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Muggers shot dead a young vocalist and injured an Ansars member at Khilgaon and Bijoynagar in Dhaka Wednesday.
   The deceased was identified as Nasiruddin Shraban aka Miron, 32, of Dakkhingaon in Khilgaon.
   The police said about five muggers, on board a car, had intercepted the rickshaw of Miron and his friend Nurul Amin and tried to snatch cash and valuables from the m at about 1:00am.
   As Miron, who was on way to his residence from Gulshan along with Nurul Amin, tried to resist the muggers, they fired shots leaving him critically wounded. The muggers took away four mobile phone sets, a gold chain and Tk 15,000 from them.
   Miron, father of a girl, was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where the attending doctors declared him dead at about 1:45am.
   ‘He got the money by singing at a function and was returning home with it,’ said Nurul Amin, who was accompanying Miron and remained unhurt.
   Miron’s wife Tahmina Akter Joly burst into tears seeing the body of her husband at the hospital and she could not say anything to journalists.
   In another incident, an Ansars member sustained injuries as muggers fired shots at him on the Bijoynagar box culvert road at about 3:00am.
   The miscreants shot at Tashtarul Islam, 32, when he was returning to Paltan police barrack after performing his duty in Paltan crossing area at about 3:00am. He was undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
   No one was arrested in connection with the incidents till evening.

Water experts, bureaucrats and academics at a seminar on Wednesday highlighted the need for taking up special programmes from school level to create awareness to reduce disaster risks in the country.
   The disaster management bureau organised the seminar on ‘reduce disaster risks beginning from school level’ to mark International Disaster Mitigation Day.
   Vice-chancellor of BRAC University Professor Jamilur Reza Choudhury presented a keynote paper at the seminar, chaired by director general of disaster management bureau KH Masud Siddiqui.
   Secretary in charge of the disaster management ministry Abdul Bari Khan attended the seminar as chief guest. Water expert Kamrul Islam Siddiqui, among others, took part in the discussion.
   The speakers suggested that special planning should be taken for construction of service-oriented institution buildings, including schools and hospitals, to ensure safety from disasters.
   Otherwise, they said, human sufferings would ensue, if these infrastructures are destroyed during natural disasters.
   They observed that different disaster management subjects should be included in a simple and standard way in curriculum at all stages of institutional education.
   Citing the efficiency developed by Bangladesh in managing disasters like floods and cyclones, the speakers said all concerned should be aware of early preparations for facing and managing disasters like earthquake.
   They recommended following the ‘national building code’ while constructing big buildings, including all types of constructions.
   Bari Khan sought cooperation of the media in creating mass awareness about disaster management.

Industry owners, NGO activists and professionals on Wednesday called for ensuring legitimate wages for the shrimp processing plant workers and providing them with appointment letters.
   At a daylong ‘review meeting on the draft national shrimp policy’ in Khulna, they also observed that rights of shrimp sector workers relating to wages, working environment and appointment were violated at different stages.
   Non-governmental organisation Coastal Development Partnership in association with the Action Aid Bangladesh arranged the meeting at the Khulna Press Club.
   Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters’ Association vice president Sheikh Md Abdul Baki Billah, its director S Humayun Kabir, managing director of Salam Sea Foods Limited MA Salam, Khulna Press Club president Makbul Hossain Mintu, CDP coordinator Ashraf-Ul-Alam Tutu and Syeda Sabiha addressed the meeting with Professor Zafar Imam in the chair. Shahidul Islam of CDP presented the keynote paper.
   In his keynote paper, Shahidul suggested for making a wage board comprising of representatives from shrimp plant owners, labourers and the government representative to fix minimum wages for the labourers.
   Referring to violation of the rights of shrimp sector workers at different stages, he said the workers are deprived of theirs right in terms of wages, working environment and giving appointment letters. ‘… Even there is wage discrimination between the male labourers and female labourers.’
   He said the owners of shrimp processing plants appointed a few as the permanent labourers while majority of the labourers were engaged by contractors on no work no pay basis. ‘The wages of the labourers are not standard and they are not paid any allowance for doing additional works.’
   In the proposed draft national shrimp policy, submitted to the government, issues relating to labourer management and their wages have not been mentioned clearly, the paper said.
   The speakers demanded immediate fixing a minimum wage for the shrimp sector labourers and providing the labourers with appointment letters.

A Chittagong court on Wednesday issued warrant for arrest of nine accused and rejected the bail prayer of another in the Chittagong University vandalism case.
   The judge of the Chittagong cognizance court, Moniru-zzaman, issued the warrant and fixed November 18 for next hearing of the case. The court rejected the bail prayer of another accused Bijoy Kumar Das, an activist of the CU unit of the Samajtantrik Chhatra Front. Bijoy is now in police custody.
   The sub-inspector of the Hathazari police station, Wahiduzzaman, submitted the charge sheet on October 20 against the 10 persons, including CU students and employees and CU correspondent of a Bangla daily.
   The arrest warrant was issued against the nine as they went into hiding soon after the police submitted charge sheet against them, court sources added.
   The nine facing the arrest warrant are CU Chhatra Front unit president Kanchan Sarkar, vice-president Moni Dipa Bhhattachyerja, secretary Jamir Uddin Rassel, office secretary Mesbah Uddin, CU unit secretary of Chhatra Union Monty Boishnab, ex-president of the CU employees association Zakir Ahmed, ex-secretary Syed Nazim Uddin, science and technology affairs secretary of CU unit of the Chhatra League Jahid Hossain Jewel, and CU correspondent of Dainik Sangram Mohiuddin Tipu.
   Anisur Rahman, sub-inspector of the Hathazari police station, filed a case against them on August 26 in connection with the August 22 police-students clashes on the campus that left around 50 people, including four cops injured.

Information has to be claimed from state authorities as a right and not only as entitlement, speakers at a workshop in Dhaka said on Wednesday.
   They also urged all to demand enactment of the right to information act and turn the demand into a movement. They three-day workshop on ‘advocacy for right to information’ ended at the Spectra Convention Centre with a commitment to raise awareness among people on their right to get information that affect their livelihood, said a press release.
   Twenty-nine participants from 17 organisations working at grassroots level joined the workshop, organised by Manusher Jonno Foundation, which works for promoting human rights and good governance, and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiatives, India.
   The speakers also laid emphasis on motivating people into demanding information because information is generated by government officials for the good of the people and therefore people have equal ownership over it.
   At the conclusion of the workshop, Shaheen Anam, executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation, handed over certificates among the participants.

More than 22,000 women are affected by breast cancer and out of them 15,000 die without any treatment every year in Bangladesh, a workshop in Dhaka was told on Wednesday.
   Bangladesh Nari Sangbadik Kendra and Sanofi-Aventis organised the workshop on breast cancer awareness at the National Press Club.
   Presenting a paper on ‘early detection is the best prevention’, Parvin Akhter Banu, senior consultant of oncology of Delta Medical Centre, suggested all, especially the women, to examine their breasts every month and to consult immediately with doctors if anything ‘unusual’ was found.
   She also suggested that all the young girls, after they reach 20, should check their breasts at home by adopting the ‘breast self examination procedure’ while every women should go to physicians at least once a year for examining their breasts.
   Among others, director medical affairs of the Sanofi-Aventis Bangladesh, Rezaul Farid Khan, BNSK president Nasimun Ara Huq and general secretary Perveen Sultana Jhuma addressed the programme.

The five-day India-Bangladesh Festival of Books and Writers 2007 begins at Independent University Bangladesh at Baridhara in Dhaka tomorrow.
   The Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, will inaugurate the festival to be organised by the Indo-Bangla Cultural Initiative in association with IUB, Academic and Creative Publishers Association of Bangladesh with the support of the High Commission of India in Dhaka.
   As part of the festival, a three-day seminar will be held at IUB and there will be panel discussions on various topics related to writers, bhasa, research, publishing etc. Participants will include academics, writers, translators and publishers.
   Apart from the academic sessions, the India-Bangladesh Festival of Books and Writers will include readings, performances, and a book exhibition showcasing creative writing, including writing in translation from Bangladesh and India. On the final two days, the festival will move to the Central Public Library at Shahbagh in the capital.
   The convenor of the festival organising committee, Professor Niaz Zaman, said this festival would increase awareness of the rich literature of the two countries and encourage the easy flow of publications to stimulate greater understanding.
   The Indo-Bangla Cultural Initiative, a network of cultural organisations in India and Bangladesh, was formed in March 2007 in Dhaka.

A Barisal court on Wednesday sentenced a woman to life imprisonment for killing her husband in 2003.
   The judge of first additional district and sessions judges court, Siddikul Arefin Chowdhury, also fined Nasima Begum of Islampur village in Babuganj upazila Tk 10,000, and one year more in prison in default to pay the fine.
   Nasima, mother of six children, had extra marital relations with her brother-in-law (sister’s husband) Ali Hossain Fakir. As her husband Sahadat Hossain aks Sader Ali came to know the matter and protested it, Nasima and Ali Hossain chopped him to death at night on October 07, 2003. Ali Hossain died in 2006.

The 13th governing board meeting of the SAARC Meteorological Research Centre begins in Dhaka on November 4.
   The agriculture and environment adviser, CS Karim, will inaugurate the function in the seminar hall of the SMRC office building at Agargaon, said a press release.
   Representatives from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and of the SAARC secretary general are expected to participate in the meeting.
   The governing board will review the past activities of the SMRC and consider the future activities along with the Budget of the centre for the year 2008.

Rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty or squally is likely at one or two places over Khulna, Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Sylhet and Rajshahi divisions during the 24-hour period till 6:00pm today, the Met Office said.
   The day temperature may fall slightly over the country, it said.
   The country’s highest temperature on Wednesday, 34.8 degrees Celsius, was recorded at Cox’s Bazar and the lowest, 19.2 degrees Celsius, at Tangail.
   The sun sets in the capital today at 5:19pm and rises tomorrow at 6:05am.
   The Met office predicted a little change in the outlook for subsequent two days and rain or thunder showers in the extended outlook for another five days.

The adjourned meeting of the Awami League central working committee will resume this morning to approve the party’s proposals on electoral reforms to be placed at the November 4 dialogue with the Election Commission.
   The meeting, adjourned on October 22, formed a committee to prepare the draft proposals. The proposals will be placed at today’s meeting for approval.
   Some issues such as lifting the ban on politics outside the capital, release of the party president, Sheikh Hasina, abnormal increase in the prices of essential commodities, and keeping war criminals and political parties based on religion out of the elections process may also be discussed at the meeting, party insiders said.
   Sources in the party said as the demands for punishment to the war criminals were raised by different sections of people and pro-independence organisations, the Awami League might adopt a resolution in this regard.
   ‘The Awami League’s stand is always clear — against the war criminals and Jamaat. The issue may be discussed at the meeting for the adoption of a resolution,’ Awami League presidium member Matia Chowdhury told New Age on Wednesday.
   She said the Awami League opposed religion-based politics and demanded punishment to the war criminals.
   ‘As awareness was created among the people of war criminals, the Awami League should play role in building up consensus in this regard,’ Matia said, adding that holding meetings was essential to create mass awareness, although it was not possible because of the ban on politics.
   ‘The issues such as abnormal increase in the prices of essential goods, fertiliser crisis and the withdrawal of the ban on politics may be discussed at the meeting,’ organising secretary Akhtaruzzaman told New Age, adding that the Jamaat issue might be also discussed.
   Another central committee member, Faruk Khan, said the Awami League would propose that the Election Commission should keep parties based on religion out of the election process and the issue of Jamaat might be discussed.
   The 21-member committee formed earlier, meanwhile, finalised a draft based on the 23-point reforms proposals earlier announced by the Awami League-led alliance and the proposals would be placed before the working committee for approval.
   According to the proposal draft, the Awami League will oppose the Election Commission proposal for the introduction of a new order by scrapping the Representation of People Order 1972.

Barisal City Corporation ward commissioner Abdur Razzak died of cancer at his residence in the Barisal city early Monday. He was 45.
   He is survived by his wife, one son and two daughters. He was buried at his family graveyard.

The Purbadhala police started investigating an extortion case filed against former BNP lawmaker Dr Mohammad Ali and principal of Hafez Ziaur Rahman College Monayem Khan Pathan.
   Golam Haider, a demonstrator of biology department of the college, filed the case with the magistrate’s court on October 25. The court later asked the police to investigate the case.
   The complainant alleged that Mohammad Ali, also president of the governing body, and Monayem demanded him Tk 1 lakh for Monthly Pay Order. Though he paid the money, he was not getting monthly salary since his appointment on October 7, 2004, Haider said.
   When contacted, the officer-in-charge of the Purbadhala police station Gyanendra Sikder told New Age that they started investigation as per the order issued by the court.

The army personnel picked up six persons allegedly for making entries in voters’ roll from two places in the Rajshahi City Corporation area.
   Sources in army camp said they had so far identified a total of eight persons and picked up six of them.
   The arrested were Abdul Khaleq, of ward No 28, Ataur Rahman, of ward 18, Monsur Ali, of ward 16, Mohammad Babu, of ward 12, Shahidul Islam, of ward 23 and Momata Begum, of ward No 8. Other two Moksed Ali and Monirul Islam, of ward No 18, went into hiding, the sources added, saying that the arrested were handed over to the police.

The bilateral Exercise Sumo Tiger, conducted by the United States Marine Corps and the Bangladesh Air Force flying squadrons, concluded Wednesday ending a successful week of combined training at the Kurmitola Air Base in Dhaka.
   During the exercises, American and Bangladeshi forces conducted flight operations with US F/A-18 fighter aircraft, and Bangladeshi F-7s and MiG-29s.
   Aviation support personnel from nations from air traffic controllers to maintenance specialists shared their expertise and insights while jointly supporting flight operations during the exercises.

Divisional drama festival begins
in Barisal
A week-long divisional drama festival, organised by mobile operator Garameenphone and theatre group Shabdabali, began in the Barisal city on Wednesday. The chairman of the Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation, M Hamid, inaugurated the festival, titled ‘GrameenPhone-Shabdabali Natya Utsab-07’ at the Ashwani Kumar Town Hall in the afternoon. The Shabdabali president and BGF presidium member, Syed Dulal, presided over the inaugural function. Faruk Hossain, Shabdabali secretary and member secretary of the festival committee, Mamunur Rahman Khan and Kazi Farhad Ahmed, outgoing and newly appointed regional in-charge of Grameenphone respectively addressed the function. Seven dramas will be staged by five theatre groups during the festival. The participating groups are Shabdabali, Barisal Natak and Kheali Group Theatre of the Barisal city, Pratik Nataya Gosthi of Jhalakati and Sagarpari Theatre of Barguna. On the first night, Shabdabali staged drama ‘Shilari’, written by Golam Shafik and directed by Aminur Rahman Mukul. The group will stage two more dramas. The four other groups will stage one drama each during the festival.
— New Age