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PM'S 'POISON STORY'
'Secret deal' unravels amidst confusion
in the army
M. Shahidul Islam
The recent claim by the deputy leader of the House, Sajeda Chowdhury, that 'Sheikh Hasina's food was poisoned while being in captivity in the special prison during the emergency rule' is having a quiet snowballing effect in politics as well as in the services of the Republic.
"It's a dangerous game that could end up with more bloodshed," cautioned one senior retired officer of the army while a reliable source confirmed that the information relating to poisoning of Sheikh Hasina's food came from a source in the Election Commission (EC). "One of the election commissioners wanted to confirm the information during a private dinner on June 25 which was attended by a former senior officer of the DGFI, who once oversaw the imprisoned VVIPs' welfare matters during the emergency rule. Other guests attending the dinner could not realize the importance of the conversation until Awami League (AL) leader Sajeda Chowdhury disclosed the news to the public 48 hours later", the source added...[ FULL STORY ]
Kashmir situation fragile, says Indian Home Minister
Holiday Desk
Kashmir valley observed complete shutdown for the second consecutive day on Wednesday in response to the call given by Hurriyat Conference (G), against the rape and murder of Shopian women and the killing of youth by CRPF and police in Baramulla.
Reports said that life came to a standstill across the valley as all shops, offices, educational institutes, banks, petrol pumps; business establishments and government offices remained closed throughout the day. Meanwhile, the death toll in police and CRPF firing on protesters Wednesday rose to four with one more died succumbing to injuries, while Baramulla town was handed over to army. Atleast 65 persons were injured with one woman critically in fresh clashes.
Agency reports quoted Indian Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday as describing Kashmir situation as "very fragile" and called for its handling with "great care"...[ FULL STORY ]
NEPAL'S DILEMMA
Return of Maoists or takeover by Delhi-trained army chief
Shamsuddin Ahmed
Last week a group of film celebrities of Nepal met with former Prime Mminister Pushpa Kamal Dahala (Prachanda). Actor-cum-director Neer Shah presenting a bouquet to Prachanda, said, "We are the Maoists of the film-making world". Welcoming the film actors and actresses Prachanda said, "Now that all of you have joined us, I feel like I'm still the Prime Minister."
Prachanda, referring to a group of politicians of UML-led alliance, who are trying to form a workable government for the last one month, described them as stooges of foreign powers and said: 'They would soon be swept away and crushed'. Lok Raj Boral, a Kathmandu political analyst said "seeing the type of people and the parties in coalition, I doubt if they can work in tandem."
Prachanda told newsmen last Wednesday that his party would return to power in six weeks. He said the disillusioned UML activists have been joining his party in hundreds. Sharply divided in power struggle, the UML leadership is widely branded as puppet of alien power. The allegation is not limited within Nepal. The Financial Times of London reporting on the situation in Nepal said on June 29 'new coalition (led by UML's Madhav Kumar Nepal) is seen as tilted toward India'...[ FULL STORY ]
RULING CLANS' RENT-SEEKING ORGIES
Hooliganism, inaction paralyse governance
Sadeq Khan
Within six months of Sheikh Hasina's grand alliance taking power, a rolling crime wave in urban areas, river ports, markets, and in roads and highways across the country has terrified the nation. Godfathers and their gang-leaders have returned from their safe havens in India or surfaced from underground. To exercise their shadowy reign over their respective turfs of protection racket, their raids and murders in broad daylight are being daily reported in the media. Within the ruling alliance's various rungs of leadership ladder and various factions of their many front organisations including student wings, and amongst ruling party members of parliament vis-a-vis local government representatives, clashes of interest and influence-peddling are taking ugly turns and tolls...[ FULL STORY ]
RMG sector suffers again as
violence flares up
Special Correspondent
Readymade garment manufacturing sector that fetches the highest amount of foreign currency for the country and employs the largest number of workforce, mainly female workers, was again targeted for attack.
The latest round of violence flared up in Savar last week as several hundred workers of the Suhi Industrial Park, an export-oriented sweater manufacturing factory at Jamgora, had been out on demonstrations for a few days demanding an increase in wages...[ FULL STORY ]
"BILATERAL" (!) NEGOTIATION ON RIGHT TO BAY OF BENGAL WITH INDIA, MYANMAR!
Dipu Moni ignorant about Ganges Water Treaty clause
Moinuddin Naserin New York
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni expressed her ignorance about the clause of the 1996 water treaty that dealt with the sharing of waters of all common rivers between India and Bangladesh. She has also eyed on dealing with the resolution to maritime boundary particularly the Indian and Myanamar submission for extended continental shelf to the United Nations bilaterally (!). These idea were expressed by her at a press briefing held on June 26, Friday last at the permanent mission office in New York after attending the three day UN financial summit.
Tipaimukh Dam
"I have no copy of the Ganges Water Treaty (GWT) in front of me and when I have no idea about the clause of sharing waters of common river, I cannot say anything right now", Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said this when she was asked by this correspondent whether she considers that construction of Tipaimukh Dam was a violation of the Article ix of the 30-year Ganges Water Sharing Treaty which noted the need for conclusion of "water sharing Treaties / Agreements with regard to other common rivers since the Barak is a common river...[ FULL STORY ]
RMG UNITS AFIRE
Culprits belong to Jubo League
Faisal Rahim
Amidst deep concerns, the nation helplessly witnessed last week's anarchy and repeated violent attacks on its vital RMG units and sensitive economic installations around Dhaka city owing to appalling law and order situation. All that was happening when law and order situation was deteriorating in the country.
The Home Minister advocate Sahara Khatoon is bedridden following an accident and is recovering at a Singapore hospital. The State Minister for Home Tanzim Ahmed Suhel Taj is vacationing in the USA on an open-ended holiday tour. Nobody knows when he may return home.
Wanton violence
In such a huge vacuum, the nation saw the wanton violence in the outer edges of the capital city at Ashulia and razing flames of a sweater factory there which burned merchandise in the production belt worth tens of crore Takas along with the burning the modern factory buildings...[ FULL STORY ]
Nirupama Rao: Delhi's Next
Foreign Secretary
Siddharth Varadarajan
The Indian government last Tuesday named Nirupama Rao, currently Ambassador to China, as its next Foreign Secretary. She will succeed Shiv Shankar Menon, who retires at the end of July.
A 1973-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, Ms. Rao has had extensive experience working the full range of diplomatic assignments that a prospective Foreign Secretary is expected to have under her or his belt: important postings in one or more of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, an ambassadorship in India's immediate neighbourhood and line responsibilities at the headquarters...[ FULL STORY ]
GLIMPSES OF THE GREAT
George Soros
K. Z. Islam
George Soros, by any measure, is one of the half dozen or so of the world's most successful investors. For the 30 years from 1969 through 2000, when he retired from active fund management, Soros's Quantum Fund returned investors an average of 31% a year. Ten thousand dollars invested with Soros in 1969 would have ballooned to $43 million by 2000, a good 3 decades' work by any standard.
Born in Budapest in 1930 Soros grew up in a cultured but not wealthy family. After having gone through severe suppression by the Nazis, George at 17 managed to get to London. He supported himself with odd jobs - while reading voraciously and getting admitted to London School of Economics from where he graduated. After graduation Soros finally joined a London securities firm in 1953 and became an arbitrage trader - exploiting temporary price misalignments among similar securities. He migrated to US in 1956.
His timing was perfect. Europe was in full recovery mode. By 1967 he became Research Director of a substantial firm where he was encouraged and he created Eagle Fund, a mutual fund with $3 million of initial capital. It was very successful, and in 1969, the firm created the double Eagle Fund. This was a hedge fund, and Soros was on his way...[ FULL STORY ]
Socio-political environment not conducive to investment: Minto
Abdur Rahman Khan
Bangladesh is passing through a period of stagnant investment for the last three years. The business community also does not expect a lot of investment in the coming years.
"Nobody would be interested in taking the risk of losing money or even life by investing in a present-day Bangladesh where the overall socio-political environment, the infrastructure and the law and order situation remains unfavourable," said Abdul Awal Minto, a business magnate of the country...[ FULL STORY ]
CHINA'S ENVOY AFTER VISITING M.E. SAYS
Peace process should be
pushed confidently
Liu Yuehua in Damascus
China's new special envoy to the Middle East Wu Sike said last Monday in an interview with Xinhua that the concerning parties of the Middle East peace process should hold confidence to make progress. Wu was in Damascus last Monday, starting the last leg of his five-country tour of the Middle East as China's new special envoy.
After meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Mualem and Vice President Faruk Shareh, he said that Syria and China has enjoyed good bilateral relationships and Syria appreciates China's role in the region and the Middle East peace process...[ FULL STORY ]
FOR NEXT 10 YEARS
US to have $1 trillion annual
budget deficit
Fazle Rashid in New York
The United States of America, the mightiest and wealthiest nation of the world, will face a budget deficit of over $1 trillion in each of the next 10 years. The national debt will double to 82 percent of the GDP in the next five years. These forecasts cannot be dismissed as they have come from the highly credible Congressional Budget Office, a non-partisan watchdog...[ FULL STORY ]
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