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Indian open diplomacy turns sour
over Tipaimukh
Sadeq Khan
In the post-Cold War global matrix, India has been steadily gaining in economic strength and geopolitical stature. No wonder India is also finding and beginning to practice open diplomacy as a time-saving tool in what one might term as mildly coercive, if not aggressive, pursuit of its foreign policy objectives commensurate with its power status. But if not tempered by disarming cool, the practice may lead to pitfalls as well. His Excellency Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty appears to have stumbled into such a pitfall...[ FULL STORY ]
PM'S MAGNANIMITY
Hasina asks party leaders not
to criticize Moeen
MI Ali
The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, on Monday last, advised her party leaders not to speak against the immediate past iron man, the puppeteer of the last Caretaker Government, General (Rtd.) Moeen U. Ahmed for the actions taken by the last administration. Recent history records only one such act of magnanimity, that of former South African President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Mandela pardoned his predecessor, Pieter Willem Botha, who released him from prison. Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment by the apartheid government of South Africa in 1962 and was released from prison by Botha after 28 years in 1990...[ FULL STORY ]
FORMER ARMY CHIEF TO FACE TRIAL?
PM's stand on Moeen's fate
intensifies suspicion
M. Shahidul Islam
The vicissitudes of history is nowhere as obtrusive and merciless as in Bangladesh. Here, victors of today are the vanquished of tomorrow and today's villains pass off as tomorrow's heroes. It's a vicious cycle that has no set rules, no perceptible direction.
That is why the man who is on record for showing much heroism and bluster in cracking down on corrupt political leaders and business magnets following the declaration of emergency rules on January 11, 2007 is himself being sued for a number of alleged charges, and, within days of changing into civil attire...[ FULL STORY ]
IRAQ, AFGHAN WAR LESSONS
US redrawing war strategy
Fazle Rashid in New York
The United States, militarily the world's mightiest country that spends roughly $22,000 per minute on war expenses, is currently redrawing its war strategy in the light of the experience it gathered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The new strategy will embrace countries like Iran, North Korea and even China and Russia.
The next war will not be like ones that are being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon is now focussing more on counter insurgency. However, as of now, the entire focus rests on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The mounting civilian casualties in American air strikes in Afghanistan and Pakistan have made both the host governments and the US forces very unpopular amongst their own people...[ FULL STORY ]
India faces red threat
Holiday Desk
Facing a red danger from the armed communist groups, popularly known as Maoists, the Indian government last week banned the Communist Party of India (CPI-Maoists) which was formed by the unification of several leftwing outfits in 2004.
The Central Home Ministry on 22 June banned the CPI (Maoist) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, calling it a terrorist organization in an immediate response to the Maoist declaring Lalgarh as their liberated zone. India's Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribal people and landless farmers, and are now active in more than half of the country's 29 states - particularly in the east, the poorest part of India...[ FULL STORY ]
ASIA ENERGY FOR EXPORTING FULBARI COAL
Is Govt. allowing Cairn to sell gas direct
to third party?
Faisal Rahim
New development in the gas sector is worrying the stakeholders. The Government last week reportedly agreed to a proposal by Cairn Energy of the UK to allow it to sell its new offshore gas, if it finds extractable reserves in Meghna and Hatiya gas fields, directly to third party.
The practice under the production sharing contract requires international oil companies (IOCs) to offer gas to the Government in the first place through Patrobangla within a price band compared with Singapore market price. In case the agency fails or refuses to buy, the developers may sell it to a third party.
Concession to IOCs
But since the Government remains the only buyer so far, IOCs could never take advantage of selling it direct to third party which also means in an unbundled competitive price, away from the present agreed price band.
In fact Cairn Energy was pressing the demand for selling gas direct to users from Meghna and Hatiya gas fields now under development. But the previous governments including the immediate past Caretaker Government (CG) did not agree...[ FULL STORY ]
GLIMPSES OF THE GREAT
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein
K. Z. Islam
In the late 19th and early 20th century the Muslim women were way behind their Hindu counterpart, socially, educationally, financially as they were under severe religious restrictions. The most radical, revolutionary, a voice of protest among Bengali girls was that of a Muslim lady and her name was Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein (1880-1932). We have to see Rokeya's role in the backdrop of the political situation prevailing in the Indian sub-continent during her lifetime when the wrath of both a British and the Hindus were directed towards the Muslims which resulted in their taking a passive role in all sectors of society...[ FULL STORY ]
GEN. MOEEN MUST BE TRIED
AL's going to power and people's empowerment are not synonymous
Abdur Rahman Khan
Former Army Chief General Moeen U Ahmed should not be allowed to go unpunished. He must be tried for violating the constitution, providing emergency power support to an illegitimate government for two years, torturing the political leaders, businessmen and government officials and harassing a large section of the people under emergency rule.
In an exclusive interview with the Holiday, Faiz Ahmad, a veteran journalist and a leading socio-cultural personality of the country, who had been a vocal critic of the emergency rules, has once again voiced his anger against the illegal exercise of military power to suppress the democratic people of the country...[ FULL STORY ]
Sweden next EU President in July
Anisur Rahman in Stockholm
Sweden takes over the Presidency of the European Union from first of July for next six months. The country holding the Presidency leads the Council of the European Union and acts as the driving force behind the EU's legislative and political work.
Financial crisis, Turkey's EU membership, climate change and an uncertain balance of power; Sweden has a long list of issues to tackle when it takes over the EU presidency.
What is even more significant is that Sweden expects Iceland to seek fast-tracked EU membership as informed by EU minister of Sweden Cecilia Malmstrom to the press earlier this month...[ FULL STORY ]
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