The New Nation - Internet Edition

Palin factor dampens Republican campaign

Sarah Palin

AFP, Juneau

The Republican presidential ticket was on the defensive on Saturday after investigators found vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin had abused her powers as Alaska governor.

As Republican White House hopeful John McCain sought to restore control over his unruly rallies which have seen a stream of invective, including a death threat, targeted at Democratic rival Barack Obama , the "troopergate" scandal threatened to torpedo his campaign. In a long-awaited 263-page report released by Alaska's Legislative Council, investigator Steve Branchflower said Friday Palin was guilty of violating ethics rules for public officials. He said Palin had allowed her husband Todd Palin to use the Alaska governor's office and its resources to pressure officials to fire her former brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten. "Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agendat to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired," the report said.

"She had the authority and power to require Mr Palin to cease contacting subordinates, but she failed to act," the report added.

McCain-Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said the report showed Palin had acted "properly and lawfully" in axing Monegan, dismissing the investigation as politically motivated. Palin, the first woman to be selected on a Republican ticket, was plucked from political obscurity in Alaska by the Arizona senator in late August to be his running mate in the November 4 elections. A devout Christian mother-of-five who is pro-life and a committed hunter, she fired up the party's conservative base, which had not fully embraced McCain.

But her lack of national and foreign experience raised doubts among observers about McCain's judgement. Palin, 44, has become McCain's chief attack dog against Obama, drawing thousands of people to her rallies, and accusing the Chicago senator at the weekend of "palling around with terrorists." As Obama, 47, took a hefty lead in the polls even in battleground states, McCain's campaign sought to refocus its fight for the White House away from the economy, with relentless, searing attacks.

But a series of negatives ads casting doubt on Obama's character and his past associations backed by frequent pointed questions about who he is, whipped up anger at the Republican rallies, causing widespread concern.

After the US Secret Service said Thursday it was investigating an alleged death threat shouted at a Florida rally, McCain was forced to tone down the attacks. "We want to fight, and I will fight, but we will be respectful. I admire Senator Obama and his accomplishments and I will respect him," McCain, 72, told a Minnesota rally Friday.

"I want to be presidentt but I have to tell you that he is a decent person and a person you don't have to be scared of as president of the United States."

Crowds at the rallies had become increasing inflammatory shouting out "terrorist" and "liar" when Obama was mentioned. At one Florida rally, someone even shouted "kill him."

Obama, who has kept his campaign focused on the country's worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s, on Friday rebuked McCain for preaching a politics of "anger and division."

"In the last couple of days we have seen a barrage of nasty insinuations and attacks and I am sure we will see much more over the next 25 days," he told an Ohio rally.

"It's easy to rile up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that is not what we need now in the United States, the times are too serious."

The economy is now voters' top concern, and for the first time in a Newsweek poll, Obama was Friday given a double digit lead, of 52 percent with 41 percent for McCain.

The last poll by the magazine a month ago, before the economic crisis began to bite, had the two men tied on 46 percent.

But with 25 days to go before Americans cast their ballots, McCain vowed to come up from behind.

"How many times, my friends, have the pundits written off the McCain campaign?" he told the cheering crowd. "We're going to fool 'em again, my friend!"

Large population of endangered dolphins found off Bangladesh

Agencies

The world's largest population of vulnerable Irrawaddy dolphins -- famed as aquarium attractions -- has been found in Bangladesh's waters, according to a five-year wildlife study.

Until now, it was believed the small light-grey mammal was threatened and the International Union of Conservation of Nature had put five of its Southeast Asian populations on its list of critically endangered animals.

But the study, launched in 2003 by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project, has counted 5,832 Irrawaddy dolphins along Bangladesh's coast and estuaries.

"It's by far the biggest population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the world," said project director Brian Smith of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"It's very good news for all of us," he said.

The researchers surveyed the waters along Bangladesh's 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) of coastline, said Rubayat Mansur, who led the research team.

"We're absolutely thrilled to make such an important discoveryt We don't know any other place where these dolphins are found in such large numbers," he said.

In other areas where the dolphins are known to converge, such as the Mekong delta, populations have been estimated at less than 100.

"It's great news if the researchers have in fact found such a huge number of Irrawaddy dolphins off the Bangladesh coast," said Switzerland-based Liz McLellan of environmental group WWF.

"We'll look into the study because we know only a very small population of Irrawaddy dolphins now live in Southeast Asia," she said.

Although its name is derived from Myanmar's biggest river, the two-metre (six-foot) long Irrawaddy dolphin is mainly an oceanic mammal that favours coastal waters and estuaries.

They are found in small, geographically isolated populations from Australia to India to the Philippines.

One of the main threats to their survival is drowning in fishing nets, says the WWF. They are also fished for their oil and meat.

The dolphins' ability to live in both salt water and fresh water makes them popular with dolphin shows, where fresh water tanks are cheaper to maintain.

Mansur said many of the dolphins had been found in the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans which straddles Bangladesh and India. The forest is also home to 400 Ganges sweet-water dolphins, which also are on the endangered list.

Despite the welcome discovery of the larger than expected number of Irrawaddy dolphins off Bangladesh, Smith of the Wildlife Conservation Society said their long-term future was far from secure. "During the study, we have seen that because of fishing with long nets, accidental deaths of dolphins along Bangladesh coast and estuary rivers is common," Smith said

"They get entangled in the fishing nets and die," Smith said.

And Mansur said the construction of new dams along Bangladesh's coastal rivers to stop flooding, pollution and habitat was also cause for concern.

The researchers urged the government to take immediate steps to create small networks of protected zones in order to prevent the Irrawaddy dolphin following the Yangtze river dolphin down the path of extinction.

From the Foreign Press: The Age of Bloomberg

Fareed Zakaria

America's financial crisis has allowed all sorts of people-from British trade unionists to Asian central bankers to France's mercurial president-to declare that we're seeing the end of laissez-faire capitalism and free markets. We're not. Let's step back, take a deep breath, and put this in historical context. What is happening now is a deep, wrenching financial crisis unlike any we've seen since the 1930s. It's contributing to a broad slowdown of the American economy. The pain is spreading across the world. It's ugly. But it's not unprecedented. The history of capitalism is filled with credit crises, panics, financial meltdowns and recessions. It doesn't mean the end of capitalism. But it might well mean the end of a certain kind of global dominance for the United States.

The current crisis is vast by any historical standards. The government will have to experiment with massive interventions in the market until credit starts flowing smoothly again. But such actions have become part and parcel of modern capitalism. Last Monday the Dow Jones industrial average dropped by 778 points, which was a 6.9 percent loss. On Black Monday in 1987, the Dow fell by 22.6 percent. That led to new regulations to curb the volatility of the stock market. In almost all the financial crises around the world of the last 30 years-and there have been dozens of them-the government has had to intervene to restore trust and confidence.

Such moves have stabilised the entire capitalist system. No modern society could accept the downswings that used to be routine for Western countries in the 19th century, an era that saw much less intervention. The average length of a recession between 1854 and 1919 was 22 months. In the last two decades recessions have averaged eight months. Between 1854 and 1919, the American economy contracted every 49 months on average. In the last two decades, it has been 100 months between contractions. Many factors have contributed to these changes but chief among them have been the government's monetary and fiscal policies.

Does this round of intervention mark a return to regulation? Well, 40 years ago governments in most countries controlled their national currency, which was not freely floating. They often owned steel companies, car manufacturers, telephone companies, and banks. They set the price of airline tickets, phone calls, stock commissions, and cement. Tariffs were many times higher than they are today in the industrialised world. Does anyone think we're returning to this world?

We can't. Capitalism is now a global phenomenon, powered by the actions of companies and governments all over the world. Countries will continue to rely on free markets and free trade to get growth and rising standards of living. Over the last three decades countries have liberalised their markets not because people like Bob Rubin or Hank Paulson forced them to do so, but because they could see the benefits of moving in that direction (and the costs of not doing so). This movement will continue to be halting and episodic, and vulnerable to political pressures. But I would bet that over the next 20 years, more countries will open up parts of their economies (in a controlled fashion) than nationalise parts of them.

The real fallout of the financial crisis will be the delegitimisation of American power. People around the world once saw the United States as the most modern, sophisticated and productive economy in the world. Now they wonder, was this all a house of cards? They listened to American policymakers with respect, even awe. Today, they wonder if these officials know what they are doing. This loss of credibility will have hard consequences.

The scholar and analyst Zachary Karabell said on CNN two weeks ago, "We will look back on this as the moment that the global capital base moved outside America." For decades, the United States has attracted massive amounts of capital-80 percent of the surplus savings of the world-which has allowed it to live beyond its means. That era is drawing to a close. America will have to fight to attract capital and investment like every other nation.

In a world of competitive capitalism, you need not big government or no government but smart government. We are not in a race to the bottom, on wages, regulations, or anything else. But we are competing against other countries to come up with the government policies that most effectively foster growth, innovation, and productivity. It's a time to figure out what works, not what ideological mantras to keep repeating. It's the age of Michael Bloomberg, not Margaret Thatcher.

In America today we're getting government wrong in a big way. We have a patchwork of bad regulations, subsidies, and ad hoc interventions. Policies are designed to pay off powerful constituents rather than generate long-term growth. We have the most expensive and inefficient health-care system in the industrialised world, the most wasteful energy usage, the lowest savings rate, the worst maintained infrastructure, a complex and corrupt tax code. We've gotten by despite all these problems because the overall system has been dynamic and the world looked to America as the place to put its savings and its faith. But the free ride is coming to an end. It's time to get serious.

-NEWSWEEK

Kamal now wants to be AL partner

Bdnews24.com, Dhaka

Dr Kamal Hossain, who has maintained his support for 1/11 “reforms” and denounced the two major parties in past months, says he would now like to be part of an Awami League-led electoral alliance.

“I would appeal to all-not just the 14 parties-but all like-minded parties be united based on the 23-point programme,” the lawyer-politician told bdnews24.com in an exclusive interview yesterday.

At a massive rally on Paltan Maidan on Nov 22, 2005, Sheikh Hasina announced the 23-point programme on behalf of the 14-party alliance.

Later, HM Ershad-led Jatiya Party, Badruddoza Chowdhury’s Bikalpadhara-turned-LDP (now Bikalpadhara again) and several Islamist parties also joined the combine that came to be dubbed a 'Grand Alliance’.

“This unity is needed to ensure a fair election, a good education system, healthcare and overall development of the country,” Dr Hossain said.

But who would he call like-minded?

“Like-minded are those having identical policies and principles,” said Dr Hossain, who served as law and foreign minister in the early 1970s.

The man who headed the committee that drafted Bangladesh’s constitution in 1972 referred to the great campaigns during the pre-independence days.

“We’d like to go the same path as the politics of alliance (Jukta Front) in 1954, later pursued by the Bangabandhu (Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) t the politics of national unity embodied in his six-point and 11-point declarations t that led to our independence.”

He said his quest for unity led to the creation in 1993 of his new party-Gano Forum.

“We have not deviated for a second (from the ideals of these programmes). We were part of the campaign based on the 23-point programme.”

“The whole nation is united about a fair election, free of black money and muscle.”

“All is needed now is to unite the like-minded parties.”

Turning to recent turn of events, the Gano Forum chief was particularly angry over “secret meetings” between caretaker advisers and top political leaders.

Adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman held a 'closed-door’ meeting with BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Shaheed Mainul Road home on Friday evening, a staffer at the former prime minister’s house told bdnews24.com.

Said Dr Hossain: “Those who they (advisers) are meeting with are being tried in the court of law,” without naming the former prime minister.

“The caretaker advisers are holding constitutional positions. How can they go and hold secret meetings with such people?”

Addressing the caretaker head, he said: “Chief adviser, your job is not to barter or haggle. Ask the advisers to stop pushing for some sort of a deal, and let the law take its own course.”

Dr Hossain called for trying all those charged with corruption as quickly as possible.

“Everyone in this country wants these corrupt people tried. Those arrested have all been charged with corruption. They must be tried and the process has to be speeded up.”

“And it is the duty of the political parties to take action against the corrupt based on investigations”

On elections under emergency, he said: “It is the job of the Election Commission to see if people will be able to exercise their voting rights properly with the state of emergency in force.”

“Let them have their say. I don’t want to get into this debate and make things complicated.”

JSPS Director says: Japanese universities eager to cooperate with DU

DU Correspondent

Japanese Ambassador Masayuki INOUE along with a team of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) led by its Executive Director Prof Murata Naoki called on Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor Prof SMA Faiz at the Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban yesterday.

During the meeting, they discussed matters of mutual interests specially the possibilities of establishing collaborative research programmes and exchange of junior researchers and scientists between Dhaka University and the Universities in Japan. JSPS will sponsor for promoting such programmes.

The team leader of the group Prof Murata Naoki and the Japanese Ambassador Masayuki INOUE expressed their keen interest in providing scientific cooperation, assistance, scholarships and fellowships to young researchers and scientists of the university of Dhaka.

Prof Faiz thanked the Japanese team and its Ambassador for visiting the university.

Later, Japanese team visited the Centre of Excellence of the university.

Pro VC Prof AFM Yusuf Haider, Treasurer Prof Syed Abul Kalam Azad, Director of the Centre of Excellence Prof Syed Saleheen Qadri, Chairman of Department of Microbiology Prof Mozammel Haq and First secretary of the Japan Embassy Omura Hiroshi were present in the meeting.

WB meddling in MDT Fund management opposed

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a seminar yesterday opposed the World Bank's authority in the management of the multi-donor trust fund (MDTF) fund to deal with the climate change and called for reviewing it.

They were speaking at a seminar on "Climate Fund Management and World Bank" at the National Press Club yesterday.

The Equity and Justice Working Group (Equity BD) organised the seminar. Former Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhit was present the seminar as chief guest. Prof Tofail Ahmed presided over the seminar while Samsuzzuha, General Secretary of Equity BD presented the keynote paper at the seminar.

Muhit said that the developed countries should transfer their high power technology to third world nations for adaptation in climate change.

Muhit ,who is also a member of the Awami League Advisory Committee, said that the developed countries are responsible of excessive greenhouse gas emission. "Poor nations have been suffering from different diseases and disasters due to climate change by the activities of the developed countries," he added.

In his keynote paper Samsuzzuha said that Bangladesh should not accept the World Bank's authority to run the climate fund. "Countries like Bangladesh are now exposed to climate change phenomenon due to the wrong policies of the World Bank and other such international investment agencies," he said.

He pointed out that the government should declare transparent draft action plan to combat the climate change. "The draft action plan will have to be approved by the next elected government," he suggested.

"Bangladesh can form Public Commission Debt Assessment for measuring losses on climate change of the country. Besides, the country can also form a "Public Commission on Foreign Aid Utilisation" to utilise the foreign aid properly," Rezaul Karim Chowdhury of Equity BD said.

Fayez Hossain of Bangladesh Krishak Sangha said that the government should prepare a plan for facing the climate change.

Mirza Mohammed Azim, an NGO worker, urged the government that the authority should take areas basis action plan and policy for mitigation on climate change in the country.

Former MP Eng Md Shahiduzzaman, Ziaul Hoq Mokta of Oxfam, Rezaul Karim Chowdhury and Mostafa Kamal Md Samsuzzuha, Sarmin Kabir Bina, Jahed Iqbal Khan, among others, addressed the seminar.

Bid to develop skilled workforce for shipbuilding industry: Western marine signs two MoU with govt agencies

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh's leading shipbuilding firm, Western Marine Group, has signed two separate Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with two government agencies to train and develop skilled manpower for the emerging shipbuilding industry.

The MOUs were signed on Wednesday with the Department of Youth Development under the Ministry of Youth and Sports and Narayanganj-based Institute of Marine Technology (IMT) under the Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Ministry, said a press release.

Director General of the Department of Youth Development (DYD) Fakhrul Islam, IMT principal Md Alamgir and executive director of Western Marine Services Limited and chief executive of Western Marine Institute Engr Sajid Hussain signed the agreements for their respective sides.

Earlier, on August 11, the group signed a similar deal with Chittagong-based Technical Training Centre.

The office of the Chief Adviser in April asked for public-private partnership to launch short-term courses on shipbuilding to produce skilled workforce for the booming industry.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) earlier signed a similar agreement with the DYD to develop skilled manpower for the country's largest export earning sector acting on the CA's instruction.

Western Marine Group established the Western Marine Institute in July after getting approval from the Technical Education Board.

Under the MoUs, Western Marine Institute will offer course on 'Welding and Fabrication' jointly with Chittagong-based Youth Development Training Centre and Narayanganj-based Institute of Marine Technology.

Spoken English course will also be provided to the students to hone their language skill. After receiving the training, participants will be able to acquire necessary skills to find jobs in shipbuilding sector at home and abroad, said the release.

DYD director general Fakhrul Islam hoped that the present activities of the department would get a boost due to this association with the country's one of the leading shipbuilding companies.

Western Marine executive Sajid Hussain said the tie-up with the government would prove that Bangladesh's huge population could be turned into human resources.

He said 11 welders/fitters, who received training from the Western Marine Institute, have been already selected for work in a Dubai-based shipyard.

Bureau of Manpower Employment and Training director general Md Abdul Malek hoped that Bangladesh would be able to take a commendable position in the world labour market in shipbuilding industry due to this pact with Western Marine.

Western Marine Shipyard received order to build four ocean-going ships from a French company at a shipbuilding fair held September 23-24 in Hamburg, Germany. The company so far received orders to manufacture 21 ocean-going ships amounting to US$210 million.

Mass theft in Home Economics College hostel

DU Correspondent

Incidents of mass pilferage occurred at the city's Home Economics College, an affiliated institution of Dhaka University, during Eid and Puja vacation that began from September 21.

Residential students found their rooms of the college hostel broken and their valuables missing after arriving at the college hostel. Later, they informed it to the principal.

Principal of the college Prof Morsheda Begum said thieves stole valuables of the students from the college hostel, they also stole water taps from the hostel toilets.

She said students were suffering from water shortage that has been stopped yesterday, the first day of the reopening of the college, adjacent to the Eden College.

The female students alleged that such incidents are happening every year due to poor security system.

Bhuiyan demands lifting of emergency ahead of election

Narsingdi Correspondent

The expelled Secretary General of BNP Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan yesterday called upon the Caretaker Government to lift the state of emergency from the country ahead of the upcoming national elections.

He was addressing a gathering of BNP leaders and workers at Sibpur Upazila in Narsingdi.

"The government should withdraw the state of emergency from the country to facilitate unhindered election campaigns by political parties," he said.

Mannan urged all the political parties to assist the Caretaker Government for conducting a free, fair and credible election within the schedule timeframe.

Lutful Kabir Bhuiyan, a social worker presided over the gathering while Sibpur Upazila BNP convenor Abul Haris, member secretary Ariful Islam, Dulalpur High School Headmaster Rajab Ali addressed the gathering.

Complete trial of corrupts before JS polls: NAP

Staff Reporter

Leaders of the National Awami Party (NAP- Bhashani ) yesterday demanded of the government to complete the trial of corrupts before holding free and fair elections.

They also stressed the need for a meaningful and all party participatory parliamentary polls free from black money and muscle power for institutionalisation of democracy as well as development of the country.

" We want see the parliamentary and upazila elections be held under the supervision of the caretaker government," said Mostak Ahamed Bhashani, Chairman, NAP, at a press conference held at the conference lounge of the Jatiya Press Club.

It was attended, among others, by Abdur Rouf Ahmed Bhashani , Additional Secretary General, Abdus Sattar, adviser and central committee members Ismail Hossain and Manzoor Hossain of the party.

The NAP leaders put forward a charter of demands that include fixing tenure of the elected government at four years instead of five years and the duration of the caretaker government for at least one year.

Clash over boat race in Pabna injures 30

UNB, Pabna

At least 30 people were injured in a clash over a boat race in the Chiknai River at Debuttar in Atghoria upazila yesterday.

Police said Ataikula Swapnapuri Express beat Bauoikola Express in the boat race organized by Debuttar Union Parishad.

But supporters of both the groups locked into an altercation just before prize distribution.

“At one stage, they attacked each other with sticks and oars, injuring 30 people from both sides,” said a spot account of the incident.

On information, police rushed in and brought the situation under control.

The injured were admitted to the local health complex.

SC reopens today

UNB, Dhaka

The Supreme Court reopens today after a long 42-day annual vacation, with both its divisions poised to take up hot tasks of dealing with top politicians’ graft cases.

Among other applications on the list for the opening day, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court will hear a pending bail petition of former prime minister and Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, now abroad on parole for medical treatment of her eyes and ears, in an extortion case filed by a businessman.

On October 6, vacation SC chamber court, following a move, set today for hearing Hasina’s plea in the regular bench of the Appellate Division for staying operation of the September 29 High Court order denying her bail.

The denial of bail stalled the legal process of her regular release in the wake of some latest developments in the troubled political arena towards the direction of next elections.

Hasina filed the stay petition as she prefers leave to appeal against the HC order in this extortion case, filed by businessman Noor Ali, an AL nomination-seeker for the previously scheduled January 22, 2007 general election that had been stalled following the 1/11 changeover.

Ali, managing director of Unique Group, sued the AL chief in the wake of the turmoil in the political arena over the election issues.

On July 30 last year, Hasina was shown arrested in the Tk 5-crore extortion case filed on June 13 over a decade-old power-plant deal.

The complainant accused the ex-PM and her cousin and former Awami League MP Sheikh Helal and his wife Rupa Chowdhury, now absconding, of taking Tk 5 crore in bribes for allowing his company to set up the power plant.

Meanwhile, Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokan, a counsel for BNP chairperson and ex-Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, now freed on bail in all the four corruption cases against her, told UNB that he planned to file petitions Sunday with the High Court either for quashing the Barapukuria Coalmine graft case or challenging the validity of taking cognizance of the case through accepting the charge-sheet submitted to the trial court by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation officer.

On February 26, the ACC filed the case with Shahbagh police station in the capital on charge of taking kickbacks amounting to about Tk 159 crore in awarding the Barapukuria coalmine deal to the highest bidder instead of the lowest.

On October 5, the principal accused, Khaleda Zia, and 10 powerful ministers of her cabinet and five others were charge-sheeted in the Barapukuria Coalmine graft case.

In the charge sheet, the anti-graft watchdog body accused the top politicians and bureaucrats of misappropriating about Tk 159 crore and thereby inflicting loss to the national exchequer by awarding the contract of production, management and maintenance of the Barapukuria coalmine to the highest bidder instead of the lowest.

Former Finance Minister Saifur Rahman, ex-BNP secretary general and LGRD Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, Jamaat chief and ex-Industries Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami and its secretary general and ex-Social Welfare Minister Ali Ahsan M Mujaheed are the high-profile ministers charge-sheeted by the ACC.

Meanwhile, with the arrest warrant hanging over his head, Mujaheed, who was denied bail on October 8 by the vacation SC chamber judge, may not seek bail Sunday on surrender to the High Court, his one counsel said.

He told UNB that they want to “wait until the results of the planned quashing or writ petition” of the BNP chairperson in the coalmine graft case.