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The Dhaka Zoo will receive 22 animals from Kuwait and Nepal and send 10 to these countries in the last week of August under an animal exchange programme, sources at the zoo said.
   With the arrival of the animals, the national zoo at Mirpur will have new attractions for the visitors, they said.
   A pair of beisa oryx, two pairs of green monkey, two pairs of hamadryas baboon and one pair of Dinga, and three pairs of Black Buck are the animals to be received from Kuwait while one pair each of golden pheasant and Lady Amherst’s pheasant from Nepal.
   The Kuwait Zoo, in exchange, will get one pair of male hippopotamus, one pair of tiger and two pairs of barking deer while the Nepal Central Zoo, run by the King Mahendra Trust for nature conservation, will receive one pair of lion from the Dhaka Zoo.
   A Dhaka Zoo official told New Age on Thursday that Bangladesh, Nepal and Kuwait had received permission of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species local offices to exchange the animals.
   The animals from Kuwait will come through India, and all necessary procedures, including taking clearance from the Indian government, have been completed, a zoo official said. The animals from Nepal will come by road.
   The authorities initiated the programme as the Dhaka Zoo was facing difficulty because of a boom in animal population, particularly in sheds of tiger and lion.
   The Dhaka Zoo veterinary surgeon, Selim Iqbal, said the zoo would be able to create an extra attraction for the visitors with the arrival of the animals.
   The zoo authorities will also buy giraffe, chimpanzee, eland, gorilla and orang-utan, which the zoo does not have at present.
   About 20,000 people visit the zoo every day. The zoo was constructed in 1961, but it was opened for visitors on June 23 in 1974. Located on 214 acres of land, the zoo has about 2,000 species of animals and birds collected from the country and abroad.
   The zoo remains open for visitors from 7:00am to 6:00pm between April and September and from 7:00am to 5:00am between October and March, excepting the weekly holiday on Sunday.

Patients at the 500-bed Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital suffer as only one ambulance of the hospital is at service while 20 ambulances went out of order in 34 years since the establishment of the hospital.
   The only one ambulance is also in a pitiable condition. It goes out of order when sent outside the Barisal city to fetch patients.
   In 1998, 12 of the conked-out ambulances were sold in auction. Since then eight more ambulances went out of order.
   Every year government allots Tk 50 thousand for repair and maintenances of the ambulances and Tk 2 lakh for fuel cost of the ambulance. But the total money is usurped, it is alleged.
   An ambulance driver of the SBMCH said by the only one ambulance Tk 10 to 15 thousand is earned every month, but the authorities are always careless about proper maintenances of the vehicle.
   The hospital director-in-charge, Dr Shah Alam, said he had taken over the charge of the hospital of late but still he would take all necessary steps to bring new ambulances.
   When asked about the out-of-order ambulances, he said nothing could be done without consulting the higher officials.

Demanding formulation of an act to ensure rights to information for people, the Campaign on Citizens Right to Information formed a human chain at Shahbagh on Saturday.
   Hindrance to information is creating corruption, violation of human rights in society, said the speakers adding that there are some laws which were barring access to information.
   The law commission of the country formulated a draft titled ‘Information Rights Act-2002’ in 2002 but that has remained stalled because of bureaucratic tangle while there are some limitations of the act.
   Member secretary of the committee Zakir Hossain, executive director of VOICE Ahmed Swapan Mahmud and president of the Metropolitan Bar Association advocate Abed Reza spoke.

Speakers at a workshop in the city on Saturday emphasised the need for raising awareness for ensuring the fundamental rights of all including the minorities in the country.
   They said awareness among all sections of the people about the fundamental rights would greatly help uphold and protect all social rights in the country.
   They made the observations at the workshop on ‘Social Harmony and Right: Subject on Banshkhali’ organised by the Development Organisation of the Rural Poor in association with Manusher Janya.
   Justice Naimuddin Ahmed, DORP secretary general AHM Noman, director of Manusher Janya Rina Roy and director of Bangladesh Manobadhikar Samanway Parishad Advocate Muhammad Shamsuddin, among others, addressed the inaugural session.
   Referring to a plenty of election pledges given by the political leaders over the last three and half decades on protection of human rights in the country, they said none of them could bring any tangible result till now.
   Former advisor to the caretaker government ASM Shahjahan chaired the session while another former advisor to the caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan was the chief guest.
   Hafizuddin said various political and economic reasons were largely responsible for the current social discord in the country. ‘One religion never allows violation of other religion’s right,’ he observed.
   Shahjahan called for more sincerity and dedication at all spheres of social life to ensure justice and fare play in the country.

Factional feud in Khulna BNP intensified as one of them during a convention in the divisional museum auditorium in the city announced to punish the leaders for deactivating the city unit of the party.
   Both the groups announced to hold rallies at the same place in the city in the afternoon on August 2.
   The Khulna BNP is divided into two factions — one led by the mayor, Sheikh Tayebur Rahman and lawmaker Ali Asgar Lobby and the other by M Nurul Islam MP and Nazrul Islam Monju.
   The old feud surfaced again after Lobby was made the city unit convener on October 27, 2005 with the dismantling of the previous committee of which Nurul Islam was president.
   During the convention, called by the Nurul-Monju group under the banner of the Khulna city BNP, the speakers alleged the city convening committee had failed to make a full committee even after nine months and failed to observe the national programmes organised by the party actively.
   They have sent an emergency fax to the party chairperson in this connection. They also requested programmes for two months to enthuse the grassroots leaders and activists.
   They demanded nomination for whip Md Ashraf Hossain, lawmaker for the Khulna 3 constituency, M Nurul Islam, lawmaker for the Khulna 4 constituency and Nazrul Islam Monju lawmaker for the Khulna 2 constituency on BNP ticket in the next national elections.
   They demanded exemplary punishment for the Khulna mayor, Majedul Islam and lawmaker Ali Asgar Lobby for 17 allegations against them.
   They also announced to hold the BNP’s central committee programme in the afternoon on August 2 at Shaheed Maharaj Square in the city.
   The Nurul-Monju group’s convention was chaired by M Nurul Islam where 44 local BNP leaders spoke.
   On the other hand, the Tayebur-Lobby faction under the banner of the Khulna city and district BNP, held a meeting in the city BNP office where they announced to hold a rally to drum up support for the central committee programme on August 2 at the same place and at the same time.
   They discussed how to make the rally in Maharaj Square successful, said a release of the faction.
   Chaired by the district unit president, M Majedul Islam, the meeting was also addressed by the city BNP convener Ali Asgar Lobby and its member secretary Shaharuzzaman Mortuza.

The Rapid Action Battalion recovered three firearms and other weapons, and arrested six students of the Rajshahi Polytechnic Institute from a hall of the institute early Saturday.
   Tipped off, the RAB raided Shah Niamatullah Hall and recovered a foreign and a country-made revolver, a pipe gun, three crackers, six-iron rods, six iron pipes, a hatchet and a sharp knife from two rooms of the dormitory.
   They also picked up Liton Chandra Das, Mehedi Hasan, Ujjal Hossain, Mahbub Russel, Serajul Islam and Belal Hossain.

Two persons were awarded two years’ rigorous imprisonments and fined Tk 3,000 each, in default, to suffer three months more in jail, for selling contraband phensidyl.
   The joint district judge and judge of the special tribunal-5 of Barisal, Rob Hawlader, handed down the verdict on Thursday.
   The convicts are M Farook Hawlader and M Alamgir Hossain.
   The Rapid Action Battalion arrested he convicts in possession of nine bottles of phensidyl from the Annex Building of the Barisal city on May 7, 2005.

Residents of the Nawab Faizunnesa Chowdhurani Hostel, reserved for the girl students doing MPhil research, submitted a memorandum to the vice-chancellor demanding enhanced facilities and a separate gate for them.
   The residents of the hostel, situated in the Roquiah Hall compound, were on movement for past few days against irregularities of the authorities.
   The residents demanded removal of the warden and the assistant warden of the hostel for the misbehaving with the students.
   The students protested against the ploy to allot seats of the girls attached with Roquiah Hall to two floors of the hostel.
   They also brought out a procession and held a rally.

Children’s Express, the first news agency on children held a training programme for the children journalists of Barisal, Sylhet, Chittagong and Khulna on children’s rights.
   Mass Line Media Centre organised the programme in support with the United Nations Children’s Fund. Under the supervision of a senior reporter in each district ten children journalists were given training.
   Expert of the ARISE project of UNDP, Kakoli Chakrabarti, executive director of MMC, Kamrul Ahsan Monju, Programme Officer, Mohammed Jahangir Hossain, news editor of Children’s Express, Mohammed Moniruzzaman Khan and its deputy editor, Asma Nargis were present.

Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally wind is likely to occur at most places all over Bangladesh with moderately heavy to heavy rainfall at places till 6:00pm today, said the Met Office in a forecast on Saturday.
   Day temperature may fall by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius during the period. The highest temperature on Saturday, 34.4 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Saidpur and the lowest, 23.1 degrees Celsius, at Sandwip.
   The sun sets in the capital city today at 6:43pm and will rise on Monday at 5:27am.

Senor officials of the SAARC Programming Committee meet in Dhaka today to prepare groundwork for the meetings of the SAARC standing committee and the council of ministers from July 31 to August 2.
   One of the important tasks before the standing committee and the council of ministers is to consider providing SAARC observer status to the United States, South Korea and the European Union.
   At the 13th summit in Dhaka last November, the SAARC leaders agreed to accept Afghanistan as the 8th member of the regional forum and provide observer status to China and Japan.
   For the first time, Afghan foreign minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta will attend the council of ministers’ meeting on August 1-2 on a special invitation while the Afghan deputy foreign minister will attend the standing committee meeting on July 31-August 1.
   The special session of the SAARC standing committee held in Dhaka last April prepared a set of guidelines on how observers are to associate with the SAARC. The guidelines will be put before the foreign ministers’ meeting.
   The standing committee composed of the foreign secretaries of the member states will approve the SAARC budget for 2007 at the meeting and review the activities of different technical committees and working groups under SAARC.
   The foreign secretaries will also provide guidelines for increasing activities in areas of cooperation in commerce, finance, communication and energy sectors.
   The SAARC foreign ministers will finalise a 10-year Vision Document containing sector-wise cooperation among the member states.
   The prime minister, Khaleda Zia, will inaugurate the 27th SAARC council of ministers’ meeting on August 1.
   The foreign minister, M Morshed Khan, has said the council of ministers’ meeting would approve the guidelines concerning the SAARC observers and new observers as well as other recommendations to be made by the SAARC standing committee.
   He said the council of ministers would also consider the formal applications of South Korea, USA and EU to become the SAARC observers.
   Besides, the council will review the implementation of various proposals made at the 13th summit in Dhaka. The proposals include establishment of a South Asian University and sponsoring South Asian
   Car Rally.
   Morshed said the council would also review the reports of SAARC ministerial meetings held so far since the last summit in Dhaka.
   He said the SAARC Finance Ministers’ meeting held recently in Islamabad approved the framework of the South Asian Development Fund, which will start functioning with initial capital of US$300 million.

The Indian intelligence agencies have information that trafficking of heroin into India mainly takes place from Pakistan and not from Bangladesh.
   ‘No significant trafficking of drugs from Bangladesh,’ the Indian minister of state for home, S Ragupathy, informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday in a written reply.
   The minister said that West African nationals, mainly Nigerians, have been found involved in drug trafficking in and out of the country.
   Referring to steps taken by the government to check trafficking of drugs, the minister said the security agencies have stepped up vigilance along the border, airports and post offices and also at all import and export points.
   There now exists good coordination between various drug law enforcement agencies in order to impart greater cohesion to strengthen international liaison for exchange of information.
   Various measures taken by the government to curb drug trafficking have resulted in better coordination, exchange of information among the concerned enforcement agencies and taking continuous drug interdiction efforts.

Two-year-old Al-Fahad, son of Masum Billah, village Golbunia, post office Shafabondur, police station Bhandaria in Pirojpur, is suffering from acute leukaemia, one kind of blood cancer.
   He is being treated by ABM Yunus of haematology ward of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
   Address to sent help is –– Masum Billah, saving account no 14597–6, Pubali bank Ltd, Shahbagh Avenue, Dhaka.

Hafij Motiur Rahman, son of freedom fighter, of village Fakrabad of Jhenaigati in Sherpur, requests financial help from all to buy a Braille Perkins Writer, which will help him to fight against poverty and blindness.
   The aid can be sent to: Hafij Motiur rahman, village – fakrabad, police station– Jhenaigati, district – Sherpur, post code– 2120, his Account number –– 3963, Sonali Bank, Jhenaigati Branch, Sherpur–– 2120. He can be reached on a mobile number on request –– 01713-506378.

DU examinations postponed
All examinations of Dhaka University scheduled for Monday at Curzon Hall and Arts Building have been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. Fresh dates for the examinations will be announced later, a DU press release said. Other exam schedules will remain unchanged.
— BDNews

Seminar on national identity held
A seminar on ‘problem of national identity of the middle class and state-satellite television in Bangladesh’ will be held at 4:00pm today at the social sciences faculty of Dhaka University. Dr Zeenat Huda Wahid, associate professor of the sociology department, will present a paper, while Professor M Golam Rahman of the department of mass communication and journalism will chair the seminar, said a press release.
— BSS

Seven selected for Dhaka round of
Close Up 1
Seven contestants were finally selected on Saturday from the Khulna regional selection round for participation in the next round of the ‘Close up 1 Gao Bangladesh Gao’ competition to be held in Dhaka soon. The seven are Nahid Sultana, Lispa Laila, Hillol Fouzder, Sahara Irani Piya and Progya Som of Khulna, Shamima Alam of Jessore and Tania Salma Akhtar of Kustia. A total of 1,773 contestants took part in the audition round of the competition held at a city hotel on Thursday and Friday, and 48 were selected from the audition.
— New Age