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A number of Dhaka University teachers on Tuesday reiterated the demand for release of the teachers and students of the university detained in connection with the August 20–22 student unrest.
   Of the four detained teachers, Anwar Hossain is critically ill and the remaining three are also not well, they told the DU vice-chancellor, SMA Faiz.
   Anwar Hossain, general secretary of the Dhaka University Teachers’ Association and dean of the biological sciences faculty, has been sick since his arrest. He was shifted to Bangladesh Sheikh Muzib Medical University on November 5 as his condition deteriorated, his family said.
   ‘He is a patient of diabetes. His blood pressure is fluctuating. He is also suffering from a number of other ailments,’ AAMS Arefin Siddique, acting dean of the DU social sciences faculty and a former general secretary of the DUTA, told New Age.
   He said they met the vice-chancellor to seek his intervention for release of their colleagues and students, who are suffering an inhuman life in jail. ‘Anwar’s condition is very critical, he needs further treatment. The three other teachers in detention are also not physically well. Of them, Harun-or-Rashid’s arm has become swollen,’ Arefin added.
   Besides Anwar Hossain and DU social sciences faculty dean Harun-or-Rashid, DUTA president and arts faculty dean Sadurl Amin and Neem Chandra Bhowmik were arrested on the charge of instigating the student agitation.
   The police also held nine DU students after the violent incidents on the campus on various charges.
   One of the detained students, Deen Islam Angel of the mass communications and journalism department, is now sitting his second-year final examinations in jail, Arefin said, adding it is impossible to prepare for exams in a messy place like prison. ‘So, we requested the VC to take the necessary steps so that Deen Islam can prepare properly for the exams in jail.’

A Barisal court on Tuesday remanded a detained ring leader of drug peddlers in the city and one of his accomplices in police custody for three days for interrogation.
   The police arrested the drug racketeer Mohammad Azim, also known as Phensi Azim, and his henchman Mohammad Iqbal on Monday night at Azim’s multi-storeyed house on Bhatikhana Road and seized 210 bottles of Phensidyl syrup and a motorbike from the house.
   The police produced the two before the court of chief metropolitan magistrate of Barisal, Mainuddin Islam, with a prayer for remanding them in police custody for seven days. The court sanctioned a three-day remand.
   According to police sources, Azim, 38, came to Barisal from Patharghata of Barguna district in 1994. He has earned cores by smuggling in Sharis and clothes and then Phensidyl and other drugs from India.
   The sources said Azim used to run his racket by bribing and paying regular tolls to local political leaders, law enforcers and even social elites. He had been arrested several times in the past but each time managed to walk out of prison custody, using his political clout and contacts among the law enforcers.

World Diabetes Day will be observed in Bangladesh and elsewhere today with campaigns for creating awareness of the disease, with the theme of ‘Diabetes in children and adolescents.’
   Health experts on the eve of the day blamed unplanned urbanisation, imbalanced food habit, lack of physical labour and exercise, regular intake of energy-rich fast food and soft drinks for diabetes in children.
   Diabetes is a chronic disease which can strike children of any age, said Mahtab Haider, national council member of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh.
   According to statistics available with the association, such factors increase the risk of diabetes. Fifty lakh people in Bangladesh are now suffering from diabetes.
   This years World Diabetes Day focuses on children and adolescents to raise awareness of diabetes and its impact on children.
   The president, Iajuddin Ahmed, and the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, in separate messages put out a call for creating awareness among the people of the reasons for diabetes and ways of prevention.
   The Diabetic Association of Bangladesh has chalked up various programmes to mark the occasion.
   The association will bring hold a rally, Global Diabetes Walk, on Manik Mia Avenue at 7:30am, and free diabetes tests at Shahbagh, National Press Club, New Market, Muhammadpur Town Hall, Lalbagh and all diabetic centres of the association in the country.
   The association will also hold a question-answer session and a discussion on diabetes at 3:00pm in the BIRDEM auditorium.

Two hundred and nine people died of tuberculosis in Jessore in three years till September 2006, a roundtable discussion was told on Tuesday.
   Of them, 72 died in 2004, 89 in 2005 and 48 in 2006 till September, the discussion in the BRAC Training and Resources Centre in the town was told.
   The programme on tuberculosis control and social participation was organised by the Jessore Press Club, Tuberculosis Control Programme, Health and Family Planning Ministry and BRAC.
   The press club president, Fakir Shaukat, chaired the roundtable, addressed by deputy commissioner Abu-al-Hossain as chief guest.
   Civil surgeon Salah Uddin Khan, police superintendent Iqbal Bahar, Abdul Wahab Tarafder, BRAC trainer Ejazul Haque and Shahinur Rahman also spoke.
   The speakers said some 70,000 people die of tuberculosis across the country every year.
   Some 1409 tuberculosis patients have so far been cured with treatment in the district.

The Tejgaon police on Tuesday arrested former BNP lawmaker Ali Newaz Mahmud Khoyam at Kakrail in Dhaka on charge of taking bribe for the award of the parking yard job of Daulatdia ferry point in Rajbari.
   One Solaiman of Shibalay in Manikganj filed the case with the Tejgaon police on Tuesday, accusing the former lawmaker for a Rajbari constituency and two of his associates, Asaduzzaman and Anwar Hossain, of taking Tk 15 lakh in bribe from him.
   Solaiman said Ali Newaz had demanded Tk 15 lakh from him in 2005 for the job.
   The money was paid by cheques.

The chief justice, Ruhul Amin, on Tuesday visited Mymensingh courts.
   During his visit, the chief justice went round the chief judicial magistrate court and the senior judicial magistrate court, and observed the hearing process of the cases.
   The chief judicial magistrate, ASM Aminul Islam, senior judicial judge Md Sharif Hossain Haider and the additional registrar, Farid Ahmed Sheikh, accompanied the chief justice.

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is scheduled to visit the Chittagong Hill Tracts on November 19 to ascertain the progress in the implementation of the peace treaty that was forged ten years back.
   Foreign affairs adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told newsmen about the planned visit after UNDP resident representative Renata Lok-Dessallien met him at the Foreign Office.
   Apart from election and post-flood rehabilitation, the discussion with Renata touched upon the entire gamut of UN’s cooperation with Bangladesh.
   Renata also mentioned that matters pertaining to the Chittago-ng Hill Tracts were also discussed.
   ‘This government has made enormous strides towards fulfilling our pledges in the region with regard to development as well as the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord,’ claimed Iftekhar.
   ‘The chief adviser will see the progress [of the implementation of the CHT accord] on the ground as we approach the observance of the tenth year of this peace treaty,’ he added.

The Jatiya Pratibandhi Unnayan Foundation managing director, additional secretary AKM Azizul Haq, has been transferred to the Bangladesh Industrial Technical Assistance Centre as director general, replacing additional secretary Md Mizanur Rahman Majumder, who has been made an officer on special duty.
   The establishment ministry issued gazette notifications to effect on Tuesday.
   Housing and public works joint secretary Akhter Ahmed and home affairs joint secretary Md Mojibur Rahman have been interchanged. Officer on special duty (joint secretary) Pranab Chakrabarty has been posted as director general to the food planning and procurement unit.
   Another officer on special duty, Md Abu Bakkar Sikder has been posted as director general to the seed wing of the agriculture ministry, replacing Md Anwar Faruk, who has been transferred to the Chittagong WASA as chairman and health and family welfare joint secretary AKM Fazlur Rahman has been made director general of the World Trade Organisation Cell at the commerce ministry.

Two hundred and fifty members of the Islamic University-based Progressive Teachers’ Alliance and officials and employees of the university on Tuesday demanded that 1971 war criminals should be tried.
   The teachers, officials and employees in a joint statement also urged the government to ban politics based on religion.
   The signatories among the teachers to the statement include Abul Ahsan Chowdhury, Ainul Islam, Moniruzzaman, Shahinur Rahaman and Jahangir Hossain.
   Md Ataur Rahaman, ASM Abdul Latif, Md Nazrul Islam and Md Anwar Hossain were among the officials who signed the statement.