Snippets: Youth murdered

Police yesterday recovered the body of a youngman from a ditch in the town. According to police and family sources, Md Shahed, 20, son of late Sabir Ullah of Sabia village under Moulvibazar Sadar upazila went missing from his house on Sunday. Yesterday, people of neighbouring Balierbhag village saw his body floating in a ditch. Amullya Kumar Chowdhury, officer-in-charge (OC) of Moulvibazar Sadar model police station said, Shahed might have been killed over a previous enmity. Police are investigating the case, he said.

Source : The Daily Star

Robbery at Rab man's house

Armed robbers looted 13 tolas of gold ornaments and Tk 30 thousand from the house of a Rab member at Mehaganitala village under Sadar upazila early yesterday.

Police said breaking open the window grills, a gang numbering 10 to 12 entered the rented house of Alamgir Hossain of Rab-8, at about 2:15 am and looted the goods and cash at gun point.

Sharmin Alam, wife of the Rab member filed a case with Bagerhat Model Police Station against 10 to 12 unidentified people.

Source : The Daily Star

A mayor's 'mistake'

The newly elected mayor of Ghorashal municipality, Shariful Islam Sharif had given false information about his educational qualification in the Election Commission's (EC) prescribed affidavit form before the election held on June 12.

He mentioned in the affidavit that he passed BSc from Jagannath University College in 1983.

Following a complaint lodged by his rival candidate, an investigation by the EC revealed that Sharif did not pass BSc from Jagannath University College in 1983.

Contacted by this correspondent, Mayor Sharif said, "I passed HSC from Jamalpur College in Kaliganj upazila under Gazipur district in 1980. A mistake might have been made in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission."

Palash Upazila Nirbahi Officer Shaila Yasmin, also the returning officer, said, "Shariful Islam Sharif, who failed to place his BSc certificate, later submitted another affidavit mentioning that he passed HSC."

However, she did not say whether Sharif submitted the fresh affidavit before or after the election.

Source : The Daily Star

Snippets: Shops fined for selling polybags

A mobile court of the Department of Environment (DoE) on Tuesday recovered 2,631 kg of banned polythene bags from six shops and fined them Tk 4.5 lakh at Nama Bazaar in Savar municipality. The mobile court along with officials of DoE, Rab and police raided the bazaar and recovered 100 kg of polythene bags from Gopal's shop, 781 kg from Bhai-Bhai Traders, 350 kg from Provat Shaha Store, 600 kg each from Bipul Store and Haji Store and 200 kg from shop owner Biplob Pal. Later, the mobile court led by executive magistrate M Kamruzzaman fined Gopal Tk 50,000, Bhai-Bhai Traders Tk 1.50 lakh, Provat Shaha Store Tk one lakh, Bipul Store Tk 50,000, Haji store Tk 50,000 and Biplob Pal Tk 50,000.

Source : The Daily Star

Stalkers hurt father of a schoolgirl

Stalkers severely beat up a man as he tried to save his daughter from their clutches at Kirtanpasha bazaar in Sadar upazila Monday night.

Critically injured Badshah Talukdar, 45, hailed from Nehalpur village in the upazila.

Police and locals said some unruly youths of Kirtipasha bazaar area sexually harassed his daughter, a student of class IX, when she was returning home from her private tutor's house at about 7:00pm.

At one stage, the culprits tried to kidnap the schoolgirl in front of her father.

When Badshah tried to resist them they beat him up mercilessly, leaving his hands fractured.

Later, the youths fled the scene as locals chased them.

Injured Badshah was admitted to Sadar hospital in critical condition.

In Sirajganj, a mobile court on Tuesday sentenced a stalker to two years imprisonment.

Police arrested Abdullah alias Lal, 24, son of Abdur Rahim of Dariapur Mahalla in Shahzadpur upazila headquarters for teasing a female college student on her way back home.

Later, the court handed down the punishment.

Source : The Daily Star

ISPR oral test

Job seekers for the post of Assistant Information Officer of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) will able to take part in oral test at 2:00pm on July 9 failing to join the test scheduled for 3:00pm today for any unavoidable reasons, said an ISPR release.

 Source : The Daily Star

Housing projects at dist, upazila on cards

Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan yesterday told the Jatiya Sangsad that the present government has a plan to build housing projects at district and upazila headquarters for ensuring housing for all by 2021.

"The government is committed to ensuring accommodation for all by 2021 in line with the Vision-2021," he said replying to a question from treasury bench member Begum Farida Rahman on behalf of State Minister for Housing and Public Works Advocate Abdul Mannan Khan.

On a supplementary question of lawmaker Atiur Rahman, the minister said all the projects taken by the present government must be completed within its tenure.

The shipping minister, replying to a query from Imajuddin Pramanik, said the Housing and Public Works Ministry has started constructing multi-storied buildings with modern facilities at different district and upazila headquarters even at the union growth centres.

The National Housing Authority is implementing flat construction projects for the small and middle-income groups in some districts and upazilas, he said.

In reply to query from Shahriar Alam, Shahjahan informed the parliament that the buildings that have been built violating the Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) are being identified in the city.

"A total of 5,500 buildings, constructed without approval from Rajuk or violating its rule, have been detected in the city," he said.

Source : The Daily Star

Barapukuria coal price may get refixed

The power division, a major buyer of Barapukuria coal, will consider refixing coal prices to reduce loss of Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Ltd (BCMCL).

The power division for long was not responding to the energy ministry's proposal to increase the coal price, as BCMCL has been incurring a loss of US$41 per tonne for the last two years, an authoritative source of the ministry told the news agency.

"Now, they (power division) have agreed to review the coal price", the source said.

According to the BCMCL, the cost of extracting coal is $125 per tonne while the selling rate is only $84.

"We have no way to run the company as it is incurring huge loss. Yet the government would continue its production, even with huge subsidy for this purpose", Petrobangla Chairman Dr Hossain Monsur said.

He said the BCMCL has sought Tk 380 crore as subsidy to ensure smooth supply of coal.

Barapukuria is now producing 1,500-1,700 tonnes of coal per day. Most of the coal is being used in Barapukuria power plant while the private sector consumers buy the coal of this mine at $138 per tonne.

"We discussed on refixing prices of coal supplied to Bangladesh Power Development Board (PDB). And the BCMCL authority has been asked to submit a report detailing the coal production, its cost, and losses", Power Division Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said.

The Barapukuria mine has a reserve of around 300 million tonnes of coal.

Source : The Daily Star

Abdus Salam laid to rest

Freedom fighter Moral Abdus Salam, who passed away on Tuesday, was laid to rest with full state honour at his family graveyard in Kanaidia village of Tala upazila yesterday.

He left behind his wife, a daughter, and a host of relatives and admirers to mourn his death.

Abdus Salam, the central vice-president of Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD), died at the age of 75 following a cardiac arrest on July 5.

Source : The Daily Star 

Hartal not called for people: Says PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday alleged that BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia enforced hartal to save her family members from the charges of murder, August 21 grenade attack, corruption, money laundering and other criminal activities.

"Although she [Khaleda Zia] claimed that she had called the hartal in people's interest, the truth is she enforced the illogical shutdown only to save her family members and war criminals," said Hasina while answering to lawmakers' queries in parliament.

A court recently sentenced Khaleda's younger son Arafat Rahman Koko to six years' rigorous imprisonment in a money laundering case while her elder son Tarique Rahman was accused in a case filed for the August 21 grenade attack on an AL rally.

"They are now trying to create an abnormal situation in the country by enforcing hartal, and running propaganda against the government by appointing lobbyists," said Hasina, chief of ruling Awami League.

The prime minister urged people to remain alert and united to face them.

She said BNP enforced hartal for more than 300 days during the previous AL-led government's tenure between 1996 and 2001.

"At that time, they could not stop our government's development activities," said Hasina, also the leader of the House.

She said the opposition is practising "negative politics" which is unacceptable to people.

"If the people do not respond, a movement cannot be waged only by damaging or torching a few vehicles."

She called on the main opposition to return to parliament and speak about their demands.

Hasina said her government has been implementing the ruling party's electoral pledges one by one.

The country has now become a role model in the world in ensuring food security and reducing child mortality rate, she said.

Hasina said her government's efforts have brightened the country's image in the last two and a half years.

She also referred to her government's measures to ensure health service for people, stop illegal use of electricity, and increase facilities for freedom fighters.

Source : The Daily Star 

Britain to pull 500 troops from Afghanistan

Britain will withdraw 500 more troops from Afghanistan by the end of next year, taking its contingent there to 9,000 as Afghan forces become increasingly confident, Prime Minister David Cameron said Wednesday.

Cameron said Britain had taken a "huge share of the burden" in Afghanistan, with 375 British soldiers having lost their lives since the US-led invasion following the September 11 attacks ten years ago.

Most of the 9,500 British troops currently in Afghanistan are based in the restive southern province of Helmand.

Cameron said the reduction reflected the progress made by Afghanistan's fledgling army and police force.

Meanwhile, Canadian troops begun to return home from Afghanistan, as the country's nine-year combat mission comes to a close yesterday.

Source : The Daily Star

Mining in India: Lafarge gets green light

Cement manufacturer Lafarge will be able to mine limestone in Meghalaya for its plant in Bangladesh, as India's Supreme Court yesterday gave a green light ending a 17-month ban.

A three-judge bench headed by Indian Chief Justice SH Kapadia allowed Lafarge Surma Cement Ltd to resume mining under conditions.

The court decision comes as good news for Lafarge's $255-million cement plant in Chhatak that is wholly dependent on limestone mined by the French company in the East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya.

India's top court on February 5, 2010, had halted mining by the unit of the world's biggest cement maker because of environmental concerns.

The supply of limestone from Meghalaya came to a halt in the first week of April 2010, and the company was unable to produce clinkers anymore.

"Then the company started importing clinkers from abroad to maintain limited production of its cement until the verdict came," Shuvashish Priya Barua, director of corporate affairs for Lafarge Surma Cement, told The Daily Star by phone.

The limestone is transported to the Chhatak plant in Bangladesh by a 17-kilometre-long conveyor belt from Meghalaya. Local people and a non-governmental organisation opposed mining in the area arguing it will lead to ecological degradation.

The Indian government sought permission from the court to start mining after Lafarge agreed to pay part of its sale proceeds to the Meghalaya government for development in the region, news agency Bloomberg reported.

"We are satisfied with the MOEF [Ministry of Environment and Forest] as it has taken a due diligence exercise," the Supreme Court said.

Lafarge has said it is bringing "advanced technologies for scientific mining and sustainable development" to the poverty-hit region that will minimise any impact on the environment, according to an AFP report.

The Bangladesh government had been pushing India to allow resumption of the limestone mining for the Chhatak plant which holds close to a 10 percent share of Bangladesh's cement market.

The court decision comes as India has been seeking to boost ties with Bangladesh with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh slated to visit Dhaka in September.

The Indian government initially cleared the export of limestone from Meghalaya to Bangladesh in 2000.

Source : The Daily Star

Govt staff falls into sea, goes missing

An assistant inspector of the Department of Explosives went missing yesterday after he fell into the Bay while boarding a scrap ship at the outer anchorage of Chittagong port.

The victim was identified as AHM Nuruzzaman, 38, of Barguna.

According to the Chittagong Port Radio Control, a team of officials from Chittagong Customs and Department of Explosives went to inspect MT Mar Princess in the morning.

When the team members were boarding the ship from an oil tanker using a makeshift ladder, Nuruzzaman suddenly fell into the sea at about 10:40pm, staffs of the control room said.

Khorshed Ali, manager (operation) of the ship's local agent JAR World Shipping Lines, said they hired the oil tanker OT Baro Aulia to make the journey to MT Mar Princess for the officials.

Nuruzzaman might have lost balance while climbing the ladder, he said adding that the officials went for the pre-scrapping inspection.

Confirming the incident, Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Deputy Conservator Captain Nazmul Alam said two tug boats--Kandary-7 and Dishari-2--rushed to the spot immediately after the incident and started searching for the missing person.

Separate teams of Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard also joined the rescue operation that continued till filing this report last night.

The Panama-flagged vessel was anchored at the B-anchorage on Tuesday night, said Khorshed.

Source : The Daily Star

Thieves snap oil supply line

A huge amount of unrefined oil spilled in a large area of paddy fields at Lakshmanaband of Golapganj upazila yesterday due to suspected swiping of oil from a leaked condensate pipeline.

The authorities of Gas Transmission Company Limited (GTCL) later sealed two of its valve stations as huge condensate spilled through a point near a hillock at Lakshmanaband.

The national oil company Petrobangla has a 178-kilometre pipeline for transporting condensate from the Kailashtila Gas field of Sylhet to Ashuganj. The condensate is a by-product of the gas field.

Visiting the spot, Deputy Manager of GTCL (Sylhet) Abdul Ahad said some unscrupulous people might have attempted to steal the condensate from the pipeline by perforating it and caused the spilling.

Enthusiastic locals of neighbouring villages rushed to the area and started collecting raw fuel in containers, noted witnesses.

The condensate leaked through the pipe since early yesterday, Nosirul Haque Shahin, chairman of Lakshmanaband Union Parishad told The Daily Star.

He could not stop the villagers from collecting the oil, mentioned Nosirul adding, he sent a team with loudspeakers to warn people about the huge risk of collecting it this way.

According to him, the condensate has already spread over a hundred acres of paddy fields.

Several organised gangs used to steal condensate from the pipeline at different points in the hills of Habiganj, Moulvibazar and in Ashuganj in the past. But this happened for the first time in Golapganj, pointed out Abdul Ahad.

A technical team will visit the spot to take further protective measures, he added.

Source : The Daily Star

Portugal downgrade darkens eurozone rescue hopes

The downgrading of freshly bailed-out Portugal's credit rating to 'junk' shocked financial markets on Wednesday and cast new doubt on European efforts to rescue distressed eurozone states without debt restructuring.

The cost of insuring all weaker euro zone countries' debt against default rose and Portuguese two-term bond yields spiked by a whole percentage point on Moody's decision, announced late on Tuesday, to cut Portugal by four notches.

The euro and European shares fell on the news, ending a seven-day stocks rally, and Portugal had to pay more to sell 3-month T-bills on Wednesday.

The thumbs-down, coming so soon after a new centre-right Lisbon government announced austerity plans going beyond those demanded by international lenders, again called into question the EU strategy for dealing with the euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

Moody's said Portugal may need a second round of rescue funds before it can return to capital markets, just as European governments and banks are haggling over a second 120 billion euro bailout for Greece, which has a much higher debt ratio.

'The key worry of the market is that the events that we've been seeing with Greece are being repeated with Portugal,' said WestLB rate strategist Michael Leister.

Ireland, the other euro zone country to have received a bailout, said on Tuesday it may have to make additional spending cuts next year to meet deficit reduction targets in its 85 billion euro bailout plan due to an economic slowdown.

A Reuters analysis last week found that Dublin may also need a second bailout because it is unlikely to grow fast enough to make the envisaged full return to market funding in 2013.

Moody's cited the European Union's management of the crisis, and specifically the attempt to make private creditors share the burden of all future rescues as one reason for its steep downgrade.

The demand that banks and insurers share the risk is driven by growing public hostility in north European creditor nations to any further bailouts for south European states seen as having lived beyond their means.

But Moody's said insisting on private sector involvement not only increased the economic risk facing current investors, but also 'may discourage new private sector lending going forward and reduce the likelihood that Portugal will soon be able to regain market access on sustainable terms.

Representatives of Greece's major creditor banks were meeting in Paris under the aegis of the International Institute of Finance, a banking lobby, to discuss the terms of a proposed rollover of privately held Greek debt.

Banking sources said numerous issues involving credit ratings, interest rates, maturities and accounting consequences remained to be ironed out among multiple stakeholders and an agreement was only likely in September.

Source : New Age

High hopes for Asia’s budget airlines

Asian budget airlines placed a record $42 billion in plane orders over the past week, signalling their high expectations for travel in the world's fastest growing market and also triggering worries some may not survive.

Many of the no-frills carries such as AirAsia and India's Indigo aim to more than double their fleets to power rapid growth, partly at the expense of full-service airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines SIA.SI.

'It will be over-crowded and the weak will suffer or even fade away, but generally there's still enough intra-Asian travel to generate revenue for the incumbents,' said Shukor Yusof, an equity analyst of Standard & Poor's.

Budget airlines including AirAsia and IndiGo placed orders for 454 Airbus aircraft, mostly the fuel-efficient model A320neo.

Global leaders such as Southwest Airlines Co in the United States and Ryanair Holdings Plc in Europe are however facing sluggish markets.

Worldwide passenger demand is expected to rise 4.4 per cent over the next year with the Asia-Pacific region growing faster at 6.4 per cent, according to the International Air Transport Association, which represents the majority of airlines operating in the $598 billion industry.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an independent aviation market intelligence provider, said low-cost carriers accounted for 16 per cent of the market in terms of seats within Asia Pacific last year ,up from 6 per cent in 2005. Their market share is set to rise 2 percentage points annually to about 26 per cent in 2015, it said.

There are worries that overcapacity could plague Asian carriers because of the rapid pace of their expansion combined with the resumption of orders in the past year by full-service airlines and aggressive Chinese carriers.

Boeing Co predicts the global air fleet will more than double to 39,530 in 2030 from 19,410 aircraft at the end of 2010.

Bankers and analysts said the recent plane orders, due to their size, are likely to be financed by internal funding, debt and equity, as well as sale-leaseback agreements.

'Airlines should have no problem getting financing and rates are very cheap right now,' said Andrew Orchard, an aviation analysts for RBS.

While premium airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines don't compete head-to-head with budget carriers, there remains an overlap in economy class where they do, said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Securities.

'It will have an impact on marginal carriers such as Malaysian Airline System Bhd, Thai Airways International Pcl THAI.BK and China Airlines Ltd,' said Lau.

AirAsia group commands a 6 per cent market share in intra-Asia routes (ex-domestic), higher than Malaysian Airlines' 4 per cent, but lower than Singapore Airlines' 9 per cent, Goldman Sachs said in a recent research report.

The rise of budget carriers in Asia has pushed some legacy airlines in the region to copy their successful models.

Budget airlines are inclined to use one kind of aircraft to minimise maintenance costs, order in large numbers for big discounts from manufacturers and do away with frills to offer lower fares that are estimated by analysts to be at least 30 per cent lower than those at full-service or legacy carriers.

Singapore Airlines, the world's second-most valuable listed carrier, said in May that it would set up a new long-haul budget carrier unit to counter competition from fast-expanding budget airlines in Asia. It also controls about a third of budget carrier Tiger Airways Holding Ltd.

Source : New Age

Euro nudges up after steep fall, ECB in focus

The euro regained some ground on Wednesday as short-term players covered short positions ahead of a European Central Bank policy meeting, following a steep fall against the Swiss franc and the dollar after Moody's slashed Portugal's credit rating to junk.

The single currency was lifted by stop-loss buying as well as broad weakness in the dollar, which fell prey to profit-taking after Tuesday's short squeeze with Asian central banks selling it while hedge funds liquidated their longs in dollar/yen.

While Portugal's downgrade reignited lingering fears about other highly indebted peripheral euro zone countries, a broad flight from risk was averted with stocks and commodities advancing and supporting the Australian and New Zealand dollars.

'The Portugal news doesn't really change fundamentals. That's why the market's reaction was limited to one day. If we were talking about Spain, now that would be a totally different story,' said Koji Fukaya, director of global foreign exchange research at Credit Suisse Securities in Tokyo.

Some economists think Ireland may also need more support and worry Spain and Italy may be next in line for aid.

'We've had some event-selling in the euro from which the market is now recovering,' said Fukaya.

Source : New Age

market Disclosures

Bangladesh Services

Trading of shares of Bangladesh Services Ltd will resume today in view of completion of investigation by DSE management.

Karnaphuli Insurance

Nizam Uddin Ahmed, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported his intention to

sell 1,00,000 shares out of his total holdings of 9,77,880 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Meghna Life Insurance Co

Trading of the shares of the company will be allowed only in the spot market and block/odd lot transactions will also be settled as per spot settlement cycle with cum benefit from July 7 to 11. Trading of the shares of the company will remain suspended on record date on July 12 for AGM and EGM.

Mutual Trust Bank

Rashed Chowdhury, one of the nominated directors of the bank (nominated from Associated Builder Corporation Ltd), has reported his intention to buy 5,000 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

NCC Bank

MA Quasem, one of the sponsors of the bank, has reported his intention to sell 50,000 shares out of his total holdings of 51,81,966 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Jamuna Bank

Arbina Farhad, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported her intention to sell her entire holdings of 7,92,731 shares of the bank at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

    Source: DSE

Source : New Age

British jobs growth slows further in June

British recruiters filled permanent vacancies at the slowest pace in almost two years in June, a survey showed on Wednesday, adding to worries about the strength of the economic recovery.

Research for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and accountants KPMG showed private sector job creation slowed at a time when the government is ramping up the pace of public spending cuts.

The permanent places index — a measure of how many firms are hiring extra workers — fell to a seasonally-adjusted 22-month low of 52.2 in June from 55.1 in May.

The pace of temporary placements also slowed to 52.1 from 52.4.

'Employers across all sectors are very cautious about hiring new staff — and a quick job market recovery in the UK now looks increasingly uncertain,' said Bernard Brown, head of business services at KPMG.

Source : New Age

Two sisters drown in city

Two sisters drowned in River Buriganga at Soarighat area in Old Town of Dhaka on Wednesday.

The deceased, Keya Akhter, 10, and Riya Akhter, 8, were daughters of Moslem Uddin Bepari of KM Azam Lane at Chalkbazar in the city.

Asiya Akhter, mother of the deceased, said that the girls with their friends went to bathe in the river at about 11:30am and drowned.

Later the family members and neighbours launched a search in the river to find them near the bank.

They were taken to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital first and from there to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where the doctors declared them dead.

The bodies were handed over to the family without post-mortem, the police said.

Source : New Age

3 tradeshows in city

Three international tradeshows — 'BACE Expo 2011', 'Big Expo Bangladesh' and 'Elprotech Bangladesh' — began on Wednesday at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the capital.

The fifth edition of the four-day electrical  products, raw materials and machinery trade show 'Elprotech Bangladesh 2011', supplementary power trade show 'Big Expo Bangladesh' and fifth edition of architectural, building, construction products and technology tradeshow 'BACE Expo 2011' will focus on new products and technology.

The SME Foundation of the industry ministry, Bangladesh Electrical Merchandise Manufacturers Association and ASK Trade Exhibition Private Ltd from India are organisers of the events.

Over 200 stalls of 40 companies, including stalls from India, China, Singapore, Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia, are participating in the tradeshow.

Electrical and electronics industry plays a major role in Bangladesh economy, that's why that sector was included with priority in the Industrial Policy 2011, industry minister Dilip Barua said in the opening ceremony.

He said the government would take initiative to give Tk 50 lakh as loan without mortgage to the entrepreneurs for development of sustainable electrical industry.

'In continuation of the government policy of this sector, the government give all types of amenities to the manufacturers who produce import alternate electronics products,' he said.

He urged the manufacturers to produce environment-friendly and energy-saving electronics products.

Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry president AK Azad urged all political opposition parties not to call hartal as it discouraged foreign investors. 'We import more than export, but we should try to export more than import,' he said.

The opening ceremony was presided over by BEMMA president Enayet Hossain Khan where SME Foundation chairman Aftab Ul Islam, ASK Trade Exhibition Private Ltd advisers Mohammed Jakaria Bhuiyan, among others, were present at the ceremony.

The fair will remain open from 10:30am to 7:00pm and the entry is free for all.

Source : New Age

Korea job seekers continue fasting

Most of the agitating job seekers in South Korea fell sick on Wednesday, fourth day of their continued hunger strike.

Around 60 men went on a hunger strike on Sunday on behalf of some 400 people, blaming the Bangladesh Overseas Employment Services Limited for their negligence in carrying out their responsibilities to get these men jobs in South Korea.

Of the sick hunger strikers Hasan Gazi, SMH Alamgir, Syed Enayet Hossain, Abdus Samad, Narayan Roy, Mohammad Shahjahan, Mohammad Sheikh Masud Karim and Mohammad Faruque Mollah were on intravenous saline, said the agitators.

No government representatives appeared at the spot to listen to their grievances, they said.

Source : New Age

Newsmen for removal of KMCH official

Khulna city journalists on Wednesday demanded immediate suspension of Mahabub Alam Farazi, resident medical officer of Khulna Medical College Hospital.

From a rally at the Picture Palace Crossing in the city, they alleged that a number of KMCH staff, ordered by the RMO, confined Amirul Islam, cameraman of private channel My TV, and Amir Sohel, cameraman of another private channel ETV, as they went to the hospital on Monday to take footage.

During the rally the photojournalists also put their cameras down on the ground as a sign of protest.

The hospital staff had held them for about an hour and broken Amir Shohel's camera before the police rescued them, they said, adding that the RMO did this to hide his deeds of corruption.

The programme was addressed, among others, by journalists Mallick Sudhangsu, Rakib Uddin Pannu, Asaduzzaman Khan Riaz and Rashidul Hasan with Shomoy TV Khulna correspondent Niamul Hasan Kochi in the chair.

Source : New Age

Three Shibir activists held with arms in Chittagong

The Chittagong Metropolitan Police arrested three activists of Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir in possession of arms and ammunition.

The arrested were Mohammad Sarwar alias Babla, 24, son of Abdul Kader, Mohammad Nurun Nabi alias Maxon, 28, son of Abdul Latif, and Manik alias Gittu Manik, 24.

A pistol, a shooter gun, a light gun and a gun, all locally made, two magazines and 27 rounds were among the other arms recovered.

The police said that the drive was led by Abdul Mannan, CMP assistant commissioner, Panchlaish Zone.

'Following a tip-off we have arrested Sarwar and Maxon from Brahmanbaria district on Tuesday night,' said Abdul Mannan, adding that Gittu Manik was arrested from Bayzid of the Chittagong city on Wednesday morning.

The arms were recovered from Bayzid on Wednesday after the arrested yielded information during interrogation, he said.

The arrested are listed criminals and accomplices of Sazzad, main accused of the killing of eight Chhatra League activists at Bahaddar Hat in the port city in 2000, he added.

Source : New Age

Blind association leader killed in capital

Assailants killed organizing secretary of national association for the blinds by slitting his throat at his office in city's Chalkbazaar Bazar area on Wednesday afternoon.

The deceased Idris Ali Bepari, son of Karim Bepari, was an accused in the case related to the killing of the association's secretary general Kahlilur Rahman, police said.

The victim's wife, Parvin Akter, said that Idris was found dead at his office at Orphanage Road in Lalbagh area at around 2:30pm.

Police recovered the body and sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for post-mortem examination.

Ayub Ali, one of the members of the association, accused Idris's rivals in the organization of killing Idris by slitting his throat.

He alleged that some associates of the deceased Khalilur Rahman had threatened Idris to kill him over cell phone a few days back.

'Idris had rivalry with Md Kamal, Minhaz Uddin, and Mohammad Sharif over the post of organizing secretary of the organisation. They threatened to kill him last week,' he said.

Idris Ali hailed from village Tulatola of Shahriatpur district. He lived in Hazi Ballu Road of Rahmatganj.

Sub-inspector Aminul Islam of Chalkbazaar Bazar police station told New Age that rivalry with some members of the organisation might be one of the reasons behind killing Idris Ali.

He said that filing of case was underway in this connection.

On January 2, 2011, assailants shot dead secretary general Kahlilur Rahman when he was returning home after visiting the house of a leader of the association at Mirpur-2.

Source : New Age

Collapse of guide wall caused landslide: report

The committee formed to probe the landslide at Batali Hill, which killed 17 persons on Friday, on Wednesday submitted its report in which it blamed the faulty construction of the guide wall as the major reason behind the tragedy.

'There was no weep hole in the box type guide wall to let water seep away. The outer portion of the wall collapsed due to the pressure of stagnant water when the inner portion remained unharmed,' said the report.

The committee, headed by additional deputy commissioner Ehsan-e-Elahi, also said in its report that the concerned land-grabber had excavated earth from the bottom of the wall to set up illegal structures, which also might have caused the collapse.

The committee put forwarded nine recommendations, including the assigning of a team of experts to make sure whether or not the guide wall had been constructed as per the design and good materials had been used as stipulated in the tender schedule.

'The Chittagong City Corporation, which financed the construction of the guide wall on the hill owned by the Bangladesh Railway, will be able to take punitive measures against the persons responsible if any deviation is found by the team of experts,' said the report.

The committee also recommended immediate removal of all illegal structures from all the hills, including 12 identified as especially vulnerable by the probe committee formed after the series of landslides which killed 126 people on 11 June, 2007.

It also stressed the need for ringing the hills with barbed wire fences and planting trees to prevent encroachment.

Making a list of the people dwelling on vulnerable hill slopes and taking necessary measures in association with the district administration to rehabilitate them was also recommended by the committee.

'It is also necessary to ascertain whether or not the guide walls of the other hills are in good condition,' said the report, adding that measures for the maintenance of the guide walls would have to be taken.

The committee's chief told New Age that he had submitted the report to deputy commissioner Fayez Ahmed in the afternoon, adding that they were scheduled to submit it on Thursday but were able to submit it a day ahead.

'We could submit the report a day before the stipulated time thanks to the all-out cooperation of all the committee members,' he added.

Abdul Bari, assistant estate officer of Bangladesh Railway, Manzur Morshed, assistant commissioner of the Chittagong Metropolitan Police, Rafiqul Islam, executive engineer of the Chittagong City Corporation, and Mostafa Kamal, executive engineer of Housing and Settlement Department, were the members of the committee.

Seventeen members of five families, including five of a family and four of another, were killed on Friday morning in a landslide on the southern part of Batali Hill at Ambagan in the port city.

Earlier, 126 people were killed in a series of landslides in different parts of the city on 11 June, 2007, and 11 in 2008. Seven were killed in landslides in 2002, 16 in 2000, and 19 in 1999.

Source : New Age

BNP wants Sahara to resign

Bangladesh Nationalist Party acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Wednesday alleged police 'launched attack on opposition chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque with an intention to kill him'. 

The BNP acting secretary general also demanded immediate resignation of home minister Sahara Khatun for launching the attack on the opposition chief whip and other opposition lawmakers.

Police beat up Zainul Abdin Farroque leaving him seriously injured after he locked into an altercation with police at Manik Mia Avenue in front of parliament building on Wednesday, the first day of the two-day general strike called by BNP and its allies.

'Police launched the attack on Farroque in a bid to kill him,' alleged Mirza Fakhrul while addressing a press conference at the party's central office at Naya Paltan.

'Without any provocation, police attacked Farroque and other BNP lawmakers soon after they concluded a pro-hartal procession,' Fakhrul said.

Farroque was fatally wounded in the police attack and was undergoing treatment in the city's United Hospital, said the BNP leader.

He said, 'Farroque's injury was so fatal that he had to have a total of 19 stitches including 11 on his head.'

'It is a manifestation of the atrocities the Awami League-led autocratic regime has unleashed against the opposition,' he said.

Claiming the first day of the nationwide shutdown to be a 'successful one', Fakhrul said, 'The government employed its police force and thugs to repress the opposition activists like Hitler's Gestapo force did.'

He claimed that more then 400 BNP activists were arrested and some 450 leaders and activists were injured in 'attacks by police and ruling party goons' during the hartal hours at different parts of the country.

'Of 400 arrested, some 80 were picked up from the capital,' he added.

BNP alleged that some 25 opposition activists were sentenced to different terms by mobile courts during the hartal hours.

He demanded immediate release of the arrested leaders and activists and withdrawal of the 'false' cases filed against them.

Warning the government of dire consequences, Fakhrul said, 'Stop repression on the political rivals. Its consequences will not be good at all.'

Mirza Fakhrul said that the government has set bad precedence by passing the 15th amendment to the Constitution unilaterally exploiting its brut majority in parliament.

He thanked people for observing the first day of the general strike successfully. He also expressed his regret for the inconveniences caused to the people due to the strike.

In reply to a question, Fakhrul said the main opposition would take legal steps against 'police brutality' on the opposition chief whip.

Asked whether they would announce any action programmes against the 'police attack', he said soon after the 48-hour hartal, the party would take a decision in this regard.

Source : New Age

Devashish demands replacement of CHT land commission chair

Raja Devashis Roy, the Chakma Circle Chief, on Wednesday demanded immediate  replacement of the chairman of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Disputes Resolution Commission  to ensure 'just and impartial' functioning of the commission. 

Devashis said that the commission needs an 'impartial' chairman.

Himself a member of CHT land disputes resolution commission, Devashish expressed concern over a recent recommendation of the commission chairman asking for surveying CHT lands before settlement of disputes.

In a statement, he demanded an amendment to the CHT Land Disputes Resolution Commission Act 2001 to remove some of the provisions which go against the interests of the people of CHT.

He particularly demanded doing away with the commission chairman's power of taking decisions unilaterally without consulting the district council representatives and the circle chiefs.   

He issued the statement reacting to a news broadcast by the electronic media on July 5, which had stated that the CHT land commission chairman Khademul Islam Chowdhury recommended for surveying CHT land before or simultaneously with settlement of the disputes.

Having the powers of a civil court, he said, the commission was authorised only to settle the disputes.

He said that the commission had no jurisdiction to rehabilitate anyone.

Devashish pointed out that the CHT Regional Council and the three district councils in CHT alone could, through coordination, ask for surveying the land.

Devasish expressed his 'concern' over the commission not taking into the consideration the customary and traditional laws while thinking about surveying the land in CHT.

'If the concerned authorities do not pay attention to the traditional and the customary laws, the hill people's land of rights could be violated,' he said.      

Devashish suggested for steps taking into the consideration the provisions of the 1997 CHT accord which emphasise on surveying the land after settlement of the disputes and rehabilitating the returnee national minority people.    

Socio-political and minority organisations including, Parbatya Chttagram Jana Sanghati Samiti and CHT Civil Society have been opposing, for long, the unilateral decisions of the Land Commission chairman, Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury.

Source : New Age

Eyes of seven pirates gouged out on Char Kukrimukri in Meghna estuary

Angry people gouged out eyes of seven alleged pirates in the remote areas of Char Kukrimukri under Charfashon police station of Bhola district in the estuary of river Meghna on Wednesday noon.

Md. Saifuddin, assistant police super of Bhola and Riazuddin, officer-in-charge of Charfashon police station confirming the incident said police rescued the pirates from the hands of the mob and sent them to upazila health complex for treatment under police custody.

Police also recovered one pipe gun, two pistols, 22 rounds ofammunition, one gun and some sharp weapons from the trawler of the arrested pirates, police said.

The arrested  pirates were identified as Sohrab Hossain, 31, Ruhul Amin, 40, Abdur Rahman, 35, Nur Nabi, 35, Abdul Mannan, 44, Shahid, 29, and Lokman, 35. They all are members of  pirate gang Rana Bahini of Hatiya.

Police and local sources said the pirates on early Wednesday abducted Babul, Ali Abbas Majhi and Harun Mridha, three fishermen with their engine-boats   from Diamonura and Dakatia ghats in remote areas of Meghna estuary.

The pirate gang claimed themselves as members of 'Rana Bahini' of Hatiya and gave their relatives a cell phone No. 01754-244841 for contacting them to negotiate about release of the abducted fishermen by paying ransom.

Police of Char Aicha police post and Charfashon police station started operation to rescue and recover the abducted fishermen and the trawlers in the area on Wednesday morning and chased the trawlers of the pirates.

One trawler of the pirates was forced to land on Char Kukrimukri mangrove forest area on Bura Gouranga river in the Meghna River estuary after its engine failed and they took shelter  at Uttar Muslimpara registered primary school amid heavy downpour.

Local people became suspicious of the strangers inside a room in the  school, locked and cordoned the room from outside and asked local Chowkidar Abdul Motaleb to call police at about 11am.

But before police   reached the scene, local people nabbed the seven suspected pirates and tried to lynch them by mass beating and gouge out their eyes, local sources said.

Source : New Age

Police, courts and judiciary fail women: UN

More than half the world's working women are trapped in insecure jobs, often without protection from labour laws. Some 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime. And just 28 countries have parliaments where at least 30 per cent of the lawmakers are women.

These are some of the key findings in the first report issued by the new UN agency, UN Women, entitled 'Progress of the World's Women: In Pursuit of Justice,' which was released Wednesday.

While 139 countries and territories now guarantee gender equality in their constitutions, the report said millions of women in many countries are still deprived of economic resources and access to public services and all too often 'are denied control over their bodies, denied a voice in decision-making and denied protection from violence.'

'For most of the world's women the laws that exist on paper do not always translate into equality and justice,' it said. 'In many contexts, in rich and poor countries alike, the infrastructure of justice — the police, the courts and the judiciary — is failing women, which manifests itself in poor services and hostile attitudes from the very people whose duty it is to fulfil women's rights.'

In the 169-page report, UN Women called on governments to repeal laws that discriminate against women, provide more funding to support innovative services such as legal aid and specialised courts to ensure that women can access the justice system and make certain that there are female police, judges and legislators.

While women have achieved greater economic empowerment through laws that prohibit discriminatory practices, guarantee equal pay and provide for maternity and paternity leave, the report said 53 per cent of working women — 600 million in total — are in vulnerable jobs such as self-employment, domestic work, or unpaid work for family businesses which often lack the protection of labour laws.

It said women are still paid up to 30 per cent less than men in some of the 117 countries that have laws guaranteeing equal pay in the workplace.

UN Women stressed that laws must be enforced if women are to achieve equality, but pointed to many barriers.

'In the developing world, more than one third of women are married before the age of 18, missing out on education and exposed to the risks of early pregnancy,' the report said.

Domestic violence is now outlawed in 125 countries but 603 million women live in countries where it is not a crime — and even where there are laws, the report said, 'millions of women report experiencing violence in their lifetimes, usually at the hands of an intimate partner.'

UN Women urged governments to learn from countries that have taken practical steps to make justice accessible to ordinary women.

It cited South Africa's 'one-stop shops' that bring justice, legal and health care services together, women's police stations in Latin America that have led to an increase in the reporting of gender-based violence, Congo's mobile courts which are bringing justice to women in rural areas where sexual violence is high, and legal aid to women in countries from Pakistan and Mexico to Fiji and Kyrgyzstan.

The report also noted that in countries with steep increases in women's representation in parliaments — such as Rwanda, Nepal and Spain — progressive laws on women's rights have often followed.

Source : New Age

BNP MPs submit memo to speaker

The lawmakers of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to Speaker Abdul Hamid in protest against the police attack on the opposition chief whip, Zainul Abdin Farroque, during the hartal. They also demanded exemplary punishment of all the police officials, especially Harun and Biplab, who were involved in the attack.

The BNP lawmakers, led by Mahbub Uddin Khokon, entered the speaker's office in the Parliament at about 7.00pm and submitted the

memorandum to him, in which they strongly denounced the police attack on their leader.

'The police officials, led by Harun and Biplab, attacked the opposition chief whip without any provocation during a peaceful procession and wounded him seriously,' said the memorandum, adding that Farroque was now undergoing treatment in a hospital.

The BNP lawmakers also claimed that the attack was an attempt to kill Farroque who has been elected lawmaker for five times.

The speaker termed the incident as unexpected and unfortunate and assured the BNP lawmakers that he would ask the home affairs ministry to take necessary action in this regard.

The speaker also assured them that he would to write to the home ministry to look into any excesses by the police.

Earlier, the opposition lawmakers at a press briefing in the media centre of the Parliament said that the police attacked Farroque as per the directives of the government.

Source : New Age

Mobile courts jail 17 on first day

Four out of 10 mobile courts, despite widespread criticism by the human rights activists in the country, have jailed 17 persons including activists of the various political parties for reportedly disrupting public security and, according to officials on Wednesday, beating up police officers.

Ten mobile courts led by 10 executive magistrates were engaged by the Dhaka district administration.

Of them, eight were patrolling the capital on the first day of the 48-hour hartal with the direct assistance of the offices of eight deputy police commissioners of the Dhaka Metropolitan Zones, and two courts were kept on standby.

Seven were jailed by the court in Mirpur zone and four each by the courts in Lalbagh and Wari zones, two by the Gulshan court, Dhaka's additional district magistrate, SM Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age.

The courts started working on Tuesday and will continue until 12:00pm on Friday to ensure law and order, said the district administration.

On Wednesday the police nabbed eight activists of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Chhatra Shibir at Mirpur in the morning for allegedly beating up police officials and creating anarchy.

Witnesses said that a number of hartal supporters gathered near the Mirpur-10 intersection and got locked in a clash with the police when the latter tried to disperse them.

Later, the eight activists were produced before the court of executive magistrate Al Amin which was set up near the place of concurrence.

After hearing their submission one by one, the mgistrate jailed seven for different terms ranging from two to three months as they pleaded guilty and sought the court's compassion.

The court, after considering the nature of the offences, jailed Abdul Halim Bhuiyan, 50, for two months, Mahbub Kabir, 35, Habibur Rahman Sheikh, 59, and Rahmat Ali, 24, for three months each, and Badrul Alam, 22, Neyamat Ullah, 23, and Siddiqur Rahman, 40, for two months each.

After delivering the verdict, the magistrate sent them to jail.

One of the eight accused, Ishak Munshi, who did not plead guilty, was handed over the police after the magistrate asked them to send him to a Dhaka court.

The police in Lalbagh zone also arrested a total of six persons on charge of disrupting public order in the area, said officials.

Executive magistrate of the court, Abul Bashar Md Fakhruzzaman, convicted four of them and handed the other two of them over to the police, asking the latter to sue them in a regular case.

'Three were jailed for seven days each and one for two days,' said the magistrate.

The government used such mobile courts during the last 36-hour hartal enforced by the opposition parties.

Rights activists and eminent citizens said that conviction of picketers during hartal is totally unlawful, and raised questions about the way the courts were conducted.

Leading rights watchdog Ain o Salish Kendra once again expressed grave concern over the use of mobile courts.

It said that during the hartal on June 4 and 5 it was found that instant trial by mobile courts was depriving the accused persons of their right to a proper defence.

This process flouted the normal court system, made the transparency of the judiciary questionable and opened the door for harassment of innocent pedestrians, it added.

Source : New Age

3 former IOs sent to jail

The chief metropolitan magistrate's court in Dhaka on Wednesday sent three former investigation officers of the August 21 grenade attack case to the jail after they had surrendered in connection with the case.

The metropolitan sessions judge's curt posted for July 17 the hearing in charges in another case filed under the Explosive Substances Act.

In the attack on an Awami League rally in August 2004, 24 people, including Mahila Awami League president Ivy Rahman were killed and scores, including Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, now the prime minister, were wounded.

Magistrate Keshab Roy Chowdhury sent the three investigation officers of the case — former CID special superintendent Md Ruhul Amin and former assistant superintendents Abdur Rashid and Munshi Atiqur Rahman — to jail after rejecting prayers for their bail in the killing case in which the court on Sunday issued warrants for the arrest of them and 15 others.

Judge Mohammad Md Zahurul Haque posted the hearing in charges of the explosive substances case as the chief metropolitan magistrate, AKM Enamul Haque, had sent to the court the charge sheet of the case for trial.

The Criminal Investigation Department on Sunday submitted two supplementary charge sheets pressing charges against 30 more people, including Tarique Rahman, also the BNP's senior vice-chairman, the detained Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, former state minister for home Lutfozzaman Babar, former prime minister's political adviser Haris Chowdhury, current BNP lawmaker Shah Mofazzal Hossain Kaikobad, four retired army officers and eight former police officers in both the cases relating to the grenade attack.

Keshab Roy on Sunday also issued warrants for the arrests of the 18, including Tarique Rahman, out of the 30 accused, shown absconding in the charge sheet of the killing case.

The chief metropolitan magistrate kept the charge sheet in the explosive substances case to complete some procedures before sending it to the trial court.

With the latest surrender in the connection with the killing case, the numbers of police officers sent to jail on surrender increased to six.

On Monday the same court sent three former inspectors general of the police — M Asharaful Huda, Shahudul Haque and Khodabaksh Chowdhury — to jail after they had surrendered.

The police, however, failed to arrest the rest 12 people shown absconding in the case.

Seeking bails for Ruhul Amin, Abdur Rashid and Munshi Atiqur, their counsel Abdus Sobhan Tarafdar argued that the three could not be implicated in the grenade attack cases as they were facing a specific case on charge of diverting the investigations and destroying crimes evidence. In the case, which is now under investigation, the three were granted bail, the lawyer added.

Source : New Age

Ailing cooperative sector needs to be revamped

The ailing cooperatives sector needs a fresh lease of life as well-managed cooperatives can be the best way for both rural and urban people to improve their livings standard with wider and organised access to technology, finance and public property, economists and rights activists believe.

They stress the need for adequate support and strong monitoring by the government to protect cooperatives management and public property from the clutches of local vested interests.

'Market-oriented economic policy and philosophical guideline of the country are not conducive to development of cooperatives, which could be highly rewarding as at least 50 per cent of the people live below poverty line,' Professor Anu Muhammad, a teacher of economics in Jahangirnagar University, told New Age.  The cooperatives sector has always been kept as an ornamental instrument, he observed. 'Cooperatives require democratic culture that does not go with the state and the ruling class now.'

The state does not think that it has accountability to the citizens, he said.

Since 1904, cooperatives have officially been recognised as a series of organised activities with a common goal and have been referred to as economic enterprises for the benefit of their members and service users.

Bureaucratic hindrances, absence of true democratic spirit, bad reputation of many cooperatives organisations, lack of incentives, and, in many cases, politicisation, however, also held back the prospect of the cooperatives sector, which has the potentials to mobilise savings and finance commercial activities to generate income and employments, stabilising prices and supply chain of essential commodities for providing better living standards for the people, cooperatives people and experts said.

Anu said that successive governments had developed a mechanism in the name of privatisation to allow the people of the ruling class and their cronies to make money and grab public and common property.

'Powerful quarters grab water bodies in the name of cooperatives of fishermen,' the economist said.

He said that the people need to make cooperative efforts to create space for them to uphold their rights in the face of increasing monopoly and oligopoly.

Only about 18,000 out of about 170,000 registered cooperatives are now active, according to documents available with the Department of the Cooperatives.

There is a huge difference between the outlook of the government regarding cooperatives and what cooperatives actually mean, Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre, told New Age.

The idea of cooperatives is initiatives of individuals to grow together, he said. 'But the government considers cooperatives as a state initiative in which the cooperatives are made accountable to the Rural Development and Cooperatives Division instead of the members of the cooperatives.'

In fact, the role of the division should be to facilitate the cooperatives, Zillur, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, said.

Asked whether cooperatives can play a role in the current market-oriented and individualistic economic policy, he said, 'The answer is both yes and no.'

The state-controlled cooperatives will not bring benefit for the people, he said.

Cooperatives, if they are formed and democratically controlled by the members, can still play a role for the betterment of the members, he said, adding that small farmers' cooperatives are working well in the United States.

'Here we have not yet been able to develop an organised cooperative marketing system to market and sell the surplus produce of the members of the cooperative societies to benefit both the members and general consumers,' he said.

Quazi Faruque, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said, 'Agriculture marketing is still a vast untapped area where cooperatives can ensure proper prices for the growers as well fair price for consumers.'

The government, however, needs to strengthen monitoring to protect cooperatives management and public property from the clutches of powerful vested interests, they said.

Successful cooperatives are already providing their members with access to technology, finance and public property, they said.

Source : New Age