WB's green light to Padma Bridge Project to gather pace finally

The World Bank has finally given the go ahead for the Padma bridge construction tender process with five pre-qualified firms, communications ministry officials said.

The government sent documents of the five pre-qualified firms for the bridge construction job to the World Bank headquarters in Washington in January. The lead financier gave the nod on Monday.

"Now the project activities will get pace," said Bridge Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, then in Washington.

He said the pre-qualified firms have been asked to collect bid documents and submit technical proposals.

"They will place financial offers on completion of the technical qualification process, which will take at least two months," the secretary told The Daily Star.

He said the remaining procedures would be completed in five months so that contract with the winning firm can be signed in January, 2012.

The WB is yet to give assent to the 12km river training component of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge project. Pre-qualification documents for this have been sent to the bank in December 2010. The secretary said they are expecting the WB's consent in this regard very soon.

Since sending the pre-qualification documents, the communications ministry has been making requests to the bank for its consent. Delays at the bank have ultimately hindering the firm selection process.

The government initially said it would complete the bridge by 2013. Now its target is 2015.

Bridge Division sources said even though the main bridge construction and river training components are being delayed, activities like land acquisition, compensating and rehabilitating the affected people and socio-economic infrastructure development in the project areas are going on in full swing.

The government already signed deals of $1.2 billion with the WB, $615 million with Asian Development Bank, $400 million with Japan International Cooperation Agency and $140 million with Islamic Development Bank to arrange funds for the $2.9 billion Padma Multipurpose Bridge project, the country's longest bridge.

The 6.15km bridge with 3.68km land-based approach viaducts on both sides of the river will connect 19 south-western districts and the capital, enhancing their access to markets, improving services and accelerating growth.

The bridge will reduce distances to Dhaka by about 100km and halve travel times from most areas in the southwest. Moreover, the bridge will enhance regional trade by linking with the Asian Highway and Trans-Asian railway network systems.

It will also connect the two major seaports in Bangladesh and the river training work will help control river erosion and flooding.

Source : The Daily Star

No News of the World after Sunday

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch dramatically ordered the closure of the News of the World tabloid yesterday as a spiralling scandal over illegal phone hacking threatened to taint the rest of his business empire.

The axing of the 168-year-old tabloid, which will print its last edition on Sunday, comes after it faced claims that it hacked the phones of a murdered girl, dead soldiers' families, celebrities, politicians and royals.

"Having consulted senior colleagues, I have decided that we must take further decisive action with respect to the paper," said Murdoch's son James, chairman of News International, the British newspaper wing of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

"This Sunday will be the last issue of the News of the World," he added.

The final edition would be free of advertising and any proceeds from the paper would go "to causes and charities that wish to expose their good works to our millions of readers," he said in a statement.

James Murdoch admitted that the paper, known for its racy diet of sex and scandal but also for its undercover investigations, had lied to parliament and to the public in its earlier statements on the long-running scandal.

Prime Minister David Cameron -- who had himself faced pressure for his ties to Murdoch's empire -- said the closure of the paper should not distract from an ongoing police investigation into the hacking.

The closure of the paper sparked immediate speculation that Rupert Murdoch was offering it as a sacrificial victim to save his bid for control of pay-TV giant BSkyB, which is the subject of a government decision.

There has also have been reports in recent weeks that Murdoch was planning to replace the News of the World in any case with a Sunday version of The Sun, his daily tabloid, which is Britain's biggest selling newspaper.

The death blow for the News of the World came yesterday when veterans' charity the Royal British Legion dropped its campaign partnership with the paper over claims in the Daily Telegraph that an investigator hired by the tabloid may have accessed the voicemails of relatives of dead soldiers.

Source : The Daily Star

Sahara speaking

Home Minister Sahara Khatun in parliament yesterday held Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and some other BNP lawmakers responsible for Wednesday's police assault on Farroque.

She said that on investigation legal actions will be taken against those involved in the "unwarranted" and "unfortunate" incident.

Law enforcers assaulted the opposition chief whip Wednesday morning, on the first day of 48-hour hartal enforced by BNP and its allies, on Manik Mia Avenue following an altercation with him.

In a statement, the home minister said some opposition lawmakers led by Farroque brought out a procession defying ban on rallies and processions in the areas adjacent to the parliament complex, as the House was in session.

"Police tried to prevent them from bringing out the procession, but the opposition chief whip hurled abusive words to law enforcers. Brickbats were thrown at public vehicles from the procession, and even a police officer was assaulted. They obstructed law enforcers from discharging their duties," said Sahara.

She said a committee has already started probing the incident. "Legal actions will be taken against the people involved in the incident."

Meanwhile, taking the floor on point of order lone independent lawmaker Fazlul Azim tried to launch a blistering criticism on the government for not taking actions against the police officers responsible for assaulting Farroque.

Speaker Abdul Hamid, however, turned off Azim's microphone saying, "You cannot make any comment on the statement of home minister under section 300 of the rule of procedure [of parliament]."

Treasury bench Chief Whip Abdus Shahid later demanded that the speaker expunge the remarks of Azim from the parliament proceedings.

Some 18 lawmakers of BNP on Wednesday submitted a memorandum on Wednesday's incident to the Speaker. The Speaker informed the House about sending the memorandum to the home minister.

Source : The Daily Star

Violence in Hills: Top accused arrested

A court here yesterday placed Khachu Marma, the prime accused in two cases for killing three people and setting houses afire in Ramgarh in April, on a three-day remand.

Guimara police raided the Guimara Bazar area in Matiranga upazila and picked him up around 4:30pm on Wednesday, said Sub-inspector Manjurul Afsar of Guimara Police Station.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohammad Ikhtiarul Islam Mollik granted the remand after the SI, also the investigation officer of the case, prayed for a seven-day remand, court sources said.

Law enforcers filed the cases naming several persons and around 250 unnamed for killing the three and injuring 20 others in an attack on April 17.

The gang also torched around 100 houses at Shankholapara area of Ramgarh over a land dispute between the local indigenous people and Bangalee settlers.

A report of a three-member probe committee also found Khachu involved in the violence, AKM Jahirul Islam, assistant superintendent of police (Ramgarh circle), told The Daily Star.

Source : The Daily Star

Abdin's case not recorded: PM says sorry over cop excesses; 3 critically burnt as mango-laden truck torched; hartal's second day quiet

Law enforcers arrested dozens of opposition men, and mobile courts jailed several persons for disrupting public life across the country yesterday, the second day of the 48-hour countrywide hartal.

The hartal was otherwise largely peaceful.

Meanwhile, police yesterday refused to record a case from BNP against law enforcers for assaulting Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque on Wednesday, although the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar police late that night filed a case against Abdin and others on charges of attacking the law enforcers.

The duty officer of the station, however, accepted a complaint filed by BNP lawmaker AMB Ashrafuddin Nizan on behalf of the party.

The two-day shutdown called by the BNP-led four-party alliance in protest against scrapping of the caretaker government system from the constitution ends at 6:00am today.

Talking about the police action on Abdin, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in parliament yesterday said she felt "really sorry" for the incident.

Hasina, however, said, "Nobody expected that an MP would throw bricks to damage vehicles. People expect decent behaviour from a lawmaker."

Also yesterday, the government formed a three-member committee to probe the police assault that left Abdin injured.

Speaking about the formation of the committee, State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku told reporters that they asked all concerned to act responsibly to avoid recurrence of such incidents.

Abdin was being treated at the Intensive Care Unit of United Hospital in the city last night. Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, acting secretary general of BNP, on Wednesday said Abdin needed 11 stitches in his head but it could not be verified from the hospital authorities.

Witnesses and BNP sources said police beat up and kicked the opposition leader severely at one stage of an altercation with him at Manik Mia Avenue in the capital around 6:30am on the first day of the hartal.

Police also tried to forcibly pick him up on their van but he fell on the street as the van started to move before he could be dragged onto it. Abdin's head was bleeding profusely at this stage.

But police said they tried to pick him up when he hit a police official, and that he might suffer injuries during the scuffle to prevent his arrest.

During yesterday's shutdown, opposition lawmakers staged a sit-in on parliament premises demanding punishment of the police officials responsible for the assault.

Shops, businesses and educational institutions were closed but traffic movement started to get normal in the afternoon.

The opposition men could not bring out processions on the thoroughfares due to heavy police and Rab presence but they brought out a few small ones in different alleys.

Like the previous day, police cordoned off BNP's central office at Nayapaltan and obstructed party leaders including Mirza Fakhrul from holding any processions and rallies.

In capital's Mirpur, police arrested two people for attempting to burn a bus. In Shahbagh, unidentified people burnt a bus around 10:00pm, fire service source said.

Hartal supporters smashed a number of vehicles and set ablaze two passengers buses at Ershad Nagar in Tongi.

Outside the capital, pro-hartal men in Natore set fire to a mango-laden truck leaving three people severely burnt.

Mosharraf, 22, a mango trader of Hazaribagh, was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital with 95 percent burn injuries.

Natore police arrested four BNP men in this connection.

In Rajshahi, law enforcers picked up some 20 pickets from different parts of the city.

Addressing a press briefing at party's central office, Fakhrul Islam claimed that at least 550 BNP leaders and workers were detained during the two-day hartal and about 675 injured in police attacks across the country.

He also rejected the government committee formed to probe the police action on Abdin.

At a separate press conference at Jamaat central office in Moghbazar, party's acting Secretary General ATM Azharul Islam claimed that police arrested 200 Jamaat workers and mobile courts jailed 14 others yesterday.

The police headquarters, however, said law enforcers yesterday arrested 101 people from across the country including 16 from the capital while mobile courts jailed nine people including five in the city.

Although the four-party's hartal ends this morning, there is no respite in sight for the countrymen. After a two-day weekend, a 12-party alliance led by Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish will enforce a 30-hour shutdown from Sunday morning till 12:00noon of Monday in protest against dropping of the phrase "absolute faith in Allah" from the constitution.

Also, BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami will announce their next agitation programme today.

Source : The Daily Star

Two pirates die, 5 more caught

Two pirates, whose eyes were gouged out by a mob on Wednesday at Char Kukrimukri in Bhola district, died overnight at the local upazila health complex while police nabbed five more pirates from the area yesterday.

The bodies of Motahar Hossain alias Jalal, 31, and Lokman Hossain, 35, were sent to Bhola district hospital morgue for autopsies.

The five pirates were admitted to Charfession upazila health complex under police custody.

High officials of the district police and members of Coast Guard visited the spots.

Police and locals said a pirate gang on Wednesday abducted fishermen Babul, Ali Abbas Majhi and Harun Mridha along with their fishing boats from Diamonura and Dakatia Ghat on Meghna estuary.

A mob later caught the gang as the engine of the latter's trawler broke down. They gouged out eyes of two pirates and had beaten them up. Later, police rescued and admitted them to a hospital, said Reaz Hossain, officer-in-charge (OC) of Charfession Police Station.

Ali Abbas filed a case of dacoity with Charfession Police Station and police were preparing to lodge two more cases under arms act against the pirates, said the Charfession OC.

Source : The Daily Star

Teesta, border deals finalised: Dhaka, Delhi upbeat over other agreements after talks

Bangladesh and India yesterday expressed firm optimism about signing of an interim agreement on water sharing of the common rivers Teesta and Feni, and a framework deal on land border during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka on September 6-7.

More deals on transit, import of power from India, joint venture power generation, cooperation in security, education, culture, and trade liberalisation, etc are on cards, details of which are being worked out, and both countries are expecting to complete the remaining task before the Indian premier's visit.

Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dipu Moni and Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna emerged with identical views on resolving long outstanding issues at a joint media conference in Hotel Sonargaon of Dhaka following an official talk between the two.

Prior to the media conference, Bangladesh and India signed two bilateral documents regarding promotion and protection of agreements, and movement of Bhutanese vehicles between India and Bangladesh land customs stations.

Replying to a question, Dipu Moni said river waters will be shared based on equity and fairness, while the issues of demarcation of 6.5 kilometres of border, transfer of enclaves, and adversely possessed lands will be solved under "a package" in the spirit of 1974 Mujib-Indira Land Boundary Agreement.

On the issue of transit, she said they discussed various initiatives that have been taken by the two sides for passage of goods through Bangladesh to various destinations.

"It is a part of the whole transit issue. We have undertaken an exercise to consider in a holistic manner various issues under this broad heading, including physical infrastructure, customs matters, services, availability of transports, legal issues, environmental consideration, etc," she said.

She informed the media that there will be several smaller protocols under a larger framework, such as the proposed protocol for the use of Mongla and Chittagong ports. "We're trying to come out with that framework under the whole transit issue and work is going on to sign a number of protocols," the Bangladesh foreign minister said adding that the framework of agreement also encompasses Nepal and Bhutan.

However, the Indian external affairs minister said there are some nitty-gritty, which are currently being worked out. "Talks on transit are at the final stage and we will be able to reach an agreement soon," he added.

Dipu Moni said the Joint Rivers Commission nearly finalised the issue of Teesta and Feni waters sharing. "We will be able to sign something during the visit of the Indian prime minister," she said.

She further said there is also satisfactory progress in other water management areas such as construction of river bank protections, repair and maintenance of embankments, and dredging of Ichhamati river. Krishna said water sharing will be beneficial for both countries.

About killing of Bangladeshi civilians by the Indian Border Security Force, Dipu Moni said Dhaka's concern was conveyed to her Indian counterpart during the official meeting.

She said India reassured that the killings at the border will be brought down to zero through a joint border management.

The Bangladesh foreign minister and the Indian external minister both reiterated that no insurgent, extremist or terrorist group will be allowed to use the soil of their respective countries.

Replying to a question about cooperation in the energy sector, Krishna said both countries have made significant forward movement in the power sector cooperation, including establishment of grid connectivity up to 500 MW of power from India to Bangladesh.

He said India will supply 250 MW of that electricity to Bangladesh by the end of 2012 or early 2013 at a preferential rate by which India's largest power producer National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) supplies electricity to Indian states.

The external affairs minister of India responded positively to Bangladesh's request for setting up of a high technology joint venture thermal power plant of 1,320 MW capacity at Khulna, the feasibility report for which has already been completed.

Responding to another question about bilateral trade gap, he said Bangladesh's export to India has increased by 56 percent in the first 10 months of 2010-11 fiscal year, and India wants growth of export from Bangladesh.

Krishna reiterated that under the duty-free quota, India has already increased the volume of export of readymade garments from Bangladesh from 8 million to 10 million pieces.

Source : The Daily Star

Emdadul Houqe Chy elected chairman of Tafakul Islami Insurance

Emdadul Houqe Chowdhury was elected chairman of the executive committee of Tafakul Islami Insurance Company at the 57th general meeting of its board of directors held at the company's head office in the city recently.

He was elected chairman of the committee of the insurance company for the 3rd time, said

Emdadul is also the chairman, managing director and chief executive officer of Lucky Group.

Source : New Age

City Bank, Platinum Suites sign deal

City Bank Ltd introduced MasterCard Platinum International Debit Card on Monday.

City Bank DMD and chief communication officer Mashrur Arefin and Platinum Suites corporate affairs head Mohammad Ali Tinku signed a memorandum of understanding at a ceremony in the city in this connection, said a news release. 

Platinum Suites has come with City Bank Platinum card and has given an offer of discounts for all Platinum card holders to enjoy their brunch and lunch at Café Nemo Global cuisine restaurant.

Source : New Age

Greece must boost growth: German, Greek ministers

The German and Greek finance ministers agreed that Athens must boost its economic growth if the debt-ravaged country wants to restore its budget balance, after talks late on Wednesday.

At a dinner in Berlin, Wolfgang Schaeuble and Evangelos Venizelos agreed that an austerity plan voted by the Greek parliament 'must immediately be put into action to return Greece rapidly to a healthy economic situation,' the German finance ministry said in a statement.

'But beyond this, other measures to sustain growth must be taken. It is only with a stronger private economy and with private investments that Greece will be able to achieve a balanced budget in the medium and long term,' it added.

This was the first meeting between the two finance ministers since Venizelos's appointment last month in a crisis reshuffle by prime minister George Papandreou.

On Saturday, eurozone finance ministers agreed to release the fifth slice of the first rescue agreed for Greece after the Greek parliament last week approved new tough budget reforms.

A total 110 billion euros ($160 billion) in loans is to be offered to Greece over three years with 80 billion euros coming from Europe including some 22 billion from top lender Germany.

Meanwhile visiting Greek foreign minister Stavros Lambrinidis said that in addition to state aid, private German companies could help Athens out of the debt quicksand faster by investing in his country.

'There are remarkable opportunities for cooperation and investments. That includes in the areas of renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and tourism,' Lambridinis told the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

'We are hoping for the involvement of German companies' including in the country's privatisation drive, he said.

Several major German corporations have stakes in Greek industry such as Deutsche Telekom, which owns 40 per cent of telecommunications firm OTE, and construction group Hochtief, which holds a large stake in Athens's international airport.

Lambrinidis meanwhile joined the chorus of European criticism of credit ratings agencies after controversial decisions taken in the eurozone debt crisis.

'First the agencies downgrade us because we have not yet taken certain (austerity) measures and because our deficit is too large,' he said.

Source : New Age

Banks struggle to agree Greek aid plan in Rome talks

International banks, under pressure from European governments to roll over their holdings of Greek debt, tried again to come up with a joint rescue plan on Thursday after talks over a French proposal fell apart.

European Central Bank and Greek government officials as well as international and Italian banking executives met lobby group the Institute of International Finance in Rome on Thursday, an Italian treasury source said. Another source close to the discussions said Deutsche Bank took part.

The banks are struggling to strike a deal which would let private sector creditors provide cash and breathing space to Greek debtors without being defined as a default by credit ratings agencies — which have warned they are watching closely.

Adding to that difficulty the banks themselves are split on how best to construct the aid. Thursday's meeting followed a similar one organised by the IIF in Paris on Wednesday at which 'a menu of options' was discussed, according to Charles Dallara, the managing director of the bank lobby group.

A French proposal for a rollover in which bondholders would reinvest at least 70 per cent of the proceeds from bonds maturing before the end of 2014 in new 30-year Greek debt has run into ratings agency objections.

Officials are now looking at a broader range of options.

The treasury source confirmed that the meeting had broken up around midday GMT.

The source said earlier that there would be an exchange of views on 'developments so far and the solutions currently on the table for the involvement of private creditors' adding 'different possibilities will be discussed, not just one solution.'

The meeting was to be chaired by Vittorio Grilli, director general of the Italian treasury, in his capacity as chairman of the European Union Economic and Financial Committee.

An EU source also confirmed the meeting in Rome and said EU representatives would be attending. However no representative from any of the ratings agencies was expected to be present.

Following the effective veto on the French plan by ratings agency Standard and Poor's, which said it would consider the operation contained in the proposal as a selective default, the search has widened for an alternative plan.

Germany has raised other possibilities including getting banks holding Greek bonds to swap them for new bonds with longer maturities but that proposal has not found favour with banks and some other European governments.

German deputy finance minister Joerg Asmussen said the idea of a bond exchange could be put back on the table, with talks likely to take place over the summer.

Source : New Age

ECB raises interest rates

The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate to 1.5 per cent to dampen inflation and hinted at more increases in coming months, even though they would add pressure on debt-ridden economies like Greece.

Thursday's hike, the second this year, was widely expected but the indication by ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet that there would be further increases this year cemented views that the bank will not be derailed by the debt crisis in its mission to get inflation down.

The ECB's responsibility is to keep inflation, which is running at 2.7 per cent, below its target of just below 2 per cent.

Trichet said in a press briefing the bank would 'monitor very closely' price developments — he traditionally uses that phrase to indicate that the tightening cycle will continue but that rates would not rise next month.

Though higher rates may be necessary for a potentially overheating economy like Germany's, they will add to the growth concerns of the eurozone's more indebted nations, such as Greece and Portugal.

Source : New Age

Rajshahi nursing students’ strike hampers healthcare at RMCH

The healthcare at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital faces serious trouble as the Rajshahi Nursing College students went on indefinite strike on Monday.

The nursing students are used to work for 6 hours daily for the hospital as part of their academic activities.

The hospital sources say about 350 trainee nurses work at the hospital daily.

The patients' people complain that they are not getting adequate healthcare due to the shortage of nurses.

A father of a patient at the hospital's ward number 13, Mahmudul Hasan, told New Age on Thursday morning that he called for help for injecting a saline in his patient's body according to the doctor's prescription, but no nurse came for help.

The RMCH director brigadier Abdus Sabur brushed aside the allegations and said that senior nurses were on duty and the present situation was not hampering healthcare.

He, however, did not make any remark when he Mahmudul Hasan's comment was referred.

The nursing students were staging demonstrations demanding hike in their monthly stipend and several other demands, including solution to teacher, library, and computer laboratory crisis.

The strikers complained that the courses were upgraded to bachelor's degree from diploma degree in 2007, but the monthly stipend was not increased.

They also said the monthly allowance was Tk 850 for about last nineteen years.

They demanded Tk 3,000 minimum stipend.

The students said it became tough for them to cope with the market price hike with the terrible stipend.

Rajshahi Nursing College principal Sadeka Khatun accepted the complaints and said they had nothing to do for the college students as these problems prevailed in all nursing colleges in the country.

Responding to a question whether the college authorities informed the health and education ministry about the students' demands, Sadeka Khatun said they were yet to take steps as the higher authorities could get the information through media.

Source : New Age

SAU students call off demonstration

The Sylhet Agricultural University students on Thursday called off their demonstrations that they were staging since June 22, demanding review of the university's credit system.

The university vice-chancellor confirmed that the students joined academic activities after ending their 15-day agitation.

Vice-chancellor Shahidullah Talukdar told New Age that he held separate meetings with the students and teachers on Tuesday and Wednesday over the issue.

After a successful meeting, the students returned to classes, he said.

The students' leaders said the vice-chancellor assured them that no student would face harm due to the introduction of the new credit system that was demanded reviewed by the students.

They also said the vice-chancellor told them that the authorities concerned would discuss the issue in the university academic meeting and find out a solution to the students' worry over the new system.

The bachelor's first and second semester students went on demonstrations, including class and examination boycott, protesting at a credit system that was introduced in 2009-10 academic year.

According to the system, a student must obtain pass marks in 80 per cent of his credit courses of a semester if he wants to get a promotion to next semester.

The students demanded the new system should be reviewed and the pass limit should be reduced to 60 per cent.

Source : New Age

Change in temperature unlikely

Light to moderate rain or thundershowers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely at a few places over all the seven divisions till 6:00pm today.

Moderately heavy falls are also likely at places over the country, the Meteorology office said in a forecast on Thursday.

Day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country.

The sun sets in Dhaka today at 6:50pm and rises tomorrow at 5:18am.

The country's highest temperature, 33.2 degrees Celsius, was recorded on Thursday in Saidpur and the lowest, 24.5 degrees Celsius, in Cox's Bazar.

Source : New Age

AUW students rally against expulsion

The students of the Asian University for Woman in the Chittagong city on Thursday protested at the unilateral expulsion of 11 students and suspension of one student by the university authorities.

The students broke open the main gate, which had been locked to prevent them from coming out of the campus of the residential university, and formed a human chain and sat in at the entrance.

About 100 students from three batches chanted slogans, demanding cancellation of the expulsion order. Till filing of this report, they were continuing their sit-in outside the gate and barred the university officials from coming out of the campus on Mohammad Ali Road.

Meanwhile, journalists were barred from entering the campus by the university authorities. Security personnel scuffed with the newsmen as they were trying to enter the campus.  

Samanta, an expelled student, told New Age that the eleven students were expelled and the other one was suspended without giving any prior warning and without any valid ground either.

'We are deeply frustrated and we have been treated unfairly. Our future is uncertain as we cannot take admission to any other public university,' added Samanta.

The expulsion notice was served from the AUW authorities on June 12, 2011 on behalf of the provost, Mary J Sansalone.

'The students were not informed about the provision of expulsion in the ordinance. Where the students would go now?' said Mehejabeen, a student of the university.  

Mohammad Mosharraf, guardian of an expelled student told New Age that he was gravely concerned about his daughter's academic future. 'Now I cannot admit my daughter to any university as three and a half years have already passed,' he lamented.

Mary J Sansalone told newsmen that the expelled students failed to perform up to the mark. 'We have nothing to do with the decision of expulsion,' she affirmed.   

The students, however, raised question that if the expelled students were not up to the mark, how did they continue for four years in the university?

The authorities were trying to eliminate the Bangladeshi students as they got scholarships, the protesters alleged. The students said the university authorities opted for the decision to deprive the local students of their rights.

The university is a non-profit organisation and 25 per cent students here are to be from Bangladesh.

Sara Ali Babaie, a former teacher of social science department, AUW, told New Age that the university was running without any transparency or concrete policy. The present provost had established a kind of dictatorship and it should end now, she demanded. 

The students pressed their five-point demand, including allowing them to prove their qualification by achieving a GPA 2.0 in the next Fall semester, 2011; in case of being failed in any subject, students should be given the option for retaking the subject or appear in the examinations again, students should be provided the option of changing the major, an academic advisor should be appointed, who would aware of the university policies and is able to provide students with informed advice, Asian University for Women should formulate clear, transparent policies with the involvement of faculty deans and students.

Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Kotwali police station, told New Age that the students were continuing blockade and sit in programmes. No untoward incident was reported, he added. 

Source : New Age

Rajshahi Univ central library goes automated

The Rajshahi University central library with its rich collection of books is under process of automated, says officials.

Library official Bidhan Chandra Das says the authorities concerned have under taken the programme with a view to making modern computerised system available to the students, teachers and researchers.

The library, established in 1955 at Bara Kuthi in Rajshahi town, was shifted to the university in 1964.

The three-storey air conditioned building can house 900 people at a time.

As present, the library has nearly 2,60,699 books, more than 35,508 journals, 2,857 documents, 246 reprints, audio-visual, microfilm and machine-readable materials.

Bidhan Chandra says that after completion of the project, the RU library will be linked with the Bangladesh National Scientific and Library Information Network, a pilot project of science and technology ministry.

The Bangladesh National Scientific and Technical Documentation Centre is the executing agency of the present project.

The BNSTDC has already provided the library authorities with workstations, through which the library will become a partner of a national network of 15 major libraries.

Bidhan Chandra also says that the library users will be able to browse through the catalogues of other libraries and download digital books from the sources.

Under the ongoing project, the RU library authorities will make digital format of some rare books that can be downloaded from the library archive in PDF format, Bidhan Chandra adds.

He, however, says that it will be impossible for the authorities concerned to make digital format of all books kept in the library.

A modern computer laboratory will be open for the library users and the master's students will get unlimited internet browsing facilities.

The library will remain open from 8:00am to 8:00pm in working days and from 8:00am to 2:00pm during vacation.

The library also going to introduce computerised cataloguing of books through which the users will be able to find books easily by using 'search' options on the computers, Bidhan Candra says.

He, however, says the library will also continue its old card cataloguing system and will provide a subject guide board to help the users in using the catalogues.

He expresses his hope that the project will be finished soon and will ease the way to higher education in the country.

Source : New Age

Minorities won’t get back their properties unless Bill’s changed

The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad, along with some human rights bodies and civil society leaders, rejected the Vested Property Repeal (Amendment) Bill 2011 placed in the Parliament on Tuesday.

The president of the Oikya Parishad, Chitta Ranjan Dutta, and general secretary, Rana Dasgupta, on Wednesday in a press statement said that the Bill did not reflect the proposals of the concerned organisations, and as a result there will be further complications and the minority community will not get back their vested properties.

The Bill must be amended and, according to the High Court's verdict, all the properties of the minorities must be kept out of the list of vested properties after 23 March, 1974.

The law must have a provision ensuring that the inheritors and co-sharers of the properties are given their due rights.

The law should also drop the phrase 'uninterrupted citizenship of Bangladesh' and replace it with 'citizenship of Bangladesh' to prevent harassment of the claimants and ensure justice.

Source : New Age

Mahbub blames law minister for current political unrest

The Supreme Court Bar Association president,  Khandker Mahbub Hossain, has blamed the law minister, Shafique Ahmed, for the current restive political situation in the country.

Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, he said the law minister had confused the prime minister providing her with wrong information about the Supreme Court judgment on non-party caretaker government system under the 13th amendment of the constitution.

The SCBA president said although the Supreme Court judgment had declared the 13th amendment as void but it kept the option open for holding next two general elections under the caretaker system to avert political disorder.

'But the law minister wrongly placed the matter before the prime minister, ignoring the later operative part the SC judgment.'

As a result, the prime minister could not take the proper decision in this regard, he said.

Source : New Age

Sonia to open int’l confce on autism in Dhaka

The Indian Congress Party president, Sonia Gandhi, will inaugurate international conference on autism to be held in Dhaka July 25-26.

This was disclosed by prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad.

This was discussed at a meeting between the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, and he Indian foreign minister, SM Krishna, at the Prime Minister's Office on Thursday noon.

Hasina's daughter child psychologist Saima Wazed Hossain is organising the conference to be attended by national and international experts on autism and mental health.

Source : New Age

40 injured in post-poll violence

At least 30 people were injured in a clash between supporters of two defeated UP chairman candidates at Maligaon village in Sarail upazila of the district on Thursday morning.

Locals said an altercation ensued between the supporters of defeated candidates Abdur Rahman and Sher Alam at about 10:00am over a trifling matter at the village.

Later, both the groups equipped with homemade weapons attacked each other that left 30 people from both sides injured.

On information, Sarail thana police went to the spot. They charged batons and lobbed tear gas shells to bring the situation under control.

Another report from Benapole adds: Ten people were injured in a clash between supporters of two Awami League-backed defeated UP chairman candidates at Kaiba union under Sharsha upazila of Jessore on Thursday morning.

Sharsha thana OC Aslam Khan said the supporters of defeated candidates Firoj Hasan Tinku and Abul Hossain Bablu attacked each other at Kaiba bazar over a trifling matter leaving 10 people from both sides injured.

At one stage, the feuding groups put barricade on Jessore-Satkhira Road by burning tyres disrupting traffic movement for about three hours. Later, the police brought the situation under control.

Additional police have been deployed in the bazar area to avert further trouble.

Source : New Age

Cabinet body may reject PDB proposal

Finally, the 200-300MW Ghorasal Peaking Power Plant project will again be placed in the Cabinet Purchase Committee meeting July 11.

Officials believe that this time the cabinet body is likely to reject the state-owned Power Development Board's proposal to award the contract to a Chinese bidder.

Earlier, the cabinet body on March 2 this year approved a PDB proposal to award the project to the Chinese bidder — Consortium of China National Technical Import & Export Corporation and China National Machinery Import & Export Corporation — ignoring the power ministry's objection. But within a week, the approval was withheld.

The power ministry had raised the objection finding huge irregularities in the tender evaluation process that was done by its subordinate body PDB to favour the Chinese consortium.

The cabinet committee, while suspending the approval, asked the power ministry to place its clarifications in detail on the objection along with the proposal again.

In compliance with the directive, the power ministry sent its detailed clarifications to the Cabinet Division last week. 'Now, the proposal has been listed to be placed in the Purchase Committee meeting on Monday for consideration,' a senior official at the Power Ministry told the news agency.

He, however, said last time the Power Division's opposition to the PDB proposal was ignored by the cabinet body because of a cabinet minister's persuasion in favour of the Chinese consortium. 'The minister has business interest in the Chinese consortium as his business firm is believed to be its local agent.'

The finance minister, who presided over the cabinet committee meeting, finally felt the procedural error in the approval process and took the step to make a correction to the committee's decision.

Explaining the matter, the official said PDB was a subordinate body under the power ministry. So, the cabinet body cannot ignore the opinion of the power ministry while considering a project of the PDB. 'But when that happened, it surprised many,' he added.

Source : New Age

City schools to hold classes on weekend

Most of the schools in the city will remain open today and Saturday to compensate the loss of classes for four days of  strikes called by Bangladesh Nationalist Party and different Islamic parties.

BNP enforced a 48-hour strike from Wednesday to Thursday and some Islamist parties called a 30-hour strike from Sunday to Monday.

The schools normally remain closed on Fridays and Saturdays, the weekly holidays.

Different schools in the capital like Sunnydale, Sunbeam, Mastermind and Manipur High School  will hold their classes today to recuperate the loss in lessons due to staggering hartals, the schools' authorities said.

'The school authorities told us that the school will be open today to make up the loss in lessons due to strikes called by different political parties,' said Nasim Akhter, a Dhanmondi resident whose son is a student of Sunnydale School.

Schools like Udayan High School, Viqarunnisa Noon School, Motijheel Model High School and College, YWCA Higher Secondary Girls' School, Willes Little Flower School and London Grace International School remain open on Saturday.

Kalabagan resident Farhana Haque, whose daughter is a student of class III at YWCA Higher Secondary Girls' School, said it was very irritating to take children to school on holidays.

'The school will be open at Saturday to compensate the loss of four days of strike,' she added.

Rampura resident Shahana Zaman said her son is studying at Udayan High School which would remain open on Saturday.

Source : New Age

Viqarunnisa teacher Jayadhar remanded in custody

The Viqarunnisa Noon School and College teacher Parimal Dayadhar, arrested on Wednesday on charges of raping a Class X student, was on Thursday remanded in police custody for five days for interrogation.

The Badda police officer-in-charge (investigation), inspector Shahadat Hossain, produced Jayadhar in a Dhaka court in the afternoon seeking him to be remanded for 10 days.

Metropolitan magistrate Shamima Parvin allowed him to be remanded for five days.

Shahadat, also investigation officer of the case, on Thursday told New Age that they would start interrogating the teacher in the evening.

'We will try to know whether anyone helped him in this connection. We will also try to seize the video record that he made with his mobile,' he said.

The Detectives Branch arrested Jayadhar, a teacher of Bangla at the school's Bashundhara campus, at a house of his relatives at Keraniganj on Wednesday after the victim's father had filed a case with the Badda police on charges of raping her daughter.

Jayadhar, who qualified in the BCS 29 exams for the administration cadre after his bachelor and master's degrees from Bangabandhu College at Tungipara in Gopalganj, went into hiding after students of the school and their parents had gone on demonstrations demanding his arrest.

The school authorities also sacked the teacher after a meeting of the governing body on Tuesday.

Two other teachers at the school of the same campus — Barun Chandra Barman of commerce and Abdul Kalam Azad of religious instructions —were also suspended for their indecent behaviour with students.

Jayadhar is married and has a three-year-old son, DB deputy commissioner Monirul said. Jayadhar is from Tungipara in Gopalganj.

Source : New Age

Sonia to receive ‘foreign friends’ award for Indira

India's ruling Congress party president Sonia Gandhi is set to receive an award on behalf of her late mother-in-law and assassinated Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi for her 'tremendous support' for Bangladesh's 1971 independence as she is expected to visit Dhaka later this month.

'Being a family member (of Indira Gandhi) she (Sonia Gandhi) is expected to receive the award,' Bangladesh's foreign minister Dipu Moni told a joint press briefing with Indian external affairs minister SM Krishna.

She added: 'Indira Gandhi's name comes at the top of the list of our foreign friends in 1971.'

Moni's comments came as Sonia Gandhi is due to be in Dhaka in the last week of July also to join a regional conference on autism at prime minister Sheikh Hasina's invitation.

Officials familiar with the process earlier said the country was also set to name a major road of the capital after Indira Gandhi as part of a government initiative to honour the country's foreign friends who contributed to its 1971 emergence as an independent nation after nine months of liberation war against Pakistan.

They said Bangladesh so far listed 500 '1971 foreign friends', who would be honoured at a ceremony in Dhaka on a convenient date ahead of the 41st victory day on December 16 this year.

Source : New Age

12 shops burnt in Ctg

At least 12 shops were burnt in a fire in Salimpur area under Sitakundhu upazila of the district early Thursday.

The fire burnt to ashes three grocery shops, two tea stalls, two medicine shops and a mobile card shops.

Source : New Age

Death toll rises to nine

Death toll from Wednesday's launch capsize at the confluence of Dhaleshwari and Shitalakya rivers rose to nine as the body of an old woman was recovered on Thursday.

Police recovered the body of the woman, identified as Koimunnesa, 60, from Shitlakhya.

Earlier, the divers of BIWTA on Wednesday night recovered eight bodies which were identified as that of Shafikul Islam 50, Durpati Borman 28, Shuruj Mia, 42, and his son Shakil, 11, Shahnaj Parvin, 38, Monoara Begum, 60, Ripa Akter, 20, and Monu Mia, 28.

All the bodies were handed over to the relatives of the deceased, police said.

Chairman of BIWTA Abdul Malek formed a three-member probe body to investigate the accident.

Meanwhile, the driver and helper of oil tanker OT Shitalakhya, which had hit the ill-fated launch, were arrested and the authorities seized the vessel.

Relatives of the missing passengers—some 10 to 20 people—were still waiting on the river shore to get the news about their near and dear ones.

Source : New Age

Police form probe body

The police on Thursday formed a three-member committee to investigate Wednesday's police action on BNP's chief whip, Zainul Abdin Farroque.

The probe committee, headed by DMP's additional commissioner Abdul Jalil, includes joint commissioners Shahidul Islam and Shahabuddin, according to an official of the home ministry.

'We cannot take action against any member of a disciplined force without due investigation, and so the Dhaka Metropolitan Police has formed a three-member body to probe the incident,' the state minister for home affairs, Shamsul Haque, told reporters on Thursday.

He claimed that the Awami League-led government had not exerted any political influence on the police.

The police beat up and seriously injured opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque on the Manik Mia Avenue near the Sangsad Bhaban on the first day of the two-day hartal called by Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies.

'The Awami League-led government is sensitive to leaders and activists of all political parties and others as well…The police have been trained by the governments of anti-liberation forces in the last 30 years to behave in this way,' said the state minister.

Shamsul on Wednesday said that the police had done their duty by checking violence and vandalism and protecting public life and property during the hartal.

He told reporters that deliberate provocation by the BNP leaders had led to police action.

He iterated that the authorities would take action if the police were found to have committed excess in dealing with the BNP lawmaker.

When asked why police lathi-charged the lawmakers and hit Zainul on his head without arresting any of them, he replied that the police could explain the situation better.

The BNP and its allies on Sunday called a nationwide 48-hour hartal, which began on Wednesday, in protest against the unilateral scrapping of the election-time caretaker government provision from the Constitution, and also to underline other demands.

Shamsul alleged that BNP had called the hartal to protect the sons of its chairperson Khaleda Zia from corruption charges.

Referring to the BNP's demand for resignation of the home affairs minister after the incident, he said that the BNP leaders were feeling uneasy after the government's efforts to bring to book the persons involved in the 10-truck arms haul case and the case of the August 21 grenade attack on an AL rally.

'It is very normal that they will now demand our resignation. They do not want democracy to flourish here,' he added.

Source : New Age

Most affected poultry farmers yet to get compensation

Most poultry farmers who had to exterminate their chickens that had been infected by bird flu (avian influenza) in the last fiscal year have still not received any compensation from the government as the Department of Livestock has reportedly run out of money.

The director general of the DLS, Md Ashraf Ali, told New Age that they were not able to pay compensation to all the affected poultry farmers due to shortage of funds.

Up to June 5, which was the last time that bird flu was detected, the DLS exterminated a total of 5,39,562 chickens and destroyed 31,07,258 eggs at 161 poultry farms across the country, said official sources.

DLS officials said that the farms which would be considered eligible for compensation must have been registered with the government, had bio-security measures in place, be able to provide a money receipt for the purchase of chickens and have an up-to-date register of stock till the day of extermination.

The officials said that the DLS has so far disbursed only Tk 3.04 crore as compensation to 43 farmers whose poultry birds were exterminated, but that they were yet to pay about Tk 5 crore to the remaining 118 affected farmers.

The amount of compensation that the farmers receive depends on the type and age of the birds that have been killed.

For 'backyard' birds that had to be got rid of the compensation ranges from Tk 40 per bird less than 4 weeks old, rising up to Tk 180 for a bird more than 20 weeks old.

For parent stock the range is between Tk 90 and Tk 220, and for broilers between Tk 40 for a young bird to Tk 120 for a bird over 5 weeks old.

Farmers will also receive Tk 5 as compensation for each egg that was destroyed.

'I have been facing a difficult time as I have to repay the loans that I took from three non-governmental organizations before my birds contracted bird flu,' said Azadur Rahman Bhutto, a poultry farmer from Adamdighi upazila in Bogra district, whose 7,500 birds were exterminated on March 14.

He said that he had not yet started stocking chickens in his farm due to lack of money and none of the farmers of his area had got the due compensation this year.

'So far as I know, only a few affected farmers have got compensation from the government,' said Bangladesh Poultry Khamar Rokhkha Jatiya Parishad's general secretary, Khandakar Mohammad Mohsin.

He said that many of the affected farmers would not be able to start their farms again due to the delay as they are now paying back their loans with interest, and will only receive a small part of their actual loss as compensation.

DLS's director general said that he expected to receive the fund to pay compensation soon and would then be able to recompense the affected farmers.

Source : New Age

Police refuse to take BNP case, BNP rejects probe body

The police on Thursday refused to accept a case against two police officials on charge of assaulting opposition BNP chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque during the hartal on Wednesday.

The police, on the contrary, filed a case against two lawmakers including Farroque and some 10 unnamed persons on charge of obstructing the police from discharging their duty, assaulting police officials and threatening them on Manik Mia Avenue during the hartal.

Besides, the police on Thursday formed a three-member committee to investigate Wednesday's police action on Farroque.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party's lawmaker ABM Ashrafuddin Nizan, along with his fellow party members, went to Sher-e-Bangla thana at around 3:30pm to file the case.

But the on-duty police officials refused to accept the case and told the opposition lawmakers that they would not be able to do so without getting a green signal from the government high-ups.

They said that the police themselves had filed a case against Farroque in connection with the incident.

The thana's operation officer, Tanveer Hassan, told New Age that some opposition lawmakers had come to the thana and given him a letter in a envelope.

'We have received the document but did not open it. I will discuss it with the officer-in-charge when he comes to the office,' he said. 'As there is already a case against Farroque, we can't lodge the opposition's case without permission from the higher authorities'.

But the on-duty officer had kept a copy of the complaint, which had the names of Dhaka Metropolitan Police's additional deputy commissioner Harun-or-Rashid and Mohammadpur zone's assistant commissioner Biplab Sarkar who allegedly led the attack on Farroque.

Farroque, who was injured in the police attack on Manik Mia Avenue on the first day of hartal, is now undergoing treatment at the United Hospital under police vigilance.

The BNP condemned the refusal to take the case and asked the government to take necessary measures to have the case filed, otherwise it threateningly said that the government would have to bear all the responsibility.

The BNP said it would go to court to file the case next week.

BNP's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir made the demand while addressing a media briefing at the party's central office on Thursday.

Later, in a press statement, Fakhrul rejected the 3-member inquiry committee formed by the police to investigate the attack on

Farroque, and blamed the home affairs ministry for the incident.

Fakhrul said that under the existing law it is mandatory for the police to take the case that any citizen wants to file with the thana.

'We are stunned. Is this the rule of law? In which direction is the country going?' he fulminated. 'The entire government mechanism was involved in the plot to assault Farroque in a bid to kill him.'

'A ligament of Farroque's left knee has snapped and a bone was fractured. He needs to be flown abroad for his treatment as he was assaulted in such a brutal manner that his treatment will not be possible in Bangladesh,' he claimed.

He came down heavily on the government as well as on the home affairs minister for their stance on the attack on Farroque. 'Sahara's comment on the Farroque incident is indecent,' he said.

Showing some video footage of the incident, Fakhrul claimed, 'Farroque did not throw brickbats or stones at any bus.'

Referring to a news item and photographs in daily Prothom Alo, he asked the newspaper authorities to dig out the truth behind the incident.

Alleging that the police are trying to arrest Farroque, he claimed that some 40 to 50 policemen have been deployed in and around the hospital.

Reiterating his demands for Sahara Khatun's resignation, he said, 'We want the men involved in beating up Farroque to be meted out exemplary punishment without any further delay.'

Several political parties condemned the police attack on Farroque and issued statements in which they also demanded exemplary punishment of the police officials responsible for attacking him.

While visiting Farroque at the hospital on Thursday afternoon, the Krishak Sramik Janata League's chief, Abdul Quader Siddiqui, told reporters that the police cannot act like thugs in a democratic society.

He vehemently condemned the attack on the lawmaker and demanded exemplary punishment of the assailants.

The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's executive committee chairman, ASM Abdur Rab, and general secretary, Abdul Malek Ratan, said that this type of attack was an 'ominous sign' for democracy.

Bangladesh Jatiya Party's chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partho and general secretary Shamim Al Mamun, in a joint statement, said that this attack was a pre-planned attempt to kill the opposition chief whip.

The Bangladesh National Awami Party's chairman, at a press briefing in the party's office, said the country's people were shocked to see the way a central leader of the main opposition party was tortured by the police.

Jatiya Mukti Council's chairman Badruddin Umar and secretary Faizul Hakim said that the police attack on the opposition chief whip had taken place at the government's instructions.

The Bangladesh Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad said that the assault on the BNP chief whip has revealed the autocratic mentality of the ruling party. They urged home affairs minister Sahara Khatun to resign.

In a joint statement, a total of 1,111 physicians protested against the police 'atrocities' on Farroque. 'The police should have shown due respect to the Members of Parliament.'

Source : New Age

Dhaka, Delhi sign deals on investment protection, Bhutan transit

Bangladesh and India signed two agreements Thursday, a protocol on promotion and protection of investment and the other on transit to Bhutan.

They signed the protocol on 'exchange of instruments of ratification of the India-Bangladesh agreement on promotion and protection of investments (BIPPA)' to provide 'national treatment' and 'most favoured nation treatment' to investments from investors of the other country.

The two countries also signed a separate agreement on 'Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for movement of Bhutanese vehicles between Indian Land Custom Stations and Bangladesh Land Custom Stations' to allow trucks from Bhutan to enter 200 meters inside Bangladesh.

With signing of the protocol, the 'Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investments', which the two countries signed on February 9, 2009, came into force immediately.

Bangladesh High Commissioner in India Tariq A Karim and Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka Rajeet Mitter signed the protocol on behalf of their governments.

National Board of Revenue member Shah Alam Khan and Indian external affairs ministry joint secretary Vardhan Shringla signed the agreement for their countries.

The agreements were signed at a city hotel in the presence of foreign minister Dipu Moni and her Indian counterpart SM Krishna.

'BIPPA provides for creation of favourable conditions for fostering and encouraging investments. It also envisages that "National" treatment and "Most Favoured Nation" treatment to be accorded by either country to investments of investors of the other country,' according to a brief distributed among reporters after signing of the agreements.

The agreement states that investments of either country would not be 'nationalised or expropriated except for public purpose in accordance with law and against fair and equitable compensation'.

It also provides for repatriation of capital investment, non-operating profits, loan repayments, royalty payments and service fees without delay and on a non-discriminatory basis.

The agreement is valid for ten years and thereafter it would be deemed to have been automatically extended unless either government gives a written notice to the other government of its intention to terminate the deal, the brief stated.

Speaking at a joint news conference after an hour-long official talks followed by signing of the two agreements, the two foreign ministers expressed the  optimism that most of the contentious issues including water sharing of two common rivers Teesta and Feni and border demarcation would be resolved during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Dhaka in September.

'We have made substantial forward movement in the field of water resources. Both sides are discussing interim water sharing of Teesta and Feni rivers,' Krishna said in a written statement.

Replying to a question, Dipu Moni said the sharing of the waters of the two rivers would be done on the basis of equity and fair share.

She said that the

Bangladesh-India Joint Rivers Commission had nearly finalised the sharing of Teesta and Feni waters.

'We will be able to sign something during the (Indian PM's) visit', she said. 

On border and land disputes, Dipu Moni said the issues of demarcation of 6.5 kms of border, transfer of enclaves and lands in adverse possession would be resolved under 'a package' in the spirit of 1974 Mujib-Indira Land Boundary Agreement.

Krishna said the two sides 'are engaged in a process' to seek a comprehensive resolution of outstanding land boundary issues.

About connectivity and the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports, Dipu Moni said it would be done under a framework of agreement encompassing India, Nepal and Bhutan.

'It is a part of the transit issue. We're trying to come up with a framework under which a number of protocols will be signed and that work is going on,' she said.

Krishna said both the sides 'are working on several projects to improve trade-infrastructure and connectivity.'

About killings of Bangladeshi civilians by Indian BSF at the border, Dipu Moni said Dhaka's concern on the border killings was conveyed to India during her official talks with Krishna yesterday morning.

Krishna said that the government of India asked BSF to exercise maximum restraint during border shooting and deal situations from a humane perspective.

Both the ministers reiterated that no insurgent, extremist or terrorist group would be allowed to use the soil of their respective countries to carryout activities inimical to each other's interest.

Regarding Bangladesh importing power from India, Krishna said India would supply 250 MW of electricity to Bangladesh by the end of 2012 or in the summer of 2013 at a preferential rate at which the Indian power generation company NTPC supplies electricity to Indian provinces.

He said feasibility study on setting up of a 1300 MW coal-based power plant in Bagerhat has been completed.

Regarding bilateral trade, he said India wants growth of the export from Bangladesh.

Asked about Indian PM's recent controversial remarks that 25 percent population of Bangladesh are Jamaat-e-Islami and they are, many times, in the clutches of Pakistan spy agency ISI, Krishna said the Indian government has given a clarification and he himself discussed the matter with prime minister Sheikh Hasina when her met her Thursday.

Replying to a question from New Age on whether Manmohan's remarks that 'a political landscape in Bangladesh can change any time' had deepened mistrust between the two neighbours, Krishna said there is no trust deficit between Bangladesh and India.

The relations between the two countries would be a 'role model' for other countries in South Asia, he said.

He also said, India has 'total trust and confidence' on Bangladesh.

Krishna called on president, Zillur Rahman and prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Thursday.

Krishna is scheduled to call on the leader of the Opposition, Khaleda Zia, this   morning.

He leaves Dhaka for New Delhi in the afternoon.

Source : New Age

Strike passes second day with sporadic clashes

The 48-hour general strike the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies started enforcing on Wednesday morning continued on Thursday amid sporadic incidents of violence at places across the country disrupting normal life and business.

The police kept the BNP's central office at Naya Paltan cordoned off for the second day to prevent opposition leaders and activists to stave off any 'subversive acts.'

The opposition lawmakers went on demonstrations

at the national assembly complex in protest at Wednesday's 'brutal attack' on the opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque.

The opposition alliance enforced the strike, which ends this morning, in protest against the scrapping the 15th amendment to the constitution and in demand for the revival of the provision for an election-time caretaker government.

The police said that at least 100 people had been arrested at places across the country on the second day of the strike. Seven of them were arrested in the capital, the police said.

A number of vehicles were burnt on the day.

Mobile courts that were in operation on the day jailed five people in Dhaka for their suspected involvement in picketing. 

The BNP claimed that more than 100 of its activists had been arrested and about 175 had been wounded in police action on Thursday.

The party said that 400 activists had been arrested and 450 people had been wounded on Wednesday.

The party said mobile courts had jailed more than 6,500 activists to varying terms in the two days.

Seventeen lawmakers of the opposition BNP sat in on the driveway of the national assembly complex demanding arrest and exemplary punishment of the policemen who attacked Farroque.

The party's joint secretary general AM Mahbubuddin Khokan, also a lawmaker, led the sit-in that continued for an hour beginning at 9:30am. They later brought out a procession in the driveway.

Lawmakers at the demonstrations condemned the government for such unprecedented act of torturing a lawmaker and criticised the speaker for not visiting the injured Farroque in hospital.

They also criticised the home affairs minister as she did not bother to visit Farroque but visited the policemen who carried out the attack. Such an attack is a threat to democracy, they said.

Lawmaker Ashrafuddin Nizan said that the speaker had assured of taking necessary measures and had spoken to the suavely when they went to lodge a complaint with him. 'But we could clearly understand that he was helpless and has nothing to do.'

Policemen in riot gear moved along with the lawmakers and crossed past the entrance to the national carrying weapons but they were immediately pushed out by Jatiya Sangsad security people.

The police had cordoned off the BNP's central office since morning. The party's standing committee member Nazrul Islam Khan, acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and joint secretary general Rizvi Ahmed stayed inside the police cordon.

The BNP and its allies darted out of allies into roads in processions and back at places in the capital.

The police arrested Masud Sheikh when he was trying to burn a bus near the water reservoir at Mirpur Section 10 early Thursday. Masud said that two people named Yusuf and Rubel had given him Tk 100 and assured him of paying more if he could set fire to the bus, the police said.

Jatiyatabadi Swechchhasebak Dal activists brought out a procession on Panthapath about 8:30am, vandalised two buses and dispersed rapidly.

Chhatra Dal activists brought out a procession about noon at Mouchak and another group rallied at Bangshal. The police arrested a protester at the procession.

The police foiled small processions of the BNP at New Market and at Mirpur Section 10.

The New Age correspondent in Gazipur said that two buses had been burnt on Thursday. A bus of Balaka Paribahan parked near the Barshan Cinema was set on fire about 1:00am and the other of the same transport company parked near the west ramp of the Ahsanullah Master flyover in Tongi was burnt about 4:00am.

Ruling Awami League supporters, meanwhile, vandalised the local BNP office at Telihati of Shreepur in the district on Wednesday night when they brought out a procession against the strike.

The Telihati union unit BNP president, Akterul Alam Master, said that the office was closed during the attack and the AL supporters vandalised the office without any provocation.

Reports from Chittagong said that at least 10 people, including a policeman, were injured in clashes with the lawmen.

The clash began after three crude bombs were thrown into the policemen at Kazir Dewri in which havildar Kiran Chakma was wounded.

The police then attacked women activists present in the BNP office compound and beat them with truncheon. Nine of them were wounded.

In Rajshahi, the police foiled processions of the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami and arrested 26 activists. Thirteen Jamaat activists were detained from a procession near New Market and 13 BNP supporters were picked up from Ward 2 of the city.

In Sylhet, the police picked up 20 pickets, including Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal joint general secretary Samiya Chowdhury, Sylhet city ward councillors Sahana Begum Shanu and Saleha Kabir Shepi and former wad councillor Kohinur Ahktar Jharna as they tried to bring out a procession at Zindabazar towards noon.

The police also picked up six activists of Jamaat-e-Islami and its students' front Chhatra Shibir when they tried to bring out a procession at Mirza Jangal about 11:00am. Eight more supporters of the strike were detained from other places.

In Barisal, pickets damaged a truck, two buses, eight rickshaws, four auto-rickshaws and two human-haulers and tried to block roads by starting fire with tyres and by placing logs on the road stretches.

The Barisal Metropolitan Police said they had lodged cases against 150 pickets. No mobile court was in operation in Barisal on the day.

The rival factions of the district unit BNP went on demonstrations separately in support of the strike.

The correspondent in Jamalpur said that at least 27 people, including seven policemen, were injured in a clash between the pickets and the police at Baliguri Bazar at Madarganj.

Local people said that as a patrol team of the police suddenly attacked a crowd of pickets, the pickets pelted the lawmen with stones.

The police fired 28 rubber bullets and seven teargas shells to disperse pickets. Twenty leaders and activists of the BNP and its front organisations and seven policemen were injured.

The Madarganj police chief, Jamal Uddin, said that the injured policemen had been admitted to Madarganj Health Complex.

The correspondent in Noakhali said that the police had arrested 14 people and foiled processions brought out in support of strike and in protest at the attack on Farroque.

The police in Rangpur attacked a procession of the BNP in which 15 were injured at Kacharibajar in the town. The lawmen also arrested a man at the place.

The police claimed that they had dispersed the procession when the 'unruly activists' started damaging vehicles.

Reports from Bogra said that pickets in the town had damaged eight vehicles, clashed with the police, in which two policemen were injured, at Malatinagar. The police fired two rounds to disperse the pickets and picked up five from the place.

Another group of supporters of the strike hired a CNG-run auto-rickshaw from Shibganj and burnt it as it neared the town on Wednesday night. The police arrested two in connection with the incident.

In Natore, supporters of the strike stopped a truck carrying mangoes to Dhaka when it was going through the Natore bypass on Wednesday night. The bus was burnt.

The truck driver and his assistant managed to escape but a mango trader asleep on the mangos sustained serious burn injuries.

The trader, Mosharaf, of Ghoshal Shikdarkandi in Shariatpur, was taken to Natore General Hospital and was then shifted to the burn unit at Dhaka Medical College Hospital in a critical condition.

The police then raided Tebaria in the district headquarters and arrested four BNP activists in connection with the incident.The arrested are Rafiqul Islam Pashan, Alam Bhuyan, Masud Rana and Mamunur Rashid.

Source : New Age