Main Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed 4«
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

Local agents of oil marketing companies and owners of filling stations at many places have stopped the sale of petroleum products since Thursday after the finance and planning minister, M Saifur Rahman, on Tuesday hinted at yet another hike in fuel prices.
   Many filling stations have already started charging Tk 3-15 more than the government rates of petrol, octane, diesel and kerosene, according reports from different parts of the country, although the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation is yet to raise the prices.
   The finance, and energy and mineral resources ministries are scheduled to meet Sunday to come up with, as sources said, a plausible justification for a fuel price hike to contain public resentment in the election year.
   Saifur dropped the hint after a meeting with the delegation of a trade body. ‘A country cannot afford so much loss cause by the gap between high international rates and much lower domestic prices of fuel,’ he had said.
   Many traders in Khulna have started selling petroleum products at higher prices, reports the New Age correspondent. A number of filling stations have stopped the sale of fuel altogether on the ground of supply shortage. Octane was sold at Tk 48, petrol at Tk 45, diesel at Tk 37 and kerosene at Tk 35 per litre on Wednesday, whereas the government rates are Tk 45, Tk 42, Tk 33 and Tk 31 respectively.
   Officials at Padma, Meghna and Jamuna oil depots at Khalishpur in the city dismissed the supply-shortage claim of the filling stations and said the stations received as much fuel as they had demanded.
   A resident of Dolkhola Lane told New Age that he had been to three filling stations at Joragate, New Market and Ferryghat but could not refuel his motorbike. ‘All of them said they had no fuel.’
   The manager of a local filling station told New Age Thursday afternoon that sales had been suspended for supply shortage.
   The New Age correspondent reports similar situation in Rangpur over the past two days, with most refuelling stations keeping their shutters down.
   Oil depots at Baghabari in Sirajganj district, Balashighat in Gaibandha and Chilmari in Kurigram are also claiming that they have run out of supply.
   Roadside vendors have cashed in on the suspension of sale at the filling stations, selling petrol at Tk 55-60 per litre.
   The fuel shortage has hit farmers hard, as they need diesel for irrigation in boro season.
   A retail fuel seller told New Age that he had to buy fuel at higher prices from a petrol pump.
   The manager of a filling station at Shatmatha in Rangpur said traders were not responsible for the price hike and blamed the finance minister for what he called an artificial crisis.
   Azizullah Miah, president of the Rangpur Krishi Unnayan (agricultural development) Forum, expressed his concern over the sudden surge in fuel prices. ‘Farmers in the region will be the worst victim, as boro farming will face a setback because of the price hike.’
   In Rajshahi, traders were selling petrol at Tk 55-60 and octane at Tk 50-55 per litre, reports the New Age correspondent.
   Owners of most refuelling stations told consumers that oil tankers and barges had not reached the Baghabari depot, triggering a temporary shortage.
   There were reports of heated exchanges between owners of motorised vehicles and owners and staff of filling stations over the sudden surge in fuel prices.
   Some filling stations have, meanwhile, stopped selling petrol and octane altogether.
   The local administration has not yet taken any initiative to sort out the situation.
   In Chittagong and Barisal, fuel prices remained unchanged as of Thursday.

Washington has asked Dhaka to scale up its efforts to arrest leaders of the banned Islamist organisation Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, widely blamed for a series of terrorist attacks in the recent past.
   ‘You should try to arrest them, that is important,’ the state minister for home affairs, Lutfozzaman Babar, quoted the visiting US assistant secretary for South Asia, Christina Rocca, as saying at a meeting at the home ministry.
   Rocca, who arrived Thursday morning on a three-day visit, also called on the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, to hand over a letter from the US president, George W Bush.
   In his letter, Bush has appreciated Bangladesh’s efforts towards tackling terrorism and stressed further strengthening of the Dhaka-Washington ties to work together for democracy and against terrorism and extremism, Shamsher Mubin Chowdhury the ambassador to the US, told journalists after the Khaleda-Rocca meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office.
   Bush has also termed Bangladesh a vibrant democracy and hoped that the next general elections will take place as scheduled, said Shamsher.
   Babar told journalists after his meeting with Rocca that the US had assured Bangladesh of its support in any sector, especially in the training of lawmen and exchange of information to fight terrorism.
   He insisted, however, that there had been no discussions on counter-terrorism.
   Rocca also met the foreign minister, M Morshed Khan, the foreign affairs advisor, Reaz Rahman, and the foreign secretary, Hemayetuddin, on Thursday.
   She is expected to meet the press Friday afternoon after a meeting with the leader of the opposition in Jatiya Sangsad, Sheikh Hasina.
   The rise of extremism, ways to combat terrorism and areas of cooperation dominated the agenda during Rocca’s meeting with Khaleda and others, according to sources.
   Hemayetuddin told an official briefing that she had been told that the government was committed to holding the next general elections on time and in line with constitutional provisions.
   Morshed apprised Rocca of the government’s measures against terrorism and militancy in the name of Islam, he said. ‘She hoped that the efforts would continue as officials of the Bangladesh government expressed determination to combat terrorism and arrest masterminds of the recent bomb attacks.’
   Rocca termed Bangladesh a shining role model of Muslim democracy and appreciate its efforts to tackle terrorism, claimed Hemayetuddin.
   ‘The relations between the United States and Bangladesh need further strengthening for democracy and the fight against terrorism and extremism,’ Shamsher quoted Bush as writing in his letter to Khaleda.
   Rocca also said during her meeting with the prime minister that the US government would provide support for capacity building of the home ministry, he said.
   Bush greeted Khaleda on the occasion of New Year and Eid-ul-Azha, and called upon the Bangladeshi leadership to further strengthen economic relations between the two countries.
   Combating militancy, violation of human rights and training of Bangladeshi lawmen dominated the discussion between Rocca and Babar. Rocca expressed concern about the rise of militancy and violation of human rights.
   Babar claimed that no talk on counter-terrorism had taken place. ‘Discussion on counter-terrorism may take place at other level but not at my level.’
   ‘They were concerned about militants, especially Jamaatul Mujahideen, but appreciated the government’s efforts in combating them,’ he said.
   Babar declined to comment when asked whether any discussion had been held on a counter-terrorism agreement, like the ones the US has with India and Pakistan.
   ‘They are giving us information and both of us are sharing information,’ he said when asked at which level the US was giving support to combat terrorism.
   Babar said Rocca wanted to know about the progress of the Anti-Terrorism Act the government planned to formulate to fight militants. ‘I have told her that we have already made a satisfactory progress.’
   Rocca also expressed concern about violation of human rights, especially extra-judicial killings, in Bangladesh, said Babar. ‘They did not raise any particular point but told us to be careful about that.’
   Asked whether Rocca talked about killings in crossfire, Babar said they did not use the word.
   Babar and Rocca also talked about training of Bangladesh lawmen. ‘Time and again Americans are coming to train our police,’ he said when asked how many Americans were in Bangladesh to train local lawmen.
   He said several training programmes had already been completed while several more were underway. ‘The Americans are very serious about training our trainers.’
   Babar said the Rocca had put emphasis on more training. ‘Different types of specialised trainings on issues like money laundering are taking place and the number of such trainings has increased manifold in recent times.’

Different political parties and organisations on Thursday held rallies in Dhaka abd said the visit of US assistant secretary of state for South Asia, Christina Rocca, to Bangladesh was threatening to sovereignty.
   There was no instance of curbing terrorism with the help of the United States that only patronised terrorists, the leaders said.
   Ganamukti O Jatiya Sampad Rakkha Sammilita Andolan leaders at a Muktangan rally said the frequent visits of the US officials to Bangladesh were nothing but an imperialist conspiracy.
   Bangladesher Samajtantrik Dal convener Khalequzzaman, also leader of Sammilita Andolan, said the BNP-Jamaat alliance government would form a counter-terrorism unit with the US help that would threaten sovereignty.
   The leaders called on the people to wage a united movement against imperialism.
   Chaired by Khalequzzaman, the rally was addressed by combine leaders Saiful Huq, Bazlur Rashed Firoj and Badrul Alam.
   The rally was followed by a procession that paraded city roads, chanting slogan ‘Go back, Rocca’.
   The Jatiya Mukti Council also held a rally at Muktangan. The left leaders alleged the BNP-Jamaat alliance government was following the dictations of the imperialists.
   Now the imperialist countries are trying to capture the national resources of Bangladesh such as oil, gas and coal, the leaders said.
   The council’s general secretary, Foizul Hakim, said the people would resist any such imperialist design.
   He criticised the two big political parties — the BNP and the Awami League — for welcoming the imperialist America. The rally was followed by a procession.
   The Islamic Constitution Movement leaders at a rally near the north gate of Baitul Mukarram said America was trying to interfere with the internal affairs of Bangladesh.
   The secretary general of the organisation, Nurul Huda Fayezi, criticised the alliance government’s plan of the formation of a counter-terrorism unit with the United States and setting up a CIA office in Dhaka.
   The United States is trying to bring about a situation in Bangladesh as that in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine, he said.
   Chaired by the Dhaka city unit chief ATM Hemayet Uddin, the rally was also addressed by its Syed Belayet Hossain and Ataur Rahman.

The government has deferred the handover of operations of Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong to Thai Airways by a month to further review the management contract signed between the two parties.
   According to sources in the civil aviation, Thai Air will take charge of the airport operations from March 1, instead of February 1.
   ‘We have deferred the handover by a month as Biman has raised some reservations about ground operations at the airport,’ said Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, state minister for civil aviation, on Thursday.
   He said the government would again decide whether to handover the operations and management to Thai Air after reviewing the agreement.
   The chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, Air Commodore Harun Chowdhury and the acting president of Thai Airways International Public Company, Somchainuk Engtrakul, signed the management contract on December 1.
   As per the contract, Thai will operate, maintain, and manage the airport terminal building, ramp handling, cargo handling, airport security, maintenance and upkeep of buildings, as well as preventive and routine maintenance.
   In addition, Thai will be responsible for collecting fees for airport landing charges, security charges, embarkation fees, as well as ground handling related fees on behalf of civil aviation, coordinating with other carriers operating to and from Chittagong airport.
   Sources said the handover of operations has been delayed due to resistance from employees of Biman Bangladesh Airlines, the national carrier, who were opposed to Thai taking over ground handling operations.
   Inclusion of ground handling in the agreement created resentment among Biman employees because it was supposed to remain under Biman’s operations, said an official of the national carrier adding that the Biman officials have vowed to resist the handover of ground handling at any cost.
   The government on June 23, 2004 decided to hand over the airport operations to Thai for the next 10 years for Tk 52 crore due to consecutive losses.
   Under the contract, Thai will pay the government Tk 3.5 crore for the first year and the amount will stand at a yearly Tk 10 crore at the latter part of the contract period.
   Shah Amanat International Airport failed to become commercially viable and incurred annual losses of about Tk 32 crore for the fourth consecutive year, which prompted the government to enter into a management contract with Thai, and hand over operations of the airport.

The people of Shibganj called for shutdown at the upazila for an indefinite period from Friday in protest at Monday’s killing of eight people in police firing on the villagers who were on demonstrations against the arrest of Golam Rabbani and two other leaders of Palli Bidyut Unnayan Sangram Committee.
   The agitation also spread to different places of Shibganj in Chapainawabganj on the fourth day, paralysing normal life in the area since Monday.
   Two processions led by Golam Rabbani’s mother Monsura Begum and his wife Shamima Aktar were brought out in the area on Thursday. Thousands of local people took part in the processions.
   Starting from Pukuria, the processions moved along about six kilometres to reach the Shibganj upazila headquarters where they held a rally.
   Shamima Aktar, wife of Rabbani, addressing the rally, threatened with continuous hartal and blockade if her husband and two other arrested leaders were not released immediately.
   The people kept all the roads to and from Kansat blocked till Thursday by felling more trees on roads.
   They also damaged a culvert near the Shahbajpur College on the Shibganj-Sonamasjid Highway which made Sonamasjid land port inoperative. Several hundred vehicles remained stranded on the highway.
   The Bangaladesh Awami League general secretary, Abdul Jalil, presidium member Begum Motia Chowdhury and other party leaders visited the family members of Anwarul, who was killed in Monday’s police firing and assured them of rehabilitation of the deceased families and educational expenses of their children.

The trial of the killing of former finance minister and Awami League leader Shah AMS Kibria is yet to begin, a year on since he was killed in a bomb attack on an AL meeting at Baidyer Bazar in Habiganj along with four others on January 27, 2005.
   The case remains pending with the Sylhet speedy trial tribunal, which has not yet received relevant documents, said sources.
   The grenade was charged as Kibria came through the gate of a local primary school after addressing the meeting in the evening. His nephew Shah Manjurul Huda and local AL workers Abul Hossain, Abdur Rahim and Siddik Miah were also killed. About 100 were injured.
   The Habiganj district unit Awami League organising secretary, Abdul Majid Khan, filed two cases — one for murder and the another under the explosives act — with the Habiganj police station.
   The Criminal Investigation Department of the police investigated both cases and submitted charge sheet before the court on March 20.
   Ten people, either leaders or activists of the ruling BNP or its front organisations, were accused. They are AKM Abdul Quiyum, Joynal Abedin Momin, Jamir Ali, Joynal Abedin Jalal, Tajul Islam, Ayat Ali, Shahed Ali, Selim Ahmed, Mahibur Rahman
   and Kajal Miah. Mahibur Rahman and Kajal Miah are absconding.
   Joynal Abedin Momin, Jamir Ali, Shahed Ali and Tajul Islam, have given their confessional statement before the district magistrate’s court in Habiganj when in jail.
   The complainant of the case, Abdul Majid Khan, filed a non-acceptance petition and another review petition before the Habiganj judge’s court seeking further investigation into the case.
   As the district judge court rejected the petitions, Majid moved it to the High Court but the bench comprising, Justice Sharifuddin Chaklader and Justice Rezaul Karim, rejected it on November 18, 2005.
   Majid is currently preparing to appeal to the Supreme Court.
   Different organisations have chalked out five-day programmes from January 24 to observe the day with due respect.
   Sonar Bangla Juba Parishad organised a memorial meeting at the Press Club on January 24. On January 26, a photograph exhibition will be held at late Kibria’s residence between 10am and 11am and a memorial book will be unveiled at the Diploma Engineers’ institute at 4:00pm organised by ‘Foundation for Development and Research.’
   The programmes scheduled on January 27 include placing wreaths at Kibria’s grave at Banani graveyard, recitation from Qur’an and milad mahfil at 4:00pm at Kibria’s residence.
   Awami League will organise a memorial meeting on Saturday.
   Throughout the year, Kibria’s widow Asma Kibria led a non-violent movement to mobilise public opinion against political killings and bomb attacks.

The Awami League, its front organisations, and members of the late Shah AMS Kibria’s family have chalked out a two-day programme to mark the first anniversary of the death of the former finance minister and AL leader today.
   Kibria, a career diplomat-turned-politician, was among the five killed in a grenade attack on an AL meeting at Baidyer Bazar in Habiganj on January 27, 2005.
   The mourners will wear black badges and hoist black flags besides arranging commemorative meetings and prayer session in mosques and other places of worship to mark the day.
   Several cultural organisations have also planned various programmes.
   Today’s programmes include placing of wreaths at the grave of Kibria at the Banani graveyard in the morning, recitation from the Qur’an, and special prayers at 4:00pm at the residence of the late leader. The Awami League will organise a commemorative meeting on Saturday.
   The Awami League president and leader of the opposition in parliament, Sheikh Hasina, in her message on Thursday criticised the government for its failure to try the killers of Kibria.
   She called upon the people to make the country a safe place by ousting the government that was patronising the killers.
   The trial of his killing has meanwhile made little progress in one year. His widow Asma Kibria has led a non-violent movement, styled as Shantir Swapakkhey Neelima (blue for peace), to mobilise public opinion against all political killings and bomb attacks.
   Hasina said the grenade attack that killed Kibria was part of a conspiracy to kill popular leaders and activists of the Awami League.
   She said the BNP-Jamaat alliance after assuming power in 2001 through rigging and conspiracy had begun to suppress the minority, and her party men including those of the front organisations.
   Mentioning the assassination bid on her, she said Ivy Rahman and 24 members of the party were killed in the August 21, 2004 bomb attack and accused the government of planning and executing the attack.
   Meanwhile, a half-day hartal, called by the Awami League in Habiganj demanding trial of those responsible for the killing of Kibria and four others, was peacefully observed on Thursday.

A half-day hartal, enforced by the Awami League in Habiganj demanding trial of those involved in Baidder Bazar grenade attack that left party leader SAMS Kibria and four others killed, was on Thursday observed peacefully.
   No untoward incident was reported during the hartal, enforced on the eve of anniversary of the savage grenade attack.
   Former finance minister Shah AMS Kibria and four others were killed in the grenade attack at Baidder Bazar on January 27, 2005.
   To mark the death anniversary of Kibria, the Awami League and its front organisations have drawn up a two-day programme, including commemorative meetings, wearing black badges, hoisting black flags and organising prayers in mosques and other worship places.
   Besides, several cultural organisations have also taken up various programmes to mark the day.
   Students for Friendship will hold a discussion meeting on RD Hall premise on Thursday evening while Shah Kibria and Manzurul Huda Memorial Foundation will organise a commemorative meeting today.

The Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation will import some 60,000-70,000 tonnes of fertiliser from the next fiscal year.
   The import will depend on the availability of rolling funds and the corporation’s imports will continue simultaneously along with the private sector imports. The government expects to begin importing ahead of the next aman season.
   Preliminarily, the corporation will import 11,700 tonnes of triple super phosphate and 5,500 tonnes of muriate of potash, three to four
   times a year with the revolving funds, said sources in the corporation.
   Sources in the agriculture ministry said according to the government’s decision on December 28, 2005 — the ministry asked for a revolving
   fund of Tk 32 crore from finance ministry on January 4 — Tk 30 crore would be allocated to import triple super phosphate and muriate of potash and Tk 2 would be allocated for necessary infrastructural renovation.
   Quazi Abul Kashem, secretary for agriculture ministry, declined to comment.
   The government has already decided in principle to
   retain some control over the fertiliser market and thus decided that the corporation would be allowed to import fertilisers.
   Since the private enjoys a free hand in the fertiliser market, stock and price is completely beyond the government’s control and manipulated by the private sector.
   The agriculture ministry also has asked the corporation to renovate its 16 fertiliser
   }warehouses including those in Dhaka, Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Bogra and
   Pabna within June.
   These warehouses have a combined storage capacity of 65,000 tonnes.
   An official of fertiliser management department of the corporation said, ‘The corporation will control the market price of the fertiliser as they will try to import fertiliser at least four times a year and hope to meet about 10 per cent fertiliser demand.’
   The government’s decision to involve the corporation for fertiliser import will increase competition in the market and reduce the unavailability, said the official.
   Management of fertilisers including import, storage and marketing was taken out of the corporation’s authority in 1990.

The 41st Bishwa Ijtema begins today on the bank of Turag river at Tongi in the capital outskirts amid tightest ever security.
   Organised by the World Tablig Jamaat, the largest Muslim congregation after hajj will be ended through the Akheri Munajat on Sunday noon.
   The government has taken ‘foolproof security measures’ to thwart any subversive activity during the three-day annual congregation attended by the Muslims from across the world.
   Nearly 25,000 uniformed and undercover security personnel comprising the police, Rapid Action Battalion, Armed Police Battalion, Bangladesh Rifles and Ansars will create a security bulwark to maintain discipline in and around the Ijtema venue, a home ministry official said.
   The recent spate of bomb attacks and the threats of further attacks, reportedly by banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, prompted the government to take the security measures.
   The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, prime minister, Khaleda Zia, and the leader of the opposition in parliament, Sheikh Hasina, have given separate messages welcoming the participants and wishing peace and prosperity of the Muslim ummah as well as people all over the world.
   ‘All preparations have been completed to hold the Bishwa Ijtema,’ the officer in-charge (wireless) of Gazipur, Selim Ahmed, told New Age from the Bishwa Ijtema control room.
   Makeshift toilets, bathrooms, a large pendal and other necessary things have been set up at the Ijtema ground, he said.
   The Ijtema ground has been divided into 24 Khitas (blocks) and a map of the Ijtema ground has been kept at every checkpoint and the devotees would be provided with information about their district-based entrances and the place of stay.
   The Dhaka City Corporation, Local Government Engineering Department, Titas gas, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, Fire service, Tongi municipality, the deputy commissioner and the police administration of Gazipur are working in a coordinate way for a better management of the Ijtema.
   The devotees from different parts of the country, and countries, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Thailand, Qatar and Australia, have already reached the Ijtema ground.
   The law enforcers check the devotees and vehicles at 18 entry points of the Ijtema venue. Fifty-eight close circuit television cameras and 20 video cameras have been set up in and around the venue.
   A special immigration desk has been set up in Zia International Airport to facilitate entry of the foreign devotees. Microbuses with stickers of the Ijtema are carrying them to the venue.
   Steps have also been taken to maintain discipline and easy movement of the devotees. Eighteen parking lots have been fixed while there will have no loudspeakers on the roads.
   The Criminal Investigation Department and highway police teams are active in and outside the venue, particularly to check mugging and pick-pocketing.
   RAB will constantly monitor the movement of all from two helicopters and several observation towers from today.
   Transport movement on the Airport Road from the Pragati-Sarani Crossing to Tongi-Gazipur intersection will remain suspended from 6:00pm Saturday to 6:00pm Sunday, according to a Police Headquarters press release.
   The fire service vehicles, ambulances and vehicles carrying devotees, passengers and crews of flights, and dwellers at Uttara have been requested to use the Mirpur Road instead of the airport road.
   The devotees have been requested to reach the venue by using the five bailey bridges erected on the river Turag or the Kamarpara Bridge.
   Twenty-five medical centres and camps have been set up to ensure healthcare of the devotees coming from home and abroad.
   The state minister for religious affairs, Mosharef Hossain Shahjahan, inaugurated the medical camps on Thursday.

Nobody in the Election Commission or the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital has made clear how many days the chief election commissioner, MA Aziz, will have to stay in the hospital.
   The CEC has reportedly been undergoing treatment at cabin no 312 of BSMMUH amid tight security from Tuesday. No one was allowed into the cabin except his family members and top officials. No official statement has so far been issued about the condition of his health.
   Earlier, from January 7 to January 18, the CEC did not attend office on the grounds of sickness.
   The pro-vice chancellor of BSMMUH and chief of the Medicine Department, Dr Mohammad Tahir, who is also head of the three-member medical board formed to look after the CEC, told a reporter on Thursday that some complexities in his heart and eyes have been detected. He declined to comment about how many days the CEC would have to stay in the hospital.
   In reply to a query, Professor Tahir told a reporter, ‘We can tell how long he will have to stay in the hospital after receiving some more test reports.’
   Hospital sources, however, said that the CEC has been suffering from blood pressure and diabetes, hypertension and low back-pain and needs to stay in hospital for about 10 days.
   The CEC was first admitted to BSMMUH after attending office on Tuesday after his cancellation of the appointment with the EU delegation on ‘health grounds’. After receiving therapy, the CEC left the hospital at about 8:00pm. Later, he was re-admitted to the hospital at 8:00am on Wednesday. Mohammad Zakaria, EC’s secretary-in-charge, along with the two newly-appointed election commissioners —SM Zakaria and Mahfuzur Rahman — went to the BSMMUH on Wednesday to visit the CEC and enquired about his condition. But the two other commissioners did not visit the ailing CEC.
   Sources close to the two old commissioners opined that the CEC got admitted to the BSMMUH to avoid a meeting with the EU team, which is leaving Dhaka on Wednesday after a three-day visit to Bangladesh.
   Earlier, the CEC had reportedly fallen sick immediately after the January 4 High Court verdict that asked him to convene a meeting of the commission, and did not attend office for about ten days.

An eight-year-old school girl was raped and suffocated to death by two youths at Doulatpur upazila of Kushtia Wednesday night.
   The victim was identified as Shima, 8, a student of class one of Sadipur Primary School and daughter of Anarul Islam of village Sadipur of Hogolbaria union.
   Sources said, Shima went to collect grass for goats at the field of Darpara and was returning home in the evening on Wednesday.
   On the way Milon, 20, son of Nazrul Islam and Hanif, 18, son of Puna Dakat of the village abducted her and took her to a nearby sugarcane field.
   They raped the girl by turns and suffocated her to death when she lost her sense.
   The family members of Shima found her naked body soaked in blood in the sugarcane field at about 10.00pm Wednesday.
   The police recovered the dead body at night.
   After getting complaint, the police arrested the two rapists who they confessed to their crime to the police.

The High Court on Thursday rejected bail petitions of the Ahle Hadith Bangladesh chief, Asadullah Al Ghalib, in three criminal cases filed under the Arms and Explosives Substances Act.
   Justice Sharifuddin Chaklader rejected the three petitions agreeing with the judgement delivered by a judge of a two-judge bench.
   A High Court bench of Justice MA Quddus and Justice Rezaul Haque on August 31, 2005 delivered divided judgement in those petitions. Justice Quddus allowed the petitions while Justice Rezaul rejected those.
   According to the legal procedures, the matter was then sent to the chief justice, who referred it to the bench of Justice Sharifuddin for its disposal.
   Ghalib’s counsel, Rafiqul Islam Mehedi, told journalists that he would prefer an appeal against the HC verdict before the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
   Ghalib, also a teacher of Rajshahi University, was arrested from his Rajshahi University residence on February 23, 2005 on charge of leading Islamist militants in northern Bangladesh.
   Now facing four criminal cases under the arms act, Ghalib was also accused in five other criminal cases, but the police acquitted him from the charges.
   He filed the bail petitions in three cases filed with the Palashbari police in Gaibandha on December 26, 2004, and with the Shahjahanpur and Gabtali police in Bogra respectively on January 15 and February 6, 2005.
   Additional attorney general Abdur Rezak Khan moved the case for the government.

Six suspected members of banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, one of them a suicide squad member, were arrested in Bagerhat, Gaibandha and Kushtia on Wednesday night.
   In Bagerhat, the Detective Branch of police arrested three JMB men, including a suicide squad member, from Sannashi village in Morelganj.
   They are Idris Ali Munshi, 52, and his two sons Hanif, 27, and Yunus Ali, 24. Hanif reportedly stated that he was a member of the suicide squad.
   The Rapid Action Battalion arrested two JMB men — Abdul Qaiyum alias Kamal and Harunur Rashid alias Hannu — from Gaibandha.
   Kamal told the battalion that he was the JMB commander of Gobindaganj and Palashbari upazilas.
   In Kushtia, the police arrested a JMB member, Moniruzzaman Moni, from his house at Koipal in Daulatpur upazila.
   A student of Allardarga Idris Ali Bishwas Islamia Madrassah, Moni told the police that he had taken training at different parts of the country, including Dhaka, Chittagong and Jessore.
   Meanwhile, the police sought a three-day fresh remand for the JMB Rajshahi division commander, Shafiullah alias Tariq, and its suicide squad member Tariqul Islam.
   The police appealed for the fresh remand after the expiry of their seven-day remand on Wednesday. The court, however, is yet to fix the date for hearing.
   A RAB team arrested Shafiullah from Natore Rail station area and Tariqul from Bayarmari of Godagari on December 18, and recovered about 5,000 electric detonators as per their statements.
   The two men reportedly admitted their involvement in the countrywide August 17 bomb blasts in the Rajshahi city. They also admitted that they had taken part in the cleansing operation of leftist extremists along with Bangla Bhai in Bagmara in early 2004.
   On January 17, Shafiullah and Tariqul were taken on a seven-day remand and were interrogated at the joint interrogation cell in Dhaka.
   The Bagmara police said the two had mentioned the names of at least a dozen people associated with the outfit in Bagmara.

Hamas won a huge majority in parliamentary elections as Palestinian voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah Party, throwing the future of Mideast peacemaking into question, officials from both major parties said Thursday.
   Palestinian leaders huddled to determine what role the Islamic militant group will play in governing the territories.
   The Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, will ask Hamas to form the next government, with his defeated Fatah Party weighing whether to form a partnership or serve in the opposition.
   A Hamas government, without Fatah as a moderating force, would greatly complicate Abbas' efforts to restart peace talks. The Islamic militants, who carried out dozens of suicide bombings and seek Israel's destruction, have said they oppose peace talks and will not disarm. Israel and the United States refuse to deal with Hamas.
   The top Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal told Abbas his group is ready for a political partnership, Hamas said.
   Fatah legislator Saeb Erekat said the party does not want to join a Hamas government. ‘We will be a loyal opposition and rebuild the party,’ Erekat said, after meeting with Abbas.
   But Nabil Shaath, another senior Fatah lawmaker, said the party's leadership would make a decision later in the day.
   The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called Abbas to praise Palestinian democracy and say the United States supports him and his policies, his office said.
   Acknowledging the Hamas victory, the Palestinian prime minister, Ahmed Qorei and his Cabinet ministers resigned Thursday — hours before official results were released.
   ‘This is the choice of the people. It should be respected,’ Qorei said. ‘If it's true, then the president should ask Hamas to form a new government.’ The Cabinet remained in office in a caretaker capacity.
   International observers, led by former president Carter, said the elections were ‘well administered.’
   Hamas supporters streamed into the streets to celebrate victory. In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Hamas loyalists shot in the air and handed out candy.

An estimated 50 lakh children in Bangladesh, aged between one and 15 years, presently suffer from rickets, an ailment which generally deforms bones of the children, leading to physical disability, quoted experts from several studies at an international conference in the city on Thursday.
   Three per cent of the total 10 per cent of the children, who are physically disabled in the country, are victims of rickets, the studies said, adding ‘a high incidence of rickets cases has been found in Bangladesh’.
   The experts from home and abroad also came up with several suggestions including awareness-building campaigns to prevent the disease, which is caused by deficiency of vitamin-D and calcium in the diets.
   The Social Assistance and Rehabilitation for the Physically Vulnerable, in collaboration with the French non-government organisations — AIDE MEDICALE ET DEVELOPMENT (Medical Aid and Development) and KINESITHERAPEUTES DU MONDE (Physiotherapists of the World) — organised the conference at the Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management’s auditorium.
   The Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University’s vice-chancellor, Dr MA Hadi, the French Ambassador in Dhaka, Jacques-Andre Constilhes, the chief executive of the Social Assistance and Rehabilitation for the Physically Vulnerable, Shahidul Haque, addressed the inaugural session, among others.
   Dr Craig Meisner, a researcher on rickets from the USA, chaired the session and Shahidul Haque briefed the audience on the history of rickets in Bangladesh. French orthopaedist Jean Paul Cimma talked on rickets’s prevalence and symptoms, and South African surgeon Jack Pettifor on calcium deficiency rickets in Africa.
   According to the latest study, which is a follow-up of the special rickets survey in 2000, carried out by SARPV Bangladesh in 2005, the highest prevalence of rickets was found at Cox’s Bazar in Chittagong division. It was followed by Sylhet, Dhaka, Rajshahi, Khulna and Barisal.
   The study identified Cox’s Bazar in Chittagong and Fenchuganj and Srimangal in Sylhet as the areas most vulnerable to the prevalence of rickets.
   Besides, high incidence of rickets cases was found in Jamalpur, Atpar, Sirajganj in Dhaka, Shahjatpur in Rajshahi, Kaliganj and Gangni in Khulna and Patuahkali and Lalmohan in Barisal.
   The Nutritional Surveillance Project of the Helen Keller International, in collaboration with the Institute of Public Health Nutrition and SARPV Bangladesh, conducted the first survey to detect prevalence of rickets in Bangladesh in 2000.
   Suggestions by the experts include intake of calcium tablets ( at least 250 mg daily), frequent consumption of leafy vegetables (okra, cowpea, spinach, beans, arum leaves, kalmi leaves, red leaves, pumpkin leaves, tamarind leaves, broccoli ), bony little fishes, eggs, milk, and breast-feeding for babies.
   Lime (choon) can supplement the diet to compensate for the shortage of calcium in children, they said, and also suggested that information on rickets be spread to people and made a part of primary education in schools.
   MA Hadi said calcium deficiency rickets, which should be recognised as a public health problem, is a new epidemic in Bangladesh. ‘If nothing is done immediately, we will risk seeing an increase of disabled rachitic children in Bangladesh.’
   Lauding the role of the Bangladesh government in the health sector, Jacques-Andre said the high prevalence of the disease in Bangladesh needs joint efforts of the local and international authorities to prevent it.
   Shahidul Haque underscored the need for governmental efforts in this regard to save thousands of children from physical disabilities.

The implementation process of the United Nations Convention of Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS) has been facing various difficulties due to lack of modern equipment and proper coordination among the concerned governmental organisations.
   The officials of the UNCLOS implementation cell, at a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Defence, told the lawmakers that more ultra-modern technology is needed to ensure accurate survey for marking the maritime boundary of the country, said meeting sources.
   Sources said that the committee emphasised the need to ensure that no maritime territory of Bangladesh is missed by the survey and opined that the government might appeal for extension of the stipulated time to complete the process, if necessary.
   The 10-year-long process, prescribed by the UNO to ensure Exclusive Economical Zone for every country of the world by specifying maritime territory, began in Bangladesh 2001.
   Bangladesh signed the convention in 1982 along with other countries, taking into consideration the bright prospect of exploring the sea for natural resources like oil and gas.
   Meeting sources said that the committee members discussed the survey at length with the concerned authorities, including officials of the ministries of defence, foreign affairs, home affairs, shipping and energy, army, navy, air force, Geological Department and the implementation cell.
   They said that the survey should be conducted very carefully as some marine territory might be lost if any mistake is made in fixing up proper baselines, said meeting sources.
   The navy said that although it had almost completed survey, it could not finish the survey in South Talpatti and St Martin areas as the places are ‘sensitive’, that is Myanmar may object if the navy carries out the survey. They said that those areas should be surveyed by civilian organisations.
   The navy also sought an aircraft that has the equipment to record three-dimensional images and urged the government to provide satellite facilities soon, said meeting sources.
   The implementation cell’s chief, AKM Morshed, said that they do not have the latest technology and requested the government to provide adequate ultra-modern technology.
   The foreign ministry officials told the committee that although Bangladesh has 200 nautical miles of undisputed maritime territory, territory of up to 350 nautical miles can be explored for resources if the UNOCLOS is implemented.
   The meeting’s participants also said that India and Myanmar are yet to begin the survey, so it is not unlikely that they will seek time extension from the UNO for completing the UNCLOS.
   The committee’s chairman, Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age that implementation of the laws is necessary to explore the sea for natural resources and the government should conduct the survey carefully.
   ‘We want the maximum territory we are entitled to by conducting an accurate survey, and have requested the government to increase support to the concerned organisations, especially the navy,’ he said after the meeting, adding that the role of the navy is very important to find sea resources so it must be expanded.
   Commerce minister Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, state minister for expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment Kamrul Islam, state minister for finance and planning Anwar Kabir Talukdar, Awami League lawmakers ASHK Sadek and Shawkat Ali and BNP lawmaker Saeed Iskandar were present in the meeting, among others.

A team of 73 astronomers from a dozen countries say they have found the smallest Earth-like planet beyond the Solar System.
   But don’t pack your bags: the planet—like ours, small, rocky and close to its star—is not a home from home for humanity.
   For one thing, it is 28,000 light years away from Earth and its sun, a red dwarf, is so cool that the planet’s surface temperatures are probably around-220 C (-365 F), they report in the British weekly science journal Nature.
   The founders have named the planet OGLE-2005-BLG-290Lb, after its star, which like our Sun is also in the Milky Way.
   More than 170 so-called exoplanets have been located since the first was spotted 11 years ago.
   But almost all of them have been far bigger than Earth, often Jupiter-sized gas giants.
   They have been located indirectly—when they pass in front of their star, their gravitational pull bends the stellar light, causing a measurable ‘wobble’.
   But this technique is not sensitive enough to spot far smaller rocky planets that are similar in size and location to Earth.
   The newest discovery has been made thanks to a phenomenon called microlensing, which was predicted by Albert Einstein in 1912.
   Microlensing occurs when one star passes in front of another star.
   Gravitational deflection from the foremost star temporarily boosts the light of the background star, a phenomenon that, depending on the position of the stars, can last several weeks.
   But if the foremost star has a planet orbiting it, the light will be bent even more, adding a further tiny boost to the background star.
   This difference in light points to the mass of the planet that causes it, although the phenomenon lasts for only a short time—days or even hours—while the two stars and the planet are in alignment.
   OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb is 5.5 times Earth’s mass. It lies at about 390 million kilometres from its star—a distance that in the solar system would put it somewhere between Jupiter and Mars—and its ‘year’ (the time it takes to complete a single orbit) takes a decade.
   The planet is only the third to be to found using the microlensing technique, but the team, led by Jean-Philippe Beaulieu of the Astrophysics Institute of Paris, are confident that there are many more out there.

Interpol has issued international notices following a request by Pakistan for the arrest of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband on corruption charges, officials said Thursday.
   The police body said ‘red notices’ have been sent out for Benazir, Pakistan’s first female premier, and Asif Ali Zardari, but stressed that they were not arrest warrants and that member countries decide whether to take any action.
   ‘I can confirm that following a request from the Pakistani authorities, the Interpol general secretariat has issued red notices for Benazir Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari,’ Interpol spokeswoman Rachel Billington said by telephone from France.
   The Pakistani interior minister, Aftab Sherpao, said the country’s corruption watchdog had asked his ministry to send the request. ‘Interpol has now informed us that the red notices have been issued,’ he said.
   Benazir, who served twice as premier in the 1980s and 1990s, has lived in self-imposed exile in Dubai and London for the past seven years because of the money laundering allegations against her.
   Her husband was released from a Pakistani prison on bail in December 2004 after eight years in detention for alleged corruption. He is now with his wife and children.
   ‘A red notice is notification that a bona fide arrest warrant exists for an individual suspected of committing a crime, or convicted by a court, in any of Interpol’s 184 member countries,’ Interpol added in a statement.
   ‘A red notice is not an international arrest warrant.’
   Benazir and her husband have often claimed that the charges they face in Pakistan are politically motivated. In 2004 Swiss authorities also charged Bhutto with alleged money-laundering.
   Her Pakistan People’s Party said it was unaware of the Interpol move and had asked the interior minister to confirm why Pakistan had asked for the notices.
   ‘We have made it clear that Benazir Bhutto is neither a fugitive from law nor absconding from serving a jail term for which the government of Pakistan can request Interpol,’ party spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.
   ‘Bhutto has been appearing through her lawyers in all these cases against her in Pakistan and in Switzerland and therefore she is not a fugitive from the legal process.’
   The Interpol statement said all red notices had to comply with the world body’s rules, particularly that it is ‘strictly forbidden for the organisation to undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.’

A total of 33,787 candidates out of 58,620 came out successful in the first-ever registration certification test of non-government schools, colleges, madrassahs and vocational institutes held in November 2005.
   The results of the registration certification examination were formally handed over to the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, on Thursday.
   The education minister, Osman Farruk, along with the chairman of the Dhaka Education Board, Prof Harunor Rashid Sikhdar, the chairman of Non-government Teacher Registration Certification Authority, Ahsanul Kabir, presented the result sheet to the prime minister at her office.
   For getting appointment as teachers to non-government schools, colleges, madrassahs and vocational institutes, candidates now must have the registration certificates of passing the examination conducted by the NTRCA.
   The validity of registration certificate is five years and if any candidate having the certificate fails to get job within the stipulated time he/she will have to re-appear at the test. The NTRCA will take the examination every year.
   The total marks in the test examination are 200 of which 100 compulsory marks are for English, Bengali, Mathematics and general knowledge while 100 for optional subject.
   Receiving the result report, the prime minister said the government gave top priority to education and provided highest allocation for the sector aiming to develop a best education system as per demand of the time.
   ‘This initiative of non-government teachers’ registration certification system is part of that goal,’ she said.

US activists participating in the World Social Forum in Caracas, announced Wednesday they would stage 700 anti-war demonstrations across the United States.
   The protests, marking three years since the start of the Iraq war, will start in March and culminate in New York on April 29, said Medea Benjamin, of the Code Pink Women for Peace group.
   ‘We have to stop the invasion and the troops must return home’ said Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, who gained notoriety when she camped out outside US president, George W Bush’s ranch to protest the war.
   ‘Most Americans want our troops home by the end of 2006. Even that is too late. Every minute that we wait, more blood is shed,’ said Sheehan, who has been arrested at least twice for protesting outside the White House in Washington.
   Sheehan is among some 60,000 people participating in the six-day World Social Forum, which opened on Tuesday with an anti-war demonstration in Caracas.

Veteran Pakistani politician and nationalist ethnic Pashtun leader Abdul Wali Khan, who had close ties with Moscow and New Delhi, died Thursday, his party said. He was 89.
   Khan had been in a coma since suffering a stroke three days ago and died at a hospital in Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, a spokesman for his Awami National Party said.
   Khan strongly opposed Pakistan’s support for Afghan mujahedin fighting against the 1979-89 Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and forged friendly ties with Moscow as a result.
   He was the son of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, known as the ‘Frontier Gandhi’ for his friendship with India’s freedom movement leader Mahatma Gandhi.