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Bangkok property boom rises above bubble fears

A 77-storey skyscraper is set to become the latest, and tallest, addition to Bangkok's ever-changing skyline, already transformed by a construction boom that has raised fears of a property bubble.

Variously described on Internet forums as looking 'like it has been eaten by giant termites' and reflecting 'the chaos of Bangkok', the MahaNakorn — Great Metropolis — will tower over the Thai capital when it is finished in 2014.

At 314 metres (1,036 feet) it will be the city's tallest building, but size was not what mattered, said Sorapoj Techakraisri, head of PACE Development, which began building the skyscraper in June.

'I just wanted something unique, something interesting,' he told the AFP.

MahaNakorn's unusual pixelated spiral design was created by German architect Ole Scheeren, who was behind Beijing's futuristic China Central Television headquarters.

The 19 billion baht ($640 million) tower will house apartments, a shopping centre and a Ritz-Carlton hotel.

'When the economy gets better, the buildings go higher,' Sorapoj said.

Thailand's economic health appears robust, growing 7.8 per cent in 2010 despite street protests by the opposition 'Red Shirts' that brought large areas of Bangkok to a standstill for two months.

An ever-increasing number of pristine new apartment blocks jostle for space in desirable areas, vying for custom as billboards written in idiosyncratic English promise swanky lifestyles.

It is a far cry from a decade ago, when the city was littered with the skeletal remains of abandoned tower blocks, casualties of the 1997 Asian financial crisis that devastated the region.

The Bank of Thailand has described 2010 as the 'golden year for real estate businesses', with strong demand for homes — driven by low interest rates and increased consumer confidence — causing a flurry of new building.

Source : New Age

Tokyo stocks seen to remain weak this week

Tokyo shares are to remain weak this week on the persistent strength of the yen amid uncertainty over deadlocked US talks for raising its debt limit before a Tuesday deadline, dealers said Friday.

Kenichi Hirano, operating officer at Tachibana Securities, said there was 'an 80 per cent chance' that the worst case scenario — a US debt default that would send shockwaves through world markets — would be avoided.

But stocks will move in a narrow range amid investor caution before any outcome, he said.

'The market is unlikely to fall sharply on domestic factors as Japanese corporate earnings released so far have been generally favourable,' Hirano said, pointing to the fact that many firms are still forecasting profits for the fiscal year.

'Although some companies that showed dismal results were hit with heavy selling,' he added.

In the week to July 29, the Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange slumped 2.95 per cent, or 299.08 points, to 9,833.03. The Topix index of all first section shares lost 3.16 per cent, or 27.44 points, to 841.37.

The stalemate in US congressional leaders' negotiations for raising the nation's debt ceiling by an August 2 deadline in order to avert default has sent the dollar lower against the yen and put pressure on global stocks.

Source : New Age

ICB declares dividends on MFs

The Investment Corporation of Bangladesh has declared dividends on its mutual funds for the last fiscal year.

According to the Dhaka Stock Exchange web site, the 1st ICB Mutual Fund declared 500 per cent dividend, while the 2nd ICB Mutual Fund 250 per cent, the 3rd ICB Mutual Fund 185 per cent, the 4th ICB Mutual Fund 165 per cent, the 5th ICB Mutual Fund 135 per cent, the 6th ICB Mutual Fund 90 per cent, the 7th ICB Mutual Fund 95 per cent and the 8th ICB Mutual Fund declared 90 per cent dividends.

The ICB 1st NRB Mutual Fund declared 36 per cent dividend, while the ICB 2nd NRB Mutual Fund 12.5 per cent and the ICB 3rd NRB Mutual Fund declared 10 per cent dividends.

ICB Employees Provident Mutual Fund – 1 declared 12 per cent dividend, the ICB MMCL 1st Mutual Fund 55 per cent, the ICB MMCL 2nd Mutual Fund 14 per cent and ICB Islami Mutual Fund 36 per cent.

Source : New Age

market Disclosures

Dhaka Stock Exchange Ltd has decided to de-list (discontinue the trading of the shares) the company following its amalgamation with Bangladesh Export Import Company Ltd (Beximco) with effect from August 1 as per court order.

Apex Spinning & Knitting Mills
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
August 1 to 3. Trading of the shares of the
company will remain suspended on record date on August 4.

Beximco
Normal trading of the shares of the company will resume today after record date for amalgamation purpose.

Bd Thai Aluminium
Kazi Aktar Hamid, one of the sponsors/directors of the company, has reported his intention to sell 1,476 shares out of his total holdings of 14,043 shares of the company at prevailing market price through the stock exchange within next 30 working days.

Al-Arafah Islami Bank
Bahauddin Mohammad Yousuf, one of the sponsors/directors of the bank, has reported his intention to acquire 21,08,351 shares of the bank from his
wife Maleka Akhter by way of gift outside the trading system of the exchange within next 30
working days from the date of issuance of approval letter by DSE.

Square Textile
The company has informed that the board of directors of the company has decided that Square Textiles Ltd will purchase capital machinery for power generation and production at a total cost of Tk 45 crore (cost price); and Square Textiles Ltd will purchase landed property for about Tk 25 crore for extending the existing projects and for future expansion.
    Source: DSE
Source : New Age

Ford wagers on Asia to drive global growth

Ford Motor Co was slow out of the starting gate in Asia but now the number two US automaker is betting big on the region to drive global growth, says its Asia-Pacific chief.

Ford has just announced plans to spend $1 billion to build a second car and engine complex in India

as it ramps up production to exploit the country's fast-growing vehicle market, bringing to seven the number of plants it is building in Asia.

'This is the only place in the world where we have new plants under construction,' Joe Hinrichs, head of Asia-Pacific and Africa for Ford, told the AFP in an interview on a visit to New Delhi.

Source : New Age

Slum women need menstrual hygiene support: speakers

Experts and NGO activists at a workshop on Sunday underlined the need for a national campaign to promote menstrual hygiene to enhance the quality of life of girls and women.

The speakers said loss of schooldays and workdays for girls and women could be avoided if they were provided with adequate sanitation facilities. 

WaterAid in Bangladesh and its partner Association for Realisation of Basic Needs jointly organised the programme on 'advancing menstrual  hygiene: working together in urban slums' in the capital to share findings of a baseline study on menstrual hygiene management situation in Dhaka slums and also to explore ideas for further improvement of the overall condition. 

Research associates of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Nehraz Mahmud and ATM Shaifullah Mehedi conducted the study in three slums located in the city's Mirpur in April 2011 to assess their social and cultural constructs of menstrual health.

Under the study 70 per cent women interviewed regarded that menstruation was a kind of illness. It also found that women and girls aged between 11 and 30 were more informed about the fact that poor cleanliness during menstruation might cause diseases.

The study also found that only 10.86 per cent of the respondents, mostly belonging to younger group, use sanitary napkins while most others use cloth. 

Nehraz Mahmud presented the study findings at the workshop moderated by WaterAid in Bangladesh country representative Mohammad Khairul Islam. URBAN coordinator Muham-med Kamal Uddin, among others, spoke at the workshop.

Nehraz Mahmud said it was a serious concern that over 73 per cent women did not eat fish during menstruation and maintained secrecy about the matter out of social taboos.

Khairul Islam said the government should take measures to launch a national campaign across the country to bring about behavioural changes among the entire reproductive age group.

Experts and NGO activists at a workshop on Sunday underlined the need for a national campaign to promote menstrual hygiene to enhance the quality of life of girls and women.

The speakers said loss of schooldays and workdays for girls and women could be avoided if they were provided with adequate sanitation facilities. 

WaterAid in Bangladesh and its partner Association for Realisation of Basic Needs jointly organised the programme on 'advancing menstrual  hygiene: working together in urban slums' in the capital to share findings of a baseline study on menstrual hygiene management situation in Dhaka slums and also to explore ideas for further improvement of the overall condition. 

Research associates of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies Nehraz Mahmud and ATM Shaifullah Mehedi conducted the study in three slums located in the city's Mirpur in April 2011 to assess their social and cultural constructs of menstrual health.

Under the study 70 per cent women interviewed regarded that menstruation was a kind of illness. It also found that women and girls aged between 11 and 30 were more informed about the fact that poor cleanliness during menstruation might cause diseases.

The study also found that only 10.86 per cent of the respondents, mostly belonging to younger group, use sanitary napkins while most others use cloth. 

Nehraz Mahmud presented the study findings at the workshop moderated by WaterAid in Bangladesh country representative Mohammad Khairul Islam. URBAN coordinator Muham-med Kamal Uddin, among others, spoke at the workshop.

Nehraz Mahmud said it was a serious concern that over 73 per cent women did not eat fish during menstruation and maintained secrecy about the matter out of social taboos.

Khairul Islam said the government should take measures to launch a national campaign across the country to bring about behavioural changes among the entire reproductive age group.

Source : New Age

Dhaka Univ condemns Norway killings

Teachers and students of the University of Dhaka on Sunday condemned the recent Norway killing and demanded that the real culprits be brought to book immediately, said a news release.

They made their demand in a human chain at Aparajeya Bangla. Students of the Regional Master's Programme in Journalism, Media and Communication of the university organised the programme. 

They also urged all concerned to stop killings and every act of violence in any part of the world.

The students were carrying banner and posters in the human chain

with slogans against 'heinous' act of killing in Norway.

Coordinator of RMP in Mass Communication and Journalism Shaikh Abdus Salam, MCJ teachers Shameem Reza, Shafiul Alam Bhuyan, Mofizur Rhaman, Robayet Ferdous and Saiful Haq, among others, were present at the programme.

The July 22 twin attacks on a youth camp and the government headquarters in Norway killed 76 people.

Source : New Age

2 hurt in RU BCL factional clash

At least 2 activists of Banglsdesh Chhatra Legue, Rajshahi University unit, were injured in a factional clash on Saturday night over establishing supremacy on the campus.

Saddam Hossain Tipu, president of Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee, RU unit, filed a case with the Motihar police against 4 BCL activists in this connection.

The accused were Parvez, a master's student of Islamic history department, Raju and Palash, master's students of public administration and Emdad, an MBA student of management of the university.

On Saturday, BCL activists Parves, Palash, Raju and Emdad, residents of Shaheed Habibur Rahman Hall, called the plaintiff, resident of the same hall, to discuss politics centring the hall.

Parves and Tipu engaged in a scuffle at the meet. Then two factions, led by Parves and Tipu respectively, locked in a severe clash with lethal weapons that left both of them injured.

The police brought the situation under control.

The injured were admitted to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.

When contacted, Parves alleged that Tipu had long been collecting toll from the hall students.

'I just called him to request not to harass the general students but he attacked me along with his associates and broke my right hand,' Parves added.

On the other hand, Saddam Hossain Tipu said, 'Parves along with his friends came to beat me and I resisted only.'

BCL RU unit president Ahmed Ali said the incident might have resulted from their personal enmity.

'If any allegation against them was proved, stern action would be taken against the miscreants,' he added.

RU proctor CM Zakaria told New Age that effective measures would be taken after investigation against them who tried to make the situation unstable.

A case was filed with the Motihar police.

The Motihar police officer-in-charge, Akbar Ali, confirmed the filing of case and said they would take action according to the decision of RU authorities.

Source : New Age

City buses flout fixed bus stops plan

Most city buses are not following the Dhaka Metropolitan Regional Transport Committee's official list of fixed bus stops, stopping haphazardly to pick up passengers, say the Dhaka Metropolitan Police officers.

The regional transport committee, comprising members of the DMP, the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority and different bus owners' associations, formulated the list of approved bus routes at a meeting in Dhaka on July 13, 2010.

The committee fixed a total of 161 routes in the capital and gave approval to 5,288 buses belonging to different companies to use these routes — though there was an opportunity for another 1,800 buses to get approval.

The locations of bus stops were also fixed by the committee.

But most of the buses have either increased the number of pick-up points where they stop or fail to stop at the official bus stops at all, the sources said.

Buses belonging to different companies, including Taranga Plus Transport Limited, Dibanishi Transport, Ena Transport (Private) Limited, Winner Transport, Ekushey Transport Limited, Megacity Service, Nisharga Transport, Midway Transport Limited, Belal Enterprise Limited, Bengal Motors, Anik Transport, Falgun, Pravati Banassree Transport, and Salsabil had set up their own bus stops or take on passengers at different points on their route ignoring the official list.

Buses run by companies, including Shikar Paribahan, Mirpur United Service Limited, United Service, Silk City Service, Pallabi Super Local Service, Safety Enterprise (Private) Limited, Bikalpa Transport, Bihanga Transport, Choice Transport (Private) Limited, ETC Transport Company Limited, and Balaka Services do not stop at any fixed but stops at all.

Sumon Shariar, a resident of Rampura said that the Taranga Plus Transport bus from Banasree to Mohammadpur, 'stops at four bus stops in Banasree and one at Rampura where many people get onto the bus.'

However, according to the RTC list, this bus is only allowed to stop at five official bus stops at Mouchak, Kakrail, Shahbagh, Science Lab, and Jhigatola.

Jihanul Islam, a resident of Mirpur, said some buses operating in the area did not have any official bus stops and just gave tickets inside the bus if any passenger asks

The Association of Bus Companies' senior vice-president Syed Rezaul Karim acknowledged that this was the situation explaining that neither the DMP nor the BRTA took any measure against these buses.

He said the drivers and passengers did not follow the system of fixed bus stops as there were no fixed structures where people could queue.

Rezaul Karim demanded a joint monitoring system for the buses where members from DMP, BRTA and different bus associations would be appointed.

Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Samity secretary general and Dhaka Sarak Paribahan Samity general secretary Khandaker Enayet Ullah said that whilst sometimes different buses took passengers from places which were not fixed by the government, the law enforcement authority did take actions against these buses on regular basis.

DMP deputy commissioner of traffic (south) Najmul Hussain said the situation would not change till drivers and passengers were willing to follow the rules.

Whilst DMP joint commissioner of traffic Mahbubur Rahman told New Age that his men daily filed about 2,200 to 3,500 cases against these types of violations.

'We are trying to curb these problems but you know the city buses are just out of control,' he added.

The joint commissioner said that the drivers were driving recklessly on the city's roads and that the drivers should be punished and not just the owners who currently were the ones who were punished.

Source : New Age

Arsenic contaminates 14 upazilas

The office of the Comilla civil surgeon informed that it had recently detected more than 6,500 patients with arsenic contamination at 14 upazilas in Comilla.

According to them, the biggest chunk of patients came from three upazilas, namely Monoharganj, Laksam and Muradnagar. Over 4,500 patients were diagnosed with arsenic in these upazilas while fewer patients were found in the rest 11, namely Homna, Daudkandi, Debidwar, Chandina, Burichang, Brahmanpara, Chouddagram, Nangalkot, Titas, Sadar Dakkhin and Barura.

The information of the civil surgeon's office is supported by the findings of a study by the Comilla office of the Department of Public Health and Engineering.

DPHE engineer Firoz Alam Chowdhury said under that study, conducted between early 2010 and March 2011, they found 15,000 tube-wells in the 14 upazilas containing arsenic much beyond the acceptable level. 

In Bangladesh the acceptable limit of arsenic in ground water is 0.05 milligram per litre while the World Health Organisation sets its limit in this regard at 0.01mg per litre.

The study also revealed that only two upazilas, namely Meghna and Comilla Sadar, of the district, so far, remained uncontaminated with the poisonous substance.

Firoz Alam Chowdhury further said that although they had marked the contaminated tube-wells red, a sign indicating water of that tube-well was poisoned with arsenic, in many places, people still continued to drink water from those as they lacked alternative drinking water sources in the area. 

During a recent visit to village Dumuria of Manoharganj upazila, Mohammad Nabiullah, a villager, told this correspondent that it was more than three years since arsenic was detected in the tube-wells of their village.

'Until now no one approached us with any solutions,' he said.

Humayun Kabir of village Fatepur of Laksam upazila, said the DPHE had advised them to drink rainwater to avoid being poisoned with arsenic.

'But as people are not habituated to preserve rainwater they continue drinking water from the contaminated tube-wells,' he said.

Comilla civil surgeon Abul Kalam Siddique provided the following account of the patients who were diagnosed with arsenic contamination between early 2010 and the first week of March 2011: Monoharganj – 1833; Laksam – 1557; Muradnagar – 1175; Homna – 363; Daudkandi – 153; Debidwer – 231; Chandina – 245; Burichang – 16; Brahmanpara – 79; Chouddagram – 15; Nangalkot – 154; Titas – 56; Sadar Dakkshin – 633; and Barura – 114.

High levels of arsenic in human body may lead to cancers of the skin, bladder, kidney, and lung, and diseases of the blood vessels of the legs and feet, he said.

Source : New Age

5 shops burnt, 4 injured

At least four persons were injured and five shops and properties worth about Tk 8 lakh were gutted in a fire incident at Basail Bazaar under Agoiljhara upazila in Barisal on Sunday morning.

The Agoiljhara police station officer-in-charge, Ashok Kumar Nandi, said that the fire originated from electric short circuit of electric and cosmetics   shop of Sekandar Shikdar and soon engulfed the other shops in the market.

Fire service team from Gournadi fire service station rushed to the spot and extinguished the fire with the help of local people. Four people were injured during extinguishing the fire, he said.

The shop owners claimed that valuables worth

about Tk 8 lakh of five shops were burnt to ashes in the fire.

Source : New Age

Salahuddin Ahmed dies

Former chairman of Dainik Bangla Trust Salahuddin Ahmed, also former defence secretary and deputy inspector general of police, died at Square Hospitals in Dhaka on Saturday at the age of eighty-seven.

He is survived by his wife Khaleda Salahuddin and son Khaled Salahuddin.

His namaj-e-janaza was held at Rajarbagh Police Lines in Dhaka after zuhr prayers on Sunday.

Source : New Age

Aminul Haque dies

Film actor Aminul Haque died at Uttara Crescent Hospital in the capital on Sunday morning at the age of ninety-one.

He had been suffering from pneumonia for a week.

Aminul Haque is survived by his wife and a son.

He was the actor of the first audiovisual movie of Bangla-desh 'Mukh O Mukhosh'.

He also performed in about 30 movies including 'Jowar Elo'; 'Godhulir Prem'; 'Tomar Amar' and 'Aparajeya'.

His namaz-e-janaza was held on Bashartek Mosque premises at Uttara after asr prayers. He was buried at Municipality Graveyard at Uttara.

In a message of condolence, information minister Abul Kalam Azad expressed his shock at the death of Aminul Haque.

He prayed for the departed soul and conveyed sympathy to the members of bereaved family.

Information secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamun also expressed his shock at his death.

Source : New Age

Ministers to submit annual wealth info to PM

The government has made it mandatory for ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers and others in public service of similar status to submit their income and wealth statements to the prime minister every year.

The cabinet division in a gazette notification on Sunday said that such people will have to submit their income and wealth statements every year to the prime minister in a month after the filing of their income tax returns to the National Board of Revenue.

The prime minister on her/his own decision will make public the asset statements to be given in a prescribed form, according to the gazette signed by the cabinet secretary, M Abdul Aziz. 

Earlier on July 4, 2011, the cabinet at its weekly meeting approved a proposal of the cabinet division for the submission of the ministers' wealth statements in keeping with the ruling Awami League's election pledge.

The decision came two years and a half after the AL-led alliance government had assumed office in January 2009.

The Awami League's election manifesto, A charter for change, said that wealth statements and sources of income of the prime minister, cabinet members, parliament members, and their families would be made public every year.

Source : New Age

JS panel to seek views of owners for okaying govt’s broadcasting policy

A parliamentary standing committee on Sunday decided to seek the views of the broadcasting company owners before lending its approval to the government's draft national broadcasting policy.

Committee sources said that they would also examine the policies of international broadcasting companies giving their nod.

They said that the committee on information ministry at a meeting reviewed the draft national broadcasting policy and decided to discuss it again on August 18.

They said that they would also examine broadcasting policies of other countries for the purpose.

They said that the committee decided to have discussions with the owners and top functionaries TV channels and radio stations to seek their views on the issue.

'We have decided to examine the policies followed by the British Broadcasting Corporation, Cable News Network, Aljazeera and some other international broadcasting companies for the purpose,' committee chairman Obaidul Quader told reporters after the meeting.

The committee, he said, would meet the authorities of privately owned TV channels and radio stations to seek their views on the issue.

Besides, he said, the committee would also seek the views of people at different all strata by e-mail.

'We would take all these views into consideration before approving the broadcasting policy,' Quader said.

Source : New Age

Caretaker system abolished as it is ‘undemocratic’: Amu

Ruling Awami League advisory council member Amir Hossain Amu said on Sunday that the election-time caretaker government had been abolished as 'it is undemocratic.'

'Undemocratic caretaker system cannot continue for an unlimited time,' he told a conference of the representatives of the party's Dhaka district chapter at Kazi Bashir Auditorium in the city.

The conference was organised as part of a decision of the party to hold countrywide programmes to explain the government's position in the face of criticism from the opposition.

Amu said that the AL-led coalition government abolished the 'unconstitutional system' from the constitution only to strengthen democracy.

He said that ruling Awami League took the decision to take the 'tough route of progress of democracy' to make democracy stronger.

Amu urged the ruling party workers to get united and reply to the opposition 'propaganda.'

AL organising secretary and LGRD state minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak, office secretary and state minister for housing and public works Abdul Mannan Khan, AL leaders Aktharuzzaman and Dhaka city unit leader and state minister for law Quamrul Islam and the district chapter general secretary Mahbubur Rahman spoke at the conference chaired by the district unit president Benzir Ahmed.

Nanak said that the opposition was trying call a movement by forming alliance with 'Oli, Moli, Toli.'

He urged the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia not to create anarchy.

He said, 'If there is anarchy we would be compelled to take to the street'.      

Chanting of slogans, hailing leaders present by their supporters, particularly of lawmaker Murad Jhong, ignoring requests from the party functionaries on the stage, disrupted the conference proceedings.

Nanak's speech was interrupted by slogans hailing Murad Jhong.

Unable to stop Chhatra League members from raising slogans, Nanak requested Murad Jhong to do it.

At one point Nanak had to tell Jhong, 'You better do it at Savar.'

AL leaders urged party workers to elect honest and competent leaders ready to sacrifice for the party at its upcoming elections at ward, union and upazila tiers.

Source : New Age

Deadly clash in Libya rebel capital

A deadly clash broke out in Libya's rebel capital of Benghazi in the wake of the murder of their military chief, as the Gaddafi regime said Sunday it was in contact with rebel leadership members.

Four rebels were killed in the clash with a pro-Gaddafi group in Benghazi overnight, a rebel spokesman said.

'It was a long battle and it took many hours because they were heavily armed,' Mahmud Shamman said. 'In

the end we arrested 31 of them. We lost four people.'

He said the group, which suffered 'about 20 casualties,' was rounded up for its role in organising a prison break in Benghazi earlier in the week.

Rebel forces had surrounded the camp of the group linked to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi after they refused to obey an order from the rebels' National Transitional Council for all militias to disband and lay down their arms.

The clash follows last week's assassination of rebel military chief General Abdel Fatah Yunis, whose death remains cloaked in mystery. The general was a right-hand man to Gaddafi before his defection to the rebel ranks.

While the rebels tried to quash rumours about the mysterious death of their army chief, the Gaddafi regime said it was in contact with members of the NTC.

'There are contacts with Mahmud Jibril (number two in the NTC), and (Ali) Essawy (in charge of external relations), (religious leader Ali) Sallabi and others,' deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaaim told a Tripoli news conference.

Gaddafi on Saturday night renewed his pledge 'never to abandon' the battle, in an audio tape broadcast on state television despite NATO air strikes earlier the same day on the broadcaster's headquarters in Tripoli.

Libya's enemies would be 'defeated in the face of the resistance and courage of the Libyan people,' he said in a speech following the strikes which Tripoli said killed three journalists.

The rebels, who have frequently denied having had any direct negotiations with Tripoli, sought to stamp out rumours by giving details on Yunis's killing and bringing all militias under the control of the NTC interior ministry.

Meanwhile, the Benghazi villa of the murdered general was surrounded by checkpoints early on Sunday and no traffic allowed on the coastal city's main highway.

South of Benghazi, rebels reported an attack by pro-Gaddafi forces on the southern oasis town of Jalo, but said it had been repulsed.

On the western front in the five-month-old armed revolt, Libyan rebels on Sunday took the village of Josh at the foot of the Nafusa mountain range, AFP journalists said.

'We took Josh this morning and are now heading west. Now we're fighting to take Tiji,' further down the valley, Juma Brahim, head of the rebel fighters' operational command in the Nafusa region, said.

He gave a casualty toll of three dead and four wounded.

The Nafusa region has seen heavy fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Gaddafi since the insurgents launched a major offensive this month in a drive on Tripoli.

NATO said its warplanes carried out 50 strike sorties on Saturday, with hits in the areas of Brega, Zliten, Waddan and Tripoli.

France said on Sunday it was committed to striking Gaddafi's military assets for as long as needed for him to quit power, and called on Libyans in Tripoli to rise up against him.

'We say to Gaddafi that we will not ease our pressure and to his opponents that we will not abandon them,' the French defence minister, Gerard Longuet, was quoted as saying by the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

'Things have to move more in Tripoli... the population must rise up,' he added.

Source : New Age

Two bodies recovered

A trawler, which capsized in the River Buriganga near Balurghat in Keraniganj model thana Saturday night, was salvaged Sunday.

So far, two bodies were recovered Saturday night and early Sunday following the accident, which also left five others injured. At least 25 passengers are still missing.

BIWTA salvage ship MV Rustam and MV Agrani reached the spot at 12:45pm Sunday and started the salvage operation with the assistance of Coast Guard, Navy and Fire Service personnel.

With the help of crane, the sunken trawler was pulled out of the river and taken to Nawab Bari Ghat in Kotwali thana of the capital, about 600 yards off the spot, at 3:00pm.

Sub-Lieutenant Ferdous Ahmed, Station Commander of Pagla Coast Guard, was injured during the rescue operation.

The trawler carrying about 100 passengers from

Babubazar Bridge Ghat to Kamrangir Char capsized in the midstream when it was hit hard by a barge (cargo vessel) at 8:15pm Saturday.

Navy divers recovered the body of Mostafa Kamal Ripon, 26, at 10:00pm on Saturday and another body of Amir Hossain, 40, at 2:45am on Sunday.

Ferdous Ahmed said most of the passengers either swam ashore or rescued by others, but 25 to 30 others might be missing till now.

Five passengers injured in the accident were admitted to Mitford Hospital.

Meanwhile, the government has formed a five-member committee, led by Dhaka district deputy commissioner Mohibul Haque, to investigate the incident and asked it to submit report within five days.

Source : New Age

Govt spends Tk 3,000 a day on bodies of 3 foreign prisoners in mortuary

The government is spending Tk 3,000 everyday on preserving bodies of two Indians and a Nepalese who died whilst serving their prison sentence in Bangladesh jails in 2010.

'We have sent letters to the authorities of the relevant countries through the home ministry every month about the bodies but the authorities are yet to respond,' the inspector general (prisons) Brigadier General Md Ashraful Islam Khan told New Age.

He said that the jail authorities had to keep the bodies in the mortuaries until a response from the host countries is received.

'If the countries respond claiming the bodies, the relevant governments will have to pay the mortuary fee but if they do not, we will have to bear the cost,' he added.

He also said that the bodies would eventually have to be buried in Bangladesh in case no one seeks recovery of the bodies.

Jag Narayan who came from Kapur Fubuya of Kathmandu in Nepal died in a Chittagong hospital on August 1, 2010 and Sen Swapan, from Madhya Gram municipality in West Bengal, died in Dhaka Medical College Hospital on August 31, 2010.

Sohye Uddin from Dasgram Kandi of Karimganj in Assam in India died in Diabetic Hospital in Sylhet on May 14, 2011.

According to the prisons directorate, 740 foreigners are now imprisoned in Bangladeshi jails — 393 from Myanmar, 314 from India, 19 from Pakistan, 5 from Nepal, 3 from Tanzania, and 1 each from Saudi Arabia, Japan, Australia, Nigeria and Hungary.

Nearly a third of these people, however, have served their sentence, said the prison officials. They include 157 Indians and 60 Myanmar citizens, most of whom were arrested for smuggling drugs or illegally entering Bangladesh.

'We send the necessary papers every month to our home ministry's external department but it cannot respond to us as the embassies concerned pay no heed,' the IGP (prisons) added.

Source : New Age

4 held for beating women in village arbitration

The police on Sunday arrested four people of Madhupur at Badarganj in Rangpur on a High Court directive in a case of torturing two women in village arbitration.

A bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore ordered the arrest of the four — Badarganj BNP leader Abdur Rouf Mondol, retired schoolteacher Mozahel Ali, Modhupur union council member Ilias Ali, and local madrassah teacher Sekandar Ali. They were produced in court in connection with the case on Thursday.

The court also directed the Badarganj police officer-in-charge, Mobarok Ali Sarkar, to produce the victims in court again on August 7 for their deposition regarding the incident in which Happy Begum and Shahida Begum were beaten in the presence of several hundred people Kashiganj in the district on June 26 centring on the death of Happy's husband Hashem.

The police officer-in-charge was also asked to arrest in seven days other people involved in the incident.

The court asked the police officials to frame charges which include abduction, conspiracy, repression against women, and illegally assembly against the people held responsible for 'extra-judicial punishment' of torture in the name of arbitration. 

The court also rebuked the police official for recording the case as bailable.

On Thursday, the police officer-in-charge along with seven — four arrested on the day and Enamul Haque, Enamul Hossain and Aynal Haque arrested earlier — appeared in court following its earlier order issued suo moto on July 24 after the media had reported the incident.

Source : New Age

Syrian army kills 90 in Hama

More than 90 people were killed on Sunday as the Syrian military launched an attack on the flashpoint protest city of Hama on the eve of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a human rights activist said.

Ammar Qorabi, who heads the National Organisation for Human Rights, said that army attacks across Syria killed at least 121 people and wounded dozens more. Another activist put the overall toll at 123.

'The army and security forces launched an attack on Hama and opened fire on civilians, killing 95 people,' Qorabi said, adding he had a list of names of 62 of the dead.

He added that '19 people were killed in Deir Ezzor in the east, six more died in Harak in the south and one

in Al-Bukamal,' also in the east.

According to Qorabi, 'snipers took up positions on rooftops' in Deir Ezzor where 'most of those shot were hit in the head and the neck.'

Another rights group reported that 47 people were killed in and around Hama, including two shot dead by security forces in the village of Suran outside the city, bringing the day's overall death toll to 123.

Dozens were also wounded when security forces shot at 'residents who took to the streets to protest when they heard the news about Hama,' said Rami Abdel Rahman of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

He quoted a Hama hospital source as saying: 'The number of those wounded is huge and hospitals cannot cope, particularly because we lack the adequate equipment.'

On the international front, British foreign secretary William Hague urged Assad to call off the Hama assault.

'I am appalled by the reports that the Syrian security forces have stormed Hama with tanks and other heavy weapons this morning, killing dozens of people,' Hague said.

'President Bashar is mistaken if he believes that oppression and military force will end the crisis in his country. He should stop this assault on his own people now.'

The German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, meanwhile, threatened new sanctions against the Syrian leadership.

Berlin 'calls on president Assad to immediately end violence against peaceful demonstrators,' he said. 'If president Assad fails to change course, we and our partners in the EU will impose new sanctions.'

Abdel Rahman also reported six dead and 50 wounded in Deir Ezzor and three killed and dozens wounded at Harak in the Deraa region near the border with Jordan.

One resident reached by phone said the army entered Hama at around 6:00am (0300 GMT) in an apparent operation to wrest back control after security forces withdrew from the city almost two months ago.

Another said: 'Five tanks are now deployed outside the governor's palace,' and spoke of intermittent gunfire.

The official SANA news agency reported two members of the security forces killed by 'armed groups' in Hama while state television said a colonel and two soldiers were 'martyred' by gunmen in Deir Ezzor.

SANA said the gunmen torched police stations and attacked private and public property in Hama, adding that soldiers were tearing down barricades and checkpoints set up by the armed men at the entrance of the city.

The Syrian Observatory said the army also launched an operation against Muadhamiya in the Damascus region.

'Security forces launched an offensive at 5:00am (0200 GMT) on Muadhamiya from the north, with tanks blocking the southern, eastern and western entrances to the town,' Abdel Rahman said.

The Syrian League for the Defence of Human Rights reported more than 300 people detained in Muadhamiya, where electricity supplies and communications had been cut.

Also arrested was Bagara tribal chief and opposition figure Nawwaf Ragheb al-Bashir, who was seized on Saturday in Deir Ezzor, Syria's main oil- and gas-producing region, according to the Syrian League.

The Syrian Observatory reported demonstrations in the central city of Homs and along the Aleppo-Damascus highway — which residents cut off in several points — to protest against the Hama crackdown.

Hama and the eastern oil hub of Deir Ezzor have been rallying points for pro-democracy protests since mid-March.

In 1982, an estimated 20,000 people were killed in Hama when the army put down an Islamist revolt against the rule of president Bashar al-Assad's late father, Hafez.

The president replaced the governor of Hama after a record 500,000 protesters rallied in the opposition bastion on July 1 calling for the fall of the regime.

Since security forces gunned down 48 protesters in the city on June 3, Hama had escaped the clutches of the regime, activists say. The next day, more than 100,000 mourners were reported to have massed at their funerals.

Since anti-regime protests broke out, the crackdown on dissent has resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 civilians and more than 360 members of the security forces, according to a Syrian Observatory toll.

More than 12,000 people are also reported to have been arrested.

Source : New Age