The World News Headlines (February 14, 2013)

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14 February 2013

The World News Headlines Qadir Mollah defence team slams verdict

This Week Ferry accident kills many

Rescuers have recovered a dozen more bodies after a ferry reportedly carrying up to 100 passengers capsized on a river in central Bangladesh, raising the death toll to 14.

Dozens of passengers were rescued or swam to shore after the ferry went down Friday on the River Meghna in Munshiganj district, 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of the capital, Dhaka. Rescuers retrieved two bodies Friday, and 12 more were recovered Saturday.

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he legal defence team of Abdul Quader Mollah has released a statement after he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

“We believe that this judgment opens a black and sad chapter in our legal history.

Such a judgment is unprecedented in the more than 150 year history of the High Court in the sub-continent.

In our view, there is not an iota of evidence on record to warrant a conviction of Abdul Quader Mollah, let alone a life imprisonment.

“The Prosecution has completely failed to establish the 6 charges against Abdul Quader Mollah. We are extremely surprised that the Tribunal has passed a life sentence relying upon the deposition of only 12 Prosecution witnesses, the majority of whom are ‘hearsay’ witnesses and beneficiaries of the present regime. We believe that the credibility of each and every single Prosecution witness has been successfully destroyed by rigorous cross examination by the Defence.

“Although the Defence was allowed to produce only 6 witnesses, it is clear from their deposition that Abdul Quader Mollah was not in Dhaka but in Faridpur in 1971. However the Tribunal ignoring the evidence of the Defence witnesses held Abdul Quader Mollah responsible for the commission of atrocities by the Bihari community in Mirpur in 1971.”

The statement concluded: “We believe that the judgment of the Tribunal will be completely reversed by the Supreme Court.”

Nigeria wins Africa cup

Rushanara Ali MP, speaking in Parliament, expressed her concern that Tower Hamlets now has 103 fewer police officers and 58 fewer PCOs

Rushanara Ali MP hits out at police cutbacks

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uring a Westminster Hall debate on the future of London’s Metropolitan Police service, Rushanara Ali MP repeated her calls for the Conservative-led Government and the Mayor of London to reverse their damaging cuts to local police services, particularly the proven Tower Hamlets Safer Neighbourhood Teams, at a time of rising crime in the Borough.

Rushanara said: “My constituents do not have confidence in the proposals of the Mayor of London. They made that clear in a recent consultation led by the deputy Mayor, who was rather short of facts and unclear about what exactly was going on.

“[Tower Hamlets] faces the closure of three police facilities and a cut in proven and effective safer neighbourhoods teams, from six officers to one police officer and one PCSO.” There are already 163 fewer uniformed officers in Tower Hamlets than when the current Government came to power in 2010. Yet over the same period, crime in Tower Hamlets has increased by 9%.

This contrasts with six successive years of crime reduction in the Borough under the previous Labour Government.

Rushanara spoke particularly of her deep concern over proposals to cut each Safer Neighbourhood Team from

six officers to one officer and one PCSO in Tower Hamlets.

She added: “We were the first to innovate and pilot the safer neighbourhoods initiative, which has proved extremely successful at reducing crime in our borough and around the country. It seems bizarre that the Government and the Mayor of London want to reverse that important provision, with its proven track record of success.

It is dangerous and simply puts public safety at risk. I therefore appeal to the Minister to reexamine those issues, especially in the light of the dramatic increase in crime in the borough.”

Rushanara is also demanding answers from the Mayor

of London and the Government over claims it has made about police numbers.

She told MPs: “When I raised that issue with the Home Secretary during Home Office questions on 7 January, she said that the Metropolitan police had indicated that they wanted to change the number of police community support officers to increase the number of police constables available.

Yet the evidence shows that Tower Hamlets has 103 fewer police officers and 58 fewer PCOs than in 2010. I wrote to the Mayor of London to seek clarification a few weeks ago, soon after that answer, and have yet to receive a response.”

Bangladesh cabinet passes fast-track executions for war crimes

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angladesh’s cabinet approved on Monday changes to war crime laws to ensure opposition leaders on trial for alleged atrocities during the nation’s 1971 independence war can be swiftly executed if convicted.

The move came amid huge demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of people in Dhaka for the past seven days calling for quick executions of the 10 alleged war criminals currently being tried on such

charges as genocide and rape.

Two others have already been convicted.

The demonstrations began after the war crimes tribunal last week handed a life sentence to a leader of the largest Islamic party — a term critics condemned as too lenient.

The demonstrators include students, bloggers, academics and journalists.

Cabinet secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the cabinet, led by Prime Minister

Sheikh Hasina, approved the changes, allowing the state and victims to contest the life term for Abdul Quader Molla of the Jamaat-e-Islami party.

The cabinet also set a 60day limit for the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division to dispose of appeals, Bhuiyan said, meaning someone getting a maximum death sentence can be hanged this year.

“Previously there were no rules on disposing of an appeal at the Appellate Di-

vision,” he told reporters.

Bangladesh’s legal system is notoriously slow with the judiciary overwhelmed by millions of cases — meaning some take years to be heard.

“Now, a new rule has been added under which an appeal (against a war crime verdict) must be disposed of within 45 days. If not possible… the Appellate division will get another 15 days.

“The total is 60 days,” Bhuiyan said.

The parliament “will pass the law within a few days”, he said.

The war court, called the International Crimes Tribunal despite having no international oversight, last month sentenced a fugitive Islamic TV preacher to death for murder during the 1971 war.

Last Tuesday, Molla, Jamaat’s fourth-highest ranked leader, who was accused of mass murder, became the first opposition leader to be sentenced.

Nigeria ended a 19-year Africa Cup of Nations title drought with a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso in the final, thanks to a late first-half goal from Sunday Mba at Soccer City. It was a result that took winning coach Stephen Keshi into the record books as he equalled the feat of late Egyptian Mahmoud El Gohary by winning gold medals as a player and a coach.

French aid workers jailed

A Paris court has sentenced two French aid workers to two years in jail for attempting to illegally bring 103 children from Chad to France for adoption, falsely claiming they were orphans from Darfur. Eric Breteau, who founded the Zoe’s Ark charity that was involved in the failed attempt, and his partner Emilie Lelouch, were immediately detained following Tuesday’s verdict. The pair were originally tried in absentia after refusing to attend court proceedings.

Mali at risk of attack

Mali risks descending into “catastrophic” violence, the UN rights chief warns, as tensions rise across the country after a string of attacks by rebels on French-led forces. UN rights chief Navi Pillay on Tuesday warned of a second kind of violence threatening the country – reprisal attacks by the army on Tuaregs and Arabs accused of supporting the rebel groups that have plunged Mali into crisis.

Syrian rebels capture base

Opposition fighters in Syria have seized a military air base and captured warplanes in the north of the country, as part of an assault on strategic northern targets

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14 February 2013

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News This Week UN slams Korean bomb test

North Korea’s nuclear test prompted united condemnation and a vow of tough action from the UN Security Council on Tuesday. The council issued a statement slamming the underground nuclear test that jolted the already fragile security situation in Northeast Asia.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said the test violated council resolutions, and “there continues to exist a clear threat to international peace and security.”

NASA launches new satellite NASA put its newest Landsat satellite into orbit on Monday, extending a long-running program that has been beaming back dramatic images of Earth for more than 40 years. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission -- to be designated Landsat 8, once it’s up and running -- lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base atop an Atlas V booster.

Indian stampede kills 36

A local Indian official resigned Monday after a chaotic crush at a railroad station a day earlier left 36 people dead among tens of millions of Hindu pilgrims flocking to the banks of the Ganges River for the world’s largest religious gathering. The stampede occurred on Sunday evening as floods of pilgrims entering the station in Allahabad, the scene of this year’s Kumbh Mela festival, broke through temporary barriers and crowded onto already busy platforms.

Twitter launches pay service

The first “pay-by-tweet” service has been launched on Twitter, with American Express introducing a service on Monday that lets its cardholders buy products simply by sending a short message. The integration of a leading payment mechanism into Twitter represents one of the most ambitious attempts yet to build ecommerce directly into a social media site.

US to pull troops out

President Barack Obama will announce in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night that some 34,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan will have returned home by this time next year, according to sources with knowledge of the the address. There are now about 66,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Iranian bank wins case against European decision to close it

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esterday the General Court of the European Union ruled that there was no evidence to justify the European Council’s decision to list Bank Mellat under its Iran sanctions list.

The European Council had in 2010 included Bank Mellat, Iran’s largest private bank, on its ‘blacklist’ of designated entities presumed to be involved with Iran’s nuclear proliferation programme.

This ruling will have huge significance around the world.

Economic sanctions have been widely employed as tools of international politics for decades.

Many institutions, banks and other, for many countries including Iran have suffered serious consequences as a result.

EU Council had listed Bank Mellat on the basis that it is a state owned entity (even though state ownership was only 20%) involved with the nuclear proliferation project in Iran.

The Bank was one of several Iranian Banks that were included by the EU Council on the blacklist in a policy move that was designed to put pressure on the Iranian financial sector.

The Bank had challenged this listing on the basis that it is not a state owned bank and the EU Council has no evidence of any wrongdoing or

Bank Mellat was one of several Iranian Banks that were included blacklisted by the EU Council to put pressure on the Iranian financial sector links with Iran’s nuclear programme on the part of the bank.

Sarosh Zaiwalla, of law firm Zaiwalla & Co who acted for Bank Mellat before the European Court, welcomed the decision for his client, saying: “The European Court of Justice has concluded that fairness and the rule of law are more important

than temporary political objectives. Bank Mellat is a private bank, and the Council of the European Union has provided no evidence for justifying its sanctions. Bank Mellat should never have suffered simply because it happens to be based in a country of whose government the EU disapproves.”

‘The European Court of Justice has concluded that fairness and the rule of law are more important than temporary political objectives’ Sarosh Zaiwalla

This listing has resulted in an asset freeze on all the Banks assets in the European Union and the bank’s international trade has effectively been suspended for 3 years.

The sanctions have harmed the Bank’s private interests, which is not the purpose of sanctions in the first place.

Bank Mellat is expected to claim substantial damages against the Council of European States for its unlawful listing.

The Bank’s win gives a clear message from the Court that European Institutions do not have the unfettered discretion to impose sanctions on whomsoever they like.

This win reminds the institutions that they too are subject to the rule of law, which provides that the imposition of sanctions upon and individual or entity requires evidence.

This decision is going to allow many institutions who have been subject to sanctions on no, or flimsy, evidence to fight against those sanctions.

Following the European Court overturning the European Council’s decision, the Bank will now be able to commence trading internationally and try and draw back the losses incurred over the last three years since the sanctions were imposed.

Labour attacks Tories over ‘refusal to condemn’ Mayor L abour councillors are accusing Tory councillors of bucking public opinion by failing to support Labour’s council motion opposing Boris Johnson’s plan to close half of the police stations in the borough alongside scrapping Bow fire station.

Labour councillors outlined their severe concern about the closure plans as well as on the impact of the cuts to the highly successful Safer Neighbourhoods Teams which Labour introduced. Under the Mayor’s plans these teams would be cut from six officers to only two.

The councillors argued that against a backdrop of increas-

ing crime and the highest fire call outs in London, the cuts would represent a “reckless and a dereliction of the Mayor’s duty to protect residents.”

The motion which was agreed deemed Boris Johnson’s 7p a week Council tax but a ‘political gimmick’ which will result in massive cuts to the vital services they rely on. The motion gained cross party support from all on the Council expect the Conservatives who refused to condemn the closures.

The Conservative Groups decision came even though the wards they represent will be severely affected as two of their closest police stations,

Abdal Ullah: ‘outraged’ the Isle of Dogs and Poplar, are earmarked for closure.

At last night’s public consultation meeting on the police station closures in Tower Hamlets no Conservative councillors attended to represent their resident’s views even though the station on the Island is threatened with closure.

Labour’s spokesperson for a Safer Borough, Cllr Abdal Ullah, who proposed the motion, said: “Residents on the Isle of Dogs should be outraged that their Conservative councillors have refused to condemn the closure of their local police station. With two of their closest stations earmarked for closure, you would think local councillors might stand up for their constituents rather than protecting a Tory Mayor who is intent on axing frontline emergency services in order to fund a worthless political gimmick.

“We will be inviting the police and fire borough commanders to the next council meeting

to address residents and councillors’ concerns about the future of emergency services in Tower Hamlets as well as continuing our campaign to stop these cuts coming into force.

“I urge all the residents on the Isle of Dogs who don’t want to see their police stations axed to send a message that a Tory Mayor and councillors who cut emergency services will not be tolerated.

“Not to turn up to the Met’s public consultation meeting is a disgrace. Residents on the Isle of Dogs will be outraged that their local councillors are not standing against the police station closures.”

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14 February 2013

News Private sector rents rocket by £1,000 in Tower Hamlets

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igures revealed by Shelter have shown that private sector rents in Tower Hamlets jumped by almost £1000 between 2011 and 2012.

The average £978 increase represents a jump of 6.1% and is the 7th biggest real terms increase in the whole of London.

Across the country private sector rents increased in 83% of local authorities with the average increase coming in at £300 a year.

The increase in Tower Hamlets was more than three times the average and comes alongside cuts to working tax allowances, transport fare rises and cuts to many other services.

Labour Councillors have expressed their concern that the rapidly increasing cost of living is stretching many families to breaking point.

Coming only days after it was revealed that real-terms earnings in the borough are down by 13% since 2008, these statistics show a dangerous mix of higher costs and lower income for many of Tower Hamlets’ most vulnerable.

Labour’s Spokesperson for Housing and Planning, Cllr Sirajul Islam, said: “Many families and young people will be facing a perfect storm of dramatically rising prices, reduced support from Government and faltering incomes.

“With landlords asking for an extra £1000 a year in rent residents will be faced with impossible decisions about

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Raids over meat doctoring

A slaughterhouse and a meat firm have been raided by police and officials probing alleged horsemeat mislabelling. Peter Boddy Licensed Slaughterhouse, in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, and Farmbox Meats Ltd, of Llandre near Aberystwyth, have had work suspended. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said it was unacceptable if UK firms were defrauding the public.

Man admits killing police

The man accused of murdering two police officers in a gun and grenade attack has admitted killing them. Dale Cregan, 29, had denied murdering PCs Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, in Tameside on 18 September. Cregan still denies the murders of David Short, 46, and his son Mark, 23.

There are also nine co-accused at Preston Crown Court, whose charges include murder and attempted murder of the father and son.

Princess Kate bikini pics

The Docklands falls within Tower Hamlets borough and high rents in that area may be a factor in high average rents across the entire borough their housing future and how to meet these spiralling costs.

“There is little doubt that there is high demand for housing in Tower Hamlets but yearly rent increases of £1000 are beyond belief.

“These rises will disproportionately affect young people in the borough and are a key reason why people are struggling so much to break onto the housing ladder.”

Labour MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, Rushanara

Ali, said: “There are nearly 24,000 people on the housing waiting list in Tower Hamlets and young people are now having to wait until

they are into their 30s before they can buy their own home.

“But instead of building more homes and supporting renters and families, this

‘Yearly rent increases of £1,000 are beyond belief… These rises will disproportionately affect young people’ Cllr Sirajul Islam

Conservative-led Government has cut the budget for new affordable homes by 60%. As a result of the Government’s failure to build the homes we need, the housing shortage is growing and pushing private rents to a record high.

“Labour has been consistently calling on the Government to tackle ever rising rents, instability and a lack of certainty in the private rented sector, yet all we get from this Government is more of the same policies.”

Tower Hamlets residents’ earnings decrease by 13%, claims union ne of Britain’s largest unions, the GMB Union, says that its research shows that real-terms earnings in Tower Hamlets have fallen by 13% since the global financial crisis hit.

The GMB says its figures “make clear the harsh economic impact of the financial crisis and the failure of the Government to revitalise the economy”.

Labour councillors in Tower Hamlets have also pointed to the figures to highlight their

This Week

concern about the impact of the Governments cuts agenda imposing additional challenges on residents at a time they are struggling to make ends meet.

The councillors specifically identify the Government’s recent decision to introduce a further real-terms cut on working tax credits which will leave over 14,000 working families in Tower Hamlets worse off.

In a borough with the highest levels of child poverty in the country any further cuts

in the spending power of residents will have significant ramifications pushing yet more people into poverty.

Labour’s spokesperson

for work and local economic growth, Cllr Anwar Khan, said: “These figures have revealed the true extent of the economic strife in Tower Hamlets. With

‘Choosing to cut tax credits for 14,000 hard working families is entirely the wrong thing for the Government to be doing’ Cllr Anwar Khan

workers earning on average 13% less than five years ago the Government’s choice to continue pursing aggressive cuts in public spending is hurting our communities but not working.

“Choosing to cut tax credits for 14,000 hard working families is entirely the wrong thing for the Government to be doing, instead they should be focused on encouraging economic growth which will help to grow wages and reverse the declining trend highlighted by GMB.”

St James’s Palace has condemned plans by an Italian gossip magazine to print photos of the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge on a Caribbean holiday. The pictures – expected to appear in Chi – are thought to show Kate wearing a bikini and walking on a beach on the island of Mustique with Prince William.

Pope used pacemaker

A day after Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation, the Vatican has acknowledged that the pontiff has had a pacemaker for years. But Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi reiterated that he was not stepping down because of any specific illness.

His last public appearance will be his final mass in Saint Peter’s Square on 27 February, Fr Lombardi said.

France passes gay marriage

France’s National Assembly has approved a law allowing samesex couples to marry and adopt children. After days of intense debate, the bill was passed by 329 votes to 229. It must now win final approval in the Senate.

The “Marriage for All” bill was backed by President Francois Hollande’s Socialists and other left-wing MPs.

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14 February 2013

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Features Prootestors call for ban on Jamaat

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ens of thousands of people rallied Friday in the capital Dhaka and other cities to demand a ban on Bangladesh’s largest Islamic party and the execution of its leaders who are on trial for war crimes.

The protests have been going on since Tuesday when Abdul Quader Molla, a senior figure in the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was sentenced to life imprisonment for mass murder during the 1971 war.

But the numbers swelled on Friday, a weekend here, with pro-government supporters saying the sentence from a domestic war crimes tribunal was too lenient and that Molla should have been sent to the gallows.

Eight other leaders of the party are still being tried by the court, which Jamaat and the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party say is biased and designed to silence the government’s enemies.

“Jamaat and (its student wing) Shibir wing must be banned,” said Kamal Lohani, one of the organisers of the protest in Dhaka.

Sirajul Islam, police chief for the Shahbagh region of central Dhaka, said “more than 100,000 people” had joined the rally in the capital. Similar protests were held in a dozen other cities.

Molla’s sentencing was the second by the tribunal, a domestic set-up which lacks any international oversight and criticised by rights groups and jurists.

Last month it handed down the death penalty to an Islamic TV preacher whose whereabouts are unknown.

The latest sentence triggered deadly protests nationwide as Jamaat rejected the verdict and its supporters clashed with police, leaving at least four people dead.

The tribunal, which was created by the secular government in 2010, is also trying two senior BNP officials.

Huge rally calls for Jamaat ban

Bangladeshi women installing a solar power system for rural farmers. The renewable energy option is a practical and cost-effective alternative for rural electricity.

Power to the rural people Rural electrification in Bangladesh is advancing at a slow pace. But in some ways, the slowness has been a good thing because now, as electrification occurs, more renewable energy options are available because of advances in new technology

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angladesh is a poor, densely populated country, with about 162 million people. In 2002, only about 30 percent of them had access to electricity, which loomed as a major constraint to economic growth and quality of life. For this reason, the Government of Bangladesh established a goal of providing electricity to its entire rural population by 2020. However, with the Rural Electrification Board connecting only about 400,000 households every year, it was on pace to take more than 35 years complete the task. Furthermore, since Bangladesh is a delta with more than 400 rivers, extending a grid system is complex and often prohibitively expensive.

The International Development Association-financed Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development Project was launched in 2002 to achieve the Government’s target of full access. It aimed to expand the electricity distribution grid to connect new consumers. Importantly, it also aimed to promote renewable energy options to provide electricity in remote areas where grid electricity was not feasible. Specifically, the project made solar home systems available to households and conducted a biomass pilot project to electrify village markets and associated small enterprises and households.

The project was implemented by the Rural Electrification Board through its rural electric cooperatives, with the cooperation of NGOs and private sector companies. For the off-grid renewable energy component, participating organizations extended micro-credits for consumers to buy solar home systems.

They then obtained refinancing from the central Infrastructure Development Company for up to 80 percent of the credit they had extended to consumers.

This project established the renewable energy option as a practical and cost-effective alternative for rural electricity. As of June 2009, more than 600,000 new consumers had been connected to the grid for the first time. Access to electricity increased from about 30 percent in 2002 to about 40 percent. At the same time, 320,000 consumers had new solar home systems, surpassing the original target of 50,000 by a factor of 600 percent. A

Photo by Tad Fettig

pilot biomass plant started to generate electricity using rice husk for the first time in Bangladesh. The plant’s capacity is 250 KW and it provided electricity to 300 households and shops in village markets. The implementing agency has a strong pipeline of biomass based projects to be supported under this project.

The highlights of the project include: l Study time increased. Children’s study time increased by about 6 percent in houses with electricity. l Illness decreased. An increase of electricity use at home led to a decrease of 20 percent in children’s school-days missed caused by illness, compared to non-electrified areas. l Small businesses and income expanded. Home businesses increased by about 8 percent compared to households without electricity. l More time saved. Time spent on household chores decreased by 6 percent in the electrified households. l System savings achieved. The project reconfigured the service boundaries between urban and rural utilities and renovated the old distribution network. This reduced duplication and system losses from more than 18 percent in 2001 to about 12 percent in 2008.

IDA provided US$236 million in credit of which the renewable energy component received about US$56 million. In addition, GEF financed US$8 million of the renewable energy component. To meet the total project cost of US$290 million, the Government of Bangladesh contributed US$92 million and local communities provided US$7 million.

With successful implementation of this project, several other development partners showed interest to support this program following the same project design. As of now the Asian Development Bank, KfW and GTZ (German development bank and German international cooperation enterprise) have started to support this program. The Inter-American Development Bank, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid have also shown interest to join in. IDA has approved an additional financing of about US$ 130 million to this project to continue efforts to expand electricity through renewable energy options. Bangladesh has made a target of connecting 1 million rural consumers by 2012 using solar home systems.

Given the project’s success, the Government of Bangladesh requested additional IDA funds to continue with solar home system installations and to scale up other renewable energy options. An additional financing of US$130 million was approved in August 2009. To achieve the Government’s vision of universal rural access by 2020, a radical change will be required to scale up provision. IDA’s strategy is to strengthen the managerial capability of the Rural Electrification Board to ensure that it can function autonomously and more effectively.

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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.

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14 February 2013

Features Huge rally calls for death penalty

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Clockwise from top left: Ruqsana Begum, Baroness Pola Uddin, Nina Hossein, Pasha Khandaker, Iqbal Ahmed, Mayor Lutfur Rahman, and KM Abu Taher Choudhury

100 powerful Bangladeshis The British Bangladeshi Power 100 is an attempt to harness the growing influence and indeed power of the British Bangladeshi community. It also aims to help diversify the perception that the community is only successful in the restaurant and catering industry

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ayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman has beaten MP for Bethnal Green and Bow Rushanara Ali to the title of the most powerful British Bangladeshi politician. A wide range of influential Bangladeshi figures were recognised in the British Bangladeshi Power 100 list, which was unveiled at a Westminster awards ceremony attended by home secretary Theresa May and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna.

Mr Rahman grabbed top spot in recognition of his responsibility in handling Tower Hamlets Council’s £1.2 billion budget.

Founder of the BB Power 100 list and Tower Hamlets Councillor Abdal Ullah said: “For 2013, we continue to pay tribute to those who are helping shape Britain for the better with their ideas, example, talent and success and have discovered some hidden jewels as well as celebrating the more well known personalities in the community.”

Other figures recognised included British kickboxing champion Ruqsana Begum and ITV London Tonight presenter Nina Hussain.

A reception for the British Bangladeshi Power 100 was held in the ornate surroundings of the Commonwealth Room at the House of Commons.

Hugh Muir, a journalist for The Guardian, who attended the event, wrote in his blog: Theresa May is here; Chuka Ummuna, Simon Hughes.There are TV stars, journalsits, doctors; summoned to salute the British Bangladeshi Power 100. Feels like a step change.

You can find stats about the half a million Bangladeshis in the UK who belong to one of the most deprived groups in the country, but that’s obviously not the only story. Within the document handed out with cocktails and salmon nibbles are biogs of MPs, industrialists, civil servants, barristers, writers, authors, sports stars and scientists.

This is important, organiser Abdal Ullah tells me. “We want to celebrate talent and showcase success. We are communities

growing in confidence and stature and in the depth and quality of our contribution.”

And who is this aimed at, I ask him. “It’s for us to say well done and for others to understand that it is not just about curry and poverty in somewhere like Tower Hamlets. We are saying we are here; this is our country and we are making it better.”

It falls to Theresa May before she rushes off – and before anyone mentions the difficulty restaurants have getting Bangladeshi chefs into the country – to announce the list of those who make the top five for political achievement. And when she does, it is notable that the first of them is Lutfur Rahman, the controversial independent Tower Hamlets mayor, much maligned in the mainstream press. He is absent.

Another of those lauded is Baroness Uddin, the peer who made housing claims “wrongly and in bad faith” and received an 18-month ban, the longest in House of Lord’s history. Humbled, she was forced to pay back £125,000.

Interesting that, despite it all, she made the list, I say to Ayesha Qureshi, another organiser; and I immediately think I’ve been a tad ungracious, but she understands.

“She wasn’t on the list last year,” explains Qureshi. But maligned or not, she says, Uddin still wields a deal of influence.

Talk to people. She does a lot; people remember, and the view they take is that bad is still outweighed by good. A disappointed community might have shunned the peer, but here’s the thing: she’s a finite resource, so instead it helped her and circled the wagons. Like it or loathe it, that’s how it is.

Meanwhile, EnergyBangla picked up another angle to the story when it reported that British-Bangladeshi entrepreneurs are keen to invest in power sector.

Encouraged by the recognition of “British Bangladeshi Power 100”, most powerful Bangladeshis in Britain have expressed their keen interest to invest in Bangladesh’s prospective sectors especially power.

“Along with many of my counterparts of Bangladesh Caterers Association (BCA) in the UK, there is emphasis on investing in power and tourism sectors,” said Pasha Khandaker, who is among the ‘British Bangladeshi Power 100’ list for 2013’.

In an exclusive email interview with the news agency, Khandaker said, “With emotional links to my heritage and country, I already have investments in Bangladesh and want to increase it in these prospective sectors.”

A list of 100 most powerful Bangladeshis in Britain has been released last month who helped to shape Britain for the better with their ideas, example, talent and success.

The list has 20 categories including entrepreneur, brand, politics, policy/civil service, legal, restaurateur, professional, networks & associations, academic/think tanker, medical, community activist, media, culture, community personality and sport.

undreds of thousands of Bangladeshis have joined protests in Dhaka to demand the death penalty for a political leader convicted of war crimes.

Protests have grown since Abdul Kader Mullah was given life on Tuesday for crimes including torture, murder and rape during the 1971 independence war.

Supporters of Mullah’s party, the Islamist Jamaat-eIslami, held protests calling for his release.

The party says Mullah is the victim of a political vendetta.

Ten others are on trial, including eight other Jamaat members and two members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), one a former minister.

They are accused of atrocities during the 1971 war when Bangladesh, then called East Pakistan, fought to secede from Pakistan.

The authorities say the defendants opposed independence and either fought alongside or actively supported the West Pakistan authorities.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has made prosecuting war crimes a key goal of her government.

Jamaat is an ally of the BNP, Sheikh Hasina’s bitter political rivals.

Mullah is the second defendant to be found guilty by the special tribunal.

Last month, former Jamaat leader Abul Kalam Azad was sentenced to death in absentia.

Thousands have been holding vigils in Dhaka throughout the week calling for a ban on the Jamaat-e-Islami and the death penalty for party leaders on trial, on the grounds that they were involved in mass killings.

The organisers called for a grand rally on Friday, a weekend day in Bangladesh, to urge the authorities to reconsider Mullah’s life sentence.

Abdul Kader Mollah