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No lawmakers of the present parliament or ministers of the incumbent and past governments, or any bureaucrats have whitened black money during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, sources in the tax department have told New Age.
   One thousand and seventy-seven black-and untaxed-money holders have whitened their money during July-April period of the current 2005-2006 fiscal year, they said.
   They are rich, corrupt and tax dodgers, it is learnt.
   The major sections of the people, who whitened their black-and untaxed-money, included businessmen, industrialists, housewives, and bank and company directors, sources said.
   Exporters of woven and knitwear, bidi factory owners and large taxpayers like directors of private limited companies, land developers and a number of physicians are also in the list, sources said.
   The government earned Tk 63 crore as tax against Tk 840 crore in black-and untaxed-money which was whitened during the period, according to the latest figures of the National Board of Revenue.
   It is widely believed that lawmakers of the present parliament and ministers of the incumbent and past governments possess a huge amount of black money they minted mostly from illegal commission.
   A big chunk of such unearned money would be spent in the next general election without giving a damn about the Election Commission, the NBR and the Anti-Corruption Commission, sources said.
   Sources in the tax department, however, said a number of lawmakers, engaged in business, have whitened their black money in the name of their relations, close associates and family members to avert possible hassles in politics.
   Besides, corrupt bureaucrats, who made money from bribes, have not bothered to whiten their black money, sources said.
   ‘Lawmakers and ministers, fearing political harassment in case the incumbent government does not win the next election, refrained from taking the facility of whitening their black money,’ a high official in the tax department told New Age.
   ‘They don’t give a damn about it; they are powerful, privileged and very careful.’
   Sources said a considerable amount of black and undeclared money is often sent abroad through hundi, which comes back to the country through banking channels in the form of ‘remittance’ for tax immunity.
   According to the current tax rule, remittance is tax free.
   ‘Until and unless loopholes in the current system are addressed, the anti-corruption commission cannot be made truly functional and transparency in public sector is not possible …. neither corruption would be contained, nor illegal money minting would be stopped,’ a tax commissioner told New Age.
   According to Professor Abul Barakat’s findings, released in April 2005, the size of the underground economy of the country in 2004 was Tk 70,000 crore.
   According to the Finance Bill, 2005, taxmen are liable to accept any amount of black money without any question or clarification if a 7.5 per cent tax against the untaxed and black amount is paid.
   The Finance Bill, 2005 incorporated the money whitening facility defying opposition from economists, the media and major chamber leaders, who stood firm against the immoral tax law proposal made in the budget speech of the current 2005-2006 fiscal year.
   The money laundering scheme, first introduced in the fiscal year 1975-76 through a Martial Law Regulation, injected only Tk 70 crore into the formal economy and brought revenue of Tk 10.5 crore for the government, according to the NBR.
   In fiscal year 1987-88, Tk 200 crore was injected into the formal economy at a tax rate of 20 per cent, while the highest rate for an individual was fixed at 50 per cent during the period.
   The next fiscal year saw an injection of Tk 250 crore under the same tax regime. However, there was an added incentive that year.
   The tax on black money was reduced to 10 per cent provided that 90 per cent of the declared amount was invested in the industrial sector.
   Fiscal year 1989-90 saw injection of another Tk 400 crore at the same tax rate and the incentive of the previous fiscal year, according to the NBR.
   In fiscal year 2002-03, the government withdrew all taxes on whitening black money for the first time. The facility was made available for the next three fiscal years, provided that 100 per cent of the declared amount of black money was invested in industry, service or the capital market.
   The facility attracted only Tk 1,775 crore of black money in the three fiscal years, according to the NBR statistics.

The Ministry of Finance is yet to plan any measure in the form of subsidy or block allocation in the next budget for minimising the gap between import costs and selling prices of petroleum products, ministry sources said.
   The government’s high-ups are in a dilemma as to whether or not to raise the fuel prices to reduce the losses incurred by an already loan-burdened Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation, thereby resolving the financial crisis of the nationalised commercial banks, especially the Sonali Bank, for maintaining letters of credit for importing petroleum products.
   ‘We have not yet been given any directive to make any allocation for financing the trade gap in fuel prices. The government is in fact subsidising the price without calling it subsidy and fears political repercussion in case of upward price adjustment. This leads to a long-term fiscal mismanagement,’ a highly placed source in the finance ministry told New Age.
   The finance ministry sees the rising prices of petroleum products in the international market as an unprecedented reality since increasing the cost of fuel may affect different areas of the macro-economy.
   The sources added that the finance minister, M Saifur Rahman, might ask his colleagues to take some measure at the last minute before finalising the budget for the 2006-07 fiscal year, only if the cabinet did not agree to his fuel price-hike proposal.
   The minister has been trying to convince the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, to increase fuel price, as prescribed by the multilateral lending agencies because of higher international prices of petroleum products although most of his cabinet colleagues are learnt to have been ‘dead against’ such measures at the fag end of the tenure of the government.
   The government does not provide any direct subsidy for petroleum products — not even for the most widely used item, diesel — whereas any price-hike can hit hard the farmers and passengers.
   Meantime, the petroleum corporation’s losses near the Tk 10,000-crore-mark and in the current fiscal the loss is likely to be Tk 3,700 crore. The corporation owes the Sonali Bank alone over Tk 5,500 crore.
   Following request from the Sonali Bank authorities, the finance minister has recently arranged disbursement of a small chunk from the petroleum corporation to the bank. The government also decided to issue Tk 1,000 bond to support the bank during this crisis period.
   ‘Such measures will not solve the problem of the bank nor of the petroleum corporation. It will only prolong the crisis and shift the burden to the future authorities of various agencies of the government,’ said a finance ministry official.
   The recent arrangement with Kuwait for deferred payment for importing petroleum will give the government some respite to think twice before taking any budgetary measure, the official pointed out.

Tension is running high in Chittagong with the people apprehending a violent confrontation between the ruling alliance and the opposition following announcement of a series of tough action programmes by the city mayor to press the government to drop its plan for privatising the port’s property.
   Meanwhile, the Association for Protection of Consumers’ Rights announced that they would shut down the Power Development Board office in the city if the authorities failed to ensure uninterrupted power supply by Wednesday. The threat has raised fears of a Kansat-or Sanir Akhra-like uprising.
   The city unit of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has vowed to keep the port functional and announced a week-long programme against what they said ‘conspiracy by a vested quarter’ to destroy the port. The tough stance of the ruling party has deepened fears of a confrontation.
   The city mayor, A B M Mohiuddin Chowdhury, spearheading a movement for the development of the port city, on Wednesday announced non-cooperation with the BNP- led alliance government from June 1, accusing it of total indifference to the grievances of the people of the port city. He told a rally that the government was hatching a ‘conspiracy’ to destroy the country’s principal seaport through handing its property over to private operators.
   He also announced that cargo handling at the port would be suspended from May 18 and transportation of goods from the port to the rest of the country would be stopped if the plan to hand over the New-mooring Container Terminal to private operators was not abandoned by this time.
   Sayed Wahidul Alam, a whip in the parliament, and also the convener of the city unit of the BNP, told New Age that they had taken up a week-long programme to mobilise public support against the move to suspend the port activities.
   Describing Mohiuddin’s move as ‘politically motivated’, he said: 'we will oppose the move to paralyse the seaport,’ adding that the ruling party would organise public rallies in every locality of the city.
   He also said that the people and the port workers ‘will keep the port operational at any cost’ adding that the announcement to paralyse the port was aimed at creating ‘anarchy’ in the country.
   Rejecting the ruling party’s allegations the city mayor, Mohiuddin Chowdhury, told New Age that the government, shaken by the prospect of a mass uprising, had taken recourse to persecution of the opposition leaders and activists.
   He warned the government of ‘dire consequences’ if tried to silence the voice of protest.
   Ibrahim Hossain Babul, law affairs secretary of the city unit of the Awami League, told New Age that the police on early Thursday had arrested four leaders of the party, including the city unit general secretary of the Juba League, in a bid to foil the anti-government movement.
   Khurshed Alam Sujan, the chairman of the consumers’ rights association, said that the police were harassing the association leaders and activists to foil the movement for uninterrupted power supply.
   'We are conducting our movement in a peaceful manner, but the government is trying to terrorise the people through persecution,' he said and warned the ruling alliance of a ‘Kansat-like movement’ in Chittagong if it tried to use force to foil their programme on Wednesday.

The government has retreated from its stance to introduce the uni-track secondary education system from the 2007 academic session, sources in the education ministry said.
   The system is likely to be introduced from 2008 as the government has failed to take necessary preparations for introducing it instead of the existing multi-track system from 2007, they said.
   The government, under a Tk 490 crore Secondary Education Sector Improvement Project, in July 2005 decided to introduce the uni-track curriculum replacing science, commerce, humanities and other groups from the academic year 2006.
   Against the backdrop of severe criticism from media and civil society, the government in December 6, 2005 decided to introduce the system from 2007 instead of 2006 with the aim to equip every student with knowledge in all subjects.
   The government also said they were not adequately prepared, particularly in terms of recruiting teachers, to introduce the system. Moreover, there was a lack in creating public awareness for implementing the new system.
   ‘A few months have passed since the deferment of the decision, but we failed to take necessary preparations to introduce the new system from academic year 2007,’ said a ministry official, who is involved with the implementation of the system.
   A number of government high-ups are willing to defer the system for one more year to avoid political chaos in the last days of its tenure, he said adding ‘The final declaration will come from a cabinet meeting in a week or two.’
   Secondary education, Class IX and Class X, is provided by 14,552 schools under seven general education boards, he said adding ‘The new curriculum requires subject-wise distribution of teachers and the government has no preparation to recruit teachers for business studies in 7,047 schools, humanities in 228 and science in 1,512 schools before January 2007.’
   The National Curriculum and Textbook Board chairman, Gazi Mohammad Ahsanul Kabir, told New Age on Wednesday that the board has started discussions with the publishers to publish the existing multi-track books for Class IX.
   A number of owners of publishing houses told New Age on Saturday that the government had already lost the possibility to introduce uni-track.
   The state minister for education, ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milan, said the government decision would come soon.

Several hundred students of the Stamford University went on the rampage on the campuses of the private institution at Siddheswari and Dhanmondi in the city on Saturday ransacking office and classrooms in protest against alleged irregularities at the institution.
   The angry students of pharmacy department alleged that although the university authorities had failed to get the approval from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for the pharmacy department, a large number of students had been admitted to the department without providing sufficient books and others facilities.
   The students of pharmacy department started protest demonstration on the Siddheswari campus at about 8:30am to push their 24-point demand, sources said.
   The demands include establishment of a laboratory for pharmacy department, a library and steps to get approval for the pharmacy department from the UGC.
   They also protested against different decisions of the authorities, including extra fees.
   ‘We have only 24 computers in the lab for 9,000 students,’ a student of the university told New Age.
   ‘Earlier we submitted a memorandum containing our 24-point demand to the university authorities, but no steps were taken to meet the demands,’ he added.
   The students vandalised the library, offices in the administrative building, registrar’s office, a number of classrooms, electronic equipment, and smashed windowpanes, furniture and other valuables.
   In a few minutes, hundreds of students of business administration and law departments joined them in the violent protest.
   Traffic on roads near the campus remained suspended during the two-hour long violence. Huge contingents of the police were deployed on the campus.
   The students marched to the Dhanmondi campus at around 1:30pm hearing the news that the VC was staying there.
   The students were enraged as the VC refused to talk to them on the Dhanmondi campus.
   They went on the rampage there aided by some students of the Dhanmondi campus.
   Some students of the Darul Ihsan University and the Asian University also joined them. They pelted stones at the university building and kept the VC, Hannan Firoj, confined inside for two hours.
   At about 2:15pm, the VC arrived at the scene and talked to some teachers about the incident.
   As the teachers announced that the authorities had suspended the classes for three days and would meet their demands in a week, the students became more violent and demanded that the VC himself make the announcement.
   When the teachers assured them that they would also join the students if the authorities did not meet the demands in a week, most of the protestors dispersed.
   But the students of pharmacy department did not agree and announced a protest programme on the Siddheswari campus for Sunday.
   A teacher of the university told New Age that the students had recently submitted an application containing their demands to the university authorities who should meet their logical demands.

Shahjalal University of Science and Technology and Ragib-Rabeya Medical College and Hospital were closed on Saturday for an indefinite period after the students of the two institutions had clashed Friday night, injuring at least 45 people.
   The authorities closed the medical college immediately after the clash early Saturday to stave off further trouble.
   The university vice-chancellor, Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, besieged by the agitating students Saturday evening, told newsmen that the university would be closed for an indefinite period.
   ‘I talked with the syndicate members over mobile and decided to close the university for an indefinite period,’ he told the newsmen in his office as the students chanted slogans demanding his resignation outside.
   The students had laid siege to the vice-chancellor’s house since Friday night demanding his resignation for his failure to ensure security of the students.
   They cut off power, gas and telephone lines of the house as he declined to meet the student representatives to discuss the campus situation after the clash, campus sources said.
   The vice-chancellor asked the resident students to leave the campus by Sunday morning, a decision the agitating students rejected and vowed to stay back on the campus to continue agitation.
   They enforced a strike on the campus for an indefinite period from midnight past Friday protesting at police attack during the clash.
   The interns of the medical college also announced a work abstention programme for an indefinite period, protesting at ‘the attack on their colleagues by outsiders’ and demanding action after proper investigation.
   The university authorities sent the two critically injured students — Rajib and Shameem — to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University in Dhaka Saturday afternoon. They sustained bullet injuries and were under treatment in Osmani Medical College Hospital.
   Two interns — Masum and Zakaria — of the medical college injured in the clash were being treated in the intensive care unit of the hospital. They sustained injuries in the head and they are reported to be in a critical condition.
   Sources and witnesses said the clash began over reported heckling of female medical students by some university students early Friday night.
   The medical students said the university students, living in a house near the college in the city, went to the college canteen for a cup of tea Friday evening and teased female students near the women’s hostel.
   Some interns and medical students protested at the incident and began clashing with the university students after altercation. They reportedly beat the university students and detained four of them.
   As the news spread, some university students, led by former organising secretary of the university unit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Abid Abdullah, went there only to be roughed up.
   Abid over mobile called his fellows who rushed to the college and vandalised furniture and window panes. About 35 people of both the sides were injured in the clashes.
   After about 15 minutes, the university students damaged vehicles at Akhalia and barricaded the Sylhet–Sunamganj Road on their way back.
   The police reached the place as the students regrouped and stood guards on the road at about 10:00pm. The medical students stood guard at the college gate.
   The police attacked the university students and fired on them at about 11:00pm injuring about 15. Five of them sustained bullet injuries. The students retaliated as the police lobbed teargas canisters and rubber bullets.
   The university students went back to the campus and laid siege to the vice-chancellor’s house, demanding his resignation saying that none of the authorities were available to save them.
   They tried to meet the vice-chancellor and barricaded the road going by the university with electric poles and tree trunks. The students burnt the vice-chancellor in an effigy to push for their demands.
   The vice-chancellor said a four-member inquiry committee, headed by Professor Habibul Ahsan, was formed to look into the matter. The college principal, Nazmul Islam Chowdhury, was included on the committee.
   The college Saturday morning also formed a four-member inquiry committee, headed by vice-principal Syed Lokman Hossain, which was asked to submit report in a week.

The Awami League-led opposition alliance has called a daylong hartal in the district headquarters for Monday in protest against the injury of about 50 Juba League activists in a clash with the police on Saturday.
   At least 12 activists of the AL’s youth front, including its district president Manjurul Alam Mohan and general secretary Sagar Kumar Roy, were also arrested during the clash at Jhautala in the town, party sources said.
   Seven policemen were also injured during the clash that took place in the afternoon after the Juba League activists had pelted brickbats on the police and vandalised several vehicles following police obstruction of their procession.
   The procession was brought out after the police had foiled their scheduled rally on the Temple Road to avoid possible clash with the BNP activists who also staged a rally at the same place.
   The police fired warning shots, lobbed teargas canisters and charged baton to disperse the opposition activists.
   The opposition alliance later announced the hartal programme in protest against the arrest and injury of their activists.

The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority deployed army in the city Saturday morning to help in water management.
   An Inter Service Public Relations release said the army would assist the Dhaka WASA officials and staff at water pumps and water treatment plants to produce and distribute water smoothly.
   The water pumps and water treatment plants where army personnel were deployed are Fakirapool, Lalbagh, Mohakhali, Lalmatia water pumps and some pumps at Mirpur and Sayedabad Water Treatment Plant, Godnail Water Treatment Plant in Narayanganj and the WASA control room at Kakrail.
   The army will distribute water in some areas where the shortage is acute.
   The Dhaka WASA sought the help of the army in water management in 2005.
   There was a widespread allegation that amid shortage of diesel to run generators at the water pumps, some pump operators in collaboration with zone officials pilfer fuel.
   As per decision made at a meeting presided over by the LGRD and cooperatives minister, Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan, on Thursday, six vigilant teams were formed in the seven WASA zone offices.
   The teams were formed headed by six additional secretaries where LGRD joint secretary Shafiqul Islam was made coordinator.

The Demra-Shyampur Pani-Bidyut Sangram Committee held rallies at different points of Demra and Shyampur on Saturday as part of its movement to push for 10-point demands.
   The rallies were held at Shanir Akhra, Goalbari Mor, Rasulpur, Dakkhin Dhania, Santek and Kajla.
   The committee leaders condemned the attack on their rally at Meraj Nagar by local BNP activists on Friday.
   The leaders went door-to-door during the rally to know the present situation of water crisis.
   They said although supply water was increased in some areas at Demra and Shyampur, people in many areas were not getting adequate water.
   Committee convener Musleuddin Masud, Khandokar Md Sohel Rana, Mizan Ahmed, Jani Alam, Md Jitu and Md Zishan also spoke.
   The residents of the area took to the streets on May 5 to protest at the power and water crisis continuing for two months.
   The residents clashed with police on the day and vandalised about 100 vehicles at Shanir Akhra and Dhania on the Dhaka-Chittagong Highway.

The Higher Secondary Certificate Examinations and equivalent examinations will begin today across the country.
   The examinations will be held under seven general educational boards, the Madrassah Education Board and the Technical Education Board.
   Sources in the education boards said 418,869 examinees had registered to sit for the HSC examinations at 1,017 centres.
   Of the 418,869 candidates, 133,526 will take exams under the Dhaka Education Board, 98,942 under the Rajshahi Board, 43,261 under the Comilla Board, 66,649 under the Jessore Board, 31,809 under the Chittagong Board, 25,674 under the Barisal Board and 18,867 under the Sylhet Board. English first paper (compulsory) examination will be held today.
   The HSC equivalent Alim examinations under the Madrassah Education Board and business management examinations under the Technical Education Board will also begin today.
   A total of 56,932 candidates have registered to sit for Alim examinations this year while 43,805 examinees have registered to sit for the business management part 4 examinations under the Technical Education Board.
   The examinations will also be held at five overseas centres — Doha in Qatar, Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Tripoli in Libya — on the same schedule and question papers.

Hearing in the chief election commissioner’s appeal for overturning the High Court verdict that asked the Election Commission to update the electoral roll based on the existing one is likely to start today.
   The case has been enlisted as the first item in the day's cause list (list of the cases to be dealt with on the day) of the five-member full bench of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
   Granting leave (permission) to appeal against the verdict, the full bench comprising the chief justice, Syed JR Mudassir Husain, Justice Mohammad Ruhul Amin, Justice MM Ruhul Amin, Justice Tafazzal Islam and Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury on April 17 set May 14 the date for hearing of the appeal.
   The Appellate Division, on the same day, also exonerated the CEC, MA Aziz, an incumbent judge of the Supreme Court, and ruling BNP lawmaker Nurul Islam Moni from the contempt of court rule issued for their alleged lack of confidence in the highest court.
   Following two writ petitions filed by three Awami League lawmakers —Abdul Jalil, Rahmat Ali and Asaduzzaman Noor — a High Court bench of Justice MA Matin and Justice Rezaul Haque, on January 4 delivered the verdict with five-point observations regarding preparation of the voters roll.
   The CEC, on February 1, filed a petition before the Appellate Division seeking permission to appeal for overturning two observations made by the High Court in its judgment that the commission should prepare the electoral roll for next general elections based on the existing one prepared in 2000 incorporating the names of people aged 18 or above, and the commission should publish the full judgment in the media.
   The Appellate Division, on March 27, issued a suo-moto contempt of court rule on Aziz and Moni for annexing a letter expressing lack of confidence on the apex court along with the CEC’s petition.

Nepal’s new government suspended nine top security officials Saturday, a day after arresting five former cabinet ministers, in a crackdown on King Gyanendra’s old royal regime.
   The government action came as Maoist leader Prachanda warned that the country faced another ‘people’s revolution’ if lawmakers broke their commitments to the rebels and defied ‘republican sentiment.’
   The nine high-ranking security officials suspended Saturday included the heads of the police, armed police and the national investigation department.
   ‘Friday’s emergency cabinet meeting took the decision to suspend the security officials,’ said the home ministry secretary, Umesh Mainali.
   State-run media reported that the officials were suspended for ‘using excessive force against pro-democracy protesters.’
   On Friday, four ex-ministers and one assistant minister—including the former home minister, information minister and foreign minister—were jailed for 90 days. A family member of one of the ministers has said he was being held on charges of plotting against the new administration.
   The new multi-party government took power in late April after King Gyanendra was forced to give up absolute rule following nationwide pro-democracy protests that were backed by the rebels and left at least 19 people dead.
   The rebels confirmed in a statement Saturday that Prachanda will head the guerrilla side in planned peace talks to end the decade-long insurgency.
   ‘The central committee meeting of our party has decided that chairman Prachanda will lead the team,’ the Maoists said in the statement.
   But it added that all Maoist prisoners must be freed before talks begin.
   There are believed to be some 1,200 Maoists in jail in Nepal, rights groups say. The government has not commented on the rebel demand.

The D-8 members have signed Preferential Trade Agreement to cut import tariffs and remove non-tariff and para-tariff barriers to boost trade among the member countries.
   The agreement was signed during the group’s fifth summit in Bali, Indonesia, which concluded on Saturday, according to a message received here on Saturday.
   A Multilateral Agreement on Administrative Assistance in Custom Procedure was also signed at the 3-day summit of the Developing-8 countries.
   Established on June 15, 1997 in Istanbul, Turkey, the D-8 is a mechanism for development cooperation among the eight member countries — Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.
   ‘Some 531 items of each of the member countries will come under the purview of the tariff reduction agreement,’ a senior official here told the news agency.
   The member states will reduce import tariffs of 8 per cent products out of total tariff lines of 6,637 items. The tariff cuts will be applicable for products having more than 10 per cent tariff rates.
   The official said Bangladesh had the preference to implement the tariff reduction as designed under the PTA in eight equal installments annually since signing of the agreement while other members of the grouping would do it in four equal installments.
   He said Bangladesh would remove the NTBs and PTBs within three years of the signing of the PTA while other members are scheduled to implement those immediately after signing of the agreement.
   Para-tariff barriers stand for imposing taxes on imports which are not applicable for the domestic production. Bangladesh has PTBs namely supplementary duty that varies product to product and infrastructure development surcharge at a rate of 4 per cent.
   The removal of PTBs from the items would not affect revenue earning substantially, said another official.
   The PTA will be more or less similar in framework with that of Trade Preference System of the 56-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
   The PTS is designed for tariff reduction of 7 per cent items of the total tariff lines by the member states. Bangladesh has not yet ratified the agreement.
   The official said Bangladesh and other members of the D-8 grouping considered that the agreement among the small grouping would be much more effective than the larger one, the OIC.
   He said the member nations would negotiate preparation of the list of items to be eligible for the reduced tariffs as the agreement has been signed.

The Bali Declaration adopted at the fifth summit of the Developing Eight nations has urged the member states to realise the full potentials of the intra-D-8 trade and investment and share experiences in the field of poverty alleviation.
   The Declaration also called for promoting dialogue among civilisations and forging further cooperation in the new frontiers including ICT, bio and space technology.
   The member countries also deeply felt that they should work together for better debt management, fighting spread of new pandemics and also for safeguarding the interest of the developing countries.
   By adopting the declaration, leaders of the D-8 countries charted the course of the forum for the next two years including strengthening of its secretariat for organisational improvement.
   The Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, inaugurated the summit meeting. In the morning season, the chairmanship of the D-8 was transferred from Iran to Indonesia, the host of the fifth summit.
   All the heads of delegations participated in the general debate, considered the Council Report and finally adopted the Bali Declaration, which was prepared, debated and recommended by the Council.
   Malaysia will host the next D-8 summit in 2008.
   The foreign minister, M Morshed Khan, represented the prime minister, Khaleda Zia, at the summit held at Bali.
   Heads of state and government from six member countries — Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey and Nigeria — attended the summit. Bangladesh and Egypt were represented by the foreign minister and the minister of international cooperation respectively.
   Morshed also attended a lunch hosted by the Indonesian president in honour of the D-8 leaders.

The Awami League general secretary, Abdul Jalil, on Saturday warned the BNP-led alliance government of a mass uprising before the expiry of its five-year term on October 28.
   ‘A mass uprising will take place before October 28 to overthrow the government,’ he said adding ‘The people have started putting up strong resistance to the government misrule at the local level [like Demra and Kansat] and it will not take long time to reach the movement at its peak.’
   Jalil, also the coordinator of the Awami League-led opposition alliance, gave the warning responding to press queries at a meet-the-press programme in the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity auditorium organised by the unity.
   About dialogue for reforms to the caretaker government provision and the Election Commission, he said atmosphere for bipartisan dialogue was not over, and hoped that the BNP would consider exclusion of Jamaat-e-Islami from the dialogue panel.
   ‘We hope that the BNP will respond to our demand for keeping out the names of the war criminals of 1971 from the list of discussants for the interest of democracy and the people,’ he said.
   He, however, said the BNP could convey Jamaat’s opinion in the dialogue which can be considered if logical.
   He expected that the prevailing standoff in political arena would not last if a sensible dialogue would be held between the government and the opposition.
   About the secretary-level talks between the BNP and the Awami League, Jalil said his party had not decided it yet.
   Asked about the meeting between the then opposition leader, Sheikh Hasina, and Jamaat leaders in 1996 and simultaneous movement against the then ruling BNP, Jalil claimed that his party had never sat with them in any political programme other than in parliament sessions and parliamentary standing committee meetings. ‘Any one can visit opposition leader,’ he said.
   ‘The Awami League will never sit with Jamaat in any dialogue,’ he said and claimed their stand against Jamaat as an ideological one.
   He, however, evaded a question whether the Awami League, if goes to power again, will ban the politics of Jamaat, saying that future will decide this.
   He came down heavily on the fair candidate campaign of civil society members and raised question over their contribution to people’s welfare.
   ‘Who are the civil society members and what are their contributions to the society? I have asked them to stop sermonising and stand beside the people, realise the reality and try to solve their problems,’ he said.
   He, however, urged all political parties to refrain from nominating candidates having black money and criminal records. ‘The Awami League will not nominate such candidates.’
   Asked about any possibility to forge unity with Bikalpadhara and Jatiya Party (Ershad), Jalil said, ‘We did not talk to them’.
   He said all political parties having ideology similar to the Awami League were welcomed. The parties with opposite ideology of the Awami League are also welcomed to the identical anti-government movement.
   Replying to a query on the restrictions to most of the private TV channels in covering the AL chief’s political programmes and entering into the Awami League offices, Jalil said they were concerned over the possible role in the next general elections of some electronic media owned by ruling BNP leaders.
   ‘We apprehend that those media would play partisan role during the elections,’ said Jalil.
   Asked about the emergence of third force, he said the Awami League did not believe in third force.

The Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said Saturday that a letter sent to his US counterpart was not supposed to be about its nuclear programme but was instead meant to start ‘a new political literature’.
   The US president, George W Bush, said after receiving the 18-page letter, which interrupted more than a quarter-century break in top-level contacts with Washington, that it failed to respond to international concern about Tehran’s nuclear programme.
   ‘The letter I sent to President Bush has nothing to do with the nuclear programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the relations between Iran and the US,’ Ahmadinejad told a press briefing at the conclu- sion of a summit of Muslim nations on the Indonesian island of Bali.
   ‘This letter was meant to open a new horizon for politicians in the world and to lay down the foundation for a new political literature ... based on justice, human dignity and peace.’
   Iran argues it has the right to nuclear technology for civilian purposes but the United States maintains it could be concealing efforts to build a nuclear bomb and has not ruled out military action against Tehran.
   The firebrand leader said Bush was given ‘a historic opportunity’.
   ‘All human beings are free to walk either on the right path or on the wrong path ... He is free to make his own choice, but any choice that one makes has its own consequences and implications,’ he added.
   Iran has already said that the letter, which contained a lengthy anti-Western tirade, was not intended to resume relations with the United States.

Bangladesh is determined to protect its rights within its economic zone and maritime boundary, the foreign secretary, Hemayetuddin, said on Saturday.
   His remarks came following recent newspapers’ report that India and Myanmar were exploring hydrocarbons within country’s deep-sea territory.
   ‘We’re determined to establish and protect our legitimate rights within our economic zone and maritime boundary,’ the foreign secretary told the news agency, without elaborating.
   Lt General (retd) Mahbubur Rahman, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence ministry, described as a ‘national concern’ the press reports on hydrocarbon exploration by India and Myanmar within Bangladesh’s exclusive economic zone.
   The government, we hope, will come out with a transparent reply about the matter,’ he said.
   Rahman, the former army chief, said he held a parliamentary standing committee meeting on the maritime-boundary issue a few months ago where representatives from the foreign ministry and the energy ministries were present.
   He said Bangladesh signed a UN convention in 2001 and the Bangladesh government would have to submit all documents and papers with her claim to the concerned body of the United Nations by 2011.
   ‘But I think time for Bangladesh’s claim is running out,’ he said.
   Awami League’s influential lawmaker Col (retd) Farooq Khan wondered why the government kept mum over this important matter. ‘It reflects a weak government’s weak-kneed foreign policy,’ he said.
   The army-officer-turned-lawmaker said the government should ask the Navy to go and see what was happening over there in the Bay.
   He said some 200 nautical miles in the sea from the coast were recognised as Bangladesh’s exclusive economic zone, and it would be a violation if any one entered the territorial waters. ‘We hope the government would give a detailed explanation.’
   Former Navy chief Rear Admiral (retd) Abu Taher said during the rule of the Mujib government, Bangladesh had declared its maritime and economic zone in 1973. And ‘Bangabandhu did the correct thing.’

The researchers found female mice exposed to a form of ultraviolet light took longer to develop skin tumours if they had access to a running wheel.
   The Rutgers University team found exercise appeared to speed up the rate at which cancer cells die.
   However, experts warned the study, published in the journal Carcinogenesis, was not an excuse to go out in the sun unprotected.
   This doesn’t mean people should strip off and start jogging in strong sunlight without proper protection
   In the first part of the study, labelled the high risk model, mice were exposed to ultraviolet three times a week for 16 weeks.
   Then for the next 14 weeks, in the absence of further UVB treatment, half the mice had access to running wheels in their cages, while the other half did not.
   In the second part mice were exposed to UVB light twice a week for 33 weeks, and, from the beginning, half had access to a running wheel and half did not.
   All the mice in the high risk part of the study developed skin tumours.
   But exercising mice took an average of seven weeks to show signs of cancer, compared to an average of just 3.5 weeks in the mice which took no exercise.
   The tumours in the exercising mice were also less numerous and smaller.
   Non-malignant tumour size per mouse was decreased by 54 per cent and malignant tumour size per mouse by 73 per cent.
   The second part of the study produced similar results. Again the exercising mice were
   slower to develop tumours, developed fewer tumours and those that they did develop were smaller.
   This time non-malignant tumour size per mouse was decreased by 75 per cent and malignant tumour size per mouse by 69 per cent.
   Analysis of samples found that exercise appeared to enhance programmed cell death (apoptosis) - a process that removes sun-damaged cells - both in the skin, and in tumours.

Gunmen killed the son of Iraq’s top judge along with two of his bodyguards and dumped their bodies in Baghdad, officials said Saturday. Other attacks outside the capital killed five Iraqis and a US soldier, the police said.
   The violence came as the prime minister-designate, Nouri al-Maliki, urged a breakaway Shia party to return to talks on forming a new national unity government.
   The police found the bodies of Ahmed Midhat al-Mahmoud, 22, a lawyer, and two of his bodyguards Saturday in the mostly Sunni neighbourhood of Azamiyah, said Hasan Sabri the head of the local council and Iraq’s deputy justice minister, Busho Ibrahim Ali.
   The killings came five months after the judge, Midhat al-Mahmoud, survived a December 4 suicide bomb attack against his home. Two people were injured in the attack.
   The bodies of three other Iraqis who had been kidnapped and tortured were found in the capital Saturday, the police said.
   A US Army soldier died in a roadside bombing south of Baghdad at 4:00am, officials said. His death raised to at least 2,437 the number of US military members who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

US authorities searched Friday the home and office of former CIA number three Kyle ‘Dusty’ Foggo as part of a probe into his suspected links to a corruption scandal, the FBI said.
   The searches were conducted in Foggo’s home in Vienna, Virginia, a Washington suburb, and at his office at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
   ‘I can confirm that search warrants were executed at the home and office of Dusty Foggo,’ said an FBI spokeswoman, April Langwell.
   Foggo stepped down a few days after the resignation last week of CIA chief Porter Goss, who had promoted him to executive director of the agency.
   Foggo is under investigation for his links to Brent Wilkes, a businessman and friend of his, implicated in a corruption scandal involving former US representative Randy Cunningham.
   The FBI is looking into whether Foggo helped companies linked to Wilkes win defence contracts, an accusation the ex-CIA official denies.
   Cunningham is serving an eight-year sentence for accepting bribes.
   The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also investigating private poker parties organised by Wilkes in Washington hotels that Foggo allegedly attended. The police are looking into whether prostitutes were at the parties.

America’s Justin Gatlin set a new 100m world record at the Qatar Super Grand Prix on Friday with a time of 9.76sec.
   The Olympic champion bettered the old mark of 9.77sec held by Jamaica’s Asafa Powell which was set in Athens last year.
   The 24-year-old American, who clocked 9.85sec in the semi-final, was overjoyed by his record.
   ‘I am very happy to have broken the world record,’ said Gatlin who is also world champion.
   ‘I knew it was coming. This is my third time in Doha and it has proved to be third time lucky.’
   The record sets up what could be a fascinating season of sprinting.
   Gatlin announced his intentions in his first race of the campaign when he clocked 9.95sec in Osaka in Japan.
   He and Powell are due to meet at the Gateshead Grand Prix in England on June 11. Their last meeting was in London last July when Gatlin cruised to victory as Powell pulled up with a groin injury.
   Powell was also forced to miss the world championships in Helsinki as a result of the injury.

Oman upset tournament favourites Hong Kong 5-4 in an action-packed of the Jamuna Bank Asian Cup Hockey Qualifiers at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium on Saturday.
   Hong Kong came back strongly after trailing 1-4 to level the score but conceded the fifth goal with just two minutes to go.
   Musain Abdullah opened the account for Oman in the 16th minute and Basim Akhter doubled the margin two minutes later. Arif Ali pulled one back for Hong Kong from a penalty corner in the 26th minute. Husam Aiyad and Amjad Sidiq gave Oman a 4-1 cushion with strikes on 32 and 38 minutes. Amjad converted a penalty.
   The second half belonged to Hong Kong as Swalikh Mohammed, Ali Asghar and Arif Ali hit the board taking advantage of Oman’s defensive approach. But in the 68th minute Basim Akhter scored the winner from a goalmouth melee.
   Hong Kong captain Akbar Ali, who is the eldest brother of Asif and Arif, criticised the umpiring. ‘The ball was carried by leg from my stick and the scorer pushed my goalkeeper before hitting the ball. What was the umpire doing?,’ said Akbar.
   Mohamed. Saad, the Egyptian coach of Oman, was also dissatisfied. ‘The refereeing was not up to the mark when Hong Kong scored three goals in a row,’ said the coach.
   Oman have six points from two matches while Hong Kong are on three.
   In the other match of the day, Sri Lanka registered their first victory defeating Iran by 2-0 goals. Wickramasinghe and Abeyratne scored for the winners.

The Rapid Action Battalion picked up a suspected cadre of the Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh from Talgharia village under Bagmara upazila on Friday night.
   RAB sources said a team of RAB-5 arrested Aslam Ali Pramanik, 32, a close aide to ‘Killer’ Mahtab Khamaru who had been absconding for a long time.
   The sources said Aslam used to collect toll in the name of Bangla Bhai and tortured people in Bagmara in 2004.

At least nine people were killed and 22 others injured in road accidents in Comilla and Gopalganj on Saturday.
   In Comilla, six people died and seven injured when a tank lorry hit a Dhaka-bound bus from behind at Daulatpur in Daudkandi on Dhaka-Chittagong Highway at about 2.30pm, sources said.
   The identity of the deceased could not be known immediately.
   Vehicular movement remained suspended on the highway for about an hour following the accident.
   One more person was killed in a traffic accident in the district at about 9:00am.
   He was crushed under the wheels of a bus at Kadra in Laksam on Chowddagram-Laksam road. The victim could not be identified.
   In Gopalganj, two people were killed and 15 injured when a bus plunged into a roadside ditch at Molliker Math under Tongipara upazila in the morning.
   Witnesses said the accident occurred at about 9:00am when a Gopalganj-bound bus from Tongipara skidded off the road and fell into the roadside ditch killing two on the spot.
   The dead were identified as Noyan, 8, and Abul Hasan, 25, of Rampal upazila under Bagerhat.
   Of the injured, seven were admitted to the upazila health complex while the rest to the sadar hospital.