Calls for 'new world order' at NAM summit

More than 50 heads of state from the developing world met Wednesday in Egypt
to tackle the fallout from the global economic meltdown, with calls for a
"new world order" to prevent a repeat of the crisis. Cuban President Raul
Castro said in a speech at the opening session of the Non-Aligned Movement
summit that the financial crisis had hit developing nations the hardest.
"Every country in the world must seek just solutions to the global economic
crisis," Castro told the 118- member body at the gathering in the Red Sea
resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. "We call for a new monetary and economic world
order... we must restructure the world financial system to take into
consideration the needs of developing countries." Global power dynamics also
need to be addressed, Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi said, demanding a
restructuring of the UN Security Council which he branded a form of
terrorism " monopolised by a few countries that are permanent members."
"This represents a danger toward international peace. We have suffered all
sorts of harm from the Security Council, it has become a sword over our
necks," he said. "The Security Council is terrorism." Kadhafi said he wanted
to correct the imbalance at the Security Council, demanding a permanent seat
for the 53- member African Union, which he chairs. But the developing
world's military ambitions looked set to steal the summit limelight, with
nuclear-armed South Asian foes India and Pakistan to hold talks on Thursday
aimed at relaunching stalled peace talks. New Delhi and Islamabad's fraught
relations deteriorated after terror attacks in the Indian commercial capital
Mumbai in November last year which killed 166 people. The attacks were
blamed by India on the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, and
Pakistan has acknowledged they were partially planned on its soil. Indian
foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met his Pakistani counterpart Salim
Bashir on Tuesday ahead of the meeting between Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. Singh has
voiced hope that Pakistan will promise action against those behind the
attacks when he meets Gilani for only the second high-level contact between
the two sides since the Mumbai bombings. Pakistan said on Saturday that it
would "probably" put the five accused of involvement in the attacks on trial
next week. The attacks left in tatters a fragile peace process launched in
2004 to resolve all outstanding issues of conflict, including a territorial
dispute over the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir. India, along with
host Egypt, is one of the founding members of the NAM, the largest grouping
of countries outside of the United Nations, aimed at giving a voice to the
developing world. The summit will "provide a chance for discussions over the
international economic crisis, which first started in the industrialised
countries, and greatly impacted the developing countries, especially
Africa," Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said on Tuesday.
He said industrialised states "should not be given free rein to manage such
a crisis." Founded in 1955 , NAM's 118 member states represent around 56
percent of the global population. NAM states consider themselves not
formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. Set up during the
Cold War, the movement sought to distance itself from both the Western and
Soviet blocs, but today its raison d'etre is questioned after the collapse
of the Soviet Union and the ensuing shift in power politics.

Trade union debate heats up

Labour leaders yesterday emphasised trade unionism in the apparel sector to
ensure workers rights, while owners expressed their concerns over the role
of such unions in the industry. However both the sides were unanimous on
bringing the culprits to book, who are responsible for the damage caused
to the prime foreign exchange earning sector. A vested quarter is behind
the recent labour unrest, they told a discussion in Dhaka. The Centre for
Policy Dialogue organised the dialogue on "Investment scenario and the
recent incidents in the industrial sector." Chaired by CPD Chairman
Professor Rehman Sobhan, it was addressed by Commerce Minister Faruk Khan
as chief guest. Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, the distinguished fellow of the
private think tank moderated the discussion, aimed at suggesting ways and
means to resolve frequent RMG workers' unrest. "Why do you (owners) fear
trade unionism?" questioned politician and a labour leader Shahidullah
Chowdhury. " Look at the issue positively and things will improve," he said.
Dr Wajedul Islam Khan blamed factory owners for not following the ILO
convention ratified by Bangladesh, which allows trade unionism.
Politicians Haider Akbar Khan Rono, Monjurul Ahsan Khan and Saiful Haque
also agreed with them on trade unionism. "There are genuine reasons for
workers' demonstration. They are deprived of due wages and overtime
payment," Rono said. "Healthy trade unionism can resolve many of the
problems faced by the garment sector," said Monjurul Ahsan Khan. Tuhin
Chowdhury, a garment worker, said retired army officials who are employed
at almost every factory often create constraints for workers, instead of
helping them. President of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Annisul Huq, also a garment factory owner,
said they are afraid of trade unionism because their experience in this
regard is not good. He also smelt outsiders' involvement in the recent
destruction in some garment factories. Fazlul Hoque, president of the
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) echoed
the FBCCI chief's view. Rokia Afzal Rahman, a former adviser to the
caretaker government, said, "It seems that some incidents are instigated
from outside." Abdul Hye Sarker, president of Bangladesh Textile Mills
Association, and AK Azad, the owner of the recently burnt Hameem Factory,
urged the government to investigate when and why an owner failed to pay
wages to his or her workers. The commerce minister said the Awami
League-led government is pledge- bound to allow trade unionism to ensure
workers rights in all sectors. "We want it. We have mentioned it in our
election manifesto," Faruk Khan said.

China's economy bounces back with 7.9 pc growth in Q2

China's economy grew 7.9 percent in the second quarter of 2009 , the
government said Thursday, in a startling turnaround for the Asian
powerhouse fuelled by a massive stimulus package. Expansion in the
world's third biggest economy picked up pace again after growing by
just 6.1 percent year-on- year in the first quarter, which was the
slowest growth in more than a decade. "The economy is rebounding and
the strength of the recovery is increasing," National Bureau
Spokesman Li Xiaochao said at a media briefing to release the data.
China's gross domestic product grew by 7.1 percent in the first half
of 2009 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to
the bureau. This put China back on track to achieve its goal of 8.0
percent growth for the year, despite the impact of the global
financial crisis that hit its crucial export sector particularly hard.
However, the government warned pitfalls still lay ahead. "There are
many difficulties and challenges existing in the current national
economic performance," Li said. "The base for recovery is still
infirm. The momentum for picking up is unstable. The recovery
pattern is unbalanced and thus there are still uncertain volatile
factors." Before the global economic crisis struck, China had
experienced double- digit annual growth from 2003 to 2007 , and
again for the first two quarters of last year. To fight the downturn,
the government implemented a four- trillion-yuan (580-
billion-dollar) stimulus package in November last year that had
dramatic results. Li described the impact of the package as
"remarkable," and economists expressed similar sentiments. "China's
second quarter GDP growth beat market expectations," said Lu
Zhengwei, a Shanghai-based economist with the Industrial Bank. "It
means the country's economy has achieved a very strong rebound thanks
to continued expansionary fiscal policies and the central
government's stimulus measures." Lu said China's economy would likely
grow by 8.0 percent growth in 2009 , in line with the government's
target. The figure is generally seen as the minimum growth needed to
create enough jobs and prevent major social unrest in the nation of
1.3 billion people. "But whether the strong rebound momentum can
continue remains uncertain," Lu said. "Although private sector
investment has picked up, growth still relies heavily on the central
government's expansionary policies. Also there is no sign of China's
trade performance turning better this year." China's exports dropped
21.4 percent year-on-year in June, the government said last week,
the eighth straight monthly decline. However, China's industrial
output, which illustrates activity in the nation's millions of
factories and workshops, expanded by 9.1 percent in the second
quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, the bureau said. In June,
industrial output increased by 10.7 percent, and by 7.0 percent for
the first half of 2009. China's urban fixed asset investments, a
measure of government spending on infrastructure, rose 33.6 percent
in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period a year
earlier, the statistics bureau said. Investments in urban fixed
assets increased by 35.3 percent in June year- on-year, according to
the bureau. China's consumer price index, the main gauge of
inflation, fell 1.7 percent in June compared with the same month a
year earlier, a further decline from May' s drop of 1.4 percent, the
bureau said. However analysts said inflation could make a quick
return and prove a problem for China's economic planners. The
consumer price index grew 5.9 percent in 2008 but weakened
significantly as the global crisis slowed China's economy.