The New Nation - Internet Edition

First daughters woo youth vote

Chelsea Clinton

BBC News

A US television network's recent suspension of a correspondent for suggesting Hillary Clinton had "pimped out" her daughter, Chelsea, to win votes has cast a spotlight on the role played by would-be first daughters on the campaign trail.

Ex-first daughter Chelsea Clinton is campaigning for her mother, Hillary

Debate has raged in the blogosphere over whether MSNBC was right to take action against reporter David Shuster for his comment - he later apologised twice - following a complaint by Hillary Clinton.

White House hopefuls' daughters were traditionally wallflowers wheeled out occasionally to help project a cosy family image.

But a new breed is now taking centre stage to harvest the coveted votes of that once elusive demographic, the MTV Generation.

After declining nearly continuously for three decades, young voter turnout in America has been on the increase since 2000 and is forecast to go up again this year.

There are nearly 44m 18- to 29-year-old citizens in the US and more than 20m of them voted in 2004 - 4.3m more than in 2000.

The showing of under 30-year-old voters at polling stations over the past two months in primaries and caucuses has quadrupled in some states since the last primary season in 2004.

The Bush twins got into trouble in connection with underage drinking Twenty-somethings Chelsea Clinton, Republican front-runner John McCain's daughter, Meghan, and Mike Huckabee's daughter, Sarah, are all making an impact on the stump this year.

Groups that encourage youth poll participation, like Rock the Vote, believe the involvement of candidates' young adult offspring in campaigns has been crucial to combating ballot apathy.

Rock the Vote spokeswoman Chrissy Faessen said: "It's absolutely critical to have these young people out engaging young voters in college campuses and other places."

The American Association of Political Consultants believes the candidates' daughters can also significantly boost their parents' popularity with voters.

Spokesperson Cathy Allen said: "This is the year of the young voter and these articulate young ladies are excellent role models who are bringing politics to their peer group.

"It also impresses voters to see a presidential candidate has done well in their most important job - as parents, raising their children right."

But these precocious young women do not always hit the right note on, or off, the campaign trail.

Alexandra Kerry made headlines in a see-through dress at Cannes

US President George W Bush's daughters, first twins Barbara and Jenna, cracked jokes at a Republican convention during his re-election campaign in 2004, although their gags did not win rave reviews.

Worse still, the twins' brushes with the law in connection with underage drinking once provoked a national debate in the US on young people and alcohol.

They are, of course, not the first party girls to grace 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Theodore Roosevelt's daughter Alice was a self-proclaimed hedonist with a love of bawdy jokes, while Ronald Reagan's rebel daughter, Patti Davis, posed nude for Playboy.

Meanwhile, ex-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's daughter, Alexandra, caused a stir in a see-through dress on the red carpet at Cannes in 2004.

Hillary denounces Obama tactics

Agencies

US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has made her fiercest denunciation so far of Barack Obama, her rival for the Democratic Party nomination.

Mrs Clinton accused the Illinois senator of producing a misleading leaflet on her health care policy.

"Shame on you, Barack Obama!" the New York senator said at a rally in Ohio, which holds its primary in 10 days.

But Obama said he stood by the leaflet, saying he was puzzled by what he called his rival's change in tone.

"Enough with the speeches and the big rallies and then using tactics that are right out of Karl Rove's playbook," said the former first lady ahead of Ohio's crucial primary early next month.

Both the Ohio and the Texas primaries, both being held on 4 March, are being seen as must-wins for Mrs Clinton. Obama, who has won 11 consecutive primaries and caucuses in recent weeks, is now seen as the Democratic front-runner.

But Mrs Clinton's campaign has struggled to find an effective way to cope with her rival's extraordinary momentum and has decided to "go negative", says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Washington.

She and her advisers have clearly calculated that the state of the race now calls for sharper elbows and a sharper tone, our correspondent adds.

Barack Obama (left) and Hillary Clinton during debate in Austin, 21-02-08. Barack Obama has pulled ahead of Hillary Clinton in recent primaries Mr Obama now has at least 1,353 of the 2,025 delegates he needs to secure the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in August, according to an Associated Press projection.

Mrs Clinton has 1,264 delegates. Texas and Ohio have a combined total of 334 delegates up for grabs.

Correspondents say the blue-collar vote will be crucial in both contests, and the Clinton campaign has already begun targeting lower-income workers in its ads.

But in his drive to become the first black US president, Mr Obama has recently gained support from some powerful unions, including the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union.

Meanwhile, John McCain was given a further boost by the Pacific islands of Northern Marianas which chose its nine Republican delegates on Saturday.

The islands are among three US Pacific territories each sending nine delegates to the Republican convention in Minnesota this September, and delegates have praised the former Vietnam prisoner for his knowledge of their islands.

Republicans in American Samoa also announced that all nine of their delegates would support Mr McCain.Guam Republicans take their decision on 8 March.

The latest results give the Arizona senator a total of 976 delegates, according to the Associated Press, and he needs 1,191 delegates to secure the Republican nomination.

His rival, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, trails far behind with 254 delegates.

Are you in next month's key primary states of Ohio or Texas? How do you intend to vote? How crucial do you think those primaries are in this election race? Send us your comments using the form below.

Bird flu update: 2 more districts affected

Staff Reporter

The government yesterday confirmed that two more districts in the country have been affected by bird flu as the nation nears its third month of trying to control an outbreak of the virus among poultry.

The deadly H5N1, virus of bird flu, strain was reported in the Munshiganj and Chandpur districts in the past two days, taking the number of affected districts to 45 since January, said an official of the government's bird flu monitoring office.

Nearly one million birds have been slaughtered since the latest outbreak began, he added.

Meanwhile, 10,000 fowls were annihilated and 29,250 eggs destroyed at Jagatha village in Pirganj upazila in Rangpur yesterday following the detection of bird flu virus.

But the Government spokesman Salahuddin Khan said the situation was under control because fewer farms had been affected following a massive cull.

Earlier, an average six to seven farms were affected everyday by the bird flu. Now this week the number has declined to an average of two farms a day," he said.

The country was first hit by bird flu in February 2007 but the disease became dormant. It resurfaced in January when 20 new districts were hit. So far in February another 13 have reported cases, according to the Livestock officials.

Poultry industry in Bangladesh is one of the world's largest, producing 220 million chickens and 37 million ducks annually.

Last week officials of the poultry industry said that the spread of bird flu had led to the closure of 40 per cent of the country's poultry farms and left half a million workers jobless.

Our Rangpur correspondent said after the detection of bird flu in the farm of Rafiqul Islam in Jagatha, Livestock officials and local administration, in a joint drive, culled 9,189 chickens and destroyed 29,250 eggs of the farm.

Later, the team also culled over 500 chickens and ducks of the farms of other villagers located within the one-kilometre radius of the farm.

The local administration imposed ban on selling chickens and eggs for next three months issuing red alert in the area.

No quota but corruption hits BCS job aspirants

Staff Reporter

Unless corruption and nepotism was not removed from the Public Service Commission (PSC) meritorious students could not get any chance in the civil service whatever the quota system is.

The system has been run without any constitutional base. Speakers said this yesterday at a discussion on 'Rational Rearrangement of the Quota System in the BCS and other Government Jobs' organised by a group of students of the Dhaka University at the National Press Club.

This was the second discussion meeting on this issue organised by the group of students of the Dhaka University who have backtracked from their earlier demand of abolishing the quota system.

The students warned the government to meet their demands otherwise they would go for larger movement, which would be severe than the August movement last year. They hinted further course of action unless their demand was met within the deadline, which will end today.

Former Dhaka University VC Prof Dr Moniruzzaman Mia, former NBR chairman Badiur Rahman, former UGC chairman Dr Asaduzzaman, journalist Sadek Khan, Dhaka University professors Dr Akhtar Hossain Khan, Dr Mozammel haque, Masuda M Rashid Chowdhury, Advocate Mahbubur Rahman and several students, among others spoke at the meeting.

Badiur Rahman said, "The quota system does not have any constitutional base. The quota system inflicts corruption". He also said unless the corruption in the PSC was removed meritorious students will not have any chance in the BCS, to whatever extents the quota system was rearranged.

Badiur said, There is no constitutional base for the freedom fighters. They are honoured by the Government with quota. By giving seniority after the Liberation War and by giving their children jobs in the civil services we have benefited them, how far will we benefit them."

Dr Moniruzzaman said, "We are in a competitive world, so we need an efficient public administration and for that we need to rationalise the quota system but it could not be abolished."

Speakers said, after 36 years of our independence there was no need for quota for women, it was only to dishonour them, as they had advanced a lot.

PSC chairman Dr Sadat Hossain, Executive Director of TIB Dr Mojaffar Ahmed, New Age editor Nurul Kabir, Jugantor editor Golam Sarwar, Barrister Rafiqul Haque and Manabjamin editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury were not present at the meeting though they were named in the list to be present at the meeting.

Kamal for pre-poll national govt

Staff Reporter

Gano Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday said the national government or the government of national consensus comprising all political parties, who believe in multi-party democracy and committed to free the country from corruption, black money and religious militancy, could be formed before the general elections.

Former President and Chief of Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB), with which the Gano Forum (GF) entered into a two-party alliance back in 2005, proposed last year the necessity of forming a national government or government of national consensus that would run the country for two consecutive terms or 10 years to ensure non-return to the 'politics of confrontations' and unhindered national development.

JSD President Hasanul Haq Inu, after a bi-party meeting with the BDB, recently expressed his support to the concept of the national government or government of national consensus. Besides, a section of heavyweight leaders of the BNP, AL, Jatiya Party (Ershad), PDP and Kalyan Party are reportedly involved with the move.

The AL and anti-reform group of the BNP led by its Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain officially rejected the proposal before the polls, while former BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, the top leader of the reformist faction of the party, said, "Such a government can be formed both before and after the general elections. But there should be pre-poll agreement between the parties."

"The concept of the national government or government of national consensus is neither unconstitutional nor contradicts any provision of the Constitution or law of the land," Dr Kamal Hossain told a private television channel last afternoon when asked about the criticisms that the Constitution does not provided the formation of such a government.

Such a government can be formed on the basis of agreement on basic national issues between the constituent political parties keeping in mind that there is a broad consensus among the people to establish multi-party democracy and root out corruption, black money and militancy, he said, adding, "The constituent political parties only would have to arrive at an agreement on pressing political and economic issues before formation of the Government."

Asked how the national government or the government of national consensus could be formed before the polls, when many political parties, including the two giants-the BNP and the Awami League (AL)-are insisting that such a government could only be formed after the elections if the majority party in new Parliament feels to do so, the renowned jurist proposed saying, "Such a government can be formed after holding a referendum on the issue."

When his attention was drawn to the criticism made by leaders of the AL and the BNP that the concept of the national government or government of national consensus is being propagated by those politicians, who would not win the general elections, he said such a government should be formed as per expectations of the whole people on the basis of some parties misperception.

"I, myself will launch a nationwide mass-campaign in favour of forming the national government or government of national consensus," said Dr Kamal, who is being speculated to be one of the prominent candidates for the office of the premiership of such a government.

One of the top architects of Bangladesh Constitution, Dr Kamal requested the leaders of the major political parties to give a thought to the proposal considering the consensus among the people and the call of the time.

Graft case: Sk Helal jailed for 13 yrs, wife for 3 years

BSS, Dhaka

A Special Court here yesterday sentenced former Awami League lawmaker Sheikh Helal to 13 years' imprisonment for acquiring wealth beyond his known sources of income and concealing information in his wealth statement.

His wife Rupa Chowdhury was also jailed for three years for helping her husband accumulate wealth illegally.

Judge of the court Tanzina Ismail handed down the verdict after examining the witnesses and relevant documents in absence of the accused as they were absconding since the case was filed.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the case on September 24 last year accusing Helal and his wife Rupa Chowdhury for concealing information about their actual property in the wealth statement submitted to the ACC.

Helal was jailed for ten years for acquiring property disproportionate to his known sources of income and three years for submitting the untrue statement to the ACC.

The court also fined him Taka 50 lakh or, in default, to suffer two years more in jail and ordered confiscation of his assets worth Taka 7.60 crore, acquired illegally, in favour of the state.

The court also fined Rupa Chowdhury Taka 50 thousand or, in default, to suffer one month more in prison.

The punishment will be executed from the day the convicts surrender or are arrested, the verdict said.

Proper implementation of PRSP uncertain

BSS, Dhaka

Discussants at a roundtable yesterday expressed concern over the growing gap in implementation of the PRSP and stressed the need for developing home grown development strategies to take the country out of poverty.

The proper implementation monitoring of the PRSP (Poverty reduction strategy paper) is also absent, they said pointing to a situation where it is failing from its course of achieving development targets, they observed.

The event organised by the Equity and Justice Working Group (EJWG) laid emphasis on the rights of common people to find place at the centre of the development process as the discussants said the PRSP remained largely a donor driven agenda ignoring many local priorities.

Former MP GM Quader, Dr Hassan Mahmud of Awami League, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed of BNP, Executive Director of Manusher Jannya Shaheen Anam and Executive Director of Onnesha Rashed Al-Titumir, among others, spoke on the occasion. President of the EJWG Rezaul Karim Chowdhury was in the chair.

The discussants voiced critical on the absence of any mid- term and long-term development planning such as five-year planning and opined that no nation can achieve the desired prosperity depending on the development agenda advanced by the donor nations.

Moreover, the PRSP, they said, has become outdated and its renewal remained hanged over in absence of fresh initiatives both by the government and the donors.

They, however, emphasised the need for using the good opportunities that the PRSP has offered to the nation while striving to switch to new plans for development and the politicians should play their role in shaping the future course of the nation, they said.

The politicians should create new dreams for development and create new mechanism to translate these dreams by developing enhanced capacity and institutions.

The country should have also better skills to negotiate and overcome undue external pressures on its economy and attempts of vested quarters to take way natural resources, they said.

Call to import rice from Pakistan at a cheaper rate

DU Correspondent

Nazim Habib-uz-Zaman, president of Bangladesh Democratic Party (BDP), in a statement yesterday urged the government to import rice at a cheaper rate from Pakistan.

He said the Government could relieve the people of the country from price hike of rice by importing rice at price of Tk 20 per kg from Pakistan.

The Government can do this easily by raising proposal under the 'Barter charter' by exporting jute and jute goods as well as coconut, tea, fish, vegetables and battlenut to Pakistan, he said.

He said the people of the country are facing difficulties in producing essential crops due to construction of embankment on 54 rivers by India.

Bangladesh faces health hazard for unsafe water

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh face a critical health hazard for lack of 'safe drinking water' that forces the country to spend a whopping Tk 50 billion every year for the treatment of water-borne diseases.

Even though Bangladesh is known from ancient times for its abundance of water from various sources, one of the major problems that the country has been suffering for decades is the acute scarcity of 'safe drinking water'.

NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, which works mainly for ensuring safe water and sanitation, said only 74 percent of the country's population have access to safe water free from arsenic and other pollutants.

Eminent author K. Park in his book, 'Text Book of Preventive and Social Medicine' (published from India in 1997), says: "Water is considered 'safe' when it is free from pathogenic agents, free from harmful chemical substances, and pleasant to taste - i.e., ideally free from color and odor, and usable for domestic purposes." A document of World Water Council says 1.1 billion people, nearly one quarter of world population, has no access to 'safe drinking water'.

According to the World Health Organization 1.6 million deaths of children per year can be attributed to unsafe water, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene. Prior to Bangladesh's independence in 1971, surface water from ponds, lakes and rivers, and to a lesser degree, groundwater from dug wells, were the traditional sources of drinking water for the country's people.

National Sanitation Status, June 2007 states that 97.6 percent of country's population drink piped water as well as from public tap, borehole/tubewell, protected wells, and protected spring or rainwater. The surface water sources often get mixed with highly polluting wastewater from domestic and industrial sources. Many areas of groundwater and surface water are now contaminated with heavy metals, POPs (persistent organic pollutants), and other ingredients that have adverse affect on health. Water-borne diseases and water-caused health problems in the country are mostly due to inadequate and inefficient management of water resources, a water resources expert said.

WHO indicates over 20 water related diseases. These include Anaemia, Arsenicosis, Ascariasis, Campylobacteriosis, Cholera, Cyanobacterial Toxins, Dengue and Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever, Diarrhoea, Drowning, Fluorosis, Guinea-Worm Disease (Dracunculiasis), Hepatitis, Japanese Encephalitis, Lead Poisoning, Leptospirosis, Malaria, Malnutrition, Methaemoglobinemia, Onchocerciasis (river blindness), Ringworm (Tinea), Scabies, Schistosomiasis, Spinal injury, Trachoma and Typhoid, and Paratyphoid Enteric fevers.

Though no reliable data is available, every year in Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of people, particularly children, die of cholera, diarrhea, dysentry, typhoid, and other water-borne diseases for lack of 'safe drinking water'.

Banglapedia, a leading encyclopedia in the country, indicates that these diseases account for nearly a quarter of all illnesses in Bangladesh - about 12 percent diarrhoea, and 10 percent other gastro-intestinal illness including enteric fever. Thus water plays a major role in the overall disease profile of the country. National Sanitation Status, June 2007 said that every year Tk 50 billion is spent for the treatment of water-borne diseases in Bangladesh.

It also showed that 28-35 million people are exposed to arsenic contamination above 50 ppb (parts per billion) while 46-57 million others are exposed to arsenic contamination above 10 ppb. WHO has identified the arsenic contamination in Bangladesh as the "largest mass poisoning of a population in history." The number of cases of skin lesions related to drinking water in Bangladesh is estimated at 1.5 million, it said. Experts say 'safe drinking water' is a pre-requisite for reducing the spread of water-borne diseases but many people in the country are being deprived of such safe water due to gradual decrease or contamination.

Hydrogeologist Nurun Nabi, who worked with groundwater (hydro) and surface water, said sources of safe water are being gradually decreased or destroyed as level of groundwater is being contaminated by arsenic and other heavy metals due to unplanned use of water by installation of hand pumps while surface water is being polluted for lack of proper maintenance of domestic and industrial wastes. Former chairman of Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) and Professor of Geography and Environment Department Nazrul Islam observed that safe drinking water both in rural and urban areas is under threat as hand tubewells, the major source of water in the rural areas, are being contaminated by arsenic, while piped water in the country's large cities including Dhaka get polluted due to old pipelines and leakage, and for lack of proper maintenance. Nazrul Islam, also the Chairman of University Grants Commission (UGC), said 35 percent slum dwellers in the big cities including Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna do not get piped water due to certain laws now in force and also shortage of water.

Dhaka WASA sources said it has a capacity of producing 180 crore liters of water daily for the Dhaka city dwellers against the demand of 200 crore liters.

Nazrul Islam stressed the need for taking long-term mega plan identifying alternative sources of safe water and ensuring safe supply and proper purification of water as well as good governance in water management.

Joseph Halder, Chief, Advocacy and Information of NGO Forum, said many strategies and policies like Water Management Plan, National Policy for Safe Water and Sanitation, Sanitation Policy, National Arsenic Mitigation Policy, Pro-Poor Strategy, etc. have been formulated for ensuring safe water and sanitation. But these could not be properly implemented yet due to financial constraints and for lack of coordination among the water, environment and LGRD ministries.

Halder urged all to use alternative technology and water sources like 'ponds and filtration' and 'rainwater harvesting system' to ensure safe drinking water for the huge population across the country.

It is also universally recognized that the prevalence of waterborne diseases can be greatly reduced with the provision of clean drinking water and safe disposal of feces.

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan once said: "We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation and basic healthcare."

A former Director General of WHO, late Dr LEE Jong-wook, had said:

"Water and Sanitation is one of the primary drivers of public health. I often refer to it as "Health 101", which means that once we can secure access to clean water and to adequate sanitation facilities for all people, irrespective of the difference in their living conditions, a huge battle against all kinds of diseases will be won."

SEC chief urges merchant banks: Make capital business more reliable

Staff Reporter

Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Faruq Ahmed Siddiqui urged the merchant banks to make the capital business more attractive and reliable to the investors.

According to him, merchant banks have enormous contribution in fostering capital business in Bangladesh. They can play even more vital role in this regard, he added.

"Through guiding new investors towards profitable and potential scripts, merchant banks have played a vital role in growing equity business in Bangladesh. Their investment loans were also important for the healthy market as they enhance market capital," said SEC Chairman.

He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of Capital Market Service Division by the Shahjalal Islamic Bank yesterday at a local hotel in the capital.

Being a third generation Islamic Bank, the Bank has shown promising growth in business. We expect its capital market division will also play vital role in national capital market development, he added.

President of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Abdullah Bukhari expected the merchant banking division of the bank will also perform satisfactorily. He was addressing the launching ceremony as special guest.

Chairman, Shahjalal Islamic Bank said the Capital Market service of the bank is a client-oriented one, which is a part of our tireless effort to contribute more in national economic growth. Through the latest product, we expect to reach at the doorsteps of our clients with every possible financial support, he added.

President, Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) Nasiruddin Ahmed Chaudhury, founder chairman of Shahjalal Islamic Bank Sajjatuj Jumma were also present on the occasion.