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Bangladesh’s only Nobel Laureate, Professor Dr Mohammed Yunus, on Friday stressed the need for establishing a mega seaport in Chittagong for the development of the country, and said that it would change the socio-economic scenario of the nation.
   ‘Chittagong will be the hub of economic activities of the
   South Asian countries if we can establish a mega seaport,’ he said at a reception accorded by the Nobel Laureate Mohammed Yunus Reception Council at MA Aziz Stadium in the afternoon.
   Yunus also said the proposed port can be set up at Moheshkhali or its adjacent areas, adding that it had became an imperative as the existing Chittagong Port cannot be expanded anymore.
   ‘The poor women of the country, who own a huge institution like Grameen Bank, will be the owners of the mega port,’ he said, adding that it would turn the port city into an international business hub.
   He also said that establishing a mega airport would also be necessary in the port city after setting up the mega seaport. Chittagong is suitable for being the hub of the international airlines business.
   ‘Construction of highways connecting the proposed port with Bhutan, Nepal, India and China will change the overall economic scenario of Bangladesh rapidly,’ said the Nobel Laureate.
   With Professor Sikandar Hossain Khan in the chair, Professor Jamal Nazrul Islam, Professor Chitta Prashaci Talukdar, Professor Rahiul Hossain, Shamsul Hossain, Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and Rawshan Ara Rahman addressed the function, among others.
   Professor Jamal said there are a number of negative aspects of Grameen Bank among the many positive aspects, and expressed optimism that the Nobel Laureate would take necessary measures to remove these negative aspects.
   ‘The Grameen Bank has reached a new height after achieving the Nobel Peace Prize, and now it can remove the negative aspects to play a much more active role in poverty alleviation,’ he said.
   Hundreds of city dwellers from different walks of life received the Nobel Laureate at the old railway station at 7:00am, and he took salute from a smart contingent of Boy Scouts, Girl Guides and Juba Red Crescent members at 9:00am at the MA Aziz Stadium.
   A former chief of the Bangladesh Army, Lieutenant General (Retd) Harunur Rashid Bir Pratik, inaugurated the parade to show respect to the Nobel Laureate, and painter Sabih-ul-Alam inaugurated an art exhibition at 10:30am in the same venue.
   The Chittagong chapter of the Bangladesh Economics Association will organise a seminar, ‘Micro Credit of Jubra and Poverty-free World’, at the auditorium of the Engineers Institution at 10:00am on Saturday in which the Nobel Laureate will participate.

Senior leaders of the Awami League opt for observing the situation under the state of emergency for some more time before firming up their stance on holding the stalled parliamentary elections.
   ‘We’re observing the situation and we’ll do it for some more days,’ the AL presidium member, Amir Hossain Amu, told the news agency on Friday.
   ‘The Election Commission has been reconstituted and now let the EC start working,’ Amu said.
   He noted that the new chief election commissioner had earlier stated that he would discuss the election matters with political parties.
   ‘When we will sit with the Election Commission, we will come to know how they want to proceed, and we will also tell them our views about the timeframe and other issues concerning the election,’ Amu said.
   Another AL presidium member Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim said after withdrawal of restrictions on political activities, they would start political activities and then decide the grand alliance’s next plan.
   However, the AL joint secretary, Obaidul Kader, said the caretaker government should declare the timeframe for holding the election ‘as soon as possible.’
   He mentioned that the chief adviser, in his maiden address to the nation, had pledged that his administration would hold election at the earliest possible time. ‘Now we hope he will leave up to his promise,’ Kader said.
   Kader also said since the prime function of the caretaker government was to hold a credible election, it should start election process and declare a timeframe.
   ‘It will be better if the government holds election at the earliest and hands over power to an elected government,’ he said, adding, ‘the caretaker government might lose its popularity if it holds power for a long time.’
   Welcoming the current drive against the corrupt and godfathers by the army-led joint forces, he said the Awami League demanded a fair and credible election free from black money and corruption.

A probe into the unexplained death of three people in north-western part of the country has ruled out bird flu as the cause, an official said Friday, although the deaths remain a mystery.
   Bird flu experts had been drafted in as part of a five-member team sent to investigate
   the deaths in the village of Beloya.
   ‘The report of our medical team indicates that there is no bird flu virus found in Thakurgaon where three people died and two others are in hospital with serious illness’, said Mahmudur Rahman, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research.
   ‘No poultry is affected there and the virus has not spread. It is a different kind of virus to the bird flu virus,’ he added, declining to give further details.
   Bangladesh has so far reported no cases of avian flu.
   Three people, all related to each other, died between January 26 and last Monday. Two others are still in a serious condition in hospital.
   As a precaution against avian flu, Bangladesh has banned imports of poultry and poultry products from a string of
   countries.
   Poultry farming in Bangladesh, with an annual turnover of $750 million, is one of the impoverished country’s fastest-growing industries and employs more than two million workers.
   Some 270 cases of humans being infected by the bird flu virus had been reported worldwide since 2003 with 164 deaths as of last month.
   More than 200 million birds have been culled worldwide in recent years in efforts to stop the spread of bird flu.

Bangladesh has the ability to manufacture quality transparent ballot boxes with imported raw materials.
   A European diplomat
   made the observation while talking to the news agency on Thursday.
   The European Union wants that Bangladesh prepare the ballot boxes for the upc-
   oming parliamentary polls at home, which in turn, would save money as well as time, he said.
   Sources said the EU had examined different aspects of manufacturing transparent ballot boxes in Bangladesh and collected information about the country’s high-tech plastic goods-manufacturing factories and their capacities.
   The EU was finally convinced that Bangladesh could manufacture high quality transparent ballot boxes with imported
   raw materials, the European envoy said.
   He said the manufacturing of transparent ballot boxes
   with imported raw materials was under consideration.
   On Denmark’s willingness to supply transparent ballot boxes to Bangladesh, the envoy said the EU would accomplish giving transparent ballot boxes to Bangladesh.
   He also hinted that the EU might provide the boxes at no cost but said the matter had not yet been finalised.
   The Danish ambassador, Einar Hebogaard Jensen, on Wednesday said a delegation from Denmark was due in Dhaka next week to explore the possibility of manufacturing transparent ballot boxes in Bangladesh.
   He said Denmark and
   Canada were well known for manufacturing transparent ballot boxes.
   Jensen said they would decide on how they would send boxes after an official Bangladesh request in this regard.

At least 800 poultry birds were burnt alive and property worth an estimated Tk 10 lakh was destroyed in two separate fire incidents in Gazipur Friday.
   Local sources said a fire broke out at the Aman Poultry Farm at Bindan in the district headquarters early Friday.
   The fire burnt all of about 800 chickens and the poultry shed as well. The accident caused a financial damage of Tk 2.5 lakh, the farm owner claimed.
   In another incident Thursday night, a fire broke out at Lokku Market at Jorun in the district headquarters, in which at least four shops were burnt.
   Fire engines from Tongi and Joydevpur put out the fire. Goods worth an estimanted Tk 8 lakh had been burnt by the time.
   Fire service officials said both the accidents might have been caused by short circuit.

Detective police arrested two suspected members of an organised gang of fraud overseas recruiters from the city’s Mirpur area and seized passports and fake work permits for Malaysia from their possession.
   Police said that the two alleged fraudsters, Matiur Rahman Rana and Jalal Ahmed, used to deceive people seeking jobs in Malaysia and United Arab Emirates and take Tk 1.50 lakh from each of the
   jobseekers.
   Some people sent by the gang to Malaysia with fake work permits were either detained there or sent back to Bangladesh.
   On receipt of allegations from the victims, a DB police team raided their first floor flat of Islam Villa at Jahurabad in Mirpur Thursday evening and arrested the two men from there. They also seized 28 passports, nine fake work permits of Malaysia and some documents from there.
   The arrested men told police that they were working for one Munir of a travel agency at Bijoynagar and the police were in hunt for the man.

The 23rd death anniversary of the Commander-in-Chief of the War of Independence, General MAG Osmani, was observed on Friday across the country by holding different programmes.
   Different organisations arranged doa mehfil, discussion and other programmes to mark the anniversary.
   The Bangladesh Muslim League arranged a Doa Mehfil and discussion on the life of Osmani.
   Discussants remembered his contributions to the War of Independence, establishment of democracy and fundamental rights in the post-independence Bangladesh.
   They urged the government to include Osmani’s biogr-
   aphy in the textbooks and establish a research academy on Osmani.
   The Sylhet Division Development Action Council placed wreaths of flowers before Osmani’s portrait at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka on Friday.
   They urged to the government to observe Osmani’s death anniversary with state honours.
   The Bangladeshi Bihari Rehabilitation Assembly organised a milad mehfil to observe the day at Mirpur.

The energy adviser, Tapan Chowdhury, directed the authorities concerned to resume power generation in the 71MW power plant at the Baghabari river terminal repairing it on an urgent basis.
   His directive came Friday morning while visiting the
   PDB power plant that went out of order one and half years back.
   The energy adviser also instructed the authorities concerned to ensure uninterrupted power supply so that irrigation is not hampered in the current season.

The eighth anniversary of the death of central Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal leader Kazi Aref Ahmed was observed on Friday.
   Kazi Aref was killed in a bomb attack in Kushtia on the day. The two factions of the party held programmes to mark the day.
   The faction led by Hasanul Haq Inu organised a discussion meeting to commemorate Aref at the Taher Auditorium and the faction led by Noor Alam Ziku held a meeting in its central office.
   The front orgnisations of the parties also organized different programmes.

Bangladesh cultural team from Shilpakala Academy enthralled the audience at the 4 Street Threatre in Canberra by their outstanding dance
   performances Thursday evening.
   There was a variety in the dances representing various aspects of life in Bangladesh including folk culture.
   Diplomats, government officials, journalists, cultural activists and members of Bangladesh community enjoyed the Bangladesh cultural evening.
   In his address of welcome, the Bangladesh high commissioner, M Humayun Kabir, dedicated the performance to the memories of the Language Movement heroes.
   He also said the participation of a cultural team in the National Multicultural Festival from Bangladesh was yet another manifestation of the existing friendly relations between Bangladesh and Australia.
   The High commissioner also highlighted the growing role of women in Bangladesh society giving it a modern, liberal and dynamic face. Local media widely covered the performances of Bangladesh cultural team, which is being led by Kamrul Hasan, director general of Shilpakala Academy.
   Earlier the delegation performed lunch time presentations at the Garema Place, which is at the centre of Canberra on February 13-14. A cross section of audiences applauded them for their performances.
   The Bangladesh cultural delegation is currently participating in the National Multicultural Festival in Canberra, in which cultural delegations from 150 countries have been presenting their performances and exhibiting their cultural and literary products.

Former Awami League lawmaker Tanjim Ahmed Sohel Taj has urged the caretaker government not to harass or stop him from going abroad.
   On January 28, the immigration police intercepted him at Zia International Airport when he was about to board an India-bound plane to attend a conference in New Delhi.
   The former lawmaker for the Gazipur 4 constituency told the news agency on Friday that he would go out of the country on February 22 along with his family.
   Sohel Taj had sent a letter to the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, on Wednesday seeking his intervention in the matter so that he was not stopped or harassed any more.
   ‘There is no allegation against me. If there is any, please let me know. I am neither a loan defaulter nor a terrorist, nor a criminal. As a citizen, I have the right to travel to any country of the world.’
   After being barred from going out, Sohel Taj lodged a written complaint with the chief adviser on January 31 demanding clarification why he had been stopped from travelling to India.

The 21st Jatiya Kabita Utsab (national poetry festival) will be held during February 18–19 on the Dhaka University campus with the participation of more than 200 poets from home and abroad.
   The festival is customarily held during February 1–2. But it was deferred this year for some ‘unavoidable reasons,’ the organisers said at a news briefing on Friday.
   The main venue of the programme is the lawn of the university central library. An exhibition on art and literature will also be held at the Gallery Chitrak.
   The Jatiya Kabita Parishad, the council of organisers, has been holding the festival every year since 1987.
   On the opening day, a procession will be brought out and flowers will be placed on the graves of noted poets of the country.
   Eminent poets will recite their poems in different sessions throughout the open programme. Three seminars also will take place during the festival.

A suspected regional commander of the ultra left Purba Banglar Communist Party was killed in the ‘crossfire’ of his associates and the Rapid Action Battalion at Kachuri Government Primary School at Sujanagar in Pabna Thursday night, taking to 776 the
   figure of such deaths from June 2004.
   The deceased, Masudur Rahman alias Khuina Masud, 30, a resident of Kachuri, was wanted in about 18 cases including eight for murders, the battalion said.
   The battalion said one of their teams from the Pabna camp encircled the school area at around 8:30pm where crime suspects were reportedly holding a meeting.
   The suspects fired on the battalion, which fried back. The gunfight lasted for about 20 minutes, the battalion said. Masud died in the ‘crossfire.’
   The battalion seized a .303 rifle with bullets and a shutter gun from the scene, the battalion said.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh on Friday called on the interim government to take adequate steps to ensure supply of fertilisers, diesel and electricity for the farmers during IRRI and boro season.
   The party’s president Monzurul Ahsan Khan and general secretary Mujahidul Islam Selim in a statement praised the steps taken by the interim government which ensured sale of fertiliser at fixed prices, but the statement said the supply was not sufficient.
   The left leaders called on the government to take more steps to ensure adequate supply of fertilisers, diesel and power.

Ten Bay Area students of the USA will visit Bangladesh in April for a three-week exchange programme.
   The students will work with Bangladeshi students on a community service project, visit mangrove forests and attend an environmental science camp while living with a host family, according to California-based Contra Costa Time.
   The grant was awarded by Relief International-Schools Online and the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the US state department.
   The students of the programme will submit a monthly report of their activities, with a commitment to Relief International when they return to the Bay Area.
   This includes a 10-hour per month commitment to an environmental service project and working with the Bangladeshi exchange students when they will be here in summer this year.
   Anna O’Kelly, a junior at College Preparatory School, has been selected by Relief International to join nine other Bay Area students to travel to Bangladesh.
   ‘I’m excited and nervous at the same time,’ said O’Kelly. ‘I realise that this will give me a chance to experience something so entirely different to my life here in the Bay Area.’