The New Nation - Internet Edition

Summit vows to halve hunger, boost food output

Ban Ki Moon

AFP, Rome

A UN summit vowed Thursday to halve global hunger by 2015 and take "urgent" action over the global food crisis, but only after going into overtime at a fractious summit in Rome.

In a final declaration at the gathering -- which saw some 6.5 billion dollars (4.1 bln euros) pledged, but which exposed strains notably over biofuels -- world leaders also agreed to boost food production in poor countries.

"We are convinced that the international community needs to take urgent and coordinated action to combat the negative impacts of soaring prices on the world's most vulnerable countries and populations," it said.

The summit was an "important first step" but not sufficient to tackle the global food crisis, British charity Oxfam said.

Oxfam Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said in a statement that while leaders of the world's richest countries had "acknowledged the importance of aid to agriculture", the global food crisis needed "a wide-ranging plan to resolve it."

"As the world's most powerful countries, they must provide more money to deal with the immediate impact of the current crisis but also tackle some of the contributing causes by ending compulsory biofuels targets and providing more long term aid for agriculture," she said.

"The current crisis illustrates starkly that what we need is not business as usual but deep reform of the international trading system," she said.

The declaration was criticized even before it was formally agreed, with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini calling it "disappointing."

The text was "unfortunately very watered down with respect to the initial ambitions," he said, cited by the ANSA news agency.

Reaffirming a UN goal despite the current crisis -- in which soaring prices have sparked famine and food riots around the world -- the summit vowed to cut "by half the number of undernourished people by no later than 2015."

"There is t an urgent need to help developing countries and countries in transition expand agriculture and food production and to increase investment (from) both public and private sources," the statement added.

The declaration was finalised only after wrangling went down to the wire at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, with biofuels and trade barriers among the most contentious points.

Biofuel development is promoted notably in Brazil and the United States, but criticised by others as taking up land that could otherwise be used to produce food.

In what critics would likely see as ducking the issue, the declaration says biofuels present both "challenges and opportunities" -- and calls for more research.

The discord blew into the open at a sometimes stormy final session after the talks went into overtime, in which three Latin American countries -- Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba -- repeatedly voiced their dismay.

Cuba's delegate at the final session notably lashed out at the United States and the "sinister biofuels strategy" as well as the "leaders of consumption" which he said marred the accord.

Speaking after the 11th-hour accord, FAO chief Jacques Diouf said some 6.5 billion dollars had been pledged at the summit.

Major pledges came from the Islamic Development Bank (1.5 billion dollars), France (1.5 billion dollars), the World Bank (1.2 billion) and the African Development Bank (1.0 billion), Diouf said.

"Our conference was not a donor conference, but we were pleasantly surprised to receive extremely generous pledges," Diouf said.

The first day of the summit Tuesday saw colourful remarks by the presidents of Iran and Zimbabwe about Western pressure, while there has been plenty of criticism of rich countries' protection of their markets.

But by Wednesday, John Holmes, head of the UN task force on the crisis, said a "broad consensus" had built around an action plan which is to be presented at a Group of Eight meeting in Japan this month, and a G8 summit in July.

'Missing’ pyramid of a pharaoh

Workers are seen at the site of a so-called "missing
pyramid".

AP, Egypt

Egyptian archaeologists unveiled on Thursday a 4,000-year-old "missing pyramid" that is believed to have been discovered by an archaeologist almost 200 years ago and never seen again.

Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities chief, said the pyramid appears to have been built by King Menkauhor, an obscure pharaoh who ruled for only eight years.

In 1842, German archaeologist Karl Richard Lepsius mentioned it among his finds at Saqqara, referring to it as number 29 and calling it the "Headless Pyramid" because only its base remains. But the desert sands covered the discovery, and no archaeologist since has been able to find Menkauhor's resting place.

"We have filled the gap of the missing pyramid," Hawass told reporters on a tour of the discoveries at Saqqara, the necropolis and burial site of the rulers of ancient Memphis, the capital of Egypt's Old Kingdom, about 12 miles south of Cairo.

The team also announced the discovery of part of a ceremonial procession road where high priests, their faces obscured by masks, once carried mummified sacred bulls worshipped in the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis.

The pyramid's base - or the superstructure as archeologists call it - was found after a 25-foot-high mound of sand was removed over the past year and a half by Hawass' team.

Hawass said the style of the pyramid indicates it was from the Fifth Dynasty, a period that began in 2,465 B.C. and ended in 2,325 B.C. That would put it about two centuries after the completion of the Great Pyramid of Giza, believed to have been finished in 2,500 B.C.

Another proof of its date, Hawass says, was the discovery inside the pyramid of a gray granite lid of a sarcophagus, of the type used at that time.

The rectangular base, at the bottom of a 15 foot-deep pit dug out by workers, gives little indication of how imposing the pyramid might have once been. Heaps of huge rocks, many still partially covered in sand and dust, mark the pyramid's walls and entrance, and a burial chamber was discovered inside.

Archaeologists have not found a cartouche - a pharaoh's name in hieroglyphs - of the pyramid's owner. But Hawass said that based on the estimated date of the pyramid he was convinced it belonged to Menkauhor.

Work continues at the site, where Hawass said he expected to unearth "subsidiary" pyramids around Menkauhor's main one, and hoped to find inscriptions there to back up his claim.

The partial ceremonial procession road unveiled Thursday dates back to the Ptolemaic period, which ran for about 300 years before 30 B.C.

It runs alongside Menkauhor's pyramid, leading from a mummification chamber toward the Saqqara Serapium, a network of underground tombs where sacred bulls were interred, discovered by French archaeologist August Mariette in 1850.

A high priest would carry the mummified bulls' remains down the procession road - the only human allegedly allowed to walk on it - to the chambers where the bulls would be placed in sarcophagi, Hawass said.

Ancient Egyptians considered Apis Bulls to be incarnations of the city god of Memphis and connected with fertility and the sun-cult. A bull would be chosen for its deep black coloring and would be required to have a single white mark between the horns. Selected by priests and honored until death, it was then later mummified and buried in the underground galleries of the Serapium.

The procession route's discovery "adds an important part to our knowledge of the Old Kingdom and its rituals," Hawass said.

The sprawling archaeological site at Saqqara is most famous for the Step Pyramid of King Djoser - the oldest of Egypt's over 100 pyramids, built in the 27th century B.C.

Although archaeologists have been exploring Egypt for some 200 years, Hawass says only a third of what lies underground in Saqqara has been discovered.

"You never know what secrets the sands of Egypt hide," he said. "I always believe there will be more pyramids to discover."

Free Buriganga from illegal occupation

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA) formed a human
chain on the second Buriganga Bridge yesterday with a call
to save the river. Focus Banla

Staff Reporter

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolan (BAPA) and Puran Dhaka Paribesh Unnayan Forum jointly formed a human chain yesterday demanding to make the city's surrounding rivers, including Buriganga free from illegal occupation and pollution.

The human chain was formed on the 2nd Buriganga Bridge at Babu Bazar in the city at 10:30am.

BAPA joint secretaries Prof Mahbuba Nasrin and Sharif Jamil, Prof Khandokar Mukaddam Hossain of Social Science Department, Dhaka University, Humayan Kabir, Ward (No-59) Commissioner of Dhaka City Corporation, Dr Mahbub Hossain, teacher of Asia Pacific University, Alamgir Kabir, Coordinator of Green Voice, Asraf Amir Ullah, General Secretary of Puran Dhaka Paribesh Unnayan Forum, among others, address the human chain. BAPA joint secretary Zakir Hossain presided over the function.

They demanded demarcation of the rivers' boundaries and evict all brickfields and illegal establishments on the river belt as per the rules.

They blamed that the concern authorities did not play the proper role to save the rivers from illegal occupation and pollution.

Prof Mahbub Nasrin said if we could not save our rivers, cannels and pools, our economy would be at stake.

AL move to strengthen organisational base

Pankaj Karmakar

The policymakers of Awami League are currently engaged in strengthening their organisational base, as it had remained neglected after the BNP-led coalition government assumed office in 2001.

The party has started vigorous activities to strengthen the organisational base of the party aiming to be prepared for both conducting street agitation to push for the release of the detained party chief Sheikh Hasina and participating in the upcoming parliamentary election.

A central leader of the party confessed that the party has not enough organisational strength to wage street movement to release Sheikh Hasina under the state of emergency.

Talking to The New Nation he said, "The main reasons for the weakening of the organisational base were the repression let loose by the BNP-led coalition government on AL leaders and activists, nomination to wealthy people keeping aside the dedicated leaders, who had joined every movement of the party, and contradictory stands of the central leaders after January 11, 2007 which misled mid-ranking leaders."

As part of the strengthening activities of the organisational base the central leaders have planned to visit all the districts and Thana level extended meetings after the second week of June.

Earlier the central committee asked the district and thana committees to submit reports on the party's current position after the promulgation of the State of Emergency, the number of cases filed against district leaders and workers and the number of partymen who went into hiding.

In this regard the district and thana committees submitted report in the party's extended meeting on May 26.

Source said, after reviewing these reports the central leaders will instruct the grassroots leaders to find out the ways of resolving the crises prevailing in their respective areas. The party's countrywide organisational tour will be held in the second half of June to resolve disputes among district leaders.

In the party's extended meeting the central leaders asked the grassroots leaders to complete the council and to form full committee of all the districts and thana units.

Beside this, the Dhaka City Awami League is also active to underpin its organisational structure aiming to form a human chain around the makeshift jail where Sheikh Hasina is detained, which may be held in June.

Dhaka City Awami league will hold meeting with all the thana and ward committees under the Dhaka City Corporation from next week to reactivate the leaders and activists.

Keeping the weakening condition of the party's organisational base in mind, the central leadership showed reluctance to announce any street agitation programme.

A central leader of Awami League said, "The party will not take up any street agitation now and will rather go for a systematic movement, which would not violate the state of emergency. The central leadership wants to reactivate the party grassroots and fronts in such systematic movement."

The sources said the party would think about action programmes after mid-August, capitalizing people's sentiment about Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's killing and completing the organisational strengthening drive across the country.

AL Presidium Member Suranjit Sen Gupta said, " We have decided to visit district to district to warm up the local leaders and activists. If the central leaders visit any area the local leaders will become more dynamic."

"We will take decision about the issue of launching tough action programme after this tour", he added.

AL Presidium Member Matia Chowdhury told The New Nation, " We have launched the tour to remove the rust that had covered the district and thana unit committees during the last 17 months. We have to be stronger to launch street agitation."

312.04 lakh tonnes record food output planned

Shamim Jahangir

The target of foodgrain production is likely to be fixed at 312.04 lakh tonnes from 253.8 lakh hectares of land in the 2008-09 fiscal surpassing the last year's target by 55.4 lakh tonnes, according to Agriculture Ministry sources.

This will be the highest foodgrain production target in a given year in the history of Bangladesh, sources said.

To achieve this target, the government has decided to increase subsidy in agriculture sector to Tk 8,000 crore in the upcoming budget from Tk 3900 crore in the revised budget of last fiscal.

Of the total quantity, the aman production target has been fixed at 136.59 lakh tonnes from 58.20 lakh hectares of lands, Boro at 196.14 lakh tonnes from 46.75 lakh hectares, Aush at 23.69 lakh tonnes from 11.27 lakh hectares.

The government will raise the target of wheat production to 10.40 lakh tonnes from 8.40 last year.

The maize will be at 12.75 lakh tonnes from 2.15 lakh hectares of land, potato to 75 lakh tonnes from 5 lakh hectares, sweet potato to 8.40 lakh tonnes from 0.60 lakh hectares and sugarcane 36 lakh tonnes from 0.75 lakh hectares.

Besides, the target of vegetables production has been raised to 100 lakh tonnes in the coming year from the last year's target of 81 lakh tonnes.

The target of production of mustard seeds will be five lakh tonnes from the five lakh hectors of lands, peanut 1.44 lakh tonnes from 0.85 lakh hectares, Soyabean 0.48 lakh tonnes from 0.50 hectares of lands, pulse 1.50 lakh tonnes from 1.50 lakh hectares and lentil 2.25 lakh metric tonnes from 2.50 lakh hectares.

The production target would be finalised at an inter ministerial meeting next week, sources added.

A high official of the Agriculture Ministry said, "our farmers will be able achieve the target if they get fertilisers and irrigation facilities on time."

Global climate change: Dhaka outlines framework for investment flows

BSS, Bonn

Bangladesh outlined a conceptual framework for investment and financial flows at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting here yesterday to address the effects of global climate change.

Besides, Bangladesh called upon the developed nations to provide least developed countries (LDCs) and SIDS one extra per cent of their GNP as climate support to ensure their food, water, energy and livelihood securities.

Making a presentation on behalf of the LDCs at the UNFCCC meeting, the delegate of Bangladesh said, one to three per cent of GDP is needed to avoid worst effects of climate-induced extreme events like hurricane Sidr that hit Bangladesh last year and cyclones Nargis that ravaged Myanmar last month endangering food and livelihood securities.

Bangladesh placed outline of an architecture of Adaptation Fund, Venture Capital Fund, Technology Transfer and Research Fund and Risk Management Fund under UNFCCC with principle of adequacy to meet funding requirement for adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer.

The Bangladesh delegate asked for ensuring equity, predictability, new and additional principles and proposed a governance structure operating under UNFCCC and guidance by the conference of the parties keeping an easy, fast and direct access and smooth disbursement of fund with a priority for the most vulnerable groups and communities and natural resource management.

Member of Bangladesh delegation and coordinator of LDCs on financing Quamrul Islam Chowdhury also emphasised the need for setting up an international adaptation centre with regional and national centres for smoothening the research and development, data and knowledge sharing.

He argued that if nations miss this investment opportunity now, then it will cost each country on an average 4 to 5 per cent of its GDP every year because of more frequent visits of extreme events like cyclone, flood and drought.

He called upon the developed countries to provide LDCs and SIDS investment and financial flows for supporting adaptation needs of the present, up and beyond 2012.

The chair of the subsidiary body on implementation (SBI) today formed a friends of the chair with Bangladesh delegation member Quamrul Chowdhury as the facilitator on reaching a decision on operationalising adaptation fund at this session of SBI.

Bangladesh delegation member Mohammed Reazuddin, who made a presentation on adaptation on the opening day on June 2 of the two-week climate conference here, was also nominated by the SBSTA chair to lead a contact group on an important agenda.

The presentations of Bangladesh on behalf of LDCs received wide support from different parties including the chair of G-77 and SIDS.

EC schedule for local polls in July

Bdnews24.com, Dhaka

The Election Commission is to declare the detailed election schedule of four city corporations and nine municipalities by June 20, in a move described as a "test and trial" prior to the national polls in December.

Election commissioners M Sakhawat Hussain and Muhammed Sohul Hussain briefed reporters yesterday at the launch of a three-day training course for field officers at the Election Training Institute in Agargaon.

The commissioners said that the local elections mentioned are now scheduled to be held at the end of July.

"We have received a copy of the ordinance relating to local government, municipalities and city corporations, and the Law Ministry is now assessing the Election Act," said Sohul.

Commissioner Sakhawat said the move was in line with the EC roadmap declared in July, 2007, which stated local government polls were to be held before December.

"The local government election is being arranged prior to national election as a test and trial of the system," said the commissioner.

"The EC will not take any risks which may hamper the national election. We are also determined to hold the national polls in the third week of December," he said.

Sakhawat said the EC had now completed 95 percent of voter listing throughout the country.

The commissioners added that the training programme at the Election Training Institute would bring local officers up-to-speed with new legislation covering local government.

Also attending the event was Election Commission secretary Humayun Kabir and district election officers among others.

Road Show now in Bogra

BSS, Bogra

The Road Show with the main slogan 'Let us build Bangladesh' is now here on its fourth day yesterday with five agenda to rejuvenate all people to boost production and fight out corruption.

Deputy Commissioner Humayun Kabir along with other officials and a large number of people welcomed the caravan of the Road Show at Bogra Cotton Mill area.

25 canals disappear in 36 years from Dhaka city

BSS, Dhaka

Twenty-five canals have disappeared from the landscape of the capital city of Dhaka in last 36 years.

There were 47 canals in the city till the country's independence in 1971. Now, there is the existence of 22 canals in the city, but those are getting narrower day by day.

According to information collected from Dhaka City Corporation, environmental organisations and the Dhaka Gazette, once there were also many big ponds in Dhaka city, but those are no more now.

According to sources, the natural canals were filled up by influential political leaders and land grabbers. High-rise building have been constructed on the filled up canals.

Environmentalists say filling up the canals and unplanned constructions are responsible for waterlogging in the city during the monsoon every year. There is still the existence of 22 canals in the city, but those are proceeding towards disappearance.

'Prolonging rule of unelected govt. harmful to nation’

UNB, Cox's Bazar

Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid yesterday said that prolonging the rule of the un-elected government would cause more harm to the nation.

Addressing the party's Rokon conference at a local hotel, he said the foreign currency reserve reached its lowest during the tenure of the present government.

Call to impose ban on tree cutting

Staff Reporter

Enayetullah Khan, Chairman, Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB) yesterday called upon the government to make an inventory of forest resources in the country and impose a ban on tree cutting without prior permission.

He was speaking at a function organised by WTB in collaboration with the

Dhaka Zoo in observance of the World Environment Day.

The daylong programme at the auditorium of the Dhaka Zoo also aimed at creating conservation awareness among the people especially among school children.

The WTB Chairman further said that to combat global climate change we not only need to reduce our carbon footprints but also protect our biodiversity.Prof. Md. Anwarul Islam, Chief Executive of WTB, in his speech explained the importance of the day.

Md.Aminur Rahman, Curator of the Dhaka Zoo, presided over the programme.

During the Porgrame, the participants raised their voiced in favour of biodiversity conservation through various activities such as song, lectures and games on values of biodiversity.

Bumper Boro harvest peasants’ gift to the nation

BSS, Dhaka

Adviser for Foreign Affairs Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury today said the bumper Boro harvest is a gift of the toiling peasants to the nation.

The Foreign Adviser made these comment while inaugurating the Lions Clubs International Convention at a city hotel this morning, said a press release.

Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury said it is a matter of great satisfaction that "we have been able to produce 17.6 million metric tons of Boro paddy this season." In this process the toiling masses of Bangladesh, including the poor peasants, had a tremendous contribution, for which the nation remains "ever grateful" to them, he added.

He also said that the current dialogue with the political parties was progressing satisfactorily. He hoped that the process will be successful with the participation of all concerned.