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Bangladesh, with the world’s highest population density and with over 63 million people living in dire poverty, is on track to achieve many of the UN millennium development goals, including universal primary school enrolment and gender parity, says the World Bank.
   In the credit programmes of the multilateral lending agency, Bangladesh is in the third position after India and Vietnam in receiving commitment of $600 million from the International Development Association (IDA) in fiscal year 2004-05.
   The countries of the South Asian region received the second largest share of loans of $5 billion, second only to $5.2 billion borrowed by Latin American countries. Bangladesh is an IDA borrower like all South Asian countries except Sri Lanka.
   ‘Bangladesh’s loan of $600 million committed this year translates into about $4.5 per capita, aimed at supporting growth and directly empowering the poor through support for health, education and community development,’ said the Bank in an information note released on Wednesday.
   It also listed the major challenges faced by Bangladesh, such as maternal health, infant mortality and nutrition, meeting the urgent need for infrastructure, improving management of power and ports, and achieving a better investment climate.
   However, contrary to the World Bank’s views, government agencies and local trade bodies claimed certain improvements have been made in the investment situation, especially reduction in cost of doing business. Independent organisations time and again have expressed doubts about achievements of millennium development goals in Bangladesh.
   The lending agency’s note mentioned that in partnership with other donors, the Bank’s support for Bangladesh is focussed on health and education and includes innovative partnerships with the country’s NGOs which want to ensure expanded access to social services.
   The IDA-supported projects continue to stress the importance of improved governance, with special emphasis on reforms in public procurement and financial management, energy infrastructure and the financial sector.
   The World Bank also claimed a number of key achievements by Bangladesh that include rural solar energy home systems provided to 50,000 households, 23,000 centres providing nutrition services to over 5 million households, community infrastructures provided in 500 villages including earthen roads, tubewells and culverts, and repair of school buildings.
   Other achievements, according to the information note, are HIV-safe blood transfusion centres introduced in 98 hospitals, household piped water systems installed in over 5,000 households in eight villages, 3,000 villages provided with alternative arsenic-free water supply sources, rapid response to 2004 floods, supporting livelihood rehabilitation of 4,00,000 families, and building 2,500 kilometres of rural roads which have connected village retailers to city markets.
   The World Bank also came up with economic policy support and development actions in the form of publications, which are ‘Attaining the Millennium Development Goals in Bangladesh’, ‘Developing Policy Review’, ‘Country Framework Report’, ‘Investment Climate Survey’, ‘Housing Finance Reforms in Bangladesh’, ‘NGO Contracting Evaluation for the HNP Sector in Bangladesh’, and ‘Growth and Competitiveness Study’.
   The World Bank group is committed to harmonising and aligning aid delivery to the developing countries’ own national systems, and in Bangladesh the joint country assistance strategy is undertaken in partnership with the Asian Development Bank, the Department for International Development of the UK and the Japanese government.

About 48.27 per cent examinees have passed the three-year degree (pass) course examinations under the National University this year, according to results published on Wednesday.
   The results of the two-year pass course, subsidiary and certificate course examinations were also published simultaneously. The National University introduced the three-year degree course from the academic session 2001 and 2002 abolishing the traditional two-year degree course.
   The three-year courses that include Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Social Science, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Commerce, Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Sports, had 36,306 examinees from 1,228 colleges. The examinations were held between January 10 and July 14.
   The out-going National University vice-chancellor, Aftab Ahmad, announced the results at a press conference on the university campus.
   According to the results of the three-year course, the percentage of successful female and male examinees was 48.89 and 42.19 respectively.
   Among them, 467 candidates got first division, 12,979 got second division and 3,856 secured third division.
   The pass percentage of the examinees of Bachelor of Science is 39.26, 45.67 for Bachelor of Arts, 42.37 for Bachelor of Social Science and 46.88 for Bachelor of Commerce.
   The percentage of successful examinees from Bachelor of Music is 47.83 while the rate for Bachelor of Sports is 85.71 and 45 for certificate course.
   The pass percentage of the two-year degree course is 37.46. As many as 18,851 candidates sat for the examinations held for the last time. Of them 7,061 passed.
   Of them 68 got first division, 3,192 second division and 3,715 third division.
   The pass percentage of subsidiary examinations is 55.85. Out of 20,671 candidates took part in the examinations and 11,544 passed.
   As many as 920 candidates took part in the certificate course examinations and 414 passed.
   Besides, 48,809 students took part in the first-year examinations of the three-year courses and 44,345 of them have been promoted to the second year.

Not a single student from 87 colleges, out of total 1,228, has passed in the degree (pass), subsidiary, and the certificate course examinations under National University in 2004, according to the results published on Wednesday.
   Three hundred and thirteen students appeared in the examinations from the unsuccessful colleges mostly located outside the capital excepting only six students from three colleges within the capital.
   Only 22 colleges managed to secure 100 per cent pass rate including one from Dhaka.
   In 2003 no student from forty institutions could secure pass marks, the NU sources said.
   Results of the 2003 examinations were published in July 2004.

Over 200 striking workers of Ring Shine textile factory at the Savar Export Processing Zone were injured in a police action here on Wednesday.
   Of the injured, many of them female workers, the condition of six was stated to be critical.
   They are Mahmuda, 20, Zahirul, 20, Shahnaj, 22, Billal, 25, Wasim, 22 and Sujon, 20.
   The injured workers said many of them did not go to any hospital fearing further police action and arrest.
   The police swung into action when hundreds of workers of Ring Shine were continuing a strike for the fourth consecutive day demanding withdrawal of false cases against two workers of the factory and pressing home their ‘legitimate demands’.
   They alleged that the baton-wielding police swooped on them in front of the EPZ gate and different entry points and charged baton without any provocation.
   ‘The police also fired rubber bullets,’ said one of them.
   The police earlier raided different villages – including Gazirchat, Pallibidyut, Bhadail and Dhamrai – adjacent to the EPZ early Wednesday and picked up about 70 innocent workers, the workers alleged.
   Later, the police released 48 of them.
   The panic-stricken workers went into hiding fearing further police action.
   Meanwhile, the National Garment Workers Welfare Association held rally at their Baipail office in Savar in the afternoon protesting the police action.
   Leaders of the association– Rafiqul Islam Sujon, Julekha Akter Jahan, Shafiqul Islam Shamim, Liaqut Ali, Rashedul Islam and Maqbul Hossain– addressed the rally.
   They condemned the police attack and demanded withdrawal of cases filed against the workers and realization their demands.
   A tense situation was prevailing in the area.
   Additional police were deployed to avert further untoward incident.

The vice-president of South Asia Region of the World Bank, Praful C Patel, arrives in Dhaka today on a four-day visit.
   He is expected to call on the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, on July 23 and hold discussions with the finance and planning minister, M Saifur Rahman.
   He will also exchange views with local government representatives, private sector and business leaders, representatives from civil society and NGOs, and the development partners on the country’s development agenda and how the World Bank group can best assist Bangladesh in achieving its poverty reduction strategy goals, said a news release.

The government removed Aftab Ahmad from the position of the vice-chancellor of National University on Wednesday amid allegations of irregularities.
   Wakil Ahmad of the Bangla department at Dhaka University, also chairman of the Bangla Academy, was appointed as the vice-chancellor.
   Wakil confirmed New Age that he had received an appointment letter from the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, also the chancellor of the university, for a four-year term. Aftab has been asked to go back to his professorship at political science department of Dhaka University immediately.
   Immediately after his appointment on July 5, 2003, Aftab started recruiting hundreds of people at the university violating rules.
   During the press conference when he announced the results of degree (pass) courses, Aftab was yet to find out about his removal.
   He went to Mymensingh, immediately after the press conference and could not be contacted for his reaction.

Buddhist community on Wednesday celebrated Ashari Purnima, one of their biggest religious festivals, in the city and elsewhere in the district with traditional enthusiasm and solemnity.
   The day’s programme began with hoisting of the national and religious flags atop all monasteries and reciting verses from the Tripitaka at dawn.
   Other programmes held on the occasion include mass prayer, blood donation, discussions and Pradip Puja.
   The festival was also celebrated in Buddhist-populated regions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Cox’s Bazar, Noakhali and Comilla.

The 11 cadres of the banned Islamic outfit Jagrata Muslim Janata who were arrested on Monday night in the Rajshahi city did not disclose any vital information during interrogation on Wednesday.
   On the first day of their seven-day remand, four teams interrogated the militants separately about their activities and their leader, Bangla Bhai, suspected to be hiding in the region.
   The four teams interrogated the cadres from 10.00pm Tuesday night to 6.00pm Wednesday. They remained determined and seemed nonchalant during interrogation, said sources.
   A member of the team said the training commander, Enamul, was obviously a high profile militant and a close associate of Bangla Bhai.
   ‘The militants, most of whom are newcomers, had gathered at Puthiapara of Paba for training on militancy,’ said a police official engaged in interrogation.
   The police said during interrogation, Enamul, Biplob, Mostafa and Wali became angry and asked the interrogators, ‘Do you not fear Allah? Why are you torturing us?’
   Enamul was one of the action commanders of Bangla Bhai, and a ‘most wanted’ militant leader. He left Baghmara in June 2004 soon after the killing Yasin Ali whose body was found hanging from a tree upside down. He is one of the accused in the case.
   Sources said Enamul was an associate of Ibrahim Hossain who took part in killing a union council leader Mokbul, at Bagmara, Sreepur on January 22.
   Officer-in-charge of the Paba police station, Zahid Hasan, told New Age that a message had been sent to the police stations concerned to collect information about the arrested cadres.
   The government on January 24 banned the militant outfit but the police were able to arrest only a few of the cadres while its commander, Bangla Bhai, still remains at large.

The publication of the daily Ittefaq, one of the oldest newspapers of the country, has been normalised after printing and distribution of its Wednesday’s edition was hindered by a group of outsiders over the paper’s editorship.
   The dispute surfaced Tuesday night following an order of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court that declared Anwar Hossain Manju as editor of the newspaper setting aside a High Court judgement that said Manju had ceased to be the editor, printer and publisher and executive director of daily Ittefaq.
   Manju’s elder brother Mainul Hosein filed three writ petitions with the High Court against Manju and got an order in his favour, but Mainul lost in the legal battle as Manju went to the Appellate Division challenging the High Court order.
   It is learnt that a group of people obstructed printing and distribution of the newspaper on Tuesday night, forcing the authorities to go for less distribution of the newspapers copy in the city and elsewhere.
   Anwar Hossain Manju told New Age on Wednesday there was no problem over the publication of the paper. He admitted that Wednesday’s issue was less than that of the normal circulation.
   Ittefaq unit of the Dhaka Union of Journalist mediated between the two brothers and resolved the problem.

The Rapid Action Battalion on Wednesday recovered an AK-47 rifle and some ammunition from Dowlotpur area in Fatikchari upazila of Chittagong.
   RAB sources said a squad of the battalion had arrested a listed criminal, Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury, in front of Chittagong Medical College Hospital at around 12:30pm.
   Based on his confessional statement RAB conducted a drive at his village home in Dowlotpur and recovered an AK-47 rifle, 33 rounds of ammunition and an extra magazine from a box divan.