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Women leaders and rights activists on Wednesday urged the government to fully ratify and implement the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by amending the existing laws in line with the UN convention.
   Addressing a discussion in Dhaka on Wednesday, they also called upon the womenfolk to be aware of their rights and wage vigorous campaign to establish the rights and empowerment of women.
   Citizens’ Initiative on CEDAW-Bangladesh, a combine of 38 non-governmental organisations working on good governance and women rights, organised the meeting at its office at Lalmatia marking International CEDAW Day.
   The combine is preparing the alternative report on 21 thematic issues beside the government’s periodic report on the progress of the implementation of UN charter. Both the reports will be submitted to the UN assembly in October.
   ‘Pressure from all quarters should be mounted on the government so that it takes steps to fully ratify the CEDAW,’ Hameeda Hossain, a member of Ain O Shalish Kendra told the meeting.
   She also criticised the government for not paying any heed to their demands, saying, ‘The government only responds to the pressure from foreign forces.’
   She asked the women leaders to work out how the foreign forces could be utilised in to persuading the government to fully ratify CEDAW.
   ‘The women should be made aware of their rights and campaigns should be launched in this regard.’
   Bangladesh had signed the convention with reservations on some articles in 1984, Ranjan Karmaker, executive director
   of the Steps Towards Development, said adding that it was yet to fully ratify the implement the charter.
   ‘Bangladesh played a commendable role in adopting the CEDAW and committed to fully implement it, but no step has been taken yet to frame laws in line with the CEDAW to establish women’s rights,’ he said.
   Rawshan Jahan, Kamrunnesa Najli of Ain O Shalish Kendra and Sharmeen Sultana of Action on Disability and Development also spoke on the occasion.
   They asked the caretaker government to fully ratify the charter for removing gender disparity.
   The CEDAW, adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women.  It also defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

The Rajshahi City Corporation has taken up a household waste management project financed by the Asian Development Bank, officials said.
   The ADB has agreed to finance the Tk 5 crore project designed by the corporation to properly collect the wastes thrown by the residents here and there every day as all the dustbins have been broken, RCC sources said.
   An ADB team has recently visited the Rajshahi city.
   Under the waste management project, at least 20 new dustbins would be set up in different areas, including Terokhadia, Shaheb Bazar, Laxmipur, Mohishbathan, Kajla, Binodpur and Padma Housing.
   Sources said these dustbins would serve the purpose of secondary points where wastes collected from the residents will be put.
   The collected wastes would be used to produce fertiliser for the agriculture sector, corporation sources said.
   The garbage collected from Rajshahi city was expected to produce 5 tonnes of fertiliser every day, the sources added.
   ‘To implement the project, we have identified the land for acquisition and a machine costing Tk 70 lakh for turning the waste into fertiliser has already reached the city corporation,’ said Ashraful Haque, superintendent engineer of the city corporation.
   The project will not only reduce the expenses of the city corporation but also give relief to the city dwellers from mosquito menace and other health hazards, Haque added.
   Due to lack of specific place to dump the wastes in the city, the residents throw the garbage into the drains, seriously hampering the drainage system, RCC sources said.
   At present, the RCC employees collect the garbage from the residences and keep them in open places such as in front of Government PN Girls High School and Government Collegiate School, posing threat to public health.

Students agitating at Jahangirnagar University for the removal of a dramatics department teacher and formulation of a policy against sexual harassment withdrew their fast-unto-death programme on Wednesday.
   They called off the programme after the university authorities assured them of meeting their demands, including removal of dramatics department teacher Sanwar Hossain also known as Ahmed Sani, in a syndicate meeting scheduled to be held on September 13.
   On Wednesday, Justice Golam Rabbani, Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury, Kamal Lohani, Azfar Hussain, Anu Muhammad, Pias Karim and Khushi Kabir along with the university vice-chancellor Mohammad Muniruzzaman and registrar Abu Bakar Siddiqi visited the agitators and broke their fasting by offering juice.
   Earlier on the day, nine of the hunger strikers fell seriously ill and they were admitted to Ganashwasthya Hospital. One of them, Shahdatullah Sarkar Rumon of dramatics department, was shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
   Campus sources informed that more than 50 teachers of different universities and
   intellectuals in a joint-statement demanded speedy investigation of the allegation against dramatics teacher Ahmed Sani.
   Among the signatories of the statement are Engineer Sheikh Md Shahidullah, Justice Golam Rabbani, Professor Ajoy Roy, Professor Anisuzzaman, Professor MM Akash and Professor Serajul Islam Choudhury of Dhaka University and Professor Shamsul Alam of CUET.
   Students of Jahangirnagar University under the banner ‘Jahangirnagar against Harassment’ have been agitating for past four months, demanding removal of Ahmed Sani and for formulation of a complete policy against sexual harassment.

Eateries at the residential halls of Dhaka University have increased the prices of daily meals in the name of serving improved diet during Ramadan, but the quality of foods has remained unchanged, students alleged.
   Residents of most of the halls said the caterers increased the price of meals by 15 to 30 per cent.
   Shahinur Islam Setu, a resident of Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall, said a meal including fish was served at Tk 20 before Ramadan, but now it is Tk 23, and a meal including meat was served at Tk 22, but now it is Tk 28.
   ‘Despite the increase in price, pieces of fish or meat became smaller and the quality also deteriorated,’ he said.
   ‘Such low-quality meals are very painful to take for sehri. We informed the hall authorities, but they are yet to take any steps,’ he added.
   The menu of the meals features rice, dal, and curry of fish or meat.
   At Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall and Ziaur Rahman Hall prices of each meal increased to Tk 28 from Tk 20, but the quality of food went down, the residents said.
   At Zahurul Huq Hall meals were served at Tk 17 and Tk 22 before Ramadan, but now at Tk 20 and Tk 30.
   The rate of increase is lower at Jasim Uddin Hall as the prices of meals for Ramadan have been set at Tk 22 and Tk 32 from Tk 20 and Tk 30.
   Senjuti Rahman, a resident of Roquiah Hall, said prices of every item on the menu had gone up, but there was no significant difference between prices before Ramadan and in Ramadan.
   Naima Afroze, a resident of Shamsunnahar Hall, said prices of food items have increased slightly, but the quality had increased.
   Ahmed Jamal Anwar, provost of Haji Muhammad Muhsin Hall, said he was informed of the increase in prices of meal for sehri. ‘If the students have reservations about the increase, we will withdraw it,’ he said.

At least three crore people in the country’s coastal areas are likely to be affected by climate change as about one-fourth areas of Bangladesh may go under seawater by 2050 due to global warming, NGO activists said on Wednesday.
   At a conference held at the National Press Club in Dhaka, they also stressed the need
   for involving and empowering the people in coastal areas through awareness programmes on the effects of climate change.
   NGO Coordination Council for Climate Change, a network of 100 non-governmental organisations working mostly in coastal areas, organised the press conference on adaptation to climate change.
   Bangladesh Disaster Preparedness Centre director Muhammad Saidur Rahman, additional director Dilruba Haider, Patuakhali-based Shaplaphool Social Development Organisation executive director Nargis Ara Bayazid, Hatiya-based Dwip Unnayan Sangstha executive director Md Rafiqul Alam and Sundarban-based Shushilan director Mostafa Nuruzzaman attended the conference.
   Dilruba said they would coordinate among NGOs working in the coastal areas and work for the organisations’ capacity building, involving the local communities.
   Ashraf Amin of the council made a presentation on climate change and pointed out that excessive emission of carbon was contributing to the change in global climate. ‘It also poses serious risk that low-lying countries like Bangladesh may go under water,’ he said.

A marketing executive of a real estate company was shot dead by assailants at Lalmatia in Dhaka on Wednesday.
   The deceased was identified as Masud Parvez, 30, marketing executive of Sheltech (Pvt) Ltd, a real estate development company.
   Police said Masud along with his colleague Mahfuzur Rahman and driver Nazir went to Block-E, Lalmatia under the Mohammadpur police station to have a discussion on a plot of land for his company at 2:30pm.
   As soon as they reached the area, a gang of armed assailants went there and asked them to stop but they started running. Later the assailants opened fire, targeting the three. Masud collapsed on the ground as two bullets hit him in the back. The assailants fled the scene firing blank gunshots in the air.
   Hearing the gunshots, local people immediately went to the spot and took him to Square Hospitals where the doctors pronounced him dead. Reasons behind the killing couldn’t be ascertained immediately.
   Salauddin Ahmed, sub-inspector of the Mohammadpur police station, told New Age that Masud is believed to have been killed over previous enmity. The body was sent to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy.

The students of Class XII of Barisal Model School and College on Wednesday brought out a procession in protest at additional payment of the admission fees for Class XI.
   The agitating students said they had paid Tk 6,000 for their admission in Class XI last year while the students getting admitted this year were paying only Tk 3,900.
   They boycotted classes from 8:30am and created chaos on the campus till 11:00am demanding either return or adjustment of the extra amount they had paid.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority filed 32 cases against drivers during the special drive in the city on Wednesday.
   Two buses and three minibuses were also seized during the drive conducted at Gabtoli, Gendaria and Rampura, BRTA officials said. A total of 64 vehicles were checked during the drive, they added.
   The five vehicles were seized for not having necessary documents like route permit, registration, fitness certificate and tax tokens while the cases against drivers were filed for their failure to show papers and for violating traffic rules, said Syed Mojubul Hoque, deputy director (enforcement) of BRTA.

Light to moderate rain or thunder showers accompanied by temporary gusty wind is likely at a few places over Rajshahi, Dhaka, and Khulna divisions and at one or two places over Barisal, Chittagong and Sylhet divisions with moderately heavy falls at places till 6:00pm today, the Met Office said.
   The day temperature may remain nearly unchanged over the country, it said.
   The highest temperature on Wednesday, 34.0 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Rajshahi and at Ishwardi and the lowest, 24.5 degrees Celsius, in Sylhet and Rangamati. The sun sets in the capital today at 6:13pm and rises tomorrow at 5:41am.

The Election Commission holds talks with top government officials today (Thursday) over its move to amend laws to register expatriate Bangladeshis as voters, an official said on Wednesday.
   The EC officials will sit with secretaries to the foreign, home, expatriates welfare and law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministries, deputy secretary (election) Mihir Sarwar told the news agency. It plans to bring amendments to the Voter Listing Ordinance, 2007 and Voter Listing Regulations, 2008, he added.
   ‘If amendments are brought to the ordinances the expatriate Bangladeshis and dual citizens of Bangladesh will not face any legal barrier to become voters,’ Sarwar said.
   Two sub-sections would be added to the ordinances, the official added. The draft amendment states that a Bangladeshi citizen staying abroad for a short period will be treated as a voter of the constituency where he would live in Bangladesh at the time of registration.
   On the other hand, a Bangladeshi citizen, who holds dual citizenship in line with the Bangladesh Citizenship (Temporary Provisions) Order 1972, will be registered as a voter following sub-section 2 of section 8 of Voter Listing Ordinance, 2007.
   The section 8(2) says that if any person has wealth or dwelling house in more than one constituency he can be registered for any one constituency according to his wish.
   The EC proposals would be sent to the interim cabinet for approval after Thursday’s meeting, the EC officials said.
   The commission will also include the procedure of registering the expatriate Bangladeshis in the voter listing provisions.
   The Bangladeshi embassies will send the application forms of the expatriate Bangladeshis and dual Bangladeshi citizens to the EC by preparing primary lists according to their permanent addresses.
   The commission will send the forms to the district registration officer. After scrutiny, the forms of the qualified voters will be sent back to the EC, who in turn will send voter forms to the embassies for the prospective voters to fill them out there.
   The voters will need to submit the first five pages of their passports and two copies of stamp-size photographs attested by the embassy officials assigned for the work.
   The embassies will send the forms, the photographs and copies of the passports to the EC.
   The EC will enlist the voters through the district registration officers and send the receipts to the voters through the embassies.
   However, after framing the new laws, the EC will register only a few expatriate Bangladeshis living in the UK for the upcoming national elections.
   Election commissioners Muhammad Sohul Hussain and M Shakhawat Hussain travelled to the UK in November last year to examine the possibility to register expatriate Bangladeshis.

The Criminal Investigation Department on Tuesday pressed supplementary charge in the case filed in connection with the August 17, 2005 bomb blast near the Jessore Kotwali police, against five persons, including a minor boy.
   Nurul Islam, officer in-charge of Jessore CID, submitted the charge sheet to the court of the chief judicial
   magistrate, Mostafizur Rahman, against four suspected activists of militant outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh, and the boy, Sagor, who was earlier arrested by the police and subsequently released by a court.
   The police earlier arrested 10-year-old Sagor after the blast and the then District and Sessions Judges’ Court released the child, court sources said.
   The charge-sheeted JMB activists are Abdur Raqib of Maupara in Rajshahi, Motiur Rahman of village Haradanga under Gangni upazila in Meherpur, Mojaffar Hossain of Keshabpur in Jessore and Tuhinur Rahman of Raghunathpur under Lohagara upazila of Narail.
   With the five, the number of charge-sheeted accused in the case rose to 26.
   The CID earlier submitted charge sheet in the case against 21 suspected militants of the Islamist outfit.
   The accused include Nazmul Fakir Shahin, Alauddin and Akramuzzaman of Abhaynagar upazila, Jewel, Abul Kashem and Kawsar Ali of Keshabpur upazila, Shamsur Rahman, Mostafa Kamal, Mizanur Rahman and Solaiman Hossain of Jhikargachha upazila, Nurul Islam, Anwarul
   Islam and Abdul Haq of Sharsha upazila in Jessore, Abdur Raqib of Melandaha upazila in Jamalpur, Abu Naim of Kalaroa in Satkhira, Khalid Hossain of Satkhira sadar, Sabbir Ahmed of Natore, Matiar Rahman of Gangni upazila in Meherpur and Raqib alias Nur Uddin of Mohanpur in Rajshahi.

Labourers of four state-owned jute mills in the Khulna region abstained from work and staged sit-ins in front of the administrative buildings of the mills between 9:00am and 11:00am Wednesday to push for their 10-point demands including payment of all dues.
   The labourers of the Eastern Jute Mills and the Alim Jute Mills in Khulna and the Jessore Jute Industries and the Carpeting Jute Mills at Nowapara in Jessore, teamed up under the banner of the Khulna-Jessore regional unit of the Jute, Yarn and Textile Mill Workers and Employees’ Action Council observed the programmes to push for their demands.
   The demands include review of labour laws, reinstatement of sacked labourers during labour unrest in the past, allocation of enough money to buy jute, arrangements for smooth operation of all jute mills and reopening of all mills in the region closed earlier.
   Mill officials said there was no production in the four mills during the demonstrations.
   Labour leaders during sit-ins said the labourers who retired or who were sacked even several years ago are yet to be paid their benefits. The authorities are yet to pay the workers and labourers their wages and salaries. The speakers threatened tougher agitation if their demands were not immediately met.

BNP student wing Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal brought out a procession on the Dhaka University campus on Wednesday and held a rally in front of the Arts Building, demanding an unconditional release of Khaleda Zia, the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
   Chhatra Dal leaders, addressing the rally, said the government had arrested Tarique ‘illegally’ and he fell sick, but the government did not allow him to go abroad for treatment.
   Chhatra Dal waged a movement and forced the government to free Tarique on Wednesday, they said. ‘The government needs to immediately make a decision whether it will release Khaleda Zia. We will, otherwise, wage tough movement across the country,’ the Chhatra Dal president, Azizul Bari Helal, said.
   Chhata Dal general secretary Shafiul Bari Babu, senior vice-president Sultan Salahuddin Tuku and university unit president Hasan Mamun attended the rally.

One person was killed and two others were injured as a television set exploded at Ikorgara of Khetlal in Jaipurhat Tuesday night.
   Witnesses said Ziaur Rahaman went to Battali Bazar to have his television set repaired. During repair, the set exploded, injuring three persons, including Ziaur Rahman.
   Ziaur Rahman died on his way to hospital. The mechanic, Jubaer Hossain and another, Abdul Qaiyum were admitted to Jaipurhat Hospital.

The 5th death anniversary of Rotarian Syed H Shahabuddin, founder president of Dhaka Shahbagh Rotary Club, will be observed today.
   In observance of the death anniversary, doa mahfil will be held at his village home Bakhtiarnagar under Nawabganj upazila in Dhaka today after asr prayers and his Dhanmondi residence tomorrow after asr prayers.
   All his relatives and well-wishers have been requested to attend the programme.

A court in Bagerhat Wednesday sentenced three people to death in sensational Enamul murder case.
   The Additional District and Sessions Judge Court, however, acquitted a woman, Zarina Begum, as her guilt was not proved.
   The condemned convicts are Mohon Khalifa, 35, Ohidul Hawlader, 35, and Rafiqul Islam, 33, of Morrelganj
   upazila.
   According to the prosecution, the trio called Enamul Hasan Limon, 32, a businessman, out of his house at village Uttar Saralia in Morrelganj on February 2, 2006.
   They strangled Enamul and hide his body under the pile of sand.
   Later, the police arrested four people following the filing of a murder case by the victim’s brother.
   After examining the records and witnesses, Judge M Rezaul Karim found the three guilty and handed down the judgement.

Professor Mohammad Moniruzzaman, renowned litterateur, poet and lyricist and former teacher of Bangla Department of Dhaka University, died of old-
   age complications at a city hospital Wednesday evening. He was 72.
   He is survived by his wife, one son and one daughter.
   A versatile genius, Professor Moniruzzaman was honoured with many awards including Ekushey Padak, Bangla Academy Padak and Alaol Padak for his outstanding contribution to different branches of Bangla language and literature.

2 held, 976 bottles of Phensidyl seized
The police arrested two people at Kadamtala under the Sabujbagh police station in the capital early Wednesday and seized 976 bottles of Phensidyl from their possession, said a press release issued by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police. The arrested were identified as Morshed Siddiqi Bakul, 35 and Mintu Laskar, 20. Tipped-off, a team of police, led by sub-inspector Sobhan Sharif, raided the area at 5:45am and seized a microbus. Later they arrested the two and seized contraband drug item from the microbus. A case was filed with the Sabujbagh police station in this regard.

Azan contest at Rajarbagh tomorrow
The final round of the azan and qirat competition 2008 of the Bangladesh Police will be held at the Central Mosque of the Rajarbagh Police Line in Dhaka after juma prayers on Friday. Inspector General of Police Nur Mohammad will attend the function as chief guest and distribute the prizes among the winners, said a press release.
— New Age