Source : The Daily Star
Snippets: 6 get life for murder
A court here on Monday convicted six people and sentenced them to life term imprisonment in a murder case. The convicts were identified as Dhirendra Nath Roy, Amal Chandra Roy, Shudhon Chandra Roy, Jitendra Nath Roy, Shishu Ram Roy and Gita Rani Roy. The court also fined them Tk 30,000 each, in default, to suffer two years more RI. According to the prosecution, the aforesaid people called Hossain Ali, son of late Tomiz Mahmud of Chira Bhija Golna village out of his home in the name of arbitration following a family feud on December 20, 2005. Hossain was found hanging from a tree the next morning. Later, the deceased's younger brother Abdur Rahman filed a murder case accusing 13 people.
Three housewives murdered
Three housewives were murdered allegedly by their husbands in Naogaon, Madaripur and Narayanganj in the last three days.
A woman was brutally killed allegedly by her husband over family feud at Fetgram village in Manda upazila of Naogaon yesterday.
The victim was identified as Khadija Bibi, 35, wife of Shamsher Ali of the village, reports UNB.
Police quoting local people said an altercation ensued between Shamsher and his second wife Khadija over a trifling matter at around 8:00 am.
At one stage of their quarrel Shamsher slit the throat of his wife with a sharp knife, leaving her dead on the spot.
Police later arrested Shamsher from the area.
In Madaripur, a newly-married woman was beaten to death allegedly by her husband over a trifling matter at Shirkhara village in Sadar upazla early Tuesday.
Victim Nazma Begum, 21, was daughter of Moinul Islam Khondakar of Lundi village in the upazila.
Police said Sanowar Matbar, 24, of Shirkhara village married Nazma Begum four months ago. He used to quarrel with her over flimsy issues since their marriage.
On the fateful night, he picked up a quarrel with his wife and at one stage beat her mercilessly, leaving her dead on the spot.
In Narayanganj, a woman who was injured by her husband, died at Khanpur 200-bed Hospital in the town Monday night.
Bashir Mia, 38, a resident of Tolla in Fatulla PS beat up his wife Shahida Begum, 35, over a trifling matter, leaving her seriously wounded Monday evening.
Quoting victim's relatives, police said Shahida was married to Bashir only seven days ago. It was her second marriage.
Neighbours brought the injured housewife to Khanpur hospital where she succumbed to her injuries at night.
Police arrested Bashir, a rickshaw van puller, after the victim's brother filed a case with Fatulla police station.
Source : The Daily Star
Snippets: Teenage boy abducted
A teenage boy was abducted allegedly by some Indian citizens on Banderpara border under Boda upazila in Panchagarh on Tuesday evening. Officer-in-charge of Boda police station Kaiser Ali Khan quoting locals said Foizul Islam,18, of Banderpara village went to catch fish in a waterbody on the border on Tuesday evening. At one stage, five Indian citizens of Satkura village in Jalpaiguri district in India abducted him. Local people informed the matter to Panchagarh BGB officials immediately and the BGB officials sent a message to BSF officials on the same night. A company commander level flag meeting was held yesterday. At the meeting BSF men assured BGB of taking proper steps to rescue the boy.
Source : The Daily Star
Candidate runs away from home: 'Death threat' by rival candidate in Lalmonirhat
A defeated union parishad chairman candidate, also secretary of Burimari union unit of Awami League (AL) in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district, has been staying outside his home for around a month amid alleged death threat by another defeated candidate belonging to the same party.
The victim, Anwarul Islam Dipu cannot open his business house at Burimari land port in Patgram upzila, as men of his rival Musa Ali, vice president of Patgram upazila unit of AL, locked it and took away the keys on June 5, Dipu told journalists at Lalmonirhat Press Club on Tuesday morning.
"I filed a general diary with Patgram police station on June 5. The next day I submitted a written complaint to the deputy commissioner and the superintendent of police of Lalmonirhat and the upazila nirbahi officer of Patgram regarding the matter. But I am yet to get any help from the administration," Dipu said.
"Five Awami League men including me and Musa Ali and another person backed by BNP contested for the post of chairman in Burimari union parishad poll held on June 4. The BNP supported candidate was elected.
"Musa thought he was defeated in the poll due to my contesting. A gang of 18/20 men led by Musa attacked my business establishment Messers Sathi Agro Limited at Burimari land port on June 5 morning. The gang assaulted three employees Nuruzzaman, Touhidul Islam and Saddam Hossain and locked the office in my absence. The attackers also took away all the keys of the office," Anwarul Islam Dipu said.
Dipu said he and his family members are passing days amid anxiety due to death threat by Musa.
When contacted, Musa Ali declined to talk with the journalists regarding the matter.
Patgram upazila AL President Anwarul Islam Nazu said he and other leaders are preparing to settle the problem between two defeated UP candidates belonging to the party.
Patgram police station OC Murshidul Karim said police will take necessary action after investigation if Anwarul Islam Dipu files a case.
Source : The Daily Star
Shahadat Hossen
Today is the 4th death anniversary of Sheikh Shahadat Hossen Abdul Hye, a retired senior officer of Sonali Bank.
On the occasion, doa mahfils will be held at his village home at Shimulia in Louhajang upazila, Munshiganj and at the Jam-e-Masjid near Malibagh intersection in the city.
His relatives, friends, and well-wishers are requested to attend the programme.
Source : The Daily Star
Two killed in road crashes
Two people were killed and nine others injured in road accidents in Natore and Satkhira yesterday.
Our Natore correspondent reports: A person was killed and nine others injured in a microbus-truck collision near Rajakar More in Baraigram upazila early yesterday.
Deceased is Rabiul Islam, 25, son of Abul Hossain of Koyen Bazar village of the upazila.
Rabiul died on the spot while nine of the 10 passengers of the microbus suffered injuries.
The injured were taken to Rajshahi Medical Collage Hospital and different local clinics.
Our Satkhira correspondent says: A seven-year-old girl was crushed under a bus on Satkhira-Khulna road in Patkelghata village in Tala upazila Tuesday.
Dead is Asia Khatun, daughter of Md Aksed Ali Sardar of village Patkelghata, and a class II student of Parkumira Government Primary School.
Police said Asia felled down from the bus and was crushed under it while getting down.
Source : The Daily Star
Death anniversary
Today is the 4th death anniversary of Dr Ambia Kader, wife of Dr MA Kader, general secretary of Bangladesh Homeopathic Medical Association, says a press release.
On the occasion, a qurankhwani and a milad mahfil will be held and special prayers will be offered at Biroi village in Gafargaon, Mymensingh after Zohr prayers.
Source : The Daily Star
Maintain austerity in power use: PM urges people
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday reiterated her call to the people to maintain austerity in using electricity at their houses and workplaces as well.
"You have to maintain austerity in using power so that we could provide new electricity connections to the consumers," she said and advised all to switch off power immediately after office hours and keep air cooler at 30-degree Celsius to this end.
Replying to a supplementary of treasury bench member Waresat Hossain Belal in the Jatiya Sangsad, Hasina mentioned various programmes undertaken by her government for increasing the country's power generation.
She said after assuming office, her government has taken prompt steps to solve the country's power crisis.
Hasina criticised the past BNP-Jamaat government for its negligence in improving power situation. She said the BNP during its five-year tenure and the subsequent caretaker government for two years did not do anything for raising the country's power generation. The BNP had destroyed the sector through unbridled corruption and mismanagement, she added.
Answering to the main question, the prime minister said her government has taken various steps across the country to prevent illegal connections of power.
She said steps have been taken to conduct 15 mobile courts in Dhaka, five in Chittagong and others in different divisional and district headquarters to ensure lawful action against the illegal power users. Steps have also been taken to make the Power Act-1910 time befitting, she added.
Source : The Daily Star
Two sisters drown while having bath in Buriganga
Two sisters yesterday drowned in the river Buriganga while having bath in Swarighat area.
Dead are Keya Akter, 11, and Riya Akter, 9, daughters of Moslem Uddin of Moulvibazar in Old Dhaka.
Keya was a class III student of Armanitola New Government High School and Riya was a class I student of Moulvibazar Government Primary School.
The victims' family sources said Keya and Riya went to the river around 10:30am with a girl of a nearby house.
Around 12:00noon, locals found the two sisters drowned and took them to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared them dead.
The two girls did not know how to swim.
Source : The Daily Star
BNP for resignation of home minister: AL urges BNP to shun politics of hartal
The opposition BNP yesterday said it would announce next agitation programme at the end of the 48-hour non-stop hartal to protect people's right to vote while the ruling Awami League urged the opposition to give up politics of confrontation and hartal for the sake of strengthening democracy.
BNP also termed the hartal a success and thanked people for observing it spontaneously while AL said people have rejected the hartal.
Briefing journalists at the party office, BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir demanded resignation of the home minister for attacks on the party leaders and activists and for the barbaric police assault on Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque.
He also demanded immediate release of the arrested leaders and workers.
AL Joint Secretary General Mahbubul Alam Hanif, however, blamed Farroque for misbehaving with police and said he [Farroque] might have suffered injury during a scuffle with law enforcers.
The AL leader said, "How Farroque behaved with the law enforcers being the opposition chief whip and a parliament member is too sad. He behaved with the law enforcers as if they were petty criminals".
He urged the opposition leaders to maintain "proper behaviour" in speeches.
Hanif, also special assistant to the prime minister, was speaking to the media at the party office.
Mirza Fakhrul said, "The government has let loose repression to obstruct democratic movement. We are on hartal and the next programme will follow the ongoing hartal. The home minister must quit".
The BNP leader said they will seek legal measures against the police attack on Farroque.
Nearly 550 people were wounded at the first day of the non-stop hartal and more than 400 leaders and workers were arrested across the country, said Mirza Fakhrul.
The party leaders Nazrul Islam Khan, Dhaka city Mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Abdullah Al Noman, and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, among others, were present at the briefing.
Hanif said, "BNP called the hartal only to save Tarique Rahman and Koko, and Jamaat called hartal to protect war criminals who have been arrested on charges of crimes against humanity".
AL leaders AFM Bahauddin Nasim, Ahmed Hossain, BM Mojammel Haque, Mrinal Kanti Das, Faridunnahar Laily, and Nazrul Islam Babu, among others, attended the briefing.
Source : The Daily Star
Businessman Murder: 3 arrested in Keraniganj
Three people were arrested on charge of killing a hotel businessman in Keraniganj.
Police recovered the body of Nazir Hossain, 28, from under the earth of the floor of a house at about 9:00am on Wednesday and sent it to Mitford Hospital morgue for autopsy.
Police said Razia, wife of Oli, called Nazir over cellphone at her rented house at Chandipur under Taranagar Union on June 28.
Later, Razia aided by Oli, Shaheed and Didar killed him and put the body under the earth apparently to hide the incident.
Police arrested Razia and Didar after victim's uncle Moktar Hossain on July 2 filed a case with Keraniganj Model Police Station. Shaheed was arrested from Cox's Bazar.
Source : The Daily Star
'Give importance to fine art'
The study of fine art has been given less importance in the latest education policy for which the nation faces the possibility of falling behind the contemporary world, said a number of fine art connoisseurs.
They demanded inclusion of fine art as a compulsory subject in schools and collages of the country to produce creative and dedicated human beings.
The Daily Star on Tuesday went to some of the fine art experts of the country to get their views of the pros and cons of the strategies in the National Education Policy 2010 to promote fine art.
"To make a nation civilised and culturally oriented, the government must come forward to patronise the study of fine arts, with proper emphasis," said noted sculptor Prof Hamiduzzaman Khan.
But the students of our country are being deprived of these facilities for lack of government efforts and public awareness, Prof Hamiduzzaman added.
The education policy approved on April 29 last year says fine art will be taught at primary and high schools as an optional subject.
"It is disappointing that the government did not declare the study of fine art as a compulsory subject," said Prof Emdadul Haque Md Matlub Ali, dean of Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University.
The government should make fine art a mandatory subject from class one to 11 in educational institutions, he said.
Just as fine art began to flourish in the country, some religious bigots tried to physically and mentally harass artists. These bigots have not stopped, he added.
"Unless the government directly patronises this branch of education and refrains from being influenced by them (religious bigots), the nation will surely fail to keep pace with the modern world," he said.
Dhaka Collegiate School Headmaster Mohammad Fariduddin also supported the demand that the government should make fine art a compulsory subject to make children efficient in the arts and crafts arena.
The experts said fine art helps in learning mathematics, science, engineering and many branches of education.
Fine art not only helps children to be more oriented towards culture, it also helps them be punctual, efficient and disciplined, commented artist Shishir Kumar Bhattacharya.
The fine arts faculty students and teachers demanded creation of more posts of fine art teachers, inline with the education policy, which says the government would appoint efficient fine art teachers in all educational institutions.
They also expressed dissatisfaction at the fact that there are only two posts for Arts and Crafts at Teachers' Training College, which is insufficient compared to the number of students.
Source : The Daily Star
Ban Ki-moon condoles death of Bangladeshi peacekeeper
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his deep shock at the death of Mohammad Abdul Dorji, member of Bangladesh police.
Dorji died while serving at the police unit of UN Peacekeeping Mission in Ivory Coast on May 6.
In a condolence letter sent to Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to UN Dr AK Abdul Momen, the UN secretary general conveyed his sympathy to the Bangladesh government as well as the deceased's family.
Ban Ki-moon also expressed his deep gratitude to Bangladesh for continued contribution to the UN Peacekeeping Mission.
Source : The Daily Star
Removal of earth caused Ctg wall collapse, says probe report
Construction of the hill protection wall with no holes to discharge rainwater and illegal removal of earth supporting the wall by land grabbers caused the tragic wall collapse here in Batali Hill on July 1 that left 17 people dead.
The causes came up in the investigation report made by the five-member committee formed by the district administration after they inspected the spot and talked to the locals.
The committee Convener Md Ehsan E Elahi, also additional deputy commissioner (general) of Chittagong, submitted the three-page report to Deputy Commissioner Foyez Ahmad at the latter's office around 7:00pm yesterday.
Elahi said they recommended formation of an expert technical committee to find whether there was any fault in the wall's technical design, if proper construction materials were used and to check the report made by the concerned engineer.
The 450 feet long and 30 feet high structure, made in 2009-10, is composed of two parallel walls with a gap in the middle filled with earth. One wall was adjacent to the hill while the other was a few feet away, connected by smaller walls. Around 40 feet of the outer wall collapsed, said the report.
Land grabbers or beneficiaries removed a good portion of earth from the bottom of the wall. Moreover, rainwater collected in the gap and, along with the weight of the earth, caused the collapse, added the report.
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
The committee recommended Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) to take exemplary steps against anyone found responsible by the committee's proposed expert committee.
The report recommended punishing the people who illegally set up slums and rent them out after grabbing hill slopes.
It requested CCC and Bangladesh Railway, Batali Hill owners, to shift the people living in the slopes and adjacent to the wall.
It directed all government organisations and individuals owning hills in the city to immediately evacuate people living in the slopes, encircle the hills with barbed wire fencing and to plant trees there.
They were also asked to make a list of the people living on the hill slopes to rehabilitate them with the help of district administration and to take steps in maintaining their respective protection walls.
It recommended taking immediate steps to evacuate people from 12 risky hills identified by a committee formed in 2007 with the then divisional commissioner as the convener.
Source : The Daily Star
Speaker unhappy: BNP lawmakers to hold sit-in protest today
Speaker Abdul Hamid yesterday expressed regret about assault on Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque by members of law-enforcement agencies during the first day of 48-hour shutdown.
He also assured a delegation of BNP-led opposition lawmakers of writing to the home ministry to enquire into the matter.
The Speaker said this when an 18-member delegation of the BNP-led opposition called on him at his parliament office.
Led by BNP Joint Secretary General AM Mahbubuddin Khokon, the parliamentary delegation also submitted a memorandum to Abdul Hamid demanding punishment of two police officials -- Harun and Biplob Sarker. The BNP lawmakers alleged these two police officials were responsible for conducting an attack on the opposition chief whip.
Talking to reporters, the Speaker said he expressed his sympathy and regret for that unwanted incident.
Emerging from the Speaker's room at 7:20pm, BNP lawmaker AKM Hafizur Rahman told reporters the Speaker extended his sympathy to the BNP-led opposition lawmakers for the "unwanted incident" and regretted for it.
"Speaker Abdul Hamid has also assured us that he will write to the home ministry to enquire into the incident," Hafizur Rahman added.
Earlier, the BNP-led opposition lawmakers at a press conference at the Jatiya Sangsad Media Centre announced to form a human chain in front of the parliament premises today in protest against the attack on Farroque.
Meanwhile, a number of ruling alliance MPs also talked in parliament on the assault of the opposition chief whip.
Taking floor on a point of order, ruling Awami League MP Suranjit Sengupta condemned the incident.
"Such incident is certainly unwanted and we do not appreciate this," Suranjit said in parliament.
He however alleged the main opposition was engaged in creating "artificial crisis" in the country centring the caretaker government issue.
"This [caretaker government] is a parliament related issue, but they [opposition] are creating crisis outside parliament," he added.
AL lawmaker Abdul Mannan blamed Farroque saying he "misbehaved" with law enforcers that cannot be expected from the opposition chief whip.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal MP Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal also condemned the attack on the opposition chief whip.
Source : The Daily Star
6 polluting brick kilns fined
The Department of Environment (DOE) yesterday, fined six brick kilns at South Keraniganj on the capital's outskirts, a total of Tk 18 lakh for polluting the air and altering characteristics of flood plains.
An enforcement team of DoE led by its Director Mohammad Munir Chowdhury fined the owners of Nobin Bricks, Nirman Bricks, MMB Bricks, Sonartori Bricks, Mollah Bricks and National Bricks Company, said a press release.
They have been operating for the past six years without DoE certificates, licences by deputy commissioner or approval of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI).
Each kiln produces around 2.5 crore units of bricks per annum.
This require at least 20,00,000 cubic feet of soil and 60,000 gallons of water as raw material, which are extracted from nearby river banks and agricultural land.
Despite repeated notifications by the DoE, the brick kilns owners did not replace the system with modern chimneys which reduces the emission of carbon.
Around 50 such traditional brick kilns are located in this area.
Source : The Daily Star
Eyes of 7 pirates gouged out
A mob gouged out eyes of seven pirates at Char Kukrimukri in Bhola district yesterday.
The pirates were initially identified as Sohrab Hossain, 31, Ruhul Amin, 40, Abdur Rahman, 35, Nur Nabi, 35, Abdul Mannan, 44, Shahid, 29, and Lokman.
Md Saifuddin, assistant police superintendent of Bhola, said they sent the injured to Char Fashion upazila health complex under police custody.
Police and locals said a pirate gang last Wednesday abducted fishermen Babul, Ali Abbas Majhi and Harun Mridha along with their fishing boats from Diamonura and Dakatia Ghat on Meghna estuary.
The pirates later claiming themselves members of Rana Bahini gave a cellphone number to the abductees' families to negotiate ransom.
To rescue the abducted fishermen and their trawlers, law enforcers from Char Aicha Police Post and Char Fashion Police Station started an operation and as a part of the initiative they chased several pirate trawlers yesterday to find a lead to catch the abductors.
One of the pirate trawlers had to land in Char Kukrimukri as its engine broke down amid heavy downpour. The pirates then took shelter in Uttar Muslimpara Primary School in the area.
Locals said when they heard about the men, they thronged and besieged the school and informed police about it around 11:00am.
Police reached the spot around 1:30pm and rescued the pirates from the mob. They also recovered two pistols, a pipe gun, 22 bullets, a detached gun barrel and some sharp weapons from the pirates, said Sub-Inspector Alamgir of Char Fashion Police Station.
Source : The Daily Star
August 21 Attacks: 3 ex-investigators sent to prison
Three former Criminal Investigation Department investigators accused in the August 21 grenade attack cases were sent to jail after they surrendered before a Dhaka court yesterday.
The three are also accused of misleading the probe into the grenade attack cases.
Metropolitan Magistrate Keshob Roy Chowdhury sent them to jail when former special superintendent of police Ruhul Amin and two former assistant superintendents of police Munshi Atiqur Rahman and Abdur Rashid appeared before the court seeking bail.
They sought bail in the case filed in connection with the killing of 24 people in the grisly grenade attack on an Awami League rally in 2004.
During the hearing on bail petition, their lawyer Abdus Sobhan told the court that his clients were implicated in the case as part of a conspiracy to harass them. He said the rules allow his clients to have bail. Moreover, another case was filed against them in connection with misleading the probe and they have received bail in that case, he said.
Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu told the court that the charges brought against the accused were primarily proved. The three accused had earlier misled the probe into the grenade attack cases and he prayed for sending them to jail rejecting their bail.
On Monday, three former police chiefs--Ashraful Huda, Khoda Baksh Chowdhury and Shahudul Haque--were also sent to jail after they had surrendered before the same court seeking bail.
Two cases were filed after the attack. One for murder of 24 people and the other under Explosive Substances Act.
EXPLOSIVES CASE
Hearing on the charges against 30 new accused, including BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, in the case filed under Explosive Substances Act will be held on July 14.
After scrutinising the case dockets and other relevant documents, Judge Mohammad Zohurul Haque of Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court fixed the date for hearing on taking into cognizance the charges against the accused.
The court also directed the jail authorities to produce 12 accused, including former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar and Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojahid, on that day.
BACKGROUND
Awami League President and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped when a barrage of grenades exploded at an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004, killing 24 people.
President Zillur Rahman's wife and Awami League leader Ivy Rahman died and 500 others were injured.
In 2008, the CID submitted charge sheets against 22 people including former BNP deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu and 21 Harkatul Jihad men including militant kingpin Mufti Hannan.
On August 3, 2008, a Dhaka court ordered the CID investigators to further probe the grenade attack as the earlier investigation failed to reveal the sources of the grenades and identify the masterminds.
After 14 time extensions, the CID on Sunday submitted the supplementary charge sheet accusing 30 more people.
Source : The Daily Star
China raises interest rates amid inflation fight
China raised a key interest rate Wednesday for a third time this year as it tries to cool surging inflation.
The benchmark rate for one-year loans will be raised 0.25 percentage points to 6.56 per cent, effective today, the central bank announced. The rate paid on deposits will rise by a similar margin to 3.5 per cent.
Inflation hit a 34-month high of 5.5 per cent in May and is believed to have risen further in June even as an overheated economy cools gradually under the pressure of investment curbs and other controls.
The slowdown in some industries has prompted fears more interest rate hikes might trigger a sharp slump. But most analysts say the government should be able to avoid that.
'Benchmark lending rates are still low relative to the pace of economic growth,' said Capital Economics analyst Mark Williams in a report.
Inflation is politically dangerous for the ruling communists because it erodes economic gains that underpin their claim to power and can fuel unrest.
The Cabinet's planning agency says June inflation, due to be reported next week, is likely to exceed May's level due to a jump in food costs blamed on summer floods that damaged crops.
Private sector forecasters say June inflation could pass 6 per cent. They say the mix of rapid growth and higher inflation means Beijing should further tighten access to credit.
Analysts blame the inflation spike on the dual pressures of rising consumer demand that is outstripping food supplies and a bank lending boom that was part of Beijing's response to the 2008 global crisis.
Beijing relies less than other major governments on interest rates to regulate the economy. Instead, it uses more targeted controls such as loan quotas while avoiding across-the-board rate hikes that push up borrowing costs for state companies.
The rate hike also will boost costs for local governments that borrowed from banks to pay for constructing highways and other public works.
Source : New Age
Nokia abandons Japan market
Nokia Corp, battered by the popularity of smartphones, is abandoning the Japanese market, after a brief foray with luxury cell phones costing as much as 20 million yen ($2,50,000).
The Finnish handset maker is closing by the end of July its last store selling high-end Vertu cell phones in Ginza. Previously, it had four such stores in Japan, according to Tomoko Morinari of Sunny Side Up, a Tokyo public relations company that has Nokia as its client.
She declined to say when the decision to leave Japan was made or how many Vertu phones Nokia had sold in Japan.
Vertu said in a statement Wednesday that it was 'withdrawing from the Japanese market' to better focus on priority businesses. It thanked business partners, said its Tokyo office will fold by the end of this year, but promised to continue to do work with Japanese craftsmen in its business elsewhere.
Nokia phones have never been that popular in Japan, where the iPhone from Apple Inc. is hugely popular in addition to offerings from Japanese electronics makers such as Sharp Corp.
Vertu handsets were billed as luxury items including one of lacquer by a Japanese craftsman decorated as a National Treasure that went for 20 million yen ($2,50,000), Morinari said.
Last month, Nokia warned its second-quarter sales and margins are expected to be much lower than anticipated because of global competition in both the high- and low-end markets.
Source : New Age
ADB, Swiss Re boost Asian trade financing
The Asian Development Bank and reinsurer Swiss Re announced an agreement on Wednesday to boost regional trade by guaranteeing financing risks for exporters and importer in poor countries.
The guarantee means banks can be more comfortable lending to these companies, which need short-term funds to pay for their import-export activities, boosting trade.
Under the agreement, Swiss Re will insure $250 million of financing conducted through the ADB's trade finance programme, which provides guarantees and loans — within 24 hours — through more than 200 banks.
The pact is the first time that Zurich-based Swiss Re has provided insurance via a trade programme run by a multilateral development bank, while it is also the first time the ADB has offset risk with a private insurance firm.
'Many other Asian nations find it difficult to export or import key goods because they struggle to get the trade finance they need from international and local banks,' an ADB statement said.
To bridge the gap, the ADB has been providing guarantees to banks to enable them to lend to export and import firms in countries where financing is difficult to get because of perceived risks.
The ADB said its agreement with Swiss Re would allow it to provide more support to countries that need it most.
The ADB said its trade financing programme supported 783 transactions worth $2.8 billion last year, with banks in Bangladesh, Vietnam, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal among the most active users of the facility.
Source : New Age
Dhaka stocks rally on NBR move on undisclosed money
Dhaka stocks gained on Wednesday with a higher turnover as the investors went for a buying binge following the National Board of Revenue's announcement that the investors must keep the undisclosed money invested in stocks till June 2013 to avail the opportunity of legalising it by paying 10 per cent tax, market operators said.
The benchmark general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange, or DGEN, on Wednesday gained 78.07 points, or 1.26 per cent, to close the day at 6,243.33 points. The index had gained 40.81 points on Tuesday.
Turnover of the bourse on Wednesday soared to Tk 1,158.63 crore from Tk 875.60 crore in the previous day.
'Undisclosed money which will be invested in the share market cannot be withdrawn before June 2013. If any one withdraws the capital, he or she will lose the opportunity of legalising the money by paying 10 per cent tax,' an NBR official told reporters on Tuesday.
A DSE source said although the market saw a thin turnout of investors on the first day of the 48-hour general strike the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies are enforcing, the investors placed their sales or buy orders over phone.
Market operators said the investors became optimistic after the NBR's announcement as they thought that the provision would ensure long-term investment in the stock market and also address the liquidity crisis of the market in a better way.
'Undisclosed money which will be invested in the share market cannot be withdrawn before June 2013. If any one withdraws the capital, he or she will lose the opportunity of legalising the money by paying 10 per cent tax,' an NBR official told reporters on Tuesday.
The general index of DSE shed 33.06 points on Monday after gaining 223 points in the previous five trading days as the investors went for a buying binge following the government's decision of allowing investment of undisclosed money in the capital market.
Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, a professor of finance at Dhaka University, said, 'Tuesday's announcement made by the NBR on the investment of undisclosed money in stocks would be helpful for the market as it will reduce volatility.'
'But such scopes in the previous occasions did not bring much funds to the market,' he said.
Of the 260 issues traded on Wednesday, 205 advanced, 51 declined, and four remained unchanged.
Beximco topped the turnover leaders with Tk 53.44 crore. The rest of the top 10 turnover leaders were Uttara Bank, One Bank, MI Cements, IFIC Bank, National Bank, United Commercial Bank, City Bank, AB Bank, and United Airways.
Source : New Age
Lafarge gets India SC nod to mine limestone in Meghalaya
The Indian Supreme Court on Wednesday French cement company Lafarge to mine limestone in the forests of the East Khasi hills in Meghalaya, reports Press Trust of India.
Limestone is transported from the Meghalaya project to Bangladesh via a 17-kilometre conveyor belt for the $280 million Lafarge Surma Cement project at Chhatak, in Sunaganj.
The Lafarge Surma project is wholly dependent on limestone extracted from the Meghalaya mine.
A special forest bench headed by the chief justice SH Kapadia allowed the plea of Lafarge to mine in the forests of Meghalaya.
The apex court also upheld the revised environmental clearances given to Lafarge by the ministry of environment and forest and said, 'We are satisfied with the MOEF as it has taken a due diligence exercise.'
The special bench further said there was no reason to go into the two environmental clearances given by the MOEF.
The court had on May 10 reserved its judgment after hearing all the parties over the revised environmental clearance given to Lafarge for mining in the forest.
The apex court had on February 5, 2010, stopped Lafarge from carrying out limestone mining in Meghalaya for its cement plant, saying mining in the environmentally-sensitive zone could not be allowed.
The ministry of environment and forests had given revised environmental clearance to Lafarge last April on the directions of the Supreme Court after finding the mining project fell in forest land.
People of Shella village, who claim to be in the radius of the mines, are opposing the revised clearance given by the MOEF.
Lafarge is defending its case on the basis of the DFO's report on the project on June 30, 2000, stating that it was waste land and there was no forest there.
On April 24, the ministry told the Supreme Court that it had cleared the mining project of Lafarge Umiam Mining Pvt Ltd, a sister concern of the French major, with strict riders.
The MoEF's revised clearance came after the apex court on April 12 directed it to take a final decision on the 116-hectare limestone mine area in the Khasi Hills Forest area of Meghalaya.
Lafarge Surma is listed with the Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges.
The company's share price rose abnormally last week as the investors went into heavy buying of shares in anticipation of a positive verdict from the Indian court.
Source : New Age
CNG auto-rickshaws not going by govt-fixed fare
The CNG-run auto-rickshaws are charging fares more than what was fixed by the government.
The government on May 16, after the price hike of CNG, raised the fare of the CNG-run three-wheelers to Tk 7.50 a kilometre from Tk 7 and kept the minimum fare unchanged at Tk 25.
It increased the waiting charge to Tk 1.30 a minute from Tk 1.25.
But at present CNG-run auto-rickshaws are charging at their sweet will, alleged commuters in different areas of the capital city.
'Before the price hike of CNG, the fare was really comfortable, but now it has become quite unbearable for us,' said Jerin Sultana, an Elephant Road resident.
She said she used to come to Karwan Bazar from Shahbagh in a CNG-auto-rickshaw with a fare of Tk 30, which is Tk 80 at present.
Saiful Alam, resident of Dhanmondi, said even for the shortest distance the auto-rickshaws were demanding Tk 80.
'If the distance is big, the auto-rickshaws are demanding Tk 10 to Tk 20 more than the actual fare,' he added.
Mirpur-10 resident Habiba said the CNG auto-rickshaws demanded Tk 120 for going to Bashundhara City, refusing to go by the meter.
An auto-rickshaw driver said they were compelled to charge more than the government-fixed fares as the CNG price increased and the owners were charging up to Tk 1,200 as daily deposit.
Bangladesh Road Transport Authority engineering department director Mohammad Saiful Hoque said at present they were not carrying out any mobile court against the CNG-run auto-rickshaws.
He said the owners of these vehicles at a meeting on May 29 had agreed to the government fixed-fare and Tk 600 as daily deposit from the drivers.
'At the meeting the decision to adjust the meters with the newly-fixed fares was taken but it is yet to be implemented,' said Saiful Hoque.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police's traffic south division's additional deputy-police commissioner Mohammad Zaidul Alam said if someone would file any complain with the police, they took action against the errant CNG-auto-rickshaw.
'No, we have no special drive against those charging extra fare but our regular drive is continuing,' he added.
Source : New Age
6 shops fined for selling banned polythene bags
A mobile court of Department of Environment recovered 2,631 kgs of banned polythene bags from six shops and fined them Tk 4.5 lakh in Nama bazaar at Savar in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The mobile court led by executive magistrate M Kamruzzaman along with officials of DoE, RAB and police conducted a drive at the bazaar and recovered 100 kgs of polythene bags from Gopal's shop, 781 kgs from Bhai-Bhai Traders, 350 kgs from Provat Shaha Store, 600 kgs each from Bipul Store and Haji Store and 200 kgs from shop owner Biplob Pal.
Source : New Age
Missing young man found dead in Moulvibazar
The body of a young man, who remained missing since Sunday, was found dead on Wednesday in a ditch in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila.
The deceased was Md Shahed, 20, son of late Sabir Ullah of village Sabia in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila.
The police, quoting family members, said that Shahed remained missing since Sunday. His family members had failed to stress out him. Local people of neighbouring village Balierbhag found his body in a ditch on Wednesday and informed the police.
Being informed, the police went to the spot and recovered the body.
The Moulvibazar sadar model police station officer-in-charge, Amulya Kumar Chowdhury, said that Shahed might have been killed over previous enmity. A case had been filed in this connection and the police was investigating the case, the OC said.
Source : New Age
The deceased was Md Shahed, 20, son of late Sabir Ullah of village Sabia in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila.
The police, quoting family members, said that Shahed remained missing since Sunday. His family members had failed to stress out him. Local people of neighbouring village Balierbhag found his body in a ditch on Wednesday and informed the police.
Being informed, the police went to the spot and recovered the body.
The Moulvibazar sadar model police station officer-in-charge, Amulya Kumar Chowdhury, said that Shahed might have been killed over previous enmity. A case had been filed in this connection and the police was investigating the case, the OC said.
Source : New Age
Poor catch of hilsa fish frustrates fishermen
Poor chatching of hilsa in the very beginning of the season has frustrated the fishermen, fish merchants, investors and ice factory owners in Barisal coastal areas.
Catching of hilsa fish begins normally from the first week of Bangla Jaistha month (mid-May) and continued to late autumn (October).
After lifting of the ban on hilsa netting on June 1, fishermen started catching fishes again, but they were returning home almost empty handed.
According to locals, a large number of fishermen are going to different rivers, river estuaries and deep sea with their fishing trawlers
to catch hilsa. But most of them are being frustrated due to poor catching of hilsa.
Thousands of people, engaged in hilsa trade, including fishermen, trawler owners, ice factories, capital investors and net lenders, have been badly affected by the sudden fall in the hilsa netting, carrying, processing in Barisal region.
Fishermen said hundreds of fishing boats and trawler were busy in netting hilsa almost 24 hours at Kalapara, Galachipa, Daulatkha, Borhanuddin, Tajumuddin, Charfession, Manpura, Ilisha, Veduria, Monpura, Hatiya, Ramgati, Nizampur, Bidda-Sahkina, Patharghata, Mathbaria, Vasanchar, Sreepur, Patarhat, Chandramohon, Muladi, Hizla-Gourabdi, Char Gaguria, Maskazirchar, Antorbam, coastal areas of Barisal division on branches and estuaries of Meghna, Padma, Arial Kha, Kirtankhola, Tentulia, Andharmanik, Balweser, Payera, Ramnabad and Agunmukha rivers .
About 12 big hilsa-trade centres in Barisal region including Barisal Port Road, Alipur, Mohipur, Patherghata, Monpura, Hizla, Ilisha, Gupter Bazer Galachipa, Patarhat, Pirojpur Machghat are now empty of hilsa.
With the trawlers touching the fish ghats at Alipur, Mohipur of Kalapara in Patuakhali and Barisal port road area, people rush near the trawlers to see the catch but they are appalled at the poor catch.
The ice factories have gone into operation for producing ice for the processing of hilsa. The wholesalers have opened hilsa purchasing centres. But poor catching of hilsa has frustrated all of them.
Due to poor catching, price of hilsa fish have shot up beyond the purchasing capacity of the common people and workers at Hilsa fishing trade centres of the region are passing their times by gossiping and playing cards.
Khaja Yunus, a hilsa whole seller of Barisal fish market, said since last few years hilsa traders had been facing an acute crisis of hilsa fish during the starting of the season.
Ajit Kumar Das, president of Barisal Zilla Matsya Aratder Samity, said members of the Samity was reduced to only 60 from 138. A large number of hilsa traders of this region already had windup their business due to the reason and were doing seasonal fruit business in hilsa centre market areas, he said.
Rashid Majhi, a fisherman who went to the bay for hilsa fishing and returned after a 10- day trip, said that they had returned with only two mounds of hilsa on June 26 spending about Tk 2 lakh.
He also said that at the same time of last year they managed to net about 100 mounds of hilsa per trip.
Yusuf Ali, secretary of Bangladesh Non-frozen Fish Exporters Association and Barisal Fish Merchants association, said that they were incurring loss every year facing the crisis of hilsa.
The traders of the region who had already invested over Tk 100 crore in hilsa trading in advance this year were suffering from frustration, he said.
They blamed various climate-related changes and man-made disasters for poor netting and changing of Hilsa season.
Source : New Age
Matlub Anam’s death anniv today
The first anniversary of death of columnist Matlub Anam, also a language movement veteran during 1950s, will be observed today.
Matlub Anam was the third son of politician Abul Mansur Ahmed and elder brother of Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of The Daily Star.
He was born at village Dhanikhola at Trishal, Mymensingh, on December 25, 1933.
Matlub Anam was jailed for taking part in the language movement in 1952.
Matlub Anam served at different multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Searle, SK&F and Social Marketing Company.
He retired after serving as the managing director of Gonoshasthya Pharmaceu-ticals.
A prayer session will be held at his Dhaka residence after maghrib prayers on Friday and foods will be distributed in orphanages on Saturday.
Source : New Age
SCBA president asks PM to quit
The Supreme Court Bar Association president, Khandker Mahbub Hossain, on Wednesday asked the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to step down voluntarily.
'Don't do excess anymore, step down willingly, otherwise, face dire consequences for clinging on to power,' he said.
Speaking at a meeting of pro-BNP lawyers in front of the Supreme Court entrance during Wednesday's hartal, Mahbub also demanded midterm elections and restoration of the repealed provision of non-party caretaker government to oversee free and fair election.
Mahbub, also adviser to the BNP chairperson, was critical of the incumbent government's rule, saying it is not possible to hang on to power in perpetuity, using RAB and police.
Earlier, the pro-BNP lawyers tried to take to street from the Supreme Court precincts, but the standby riot police foiled the move without any unpleasant situation.
Source : New Age
Suranjit condemns police attack on Farroque
Senior ruling Awami League leader Suranjit Sengupta, also a lawmaker, on Wednesday condemned the police attack on the opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque the first day of the 48-hour general strike the BNP and its allies are enforcing.
Speaking in the parliament on a point of order, he also criticised the main opposition BNP for its street movements instead of attending parliament to push for its demand for the reintroduction of election-time caretaker administration.
'The incident [attack on Farroque] is unwarranted. We condemn attack,' said Suranjit adding that the BNP should come to the parliament to press home its demand for the caretaker government provision.
He also held the BNP responsible for creating an 'artificial crisis' centring on the caretaker government issue.
He said that the parliament was the only place for making a decision on the caretaker government. He said that a street movement would not be effective in this regard.
He said that even the government would not be able to introduce caretaker system ignoring the parliament.
He added that the demand for the caretaker government would not be met even if the opposition would succeed in overthrowing the government.
Suranjit urged the BNP to return to the parliament as the caretaker government was not available on the streets.
AL lawmaker Abdul Mannan, however, blamed the opposition chief whip for misbehaving with the police.
Even then, he said, the assault on the lawmaker by the police should be investigated.
Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal's Mayeen Uddin Khan Badal condemned the attack on the opposition chief whip. But, he said, Wednesday's incident of assault on the opposition chief whip was not clear to him.
'It is also said that the opposition chief whip beat the law enforcers. I expect a statement from the home minister about the incident,' Badal said.
The home minister did not give any statement in
this regard.
Source : New Age
SKOP to launch movement to realise nine demands
The Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad, a combine of 16 labour rights bodies, is going to launch movements to press home its nine-point charter of demands that include implementation of trade union rights, announcement of national minimum wage, introduction of democratic labour law and full rationing of food and essential items for industrial workers.
The SKOP will hold a national convention in the last week of this month in Dhaka to finalise the details of the movement and stage countrywide mass contact programmes in the industrial belts, said inside sources.
The central leaders of the SKOP took part in the divisional representative's rallies in June in the industrial belts in Khulna, Jessore, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Barisal, Sylhet, Faridpur, Kushtia, Bogra, Pabna, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Comilla, Mymensingh, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Gorai and Tarabo.
Labour leaders Shahidullah Chowdhury, Abul Kasem Chowdhury, Roy Ramesh Chandra, Zafrul Hasan, Shah Mohammad Abu Zafar, Abdul Kader Hawladar, Safiuddin Ahmed, Wajedul Islam Khan, Lutfar Rahman, Khalilur Rahman, Zahedul Haque Milu, Razequzzaman Ratan and others addressed at the rallies.
Moreover, the SKOP will stage workers' rallies in 16 industrial belts in the country before the convention, said sources.
Shahidullah Chowdhury, SKOP's leader and president of the Trade Union Centre, told New Age that the Awami League-led alliance government had claimed to be worker-friendly and had made a lot of pledges for their welfare, but not one was fulfilled in its nearly three-year rule.
Wajedul Islam Khan, SKOP's coordinator and general secretary of the TUC, said that more than two hundred workers' representatives from across the country will take part in the convention.
'We shall launch agitation movements to compel the government to fulfil our nine-point demands,' Wajedul added.
'The workers of the garment sector, the biggest sector of the country, are still deprived of their trade union rights though government pledged several times that they would be given the right,' said Wajedul.
Razequzzaman Ratan, the general secretary of Samaj-tantrik Sramik Front, said that the most of the workers have been deprived as still they did not get any salary hikes.
The Awami League did not implement their election pledges to the workers, Razequzzaman added.
Source : New Age
Flash foods inundates 200 villages in North
Around 200 villages in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Natore districts have either been partially or completely inundated with the onrush of upstream water and incessant rainfall.
According to the local reports, a 40-meter flood control embankment of Water Development Board has been eroded with the water current in Taranagar area under Atrai Upazila of Naogaon district on Tuesday, creating a flood like situation in a vast area comprising Atrai Upazila of Naogaon, Shingra in Natore and Bagmara and Tanore in Rajshahi.
Around 50,000 people of the three districts have become marooned with the flash flood as all the kutcha and thatched houses are facing an acute risk.
Besides, the standing crops including transplanted aush paddy, transplanted aman seedbeds, jute and different kinds of vegetables valued at around Tk 50 lakh were either partially or completely submerged.
WDB assistant engineer Hazrat Ali Muni told newsmen that the Taranagar water control embankment has been devoured due to the flash flood and the affected portion couldn't be repaired at this moment following the current incessant downpour.
Source : New Age
Police discharge duty to check anarchy: Shamsul
State minister for home Shamsul Haque on Wednesday said that police had discharged their responsibility to check vandalism and protect public life and property during hartal hours.
He made the remark when his attention was drawn to police action on the main opposition's members of parliament that left opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque seriously injured on the Manik Mia Avenue near the Sangsad Bhaban on the first day of the two-day shutdown called by Bangladesh Nationalist Party and its allies.
The state minister alleged that a handful of BNP lawmakers, led by Zainul Abdin were making attempts to vandalise vehicles on the street.
'Zainul Abdin hurled abusive words and wanted to slap on-duty DC and ADC of police. He also threatened that their children would be picked up from schools as the lawmen obstructed them from vandalising vehicles,' Shamsul said, replying to reporters' queries at the secretariat.
He said that the provocations from the BNP leaders led to police action.
Terming the incident unwarranted, the state minister, however, said that the authorities could take action if police were found to have done excesses on the BNP lawmakers.
Asked why police baton-charged the lawmakers injuring Zainul in his head without arresting them, he said police could explain the situation better.
He, however, said police should have been more cautious in performing their responsibilities.
BNP and its allies on Sunday called the nationwide 48-hour hartal that began on Wednesday in protest against dropping the caretaker government system from the Constitution and to press for other demands.
On Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, while presiding over the weekly cabinet meeting, ordered the law enforcement agencies to deal with protesters sternly 'to protect public life and property' during hartal hours.
Asked whether the police action on the opposition lawmakers would damage the image of the Awami League-led government, Shamsul said people would give the judgment.
He said the incident would not have occurred if all would have been responsible in performing their respective duties.
Shamsul alleged that BNP had called the hartal to sabotage and also to encourage militancy in the country. 'BNP is enforcing hartal to establish Pakistani Islam in Bangladesh,' he remarked.
He called upon the main opposition to shun the politics of destruction and sit for discussions to find ways as to how the general elections could be held in a free and fair manner.
Source : New Age
SKOP to launch movement to realise nine demands
The Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad, a combine of 16 labour rights bodies, is going to launch movements to press home its nine-point charter of demands that include implementation of trade union rights, announcement of national minimum wage, introduction of democratic labour law and full rationing of food and essential items for industrial workers.
The SKOP will hold a national convention in the last week of this month in Dhaka to finalise the details of the movement and stage countrywide mass contact programmes in the industrial belts, said inside sources.
The central leaders of the SKOP took part in the divisional representative's rallies in June in the industrial belts in Khulna, Jessore, Rajshahi, Chittagong, Barisal, Sylhet, Faridpur, Kushtia, Bogra, Pabna, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Comilla, Mymensingh, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Gorai and Tarabo.
Labour leaders Shahidullah Chowdhury, Abul Kasem Chowdhury, Roy Ramesh Chandra, Zafrul Hasan, Shah Mohammad Abu Zafar, Abdul Kader Hawladar, Safiuddin Ahmed, Wajedul Islam Khan, Lutfar Rahman, Khalilur Rahman, Zahedul Haque Milu, Razequzzaman Ratan and others addressed at the rallies.
Moreover, the SKOP will stage workers' rallies in 16 industrial belts in the country before the convention, said sources.
Shahidullah Chowdhury, SKOP's leader and president of the Trade Union Centre, told New Age that the Awami League-led alliance government had claimed to be worker-friendly and had made a lot of pledges for their welfare, but not one was fulfilled in its nearly three-year rule.
Wajedul Islam Khan, SKOP's coordinator and general secretary of the TUC, said that more than two hundred workers' representatives from across the country will take part in the convention.
'We shall launch agitation movements to compel the government to fulfil our nine-point demands,' Wajedul added.
'The workers of the garment sector, the biggest sector of the country, are still deprived of their trade union rights though government pledged several times that they would be given the right,' said Wajedul.
Razequzzaman Ratan, the general secretary of Samaj-tantrik Sramik Front, said that the most of the workers have been deprived as still they did not get any salary hikes.
The Awami League did not implement their election pledges to the workers, Razequzzaman added.
Source : New Age
Flash foods inundates 200 villages in North
Around 200 villages in Rajshahi, Naogaon and Natore districts have either been partially or completely inundated with the onrush of upstream water and incessant rainfall.
According to the local reports, a 40-meter flood control embankment of Water Development Board has been eroded with the water current in Taranagar area under Atrai Upazila of Naogaon district on Tuesday, creating a flood like situation in a vast area comprising Atrai Upazila of Naogaon, Shingra in Natore and Bagmara and Tanore in Rajshahi.
Around 50,000 people of the three districts have become marooned with the flash flood as all the kutcha and thatched houses are facing an acute risk.
Besides, the standing crops including transplanted aush paddy, transplanted aman seedbeds, jute and different kinds of vegetables valued at around Tk 50 lakh were either partially or completely submerged.
WDB assistant engineer Hazrat Ali Muni told newsmen that the Taranagar water control embankment has been devoured due to the flash flood and the affected portion couldn't be repaired at this moment following the current incessant downpour.
Source : New Age
Strike called to portect Zia family: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday told the Jatiya Sangsad that the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was enforcing hartal to protect the family members of Khaleda Zia from the charges of terrorism, corruption, money laundering and grenade attack.
She also urged the country's people to be united to resist the destructive activities of the opposition parties in the name of hartal.
'Although they are claiming that the hartal was called to protect the interest of the country's people, they are actually enforcing hartal to protect the family members of Khaleda Zia from the charges of corruption, terrorism, grenade attack and money laundering,' said Hasina in reply to a question by Awami League lawmaker Sadhana Haldar during the prime minister's questions-answers hour.
Hasina, the president of the ruling AL, also said that the hartal was being called to save the killers and war criminals.
'The son of Khaleda Zia was convicted in the money laundering case at home and abroad, and the charge-sheet of the August 21 grenade attack on our rally was submitted,' said Hasina, adding that the hartal was called illogically to protect the corrupt family.
She said that the opposition parties were setting buses on fire and indulging in various destructive activities in the name of hartal, but the government would be with the people so the opposition would not be successful in doing any harm to them.
'I urge the people to be united to resist the destructive activities of the opposition parties in the name of hartal,' she said, adding that the opposition's movement would not be successful by torching one or two vehicles if the people were not involved.
Hasina accused the BNP of enforcing hartal for more than 300 days during the last regime of the AL government.
'The past BNP government tarnished the image of the country abroad through militancy, corruption and terrorism, but our government in the last two and a half year upheld the image of Bangladesh abroad,' she claimed, adding the AL-led government had uprooted militancy, terrorism and corruption from the country.
She said that the BNP leaders during their regime threatened her in the Parliament several times, saying that another carnage like 15 August, 1975 would take place.
'They told me several times in Parliament that I would have to face the fate of my father before the grenade attack on the Awami League rally,' said Hasina, adding that this proved their involvement in the August 21 grenade attack in which 22 leaders and activists of the AL were killed.
'Your negative politics will be not accepted by the people. Come to the Parliament and place your demands here,' Hasina told the BNP.
Source : New Age
Viqarunnisa teacher held on rape charge
Detective branch of police on Wednesday arrested a teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, who was fired by the authorities on Tuesday, on charge of raping a class X student.
The arrested, Porimol Joydhor, 30, was a teacher of Bangla department of the school's Bashundhara campus.
A team of detectives led by assistant commissioner Golam Mosatafa Russel arrested Porimol from one of his relatives' house at the city's suburban Keraniganj area on Wednesday morning, deputy commissioner of detective branch Monirul Islam told reporters at a press conference after producing the teacher there.
Porimol, however, refused to talk with the journalists at the press conference.
Monirul Islam said that the teacher had abused the girl sexually confining her in a room of his house twice and videoed those in his cellular phone.
'Porimol had harassed the girl sexually at different times after blackmailing her while she went to his residence for tuition. We have arrested him in the face of protest by the school students and their parents and reports published about him in different dailies,' he said.
Porimol, who qualified in the BCS-29 admin cadre, after completing his graduation and post-graduation from Bangabandhu College in Tungipara of Gopalganj district, went into hiding after the victim's family filed a case with Badda police station under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on July 5.
Monirul Islam said that they would produce the arrested teacher in court on Thursday seeking remand for interrogation to unearth the details and his accomplices.
On Tuesday, two other teachers of the same campus of the school— Barun Chandra Barman of commerce department and Abdul Kalam Azad of religion — were also suspended for their indecent behaviour with students.
Porimol is a married person and he has a three-year old son, DB DC Monirul said. Porimol hails from Tungipara of Gopalganj district.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of the school governing body, Husne Ara Begum, principal of the school, said on Tuesday that they had dismissed Porimol on allegation of violating a girl and suspended two other teachers for their indecent behaviour with students.
The victim's father filed the case with Badda Police Station, accusing Porimol Joydhor, the school's Bashundhara branch chief Lutfur Rahman, and college principal Husne Ara.
In the complaint, he mentioned that Porimol, who runs a coaching centre at his Badda residence, first raped his daughter on May 28.
Asked about the inclusion of Lutfur Rahman and Husne Ara in the case, sub-inspector Ali Haider Sharif of Badda police station told New Age that they were implicated in the case by the victim's father as they did not take any action, not even lodging complaints with the school authorities.
As she went to the coaching centre one morning, Porimol told her to go to another room, the complainant said, adding he locked the door and sexually assaulted her. Porimol violated her once again on June 17.
Source : New Age
The arrested, Porimol Joydhor, 30, was a teacher of Bangla department of the school's Bashundhara campus.
A team of detectives led by assistant commissioner Golam Mosatafa Russel arrested Porimol from one of his relatives' house at the city's suburban Keraniganj area on Wednesday morning, deputy commissioner of detective branch Monirul Islam told reporters at a press conference after producing the teacher there.
Porimol, however, refused to talk with the journalists at the press conference.
Monirul Islam said that the teacher had abused the girl sexually confining her in a room of his house twice and videoed those in his cellular phone.
'Porimol had harassed the girl sexually at different times after blackmailing her while she went to his residence for tuition. We have arrested him in the face of protest by the school students and their parents and reports published about him in different dailies,' he said.
Porimol, who qualified in the BCS-29 admin cadre, after completing his graduation and post-graduation from Bangabandhu College in Tungipara of Gopalganj district, went into hiding after the victim's family filed a case with Badda police station under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act on July 5.
Monirul Islam said that they would produce the arrested teacher in court on Thursday seeking remand for interrogation to unearth the details and his accomplices.
On Tuesday, two other teachers of the same campus of the school— Barun Chandra Barman of commerce department and Abdul Kalam Azad of religion — were also suspended for their indecent behaviour with students.
Porimol is a married person and he has a three-year old son, DB DC Monirul said. Porimol hails from Tungipara of Gopalganj district.
Talking to reporters after a meeting of the school governing body, Husne Ara Begum, principal of the school, said on Tuesday that they had dismissed Porimol on allegation of violating a girl and suspended two other teachers for their indecent behaviour with students.
The victim's father filed the case with Badda Police Station, accusing Porimol Joydhor, the school's Bashundhara branch chief Lutfur Rahman, and college principal Husne Ara.
In the complaint, he mentioned that Porimol, who runs a coaching centre at his Badda residence, first raped his daughter on May 28.
Asked about the inclusion of Lutfur Rahman and Husne Ara in the case, sub-inspector Ali Haider Sharif of Badda police station told New Age that they were implicated in the case by the victim's father as they did not take any action, not even lodging complaints with the school authorities.
As she went to the coaching centre one morning, Porimol told her to go to another room, the complainant said, adding he locked the door and sexually assaulted her. Porimol violated her once again on June 17.
Source : New Age
India wants ‘broader co-op framework’
The foreign ministers of Bangladesh and India would hold talks in Dhaka this morning to prepare the ground for the visit of Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh in September.
Reading out a written statement to reporters, Indian foreign minister SM Krishna, said on arrival in Dhaka Wednesday afternoon, 'I wish to discuss the scope for a broader cooperation framework which will significantly improve the livelihood of our peoples.'
Krishna, who flew in a special flight of Indian Air Force took no question from the reporters. He is leading a 12-member Indian delegation.
Krishna flew to Dhaka seven days after Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh drew widespread criticism in both Bangladesh and India for his remarks on domestic politics in Bangladesh. Speaking to a group of Indian editors, Singh had said, among other things, 'a political landscape in Bangladesh can change at anytime.'
Singh's remarks, posted on the official website of the India prime minister, were removed following sharp criticism they drew in both the countries.
Later, Singh spoke to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina on phone apparently to clarify his remarks.
In his statement, Krishna said that he would pursue a 'broader cooperation framework' with Bangladesh.
Foreign minister Dipu Moni received Krishna as at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.
At the talks, the two sides are expected to discuss the entire range of bilateral issues including sharing the waters of common rivers, cooperation in trade and investment, connectivity, power, boundary demarcation, border management, security, culture, education and people-to-people contact, et cetera, said a foreign ministry press release.
Krishna's airport statement said that the Bangladesh-India bilateral relations 'are passing though the best phase in recent times with a number of new and forward looking initiatives taken by the leadership of two countries' following the last year's visit of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India.
It said, 'We believe that a prosperous, stable and democratic Bangladesh is in the interest of both the countries and the entire region.'
It said, 'We are determined to continue to build upon the stronger bonds of cooperation and trust based on the strong foundations of shared history and culture.'
The statement said, 'I am happy to mention that the prime minister of India , Dr Manmohan Singh, is looking forward to his visit to Bangladesh later this year.'
Dipu Moni said she looked forward to have substantive discussions at the talks on the progress on decisions taken by the two sides during the visit of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to India in January 2010.
She described Krishna's visit to Dhaka as 'significant.'
Shortly after his arrival the Indian minister went to Savar and laid wreaths at the National Memorial commemorating the martyrs of the War of Independence.
He called on finance minister AMA Muhith at his office at the Economic Relations Division.
Krishna met senior editors of print and electronic media at a city hotel in the evening.
The two foreign ministers would hold a joint news conference this afternoon after their formal talks.
Krishna is scheduled to call on president Zillur Rahman and prime minister Sheikh Hasina today and the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia tomorrow.
He is scheduled to unveil the plaque of an auditorium and rehearsal centre at the theatre department of Dhaka University.
He would visit the Bangabandhu Museum in Dhanmondi.
Krishna would take part at a discussion on Bangladesh-India relations at the Bangladesh International Institute of Strategic Studies.
Krishna leaves Dhaka Friday.
Source : New Age
7 bodies recovered as launch capsize
Seven bodies, including those of two women and a baby, were recovered till 10:30pm on Wednesday after a launch capsized in the River Sitalakhya near Madanganj in Narayanganj, with 50 others feared missing.
The launch from Chandpur, ML Madinar Alo, with around 150 passengers capsized in the river at about 7:00pm.
A team of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority divers was continuing search for the missing till 10:30pm.
They said strong current and darkness of night made their task difficult. Salvage vessel MV Hamza rushed from Narayangaj to the spot, but could not locate the sunken launch.
The accident occurred when an oil-loaded tank lorry hit the launch. Locals confirmed the death of a passenger, Monwara Begum, 70, while she was being taken to the Munshiganj sadar hospital.
After the launch had drowned, another launch, Darashiko, rescued 45 people while some of the passengers swam ashore. A rescued passenger, Rakibul, who boarded the launch from Shatnol station under Matlab in Chandpur, said there were around 150 passengers in the launch.
The Munshiganj sadar police, additional district magistrate and officer-in-charge of Narayanganj sadar police rushed to spot as the spot falls between Munshi-ganj and Narayanganj.
Munshiganj deputy commissioner Azizul Alam could not be contacted as his cell phone was found switched off.
Officer-in-charge of Narayanganj model police station Md Akter Hossain said the divers of BIWTC and fire service were conducting search in the river but they did not find anybody nor the launch till the report was written.
Narayanganj deputy commissioner Md Samsur Rahman and police super Sheikh Nazmul Alam rushed to the spot.
Source : New Age
Lawmakers beaten on first day of strike
The police attacked lawmakers and activist of the opposition BNP and its allies in Dhaka and elsewhere on the first day of their 48-hour general strike on Wednesday amid continued arrest of leaders and activists and imprisonment in trial by mobile courts for their suspected involvement in picketing. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party said that 400 activists, including the party's former lawmakers Quamruddin Ehiya Khan Majlish and Nure Ara Safa, had been arrested at places across the country. Eighty of them were arrested in the capital.
The party further said that at least 500 were injured in clashes with the police on the first day of the strike which halted public life.
Mobile courts jailed 17 people in Dhaka and 1 each in Bogra and Dinajpur for their suspected involvement in picketing.
The police headquarters on Wednesday said that they had arrested 450 people at places across the country at night on Tuesday and on Wednesday.
The BNP and its four allies — Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, Bangladesh Jatiya Party (Naziur), Islami Oikya Jote and Khelafat Majlish, which split from the Islami Oikya Jote — are enforcing the general strike simultaneously in protest at the scrapping of the caretaker government provision from the constitution and in demand for some other issues.
The police attacked about 30 BNP lawmakers on Manik Miah Avenue as the strike began. The leaders were headed for the party's central office at Naya Paltan about 7:00am under leadership of the opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque.
The lawmakers said that when they walking down the road, a team of policemen, led by Harun-or-Rashid, additional deputy commissioner of the Tejgaon zone, suddenly started abusing them, which led to an altercation.
The police then attacked the opposition chief whip as Harun shouted 'action,' the lawmakers added.
Policemen in riot gear beat Farroque with truncheons, tore off his polo shirt and kicked him down on the ground.
As he tried to escape, the police chased him to the lawmakers' apartments, captured him in the garage of a building and severely beat him again, the lawmakers said.
The injured Farroque was taken to the flat of lawmaker Syeda Ashifa Ashrafi Papiya and then admitted to the intensive care unit in United Hospital at Gulshan.
'They kicked me down on the ground. I got injured in the head and the leg. You can still see the stains of blood on the floor of the garage of this building,' Farroque said when he was staying in Papiya's house.
The ICU in-charge in United Hospital, Asif Mahmud, said that Farroque was taken to the ICU after an operation.
'He has injuries overall the body, especially in the legs. The legs have swollen. He feels acute pain in the head and at knee-joints. He is also suffering from respiratory problems,' Mahmud said.
Harun-or-Rashid, who was a member on the Chhatra League central committee headed by Bahadur Bepari, told New Age, 'As I saw him about to attack a vehicle, I grabbed him by the collar and asked him "Why are you doing this, Sir?" and he pushed me down.'
'Then there was a scuffle. And I also got injured. I am now admitted to Police Hospital at Rajarbagh,' he said, brushing aside the allegation of launching an attack on Farroque.
The BNP lawmakers planned to lay siege to the office of the speaker and lodge a complaint with him but later dropped the plan as Farroque needed to be sent to hospital. They later lodged a complaint with the speaker in the evening when the session was on.
The police picked up former lawmaker Nure Ara Safa, also the president of Jatiyatabadi Mahila Dal, and seven others at noon from Mohakhali when she was leading a procession.
The police at Mirpur foiled a procession of the BNP and its allies by charging at the protesters with truncheons near Senpara just after dawn and picked up eight activists. The pickets also pelted the policemen with stones.
The police clashed with pickets at Badda when the protesters started a fire with tyres.
The police had cordoned off the party's central office for the day. They did not let anybody in the office.
One of the party's standing committee members was sitting on the pavement in front of the office inside the police cordon. The party's acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir stayed in the office.
The police picked up from the area at least 10 people, including former lawmaker Quamruddin Ehiya Khan Majlish.
The party's joint secretary general Rizvi Ahmed told the media that the police were not letting anyone near the office.
Roads in the capital were deserted during strike hours. There were only a few buses, mostly of the BRTC, plying a few routes.
People had to depend largely on CNG-run auto-rickshaws and rickshaws. No buses plied long routes on the day.
Educational institutions remained closed but Dhaka University authorities conducted examinations on the day despite the turnout of a handful of examinees.
Loading and unloading of goods at jetties in Chittagong and Mongla ports were normal but the transport of goods to and from the ports was suspended, port authorities said.
The railway and the civil aviation authorities said that train communication and flight operations were normal.
Law enforcers had been out on the roads early morning, much before the protesters came out. The lawmen allowed no picketing or procession in support of the strike in the capital.
The ruling party and its fronts, however, brought out processions at places such as Dhaka University, Titumir College and Jagannath University.
Supporters of the Chhatra League also locked in a scuffle at Titumir College over distribution of snacks after the procession.
A BNP procession led by the Narayanganj unit general secretary, Kazi Maniruzzaman, came to be attacked by ruling Awami League supporters at Tarabo of Rupganj triggering clashes between the police and pickets in which at least 17 injured.
The police charged at the protesters with truncheons indiscriminately and fired 21 rounds to disperse pickets. The lawmen also arrested two BNP supporters at Fatullah and Rupganj.
Chhatra League and Juba League activists also attacked newsmen and tried to snatch their cameras as they were taking photograph of attack they launched.
The New Age correspondent in Rajshahi said that at least 10 people hurt in a clash between the police and the supporters of the strike. The police detained seven pickets from places in the city.
City unit BNP leaders brought out a procession about 9:00am and the police stopped them at Saheb Bazar. The police picked up six activists from the place.
Ten activists of Jamaat-e-Islami were injured in clashes with the police in the Lakshmipur crossing. The police arrested Rajpara unit Jamaat amir, Abdul Khalek, at the place.
Reports from Chittagong said that the police kept BNP leaders and activists confined to the compound of the party's office at Nasiman Bhaban. The activists and the police also chased each other at place several times.
The city unit BNP president, Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, addressed a rally at the office premise in police cordon.
The city unit BNP general secretary, Shahadat Hossain, told New Age that the police had arrested 15 of their activists at places in the city during the strike. The police, however, said they had arrested eight people.
Amena Begum, deputy commissioner at the north zone of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said that they had arrested six people on charges of vandalising vehicles and two others in possession of patrol bombs.
At least 25 people were injured as the police attacked pickets in Khulna. The police also arrested 10 BNP and Jamaat activists on the day.
The police attacked a procession in front of the Khulna Press Club and arrested city unit leader Moshiur Rahman Nannu.
Chhatra Dal activists also clashed with the police near the BL College when the protesters tried to bring out a procession.
The police attacked pickets Sheikhpara in the city where at least five supporters of the strike were injured.
Reports from Barisal said that at least 20 pickets had been arrested at places in the city. Pickets blocked roads and vandalised vehicles. The police, however, took control of the roads and dispersed the protesters.
The police had conducted overnight raids on houses of leaders of the BNP and its allies before the strike began.
Two factions of the Barisal BNP brought out separate processions in the city. A faction carried out picketing at Nathullabad bus terminal, BM College, Natun Bazar and Lakutia while the other faction did picketing on Port Road, and steamer and launch terminal.
In Sylhet, supporters of the strike could not come out on the roads because of heavy police presence since early morning. The police picked up 11 pickets at places across the city.
The police in Noakhali foiled every move of the supporters of the strike of bringing out processions and arrested 27 pickets. The pickets also vandalised three trucks laden with goods and two motorcycles.
Sporadic clashes took place in Dinapur where at least 10 BNP activists were injured.
In Narsingdi, 10 activists were injured when the police attacked a procession in the morning.
A mobile court in Bogra jailed Mahila Dal leader Shirin Aktar Shilpi for 15 days on charges of picketing.
The pickets vandalised a number of vehicles while a truck carrying wheat skidded off the road into a ditch when it was trying to escape an attack by pickets.
Source : New Age
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