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Bangladesh turned in a spirited all-round performance to defeat much-fancied India by five wickets and deliver the first major upset of the ICC World Cup in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad on Saturday.
   India, touted by many as a favourite to win the tournament, was outplayed by their neighbours and relative minnows of the international game in every department of the game.
   The Bangladesh charge was led by their brigade of teenagers — three of them scoring half centuries to help their team reach the target of 192 set by India with nine balls to spare.
   Seventeen—year-old opener Tamim Iqbal, playing only his fifth one-day international, showed the way with some calypso strokes in a stunning 51 off 53 balls featuring two sixes.
   Two other teenagers carried followed Tamim’s work through to play a big role in Bangladesh’s second win over India in 15 one-dayers, as Saqibul Hasan (53) and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim (56 not out) put on 84 for the fourth wicket.
   Bangladesh boosted their chances of qualifying for the next round. They will play Sri Lanka and debutants Bermuda in their next two games, while India need to win their remaining two matches in Group B to stay in contention.
   The stunning triumph was set up by pacer Mashrafee bin Murtaza, who grabbed four wickets in a superb exhibition of fast bowling to rattle the famed Indian batting line-up. India were dismissed for 191, their lowest total against Bangladesh.
   Only Sourav Ganguly (66) and Yuvraj Singh (47) managed to keep their batting reputation intact on India’s first day in the tournament, which eventually ended in a nightmare.
   It was Bangladesh’s biggest day in the tournament since making their debut in 1999. They had just one win against a Test-playing nation when they beat Pakistan in England.
   Habibul Bashar’s side were the deserving winners as they bowled with great discipline, fielded with enthusiasm and then batted boldly to stun their much higher-ranked opponents.
   Tamim never gave the impression he was playing his fifth one-dayer as he treated the Indian attack with sheer contempt, hitting two sixes and seven fours in his 53-ball knock.
   The pick of his shots was a huge six off left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan, the batsman stepping out to send the ball crashing into the stands. His audacious innings ended when he was caught behind off paceman Munaf Patel.
   His blitz eventually demoralised India, who continued to struggle for wickets as Mushfiq and Saqib batted sensibly to ensure the efforts of Tamim and Mashrafee did not go to waste.
   The 18-year-old Mushfiq kept one end intact with his second half-century, while the 19-year-old Saqib struck one six and five fours in his third half-century.
   The morning session belonged to Mashrafee, who jolted the Indian top order on a pitch which offered both bounce and movement. He not only took two early wickets, but also kept beating the bat during his fiery opening spell.
   He was brilliantly supported by left-arm spinners Mohammad Rafique (3 for 35) and Abdur Razzak (3 for 38) on a day when Bangladesh kept the pressure on India right from the opening over.
   Ganguly top-scored for India with a half-century, but even he too was not allowed to score freely by the Bangladesh seamers and spinners.
   Only Yuvraj Singh played with freedom in his team’s below-par batting performance, smashing a 58-ball 47. He shared an 85-run stand for the fifth wicket with Ganguly.
   Mashrafee and left-arm seamer Syed Rasel kept the batsmen silent during their opening spells, while Razzak and Rafique continued the good job to reduce India to 72 for 4.
   Both the teams observed a minute’s silence before the match in memory of Bangladeshi cricketer Manzarul Islam Rana, who died in a road accident near Dhaka on Friday.

Bangladesh’s dream start to the World Cup by defeating former champions India on Saturday gives them a great chance to progress to the super eights of the tournament. The victory, Bangladesh’s second against India and in their first encounter in a World Cup, undoubtedly represents Bangladesh’s finest cricketing moment, surpassing even the win against Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup and the one against Australia at Cardiff in 2005.
   Habibul Bashar may have lost the toss in the morning, but thereafter, the day was all Bangladesh’s. A brilliant opening spell by Mashrafee bin Murtaza, in which he accounted for Virender Sehwag and Robin Utthappa, was crucial in setting the tone of the game. Mashrafee bowled with controlled aggression, and with the maturity of the bowler who ended last year as the highest one-day wicket-taker in the world for the year. He was more than ably supported by his new-ball partner Syed Rasel, who bowled beautifully, running through his ten overs on the trot for only 31 runs.
   Much was made of the one-dimensional nature of Bangladesh’s bowling attack in all the pre-match conversations, but the three left-arm spinners, led by Mohammad Rafique, did the job for their team. They didn’t allow the Indian batsmen to settle down in the middle overs by taking wickets at regular intervals. Rafique and Abdur Razzaq both took three wickets and broke the backbone of the Indian batting before Mashrafee returned to clean up the tail.
   However, the best feature of Bangladesh’s performance was the fielding. It was the kind of performance that Australia or South Africa would be proud of. Not only were all the catches taken, including a brilliant one by Razzaq diving forward, the ground fielding was absolutely superb, with Bangladesh’s bevy of young players showing off their agility and skills.
   By the time the Bangladesh batsmen came out to chase the Indian total of 191, there was an air of inevitability about this match, which was quickly confirmed by the whirlwind innings played by Tamim Iqbal. The young left-hander, picked for his ability to hit over the top during the power plays, did just that, hitting seven fours and two sixes in his 51. He didn’t let his team feel the early loss of the dependable Shahriar Nafees, who went to Zaheer Khan.
   However, the significant partnership for Bangladesh came when Saqibul Hasan joined Mushfiqur Rahim after the fall of Tamim. Both players enjoyed some luck, but mixed caution with aggression to put on 84 brilliant runs to take the game away from India.
   Mushfiq, the young wicket-keeper batsman who took Khaled Mashud’s place in the squad, showed maturity well beyond his years to play a wonderful unbeaten innings of 56. It was only right that he got to hit the winning run, smacking a four through the covers, to signal the win in a match in which Bangladesh outplayed India in all departments of the game.
   Serious questions were raised when this squad was announced about the lack of top class experience of the players, many of whom are in their teens. However, the way the players handled the pressures of a crucial World Cup game, that too against players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid who most of them would have grown up idolising, is a great testament to their growing maturity and courage.
   The Tigers also recovered in time from the shock and sadness that dominated most of the hours leading up to the match against India because of the loss of former team-mate Manzarul Islam Rana, who died in a tragic accident in Khulna on Friday. Captain Habibul Bashar in his reaction to the death of Rana had promised that his team would put up a special performance to pay respect to the memory of Rana, and the victory against India is a fitting tribute to a player who always gave his all when playing for his country.
   Bangladesh will now hope to repeat this feat against Sri Lanka on Wednesday. However, even if the team is unable to beat Sri Lanka, a good performance in that match followed by a convincing win against lowly Bermuda should be enough to take Bangladesh to the super eights.

The entire Dhaka city burst into a spontaneous cheer and hundreds of people flooded the streets of the capital as the ball shot past the boundary off Mushfiqur Rahim’s bat to seal Bangladesh’s win over India in the early hours of Sunday.
   Anticipation was in the air all across the capital on Saturday night as the ticker on television screens clocked the slow, steady rise of Bangladesh’s runs. At different parts of the capital gatherings of eager supporters started getting thicker as news spread of an imminent win.
   The Dhaka University authorities had set up a giant screen at the Teachers-Student Centre at the beginning of the World Cup. Every day around 1,000 teachers and student watched the game there. But on Saturday it was five times higher than the usual attendance. As the match progressed and Bangladesh’s prospects of winning looked brighter, the attendance grew strong to stronger.
   As Mushfiq hit the winning boundary all of them burst into celebrations. Students from different dormitories of Dhaka University started to gather there. Chanting the only word they could think of — ‘Bangladesh, Bangladesh’ — they roared the quiet night out of its lull.
   A car draped over with the colours of the Bangladesh flag was spotted. They drummed up everything they could lay their hands on. People from nearby areas came en masse, some on rickshaws, others on bikes. Most just walked together on the streets!
   ‘This is just the beginning. We will rock the Caribbean!’ said Noman, a student of Dhaka University, while jumping all over.
   Small celebrations were spotted at Satmasjid Road, Tejgaon and Gulshan. Many had gathered privately at homes to watch the game, while some food outlets kept special arrangements with large screens for their customers.
   Coffee World outlets at Dhanmondi and Banani had spectators till the end of the game. The odd hour kept most indoors, but the sheer show of support and joy of celebration resembled that of Bangladesh’s first major cricketing success — the win of the ICC trophy in 1997.

Bangladesh teenagers Tamim Iqbal and Saqibul Hasan led their country to a famous five-wicket win over India in a World Cup sensation here on Saturday.
   Chasing just 192 to win, Bangladesh wrapped up the Group B match at the Queen’s Park Oval with nine balls to spare.
   Tamim, aged just 17, hit 51 off 53 balls with 19-year-old Saqib making 53 off 86 balls. Eighteen-year-old Mushfiqur Rahim made an unbeaten 56 off 107 balls to see his side home. ‘I just tried to play my natural game,’ said Tamim, who collected seven fours and two sixes. ‘I like to play my shots.’
   Saqib added: ‘It’s a good win and we knew that if we could bat 50 overs we would win.’
   Meanwhile, Indian captain Rahul Dravid admitted his team face a battle to qualify for the next round.
   ‘Our backs are up against the wall,’ said Dravid who chose to bat at the Queen’s Park Oval and saw his much-vaunted batting line-up skittled out for just 191 by a young Bangladesh team.
   ‘It was a disappointing day. We didn’t get enough runs on the board. I thought 240 would have been a good score but the wicket surprised us,’ said Dravid.
   ‘Their bowlers kept it really tight and they didn’t let us get away. We lost a few late wickets which could have been the difference between 20 and 30 runs.
   ‘With another 30-40 runs, it would have been a good game.’
   India will have to beat Sri Lanka as well as minnows Bermuda to have any hope of making it through to the second round Super Eights.

The two major political parties, BNP and Awami League, are under mounting pressure for bringing about radical reforms within the parties and ensuring internal democratic practices.
   A section of the leaders and activists of the two parties also want that the parties should do away with the culture of dynastic politics.
   ‘We are facing tremendous pressure from leaders and activists of the party to pursue major reform for ensuring democratic practices within the party and maintaining financial transparency and accountability,’ a key member of the BNP’s national standing committee told New Age.
   ‘The leadership should start holding meetings of different forums of the party regularly and listen to the voice of rank and file…’
   ‘There is hardly any democracy within the major political parties,’ admitted another BNP policymaker. ‘Both the major parties are run by dictatorial whims,’ he said. ‘We must get rid of a political system where some persons “inherit” political leadership. Birth right or being the in-law of an influential leader should not be the criterion for being nominated to contest national elections’, said another adviser to the BNP chairperson.
   Top leaders of the Awami League are under similar pressure from the activists of different party organs.
   ‘The mid-level leaders are strongly demanding that the party president should be persuaded into taking steps to democratise the party apparatus and do away with the idea of dynastic political culture,’ a senior presidium member of the Awami League said.
   They also welcomed the initiatives of the interim government and the Election Commission to pursue reforms in the electoral system and the political parties, the presidium member said.
   Meanwhile, the Election Commission recently said that the political parties willing to contest the next elections should get registered with the commission.
   ‘The present Election Commission is determined to bring about some major reforms, including one which will make it mandatory for political parties to get registered for taking part in elections. ‘Political parties which will not register themselves can do politics but cannot take part in elections,’ M Sakhawat Hossain, an election commissioner, told reporters Wednesday.
   He hoped that the gazette detailing reforms of electoral laws on which the commission is now working would be published by July.
   He said reform was being done mainly to help political parties to ensure financial transparency and practice of democracy inside the parties. People want that seasoned politicians who have been doing politics for long standing up to difficult situation should be promoted.
   ‘We have already appreciated the government’s initiative for reforming the electoral system,’ an adviser to the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, who recently met a top adviser to the government, told New Age. ‘I represented the party at the meeting,’ he claimed.
   ‘We have urged the government to lunch a dialogue with the political parties before setting the agenda for reforms,’ he said.
   Asked if the top leaders of the two parties, Khaleda Zia of BNP and Sheikh Hasina of Awami League, who inherited leadership from Ziaur Rahman and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman respectively, would agree to the initiatives for reform within their respective parties, an Awami League presidium member, who was a senior minister in Sheikh Hasina’s government in 1996-2001, said, ‘It will be unfortunate if we fail to feel the pulse of the time.’
   ‘We are conveying the sentiment of the field to the party chairperson,’ a newly recruited member of the BNP’s national standing committee told New Age. ‘We expect that she would agree to major reform proposals after holding discussions with appropriate party forum.’
   The Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, on March 15 announced that her party would ratify the decisions and activities of the interim government.

The interim government has started a process to bring AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, a convicted killer of the country’s founding president Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, back from the
   United States to ensure that he face the due course of law.
   ‘The government has asked the Bangladesh consul general in Los Angeles to start necessary process for the fugitive’s return,’ Syed Fahim Munaim, press secretary to the chief adviser to the interim government, told reporters on Saturday. He said the US authorities want to deport Mohiuddin, a retired military official who was arrested by the US federal immigration agents from his Los Angeles home on Tuesday, as early as possible.
   A travel permit from the Bangladesh authorities is needed for Mohiuddin to be deported. ‘We are processing his travel permit,’ said the press secretary, hoping that repatriation of the convicted killer would take place ‘as quickly as possible’. He will be sent back with a US security escort.
   ‘Law will take its own course in this regard,’ he added.
   Major (retd) Mohiuddin was tried in absentia and sentenced to death for his involvement in the assassination of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on August 15, 1975.
   Mohiuddin entered the United States in 1996 on a visitor’s visa and was illegally staying there. He applied for staying in the US permanently but an immigration judge in 2002 ordered him to be deported. He filed an appeal against the order, and the appeal court last month also rejected his bid to have his case reviewed and ordered him to return to Bangladesh, where he has been wanted.
   The then Awami League government, which ruled Bangladesh in 1996- 2001, had urged the US government to extradite Mohiuddin who, along with 14 others, was convicted in 1998 for the murder of Mujib and sentenced to death.
   Mohiuddin represented Bangladesh government in a variety of foreign diplomatic posts in two decades since the assassination of Sheikh Mujib. He was deputy chief of protocol in Dhaka and councillor in Libya after the assassination of Mujib, who was killed along with most of his family members in a military putsch on August 15, 1975.
   The case was barred by constitutional amendment, but it moved to trial after 21 years when Mujib’s daughter, Sheikh Hasina assumed the office of the prime minister in 1996. A Dhaka court in late 1998 sentenced 15 of the 19 accused in the case to death.
   After a split verdict by a court, a third court pronounced the sentence confirming death to 12 convicts on April 30, 2001.
   Four — retired lieutenant colonels Syed Faruque Rahman, Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan and Muhiuddin Ahmed and retired major Bazlul Huda — out of the convicts are now in the condemned cell of Dhaka Central Jail.
   Major (retired) Mohiuddin was among the eight fugitives.

The 87th anniversary of birth of the country’s founding president, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was observed on Saturday.
   The Awami League, its front organisations and different socio-cultural and professional organisations marked the day as National Children’s Day as decided by the AL government which ruled the country in 1996-2001.
   On the occasion, the Awami League hoisted national and party flags at party offices all over the country at 6:00am, placed flowers at the portrait of Mujib at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at 7:30am and held a milad mahfil in front of the museum at 4:00pm.
   The party, however, refrained from holding any discussion meeting on the day as the country was passing through a state of emergency, AL sources said.
   The birth anniversary celebration committee, Bangabandhu Sangskritik Jote and Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad also organised similar programmes marking the day.
   The party leaders also placed flowers at the Tungipara grave of Mujib and attended a milad there after Zohr prayers. The chief adviser to the caretaker government, Fakhruddin Ahmed visited Tungipara and placed flowers at the grave of Mujib on the occasion.
   New Age Gopalganj correspondent reports: the chief adviser arrived at Tungipara at about 10:30 in the morning, placed flowers at the grave and offered fateha. He also signed the visitors’ book
   Senior leaders of the AL, Sechchasebak League and Chhatra League also visited the grave of Mujib and placed flowers.
   They also attended a milad at the mazar complex mosque after Zohr prayers.
   Mujib, one of the founders of the Awami League, was born on March 17, 1920 at village Tungipara in Gopalganj.

The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, on Saturday placed wreath at the grave of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Tungipara on the occasion of his 87th anniversary of birth.
   He also offered fateha at the grave of Sheikh Mujib, founder president of the country.
   A smartly turned-out contingent of the three services presented guard of honour to the chief adviser when he reached the grave premises at 10:26am.
   The chief adviser stood in solemn silence for sometime and took the salute. Chiefs of three services, high civil
   and military officials including cabinet secretary were present.
   Later, Fakhruddin signed the visitor’s book kept there.
   The chief adviser will also offer fateha at the grave of late president Ziaur Rahman on May 30 on the occasion
   of his death anniversary,
   said his press secretary on Thursday.

The chief adviser to the government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, on Saturday instructed the authorities concerned to properly maintain the grave of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
   Disappointed at the poor maintenance of the grave under an archaeology department project, Fakhruddin during his visit to the grave at Tungipara in Gopalganj instructed his principal secretary to take measures for the maintenance of the grave under the supervision of the Public Works Department.
   Fakhruddin visited the grave on the occasion of the 87th anniversary of the birth of the founding president.
   The matter was also discussed at the regular meeting of the council of advisers.

The authorities have extended by three more months the detention of five in Netrakona and by one more month the detention of 15 in Bogra.
   The authorities extended by three more months the detention of five persons, including a former BNP lawmaker, MA Karim Abbasi, who is now a member on the Liberal Democratic Party presidium and detained in the Netrakona jail.
   In Bogra, the detention of 15 people, including three JMB activists, was extended by one more month.
   In Dhaka, a case was filed against former BNP lawmaker Harun-ur-Rashid on charge of tax evasion.
   The army-led joint forces on Saturday arrested a union council chairman and his associate in Shariatpur for their suspected involvement in crimes.
   In the drive against crimes and corruption, the forces arrested about 1,500 people across the country in 24 hours till 6:00am Saturday.
   In Dhaka, a Tejgaon police subinspector, Yunus Ali, filed case with the Pallabi police against former BNP lawmaker for a Chapainwabganj constituency, Harun-ur-Rashid, on charge of tax evasion.
   The private television channel NTV managing director, Enayetur Rahman, and the Sky Auto owner, Ishtiaq Sadeq, were also made accused in the case.
   The Rapid Action Battalion seized a luxury Hummer brand car from Panthapath on March 5. Investigation revealed the former lawmaker imported the car duty-free for Tk 12.9 lakh and sold it soon to Enayetur Rahim for Tk 98 lakh.
   All the three were arrested and are now in jail.
   In Netrakona, the local jail officials said they had received the extension order of the detention of MA Karim Abbasi, president of the Durgapur upazila BNP in Netrakona, Hamidur Rahman Rashed, Mohanganj upazila BNP leader Haji Khokon, and two wanted criminals, Jamaluddin and Kanchan of Purbadhala, for three months.
   The one-month detention of the five ended on March 14. The extension order reached the jail authorities Friday night.
   LDP presidium member Abbasi was president of the Netrakona district BNP for 16 years and was elected lawmaker for the Netrakona 1 constituency in 1991 and 2001.
   He was also whip of BNP in Jatiya Sangsad between 1991 and 1996 and joined the Liberal Democratic Party with Oli Ahmed on October 26, 2006.
   The forces arrested him at his house at Muktarpara of Durgapur on February 11. Four others were arrested on February 11 and 12.
   In Bogra, the detention of 15 people, including three activists of the banned Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, was extended by one more month. The order that was issued on March 15 reached Bogra on Friday.
   The three JMB activists are Zulfiquar Ali Tutul, Sirajul Islam and Abdur Rahim while the others were former BNP lawmaker Helaluzzaman Takukder Laloo, BNP leaders Saiful Islam, Mohammad Shukrana, Shahidul Islam, Krishak Dal leader Tipu Sultan, Kamalpur union council chairman Moklesar Rahman Badshah, Jatiayatabadi Chhatra Dal leader Jahangir Alam, fertiliser trader Harunar Rashid Harun, ABM Shamsuddin Jinnah, Sherpur municipality chairman Jan-e-Alam Khoka and Awami League leader Mujibur Rahman Majnu. Laloo was shifted to the Pabna jail from Bogra on Friday.
   The forces arrested them early February, the jail officials said, adding the extended period will begin after the conclusion of the 30-day detention.
   In Shariatpur, the forces detained the Gosairhat union council chairman, Tariq Mobarak Dhali, also a Gosairhat upazila BNP leader, when he, along with his associate, Sumon Dhali, were trying to get away in a motorbike at about 10:00am. They were interrogated in the army camp till late afternoon.
   The police said Tarik, a close relation to the immediate-past prime minister’s assistant private secretary, Shamsul Alam Mintu, was involved in corruption, extortion and land grabbing during the BNP-led alliance government.
   He was accused in a number of cases, including extortion and land grabbing, the police said.

Pakistan were staring at defeat against minnows Ireland when bad light stopped play at Sabina Park.
   Ireland were 81 for 4 after 27.3 overs when play was suspended, chasing a modest targert of 133 set by Pakistan to potentially knock the Asian superpower out of the World Cup. Niall O’Brien was not out on 54. Mohammad Sami took 3 for 27.
   Earlier, Ireland got the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations off to a rousing start, when they won the toss, chose to field, and dismissed Pakistan for 132 in 45.4 overs.
   Pakistan’s dismal performance means that the 1992 champions, who lost the opening game to West Indies, will be eliminated from the tournament if they lose to Ireland’s part-timers. Boyd Rankin was the most successful Irish bowler with three wickets for 32 runs from nine overs, Andre Botha supported with the flattering figures of 8-4-5-2, and Kyle McCallan collected two for 12 from 5.4 overs.
   Only four Pakistani batsmen got into double-figures - Kamran Akmal scored 27, Imran Nazir got 24, and Mohammad Yousuf made 15, and Mohammad Sami gathered 12.
   The Irish bowlers gained favourable bounce and movement from the hard, grassy surface, but the Pakistani batsmen were also victims of their own indiscretion and athletic fielding from their opponents.
   Pakistan were set back from early, when Mohammad Hafeez was caught behind for four off Dave Langford-Smith driving loosely outside the off-stump in the first over, and Younis Khan was caught low at first slip for a duck off Rankin in the fourth over.
   Pakistan were 15 for two, and Yousuf came out and added a valuable 41 for the third wicket with opener Imran Nazir.
   They appeared to be getting on top of the bowling with both playing some delightful strokes through off-side, when Yousuf was caught at backward point off Irish captain Trent Johnson essaying a square drive in the 13th over.
   This precipitated a mini batting collapse for Pakistan, as they also lost skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, Nazir, and Shoaib Malik for the addition of 14 runs in the space of 43 balls.
   Inzamam edged a forward defensive stroke and was caught at slip for one off Andre Botha in the 14th over, and the same bowler also struck when Nazir too, played forward defensively and edged to slip in the 18th over.
   Pakistan slid to 72 for six in the 21st over, when Shoaib Malik played forward and inside-edged a catch to the keeper off Kevin O’Brien. He made nine.
   Azhar Mahmood, so late an inclusion in the Pakistan side that the official team sheets circulated to the media still had Danish Kaneria listed instead of him, came to the wicket and stemmed the fall of wickets with Akmal in a stand of 31 for the seventh wicket.
   Rankin however, was brought back for a second spell from the northern end of the ground, and he removed them both in the space of four balls of the 31st over.
   Both Mahmood, who scored two, and Akmal attempted pull shots, top-edged, and were caught in the arc between mid-wicket and mid-on to leave Pakistan on 103 for eight.
   Mohammad Sami and Rao Iftikhar came together to temporarily halt the slide, but McCallan was given another spell from the southern end, and had Sami caught at long leg in the 44th over before Umar Gul was caught at deep mid-wicket for one to bring an end to the innings.

The police have completed all formalities to submit the charge sheet of an extortion case filed against Tarique Rahman, senior joint secretary general of the BNP and son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, to the court today. Police will submit the charge sheet on Sunday iimplicating Tarique Rahman and his APS Mian Mohammad Apu in the extortion of Taka 1 crore from a businessman, investigation officer of the case, Mahbub Morshed, told New Age.
   ‘We have completed all necessary formalities and seven persons have been made witnesses’, said Obaidul Haque, officer-in-charge of Gulshan police station adding that they would submit to the court the cheque for Taka 1 crore enclosed with the charge sheet as evidence.
   A case was filed against Tarique on March 8 for allegedly extorting Taka 1 crore from a construction firm, Al-Amin Construction.
   Owner of the firm, Amin Ahmed, who won BNP ticket for contesting the cancelled January 22 election from a Noakhali constituency, filed the case with Gulshan police; another case was filed under Section 16 (2) of the Emergency Power Rules 2007 with Kafrul police station on the same day.
   Tarique was arrested from his mother’s Cantonment house early on March 8.
   He was later remanded in police custody for four days in connection with the case.
   The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court sent Tarique to Dhaka Central Jail on March 12 after rejecting his bail prayer and ordered one month’s detention on the following day.
   Meanwhile, preparations for filing more cases against Tarique have almost been completed, police sources said, adding that at least two cases would be filed against the wealthy son of Khaleda Zia under Money Laundering Act and Foreign Currency Act.
   Some former ministers, former state ministers, former lawmakers and some people close to Hawa Bhaban including his [Tarique] APS Mian Mohammad Apu might also be made accused in the cases.
   The Task Force Intelligence interrogated Tarique in custody.
   During interrogation he gave ‘important information’ relating to his involvement in corruption, sources said.
   TFI personnel interrogated him in phases about his alleged involvement in corruption relating to CNG-buying project, taking kickbacks from different projects of the ministry of
   civil aviation, misappropriating money from the electric poles installation project and siphoning off money, sources said.
   They interrogated Tarique by showing him files and video footages relating to his involvement in corruption, the sources said.
   During interrogation he reportedly disclosed names of his APS Mian Mohammad Apu and Hawa Bhaban men Shakil and Bakul who were involved in his business.
   The joint forces have prepared a list of his close aides and their whereabouts following the statement of Tarique during interrogation, sources said.
   The joint forces will soon launch drives to track them down, sources added.

The government has transferred 24 upazila nirbahi officers in a fresh move to reshuffle the field-level administration.
   Three separate gazette notifications to this effect, issued by the establishment ministry on March 15, were made available on Saturday.
   Fayez Ahmed of Kaliakoir in Gazipur and Shah Alam Sarder of Daulatkhan in Bhola have been interchanged.
   Ahmadul Haq of Sakhipur in Tangail has been transferred to Bishwambharpur in Sunamganj to replace Mohammad Musa who has been sent to Sakhipur.
   Md Oliullah of Gopalpur in Tangail and ABM Shawkat Iqbal Shaheen of Ramgar in Khagrachhari have been interchanged. Abdus Sattar Sheikh of Bhuapur in Tangail, and Moniruzzaman of Bahubal in Habiganj have also been interchanged.
   Mohammad Abu Masud of Sirajdikhan in Munsiganj has been sent to Phultala in Khulna to replace Enamul Haq who has been transferred to Sirajdikhan. Foyez Ahmed, senior assistant commissioner of the deputy commissioner’s office of Bhola has been transferred to Kutubdia in Cox’s Bazar to replace Manjur Morshed, who has been sent to Nachole in Chapainwabganj and on the other hand, Mizanur Rahman of Nachole has been sent to Saturia in Manikganj.
   KM Ali Newaj of Saturia has been transferred to Lalmonirhat to replace Jahangir Alamgir, who has been sent to the Chandpur district headquarters and, on the other hand, Akhtaruzzaman of the Chandpur district headquarters has been transferred to Hatibandha in Lalmonirhat.
   Mahbubul Ahsan of Bakshiganj in Jamalpur and Jakir Hossain of Juri in Moulvibazar have been interchanged. Nawab Aslam Habib of the Sherpur district headquarters and ABM Sharif Uddin of Parbatipur in Dinajpur have also been interchanged.
   Makbul Hossain of Pangsha in Rajbari and Kamal Uddin Bishwas of Dhunat in Bogra have been interchanged. Abdul Mannan of the Chuadanga district headquarters has been transferred to the Gopalganj district headquarters to replace Mostafa Kamal, who has been transferred to Charfasson in Bhola.

An American group will launch a search for missing US warplanes and remains of soldiers killed during the World War II in several places within Bangladesh’s territories, reported a national weekly.
   In its current issue, the Probe newsmagazine said, ‘An operation is now about to be launched to find the US warplanes that were crashed in various places of the region, including the areas of Bangladesh.’
   Giving his comments on the Probe’s story, the director of American Centre in Dhaka told New Age on Saturday that the effort driven by a private organisation and family members of the lost warriors may start next year.
   The search has been initiated by a group, WWII Families for the Return of the Missing, in cooperation with the US Pacific Command.
   According to the weekly, Michael C Pettigrew, former Defence Attaché of the US Embassy in Dhaka, about five years ago visited the Sundarbans along with two other persons, believed to be consultants for the search project. They tried to locate an area depicted in an old map, which indicated possible spots were the warplanes were grounded by enemies, the Japan-German forces, towards the end of the WWII which ran between 1939 and 1945.
   On May 27, 1946, a C-47 fighter plane carrying 15 persons and 38 remains of American soldiers and servicemen disappeared an hour before its scheduled landing at Barrackpore airport in Kolkata from Mingaladon airport in Myanmar.
   This was followed by an unsuccessful eleven-day search by American and RAF aircraft. It was estimated that the aircraft crashed somewhere between Akyab and Barrackpore, either in the bay or the coastline stretching from Chittagong to Sundarbans.
   The USA lost about 78,700 soldiers in the WWII, which also cost the US army in the then allied force an unspecified number of warplanes.
   Over the years there have been reports from various villages of Feni, Chittagong, Comilla and other places including the Sundarbans, of recoveries of pieces of old aircraft scattered here and there.
   Lisa Phillips, whose uncle was shot down while flying a B-24 on November 27, 1943 in Myanmar sky, chairs the group that ventured on the search.
   Some of the marked sites between Akyab and Kolkata include village Gunuri, thana Dakub union Lata, thana Paikhgachha and upazila Koira under Khulna district and other sites in Chittagong Hill Tracts, in Feni and the neighbouring areas.
   Specialists, special equipment, hi-tech devices, trained personnel will be engaged in the search which also require land acquisition, exhaustive excavation and interviewing of local people.
   Other than the local experts, the US Defence Attaché talked to the Army Chief recently and also contacted the relevant intelligence agencies, the magazine reported.

George W Bush will be remembered as the worst US president ever, real estate mogul Donald Trump said Friday, adding that US Senator Hillary Clinton could be Bush’s White House successor.
   ‘Bush is probably the worst president in the history of the United States,’ Trump told CNN, lamenting the 2004 Democratic failure to stop Bush’s reelection.
   ‘I just don’t understand how they could have lost that election.’
   Trump added that Clinton, the junior senator from New York, would likely be the Democratic pick for the November 2008 vote.
   ‘I think she’ll probably be the nominee,’ he said, and told CNN she is ready to be commander in chief: ‘I think she is.’
   Trump inherited a real estate empire and added an airline, casino, resorts, hotels, skyscrapers in New York, around the world and named them after himself, turning his name into a sort of brand. He also owns a television show, ‘The Apprentice,’ in which he appears, as well as the Miss Universe contest.
   He calls senator Barack Obama, the first black candidate to have a competitive shot at the US presidency, ‘Young.’
   ‘It’s a little bit soon. I think his time might come, but I think it’s too soon.’
   Should Trump’s friend, Rudolph Giuliani, New York City mayor at the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks take the Republican nomination and face Clinton, Trump would have a tough time deciding.
   ‘They are two great candidates and I would make a decision.’
   As for Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, he said: ‘It looked like he was going to walk into the nomination and now Rudy is doing so well in the polls that it’s really amazing.’
   He chalked up McCain’s slide in popularity to his solution to the Iraq war. ‘Anybody that wants more troops going over to Iraq, I think, can’t win an election.’

The interim government has fixed the target of internal food procurement of 1,250,000 tonnes food grain this year.
   Chaired by the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, the council of advisers at a meeting on Saturday also approved the food and disaster ministry’s proposal which fixed retail prices of wheat and rice to be procured from domestic market during the forthcoming Boro season.
   Briefing newsmen, the chief adviser’s press secretary, Syed Fahim Munaim, said the government will procure 50,000 tonnes of wheat and 1,200,000 tonnes of rice and paddy from the market.
   In the past year, the target for wheat was 50,000 tonnes and for rice and paddy was 1,000,000 tonnes.
   The wheat procurement drive will begin on March 20 and continue till June 28. The wheat will be procured for Tk 18 a kilogram.
   A total of 1,000,000 tonnes of rice will be collected for Tk 16 a kilogram while 3,000,000 tonnes of paddy equivalent to 2,000,000 tonnes of rice will be procured for Tk 10 a kilogram. The procurement drive will begin on April 25 and continue till August 31.
   Fahim Munaim said the current food stock was satisfactory. According to the latest report of the department concerned, he said, the government has a stock of 587,950 tonnes of rice as of March 10.
   The meeting, attended by all the advisers, also decided in principle to draft the financial reports act. The proposed law is designed to standardise financial reports of the government and private offices.
   He said the proposed law is also aimed at bringing transparency in the financial sector.
   According to the draft, the government would form an 11-member financial reports council to be headed by the central bank governor. The draft was sent to the law ministry for further vetting.

The council of advisers at a meeting on Saturday approved a proposal for the establishment of a regional food reserve, SAARC Food Bank, to meet the growing challenge food and nutrition security of more than 150 crore people of the region.
   Bangladesh’s approval came at the regular meeting of the council of advisers to the interim administration, headed by Fakhruddin Ahmed.
   Briefing newsmen after the meeting, the chief adviser’s press secretary, Syed Fahim Munaim said the SAARC council of ministers during the pre-summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is likely to sign the deal to finalise the establishment of the food bank.
   The meeting of the SAARC council of ministers is scheduled for April 2 in New Delhi in India.
   ‘The food bank will come in aid to the member states to meet the emergency situation during unexpected shortage of food because of natural calamities or any other reasons,’ Munaim told reporters.
   On SAARC foreign minister’s approval, the food bank will start initially with 241,580 tonnes of grain, which would be gradually increased.
   Bangladesh committed a contribution of 40,000 tonnes of food grain to the bank. According to the proposal, India will contribute the highest 153, 200 tonnes of grains, Pakistan 40,000 tonnes, Sri Lanka and Nepal 4,000 tonnes each, the Maldives 200 tonnes and Bhutan 180 tonnes.
   The SAARC secretariat in Kathmandu will play the role of the secretariat of the food bank until it establishes an independent secretariat.
   The idea of establishing a regional food bank was first broached at the third summit in a different form. The concept paper was prepared during the 12th summit and it was formalised in the past summit held in Dhaka.
   The heads of the state or government agreed to examine the proposal, piloted by India, to establish the regional food bank.
   The SAARC technical committee finalised its report on the proposal on March 7.

The Election Commission is examining different aspects of a demand to enable Bangladeshis living abroad to be enrolled as voters and cast their votes in national elections.
   Non-resident Bangladeshis have long been demanding that the Election Commission should recognise the right of expatriate Bangladeshis to vote in national elections and enrol them as voters.
   But no quarters at home, including the political parties, have paid heed to their long-standing demand for introduction of postal ballot system for enabling them to take part in the parliamentary elections.
   The Law Commission submitted a recommendation for making provisions for voting rights of expatriate Bangladeshis. A case relating to the voting right of the Bangladeshis living abroad has remained pending with the High Court since 1997, said a law officer at the EC.
   ‘We have started analysing the existing laws and experiences of different countries where expatriates are allowed to vote. We are looking into if the constitution offers scope for allowing non-resident Bangladeshis to be registered as voters. We are also cautious so that such arrangements, if made, do not create chances of vote rigging’, a commission official told New Age on Thursday.
   According to existing system of registration of voters, registration officers assigned for any particular area register names, through door-to-door visit, of eligible voters deemed to be a resident of that constituency.
   About qualifications for registration as a voter, Article 122 (2)(d) of the constitution says, a person shall be entitled to be enrolled on the electoral roll for a constituency delimited for the purpose of election to the parliament, if he/she is deemed by law to be a resident of that constituency.
   About the definition of a resident, section 8 of the Electoral Rolls Ordinance 1982 says, ‘a person shall be deemed to be a resident [in a constituency] if he ordinarily resides in that area.’
   Abdur Rahman, president of International Expatriates Welfare Association of Bangladesh at a press conference on November 6 last year demanded that the interim government and the EC should recognise the franchise of expatriates and enrol them as voters for the upcoming elections.
   He accused successive governments of being indifferent to the constitutional right of around 60 lakh non-resident Bangladeshis to vote in national elections.
   The association’s general secretary, Syed Nasir Uddin, regretted that the government and the Election Commission did not abide by the order of the High Court issued in October, 1997 that endorsed the voting right of expatriate Bangladeshis.

The government on Saturday made some changes in the top level of the adminis- tration.
   Md Manirul Islam, additional health secretary, has been made acting chairman of the Land Reforms Board, Abdul Matin Chowdhury, additional education secretary, transferred to the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry as acting secretary, and Md Golam Mostafa Talukder, chairman of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, has been sent to the youth and sports ministry as acting secretary.
   Fasir Ahmed, director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Administrative Management, and Abul Hossain, project director under the Directorate of the Government Accommodation, have been made officers on special duty.
   The establishment ministry issued gazette notifications to the effect on Saturday.
   Shah Mohammad Ali, director of the Press Institute of Bangladesh, has been transferred to the posts and telecommunication ministry as joint secretary and Touhidur Rahman, an officer on special duty (deputy secretary), has been posted to the chief adviser’s office as director.

The customs officials seized foreign currencies amounting to more than Tk 4.25 crore at Zia International Airport in three hours till at 1:30am Saturday and arrested a Bangladeshi in this regard.
   The officials said an object was found in the luggage of a Bangla-deshi citizen, Kabir, during scan at about 10:30pm Friday and the customs officials.
   Tk 3,75,83,400 were found inside the luggage.
   The currencies included 19,86,800 Saudi Riyals, 10,700 euros, S$700, $500, 33,300 UAE dirham, 700 pound sterling, 2,900 Qatar riyals, A$600 and 800 Brunei dollars.
   The customs in another incident seized $83,700 from a foreigner, Khalid Hasan Hendawi, as he did not declare amount.

Ten people were injured when a compartment of an inter-city train ‘Egarosindu’ derailed near Tanghorashal station in Narsingdi Saturday evening. Railway sources the accident occurred at about 7:30pm disrupting train services between Chittagong and Sylhet.

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus received the Golden Trailblazer Award 2007 of Vital Voices, a US-based organisation of global women leaders working to strengthen democracy, increase economic opportunity, and fight human rights abuses around the world.
   Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton handed over the award to Yunus at a function in Washington on Friday, recognising his ‘extraordinary achievement in providing
   economic opportunity to millions of women around the globe.’
   This is the first time a man has been recognised by the global women leadership group, Vital Voices.
   Yunus received a standing ovation from the distinguished audience, which included many global women leaders.
   Opera singer Monica Yunus, daughter of Yunus, performed at the function.
   Later, Yunus gave a lecture on ‘Globalisation, Microenterprise and Poverty Alleviation’ at Georgetown University.
   He also received the ‘Award for Leadership in Global Trade’ from Association of Bi-national Chambers of Commerce in Miami.
   Yunus is now on a 20-day visit to the USA and Europe.