Pakistani troops pounded militant hideouts in a tribal region near the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing at least 10 rebels with links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, officials said.
The attacks took place in the Bajaur tribal district, where Pakistani security forces launched a major offensive against Islamic fighters in August.
‘Troops fired artillery and mortars onto hideouts of rebels in Loisam, Rashakai, Chinar and Babra areas, killing 10 militants and wounding eight others,’ a security official told AFP.
There was no way to independently verify the toll. The official also said a curfew was imposed Wednesday in Khar, the main town in Bajaur, as part of the ongoing military operation.
All shops and offices were closed, the roads were empty, and all residents were ordered to remain indoors. The military said in late September that the fighting in Bajaur was some of the heaviest since Pakistan joined the US-led ‘war on terror.’
It said more than 1,000 rebel fighters have been killed since it launched the offensive, including al-Qaeda’s operational commander in the region, Egyptian Abu Saeed Al-Masri.
Pakistan’s tribal regions have been wracked by violence since thousands of Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels fled to the country after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.
Violence linked to Pakistan’s role in the ‘war on terror’ has claimed the lives of more than 1,300 people in suicide and bomb attacks in the past year.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Afghan governor says air strike kills 70 Taliban
About 70 Taliban fighters were killed in an overnight air strike by foreign forces in the southern Afghan province of Helmand near the Pakistan border, the provincial governor said on Wednesday.
The attack took place late Tuesday in Helmand’s Baram Cha district. Violence in Afghanistan is running at its highest rate since the US-led invasion to wrest control from the militant Islamist Taliban movement in 2001.
‘Most of these Taliban (killed) are foreign fighters who entered Afghanistan to destabilise the country,’ governor Dawood Ahmadi told Reuters in Kandahar.
NATO and the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan said they had no immediate information about the air strike.
Provincial authorities said earlier Wednesday that another 22 Taliban insurgents and six Afghan policemen were killed in overnight clashes in the south.
Dozens of Taliban fighters attacked Lashkar Gah in Helmand, about 550 km southwest of the capital Kabul. Eighteen insurgents were killed during a four-hour gun battle, said provincial police chief Asadullah Sherzad.
In another incident, gunmen killed six Afghan policemen at their checkpost in the same district, a spokesman for Ahmadi said.
The attack took place late Tuesday in Helmand’s Baram Cha district. Violence in Afghanistan is running at its highest rate since the US-led invasion to wrest control from the militant Islamist Taliban movement in 2001.
‘Most of these Taliban (killed) are foreign fighters who entered Afghanistan to destabilise the country,’ governor Dawood Ahmadi told Reuters in Kandahar.
NATO and the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan said they had no immediate information about the air strike.
Provincial authorities said earlier Wednesday that another 22 Taliban insurgents and six Afghan policemen were killed in overnight clashes in the south.
Dozens of Taliban fighters attacked Lashkar Gah in Helmand, about 550 km southwest of the capital Kabul. Eighteen insurgents were killed during a four-hour gun battle, said provincial police chief Asadullah Sherzad.
In another incident, gunmen killed six Afghan policemen at their checkpost in the same district, a spokesman for Ahmadi said.
TAC summons 17 high officials of BTCL, BRTA
The Truth and Accountability Commission has summoned 17 high officials, both serving and retired, to physically appear before it and explain their alleged involvement in corruption.
‘We have served notices to them as their names were mentioned by other officials who confessed their corruption before the commission in order to get clemency,’ the chairman of the TAC, Habibur Rahman Khan, told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.
The officials are from the Bangladesh Telecom Company Ltd and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, said the chairman without disclosing their identity.
He dismissed the possibility of creating a climate of fear among government officials by issuing notices to them, as reported by a section of the press who pointed out that the law under which the TAC was formed empowers him to summon individuals whose names are mentioned by other individuals while confessing their corruption.
‘Summoning the officers is very much within our jurisdiction, and it will help to curb corruption,’ he said
When he was asked about what action would be taken after interrogating the summoned officials, Habibur Rahman said that if they confess their graft they will be welcome to seek clemency from the TAC. ‘If they deny the allegations, they might be referred to some other agencies [for further investigation],’ said Habibur Rahman, adding that his commission might serve further notices if more names are mentioned by the seekers of clemency.
The temporary commission, which came into being in August and will function for five months only, has received so far 313 petitions from individuals seeking clemency to ensure that no criminal proceedings will be drawn against them after they voluntarily disclose their graft and deposit their ill-gotten assets in the state exchequer.
Only 17 individuals have voluntarily submitted petitions to the TAC, and the Anti-corruption Commission and National Coordinating Committee referred 126 and 167 cases respectively to the TAC. Three others were referred by the courts.
The TAC has completed the hearing of 150 cases. The individuals confessed that they had amassed property worth about Tk 19.60 crore through corruption. Of the amount more than Tk 10 crore has been deposited in the national exchequer, according to the TAC.
The TAC has also issued clemency certificates to 18 individuals, which will help them to avoid criminal proceedings in the future.
Asif Ali, one of the two members of the TAC, said that about 98 per cent of the mercy seekers are officials or employees of government or semi-government bodies.
‘We have served notices to them as their names were mentioned by other officials who confessed their corruption before the commission in order to get clemency,’ the chairman of the TAC, Habibur Rahman Khan, told reporters at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday.
The officials are from the Bangladesh Telecom Company Ltd and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority, said the chairman without disclosing their identity.
He dismissed the possibility of creating a climate of fear among government officials by issuing notices to them, as reported by a section of the press who pointed out that the law under which the TAC was formed empowers him to summon individuals whose names are mentioned by other individuals while confessing their corruption.
‘Summoning the officers is very much within our jurisdiction, and it will help to curb corruption,’ he said
When he was asked about what action would be taken after interrogating the summoned officials, Habibur Rahman said that if they confess their graft they will be welcome to seek clemency from the TAC. ‘If they deny the allegations, they might be referred to some other agencies [for further investigation],’ said Habibur Rahman, adding that his commission might serve further notices if more names are mentioned by the seekers of clemency.
The temporary commission, which came into being in August and will function for five months only, has received so far 313 petitions from individuals seeking clemency to ensure that no criminal proceedings will be drawn against them after they voluntarily disclose their graft and deposit their ill-gotten assets in the state exchequer.
Only 17 individuals have voluntarily submitted petitions to the TAC, and the Anti-corruption Commission and National Coordinating Committee referred 126 and 167 cases respectively to the TAC. Three others were referred by the courts.
The TAC has completed the hearing of 150 cases. The individuals confessed that they had amassed property worth about Tk 19.60 crore through corruption. Of the amount more than Tk 10 crore has been deposited in the national exchequer, according to the TAC.
The TAC has also issued clemency certificates to 18 individuals, which will help them to avoid criminal proceedings in the future.
Asif Ali, one of the two members of the TAC, said that about 98 per cent of the mercy seekers are officials or employees of government or semi-government bodies.
Bush admin gave nod for CIA waterboarding: report
The administration of the US president, George W Bush, authorised the CIA to waterboard al-Qaeda suspects according to two secret memos issued in 2003 and 2004, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
The memos were issued at the request of intelligence officials who were ‘troubled that White House policymakers had never endorsed the program in writing,’ the newspaper said, citing four administration and intelligence officials familiar with the documents.
‘The classified memos, which have not been previously disclosed, were requested by then-CIA director George J Tenet more than a year after the start of the secret interrogations,’ the Post said.
‘Although justice department lawyers, beginning in 2002, had signed off on the agency’s interrogation methods, senior CIA officials were troubled that White House policymakers had never endorsed the programme in writing.’
Tenet’s first request for written approval by the White House came in 2003, during a meeting with National Security Council members including the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the paper quoted the unnamed officials as saying.
The first secret memo was issued shortly thereafter, ‘a brief memo conveying the administration’s approval for the CIA’s interrogation methods, the officials said.’
Tenet made a second request in 2004 as revelations of abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison came to light.
‘Officials who held senior posts at the time also spoke of deteriorating relations between the CIA and the White House over the war in Iraq — a rift that prompted some to believe that the agency needed even more explicit proof of the administration’s support,’ the report said.
The newspaper said administration officials ‘confirmed the existence of the memos, but neither they nor former intelligence officers would describe their contents in detail because they remain classified.’
A White House spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Waterboarding, a staple of brutal interrogations from the Spanish Inquisition to Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime, usually consists of strapping down a captive, covering his face with a cloth and pouring water onto the cloth to simulate drowning.
The Central Intelligence Agency has admitted using the technique on al-Qaeda suspects including alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed following the 2001 attacks, at a time when further strikes on the United States were believed to be imminent.
Rights groups have decried the technique as torture.
The White House, which has not previously acknowledged it was aware of the specific techniques being used by interrogators, has said the United States does not currently use waterboarding, but that it would not rule out the use of such techniques in the future.
The memos were issued at the request of intelligence officials who were ‘troubled that White House policymakers had never endorsed the program in writing,’ the newspaper said, citing four administration and intelligence officials familiar with the documents.
‘The classified memos, which have not been previously disclosed, were requested by then-CIA director George J Tenet more than a year after the start of the secret interrogations,’ the Post said.
‘Although justice department lawyers, beginning in 2002, had signed off on the agency’s interrogation methods, senior CIA officials were troubled that White House policymakers had never endorsed the programme in writing.’
Tenet’s first request for written approval by the White House came in 2003, during a meeting with National Security Council members including the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, the paper quoted the unnamed officials as saying.
The first secret memo was issued shortly thereafter, ‘a brief memo conveying the administration’s approval for the CIA’s interrogation methods, the officials said.’
Tenet made a second request in 2004 as revelations of abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison came to light.
‘Officials who held senior posts at the time also spoke of deteriorating relations between the CIA and the White House over the war in Iraq — a rift that prompted some to believe that the agency needed even more explicit proof of the administration’s support,’ the report said.
The newspaper said administration officials ‘confirmed the existence of the memos, but neither they nor former intelligence officers would describe their contents in detail because they remain classified.’
A White House spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Waterboarding, a staple of brutal interrogations from the Spanish Inquisition to Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime, usually consists of strapping down a captive, covering his face with a cloth and pouring water onto the cloth to simulate drowning.
The Central Intelligence Agency has admitted using the technique on al-Qaeda suspects including alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed following the 2001 attacks, at a time when further strikes on the United States were believed to be imminent.
Rights groups have decried the technique as torture.
The White House, which has not previously acknowledged it was aware of the specific techniques being used by interrogators, has said the United States does not currently use waterboarding, but that it would not rule out the use of such techniques in the future.
Oil price dips below $71 a barrel to 13-month low
The price of oil fell below 71 dollars on Wednesday, its lowest level for more than 13 months, as recession fears raised concerns about a prolonged drop in energy demand, analysts said.
The global financial crisis is hitting world demand for oil, although the effect on emerging economies is unclear, OPEC said on Wednesday.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries slashed its estimate of growth in demand this year and shaved its estimate for 2009, largely because of an ‘excessive’ easing of demand in the United States, the single biggest energy market.
Prices also fell Wednesday on news that a Nigerian court had ordered Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell to hand over land to locals, a key demand of armed rebels camped in Nigeria’s oil-producing region.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery fell to 70.70 dollars a barrel — the lowest level since late August 2007 — before recovering to 70.93 dollars, down 3.60 dollars compared to Tuesday’s close.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November, shed 3.40 dollars to 75.23 dollars a barrel after hitting an intra-day low point of 74.92.
Brent crude has fallen by more than half from a record high 147.50 dollars in July, when prices rocketed on fears of supply disruptions.
Oil prices are sliding on ‘concerns that the coordinated action by central banks over the last week will not be enough to rescue economies from falling into a global recession and hence weighing on oil demand,’ Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar said.
A top US central banker, Janet Yellen, said Tuesday that the United States ‘appears to be in a recession.’ There are also growing fears Japan and Europe are heading for a spell of economic stagnation or recession.
The German economy is heading for a slowdown but the downturn will not be a long-lasting one, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday.
Meanwhile a Nigerian court ordered Shell to hand over land around its giant Bonny oil terminal to the local population, the multinational said Wednesday.
‘The ruling was given some months ago but we have appealed,’ Shell’s spokesman in Nigeria, Precious Okolobo, told AFP.
He did not say whether oil lifting and export activities at the terminal, considered to be the largest in Africa, would be affected by the ruling.
Markets were meanwhile awaiting the latest weekly snapshot of US energy inventories due Thursday for a lead on the state of demand for oil in the world’s biggest consumer of crude.
The Department of Energy’s latest data on inventories has been delayed a day owing to a public holiday in the United States on Monday.
Oil traders were also looking ahead to an extraordinary meeting of OPEC on November 18 as member countries fret over falling prices, with some calling for cuts in output as a result.
The global financial crisis is hitting world demand for oil, although the effect on emerging economies is unclear, OPEC said on Wednesday.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries slashed its estimate of growth in demand this year and shaved its estimate for 2009, largely because of an ‘excessive’ easing of demand in the United States, the single biggest energy market.
Prices also fell Wednesday on news that a Nigerian court had ordered Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell to hand over land to locals, a key demand of armed rebels camped in Nigeria’s oil-producing region.
Brent North Sea crude for November delivery fell to 70.70 dollars a barrel — the lowest level since late August 2007 — before recovering to 70.93 dollars, down 3.60 dollars compared to Tuesday’s close.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November, shed 3.40 dollars to 75.23 dollars a barrel after hitting an intra-day low point of 74.92.
Brent crude has fallen by more than half from a record high 147.50 dollars in July, when prices rocketed on fears of supply disruptions.
Oil prices are sliding on ‘concerns that the coordinated action by central banks over the last week will not be enough to rescue economies from falling into a global recession and hence weighing on oil demand,’ Sucden analyst Nimit Khamar said.
A top US central banker, Janet Yellen, said Tuesday that the United States ‘appears to be in a recession.’ There are also growing fears Japan and Europe are heading for a spell of economic stagnation or recession.
The German economy is heading for a slowdown but the downturn will not be a long-lasting one, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday.
Meanwhile a Nigerian court ordered Shell to hand over land around its giant Bonny oil terminal to the local population, the multinational said Wednesday.
‘The ruling was given some months ago but we have appealed,’ Shell’s spokesman in Nigeria, Precious Okolobo, told AFP.
He did not say whether oil lifting and export activities at the terminal, considered to be the largest in Africa, would be affected by the ruling.
Markets were meanwhile awaiting the latest weekly snapshot of US energy inventories due Thursday for a lead on the state of demand for oil in the world’s biggest consumer of crude.
The Department of Energy’s latest data on inventories has been delayed a day owing to a public holiday in the United States on Monday.
Oil traders were also looking ahead to an extraordinary meeting of OPEC on November 18 as member countries fret over falling prices, with some calling for cuts in output as a result.
Indian novelist Adiga wins Booker Prize
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It was only the third time in the Booker’s 40-year history that a first-time writer had claimed the award, and, at 33, Adiga was also one of its youngest winners.
He received a cheque for 50,000 pounds ($88,000) at a gala dinner in London on Tuesday and can expect not only overnight literary fame but also a sharp rise in book sales in the runup to Christmas.
Booker organisers say last year’s winner, Anne Enright, has sold around 500,000 copies of ‘The Gathering,’ largely due to the prize. The White Tiger is published by Atlantic Books.
The White Tiger follows Balram Halwai, the son of a rickshaw puller whose dream of escaping the poverty of his village takes him on a journey to the bright lights of Delhi and Bangalore, where he will do almost anything to get to the top.
‘It was important for me to present someone from this colossal underclass, which is perhaps as big as 400 million, and to do so without sentimentality,’ Adiga told reporters after the awards ceremony.
‘The book has done very well in India. It was a bestseller before this was announced. There’s been a need for a book like this,’ he added.
Michael Portillo, chairman of the five-member judging panel, praised The White Tiger for tackling important social and political issues in modern-day India.
‘What set this one apart was its originality,’ Portillo said. ‘For many of us this was entirely new territory — the dark side of India.
‘It’s a book that gains from dealing with very important social issues — the divisions between rich and poor and the impossibility of the poor escaping from their lot in India.’
Portillo said the central character was sympathetic while also being ‘absolutely vile and absolutely unrepentant,’ and likened him to Shakespeare’s tragic hero Macbeth. He added: ‘The overarching evil is poverty, the chicken coop from which the poor not only can’t escape but have no wish or ambition to escape.’
Adiga said his aim in writing The White Tiger was to represent the poor.
‘Balram Halwai is a member of the invisible Indian underclass — one of the millions of poor Indians who have been bypassed by the economic boom,’ he told Reuters before the Booker Prize winner was announced.
He beat bookmakers’ favourite Sebastian Barry of Ireland (The Secret Scripture).
Also nominated were India’s Amitav Ghosh (Sea of Poppies), Britons Linda Grant (The Clothes on Their Backs) and Philip Hensher (The Northern Clemency) and Australian-born Steve Toltz (A Fraction of the Whole).
Adiga is the third debut novelist to claim the prize, after Arundhati Roy in 1997 and DBC Pierre in 2003. He is the second youngest winner after Ben Okri, who won in 1991 aged 32.
Bigots against baul monument
Some Muslim bigots on Wednesday forced government authorities to pull down a monument of bauls on the roundabout at Zia International Airport in Dhaka after they had tried to raze and rallied against the sculpture.
The Dhaka City Corporation six months ago decided to erect a monument at the place as part of the city beautification programme.
Sculptor Mrinal Haque about three months and a half ago started building the monument, sculptures of five bauls holding ektaras, single-stringed instruments, symbolising the exuberance of the Bengali culture. The initiative was sponsored by the United Commercial Bank.
‘I have completed 80 per cent of the work amid protests by some Muslim bigots in the name of religious sentiments being hurt,’ Mrinal told New Age. ‘Sensing trouble, the airport and the civil aviation authorities decided to pull down the monument and I agreed to the proposal.’
Several hundred bigots, teamed up as the committee against statue in the airport crossing, tried to stop the initiative just after Mirnal had started work.
The bigots on Wednesday gathered near the neighbouring Babu Salam Mosque and brought out a procession demanding that the monument should be immediately dismantled.
A large number of lawmen, including Rapid Action Battalion personnel, reached the place, but failed to tackle the situation.
The situation deteriorated when several hundred people from different mosques reached the place and joined the protesters at about 3:00pm.
High police officials and the civil aviation authorities at a brief meeting decided to move the sculpture to ward off further trouble.
The civil aviation authorities assigned the Fair Enterprise and the Probhati Enterprise to move the sculptures and the protesters joined the demolition job at about 5:00pm.
The Airport police told New Age they were pulling down the monument at the directive of higher authorities.
Energy div keeps door open for Cairn to sell gas directly to 3rd party
The energy division has kept the door open for Cairn Energy for future negotiation to allow the UK-based company to sell gas directly to a third party.
The division, which made the decision on Wednesday, earlier said it would not meet the Cairn demand as the country was facing gas crisis and the issue had political implications.
It asked Petrobangla to inform Cairn that the issue of allowing the company to sell gas to a third party would be discussed in future after the company confirmed the presence of gas reserve at Magnama or Hatia structures.
Special assistant to the chief adviser M Tamim at a meeting also asked Petrobangla officials to slam Cairn Energy for ‘breaching the production sharing contract, hiding information and creating mistrust’ in regards to the gas reserve.
He also directed Petrobangla to ask Cairn to show ‘good intentions’ and come out of ‘mistrust’ by conducting exploration works like 3D seismic survey at Magnama and Hatia structures in the Bay.
‘The issue of selling gas to a third party will be discussed later once Cairn confirms availability of gas at the structures,’ Petrobangla was asked to inform the company by Tamim.
Cairn in July-August warned Petrobangla that it would not go for further exploration in the Magnama and Hatia structures, which it found after a 2D survey during this dry season, if the gas price was not increased or the company was not allowed to sell its share of gas directly to a third party once gas was found.
Many Petrobangla officials criticised Cairn saying that it was trying to press home its demand leaving the country in gas crisis.
They also observed that the other international oil companies would come up with the same demand if Cairn’s demand was met. Petrobangla then sought energy division’s directives.
Tamim and energy secretary Mohammad Mohsin earlier told reporters that the Cairn’s demand would not be met as the issues were thorny and had political implications. Energy officials at Wednesday’s meeting went through the PSC that Petrobangla had signed with Cairn for block 16 in early 90’s, said sources present at the meeting.
They observed that as per the existing PSC, there was no provision for increasing gas price for Cairn, but there was an option that Cairn could sell gas directly to a third party in the country if Petrobangla refuses to purchase gas from Cairn, they said.
The meeting observed that there would be criticism if Petrobangla refused to purchase gas at a time when the country was facing huge gas shortage.
It also observed that if Cairn was informed that the Petrobangla dismissed the Cairn’s demand that it will not go for further exploration at the structure and will sit with the structure at least two years without doing anything.
Petrobangla officials alleged that the company did not disclose information to Petrobangla and did not behave well.
When asked why they had decided to hold future talks with Cairn, a high official of the division said there was no problem in holding talks. ‘If a big reserve is found in one of the structures, we can hold talks with them on their proposal to allow them to sell gas directly to third party.’
The division, which made the decision on Wednesday, earlier said it would not meet the Cairn demand as the country was facing gas crisis and the issue had political implications.
It asked Petrobangla to inform Cairn that the issue of allowing the company to sell gas to a third party would be discussed in future after the company confirmed the presence of gas reserve at Magnama or Hatia structures.
Special assistant to the chief adviser M Tamim at a meeting also asked Petrobangla officials to slam Cairn Energy for ‘breaching the production sharing contract, hiding information and creating mistrust’ in regards to the gas reserve.
He also directed Petrobangla to ask Cairn to show ‘good intentions’ and come out of ‘mistrust’ by conducting exploration works like 3D seismic survey at Magnama and Hatia structures in the Bay.
‘The issue of selling gas to a third party will be discussed later once Cairn confirms availability of gas at the structures,’ Petrobangla was asked to inform the company by Tamim.
Cairn in July-August warned Petrobangla that it would not go for further exploration in the Magnama and Hatia structures, which it found after a 2D survey during this dry season, if the gas price was not increased or the company was not allowed to sell its share of gas directly to a third party once gas was found.
Many Petrobangla officials criticised Cairn saying that it was trying to press home its demand leaving the country in gas crisis.
They also observed that the other international oil companies would come up with the same demand if Cairn’s demand was met. Petrobangla then sought energy division’s directives.
Tamim and energy secretary Mohammad Mohsin earlier told reporters that the Cairn’s demand would not be met as the issues were thorny and had political implications. Energy officials at Wednesday’s meeting went through the PSC that Petrobangla had signed with Cairn for block 16 in early 90’s, said sources present at the meeting.
They observed that as per the existing PSC, there was no provision for increasing gas price for Cairn, but there was an option that Cairn could sell gas directly to a third party in the country if Petrobangla refuses to purchase gas from Cairn, they said.
The meeting observed that there would be criticism if Petrobangla refused to purchase gas at a time when the country was facing huge gas shortage.
It also observed that if Cairn was informed that the Petrobangla dismissed the Cairn’s demand that it will not go for further exploration at the structure and will sit with the structure at least two years without doing anything.
Petrobangla officials alleged that the company did not disclose information to Petrobangla and did not behave well.
When asked why they had decided to hold future talks with Cairn, a high official of the division said there was no problem in holding talks. ‘If a big reserve is found in one of the structures, we can hold talks with them on their proposal to allow them to sell gas directly to third party.’
DU test finds melamine in major milk brands
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution has forwarded to the commerce ministry the Dhaka University test report that detects melamine in some milk brands imported from countries other than China.
The chief of the official certification agency, however, stressed that the findings of the test done at the chemistry department of Dhaka University should be rechecked in other local or foreign laboratories in view of the sensitivity of the issue.
BSTI director general Azmal Hossain on Wednesday said the DU test report showed existence of melamine in the samples of eight milks brands, including Dano from Denmark, Diploma and Red Cow from Australia and Nido, a Swiss milk brand sourced from Australia.
‘The DU test claims that samples of all these brands contained melamine, in some cases more than 100 milligram per kilogram,’ said Azmal.
The BSTI received the test report in the afternoon and forwarded it immediately to the commerce ministry for necessary action, the BSTI chief said.
Tests done at three laboratories previously did not find melamine in non-Chinese milk brands, requiring further test either at home or abroad to reach a conclusion, he said.
‘It is a sensitive matter, so recheck is essential,’ said Azmal
Earlier, private laboratory Plasma Plus, state-owned BCSIR and BSTI’s own laboratory found melamine only in Chinese brands Yeshli-1 Yesli-2, Sweet Baby Sun Care and Sunlu at a maximum of 86 milligram per kilogram.
Mahmub Jamil, chief adviser’s special assistant for the industries ministry, said if existence of melamine was proved in all milk brands, he might recommend a ban on marketing of all foreign-made milk powder brands.
The inter-material taskforce, coordinated by the commerce ministry and responsible to check marketing of unregistered milk brands, will sit today to boost up vigilance and discuss actions following the latest developments.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition, which is responsible for registration of baby milk brands, said it had made “melamine free” certification mandatory for all registered milk brands.
Certificates could be taken from BSTI, BCSIR and the DU’s chemistry department, the IPHN notified, requesting the civil surgeon’s offices in all districts to help mobile courts in checking sales of unregistered baby milk brands.
The chief of the official certification agency, however, stressed that the findings of the test done at the chemistry department of Dhaka University should be rechecked in other local or foreign laboratories in view of the sensitivity of the issue.
BSTI director general Azmal Hossain on Wednesday said the DU test report showed existence of melamine in the samples of eight milks brands, including Dano from Denmark, Diploma and Red Cow from Australia and Nido, a Swiss milk brand sourced from Australia.
‘The DU test claims that samples of all these brands contained melamine, in some cases more than 100 milligram per kilogram,’ said Azmal.
The BSTI received the test report in the afternoon and forwarded it immediately to the commerce ministry for necessary action, the BSTI chief said.
Tests done at three laboratories previously did not find melamine in non-Chinese milk brands, requiring further test either at home or abroad to reach a conclusion, he said.
‘It is a sensitive matter, so recheck is essential,’ said Azmal
Earlier, private laboratory Plasma Plus, state-owned BCSIR and BSTI’s own laboratory found melamine only in Chinese brands Yeshli-1 Yesli-2, Sweet Baby Sun Care and Sunlu at a maximum of 86 milligram per kilogram.
Mahmub Jamil, chief adviser’s special assistant for the industries ministry, said if existence of melamine was proved in all milk brands, he might recommend a ban on marketing of all foreign-made milk powder brands.
The inter-material taskforce, coordinated by the commerce ministry and responsible to check marketing of unregistered milk brands, will sit today to boost up vigilance and discuss actions following the latest developments.
Meanwhile, the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition, which is responsible for registration of baby milk brands, said it had made “melamine free” certification mandatory for all registered milk brands.
Certificates could be taken from BSTI, BCSIR and the DU’s chemistry department, the IPHN notified, requesting the civil surgeon’s offices in all districts to help mobile courts in checking sales of unregistered baby milk brands.
AL applies for EC registration
The Awami League on Wednesday applied for registration with the Election Commission and submitted the amended, provisional party constitution with provisions contradicting the registration criteria.
It also hoped the commission will further relax its provisions to allow the party to be registered.
The Awami League’s office secretary Abdul Mannan Khan submitted, along with the application, the party’s amended, provisional constitution which kept provisions for associate organisations and foreign chapters of the party.
The provisions of keeping such bodies contradict the registration laws laid out in the revised Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance 2008.
Asked whether the party thinks the commission will relax the registration criteria to allow it to be registered, Abdul Mannan said, ‘We think the commission will register us in line with our amended constitution.’
Asked how the commission will register the Awami League as at least two provisions in the party constitution contradict the registration criteria, election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain said, ‘The committee assigned to verify the applications will scrutinise the application and then we will see what could be done.’
He, however, declined comments when he was asked whether the commission would relax the registration criteria to allow the Awami League to be registered.
Article 90(B)-(b)(iii) of the Representation of the People Order, as amended on October 6, says every political party should have specific provisions in its constitution ‘to prohibit formation of any organisation or body as its affiliated or associated body consisting of the teachers or students of any educational institution or the employees or labourers of any financial, commercial or industrial institution or establishment or the members of any other profession.’
According to Article 90C(1)(d), a political party should not be qualified for registration if ‘there is any provision in its constitution for the establishment or operation of any office, branch or committee outside the territory of Bangladesh.’
The Awami League’s amended, provisional constitution says the party maintains associate organisations to be guided by their own constitutions, instead of the existing provision allowing monitoring by the party secretaries concerned.
The Bangladesh Mahila Awami League, Bangladesh Krishak League, Jatiya Sramik League, Bangladesh Awami Juba League, Awami Swechchhashebak League, Bangladesh Chhatra League, Awami Ainjibee Parishad, Bangladesh Tanti League, Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad and Bangladesh Juba Mahila League will operate as the party’s ‘associate’ organisations to be guided by their own constitutions, the provisional party constitution said.
As for overseas unit of the party, the amended, provisional constitution says overseas wings formed by Bangladeshi expatriates will go by the existing rules and regulations of the countries of their residence.
Abdul Mannan said the party during the dialogue with the commission made it clear they would keep associate organisations and overseas units.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday said the party would not decide on the registration with the commission until they reach a consensus on contentious political issues with the caretaker government.
The BNP’s secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain hoped the government would again hold dialogue with the BNP before the extended October 20 deadline for registration, a requisite for parties to contest the forthcoming polls scheduled for December 18.
Only 23 political parties have applied for registration with the commission till Wednesday, when the registration deadline was earlier set to expire. The deadline was later extended by five days till October 20 at the request of some political parties. Some 167 parties and groups have collected forms, said sources in the commission.
The 23 parties and groups which have applied for registration are the Awami League, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal (M-L), Liberal Democratic Party, Freedom Party, National People’s Party, Jatiya Party faction led by Anwar Hossain Manju, Naya Samaj Dal, Bangladesh Mukti Oikya Dal, Bangladesh Jatiya League, Bangladesh Kalyan Party and Nirdaliya Jana Andolan, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Islami Oikya Front, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, National Awami Party, Jatiya Party led by Ershad, Forward Party, Gana Forum and Islami Gana Shakti.
The commission on August 27 issued a notice inviting political parties to apply for registration in a prescribed form and also submit a number of documents.
According to the Representation of the People Order, as amended on October 6, the political parties will be allowed to submit a provisional constitution to the commission to get registered and contest the December 18 parliamentary polls.
But in six months after the first sitting of the next parliament, the parties must ratify their constitutions by duly holding council sessions in line with the latest electoral laws which call for ‘more democratisation’ of parties.
It also hoped the commission will further relax its provisions to allow the party to be registered.
The Awami League’s office secretary Abdul Mannan Khan submitted, along with the application, the party’s amended, provisional constitution which kept provisions for associate organisations and foreign chapters of the party.
The provisions of keeping such bodies contradict the registration laws laid out in the revised Representation of the People (Amendment) Ordinance 2008.
Asked whether the party thinks the commission will relax the registration criteria to allow it to be registered, Abdul Mannan said, ‘We think the commission will register us in line with our amended constitution.’
Asked how the commission will register the Awami League as at least two provisions in the party constitution contradict the registration criteria, election commissioner M Sakhawat Hussain said, ‘The committee assigned to verify the applications will scrutinise the application and then we will see what could be done.’
He, however, declined comments when he was asked whether the commission would relax the registration criteria to allow the Awami League to be registered.
Article 90(B)-(b)(iii) of the Representation of the People Order, as amended on October 6, says every political party should have specific provisions in its constitution ‘to prohibit formation of any organisation or body as its affiliated or associated body consisting of the teachers or students of any educational institution or the employees or labourers of any financial, commercial or industrial institution or establishment or the members of any other profession.’
According to Article 90C(1)(d), a political party should not be qualified for registration if ‘there is any provision in its constitution for the establishment or operation of any office, branch or committee outside the territory of Bangladesh.’
The Awami League’s amended, provisional constitution says the party maintains associate organisations to be guided by their own constitutions, instead of the existing provision allowing monitoring by the party secretaries concerned.
The Bangladesh Mahila Awami League, Bangladesh Krishak League, Jatiya Sramik League, Bangladesh Awami Juba League, Awami Swechchhashebak League, Bangladesh Chhatra League, Awami Ainjibee Parishad, Bangladesh Tanti League, Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad and Bangladesh Juba Mahila League will operate as the party’s ‘associate’ organisations to be guided by their own constitutions, the provisional party constitution said.
As for overseas unit of the party, the amended, provisional constitution says overseas wings formed by Bangladeshi expatriates will go by the existing rules and regulations of the countries of their residence.
Abdul Mannan said the party during the dialogue with the commission made it clear they would keep associate organisations and overseas units.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday said the party would not decide on the registration with the commission until they reach a consensus on contentious political issues with the caretaker government.
The BNP’s secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain hoped the government would again hold dialogue with the BNP before the extended October 20 deadline for registration, a requisite for parties to contest the forthcoming polls scheduled for December 18.
Only 23 political parties have applied for registration with the commission till Wednesday, when the registration deadline was earlier set to expire. The deadline was later extended by five days till October 20 at the request of some political parties. Some 167 parties and groups have collected forms, said sources in the commission.
The 23 parties and groups which have applied for registration are the Awami League, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Janata League, Bangladesh Krishak Sramik Awami League, Workers Party of Bangladesh, Bangladesher Samyabadi Dal (M-L), Liberal Democratic Party, Freedom Party, National People’s Party, Jatiya Party faction led by Anwar Hossain Manju, Naya Samaj Dal, Bangladesh Mukti Oikya Dal, Bangladesh Jatiya League, Bangladesh Kalyan Party and Nirdaliya Jana Andolan, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, Bangladesh Islami Oikya Front, Communist Party of Bangladesh, Bikalpadhara Bangladesh, National Awami Party, Jatiya Party led by Ershad, Forward Party, Gana Forum and Islami Gana Shakti.
The commission on August 27 issued a notice inviting political parties to apply for registration in a prescribed form and also submit a number of documents.
According to the Representation of the People Order, as amended on October 6, the political parties will be allowed to submit a provisional constitution to the commission to get registered and contest the December 18 parliamentary polls.
But in six months after the first sitting of the next parliament, the parties must ratify their constitutions by duly holding council sessions in line with the latest electoral laws which call for ‘more democratisation’ of parties.
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