April 18: Bangalore v Kolkata at Bangalore
April 19: Mohali v Chennai at Mohali and Delhi v Jaipur at Delhi
April 20: Mumbai v Bangalore at Mumbai; Kolkata v Hyderabad at Kolkata
April 21: Jaipur v Mohali at Jaipur
April 22: Hyderabad v Delhi at Hyderabad
April 23: Chennai v Mumbai at Chennai
April 24: Hyderabad v Jaipur at Hyderabad
April 25: Mohali v Mumbai at Mohali
April 26: Bangalore v Jaipur at Bangalore; Chennai v Kolkata at Chennai
April 27: Mumbai v Hyderabad at Mumbai; Mohali v Delhi at Mohali
April 28: Bangalore v Chennai at Bangalore
April 29: Kolkata v Mumbai at Kolkata
April 30: Delhi v Bangalore at Delhi.
May 1: Hyderabad v Mohali at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Kolkata at Jaipur
May 2: Chennai v Delhi at Chennai.
May 3: Hyderabad at Bangalore at Hyderabad; Mohali v Kolkata at Mohali
May 4: Mumbai v Delhi at Mumbai; Jaipur v Chennai at Jaipur
May 5: Bangalore v Mohali at Bangalore
May 6: Chennai v Hyderabad at Chennai
May 7: Mumbai v Jaipur at Mumbai
May 8: Delhi v Chennai at Delhi; Kolkata v Bangalore at Kolkata
May 9: Jaipur v Hyderabad at Jaipur
May 10: Bangalore v Mumbai at Bangalore; Chennai v Mohali at Chennai
May 11: Hyderabad v Kolkata at Hyderabad; Jaipur v Delhi at Jaipur
May 12: Mohali v Bangalore at Mohali
May 13: Kolkata v Delhi at Kolkata
May 14: Mumbai v Chennai at Mumbai; Mohali v Jaipur at Mohali
May 15: Delhi v Hyderabad at Delhi
May 16: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
May 17: Delhi v Mohali at Delhi; Jaipur v Bangalore at Jaipur
May 18: Hyderabad v Mumbai at Hyderabad; Kolkata v Chenna at Kolkata
May 19: Bangalore v Delhi at Bangalore
May 20: Kolkata v Jaipur at Kolkata
May 21: Mumbai v Mohali at Mumbai; Chennai v Bangalore at Chennai
May 22: Delhi v Kolkata at Delhi
May 23: Mohali v Hyderabad at Mohali.
May 24: Delhi v Mumbai at Delhi; Chennai v Jaipur at Chennai
May 25: Bangalore v Hyderabad at Bangalore; Kolkata v Mohali at Kolkata
May 26: Jaipur v Mumbai at Jaipur
May 27: Hyderabad v Chennai at Hyderabad
May 28 and 29: Rest days
May 30: First semi-final at Mumbai
May 31: Second semi-final at Mumbai
June 1: Final at Mumbai
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
सचिन 200
Take a BOW master!
Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar added another feather to his cap when he became the first batsman to cross the 200-run mark in an one-day international at Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior on Wednesday.
Tendulkar achieved the unique landmark when he run a single off Langeveldt against South Africa in the second one-dayer of the ongoing three-match series.
Sachin's 200 came off 147 balls, which include 25 fours and 3 sixes.
The master surpassed the previous highest individual score made by Pakistan's Saeed Anwar (194 against India in 1997) and Charles Coventry of Zimbabwe (194 not out against Bangladesh in 1999).
Tendulkar started his innings aggressively and made a quick-fire 37-ball fifty before finally completing his century in 90 balls. Sachin extended his lead for the record of most number of centuries to 17 as Ricky Ponting lies in the second place with 29 centuries.
Tendulkar continued his record breaking form as he had slammed his 46th Test ton in the final match of the longer version of the game against the Proteas earlier.
After losing Virender Sehwag (9) early in the innings, Tendulkar put on 194-run partnership with Dinesh Karthik (79 off 85 balls), who slammed his fourth ODI fifty, against South Africa.
Earlier, India skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat against South Africa in the second One-dayer of the three match series.
Virender Sehwag, who was doubtful for the second ODI, is fit to play in Gwalior as Dhoni kept the same squad. On the other hand Proteas have made three changes. Jean-Paul Duminy, Roelof van der Merwe and Hashim Amla have made it to the playing eleven.
After escaping with a narrow win in Jaipur, India would aim to plug their bowling loopholes and seal the three-match series to retain the number two spot in ICC rankings when they take on South Africa in the second ODI on Wednesday.
History favours the hosts at this venue since out of nine matches they have played here, seven have resulted in victory for India.
सचिन २००.
এক দিনের ক্রিকেটের ৪০ বছরের ইতিহাসের সবচেয়ে আনন্দদায়ক মাইলফলকটি অতিক্রম করলেন আজ শচীন টেন্ডুলকার। প্রথম ব্যাটসম্যান হিসেবে ওয়ানডেতে ডাবল সেঞ্চুরির দেখা পেলেন তিনি। গোয়ালিয়রে দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার বিপক্ষে সিরিজের দ্বিতীয় ওয়ানডেতে নিজের ক্যারিয়ারের সবচেয়ে স্মরণীয় ইনিংসটি খেললেন ক্রিকেটের এই জীবন্ত কিংবদন্তি। আজ তিনি এমন একটি ইনিংসের দেখা পেলেন, যে ইনিংসটি খেলেননি ক্রিকেট ইতিহাসের আর কোনো ব্যাটসম্যানই।
শচীন টেন্ডুলকার তাঁর ২১ বছরের ক্রিকেট ক্যারিয়ারে অনেক রেকর্ডই করেছেন। অনেকবারই তিনি ইতিহাস গড়েছেন। ওয়ানডেতে তিনি যত সেঞ্চুরি করেছেন, তাঁর ধারে-কাছেও নেই অন্য কেউ। তাঁর কাছাকাছি ম্যাচ কতজন খেলোয়াড় খেলেছেন, তা হাতে গুনেই বলে দেওয়া যায়। কিন্তু আজকের ইনিংসটি খেলার জন্যই বোধ হয় শচীন টেন্ডুলকারের এতদূর আসা।
শচীন টেন্ডুলকার যেদিন বড় ইনিংস খেলেন, সেদিন নাকি প্রথম থেকেই বোঝা যায়, আজকেও প্রথম থেকেই বোঝা যাচ্ছিল শচীন বড় একটি ইনিংস খেলার পথেই এগোচ্ছেন। বল প্রথম থেকেই তাঁর ব্যাটের মাঝেই লাগছিল। দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার বোলাররা ক্লান্ত হয়ে গিয়েছিলেন নিজেদের করা বোলিংয়ের করুণ পরিণতি দেখে। ফিল্ডাররা হয়তো কায়মনোবাক্যে প্রার্থনা করছিলেন দ্রুত ৫০ ওভার শেষ হয়ে যাওয়ার। হয়তো প্রোটিয়ারা মুগ্ধ চোখেই উপভোগ করছিলেন এই ক্রিকেট কিংবদন্তির খেলা!
ওয়ানডে ক্রিকেটে এর আগের সর্বোচ্চ সংগ্রহ কার ছিল, তা নিয়ে অনেকের মধ্যেই বিভ্রান্তি আছে। যদিও এর আগের সেরা ইনিংসের সংখ্যা একই—১৯৪। ১৯৯৭ সালের মে মাসে ভারতের বিপক্ষে পাকিস্তানের সাঈদ আনোয়ার ১৯৪ রান করে আউট হয়েছিলেন। এখানে সাঈদ আনোয়ারের আউট হওয়ার কথাটি বলা হচ্ছে কারণ এরপর যিনি সাঈদ আনোয়ারের সমানসংখ্যক ১৯৪ রান করেছেন, তিনি জিম্বাবুয়ের চার্লস কভেন্ট্রি বাংলাদেশের বিপক্ষে। মজার ব্যাপার হলো চার্লস কভেন্ট্রি অপরাজিত থাকায় ওয়ানডেতে সর্বোচ্চ রানের রেকর্ডটি সাঈদ আনোয়ারের হাতছাড়া হয়ে গিয়েছিল।
আজকের দিনের পর এই বিভ্রান্তির আর কোনো প্রয়োজন নেই। কারণ রেকর্ডবুকে সর্বোচ্চ রানের জন্য কেবল একটি নামই থাকবে, আর সেটা শচীন টেন্ডুলকার—দ্য লিটল জিনিয়াস।
শচীন বন্দনায় আজকের খেলায় ভারতের আরও একটি অর্জনই ঢাকা পড়ে যাচ্ছে। আর সেটা হলো ওয়ানডেতে দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার বিপক্ষে ৪০১ রানের কোটা পেরোনো। শচীন টেন্ডুলকারের ২০০, দীনেশ কার্তিকের ৭৯ ও মহেন্দ্র সিং ধোনির ৬৮ রানে ভারত ৩ উইকেটে ৪০১ রান সংগ্রহ করেছে।
দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকা হয়তো চাইবে গোয়ালিয়রের মাটিতে আরও একবার জোহানেসবার্গ ফিরিয়ে আনতে। কিন্তু সেটা পরের ব্যাপার। আপতত শচীন টেন্ডুলকারের তৈরি ইতিহাসটিই উদযাপন করা হোক না!
শচীন টেন্ডুলকার তাঁর ২১ বছরের ক্রিকেট ক্যারিয়ারে অনেক রেকর্ডই করেছেন। অনেকবারই তিনি ইতিহাস গড়েছেন। ওয়ানডেতে তিনি যত সেঞ্চুরি করেছেন, তাঁর ধারে-কাছেও নেই অন্য কেউ। তাঁর কাছাকাছি ম্যাচ কতজন খেলোয়াড় খেলেছেন, তা হাতে গুনেই বলে দেওয়া যায়। কিন্তু আজকের ইনিংসটি খেলার জন্যই বোধ হয় শচীন টেন্ডুলকারের এতদূর আসা।
শচীন টেন্ডুলকার যেদিন বড় ইনিংস খেলেন, সেদিন নাকি প্রথম থেকেই বোঝা যায়, আজকেও প্রথম থেকেই বোঝা যাচ্ছিল শচীন বড় একটি ইনিংস খেলার পথেই এগোচ্ছেন। বল প্রথম থেকেই তাঁর ব্যাটের মাঝেই লাগছিল। দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার বোলাররা ক্লান্ত হয়ে গিয়েছিলেন নিজেদের করা বোলিংয়ের করুণ পরিণতি দেখে। ফিল্ডাররা হয়তো কায়মনোবাক্যে প্রার্থনা করছিলেন দ্রুত ৫০ ওভার শেষ হয়ে যাওয়ার। হয়তো প্রোটিয়ারা মুগ্ধ চোখেই উপভোগ করছিলেন এই ক্রিকেট কিংবদন্তির খেলা!
ওয়ানডে ক্রিকেটে এর আগের সর্বোচ্চ সংগ্রহ কার ছিল, তা নিয়ে অনেকের মধ্যেই বিভ্রান্তি আছে। যদিও এর আগের সেরা ইনিংসের সংখ্যা একই—১৯৪। ১৯৯৭ সালের মে মাসে ভারতের বিপক্ষে পাকিস্তানের সাঈদ আনোয়ার ১৯৪ রান করে আউট হয়েছিলেন। এখানে সাঈদ আনোয়ারের আউট হওয়ার কথাটি বলা হচ্ছে কারণ এরপর যিনি সাঈদ আনোয়ারের সমানসংখ্যক ১৯৪ রান করেছেন, তিনি জিম্বাবুয়ের চার্লস কভেন্ট্রি বাংলাদেশের বিপক্ষে। মজার ব্যাপার হলো চার্লস কভেন্ট্রি অপরাজিত থাকায় ওয়ানডেতে সর্বোচ্চ রানের রেকর্ডটি সাঈদ আনোয়ারের হাতছাড়া হয়ে গিয়েছিল।
আজকের দিনের পর এই বিভ্রান্তির আর কোনো প্রয়োজন নেই। কারণ রেকর্ডবুকে সর্বোচ্চ রানের জন্য কেবল একটি নামই থাকবে, আর সেটা শচীন টেন্ডুলকার—দ্য লিটল জিনিয়াস।
শচীন বন্দনায় আজকের খেলায় ভারতের আরও একটি অর্জনই ঢাকা পড়ে যাচ্ছে। আর সেটা হলো ওয়ানডেতে দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকার বিপক্ষে ৪০১ রানের কোটা পেরোনো। শচীন টেন্ডুলকারের ২০০, দীনেশ কার্তিকের ৭৯ ও মহেন্দ্র সিং ধোনির ৬৮ রানে ভারত ৩ উইকেটে ৪০১ রান সংগ্রহ করেছে।
দক্ষিণ আফ্রিকা হয়তো চাইবে গোয়ালিয়রের মাটিতে আরও একবার জোহানেসবার্গ ফিরিয়ে আনতে। কিন্তু সেটা পরের ব্যাপার। আপতত শচীন টেন্ডুলকারের তৈরি ইতিহাসটিই উদযাপন করা হোক না!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
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EC to appeal to HC for quick disposal of issue
Chief Election Commissioner ATM Shamsul Huda yesterday said the Election Commission will appeal to the High Court to dispose of a rule regarding demarcation of Dhaka City Corporation areas immediately so that the election to DCC can be held in March.
"The issue of demarcating areas is not too important. But the important matter is to ensure that every voter can cast his vote," he said, adding that the issue of demarcation can also be resolved later.
The chief election commissioner said this while talking to reporters at the reunion of Dhaka University History Department Alumni Association at the Teacher-Student Centre on the university campus.
On January 25, The High Court issued a rule upon the authorities to explain within four weeks why they should not be directed to demarcate the areas and determine the number of the wards of DCC on the basis of equal number of population before holding the election to the corporation.
"The Dhaka City Corporation election is long overdue -- about two and a half years. The corporation has become ineffective. The city dwellers are being deprived of various facilities. We will try to make the court understand it," Huda said.
He said it would take at least six months to demarcate the areas and make separate map of each ward.
Huda also said the commission has a plan to hold elections to the Union Parishads, municipalities and Chittagong City Corporation in this year.
Earlier, addressing a discussion at the TSC auditorium on the occasion of the reunion, the chief election commissioner stressed the need to revive the past glory of Dhaka University by improving the quality of education.
Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Gauhar Rizvi, senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta, former advisers to the caretaker governments Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury and Dr Akbar Ali Khan also spoke at the reminiscence session, with alumni association president Prof M Mofakhkharul Islam in the chair.
Hundreds of alumni participated in the daylong programme and exchanged greetings with old friends.
A cultural session was also held in the evening.
"The issue of demarcating areas is not too important. But the important matter is to ensure that every voter can cast his vote," he said, adding that the issue of demarcation can also be resolved later.
The chief election commissioner said this while talking to reporters at the reunion of Dhaka University History Department Alumni Association at the Teacher-Student Centre on the university campus.
On January 25, The High Court issued a rule upon the authorities to explain within four weeks why they should not be directed to demarcate the areas and determine the number of the wards of DCC on the basis of equal number of population before holding the election to the corporation.
"The Dhaka City Corporation election is long overdue -- about two and a half years. The corporation has become ineffective. The city dwellers are being deprived of various facilities. We will try to make the court understand it," Huda said.
He said it would take at least six months to demarcate the areas and make separate map of each ward.
Huda also said the commission has a plan to hold elections to the Union Parishads, municipalities and Chittagong City Corporation in this year.
Earlier, addressing a discussion at the TSC auditorium on the occasion of the reunion, the chief election commissioner stressed the need to revive the past glory of Dhaka University by improving the quality of education.
Adviser to the Prime Minister Dr Gauhar Rizvi, senior Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta, former advisers to the caretaker governments Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury and Dr Akbar Ali Khan also spoke at the reminiscence session, with alumni association president Prof M Mofakhkharul Islam in the chair.
Hundreds of alumni participated in the daylong programme and exchanged greetings with old friends.
A cultural session was also held in the evening.
HC stays DCC poll schedule till Feb 23
The High Court yesterday stayed till February 23 the Election Commission's declaration of schedule for holding elections to Dhaka City Corporation.
The EC was reportedly due to announce the schedule this week.
The court also issued a rule upon the government, DCC and EC asking them to explain within the time frame why they should not be directed to demarcate areas of DCC wards on the basis of population.
Besides, the court asked them to explain why they should not be directed to bring the new 17 mouzas into DCC wards.
The HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Borhan Uddin came up with the order upon a writ petition filed by Sajjad Hossain, a voter of the city's Pallabi area.
The court fixed February 23 for hearing on the matter.
The petitioner prayed to the court to direct the government and EC to demarcate afresh DCC wards ensuring that each ward has equal population.
The difference between the population and the voters of the wards are very high, he said citing an example that the population of ward no 6 is 1,05,096, while the population of ward no 13 is 10,313.
The petitioner also said an equal amount of development budget can be allocated to DCC wards if they have equal population.
Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam appeared for the petitioner.
The EC was reportedly due to announce the schedule this week.
The court also issued a rule upon the government, DCC and EC asking them to explain within the time frame why they should not be directed to demarcate areas of DCC wards on the basis of population.
Besides, the court asked them to explain why they should not be directed to bring the new 17 mouzas into DCC wards.
The HC bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik and Justice Borhan Uddin came up with the order upon a writ petition filed by Sajjad Hossain, a voter of the city's Pallabi area.
The court fixed February 23 for hearing on the matter.
The petitioner prayed to the court to direct the government and EC to demarcate afresh DCC wards ensuring that each ward has equal population.
The difference between the population and the voters of the wards are very high, he said citing an example that the population of ward no 6 is 1,05,096, while the population of ward no 13 is 10,313.
The petitioner also said an equal amount of development budget can be allocated to DCC wards if they have equal population.
Barrister M Amir-Ul Islam appeared for the petitioner.
BSS PROFILE
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), the country's national news agency was launched on January 1, 1972. The Dhaka bureau of the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) was turned into the national news agency of the new country.
Beginning with a small strength in the head office in Dhaka and a bureau in Chittagong, BSS now has bureaus in Rajshahi, Rangpur, Bagura, Khulna, Barishal, Rangamati and Sylhet also.
The national news agency has its correspondents in all the 64 administrative districts of the country. The agency functions almost round the clock to disseminate national, international, political, economic, development and other news to nearly 50 subscribers across the country.
BSS subscribes to international wire services AFP and exchanges news with Press Trust of India (PTI), Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), Xinhua, the official news agency of China, Bernama of Malaysia and TransData of Australia.
BSS transmits news features including IPS features.
Terror comes home to Bangladesh
Terror returned to Bangladesh with 459 coordinated bomb blasts within a space of 30 minutes that rocked 63 of the country's 64 districts at midday on August 17. Prime Minister Khaleda Zia described it as a "heinous, cowardly, conspirational and well-planned act of terrorism", and the government launched a "massive manhunt" for the perpetrators. So far 90 people have been arrested for questioning in relation to the attacks that left two people dead and nearly 125 injured. Yet the attack should not come as a surprise for the administration.
Immediately after the blasts, Bangladesh's most powerful neighbor - India - expressed "grave concern". Delhi had long insisted that Dhaka take action against the seething Islamic fundamentalism that was brewing there, and had long been ignored. Now the people in one of the world's poorest countries are paying for such negligence on the part of their leaders.
According to many analysts, the attacks bore the hallmark of an al-Qaeda operation. That has not been established yet, but leaflets in the bombed areas were found, issuing a call for jihad until an Islamic state with Sharia law is established in Bangladesh. The banned organization Jamaet-ul-Mujahideen was blamed for the acts of terror; it promptly denied having anything to do with them.
Perhaps tellingly, just a day before the attacks rocked Bangladesh, Ananda Bazaar Patrika, a Bengali newspaper published from Kolkata in India, reported on a leaflet written in Urdu that was being distributed in Muslim-inhabited blocks of the city asking civilians to raise money for a company titled "Al-Qaeda International Limited". The police have arrested two Bangladeshi nationals in the city in connection with this. The headquarters of this supposed company was Dhaka.
India has long accused Bangladesh of negligence in stopping Islamic terrorist organizations from going into its border regions. It suspects that a lot of Indian separatist organizations receive funding and ammunition from Bangladesh-based outfits. The Jamaet-ul-Mujahideen and another group - Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh - were banned in February. The ban on the former came nearly two years after the Dinajpur blasts in northern Bangladesh in 2003, in which it was also suspected to be involved.
The recent attacks have proven that the earlier ones were merely the tip of an iceberg. In any case, simply banning a group is easy, implementing the ban in far-flung rural districts is difficult, especially for Bangladesh, the world's most corrupt country, according to the latest Transparency International report.
Moreover, many observers accuse Jamait-e-Islami, a mainstream political party that is a member of the ruling coalition government, of actively supporting such groups. Investors, especially foreign, already think twice before putting their money in the country, and such direct political involvement in mass acts of terror would surely scare them away. Aftabul Islam, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, said, "So far we have been saying there are no ... Islamist extremists [in Bangladesh], but now we cannot hide the reality."
Bangladesh has been unstable for a while. As Chinese leader Mao Zedong remarked once, "It only takes a spark to start a prairie fire." Worse yet, this instability has spillover effects across the border in India. As a Ministry for External Affairs spokesman in Delhi said, "A stable, prosperous, secular and democratic Bangladesh is ... in the ... interest of ... India."
First, reservations about security conditions in Bangladesh have dogged the proposed $4 billion gas pipeline between India and Myanmar. According to latest estimates, nearly 30% of Bangladesh's youth are unemployed. At least some would get employment in construction projects for this pipeline, not to mention the benefits to the economy of the transit fees India would pay to Dhaka for shipping nearly $40 billion worth of gas from Myanmar.
Second, a massive narcotic contraband nexus has reportedly been formed to finance many of the terrorist activities in eastern and northeastern India, not to mention within Bangladesh itself. Many security analysts argue that vested interests within the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) - the border guards - have also developed to profit out of this network. Lobbying from these groups might go a long distance to explain Dhaka's vocal opposition towards India's move to fence the border between the two countries. It also explains the often-violent skirmishes between India's Border Security Force and the BDR, which leads to diplomatic spats with Delhi.
Third, India has maintained that ever since 1971, the birth of Bangladesh, a continuous tide of illegal migrants has flocked to India from Bangladesh, and lately it has accused border officials of facilitating this people-trafficking. However, the right-wing backlash to the Bangladeshi influx is equally worrying. Recently, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidharthi Parishad (All India Students' Union), an organization affiliated to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, was involved in an anti-migrants campaign in Assam where it alleged that illegal aliens were determining the outcome of elections in 46 out of 126 constituencies in the state. It has been lobbying the central government in Delhi to repeal the Illegal Migrants Act, which will put the onus on the alleged immigrants to prove their nationality, and ease the deportation process.
Bangladesh is officially secular. However, over 90% of its population is Muslim. In such a scenario, a newly invigorated Islamist movement can pose a threat of the highest degree to the prevalent social order. To counter this dangerous trend, the first step is self-reflection. Dhaka must accept that the country is awash with jihadis, and must take India up on its offer of "any kind of assistance". Ironically, when the bombers struck, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was signing a six-point treaty with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Beijing that would facilitate cooperation in business and provide Chinese help in building civilian nuclear plants in Bangladesh. That is pure bad press for a nation that has seen over three decades of infighting, uncertainty and disruption.
Aruni Mukherjee is based at the University of Warwick, UK and takes a deep interest in the political economy of the Indian sub-continent. He is originally from Kolkata, India.
Immediately after the blasts, Bangladesh's most powerful neighbor - India - expressed "grave concern". Delhi had long insisted that Dhaka take action against the seething Islamic fundamentalism that was brewing there, and had long been ignored. Now the people in one of the world's poorest countries are paying for such negligence on the part of their leaders.
According to many analysts, the attacks bore the hallmark of an al-Qaeda operation. That has not been established yet, but leaflets in the bombed areas were found, issuing a call for jihad until an Islamic state with Sharia law is established in Bangladesh. The banned organization Jamaet-ul-Mujahideen was blamed for the acts of terror; it promptly denied having anything to do with them.
Perhaps tellingly, just a day before the attacks rocked Bangladesh, Ananda Bazaar Patrika, a Bengali newspaper published from Kolkata in India, reported on a leaflet written in Urdu that was being distributed in Muslim-inhabited blocks of the city asking civilians to raise money for a company titled "Al-Qaeda International Limited". The police have arrested two Bangladeshi nationals in the city in connection with this. The headquarters of this supposed company was Dhaka.
India has long accused Bangladesh of negligence in stopping Islamic terrorist organizations from going into its border regions. It suspects that a lot of Indian separatist organizations receive funding and ammunition from Bangladesh-based outfits. The Jamaet-ul-Mujahideen and another group - Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh - were banned in February. The ban on the former came nearly two years after the Dinajpur blasts in northern Bangladesh in 2003, in which it was also suspected to be involved.
The recent attacks have proven that the earlier ones were merely the tip of an iceberg. In any case, simply banning a group is easy, implementing the ban in far-flung rural districts is difficult, especially for Bangladesh, the world's most corrupt country, according to the latest Transparency International report.
Moreover, many observers accuse Jamait-e-Islami, a mainstream political party that is a member of the ruling coalition government, of actively supporting such groups. Investors, especially foreign, already think twice before putting their money in the country, and such direct political involvement in mass acts of terror would surely scare them away. Aftabul Islam, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh, said, "So far we have been saying there are no ... Islamist extremists [in Bangladesh], but now we cannot hide the reality."
Bangladesh has been unstable for a while. As Chinese leader Mao Zedong remarked once, "It only takes a spark to start a prairie fire." Worse yet, this instability has spillover effects across the border in India. As a Ministry for External Affairs spokesman in Delhi said, "A stable, prosperous, secular and democratic Bangladesh is ... in the ... interest of ... India."
First, reservations about security conditions in Bangladesh have dogged the proposed $4 billion gas pipeline between India and Myanmar. According to latest estimates, nearly 30% of Bangladesh's youth are unemployed. At least some would get employment in construction projects for this pipeline, not to mention the benefits to the economy of the transit fees India would pay to Dhaka for shipping nearly $40 billion worth of gas from Myanmar.
Second, a massive narcotic contraband nexus has reportedly been formed to finance many of the terrorist activities in eastern and northeastern India, not to mention within Bangladesh itself. Many security analysts argue that vested interests within the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) - the border guards - have also developed to profit out of this network. Lobbying from these groups might go a long distance to explain Dhaka's vocal opposition towards India's move to fence the border between the two countries. It also explains the often-violent skirmishes between India's Border Security Force and the BDR, which leads to diplomatic spats with Delhi.
Third, India has maintained that ever since 1971, the birth of Bangladesh, a continuous tide of illegal migrants has flocked to India from Bangladesh, and lately it has accused border officials of facilitating this people-trafficking. However, the right-wing backlash to the Bangladeshi influx is equally worrying. Recently, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidharthi Parishad (All India Students' Union), an organization affiliated to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, was involved in an anti-migrants campaign in Assam where it alleged that illegal aliens were determining the outcome of elections in 46 out of 126 constituencies in the state. It has been lobbying the central government in Delhi to repeal the Illegal Migrants Act, which will put the onus on the alleged immigrants to prove their nationality, and ease the deportation process.
Bangladesh is officially secular. However, over 90% of its population is Muslim. In such a scenario, a newly invigorated Islamist movement can pose a threat of the highest degree to the prevalent social order. To counter this dangerous trend, the first step is self-reflection. Dhaka must accept that the country is awash with jihadis, and must take India up on its offer of "any kind of assistance". Ironically, when the bombers struck, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia was signing a six-point treaty with Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in Beijing that would facilitate cooperation in business and provide Chinese help in building civilian nuclear plants in Bangladesh. That is pure bad press for a nation that has seen over three decades of infighting, uncertainty and disruption.
Aruni Mukherjee is based at the University of Warwick, UK and takes a deep interest in the political economy of the Indian sub-continent. He is originally from Kolkata, India.
BANGLADESH: Government against climate aid via World Bank
Reuters and AlertNet are not responsible for the content of this article or for any external internet sites. The views expressed are the author's alone.
DHAKA, 16 February 2010 - Bangladesh has voiced strong opposition to plans by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to provide close to US$100 million in climate change aid - because of its delivery through the World Bank.
"We are strongly against the World Bank's involvement in handling the climate fund. DFID should give the money straight to the Bangladesh government rather than giving it to the World Bank to disburse it," Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque told IRIN on 16 February.
"It should be a country-led programme rather than a World Bank-led one," he said, adding that there were expectations the Bank would attach "unacceptable strings and conditions to its programme".
His comments come one day after 21 civil society organizations, including campaigners from the European Action Group on Climate Change Bangladesh, the World Development Movement (WDM) and the Jubilee Debt Campaign, protested against the UK decision outside the DFID office in Dhaka.
They insisted that DFID withdraw all conditions on the $94 million grant being offered to Bangladesh to cope with the impact of climate change.
But the British High Commission in Dhaka said how the funds were given out was not an issue.
"The issue of involvement of the World Bank in disbursing the money is a minor issue as the government of Bangladesh shall have full control of the fund," Nazneen Ferdousi, senior press officer for the British High Commission in Dhaka, told IRIN.
The World Bank, as a development partner, would only provide administrative support in handling the funds, she said.
"We don't see any problem in it," she said.
When contacted, World Bank officials referred IRIN to DFID.
Within the next 50 years, over 20 million people could be displaced and become "climate change refugees", if sea and salinity levels rise in Bangladesh, according to the government's 2009 Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day Bangladesh development meeting on 15 February, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on donor countries to speed up delivery of promised funds to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
World leaders pledged $10 billion at the December climate change summit in Copenhagen to help least developed countries (LDCs) most vulnerable to climate change, particularly low-lying coastal countries like Bangladesh. There is a complex range of climate change adaptation funding mechanisms,
Bangladesh says it is entitled to ask for at least 15 percent of the climate adaptation fund pledged in Copenhagen.
Donors in attendance in Dhaka included the USA, European Union, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The meeting is to review Bangladesh's development programmes, including plans to reduce poverty, and help donors select areas of cooperation.
DHAKA, 16 February 2010 - Bangladesh has voiced strong opposition to plans by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to provide close to US$100 million in climate change aid - because of its delivery through the World Bank.
"We are strongly against the World Bank's involvement in handling the climate fund. DFID should give the money straight to the Bangladesh government rather than giving it to the World Bank to disburse it," Food and Disaster Management Minister Abdur Razzaque told IRIN on 16 February.
"It should be a country-led programme rather than a World Bank-led one," he said, adding that there were expectations the Bank would attach "unacceptable strings and conditions to its programme".
His comments come one day after 21 civil society organizations, including campaigners from the European Action Group on Climate Change Bangladesh, the World Development Movement (WDM) and the Jubilee Debt Campaign, protested against the UK decision outside the DFID office in Dhaka.
They insisted that DFID withdraw all conditions on the $94 million grant being offered to Bangladesh to cope with the impact of climate change.
But the British High Commission in Dhaka said how the funds were given out was not an issue.
"The issue of involvement of the World Bank in disbursing the money is a minor issue as the government of Bangladesh shall have full control of the fund," Nazneen Ferdousi, senior press officer for the British High Commission in Dhaka, told IRIN.
The World Bank, as a development partner, would only provide administrative support in handling the funds, she said.
"We don't see any problem in it," she said.
When contacted, World Bank officials referred IRIN to DFID.
Within the next 50 years, over 20 million people could be displaced and become "climate change refugees", if sea and salinity levels rise in Bangladesh, according to the government's 2009 Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan.
Speaking at the opening of a two-day Bangladesh development meeting on 15 February, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on donor countries to speed up delivery of promised funds to help mitigate the effects of climate change.
World leaders pledged $10 billion at the December climate change summit in Copenhagen to help least developed countries (LDCs) most vulnerable to climate change, particularly low-lying coastal countries like Bangladesh. There is a complex range of climate change adaptation funding mechanisms,
Bangladesh says it is entitled to ask for at least 15 percent of the climate adaptation fund pledged in Copenhagen.
Donors in attendance in Dhaka included the USA, European Union, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The meeting is to review Bangladesh's development programmes, including plans to reduce poverty, and help donors select areas of cooperation.
Bangladesh to rename establishments bearing Ziaur Rahman's name
The Bangladesh government has decided to rename all the establishments named after former president Ziaur Rahman. The decision prompted opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party to announce a stir to protest the move.
'According to the cabinet decision, no structures or institutions will bear name of illegal autocratic ruler Ziaur Rahman,' Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad told the media.
'The governments between August 15, 1975 and April 9, 1979 including Ziaur Rahman assuming power were illegal,' the official was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
The government has also decided to reinstate original names of the structures, which were changed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-Jamaat coalition government between 2001 and 2006.
BNP protested protest the government's move to rename all establishments named after party's founder Ziaur Rahman.
The party's Senior Joint Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party workers will hold rallies in Dhaka and district headquarters, Star Online said.
It was announced Monday that Bangladesh's Zia International Airport (ZIA) would be named after a 13th century Sufi saint Hazrat Shahjalal, after deleting Zia's name.
The move appeared to be directed against Rahman's widow and Leader of Opposition, Begum Khaleda Zia. Ziaur Rahman was the army chief who later became the president (1977-81).
The cabinet also decided to change the name of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman University, Barisal to Barisal University.
Regarding renaming the airport, the cabinet said that since the people of the country respect Sufis and religious figures and wish to keep their memory alive many important establishments had been named after them.
'According to the cabinet decision, no structures or institutions will bear name of illegal autocratic ruler Ziaur Rahman,' Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad told the media.
'The governments between August 15, 1975 and April 9, 1979 including Ziaur Rahman assuming power were illegal,' the official was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.
The government has also decided to reinstate original names of the structures, which were changed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-Jamaat coalition government between 2001 and 2006.
BNP protested protest the government's move to rename all establishments named after party's founder Ziaur Rahman.
The party's Senior Joint Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the party workers will hold rallies in Dhaka and district headquarters, Star Online said.
It was announced Monday that Bangladesh's Zia International Airport (ZIA) would be named after a 13th century Sufi saint Hazrat Shahjalal, after deleting Zia's name.
The move appeared to be directed against Rahman's widow and Leader of Opposition, Begum Khaleda Zia. Ziaur Rahman was the army chief who later became the president (1977-81).
The cabinet also decided to change the name of Shaheed Ziaur Rahman University, Barisal to Barisal University.
Regarding renaming the airport, the cabinet said that since the people of the country respect Sufis and religious figures and wish to keep their memory alive many important establishments had been named after them.
Hasina opens BDF-2010,
Hasina opens BDF-2010,
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressing the
inaugural function of two-day-long Bangladesh Development
Forum at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the
city on Monday.
The donor countries and agencies did not make any specific commitment in their meeting on the issue of development of the country's power and energy sector on the first day Monday. They rather heard of the government about its development strategy and plan for the sector.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 at the Bangbandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city on Monday
Later addressing a briefing after the first day's meeting, Prime Minister's Adviser on economic affairs Dr. Mashihur Rahman said that the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) meeting was not supposed to make any commitment on any specific sector.
"Actually, the pattern of the development partners' meeting has been changed in recent years. Unlike before, they do not make any specific commitment for funding. Nowadays, they like to know about the government's plan and programmes…later they adjust their investment programme with the government's ones on case to case basis."
He informed that no question was raised by the development partners on the corruption issue. "Only they discussed about the goal and strategies of the government's programmes," the PM's adviser said.
This year, the government has laid special focus on power and energy sector development in the BDF meeting targeting huge financial support to implement its programmes.
Prime Minister's Advisor on energy affairs Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, who attended the meeting, said that the development partners had supported the government's all the plans and strategies for the power and energy sector that includes a tariff rationalization programme as well.
The tariff rationalisation means an increase in the prices of electricity. After assuming office, the Awami League government already increased the power tariff in December last.
About the PPP projects, he said, the development partners suggested creating appropriate agencies for monitoring and supervision.
He said the government will create a special fund for power and energy sector beside the support of the donors.
When his attention was drawn to the tariff rationalization issue, Bangladesh chief of UK's DFID said this is a very complex issue. DFID is playing a coordinating role in holding the BDF meeting this year in Bangladesh.
Earlier addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the climate change is a threat to the country's development and also its food security.
"A threat to our development as well as food security is climate change,"
Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the inaugural session. Vice president of the South Asian Region of World Bank Isabel Guerrero, director general of the South Asia Regional Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sultan Hafeez Rahman and deputy director general of the International Cooperation Bureau of Japan Foreign Ministry Kazuo Sunaga made the introductory remarks.
UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and co-chair of the Local Consultative Group (LCG) Chris Austin, and ERD secretary and co-chair of the LCG M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan gave the welcome speeches.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged for quick disbursement of climate funds promised in COP 15 in Copenhagen last December, for adaptation and mitigation, particularly for MVCs, LDCs, and low-lying coastal and small island countries.
She said: "Our development partners should also, considering the gravity and grimness of the impacts of climate change, now ensure fulfilling their ODA targets of 0.7 percent of GNI for developing countries, and 0.2 percent for LDCs as reaffirmed in the Brussels Programme of Action."
The Prime Minister elaborated her government's self-preservation measurers for adaptation of climate change, which included dredging of major rivers, land reclamation, homesteads for the displaced on land raised by silt, crop varieties attuned to climate change, protection of biodiversity, etc.
"We've built 100 cyclone shelters with more on way. We've also approved 134 climate change action plans. To meet the costs, we've established a US$100 million Climate Change Fund; and also a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with US$150 million from friends. We've intensified micro-financing for poverty reduction under Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan," she said.
Describing her government's various development activities in the past, she said: "I also believe that development is meaningless without social safety-nets."
Hasina said presently her government has initiated cash and food transfer programmes, and special programmes for minorities, marginalized, disabled, physically challenged and the underprivileged. "Our new policy also includes providing employment to one member of each poor family."
After the inaugural session, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the Development Fair. The Development Fair, being held as a side event, on the Bangabandhu International Conference Center premises with some 40 stalls showcasing the advances of Bangladesh in various sectors.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD), on behalf of the government, is jointly organizing the Forum in collaboration with the Local Consultative Group-LCG (donors' forum) that includes the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations, DFID, USAID, Canadian Cida and Denmark.
Besides, representatives from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Kuwait Fund, UAE, India and China are invited to the international meet of the Forum, previously known as Paris Consortium.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addressing the
inaugural function of two-day-long Bangladesh Development
Forum at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the
city on Monday.
The donor countries and agencies did not make any specific commitment in their meeting on the issue of development of the country's power and energy sector on the first day Monday. They rather heard of the government about its development strategy and plan for the sector.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 at the Bangbandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the city on Monday
Later addressing a briefing after the first day's meeting, Prime Minister's Adviser on economic affairs Dr. Mashihur Rahman said that the Bangladesh Development Forum (BDF) meeting was not supposed to make any commitment on any specific sector.
"Actually, the pattern of the development partners' meeting has been changed in recent years. Unlike before, they do not make any specific commitment for funding. Nowadays, they like to know about the government's plan and programmes…later they adjust their investment programme with the government's ones on case to case basis."
He informed that no question was raised by the development partners on the corruption issue. "Only they discussed about the goal and strategies of the government's programmes," the PM's adviser said.
This year, the government has laid special focus on power and energy sector development in the BDF meeting targeting huge financial support to implement its programmes.
Prime Minister's Advisor on energy affairs Dr. Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, who attended the meeting, said that the development partners had supported the government's all the plans and strategies for the power and energy sector that includes a tariff rationalization programme as well.
The tariff rationalisation means an increase in the prices of electricity. After assuming office, the Awami League government already increased the power tariff in December last.
About the PPP projects, he said, the development partners suggested creating appropriate agencies for monitoring and supervision.
He said the government will create a special fund for power and energy sector beside the support of the donors.
When his attention was drawn to the tariff rationalization issue, Bangladesh chief of UK's DFID said this is a very complex issue. DFID is playing a coordinating role in holding the BDF meeting this year in Bangladesh.
Earlier addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Bangladesh Development Forum 2010 Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the climate change is a threat to the country's development and also its food security.
"A threat to our development as well as food security is climate change,"
Finance Minister AMA Muhith presided over the inaugural session. Vice president of the South Asian Region of World Bank Isabel Guerrero, director general of the South Asia Regional Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Sultan Hafeez Rahman and deputy director general of the International Cooperation Bureau of Japan Foreign Ministry Kazuo Sunaga made the introductory remarks.
UK's Department for International Development (DFID) and co-chair of the Local Consultative Group (LCG) Chris Austin, and ERD secretary and co-chair of the LCG M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan gave the welcome speeches.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged for quick disbursement of climate funds promised in COP 15 in Copenhagen last December, for adaptation and mitigation, particularly for MVCs, LDCs, and low-lying coastal and small island countries.
She said: "Our development partners should also, considering the gravity and grimness of the impacts of climate change, now ensure fulfilling their ODA targets of 0.7 percent of GNI for developing countries, and 0.2 percent for LDCs as reaffirmed in the Brussels Programme of Action."
The Prime Minister elaborated her government's self-preservation measurers for adaptation of climate change, which included dredging of major rivers, land reclamation, homesteads for the displaced on land raised by silt, crop varieties attuned to climate change, protection of biodiversity, etc.
"We've built 100 cyclone shelters with more on way. We've also approved 134 climate change action plans. To meet the costs, we've established a US$100 million Climate Change Fund; and also a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with US$150 million from friends. We've intensified micro-financing for poverty reduction under Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan," she said.
Describing her government's various development activities in the past, she said: "I also believe that development is meaningless without social safety-nets."
Hasina said presently her government has initiated cash and food transfer programmes, and special programmes for minorities, marginalized, disabled, physically challenged and the underprivileged. "Our new policy also includes providing employment to one member of each poor family."
After the inaugural session, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally inaugurated the Development Fair. The Development Fair, being held as a side event, on the Bangabandhu International Conference Center premises with some 40 stalls showcasing the advances of Bangladesh in various sectors.
The Economic Relations Division (ERD), on behalf of the government, is jointly organizing the Forum in collaboration with the Local Consultative Group-LCG (donors' forum) that includes the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations, DFID, USAID, Canadian Cida and Denmark.
Besides, representatives from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Kuwait Fund, UAE, India and China are invited to the international meet of the Forum, previously known as Paris Consortium.
Monday, February 15, 2010
BANGABANDHU SHEIKH MUJIBUR RAHMAN
He is not a mere individual. He in an institution. A movement. A revolution. An upsurge. He is the architect of the nation. He is the essence of epic poetry and he is history.
This history goes back a thousand years. Which is why contemporary history has recognized him as the greatest Bengali of the past thousand years. The future will call him the superman of eternal time.
And he will live, in luminosity reminiscent of a bright star, in historical legends. He will show the path to the Bengali nation his dreams are the basis of the existence of the nation. A remembrance of him is the culture and society that Bengalis have sketched for themselves. His possibilities, the promises thrown forth by him, are the fountain-spring of the civilized existence of the Bengalis.
He is a friend to the masses. To the nation he is the Father. In the view of men and women in other places and other climes, he is the founder of sovereign
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If you follow theSaturday, February 13, 2010
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY
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Special attractions: for this valentine's Day: Announce your love, and, send reasons why you love your sweetheart to woo him/her. Just scroll down and enjoy the site to your full. Please refer our site to all your friends and send us your suggestions. Happy Valentine's day !
Valentine newlyweds found love in the garden
Kellie Lamontagne rented a garden plot last April, intending to grow some of her own tomatoes, corn and a few other crops.
Little did she know that, besides a passion for gardening, she would find love at the Horn Farm in Hellam Township.
"I certainly wasn't looking," the 34-year-old said. "I never would've thought I would find love in the garden."
Instead, the massage therapist from Hellam Township said she really just wanted to try her green thumb at her first garden. So she signed up for a plot the last day before the deadline.
And just across from her new plot was another gardener, Jake Coder, 30, who caught her eye -- "with the greatest smile that goes right up to his eyes."
With just a grassy driveway between them, Lamontagne said she gave him her number so that he could keep an eye on her plants. At one point, he was forced to tell her about a tomato blight -- "that's when we really started talking," she said.
"She kept telling me she found love in the garden," said longtime friend Michelle Wolfe.
And after the harvest, Coder proposed on Thanksgiving.
A change of plans: While things had run smoothly for the couple in fair weather, winter would complicate their wedding plans.
They planned to marry on Sunday -- their first Valentine's Day together -- but they didn't expect two large winter storms, each dumping more than 20 inches of snow.
Lamontagne's mother, Nancy Lamontagne, who lives in North Carolina, said she was supposed to come to York last Wednesday, but her daughter told her to leave a day earlier, so she arrived just when the first flakes began to fall.
The couple was supposed to marry at the farmhouse on the Horn Farm. But with a dress, cake, flowers and all of the other details, the couple hadn't expected to add plowing to the pre-wedding to-do list.
"Oh, my goodness -- we're not going to have a place," Kellie Lamontagne recalled thinking.
A new venue: The couple then hoped to have a small ceremony at the rehearsal site -- the Roosevelt Tavern in York City. But the restaurant's owner, Toni Schimmel, had to turn them down because another party had been scheduled right before their rehearsal dinner.
Luckily for the couple, Schimmel "remembered I have an upstairs," meaning her own apartment above the restaurant.
And while Schimmel's apartment might not have offered the sentimental value of the place where the couple met, at least the 400 block of Philadelphia Street had been plowed. And the venue was not too shabby either. Schimmel's home has been featured in Spaces magazine.
"(It was) just something I felt really drawn to do," Schimmel said. "I just feel like they're my friends."
A happy ending: So the wedding was held at 6 p.m. Sunday with Kellie Lamontagne walking down Schimmel's leopard print carpeted steps. West York Mayor Sam Firestone, who married the couple, took his place at the bottom of the stairs facing about two dozen family and friends surrounding Schimmel's leather sofa and TV.
Kellie Lamontagne's 9-year-old son, Logan, stood between his mother and new stepfather before giving her away. And as the couple recited their vows, the two exchanged quick smiles.
"Right when I met her, I knew she was the one," said Coder, who works for an engineering firm in Red Lion. He recalled that he noticed her "the first day I was there."
The two will stay few days at an area Wingate hotel, with a honeymoon to either Maine or North Carolina in the spring, Kellie Lamontagne said.
And while the bride said she had yet to get a Valentine's gift from her new husband, she said he had a surprise planned. She suspected seeds.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
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INTERNATIONAL MOYHERS LANGUAGE DAY
12 Implementation of a language policy for the world based on multilingualism1
The General Conference,
Recognizing the need to improve understanding and communication among peoples,
Also recognizing the great importance of safeguarding the linguistic and cultural heritage of humanity and extending the influence of each of the cultures and languages of which that heritage is composed,
Considering the current threat to linguistic diversity posed by the globalization of communication and the tendency to use a single language, at the risk of marginalizing the other major languages of the world, or even of causing the lesser-used languages, including regional languages, to disappear,
Also considering that educating young people throughout the world involves sensitizing them to dialogue between cultures, which engenders tolerance and mutual respect,
Further considering that substantial progress has been made in the last few decades by the language sciences, but that insufficient attention has been paid to the extraordinary ability of children to reproduce sounds at key periods of their development,
Noting that the ability of children to acquire phonetic and grammatical skills has been scientifically corroborated,
Considering that these skills enable young children to acquire competence at an early age in real communication, both passive and active, in at least two languages, whichever they may be,
Aware that democratic access to knowledge depends on a command of several languages and that provision of such access for all is a duty at a time when private language training, which is both expensive and elitist, is spreading in many countries,
Mindful of the resolutions adopted in support of bilingual education at its 18th and 19th sessions (1974 and 1976),
Taking into account the establishment by the Executive Board in October 1998 of the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education and the creation of the Languages Division in the Education Sector by the Director-General in 1998,
- Recommends that Member States:
(a) create the conditions for a social, intellectual and media environment of an international character which is conducive to linguistic pluralism;
(b) promote, through multilingual education, democratic access to knowledge for all citizens, whatever their mother tongue, and build linguistic pluralism; strategies to achieve these goals could include:
- the early acquisition (in kindergartens and nursery schools) of a second language in addition to the mother tongue, offering alternatives;
- further education in this second language at primary-school level based on its use as a medium of instruction, thus using two languages for the acquisition of knowledge throughout the school course up to university level;
- intensive and transdisciplinary learning of at least a third modern language in secondary school, so that when pupils leave school they have a working knowledge of three languages - which should represent the normal range of practical linguistic skills in the twenty-first century;
- an assessment of secondary-school leaving certificates with a view to promoting a grasp of modern languages from the point of view of communication and understanding;
- international exchanges of primary- and secondary-school teachers, offering them a legal framework for teaching their subjects in schools in other countries, using their own languages and thus enabling their pupils to acquire both knowledge and linguistic skills;
- due attention in education, vocational training and industry to the potential represented by regional languages, minority languages, where they exist, and migrants’ languages of origin;
- availability to teachers and education authorities of a computerized network, including a database, to facilitate exchanges of information and experience;
- the establishment of a national and/or regional committee to study and make proposals on linguistic pluralism in order to initiate the necessary dialogue between the representatives of all professions and all disciplines so that they can identify the main lines of a language education system which is adapted to each country but which also facilitates international communication, while preserving the rich and inalienable linguistic and cultural heritage of humanity;
(c) encourage the study of the languages of the major ancient and modern civilizations, with a view to safeguarding and promoting a literary education;
- Invites the Director-General to refer the matter to the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education.
37 Draft recommendation on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace 1
The General Conference,
Having examined the report submitted by the Director-General, in accordance with 29 C/Resolution 36, on the implementation of activities on the ethical, legal and societal aspects of cyberspace,
Taking note of the results of activities carried out by the Organization on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace, as reported in document 30 C/31,
Also taking note of the establishment by the Director-General of the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education, in accordance with 29 C/Resolution 38 (para. 2.B(b)),
Recognizing the importance of multilingualism for the promotion of universal access to information, particularly to information in the public domain,
Recognizing also the importance of multilingualism for the promotion of multiculturality on global information networks,
- Reiterates its conviction that UNESCO should play a leading international role in promoting access to information in the public domain, especially by encouraging multilingualism and cultural diversity on global information networks;
- Invites Member States, non-governmental organizations, the world intellectual community and the scientific institutions concerned to support and participate actively in the development of multilingualism and cultural diversity on the global information networks by facilitating free and universal access to information in the public domain;
- Invites Member States to approve, in this light, the proposed new strategy "Initiative B@bel" outlined in paragraph 14 of document 30 C/31;
- Invites the Director-General, after consultation with the Advisory Committee for Linguistic Pluralism and Multilingual Education, to submit for approval to the 159th session of the Executive Board a list of the first projects to be undertaken in this framework;
- Also invites the Director-General to undertake the following concrete actions to promote multilingualism and cultural diversity on global information networks:
(a) to strengthen activities to make cultural heritage in the public domain which is preserved in museums, libraries and archives freely accessible on the global information networks;
(b) to support the formulation of national and international policies and principles encouraging all Member States to promote the development and use of translation tools and terminology for better interoperability;
(c) to encourage the provision of resources for linguistic pluralism through global networks, in particular by reinforcing the UNESCO international observatory on the information society;
(d) to pursue further consultations with Member States and competent international governmental and non-governmental organizations for closer cooperation on language rights, respect for linguistic diversity and the expansion of multilingual electronic resources on the global information networks;
6. Further invites the Director-General to submit to it at its 31st session a report on the implementation of the actions outlined above and a draft recommendation on the promotion and use of multilingualism and universal access to cyberspace.
HSC EXAMINATION 2010 RUTEEN
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