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The country’s overall flood situation turned worse on Saturday as surging major rivers and their tributaries inundated fresh areas in several districts in the north and northeast.
   Millions of people in 32 districts, so far hit by flood partly or fully, have been marooned for days together and exposed to water-borne diseases. One death was reported from diarrhea in Jhenidah.
   The affected people are passing nights in fear of snake and insect bites, which left nine people dead in Pabna.
   Officials and riverside people feared rerun of the 1998-like devastating floods as all of the rivers and tributaries were surging alarmingly due to rains and onrush of waters from the upper catchments. The 1998 floods affected two-thirds of the country and lasted for weeks together.
   Rail and road communications to and from the worst-hit districts of Nilphamari, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Jamalpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Pabna, Netrakona, Sylhet and Sunamganj have been disrupted for days together.
   Members of the Armed Forces are cooperating with the civil administrations to protect the damaged embankments from being washed away. They are also joining the rescue and evacuation of people and relief distributions in the affected areas.
   Officials warned the situation might turn even worse if the present flow of water continues for a couple of days more, a Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha report says.
   Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed Saturday asked the authorities concerned to set up a flood coordination cell at his office to centrally monitor the flood and oversee the preparedness and rehabilitation activities.
   Twelve major rivers flew above danger mark at various points Saturday, said a Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre bulletin, with a warning of heavy flooding. They include the Dharala, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Jamuna, Dhaleshwari, Padma, Kobadak, Surma, Kushiyara, Bhugai, Someswari and Gumti.
   Hundreds of char villages and riverside areas in the major river basins from frontier upazilas of Nageswari and Bhurungamari in Kurigram to Aricha point have been totally or partially flooded, and the vast areas on both sides are now looking like a sea with waters all around, a report says.
   Many of the flood-hit people have already taken shelters in the educational institutions, high lands and embankments though sufferings of the marooned people are mounting further due to sporadic rains, district sources said.
   More areas in the districts of Kurigram, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Bogra, Pabna, Tangail and Jamalpur are likely to be inundated shortly. Flood situation in Sirajganj is deteriorating.
   The Ganges-Padma marked fresh rise after a short pause at up stream points and is flowing above danger level at Gualanda and Bhagyakul. The river is likely to swell further and engulf more areas in Manikganj, Munsiganj, Faridpur, Rajbari, Madaripur and Shariatpur districts and Dohar and Nawabganj upazilas of Dhaka district.
   The Meghna at Bhairab Bazar continued rising and may cross danger level in four days, flooding Narsingdi, Brahmanbaria and Narayanganj districts.
   Small rivers surrounding Dhaka and Narayanganj approaching fast danger levels, except the Buriganga, which was still much below the red mark on Saturday.
   The 32 districts, affected in the current wave of flood, include Chittagong, Bandarban, Khagrachari, Feni, Noakhali, Cox’s Bazar, Brahmanbaria and Comilla in the Chittagong division, Sylhet, Sunamganj and Habiganj in the Sylhet division, Dhaka, Manikganj, Jamalpur, Netrakona, Tangail, Munsiganj, Faridpur, Rajbari, Madaripur, Narayanganj and Shariatpur in the Dhaka division, Pabna, Sirajganj, Bogra, Lalmonirhat, Rangpur, Kurigram, Gaibandha, Lalmonirhat, Chapainawabganj in the Rajshahi division and Jhenaidah in the Khulna division.
   New Age Pabna correspondent reports: The movement of ferries and river vessels in the Nagarbari–Paturia channel of the overflowing Jamuna was being disrupted since Thursday, causing long tailback of stranded trucks carrying mango, jackfruit and vegetables from the northern districts.
   Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority is shifting Nagarbari ferry terminal 250 metres away to Pratappur point in Bera upazila of Pabna.
   Our Manikganj correspondent adds: The disruption of the ferry service at Paturia- Daulatdia ghat has caused untold miseries to thousands of Dhaka bound people from Shatkhira, Jhenidah, Kushtia, Rajbari, Faridpur, Meherpur, Jessore and Khulna districts.
   Our Sirajganj correspondent reports: Parts of the Betil-spar and Enayetpur-spar of Brammaputra Right Embankment in Chauhali upazila were washed away in last two days by swelling Jamuna water.
   New Age correspondent from Nilphamari reports: a small boat with 14 passengers on board capsized in the river Teesta at about 1:00pm near Tapur Char of Tepakharibari Union of Dimla Upazila due to heavy current. No loss of life was reported.
   Our Netrakona correspondent reports: Flood situation in the district deteriorated further on Saturday affecting more than one lakh people of 55 unions in nine upazilas. The erosion of the river Someshwari continued unabated and 20 more dwelling houses of Shibgonj area in Durgapur pourasava were devoured on Saturday.
   More than 400 flood-hit people contracted various diseases by eating stale food and drinking polluted water in three upazilas including the sadar, Harinakunda and Shailkupa of Jhenaidah district in last two days, our Jhenaidah correspondent reports on Saturday. Milon, 18, a meat trader died of diarrhoea in the district. The civil surgeon, Shamsul Islam, said a number of medical teams are working in the affected areas.

The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, Saturday asked the authorities concerned to immediately create a flood coordination and monitoring cell at the CA’s Office to centrally monitor the activities of all flood-controlling cells to take prompt action in tackling any exigencies of floods in the country.
   The directive was given to the cabinet secretary and principal secretary to the chief adviser, Ali Imam Majumdar, at an urgent high-level meeting on flood-preparedness at the CA’s Office in the afternoon.
   Called at the initiative of the chief adviser, the meeting was attended by disaster management adviser Tapan Chowdhury, LGRD adviser Md Anwarul Iqbal, cabinet secretary, chief adviser’s press secretary Syed Fahim Munaim, water resources secretary Syed Md Jubair, disaster management secretary Dhiraj Malakar, secretary-in-charge of the CA’s Office Kazi Aminul Islam, DG of SSF Maj Gen Sheikh Md Manirul Islam, military secretary to the CA Brig Gen Md Amin Tareque, and DG, development and coordination cell in the CA’s Office Manjur Hossain.
   The chief adviser wanted to know the latest situation of the rivers and flood and stressed advance preparation and strategy to tackle floods, as reports say the situation aggravated in some districts.
   The disaster management adviser apprised that his ministry had already opened a flood-control cell where district-wise river position, food, and damage were being monitored. Also, deputy commissioners in the respective districts are working in full swing, maintaining contact with other flood-control and-monitoring cells.
   It was informed in the meeting that health ministry, army and Water Development Board also opened flood-monitoring and-control cells. Besides, earlier-set standard methods of preparedness for floods are being followed.
   The present government has taken flood control as top task so that it can take steps timely. The meeting also discussed an option to inform the media on regular basis about the flood situation and government activities.

City planners and environmentalists have alerted the city authorities to the imminent danger of flood and water-logging in Dhaka and reminded them of inadequate preparedness as surrounding rivers keep swelling.
   Near choking of the city’s canals and surface drainage system have made them worried about the city’s flood management once waters from surging rivers start spilling into the city.
   ‘The authorities are yet to take proper steps to keep the canals clear for draining out excess rainwater from the city,’ Abu Naser Khan, convenor of Save Environment Movement, told New Age on Saturday.
   He said some 1,000 movable water pumps should be kept ready for operation if downpour and overflowing rivers cause water logging in the low-lying areas.
   None of the 43 canals under the Dhaka City Corporation could be freed from grabbers, he said. ‘There are about 50 more canals under the Rajuk’s command area and these should also come under the reclamation drive.’
   Naser khan suggested formation of supervisory body involving civic group members to monitor the drives against canal grabbers to improve the city’s drainage systems.
   Professor Nazrul Islam, an urban planning expert, said, ‘Advance measures are a must to solve the water-logging problems and minimise people’s sufferings. Drainage system must be kept free to clear stagnated water after heavy rainfalls.’ ‘The rivers and the low lying areas have been grabbed in many places,’ said Nazrul, who now chairs the University Grants Commission.
   Sheikh M Shaheedullah, an environmentalist, said, ‘Water management system in Dhaka needs to be redesigned to solve the water-logging problem.’
   Most of city’s box culverts and underground channels at different places remained clogged for lack of maintenance, raising the risks of flood or water logging. Even surface drains are not maintained properly, experts said.
   DCC’s chief executive officer Mohammad Saifuddin Ahmed told New Age on Saturday said it is the duty of the Water and Sewerage Authority to take preparations for facing monsoon floods and water logging in Dhaka.
   ‘We are routinely clearing drains under DCC,’ he said.
   ‘We will think about the people’s sufferings if floods hit the city,’ the city corporation official said when asked about the DCC’s flood preparedness.
   Dhaka WASA’s superintending engineer (drainage circle) Zahirul Haque said, ‘We have enough preparations in this regard and have kept 151 water pumps ready for removing rainwater if it clogs any part of the city.’ WASA’s drainage system is also geared to the emergency needs for removing stagnant water, he added.
   He said seven regulators of Water Development Board are also kept ready for blocking entry of flood waters if surrounding rivers exceed 5-metre level.

Reform-enthusiasts in Awami League want the party to negotiate with the interim government to free party president Sheikh Hasina, while conformists opt for waiting until the legal battle ends, insiders said.
   The dissidents believe that establishing a ‘positive communication’ with the interim government is essential to overcome the present crisis which may help the party get its leader freed, but conformists want to complete the legal fight before mapping out next strategy, sources in both the camps said.
   ‘We are not thinking about negotiation with the government to get Hasina freed. We will go ahead with legal battle to prove the case filed against her is She said that the lawyers would challenge the case on two counts—filing extortion charge against Hasina and bringing the case under Emergency Powers Act.
   Shahara also said that the case was not filed under the emergency act when Sheikh Hasina was taken to the court after her arrest on July 16 and it was brought under the emergency act later at the directive of the home ministry.
   She said the lawyers believed that the case could not be sustained when it would be challenged in the higher court. So I think there is no need to appeal for quashing the case.
   The AL leader said that being afraid of losing the legal battle the government had tried to delay returning the power of attorney from Hasina.
   ‘We sent the power of attorney for Sheikh Hasina’s signature on July 20 but got the copy after eight days,’ she said, adding that the AL chief’s lawyer Tawfiq Newaz received the signed copy Saturday afternoon.
   Shahara said that a six-member panel of lawyers led by Rafiqul Haque would move with the writ petition.
   After getting the signed copy of the power of attorney, the lawyers met the acting AL president, Zillur Rahman, at his residence and reviewed the legal aspects of the ‘extortion’ case.
   AL presidium member Ataur Rahman Kaiser, Shahara Khatun, Rahmat Ali, Dipu Moni and Tawfiq Newaz were present, among others, in the informal meeting.

The Awami League will file a writ petition with the High Court today challenging the legality of the ‘extortion’ charge brought against the party president, Sheikh Hasina.
   ‘We have received the signed copy of the power of attorney from Sheikh Hasina today [Saturday] and will file a writ petition with the High Court tomorrow [Sunday],’ the law affairs secretary of the AL, Shahara Khatun, told reporters at the Gulshan residence of acting president of the party, Zillur Rahman, on Saturday.
   false,’ a presidium member of AL told New Age on Saturday.
   He also said that if the government had any intention to harass Hasina, it should be exposed to the country’s people.
   ‘We will wait until the completion of the legal process. If we fail to free Hasina through legal fight, then we will go for further course of action,’ the AL leader added.
   Earlier, acting president of the party Zillur Rahman had said that the grassroots activists across the country were pressuring the party leadership to go for action programmes to free Hasina, but the party persuaded them to stay calm until the legal battle ended.
   ‘We believe that she [Hasina] will be freed through the legal battle. We will decide on the next course of action after reviewing the overall situation,’ he said.
   The dissidents disagreed with the acting president and viewed that the party should build an effective communication with the government in this regard.
   ‘What the acting president said could be applicable for an ordinary person, not for the AL president,’ a dissident leader, active in the reform process, told New Age, adding that the party should play a more active role to get Hasina released.
   The leader, also a former lawmaker, said that the party men were asking Zillur to announce agitation programmes, but he was under pressure from the government. ‘So no better alternative is left for him other than negotiating with the government,’ he felt.
   ‘Although the leaders of both the conformists’ and reformists’ groups demand Hasina’s release for keeping the party united at this moment of crisis, we will not want Zillur to do anything on his own,’ the dissident leader said.

The detained Awami League president Sheikh Hasina on Saturday said she feared for her life as she believed she was arrested as part of a blueprint to complete what the killers of 1975 could not carry out.
   ‘I fear for my life as I was arrested as part of a blueprint to complete the unfinished agenda of August 1975,’ Advocate Towfiq Newaz, one of the counsels for the former prime minister, quoted her as saying.
   Towfiq Newaz told newsmen after meeting Sheikh Hasina at the sub-jail on the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban complex in the afternoon that the AL chief had protested her innocence and said that the government was trying various ploys in order to prevent her from contesting the next elections.
   He said Sheikh Hasina had applied to the Governor of Bangladesh Bank to inform her about the amount of money deposited in her account but the central bank was yet to send a reply though a delay could cause trouble in submitting her wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission because her bank documents were seized from her Sudha Sadan residence on July 16—the day she was arrested.
   Newaz said the counsels for Sheikh Hasina managed to obtain the copy of the vakalatnama signed by her and other papers on Saturday afternoon after much hassles.
   Meanwhile, some relatives of Hasina, including Rajiya Naser, Rajiya Shampa and Khadija Hasan met her at the special jail.
   But the relatives declined to make comments when newsmen approached them.

Both the dissidents and conformists in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party still claim that they command enough support at the grassroots level.
   Party chairperson’s adviser, ASM Hannan Shah, on Saturday rejected the dissidents’ claim that they enjoyed support of two-thirds of the councillors saying, ‘It is their imagination. If they want to transform their imagination into a plan, they will fail,’ he said.
   ‘They went on campaigning among the grassroots level leaders and having failed to win over them, they [dissidents] stopped the exchange of views [with district level leaders]. They do not enjoy even the support of one-twentieth of the councillors,’ Hannan Shah said at his DOHS residence.
   He also advised the leaders who still favoured the dissidents’ move to visit their own constituencies and see how much support they enjoyed.
   Nazir Hossain, a dissident leader and former lawmaker, ridiculed his claims saying ‘Hannan Shah had been completely inactive in politics in the past five years and almost sank into oblivion. How could he understand the reality at the grassroots level.’
   He also questioned Hannan’s knowledge of Bangla language saying, ‘The terms ‘requisition meeting’ and ‘demand meeting’ are synonymous. I doubt his command of Bangla.’
   Hannan Shah said they were ready to hold the council session and it would be held under the leadership of Khaleda Zia after the restrictions on political activities were lifted. ‘Things will be decided based on the opinions of the majority of the councillors. The minus formula [keeping Khaleda out of political frame] will not work. Nothing will take place without her. There is no alternative to Khaleda Zia in BNP,’ he said.
   He said he was contacting the grassroots level leaders and activists and conveying to them the message of the party chairperson. ‘The message she has sent out through several teleconferences are being conveyed to the grassroots leaders,’ he said.
   ‘Unlike any other parties, our chief [Khaleda] is facing an adverse situation and her movements have been restricted on so-called security grounds. We hope that she would be able to overcome the problems and meet the people’s expectation,’ Hannan said.
   ‘There are risks of misunderstanding in a situation when the party chief is unable to contact the leaders and activists,’ he added.
   ‘We are ready for reforms or bringing amendment or reviewing the party constitution. But everything will be decided in the council session,’ he said.
   The chairperson’s adviser said a council preparatory committee would be formed and it would take the councillors’ proposals for reforms and the tenure of the chairperson.
   Hannan Shah said the chairperson had asked him to convey her message to the party activist to keep the party unified in any situation.
   He also thanked the dissidents for their idea of abiding by the party constitution in their move for democratising the party.
   Party secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan recently proposed that the tenure of party chairperson and secretary general should be limited to six years. At a press conference last Friday, he claimed that there was massive support for the proposals throughout the country.

The Dhaka-Kolkata train service will begin in mid-August subject to settlement of unresolved issues in the bilateral talks set to begin in Kolkata on Sunday.
   The second trial train leaves Dhaka this morning for Kolkata with a 35-member Bangladesh delegation on board. The team will participate in the Kolkata talks on the outstanding issues in resuming the rail link between the two neighbouring countries which was snapped in 1965.
   ‘The Kolkata meeting is expected to set the date for launching the direct passenger train service and its frequencies between the cities… We are hopeful that the meeting will also be able to resolve other outstanding issues that include security concerns of both the countries,’ the communications secretary, Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age on Saturday.
   ‘We [Bangladesh] are ready for the service,’ he said.
   The train carrying the Bangladesh delegation will start from Dhaka Cantonment Railway Station at 7:00am, a railway official said.
   The additional secretary of the communications ministry, ATKM Ismail, is leading the delegation which is scheduled to return home on August 1.
   At a two-day meeting earlier this month in Dhaka, after the Moitree Express had reached here in its first trial run from the West Bengal capital, Bangladesh and India agreed to launch the direct train service between the two cities by mid-August.
   The Indian train arrived at Dhaka Cantonment Railway Station on July 8 with a 31-member delegation led by AE Ahmed, additional secretary of the Indian home ministry.
   But the talks on the commissioning of the commercial operation of the Dhaka-Kolkata passenger train ended inconclusive on July 10 as both sides failed to narrow down their differences on security issues, especially on construction of a metal tunnel within 150 yards from the border proposed by India.
   Bangladesh meanwhile has made all preparations, including repairs of rail line and renovation of railway station, to resume the rail link which was snapped during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
   Dhaka and New Delhi signed the agreement to resume the direct rail service in 2001. Since then a series of meetings have taken place at different levels between the two sides, who have already agreed on customs and immigration procedures and the train fares.
   Passengers will go through customs and immigration procedures at Gede Railway Station in Kolkata and the cantonment station in Dhaka, sources said.
   Fares have been set at $8 for deluxe or Shobhan class, $12 for air conditioned or Snigdha class and $20 for air-conditioned sleeper class for the 536km journey — 416km in Bangladesh and 120km in India.

The chief justice, M Ruhul Amin, Saturday said law alone was not sufficient to curb the pervasive corruption rooted firmly in every sphere of society and every stage of life and called for a social ostracism against the corrupt alongside legal actions.
   ‘I may not be misunderstood that I’m against stringent provision of law for curbing corruption and enforcement thereof. My view is that along with addressing the corrupt person upon due enforcement of law, let there be social abhorrence and disapproval of corruption and private as well as community disassociation of the corrupt.’
   The chief justice said laws had been enacted providing punishment for corrupt persons. But that would go a long away in curbing corruption since application of law was delayed or not at all applied or enforced in a manner to screen the desired one who ought to have been brought onto the dragnet of law.
   Inaugurating a seminar on ‘rule of law to establish corruption-free society’, he noted that corruption at the moment was a global phenomenon that had appeared like a hydra-headed monster, eroding social values seriously. ‘In the absence of social values the social framework is bound to collapse.’
   The inaugural function of the meet, organised by the Monthly Legal Aid, was also addressed by former attorney general AF Hassan Ariff, resident legal adviser to the USA embassy Nancy Langston, charge d’affaires the delegation of European Commission Francoise Collet and Japanese ambassador Masayuki Inoue and Hua Du, country director of the Asian Development Bank.
   Justice Habibur Rahman Khan presented the keynote. The function was presided over by the editor of the monthly Khawja Golam Murshed.
   The seminar was conducted by Syed Shahidur Rahman, a sacked judge of the High Court, which evoked sharp criticism among the audience. Shahidur was removed by presidential orders on April 20, 2004 in accordance with the report of the supreme judicial council that had inquired into allegation against him of taking bribe and fixing bail for an accused in a woman-repression case.
   Justice Amin mentioned that there was all-out effort and movement around the world to bring corruption down to a tolerable level, because it would not be possible at this moment, or in immediate future, to free society from corruption fully or to cut down corruption to zero level.
   ‘This being the reality, it would not be correct to say we are showing tolerance to or acceptance of certain kinds of lapses or corruption.’
   He, however, said that appropriate steps should have been taken against corruption in proper time. ‘But, for no justification or reason or for some considerations which ought not have been the consideration anyway in dealing with the matter of corruption, (we) had shown lenience,’ said the chief justice, whose observations are considered voice of nation’s conscience.
   Justice Amin said, ‘I am constrained to say those, individuals or institutions, who were required to deal with corruption toughly, for no reason, were soft at times and thus brought us to a situation making difficult or somewhat impossible to tackle corruption and to put society on the right track.’
   The chief justice viewed that soft application of the law of corruption at different levels by the government and the institutions entrusted with or responsible for administration and enforcement of law to some beneficiaries of corruption on some lame excuses was no less responsible for corruption.
   ‘This aspect of the matter needs attention for remedial measure,’ he said, adding that the matter was certainly violation of the constitutional provision as regards equality before the law and the right of equal protection of law and also negation of the rule of law.
   Judges of both divisions of the Supreme Court, lawyers, and representatives of different professional groups attended the function.
   Development partners applauded the vigorous efforts made by the caretaker government to eradicate corruption in Bangladesh and suggested promoting social awareness on the importance of the rule of law to establish a corruption-free society.
   Japanese ambassador Masayuki Inoue said corruption had been one of biggest challenges to development of Bangladesh for long after the independence. Presently, the caretaker government has made ‘vigorous effort to eradicate corruption’ through countrywide anti-corruption campaigns.
   He noted that a number of politicians, officials and businessmen, said to be involved in corruption, had been arrested. ‘Before the proclamation of state of emergency, people could never believe such a strong anti-corruption drive would be implemented,’ he told the meet.
   He said although an emergency situation was not a favourable one for democracy of a country, it provided a ‘rare opportunity for this country to drastically eradicate deep-rooted corruption’ this time around.
   In a flashback on the recent past, the Japanese ambassador said the Anti-Corruption Commission which could not fully function under the previous political governments was now full steam ahead combating corruption. ‘I appreciate the progress they made in anti-corruption drive.’
   He said the Bangladesh government must show a stern position that a person who violated a law could never avoid being punished, regardless of the position of the person.
   At the same time, the government and the law-enforcement authorities also have to show respect and maintain the rule of law. ‘If a government does not respect a due process of law, it will lose its accountability to the people.’
   About the reform programmes initiated by the caretaker government for the purpose of freeing politics, administration and business from governance problems, the diplomat said, ‘We highly appreciate the stern position of the government towards reform.’
   Welcoming the roadmap announced by the Election Commission for holding the stalled general election by December 2008, he said, ‘I like to put a concrete deadline to hold the election and hand over power to the elected government.’
   He hoped that Bangladesh would return to the democratic process by holding free, fair and credible elections within that timeframe. ‘Of course, if all the necessary preparation is completed before the deadline, it would be better to hold the election earlier than that accordingly.’
   He assured that Japan would continue to support the effort of the government to restore democracy.
   Hua Du, country director of the Asian Development Bank, stressed the need for availability of a credible, impartial and effective judiciary as well as other law-enforcement apparatuses to establish a corruption-free society. The law-enforcing agencies should be seen as competent in this regard, she said.
   In her speech, Francoise Collet, charge d’ affaires and acting head of delegation of the European Commission, said the EC would support those efforts of the government, civil society and other actors which were designed to embed the rule of law and respect for human rights and to create a democracy which the people of Bangladesh could be proud of.
   In her address, Nancy Langston, resident legal adviser to the USA, said the prosecutors must be appointed on the basis of propriety and efficiency to deal with the corruption cases. ‘Political choice in this regard never ever last.’

Over 1000 foreign prisoners have become a liability for the jail authorities as the countries of origin declined to take them back even after completion of their punishment.
   Arranging accommodation and food for them, which cost the exchequer roughly Tk one crore a year, is a great headache for the prison authorities, already troubled with overcrowded jails.
   The foreign citizens were arrested on various charges, including smuggling of drugs and trespassing on the country, and put into jails after trial. Many of them have already served their jail terms, but failed to start for homes as their countries refused to recognise them as citizens, jail officials said.
   Of the prisoners, who also include eight women, 400 are from Myanmar and 200 from India. The rest are citizens of Pakistan, Nigeria, Malaysia, Tanzania, Nepal, Ghana and Saudi Arabia.
   ‘These people have been a terrible burden for us as we are struggling hard to arrange accommodation for 86,000 inmates,’ said brigadier general Zakir Hasan, the inspector general of prison.
   He said that the authorities had been sheltering and giving food to 248 foreigners, who completed their jail terms long ago.
   ‘The countries refused to recognise them as their citizens as the prisoners did not have passports or valid documents,’ the top prison official told New Age at his office on Thursday.
   Whenever the prison authorities approached the concerned embassies in Dhaka, they always responded negatively, shattering the hopes of prisoners to go back home and join their families again.
   ‘Actually, they do not want to take the responsibility of these people,’ said a senior official at the Dhaka Central Jail, which is stuffed with around 9,000 prisoners against the capacity of 2,700.
   Over the years, law enforcers arrested many foreign nationals from various parts of the country for illegal entry into Bangladesh’s waters and land territories, and for involvement in crimes, including drug smuggling.
   After trial they were put behind bars and on completion of their terms, the prison authorities, through the foreign ministry, contacted the concerned embassies to send them back home.
   Prison officials said they learnt about the nationality of the prisoners through interrogation.
    ‘We can’t look after them forever,’ said a top jail official.
   The prison directorate informed the home and law ministries of the problem, but did not get any solution.
   They have also been discussing the issue with the Canadian International Development Agency.
   The jail official said the prisoners, who completed their terms, should be allowed to be back to their countries on humanitarian grounds.

At least 5,000 Thais rallied under tight security in Bangkok Saturday to demand an end to the country’s army-backed government amid fears of a repeat of last Sunday’s violence.
   More than 300 police officers and some troops stood guard as the crowd, mostly middle-aged men and women, gathered in Sanam Luang plaza in central Bangkok.
   The military has become increasingly nervous about opposition movements since more than 100 anti-coup protesters were injured in clashes with police last Sunday.
   The clashes, the first violence since the bloodless coup in September 2006, came as campaigning got underway for an August 19 referendum to approve an army-backed constitution.
   ‘We are calling for democracy, which is a duty of every Thai,’ said Maethaphan Phothiteeraroj, a leader of an alliance of democracy advocates and supporters of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
   The police said 5,000 protesters turned out to Saturday’s demonstration, while organisers put the figure at 10,000.
   Although the military said earlier it was boosting security with thousands of troops, only a handful of soldiers were seen around the plaza, a venue of daily rallies demanding the ouster of the junta.
   Thailand’s junta chief, general Sonthi Boonyaratglin, on Friday ordered the troop deployment to ensure security, while police arrested nine protest leaders over the weekend clashes. One was released late Friday on bail.
   Authorities have repeatedly warned that the government could impose a state of emergency in Bangkok if more violence breaks out at anti-coup protests.
   The police have allowed protesters to rally only inside Sanam Luang and warned people would be arrested if they marched outside the plaza.
   But protest organisers said they would continue to stage the rallies to voice opposition to military rule.
   ‘We will not stop protesting until we get our democracy back,’ said Surachai Sae-dan, another protest leader.
   Some protesters wore T-shirts saying ‘No Vote’ as the kingdom heads toward the charter referendum next month.
   ‘We are urging people to vote against this constitution, which was drafted in a non-democratic manner,’ said Maethaphan.
   The military says the new charter will clear the way for elections by the end of the year, but opponents fear it will provide ways for the army to maintain an influence over government through powerful appointees.
   Campaigning is tilted heavily in the government’s favour, with half the country under martial law since the coup and a new law threatening prison for anyone convicted of obstructing the referendum.

The High Court recently reprimanded former vice-chairman of the bar council, Rokanuddin Mahmud, for professional misconduct by deceiving the court into granting bails, and said such practices would erode the people’s confidence in the country’s legal system.
   This is the latest revelation of deceitful practices of some lawyers to fool the higher court and obtain bails for their clients. Though such practices have been seen in recent years, no effective step has so far been initiated against any of the offenders, court sources said.
   ‘If this practice continues, I fear that a day will come when practically there will be no legal system in Bangladesh,’ said Justice Sharifuddin Chaklader in his judgment delivered on April 4.
   According to the judgement, Rokanuddin on July 12, 2006 obtained rule, order of stay of the proceedings of the case against his clients and bails for them by suppressing the fact that their bails had been cancelled by the trial court and that they had been issued arrest warrants.
   Rokanuddin’s clients— managing director of Eastern Insurance Company Limited AKM Iftekhar Ahmed, its senior vice-president AKM Mostafizur Rahman and another official Mizanur Rahman— obtained bail from the High Court until submission of the charge sheet in the case they faced for non-payment of insurance money for a gutted garment factory.
   After submission of the charge sheet, they did not appear before the magistrate’s court in Narayanganj and remained fugitive. Accordingly, the magistrate court cancelled their bail and issued warrant of arrest against them on July 2, 2006.
   Rokan concealed the information from the High Court when he moved a petition for quashing the case and seeking ad interim bail for his clients on July 12, 2006. In the cause title of the petition, the accused petitioners were mentioned as ‘present in the court’. This was written by pen not typed, the judgement said.
   Such insertions had been made by pen to mislead the court and intended to deceive the court, which would give the people an impression that the accused persons, for their high social positions, both in terms of money and status, were taking advantage of the trust of the court in senior advocates and getting the court under their thumb, the judgement said.
   It also said, ‘If this fact was known to the court, this court would not have issued the orders.’
   The court also observed that it was a professional misconduct according to the Bangladesh Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Order and Rule 1972.
   It, however, stopped short of recommending any legal step against Rokan in the judgement.

Eight people were killed in southern India on Saturday after police started firing on protesters demanding land for the poor, the police said.
   Communist parties called the protest in southern Andhra Pradesh state to demand land and houses for the impoverished in the area.
   ‘Six persons died in police firing while a woman died when police hit her with batons in Khammam district,’ senior police officer AK Mohanty said.
   Another person was killed after being crushed under an ambulance that was rushing the injured to hospital in Khammam district, 350 kilometres east of state capital Hyderabad, officials said.
   The government has ordered an investigation into the violence.

The Rajshahi University authorities will take punitive action against the teachers for observing work abstention programme demanding release of Awami League president Sheikh Hasina, campus sources said.
   The authorities have recently made a list of the teachers who abstained from their duty on Thursday, and asked the department chairmen to provide information about the teachers.
   Some 200 teachers under the banner of Progressive Teachers’ Society observed the work abstention.
   The sources said the authori ties also asked the department chairmen to immediately provide them with the photocopies of leave petitions.
   A number of department chairmen loyal to BNP-Jamaat have already sent the photocopies to the authorities, but other department chairmen have yet to do.
   A PTS member on Saturday said that the authorities had no rights to collect the copies of leave petitions as they are entitled to enjoy holidays every month.
   The sources also said the authorities concerned collected the leave petitions and provided them to intelligence officials.
   When contacted, PTS convener Professor Abdus Sobhan, also a syndicate member, protested the move of the authorities, saying that they have no rights to collect leave petitions.
   Vice-chancellor Professor Altaf Hossain admitted that they had made a list of the agitating teachers at the directive of the higher authorities.

The probe committee formed by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University authority to investigate the corruption and nepotism will submit its report today.
   The committee started investigation in May after receiving a raft of complaints regarding recruitment process and corruption in medical procurements, professor Nazrul Islam, chairman of the probe committee told New Age on Saturday.
   According to the sources, the committee investigated some disputed recruitments during last five years which made the BSMMU overstaffed with 3,600 employees, doctors and nurses, against 1600 approved posts.
   Professor MA Tahir, vice-chancellor of the BSMMU, said, ‘I cannot say anything just now. I am waiting to get the investigation report, which will be placed in a syndicate meeting next week.’
   The committee has probed recruitment of 65 physicians without any advertisement in 2001, 322 physicians in July 2003 and ad hoc appointment of nearly 600 physicians in different departments in the last five years.

Ferdous Ahmad Quarishi, main initiator of the proposed new political platform Progressive Democratic Party, on Saturday called upon the government to withdraw the embargo on political activities immediately.
   If the embargo is lifted, the PDF will announce its 101-member convening committee in the month of August, he announced while exchanging views with journalists at his business office in the city’s Segunbagicha.
   He criticised teachers of different public universities for their recent activities, saying they should stay away from political activities.
   If they do so, they must resign from their services, he advised.
    The arrested Awami League president must get proper justice, Quarishi said, commenting that nobody is above the law.
   He urged the National Board of Revenue to extend the time for legalizing undisclosed money to allow more people to avail of the opportunity. The offer to whiten the undeclared money earned through legal ways expires on July 31.
   ‘The time can be extended for three months,’ Quarishi said, urging the revenue authorities not to take any harsh step that could cause sufferings to the business community and the common people.
   He feared that strict regulations of Bangladesh Bank might hamper import of essential commodities and their supply to the local market. He called upon the government to take measures to control price hikes during upcoming Ramadan.Quarishi appreciated the anti-corruption drives of the government, but said that the families of the arrested persons must not be harassed.
   Jatiya Party faction secretary general Sheikh Shahidul Islam, Jatiya Party presidium member Kazi Feroz Rashid, Bangladesh Jatiya Party secretary general Noor Mohammad Khan, JP presidium member Tajul Islam and former BNP leader Fazlur Rahman were, among others, present at the press conference.

The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal led by Noor Alam Ziku on Saturday unveiled a 10-point proposal for what it termed bringing fundamental changes in politics, state affairs, and the constitution.
   Talking to reporters at his Shantinagar residence, the JSD general secretary, Abdul Malek Ratan, said the proposed blanket reforms were envisioned by the party’s theoretical guru, Serajul Alam Khan.
   The 10-point set of reform proposals are on state affairs, parliament, governance, politics, electoral system, the Election Commission, amendment and enactment of law, judiciary, economy, and the constitution.
   The proposed reforms include forming a federal state by dividing the country into eight provinces, a government of national unity for 10 years, a national security council, and a constitution reform commission, and establishing a bicameral parliament and a new system of constituting the caretaker government.
   ‘After the January-11 changeover, we now have a chance to bring reforms in various sectors and we must utilise it,’ Abdul Malek maintained.
   He said, ‘Ours is a complete reform package as we have proposed reforms in every sector. The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal, the Unity for Political Reforms led by ASM Abdur Rab, and Samajik Rajnaitik Andolan will work for implementation of the proposals.’
   JSD central leaders Nurul Amin Bhuiyan, Sharif Mohammad Khan, Nurul Akter, Tajul Islam, and Siraj Mian were present, among others, during the exchange of views with the press.

Congress sent president Bush legislation Friday to intensify anti-terror efforts in the US, shifting money to high-risk states and cities and expanding screening of air and sea cargo to stave off future September 11-style attacks.
   The measure carries out major recommendations of the independent 9/11 Commission.
   The bill, passed by the House on a 371-40 vote, ranks among the top accomplishments of the six-month-old Democratic Congress. The Senate approved the measure late Thursday by 85-8, and the White House said the president would sign the bill.
   Six years after the September 11 attacks and three years after the 9/11 Commission made its recommendations, ‘Congress is finally embracing what the 9/11 families have been saying all along,’ said homeland security committee chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. ‘It takes a willingness to do things a different way.’
   The bill elevates the importance of risk factors in determining which states and cities get federal security funds – that would mean more money for such cities as New York and Washington – and also puts money into a new programme to assure that security officials at every level can communicate with each other.
   It would require screening of all cargo on passenger planes within three years and sets a five-year goal of scanning all container ships for nuclear devices before they leave foreign ports.
   Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who steered the legislation through the Senate with senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, said it would ‘make our nation stronger, our cities and towns more secure and our families safer.’
   Republicans generally backed the bill while stressing their own administration’s success in stopping another major terrorist attack. The bill, said Rep. Peter King of New York, top Republican on the Homeland Security panel, ‘is another step in the right direction building on the steps of the previous five and half years.’
   ‘These efforts build upon the considerable progress we’ve made over the past six years,’ said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.
   Completion of the bill, six months after the House passed its original version on the first day of the current Congress, was a major victory for Democrats who have seen some of their other priorities – immigration and energy reform and stem cell research funding – thwarted by GOP and presidential resistance and House-Senate differences.
   Another goal, raising the minimum wage, went into effect last Tuesday, and Democratic leaders still hope for agreement on ethics and lobbying changes before Congress departs for its August recess at the end of next week.
   The independent 9/11 Commission in 2004 issued 41 recommendations covering domestic security, intelligence gathering and foreign policy. Congress and the White House followed through on some, including creating a director of national intelligence, tightening land border screening and cracking down on terrorist financing.
   Democrats, after taking over control of Congress, promised to make completing the list a top priority.
   Former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., the vice chair of the 9/11 Commission, said with enactment of the bill some 80 per cent of the panel’s recommendations will have been met. ‘The bottom line is that the American people will be safer,’ he said.
   The 9/11 bill led off the first busy legislative week in the House last January, and the Senate passed its version in March. The measure stalled after that, partly because of a White House veto threat over language, since dropped, to give collective bargaining rights to aviation screeners.
   House-Senate negotiators finally reached an agreement this week after Democrats worked out a provision satisfying GOP demands that people who report what they in good faith believe to be terrorist activity around planes, trains and buses be protected from lawsuits.

The country is yet to have any juvenile court 33 years into the enactment of the Children Act 1974 which provides for establishment of juvenile courts.
   Criminal courts continue to deal with juvenile cases and 504 children are still languishing in the country’s 66 jails in violation of the law and High Court edicts.
   Although the interim government has resumed the process of establishing four juvenile courts at four greater divisional headquarters after five years of a government decision to do that, the proposal on the move is yet to be placed before the National Implementation Committee for Administrative Reorganisation for approval.
   According to insiders, the chief adviser’s office re-initiated the process in March, asking the law ministry why the courts were yet not established. It also asked the ministry to take immediate steps to establish juvenile courts in Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, and Rajshahi.
   Examining official documents the law ministry found the process, originally initiated in 2006, was cleared by the secretary committee on administrative development on July 10 the same year. But, the proposal was yet to be placed before NICAR for final approval.
   Following the fresh initiative, the ministry recommended that, besides establishment of the four juvenile courts, the district and sessions’ judge courts in other districts should be asked to act as juvenile courts.
   According to law ministry sources, the proposal will be placed before NICAR after approval of the national monitoring committee of administrative reorganisation.
   National monitoring committee discussed the proposal in a meeting on April 9 and asked from the authorities concerned a report containing detailed information on cases filed or pending against juveniles. After examining the report, the committee will finalise the proposal and then place it before NICAR for approval, the sources said.
   According to a source in the prison directorate, as of July 1, 504 juveniles are still languishing in jails in violation of a HC order issued on the government on April 9, 2003 to transfer all juvenile offenders to correction or similar homes.
   The children are still kept in prison, although 411 seats in three state-run juvenile development centres and six safe homes remain vacant, said a source in the social welfare ministry.
   In the seven-point directives issued on April 9, 2003, a HC bench comprising Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury and Justice Nijamul Haque Nasim asked the government to transfer all juvenile accused to correction homes and other approved homes as early as possible. It also said the juvenile accused in jails must be kept apart from other prisoners.
   The absence of juvenile courts and the lack of knowledge and training on juvenile justice and related laws, including the Children Act, 1974, are primarily responsible for children still ending up in prisons, observed juvenile justice experts Shah Deen Malik and Nijamul Haque.
   The Children Act stipulates that ‘the government may, by notification in the official gazette, establish one or more juvenile courts for any local area.’
   Based on that provision, an inter-ministerial meeting on March 10, 2002 resolved to establish juvenile courts in every district. The meeting also decided that, until such courts were established, a magistrate would be deployed in every district to deal with juvenile legal proceedings.
   No such court, however, has so far been established and no magistrate deployed.
   A High Court bench of Justice Md Iman Ali and Justice AKM Fazlur Rahman in a verdict delivered on July 9, 2006 ordered that any accused child must be tried in a juvenile court and not in any other court irrespective of the nature of the charge brought against the child.
   Despite the HC edict, criminal courts continue to try cases against juveniles. In the latest instance, a sub-judge’s court of Jamalpur in June jailed a 12 to 13-year-old boy for 10 years for possessing illegal arms.

Satisfied with the progress in implementing advisory council decisions, the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, Saturday advised formal and informal interaction between the advisers and secretaries to further expedite administrative function.
   He gave the suggestion during stocktaking of their performance in implementing the decisions made in meetings of the council of advisers in the first six months of this year.
   He thanked all secretaries of the ministries for their prompt action in implementing the decisions and hoped that this working tempo would be maintained and the powers delegated to them would be exercised with the highest degree of sincerity.
   The directives from the head of the caretaker government came during a regular weekly meeting of the council of advisers, wherein cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumdar presented a report of progress in implementation of decisions made in meetings of the council of advisers since January 14 to June 30.
   The presentation was a follow-up to the decision of the council meeting to present report every three months to review the progress, which is billed unique as people can know government performance. A few months back, the first report on three-month progress of implementation of advisory council decisions was presented.
   The day’s was the 47th meeting of the advisory council since the present government took over following the 1/11 changeover.
   The meeting was informed that a total of 205 decisions were made in 40 meetings of the council of advisers during the January 14-June 30 period, of which 115 decisions had already been implemented while the rest 90 were in various stages of implementation.
   It was also apprised that 14 ordinances were given final approval by the council-of-advisers meetings during the period, and nine of them were promulgated. ‘The rest of the ordinances are under the process of promulgation,’ according to the Chief Adviser’s press secretary, Syed Fahim Munaim.
   All ministries and divisions were involved in the implementation of the decisions.
   Nine advisory committees were either constituted or reconstituted in-between January and June — seven committees were permanent in nature while two temporary. The advisory committees have held 41 meetings.
   The decisions made by the government include delegation of financial and administrative powers aiming to further increase dynamism of the administration, updating the laws and rules and regulations, formulation of citizens’ charter in all utility service-providing organisations and quick settlement of various incomplete matters, including pension cases.
   Chairing the council meeting, the chief adviser asked all concerned ‘to be sincere so that the delegated powers are exercised properly’. For this purpose, he emphasised informal and formal interaction between the advisers and secretaries to further expedite the administrative function.

A teacher of Bangla Department at Chittagong University was demoted to lecturer from assistant professor for writing the answer partly to a question on the script of a girl student.
   Campus sources said that the syndicate at a Saturday meeting decided to demote Milton Biswas for writing on the answer script (course No 202) of Dinar Sultana in her 2nd year final examination.
   The syndicate imposed a ban on his promotion for three years and excluded him from the examination committee for 10 years.
   The allegations against the teacher were proved undoubtedly during the investigation, sources in the syndicate said.
   The syndicate also sacked Nazim Uddin, general secretary of Class IV Employees’ Association, on various charges, including sexual harassment.
   Syndicate member Professor Helal Uddin Nizami said that charges had also been brought against the association president Zakir Ahmed for his alleged involvement in various irregularities. After further investigation, punitive measures would be taken against him, if found guilty, he added.
   Besides, the syndicate expelled four students for assaulting three fellows and injuring them critically at the social science cafeteria on April 17 and eight others for ransacking the classrooms at Bangla Department in recent times.
   Of them, Ziaul Kabir Shamim of anthropology and Shamim Mia of economics were expelled for two years while Ekramul Hasan of economics for one year and Faisal Mahmud for 40 days.

Criminals are posing threat to road users, cashing in on shortage of manpower and other facilities in the highway police.
   ‘The criminals are still active on the Dhaka-Chittagong and Dhaka-Sylhet Highways,’ said Rustam Ali Khan, general secretary of Bangladesh Truck and Covered Van Owners’ Association.
   He urged the authorities concerned to boost the security service on the highways. ‘We were in anxiety before the formation of the highway police but now feel safer due to civilities of the policemen.’
   A driver, who drives covered van on the highway, alleged that some of the policemen were still behaving as they did in the past. ‘The policemen often stop vehicles for taking bribe, otherwise they threaten us with lodging cases,’ he said.
   The highway police unit chief, Dr Sadiqur Rahman, said that they achieved a lot of success with limited resources despite none of the 24 police stations approved by the government was yet to be set up apart from infrastructures for the outposts.
   ‘As the incidents of robbery and accident on the highways have decreased in recent times, commuters are reaching their destinations more safely.’
   Alongside regular duty, the highway policemen are also holding meetings with the transport owners and workers to increase awareness of any untoward incidents on the way, he said.
   ‘The government has recently handed over the charges of carrying out investigation into the cases committed within the jurisdiction of the highway police,’ he said, adding that they would launch the investigation soon.
   He hoped that the activities of the highway police would be geared up when the infrastructures would be ready.
   Hafizur Rahman, an assistant inspector general of police, claimed that the police were not sitting idle inside the vehicles, which was common at night before the formation of highway police.
   The government launched the activity of the highway police on June 11, 2005 with a view to ensuring the safety and smooth journey of the commuters on the highways.
   The government has approved the workforce of 2,042, including a deputy inspector general, an assistant inspector general and an assistant superintendent of police for the headquarters in Dhaka, for the highway police.
   The officials also include two superintendents of police and two additional SPs at two zones in Comilla and Bogra and seven ASPs at seven zones in Bogra, Kushtia, Barisal, Chittagong, Comilla, Sylhet and Gazipur.
   Although the unit has now the workforce of 1,400 against the approval, the highway police didn’t get its approved vehicles and other supports, including the police outposts which were scheduled to be handed over to it.
   Some 72 police outposts were supposed to be added to the highway police, but they are still remained attached with the district police units.
   Even though each of the outposts was supposed to have first aid kit box, restroom, toilet, speedometer, wrecker and video camera, many of those were yet to be equipped fully, official sources said.

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday the United States and Israel were his country’s main enemies, just days after US-Iranian talks about Iraq’s security.
   Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. They held talks in Baghdad on Tuesday to find ways to restore security in Iraq, after an earlier round in May.
   ‘The Zionist regime (Israel) and the American government are the main enemies of Iran, and hatred for America is deepening every day around the globe,’ Khamenei said in a televised speech.
   Khamenei has the last say in all state matters, including resumption of ties with the United States and Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.
   Washington accuses Shia Muslim Iran of fomenting violence in Iraq. Iran denies the charge and blames the US-led invasion in 2003 for the bloodshed between Iraq’s majority Shia and minority Sunni Arabs.
   During the two rounds of talks in Baghdad, the sides agreed to establish a trilateral committee to investigate issues such as support for militias and al-Qaeda in Iraq.
   Tehran and Washington are also at loggerheads over Iran’s nuclear work. The United States says Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons under cover of a civilian programme. Iran denies this, saying it needs the technology to generate electricity.
   Two sets of UN sanctions have been imposed on the Islamic state for defying repeated UN resolutions demanding it suspend all nuclear fuel activity. A third set is now in preparation.

A suspected regional leader of an underground group was killed in crossfire with the police at Charmilpara in Kushtia early Saturday, raising the death count in such incidents to 841 since June 2004.
   The deceased, identified as Dulal, 33, of Belgharia village under sadar upazila of Kushtia, was a regional commander of underground Gonomukti Fouz and wanted in a number of cases, including two murders, police claimed.
   A team of plainclothes policemen raided Charmilpara area to bust the underground party operatives early Saturday.
   Sensing presence of police, the outlaws opened fire on the lawmen who countered, triggering a gunfight for about half an hour.
   At one stage, the criminals fled the scene and the policemen found bullet-hit Dulal lying on the ground.
   He was taken to Kushtia General Hospital where the on-duty doctors declared him dead, the police claimed.
   They seized a shutter-gun and four bullets from the spot.

A fire broke out at the multi-storey CA Bhaban at Karwan Bazar in the Dhaka city on Saturday night, creating panic among the inmates and people in the area.
   Local people said the fire broke out at the office of a vice-president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh, Shawkat Hossain, on the eighth floor of the building at about 9:15pm and immediately engulfed the whole room.
   The building also housed leading Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
   Seeing the flames, the inmates came out of the building. The local people also ran from the building premises for shelter.
   Informed, eight fire engines reached the spot and doused the flames at about 10:00pm.
   The fire brigade officials suspect that the fire might have originated from a short circuit in the air-conditioner of the room.
   No casualty was reported in the incident, they said.

PANIC gripped the people of the hilly town of Rangamati and its outskirts when an earthquake was felt in the area in the morning Saturday.
   The tremor was measured 5.1 in the Richter scale and felt at around 6.50am Saturday, officials said.
   Although no casualty or damage was reported, the tremor that jolted the tiny hill town for a little over one minute created panic among people and many of them jumped from sleep and came out of homes before understanding anything.
   The tremor-prone district was jolted by powerful tremors on June 24, 2001. Hundreds of dwellings were damaged in Borkal, the epicentre of the tremor.

Three children were killed in a road accident at Charia under Hathazari upazila on Chittagong-Nazirhat road Saturday morning.
   The dead were identified as Ismail, 7, Tahera Begum, 9 and Shakera Begum, 4, son and daughters of Khairul Bashar, of Charia area.
   The police and witnesses said that a speeding truck knocked down the children while they were crossing the road at around 7:00am, leaving them dead on the spot.
   Tayaba Begum, 38, mother of the kids, who sustained injuries in the accident, was admitted to Hathazari Upazila Health Complex.

The Rapid Action Battalion picked up a union council chairman and seized six firearms from his house at village Nizkaransi under the Osmaninagar police station in Sylhet on Saturday.
   The arrested was identified as Syed Kaisar Ahmed, chairman of the Goalabazar union council.
   Tipped-off, a RAB team raided the house of the chairman at about 4:30am and recovered three revolvers, two pipe guns and one shotgun with 8 rounds of bullet.
   Later they arrested him on charge of possessing illegal firearms, sources in RAB said.
   The chairman along with the firearms was handed over to the Kotwali police Saturday evening, the police said.