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The Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board is considering a 25 per cent reduction in charges for calls to private mobile phones after a significant cut in interconnection fees.
   Officials said Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission in October reduced the interconnection charge from Tk 0.66 to Tk 0.40 to facilitate cheaper calls between land and private mobile phones.
   ‘We have planned to cut the call charges to mobile phone networks proportionately in line with BTRC’s decision,’ said an official of the telephone board.
   Since April 2006, the telephone board has been charging a subscriber Tk 1.5 per minute for making call to private mobile networks.
   Under the existing revenue sharing agreement signed in 1998, mobile operators pay interconnection fees for access to the BTTB network, whereas the board pays nothing for call termination to mobile networks.
   The posts and telecommunications ministry in 2006 sent a proposal to the finance ministry for approval of a new interconnection charge for calls between the BTTB and mobile networks. Mobile operators would pay the telephone board Tk 0.70 a minute for a call to the BTTB network, the proposal said.
   The board, on the other hand, would pay charges to mobile operators at the rate of Tk 0.30 a minute, which would gradually go up to Tk 0.70 in 2009 for calls from its network to private mobile networks.
   But the proposal is still pending in the finance ministry while the board officials said BTTB would send a fresh proposal to the finance ministry in this regard.

The state, family and society including the paediatricians were urged on Thursday to create an environment conducive to the healthy growth of newborns.
   ‘The future of a newborn will depend on the quality of the child’s life from the beginning. The roles of the state, community and the families are equally significant here and they must play their roles effectively,’ said Sultana Kamal, former adviser to the caretaker government and executive director of Ain O Shalish Kendra, while formally inaugurating the first three-day international conference of the Bangladesh Neonatal Forum in Dhaka.
   The BNF is holding the conference when, according to Unicef, Bangladesh is one of the few countries on earth with a major share of the four million neo-natal deaths annually with its estimated 1,20,000 deaths each year. Most of these deaths occur at home due to high percentage of home delivery and lack of skilled midwives/birth attendants and inadequate coverage of newborn care programmes.
   National Professor MR Khan said, while addressing the conference, that the government, the community and others concerned need to use the expertise of the local neo-natal specialists and workers. ‘Training has already been given…Expert manpower has been produced…Now the government and others should use the manpower.’
   BNF’s chief adviser, Professor Nazmun Nahar, said that 50 per cent of neo-natal deaths occur in the first 24 hours after birth, and 75 per cent of the neo-natal deaths occur in the first week as very few of the neo-natal ailments are treated by medically qualified persons.
   She suggested reduction of neo-natal deaths through simple and effective community-based intervention. ‘It [intervention] requires commitment at all levels of the system — parents, community, doctors and politicians,’ she said. ‘It’s not about research, it’s about service delivery as too many babies are dying.’
   She said that lack of effective means for health workers to reach and serve newborns in their homes and lack of materials and skills to treat sick newborns are the major constraints in improving neo-natal health.
   Mentioning the rising prevalence of childhood disability, Professor Naila Zaman Khan of the Bangladesh Institute of Child Health emphasised the need for ensuring early recognition of diseases and appropriate intervention to help the impaired infants and to protect them from long-term disabling conditions.
   BNF’s president, Professor Kishwar Azad, said it would be impossible to solve the problems of the newborns, including non-breathing and under-weight, unless the delivery services are improved.
   Lyorlumun J Uhaa, Unicef’s deputy representative in Dhaka, emphasised the need for starting intervention at the community-level to educate the parents of the newborn babies in order to reduce the number of neo-natal deaths.
   Professor Edward E Lawson, Professor Keith P West of USA, Professor Neena Modi of UK, Dr Neelam Kler of India and local paediatricians Professor MQK Talukder, Professor Md Salim Shakur, Professor Md Monimul Hoque, Professor M Shahidullah, Professor Md Ekhlasur Rahman and Dr M Monir Hossain, Margarita Clark of the Save the Children, USA, among others, addressed the plenary and scientific sessions.

Speakers at a discussion organised by Samyabadi Dal on Thursday urged holding free and fair elections within 2008 in keeping with the roadmap as announced by the Election Commission.
   The interim government and the Election Commission must take steps to dispel confusion about the holding of the elections according to the roadmap, the speakers said.
   The Samyabadi Dal general secretary, Dilip Barua, in his keynote paper read out at the discussion on the political crisis and its solution at the National Press Club, said the crisis could be overcome by holding free and fair elections according to the roadmap.
   The people are waiting to elect a government of their choice through national polls, Dilip said.
   He urged the government
   to holding dialogues with political parties to reach a consensus on holding free and fair elections.
   The Workers Party president, Rashed Khan Menon, said the people would not accept any measure without holding free and fair elections.
   The country may face mass uprising if any alternative to national elections is taken
   to govern the country, Menon said.
   Menon proposed that the ongoing steps against corruption must be continued and awareness should be created among the people of corruption.
   The Communist Party general secretary, Mujahidul Islam Selim, said the constitution of 1972 should be reinstated.
   He demanded stern measures against high-profile corruption and criticised the government fir compromising with the business community in the name of a truth commission.
   Selim called on all the left and democratic political forces to stand united to restore democratic system to the country.
   He called on the govern- ment to withdraw the state of emergency and ban on political activities across the country.
   Gana Forum presidium member Pankaj Bhattacharya criticised the role of the Awami League which retreated on its political commitment to the alliance by fielding nominations for the January 22, 2007 elections.
   Former adviser to the caretaker government Sultana Kamal said the national elections should be held in a free and fair manner so that people could elect public representatives of their choice.
   The Sector Commanders’ Forum coordinator, Haroon-or-Rashid, demanded trial of war criminals of 1971.
   Former Awami League leader Mozaffar Hossain Paltu, Samyabadi Dal presidium member Abu Hamed Mohammed Shahabuddin and others took part in the discussion.

Civic leaders and professionals formed a human chain and held a meeting at the local press club Thursday protesting against the violence and vandalism at Carmichael College on Wednesday by Islami Chhatra Shibir activists.
   Teachers of other colleges joined their fellows of Carmichael College in a sit-in programme in front of the Shaheed Minar and walked in a silent procession wearing black badges demanding arrest of the culprits before February 21.
   Other professionals and business leaders also joined the protests against the Wednesday’s rampage and demanded that a full-fledged university be established in the northern district town as pledged by the chief adviser.
   Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, who had presided over a special cabinet meeting in Rangpur Saturday, announced that a full-fledged university would be set up in Rangpur.
   The town’s people and civic leaders welcomed the announcement.
   But activists of Shibir, student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, became furious at the announcement of the chief adviser and rampaged through the campus Wednesday, setting fire to the house of a teacher and a college power substation. They also vandalised the houses of the principal and another senior teacher, and damaged some vehicles in and outside the college campus. They also chased with police.
   The Shibir activists demanded that Carmichael College be upgraded into a university.
   The violence compelled the authorities to close down the college and vacate the dormitories for an indefinite period.
   Principal of the college Dr Dwipkendra Nath Das chaired the protest meeting on Thursday addressed by secretary general of College Teachers Association Masum Rabbani and teachers of different colleges Selim Ahmed, Abu Bakar Siddiq and Wahed Miah.
   The meeting gave the administration February 21 ultimatum to arrest the persons responsible for the Wednesday’s vandalism.
   Politicians, professionals, and civic and business leaders stood hand-in-hand in a human chain in front of local press club in the morning. Later at a protest meeting, they urged the government to establish a full-fledged university in Rangpur.
   Rangpur chamber president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury said, ‘We don’t want Carmichael College to be upgraded as university. We want a separate public university in Rangpur.’
   Earlier, the college administration formed a seven-member committee headed by Professor Abdur Rab to investigate the Wednesday’s incidents. After initial assessment, the committee in its report Thursday said the damages caused to college property would be worth Tk 50 lakh.
   The Kotwali police held 68 suspects during the last 24 hours till Thursday evening, officer-in-charge Ali Ahmed Hashemi said.
   Most of the arrested were members of the Islami Chhatra Shibir, he said.
   A tense situation was still prevailing on the campus despite deployment of huge police persons. Student halls and messes were emptied as insiders left those by 8:00 am Thursday as asked by the authorities. Classes were off and administrative offices were open for official works.

The chief adviser, Fakhruddin Ahmed, has said activities for livelihood rehabilitation of the people affected by the November 15 cyclone Sidr in the coastal belt have been strengthened.
   ‘Relief activities are almost over, but rehabilitation works are going on. There is need of cooperation in rehabilitation,’ he said while receiving donations from individuals, institutions and organisations for the Chief Adviser’s Relief and Welfare Fund at his office.
   Fakhruddin said banks had been requested to extend cooperation to the cyclone-affected people to help them lead a normal life.
   He said so far Tk 120 crore form the CA’s Relief and Welfare Fund had been given for distribution among the Sidr-affected people mainly for house rebuilding. Another Tk 22 crore had been allocated last week for the cyclone-affected districts.
   ‘Your money is being sent to the Sidr-affected areas as soon as possible so that the affected people can quickly get benefit from it,’ he told the donors.
   The chief adviser thanked all donors for extending their hands of cooperation in helping the cyclone-affected people.
   Those who handed over cheques to the chief adviser on Thursday include Bangladesh Jute Mills Association, Chittagong University, City College, Bangladesh Institute of Management and Administration, RPGL, Sadarghat Traders Association, Uttara University, Banani Bidyaniketon, Nafiz Sultana Zaman, Md Sakerullah and Md Saidur Rahman.

Former Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, Lutfar Rahman, was arrested again at the jail gate soon after he had been released from the jail Wednesday evening.
   Lutfar, detained in connection with an extortion case, was earlier remanded on bail. He was sent to jail after his arrest under Section 54 soon after his release, the Boalia police said.
   Additional district and sessions judge Lutfa Begum earlier granted him bail. He was earlier arrested at Dhaka on July 30, 2007.
   Lutfar Rahman, a business partner of Rajshahi mayor Mizanur Rahman Minu, and two of his brothers, Fazlur Rahman and Bazlur Rahman, were accused of extorting Tk 18 lakh from one Nurunnabi at Shalgharia of Durgapur in Rajshahi.
   They were also charged with forcing Nurunnabi to hand over the Jamuna Seeds Cold Storage Private Limited shares of Tk 1 crore to the accused on April 21, 2004.
   Nurunnabi filed separate cases against RCC convicted Rajshahi mayor Minu, Lutfar and his two brothers with the Boalia police on August 6, 2007.

The Border Security Force of India opened unprovoked fire across the border killing a young man and wounding another in Paria frontier village under Baliadangi upazila in Thakurgaon on Thursday.
   Pulin Chandra Singha, 30, died on the spot and his body was dragged away to Baroghoria border outpost of Panjipara BSF battalion, said BDR confirming the incident.
   Pulin, son of Sipang Chandra Singha, was a resident of Jhapratala village in Baliadangi upazila.
   Sadequl Islam, 28, of the same village badly wounded by bullet was rushed to the local Health Complex but later shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.
   At least five Bangladeshi nationals were shot dead during the last eight days along the Baliadangi border. Villagers said Pulin and Sadeq went close to the border to purchase cattle offered by the Indian traders.
   The brutal action of the BSF was in violation of accord reached at the top level that neither side would fire across the border during the daytime, and any dispute should be settled through flag meeting.

The family of late artist Debdas Chakraborty donated his body to Ibrahim Memorial Medical College on Thursday.
   ‘We have donated our father’s body for the research of students of medical science according to his last wishes,’ Debdas’s elder son Gautam Chakraborty said.
   The body was taken to the Institute of Fine Arts at 10:00am, where director Abdur Shakur Shah and students of the institute paid their respects to the artist.
   The coffin was then taken to the Central Shaheed Minar where the artist received a guard of honour and the cultural adviser, Rasheda K Choudhury, led the offering of floral tributes.
   Debdas died at his Uttara residence Tuesday afternoon at the age of 75. The award winning painter had been suffering from a number of medical complications.
   The artist contributed to the war of independence by designing a poster that was a great inspiration to freedom fighters.
   He was an activist of left leaning politics during his student life and bore those ideals throughout his life in his works.
   Debdas entered Calcutta Art College as a young man in 1948, but could not complete his course for political reasons.
   He was later admitted to Dhaka Art College (the present Institute of Fine Arts). Here, Debdas had the opportunity to be close to the prominent artists of the institute at the time, including Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed and Kamrul Hassan.
   Debdas graduated with a BFA in 1956. From 1977 to 1979, he trained in the art of printmaking with a Polish government scholarship.
   He worked as a senior designer at Information Directorate under the ministry of agriculture from 1958 to 1970, and worked under the eminent artist Kamrul Hassan at the Information Directorate of the makeshift government of Bangladesh during the war of independence.
   Debdas was an assistant professor in the fine arts department at Chittagong University from 1970 to 1980, and has won art awards at home and abroad during his career.
   He was born in Shariatpur, and left two sons, relatives and many well-wishers to mourn his death.
   Students and teachers of the Institute of Fine Arts, Jessore’s SM Art College and Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts expressed shock at the death of the famous artist.

Police rescued a minor schoolboy from a village in Manikganj on Thursday within 19 hours of his abduction from Dhaka.
   Police said that the victim, Ariful Islam Arif, 9, a class IV student of Sher-e Bangla High School, was abducted while he was on his way to his Moghbazar Chairman Goli residence from the school at about 2:30 pm Wednesday.
   The abductors demanded Tk 1.50 lakh from the boy’s father over phone.
   The police started searching for the boy and later traced him to Madhabpur village under Sadar upazila of Manikganj at about 9:30 am Thursday. The boy was brought back to Dhaka and handed over to his parents. None was arrested.

Former public prosecutor of Mymensingh child and woman repression (prevention) tribunal court was arrested on Thursday.
   The police said advocate Kaiser Ahmed was picked up from in front of Gaffargaon upazila parishad. He was wanted in 14 criminal cases, including murder. As many as 17 GDs were registered accusing him of misdeeds.
   Kaiser had managed the job of public prosecutor during the present interim government by suppressing the criminal cases against him. Soon the government came to know and moved to dismiss him. Sensing trouble, he resigned the post of public prosecutor.

Two people, including a minor schoolboy, were killed in separate road accidents in Gazipur on Thursday.
   One of deceased was Masudur Rahman, 6, a student of the Chandana Pratibha Model Academy and son of one Helal Uddin of the area. The identity of the other deceased could not be immediately established.
   According to local and police sources, a bus ran over Masudur at about 3:30pm on the Dhaka-Gazipur Highway at Naljanir in the Gazipur district headquarters, killing him on the spot.
   The visited the place and sent the body to the Gazipur General Hospital morgue for a post-mortem examination.
   Police seized the bus, but the driver managed to get away.
   The police found the body of an unnamed young man at Talipara on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in the district headquarters.
   The police suspected the young man might have died after being run over by a vehicle as he tried to cross the road at night.
   The body was also sent to the Gazipur General Hospital morgue for a post-mortem examination.
   Separate cases were filed with the Joydevpur police.