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British lawmaker George Galloway, who is now in Dhaka, said he wanted to take part in the development work of Bangladesh as he thought the Britons should work for the welfare of this country as they had robbed it of its wealth during the colonial period.
   He also reminded the audience that in the pre-colonial period Bangla was full of wealth and resources.
   Addressing a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday, he also expressed concern over the political unrest in Bangladesh and said he would discuss it with the leaders of the country during his visit.
   ‘I am now visiting Bangladesh to re-familiarise myself with the country and to meet and discuss with the leaders of Bangladesh, to listen to their concerns and learn from them how best I can help the great country of Bangladesh and its people,’ he said.
   The press conference was organised to unveil plans and programmes of his 14-day visit to Bangladesh. He arrived here on Friday.
   During his visit, he met with the Prime Minister, Khaleda Zia, and the leader of the opposition in parliament, Sheikh Hasina.
   The list of persons he will meet with also include the mayors of Dhaka and Sylhet, the country’s business leaders and all the lawmakers of the Sylhet region and members of civil society who work for issues ranging from arsenic poisoning to workers’ rights.
   The British lawmaker will also visit many areas of greater Sylhet including Sylhet sadar, Maulvibazar, Sunamganj, Golapganj, Beanibazar, Balaganj, Srimangal and Jagannathpur, to meet local leaders and people.
   Galloway, the founder of Respect Party, is a member of the House of Commons for the city of Glasgow in Scotland. He was first elected in 1987. He is a candidate for the next general election in Britain, to be held on May 15, from an area populated by many people of Bangladeshi origin.
   ‘I am here to express my solidarity with the Bangladeshi people, both at home and in the UK, and to earn their valuable support,’ said Galloway.
   He said he would use his trip to show solidarity with Bangladeshi anti-war movement and to inform the people here of the central role being played by the Tower Hamlets Bangladeshi community in the run-up to the global day of action against the occupation of Iraq on March 19 this year.
   ‘I am particularly looking forward to visiting the Sylhet area with which I and the people of Tower Hamlets have such a close connection,’ he told reporters.
   He said 40 per cent of the electors of his constituency are of Bangladeshi origin.
   He said Bangladeshi expatriate communities in the United Kingdom lagged behind other expatriate communities in educational attainment and health status.
   ‘We have a clear duty to get a better deal for Bangladesh in the world,’ said Galloway.
   If he wins the election, he will work more for the welfare of the Bangladeshi immigrant population in the United Kingdom, he said.
   The British lawmaker said he has visited Bangladesh many times and is involved with developmental and anti-poverty projects and campaigns, particularly with generic drug and tea plantation-related issues.

Several hundred examinees for the 25th Bangladesh Civil Service examination staged demonstrations for the
   second consecutive day on Sunday on the Dhaka
   University campus demanding immediate cancellation of the examinations because of leakage of questions.
   The agitated students blocked the roads at the Teachers-Students Centre intersections for an hour that created severe traffic congestion.
   The examinees demanded immediate resignation of Professor Mahfuzur Rahman, member of the Public Service Commission and chairman of the examination committee, for the leakage scandal.
   They lay siege to the Public Service Commission office today (Monday).
   They also decided to
   submit memorandum to the prime minister and the education minister demanding cancellation of the two examinations.
   The examinees, mostly students of the university, brought out a procession from Aparajeya Bangla in the morning.
   They paraded through different city thoroughfares and held a rally at the Raju Memorial Monument.
   They demanded cancellation of mathematics and science examination of the 25th BCS examinations as the question papers of the two papers were leaked out before the examinations began.
   The Bangladesh Chhatra League, student front of the Awami League, and its five allies demanded resignation of the chairman pf the Public Service Commission, Professor Zinnatun Nesa Tahmida Begum.
   They threatened to go for tougher programmes unless their demand is met.
   The Progressive Students Alliance, a unity of left student bodies, expressed concern over the leakage of BCS question papers.
   Leaders of the organisations also demanded immediate cancellation of the examinations.

Speakers at a seminar on Sunday urged the World Bank not to impose any harsh terms and conditions on its loan and grants which were not commensurate with the socio-economic prospective of Bangladesh.
   They also held the stringent and stiff terms and conditions in some WB development projects responsible for being the projects counter- productive.
   The seminar on The World Bank in Bangladesh was jointly organised by the bank and the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the CCCI auditorium on Sunday.
   The senior information officer of the World Bank, Bangladesh, Subrata S Dhar, focused on the bank’s lending and development activities in Bangladesh at the seminar where he pointed out the bank-funded different development programmes, including female education, heath and sanitation and environment.
   ‘In most of the cases the WB gets back a large portion of its allocation as consultancy and other charges but the liabilities goes to the lender,’ the speakers said.
   Earlier, the CCCI president, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, inaugurated the seminar as the chief guest.

HM Wahadul Islam Hazra has been elected chairman of the Kotalipara municipality in Gopalganj, according to an unofficial announcement on Sunday.
   Hazra received 880 votes while his nearest rival Kamal Hossain got 635 votes.
   Three women members elected for three reserved seats are Anima Rani Biswas for ward 1, Ruksana Hossain for ward 2 and Mahmuda Begum for ward 3.
   Other elected ward commissioners are Mossaref Hossain for ward 1, Kamal Hossain for ward 2, Md Hossain for ward 3, Joynal Abedin for ward 4, Krisna Dev for ward 5, Sonjay Kumar for ward 6, Abu Hanif for ward 7, Swapon Biswas for ward 8, and Owliur Rahman for ward 9.

Rashed Khan Menon and Bimal Biswas were re-elected president and general secretary of the Workers Party of Bangladesh.
   On the concluding day of the seventh congress, the Workers Party elected a 37-member new central committee.
   The central committee include 13 politburo members: Haider Akbar Khan Rano, Abul Bashar, Nurul Hasan, Fazle Hossain Badsha, Anisur Rahman Mallik, Mahmudul Hasan Manik, Shafiuddin Ahmed, Iqbal Kabir Jahid, Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan, Hafizur Rahman and Noor Ahmed Bakul.
   The eight alternative members were also elected.
   The five-day congress started in Jessore on February 23.

The opposition Awami League and its front organisations are taking preparations to make the March 2 ‘grand rally’ in the capital a success.
   A joint meeting of the party was held at its central office on Sunday which reviewed the preparations.
   Presidents and general secretaries of the front organisations were present at the meeting along with the party general secretary, Abdul Jalil.
   Presidium member Tofail Ahmed chaired the meeting.
   Jalil asked leaders of front organisations to turn the grand rally into a human sea.
   Some 14 teams comprising central leaders have been conducting a weeklong mass contact programme across the country since February
   23 to create public opinion for resignation of the government and to make the grand rally a success.
   Hasina will announce the next course of action from the rally.

Expatriate Bangladeshis often face trouble due to negligence by officials of Bangladesh missions and some anti-Bangladesh propaganda abroad, leaders of the Bangladeshi American Community Services told a news briefing at the National Press Club on Sunday.
   Leaders of the community services said expatriate Bangladeshis have an important role in the economy but are neglected.
   They also said interest and safety of the expatriates are jeopardised by some compatriots’ antiBangladesh propaganda abroad.
   Mohammad Abdul Kader, chairman of the community services said the downward law and order situation dissuades expatriates to invest their money in the country.
   They expressed their frustrations over the hassles and harassments expatriates face at Zia international Airport while arriving or leaving the country.
   The BACS wished to launch some community welfare programmes in the country such as creating employment for the youth, and scholarships for the poor and meritorious students. The leaders also sought help from the people of the country to make their programmes successful.
   Abdur Rahman, director of the organization and Shawkat Hossain, chief of the Bangladesh chapter spoke at the news briefing among others.

Two minor girls were butchered at village Jalanda of Barigram in Natore at about 7:00pm on Sunday.
   The girls, one 13-year-old and another 2-year-old were sisters.
   Local people caught one Azizul Huque, 30, a clothes trader, in this connection and handed him over to the police.