The New Nation - Internet Edition

India launches unmanned moon mission

India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, or Moon
Craft in ancient Sanskrit, successfully takes off at the
Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Chennai on
Wednesday. AP photo

AP, New Delhi

India launched its first mission to the moon Wednesday, rocketing a satellite up into the pale dawn sky in a two-year mission to redraw maps of the lunar surface.

Clapping and cheering scientists tracked the ascent on computer screens after they lost sight of Chandrayaan-1 from the Sriharikota space center in southern India. Chandrayaan means "Moon Craft" in ancient Sanskrit.

Indian Space Research Organization chairman G. Madhavan Nair said the mission is to "unravel the mystery of the moon."

"We have started our journey to the moon and the first leg has gone perfectly well," he said.

Chief among the mission's goals is mapping not only the surface of the moon, but what lies beneath. If successful, India will join what's shaping up as a 21st century space race with Chinese and Japanese crafts already in orbit around the moon.

To date only the U.S., Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China have sent missions to the moon.

As India's economy has boomed in recent years, it has sought to convert its newfound wealth - built on the nation's high-tech sector - into political and military clout. It is hoping that the moon mission - coming just months after finalizing a deal with the United States that recognizes India as a nuclear power - will further enhance its status.

Until now, India's space launches have mainly carried weather warning satellites and communication systems, said former NASA associate administrator Scott Pace, director of space policy at the George Washington University.

"You're seeing India lifting its sights," Pace said.

While much of the technology involved in reaching the moon has not changed since the Soviet Union and the U.S. did it more than four decades ago, analysts say new mapping equipment allows the exploration of new areas, including below the surface.India plans to use the 3,080-pound lunar probe to create a high-resolution map of the lunar surface and the minerals below. Two of the mapping instruments are a joint project with NASA.

In the last year, Asian nations have taken the lead in moon exploration. In October 2007, Japan sent up the Kaguya spacecraft. A month later, China's Chang'e-1 entered lunar orbit. Those missions took high-resolution pictures of the moon, but are not as comprehensive as Chandrayaan-1 will be or NASA's half-a-billion-dollar Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter scheduled to be launched next year, Pace said. The most comprehensive maps of the moon were made about 40 years ago during the Apollo era, he said.

"We don't really have really good modern maps of the moon with modern instrument," Pace said. "The quality of the Martian maps, I would make a general argument, is superior to what we have of the moon."

NASA has put probes on Mars' frigid polar region, but not on the rugged poles of the moon. Yet the moon's south pole is where NASA is considering setting up an eventual human-staffed lunar outpost, Pace said.

The moon's south pole is "certainly more rugged than where Neil Armstrong landed. It's more interesting. It's more dangerous," Pace said. "We need better maps."

Beijing in 2003 became the first Asian country to put its own astronauts into space. It followed that last month with its first spacewalk.

More ominously, last year China also blasted an old satellite into oblivion with a land-based anti-satellite missile, the first such test ever conducted by any nation, including the United States and Russia.

The Indian mission is not all about rivalry and prestige. Analysts say India stands to reap valuable rewards from the technology it develops and, according to Pace, it already shows increased confidence in difficult engineering and quality control.

The $80 million mission will test systems for a future moon landing, with plans to land a rover on the moon in 2011 and eventually a manned space program, though this has not been authorized yet.

And the Indian space agency was already dreaming of more.

"Space is the frontier for mankind in the future. If we want to go beyond the moon, we have to go there first," said Indian space agency spokesman S. Satish

Non-spending of previous assistance alleged: US food aid remains suspended for 10 yrs

UNB, Dhaka

Food aid from the US Department of Agriculture to Bangladesh Government has long been halted for not spending the previous assistance worth over US$ 30m in 10 years, a senior American official said here Wednesday.

Oliver Flake, Agricultural Attaché of the US Embassy in New Delhi, made the remark while talking to reporters at a seminar at a local hotel. He said the money given 10 years ago was supposed to be spent in 18 months.

Flake said the money needs to be spent before the US Dept of Agriculture could consider further food aid.

He noted that the prices of wheat would go down in Bangladesh if some minor changes were made to the tender process of wheat procurement.

The seminar on "International Wheat Market and Bangladesh Wheat Import" was organized by US Wheat Associates, an organization that represents US wheat producers. US Ambassador in Dhaka James Moriarty and US Wheat Associates Vice-president Mark Samson also spoke on the occasion.

The meet took place at a time when the people of Bangladesh are buying wheat flour, as also other foodstuffs, at prices they have paid never before-largely for production shortfalls at home and abroad, combined with reported market manipulation.

Ambassador Moriarty said inflation and global climate change are two major challenges facing Bangladesh, and high food prices worldwide strike hard at low-income countries like Bangladesh.

"Global climate change appears to bring more natural disasters which often wipe out crops. Bangladesh successfully and simultaneously tackled both those problems in the past years. The result was strong economic growth for the year, more than 6 percent," he said. Describing agricultural trade between Bangladesh and US as vibrant, Moriarty said free and efficient trade could help

Bangladesh secure food stocks at the best prices in times of crisis. He mentioned that in the last four years Bangladesh's agricultural exports to the US have doubled from US$ 86m to US$ 166m. US agricultural exports to Bangladesh have also grown from US$ 79 to US$ 120m in last two years, the US envoy said.

Moriarty said that improved trade practices mean more wheat at better prices for the people of Bangladesh. "What we seek is a level playing field to allow US farmers to compete fairly to feed Bangladesh's hungry mouths," he told the function.

He said that the people of Bangladesh impressed him with their strength in the face of threat to their survival- natural disaster, food crises. "In the face of adversity, Bangladeshis have made tremendous progress, specially in their ability to grow their own food."

US wheat Associates Vice-president Samson said that last year (from June to May), 230,000 tons of wheat was imported from the USA in private sector while there was no import in public sector.

He said this year (from June till today) there is no import of US wheat either in private or public sector. About the reason behind it Samson said, "Price (of US wheat) is higher."

He also said the forecast is that the wheat export from the United States would be steady this year.

Melamine tainted milk: UN agencies’ help for testing samples offered

UNB, Dhaka

Offering support for authentic sample tests, three UN agencies advised removing all melamine-contaminated milk products from Bangladesh market as soon as the tests can confirm the levels of the toxic chemical in powdered milk and infant formulas.

The agencies-FAO, WHO and UNICEF-said they are ready to support Bangladesh government for further testing of powdered milk samples by internationally certified laboratories, amid fears about contamination of the food item with melamine.

The offices of the agencies in Bangladesh also expressed their concern regarding the implication of melamine-contaminated milk products on infant and child nutrition and health.

In a joint statement yesterday, the three UN agencies on food, health and children's affairs said they support the government efforts in addressing the issue of melamine-tainted powdered milk and advise the authorities "to remove all melamine-contaminated milk products from the market as soon as tests can confirm the levels of melamine powdered milk and infant formula".

They, in the meantime, suggested that "immediate action should be taken to ensure supply of safe dairy products".

The UN agencies further support the efforts of the government to communicate with the public on this food-safety issue and in particular to advise citizens on how they can avoid food safety risks associated with this contamination problem.

They urged the government to ensure food safety and quality, especially for powdered milk, by enforcing the national mandatory food law (s) and regulations in order to address evolving episodes of food contamination, such as melamine in powdered milk.

"Suitable references need to be made to the Codex and other international standards, in this regard. FAO and WHO will continue to provide technical expertise and advice to strengthen the national regulatory framework and build the capacity of the concerned national bodies to ensure consumer protection," says the joint release.

However, food safety is not the sole responsibility of public authorities. The food industry, producers and importers are also responsible for ensuring a safe supply of food to the consumers, they noted.

The UN agencies advised all parents in Bangladesh that breastfeeding is the best, safest and most natural way of providing infants with the nutrients they need, and recommended exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life.

No other liquid or food, not even water, is needed during this period. Thereafter, infants should receive complementary foods while breastfeeding continues up to two years.

However, when breast milk is not a viable option, infants up to 6 months would need to be fed an infant formula which is designed as a sole source of nutrition for these infants.

Replacing infant formula with other products such as condensed milk, regular milk powder, or fresh liquid milk is inappropriate as these products would put at risk the safety and nutritional status of this vulnerable group, they warned.

The trio UN agencies stressed the importance of giving this information to all mothers during antenatal and postnatal care. They also called for the full enforcement of the existing Code of Marketing of Breast Milk substitutes, approved in Bangladesh in 1984 and amended in 1990.

AL faces no obstacle to get registered

Staff Reporter

Awami League (AL) will face no major obstacle in getting registered with the Election Commission (EC), as the EC found nothing contradictory after scrutinising all the papers submitted by the party leaders, said Election Commissioner M Sohul Hussain.

Sohul made this remark after a bilateral meeting between AL delegates and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

A four-member AL delegation consisting of AL advisory committee members Abul Mal Abdul Muhit and HT Imam, AL office secretary Abdul Mannan Khan and deputy office secretary BM Mozammel held an hour-long meeting at the EC secretariat.

"AL will get registered with the commission as no problem was found in its party constitution submitted to the commission. We are satisfied as the party leaders have submitted the application as per the law we made," Sohul noted.

As per rules, the EC would publish an advertisement soon to invite any objections, before the registration certificate is handed over, he added.

Abdul Mannan Khan told reporters that the commission was happy with the AL's explanation relating to its associate organisations.

Asked about its student, worker and other associate bodies, the AL leader confirmed that the organisations would be run according to their own constitutions and the main party would have no control over them.

AL submitted application to the EC on October 15 to get registered. The commission's technical committee asked the party to clarify its position on associate organisations. Following the directive, the party gave explanations in two phases to the commission.

BKMEA to organise workers’ festival at N'ganj tomorrow

Staff Reporter

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) will organise Workers' Festival 2008 at Fatullah Stadium in Narayanganj on Friday.

The day will be completely a workers' day with varieties of amusement opportunity for them, BKMEA president Fazlul Huq told a press conference yesterday at a city hotel.

He said the first ever such programme for workers' will be full of fun. This will be an extended programme of Knitwear Exposition 2008, he added.

About 50,000 workers' mainly from Narayanganj will participate in the day long programme where some workers from Savar and Gazipur will also be invited.

Commerce Adviser Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman and Labour and Employment Adviser Anwarul Iqbal will attend the colourful function.

For the entertainment of workers' a full-day fair, puppet show, magic show, game show, various training sessions, funny events, cultural programme by workers, dress as you like and cultural night with famous singers Momtaz and Bari Siddiqi will be organised.

Replying to a question regarding wage hike of workers,' Fazlul Huq said it is being delayed due to government's indecision. "We have sent proposal to the ministry but they are yet to declare the pay hike. The government wants that we announce the hike while the factory owners want the opposite," he noted.

'Health policy should cover all classes of people’

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a roundtable yesterday said the health policy should cover the child, young, old and all the classes of the people. They also emphasized on the practice of democracy, which could reach the people easily.

National Health Rights Movement Committee (NHRMC) in cooperation with Manusher Jonno organised the roundtable discussion meeting ' What we expect in health policy ' at CIRDAP auditorium in the city.

Addressing as the chief guest Justice, Mohammad Golam Robbani, said that policies and scope of health services should be defined scientifically. Government has to take proper steps both for human being and the surroundings, he said. Milon Bikash Pal, Executive Director of Population Services and Training Center (PSTI) said that they wanted to form an alternative health policy for ensuring proper health care.

Nutrition demand of women should be fulfilled for getting a healthy generation in future said Laila Arjumand Banu of Mohila Parishad.

Ranjan mollik of Steps said health care services should reach all classes of the people.

Rashid-e-Mahbub, President of NHRMC, moderated the meeting.Sardar Arifuddin, theme leader of health of Action Aid, presented keynote paper at the discussion. He elaborated about the policy of medical education, research on medical sciences, budget allocation, role of state, private medical services among are points.

Contamination of all kinds of food including baby-milk and privatisation in the name of medical services should be stopped, the speakers said.

Atia Afreen of TIB, Nasirudin of Sromojibi Dustho Forum, Mohsin Ali of Wave Foundation and Brother Donald of Apon, among others, were present.

Arrested madrasa students freed

Court Correspondent

Four madrasa students arrested Tuesday on charge of alleged unauthorised entrance into Dhaka University Vice Chancellor's office and ransacking of window glasses and attempt to set on fire the vehicles, were yesterday freed on bail.

Advocates Md Abdur Razzaque and others moved the cases filed against Dhaka Alia Madrasa student Md Mazharul Haque Harun and Mezbaul Ulum Kamil Madrasa students-Md Mostafa Kamal, Md Golam Mostafa and Solaiman under Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC). Metropolitan Magistrate Sayeda Minhaj-um-Muneera granted them bail on a bond of Taka 10,000 each, as the charge brought against the students are bailable.

Besides them, nine other madrasa students were also arrested Tuesday on charge of trying to form a human chain in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city. They are students of Tamirul Millat Kamil Madrasa.

The students tried to form the human chain demanding cancellation of the provisions recently made about admission into Dhaka University (DU).

The university authorities introduced new criteria about admission into seven departments for which students who have passed Alim examinations under Madrasa Education Board do not qualify to seek admission into some departments of DU.

On Tuesday, madrasa students held a rally on DU campus demanding removal of the DU VC Professor SMA Faiz and accused him of being involved in a conspiracy not to allow Madrasa students into seven DU departments.

Cooperation among SAARC countries for food security

Staff Reporter

Speakers at meeting yesterday called upon the SAARC countries to strengthen their mutual cooperation for increasing food production and ensuring food security in the region.

They were speaking at the inaugural session of the three-daylong SAARC Agriculture Centre's Governing Board Meeting at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Conference Room.

Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture M Abdul Aziz was present as a chief guest at the inaugural session of the meeting which was prencipel M. Dr PK Joshi, Chairman of the Governing Board of SAARC Agriculture Centre' presided over the session. Members of the SAARC Agriculture Centre's Governing Board from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Afghanistan and host Bangladesh were present in the meeting.

M Abdul Aziz said that a total of 23.7 per cent of the world population is living in the SAARC region.

"The SAARC region has been facing food security crisis despite it its huge potentiality of food sovereignty," he said.

He further said that the SAARC countries should formulate a framework of cooperation in the agriculture sector.

The SAARC countries should exchange information and technology for increasing food production, he suggested.

Dr PK Joshi said that the SAARC countries have been facing serious scarcity of food due to over emphasis on bio-fuel. produce, water logging and salinity in the region. "We have best climate, soil and rain-fall to produce best crops in the region. But, the food production is not increasing remarkably in the reason due to lack of policy," he said adding, "The role of partnership is important to increase food production in SAARC countries."

Call to help Satkhira, Jessore flood victims

Staff Reporter

A group of international humanitarian organisations has called for a coordinated emergency response to help more than 161,000 people affected by recent floods in Jessore and Shatkhira districts in the south-west of the country.

At a joint meeting in the city yesterday they said more than 66,000 families are living in temporary shelters in the flood-affected areas, unable to cultivate any crops in the coming season.

Oxfarm GB, Action Aid, Save the Children UK and USA, Care, Concern Worldwide, Dan Church Aid, Islamic Relief and Muslim Aid warned that thousands of people, including children could be at risk of a 'secondary disaster' unless safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and temporary shelters were made available to the affected people.

The humanitarian groups calling it a "silent disasters" advocated for a long-term solution to mitigate the crises. They also said that the organisation have been sending their expert teams to assess the most urgent needs since the floods hit on October 5.

Bangladesh appears part of global software outsourcing

BSS, Dhaka

The landscape of the country's ICT industry is systematically changing with Bangladesh gradually appearing as software services destination for global corporations.

"With more than 100 software and IT service companies exporting their services to 30 countries, software export has achieved the highest growth in recent years," a Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) spokesman said.

He said the size of the local IT market was over US$ 300 million, of which software and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) industry had 29 percent share and remaining 61 percent belonged to hardware/network services.

According to BASIS statistics, in 2007, the value of exported software and ITES from Bangladesh reached US$ 27 million.

But experts said the public sector appeared to be lagging behind in introducing the e-governance which they blamed on lack of awareness and typical mindset among the people in the authority in government offices or many state-run organizations.

"There are resistance (due to the mindset) but if we can once introduce the technology motivating them, there will be 'zero' resistance," chief adviser's special assistant Dr M Tamim last week said launching a book on 'e- Governance in Bangladesh.

Australian High Commissioner in Dhaka Douglas Fosket, who also joined the function, said his country was aiding the promotion of the ICT in Bangladesh for "re- engineering" of the government system in this country so "it does not lag behind the country's own private sector".

According to the UN Global e-Governance Readiness Report 2008, in 2004 and 2005, Bangladesh "significantly" fell behind even compared to the neighbouring South Asian countries with regard to ICT uses.

The report said, Bangladesh, however, secured the 142nd place from 162nd as the study was carried out in 192 member states on web measurement in the enhanced and interactive stages.

20 injured in group fight at Narsingdi

Narsingdi Correspondent

About 20 people were injured critically in a clash between two groups of people over establishing supremacy in Khodadila at Narsingdi.

Supporters of Dr Siddiqur Rahman and BNP activist Sofor Ali Member locked in a tussle for gaining control over the area.

The injured persons are, Siam alias Alam, 22, Abul Kalam, 38, Ruhul Amin, 18, Shafiqul Islam, 18, Abul Kashem, 36, Soheed Mia, 46. They were taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Narsingdi Sadar Hospital, Brahmanbaria and Bhairab for treatment.

Mong Raja killed in road accident

UNB, Khagrachhari

Khagrachhari Mong circle chief Raja Paihalaprue Chowdhury and a woman were killed and 20 others, including son of the king, injured in a tragic road accident at Paglapara in Ramgarh upazila yesterday.

Police said the accident occurred at about 6:20 am when a Khagrachhari bound night coach of Saudia Express carrying the victim passengers from the capital plunged into 200 feet down a roadside ditch as the driver lost control over the steering.

Raja Paihalaprue Chowdhury, 53, and another passenger Maleka Begum, 29, died on the spot while 20 others, including king's son Saching Chowdhury, received injuries.

Green chilli price shots up in city markets

Talha Bin Habib

The price of green chilli has shot up abruptly yesterday despite sufficient supply to the city's kitchen markets.

Green chilli was sold between Tk 100 and Tk 110 per kg yesterday against Tk 50 to Tk 60 in the last few weeks.

Customers in the city markets said the price fluctuation of green chilli was really a matter of concern for them as they have already been hit hard by high prices of essential commodities.

They blamed a section of dishonest wholesalers for pushing up the price of green chilli.

They suggested restarting the market price monitoring by the concerned bodies so that none can increase prices of commodities whimsically.

Retailers said, as they have to purchase green chilli at high rate, so they have to sell it increased price.