it entails.
The same eclectic array of actors and driving forces over and over again propel globalization: companies, individuals, capital markets, states, ideas, non-governmental organizations - and technology. They flatten the world by enhancing interdependence: revolutionary advances in technology, communication, transport and trade literally compress distances and time, forge new interconnections between continents, offer fascinating new opportunities for countries, companies, communities, and individuals, and contribute to a common heritage for all peoples involved. In his 1909 bestseller The Great Illusion, Norman Angell explains how a shrinking globe creates common interests across borders:
'[the] complex financial interdependence of the capitals of the world [creates] a condition in which disturbance in New York involves financial and commercial disturbance in London, and, if sufficiently grave, compels financiers of London to co-operate with those of New York to put an end to the crisis, not as a matter of altruism, but as a matter of commercial self-protection. The complexity of modern finance makes New York dependent on London, London upon Paris, Paris upon Berlin, to a greater degree than has ever yet been the case in history. This interdependence is the result of the daily use of those contrivances of civilization which date from yesterday - the rapid post, the instantaneous dissemination of financial and commercial information by means of telegraphy, and generally the incredible progress of rapidity in communication which has put the half dozen chief capitals of Christendom in closer contact financially, and had rendered them more dependent the one upon the other than were the chief cities of Great Britain less than a hundred years ago.'
But for mere interdependence to become globalization, an additional dimension has to be present as well: the explicit awareness of the consequences of the world shrinking, or, as Norman Angell puts it:
'Banking done by telegraphy concerns much more than the stockbroker: it demonstrates clearly and dramatically the real interdependence of nations, and is destined to transform the mind of the statesman'
In 1774, in the midst of a similar wave of globalization as today's, Johann Gottfried Herder asked a rhetorical question that sounds quite contemporary: 'When has the entire earth ever been so closely joined together, by so few threads?' He belonged to the new breed of cosmopolitans, being consciously aware of thinking and acting in global terms. Cosmopolitanism as the corollary of a shrinking world offers a mental map of the globe as an interdependent and interconnected entity. Whatever their nationality, all human beings belong to one single community, that is to be cultivated. When today we speak about 'our global neighborhood' or 'global governance', we are merely repeating what the 18th century Philosophers were saying - or Immanuel Kant, Norman Angell, Paul Otlet and Friedrich von Hayek for that matter.
It is fascinating - for historians and archivists alike - to go back in time and look how each time the world shrank (1760-1790; 1870-1914; 1924-1929 and again from the 1980s onwards) the same words and ideas of one common heritage of mankind appear - to wither away when the wave of globalization slowed down or was reversed.
Globalization is power politics too
The shrinking of the world entails a meeting of the minds and contributes to a sense of a shared destiny. But globalization has a dark side too. Globalization is also confrontation. Contrary to Thomas Friedman's much acclaimed bestseller, one could argue that when confronted with a wave of globalization, the world is not flat, but rather resembles a white water rafting race.
When parties of different size and strength encounter, power - economic, political, as well as cultural - forms part and parcel of it. The globalizations since the Great Discoveries of the 15th century were also called by a less positive sounding name: colonialism. The late 18th century globalization enabled the British Empire to encircle the world in a way no empire had ever done before. The late 19th century globalization - also called colonial imperialism - turned Europe into the centre of global might. The late 20th century globalization was the fruition of the Americanization of the world - but also showed a world characterized by the widespread rejection of the United States, according to many international surveys at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. The twenty-first century globalization will be characterized by the rise of new global challengers that will defy the West's political, cultural and economic domination.
Each time globalization enhances the power of the powerful. To quote Thucydides, the father of scientific history: 'The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must.' Consecutively, globalization has turned Portugal and Spain, the United Kingdom and, finally, the United States into global powers.
So it was in the past. The 2007 edition of World Bank's flagship publication Global Economic Prospects underpins the growing consensus that the 21st century globalization will bring new actors on the scene. Once called the developing world, the emerging economies, like China, India, Turkey, Brazil and many smaller-sized are indeed rapidly becoming the real engines of world economy and already have the key to the world's biggest foreign-exchange reserves. Challenging the long-standing Western ascendancy, they are transforming today's bilateral economic world order, dominated by the European Union and the United States, into a multi-polar one.
They already account for more than half of total world GDP, growing twice as fast as the rich countries. Their ambitious multinationals are rising on the world scene and are changing in depth the rules of the game in all sectors, from steel over services to electronics. Their rise is shifting power in the industry away from first world companies. Increasingly they join forces to form a pattern of South-South cooperation - representing a potential axis of power that was lacking up to now.
In the decades ahead globalization will shift the balance of power in favor of the once dispossessed. But the world lacks a mechanism that can accompany this global power shift in the 'next wave of globalization', as the World Bank dubs it. Economic decision making will have to be made much more representative than is the case today. The September 2006 decision at the Singapore IMF meeting to increase the weight of emerging economies with just 1,8 % was all but a revolutionary step. More will be needed to make the decision making architecture truly representative of the real economic might in the world.
Increased competition will accompany the next wave of globalization. This will directly affect workers - blue and white collar alike - by the relocations of multinational companies. But it will also affect international relations. For indeed, the increased need for raw materials and markets by the emerging powers will create friction amongst themselves and between them and present powers, sometimes to the detriment of local populations.
Are the emerging powers going to behave differently than the rich countries once did? Let's take the spectacular return of China on the world scene. Without any doubt this has been beneficial for the Chinese population. Hundreds of millions of people have now left the poverty trap of 1$ day behind them. The rise of China has undoubtedly also profited to the whole of the Asian region. But nevertheless, the increasing presence of China in Africa not only raises questions in the Western world since it appears to support some of the most brutal regimes of the continent, but has also built up resentment in some African countries, like Zambia, where labor practices and accidents in Chinese-owned factories have led to an anti-Chinese backlash.
So, the jury is still out if the old and the emerging powers that will steer the wheels of globalization in the 21st century will ensure that globalization will again be contentious or proceed harmoniously? If one looks at the increasing North-South acrimony in the debates at the UN General Assembly, the former appears likely.
Ultimately however, the way globalization will turn out to be, will depend on the answer to this one question: will the powers that be, now and to come, develop a system of Global Governance around a strong and representative United Nations - or will they instead revert to the classic pattern of shifting alliances and confrontations, resulting in unpredictable power relationships once again?
Should one be optimistic or pessimistic? The former might be warranted. For indeed, some of the powers that be might turn out to be multilateralists. China has never in its history been a territorial aggressor. The EU has formidable built-in barriers against a policy of international bullying and is the champion of effective multilateralism. Ultimately the United States too might rediscover the virtues of multilateralism, as it has championed for so long after the Second World War.
Culture shock
If cosmopolitanism is the bright side of globalization, polarization and a Manichean division of the world into an 'Us' and a 'Them', represents its dark side.
Globalization also entails another common reaction, indeed: bewilderment. In the past, the intrusion of the unknown in one's familiar surroundings has always contributed to arouse feelings of puzzlement and uncertainty.
In a September 2006 New York Times/CBS News poll, just 29 percent of Americans said their country was headed in the right direction. National gloom is not an exclusive American mood however. If there is one feeling today that unites people on all continents, it is their shared uneasiness about the state of affairs, both in their own countries and in the rest of the world. That was one of the findings of an international Pew survey in 2002. The more than 38,000 people interviewed were overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the way things were going in their countries. Solid majorities in nearly every country in every region surveyed said they were unhappy with the state of their nation. Their assessment of the state of the world was even more negative.
This bewilderment is the consequence of the rapid changes of our familiar surroundings, due to many forces, including in particular globalization. Man cannot deal very well with complexity and chaos. So when society changes too fast, feelings of insecurity set in. Often the closing of the mind ensues and men grope, just like castaways, for new certainties to hold on to: New Age, cults, spirituality, nationalism and - often - religion. All too often these have proved to be dangerous life buoys, steering people towards a mental wall dividing the world in a protective 'Us' and a threatening 'Them', as Tariq Ramadan recently wrote, leaving no middle ground, no room for nuances or tolerance. Global uneasiness is the common source on which the populist right in Europe as well as religious fundamentalism in the rest of the world feed. They have the same recipe on offer: nostalgia for times gone, simple certainties, distinct scapegoats and simple solutions. They use the same rhetoric: Us-vs.-Them, thus offering an apparent order in a chaotic world. Political forces that capitalize on this stand to score. But as a result, societies discover new forms of polarization, between newcomers and native citizens, between Muslims and non-Muslims. World politics discover new clashes, between civilizations, between rising and old powers, between have-mores and have-less's.
This global malaise the 2002 Pew survey highlighted has since become intertwined with another mood in world opinion. To many, rightly or wrongly, globalization equals inequality and inequity. Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and former Vice President at the World Bank, summarized the problems of today's globalization: an unfair global trade regime that impedes development; an unstable global financial system that results in recurrent crises, with poor countries repeatedly finding themselves burdened with unsustainable debt; and a global intellectual property regime that denies access to affordable life-saving drugs, even as AIDS ravages the developing world. During his tenure as World Bank chief James Wolfensohn repeatedly warned that 'planetary inequity' was to become the major theme of the 21st century.
Most Western observers ignore the widespread feelings of humiliation and resentment in many parts of the world - directed against the West, and the United States in particular, as the symbol of Western primacy in world affairs, and against their own Westernized elites. Most do not perceive that the quest for dignity constitutes its driving force. Le Monde Diplomatique expressed the longing of African youth as follows: 'Youth long for justice… They want to regain their dignity and at the same time the explanation why the economic situation is so difficult.'
In different international surveys, including one commissioned by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung in June 2006, a pervasive sense of global inequity seems to permeate world opinion. Poverty comes off second most important global challenge and poverty reduction is considered the prime objective world powers should pursue. While respondents do not view the United Nations as a world power now, many clearly hope for a more prominent role in the future.
'It's unfair' has always been a powerful force in politics and a prime mover for change. Surveys indicate that majorities in all continents express the hope that their government will distance itself from the United States. But this so-called anti-Americanism is no rejection of the values of democracy and freedom America stands for. It rather would be the opposite. To quote the legendary U.S. Senator William Fulbright, thirty years ago: people resent the arrogance of power. This mood helps to explain why a leftwing momentum is sweeping Latin America. This same rejection of power inequity has propelled Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon to the stature of the new Nasser of an Arab-Islamic national movement - or, for that matter, Osama bin Laden to the new icon of the worldwide t-shirt market. When people resent inequity, they are prone to radicalization.
Global malaise and global inequity, together with their corollaries polarization and radicalization, constitute what one might call the 'rage of our era'. In this, our era resembles the late 19th century, when the same global mood brought about a strikingly similar wave of terrorism as we witness today. Jihadism has become the religion of resistance - an ideological role once played by Marxist Utopia. Then and now, for each and every militant arrested, a new one steps forward. For each attack foiled, a new one is being planned, giving the feeling of a never-ending threat. But neither Islam nor Evil is the driving force. The state of the world we're living in is.
Conclusion
The next wave of globalization will be a wave of global unrest - unless we can provide for mechanisms, both at the global level and at the local level, to absorb the dark side of globalization. Exactly as was the case in the past, the stability of global society will depend upon the ability to absorb this power shift and leadership challenge, on the one hand, and the feelings of global inequity, on the other. The exertion of power is indeed always accompanied by a legitimizing discourse, so as to assure the ruler's primacy. But when the ruled start to experience this as domination and humiliation, then resentment appears, soon to be followed by resistance. At one point in its history each globalization has produced its generation of discontents, forcing the powers that be to retreat or at least to adapt by sharing the benefits of globalization more equitably.
The generational struggle we are facing is between the forces of exclusion and polarization and the forces promoting inclusiveness. Globalization enhances both forces at the same time. Depending from the viewpoint, pessimism or optimism might seem warranted. What will prevail? Taking into consideration that history never repeats itself … in the same way, and realizing that globalization is the result of human decisions, one might refer to the late president Kennedy: 'Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings'.

(Prof. Rik Coolsaet is Chair of the Department of Political Science at Ghent University, Belgium and Director of the Security & Global Governance Department at the Royal Institute for International Relations, Brussels. In this essay he explores the next turbulent wave of globalization, its dark side, the discontent it will create and the dangerous discourse that must be changed.)

International

At least 461 killed in Iraq clashes
AFP, Baghdad

At least 461 people were killed in week-long clashes between Shiite militants and security forces in Iraq, according to an AFP tally based on reports by security officials.
Fighting erupted on Tuesday when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered security forces to crack down on strongholds of Shiite militiamen, mostly those loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in the southern port city of Basra.
Street battles later spread to other Shiite areas across Iraq, with the most fighting clashes in Basra and Baghdad.
More than 1,100 people were wounded in Basra and Baghdad.
Interior ministry spokesman Major General Abdul Karim Khalaf said at least 215 people were killed in Basra and another 600 wounded since hostilities began.
Iraqi health and security officials said the clashes have left 140 people dead in Baghdad, most in Sadr City, the bastion of Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
More than 500 people were wounded in the sprawling neighbourhood of some two million people. Clashes were also reported in the central holy city of Karbala with at least 12 "criminals" killed, local police said.
The southern city of Nasiriyah also saw fierce battles with local medics reporting at least 36 killed.
Police in the central city of Kut said around 50 people had been killed there since Tuesday.
Eight people were also killed in Babel province south of the capital, Iraqi and US officials said.
The clashes eased off late on Sunday after Sadr ordered his fighters to withdraw from the streets.
Meanwhile, the number of Iraqis killed in March rose to 1,082, up 50 percent on the February figure amid a spike in bombings and clashes between Shiite militiamen and security forces, officials said Tuesday.
Combined figures obtained by AFP from the interior, defence and health ministries showed that the total number of Iraqis killed in March was 1,082, including 925 civilians, compared with 721 dead in February.
The jump in the March toll seems to have been caused by major bomb attacks during the month and a week of heavy fighting between Iraq's security forces and Shiite militiamen in Baghdad and the southern oil hub of Basra.
The figure confirms a reversal of the trend of gradually decreasing violence since June and follows tolls of 541 in January, 568 in December, 606 in November, 887 in October, 917 in September and 1,856 in August.
A total of 54 Iraqi soldiers and 103 policemen were killed in March, according to the figures.
The number of people wounded in March was 1,630, almost double February's figure of 847.
Last month saw a spate of bombings, including one on March 18 near a revered Shiite shrine in the central Iraqi city of Karbala which killed more than 50 people.
Clashes broke out in Basra on Tuesday last week between Iraq's security forces and Shiite militiamen loyal to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
The fighting spread to Baghdad and other Shiite areas of the country, killing at least 461 people, according to an AFP tally based on reports by security officials.
The battles eased after Sadr on Sunday ordered his fighters off the streets and clashes since then have only been sporadic.
The number of US soldiers who died in Iraq also rose in March, with 37 killed across the country, up from 29 in February according to an AFP tally based on independent website icasualties.org.
 

Poor nations fear being left in cold on global warming
AFP, Bangkok

Outraged poor nations bearing the brunt of global warming have become increasingly bold in UN-led climate talks, but some worry that recent meetings of large countries are sidelining their voices.
A grouping of 192 countries under the United Nations is leading the way in negotiating a groundbreaking climate change treaty, and most of its members are currently in Bangkok to try to hammer out a two-year work plan.
The meeting comes soon after the United States chaired a meeting of 16 nations most responsible for global warming, and ahead of a special climate summit on the sidelines of the Group of Eight summit of rich nations.
"We haven't been invited to either of those processes," Espen Ronneberg, a Samoa-based climate change advisor to the Association of Small Island States, said on the sidelines of the Bangkok talks. "We need to have a global consensus on climate change, so to have a separate process that is not completely inclusive is not that helpful."
While major developing nations such as China and India are part of the big initiatives, the Group of 77, a bloc of developing nations, said it has not been invited.
"The balance has to come from everybody, all the representative groups, being around the table. Not specialised specific groups which have almost the same purpose-that's a problem," said Byron Blake, deputy representative to the United Nations of current G77 chair Antigua and Barbuda.
The world has until 2009 to draft a new pact on battling global warming, which should come into force by 2012, when current Kyoto Protocol targets for rich nations to slash greenhouse gas emissions expire.
A report by the world's leading climate scientists last year warned that drought, floods and storms will increase as global temperatures rise, hitting poor countries hardest.
As they see climate change begin to affect their environments and economies, impoverished nations are becoming more vocal, said Antonio Hill, policy adviser to development group Oxfam.

Nepal police detain 227 Tibetan protesters
AFP, Kathmandu

Police detained nearly 230 Tibetan protesters demanding a "free Tibet" as they tried to rally outside a Chinese embassy building in the Nepal capital on Monday.
At least 200 police officers surrounded the building and hauled the demonstrators away in police vans as they sought to approach the mission.
"A total of 227 Tibetan protesters, including 113 women, were detained," said Surnedra Rai, a police officer at the station where the protesters were held, adding they would be freed later on Monday.
Exiled Tibetans have staged daily protests in the Nepal capital since unrest began in their Chinese-controlled homeland on March 10.
"The Dalai Lama should be allowed to live in Tibet. We want a free and peaceful Tibet," said one of the Tibetan exiles, Sonam Chugi, 36.
Some demonstrators sat in front of the high-walled compound before being dragged into police vans.
Late Monday, about 60 foreigners held a candlelit vigil in Boudha, the predominantly Tibetan quarter of Kathmandu, to express solidarity with the protesting exiled Tibetans, police said.
"The foreigners walked around the stupa (domed Buddhist monument) carrying candles for around half an hour," said a police officer, who asked not to be named.
Police said it was unclear whether the foreigners were tourists or foreign residents but said none were detained.
Nepal is home to some 20,000 Tibetans who began arriving in large numbers in 1959 after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule.
Sandwiched between India and China, Nepal officially recognises its northern neighbour's 'One China" policy, which counts Tibet as an integral part of China.

Israeli settlements to expand as Rice wraps up peace push
AFP, Jerusalem

Israel on Monday announced plans to build hundreds of new houses in a Jewish settlement in annexed east Jerusalem, dealing a new blow to faltering Middle East peace talks.
The Jerusalem municipality made the announcement as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrapped up a regional tour aimed at bolstering the peace process.
"The plan is part of a global initiative by the mayor of Jerusalem to build 40,000 housing units in the city to ease access to housing for young couples," a municipality statement said.
It said 600 homes will be built in Pisgat Zeev, a Jewish settlement in the mostly Arab east of the Holy City which was seized by Israel in the 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognised by any other state. The Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while the international community considers all settlement construction in the occupied territories to be illegal.
The internationally drafted 2003 roadmap agreement that forms the basis of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks requires Israel to freeze all settlement activity and the Palestinians to improve security in the territories.
But since negotiations were relaunched in November in the US city of Annapolis each side has repeatedly accused the other of shirking its obligations.
"The construction of the settlements is a major challenge to the Arab world, the entire world, especially to those who took part in the Annapolis conference," Palestinian information minister Riyad al-Malki said.
"It is a very distressing and dangerous issue for us," he told a news conference in the West Bank town of Ramallah after the announcement.
It coincided with the publication of a report by the Israeli Peace Now group saying that some 500 buildings that will provide thousands of new homes are being built in settlements across the West Bank.
Building is under way in 101 settlements, with construction recently started on 275 buildings and almost completed on 220, the group said.
"Not a single project was frozen. "Since the Annapolis summit, there was a leap in the number of tenders and construction plans in east Jerusalem," it said.
The United States and Europe have pressed Israel to halt settlement activity, but on March 26 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said construction would continue at settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Over the past two months, Defence Minister Ehud Barak has given the green light for at least 1,710 new housing units in the West Bank, 750 of them in east Jerusalem.

 US hopeful of Bush-Putin accord on missile shield
AFP, Washington

US President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin may resolve their deep differences over a planned US missile shield when they meet this weekend, the White House said Monday.
"We may. We're hopeful," US national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters as Bush traveled to the April 2-4 NATO summit in Romania before heading to the Black Sea port of Sochi to meet with Putin.
"I think we're moving in a direction ... where Russia and the United States could have missile defense as an area of strategic cooperation," Hadley told reporters after months of difficult discussions between Moscow and Washington.
Bush has discussed the issue with Putin by telephone and in a letter, US Secretaries of State and Defense Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates took up the matter while in Russia recently, and a Russian delegation came to Washington for three days last week for talks on a range of issues including the controversial plan.
Putin had raised the possibility of cooperation when he visited the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, last summer, and "we are trying to see if we can articulate that in concrete terms," said Hadley.
"It's not done yet. I think we're making progress, we're going to continue to work at it," he added.
The plan would see 10 missile launchers stationed in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic by 2012 -- actions Russia has said pose a direct threat to its security. Washington says the scheme is to protect it and its European allies against missile threats from "rogue" states such as Iran, while Moscow sees it as a threat to its own security.
Russia has also threatened to withdraw from a Cold War-era treaty limiting short- and medium-range missiles in Europe if the US goes ahead.
"We're not going to resolve all our differences, you know this is a complicated relationship. There are areas where we disagree, where we are trying to enhance cooperation," said Hadley.
"There are areas where we disagree and we're trying to manage those disagreements. That's the framework in which we're moving forward. We have talked a lot about it," he added, referring to missile defense.
Meanwhile, Putin denounced any foreign interference in Lebanon Saturday, in a message addressed to delegates at the Arab League summit in the Syrian capital Damascus.
"A particularly urgent task is to maintain the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon, which must be protected from any foreign interference," he said, in a statement released by the Kremlin.
Syria, with whom Russia has had close relations dating back to the Soviet era, has repeatedly been accused of interfering in Lebanon's affairs.
Lebanon had been trying since November 24 to elect a new president but the differences between the pro- and anti-Syrian factions in the country has led to the worst political crisis there since the 1975-1990 civil war.

 Hillary, Obama backer say US regulation reforms fall short
AFP, Washington

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Monday condemned the US administration's plan to reform financial regulation as too little and too late to end the subprime mortgage crisis.
"After years of a 'wait and don't see' approach to the regulatory failures that led to the housing and the credit crisis, they have announced a plan that comes late and falls short," the former first lady said.
"No amount of rearranging the deck chairs can hide the fact that our housing an