Japan stocks fall for seventh day amid global sell-off

Japanese stocks fell for the seventh straight session as fresh fears over the health of the world economy sparked a global sell-off.

The Nikkei 225 index shed 0.8%. Elsewhere, Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Australia's ASX 200 also dropped 1%.

Worries over the eurozone debt crisis and the US economic recovery losing its steam hit shares of exporters.

Sony fell 5%, a day after after it doubled its forecast of an annual loss to $6.4bn (£4bn).

"Japan's consumer electronics industry is facing defeat," said Fujio Ando, senior managing director of Chibagin Asset Management.

"I don't think there is any guarantee that we will see the company return to black this year." he said.

'Carbon copy'

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

2012 is at risk of being a carbon copy of 2011, where equity markets began the year with a spring in their step before sentiment turned very bearish as the European sovereign debt crisis spiralled out of control”

Angus Campbell Capital Spreads

One of the biggest fears among the global investors has been that the eurozone debt crisis, which has hurt growth countries such as Greece, may spread to the region's bigger economies.

Those fears were fanned further on Tuesday after the interest rate on Spanish bonds traded in the secondary market rose further.

The yield on 10-year bonds hit 5.99%, up from 5.74% on Monday, indicating that investors are getting increasingly concerned about Spain's ability to repay its debts.

The fear is that if the crisis in Spain, which makes up about 11% of the total output of the 17 countries that use the euro, is not managed properly, it will have a negative impact on the region's growth and also hurt the global economic recovery.

On Tuesday, France's Cac 40 fell 3.1%, the UK's FTSE 100 and Germany's Dax lost about 2.5%.

Analysts warned that markets may fall even further amid a dip in investor morale.

"2012 is at risk of being a carbon copy of 2011, where equity markets began the year with a spring in their step before sentiment turned very bearish as the European sovereign debt crisis spiralled out of control", said Angus Campbell of Capital Spreads.

At the same time, a weaker-than-expected jobs data from the US has raised concerns about the recovery in the world's biggest economy.

Philippe Gijsels, head of research at BNP Paribas Fortis Global Markets, said the combination of these factors was prompting investors to take a cautious approach.

"Investors are in a risk-off mode, with the US job numbers and the situation around Spain becoming an excuse for the sell-off."

'Wild card'

Adding to investors concerns have been fears about a slowdown in China, the world's second-largest economy, and one of the main drivers of global growth in recent years.

China's export sector is one of the biggest contributors to its economic expansion. However, a slowdown in its key markets such as the US and eurozone has raised fears that Beijing may not be able to maintain its high pace of growth.

Analysts said that investors were being cautious ahead of China's growth data, which is scheduled to be released later this week.

"How much is China going to slow down, that is the big wild card," Hans Goetti, chief investment officer of Finaport told the BBC. "The first quarter growth could be even less than 7.5%."

Chinese premier Wen Jiabao has set a growth target of 7.5%, the lowest since 2004.

Read more »

Bomb threat diverts Korean plane to Canadian army base

 

The Korean Air Boeing 777 was forced to land at a Canadian military base

A Korean Airlines plane has diverted to a Canadian military base on Vancouver Island after it received a tip-off about a bomb threat.

The Boeing 777 was en route from Vancouver to Seoul when the airline's Los Angeles call centre received a call about a bomb on board.

Two United States fighter jets were apparently scrambled in response, the Associated Press reported.

A Korean Air spokesman said it was too early to tell if the call was a hoax.

James Koh said all 149 passengers were safely off the plane at the military base on the east coast of Vancouver Island.

Canadian security services are now inspecting the plane to investigate the threat.

Mr Koh added that Korean Air had received a similar call on Monday afternoon that caused another flight from Vancouver to be delayed for two hours before the all clear was given.

[BBC]

Read more »

North Korea starts to fuel rocket

North Korea says it has begun fuelling a rocket ahead of a planned launch expected later this week which it says will put a satellite into space. Paek Chang-ho, head of the satellite control centre of the Korean Committee of Space Technology, announced the latest preparations, as the US and Japan called on Pyongyang not to go ahead with the launch. "We are injecting fuel as we speak. It has started," Paek told visiting foreign journalists outside the capital, Pyongyang. "And as for the exact timing of the launch, it will be decided by my superior." But Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, urged North Korea not to go ahead with a planned rocket launch if it wanted a "peaceful, better future" for its people. "We are consulting closely in capitals and at the United Nations in New York and we will be pursuing appropriate action," Clinton said at a press conference on Tuesday with Koichiro Gemba, Japan's foreign minister, who echoed her remarks. "If North Korea wants a peaceful, better future for their people, it should not conduct another launch that would be a direct threat to regional security," the chief US diplomat said. Gemba spoke of US-Japanese co-operation if North Korea goes ahead with the launch of a rocket, which critics say amounts to a disguised missile test by the reclusive nuclear-armed state. "The United States and Japan would co-operate with each other and the international community, including the Security Council, would take an appropriate measure," Gemba said. Neither Clinton nor Gemba explained what they meant by "appropriate" action. Spotlight coverage of tension in Northeast Asia South Korea has already threatened to deliver a "firm response" to "provocation" if the North does goes ahead with its planned launch. Japan has also braced itself for the launch, having put missile batteries on alert to shoot the rocket down if it passes through Japanese airspace. The Unha-3 rocket is expected to fly past western Japan, raising concerns that a failed launch, or a falling stage of the rocket, could endanger Japanese lives or property. "They have come pretty far on the question of range, but they still need a lot to resolve in the precision technology needed for [warhead] re-entry and guidance," a South Korean military official who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency. The Unha-3 is believed to be the same three-stage liquid-fuelled ballistic missile the North fired in 2009 over Japan, which eventually splashed down after a 3,800km flight, military experts in South Korea said. The new rocket is believed to have a design range of more than 6,700 kilometres, and can carry a payload of up to 1,000 kg. The planned launch has already prompted three Asian airlines to make changes to flight paths to avoid the missile. Philippine Airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have announced changes to several routes. Philippine Airlines said in a statement that as the splashdown area of the rocket's second stage was anticipated to be ''just east of Luzon'', all flights passing through the area during the launch period would have their routes adjusted. These include about a dozen flights between Manila and the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea. Philippine officials have also declared a no-fly zone and warned ships and fishing boats to avoid the area where rocket debris could fall.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Read more »

Chloe Green's new shoe collection makes me despair

Once, we thought high-street collections 'designed' by celebrities were naff. Now a CEO's daughter is getting in on the act

Chloe Green is to launch her first shoe collection. Photograph: Richard Young/Rex Features

So far the fashions this year have been pretty good! Ladylike pastels, heels getting lower, It bags going the way of harem trousers. Is the fashion world becoming sensible?
Melanie, London

Ah, Melanie. Come here, you sweetly optimistic if naive young thing. Come here and let me shatter your innocent peace of mind, like a Cassandra figure in a horror movie who points out to the heroine that, actually, the psychopathic killer hasn't been destroyed at all but is actually standing right behind her, scythe raised and ready to fall. For I must whisper three words in your ears: Chloe Green Shoes. Oh dear God!

Chloe Green, for those who have not had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of this precocious young lady in the tabloids or on reality TV shows, is the daughter of Philip Green, overlord of swaths of this country's high streets and best mate of Gwyneth Paltrow, Leo DiCaprio and Kate Moss, all of whom would still adore "Uncle Phil" even if he weren't the ninth richest man in Great Britain. It's his famously appealing personality they enjoy, you know, not his private jet.

I must take caution when writing about this charming chap, as he has form in making his displeasure very known to this newspaper when something appears in it that is not a press release about how great he is. I myself have felt the sharp edge of his displeasure when I was sent summarily out of his office by the man himself with the words "antisemitic newspaper" ringing in my ears. Not even my protestation that both my editor and myself are, in fact, chosen people, assuaged his ire.

Anyway, Sir Phil is not our subject today (thank the Old Testament God) – 'tis his daughter Chloe. Raised on the mean streets of Monaco and with nothing to keep her entertained other than Daddy's £7m plane and £20m yacht.

Like many before her, Chloe dabbled in reality TV so that people could, as she said, "see the real me". Truly, there is no better way to prove how down-to-earth one is than showing off one's tongue piercing on Made in Chelsea.

In a turn of events absolutely no one could have predicted, Chloe is now branching out into shoe design, presumably having opted against DJing and lingerie manufacturing, the usual pastimes of the young, moneyed and untrained. To be fair to Chloe, with regard to training, she professes to own more than 70 pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes, which is, really, the same as a PhD in cordwainery from the London College of Fashion. As yet, only one photo of Chloe's wares has been released and it is, I can reveal, an open-toed silver ankle boot, and is about 8in high, so the perfect shoe if you're a young ex-reality TV star who only needs to walk from chauffeured car to private jet. It also has green soles, which I'm assuming is some reference to her middle name "Jade" and is absolutely not a rip-off of the red-soled schtick perfected by Louboutin. According to the last reports, Chloe had six in-house buyers and designers and an unspecified budget from her dad, the CEO of Topshop, to help get this venture off the ground.

"She hopes," one newspaper reported without a hint of sarcasm, "to sell the line at Topshop." Chloe, darling, I don't think you need to lose any sleep over that concern.

Now, I have no problem with wealthy children of celebrities working. Heck, better them doing that than being Peaches Geldof. Until the day she dies, Stella McCartney will have to endure accusations that her success is due to the proceeds of Abbey Road and her father's front-row presence. In fact, McCartney is a very good designer and the fact that she chose a career that has nothing to do with her parents is precisely what separates her from, say, the Sean Lennons of this world.

Maybe Chloe will turn out to be the next Manolo Blahnik. For her sake, I hope so. But when someone is apparently unaware that their heavy reliance on their parents' connections and money in order to achieve their career ambitions will always raise questions about their true merit, it does make me question their judgment in other areas.

Once high-street collections "designed" by celebrities seemed the epitome of naffness. Now we've got collections designed by CEO's kids. It's enough to make you sentimental for Lily Allen for New Look, ain't it?

Post your questions to Ask Hadley, The Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Email ask.hadley@guardian.co.uk

Read more »

Retail sector boosted by warm weather

British Retail Consortium survey finds high-street spending rose 3.6% in March but says overall retail environment is 'difficult'

The clothing sector and non-food generally benefited from the warm March weather. But consumers’ incomes are still squeezed. Photograph: Alamy

Warm days in March gave British men the shopping bug, boosting high-street spending, according to the British Retail Consortium's monthly health check.
While women seemed wary of parting with cash, shops selling clothes, footwear and outdoor leisurewear noted an increase in activity that contributed to a rise in sales of 3.6% compared with March 2011.
The British Retail Consortium said the year-on-year rise was more modest once the expansion in floor space over the past year was taken into account. It was cautious about reading too much into the figures for one month.
The industry body said its monthly survey, with KPMG, showed like-for-like sales were up by 1.3%, though consumers were still cautious about spending on big-ticket items.
Stephen Robertson, the BRC's director general, said: "The unusually warm weather in March brought some welcome sunshine into the lives of non-food retailers. The early signs of summer got people buying clothes and shoes for the new season. Gardening items and outdoor leisure also saw a lift."
Although the retail sector hopes the Queen's diamond jubilee and the 2012 Olympics will encourage spending, Robertson described the overall retail environment as difficult.
He added: "Discounting remains a key tactic for retailers trying to encourage consumers to spend, particularly on big indoor items. People are still struggling to balance household budgets against expensive fuel and utilities. It will take more than a week of sunshine to transform retailers' fortunes."
Food sales were unchanged last month on a year earlier, and Robertson said turnover growth in the sector was largely underpinned by the rising cost of food rather than by customers buying more.
Helen Dickinson, KPMG's head of retail, said: "The clothing sector as a whole and non-food generally benefited from the warm March weather. But, as consumers' incomes continue to be squeezed, it's female shoppers who are tightening their purse strings most severely, focusing more on lower-price items to control the household budget. This buying behaviour saw women's clothing perform less strongly than men's and children's wear. Home accessories and textiles also had a poor month."

Read more »

Abu Hamza can be extradited to US, human rights court rules

European court of human rights says the radical cleric can be extradited to the US to face terrorism charges Link to this video Abu Hamza, the radical cleric who became the face of violent extremism in Britain, can be extradited to the US to face terrorism charges, the European court of human rights has ruled.
The court in Strasbourg said the human rights of Hamza and four other men held in Britain – Babar Ahmad, Syed Talha Ahsan, Adel Abdel Bary and Khaled al-Fawwaz – would not be violated if sent to the US to stand trial. European judges decided they needed more information about the mental health of Haroon Aswat, an aide to Hamza, before reaching a decision on him.
The ruling clears the last realistic obstacle to Hamza's extradition.
The men have the right to appeal to the grand chamber of the European court and have three months to make an application.
Babar Ahmad's sister said they would appeal the ruling. An appeal has only a slim chance of success, but it could delay extradition for months.
Nazia Ahmad, 27, told the Guardian: "I think we will be taking that avenue." She said the family, from Tooting, south London, would fight on. "We're very disappointed, we're going to carry on fighting for Babar," she said.
Ahmad said her brother should be prosecuted in the UK, and claimed the Crown Prosecution Service had not considered significant parts of the evidence against him, when it decided he should not face charges in Britain.
She said: "His case should have been dealt with by the authorities in the UK. They gathered the evidence, they gave it to the US, and they should have looked at it and decided if he should be put on trial in the UK."
Ahmad said her brother's case represented a "serious abuse of process". She called for a public inquiry and for ministers to answer her famiy's questions.
David Cameron welcomed the court's ruling. Speaking during a trade mission to south-east Asia, he said: "I am very pleased with the news. It is quite right that we have proper legal processes, although sometimes one can get frustrated with how long they take."
The home secretary, Theresa May, said the government "will work to ensure that the suspects are handed over to the US authorities as quickly as possible".
Hamza, who controlled the Finsbury Park mosque in north London and turned it into a factory for violent jihad, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment in Britain after being convicted in 2006 of inciting hatred.
The previous government had wanted him sent to the US before his jail term had been completed, but the extradition was halted after his lawyers went to the European court.
The European court of human rights halted extradition proceedings in July 2010, arguing it needed more time to consider complaints that transferring Hamza and others wanted in the US risked breaching their rights by exposing them to possible life imprisonment without parole and solitary confinement.
Ahmad, who the US claims ran a website allegedly raising funds for Islamic extremists, is a computer expert from south London. He has been on remand and refused bail since his arrest in August 2004 on a US extradition warrant.
He was awarded £60,000 in compensation because of the violence British police used during his arrest in December 2003, during which he was punched, kicked and throttled. His case has been supported by the former transport minister Sadiq Khan, who is a family friend and Labour frontbencher.
In the Hamza case, the US has had to given written assurances that it will not impose the death penalty or place the suspects before Guantánamo Bay-style military tribunals.
The US alleges Hamza was in contact with Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists and aided the taking of 16 western tourists as hostages in Yemen in December 1998, an incident that ended in the deaths of three Britons. He is also charged with attempting to set up a training camp for "violent jihad" in Oregon in 1999, along with Aswat.
The court in Strasbourg had considered the cases of the four men for over four years.
In a press release, the court said: "The European court of human rights held, unanimously, that there would be: no violation of article three (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) of the European convention on human rights as a result of conditions of detention at ADX Florence (a "supermax" prison in the US) – if Mr Ahmad, Mr Ahsan, Mr Abu Hamza, Mr Bary and Mr Al-Fawwaz were extradited to the USA; and, no violation of article three of the convention as a result of the length of their possible sentences if Mr Ahmad, Mr Ahsan, Abu Hamza, Mr Bary and Mr Al-Fawwaz were extradited."
The court said it wanted more information on Aswat before reaching a judgment: "The court adjourned its examination of Mr Aswat's application as it required further submissions from the parties, on the relevance of his schizophrenia and detention at Broadmoor hospital to his complaint concerning detention at ADX."

Read more »

European stock markets rocked by panic selling as debt crisis reignites

Investors demanding high premiums for holding Italian and Spanish bonds as fears of double-dip recession grow

Stock market panic selling led to shares falling across the world with the FTSE100 down 128 points. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian

Europe's sovereign debt crisis exploded back into life on Tuesday, with markets across the continent rocked by a wave of panic selling amid renewed fears about the impact of savage austerity measures in Spain and Italy.
The mood of uneasy calm seen across Europe since the Greek bailout in February was shattered as financial markets took fright at evidence of a double-dip recession and growing popular opposition to welfare cuts and tax increases.
Italy and Spain, the eurozone's third and fourth biggest economies, were at the centre of the market turmoil, with investors demanding an increasingly high premium for holding their bonds.
"Spain is right in the centre of a European storm," admitted finance minister Luis de Guindos, who declined to rule out an eventual bailout but insisted it could be avoided.
In Italy, Mario Monti's coalition government is facing growing hostility to reforms of its labour market, while the sheer size of the country's public debt made it an obvious target for nervous traders. The prospect of Greek voters rejecting austerity and the French electorate denying Nicolas Sarkozy a second term as president was also weighing on the markets.
The Greek government said it would hold a general election on 6 May, with opinion polls showing support for the mainstream pro-austerity parties is too weak to allow them to form a government.
"Spain is a big focus right now and even Greece will be coming back into the picture as it looks for another tranche of aid, so this eurozone debt tragedy is not going away, but seems to be getting worse," said Daniel Hwang, senior currency strategist at Forex.com in New York.
Interest rates on 10-year Spanish bonds hit 6% for the first time since January, when Europe's leaders were battling to agree a bailout deal for Greece and secure the future of the eurozone. Shares in Madrid dropped by almost 3% to hit their lowest level since March 2009.
In Italy, share prices slumped by 5% on rumours that the government was preparing to downgrade its growth forecasts, and trading in the shares of several of its banks was suspended after they fell sharply.
Shares were also much lower on Wall Street, where the fallout from Europe exacerbated fears that the US recovery is petering out. Disappointment at last week's unemployment figures had already been weighing heavily on investor confidence.
The markets closed in New York with Wall Street completing a fifth successive day of decline, with the Dow Jones having lost 213 points. In London, the FTSE 100 closed down 128 points, at 5,595.55. Oil prices also fell sharply amid concerns about the prospects for growth on both sides of the Atlantic and in Asia, with the price of a barrel of crude falling by more than $2.
In contrast, safe haven assets such as gold, the US dollar and bonds in the US, Germany and Britain were all in demand. "The market went up on a wave of liquidity-induced euphoria, and as usual overshot. Now the clever boys have decided to get out," said Charles Dumas of Lombard Street Research.
Europe's politicians had hoped that Greece's second bailout, and a battery of emergency measures unleashed by the European Central Bank, including its long-term "repo" operation, which offered cheap money to troubled banks, would draw a line under months of economic chaos. But Erik Britton, of City consultancy Fathom, said: "The LTRO [long term refinancing operation] and all those things, all it's done is bought a bit of time, but it hasn't addressed the structural problems, even slightly, even for Greece."
He predicted that the ECB could be forced to take fresh rescue measures in the next few weeks to prevent strains in Europe's banking sector from turning into a credit crunch, while in the longer term several more countries – including Spain and Italy – would eventually be forced to write off a proportion of their debts before the crisis is over.
The euro came under pressure on the foreign exchange markets as the mood darkened on Tuesday, losing 0.2% against the dollar, to $1.3080, and more than 1% against the yen. David Song, Currency Analyst at DailyFX, said: "The single currency is likely to face additional headwinds over the near term as the region continues to face a risk for a prolonged recession."
Spain's prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, speaking in the country's senate, warned that his government must stick with its austerity plans, saying: "There's no doubt that much of Spain's future is at stake and also economic growth and the creation of jobs over the coming years."
But the central bank governor, Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, added to the mood of anxiety by warning that unless the economy improves, the country's struggling banks will need a new government bailout. Successive waves of austerity measures have already driven Spanish unemployment to 23%. Some 50% of young people are out of work.
Jane Foley, currency strategist at Rabobank, said: "The Spanish government appears to be losing the battle to restore budgetary credibility while each additional austerity measure serves to feed the recessionary backdrop."
In London, Barclays shares fell by 6% to 206p and were the second-biggest faller in the FTSE100 amid fears about its troubled Spanish operation. In February Barclays borrowed €6bn from the ECB's cheap loans scheme to pour into its Spanish operations.
The fresh bout of turbulence comes as the world's finance ministers and central bank governors prepare to fly to Washington next week for the half-yearly meeting of the International Monetary Fund. Following the measures taken by the ECB, the fund had been hopeful that the talks would be less fraught than those last autumn, when Europe's leaders were told to get to grips with their problems.
Christine Lagarde, the IMF's managing director, will almost certainly use the renewed crisis in the single currency zone to seek support for an increase in the fund's resources. But several countries, including the UK, have signalled that they would be reluctant to contribute significant new funds to the IMF unless they can be convinced eurozone leaders have done everything possible to tackle sovereign debt.

Read more »

Let's ride on two giants

Prof Yunus spurs country to cash in on ever-growing China, India

Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus speaks at the closing ceremony of Odommo Chattagram festival in Chittagong yesterday evening. Photo: Anurup Kanti DasStaff Correspondent

Bangladesh's future depends on a world-class seaport and a technology savvy young generation who would drive the country into a new global order in less than two decades, said Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus yesterday.

Bangladesh must be prepared for 2030 when the world order would change dramatically, he said.

He said China and India would become the world's largest and second largest economies respectively by that time. If Bangladesh can turn Chittagong seaport into a world class one, the country would develop in line with India and China, he added.

"Bangladesh lies between these two giants and we have to take the advantage of it," he said while addressing the closing ceremony of The Daily Star's 12-day long Odommo Chattagram festival in the auditorium of the Institute of Engineers in Chittagong city.

These two countries will create a lot of demand for goods and services of skilled professionals, and Bangladesh should be poised to supply that, Yunus said.

"If we cannot take the chance, others will come in," he cautioned.

The microcredit guru cited the example of Haiti that is located very close to the world's largest economy, the US, but cannot take any advantage of it due to political turmoil.

"Education, technology and the youths will be the drivers of 2030 Bangladesh," Yunus said.

The Nobel laureate said opening up of Myanmar created another advantage for Bangladesh for that country's natural resources and for the historical relations between the two countries.

He also said he wants to see Myanmar in Saarc as soon as possible. "Myanmar can set up a link between Saarc and Asean," he pointed out. He urged Bangladeshis, particularly Chittagonians, to build relations with Myanmar.

Yunus said many countries, especially the neighbouring ones, want to use the Chittagong port. He named north-eastern states of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and China.

"So the port must be prepared to serve not only 16 crore Bangladeshis, but also another 16 crore of the region," he said.

Yunus, now known as the social business pioneer, said United Arab Emirates, which is a desert country, was applauded for its excellent capacity of port development and management.

"We have to take such a responsibility and learn port management," he said.

He termed the present Chittagong port a very small one that cannot handle any mother vessel.

About the youths, he said they would drive the country into a bright future. But it would not happen unless they were educated about technology, he noted.

"Will we clean the roads and furniture in foreign countries or will we do expert jobs?" he questioned.

Yunus said Bangladesh has to arrange quality higher educational institutions like the Asian University for Women in Chittagong.

He said he has high hopes for the Bangladeshi youths who have the potential to take the country into a new era of development.

"Now we should take initiatives to know how the youths want to see Bangladesh in 2030," he said.

"Chittagonians are naturally entrepreneurs, and we have to use their skills," he noted.

He thanked The Daily star for organising such an event in Chittagong and asked the editor of the newspaper to replicate the concept in other parts of the country.

The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam said he initiated Odommo Chattagram festival to help the policymakers look into issues beyond Dhaka city.

Dhaka-centric activities are not helping Bangladesh to grow as a nation, he said.

Mahfuz said Chittagong has an immense potential to grow, and the policymakers and private sector should prioritise its development.

"We all should demand Chittagong's development," he said. "We found that electricity is a big problem in Chittagong. Let us discuss more and take the suggestions to the government for solutions," he added.

The Daily Star at the ceremony yesterday honoured 56 persons posthumously, and 19 living persons and two enterprises for their contributions to Chittagong's development.

Women Entrepreneurs' Chamber, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, Chittagong received special awards.

Chakma king, Debashish Roy, thanked The Daily Star for the initiative.

The festival closed with traditional local dances, folk songs, and a short play.

Abul Momen, resident editor, Prothom Alo in Chittagong, moderated the programme.

Read more »

Road blocked as schoolboy dies in accident

Transport movement on Dhaka-Munshiganj road remains suspended since Wednesday morning following death of a school boy in Munshiganj town.

Sharif Hossain, 14, a Class-V student of Indrakpur Primary School was crushed under the wheels of a bus on his way to school around 7:15am, reports our Munshiganj correspondent.

The barricade was going on till 10:45am when this report was filed.

Angry locals also vandalised two vehicles and set fire to the bus that killed the boy.

Abul Bashar, officer-in-charge (OC) of Munshiganj Sadar Police Station, said angry locals put barricades on the road around 7:30am and vandalised two vehicles when a Dhaka-bound bus of Inter-district Bus Owners' Association hit Sharif near Krishi Bank square of the town.

Sharif, a son of one Samiruddin Milky of Nayagaon village of the town, was going to school riding a bicycle.

Immediately after the accident, locals managed to catch the driver of the bus and handed him over to police after a good beating, the OC said.

They also set ablaze the bus, the police officer added.

The locals later brought out a rally in the town demanding punishment of the driver.

Ayub Ali, the helper of the bus, was driving the vehicle in absence of its driver, the OC said. 

[The Daily Star]

Read more »

Saudi princess: What I'd change about my country

 

Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz tells the BBC there are many changes she would like to see in Saudi Arabia - but that now is not the time for women to be allowed to drive. 

I speak as the daughter of King Saud, the former ruler of Saudi Arabia. My father established the first women's university in the kingdom, abolished slavery and tried to establish a constitutional monarchy that separates the position of king from that of prime minister. But I am saddened to say that my beloved country today has not fulfilled that early promise.

Our ancient culture, of which I am very proud, is renowned for its nobility and generosity, but we lack, and urgently need, fundamental civil laws with which to govern our society.

As a daughter, sister, (former) wife, mother, businesswoman and a working journalist, these are the things that I would like to see changed in Saudi Arabia.

1. Constitution

Princess Basma is divorced and lives with her children in London

I would like to see a proper constitution that treats all men and women on an equal footing before the law but that also serves as a guide to our civil laws and political culture.

For example, today in Saudi courts, all decisions are made according to the individual judge's interpretation of the holy Koran. This is entirely dependent on his own personal beliefs and upbringing rather than universally agreed principles or a written constitution as a guide.

I am not calling for a western system but an adaptation of that system to suit our needs and culture. Thus our constitution should be inspired by the philosophy of the Koran with principles that are set in stone and not open to the whims of individual judges as is the case now.

In particular, the constitution should protect every citizen's basic human rights regardless of their sex, status or sect. Everyone should be equal before the law.

2. Divorce laws

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Our religion should not be a shield behind which we hide from the world but a driving force that inspires us to innovate and contribute to our surroundings”

I strongly believe that current divorce laws are abusive.

Today in Saudi, a woman can ask for a divorce only if she files for what is called "Khali and Dhali". This means either she pays a big sum of money running into tens of thousands of dollars or she has to get someone to witness the reason why she is filing for a divorce - an impossible condition to fulfil given that such reasons usually are the kind that remain within the four walls of a marriage.

Another way to keep a woman in the marital home against her will is the automatic granting of custody of any children over the age of six to the father in any divorce settlements.

This state of affairs is in complete contradiction to the Koran, upon which our laws are supposed to be based. In it a woman is given full rights to divorce simply in the case of "irreconcilable differences".

3. Overhaul of the education system

Continue reading the main story

An insular kingdom

• Established in 1932 by King Abd-al-Aziz
• One of the most devout and insular countries in the Middle East
• The royal family is 15,000 strong
• The Al Saud dynasty holds a monopoly of power; political parties are banned
• Saudi women live a restricted life and are banned from driving
• The country includes the Hijaz region - the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the cradle of Islam
• Saudi Arabia sits on more than 25% of the world's known oil reserves

The way women today are treated in Saudi Arabia is a direct result of the education our children, boys and girls, receive at school.

The content of the syllabus is extremely dangerous. For one, our young are taught that a woman's position in society is inferior. Her role is strictly limited to serving her family and raising children. They are actually taught that if a woman has to worship anyone other than God it should be her husband; "that the angels will curse her if she is not submissive to her husband's needs". Girls are also strictly forbidden from taking part in any physical education. This is a result of a complete misinterpretation of the Koran. I consider these ideologies to be inherently abusive.

Aside from that, the focus in most of our educational system is on religious subjects such as hadith (sayings attributed to the prophet), Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), tafssir (interpretation of the Koran) and of course the Koran. The attitude is that "learning itself, anything other than religion won't get you into heaven so don't waste your time". I would like to see religious teaching limited to the Koran and the Sunna (the way the prophet lived), where the true ethics of Islam lie. The rest is blind rote learning of the most dangerous kind. It has left our youth vulnerable to fundamentalist ideologies that have led to terrorism and abuse of the true meaning of the Koran.

Instead of wasting our youths' intellect on memorising quotations whose origins is uncertain (such as those found in hadith, Fiqh and tafssir) we need to encourage them to think freely, innovate and use their initiative for the betterment of our society. Early Islam was a time of great creativity. Scholars excelled in sciences and literature. Our religion should not be a shield behind which we hide from the world but a driving force that inspires us to innovate and contribute to our surroundings. This is the true spirit of Islam.

4. A complete reform of social services

The ministry of social affairs is tolerating cruelty towards women rather than protecting them. The only refuge homes that abused women can turn to are state ones. In these, women are continuously told that by seeking refuge they have brought shame on their families.

Continue reading the main story

What do you think?

• Do you live in Saudi Arabia?
• Send us your views on the princess's comments, using the form at the bottom of the page
• A selection will be published

If they come from powerful families then they will be sent straight back to their homes in fear of the wrath of a powerful patriarch. As a result we have seen many cases of suicide by educated women, doctors and scientists who were sent back to their abusers.

We need independent women's refuges where the rights of women are upheld and backed up by powerful laws that can override family traditions and protect women.

The ministry of social affairs not only abuses women's rights but is also one of the reasons poverty is rife in the kingdom. A corrupt system that lacks transparency has meant that more than 50% of our population is poor and needy even though we are one of the wealthiest countries on earth.

5. The role of the Mahram (chaperone)

Women in Saudi cannot get around or travel without a mahram (a kind of chaperone - usually a male relative).

At the time of the prophet, women used to have a man to accompany them but in those days Arabia was a desert literally full of pirates.

Today the only purpose of such a law is to curtail women's freedom of movement. This not only infantilises women but turns them unnecessarily into a burden on their men and on society.

6. Driving

Today women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive.

Continue reading the main story

Princess Basma

• Youngest daughter of the country's second king and niece to its current ruler
• Educated in Britain and Switzerland
• Lives in Acton, London
• Princess Basma, pictured above pointing to her place in the Saudi family tree, was interviewed by Outlook on the BBC World Service

• Listen to the interview
• Browse the Outlook archive

This one seems to concern western observers the most but I hope you will agree having read the previous five that there are more essential rights we need to obtain first.

I am definitely for women driving but I don't think this is the right time for a reversal of this law. In the current climate if a woman drives, she could be stopped, harassed beaten or worse to teach her a lesson.

This is why I am against women driving until we are educated enough and until we have the necessary laws to protect us from such madness. Otherwise we might as well hand out a licence to the extremists to abuse us further. If as drivers we get harassed, they will say to the Islamic world "see what happens when women drive, they get harassed they get beaten" and they will call for even more stringent laws to control women. This is something we can't afford. Fundamental changes in the law and its attitude to women are needed before we take this step.

On the whole it is the rights and freedoms of all citizens that are crucial in Saudi Arabia and from those the rights of women will emanate.

Princess Basma Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz spoke to Outlook on the BBC World Service.

Do you live in Saudi Arabia? Tell us what you think about these issues, using the form below, and a selection of responses will be published next week.

Read more »

UK government 'approved Abdel Hakim Belhaj's rendition'

 

 Mr Belhaj is now head of the Tripoli Military Council in the new Libya

The UK government approved the 2004 rendition of a terror suspect to the Gaddafi regime, the BBC can reveal.

A letter from an MI6 officer refers to Abdel Hakim Belhaj's rendition to Libya. It congratulates the Libyans on the "safe arrival" of the "air cargo".

Mr Belhaj says he was tortured in jail. Successive UK governments have denied complicity in rendition or torture.

But the letter suggests M16 involvement - and the BBC understands authorisation was given by the Labour government.

The letter from the senior MI6 officer, Sir Mark Allen, to Col Gaddafi's intelligence chief, Musa Kusa, was found last year in the rubble of Musa Kusa's headquarters, which were bombed by Nato.

As well as congratulating the Libyans on the arrival of the "cargo", it points out that "the intelligence was British".

The letter was sent in 2004 when Mr Belhaj was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

MI5 believed the group was close to al-Qaeda and involved in recruiting young Muslims in Britain to fight in Iraq.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Britain regarded Belhaj as a terrorist who had met Osama Bin Laden during the Afghan jihad against the Russians in the late 1980s, and whose group MI5 believed was involved in recruiting young British Muslims”

Peter Taylor BBC correspondent

• Rendition of Abdul Hakim Belhaj

BBC correspondent Peter Taylor says it appears MI6 had discovered that Mr Belhaj was in Malaysia and about to head for London in the hope of obtaining political asylum.

MI6 informed its foreign intelligence partners, and as a result Mr Belhaj was intercepted in Bangkok, presumably by the CIA, and rendered to Libya.

Our correspondent says the letter suggests MI6 was complicit in Mr Belhaj's illegal rendition and alleged torture in Libya - but that MI6 was not acting unilaterally.

He says his understanding is that MI6 obtained authorisation from the Labour government of the time for its action.

Legal action in UK

Mr Belhaj - now a senior military commander in the new Libya that Britain helped create - is suing MI6 and the British government, accusing them of complicity in his illegal rendition and alleged torture.

He says he believes he was rendered from Bangkok to Libya by the CIA.

The Metropolitan Police is also investigating his allegations.

Mr Belhaj worked with Nato as one of the leaders of the forces that helped overthrow Col Muammar Gaddafi.

But he claims that during his more than four years in prison he was interrogated by agents from countries including the UK and US.

He had been living in exile in Beijing after leading opposition to Col Gaddafi.

In 2010, Prime Minister David Cameron established a Detainee Inquiry into "whether Britain was implicated in the improper treatment of detainees, held by other countries, that may have occurred in the aftermath of 9/11".

However, the inquiry was mothballed in January 2012 after the Metropolitan Police announced it was investigating Mr Belhaj's claims.

Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the government was committed to holding a judge-led inquiry once these were investigated.

Watch Modern Spies on BBC 2 at 21:00 BST on Monday 9 April for more on this story.

Source : BBC

Read more »

Burma: First an Election, Now an Exchange Rate That Makes Sense Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2012/04/08/burma-first-an-election-now-an-exchange-rate-that-makes-sense

Paula Bronstein / Getty Images

Burmese kyat notes in a bank in Yangon, Burma's business capital, on April 5, 2012. Last week, the Burmese central bank set a new official exchange rate for its national currency that reflects what it's actually worth

As Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi begins her journey to Burma’s capital of Nyapidaw as an elected member of parliament, the government has taken an important step of its own to bring the country’s economy out of the dark ages: last week, Burma’s central bank set a value on the national currency that reflects what it’s actually worth. With the U.S. and the E.U. inching closer to easing some of their economic sanctions against the country, the timing of the move couldn’t be any better.

The central bank set the new official exchange rate at 818 kyat (pronounced chaht) to the U.S. dollar — in line with the most recent black-market rate — and decided in the future its value would be determined at currency auctions on a daily basis. For decades, Burma had operated with the wildly unrealistic official exchange rate of 6.2 kyat to the dollar — one of the starkest features of all that was wrong with the economy of one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries.

(PHOTOS: Freedom for Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi)

The financial distortions caused by the fairy-tale currency value were used as a tool for corruption by the powerful, contributed to the growth of an enormous black economy and presented unnecessary hurdles and barriers to foreign investment. The pervasive use of the black-market exchange rate, which reflected the true value of the currency, left virtually everyone in Burma involved in illegal activity and thus vulnerable to extortion, scams or intimidation. Foreign firms, meanwhile, had to resort to byzantine trades in agricultural or other goods they didn’t normally deal in to navigate the dual exchange rates without losing money. The situation also made it impossible to put a true value on Burma’s state enterprises and created bizarre situations in which the official salaries of top generals were in the range of $40 a month.

For at least a quarter-century, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund had urged Burma’s leaders to rectify the country’s exchange rate as a first step toward economic reforms. But just like the international community’s pleas for political reforms, those urgings fell on deaf ears — until now. Sean Turnell, an expert on Burma’s economy at Macquarie University in Australia, says the new exchange rate is significant progress for the country. “It removes the single most prominent ‘signpost’ of Burma’s poor economic environment of the last few decades, will greatly ease the circumstances of Burma’s traders, foreign investors, and should transform the country’s public finances,” he tells TIME.

(MORE: Burma Holds Out the Promise of Reform, but Change Will Take Time)

For many years of mismanagement under military government, the country held fast to its 6.2-kyat-to-the-dollar rate, even as the black-market rate soared to over 1,000 kyat to the dollar. When Burma began to emerge from its extreme isolation in the early 1990s and needed to appease foreign investors, the government adopted a complex system of Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) to be used in lieu of the currency. The value of FECs, however, was also distorted. In 2008, the U.N. complained that 20% of the aid money it donated to Burma was being lost when dollars were exchanged for FECs. According to many Burma watchers, the money that disappeared in conversions over the years was being pocketed by the ruling elite. Analysts say the generals and their inner circle were notorious for using the confusing currency regimes to turn a profit off business deals, investments and aid. “The ruling generals and their family members took advantage of this system,” said Wai Moe, a reporter with the Irrawaddy, a news website on Burma run by exiles.

Turnell says that the new currency rate will do much to improve the government’s image with foreign companies by providing more certainty and making the atmosphere for investment more inviting. But rectifying the official exchange rate alone won’t be enough to pull Burma out if its economic mess. “There is still a long way to go on economic reform in Burma, which to some extent lags behind political developments now. The hard stuff that really touches upon the interests of the ruling elite still lays ahead,” Turnell says. In order to attract foreign investors now, Burma needs to remove the system in which all exporters and importers need licenses to operate in the country, as well as institute reforms in property rights and strengthen the rule of law. Even so, Turnell says, in the eyes of economists, fixing the kyat is a good start toward helping everyone get a better bang for the buck.

Read more »

BAF flying officer killed

An expert team of armed forces inspects the wreckage of BAF training aircraft L-39 that crashed at Madhupur in Tangail on Sunday, killing a flying officer. sun photo

Training Aircraft Crashes into Tangail CroplandA flying officer was killed and a trainee pilot injured as a training aircraft of Bangladesh Air Force crashed into a cropland at Madhupur in Tangail district Sunday, in an unfortunate recurrence of such tragedy.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) sources confirmed the plane-crash incident, saying that flying officer Reza Sharif succumbed to his injuries after he was admitted to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) at Ghatail cantonment around 2:45pm.

The injured pilot, Squadron Leader Mamunur Rashid, was undergoing treatment at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka, BAF sources said.

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) sources said the training aircraft L-39 carrying the two officers took off from Kurmitola Airport in the capital around 12:30pm.

The trainer light-attack aircraft nosedived into a paddy field at Mahishmara village under Madhupur upazila in Tangail 15 minutes after its takeoff, the sources said, citing mechanical breakdown as the cause

“The accident might have taken place due to technical fault,” a Caab official told daily sun, quoting BAF officials.

Aminul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Madhupur police station, said police and firefighters rushed to the spot after getting information and launched a rescue operation with the help of local people.

They rescued Squadron Leader Mamunur Rashid and flying officer Reza Sharif with critical injuries and sent them to Madhupur Upazila Health Complex immediately, the OC added.

Later, the two were shifted to the CMH at Ghatail for better treatment where Reza Sharif succumbed to his injuries about 2:45pm, said Ekhlas Uddin, warrant officer of Bangladesh Air Force. Mamunur Rashid was shifted to the CMH in Dhaka, he added.

“Mamun is now out of danger as he sustained some cuts and bruises only,” the warrant officer said.

MA Masud, additional superintendent of police in Tangail, told daily sun that high officials of Bangladesh Air Force, Bangladesh Army as well as district and police administrations visited the spot. The officials concerned said a three-member inquiry committee comprising BAF officials was formed to investigate the latest air crash.

Read more »

Oust-govt movement from Jun 11 rally: Khaleda warns

Wants CG restoration bill passed by Jun 10 deadlineOpposition leader Khaleda Zia Sunday warned the government that if the scrapped system of caretaker government was not restored within the given ultimatum, they might be compelled to launch an “oust-government” campaign.

“We may have to launch a one-point movement for unseating the government from a rally in Dhaka on June 11 if it does not pass a bill in parliament to restore the caretaker government by June 10,” she said, a day after the prime minister rejected her plea.

The BNP chairperson and ex-PM reaffirmed the deadline while addressing the national executive committee meeting of her party at the Institute of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh in the capital.

The government amended the constitution through the 15th amendment before receiving the full Supreme Court verdict as the short verdict observed that the next two parliamentary polls could be held under the caretaker-government system, she alleged.

“When we assume office, we will scrap the amendment to the constitution,” she told her party leaders at the top forum.

The BNP chief reiterated that her party including the other political parties will not take part in any elections under a partisan government.

People of the country also not allow elections under a partisan government, she noted.

Portraying a gloomy picture of the country’s economy, sovereignty and law and order situation, Khaleda said the government has brought the country on the verge of destruction.

Hinting at the expansion of the BNP-led four-party alliances, Khaleda said some major political parties along with some small ones have already talked to BNP to join the movement.

The government is gradually becoming friendless, she said condemning it for its three-year misrule and misdeeds.

The price of electricity has been raised four times in last one year, she said adding that World Bank and other international donor agencies have stopped funding due to the corruption of the government.

BNP is planning to go for a vigorous movement when their 90-day ultimatum to the government ends on June 10.

Party’s Acting Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir gave the welcome address while Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi adopted a condolence motion at the meeting.

About 60 members spoke at the meeting.

Executive committee meeting is the only forum where the grassroots leaders can express their views in front of Chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Some of the members suggested that BNP should take part in the DCC polls while other said it is high time that the opposition strike the government hard.

The meeting started at around 10.30am. The closed-door session was in progress before filing of the report.

Read more »