Main Page «
Metro «
Business «
International «
Sports «
National «
Editorial «
Op-Ed «
Home «
Timeout «
Letters «

Archive «
Launch Supplement «
Special Supplements «

The interim government has decided in principle to form the National Constitutional Council for appointing people to constitutional offices in a ‘transparent and accountable manner’.
   The council of advisers on Wednesday, however, sent the draft of the National Constitutional Council Ordinance 2007 back to the law ministry for further scrutiny.
   The law ministry submitted the draft of the ordinance to the council of advisers’ meeting, said official sources.
   ‘We are considering the formation of a constitutional council which will recommend suitable persons for appointment to the constitutional offices which include the High Court, Election Commission, Public Service Commission and Anti-Corruption Commission,’ law adviser Mainul Hosein told New Age after the meeting.
   He said the president, as per the proposed ordinance, would finally appoint person(s) recommended by the council.
   ‘The constitutional council will evaluate the qualifications of the persons to be appointed to the constitutional bodies, which will make the whole process more transparent and free from political influence,’ mentioned the law adviser, adding that this was also important for establishing genuine democracy.
   The government’s move to form the council came in the wake of controversies over the appointment of judges, chief election commissioner, other election commissioners, chairmen and members of the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Service Commission in recent years, which was made possible due to lack of specific criteria for appointment to the constitutional positions.
   Though it is a new concept here, there are such constitutional councils in many countries including Nepal and Sri Lanka.
   The proposed constitutional council will be constituted of seven members headed by a chairman, according to sources.
   The law ministry, while preparing the draft of the ordinance, has examined the provisions of such councils in other countries, including Nepal and Sri Lanka, said sources in the ministry.
   In Nepal the five-member constitutional council consists of the prime minister as its chairman and the chief justice, speaker of the House of Representatives, chairman of the National Assembly and the leader of the opposition.
   In Sri Lanka, the constitutional council consists of two vice-presidents, prime minister, leader of the opposition and leader of the house in the parliament, minister of in charge of constitutional affairs, chairman of the Chief Ministers’ Conference and two retired judges of the Supreme Court or of the Court of Appeal, appointed by the president after ascertaining the views of the chief justice.
   The Supreme Court Bar Association, at a press conference on August 12, 2006, demanded the establishment of a constitutional council for appointing suitable persons to constitutional offices because of the controversy over the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.

The interim cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for an open-sky policy at the three international airports for designated airlines for three months to cope with the huge rush of passengers.
   The civil aviation ministry placed the proposal at the meeting of the council of advisers in the face of pressure of passengers, most of whom are workers in the Middle East and Malaysia and Biman’s failure in operating required number of flights. The meeting was chaired by the chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed.
   ‘The cabinet has approved the proposal to adopt the open-sky policy for a limited period to carry passengers from Bangladesh,’ an adviser told New Age after the meeting.
   According to the cabinet decision, Zia International Airport in Dhaka, Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong and Osmani Airport in Sylhet will remain open to designated airlines from October.
   Hajj flights will remain outside the policy purview. Eighteen airlines now operate flights to and from Bangladesh.
   ‘Our main objective behind the adoption of the open-sky policy is to ensure smooth movement of people working abroad,’ the civil aviation secretary, Sheikh Altaf Ali, said earlier after a meeting on the issue with foreign and local airlines in his office on September 10.
   As for open-sky policy, he said the air service agreements with local and foreign airlines would be suspended for the period so that they can operate as many flights as they wish to carry passengers from Bangladesh.
   It has been reported that thousands of workers are losing their jobs in the Middle Eastern countries and in Malaysia as they cannot reach their destinations in time because of shortage of air tickets, which is harming the manpower sector.
   According to official records, expatriate workers remit about $6 billion a year and the manpower export, this year, has increased by 123 per cent.
   Because of the inability of the national flag carrier, Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd, to operate adequate number of flights, the authorities concerned have decided to offer more frequencies to other local and foreign airlines, especially the ones operating flights to and from the Middle East and Malaysia.
   Around 1.4 lakh workers were now ready to leave for Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates in two months, according to official sources.

Political parties will have to register with the Election Commission to secure their traditional election symbols, according to electoral reforms planned by the commission.
   ‘No election symbol will be reserved for any political party unless it is registered with the commission. Only registered political parties would be allocated their traditional poll symbols in accordance with the convention’, election commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told reporters at his office on Wednesday.
   According to convention and previous rule, the EC kept traditional symbols reserved for different political parties which participated in general elections regularly, while new political parties had to apply for allocation of symbols within three days of announcement of election schedules.
   The commission now proposed a rule for mandatory registration of the parties which stipulated that only registered political parties would enjoy the privilege of having trademark election symbols.
   According to the electoral reform proposals, unregistered political parties will not be allowed to participate in the polls.
   In case there are demands from more than one political party for a particular symbol or if a party splits and its factions ask for the same symbol, the EC will take decision as per law, Sohul said.
   Krishak Sramik Janata League chief Abdul Kader Siddiq on September 16 at a dialogue with the Election Commission urged it to cancel Jamaat’s election symbol, ‘scales,’ saying that this is being used around the world as the symbol of justice.
   Asked about the demand, Sohul said that the EC did not find any wrong with the use of scales as election symbol. He also said that the EC did not discuss the issue.
   The High Court on May 8 last year summarily rejected two writ petitions challenging the validity of the trademark election symbols of BNP, Awami League, Jatiya Party and Jamaat-e-Islami.
   A writ petition challenged the use of ‘scales’ as the election symbol of the Jamaat-e-Islami as ‘scales’ resemble the Supreme Court emblem.
   Another writ petition was filed challenging the validity of ‘sheaf of paddy’, ‘boat’ and ‘plough’, the election symbols of three major political parties — BNP, Awami League and Jatiya Party respectively. The petitioner challenged the use of the symbols stating that those were used by national institutions like the Prime Minister’s Office (sheaf of paddy), prison police (boat) and Ansars and VDP (plough).
   In 1991, the commission allocated symbols to 90 political parties and 75 of them fielded candidates. In 2001, the number of parties, which had been allocated election symbols, rose to 94 and 54 of them contested the elections.
   The commission allocated symbols to 76 political parties for the stalled 2007 elections, which were scheduled for January 22.
   At the same time the EC also cancelled the symbols of 35 truant political parties which booked the symbols before 2001 general elections but did not take part in the polls. These parties did not apply for fresh allocation of symbols for the scrapped 2007 polls.

The graft case against detained former prime minister Sheikh Hasina for taking a bribe to award the contract for the Khulna barge-mounted power plant will be brought under the apparently unassailable Emergency Powers Rules 2007.
   The Anti-Corruption Commission on Wednesday approved the proposal to bring the case under the emergency rules, which bar any accused person from seeking bail from any court during the case’s investigation, trial and appeal.
   ‘The decision was made at a meeting headed by the ACC’s chairman, Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, in response to an appeal made by Morshed Alam, a deputy director of the ACC, also the investigation officer of the corruption case,’ sources present in the meeting told New Age.
   The investigation officer will today submit the copy of the ACC’s decision to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court for its final approval, the sources added.
   After the lower court’s approval, the detained former prime minister will not be able to appeal to any court or tribunal for bail, which will help the investigator to prove that the accusation is true, claimed the investigation officer.
   On July 17 the home ministry decided to apply the emergency rules in the two extortion cases against Hasina — one filed with the Tejgaon thana by an Awami League leader, Noor Ali, on June 9, and another filed with Gulshan thana by businessman Azam J Chowdhury on June 13.
   Hasina, now in a special jail since her arrest on July 16, challenged the legality of bringing the two extortion cases under the emergency rules, but the petitions are still waiting for disposal.
   A court of the chief metropolitan magistrate on Wednesday deferred till October 4 the hearing of the acceptability of the charge-sheet of the extortion case filed on June 13 in response to a time plea from Hasina’s counsels, saying the case is now pending with the High Court.
   On September 2 the deputy director of the ACC, Shabbir Hasan, lodged the graft case against Hasina and six others, accusing them of taking a bribe of Tk 3 crore from owners of the Summit Group and the United Group of Companies in exchange for giving them permission to set up a barge-mounted power plant in Khulna.
   Hasina was shown arrested in the case after investigation officer Morshed Alam appealed to the CMM’s court in this regard.
   According to the rules, the investigation of such a case needs to be concluded within 45 working days from the date of appointment of the investigation officer.
   The rules empower the ACC to extend the time of investigation by 15 more working days if there are valid reasons for failure in concluding the investigation in the stipulated time.
   According to the Criminal Law Amendment Act, the cases need to be tried by the Special Judge’s Courts within 45 days after they are taken into cognisance.
   The court will have the scope to extend the time by 15 more days after recording the reasons for failure in concluding the trial.

The death toll from flooding this year stood at 970 till Wednesday. Thousands more were displaced or marooned, officials said.
   The health services directorate general said 16 people had died in flooded areas, mostly by drowning, in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, taking to 970 the number of such death.
   The control room of the health services directorate general said 827 people drowned in flood water, 90 died from snakebite, 24 of respiratory problems and 29 of diarrhoea during the flood beginning mid-July.
   The control room said two died of diarrhoea, and one of respiratory tract infection, two from snake bite and 11 died by drowning in flood water in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
   In flooded districts, 3,000 diarrhoea patients were admitted to public hospitals and 490 to the hospital run by the ICDDR,B in Dhaka in 24 hours till Tuesday midnight. The directorate also said about two lakh people had contracted diarrhoea since July 30.
   In 24 hours, 703 people contracted respiratory problems, 1,217 skin diseases, 2005 eye diseases, and 2208 other diseases, mainly caused by dirty flood water, said Md Raihan, a physician at the health services directorate general.

A senior US official on Wednesday expressed concern over human rights situation during the state of emergency and insisted on following due process of laws in dealing with political detainees facing corruption and other charges.
   In a press statement after meeting chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, US deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia, John Gastright said that he stressed the importance of respecting human rights and due legal process during the state of emergency.
   ‘I was frank regarding our concerns about human rights issues and due process for those detained under the state of emergency, whether on corruption charges or accused of other violations of the emergency rules,’ he later told an interactive meeting with a group of editors.
   He ruled out the possibility of emergence of fanatic forces in Bangladesh, but insisted that secular political parties should be much more engaged with the people to win their confidence and avoid such possibility.
   About human rights, the chief adviser was quoted to have said that his government attached priority and importance to human rights and freedom of the press, while normal laws were being enforced in due process. He further claimed that the incidences of human rights violation during the interim government were far less than the ones in the past.
   Fakhruddin reiterated that the main goal of his government was to hand over power to an elected government through holding fair and acceptable general elections within or ahead of the set deadline.
   ‘The government will try to arrange the elections, if possible, earlier than the set timeline up to December 2008,’ he said. He also mentioned that a number of political parties were going to do reform within their parties.
    The US diplomat, during his earlier talks with foreign affairs adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury and foreign secretary Touhid Hossain, expressed Washington’s readiness to assist Bangladesh in holding ‘free, fair and democratic elections’ by 2008 to form ‘a government enjoying people’s confidence.’
   ‘The US supports the caretaker government for electoral reforms, foundation for free and fair election, efforts to empower the institutions of sustainable democracy and ultimate goal of holding election to establish a government enjoying people’s confidence,’ he said.
   The series of meetings Gastright had with the interim government high-ups included a courtesy call on chief of army staff General Moeen U Ahmed, at the army headquarters. A press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations only said they discussed bilateral matters.
   While talking to newsmen at the foreign ministry, Gastright deviated from his Tuesday’s position after a meeting with the Election Commission that the caretaker government should take additional measures to restore democracy as soon as possible. On Wednesday he said he did not say ‘anything like that’ although the US embassy quoting him saying so did not withdraw the release.
   ‘The US is not here to dictate, the US is here to listen to and see plans the caretaker government is developing to bring democracy for Bangladesh’s people,’ he said.
   Asked if the arrest of two former prime ministers would frustrate the spirit of holding free, fair and participatory elections, the US official said, ‘The US position on arrests of individuals, [no matter] whether they are former prime ministers or not, is that the government must respect due process and human rights.’
   About the importance of peoples’ participation in electoral process, he said, ‘I like to point out that free and fair elections are two-way street. People [too] have the responsibility to make certain that they are supporting candidates that are powered by new institutional framework.

An anti-Syrian lawmaker was killed in a car bombing in a Christian suburb of Beirut on Wednesday, shaking Lebanon just a week ahead of a crucial election in the divided country.
   The killing of Antoine Ghanem was the latest in a string of attacks in recent years against prominent critics of Lebanon’s neighbour and former power broker Syria.
   ‘He has died,’ Joseph Abu Khalil, a senior official from Ghanem’s Phalange Party, said.
   The attack occurred in the Sin el-Fil neighbourhood in the eastern surburbs of the Lebanese capital and television footage showed several burnt-out and twisted cars, black smoke from cars still ablaze, facades of buildings wrecked, shattered glass, and bodies on the streets.
   ‘The blast was caused by a car bomb that claimed numerous victims,’ said another police official.
   Lebanese television said at least four people had been killed and a number injured but there has been no official confirmation of the death toll.
   The explosion took place a week before parliament is due to meet on September 25 to elect a new head of state to replace pro-Syrian president Emile Lahoud amid a near-complete political deadlock in Lebanon.
   The blast apparently took place near the residence of former president Amin Gemayel, whose son, industry minister Pierre Gemayel, was gunned down on November 21, 2006.
   Antoine Ghanem is a member of Gemayel’s Phalange Party, a partner in the ruling anti-Syrian majority.
   In June, another MP Walid Eido was murdered in a Beirut bomb attack that also killed nine people, the latest in a string of assassinations and attempts to kill anti-Syrian politicians and other prominent figures in Lebanon.
   The country has been on edge since the February 2005 murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, which was widely blamed on neighbouring Syria and forced it to end three decades of military domination.

Yuvraj Singh smashed English fast bowler Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over as India won by 18 runs to stay alive in the Twenty20 world championships here on Wednesday.
   India, who would have crashed out of the tournament had they lost, piled up 218-4 after electing to take first strike and then restricted England to 200-6 on a rousing night at the jam-packed Kingsmead.
   Left-hander Yuvraj's feat in the 19th over gave him the fastest 50 in the tournament off just 12 balls, eight deliveries less than what Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful achieved against the West Indies.
   Broad's first two balls were swung over fine leg, the third over cover, the fourth cut over point, the fifth pulled to mid-wicket and the last into the stands at long-on.
   It was only the fourth instance in top cricket that six sixes were hit in an over after Garfield Sobers and Ravi Shastri did it in first-class cricket and Herschelle Gibbs in the World Cup earlier this year.
   Yuvraj finished with 58 off 16 balls with seven sixes and three boundaries to set up India towards victory in a match they had to win to stay in contention for the semi-finals.
   India must, however, beat South Africa here on Thursday if they are to prevent New Zealand and the home team from taking the two semi-final spots from group E of the Super Eights.
   If India win on Thursday, it will force a three-way tie in which net run-rates will determine the two semi-finalists.
   England ended the tournament with their third successive defeat in the second round and now head to Sri Lanka for a five-match one-day series starting on October 1. Yuvraj said he was reminded of the five sixes Dimitri Mascarenhas hit off his bowling during the sixth one-day international at the Oval in London earlier this month.
   'I got more phone calls after that over than when I get for scoring a century,' Yuvraj said after being named the man of the match.
   'So I decided to do something about it and luckily I got my chance today. I just went for the shots and they came off.
   'But what is important is that we are still in with a chance of making the semi-finals and hopefully we can play as well against South Africa.'
   Yuvraj's blistering knock came after openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir set the platform with a 136-run stand by the 15th over.
   Sehwag made 68 off 52 balls with three sixes and four boundaries. His Delhi team-mate Gambhir hit 58 off 41 balls with seven fours and a six.
   Gambhir began the run glut in the fifth over by smashing Broad over the mid-wicket fence for the first six of the innings.
   Sehwag welcomed Mascarenhas into the attack by slicing a six over point and cut Chris Tremlett over third man for his second big shot.
   Sehwag's third six was over point against England captain Paul Collingwood in the 10th over, two balls after Mascarenhas floored a skier at third man.
   England made a spirited reply to the imposing target, reaching 96-1 by the 10th over after Vikram Solanki made 43 off 31 balls and kevin Pietersen chipped in with 39 off 23.

Nepal’s Maoists on Wednesday kicked off a controversial campaign to oust the monarchy, a day after the ex-rebels stormed out of government in a blow to the Himalayan country’s peace process.
   The ultra-leftists said they had started a ‘door-to-door campaign’ to lobby against King Gyanendra and his two-century-old dynasty, to be followed up by strikes and street protests that could dramatically raise tensions here.
   ‘All our sister organisations will be mobilised from Wednesday to ensure the constituent assembly elections are unsuccessful,’ Ananta, a deputy commander in the Maoist army, said.
   Most mainstream political parties in the country are in favour of ditching the monarchy, but under the terms of last November’s peace deal the question was supposed to be decided by a democratically elected constitutional body.
   But the Maoists, who had entered government after agreeing to end their decade-long armed struggle, say the highly unpopular king – who has already been stripped of most of his powers – should be removed immediately.
   Although the Maoists have stopped short of renouncing the ceasefire and reviving their insurgency, they can call upon a number of ethnic and caste supporter groups, as well as the feared Young Communist League.
   The YCL have already come under fire for thuggish, violent behaviour.
   Further talks to resolve the crisis took place Wednesday but failed to make any significant breakthrough, although more talks were planned.
   ‘The top leaders of the eight parties (the seven mainstream political parties and the Maoists) have agreed... to resolve the political crisis through dialogue,’ said Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara.
   The Maoists could continue negotiations while campaigning against the polls planned for November, said Dev Gurung, who had served as local development minister until Tuesday.
   A month ago, the Maoists issued a list of 22 conditions for the holding of the November polls, including the immediate abolition of the monarchy and a fully proportional electoral system.
   The seven other parties in government refused to meet their demands, prompting the former rebels to quit the government.
   The Maoists also accuse the coalition government of not working under the terms of various agreements they struck with mainstream political parties.

A high-level committee to monitor market prices has recommended that vehicles carrying essential goods on the Jamuna Bridge should not be charged any tolls to reduce transport costs of commodities.
   The committee at a meeting on Wednesday also observed that a meeting between the government and the businessmen scheduled for September 25 in Chittagong would help to further business confidence in increasing the flow of goods to market.
   The committee of the officials of different ministries and important government agencies decided to write a letter to the communications ministry seeking waiver of toll to support the government efforts to keep the prices of essentials at a reasonable level.
   ‘The government is trying to keep prices affordable for the poor. We are confident that the series of steps taken this time would yield positive results,’ said the committee chief, additional commerce secretary Golam Mustakim.
   He said four committees would continue to monitor markets at least twice a week to have a clear picture of market prices so that the government can take necessary measures.
   The meeting reviewed the market intervention measures such as sales outlets run by the Bangladesh Rifles, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and the Department of Fisheries to sell goods at reasonable prices to the low and fixed income groups of people.
   The committee chief said the rates of price increase during this Ramadan were not higher than what they were in the past Ramadan. He cited the example of aubergine, which marked up to Tk 80 a kilogram in the past year compared with Tk 50 a kilogram this year.
   As for high price of onion, Mustakim said it was a perishable item and its production in neighbouring India and Myanmar fell significantly this year.
   The meeting asked the officials of the ministries concerned to present updated statistics at the next committee meeting on the production of and demand for various essential goods.
   A recent survey report prepared by economist Hossain Zillur Rahman-led Power and Participation Research Centre, however, said Bangladesh produces 213.75 lakh tonnes of food-grains against the demand for 235.83 lakh tonnes, 52.77 lakh tonnes potatoes against the demand for 25.56 lakh tonnes, 1.31 lakh tonnes of lentil against the demand for 6.17 lakh tonnes, 16.96 lakh tonnes spices against the demand for 25.73 lakh tonnes, 9 lakh tonnes of onions against the demand for 13.49 lakh tonnes and 93.06 lakh tonnes of vegetables against the demand for 134.78 lakh tonnes.
   Mustakim said a change in food habit could also help to reduce the prices of some items. ‘If the people follow the message of the Hadith to fill one-third of the stomach with solid food and one-third with water and keep the other third empty, the prices of food items would come down to two-thirds.’

Commonwealth chief Don McKinnon Wednesday urged president Pervez Musharraf to keep his promise to quit as army chief, as the opposition stepped up efforts to thwart the Pakistani ruler’s re-election.
   Musharraf said through his lawyer on Tuesday that he would become a civilian leader, but only if he wins a new five-year term as president in a parliamentary ballot that is due by mid-October.
   The 53-nation club of mainly former British colonies expelled Pakistan for five years after Musharraf seized power in 1999, and said at a conference in 2005 that he should ditch his military role by the end of this year.
   ‘The secretary general reiterated the Commonwealth’s position with respect to the president’s retention of two offices,’ a Commonwealth statement said after McKinnon met Musharraf at the start of a three-day visit.
   Pakistan’s foreign ministry quoted McKinnon as saying, however, that he was ‘encouraged’ by Musharraf’s pledge to shed his uniform.
   Musharraf meanwhile ‘re-emphasised his firm resolve to hold free, fair and transparent elections in the country,’ the official Associated Press of Pakistan said.
   Pakistan’s presidential election is expected before October 15. Musharraf now says that if elected he would be sworn in as a civilian leader before his current term as president expires on November 15.
   A top aide to Musharraf said the likely dates for the election are between October 7 and 9. The election commission is expected to issue a formal schedule by the end of the week.
   But the opposition, dominated by the party of self-exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto, has threatened to resign from parliament over his ‘unconstitutional’ plan to be re-elected in uniform.
   The government hit back, with railways minister Sheikh Rashid, a close confidant of Musharraf, warning of ‘extreme decisions’ if the opposition leaves parliament in protest.
   Musharraf has never ruled out the possibility of imposing a state of emergency or martial law. He nearly declared an emergency in August but held off under pressure from the United States.
   He must also cross a legal hurdle as the country’s Supreme Court is currently hearing challenges to his dual role and his candidacy in the presidential elections.
   The petitions have been filed by the fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami party and by Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain who is now a politician.

Justin Kemp blasted 89 not out off 56 balls after Morne Morkel claimed 4-17 as South Africa thrashed New Zealand by six wickets in the Twenty20 world championships here on Wednesday.
   Graeme Smith’s home team restricted the Kiwis to 153-8 after giving them first strike at the Kingsmead and then knocked off the modest target with five balls to spare.
   It was New Zealand’s only defeat in three matches of the Super Eights and left them level with South Africa on two wins each.
   Both teams will advance to the semi-finals from group E if India lose to England here later on Wednesday.
   If India win and also beat South Africa in their last match on Thursday, a three-way tie will be decided on net run-rates.
   England, who lost their first two matches, have been knocked out of the semi-final race.
   Pakistan are the first team to make the last four in the 12-nation tournament after beating Sri Lanka and Australia in group F.
   The second spot from the group will go to the winner of Thursday’s crucial tie between Australia and Sri Lanka in Cape Town.
   Kemp hammered six boundaries and as many sixes in his match-winning knock, ending the match by lofting Mark Gillespie over the straight field for six.
   Kemp added 65 runs for the fourth wicket with Mark Boucher (23) and an undefeated 48 for the fifth with Shaun Pollock, who remained unbeaten on 16.
   The South African blitz came after two wickets had fallen for 17 runs and a third batsman, Herschelle Gibbs, was dismissed in the eighth over with the total at 45.
   The emphatic win was set up by 22-year-old fast bowler Morne Morkel who ensured that New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals.
   Morkel narrowly missed becoming the first Twenty20 bowler to claim five wickets when his penultimate ball which clean bowled Gillespie was declared a no-ball by umpire Billy Doctrove.
   Craig McMillan top scored for New Zealand with 48 not out in an innings studded with four sixes.
   New Zealand made a brisk start as openers Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent hammered 68 for the first wicket by the ninth over.
   South Africa hit back by claiming three wickets in 11 balls and earned a fourth success soon after to make the Black Caps 90-4 by the 13th over.
   Morkel had McCullum (38) and Ross Taylor (one) caught behind by wicket-keeper Mark Boucher in the ninth over.
   Vincent, who settled in to hit 32 off 29 balls, was bowled by Johan van der Wath in the 10th and Scott Styris holed out in the deep off Albie Morkel after making six.
   Morne Morkel returned for his second spell to bowl Jacob Oram and had Shane Bond caught by Boucher.

Opening batsman Junaed Siddique will play his first international match when Bangladesh take on Pakistan in their last Super Eights fixture of the Twenty20 World Cup in Cape Town today.
   The match will start at 6:00pm (Bangladesh Standard Time) with ESPN will telecasting it live.
   The left-hander is the only change in the Bangladesh line-up from the previous match against Sri Lanka. He replaces Nazimuddin, who had caused a stir in the warm-up matches, but subsequently flopped in the main show.
   ‘Our opening position has been a problem. Tamim (Iqbal) and Nazim have not performed up to expectation and the top order has not batted consistently well,’ skipper Mohammad Ashraful was quoted as saying in TigerCricket.com, the official website of the Bangladesh Cricket Board.
   ‘But we have played some good cricket overall and we hope to end with a performance worthy of our capability,’ added the skipper The Bangladesh side returned to Cape Town on Wednesday morning. They were supposed to train at Newlands, the venue of the game, in the afternoon.

The High Court on Wednesday declared illegal the arrest of businessman Abdul Awal Mintoo under the Emergency Powers Rules and his detention under the Special Powers Act.
   A High Court bench of Justice Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury issued the order following a habeas corpus petition filed by Mintoo’s son Tabid Awal.
   The joint forces picked up Mintoo from near Zia International Airport in Dhaka on May 29 when he attempted to fly abroad. He was sent to jail the following day.
   The government gave an order for the detention of Mintoo 67 days after he was landed in jail, the petitioner said, adding that the detention was also extended later.
   The bench observed that Mintoo was arrested unlawfully by the police and sent to jail after being produced in a metropolitan court based on a general diary but no specific charge was brought against him in the diary.
   ‘Arrest of anyone under section 16(2) of the Emergency Powers Rules 2007 without any specific charge is illegal and there is no provision for extension of detention under section 3(1) of the Special Powers Act 1974,’ the bench said.
   The High Court on August 7 granted bail to Mintoo, also a former president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and issued a rule on the government asking it to explain within two weeks why Mintoo’s detention under the rules would not be declared illegal.
   Mintoo couldn’t be released on bail as an extortion case was filed against him after the High Court’s release order. The case was still under investigation, the lawyers said.
   Advocate Rafiq-ul-Haq moved the petition for the petitioner while deputy attorney general Syed Afsar Jahan appeared for the state.

The International Atomic Energy Agency assured Bangladesh of technical support for peaceful use of nuclear energy.
   The assurance came as the science and ICT adviser, Tapan Chowdhury, met the IAEA director general El Baradei on the sidelines of the 51st General Conference of the IAEA in Vienna, said a release of the Bangladesh mission in Geneva on Wednesday.
   A mission of IAEA officers will soon visit Bangladesh to assist the government on technical issues.
   Tapan requested El Baradei to provide technical guidance for Bangladesh to set up nuclear power plants.
   Tapan, who is leading the Bangladesh delegation to the conference, briefed El Baradei on the steps taken by Bangladesh to set up such a plant.
   Pointing to fast growing demand for power for economic development and depletion of fossil fuel reserve, Tapan stressed the
   need for alternative sources of electricity such as nuclear power.

Some private television channels have resumed airing talk shows after a gap of about a month.
   The airing of such talk shows had been suspended at a government instruction since August 22 when curfew was ordered of six divisional headquarters.
   The channels are, however, conducting the shows in accordance with certain ‘conditions’ set by the government.
   Others are still hesitant to host such shows.
   The information adviser, Mainul Hosein, on Monday called the top officials of the channels to his secretariat office and handed in the guideline printed on plain paper.
   ‘Mainul Hosein called us to his office and handed in a written guideline for hosting talk shows,’ Channel i director Shykh Seraj told New Age on Wednesday.
   ‘The guideline was not printed on letterhead. It was a plain sheet of paper and not signed,’ he said.
   The informal guideline includes nine conditions:
   ‘The unplanned and uncontrolled airing of talk shows on different television channels has created an adverse impact on the socio-economic condition of the country… The airing of talk shows can again be allowed now only if the “conditions” mentioned below are adhered to.
   ‘A. Each channel can air the highest of 2 to 3 talk shows a week. It is better to air a single talk show in a day.
   ‘B. Talk shows will need to be “edited.” No talk shows can be aired live.
   ‘C. Talk shows cannot have interactive discussions or live SMS or phone-in.
   ‘D. Inviting the same guest repeatedly is to be discouraged.
   ‘E. Enough care should be taken in the selection of guests for talk shows. Noted thinkers, intellectuals, academics, and businessmen can be invited. Panels of guests should comprise people of various ideals.
   ‘F. Emphasis should be given on constructive criticism and giving realistic and specific suggestions.
   ‘G. Development, constructive, cultural, economic, social, religious and educational issues should be emphasised in talk shows. But any discussion harmful to cultural, economic, social and religious values should be avoided.
   ‘H. Any kinds of instigating, blind and biased opinions, and statements that can create resentment towards the legitimate government of Bangladesh should also be avoided.
   ‘I. Leading questions that can steer discussants towards a prefixed objective should be avoided. Guests should be given more time to speak by keeping the atmosphere congenial.’
   Asked if the guideline has been officially imposed, the information secretary, Didarul Anwar, told New Age on Wednesday, ‘It is an informal guideline.’
   The NTV chief news editor, Khairul Anwar, said he had received a copy of the guideline.
   The Channel 1 chief news editor, Nazmul Ashraf, said, ‘We have been told that it is an unofficial guideline and we are to follow it.’
   The Bangla Vision executive director, Aminur Rashid, said, ‘We are yet to make any decision on resuming talk shows…. We are assessing to what extent we can follow the guideline.’
   The top official of another television channel said, ‘They [the government] have tagged some conditions to resuming talk shows. But they are not shouldering any responsibility.’

The government has assigned the foreign ministry the responsibility for determining the country’s standpoint on providing transit facilities to India as well as to work as a coordinator to deal with all regional and bilateral transport connectivity issues.
   An inter-ministry meeting, presided over by communications adviser MA Matin, on Tuesday decided to shift the responsibility to the foreign ministry from the communications ministry to deal with the transit-related issues and to play the role of the coordinator as a number of ministries are currently involved in various transport projects for increasing regional connectivity, particularly with India.
   The meeting also decided to form a committee, headed by the foreign secretary, to frame the strategy for handling transit issues, said sources in the foreign ministry.
   Currently, the Economic Relations Division, the commerce, planning and communications ministries are respectively playing leading roles in four regional transport-related projects — the South Asia Sub-Regional Economic Cooperation, BIMSTEC Transport Infrastructure and Logistics Study, Trade Facilitation and Transit Facility and SAARC Multimodal Transport Study.
   ‘As most of these projects are linked to transit issues with India, we think the foreign ministry should play the leading role,’ said a source present at the meeting, explaining the reason for handing over the responsibility to the foreign ministry.
   Sources in the communications ministry said the adviser held the inter-ministry meeting to review the outcome of the SAARC transport ministers’ meeting, held in the New Delhi at the end of August, and to work out Bangladesh’s strategy.
   In the meeting, the transport ministers of SAARC countries discussed recommendations of the SAARC Regional Multi-modal Transport Studies for removing physical and other barriers that stand in the way of developing a comprehensive transport network. Bangladesh sought time before deciding on the Asian Development Bank’s proposal for connecting South Asian countries by all modes of transit under a regional agreement.
   At the meeting Bangladesh said that it would inform the other SAARC members of its decision by January before the next SAARC transport ministers’ conference to be held in Sri Lanka in the first quarter of 2008.

The Power Division on Wednesday decided to form an eight-member technical committee to standardise the specifications of the compact fluorescent lamps that will be installed in the residences, offices and other establishments in the country.
   The chief engineer of Rural Electrification Board, Md Abdullah, will be the convener of the committee, as decided in a meeting chaired by power secretary M Fouzul Kabir Khan.
   The meeting observed that it was necessary to install energy saving CFLs in the country to lessen power consumption but there should be common guidelines before asking the consumers to use CFLs.
   The committee will recommend the standards of the CFLs that will be produced in the country or imported. ‘The committee will determine the specifications of the power factor and capacity like watts and lumens of the CFLs that will be used in the country,’ said a source present at the meeting.
   The other members of the committee will include representatives of the Dhaka Electric Supply Authority, Dhaka Electric Supply Company, Power Development Board, Power Cell, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Military Institute of Science and Technology and Infrastructure Development Company Ltd.
   ‘The committee that will be formed on Thursday will be given two weeks of time to submit its recommendations,’ said another source.
   At present CFLs are being imported at random and without following any specifications. ‘After getting the committee’s report we may request the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution to set a standard for the CFLs that can be produced in the country or imported,’ he said.
   The committee will also recommend whether the government should give any rebate to importers of CFLs and raw materials for producing them in the country.
   It will also recommend ways of disposal of out-of-order CFLs as these lamps contain harmful mercury.
   A high official of the division said that the power agencies might provide CFLs to the customers. ‘The agencies might take back the price of CFLs
   in instalments with every month’s bills as the cost of a CFL is very high compared to that of traditional incandescent bulbs.’
   Various studies have shown that Bangladesh can save around 800 MW of power if energy-saving appliances, including CFLs, are used in the country.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is likely to decide today whether the High Court has the authority to dispose off bail petitions in cases lodged under the apparently unassailable Emergency Powers Rules, 2007.
   The full court of the six Appellate Division judges, headed by the chief justice, M Ruhul Amin, on Wednesday set the date for delivering its judgement after hearing three government petitions seeking permission to appeal against High Court verdicts that asserted its power to deal with bail petitions under the emergency rules.
   The issue first came up during the hearing of a bail petition by a High Court bench of Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury and Justice Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury on March 29, when the deputy attorney general mentioned that the emergency rules, amended on March 21, barred the accused from seeking bail in any court during inquiry, investigation or trial of a case. So, the amended EPR bar the High Court from dealing with bail prayers in cases filed under them, the DAG argued.
   On April 22, a High Court bench of Justice Nozrul and Justice SM Emdadul Haque delivered a verdict, resolving the debate it invited on March 29 over the dilemma.
   The High Court has the jurisdiction to dispose of bail petitions under sections 497 and 498 of the Code of Criminal Procedure even in cases under the emergency rules, and the court has the discretionary power to grant or deny bail to any accused after considering the merits of the case, observed the court.
   In the verdict, the High Court also granted anticipatory bail to the petitioner, Mainuddin Sikder, an oil trader of Khulna, sued under the emergency rules.
   As the government pre-ferred appeal, the Appellate Division on May 24 stayed the verdict.
   After the April 22 verdict, the High Court on August 19 granted anticipatory bail to the detained former law minister Moudud Ahmed in a case filed under the emergency rules on charge of bringing and selling foreign liquors evading tax.
   It has also granted bail to Sabera Aman, wife of the detained former state minister Amanullah Aman, in a case lodged under the emergency rules.
   The government filed petitions to the Appellate Division seeking permission to appeal against these three High Court verdicts.

Five detective police were arrested at different parts in the city Tuesday night on charge of snatching Tk 1.90 lakh and 120 ringit from a Bangladeshi expatriate to Malaysia.
   The arrested were identified as sub-inspector Belal Hossain, constables Humayun Kabir, Ferdous Alam, Rabiul Alam and Rashedul Islam, all the members of team-5 of detective branch.
   The police also arrested informant Nasir Hossain who played a vital role in snatching the money from Ibrahim Hossain, a resident of Kalapara in Patuakhali.
   The Paltan police said Ibrahim rented a room at Hotel Bandhu near the office of Bangladesh Photojournalists Association on Tuesday as he was scheduled to fly to Malaysia on Thursday.
   The police team raided the hotel area, arrested Ibrahim and took him to Hazaribagh area in a rickshaw.
   Later they dropped him in front of the High Court giving him Tk 10,000 from the snatched money in the evening and threatened not to disclose the incident to any one.
   Soon after the incident, Ibrahim went to the Paltan police station and informed the officer-in-charge of the police station of it.
   The law enforcers conducted several raids till Wednesday morning and managed to recover the money from their possession. But they failed to arrest another police informant Shaheen.
   A case was filed in this connection under speedy trial tribunal act.

Hundreds of monks protested for the third straight day in military-ruled Myanmar on Wednesday, one month after a huge fuel price hike sparked a wave of rarely-seen public discontent.
   About 300 monks marched through downtown Yangon in the rain toward the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar’s most important landmark, while a smaller group of about 100 later protested in another part of the country’s main city.
   Another 500 monks demonstrated in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second city, while in Sittwe, 560 kilometres west of Yangon, reports said about 800 monks staged a sit-in at a police station, demanding the release of three detainees.
   Marches by monks across this devoutly Buddhist country on Tuesday were the biggest anti-junta protest in a decade, as the clergy emerge as key players in a movement that erupted last month over a massive hike in fuel prices.
   Myanmar’s junta normally does not tolerate even the slightest show of public dissent, but monks are widely respected and important cultural standard-bearers here.
   In Yangon, nearly 1,000 onlookers clapped and smiled under the watchful eyes of plainclothes police at the Sule Pagoda, as more than 300 monks marched by.
   They initially headed for the Shwedagon Pagoda, but entrances have remained closed since Tuesday, forcing the marchers through the city.

The Khmer Rouge regime’s most senior surviving leader was arrested Wednesday, plucked from his home in the Cambodian jungle to face justice at the country’s long-delayed genocide trials.
   Nuon Chea, now 82 and once the most trusted lieutenant of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, is the first of a small group of former top cadres living freely in Cambodia to be arrested by the new UN-backed tribunal.
   An AFP correspondent saw the police and court officials take him from his remote home and drive him to a waiting helicopter, which flew him to the capital Phnom Penh to be processed by the fledgling tribunal that will put him on trial.
   Nuon Chea, known in the regime’s revolutionary circles as ‘Brother Number Two’, was allegedly a key architect of the execution policies of the Khmer Rouge, who are blamed for the deaths of up to two million people. But in an interview with AFP in July, he insisted he had no blood on his hands.
   Nuon Chea’s rank in the communist hierarchy and alleged decision-making role would make him the most significant defendant to be tried for crimes committed under the 1975-79 regime by the tribunal.

Sacked cartoonist of daily Prothom Alo, Arifur Rahman was sent to Dhaka Central Jail with a 30-day detention under special powers act on Wednesday.
   Detective police arrested him from his Uttara residence on Tuesday for publication of a cartoon in Alpin, the Bangla daily’s weekly supplement, adding the name of Prophet Mohammad (SM) before an animal.
   The government confiscated the issue of Alpin as it hurt religious sentiment of the people, an official release Tuesday said. The daily apologised for the publication and announced withdrawal of the cartoon titled Naam (name).
   Tejgaon police produced Arif in the court on Wednesday.
   As none appeared for him in the court, metropolitan magistrate Abdul Fattah sent him to the jail.
   Meanwhile, protests continued in Dhaka on Wednesday against the publication of the cartoon.
   About a hundred devotees came out of the Baitul Mukarram national mosque after prayers at about 4:30 pm and held a rally in front of the north gate demanding punishment to the people responsible for the sacrilege.
   They also brought out a procession, but the police intercepted it.
   The police did not allow a similar procession brought out at Killar more of Lalbagh in old Dhaka to proceed further.

One lakh and fifteen thousand candidates will take the third certification test for qualification to apply for teaching position at non-government schools, officials of the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority told New Age on Wednesday.
   The tests will be held on September 21, 22, 28 and 29, and the candidates will need to face 200-mark examinations in a compulsory and an elective subject.
   The test of the aspirants for the position of teachers at schools will begin on September 21 and for position of teachers at colleges on September 28.
   The examinations will be held in all the district headquarters under Sylhet, Barisal and Chittagong divisions, and only in divisional headquarters of Dhaka, Rajshahi and Khulna.
   The parliament passed the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority Act 2005 on February 9 to contain corruption in teachers’ recruitment. It came into effect on March 20. The certification will help to ensure the minimum standards of teachers.
   The act makes NTRCA certificate mandatory for teaching position in non-government junior and high schools, colleges, madrassahs, and technical and business management institutions.
   The successful candidates get a certificate which will remain valid for five years.
   The first examinations were held in November 2005 and the second in September 2006.

The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, on Wednesday hosted an iftar party in honour of ulema and orphans at the Chief Adviser’s Bhaban in the city’s Sher-e-Bangla Nagar.
   He exchanged pleasantries with ulema and orphan boys and girls. This was the first iftar party hosted by the Chief Adviser’s Office.
   Khatib of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque Moulana Obaidul Huq was present and conducted a munajat before iftar.
   Advisers to the caretaker government also attended the iftar party.

The management announced on Wednesday lay-off at the daily Ajker Kagoj because of financial crisis, said a release issued by the newspaper.
   The authorities, however, claimed that they have taken an initiative to pay all the dues of the journalists, officials and employees of the newspaper as soon as possible, the release said.
   The newspaper hit the market in 1991.

Bangladesh on Wednesday sought the US’s assistance in effecting the release of the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee’s area manager, Nurul Islam, who was abducted in Afghanistan recently.
   Foreign adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury made the request when the visiting US deputy assistant secretary, John Gastright, called on him at the foreign ministry.
   ‘I have requested him to see whether it will be possible for US authorities to help to secure the release of Nurul Islam,’ the adviser told newsmen.
   He said the government has initiated a four-pronged policy to secure the release of Nurul Islam, who was abducted by unknown gunmen on September 15.
   Iftekhar said that he had also talked with Pakistan after his talk with the Afghan foreign minister to seek their cooperation in getting Islam released.
   Nurul Islam was kidnapped a few days after the killing of Abdul Alim, another BRAC employee, in Afghanistan.