Polnews24: Jun 25, 2011

Saturday

ICC to discuss change in chief selection process

Mumbai, June 24 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) ? The International Cricket Council (ICC) will discuss constitutional amendments to abolish the rotational policy of appointing its head and avoid "government interference" in the game's administration at next week's conference in Hong Kong.

"Under the new proposal, the executive board will decide the process and term of office from time to time, subject to certain qualifying criteria," the ICC said in a statement on Friday.

"This would remove the current rotational system of nomination and the fixed term of appointment as set out in the ICC Articles of Association."

Any such constitutional amendment would impact Pakistan the most as the South Asian country was supposed to nominate the administrator who would succeed New Zealander Alan Isaac, now a vice president, as the ICC chief in 2014.

Isaac will take over from incumbent Sharad Pawar of India next year.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials have been quoted in the media as saying that they would vehemently oppose the amendments.

The ICC move to reduce government interference would also affect the PCB, the chairman of which is appointed directly by country's president, who is designated chief patron of the board.

Sri Lanka is not free from government interference either. The Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is an interim body and issues such as team selection have to be approved by their sports ministry.

"The full council of the ICC will consider a constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring free elections of member boards and avoiding undue government interference in the administration of cricket, in line with the regulations of other major sporting bodies," the statement said.

The five-day conference, which starts on Sunday, will also consider the recommendations made by the cricket committee that includes the Decision Review System (DRS) and day-night test matches.

Ireland, who recorded memorable victories over Pakistan and England in the past two editions of the World Cup, will have their fingers crossed when president Pawar asks the ICC executive board to reconsider its decision to restrict the 2015 edition to the 10 test-playing member nations.

The ICC initially decided to restrict the next edition of the 50-over World Cup, to be held in Australia and New Zealand, to the 10 member nations but later proposed a qualifying tournament for associate nations.

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BNP in politics of conflict: Qamrul

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com)?The state minister for law has said BNP has engaged in politics of destruction to save the party chief's sons Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Coco and suspected war criminals from the law.

Qamrul Islam at a discussion on Friday reiterated the government stance that the government had no influence on the court in the verdict.

"The money laundering charges surfaced in America, from FBI. They had taken millions from Siemens. There are money laundering charges against them in Singapore. Millions have been seized from their accounts there," he continued.

He refuted BNP's allegations that the government wanted to destroy the Zia family, claiming that rather the two sons had brought shame to the family with their deeds.

He called on the opposition to do away with politics of confrontation and go to parliament to discuss the next election.

Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court on Thursday sentenced Coco, the youngest son of the opposition leader, to six years in jail and slapped a hefty fine of Tk 190.41 million in a money laundering case.

Later in the evening, agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury told parliament that another money laundering case, filed against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's eldest son Tarique, will be heard on July 3.

bdnews24.com/sim/sh/bd/1534h

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Coco judgement will be fought 'politically'

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?The jail sentence to Arafat Rahman Coco will be tackled politically, says his counsel after the BNP said it will wage a legal battle.

Protesting the verdict, lawyer Sanaullah Mia, also a BNP leader, on Thursday said Coco was jailed for six years and fined Tk 190.41 million for laundering money by a judge backed by the ruling Awami League.

Asked if they would appeal the verdict, Sanaullah said: "We'll fight the verdict politically."

BNP acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir earlier in the day said the verdict was stage-managed and that they would fight the verdict in the court.

Pro-opposition and ruling Awami League-backed lawyers brought out processions in the court arena protesting against and hailing the judgement, respectively.

The BNP lawyers also tried to enter the court room and on being obstructed they scuffled with the lawmen. Police reportedly charged batons on them.

They chanted slogans against judge Mohammad Mozammel Hossain of the Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court labelling him as a government collaborator. They also staged a rally at the Dhaka Lawyers' Association office.

In protest at the verdict and 'atrocities' by police, the pro-BNP lawyers declared demonstrations on Sunday.

Public prosecutor Mosharraf Hossain Kajol expressed satisfaction over the verdict and said it was handed down in line with the law.

Meanwhile, counsel of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the plaintiff in the case, Anisul Huq said there was no government influence on the verdict.

Coco and Ismail Hossain Simon, son of former BNP shipping minister late Akbar Hossain, both received the same punishment for taking bribes from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Siemens AG for helping them bag government contracts.

China Harbour got a Tk 3.51 billion contract to set up New Mooring Container Terminal and Siemens a Tk 2.39 billion deal to supply and install equipment for Teletalk, the state-owned cell phone operator.

bdnews24.com/pb/pks/bd/1721h

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Koko verdict baseless: Alamgir

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Saturday, 25 June 2011 Author / Source : STAFF REPORTER

DHAKA, JUNE 24: Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the acting secretary-general of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), termed the court verdict against Arafat Rahman Koko, on a money laundering case, as pre-decided, terming it as legally and constitutionally baseless. Koko was sentenced to six years of imprisonment, and fined Tk. 38.83 crore, on Thursday.Alamgir was speaking at a press briefing at the party’s Naya Paltan Central office, in the city, on Friday. He said the trial has been finished with ‘incomparable hurriedness’, within 17 working days, and the accused was not given the opportunity to defend himself.
On the other hand, the attorney general’s office seemed over-eager in pursuing the case, which was an outcome of the government’s political vengeance, Alamgir said.
Describing the case as false and fabricated, Alamgir added that Koko has been deprived of justice as the Money Laundering Prevention Act did not exist, when the charge was framed against him. The Act was enacted in 2009, but charges were framed in 2007. Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) lodged the case against Koko instead of Bangladesh Bank, which has also violated the Act, he said. The BNP leader said the ruling-party leaders, including ministers, had made advance remarks over the verdict. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, herself, allegedly gave directions to quickly discharge the case. Such remarks proved the verdict was stage managed and pre-determined, Alamgir observed.
Alamgir said Koko was not involved in money laundering, and he had no links with Singapore’s Jazz Trading and Consulting, and Farhill Consulting. There is no bank account in his name and the court also failed to prove that the signature in the joint account was that of Koko’s, he claimed.
“Framing of charges against Koko, by the Third Special Judge’s Court, is totally unlawful. Koko was not summoned, and no notice was published in newspapers. The government convicted Koko to tarnish the image of the family of late President Ziaur Rahman.” he alleged. He further said that the government had influenced the country’s judiciary, in a bid to repress and oppress the opposition leaders and activists.
BNP standing committee members MK Anwar, Moeen Khan, Aman Ullah Aman, Salahuddin Ahmed and Zainul Abdin Farroque, were also present at the press briefing.

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AmericaArt & CultureAsiaAsia/PacificAviation & TourismBankingCountryCricketEnvironmentEuropeFinanceFootballFree for allFriday FeaturesHealth & Life StyleITLeisureMovieNationwideOther BusinessOther InternationalOther SportsRegionScience & TechnologyStock MarketTennisTV showsWomen’s OwnUntitled Documentimg.floatLeft { float: left; margin: 2px; }img.floatRight { float: right; margin: 2px; }p.left{text-align:left;}Editor : Mahbubul AlamPublished by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited and printed by him at Media Printers, 149-150, Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1215. Editorial, News & Commercial Office: BEL Tower (5th & 6th floor), 19 Dhanmondi, Road No. 1, Dhaka-1205, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000. Phone (PABX): 9672091-95. Fax: 880-2-8629785, Email: indnews@bol-online.com (News), ind@bol-online.com (Commercial), editor@bol-online.com (Editorials), indsports@bol-online.com (Sports), indbusiness@bol-online.com (Business), indcountry@bol-online.com (Country), indweekend@bol-online.com (Weekend), indstetho@bol-online.com (Stethoscope).Copyright © 2010 The Independent . All rights reserved.Powered by :

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BNP dismisses verdict as hoax

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?Opposition BNP has rejected the verdict against party chief Khaleda Zia's son Arafat Rahman Coco as stage-managed.

In his reaction, party's acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said they would fight the verdict in the court.

"This verdict is pre-determined and politically motivated. The government has given the verdict by filing a false case against Coco to disgrace the family of Ziaur Rahman to wreak vengeance," he told reporters at the Naya Paltan headquarters.

Coco was jailed for six years and fined Tk 190.41 million in a money laundering case.

Co-accused in the case Ismail Hossain Simon, son of former shipping minister late Akbar Hossain, was given the same punishment.

The case was filed against the duo for channelling 2,884,000 Singapore dollars and USD 932,000 to Singapore.

Pointing that the prime minister instructed officials to expedite the cases against Coco and his elder brother Tarique Rahman, Fakhrul said, "The ministers have recently been commenting on the issue which means the verdict was preset."

He claimed the 'so-called' case had no grounds to punish Coco.

"The lawyers are observing it," he added.

Asked about future programmes, Fakhrul said decision may come from a meeting of the party's standing committee.

Joint-secretary-general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, and leaders of BNP's associate wings were also present at that time.

bdnews24.com/sm/pks/bd/1449h

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5 killed, 6 injured in Narsingdi road crash

NARSINGDI, June 24: Five people were killed and six others injured as a truck hit another stationary truck from behind near Sristigarh in Shibpur Upazila on Dhaka-Sylhet highway early Friday. The deceased were identified as Idris(35), Alauddin (40), Hamid (30) and Shaheen (19). Witnesses said when labourers were loading vegetables in a truck on the sideway another Bhairab bound truck from Dhaka rammed the stationary truck from behind at about 1:00 am. Three of the labourers were crushed under the wheels while another died on the way to hospital. ? UNB

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Tropical storm in Philippines kills 11

Tropical storm in Philippines kills 11
Children pedal their bicycle down a flooded street after heavy rains in Valenzuela City, north of Manila. MANJ-ILA, June 24 (CNN): Heavy rains and high winds from Tropical Storm Meari lashed the Philippines Friday, killing at least 11 people and displacing 40,000 people, an emergency management agency said.

The storm has been menacing the Philippines since Tuesday, when 11 fishermen went missing along the coast of Luzon, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The storm was forecasted to move Saturday toward Basco, Batanes, the smallest of the Philippine provinces, the council said. By Sunday, the storm was expected to be 370 kilometers (229.9 miles) west northwest of Okinawa, Japan, the agency said.

Flash floods were reported in a number of Philippine communities, including Ligao City where one woman was reportedly washed away by floodwaters, the council said in a statement posted on its website.

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CCCI seeks duty cut on scrapped ship

Chittagong, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) has urged the government not to raise duty on import of scrapped ship, the main raw material for local iron and steel mills.

The call was made on Thursday in a statement signed by chamber president Murshed Murad Ibrahim.

Finance minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith proposed increasing per-tonne import duty on scrapped ship to Tk 1,500 in the national budget for 2011-'12 fiscal from the existing Tk 1,000.

Murshed requested the finance minister to keep the rate at Tk 1,000 per tonne and withdraw the additional three percent adjusted tax value (ATV), proposed in the budget placed in parliament on June 9.

Claiming that ship-breaking industry is playing a vital role in economic development and creating employment, he said instability has been prevailing in the sector for the last one year due to various reasons.

He said the government exchequer received more than Tk 80 billion from the sector every year.

Pointing out that the sector was trying to perform better after prime minister Sheikh Hasina had declared it as an industry, the CCCI president said an adverse situation might crop up in the sector due to increase in the import duty and imposition of ATV.

He apprehends that the proposed tax structure will invite difficulties in the steel re-rolling mills and destabilise the entire iron and steel market.

bdnews24.com/mc/skb/ssr/2113h

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Dhaka shares rise further

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) gained on Thursday for the fourth successive day.

The DSE general index rose 42.99 points to 5851.19 at the end of trading.

Of the 256 issues traded, 157 advanced, 78 declined and 21 remained unchanged.

The turnover stood at Tk 6.16 billion.

The premier bourse advanced 63.10 points on Wednesday, 107.79 on Tuesday and 9.05 points on Monday.

bdnews24.com/pks/1506h

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No govt hand in Coco verdict: Huq

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?Anti-Corruption Commission lawyer Anisul Huq has refuted allegations that the government influenced the court to convict Arafat Rahman Coco, son of BNP chief Khaleda Zia, for laundering money.

Speaking to journalists following the conviction of Coco and his associate on Thursday, the country's top criminal lawyer said clues about the laundered money was revealed while the FBI was investigating a bribery charge against telecom giant Siemens AG.

"FBI had given the information it got from Siemens and the Anti-Corruption Commission later investigated the matter and pressed the charges."

Coco and Ismail Hossain Simon, son of former BNP shipping minister late Akbar Hossain, were both jailed for six years and fined Tk 190.41 million each in the case filed by the ACC for laundering SGD 2,884,000 and USD 932,000 to Singapore.

They had received the amount from China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd and Siemens AG for helping them bag government contracts.

Huq said Siemens had admitted the allegation and gave FBI all related information about the transaction of money and the bank accounts.

"Moreover, information collected from several other foreign sources and documents were submitted to the court."

"So I can't understand how the case had link with the government," he added.

BNP earlier alleged that the verdict in the case was being given hastily with a clandestine motive. The main opposition also said the prime minister's order to fast-track money-laundering cases had a link with the 'hasty judgement'.

After the judgement, acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Thursday said, "This verdict is pre-determined and politically motivated. The government has given the verdict by filing a false case against Coco to disgrace the family of Ziaur Rahman to wreak vengeance."

Coco, arrested on Sep 3, 2007 in the GATCO corruption case, has been in Bangkok for treatment on parole since July 19, 2008, while Simon is still at large.

Asked if Coco could be given mercy like many others who had been punished in cases filed after the January 11, 2007 changeover, Huq replied: "The cases filed after the one-eleven changeover were mostly about property, but it's a money laundering case. I don't think he would be excused."

About Coco's repatriation, he said the government could bring him back if there is any existing treaty between the two countries.

Coco has five more cases against him.

bdnews24.com/sn/pks/bd/1712h

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Not happy at Coco's conviction: Ashraf

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com)?There is nothing to be happy about the conviction of Khaleda Zia's youngest son in a money-laundering case, the Awami League spokesman says.

"We, who do politics and enjoy dignity in society, aren't happy at his conviction. It's completely a failure of the politicians that they we can't raise our children as good citizens," general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said on Friday.

He was addressing a press conference at Awami League president Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi office.

"Thursday's verdict proves how Khaleda has reared up her two sons [Coco and Tarique Rahman]," said Ashraf, also the LGRD and cooperatives minister.

"Ziaur Rahman was a former president while his wife Khaleda an ex-prime minister. Their son has been convicted by the court. This not a good news for anybody, neither for Khaleda Zia nor the Zia family," he added.

Coco and his business associate Ismail Hossain Saimon on Thursday were sentenced in absentia each to six years in jail for funnelling out to Singapore Tk 208.5 million when Khaleda had ruled the country. He was also fined Tk 190.41 million.

It is the first of five criminal cases against Coco, who was arrested during the past caretaker government, well before the money laundering case was filed against him. Later, paroled on health ground, he went to Bangkok for treatment. Parole over, Coco did not return home to face the criminal cases.

Following the verdict, acting BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the verdict was politically pre-planned and motivated as the government wanted to disgrace the family of party founder Ziaur Rahman

bdnews24.com/sum/skb/sam/bd/1910h

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BLACK MONEY Kamal: OK up to 'certain level'

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? The option to whiten black money is acceptable to a 'certain level', says the head of a parliamentary watchdog.

"There are two types of black money ? illegal and immoral (sic). Neither of them is acceptable after a certain level," A H M Mostafa Kamal told reporters after a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the finance ministry on Thursday.

He said the committee members reached a consensus on recommending the ministry to give the black money holders a chance to whiten it through investing in the share market.

Finance minister A M A Muhith, in the budget for 2001-12 fiscal year, proposed allowing black money in the government treasury bonds, but not in the share market.

The government had kept the money-whitening provision for four sectors, including the capital market, in 2009-10 fiscal year, when around Tk 4.23 billion black money was invested in the market.

Asked whether the committee is in favour of giving a chance to whiten the type of black money for which BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's son Arafat Rahman Coco was convicted earlier in the day, Kamal denied comment on the issue.

Earlier in the day, Dhaka's Third Special Judge's Court sentenced Coco, the youngest son of the opposition leader, to six years in jail and slapped a fine of Tk 190.41 million in a money laundering case.

OTHER PROPOSALS

According to Kamal, the panel proposed to retain the tax at source on the commissions the brokerage houses get at its previous rate.

"We proposed not to increase the tax at source on the commissions brokerage houses get and to decrease the corporate tax on banks, insurances and other financial institutions from 42 to 40 percent," he said.

The finance minister proposed to increase the tax from 0.05 to 0.1 percent.

Kamal said the committee proposed to withdraw three percent tax on share premium and make it mandatory for the organisations enjoying tax holiday to offload 25-30 percent of their paid up capital.

He also said the standing committee would hold a meeting on the report of the share scam probe committee, formed to investigate the December-January share market debacle.

Several steps were initiated following a report submitted by the panel, headed by Bangladesh Krishi Bank chief Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled. One such step was to overhaul the Securities and Exchange Commission.

bdnews24.com/rb/ssz/jk/ost/ssr/nir/2142h

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Govt fooling people on PSC: oil-gas body

Dhaka, June 28 (bdnews24.com)?The government is misguiding people about the production-sharing contract it signed with US company ConocoPhillips on gas exploration from two deep-sea blocks, a citizens' platform has alleged.

At a discussion in the city on Friday, leaders of the National Committee on Protection of Oil, Gas and Mineral Resources, Power and Ports also questioned the government decision to lift ban on export of LNG, or liquefied natural gas.

They said the government had signed the deal with ConocoPhillips to export all gas from the two deep-sea blocks.

The committee organised the discussion on 'Why the agreement signed with ConocoPhillips on the exploration of oil-gas from the Bay of Bengal is contrary to the national interest' at Mukti Bhaban in Naya Paltan.

The government signed the deal with the US firm on June 16, awarding exploration of gas from two deep-sea blocks.

The company won deep-sea blocks DS-08-10 and -11 at an offshore block bidding floated by Petrobangla in 2008. The PSC allows exploration of the undisputed part of the blocks and that covers an area of 5,158 square kilometres.

The blocks are located about 280 kilometres from the port city of Chittagong.

The committee has been opposing signing of the agreement since beginning. It has also called a half-day general strike in Dhaka for July 3 in a bid to push the government to rescind the agreement.

Presenting the keynote paper, Dhaka University economics professor M M Akash questioned the motive behind the recent approval of the National Export Policy, exempting LNG from the list of export ban items.

Member secretary of the committee professor Anu Muhammad said the government was deceiving people by saying that the deal was signed in national interest.

Committee convenor Sheikh Mohammad Shahidullah urged all to make its July 3 hartal a success.

Marine expert Nur Mohammad, water expert M Enamul Haque, professor Akmal Hossain of international relations department of Dhaka University, professor Naseem Akhter Hussain of government and politics department of Jahangirnagar University and anthropologist Rehnuma Ahmed also addressed at the discussion.

Communist Party of Bangladesh general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim, Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal general secretary Khalekuzzaman and Ganasanghati Andolan chief coordinator Zonayed Saki, among others, were also present.

bdnews24.com/mmr/skb/sht/bd/1706h

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SMS voting for Sundarbans begins

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?Voting through SMS for the Sundarbans to have its niche among the 'New Seven Wonders of the World' has begun.

State minister for environment and forest Hasan Mahmud on Thursday noon launched the voting through a media briefing by sending an SMS to vote for the world's largest mangrove forest.

"The Sundarbans has already been in the first position of the New Seven Wonders of the World contest and it will have this position consolidated if people vote through SMS enthusiastically," he said.

The junior minister said currently there are at least 50 million active mobile SIM cards in the country and if 20 SMS were sent through each SIM card, the Sundarbans would get one billion SMS votes to its credit.

"These one billion votes will obviously take the Sundarbans much ahead," he added.

For voting, one needs to go to the message options of their cell phones and type SB and then send it to 16333.

Acknowledging every SMS vote, the New 7 Wonders Foundation will thank the voter through a return message, Mahmud said.

The Zurich, Switzerland-based Foundation is also accepting SMS votes for 27 other places that have come to the final list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Mobile operators will charge Tk 2 for each SMS and with 15 per cent VAT, the cost for each SMS will be Tk 2.30, of which the Foundation will get Tk 0.68.

The minister said the government had taken an initiative to exempt VAT from SMS for the Sundarbans, but as it was a complicated issue it would take time to withdraw the VAT. "Until then, mobile subscribers need to pay Tk 2.30 for each SMS."

Primarily, Teletalk, Grameenphone and Robi have started receiving SMS voting and it will be introduced by Banglalink, Airtel and Citycell in a day or two, he said.

Sheikh Mizanur Rahman, project director of the campaign to motivate people to vote for the Sundarbans, told bdnews24.com the SMS voting would continue in other countries of the 28 places selected for the final round of the competition.

He also called upon all to vote for the Sundarbans to see it among the world's seven wonders.

The Foundation and the government earlier signed an agreement to allow SMS voting for the Sundarbans. The decision to allow SMS voting was made at a meeting between the foundation director Jean-Paul de la Fuente and the state minister in Dhaka recently.

bdnews24.com/mk/sht/bd/1545h

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Half-day hartal in Sirajganj Sunday

Sirajganj, June 24 (bdnews24.com)?Opposition BNP has called a half-day shutdown in Sirajganj for Sunday to protest the arrest of municipal mayor and BNP leader Mokaddes Ali.

Sirajganj district BNP president Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku told bdnews24.com they would hold protest rallies on Friday and Saturday against the arrest of Ali, also BNP district unit general secretary.

A half-day long lockdown will be imposed on Sunday, added Tuku, a former state minister for power.

On June 15, at least 20 people were injured in a clash between BNP and Awami League activists in the district headquarters.

Three cases were filed with Sirajganj Sadar police in this connection, which has already resulted in the arrest of several top leaders of the district BNP.

The municipal mayor was arrested from the Sonargaon Hotel in the capital in the early hours of Friday. He was brought back to Siranganj around 9am on Friday.

Ali was out on bail and his arrest was illegal, Tuku claimed.

Rejecting Tuku's claim, district police superintendent Mosharraf Hossain explained "the bail order sent to us by the High Court did not include his (Mokaddes Ali's) name."

bdnews24.com/corr/cs/kms/aik/tk/1259h

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Mild tremor in some areas

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? A mild earthquake has been felt in certain parts of the country, including Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet.

The tremor, measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale, was felt at 6:39pm on Thursday, Met Department meteorologist Robayet Kabir told bdnews24.com.

He said, "The epicentre of the temblor was near Tripura border, some 133 km east of Dhaka."

bdnews24.com/si/jk/trb/nir/2300h

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Bapex lifts gas from Semutang well

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? A state-run exploration company has successfully lifted gas from its Semutang field in Khagrachhari district.

The Bangladesh Petroleum Exploration and Production Company Limited (Bapex) managing director Mortuza Ahmad Faruque told bdnews24.com that gas was drilled out on Thursday noon.

Faruque said gas from the field's fifth well, having a recoverable gas reserve of about 150 billion cubic feet, a small-sized field, could be distributed to Chittagong city in October.

"We have been active in the field since the end of April and from [Thursday] noon, we're getting gas."

Land development work and construction of residential infrastructure in the field have already been completed.

Faruque said laying down of a 60-km pipeline to Chittagong from the field was underway and it could be completed as early as August-September.

The Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited is executing the pipeline project.

The Bapex MD informed that 20-30mmcft gas from Semutang could be produced for nearly 15 years. "It'll help ease the prevailing gas crisis in the port city," he hoped.

The probable daily production could run a 100MW power plant.

The country currently produces gas of around 2,000 mmcft per day against demand of more than 2,500 mmcft. The proven gas reserves are 7.3 trillion cubic feet,

Bapex is currently producing 58 mmcf gas everyday from three fields ? Fenchuganj, Salda and Shabazpur.

The well was dumped by Shell and Cairns way back in 1997 as they did not find it economically viable.

The first four wells were drilled in 1969-70 by the then Oil and Gas Development Company Limited of Pakistan, but were abandoned later.

The work-over project in the field, costing an estimated Tk 650 million, was approved on May 22, 2008 by the ECNEC.

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Let's work together: Mohiuddin

Chittagong, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? Former Chittagong city mayor A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury has offered to work together with the incumbent mayor for overall development of the port city.

"Let's take initiatives to turn Chittagong into a beautiful city," Mohiuddin told a programme on Friday without naming M Manzur Alam.

The former three-time mayor also urged the people from all walks of life to unite to achieve the target.

"I lost to him in the polls. There may be some ill-feelings, but I'm here responding to his call," Mohiuddin, a top city Awami League leader, said alluding Manzur, a long-time aide, at the month-long tree fair at the Outer Stadium.

Mohiuddin also thanked Manzur for inviting him to the event. But mayor Manzur was not present at the programme.

He admitted that there were infightings among the political leaders of Chittagong and said: "We ourselves invited the conflicts."

The fair, introduced by Mohiuddin, was being carried on by Manzur.

"The initiative was taken to make people aware about plantation. It'll continue."

City corporation officials, Chittagong University teacher Mosharraf Hossain, director Zafar Alam of environment directorate's Chittagong unit and divisional forest officer (Chittagong north) Uttam Kumar Saha were, among others present at the programme.

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Pacer Shafiul looks upbeat to regain full fitness

Pace bowler Shafiul Islam said he is finding it difficult to keep up pace with the others after he joined the conditioning camp this week from the sickbed.

The pace spearhead underwent a surgery on his left ankle on June 4 to remove callosity, a disease that grows a layer in the affected area. He had developed it over the last few months with his landing at the crease in his follow-through.

He went to his home town in Bogra to spend time with his family as he was in complete rest as per the instructions of the doctor to give time to heal his wound. He joined the camp on Tuesday only to discover that his team-mates were way ahead of him in terms of fitness.

‘I am having difficulty in keeping up the rhythm with the others,’ Shafiul told reporters on Thursday.

‘My body is taking its toll to match them as they are well ahead as far as fitness is concerned,’ said Shafiul.

‘I know I have to take extra load to cover it up and emulate them as they have raised their fitness level after completing a fitness cycle in Dhaka and at the BKSP,’ said Shafiul.

Shafiul said the recovery rate of his injury was quite satisfactory as he is feeling no pain at the moment. He hoped to regain his full rhythm soon.

‘I am feeling much better now as there is no pain and I am having no problem in running. I hope to reach the peak quickly,’ said Shafiul.

Team trainer Grant Luden was happy with the way Shafiul responded after joining the team three weeks later. He insisted that Shafiul needs to take it slowly as he has just comeng from an injury.

‘He is doing really well. He has been away for three weeks so obviously he is going to take it slowly,’ Luden told reporters.

‘Still we are going to push him and I am sure he will be back soon as he is young and always keen to learn,’ he said.

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EU wants fair, inclusive polls

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? The European Union wants to see a free, fair and inclusive general election in Bangladesh scheduled for 2014.

EU commissioner for development Andris Peibalgs expressed the regional grouping's expectation at a press briefing in the city on Thursday.

On the present political row over the caretaker government, he said: "The political parties have an obligation to resolve their dispute? They shouldn't do politics for blockade, rather they should do it for the people."

Peibalgs said the EU would not take any position in the country's political row. "Rather we want constructive talks [between the ruling and opposition parties]," he added.

The ruling Awami League and opposition BNP have stood face to face over retaining the provision of non-party caretaker government system for the next general elections.

BNP already enforced a spell of general strike protesting the government's move to scrap the system.

About foreign aid, he said member countries of the union would not cut down assistance to Bangladesh.

"But from our side the demand is effective and efficient use of our fund and good result at the end of project?We demand quality of works," he added.

Mentioning that 52 percent of Bangladesh's export goes to the EU countries, Peibalgs said: "We're happy that we're creating employment in Bangladesh."

The EU commission came to Dhaka on June 20 in a joint visit with German minister for economic cooperation and development Dirk Niebel, who also addressed the Thursday briefing.

Niebel said politicians are obliged to find out ways to resolve their disputes and he is confident that they could do it.

He said those who are in the opposition might form the next government.

MEETING WITH OPPOSITION LEADER

Earlier in the day, a nine-member delegation led by Peibalgs and Niebel met BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia.

Party vice-president Shamser Mobin Chowdhury quoted her as telling the delegation that the next general election would not be free and fair if held under a political government.

"People won't accept that election," Khaleda told them.

The delegation also spoke of Bangladesh's current political situation, way to strengthen democratic system, ensuring rights to vote and economic development.

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Narsinghdi road crash kills 5

Narsinghdi, June 24 (bdnews24.com)?A road accident on the Dhaka-Sylhet highway in Shibpur Upazila has killed five people and left 10 others injured.

Shibpur Police Station sub-inspector Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain told bdnews24.com a Dhaka-bound pick-up van slammed into a truck after its driver had lost control over the steering at Gabtoli around 12:30am on Friday.

Four of the deceased were identified as Shahid Mia, 45, 'Shaheen', 25, 'Hamid, 35, and 'Alauddin', 50. Another deceased was a male person.

Five of the injured were admitted to the Narsinghdi Sadar Hospital while others received first aid, the officer added.

The bodies of the deceased were sent to Sadar hospital for autopsy, he said.

The van and the truck were seized and a case was filed with the Shibpur police, he added.

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Govt to help translate Nazrul's work

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com)?The government will help those who will take initiative to translate literary works of national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam into all major languages, the prime minister has declared.

"Nazrul's writings should be translated in the world's all popular languages. And the government will assist whoever takes such an initiative," Sheikh Hasina said on Friday.

She was speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day International Nazrul Conference, being organised by the Nazrul Institute and the cultural affairs ministry to mark the completion of 90 years of Bidrohee (The Rebel), one of the poet's greatest poems ? at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city.

The revolutionary poet, through his poem Bidrohee, had raised voice against the British colonial rule, leading the British rulers to ban the poem.

Hasina stressed the need for conducting more research on the work of Nazrul. "Nazrul's writings must be presented in an easy to understand manner to ensure that everyone can realise the depth of his work."

She asked all to stand against injustice and repression in line with the spirit of the rebel poet. "Nazrul had urged women to directly revolt against repression. I also urge women to be rebellious," she added.

The prime minister said her government had plans to establish Nazrul centres at Dharmasagar of Comilla, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshahi and Manikganj.

Hasina recalled the contribution of Nazrul in the life of independence hero Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and herself. "The slogan 'Joy Bangla' came from his writing too."

Chairman of Nazrul Institute Prof Rafiqul Islam presided over the inaugural session of the conference, where information minister Abul Kalam Azad, state minister for cultural affairs Promod Mankin, and Nazrul's grand-daughter Khilkhil Kazi were also present.

The two-day conference will be attended by Nazrul researchers from the UK, Netherlands and China. Fourteen artists from Bangladesh and India are also set to join the programme.

Nazrul's 112th birth anniversary was celebrated in a befitting manner both in Bangladesh and India on May 25.

Nazrul enriched all spheres of Bengali culture ? literature, music, plays and films. The revolutionary Bangla poet and great lyricist was born on May 25 in 1899 at Bardhaman of West Bengal.

At the age of 43 in 1942, he began suffering from an unknown disease for which he lost his voice and memory. It is often said the reason was slow poisoning by the then British government.

His songs and poems were also a major source of inspiration for the freedom fighters during the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh.

After the independence, Nazrul was brought to Dhaka. The University of Dhaka conferred the honorary D Litt on him on Dec 9, 1974 for his lifetime contribution to enriching Bengali literature.

The government in 1976 honoured him with the Ekushey Padak, the highest civilian award.

Nazrul was laid to rest beside the Dhaka University Central Mosque after his death on Aug 29, 1976.

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Syrian forces fire on protesters, 9 killed

NICOSIA, June 24 (AFP): Syrian security forces opened fire Friday on anti-regime rallies killing at least nine protesters, three of them in the capital Damascus, human rights activists said.

The violence came as thousands of protesters took to the streets across Syria after the weekly Muslim prayers calling for the fall of the autocratic regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The demonstrations were in response to a call by the Facebook group Syrian Revolution 2011, one of the motors of the protests, under the banner, "Fall of legitimacy."

"Security forces tried to break up a rally calling for the fall of the regime with tear gas before opening fire" killing three people and injuring 25 others, an activist in the Damascus neighbourhood of Barzeh said, reached by telephone.

They also opened fire on demonstrators in the town of Kiswah south of Damascus, killing at least five people, another activist told AFP.

"Demonstrators left the mosque after Friday prayers and marched for a few minutes until security forces opened fire to disperse them, killing five people and wounding six others," rights activist Mohammad Enad Suleiman said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also reported "one death" in the central city of Homs.

Meanwhile the official SANA news agency reported that "several members of the security forces were hit by gunfire in Kiswah."

Fridays have been a focal point for protesters since the start of pro-democracy demonstrations in mid-March, with Syrians taking to the streets on the weekly day of rest after midday Muslim prayers.

Syrian rights groups say that more than 1,300 people have been killed and while 10,000 have been arrested in the regime's brutal crackdown against dissent since the protests-now in their fourth month-erupted.

The Facebook page said Friday's protests should send a strong message to Assad that he and his regime are no longer legitimate and must go.

"Bashar is no longer my president and his government no longer represents me," it said.

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New football coach reaches Dhaka

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? New coach of Bangladesh national football team Macedonian Nikola Ilievski has reached Dhaka.

On his arrival on Friday afternoon, Ilievski told reporters: "Aggressive football is my philosophy as it's a goal making game. It's never possible to score goal without playing aggressively."

He is scheduled to sign a deal with the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on Saturday and start working immediately.

Admitting that he has not enough idea about Bangladesh, Ilievski, who will take charge of the Bangladesh team ahead of their FIFA World Cup pre-qualifiers, said: "I've no idea even about football in the subcontinent. I've never watched any match of Bangladesh football team."

A BFF official, seeking anonymity, said the new coach might be paid US$ 72,000 a year.

Ilievski, a former national footballer of Yugoslavia, played the 1982 World Cup in Spain. He was also a national coach of Macedonia from 2002 to 2003 and guided his team to the Euro qualifiers.

Ilievski started his coaching career as an assistant coach of FK Rabotnicki in 1989-1990. He took a local club, FK Pebeda, to the UEFA Cup in 2000 and helped the club win Macedonian Cup in 2001-02 and Macedonian First Division title in 2003-04.

FK Pebeda also became runners-up of Slovenian Cup in 2005-06 under his guidance.

After the departure of Croat coach Robert Rubcic over a row about unpaid wages, BFF on June 15 named Macedonian Gjorgji Jovanovski, four-time coach of the year of Macedonia, as the new football coach of Bangladesh national team.

Later, his compatriot Ilievski was named as the new coach as Jovanovski expressed his inability to take the responsibility of Bangladesh football team.

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Hearing put off in orphanage case

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? Hearing in the framing of charges in the Zia Orphanage Trust case against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others has been adjourned until Aug 23.

Special Court-3 judge Mozammel Haque issued the order adjourning the hearing on Thursday following an appeal from Khaleda's lawyer Sanaullah Mia.

During the hearing on his appeal, Sanaullah said more time was needed as the High Court was yet to issue verdict on a writ petition in the case.

Former MP Kazi Salimul Huq Kamal alias Econo Kamal and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed, the two accused freed on bail, were present in the court.

Two other accused, late president and BNP founder Ziaur Rahman's nephew Mominur Rahman and former bureaucrat Kamaludddin Siddiqui, remain fugitives.

The case, filed on July 3 2008, accuses Khaleda, Tarique and four others of embezzling over Tk 20 million from the Zia Orphanage Trust, which allegedly existed "only on paper". The charge sheet was submitted on Aug 5 the same year.

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Asia moves to tap oil reserves

Tokyo, June 24 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) ? Asian nations moved to release emergency oil stockpiles on Friday as part of a rare global coordinated action by consumer countries to prevent high energy prices from stunting a stuttering economic recovery.

The move, led by Washington and criticised by the oil industry as an unnecessary distortion of markets, suggests a fundamental shift on the part of industrialised nations toward intervention in commodity markets as an economic policy tool.

Brent oil prices edged back up on Friday after tumbling to a four-month closing low on Thursday, reflecting doubts that the unexpected decision by the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels over the next month would have a long-term impact.

Japanese Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano said the move was a warning to speculative buyers but India's Oil Minister S Jaipal Reddy doubted the action would have an impact.

"Even if there is a slight increase in production (supply), those gains will not be made available to us because of unbridled speculation in the financial markets of the world," he said. "We don't know whether this (weaker oil prices) is a stable trend."

The stock release is only the third in the 37-year history of the agency that was set up as a counter weight to exporting group OPEC.

IEA Asian members Japan and Korea said that from next week they will start releasing oil reserves in line with the agency's targets.

Japan will cut the reserve requirement for oil companies by 7.9 million barrels over the next 30 days and South Korea will release 3.46 million barrels, together providing about 19 percent of the IEA target.

Australia and New Zealand, the remaining members from the Asia-Pacific region, are not participating.

The news follows a Group of 20 agreement, struck in Paris on Thursday, to tackle high food prices by boosting farm output, food market transparency and policy coordination.

The G20 deal is another sign that global policymakers are reaching beyond traditional economic policy tools to sustain global growth.

The world economy, recuperating from the 2008-2009 global financial and economic crisis, has shown signs of losing traction in recent months and the Federal Reserve acknowledged that this week by cutting its forecasts for growth in the world's biggest economy.

High commodity costs that sap consumers' spending power and squeeze manufacturers' profit margins are blamed for much of the slowdown.

SCARCE OPTIONS

Industrialised nations managed to pull their economies from the brink of depression by dishing out trillions of dollars in stimulus packages and slashing borrowing costs to record lows.

But that left rich economies from Japan to the United States with huge debt and few policy options if their economies were to weaken again.

While the release of oil was spearheaded by the United States and other developed nations, booming emerging powerhouses such as China and India are also set to benefit as they try to contain stubbornly high inflation without sacrificing too much growth.

"To some extent, it will help lessen some inflation pressure facing Asian countries and it is also good news for the global economic recovery," said Gong Jialong, former chairman of a body representing China's petroleum industry body.

Gong and others, however, compared the move that will increase daily supply by nearly 2.5 percent to currency market intervention. It is not something that could reverse a broad trend but it could help prevent excessive price moves.

"The hoped-for impact is not to induce a downward trend in commodity markets, but instead to head off potential price increases stemming from the increase in third quarter demand," said PFC, a Washington-based energy consultancy.

Seasonal oil demand ramps up in the third quarter as refineries prepare for the northern hemisphere winter when heating consumption peaks.

Another factor suggesting that the IEA decision will only have a short-term impact on prices is that oil faces an incremental increase in demand now that several countries are turning away from nuclear power generation following Japan's crisis, a Japanese government official said.

"Demand for fuel will rise globally with more countries unable to rely on nuclear power as much as that had initially hopes. That means prices have more reason to rise further than decline," he said. He declined to be identified because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

JPMorgan Chase, however, said that even some cooling effect on prices would prove a boon to the world economy.

"If our projections are realised, the IEA release provides the equivalent of a $140 billion stimulus to consumers," it said in a note. "The release will prove stimulatory to the global economy, particularly for emerging markets and the U.S."

DEEPENING CONSUMER CONCERN

The IEA decision was the culmination of a plan that President Barack Obama put into motion more than a month ago, and shows the deepening concern among rich nations over the economic damage from high energy costs.

Obama drew immediate criticism from the oil industry and Republicans, who called it an ill-timed misuse of stockpiles that risks leaving the government with less ammunition should a deeper supply crisis emerge.

Oil prices have risen 20 percent over the past year, pushing U.S. retail gasoline prices to $4 a gallon.

While Brent crude peaked above $125 in April, it has since fallen sharply. After dropping a further 6 percent on Thursday, prices are only a little higher than mid-February, just before the Libyan conflict began.

The IEA said the action would fill shortages caused by the Libyan conflict and get oil quickly to market while Saudi Arabia makes good on its pledge to pump more oil.

The 28-nation agency will decide whether to release more oil in a month.

The previous two releases followed abrupt shortages caused by the first Gulf War in 1991 and by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the global response was swift. In this case, it has been over 3 months since Libya's exports stopped.

The United States will provide 30 million barrels from its huge 727-million barrel crude reserve, about 1.5 days of U.S. consumption, with Europe supplying 30 percent in crude and refined products and the rest from Pacific OECD nations.

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Sajeda urges opposition to come to parliament

Deputy Leader of the Jatiya Sangsad Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury has reiterated her call to the opposition party to come to parliament to discuss constitution amendment, caretaker government and raise all other important issues they deem important, reports BSS.

Addressing a reception organised by Bangladesh Mohila Samity in the city Friday, she said the opposition must come to parliament to resolve political disputes.

But, even after repeated requests to come to parliament, Khaleda Zia is showing her stubborn attitude and saying 'no', which is not helpful for democracy, Sajeda said.

Bangladesh Mohila Samity accorded the reception to its worthy members on the occasion of 39th founding anniversary of the organization. On the occasion nine founding member of the Samity including Begum Sajeda Chowdhury and four others were accorded reception.

Home Minister Sahara Khatun attended the function as special guest while president of the Samity Sitara Ahsanullah was in the chair.

Parliament members Safia Khatun, Shahida Tareq Dipti, Jahanara Begum and Asma Jerin Jumu and chairman of Jatiya Mohila Sangstha Prof Momtaj Begum, former president Khaleda Sarwar, Shamsunnahar Siddique and Saida Khanam, spoke among others, on the occasion.

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Ctg transport strike postponed

Chittagong, June 24 (bdnews24.com)?The indefinite transport strike, which was scheduled to be enforced in five districts of Chittagong from Sunday, has been called off.

A platform of transport owners and workers, which called the strike to push for its 12-point charter of demands, decided to postpone the programme after a discussion with the local administration on Thursday evening.

Brihattara Chattragram Sarak Paribahan Malik-Sramik Sangram Parishad called the strike on all the routes of Chittagong Metropolitan City and district, Bandarban, Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Cox's Bazar.

"We put off the strike for one month following assurance of the administration to consider our demands," Parishad convenor Abul Kalam Azad told bdnews24.com.

He, however, pointed out that previous assurances from the administration had not been materialised.

Azad warned that if their demands were not met within the one-month deadline, they would move for further programmes from Aug 1.

The parishad's 12-point demands include reducing prices of spare parts of vehicles, withdrawal of ban on vehicles older than 20 years, preventing harassment by the highway police, stop robbery on the road, prevention of BRTA corruption and terminals for all modes of vehicles.

Presided over by additional divisional commissioner Alef Uddin, the meeting was attended by Chittagong deputy commissioner Foyez Ahmed, top police officials and representatives of the Parishad.

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Govt survives on police: Amini

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? The government has lost its popularity and is running the country depending on the police, says chairman of a faction of Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) Fazlul Haque Amini.

"The days of the government are numbered. It'll collapse if the police stop backing it," he told a gathering of the party activists at its Lalbagh office on Friday.

Accusing the administration of regional partiality, Amini said, "Police officials from Gopalganj are promoted to vital posts."

"This government is not only against the country but also against Qur'an," he further alleged.

About himself, Amini said he had been under house arrest for the last two months.

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Encroachers take over river banks

Front Page

Author / Source : ANISUR RAHMAN KHAN

DHAKA, JUNE 24: The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has identified 61 points along the Buriganga and Turag rivers where illegal structures are being constructed on the banks by encroachers.
Encroachers have been grabbing river banks by constructing unauthorised structures using brick, sand and bamboo, sources said. They noted an extra surge of activity during the monsoon as most river banks become submerged during this period. Senior deputy director (port) of the BIWTA, Sharif Afzal, told The Independent on Friday that in many cases police refuse to record cases against these river grabbers. He said such an attitude on the part of the police only encourages the encroachers to carry on their illegal activity. "We do not have our own law enforcement agency. So, we have to depend on the police and magistrates to drive away encroachers."
He said the BIWTA had already sought direction from the court on how to free government lands from encroachers and also regarding the role of the police in this connection.
A large portion of the Turag, Buriganga, Balu and Shitalakhhya rivers are being grabbed by encroachers at 35 points, said Mahabubul Alam, director (port) of the BIWTA. "We have sought money to remove these structures. However, we have been able to remove encroachers from some of these points," he added.
According to BIWTA sources, Kamrangirchar, Shah Ali, Keraniganj, Darus Salam, Savar, Mohammadpur, Hazaribagh, Turag, Tongi, Uttara, Dakkhin Khan, Demra, Rupganj and Joydevpur police stations have refused to file cases against the river grabbers.
Abdul Jabbar, owner of the Hazi Rasulbagh dockyard in the Keraniganj police station area, Rahmat Ali and Md Farid of Tangail housing, Md Sattar, Delwar Hossain, Md Mokles, Abul Hossain, Mahbub Alam and Atiur Rahman of Baroikhali in the Mohammadpur PS area, Deen Mohammad Gazi and Joynal Gazi of Jhaulahati in the Kamrangirchar PS area, Golam Qayum Panna of Star Housing of Chatbari in the Shah Ali PS area, Hafej Abu Bakkar in the Keraniganj model PS area, Hazi Mahbubur Rahman of Lalbagh in Kamrangirchar, Miraz Ahmed of Kaundia in the Savar PS area, M/S Mayer Doa enterprise of Pangaon in Keraniganj, Jaz Miah, Chunnu Miah, Hazi Mominul Huq and Forman Ali of Choto Dia bari in the Darus Salam PS area, Babul Miah and Abbas Ali of Baghbari in Darus Salam PS area, Abdul Karim, Md Alauddin and Ismail Hossain Repu in the Savar PS area, chairman of the Basila Garden city, chairman of Chandrima Real Estate Ltd, chairman of Dhaka Uddayan, chairman of Metro Housing and chairman of Turag Housing in the Mohamadpur PS area, Md Ismail of Smita Traders of Mirpur Balurghat in the Darus Salam PS area, and Abdus Salam, managing director of M/S Domino Ltd and MR Centre of Banani were reported to have grabbed the banks of the Buriganga and Turag rivers.

Certain elements, said to be linked to the ruling party, in cahoots with a section of officials of the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) and the land department, are allegedly backing people grabbing the rivers and water bodies across the country, defying repeated warnings from the Prime Minister and the High Court.
“The government should take urgent steps against the construction of new structures on the river banks. The existence of Dhaka city is related to the survival of its rivers,” said Khalilur Rahman, a resident of Kamrangirchar.
Some influential quarters have been going ahead with the encroachment of the rivers by earth filling and building illegal structures at different points along the banks of the Turag, narrowing it further between Diabari at Amin Bazar and on the Ashulia Bridge point.
Although the department of environment took steps against some encroachers last week, it has not deterred others from grabbing river banks.

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8 held with liquor at Fantasy Kingdom

Gazipur, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? Eight people, including the organiser of a dance party, have been arrested along with huge illegal foreign liquor at Fantasy Kingdom of Ashulia, on the outskirts of the capital.

Sub-inspector of Ashulia Police Station Mahfuza Begum told bdnews24.com they seized 50 bottles of whisky, vodka, rum and gin and around 300 cans of beer in a raid on the amusement park early on Friday.

A narcotics case was filed against Fantasy officials Mohammad Nuruzzaman, Pradip Kumar and Jamil Hossain, and the detainees, she added.

The arrestees are dance party organiser S M Riad-ul-Huq, 25, and his associates Hasibul Hassan, 30, Mohammad Asabud-Ullah, 27, Mohid Islam, 26, Sharif Asiful, 20, Asif Haider, 23, Ariful Huq, 20, and Kazi Rois Uddin, 56. They were taken into Ashulia police custody.

Department of Narcotics Control's deputy director (Dhaka zone) S M Mahfuzur Rahman led the drive that lasted for one and a half hours from 1am.

Gazipur inspector of the department Dewan Mohammad Zillur Rahman and RAB-1 officials were also present during the drive.

Zillur said, "One Rescue Communications booked 56 rooms of the park for the party where dancers were hired from different countries, including Germany."

Tickets, priced between Tk 2,000 and Tk 8,000, were sold out two days ahead of the show, where some 250 people, aged between 16 and 25, were in attendance, he said.

However, in a press release later, Fantasy Kingdom authorities denied any kind of involvement of its officials in the incident.

They said the organisers brought the liquor violating the contract with them.

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Yuvraj '100% fit' for England tour

New Delhi, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? Yuvraj Singh, who is missing India's ongoing tour of West Indies with a chest infection, has announced he is fully fit and ready for the England tour that gets underway on July 15.

"I am 100% fit for the tour and I am sure most of the other seniors who are battling respective injuries would be fully fit for the tour. I am really looking forward to the tour," Yuvraj said, reports ESPNcricinfo.

Yuvraj played a pivotal role in India's World Cup triumph, scoring 362 runs and taking 15 wickets to pick up Player-of-the-Tournament honours.

He is one of several first-choice India players - along with Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan - to sit out of the West Indies tour, that follows a bloated IPL season that began five days after the World Cup final.

Yuvraj rubbished speculation that he had opted out of the West Indies tour since he did not want to play under the leadership of the much younger Suresh Raina, who captained the depleted ODI side, in MS Dhoni's absence.

"I have played under Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir," Yuvraj said. "I have played under so many captains. And Gautam and MS came to the team five years after I got included in the team. There has been no such thing. I play for my country and not for captains."

Yuvraj's World Cup high was followed by a lacklustre showing in the IPL where he led Pune Warriors through a forgettable debut season.

The only time Pune's campaign made the headlines was when they signed Ganguly for the final stages of the event, after he had been ignored by all franchises at the auction.

"Sourav and I share a very good relationship," Yuvraj said. "He supported me a lot during my initial years in international cricket. And I think it was my time to support Dada as he wanted to play in the IPL. We had very good interactions during the IPL season. We had good plans and I hope that we will have good plans and strategy in the next season of the IPL also."

bdnews24.com/smo/1520h

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Tarique case hearing on July 3

The hearing in a money laundering case filed against BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia's eldest son Tarique Rahman and his business friend Giasuddin Al Mamun will take place on July 3, Agriculture Minister Motia Chowdhury said, reports bdnews24.com.

Replying to a query by Netrakona-1 MP Mostaq Ahmed Ruhi Thursday, Motia said, "The date of hearing to take the case into cognisance has been fixed for July 3."

Motia, also the in-charge minister of the cabinet division, said that the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) on January Oct 26, 2009 filed the case against BNP vice-chairman Tarique and his friend Mamun with the Cantonment Police Station in the city under Money Laundering Act on charges of siphoning off over Tk 204 million to Singapore between 2003 and 2007.

The Appellate Division on June 2 dismissed Tarique's review petition against the apex court's verdict over the money laundering case.

On Feb 9 this year, the apex court in a verdict ruled that the trial could proceed under the Money Laundering Prevention Act 2002, as the alleged offence took place after its enactment, not after the formulation of the 2009 act.

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BCCI reiterates SLPL decision

New Delhi, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? The BCCI has refused to change its stance on preventing Indian players from taking part in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) despite the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) offering bank guarantees to safeguard the Indian players' contracts.

The two boards held a telephone conference on Thursday to discuss the issue, but were unable to come to an agreement. SLC is however, expected to go ahead with the tournament as scheduled without the Indian players, reports ESPNcricinfo.

The BCCI had originally withheld its permission on the grounds that Somerset Entertainment Ventures, the company owning the commercial rights for the event, would be handling the contracts for international players.

The BCCI changed its mind over the SLPL on grounds that this could lead to complications should disputes arise over payments to the players.

In order to assuage the Indian board, SLC were willing to back the Indian players' contracts so that their financial interests were protected, but that was not enough to satisfy the BCCI.

The BCCI's decision means the tournament will not have a broadcaster for the lucrative Indian market, a situation that makes it much more difficult for the SLPL to find secure financial footing.

"It is their decision and we cannot force them to change their position," Sri Lankan sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Daily News & Analysis.

"We knew that India was not going to change its stand. That was the reason why we did not go to India. We made an attempt to convince them, but the BCCI told us that it cannot reverse its stand. They seem to have some apprehensions over the tournament."

The minister also told the Times of India that Lalit Modi was the reason the BCCI did not want to be part of the tournament. "The Indian board told us they couldn't send their players for SLPL because they felt Modi is involved in this event.

The BCCI also said that Modi is the third party and is working behind the scenes."

The BCCI's stand is contrary to that of the Australian, South African, New Zealand and Pakistan boards which have all given their support to the tournament.

Tim May, the chief executive of Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA), has also backed the event. In a statement on FICA's website released today, May said that the association had negotiated the terms and conditions SLPL player contracts with Somerset.

"FICA approved the final form of the player contract in January 2011," the statement read. "FICA's approval of the player contracts was communicated to all player associations in January.

I am very surprised to see reports from the Indian media, that BCCI do not believe that players should sign the player contracts - that is certainly not the opinion of FICA or our legal advisors, and it is our charter to protect all players and to ensure that player contracts for events around the world are in acceptable form to protect player interests."

May also said he had a letter from SLC confirming that the event is an official SLC tournament and is fully sanctioned by the ICC". Among the international players expected to take part are Daniel Vettori, Kevin O'Brien, Shahid Afridi, Kieron Pollard and David Warner.

The winner of the tournament is still expected to play in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament in September.

SLC has consistently denied that the SPL is a private-party organised tournament, saying that it is owned and approved by SLC - and so, automatically, by the ICC - and that the Singapore-based Somerset Ventures only owns the commercial rights to the tournament.

It has also denied that Modi has anything to do with the event.

bdnews24.com/smo/1410h

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Libya unrest: Football stars defect to rebels

Other International

Author / Source : Independent Online/bbc

A group of 17 leading Libyan football figures have announced their defection to the rebels.

They include the nation's goalkeeper, Juma Gtat, three other national team members, and the coach of Tripoli's top club al-Ahly, Adel bin Issa.

Mr Gtat and Mr bin Issa announced the group's defection to the BBC during a late night meeting in the rebel-held Nafusa Mountains in western Libya.
It comes on the heels of defections by military officers.
Propaganda blow

At their hotel in the town of Jadu I met goalie Juma Gtat relaxing in his room.

"I am telling Col Gaddafi to leave us alone and allow us to create a free Libya," he said as we sat on his hotel bed in front of other players.

"In fact I wish he would leave this life altogether," he added with a laugh.

In football-mad North Africa, the defections are clearly a propaganda blow for Col Gaddafi. But he has always resisted any pressure, political or military, to leave office.

And he has some advantages on the various battlefields in this war across Libya.

Here, in the rebel-held Western Mountains, in besieged Misrata in the centre, and in the east, the long-time Libyan leader has most of the heavy weapons - such as multiple rocket launchers and tanks.

The rebels mostly have small machine guns and, in some cases, only ancient rifles.

The longer-range rockets and artillery at Col Gaddafi's command mean he can often pin the rebels down to their positions.

Mr bin Issa, told me he had chosen to come to the Western Mountains "to send a message that Libya should be unified and free".

"I hope to wake up one morning to find that Gaddafi is no longer there," he added.
map
Desert units

Sports stars matter in the battle for public opinion. But the rebels still need to win some decisive military victories if they are to advance.

In the Western Mountains, they have managed to seize most of the high ground, taking control of a series of towns.

I have travelled from Wazzin, hard on the Tunisian border, to the rebel stronghold of Jadu.

Although some of the towns in between have suffered serious attacks, they remain in rebel hands.

But troops loyal to Col Gaddafi hold the plains and valleys below.

The colonel also holds the capital, its approaches, and large parts of this mainly desert country.

So far, most of the attention has of course been on the heavy fighting for coastal cities, where most of Libya's population live.

But Col Gaddafi also has arms caches and military units deep in the Sahara Desert - some of which have not yet been deployed.

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India govt likely to take political plunge, hike diesel prices

NEW DELHI, June 24 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - The government was expected to raise diesel prices on Friday, although a delay in a government meeting to decide on the politically unpopular decision raised questions as to whether or not officials were in full agreement.

Oil prices fell 6 percent on Thursday after major consuming countries announced an emergency release of stocks, pushing benchmark Brent crude to a four-month low and providing a window for the government to raise prices with less pain for consumers.

Since it was first elected in 2004, the government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has more often than not refrained from pushing through tough reforms in favour of pleasing its predominantly rural voter base.

It has delayed a decision on increasing diesel and other fuel prices for months, even as its subsidy burden mounts.

Persistently high inflation, currently the highest among major Asian economies, as well as its handling of a spate of corruption scandals has added to the government's reluctance and led to what many critics say is a state of policy paralysis in New Delhi.

"We are working on more options, the final decision will be announced after the meeting," Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy told reporters, adding that the meeting had been rescheduled for 1900 local time (1330 GMT), a delay of 6 hours.

Sources familiar with the matter had said a price rise was likely. The government could also cut taxes and Reddy said more options were being considered.

Reddy told Reuters earlier on Friday the International Energy Agency's (IEA's) planned release of strategic stockpiles would give only temporary respite.

"I cannot speculate on the future trend but in the short run there is no hope. Even if there is a slight increase in production those gains will not be made available to us because of unbridled speculation in the financial markets," he said.

"We don't know whether this (softening in global prices) is a stable trend," he added.

J.P. Morgan cut its forecast for benchmark Brent oil for the third quarter to $100 a barrel from $130 after the IEA move but on Friday global crude prices were already rebounding.

Half of India's population are farmers, but the government needs to cut its massive subsidy bill on cooking gas and diesel in order meet its budget targets.

A year ago, New Delhi freed up petrol prices, which have risen about 23 percent since then, and said it could do the same with diesel. International oil prices are about 39 percent higher over the same period.

For a graphic on India fuel prices vs crude, click link.reuters.com/xyv32s

For a graphic on oil prices and IEA stock releases, click link.reuters.com/jev32s

PRICE RISES COULD ADD TO INFLATIONARY PRESSURES

With inflation above 9 percent and the domestic fuel price index up nearly 13 percent on the year, a fractious coalition government is wary of alienating its core voter base among India's 500 million poor, who live on less than the cost of 2 litres of diesel a day.

State-run fuel retailers Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp are losing 4.56 billion rupees ($101.4 million) a day on sales of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas at state-set cheaper prices.

"Obviously diesel and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which is being considered, will add to inflation, diesel particularly a bit more as compared to petrol and LPG because of transport costs," said Saugata Bhattacharya, an economist at Axis Bank in Mumbai.

A three rupee increase in the price of diesel from current levels of 38 rupees ($0.845) per litre would add 40-45 basis points to wholesale price inflation, according to Yes Bank, which expects annual headline inflation to top 10 percent in August, based in part on expected fuel price hikes.

Shares in Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum were up 2.84 percent and 4.35 percent respectively on Friday, outperforming the broader market.

($1 = 44.955 Indian Rupees)

bdnews24.com/lq/1939h.

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Mawa-Keraniganj traffic resumes

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?Vehicular movement between Mawa and Keraniganj has resumed after two hours of a strike.

Rickshaw and van pullers imposed the strike around 8am on Thursday, demanding daylong movement of their non-mechanised three wheelers across the bridge.

Some pullers claimed that police had detained them and seized their rickshaws as they had crossed the bridge to Babubazar, and released them only after 8pm.

The decision to stop rickshaw and van crossing the bridge during daytime was imposed to reduce traffic jams, acting traffic inspector Nurul Islam told bdnews24.com.

The people's representative and administrative officials went to the spot and discussed the issue with the pullers.

The pullers withdrew the strike around 10am following Keraniganj upazila chairman Shaheen Ahmed's assurance of free rickshaw movement on the bridge.

bdnews24.com/kt/mi/aik/tk/1214h

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Attack on demo for Limon

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? A citizens' platform's protest rally demanding withdrawal of the two cases against Limon Hossain, who had his left leg amputated following reported RAB shooting, has come under attack in the city.

Police arrested one person in connection with the attack on the rally organised by Sankhuddha Nagarik Samaj on Friday in front of the National Museum.

Vice-president of Socialist Women Forum Sultana Akhter Ruby told bdnews24.com two miscreants attacked a 'street drama' organised as part of the rally around 4pm and fled the scene.

She said they vandalised its sound equipments.

Sultana accused the law-enforcing agencies of carrying out the attack.

The platform has been demonstrating on Fridays for the last few weeks to press for its demand.

bdnews24.com/si/trb/sam/2020h.

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Volunteers give free treatment in slum

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? A volunteer organisation has given medical care to 159 slum-dwellers in the capital.

'Aniruddha', a team from the World Bank-supported Bangladesh Youth Leadership Centre (BYLC), arranged the free treatment and medicine distribution for the residents of Korail slum on Friday.

The organisation's leadership coordinator Niyama Islam told bdnews24.com two doctors from Dhaka Medical College Hospital examined 58 children, 76 women and 25 men from 10am to 12.30pm at the slum.

The organisation also distributed free medicine, she said.

Niyama added that seven dustbins had been placed in the slum and posters to raise awareness put up.

Six teams from BYLC are working to sensitise dwellers in the slums about health, education, sanitation, water, employment and right to information law.

The medical check-up programme was sponsored by bdnews24.com.

bdnews24.com/si/sh/bd/1723h

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Abahani split points with MSC

Abahani Limited played to a goalless draw with Mohammedan Sporting Club in a match of the GrameenPhone Bangladesh League at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in the city Friday, reports UNB.

With the day's draw, Abahani raised their total to 41 points from 21 matches to remain in fourth position while Mohammedan SC finished their league campaign in sixth position with 30 points from 22 matches. Abahani Limited still has one match in hand against Brothers Union to complete their league engagements.

In the day's match, Abahani's Ghanaian recruit Awudu Ibrahim wasted a golden chance in the 23rd minute as his diagonal cross from the right of the box whistle past the side post, while Mohammedan's Nigerian forward Sunday Chizoba hit the outside net with a close range shot in the 71st minute.

Talking to the newsmen after the match, Abahani coach Amalesh Sen said they missed a couple of scoring chances despite dominating the entire proceedings.

He admitted that there was lack of motivation among the booters in the day's match.

Mohammedan coach Shafiqul Islam Manik said that he was happy with the overall performance of his team in the league. Asked to evaluate the performance of his foreign players in the day's match, Manik said that he was disappointed with their play, especially of Nigerian forward Sunday Chiboza.

Asked about his expectation from the upcoming Super Cup, he said: "It's like any other tournament and anything can happen." Abahani Limited - Zia, Samad Youssif, Siraji, Mamun (Nazrul), Linkon, Pranotosh (Sohag), Uzzal, Frank, Ibrahim, Ronny and Robin (Abul). Mohammedan SC: Al Hasan, Mamun, Liton, Amani, Arafat, Sharif (Sohel Rana), Anwar, Ronny, Shariful (Topu), Sunday and Baybeck.

In another match, Russian forward Eduard Sakhnevich slammed a hat-trick as Sheikh Russel KC trounced relegated Chittagong Abahani Limited by 5-0 goals at the Bir Shreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium at Kamalapur in the city. With this result, Sheikh Russell KC remained in the third position with 44 points while bottom-ranked Chittagong Abahani remained at five points, both playing 22 matches.

In the day's match, Eduard made the hat-trick scoring fours goals in the 6th, 11th, 65th and 85th minutes while Yusuf netted the other goal for the winners.

In the day's other match, host Soccer Club, Feni came from behind to beat Farashganj SC by 2-1 goals at the Bhasha Shaheed Salam Stadium in Feni.

With this win, Soccer Club Feni narrowly avoided relegation securing the 9th place with 21 points from 22 matches. With the day's defeat, Farashganj SC is in 10th position with 19 points from 21 matches and still in danger having one match in hand.

In the day's match, Nigerian recruit Nche Francis and Sohel scored one goal each for Soccer Club Feni in the 68th and 78th minutes respectively while Jewel Rana netted the lone goal for Farashganj SC in the 39th minute.

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BOA observes Olympic Day Run 2011

Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA) observed the Olympic Day Run 2011 simultaneously in the capital, 64 districts and six divisional headquarters across the country amid high enthusiasm on Friday.

In a bid to popularise the Olympic Movement in Bangladesh, BOA took the initiative to hold the programme on a large scale, simultaneously in all the districts and divisional headquarters, according to BOA sources.

Some 5,000 participants including organisers, athletes, players, physically challenged people took part in the Run. After the completion of the Olympic Day Run, a blood donation programme, a sports competition for the orphans, intellectually challenged and street urchins was held at the Olympic Bhaban, Handball and Kabaddi stadium respectively.

The BOA had earlier held a seminar and drawing competition to mark the Olympic Day.

Meanwhile the most attractive programme of the Olympic Day 2011, a photo exhibition and competition named “Traditions of Bangladesh Sports” held at the BOA Bhaban on the day.

Around 500 rare and special photographs of the renowned photographers of the country have been displayed. BOA will award ten photographers at the completion of the exhibition.

Earlier, state minister for youth and sports Md. Ahad Ali Sarker, inaugurated the Olympic Day Run in the capital from Engineers Institute, Ramna and after moving through different parts of the city concluded at the Torch Gate of the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The Chief of Army Staff and president of BOA General Md Abdul Mubeen presided over the inaugural ceremony.

BOA secretary general Kutubuddin Ahmed, the Chief of Air Staff and president of Bangladesh Hockey Federation Marshal SM Ziaur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Archery Federation Lt.

General Moinul Islam, convener of Olympic Day 2011 Organising Committee and BOA vice-president Sirajul Islam Bachchu, member secretary and deputy secretary general Anisur Rahman Dipu, Country Manager of Coca Cola Far East Ltd.

Debashish Dev, president of Bangladesh Handball Federation and director of Exim Bank Nurul Fazal Bulbul, managing director of Blazer BD Kazi Razib Uddin Ahmed Chapl, and representatives of UCBL, Dhaka Bank, RSRM and Ashiyan City were also present on the occasion.

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Hassan taken on remand again

Dhaka, June 24 (bdnews24.com) ? Hassan Syed, the husband of tortured Dhaka University teacher Rumana Monzur, has been put on a one-day remand.

Dhaka's metropolitan magistrate Utpal Chowdhury on Friday granted the Detective Branch (DB) to remand him again when he was produced before it for hearing.

Bahauddin Faruqi, a DB sub-inspector and the investigation officer, sought 10 days for questioning him in the attempt-to-murder case, filed by the victim's father on June 6.

Hassan's lawyer Bipul Debnath submitted a bail petition, which was turned down by the court.

Earlier, Hassan, 38, was remanded thrice for a total of five days.

Absconding since June 5, Hassan was arrested on June 15 after he allegedly tried to gouge his wife's eyes out and chewed part of her nose off.

Assistant professor of international relations of Dhaka University, Rumana was taken to Chennai, India for better treatment on June 14, as doctors said the tissues of the victim's eyes had got badly ruptured in the attack.

Indian doctors told Rumana she had lost both her eyes.

After arrest, Hassan claimed she had an affair with an Iranian, whom she had met while studying in Canada.

Rumana is now under treatment at the capital's Lab Aid Hospital.

bdnews24.com/pb/sh/sam/1800h

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3 die in Kishoreganj septic tank

Kishoreganj, June 23 (bdnews24.com)?Three members of a family have died inside a septic tank, due to poisonous gas.

The deceased are Abu Taher Uddin, 45, 'Shahin', 20, and 'Jhinuk', 17.

The incident occurred at the residence of one Taher Uddin at Simantapara village under the Sadar upazila around 10am on Thursday.

On intimation, district Fire Service station officer Siraj Uddin, along with other fire fighters, rescued the three from the sceptic tank in an unconscious condition.

Siraj explained that Taher had entered inside the tank to clean it. Seeing his delay, Shahin and Jhinuk followed one after another to investigate.

The three were rushed to the Modern Sadar Hospital where doctors declared them dead.

Resident medical officer of the hospital Abdul Majid Khan said they died due to inhalation if toxic gases.

bdnews24.com/corr/pks/tk/1327h

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Others loot, we contribute: Hasina

Dhaka, June 23 (bdnews24.com) ? Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has claimed all but her party plundered public money whenever they were in power since the very independence.

"People get something when Awami League is in office, others loot or launder," she said on Thursday at a meeting on the 62nd anniversary of Awami League.

The party president said the country gets its rewards when the Awami League comes to power but is reprimanded during the BNP's term in office.

She also highlighted a number of initiatives taken by the party since its formation on this day in 1949.

"Whatever we do, we do it for the country, for the people," she added.

The programme, held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, was also attended by leaders of the ruling Grand Alliance allies, apart from party leaders and activists.

The day's celebrations began with hoisting of the national and party flags by Hasina and party general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam simultaneously.

Earlier in the day, the prime minister laid wreaths at the mural of independence hero and party founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at Dhanmondi 32.

Citing several initiatives taken by the present government, Hasina said, "The grand alliance government is working only for the people's better future."

She said, "We won't let anybody to play with their fortune as we are determined to restore the looted goods to their rightful owners ? the people."

She said, "I've never feared death in my fight for the people's right and I'm even ready to make any sacrifice in the future."

While criticising the BNP-Jamaat alliance government's term on 2001-2006, the country became a safe route for the arms launderers and a country of militancy.

Constitution review committee co-chair Suranjit Sengupta said, "The caretaker provision stayed for 18 years. Protest and movement became regular features ever since the country went for the provision."

Awami League presidium member Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim, advisory council members Amir Hossain Amu, Abdur Razzaque, central committee member Mohammad Nasim, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon, JaSaD president Hasanul Haque Inu and Ziauddin Bablu of Jatiya Party also spoke at the programme.

Sheikh Selim called upon the party activists to stay united as there could be conspiracies being hatched against the party.

Party general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam thanked all the allies who attended the anniversary celebration.

On 23 June 1949, Bengali nationalists from East Bengal broke away from the Muslim League, Pakistan's dominant political party, established the All Pakistan Awami Muslim League at the Rose Garden mansion in the old part of Dhaka.

Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and Shamsul Huq were elected the first President and General Secretary of the party respectively, while Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Khondaker Mostaq Ahmad and A K Rafiqul Hussain were elected the party's first joint secretaries.

In 1953, the party's council meeting voted to drop the word 'Muslim' from its name in order to give it a more secular outlook.

The party under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one of the founding joint secretaries of Awami League, led the struggle for independence, first through massive populist and civil disobedience movements, such as the Six Point Movement and 1971 Non-Cooperation Movement, and then during the Bangladesh's Liberation War.

bdnews24.com/sum/mi/pks/bd/trb/nir/2345h

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