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18 April 2013

The World News Headlines Kerry wishes Poila Baisakh

This Week Bombs kill 42 in Iraq

A series of bomb blasts across Iraq on Monday killed at least 42 people and wounded more than 257 others, police said.

The attacks took place in at least six provinces: Baghdad, Anbar, Babel, Kirkuk, Salaheddin Diyala, and Nasriya, police officials across the country said. Two of the bombs exploded at a checkpoint near Baghdad’s international airport.

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S Secretary of State John Kerry has sent his ‘Poila Baisakh’ or New Year greetings to the Bengali speaking people across the world.

“On behalf of President Obama, I convey my warm greetings to all Bengali-speaking people around the world as you celebrate Poila Baisakh. The American people wish you all happiness and prosperity in the New Year,” Kerry said in a statement.

“The vibrant BengaliAmerican diaspora will join the global Bengali community in gathering with family and friends to celebrate your many accomplishments,” he said.

“As the New Year begins, let us all celebrate the rich cultures of West Bengal and Bangladesh in a spirit of optimism and mutual appreciation.

‘Shubho Nobo Borsho!..,” Kerry said in his greeting message.

Bengali New Year, occurring on the 14th April or 15th April, is the first day of the Bengali calendar, celebrated in both Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, and in Bengali communities in the other Indian states, including Assam, Tripura, Jharkhand and Odisha.

It coincides with the New Year’s Days of numerous Southern Asian calendars. The traditional greeting for Bengali New Year is “Shubho Noboborsho”.

US Secretary of State John Kerry

Top Saudi supports women

The Tory government’s benefits cutbacks will affect people across Britain, with people in Tower Hamlets particularly badly hit

Thousands of families hit by benefits cuts

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overnment figures revealed by the Labour Party have shown that over two thousand households in the borough will see their household income drop when the Conservative led Government’s benefits cap comes into force in September.

The cap will disproportionately Londoners as it fails to take the high cost of housing into account.

As a result the cap will mean those struggling on low wages as well as those out of work may be affected.

The figures released by Labour reference the number of households in the borough

which have received a letter from the Government warning them that they may be affected when the cap comes into force.

Hitting out at the Government the councillors labelled David Cameron and George Osborne’s policies as “destructive cuts on the most vulnerable in our community”.

They also drew a comparison with the Government’s plans to give a tax cut to millionaires which on average will be worth £100,000 to each person.

Labour’s Spokesperson for Adult Health and Wellbeing, Cllr Rachael Saunders, said: “The Government is intent on forcing these destructive cuts on the most vulnerable in our community.

“It is not right that 2,200 families will be penalised for the high cost of housing in London at the same time David Cameron is giving a tax cut to millionaires.

So much for all in it together.

“Labour’s plan for jobs

‘The benefit cap may actually end up costing more than it saves’

and growth would prioritise getting people into decent work, rather than writing them off as the Government seems intent on doing.”

Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara Ali, said: “The benefit cap may actually end up costing more than it saves as local authorities will be forced to cope with increased homelessness.

The best way to bring down the welfare bill is to create jobs and ensure that families are better off in work than on benefits. But the Government’s cuts to tax credits mean this isn’t a reality for many families with high housing costs.”

Labour man’s ‘revolver threat’ against Lutfur Rahman

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olice have dropped their investigation after a former Labour Party manager tweeted he would “load the revolver” if the Tower Hamlets Mayor was Labour’s candidate for the 2014 London Mayoral election.

After suggestions of a ticket featuring Mayor Lutfur Rahman were rebuffed, Rob

Marchant said on social networking site Twitter: “Phew.

If not I will load the revolver and we can all take turns.”

He added: “Ah. [makes mental note to keep revolver well cleaned and oiled].”

The tweets were reported

by Mayor Rahman, with Mr Marchant insisting they inferred self-harm rather than a threat.

After police dropped enquiries, Mr Marchant wrote: “…if the reaction of calling the police was one of genuine discomfort due to misunderstanding the nature of the joke, then I regret any such discomfort caused.

“This was a joke between friends, and it was on us, not you, Lutfur”, he added.

Mayor Rahman then

faced criticism for having reported the remarks to police.

But he responded: “I frequently receive abuse and threats — mainly from racist extremists of the EDL-ilk.

“That and the sheer violence of Marchant’s language in discussing me should explain why I acted when the tweets were drawn to my attention”, he concluded.

Rahman: ‘revolver threat’

Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has reiterated his support for giving women the right to drive in Saudi Arabia, announcing via Twitter that it would help the economy and reduce the number of foreign workers there. “The question of women driving will result in being able to dispense with at least 500,000 (foreign) drivers, in addition to the social and economic benefits,” he tweeted Sunday.

Massive quake hits Iran

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake has struck southeastern Iran near the border with Pakistan, reportedly killing at least 40 people with casualties expected to rise, according to the Iranian news agency FARS. The US Geological Survey said on Tuesday that the epicentre of the quake was 86km southeast of Khash, Iran.

UN appeals for Syria peace

Leaders of five UN agencies have appealed to the international community to stop the “cruelty and carnage” in Syria, warning they may soon be forced to suspend humanitarian aid to the wartorn country. The UN leaders said on Monday that their “capacity to do more was diminishing, due to security and other practical limitations within Syria as well as funding constraints”.

Asian crime worth $90bn

Organised crime gangs dealing in fake goods, drugs, human trafficking, and the illicit wildlife trade earn nearly $90bn annually in East Asia and the Pacific, a UN report reveals. In a report released on Tuesday, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said drug trafficking accounted for more than a third of the illegal transnational trade.

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18 April 2013

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News This Week Amnesty lists executioners

China, the United States and three Middle Eastern nations carried out the most executions last year, rights group Amnesty International said Wednesday, but a global trend toward ending the death penalty persisted.

There were at least 682 confirmed executions worldwide last year, two more than in 2011, according to the group.

Measles cases reach 765

The number of cases in the Swansea measles epidemic has now reached 765, amid warnings it will continue to rise for weeks. Health officials said there had been an increase of 72 since last Thursday.

North Korea warns again

North Korea is raising the temperature on its neighbors, saying in its latest threat that it would not give any advance warning before any attack on South Korea. “Our retaliatory action will start without any notice from now,” Pyongyang said in a statement published Tuesday by its official news agency, KCNA.

Musharraf parliament ban

Election officials in Pakistan barred former President Pervez Musharraf from running for a parliament seat, his lawyer said Tuesday. “We will challenge it in the Supreme Court to show the world (the) biased attitude of the judiciary against Musharraf,” Ahmed Raza Qasoori, one of Musharraf’s team, said.

Gold prices in sudden fall

Gold prices have suffered their sharpest fall since the 1980s, heightening fears among investors that the precious metal’s decade-long bull run has ended.

Spot gold prices tumbled by more than $100 an ounce, or 8.7 per cent, in a few hours on Monday amid a rout in metals markets, while silver fell 11 per cent. Faltering European demand and weaker than expected Chinese economic data depressed oil prices, pushing Brent crude down by 3 per cent to $100.02 a barrel, a ninemonth low.

Child carrier of bird flu

Doctors say the discovery of a 4-year-old carrier of the H7N9 virus who shows no symptoms of the potentially lethal virus is a worrying development that could make the spread of the infection more difficult to monitor.

‘The Tories are creating a lost generation’ Opinion Rushanara Ali MP for Bethnal Green and Bow

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he Chancellor’s recent Budget was yet another missed opportunity to help families and small businesses who are struggling across East London. Instead of offering a much-needed boost to growth, jobs, and

living standards, this Budget offered more of the same failing policies.

Prices are rising faster than wages, families’ living standards are suffering and unemployment continues to rise. Long-term unemployment has gone up by nearly 10% over the past 12 months in my constituency.

Real-terms earnings in Tower Hamlets have plummeted by 13% since 2008 and 14,000 working families across the Borough are suffering real terms cuts to their tax credits. I have spoken

with hundreds of families whose household budgets are being squeezed by stagnant incomes and soaring housing costs. Private sector rents in Tower Hamlets jumped by almost £1,000 between 2011 and 2012.

This Government’s welfare reforms are making things worse. Over 4,500 households across Tower Hamlets will be hit by the Bedroom Tax and a similar number of new mums will be affected by cuts to Statutory Maternity Pay. As a result, homelessness is becoming a

growing reality and a personal tragedy for thousands of people. Dozens of families with children are being put up in B&Bs and over 3,500 children are living in temporary accommodation across the Borough.

Meanwhile, the Government is handing 13,000 millionaires an average tax cut of £100,000 this week. This is simply unacceptable and unfair.

Labour has made it clear that we would be cutting taxes for those at the bottom, rather than those at the top,

Kickboxing champ Ruqsana launches training sessions

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ne month into 2013 and it is possible that some of our readers are already considering cancelling their gym memberships and going back on that New Year’s resolution to get fit and shed a few pounds in the process.

However, the World Muay Thai Championship bronze medal winner Ruqsana Begum believes she has the perfect solution.

The martial artist currently teaches ladies-only boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai boxing classes at the Arches Boxing Gym in Bethnal Green and is launching new classes at the Ringside Gym in Canary Wharf – such has been the popularity of the sessions.

“Running on a treadmill gets boring,” said Ruqsana, a science technician at Swanlea School in Whitechapel.

“Our sessions will be different every week, whether it’s circuits, conditioning or challenges. You will be learning new skills all the time.

“It’s great for improving general fitness and learning self defence. I’m a qualified boxing coach, as well as a Thai boxing coach.

“We’ll be working on building strength and stamina, so it really is a full-body workout.

“One-to-one sessions cost £40, two in a group is £50 and so on. The bigger the

Ruqsana Begum is launching coaching sessions at the Ringside Gym

‘I have a chance of making the Great Britain team for the World and European Championships this year’

group, the cheaper it will be.”

Ruqsana’s love for her sport has seen her scale incredible heights to become British Muay Thai champion as well as clinching gold at the European Club Cup. And, despite taking on extra coaching commitments this year, the qualified architect is not ready to hang up her gloves just yet.

“I’m going to do more boxing,” she revealed.

“It’s an Olympic sport now and if I can achieve the same success as I have in Muai Thai I will be very pleased.

“It will be hard for me to let go of kickboxing though, so I’ll still do that.

“I have a chance of making the Great Britain team for the World and European Championships this year and in March is the Euro Club Cup in Latvia, where I won gold last year,” she said.

“I’m still looking for a sponsor too,” she continued.

“At the moment I am paying for the equipment I need to put the classes on myself.

“For example, a set of good quality pads costs £80. The expense adds up very quickly,” she said. l For more information or to sign up for a class visit ruqsana-begum. com or e-mail ruqsanakickboxing@hotmail.co.uk.

and we need a proper plan for jobs and growth, including VAT cuts and a real jobs guarantee, as well as regulation of the private rented sector and a house building programme to build 100,000 affordable homes.

The Tories’ economic plan has completely failed and it is outrageous that families, pensioners and businesses are having to pay the price. The Government is at risk of creating a decade of low growth, falling living standards and a lost generation of talent. Britain deserves better than this.

Banned products

Illegal ‘paan’ being sold

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rading Standards officers are targeting an Asian chewing tobacco which leaves “unsightly” stains on the streets.

Paan, a mixture of nuts and spices wrapped in a leaf, is known to be sold on Green Street, Upton Park, where it is popular among members of the Asian community.

Newham Council said that shopkeepers have evaded paying duty on the tobacco and UK standard health warnings are often missing, meaning the sellers face prosecution if they sell it illegally.

Last year, around 10,000 packets of paan were seized as part of an ongoing series of raids by the borough’s Trading Standards officers and the council’s Street Scene Enforcement team.

Users often spit on the pavement while chewing paan, leaving a dark-red stain, and the substance has been linked to mouth and oesophageal cancer.

Cllr Unmesh Desai, executive member for crime and anti-social behaviour, said: “Paan staining is unsightly and expensive to clean. Users are risking their health – and even their lives.”

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18 April 2013

News Government targets Yunus awarded East End Life newspaper Professor Muhammad Yunus

highest honour

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rofessor Muhammad Yunus has received the Congressional Gold Medal for his pioneering efforts to eradicate global poverty.

He is one of just seven people to have received the Nobel Peace Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Congressional Gold Medal.

Professor Yunus has previously been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barack Obama.

Congress will recognise Professor Yunus’ microfinance work and the founding of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh.

Today, Grameen Bank has over 8.4 million members – 97% of whom are female – and has lent more than $12.5 billion since its inception in 1976, helping millions of women and their families lift themselves out of extreme poverty.

Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi banker, economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient. He previously was a professor of economics where he developed the concepts of microcredit and microfinance.

These loans are given to entrepreneurs too poor to qualify for traditional bank loans. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen Bank received the Nobel Peace Prize.

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he government has launched a consultation to tackle “rogue” councils such as Tower Hamlets which continue to publish “town hall Pravdas”.

Local government secretary Eric Pickles announced plans to legislate to tackle publications such as the council’s weekly ‘East End Life’.

He slammed local authorities such as Tower Hamlets which flout guidelines designed to clamp down on the use of taxpayers’ money on “political propaganda”.

“Some councils are undermining the free press and wasting taxpayers’ money which should be spent carefully on the front line services that make a real difference to quality of life”, he said.

“It should not, under any circumstances, be used to fund political propaganda and town hall Pravdas, and yet a hardcore minority of councils continue to ignore the rules despite public concern.”

Mr Pickles singled out Tower Hamlets Council for criticism, citing a report from broadcasting watchdog Ofcom which found advertisements promoting Mayor Lutfur Rahman to be in breach of its code.

“This legislation will stop this disgraceful misuse of public

East End Life, the free newspaper produced by Tower Hamlets council money, which damages local democracy and threatens an independent, free and vibrant local press”, he added.

Opposition councillors in Tower Hamlets recently voted to scrap the £1.2m budget for East End Life.

But Mayor Lutfur Rahman

announced he would raid council reserves to continue funding the publication into next year.

The government consultation – which runs until May 6 – is aiming to determine how best to frame legislation stopping councils spending money on such publications.

‘This legislation will stop this disgraceful misuse of public money, which damages local democracy and threatens an independent, free and vibrant local press’

East End Life is distributed free throughout Tower Hamlets, but Labour councillor Joshua Peck has called for it to be closed.

Mayor Rahman said: “It is about time Councillor Peck decided which side he is on. Is he Labour, or is he simply a Tory in disguise?

“Just this week, Tower Hamlets joined with ten London Labour Councils across and signed a joint publishing deal for our council-run newspaper because it is the cheapest way to fulfil our legal duties in providing residents with information.

“Three years ago, Councillor Peck defended East End Life to the hilt. Then it made heavy losses. Since I became Mayor, we have reduced costs by £500,000, and East End Life is now totally self-supporting.

“To close it could actually raise costs by £2.1 million, as the council would be obliged to fulfil its legal obligations in different ways,” added Mayor Rahman.

Mayor Rahman accused Cllr Peck of colluding with the Tories over cutbacks.

East End Life newspaper employs nine full time staff and is distributed free of charge to 83,000 readers every week, added Mayor Lutfur Rahman.

Muslim woman fooled by fish dish Ali to challenge for MP seat

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primary school teacher whose religious observance forbids her eating non-halal meat says she felt distraught after tucking into what she believed was a fish pie ready meal – only to discover that it contained unblessed meat.

Devout Muslim Runa Begum bought the meal, which she says was labelled as a fish pie from Tesco Express in Romford Road, only to discover that it was a non-halal meat lasagne.

But after investigating her complaint Tesco says their fish pie and lasagne products are made in different factories and that they are confident the products could not have been swapped

Meat lasagne, not fish pie around before reaching the store.

Ms Begum, of Manor Park, said: “I brought it to work for my lunch break. “When I opened the meal it looked white like a fish pie with the cheese and lasagne plates on top. It wasn’t until I put a bite in my mouth that I thought it tasted like meat and realised it was a meat lasagne.

“As a Muslim I only eat halal meat, which is my personal

choice, and I felt sick to the stomach that I had eaten other meat without my knowledge.

“I felt distraught and angry that they were not be more vigilant with the packaging with what is going on in the media about the horse meat scandal.”

A Tesco spokesperson said they were concerned to learn of this incident and have looked into it. “The products are made in two different factories, so we are confident this could not have occurred before the products reached the store. We have checked the items on our shelves, which are all labelled correctly.

We’ll continue to investigate and will keep our customer updated.”

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Tower Hamlets Labour Party activist is seeking the nomination to stand as MP for the constituency of Brent Central in North West London.

Chair of Tower Hamlets Constituency Labour Party Amina Ali would be the country’s first ever Somali MP if she were selected as the Party’s candidate.

She currently balances roles including chair of Limehouse ward, founder Muslim Women for Labour and chair of Tower Hamlets Fabian Society with her commitments as a mother-of-two.

This Week Extensions plan a ‘disaster’

Plans to double the maximum size of home extensions are a “recipe for community disaster”, Tory MP Zac Goldsmith has warned ahead of a Commons vote.

Ministers want to ease planning restrictions in England for three years to boost the building trade.

Terror sentences quashed

Three convicted terrorists have had their sentences quashed and replaced with new terms.

The al-Qaeda inspired group had considered attacks in the UK, including bombing pubs, and setting up a jihadist training camp in Pakistan.

Marathon security review

Security for Sunday’s London Marathon will be reviewed after two fatal explosions hit the Boston Marathon, but the event will go ahead, officials say. At least three people were killed and more than 100 injured by the blasts near the finish of Monday’s US event.

Maths plans cause row

Plans to overhaul England’s primary maths teaching would be “too much too soon” and could leave many pupils “by the wayside”, a numeracy charity says. National Numeracy says Michael Gove’s plans to make pupils learn times tables, long division and fractions earlier imposes a “superficial rigour”.

Bengali joins rich authority

A student has become the youngest member of Britain’s wealthiest local authority in its 800-year history. Ibthayhaj Shadique Gani, 20, won election to the City of London Corporation and will be the first Bengali to take a seat on its ruling Court of Common Council when it meets on April 26.

Aswat extradition blocked

Amina Ali will stand for MP The 43-year-old, who is a welfare adviser at Tower Hamlets Law Centre, entered the world of politics as a teenager and went on to co-found Somali Friends of Labour in Tower Hamlets.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled a terrorism suspect should not be extradited from the UK to the US due to his mental health problems. Haroon Aswat allegedly tried to establish a training camp in Oregon with the radical cleric Abu Hamza, who was extradited to the US last year.

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18 April 2013

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Features Police arrest paper’s editor

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olice in Bangladesh last week arrested the acting editor of a pro-opposition newspaper on several charges, including sedition.

Mahmudur Rahman of the Bengali-language Amar Desh newspaper was arrested in a raid on his office in the capital, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police official Masudur Rahman.

Additional Metropolitan Magistrate Shahidul Islam ruled later Thursday that police could detain Rahman for up to 13 days for questioning.

Rahman faces charges including sedition and unlawful publication of a Skype conversation that resulted in the resignation of the head judge of a war crimes tribunal, prosecutor Abdullah Babu said.

Leaders of the government’s ruling party have accused Rahman’s newspaper of inciting violence during recent political unrest.

In December, Nizamul Huq, the head judge of a tribunal dealing with alleged crimes against humanity involving the nation’s 1971 independence war against Pakistan, resigned after the London-based Economist said it had obtained 17 hours of recorded telephone conversations on Skype and seen more than 230 emails between Huq and Ahmed Ziaduddin, a lawyer of Bangladeshi origin living in Brussels.

Amar Desh later published the Skype conversation.

Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia condemned Rahman’s arrest and demanded his release.

Say it with money Bangladeshi workers abroad send money back to their home country to help support not only their own families and loved ones, but also often large parts of their entire extended family. Now, new research by the UN shows that these workers are actually absolutely vital to the Bangladeshi economy, saving the country from abject poverty. Not only that, many successful large business have been built around Bangladeshi workers’ remittances

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emittances sent home by migrant workers have played a significant role in reducing poverty in most countries including the least developed one like Bangladesh, said a senior official of the United Nations. In Bangladesh just 13 per cent of households that receive remittances from abroad are below the poverty line, compared to 34 per cent of non-remittance-receiving households, according to an updated data of the UN. In Bangladesh, some 27 per cent of the total population of some 155 million people, live below international poverty line, said the UN data.

Bangladesh earns around $14 billion a year from remittances sent home by its nearly 8 million expatriate workers across the globe mainly in the Middle East and the Gulf regions. With the increase in inward flow of remittances the enrolment of students, including girls has been boosted in Pakistan, where many other programmes to uplift socio-economic conditions of the people are being taken in proportionate with the enhancement of remittances from expatriate workers, said the UN official.

“Remittances have reduced poverty in many countries in Latin America, Africa, South Asia and elsewhere,” said Special Representative for Migration of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Peter Sutherland.

Migration could be a tool for economic development and it could have a meaningful impact on the lives of the migrants giving them greater access to their rights and wages, Mr Sutherland said.

“Perhaps even more important, it could change public perceptions of migrants so that they are viewed as a blessing rather than a scourge,” he said.

There are an estimated 215 million international migrants today – a number expected to grow to 400 million by 2040 – and another 740 million internal migrants who have moved from rural to urban areas within countries, the UN official said.

Each typically supports many family members back home, which also helps lift entire communities.

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$11 billion in nine months xpatriate Bangladeshis have sent in more than $11 billion in remittances during the first nine months of the current 2012-13 fiscal – which is almost 17 percent more than the

Bangladeshi newspaper editor Mahmudur Rahman, center, is brought to a court following his arrest in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, April 11, 2013. Police in Bangladesh arrested the acting editor of the pro-opposition Bengali-language Amar Desh newspaper on various charges.

‘MoneyGram, a leading money transfer company, enables consumers who are not fully served by traditional financial institutions to meet their financial needs’ Marc Matthews, regional director, MoneyGram

same period last year. Bangladesh Bank Forex Reserve and Treasury Management Division General Manager Kazi Saidur Rahman provide details to bdnews24.com and said that $ 1.2 billion remittance has flowed into Bangladesh in March alone. In total, from July 2012 to March 2013, the total remittance inflow was $11.11 billion. During the same period last fiscal, remittance flow stood at $9.53 billion.

It is mainly due to the flow of remittance that the country’s forex reserve crossed the $14 billion mark. On Wednesday, the reserve stood at $14.16 billion. The reserve was at peak on Mar 6 at $14.27 billion. After clearing dues at Asian Clearing Union (ACU), the reserve dropped to $13.5 billion. Later on Mar 25, remittance inflow pushed the scale to $14 billion again.

Increase in export revenues and decrease in import costs also contributed to the growing forex reserve, Saidur Rahman said.

Meanwhile, to keep the current rate of remittance inflow and export revenues up, the apex bank has picked up 3.6 billion dollars from the market until now (in the current fiscal year). Bangladesh Bank never had to buy this big an amount to keep Dollar rates stable. Dollar rates have been falling against Taka for more than a year now. On Sunday, the exchange rate was Tk 78.10 per Dollar.

In January last year, exchange rates climbed to Tk 85 per Dollar afvter which it started falling . But a stronger Taka, good for the country’s pride, may make Bangladesh exports less competiutive, which is why the Bangladesh Bank is trying to stabilise the exchange rate.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith emphasized this during a discussion on the 2013-14 budget, when he said: “To keep the positive rate of remittance and export revenue, exchange rates must be kept stable.”

Remittance is contributing to the country’s economy in a big way, Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Parliamentary Standing Committee Chief Anisul Islam Mahmud said in the meeting. Half of the $24 billion export revenue is spent in financing imports, he said. “If we curb the Hundi, the $14 billion remittance can go up to $20 billion.”

Bangladesh Bank statistics shows expatriates had sent in $14.2 billion in 2012 – 21 percent more compared to 2011. This is the highest inflow rate in the history of Bangladesh.

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Making money out of sending money ot only is money sent from abroad helping the Bangladesh economy, it’s also big business for companies such as MoneyGram, a leading money transfer company based in the UK. “MoneyGram enables consumers who are not fully served by traditional financial institutions to meet their financial needs,” says Marc Matthews, regional director, MoneyGram.

The company is investing heavily in attracting customers in the UK with innovative promotions. For the second year running, MoneyGram announced that secondary schools across England and Wales will have the opportunity to spend a day training with former England cricket captain Alec Stewart at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground in Birmingham.

To enter the contest, physical education teachers will need to submit a 500-word creative essay at moneygram.com/cricket explaining why their school should be given this great opportunity. Four schools will be selected as finalists to compete for the Champions Trophy.

Stewart will visit the four finalists, giving students the opportunity to meet the most capped Test match England cricketer of all time.

During the visit, students also will have the opportunity to interact with Stewart, take pictures and request autographs.

“For the second consecutive year, we are giving secondary school students the opportunity to interact with a sports legend,” said Juan Agualimpia, MoneyGram’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “This contest will bring students closer to their dreams of being an England cricketer than they ever thought possible and we look forward to reviewing the creative essays.”

Students from the winning schools will visit the Edgbaston changing rooms, tour the famed facilities and receive coaching from the cricket legend. To conclude the event, the schools will play in a tournament, with the winner receiving a trophy provided

by MoneyGram.

“Just like these children, I also started out as fan who truly loved cricket,” said Stewart, the former batsman-wicketkeeper. “Through MoneyGram’s contest, I hope to help all the aspiring cricketers have an unforgettable experience. I look forward to the children teaching me a thing or two as well.”

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10 January 2013

The World News Headlines This Week Gang rape case: five in court

Walmart, the world’s largest retail company, has been found to have had ties to a garment factory in Bangladesh where 112 workers were trapped and killed in a fire in late November 2012. The company, which buys $1 billion in garments from Bangladesh each year, initially tried to deny any connection

Mayor fires off angry letter over Banglatown

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ayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman has published a letter clamming planned changes to the borough’s electoral wards following the conclusion of a public consultation.

In the strongly-worded letter, Mr Rahman called on the Local Government Boundary Commission to scrap its plans to re-name wards after the tumultuous consultation period came to an end on Monday.

Mr Rahman’s detailed his response to the plans, writing that he objected in the “strongest possible terms” to the pro-

posals to scrap ‘Banglatown’, the removal of ‘St Dunstan’s’ from the Stepney Wards, and the re-naming of East India and Lansbury as Poplar North.

Referring to the move to drop the name ‘Banglatown’ from the Spitalfields and Banglatown ward, he wrote: “I struggle to comprehend why any individual or political entity would regard dispensing with this name as desirable, aside from as a very cynical blast on the proverbial dog whistle, aimed at attracting support from people who resent the Bangladeshi com-

‘Renaming the (Banglatown) ward as merely ‘Spitalfields’ would be a hugely reactionary, retrograde and provocative step’

Mayor Lutfur Rahman munity’s presence in t he area.

“Accordingly, renaming the ward as merely ‘Spitalfields’ would be a hugely reactionary, retro-

grade and provocative step”.

The Commission is due to publish its final recommendations in Spring this year.

Its draft proposals had also attracted criticism for removing the names of former Labour Party leader George Lansbury and former Bishop of London St Dunstan from

ward names in the borough.

Mr Rahman concluded: “I hope that you will consider my submission, as well as the views of hundreds of local residents expressed in related petitions, extremely carefully when arriving at a final decision.” eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk

Five sentenced to death for murder in Dhaka of Saudi diplomat

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special tribunal sentenced to death five Bangladeshi men for killing a Saudi diplomat in an apparent street crime earlier this year.

Initial speculation about the shooting had focused on Iran, which denied the accusations.

The suspects told investigators they were trying to rob the diplomat and shot him accidentally.

Khalaf bin Mohammed Salem al-Ali, a 45-year-old official in the Saudi Embassy’s consu-

lar section, was killed near his home in Dhaka in March.

Tribunal Judge Mohammad Motahar Hossain handed down the verdict Sunday, chief prosecutor Rafiqul Islam said. One of the men was tried in his absence, Islam said. He said the men can appeal the verdict.

Iran has been accused of other international attacks or attempted attacks against diplomats, including Saudis. Days after the shooting, Saudi Arabia sent investigators to assist

Khalaf bin Mohammed Salem al-Ali was killed near his home in Dhaka Bangladeshi detectives. The defendants pleaded not guilty at the trial. After their arrest in July, the four men told investigators they tried to rob the

diplomat as he was going for a walk on the deserted street and shot him accidentally during a scuffle.

Police said the men were ar-

rested after a revolver and a car used in the killing were found in their possession.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh enjoys good relations with Saudi Arabia, which is a top destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers.

Relations between the countries were tested in October last year, when Saudi Arabia beheaded eight Bangladeshi workers who were found guilty of robbing and killing an Egyptian.

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Five men accused of raping and murdering an Indian student were read the charges in a nearempty courtroom on Monday after the judge cleared out lawyers for bickering over whether the men deserved a defence.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died two weeks after being gang-raped and beaten on a moving bus in New Delhi, then thrown bleeding onto the street.

Protests followed, along with a fierce public debate over police failure to stem rampant violence against women. With popular anger simmering against the five men and a teenager accused in the case, most lawyers in the district where the trial will be held refuse to represent them.

British soldier shot dead

A British soldier serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan has been shot dead by a man in an Afghan army uniform, according to the US-led military coalition. In a statement released on Tuesday, ISAF said that the incident, which took place in southern Afghanistan on Monday, was “under investigation”.

“The British soldier was killed when a suspected Afghan soldier opened fire first at Afghan troops and then at British soldiers,” said Major Martyn Crighton, an ISAF spokesman. “In the subsequent engagement, the attacker was killed by British troops.”

Many killed in drone attack

At least eight people have been killed in two suspected US drone attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas, security officials say.Both attacks took place in the Mir Ali area of the North Waziristan tribal district in the early hours of Tuesday. In Khiderkhel, eight missiles were fired at a compound, killing at least four people, security sources told Al Jazeera. In Essakhel, meanwhile, two missiles were fired, killing at least three people.

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Messi named world’s best

Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi has been named world footballer of the year for the fourth time in a row, marking another unprecedented achievement. He pipped Andres Iniesta and Cristiano Ronaldo to the title.

No other male footballer has been named the best on the planet in four separate years, let alone four in succession.

Islamists demand blasphemy law Mass demonstrations taking place in Bangladesh, with Islamist protesters demanding Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government introduce a blasphemy law to protect Islam against what they see as insults from atheist bloggers

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ock-throwing protesters enforcing a general strike last week, clashed with police, detonated home-made bombs and attacked vehicles in parts of Bangladesh, leaving one person dead and dozens injured.

A local police official said a truck driver died early Tuesday from fatal head injuries after being hit by rocks. The attack that killed the driver and injured several other people occurred in Bogra district 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of the capital, Dhaka. The police official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly.

An alliance of 18 parties were enforcing the nationwide 36hour strike that began on Tuesday to press for the release of more than 160 opposition politicians arrested in the last two weeks.

Dozens of small bombs mostly explosives in tin pots went off in parts of Dhaka, where protesters clashed with police firing tear gas, private television stations Somoy TV and Ekattar TV reported. At least 25 people were injured, said the reports.

Calling a general strike is a common tactic in Bangladesh to highlight opposition demands, and the latest strike came a day after a hardline Islamic group enforced a shutdown on Monday to demand that the government enact an anti-blasphemy law to try those who insult Islam and its prophet.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority nation, is governed by secular liberal laws. In the latest campaign, the country’s main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its 17 allies want Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government to restore a constitutional

‘This country is a secular democracy. So each and every religion has the right to practice their religion freely and fair. But it is not fair to hurt anybody’s religious feeling. Always we try to protect every religious sentiment’

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18 April 2013

Features provision that requires a neutral caretaker administration to supervise the next general election expected in early 2014.

Hasina abolished the system in 2011 after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.

The 18-party alliance is also opposing trials of several opposition politicians on charges of war crimes allegedly committed during Bangladesh’s 1971 Liberation War. Most of the 12 suspects belong to Jamaat-eIslami, an ally of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party headed by ex-premier Khaleda Zia. Bangladesh has been hit by a series of general strikes since February 28 when the war crimes tribunal convicted a senior Jamaat leader, Delwar Hossain Saydee, of charges of rape and mass murder and sentenced him to death.

Violence triggered by the sentence left about 70 people dead and hundreds injured across Bangladesh. Bangladesh has a history of political violence. The South Asian nation has witnessed two presidents slain and 19 failed coup attempts since it gained independence from Pakistan in 1971.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina has firmly rejected demands by Islamists for a new anti-blasphemy law to punish those who defame Islam and Prophet Muhammad.

In a BBC interview last week, she said existing laws were sufficient to punish anyone who attempted to insult religion.

Her comments came just days after hundreds of thousands of supporters of an umbrella organisation of Islamists held a massive rally in Dhaka. The marchers called for the death penalty for those guilty of blasphemy.

Ms Hasina said: “They have demanded it. Actually, we don’t have any plan to [bring in the law]. We don’t need it. They should know that existing laws are enough.

“This country is a secular democracy. So each and every religion has the right to practice their religion freely and fair. But it is not fair to hurt anybody’s religious feeling. Always we try to protect every religious sentiment.”

The Islamists have given a three-week ultimatum to the government to meet their demands, including tough punishment to those who they describe as atheist bloggers, who are also accused of making derogatory comments against Islam.

“We will go through all the demands and then we will see. If there is any reasonable one, we will fulfil. If it is not reasonable or not suitable for our country or society we will not accept it,” the prime minister said.

She also defended her government’s decision to arrest four bloggers last week on suspicion of harming religious sentiment through their work. The arrests prompted eight blog operators to black out their websites, with liberals accusing the government of yielding to Islamist pressure.

But the prime minister dismissed those accusations. “No, [it’s] not that. If anybody tried to hurt any sentiments of any religion or any religious leader, there is a law. We can take any action.”

Bangladesh has been rocked by a series of protests by opposition parties in recent weeks.

The Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party, has been holding demonstrations demanding the immediate release of its leaders, who are facing war crimes charges. Two of its senior leaders have already been convicted by a special tribunal.

Seven more are still facing the trial.

More than 80 people have been killed in clashes in the last few months, most of them shot by police. Human rights groups have accused the security forces of using excessive force to control the riots.

Ms Hasina defended the police action. “Security forces are law enforcing agencies, they have to protect people and people’s property. You know many police officers were killed… If police are under attack, what will they do?” she said.

The prime minister also rejected calls by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to restore a neutral interim caretaker administration to oversee parliamentary polls.

The BNP has said it will not take part in any election held under the incumbent government because it says the polls will not be free or fair. “If they don’t participate in the election, as a political party they will lose their seats,” Ms Hasina said.

With increasing political violence and instability, there is apprehension that the government might declare a state of emergency to bring the situation under control. But the prime minister firmly dismissed those fears, saying the government had no plans to impose emergency rule.

Hefajat take up new popularity

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mboldened by last week’s gathering in the capital, Hefajat-e Islam policymakers now look to consolidating their position as the new religious force they claim will be a factor in power politics.

Top leaders of the Islamist organisation say that apart from expanding their network across the country, they want to strengthen such unity and make the organisation stronger by bringing the remaining Islamic forces under one umbrella. They will make efforts to convince people about their movement through holding nine rallies in nine district headquarters this month. “We are overwhelmed with the success.

Gradually, we will further strengthen the organisation,” said Junaid Babunagari, secretary general of Hefajat.

Abdul Latif Nejami, adviser of Hefajat’s Dhaka city unit, said, “We will be able to emerge as a major force if we can remain united.” Nejami, also chief of Islami Oikya Jote, said efforts would be made to fuse this unity, and that Hefajat would not turn into a political organisation.

“We have already emerged publicly as a force,” said Mufti Fayezullah, joint secretary general of Hefajat.

On Hefajat’s potential role in the country’s power politics, its chief, Ahmed Shah Shafi, at Saturday’s rally said: “If you [parties] want to go to or stay in power, you will have to meet our demands. Or else, there will be dire consequences.”

Meanwhile, its other top leaders say they have “almost completed” the formation of committees in all the 64 districts. The formation of upazila committees is under way while forming union committees would be their next move. This, they say, will intensify the movement and help realise their demands, which include a law with provisions for capital punishment for insulting Islam.