1 Page of 8 11 Feb 09

1.5 MILLION EURO CAMPAIGN FOR 12 MILLION SMOKERS

The Italian health ministry unrolled a 1.5- million-euro campaign, aimed at reducing the country's smoking deaths. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Health Minister Ferruccio Fazio said smoking killed at least 80,000 Italians each year, and 5.4 mil-lion people worldwide. ''Smoking is responsible for 91% of lung cancer and 30% of coronary heart disease cases,'' he said. He also stressed the fact smoking damages fertility and increases the likelihood men will become impotent. ''Of 1,000 adult males who smoke, it is estimated that one will die a violent death, six will be killed in road accidents, while 250 will be killed by tobacco-related disease,'' the minister said. ''Anyone who starts smoking at the age of 25 can expect to shorten their life by five years,'' he added. The campaign will start with a series of TV commercials starring a well-known Italian comedian, and later extend to cinema and newspaper advertising. It will take a two-pronged approach, encouraging existing smokers to quit and dissuading youngsters from starting, with a clear focus on the damage to health. Another government campaign began setting up medical centres to help cigarette addicts kick the habit and lowered taxes on anti-smoking products. The minister admitted that cigarette sales had dropped steadily over the last five years, partly as a result of a 2005 law, which outlawed smoking in all enclosed public spaces, and partly due to soaring cigarette prices, which are 40% more expensive. According to the minister, around 42 million fewer packets of cigarettes were sold in 2008 than the previous year, meaning a 7% drop overall since 2004. But he warned this apparent trend may be misleading, suggesting many smokers may simply have switched from ready-made cigarettes to roll-ups. The sale of loose-leaf tobacco has in fact risen 90% over the last five years, Fazio said. He said the affordability of roll-ups made this a worryingly attractive option for younger smokers. There are an estimated 12 million smokers in Italy: around 1.2 million are between 15 and 24 years of age. Of these, some 130,000 are under 17. Since 2005, central government and local administrations have embarked on a series of initiatives designed to build on the success of the anti-smoking law. In 2007, the ban was extended to include train stations, while the cities of Naples and Verona brought in new laws pre-venting people from smoking in public parks.

80,000 SMOKING DEATHS IN ITALY EACH YEAR

KINGSHUK REG. DA-327 SYNDICATED AT ITALY

Australia's worst forest fires on record left at least 130 people dead, with grave fears for many more. The inferno that started in south-east Australia is the worst in the nation's history, surpassing the Black Friday blaze in 1939 that claimed 71 lives and 1983's Ash Wednesday that killed 75. "Continued increases greenhouse gases will lead to further warming and drier conditions in southern Australia, so the (fire) risks are likely to slightly worse," said Kevin Hennessy at the Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Centre (CSIRO). The Victorian bushfire tragedy is the worst natural disaster in Australia in 110 years. In 1899, Cyclone Mahina struck Australia's northern Cape York, kill-ing more than 400. Suspicions that the worst wildfires ever to strike Australia were deliberately set led police to declare crime scenes in towns incinerated by blazes, while investigators moving into the charred landscape discovered more bodies. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called in the army to help with the firefighting and to assist in shifting smouldering tree trunks that block roads, preventing ambu- lances getting through to the injured. Officials believe arson may be behind at least some of the more than 400 fires that tore a destructive path across a vast swath of southern Victoria state over the weekend. Police have sealed off at least two towns - Marysville and Kin- glake - where dozens of deaths oc-curred - setting up roadside checkpoints and controlling access to the area. Kinglake is "where the most deaths are, but wherever a death has occurred we investigate that as a crime," Nixon told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. Anyone found guilty of lighting a wildfire that causes death faces 25 years in prison in Victoria. However, a murder conviction could result in a life sentence, said federal Attorney General Robert McClelland.

At least 750 homes were destroyed. Officials said both the tolls of human life and property would almost certainly rise. At the town of Whit- tlesea, 7 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Kinglake region, survivors sat in the dirt outside, ac-cepting cups of coffee and sandwiches being handed out by volunteers. Others hugged each other with tears in their eyes. Australian Red Cross officials were compiling lists of survivors to make it easy for family members to track them down. The Red Cross said more than 4,000 people had been listed across the state. "There were dead horses, live horses, kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their back. It was horrific," Barber said. Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin said many had underestimated the ferocity of the firestorm. "Nature gave Victoria a beating of unimaginable proportions," he said. "Bushfire risk is real, it's horribly real - it can become an awful reality with little warning and no second chance. You can rebuild a house but you can't rebuild a life." Brumby said that strong winds and high temperatures created tinderbox conditions a volun-teer army of 30,000 firefighters backed by 37 water-bombing aircraft simply could not match. Victoria state Premier John Brumby announced a royal commission would be held. A royal commission is among the highest-level investigations that can be called

under Australian law. Usually, a former judge is appointed to take extensive evi- dence and make formal findings that can lead to charges or changes in the law. Blazes have been burning for weeks in the southeastern state of Victoria but turned deadly Sat-urday when searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across the region. A long-running drought in the south - the worst in a century - had left forests extra dry and Saturday's fire conditions were said to be the worst ever in Australia. Wildfires are common during the Austra-lian summer. Government research shows about half of the roughly 60,000 fires each year are delib-erately lit or suspicious. Lightning and people using machinery near dry brush are other causes. From the air, the landscape was blackened as far as the eye could see. Entire forests were reduced to leafless, charred trunks, farmland to ashes. The Victoria Country Fire Service said some 850 square miles (2,200 kilometers) were burned out. Street after street was lined by smoldering wrecks of homes, roofs collapsed inward, iron roof sheets twisted from the heat. The burned-out hulks of cars dotted roads. A church was smoldering, only one wall with a giant cross etched in it remained standing. Residents were repeatedly advised on radio and television announcements to initiate their so-called "fire plan" - whether it be staying in their homes to battle the flames or to evacuate before the roads became too dangerous. But some of the deaths were people who were appar-ently caught by the fire as they fled in their cars or killed when charred tree limbs fell on their vehicles.

EDITOR’S CHOICE

HIGLIGHTS

Page 1> Australian Fire Zone, 80000 smoking Death

Page 2> Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Alfa Romeo

Page 3> BANGLADESH News

Page 4> Interview: Sri Lankan President

Page 5> Milano Unica-Loro Piana, Madagascar

Page 6> BIT 2009 Events, Bangladesh Tour

Page 7> Cartoons & Controversy, China in 21st

Page 8> MoneyGram, Italy Tourism Ties

AUSTRALIAN FIRE ZONE DECLARED AS A CRIME SCENE

2/12/2009 12:15 AM

2 Page of 8 11 Feb 09

Bologna, 23 – 26 March 2009, the 46th edition of the BOLOGNA CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR, the world’s leading event for children’s book publishing and copyright ex-change, will answer these questions and many more. In 2008, the Fair hosted 1,300 exhibi-tors (1,200 foreign), 4,879 foreign professionals, and over 500 jou

rnalists from 33 countries. The CHIL-DREN’S BOOK FAIR is a unique inter-national mix of tradition, experience, and innovation: three elements that BolognaFiere combines in a single event in 20,000 square metres (215,000 square feet) of space. INITIATIVES: ILLUSTRATORS EXHIBITION Ever since 1967, the CHILDREN’S

BOOK FAIR has offered the world’s illustrators an opportunity to present their work to international children’s book publishers. Thousands of illustra-tors from all over the world submit their work every year, giving an un-equalled panorama of recent trends. In January, the international jury will meet in Bologna to select the artists for the 2009 ILLUSTRATORS EXHIBI-TION. DEDICATED TO ROBERTO INNO-CENTI A special “show-in-show” dedicated to

Roberto Innocenti, winner of the 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Prize (and artist of the 2009 Annual cover) will be offered as part of the 2009 ILLUSTRA-TORS EXHIBITION. Innocenti is one of the world’s finest illustrators, with books published in numerous countries. His plates have an almost “metaphysical” realism, in which the tradition of “figurinai” (first half of the 20th century) adopts framing cinema techniques. His plates complement the text but also create a “parallel story” made of images with strong impact. ROUND, AND ROUND IN A CIR-CLE This year’s guest at the Illustrators Exhibition is Korea, a country with strong traditions in illustration, cartoons, and design, honoured with the special ex-hibit entitled Round, and Round in a Circle With a full pro-gramme of collateral events (at the Fair and in the city), Korea’s participation in the 2009 CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR will be an opportunity to learn about the litera-ture, history, and customs of a country with an extremely rich cultural heritage. Therefore, not just business, but also (and especially) cultural diversity are the goals linked to the Guest Country’s participation in the Illustrator’s Exhibi-tion, which every year provides an op-portunity to learn more about a foreign country. Korea’s participation is organ-ized by the Korean Publishers Associa-tion and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of the Re-public of Korea. THE ILLUSTRATORS CAFÉ The ideal place to meet illustrators, authors, and publishers, discuss the latest developments, and talk about everything related to illustration, the ILLUSTRATORS CAFÉ will once again offer a series of highly interesting events. BOLOGNARAGAZZI AWARD, A REWARD FOR EXCELLENCE This year, in addition to rewarding the finest books in terms of graphic and editorial design in the three traditional categories of FICTION, NON FICTION

and NEW HORIZONS, the 2009 BO-LOGNARAGAZZI AWARD institutes the permanent category OPERA PRIMA, dedicated to first works. This new category, devoted to works by emerging authors, will promote re-

search and innovative projects. The award is dedi-cated to Giovanni Lanzi, graphic artist of the CHIL-DREN’S BOOK FAIR for over 40 years, in rec-

ognition of his invaluable contribution.

PLUS As always, the CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR will offer the LITERARY AGENTS CENTRE, the TRANSLATORS CEN-TRE (an essential tool for increasing international exchange and transla-tions), and the TV/FILM & LICENSING RIGHTS CENTRE (to promote meet-ings among publishers, book licensors, and TV/film producers). Over the years, these initiatives have satisfied specific demands from the market and professionals, and have helped make the BOLOGNA CHIL-DREN’S BOOK FAIR a unique occa-sion.

The 2009 CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR will offer four exciting days of business, meetings, conferences, awards, and exhibits (at the Fair and in the city): a relaxing and pleasant oppor-tunity to learn everything about copy-righting cultural content for children. www.bookfair.bolognafiere.it

The Italian parliament approved a measure requiring doctors to report illegal immigrants, unleashing a barrage of criticism. The measure, which would lift confidentiality provisions for illegals who need hospital care, was contained in a crime bill passed by the Senate to the Chamber of Deputies. The move has already drawn criticism from the centre-left opposition and from the Doctors without Borders medical charity in Italy. The opposition described the measure, which was put into the bill by the regionalist Northern League, as ''racist'' and ''fascist''. The Italian association of hospital doctors has criticised the measure and said its members will not act as ''spies''. The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party (PD), led the criticism in parliament. Democratic Party (PD) Senate whip Anna Finocchiaro said the measure would ''spread fear among people who will no longer go to hospital to give birth or seek treatment for their children, or will hide diseases even if they are contagious''. ''You have crossed the line from law-making to persecution,'' she told the government, arguing that the measure would fuel racism. Finocchi-aro also noted that the government was defeated three times on the bill Wednesday despite its overwhelming majority, an alleged indication that many in the ruling parties thought the measure went too far. EXTREME RIGHT SLAMS MEASURE TOO. Italy's only black MP, Congo-born Jean-Leonard Touadi, also in the PD, called the measure ''a return to fascist-era snooping'' and said many illegals would choose death over expulsion. The Italian branch of Doctors Without Borders warned it could keep illegal immigrants away from hospitals with health risks for society. It appealed to the lower house to stave off ''the dangerous healthcare marginalisation of a swathe of the foreign population''. ''I therefore ask my colleagues in the majority: where are the Christian values whose flag they have wrapped themselves in? Where is the right to life, bandied around so much at the moment,'' he said, referring to a landmark right-to-die ruling the government and the Catholic Church is fighting against. The hard-left Communist Refoundation party called the measure ''clearly neo-Nazi and, most of all, stupid,'' while the extreme-right New Force party said it was ''spine-chilling''. ''It's not by forcing doctors to betray their Hippocratic oath that you're going to combat immigration,'' said New Force official Paolo Caratossidis, stressing that ''everyone has the right to medical treatment''. The measure was also condemned by leftwing union CGIL which said it ''shows the cultural, political and ethical degradation of the majority''. CGIL said its medical chapters would look at ''all necessary means'' to stop the measure being applied. The leader of the small leftwing Democratic Left party, EuroMP Claudio Fava, linked the doctors' measure to other parts of the crime bill including the regis-tration of street people and the approval of citizen's crimewatch patrols. ''With this bill, (Premier Silvio) Berlusconi's Italy has effectively moved beyond the bounds of the European Union,'' he said, announcing an appeal to Brussels to open a formal procedure against the government's ''manifest xenopho-bia...like (late rightwing leader Georg) Haider's Austria''. 'ITALIANS RIGHTS COME FIRST'. The government insists the measure is needed to help crack down on illegal immigration, which has risen steadily in recent years and has been linked to high-profile crimes. The Senate whip for Berlusconi's People of Freedom party, Maurizio Gasparri, rejected suggestions that the crime bill was largely the work of the Northern League, saying: ''the bill is backed by the entire majority be-cause we are convinced that the rights of Italians must take first place''. Arguing that the bill would help combat people trafficking, he said: ''There is no racism here. There was racism by progressive mayors who allowed shanty towns to spread, where babies die at night because of fires''. The Northern League hailed the vote as ''a victory for our militants'' and pooh-poohed the opposition's strictures. ''You are with the foreigners, you defend foreigners and you're against Italians,'' said League Senate whip Federico Bricolo, answering shouts of ''xenophobia'' from the opposition benches. ''You can call us xenophobic all you like, it only wins us more votes''. Before passing into law, the bill must be approved by the lower house. It hoped the lower house of parliament would reject the Senate's move. The amendment to the previous ban was tabled by the anti-immigrant Northern League party, which is part of the conservative ruling coalition. The parliament also approved a new law imposing a 200 euros charge for immigrants requesting a permit of

ALFA ROMEO: THE HISTORY Alfa Romeo is one of the car companies that has made Italian automobile industry, and which feeds the passion of various Alfa-lovers clubs. A car company that is proud of its almost hundred years of history, witnessed by the Arese (Milan) mu-seum, but which also focuses on technical and stylis-tic innovation. Alfa Romeo was born in Rome in 1906 as the "Società Italiana Automobili Dar-racq" to manufacture low cost cars, in a period of great market decline. In 1915 the plants built in the area of Milan's Portello went to "Alfa Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili", to engineer Nicola Romeo, and then to his company "Accomandita Ing. Nicola Romeo e Co.", which produced machinery and materials for the mining industry. After producing war-type materials - trucks and engines -, during the First World War, the company became "Società Anonima Ing. Nicola Romeo e Co.", originally destined to "setting up and operation of mechanical, iron and steel, agricultural, mining, chemical and generally extractive industries ". Problems of recession and post-war re-conversion were surpassed abandoning aeronautical productions more and more, to specialise in cars, some of which obtained great sports successes. In the thirties, through IRI, and especially owing to new General Manager Eneginner Ugo Gobbato, a technical and commercial re-organisation took place in the company, and led to the construction of a plant in Pomigliano d'Arco (Napoli), as well as a substantial increase in capital. The Germans in 1944 forced the company to join in a Consortium with Isotta Fraschini and Officine Reggiane, forming CARIM for the construction of some parts of the Junkers engine. The true reprise took place in the 50's, when Giuseppe Luraghi, already Fin-meccanica's General Manager, decided to produce medium type and more mar-ketable cars for a mass market. A favourable economic situation led in the 60's to the construction of new plants in Arese, and a new establishment in Pomigli-ano, soon weighed down with some problems. The Luraghi 70's represented a transition period, with heavy trade and workers union protests, resolved in 1978, with Ettore Masaccesi's new restructuring, which entered the company into economical and market conjunctures, developing both financial functions and the Management Control and Trade Management. Later, the growth process started by Luraghi came to a halt, and also the Joint Venture with Japanese car company Nissan (AR.N.A), did not obtain the hoped for results. In 1986 Finmeccanica sells Alfa Romeo to the FIAT group, which united it to Lancia, creating the "Alfa Lancia S.p.A.", which became operative in 1987.

2009 CHILDREN’S BOOK FAIR What are the international trends in children’s book publishing? The most interesting ideas in illustration? Market trends?

JK Rowlings, the creator of the wildly popular Harry Potter series of books, was named Tuesday a Knight of the Legion of Honour by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Elysee Palace announced. The Harry Potter books, which have been condemned by conservative clergy, have made the 43-year-old Rowling one of the richest women in Britain, with a for-tune estimated at 560 million pounds (804 million dollars). The Harry Potter series has been translated into more than 60 languages and has sold more than 400 million books around the world. The makers of Inkheart would like to put J.K. Rowling's wizards-in-training on notice: They will see their Dumble-dore and raise them one Dustfinger. Potter, you've been served. Inkheart, Iain Softley's vivid, super-serious, some-times lurid adaptation of the young people's novel by Corne-lia Funke, manages a neat trick of indirection. Filmgoers may attend this fantasy adventure, which stars Brendan Fraser and Eliza Hope Bennett, thinking that they will be captivated by the characters they play - a bookbinder and his 12-year-old daughter. Instead, Inkheart is completely dominated by its ensemble of supporting players, including the marvellous Paul Bettany as the quasi-villainous fire juggler Dustfinger, and Helen Mir-ren delivering a droll portrayal of a dotty bibliophile with fabulous design sense. Indeed, the aesthetics of Inkheart are part of what make it such a surprisingly enjoyable experience to watch. Travelling from a picturesque town in Switzerland to a magnificent villa in northern Italy, this is a movie that often moves with dizzying speed, but always with a rich sense of visual detail. And that's not a luxury but a necessity in bringing Inkheart's outlandishly convoluted story to convincing life. Fraser plays Mortimer "Mo" Folchart, who,as the movie opens is reading Little Red Riding Hood to his baby daugh-ter when he suddenly conjures an actual red cape. Mo, it turns out, is a "silvertongue", who can make stories come to literal life just by reading them aloud. Twelve years later, Mo and his daughter, Meggie (Bennett), are travelling to a remote Swiss town in search of vintage books for Mo to repair, but also to aid him in his search for an obscure novel called Inkheart. It seems he was reading the story to Meggie back when she was a toddler and things went desperately awry, a disastrous turn of events that comes fully to light in fits and starts throughout the movie. One clue to what happened lies with Dustfinger, a literally and figuratively smouldering fire juggler who appears sud-

denly in Switzerland and becomes, if not an ally, then a broodingly colourful companion on Mo and Meggie's search for the elusive book. That search takes them to the home of Meggie's vinegary great-aunt Elinor (Mirren), who lives alone in a vast lakeside villa in Italy with a library to die for. In fact, the three actu-ally almost do die for it when a troop of henchmen arrive to pillage the place, burn Elinor's beloved tomes and take the family back to their boss, Capricorn (Andy Serkis). Once they reach the malevolent Capricorn's fortress like kingdom, Mo, Meggie and Elinor are imprisoned alongside a ticking crocodile, a unicorn and a flotilla of flying monkeys. They're all characters who have been "read out" of books by Capricorn's own silvertongue, whose stuttering recitations result in people arriving with the writing of their native books inscribed on their skin. These eerie tattoos are just a few of the arresting visual touches that make Inkheart such an appealing sensory ex-perience, full of imaginative creatures, vibrant colours and rich textures from the pair of Chuck Taylors given to a young character plucked from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights to the film's harrowing climax, which plays like a boho-goth wedding staged by Albert Speer. The plot of Inkheart is so bursting and busy that it's occa-sionally impossible to follow, although fans of the book will no doubt complain that too much has been left out. Bettany provides the film's true north. His performance, as a tortured character desperate to be read back into his book so he can return to his wife (played in a cameo by Bettany's real-life spouse, Jennifer Connelly), is nothing short of a revela-tion. In a movie that could easily be tossed quickly aside as a pleasant but disposable piece of tween entertainment, Bet-tany commits an act of serious acting, imbuing Dustfinger with generous doses of angst, sensitivity and dour humour (purely incidentally - and this is for all the mums out there - he looks pretty good with his shirt off, too). With several scenes of intense peril and a subtle emotional undercurrent of danger and desire, Inkheart might qualify as Twilight for a slightly younger generation (or maybe Bedtime Stories for a slightly older one). But for the young teens in its demographic wheelhouse, Inkheart packs a welcome amount of entertainment value, creating a genuinely original world of enchantment when that territory has otherwise been colonised by the imperial forces of Hogwarts and Middle Earth. Inkheart has a flag to plant, too and it has a style and snap all its own.

Harry potter, beware! Inkheart takes fantasy to a new, lurid and sometimes brooding level

Italy

Senate approves law for doctors Crime bill asks hospital staff to report illegals

3 Page of 8 11 Feb 09

Pronob Mukharjee Indian Foreign Minister’s Visit at Bangladesh

The Workers Party of Bangladesh is a Commu-nist party in Bangladesh. It is the fraternal party of CPI(M) in the country. WPB was founded in 1980 by the Bangladesh Communist Party (Leninist), Revo-lutionary Communist League, Majdur Party and another group. Amal Sen was the founding general secretary. In 1984 the party split in two factions, both using the name WPB. One group was led by Amal Sen and Nazrul Islam. The other was led by the current president of the party, Rashid Khan Menon. In 1992 they reunited. WPB is part of the Left Democratic Front and the 14-party alliance. Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon demanded a parliamentary investigation into the excesses done by the military intelligence during the two years’ rule of the in-terim administration. ‘Parliament needs to investigate the excesses in order to stop their recurrence once and for all,’ Menon said while speaking on a thanks giving motion on the presidential address delivered in parliament on January 25. Menon, a left-leaning leader who was elected lawmaker with the Awami League’s election symbol, drew a parallel be-tween the activities of the Inter-Service Intelligence of Paki-stan and Bangladesh’s military intelligence agency, Direc-torate General of the Forces Intelligence, saying the DGFI had spied on the media through its information wing while it controlled politics through its political wing. ‘My question is whether Bangladesh has turned into Paki-stan,’ he said adding that the terms of reference of the DGFI stipulate that it would provide intelligence information for political authorities. ‘But the DGFI tried to control politics and politicians during that period, they tried to create a king’s party. They pre-vented the 14-party alliance leader Sheikh Hasina from returning home from abroad, they tried to split political parties and create misunderstanding among party leaders in the name of reforms,’ Menon said. He accused president Iajuddin Amed of being whimsical in

taking the charge of the caretaker administration instead of exercising other options stipulated in the constitution that had forced the military to intervene. Menon termed the Fakhruddin Ahmed-led caretaker gov-ernment a military-controlled administration and said the army appeared on the scene in a decent way. But they soon changed their faces…They suspended fundamental rights and tens of thousands of people were evicted from their homes in the name of drives against illegal occupation. As many as 4,000,000 poor people were deprived of their earnings…. He also said the interim government had launched a drive against politicians in the name of anti-corruption drive and did not differentiate between corrupt elements and politi-cians. ‘They also tried to implement the so-called ‘minus two’ theory to keep the two top leaders away from politics. Referring to law minister Shafique Ahmed’s statement that the immediate past government was a doctrine of necessity, the WP leader said that the question of giving legitimacy to this government did not arise. ‘We can forgive, but we can-not validate the activities of the military-backed govern-ment.’ He said the repetition was not expected. ‘I demand a parlia-mentary committee to investigate the actions also of the military-backed government to stop its recurrence.’ 

Rashed Khan Menon Demanded Parliamentary Investigation into DGFI, Military Intelligence excesses during interim Govt

Dhaka - The United States wants to help Bangladesh protect mineral-rich waters it claims in the Bay of Bengal through maritime patrolling, a senior US official said Sunday. "I think there is some interest in maritime patrols to protect your sea areas better. There are some areas where we can help ...," Richard A Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia, told a press conference. Wrapping up a two-day visit to Bangla-desh, the US official said the modali-ties of the proposed cooperation in maritime patrols depends on Bangla-desh's requirements and US ability to meet them. Boucher said his talks explored areas of cooperation between the new gov-ernments in Dhaka and Washington headed by Prime Minister Sheikh Has-ina Wazed and President Barack Obama. The US official identified new areas like climate change, agriculture and healthcare of cooperation and assured continuation of US support for Bangla-desh. The issue of cooperation in marine patrols came to the backdrop of a row

over oil and gas exploration between Myanmar and Bangladesh in waters claimed by Dhaka in the Bay of Bengal. Both Bangladesh and Myanmar have deployed warships in the Bay of Bengal to establish their claims. Diplomatic efforts by Bangladesh's then military-backed government of Fakhruddin Ahnmed, involving China and South Korea, apparently put to an end the row.

US to assist Bangladesh

Maritime Patrols

Dhaka - Law minister Shafiq Ahmed said that he had instructed his ministry to prepare 44 of the ordinances as bills which would be placed in parliament for passage. "The fate of the rest of the ordinances will be decided by the House," Shafiq Ahmed told after a meeting with legal ex-perts. The experts told a special committee that most of the 122 ordinances made by the caretaker government were "not justifiable". M Zahir, one of the experts, told reporters after the meeting: "Primarily we talked in favour of passing some 45 ordi-nances at a liberal count. But now we are taking a hard look at those 45." The experts told the parliamentary special committee that most of the ordinances were in violation of the Constitution. They said, under Article 58 (D) of the constitution, the care-taker government could not make any ordinance unless it was necessary for holding elections and looking after rou-tine affairs of the government. "If we consider promulgation of the ordinances in the light of Article 58 (D), most of them will have to go," former attorney general Mahmudul Islam told after the meeting. The special committee will meet again on Feb. 15 to discuss the issue further. Zahir said Article 83 of the Constitution

states parliament is the sole authority to impose taxes. "But the interim government imposed taxes for two years." "I proposed at the meeting that we could mention in the preamble of the bill that we were ratifying [their imposition of tax] but we are not approving it," said Zahir. "Because, the taxes have already been levied," he said. "It would set a legal guideline for incoming interim caretaker governments and for the whole nation," said the lawyer.

Zahir also mentioned Article 59 of the Constitution which states that functions of the Upazila should be decided by an act of parliament, but the interim government made an Upazila ordinance going beyond their jurisdiction. "We all are of the same opinion that the Upazila elections can be validated, however, through a savings clause," said Zahir.

Presided over by the committee's chairman Rahmat Ali, the meeting was attended by law minister Shafiq Ahmed, Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Tofail Ahmed, Suranjit Sengupta, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, MK Anwar, Rashed Khan Menon, Fazle Rabbi Mia, Mujibur Rahman, Ruhul Amin Hawlader, Abdul Matin Khasru, Nurul Islam Sujon, Fazle Noor Taposh. Advocates Toufique Nawaz and Azmalul Hos-sain also attended the meeting as legal experts.

44 ordinances fit the bill: Shafiq  

Dhaka (N&V) - Bangladesh has recorded a rise in remittance inflow, from its over 6 million expatriate workers, despite a global recession that forces mas-sive job cuts around the world, central bank officials said Saturday. The South Asian country received over 860 million dollars in remittances in January, the highest in the last seven months and almost 22 per cent more than the same month in 2008, according to a provisional estimate released by Bangladesh Bank. Bangladeshi expatriates, most of whom are employed in oil-rich Middle East countries, sent home over 710 million dollars in January 2008. The country received nearly 9 billion dollars in remittances in 2008, 31 per cent more than the year before. Initially, economists and trade experts feared job losses by Bangladeshi workers in the Mid-dle East because of the falling oil prices in the wake the economic meltdown, but now say the impact of the global financial crisis is not yet evident in Bangladesh's economy. "Maybe, it is because the Arab countries are less affected than European and [North] American ones," economist Atiur Rahman of Dhaka University said. "If the latest economic stimulus package planned by the administration of [US Presi-dent Barack] Obama clicks, then the scenario will be changed overnight," said Rahman. "The inflow of remittance will maintain its impressive growth unless these expatriate Bangladeshis lose their jobs on a massive scale," said Mustafizur Rahman, a trade ex-pert at non-governmental think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue.

Bangladesh Remittance inflow Rises despite global recession

Congratulating President-apparent Zillur Rahman, the ruling Awami League (AL) Tues-day expressed the hope that he would discharge his presidential duties with honesty and elevate the office to a position of dignity removing past "bad reputation". Party spokesman and Local Gov-ernment and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Syed Ashraful Islam informed reporters during break of the Awami League Cen-tral Working Committee (ALCWC) meeting about a high acclamation accorded to the vet-eran AL leader, who had held the shaken house unimpaired during the recent disaster in the coun-try's political arena. Quoting party president and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said that Zillur Rahman would "no more be a political leader but would serve the nation with dedi-cation, honesty and sincerity". The AL policymaking body thanked the countrymen for voting the party to power in a landslide victory in the ninth parliamentary elections that held on December 29 last year. AL presidium members and other central leaders attended the meeting with party president Sheikh Hasina in the chair. It was the first-ever meeting of the ALCWC after the polls to make party policy from the position of power, encompassing the entire polity. And it was the first-ever instance of formally greeting any AL leader in such a meeting since its founding. As they sat at 10am, the AL leaders took their hats off to Zillur Rahman in applause as he was going to take oath as the President of the republic tomorrow (February 12) following his election unopposed. The AL spokesman said Zillur Rahman played a significant role in keeping the party united in bad days just after the 1/11 episode. "He encouraged the party workers across the country through his worthy leadership in crisis," Ashraf said. He expressed the hope that the would-be President would discharge his presidential duties skilfully, "maintaining a perfectly neutral stance".

The one-day visit, on 09 February, of the Indian external affairs minister Pranab Mukharjee was ostensibly to sign two trade and investment related agreements between India and Bangladesh. The one, "Bilateral Investment Development and Protection Agreement" provides for "most favoured nation" status to each country and the other, "Bilateral Trade Agreement" is a renewal of a 1980 agreement providing for use of road, rail and riverine communica-tion networks of the two countries for inter-country trade and commerce. It is difficult to comment on the agreements because these have not been made public; however concerned ministers have commented that both agreements are but statements of general princi-ples on enhancement of trade, commerce and investments between India and Bangladesh. The visit of the Indian foreign (external) affairs minister brings up 3 important greater issues; one being which direction is our foreign policy taking? The AL government hasn't made its foreign policy very articulate either in its election manifesto or in its policy statements two months into office. The AL election manifesto contains a number of broad-based principles, none of which are very imagina-tive, innovative or tangible. These are: (1) Friend-ship towards all and malice towards none, (2) A deepening and expansion of development coop-eration with developed countries and economies, (3) Fraternal relationship and solidarity with the Muslim ummah and (4) Formation of a South Asian Taskforce to meet challenges of terrorism and militancy. The AL government seems to have reduced all these to one single agenda of "meeting challenges of terrorism and militancy" as is evident from the

many rather convoluted uttering of our ministers, the Indian foreign minister, the accompanying Indian media and the US assistant secretary of state for South Asia Richard Boucher who con-cluded his visit to Dhaka on 07 February. In this regard it needs to be emphasized that Bangladesh has never been fertile grounds for terrorism, mili-tancy or infact extremisms of any kind - left, right, religious or any other hue - and therefore, concen-trating on "meeting challenges of terrorism and militancy" in our foreign policy is a wrong tack to take particularly when Bangladesh is in no way in the forefront of the US led "war on terror". Para-noia over terrorism and militancy is a US and Indian monopoly and asking for a partnership in that monopoly is inviting trouble as Pakistan and many other states are finding out to their great cost. If we are to develop our democracy, our economy, our society and our governments, we need to insulate ourselves from all matters not directly impinging on these issues and stay as far away as possible from provocations about "meeting challenges of terrorism and militancy".

AL hierarchy congratulate President-apparent Zillur

BANGLADESH

2/12/2009 12:15 AM

4 Page of 8 11 Feb 09

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW MAHINDA RAJAPAKSA, SRI LANKAN PRESIDENT  By Kavitha Muralidharan

INDIA NOT INVOLVED

600 civilians help Filipino troops trap kidnappers Manila: Police say about 600 civilians, many of them armed, have helped the military cordon off a sprawling hinterland area in the southern Philippines to prevent Al Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants from moving three kidnapped Red Cross workers elsewhere. Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the local Red Cross, expressed alarm over the deployment of the civilian volun-teers on Jolo Island's mountainous Indanan township. The International Committee of the Red Cross workers - Andreas Notter of Switzerland, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Mary Jean Lacaba of the Philippines - were seized by gun-men on January 15. Sulu provincial police chief Julasirim Kasim said the civilian volunteers from different Jolo townships were deployed starting.

Anti-Muslim riots in North Assam

Guwahati, India: Anti-Muslim violence erupted in north Assam in early Octo-ber between militant Bodo tribals and Muslims in which an estimated 150 Mus-lims have been killed so far, hundreds have been injured, mostly women and children, and around 150,000 Muslims have been made homeless. They are now living in temporary camps which lack basic amenities and sanitation. The violence is almost totally one sided and almost official as the Bodo militants attacking Muslims are actually “Surrendered Security Battallion” (SSB) which is the security force of the autonomous Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD) and consists of the former Bobo militants who have been absorbed in an official security force in the wake of the settlement of February 2003. Worst areas are the districts of Darang, Udalgiri and Gwalpara which are considered communally sensitive areas. About 60 villages have been emptied of their Muslim population as a result of these attacks. Several hundred houses and other immovable properties have been set on fire. The new refugees join the earlier 45,000 refugees who are displaced since 1993. National Highway No. 52 has been closed and curfew has been clamped in various localities. Order has also been given to shoot at site. These physical attacks are synchronised with media attack on the Mus-lims of Assam as they are dubbed as “Bangladeshis” without any proof. In addition to NE TV and Times Now, all local channels and newspapers are unashamedly dubbing these Muslims as “Bangladeshis” even as the Assam government denies these charges. Even PTI is parrotting these cliches. A number of injured persons have been admitted in Guwahati Medical College and Hospital, condition of many of whom is very serious. State government is unable to control the riotous situation. Udalgiri's Police Superintendent has been suspended and replaced by Manoj Agarwal. Another officer Abu Sufian has been given the charge of maintaining law and order in the affected areas. It may be stated here that the state of unrest has in fact been prevailing for the past one and a half months and in spite of deploy-ment of large contingents of CRPF, army and imposition of curfew etc, end of violence is nowhere in sight. Influential Muslims in letters to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil have appealed for immediate intervention by centre to bring the situation under control. Bodos in order to extend their land to form a larger Bodoland have joined hands with communal Hindu organsations like Bajrang Dal, VHP. They are openly telling Muslims that they are “Bangladeshis” and hence must quit India. Since the Congress government of the state stands with the help of Bodos crutches, it cannot do anything against the Bodos for fear of Bodos removing the crutches.

Confined to a lagoon on the northeastern coast after the Sri Lankan military captured their garri-son town of Mullaiteevu on January 25, the Lib-eration Tigers are virtually caught between the Lion and the deep sea. Amid conflicting reports of their chief Prabhakaran's whereabouts, and that he may have escaped to Malaysia or Thailand, the military claimed 95 per cent of the war was over. Around two lakh Tamil civilians are trapped in the war zone and, according to the government, the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is using them as human shield. On January 23, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed its third and "final" resolution demanding India's intervention to "bring an end to the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka." CM M. Karunanidhi said he was willing to relinquish power if "that would ensure the birth of Tamil Eelam." Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa invited Karunanidhi and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa to visit Sri Lanka and persuade the Tigers to lay down arms and release Tamil civilians. He re-

newed the invitation during External Affairs Min-ister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Colombo on January 27 and assured that Tamil civilian casu-alties would be minimised. A day before Ka-runanidhi's "final" appeal, Rajapaksa gave an email interview to THE WEEK. Excerpts: How significant is the victory of Kili-nochchi and Mullaiteevu? There is considerable significance in the fall of Kilinochchi in the military operations to eradicate terrorism. Kilinochchi was the capital of the ille-gal separate state of Tamil Eelam that is the goal of the LTTE; a goal that is now becoming defi-nitely unrealisable. The LTTE had its administra-tive machinery at Kilinochchi. During the so-called ceasefire, it was the place used for meetings with foreign diplomats through which the LTTE sought to get international recognition. Some diplomats believed that the LTTE was an invincible military force. The fall of Kilinochchi has changed that image. Its fall was a great morale defeat for the LTTE cadres, who cannot anymore believe in the boasts of their leader Prabhakaran that they can achieve a separate state. Our troops captured it shortly after he said that the fall of Kilinochchi was only a dream of mine. This will certainly speed up the operations to eradicate terrorism and restore freedom and democracy to the Tamils of the north, who have been held under LTTE guns for nearly three decades. The defeat of terrorism will benefit Sri Lanka internationally, as it will be seen as an even better place than it was for investment and tourism. Would you hand over Prabhakaran to In-dia if he is caught? I understand the Congress party's and India's interest in ensuring that Prabhakaran is brought to justice there for the heinous crime of assassi-nating former PM Rajiv Gandhi. He was an In-dian politician whom I greatly respected, and I'm aware of his efforts to restore peace in my coun-try. The demands of India regarding Prabhakaran will certainly be given the highest consideration. But one must understand that Prabhakaran, as well as Pottu Amman, are wanted in Sri Lanka for the crimes they have committed against the Sri Lankan people. There is an important judgment against Prabhakaran in our courts, too. This will be a matter that will have to be handled in keep-ing with due process according to the laws of a democracy.

How will you react to Indian intervention? There has been no question of Indian intervention in the current situation. I am satis-fied that India respects and upholds the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. The current threat to the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka is from the LTTE, which is recognised interna-tionally as a terrorist organi-sation. You have said you firmly believe in a political solu-tion to the crisis. Would

that mean a federal set-up? I have always believed in, and remain committed to, the necessity for a political solution to the political crisis in Sri Lanka. It should ensure equal protection under the constitution to all citizens. With the 13th amendment to the constitution, my government has begun implementing more pur-posefully. Significant measures of devolution are already in place. I do not wish to presuppose the nature of a final settlement, which will require consensual agreement by all parties to this con-flict. Does the move to allow a food convoy of relief agencies from India to the affected areas mean a change in approach? The sending of convoys of food and other essen-tials by relief agencies does not indicate any change of policy. It is a continuance of the gov-ernment's policy of ensuring that the Tamils of the north are regularly and adequately supplied with food, medicines, and other essentials, de-spite the many obstacles placed by the LTTE.

Such supplies are sent directly by the government, which also chan-nels those from relief agencies. A substantial part of the supplies is expropriated by the LTTE. In this context, Sri Lanka remains unique in the world in sup-plying food and essentials even to the very forces that are challeng-ing its territorial integrity. We have

at no stage imposed a blockade of essential food and medicines to those areas. Sri Lankan army chief Lt Gen. Sarath Fon-seka had said that Sri Lanka was a Sin-halese nation. Would you agree? The commander of the Sri Lankan army has al-ready clarified this statement attributed to him, and made clear that this is not his position. My position on the Sri Lankan nation is that it com-prises all communities. This should leave no doubt as to the equal status of all Tamils in Sri Lanka with the other communities. You have been part of Chandrika Ku-maratunga's party which was far more conciliatory. How would you explain being more aggressive? I am at present the leader of the Sri Lanka Free-dom Party (SLFP), which was formerly headed by president Chandrika Kumaratunga. The SLFP is united in its approach to the solution of the na-tional question. There is no part of this party that is more aggressive than another, although in keeping with the principles of democracy mem-bers are free to hold different opinions. Today's government of the United People's Free-dom Alliance, led by the SLFP, is engaged in a battle to eradicate terrorism from Sri Lanka and hopefully from South Asia. This does not make it particularly aggressive. The party remains com-mitted to devolution of power required by the ground realities. What do you feel about the stand of the Tamil politicians? AIADMK chief J. Jayala-lithaa has called upon the Indian govern-ment to intervene and safeguard the inter-ests of Tamils. With the approach of a general election in India, I do understand the pressures on politicians in Tamil Nadu, who in turn seek to pressure Delhi to intervene for what they wrongly claim to be safe-guarding the interests of Tamils in Sri Lanka. These are the realities of coalition politics. How-ever, I am satisfied that the government of India is committed to support Sri Lanka in our battle to disarm the LTTE. The recent events in India, especially the terrorist attack on Mumbai, have shown the real danger that terrorism poses to India, which must be realised by politicians in Tamil Nadu, too. Summarized from THE WEEK, India

European Islam:

Critics Increasingly use Freedom of Speech to Provoke

Europe thinks it has found a cogent way to spur the debate over the integration of its Muslim communi-ties. Under the banner of free speech, Europeans have turned to satire and other forms of print and visual criticism to test Muslims’ willingness to accept Western values. But the re-printing of the Danish cartoons earlier this year, as well as the release of Fitna, a short film by a Dutch lawmaker about Islam as an inspiration to terror are inappropriate tests. In an already wary Europe, after the Madrid and London bombings, such methods only fuel mass perceptions that Islam and violence are interchange-able. They also oversimplify the integration debate by framing it in terms of a strict freedom of expres-sion issue. Those who support such portrayals of Islam argue that Europe is only defending its democ-ratic values against Islamic fundamentalism and Muslims who live in the West must understand that freedom of expression protects the right of the media to publish offensive material. Defenders of such “free speech” assert that they are not singling out Muslims, but in fact are integrating them into the tradition of satire. As such, Muslims are being treated like any other group. But findings from several Gallup polls reveal that Europeans’ acceptance of the cartoons correlates with their unfavorable opin-ions of Muslims and not with their general acceptance of offensive speech.

Muslims in European cities

A case for vigilance, not despair

IN THEIR latest assessment of how the world will change between now and 2025, America’s intelli-gence agencies had only one big point to make about Europe: the concentration of Muslims in some cities could lead to “tense and unstable situations”, especially if economies lagged. It was also likely that European adherents of Islam would “value separation in areas with Muslim-specific cultural and reli-gious practices”. As our report this week on Islam in urban politics suggests, this picture of angry, self-isolated commu-nities—living in slums where violence and terrorism fester—may well be too bleak. The historic cities of Europe, which are far older than most nation states, retain a remarkable ability to absorb newcomers and accommodate many different kinds of social reality. The practical problems posed by co-existence between faiths and cultures—from swimming-pool regulations to the slaughter of animals to headgear in municipal premises—can often be handled in practical ways through a healthy process of local bar-gaining. Issues like land use, burial, hygiene, food safety and noise simply have to be managed locally for cities to function at all. From the school canteens of Lyon to the cemeteries of Leicester, there is a perpetual and often successful search for new ways of managing difference. That’s the goodish news. But in matters of co-existence between religions and cultures, not all politics is local. At a minimum, there have to be national arrangements—in the form of laws, ombudsmen and constitutional safeguards—to make sure that local bargaining doesn’t produce outrageous results. The more pressure there is at local level to accommodate particular cultural practices, the greater the need for countervailing pressure, and perpetual vigilance, on the part of national (and sometimes suprana-tional) bodies. The European Court of Human Rights has a role to play in curbing the sort of religious nativism that crimps individual liberties; it recently vindicated a French Muslim journalist who had criticised the rector of Lyon’s main mosque. But absent a federal Europe with an American-style consti-tution, most of the vigilance will have to be exercised by national governments. The spectre of terrorism Vigilance against what? For a start, against threats to national security. In the task of ensuring that mosques (and all other religious institutions) refrain from inciting violence or fostering terror, local authorities do have some role to play—but in general that is a job that needs to be co-ordinated nation-ally, and often internationally. Recently, moderate figures in British Islam have complained about the use of municipal premises in several parts of greater London by extremist Muslims. It is a good sign that these protests are coming from Muslim citizens; but government watchdogs as well as ordinary folk should look out for collusion between town halls and hotheads. Moreover, urban areas dominated by one religious group in a bullying way are not merely an affront to members of other groups who might want to walk, shop or trade in that place. They are also a risk to individual members of the locally dominant group who want to exercise their rights: for example, young women who choose not to wear headscarves or enter arranged marriages. Upholding the rights of those individuals is a vital task for national governments, legislators and courts. Many European states have large bureaucracies, reinforced by a network of NGOs, whose job is to protect immigrants from oppression by the majority “white” population. These institutions should be just as concerned when the infringers of human rights are locally dominant religious establishments. Historically, multi-ethnic societies have worked in many different ways. In some, each individual’s freedom was limited by the taboos and hierarchies of his or her community. But at best, cities have been places of liberation where people of all faiths and cultures can interact and make their own choices. Today, Europe’s Islamising towns lie somewhere between those two poles—and every politi-cian in Europe, whether national or local, should think about how to discourage restriction and encour-age freedom. From The Economist print edition of Dec 4th 2008

5 Page of 8 11 Feb 09

Milan, February 6, 2009 – The VIII edition of ‘Milano Unica’, the Italian Textile Fair, pro-moted and organized by the most prestigious ‘Made in Italy’ textile exhibitions, has confirmed the importance and vitality of the Ital-ian textile industry, even in the midst of a global economic crisis. Among the exhibitors, according to results obtained during meetings with the most important Italian and international buyers, a positive judgement has come out of this edition, both from the standpoint of contacts made during the four

Fair days, and from the innovations regarding the organiza-tion and layout of the event, dedicated facilitate the clien-tele. This success has partially balanced the disappointment for the lack of both American and Japanese clients.

The VIII edition of “Milano Unica”, which took place in the halls of Fieramilanocity at the Portello, has confirmed the strategic choices which have focused on mak-ing the event an important commercial and marketing ap-pointment, aimed mainly at the mid-upper level of the world textile market. The 543 exhibitors, 430 Italian and 113 European, mainly from France, Spain, Great Britain, Germany and Portugal, interacted with 24,000 visitors (-20% less than the corre-sponding February 2008 edition) of which only 6,300 for-eign. The absence of American and Japanese clients and above all, Spanish among Europeans, an average of 40-50%, was counterbalanced by the presence of buyers for addi-tional days, both for large and small, Italian and European clothing manufacturers. The VIII edition was able to count on the collaboration of the Foreign Trade Commission (ICE), which organized the participation of special delegations of Japanese, American, British and German buyers and journalists. “Being a born optimist - commented Pier Luigi Loro Piana, new President of Milano Unica - I never really took into consideration the catastrophic predictions which were circulating prior to the opening, even after realizing the outcome of other important international fairs. How-ever, if we analyze the data from this VIII edition and con-sider the context in which it has been determined, I can express moderate satisfaction with the results. We have noticed a difference in the trend regarding different sectors of the Fair, between one firm and another. All in all, the various opinions that I gathered among the exhibitors lead me to believe that our textile industry, despite difficult times, continues to be a point of reference for Italian and international clothing manufacturers and fashion houses”. “Milano Unica – concluded Pier Luigi Loro Piana - has become an essential device of primary importance for the

promotion and marketing of the Italian textile industry. Even in consideration of the positive results of this difficult edition, due mainly to the global context in which it is in-volved, I would like to make an appeal to the textile opera-tors in various Italian districts to continue to work together. In this manner, the prestige of the textile sector will con-tinue to remain high, and our appointment together will be as essential as ever, contributing to reinforce the uniqueness of our products on international markets”. This opinion is also supported by Silvio Albini, Presi-

dent of Shirt Avenue, Alberto Jelmini, President of

Moda In and Beppe Pisani, President of Ideacomo who, without concealing the difficulties experienced by numerous traditional clients with budget problems, have emphasized the quality of visitors and the contacts made during this week in Milan, pointing out the courage of their fellow exhibitors, who, in large numbers participated in this appointment investing greatly in innovation and creativity.

Massimo Mosiello, General Manager of the event, points out: “In first place, the gratitude that arrived from important exhibitors, in the case of Prato firms, for the lat-est innovations especially in the women's sector of Milano Unica, helped establish new and meaningful trade rela-tions. At the same time, I noticed that important buyers were pleased with the organization and the superior quality of the proposals offered by our exhibitors. Among these Mayra Hernandes (Christian Cota), Alfonso Yepez (Generra) and Guillermo Mariotto (Gattinoni). Other posi-tive comments were received from the Director of Textil-wirtschaft, Michael Werner, who suggested more glamorous presentations, like the one for the Trends, portrayed in a unique and functional TREND FORUM and the proposals in the new HITS areas. We will obviously take all these sug-gestions into consideration when we plan the September 2009 edition which will take place once again at the Por-tello”..

Milano Unica unites five Italian trade fairs that have successfully represented Italian and European textile manufacturers for the past 25 years. Made in Italy fabrics continue to be a focal point of international reference for fine quality production. Recently, the market has requested more rational items. For this reason, Ideabiella, prestigious men-swear and women’s wear fabric collections; Ideacomo, exclusive collections for women; Moda In, avant-garde materials for the trendy market; Prato Expo, fabrics for womenswear with a high fashion content and casual menswear; Shirt Avenue, tradi-tional and novelty shirting fabrics, have de-veloped the perfect formula which combines fashion and classic items.

Milano Unica stay at FieraMilanCity Pier Luigi Loro Piana:

“At Milano Unica the cross-check of the value of European and Italian quality textiles. Despite the global economic crisis, the majority of exhibitors return home with a more optimistic outlook for the future”

It all started with the horsy jacket made for Italy's riding team at the 1992 Olympics. Until then Loro Piana, which can trace its origins back to 1812, had been a textiles company that made the occa-sional scarf and blanket. The success of the jacket led a year later to a "concept store" on Madison Avenue in New York; it would be six more years be-fore the first true Loro Piana retail store opened in 1999 in Milan. Nine years later, there are 105 stores worldwide and the retail business ac-counts for 60 percent of total sales, a remarkable shift for a company that has been making fabric for the top fashion brands for six generations but until a decade ago had not ventured into the world of suits, sweaters and overcoats. The company also recently added a home furnishing line that includes cashmere rugs and last month introduced upholstery fabrics that combine cashmere, silk and linen. "The move into retail is not so much a change as an evolution," the company's chief executive, Sergio Loro Piana, 59, said during an interview in his down-town Milan office that also was at-tended by his brother and co-chief executive, Pier Luigi Loro Piana. "Our brand existed before the entry into retail, we just used the brand equity that we had." Loro Piana has had almost two centu-ries to build that brand equity. The oldest company document dates to 1812 and is in the name of Giacomo Loro Piana, the brothers's great-great-grandfather. Leveraging the strength of the Loro Piana brand with the move into retail has helped the company grow even as the onslaught of cheap textiles from China, India and other developing countries has decimated many of It-aly's smaller fabric makers. "The move to retail has been extraordi-nary and this can be seen by looking at the company's results," said Armando Branchini, chairman of the Milan-based consultancy InterCorporate, which does not advise Loro Piana. "In just a few years they implemented an effective program for distribution and store openings that created a distinct identity for the brand." Loro Piana's sales rose 9 percent in 2007, to €420 million, or $613 million, even as a weak dollar hurt results.

Sales at the luxury goods division, which includes all retail activities, have doubled in the last four years to €243 million and Pier Luigi Loro Piana, 56, says growth will be in the double-digits this year as another 15 stores open, including one in Beijing in time for the Olympics. Loro Piana is not listed on the stock

exchange and does not report earnings re-sults, although Bran-chini says the com-pany is profitable. "There is room to grow," said Pier Luigi Loro Piana. "We are very far from our po-tential but you aren't going to see 500

stores, that wouldn't be consistent with the exclusivity of our brand. You also aren't going to see a Loro Piana perfume, glasses or watches because we are concentrating on our core business." While the expansion into retail has defined the brothers's time at the helm of the family company, they have also continued their father's almost obsessive search for the world's best raw materials and in an effort to maintain their reputation as a top producer of high-end fabrics, they go right to the sources: New Zealand and Australia for wool, China and Mongolia for cashmere and Peru for Vicuñia. Loro Piana began buying Vicuñia from Peru in 1994 and for a decade had an exclusive contract with the govern-ment to buy the animal fleeces, which are used to make $6,000 sweaters and jackets that cost three times as much. Vicuñia, a relative of the llama that lives at high altitudes in the Andes and whose fur has been used since the time of the Incas, were nearing extinction when the Peruvian government se-lected Loro Piana to reintroduce the fabric into the market as a way of giv-ing herders an incentive to breed the animals rather than slaughter them for quick profit. An adult Vicuñia produces 8 ounces, or 225 grams, of fleece every two years compared with 7 ounces annually for the cashmere goat and about 7 pounds, or 3.2 kilograms, of wool generated annually by the Merino sheep. In New Zealand and Australia, Loro Piana has bolstered its reputation as a buyer of the highest quality wool by holding an annual competition to see who can come up with the finest fleece. In Mongolia in 1997 the company set up a subsidiary, the first wholly foreign-owned company in the country, to buy cashmere directly from the herders.

Loro Piana: Going beyond Fabric

Strage in Madagascar - Sono almeno 28 (25 secondo altre fonti) i morti e centinaia i feriti di sabato ad Antananarivo, capitale del Madagascar, dove la polizia ha sparato sui manifestanti per impedire che si impadronissero di un edificio governativo un tempo sede del Comune. Il sindaco deposto di Antananrivo e leader dell'opposizione, Andry Rajoelina, ha annunciato che la lotta continua fino alla vittoria contro il capo dello Stato, Marc Ravalo-manana. «Vivamente preoccupato per il periodo particolarmente critico che il Paese sta attraversando, vi invito a unirvi ai cattolici malgasci per affidare al Signore i morti nelle manifestazioni e per invocare da lui, per intercessione di Maria santissima, il ritorno alla concordia degli animi, alla tranquillità sociale e alla convivenza civile», ha detto Benedetto XVI all’Angelus.

Massacre in Madagascar - I Am at least 28 (25 other second sources) the dead and hundred the injured of Saturday to Antananarivo, capital of the Madagascar, where the police fired on the demon-strators to hinder that took possession themselves of a governmental building a time seat of the Com-mune. The mayor put down of Antananrivo and leader of the opposition, Andry Rajoelina, an-nounced that the continuous struggle until the vic-tory against the head of the State, Marc Ravalo-manana. "Deeply worried for the period especially critic that the Country am going through, I invite yourselves to unirvi to the catholic Malagasies to entrust the Mister the dead in the shows and to in-voke from him, for intercession of holy Maria, the return to the agrees some spirits, to the social calm and to the civil cohabitation", Holy XVI said all' Angelus.

Pope Prays for Peace in Madagascar

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI expressed "concern" for the situation in Madagascar where scores have been killed in clashes between government forces and demonstrators. The pontiff speaking during his traditional Sunday Angelus bless-ing, called on the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square to pray for an end to the violence in the Indian Ocean island-state. "The (Roman Catholic) bishops of the island have set aside a special day of prayer today for national reconciliation and social justice," Benedict said. "Deeply concerned for this particularly critical moment the country is going through, I invite you all to join Madagascan Catholics in praying for those killed in the demonstrations and to entrust (their souls) to the Lord... and for a return to harmony, social tranquillity and civil co-habitation," Benedict said. The pontiff's appeal came a day after some 40 protestors were killed and some 300 injured inc clashes with government forces in Madgascar's capital Antananarivo.

The IX edition scheduled for September 8-11, 2009, will be held at the Portello

“MODA ITALIA”: the Italian fashion fair reaches South East Asia

The first 2008 event for “Moda Italia”, the travelling stand-alone Italian fashion fair promoted by ICE (Italian Trade Commission) has just finished, with the 25th edition being celebrated in Taiwan and the 32nd in Japan. Yet there are already changes announced for the next event in July 2008. The objective in the Summer session of the fair will be to strengthen and widen the appeal of ‘Made in Italy’ products. “Moda Italia” has been running since 1992: it aims to promote Italian fash-ion in Italy and it covers clothes (for men, women and children), fashion accessories, leather goods and shoes. It has played a funda-mental role in helping to consolidate the presence of fine and me-dium-to-high Italian fashion products in South East Asia, and con-tinues to do so. Especially in Japan and Taiwan, prime export desti-nations for Italian producers of clothes and leather accessories. For the next edition in July there are changes planned, to give new momentum to the show and enhance the items on show, extolling in detail the investments made by Italian companies in R&D, and the use of new materials, colours and designs. “Moda Italia” will be opened to delegations of buyers from neighbouring countries such as Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and Taiwan, while the show in Taipei will be scrapped. Local buyers will be invited to visit the show at the Tokyo event. The same formula was experimented success-fully in January, with a delegation coming from Seoul. “Moda Italia” has become a fixed appointment for Taiwanese and Japanese buyers, and is established as the only major Italian fash-ion show in the Far East. The figures confirm its success: there were over 100 Italian exhibitors from all manufacturing districts and around 4,000 visitors at the last edition, over 20 advertisements on local trade publications, 12,000 invitations distributed in Japan. The show takes place every six months in prestigious hotels: in January for the Autumn/Winter collection, and in July for the Spring/Summer collection. The Italian textile-clothing-fashion sector should register a 3.3% growth in turnover in 2007 to 54.6 billion euros. It was predicted in mid-December by Paolo Zegna, President of Smi (the Italian textile and clothing federation), who has also announced that a Smi repre-sentative office will be opened soon in Shanghai. According to Mr. Zegna, exports are increasing by 5%, with volumes on the up to-wards Russia, China and also the European Union. There have been further indicators of a positive trend for Italian exports in this sector: the halving of the trade balance deficit in November was primarily due to increase by over 10 billion euros of the surplus for manufactured goods, which has now reached 47 billion.

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IMPORTANT ENENTS ON 19 - 22 FEBBRAIO/FEBRUARY 2009 AT fieramilano Italy

19 February 2009 H: 10:00 - Auditorium Centro Congressi Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Inauguration INAUGURAL CONFERENCE OF THE 29th EDI-TION OF BIT. GLOBALISATION AND TOURISM Risks and opportunities of a challenge without frontiers. Presented by: EXPOCTS S.P.A H: 11:30 - Lem 1 -Conference room A Workshop MARTINENGO BIT PRESS WORKSHOP. For journalists there is the possibility of meeting prestigious luxury and life-style tourism custom-ers. Presented by: MARTINENGO GLOBAL MAR-KETING COMMUNICATION H: 13:00 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT TYPICAL PRODUCTS AND TOURISM Demand, the channels and opportunities for com-panies Presented by: SARDEGNA RICERCHE E TRADE LAB H: 14:00 - Conference room Aquarius, Congress Center Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Presentations BUSINESS TRAVEL OSSERVATORY Travel, sales turnover and Italian business tour-ism customer satisfaction in 2008. Presented by: EDIMAN / TURISMO D'AFFARI H: 14:00 - Conference room Scorpio, Congress Center Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Press conferences GLOBAL ISSUES AND TOURISM IN ITALY. The role of tourism, cinema and Internet in the choice of holidays. Presented by: ISNART/UNIONCAMERE

H: 16:00 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE PALLADIUM PRODUC-TIONS ASSOCIATION. Promotional launching of the Flower Film Festival 2009 Presented by: FLOWER FILM FESTIVAL 20 February 2009 H: 09:30 - Conference room Libra, Congress Center Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Conferences PUT THEM IN THE GARDEN… Tourism faces up to the challenge of climatic change. Presented by: DIOCESI - EXPOCTS H: 10:30 - Conference room Aquarius, Congress Center Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Conferences TOURISM 2.0: ITALIAN OUTLOOK AND BEST PRACTICES Innovating and challenging Web 2.0 solutions to win Presented by: NEXTVALUE - WWW. NEXTVALUE.IT H: 10:30 - Kappa Space -6 (Pa.6) Workshop TRAVELPEOPLE.IT: the commercial network in the web 2.0 era for travel agents and operators in the tourism industry (3rd session) An innovative web based proposal in the Tourism market that puts Travel Agents at centre stage Presented by: PAOLO MEZZINA, FONDATORE TRAVELPEOPLE E DIRETTORE SLASH - IN-TERACTIVE MEDIA AGENCY H: 11:00 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT CERTICIBIT INAUGURATION. FOOD AS A TER-RITORIAL MEDIUM.

Products, wine, cuisine and the envi-ronment: An Italian recipe for at-tracting tourists. Presented by: DAVIDE PAOLINI H: 11:00 - ADV Forum Area (Pav. 6) Press conferences CONFERENZA STAMPA OPODO ITALIA Sarà l’occasione per parlare dell’ottima chiusura del 2008 e dei numerosi progetti e sfide che si pre-

senteranno nel corso del 2009 Presented by: OPODO ITALIA H: 11:00 - Alpha Space -7 (Pa.7) Seminars TOURISM CONCERNING THE STATE, RE-GIONAL AUTHORITIES AND COMPANIES Balances and anomalies of the system Presented by: ASSOTURISMO CONFESERCENTI NAZIONALE H: 12:00 - Conference room Aries, Congress Cen-ter Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Press conferences TUSCANY REGION PRESS CONFERENCE Presented by: REGIONE TOSCANA H: 13:30 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT THE GASTRONOMIC REPUBLIC OF AC-QUALAGNA. The Acqualagna truffle. Presented by: DAVIDE PAOLINI H: 14:00 - Conference room Aries, Congress Cen-ter Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Conferences RESULTS AND OBJECTIVES OF ITALIAN FOOD AND WINE TOURISM. Presentation of the VII National Wine Tourism Observatory and the www.stradedelvinoitalia.it portal Presented by: ASSOCIAZIONE NAZIONALE CITTÀ DEL VINO, CENTRO DI STUDI E SERVI-

ZI STRADE DEL VINO E DEI SAPORI H: 14:30 - Alpha Space -10 (Pa.10) Assembly LOGIS D’ITALIA ASSOCIATION ORDINARY MEETING The Association’s balance sheet and the initiatives planned for 2009 will be presented. Presented by: VITTORIO RINALDI - PRESIDEN-TE LOGIS D'ITALIA H: 15:00 - Gamma Space -2 (Pa.2) Press conferences THE NEXT STEP: MONTENEGRO A young spirit for a country with an old style charm Presented by: ENTE DEL TURISMO DEL MON-TENEGRO

H: 16:00 - ADV Forum Area (Pav. 6) 30 DOLLARI IN PIÙ: ECCO QUANTO VALE PER L’ADV UNA SOLA PRENOTAZIONE HOTEL O AUTO SU TRAVELPORT Presented by: TRAVELPORT 21 February 2009 H: 10:00 - Conference room Aquarius, Congress Center Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Conferences HOLIDAYS FOR GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL. The ethical, environmental and economic sustain-ability of spectacular tourism. Presented by: SKAL INTERNATIONAL ITALIA E EXPOCTS

H: 11:00 - Conference room Scorpio, Congress Center Stella Polare - fieramilano, Rho Seminars THANK GOD IT'S SLUMP TIME Can the slump represent a great chance to im-prove your business? Sound business, how does it behave? Presented by: PIER PAOLO SOLINAS, DIRET-TORE ITALIA DI TURISMO FIANDRE, BRUX-ELLES, BELGIO, E DI GIORGIO SCOFFONE, GENERAL MANAGER DI MIND CONSULTING PIEMONTE.

H: 12:00 - Gamma Space -10 (Pa.10) Conferences THE EVOLUTION OF HOSPITALITY BRANDS ON THE WEB 2.0 The affect of quality Brands in online purchasing processes. Presented by: FRANCESCO ROSSI E ELISABET-TA FURIA, NOZIO UNIVERSITY

H: 12:00 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT MONTEFALCO-SAGRANTINO. How a wine can become a territorial medium. Presented by: DAVIDE PAOLINI

H: 14:30 - ADV Forum Area (Pav. 6) Workshop TRAVELPEOPLE.IT : IL COMMERCIAL NETWORK NELL’ERA DEL WEB 2.0 PER GLI AGENTI DI VIAGGI E GLI OPERATORI DEL SETTORE TURISTICO Presented by: TRAVELPEOPLE

H: 15:30 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT A TASTE OF THE CINEMA A wine and food tour of Tuscany, to be seen and tasted with Davide Paolini Presented by: DAVIDE PAOLINI

22 February 2009 H: 10:45 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT PRESENTATION AND TASTING OF TYPICAL STARTERS FROM PIEDMONT. Presented by: GALFRÈ - GHIOTTO

H: 11:45 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT "MARIO SOLDATI'S SEARCH FOR GENUINE FOOD" The great Italian cheese mosaic. Directed and commented by: Bruno Gambarotta. Presented by: FONDAZIONE ITALIANA DEL BUON RICORDO DEL TCI E DELL'UNIONE DEI RISTORANTI DEL BUON RICORDO

H: 12:45 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho WITH MARIO SOLDATI: FROM FARMERS TO WINE EXPERTS. The great Italian cheese mosaic Directed and commented by: Bruno Gambarotta. Presented by: FONDAZIONE ITALIANA DEL BUON RICORDO DEL TCI E DELL'UNIONE DEI RISTORANTI DEL BUON RICORDO

H: 14:00 - Area Certicibit - PA.1 - fieramilano, Rho CERTICIBIT GENUINE FOOD AND THE FOOD INDUSTRY: A COMPATIBLE RELATIONSHIP? The dynamics of food culture. Directed and commented by: Bruno Gambarotta. Presented by: FONDAZIONE ITALIANA DEL BUON RICORDO DEL TCI E DELL'UNIONE DEI RISTORANTI DEL BUON RICORDO.

For information:

BIT - Site c/o EXPOCTS S.p.a. - Via G.Govone, 66 - 20155 Milano Ph.: +39 02 349841 Fax: +39 02 33600493 E-mail: bit@fieramilanoexpocts.it

http://www.bit.fieramilanoexpocts.it

7 Page of 8 11 Feb 09

Europe thinks it has found a cogent way to spur the debate over the inte-gration of its Muslim communities. Under the banner of free speech, Euro-peans have turned to satire and other forms of print and visual criticism to test Muslims’ willingness to accept Western values. But the re-printing of the Danish cartoons earlier this year, as well as the release of Fitna, a short film by a Dutch lawmaker about Islam as an inspiration to terror are inappropriate tests. In an already wary Europe, after the Madrid and London bombings, such methods only fuel mass percep-tions that Islam and violence are inter-changeable. They also oversimplify the integration debate by framing it in terms of a strict freedom of expression issue. Those who support such portrayals of Islam argue that Europe is only defend-ing its democratic values against Is-lamic fundamentalism and Muslims who live in the West must understand that freedom of expression protects the right of the media to publish offensive material. Defenders of such “free speech” assert that they are not sin-gling out Muslims, but in fact are inte-grating them into the tradition of sat-ire. As such, Muslims are being treated like any other group. But findings from several Gallup polls reveal that Europe-ans’ acceptance of the cartoons corre-lates with their unfavorable opinions of Muslims and not with their general acceptance of offensive speech.

Limits on Free Speech? Gallup asked residents of France, Ger-many and the United Kingdom if, un-der the protection of freedom of speech, certain expressions should be depicted and published in newspapers. Across all three countries, few (10 per-cent or less) among the general public believe that child pornography and racial slurs should be allowed under free speech. Mocking the Holocaust elicits slightly higher levels of accep-tance, especially among the French and the British, where 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively, say that cartoons that make fun of the Holocaust should be allowed under protection of free speech. As a point of comparison, just 10 percent of Germans say such car-toons would fall under free speech, if printed in newspapers. However, when asked about the printing of a picture of the Prophet Muhammad, Europeans are far more likely to believe that such a depiction is protected by free speech as about 4 in 10 British and French respondents and almost 6 in 10 Ger-mans share this view. Muslims are also often portrayed as demanding special privileges and ac-commodations for their religion such as requesting that public swimming pools in France have women-only hours. But compared with the Euro-pean public, Muslims living in Berlin, London and Paris do not single out any of the four expressions tested in the poll. Very few urban Muslims (6 per-cent or less) believe that child pornog-raphy and racial slurs should be pro-tected under free speech. Furthermore, few (10 percent or less) consider the printing of cartoons to poke fun at the Holocaust to fall into the freedom of speech arena. Regarding the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in newspa-pers, respondents’ attitudes are similar as just 10 percent of those living in Paris as well as London and 14 percent of those living in Berlin say the carica-ture should be allowed. These findings suggest that Europeans and urban Muslims differ greatly on how they perceive the depiction of the Prophet in newspapers. On the surface, the European public appears to view the cartoon as an issue of satire that falls under the protection of free speech.

Freedom of Expression or Mus-lim Exceptionalism? In Europe, anti-Muslim prejudice cov-ers a broad spectrum, ranging from the childish (Italian politicians walking a pig on the building site of a mosque) to the hateful (the recent desecration of 148 Muslim graves in a French military cemetery). As the general public, espe-cially in Germany, is more likely to think the printing of a cartoon depict-ing the Prophet should be allowed un-

der free speech, Gallup also analyzed public attitudes vis-à-vis various cer-tain groups to ascertain if Europeans exhibit some exceptionalism toward Muslims. Overall, Europeans perceive Muslims more negatively than any other group. Additionally, the French and especially the Germans are more likely to hold negative rather than positive opinions of Muslims. However, Muslims living in the three European capitals express more positive than negative opinions of most groups. While the British public is slightly more likely to view Muslims positively rather than negatively, this group also elicits the highest levels of negative opinions in the United Kingdom. Across the Channel, Muslims also stand out as the group that draws the most negative opinions. The French public expresses more negative than positive opinions of Muslims, but it is in Germany that negative opinions of Muslims are the most striking. Twenty-seven percent of Germans hold nega-tive views of Muslims versus 7 percent who view them positively. Based, perhaps, on anecdotal evidence, some observers point to Muslims’ in-tolerance of other groups. But poll results show that urban Muslims ex-press, for the most part, more positive than negative opinions of other groups. For example, 40 percent of Muslims in London, 43 percent of those living in Paris, and 25 percent of those in Berlin say they view Catholics positively com-pared with 4 percent, 3 percent and 10 percent, respectively, who view them negatively. In fact, atheists are the only group that elicits more negative than positive opinions among Muslims, a finding observed in Berlin only. It is possible that urban Muslims express such positive views toward other reli-gious groups precisely because of the importance they place on their own faith. Christians and Jews are consid-ered by mainstream Muslims to be fellow monotheists in the Abrahamic tradition, a group referred to in the Quran as ahl al kitab or “people of the scripture.” On the surface, the Danish cartoon controversy appears to be an issue of free speech. But as the poll findings show, the cartoons also put the spot-light on issues of identity, faith, and respect (or lack thereof). In this con-text, the use of religious satire to test Muslims’ willingness to integrate into European society frames the debate in stark and oversimplified terms. Satire pits religious observance against na-tional loyalty. In a way, the general public is asking Muslims to relinquish their core identity in order to prove they can integrate into a largely secu-lar, liberal European society. But such a choice is unnecessary as urban Mus-lims’ religious identity doesn’t preclude them from also identifying strongly with their countries of residence. While freedom of expression represents the culmination of years of struggle in Europe to remove governmental or religious control over the right of indi-viduals to express themselves in the public square, this right is not absolute. Hate speech and anti-Semitism, for example, do not fall under the protec-tion of free speech as many European countries have legislation prohibiting such expressions in the media. Fur-thermore, the degree to which Euro-pean populations polled view the Dan-ish cartoons as acceptable does not correlate with their general acceptance of offensive speech. Instead, it corre-lates with their degree of unfavorable opinions toward Muslims. As a result, the cartoon controversy points to a form of Muslim exceptionalism in Europe, where Muslims are being ridi-culed because of who they are. Markers of Identity For Muslims, however, the depiction of the most venerated figure in Islam as a terrorist is insulting and akin to a racial slur. To shed light on this perception gap, Gallup looked at how Europeans and urban Muslims define their iden-tity. Overall, the European public iden-tifies most strongly with their country or local area, while urban Muslims identify strongly not only with their religion and ethnic background but also with their country of residence.

For the French and the British, country is the strongest identity marker as almost half of respondents say they identify with their country either ex-tremely or very strongly. For Germans, their local area is strongest as 42per-cent of respondents say they identify with their city or village either ex-tremely or very strongly. Interestingly, out of the four identity markers tested in the poll, none elicits a majority of responses from the French, German or British public. Furthermore, Europe-ans (especially the French) are least likely to define themselves in terms of their ethnicity or faith: About 3 in 10 British and Germans and just 13 per-cent of the French say they strongly identify with their ethnic background. Religion elicits similar levels of re-sponses as 30 percent of the British, 28 percent of the Germans, and 19 percent of the French say they strongly identify with their faith. Urban Muslims present a more com-plex perspective on identity. Muslims living in Paris and Berlin are as likely as the general public to identify strongly with their respective countries of residence and Muslims in London (57 percent) are more likely than the British public (48 percent) to identify strongly with the United Kingdom. But unlike for the general public, ethnicity and faith are core components of urban Muslims’ identity. About 6 in 10 Mus-lims who live in London and Berlin and about 4 in 10 of those in Paris identify strongly with their ethnic background. Strong majorities of Muslims in Lon-don and Berlin and a plurality in Paris also say they identify with their religion either extremely or very strongly. Addi-tionally, religion plays a far greater role in the lives of Muslims than it does in the lives of the general public: 88 per-cent of Muslims in London, 85 percent of those in Berlin, and 68 percent of those in Paris say religion is an impor-tant part of their daily lives. As a point of comparison, 36 percent of the Brit-ish, 41 percent of the Germans and 23 percent of the French say the same. These findings reveal that although “country” is the marker that the gen-eral public identifies with most strongly, it is shared by less than a majority in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Muslims living in Berlin, London and Paris have not only strong but also multiple markers of identity. They define themselves not only in terms of their faith and ethnic background, but also in terms of their country of residence. While traditional wisdom often challenges Muslims’ loyalty to their country of residence, the poll findings suggest that religious and national identities are not mutually exclusive for urban Muslims. Overall, such perceptions of identity help bring into sharper focus attitudes toward the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad. As most individuals among the general public do not define themselves strongly in terms of relig-ion, they do not seem to understand why the caricature would be offensive. But as faith is a core aspect of Muslims’ identity, the caricature not only repre-sents an attack on the Prophet and what he embodies, but it also dispar-ages Muslims. Such expressions are seen as insults hurled from a position of power against a marginalized minor-ity—acts of prejudice rather than prin-ciple. What newspapers choose to print is a reflection of their country’s evolution and understanding of civility. In the United States, Amos ‘n’ Andy was a socially acceptable television program until American society grew through the civil rights struggle to see it was racist and tasteless. The NAACP pro-tested the show’s negative portrayal of blacks for decades, but it wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the program was finally pulled from the air, not because it was prohibited in the legal realm, but because American society evolved be-yond it in the moral realm. That evolu-tion was marked by greater inclusion of minority groups into the American mainstream as well as its collective definition of civility, leading to a more mature democracy. Europe, where cultural pluralism is relatively new, must grow in the same way.

Harvard International Review - December 26, 2008

CARTOONS AND CONTROVERSY Free Expression or Muslim Exceptionalism in Europe? Magali Rheault , Magali Rheault is a Senior Editor and Poll Analyst at Gallup. Dalia Mogahed, Dalia Mogahed is Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. She is co-author of Who Speaks for Islam?: Listening to the Voices of a Billion Muslims. Climate Change, Vol. 30 (2) - Summer 2008 Issue

How is China reacting to the financial crisis in terms of collaboration with the West? The official view of the Chinese Communist Party regime is that taking care of the needs of China’s 1.4 billion people is contribution enough to the world econ-omy. Beijing still seems apprehensive about joining in groups dominated by Europe, Japan, the USA, Brazil, and India. Joining such groups is seen as sub-jecting itself to the will of democracies who do not wish well to the authoritarian system. This system provides a monopoly of arbitrary power for CCP rulers, whose top priority is to hold on to power and to maintain the system that keeps them in power. What are specific opportunities for the Western liberal democracies to engage with China? The US has tried to deeply engage China in a broad range of areas. Indeed, it has gone beyond engagement, even promoting accommodation such as offering China seats at the table of the rule makers as long as China carries more of the Burden. The Chinese Communist Party regime has not responded positively. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the US has gone beyond engagement and accommodation to a policy of appeasement. It has tried to meet China's desires on policy toward Taiwan and has weakened its backing for the autonomous democratic island of Taiwan, a nation of 23 million to accommodate the Presi-dent of China.. This has not been enough for the CCP regime. For example, in response to a cut-back military package to Taiwan, meant to appease China, the Communist Party instead, cut engagement with the US military. In another instance, it responded to European support for ending the repression by the CCP regime of Tibetan Lama Buddhism by breaking off talks with the EU. Bei-jing is not committed to a principled policy of mutual engagement by the de-mocracies. The Chinese Communist Party regime fears that the real goal of en-gagement is to undermine the Chinese Communist Party regime. Should the United States call for democratization in China? America cannot compel China to democratize. The US should, however, insist that China live up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which China is a signatory, but there is no point in the US trying to promote democracy in China since it is an impossible task for outsiders to achieve. How should the United States engage with Taiwan? The robust democracy of Taiwan is part of the friendly world of Asian states. These states cooperate with each other in the interest of maintaining a maxi-mum amount of maneuver for all. They collaborate to resist hegemonic domina-tion by the Chinese Communist Party regime, while benefiting from economic interactions with China. US interests and Taiwanese interests are congruent. The United States government should be a strong supporter of the democratic government in Taipei against whom China has positioned a formidable offen-sive military force. It is in everyone's interest that Beijing-Taipei talks move ahead toward a peaceful accommodation since peace ultimately rests on China abandoning its expansionist goals. With China reaching out to so-called rogue states, such as Sudan, do we see a different "camp" of human rights practice or standard emerging? Since 1993 Beijing has been trying to undermine the international regime of human rights. It has been succeeding. China acts against its own people with impunity and backs the enemies of democracy all around the world, Pyongyang, Burma, Uzbekistan, Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe, etc. The CCP claims to support human rights and actually signs international human rights covenants because those are internationally-agreed-upon norms. China is also a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its constitution embraces them. CCP leaders are well aware that their repression of Lama Buddhist priests and nuns and their execution of so many people and their support of some of the most brutal regimes on earth give China a bad name. They care about China's good name. They want to be respected for things like wiping out poverty or helping in UN peace-keeping. It is worth reminding the CCP leadership that for China to be treated with full dignity in the international community it should be on the side of observing internationally recognized human rights. What does this mean in terms of the function of international or-ganizations? China does its best to paralyze the human rights work of interna-tional organizations. What does this mean in terms of general economic development for other countries? Will China’s seeming success encourage other countries to adopt a blend of authoritarianism and capitalism? Other authoritarian regimes do see China as a model of authoritarian capital-ism. But there is no model of successful institutions and policies for these other regimes to copy. There is not much to the notion of a model of authoritarian capitalism. Do you have any specific policy suggestions for the Obama Admini-stration? The Obama administration should seriously acknowledge the long-term chal-lenge of the rise of China as an authoritarian superpower opposed to the global project of democracy and human rights. But the most important policy is to get America right again. Then it should do right for friends and allies while getting on normally with China. There is no need for any particular policy aimed at China. In China, any such policy would be seen by Chinese Communist Party leaders as an anti-China plot. Bush administration policies have made democra-tization seem a cover for military intervention and de-stabilization. Torture policies have made American support for human rights seems hypocritical. The key thing is to make America a better place that begins to live up to its values.

China in the 21st Century by Edward Friedman

Edward Friedman is Hawkins Chair Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin. His teaching and research interests include international political economy, democratization, Chinese politics, revolution, and the comparative study of transitions in Leninist States. His most recent books are Asia's Giants: Comparing China and India, co-edited with Gilley (Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), China's Rise, Taiwan's Dilem-mas and International Peace (Routledge, 2005), Revolution, Resistance, and Reform in Village China, co-authored with Pickowicz & Selden (Yale, 2005), What if China does-n't democratize? Implications for war and peace (East Gate Book, 2001), National Identity and Democratic Prospects in Socialist China (M.E. Sharpe, 1995), and The Politics of Democratization: Generalizing the East Asian Experience (Westview,1994).

Crisis to hit China more than India: ADB New Delhi: Multilateral lending agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that the impact of global financial meltdown will be much more on China than India as the Chinese economy is heavily dependent on exports. "The extent of slowdown in China is much bigger than India because Chinese economy is more dependent on exports than Indian economy," ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said in an interview to NDTV Profit, adding that both China and India were not in recession. Developing countries will have to restructure their economy and generate do-mestic demand besides sustaining high growth to avoid poverty, he said. Even if the global economy recovers from the worst recession, global economic structure will be changed considerably and particularly Asian countries cannot rely on exports, he said. Emerging economies will slowdown with negative impact on poor and Countries will have to sustain high growth to avoid poverty, Kuroda said. The global downturn may be deeper and the recovery take longer than earlier expected, he said adding, developing Asia would not have miracle growth and further slowdown this year will be inevitable. However, Indian economy was expected to grow at around 7 per cent.

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Editors and Managements at ITALY Via Del Borgo di san Pietro 5, Bologna, Italy

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As the build-up to this weekend's Mi-lan derby intensifies, Rossoneri Vice-President Adriano Galliani insists his men are firmly in the title race. After a run of decent results, Milan surprisingly slipped up against lowly Reggina last weekend, only managing a 1-1 draw. The Diavolo are now eight points be-hind city rivals Inter at the top of Serie A going into this Sunday's derby. “At the moment we are all very calm and are dealing with the problems caused by our bad performance against Reggina,” Galliani told Sportmediaset. “We have to remember that the differ-ence in the League table is due to the results we obtain against the weaker sides. “In fact, against the bottom five teams in Serie A we have picked up just 12 points from seven games, while Inter have taken 19. “Against the top 15 teams we have only picked up one point fewer than the Nerazzurri. “Luckily we get the chance to play Inter this weekend and I am sure that we will get a result. “In 2008 we won both derbies, so we are hoping to repeat that feat this time around. When we are at our best it is extremely difficult to stop us.” Milan beat Inter back in Week 5 to end the Beneamata's unbeaten record courtesy of a Ronaldinho goal.

MoneyGram is a global leader in world-wide money transfer services, that allows money transfer in 180 countries. MoneyGram’s beginnings date back to 1940, when a small money order com-pany under the name Travelers Express opened up in Minneapolis. In 1986 Travelers Express become the largest volume money order provider in the U.S. The growth passed through impor-tant acquisitions. In 2004 the company was listed on the NYSE and in 2005 MoneyGram International replaces Travelers Express as the company’s official name. Today MoneyGram International has more than 20 offices and 2,500 em-ployees around the globe, providing its clients with an affordable, reliable and convenient payment services. Money-Gram can transfer money all around the world through 176.000 agents. The company also has important part-nership all around the world with post office (for example, Italian, British, Canadian and Philippians Post), princi-ple Banks (Piraeus Bank and Bank of Irland) and great retailers (Wall mart and Carrefour). The corporate head office is based in Minneapolis and deals with the US and Latin American market. The operative international office for sales and mar-keting is MoneyGram International Limited, based in London. In Italy the main office is based in Roma. MoneyGram in Italy has an extraordi-nary network of retail and owned agents but also a strategic partnership with Poste Italiane (13.000 offices allied all over the Italian territory), serving anyone who needs an afford-able, reliable, safe and immediate (just 10 minutes) service to send money home to their family. MoneyGram in fact is also the name of the money transfer service cash to cash (from person to person) that permits to transfer money in only 10 minutes in 180 countries world wide. For using MoneyGram it’s not necessarily to have a bank or postal account in Italy not even a credit card. The MoneyGram service (cash to cash) has fees that change from amount to amount and from country to country. In particular since December 2008 MoneyGram has launched a new and really convenient pricing for the remit-tances to Pakistan, starting from only 7,5€ fee up to 500€ of send amount. MoneyGram is a global leader in world-wide money transfer services, that allows money transfer in 180 countries. MoneyGram’s beginnings date back to 1940, when a small money order com-pany under the name Travelers Express opened up in Minneapolis. In 1986 Travelers Express become the largest volume money order provider in the U.S. The growth passed through impor-tant acquisitions. In 2004 the company was listed on the NYSE and in 2005 MoneyGram International replaces Travelers Express as the company’s official name. Today MoneyGram International has more than 20 offices and 2,500 em-ployees around the globe, providing its clients with an affordable, reliable and convenient payment services. Money-Gram can transfer money all around the world through 176.000 agents. The company also has important part-nership all around the world with post office (for example, Italian, British, Canadian and Philippians Post), princi-

ple Banks (Piraeus Bank and Bank of Irland) and great retailers (Wall mart and Carrefour). The corporate head office is based in Minneapolis and deals with the US and Latin American market. The operative international office for sales and mar-keting is MoneyGram International Limited, based in London. In Italy the main office is based in Roma. MoneyGram in Italy has an extraordi-nary network of retail and owned agents but also a strategic partnership with Poste Italiane (13.000 offices allied all over the Italian territory), serving anyone who needs an afford-able, reliable, safe and immediate (just 10 minutes) service to send money

home to their family. MoneyGram in fact is also the name of the money transfer service cash to cash (from person to person) that permits to transfer money in only 10 minutes in 180 countries world wide. For using MoneyGram it’s not necessarily to have a bank or postal account in Italy not even a credit card. The MoneyGram service (cash to cash) has fees that change from amount to amount and from country to country. In particular since December 2008 MoneyGram has launched a new and really convenient pricing for the remit-tances to Pakistan, starting from only 7.5€ fee up to 500€ of send amount.

Worldwide Leader in Money Transfer Services

Social Engagement MoneyGram has a long tradition in Social Engagement. In particular, MoneyGram in Italy has run in 2008 a significant charity project connected to its PrePaid Card: for each card sold MoneyGram devolves 1 Euro to UNICEF in support of the project for basic education of children in develop-ing countries. Since 2007, MoneyGram International’s charitable giving increased to $1.1 million through the company’s total giving efforts including the MoneyGram Global Giving grants and matching gift program, United Way contributions and the ongoing commitment to Habitat for Humanity. In particular during the past four years, MoneyGram has supported the builds of more than 120 homes across the globe. In 2007 alone, MoneyGram funded the building of 43 homes in 14 countries. Additionally, MoneyGram has pro-vided numerous employee volunteers to help with home builds in a variety of locations around the world. Together, MoneyGram and Habitat for Humanity have met the needs of hun-dreds of people for recent and affordable shelter. MoneyGram will continue its commitment to build homes with Habitat for Humanity also in 2009, helping many families across the world. Furthermore as part of its commitment to giving back to the communities where MoneyGram does business, the company launched a MoneyGram Global Giving Program several years ago that awards grants to worthy, nonprofit or-ganizations around the world for projects in the areas of education, basic needs and disaster relief. Information about this program is on the company’s web-site.

Story of Jorina Begum Bangladesh Jorina Begum’s home is Number 1000 for Habitat in Bangladesh. Her house was among the 11 houses that were spon-sored by MoneyGram in 2007 through the Savar partnership program of Habitat Bangladesh. She and her late husband Totamiah Hawladar were originally from Bickram-pur, an area prone to river corrosion. They came to Savar with their eight chil-dren about ten years ago after their land was wiped away due to erosion of river Padma. They were almost pennyless and took shelter in a tiny rented house. Tota-miah was a tailor so he set up a small tailoring shop, stitching clothes while Jorina took care of the children. Their eldest daughter started working in a nearby garment factory and slowly their income started to increase. Five years later, unfortunately, Totamiah died of tuberculosis and Jorina had to start her life of struggle all over again. Before his death, Jorina’s husband bought a piece of land in West Rajason, Savar where her new Habitat house now stands. Jorina always dreamt of building a good house for her children. She tried to save money but it was difficult to manage with so little income. When her sons started earning money, she thought it was time to get involved with the Habitat Bangladesh housing program.

Moreover, MoneyGram offers in its Retail locations also other two products: the Cash to Bank service that allows to credit the money in any bank account within 1/5 days all over the world with special fees depending on the destination country, and the MoneyGram PrePaid card, a convenient electronic wallet working on the VISA Electron circuit to use for payments and to withdraw the money worldwide from any ATM Bancomat counter.

www.moneygram.com

In Italy available for 10 different languages: Albanese, Arabian, English, French, Italian, Polish, Ruma-

nian, Spanish, Ukrainian e Chinese.

Toll free No. 800 088257

Juventus keep leaders Inter Milan within sights

Rome - A late goal from Christian Poulsen helped 10-man Juventus to a 2-1 win over Catania Sunday and move Claudio Ranieri's side within seven points of Serie A leaders Inter Milan. Defending champions Inter crushed Lecce 3-0 to move onto 53 points from 23 games on Saturday, when third-place AC Milan slipped eight points adrift after being held to a 1-1 home draw by tail-enders Reggina. Juve struggled in the early minutes against their Sicily hosts but took the lead against the run of play on 11 minutes when Vincenzo Iaquinta nodded home a perfectly flighted free kick from the returning Mauro Camoranesi. Iaquinta's joy was shortlived, however, as he was dismissed two minutes later after picking up a second yellow card. The seldom-fielded Italian World Cup winner received his first booking for taking off his jersey as he celebrated his goal and had to go for and early shower when he committed a rough foul two minutes later. Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon protected his side's lead on 18 minutes as he parried a header from defender Alessandro Potenza and on 45 minutes stopped a drive from Uruguayan Jorge Martinez. Catania levelled matters on 51 minutes, when Morimoto tapped in after Buffon dithered on a Giuseppe Mascara header and almost went in front but Davide Baiocco's flick grazed the post. Juve held on well in the remainder of the game, threatening through a swerving drive from Brazilian Amauri with five minutes left and secured the three points in injury time as the Danish substitute Poulsen flicked home after Catania failed to clear their lines. A solid Roma drew level in fifth place with their opponents Genoa, beating them 3-0 through goals from Cicinho, Montenegro's Mirko Vucinic and Julio Bap-tista. Fiorentina's Alberto Gllardino scored a late goal, his 14th this season, in a 1-0 edging of 10-man Lazio, Cagliari were also down to 10 men as Atalanta stunned them 1-0 and Udinese also won 1-0 over Bologna. Sampdoria and Siena drew 2-2, Torino drew 1-1 with Chievo in a relegation tie, while Palermo and Napoli play a late southern-Italy derby.

GALLIANI: WE'RE AS GOOD AS INTER

A strong bilateral relation between Qatar and Italy in terms of tourism is ex-pected to rise as the Italian delegation laid the first stone of cooperation during their brief visit in Doha. Aside from expanding bilateral economic relations with Qatar, the delegation was in Doha to start a profitable cooperation in line with tourism industry. The members of the Italian delegation headed by Michela Vittoria Brambilla, Under-secretary of State in Charge of Tourism, presented Italy’s huge number of ongoing and future tourism projects to prospective investors during the semi-nar called ‘Italy meets Qatar’ yesterday at the Sheraton Doha. “The responsibility for tourism given to me by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is a great challenge I have to rise to, since tourism is one of the pil-lars of our economy and has to be enhanced on all levels,” said Brambilla, as she addressed around a hundred members of the audience belonging to Qatari com-panies, locally based travel agencies and media. Brambilla earlier met with Qatar Tourism Exhibitions Authority Chairman Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi to discuss tourism concerns. She said the summer of 2008 saw a marked rise in the number of Qatari tourists who preferred Italy as their holiday destination. In the same way “many Italians have chosen to get a flavor of the charm and attractions offered by a city like Doha”, she said. A number of delegates presented investment opportunities for businessmen mainly on hospitality and leisure. A great number of constructions are presently done such as marinas, holiday villages, hotels and golf courses among others. Among those highlighted was the construction of the Imperial Rome Theme Park which would provide 9, 000 new jobs, entertainment and a chance for tourists to relive the grandeur of Rome’s past and the richness of its culture. Through a short clip entitled ‘In its past Rome has found its future’, participants were informed of the background of the exciting project. A stable economy, growing real property market and tourism industry’s big contribution to the country’s GDP were just some of those underlined by the delegates as reasons for Qatar to invest in Italy.

Italy Explores Tourism Ties with Qatar