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Wednesday 26 October 2011

Only democracy can lead to sustainable dev: PM

Berlin: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said that only democracy can lead to sustainable development of people and nations, and she is trying hard to establish democracy firmly by strengthening parliamentary practices and the media.


“We have indeed been trying hard to establish democracy firmly through strengthening our parliamentary practices and our media, empowering our women, as well as through establishing other democratic institutions such as the Commissions on Election, Human Rights, Anti-Corruption and Information,” she said at a dinner hosted by German-South Asian Parliamentary Group at Hotel Regent Monday evening.


Hasina said that since women empowerment is vital for real and sustainable democracy, the present government is encouraging women to participate in all spheres of national life, particularly in politics.


She said that in the local government elections 45,000 women contested and nearly 13,000 were elected to seats reserved for women. In the parliament, the number of reserved seats for women has also been increased to 50 from earlier 45.


The Prime Minister said that during her first tenure, the Prime Minister’s Question Hour has been introduced in parliament to ensure transparency and accountability.


She said her government has also introduced live television coverage of the parliamentary proceedings for the benefit of the people.


Besides, Hasina said, one of the first steps she took to consolidate democracy was to establish 48 parliamentary standing committees in the first session of the present parliament, something that was never done before.


“I have also revived the `Prime Minister’s Question-Answer Time’ and allowed 22 private TV channels and 352 daily newspapers to strengthen democratic practice in the country,” she said.


The Prime Minister said that for empowering women, she has laid the ground for 64 women to become MPs of whom, 19 are directly elected, a Whip and two women chairperson of parliamentary standing committees that include other women as members.


She said there is also a woman deputy leader of the house, leader of the opposition and the prime minister.


Moreover, Hasina said, she has appointed five ministers who hold the important portfolios of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Labour, and Women and Children’s Affairs.


Source: theindependentbd.com


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Asian shares mixed ahead of Europe plan

TOKYO: Asian shares were mixed Tuesday as investors waited for European leaders to unveil a plan to tackle the continent's ongoing debt crisis.

Markets turned cautious after solid gains in Asia the previous day, unable to extend a Wall Street rally overnight.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average slipped 0.3 percent to 8,820.29 as exporters struggled in the face of a strong yen. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.6 percent to 1,887.76, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.5 percent to 4,234.90.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.4 percent to 18,838.06. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand also advanced modestly.


European leaders have said they made progress at a weekend summit and plan to unveil concrete plans for containing the crisis by Wednesday.


The 17-nation eurozone is set to shore up its bailout fund to contain the debt turmoil that threatens to engulf more countries, and German lawmakers said the plan could boost the fund's lending capacity to more than euro1 trillion ($1.39 trillion).


Overnight in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average finished with a gain of 104.83 points, or 0.9 percent, at 11,913.62.


The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose to 1,254.19, marking the highest close for the S&P 500 since Aug. 3, just as Washington was resolving a showdown over raising the country's borrowing limit.

In currencies, the dollar rose slightly to 76.14 yen from 76.05 yen late Monday in New York. The euro stood at $1.3905 from $1.3951.


Source: theindependentbd.com


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N.Korea's Kim calls for nuclear talks, doubts on uranium

BEIJING: North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il told Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang that a moribund 2005 deal should be the basis for fresh talks about Pyongyang's nuclear program, Chinese state media reported, leaving unanswered a key question on uranium enrichment.



The United States and South Korea insist that the North must immediately halt its uranium enrichment program, which it unveiled last year, as a precursor to restart regional talks that offer economic aid in return for denuclearization.


Kim's latest offer of fresh nuclear negotiations came as Washington said it had narrowed differences with North Korea on issues standing in the way of a new round of multilateral nuclear talks.


In his meeting with Li, Kim repeated that North Korea is willing to return to six-party talks -- also involving Russia and Japan -- that it walked out of more than two years ago.


But his published comments did not address Pyongyang's uranium enrichment activities, a key obstacle to talks.


"Kim said the DPRK hopes the six-party talks should be restarted as soon as possible," said the Xinhua news agency report on Tuesday of the meeting between Kim and Li in North Korea on Monday night.


The DPRK is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- the North's official name.


"All the six parties should fully implement the September 19 joint statement, signed by them in 2005 in Beijing, on the principle of simultaneous action," Kim said, according to the report.


The North's uranium enrichment program, which opens a second route to make an atomic bomb along with its plutonium program, is not specifically referred to in the 2005 agreement.


However, Seoul and Washington argue uranium enrichment falls under the broader term "existing nuclear programs," which the 2005 deal says must be stopped.


Pyongyang states it is willing to discuss the issue once six-party talks resume, but Seoul and Washington say there will be no talks until uranium enrichment is stopped. They say any halt must be verified by international nuclear inspectors.


The United States, South Korea and their allies have been skeptical of North Korea's recent assertions that it stands ready to return to the six-party talks, saying Pyongyang has reneged on past disarmament pledges.


The talks and the embryonic agreement were a diplomatic trophy for Beijing. But North Korea walked out of the negotiations more than two years ago after the United Nations imposed fresh sanctions for a long-range missile test. The following month Pyongyang conducted a second nuclear test.


The North says its uranium enrichment program is designed to produce power, and argues that the 2005 agreement respects its right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.


In Geneva, Stephen Bosworth, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, said the two sides "narrowed some differences but we still have differences that we have to resolve."


Throughout the regional turbulence, Beijing has stood by its ally, North Korea, which it sees as a buffer against the influence of the United States and its allies. But China has also tried to preserve ties with South Korea, and to revive the stalled talks on North Korean nuclear disarmament.


Li, 56, is the favorite to become premier from early 2013, when Wen Jiabao will step down. He will visit South Korea after his trip to the North.


Source: theindependentbd.com


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