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The Copenhagen climate summit concluded without an agreement despite high expectations.
   Running almost 24 hours behind schedule, the summit was set to end with a resolution that only 'takes note' of the 'Copenhagen Accord' that US president Barack Obama had tried to broker but failed.
   The climate summit, attended by 115 heads of state and government, was expected to end with a comprehensive agreement to tackle the disastrous effects of greenhouse gas-induced global warming into the next century.
   Although Obama had managed to secure an agreement among the major economies, the accord was censured for its low level ambition and rejected by the general membership for lack of transparency.
   The final session of the Copenhagen climate summit continued through Friday night and into Saturday afternoon. The plenary session continued well past 3:00pm (9:00pm BST).
   The 'Copenhagen Accord', drawn up by a select group of 25 countries and dubbed as a meaningful agreement by US president Barack Obama, met with furious reactions as soon as it was placed for consideration to the general membership.
   Although it seemed dangerously close to collapse, the summit reached a resolution only by dint of a technicality that allowed the officials to claim that the accord was fully operational although not legally binding, nor adopted through consensus.
   Questioning the very manner of how the accord was brokered by the United States together with a few selected countries, excluding the others, Claudia Salerno Calderon, raised a hand, her palm bleeding, and addressed the Danish prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, also the president of the conference.
   She said, 'Mr president, this hand that bleeds has the same right to speak as do others.' Calderon asked the conference president if it was at all justified to impose upon parties a document and ask them to respond within an hour.
   She said that the 28 countries that were party to the closed-door negotiations did not have Venezuela's mandate and therefore refused to consider the accord since it violated the spirit of transparency and participation.
   'An international agreement cannot be imposed and leaders representing other nations were not consulted during the process.'
   The Cuban representative, Bruno Rodriguéz, said the US president had declared four hours ago that there was an agreement when in fact he had not even seen the document. He said the document was prepared in an undemocratic way.
   'We are not going to decide on the future of mankind in just one hour.'
   Rodriguéz then went on to say that Cuba did not need further consultations but rejected the document outright.
   Ecuador questioned which part of the world was consulted, or which countries were asked. The representative asked, 'Why were we not consulted? Why are we given only 60 minutes?'
   Costa Rica took the floor and complained of a 'text' falling from the sky.
   Although the United States was up next, the US negotiator John Pershing yielded to Nicaragua waving their arms frantically.
   When given the floor Nicaragua said they had not been noted when they had raised their flag on a previous occasion. It rejected the document and proposed suspension of the plenary session.
   Sudanese ambassador Lumumba Stanislaus Kaw Di-Aping, said a ceiling of 2 degrees Centigrade over pre-industrial levels condemned Africa to incineration.
   He said there was no African president or prime minister who was mandated to aid and abet the destruction of Africa.
   'The promise of $100 billion will not bribe us to destroy the continent,' Lumumba said referring to the $100 billion-package for developing countries by 2020 mentioned in the accord.
   Maldives, a low-lying island and also a least developed country, firmly backed the accord. President Mohammad Nasheed urged the conference to accept the agreement.
   Nasheed said that like many others he was also disappointed with the document. 'But at least this is a beginning.'
   He urged the conference to prevent the talks from a collapse.
   Grenada speaking on behalf of the small island countries and Egypt on behalf of the African Group backed the deal saying that the document was fully legitimate.
   India pointed out that there was nothing illegitimate in participating in discussions called by the conference president.
   Norway said it was better to take one step forward than to take two steps backward.
   Although a number of other countries were behind the accord, the plenary session could not reach a consensus.
   Rasmussen was compelled to suspend the session several times through the night trying to find some sort of mechanism so that the accord could in some way be included into the resolution of the conference.
   It was later proposed and unanimously accepted that the 15th conference of parties would 'take note' of the Copenhagen Accord. It was further resolved that parties would associate themselves in communications from parties through 'notification'.

US president Barack Obama's attempt to impose a climate agreement brokered among a few powerful countries fell through as the 'Copenhagen Accord' was placed for consideration by the general membership.
   The conference finally decided to 'take note' of the accord and end by extending negotiations till the next conference in Mexico in 2010, where it is expected to turn into a legally binding agreement.
   He said late on December 18 evening that there was a 'meaningful agreement' at an exclusive press briefing that was only attended by the White House press crew.
   Obama told the briefing that he had met with the leaders of emerging economies-China, India, Brazil and South Africa-and had reached a deal.
   He said it had not come easily and required further work but it was a historic step forward.
   The Copenhagen Accord, however, did not meet the expectations of almost the entire spectrum of the parties present at the climate summit.
   Countries ranging from the European Union to the Maldives openly expressed their disappointment and frustration at the low level of ambition of the accord.
   José Manuel Barroso said it was surprising that the European Union was not being pushed to do more. He said there were parties who requested to the contrary. 'They kept telling us not do so much!'
   Barroso was referring to European Union's announcement of taking on 30 per cent emission cuts on 1990 levels by 2020 and its strong preference for a temperature rise ceiling of lower than 1.5 degrees Centigrade from pre-industrial levels.
   'But other significant partners were firmly against such an ambition.'
   Compared to the European pledge of 30 per cent reduction, the United States has only committed to four per cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
   Emission reduction is considered crucial to arrest global warming since greenhouse gases trap the sun's heat and contribute to warmer temperatures.
   Although the accord initially only envisioned a ceiling of 2 degrees, it was later lowered to below 1.5 degrees, which is far more ambitious.
   Bangladesh environment minister Hasan Mahmud said that the temperature target was made more ambitious and lowered to 1.5 degrees at Bangladesh's insistence and despite China's opposition to it.
   He said this deal reflected many of the demands that Bangladesh had placed. 'But not all of them were accommodated therein.'
   Hasan said that he expected the UN to use its good offices and facilitate the process of further engagement. When asked, he said, since Bangladesh had been party to the drafting of the accord, it would surely choose to be associated with it.
   The accord pledges $30 billion, over the next three years, in fast track financing for poor countries and promises an even bigger package of $100 billion per year by 2020 for developing countries.
   However, the funding mechanism of these funds have not yet been decided upon and could take at least three more years to negotiate according to experts.
   There is also a mention that these funds would be mobilised through 'international institutions' which is taken as a reference to the Global Environmental Facility favoured by the contributors.
   Saleemul Huq, one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said this was actually a step backwards. 'This is worse than what we had in the Bali outcome, two years ago.'
   'The politicians were here but they failed to deliver.'
   It was expected that the country leaders would realise the gravity of the matter and act as world leaders, but they actually acted in the interest of their own countries. 'And so they did not budge from their positions expecting others to move.'
   He said in the end the kind of ammunition they had brought transpired to be rather inadequate for the job at hand.
   Saleem said, 'It might have been better if they had not come in fact.'

The government hopes that the ground for removing some existing non-tariff barriers to entry of many Bangladeshi products into Indian market would be prepared with the signing of a memorandum of understanding with New Delhi during prime minister Sheikh Hasina's planned visit to India next month.
   Meanwhile, a foreign secretary level consultation between Bangladesh and Myanmar will be held in Dhaka next week where the issues of repatriation of Rohingya refugees and disputes on maritime boundary will be discussed.
   'A memorandum of understanding is likely to be signed during the prime minister's visit to India to remove the hassle of certification of Bangladeshi export goods carrying seals of Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute,' foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes told reporters at a press briefing at the foreign ministry on Saturday.
   BSTI and the Bureau of Indian Standards will work together for standardisation of the products as well as to strengthen the BSTI, he said. 'This is fundamental for boosting Bangladesh exports to India.'
   Despite being India's neighbour, Bangladesh suffered a significantly large trade deficit with the country as Bangladesh's imports from India were worth about $ 3,500 million against exports amounting to a paltry $ 400 million in the 2008-09 financial year.
   Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's scheduled visit to India-which was earlier slated to begin on December 19-has now been deferred to January upon request from New Delhi.
   Sharing of the water of common rivers, regional connectivity, bilateral trade, sharing electricity, the issues of un-possessed lands and security will be top on agenda at the much-vaunted summit talks of the two neighbours, probably on 11th of January.
   The foreign secretary said Bangladesh expects progress in the long running issue of sharing water of the Teesta river during the visit.
   He however was not sure whether signing of an agreement or a MoU would be possible as India, according to him, is yet to accept Bangladesh's proposal for holding a ministerial level meeting of the Joint Rivers Commission before Sheikh Hasina's India tour.
   New Delhi has persistently expressed their inability to sit for a meeting in last six years although at least two meetings are supposed to be held each year as per JRC rules, official sources in Dhaka said.
   Bangladesh and India, however, finalised drafts of three agreements for signing during the PM's visit to New Delhi.
   The agreements are on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters; combating international terrorism, organised crime and illicit drug trafficking; and transfer of sentenced persons. Both sides agreed to take further steps for early signing of the three agreements.
   Besides, the two sides have been examining the possibility of signing agreements or memorandum of understanding on exchanging electricity and Indian investment in developing infrastructures, including railways and road facilities, in Bangladesh.
   The outstanding issues that Bangladesh has been trying to negotiate with India for several years, include finalising the agreements for sharing the water of the Teesta and six other rivers, lands in adverse possession, un-demarcated borders, the issues of Dahagram and Angarpota enclaves and Teen Bigha corridor.
   New Delhi is also pursuing a proposal to designate Ashuganj in Brahmanbaria as a new port of call for Indian vessels and to allow India to use Chittagong port.
   About his talks with his Myanmar counterpart, Mijarul Quayes said, 'We will talk on repatriation of Rohingya refugees and improving the situation in Myanmar so that exodus of the people stops.'
   The foreign secretary will receive his Myanmar counterpart U Maung Mynt on December 28 when he arrives on a two-day official visit.
   In addition to 29,000 Rohingya refugees living in the camps, some 300,000 Rohingyas people have intruded into Bangladesh over the past several years.
   A technical level meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar on maritime boundary issues will be held in Dhaka on January 8.
   'Regular engagement with Myanmar will help address the issues between the two countries,' the foreign secretary hoped.
   He, however, said besides the bilateral talks, Dhaka will continue with its legal fight at the UN tribunal to settle the maritime disputes with India and Myanmar.
   Repatriation of Rohingya refugees has remained a major irritant between the two countries since 1992 when over a million people-Rohingya muslims-fled from Myanmar's Northern Rakhain state to escape persecution and took shelter in bordering Bangladesh.

Bangladesh needs to make investment worth $ 4,177 million from its own coffers to upgrade its major highways to match the standard of the multinational Asian Highway project in next five years.
   The communication ministry has made assessment in a paper that was presented by its minister Abul Hossain at the meeting of Asian Ministers of Transport in Bangkok on December 14-18.
   The projected investment excluded the construction cost of the proposed multipurpose Padma Bridge worth $ 2,400 million.
   Dhaka recently sought accession to the UN-sponsored mega transport project after the present Awami League-led government came to power. The previous government led by BNP-Jamaat alliance did not ratify the treaty signed by 32 Asia Pacific countries.
   BNP, the main opposition party, observed that joining the Asian Highway network would provide ‘transit’ to India as per existing route designs.
   It demanded promotion of the sub-regional route, Kolkata-Dhaka-Myanmar, as the main route for joining the Asian Highway. Two other proposed routes announced as the main routes by the Asian Hoighway authorities connect only India and Bangladesh.
   Abul Hossain, who chaired the meetings of the transport leaders of the Asia Pacific countries, told the New Age that the country would be isolated from the rest of the world unless it joined the project.
   The investment of the highways and corridors were not only needed for meeting global standard but also required for meeting internal demand, he pointed out.
   Upgrading of the Dhaka Chittagong highway with four lanes at a cost of $260 million, Chittagong-Cox’s Bazar – Ramu-Gundum Road (projected cost: $144.00 million), Jhenaidah – Jessore Road (projected cost: $ 8.00 million), Beldanga – Panchagarh Road (projected cost: $12.50 million) and Dasuria – Paksey – Kushita Road (projected cost: $2.5 million) are the major projects which needed to be implemented in the next five years.
   Ministry officials said they also planned to construct another bridge over Mehgna-Gumti rivers to facilitate smooth movement of vehicles on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway.
   They said the existing bridge, built in 1980s, is to narrow to take the pressure of international transport flows.

The nagging traffic congestions on the city’s roads appeared to have returned to previous level as very few drivers were going by the lane system introduced by Dhaka Metropolitan Police to bring discipline on the streets.
   Commuters blamed the law enforcing agencies for lack of monitoring whether the drivers were going by their designated lanes.
   Most of the drivers, especially the bus drivers, continued to drive recklessly on the roads and were not going by the lane system while the traffic police overlooked the matter, they alleged.
   ‘Though the police have enforced automated signalling, they are still managing the traffic with manual direction at many intersections,’ said Bayzid Ahmed, an employee of a private company.
   ‘Rules should be obeyed by all but why the police are not taking action against the delinquent drivers violating the rules,’ he said.
   But traffic police claimed they were strictly monitoring the vehicular movement and taking action against drivers breaking the traffic rules.
   A high official of traffic police said they fined the drivers for driving vehicles straying out of the designated lanes or breaking traffic signals or picking up or dropping passengers at their whim. Some drivers were penalised for reckless driving on the roads.
   A fine of Tk 1,000 has been fixed for violating traffic signal or suspension of driving licence for three months for the drivers violating the rules, he added.
   Police said the main roads in the capital city would have three lanes: cars, jeeps and vehicles carrying VIPs would use the lane by the road divider; buses, mini-buses, covered vans and pick-ups would use middle lane; and motorbikes, CNG-run auto-rickshaws and human haulers would use the lane by the footpath.
   According to Dhaka City Corporation, the total city road network spans about 2,290 kilometres — including roads, lanes and by-lanes. The main road network spans only 210km.
   More than 4.7 lakh motorised vehicles such as cars, jeeps, microbuses, taxicabs, CNG-run auto-rickshaws, buses, minibuses, trucks and human haulers are registered with Bangladesh Road Transport Authority in Dhaka till 2008, according to BRTA statistics.
   Of the vehicles, more than two lakh are cars, jeeps, microbuses and station wagons and more than 15,000 are public buses and minibuses.
   The statistics also show about two lakh motorcycles, 27,000 trucks and 25,000 human haulers ply city roads.
   More than five lakh illegal rickshaws are also on the roads, which contribute to traffic congestions, Dhaka City Corporation officials said.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has insisted that being the worst emitters of green house gases the developed nations should shoulder responsibilities to mitigate impacts of climate change.
   'Mitigation is the prime responsibility of developed and major developing emitters of greenhouse gas,' she said while delivering a lecture at the Lund University in Sweden on Saturday.
   Hasina said despite being the least emitter countries like Bangladesh we were the worst victims of the phenomenon. 'Though our greenhouse gas emission is negligible we have become one of its worst victims,' she laments.
   Yet, she said, Bangladesh was preparing a strategic energy plan for 'following a low carbon path to development, social forestry, green belts for large carbon sink, clean coal technology, nuclear power, and renewable energy'.
   The prime minister said Bangladesh also established a Climate Change Trust Fund with its own resources and approved 134 climate adaptation and mitigation action plans as it was already adapting to climate change. It has also set up a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with contributions from development partners and friends, she added.
   'An immediate adaptive project is dredging of rivers to keep them on their natural courses; contain flooding; reduce flood induced damage; reclaim inundated lands; maintain navigability; use excavated silt to raise river banks and coastal embankments and land to build homes for the displaced,' she said.
   Besides, she said, steps were underway to change agricultural practices and develop crop varieties attuned to climate change, strengthen coastal belts with mangrove plantations, modernise disaster management system with people's participation and cover 20 percent of land with forests by 2015.
   'I believe our experiences and research in adaptation and mitigation is invaluable and I also believe establishment of an International Centre for Adaptation Research and Training in Bangladesh under UNFCCC would benefit all climate change affected countries,' she said.
   The premier also explained the geophysical features of low-lying deltaic Bangladesh criss-crossed by 310 rivers at the foothills of the Himalayas, a scenario that exposed it to severe monsoon rains while scientific findings indicated a meter rise in sea level due to global warming would submerge one-fourth of its landmass, including the world's largest mangrove forest Sunderban, which is also a UNESCO Heritage Site.
   Chaired by vice-chancellor of Lund University Per Eriksson, researcher Ms Erik gave addressed of welcome when teachers, students, fellows and researchers of the university attended.
   The prime minister said global warming had exposed Bangladesh to increased frequency and erratic pattern of floods, cyclones, droughts, colossal tidal surges along its southern coasts, unreasonable high level of monsoon rainfall causing landslides and heavy river erosions, and absence of seasonal rain in the country's north causing desertification.
   'Most alarming is the rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers by over 35 meters annually affecting two billion people in South Asia, China, and Indo-China, she said adding this meltdown had increased frequency of floods in short term, would cause rapid climate shift in medium term, and result in acute water shortage in long term,' she said.
   Hasina said the trend would kill most of the region's rivers, change agricultural production pattern, and end some of the world's great cultures. On the discharge route of the three great Himalayan rivers, Bangladesh would face erratic flood surges that would leave 40 million people without livelihood, and 20 million displaced by 2050.
   'The effect is already being felt. Our cities are already swelling with climate migrants whose presence are causing social disorders, overloading existing infrastructure, and increasing poverty (and) therefore, Bangladesh wants adoption of a new legal regime under UNFCCC Protocol to ensure overall rehabilitation of climate refugees,' she said.
   Referring to the outcome of COP15 at Copenhagen, the Bangladesh's premier said around 130 heads of state and government gathered there indicating the great importance they gave to the climate change conference.
   'A core group was established comprising of 25 countries, among with Bangladesh was one, to finalise the agreement,' she said adding, 'We have been successful in arriving at a reasonable conclusions as an agreement has been agreed upon taking most of all our concerns'.
   In this context, she said there were certain areas that would be finalised in the coming days.
   Remembering some wonderful days at the Lund University campus in 1969 when she stayed here with her late husband and physicist, MA Wazed Mia, she said she was suffused with nostalgic memories of her youthful yesteryears.
   Hasina in her speech also outlined the socio-political background of Bangladesh including its emergence as an independent nation following the 1971 Liberation War.

A representative from Sudan for a major bloc of developing nations on Saturday called a draft climate deal in Copenhagen the 'worst in history' and hinted it may try to block it.
   Lumumba Stanislas Dia-ping of Sudan, chairing the Group of 77 and China bloc of 130 poor nations, accused the United States and host Denmark of trampling on the rights of poor countries.
   'Today's events really represent the worst developments in climate change negotiations in history,' Dia-ping told reporters.
   'The deal locks developing countries and the poor of developing countries into a cycle of poverty forever,' he said.
   But it remained to be seen if he would have all developing nations on board as leaders of key nations including China, India, Brazil and South Africa had negotiated personally with the US president, Barack Obama.
   The 194-nation summit was due to meet in the early hours Saturday to review the deal negotiated among major wealthy and developing nations.
   Under the rules of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which leads the summit, any agreement has to be approved by consensus.
   Dia-ping said Sudan did not agree with the consensus but declined to say clearly whether the delegation would try to block it.
   Dia-ping has complained throughout the conference that major countries had thrashed out details behind closed doors and not in the full session, which was dominated by speeches from leaders.
   'President Obama, acting the way he did, definitely eliminated any differences between him and the Bush presidency,' Dia-ping said.

The US Congress on Saturday sent the US president, Barack Obama, a massive annual military spending bill that funds current operations in Afghanistan and pays for the troop withdrawal from Iraq.
   In a rare weekend vote, the Senate approved the 636.3-billion-dollar package, which cleared the House of Representatives 395-34 on Wednesday, by an 88-10 margin.
   Obama is expected to send Congress an emergency spending measure of at least 30 billion dollars early next year to pay for his recently announced decision to send 30,000 more US troops to Afghanistan.
   The bill includes 101.1 billion dollars for operations and maintenance and military personnel requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan and to carry out the planned withdrawal of all US combat forces from Iraq by August 2010.
   The package also funds the purchase of 6,600 new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected armoured vehicles configured to better resist improvised explosive devices - roadside bombs used to deadly effect by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
   The bill includes 80 million dollars to acquire more unmanned 'Predator' drones, a key tool in the US air war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
   That campaign deploys unmanned Predator and larger Reaper drones equipped with infrared cameras and armed with precision-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles.
   With little public debate in the United States, the pace of the drone bombing raids has steadily increased, starting last year during ex-president George W Bush's final months in office and now under Obama's tenure.
   The spending bill upholds Obama's ban on torture of detainees in US custody, continues a general provision forbidding the establishment of permanent bases in Iraq or Afghanistan, and provides no funds to close the prison for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.
   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday praised the bill's passage.
   'In addition to giving our troops a pay raise and funding more than 100 million dollars for operation of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, this bill extends unemployment and
   makes health insurance more affordable for unemployed Americans,' Reid said.
   'We're keeping our country safe with critical investments in our defence and giving an important boost to our economy.'
   Reid took a swipe at rival Republicans, accusing them of 'political manoeuvring' to slow down passage of the bill in order to delay debating health care reform, the next measure the Senate will be handling.

The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, called the United States ‘the great polluter’ on Friday and accused the president, Barack Obama, of trying to fix a climate deal behind the backs of other leaders.
   ‘The emperor who comes in the middle of the night and in the darkness, then behind everyone's back and in an anti-democratic way cooks up a document....that we will not accept,' Chavez told a UN climate summit in Copenhagen.
   The Venezuelan leader spoke not long after Obama had addressed the UN conference, which is struggling to reach a deal on reducing global emissions of carbon dioxide pollution that are blamed for climate change.
   At another UN meeting in 2006, Chavez took on then-president George W Bush, calling him a 'devil' and adding that the podium where Bush had spoken a day earlier 'still smells of sulfur today.'
   Chavez continued in that vein in Copenhagen, saying: 'I still smell sulfur. I still smell sulfur in this world.'
   Last week, Obama collected the Nobel Peace Prize in neighbouring Norway. But Chavez peppered his speech with references to the 'Nobel prize of war' that Obama had won.
   As for Washington's pledge to do its 'fair share' in contributing to a short-term $10 billion annual fund by rich countries to help developing countries fight global warming, Chavez called the amount 'laughable' and he contrasted it to a $700-billion banking industry bailout the United States government structured last year.
   Calling the United States 'the great polluter', he said it was responsible 'for having threatened, for having killed, for genocide as well'.

Special correspondent of the daily Amar Desh, M Abdullah came under attack from some unknown assailants in the city's Banani area on Saturday, two days after a report against the prime minister's son and her energy adviser was published in the newspaper.
   'Four people on two motorcyclists started trailing me when I started for my office from my Tongi house at about 3:15pm. As I was approaching the army stadium, they first attacked my car at about 3:45pm - possibly they threw a heavy object which smashed the rear shield of the car,' Abdullah told New Age.
   Being scared, he sped along but the assailants chased the car and attacked him for a second time in Kakoli intersection as the car stopped for a traffic signal.
   The reporter said a man wearing helmet hurled a piece of brick at him which hit him in the back.
   'I was so frightened that I left my car there and caught a bus and informed the police about the incident,' Abdullah said.
   Abdullah said he thought the reason for the attack could be his report published in Amar Desh on the prime minister's son and the energy adviser.
   On December 17, Amar Desh published a news report referring to allegations that Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, received kickbacks from the US power giant Chevron, with the adviser to the prime minister, Towfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury acting as a go-between.
   The report cited allegations that the bribe was given in exchange for allowing Chevron to proceed with the installation of a $52 million compressor station.
   The installation of the compressor station was awarded to Chevron without inviting tenders from the competing bidders, the report said.
   When contacted, the officer-in-charge of Gulshan police station, Kamal Uddin told New Age that they had recovered the car and brought the car's driver, Muhammad Akkas, to the police station for questioning.
   According to the human rights watchdog Odhikar, a total of 230 journalists had come under attack or harassed while discharging their duties after the AL-led government assumed office.
   At a discussion meeting held the day after the report was published, Awami League leaders gave angry reaction to the news report.
   Jahangir Kabir Nanak, state minister for local government and rural development, pointing the finger at Amar Desh editor Mahmudur Rahman, said: 'Do not exceed the limits of our patience. If people get angry, you won't be able to come out in public. Do you want to belittle Sajeeb Wazed Joy and rehabilitate Tarique Rahman? That will never happen.'
   Meanwhile, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal protested at the attack on the journalist terming it an expression of the AL's old 'fascist attitude.

A Supreme Court judge on Saturday said torture on people in custody and extrajudicial killings were incidents that disturbed the judiciary.
   'Extrajudicial killings in the name of crossfire must be stopped,' Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury said while addressing a national advocacy meeting at the BRAC Centre Inn. Justice Nozrul said, 'It is suicidal for the nation and the government to let a few members of the law enforcing agencies take the lives of the people.'
   Odhikar organised the meeting on 'repression on media and political violence: state responsibility and democratic culture'.
   Justice Nozrul criticised successive governments for deviating from their responsibility to provide protections for the citizens and ensure their well-being. He also criticised the parliament members for not going into serious discussions before passing a law. 'Some laws are passed in the parliament, but a number of lawmakers do not go through the texts of the laws,' he said.
   He lamented that the governments had little tolerance to criticism 'and that's why they tend to brand those, including the media, who censure them as enemy of the party in power.'
   A media report or a verdict by a court naturally goes in favour of a person or group and against another. If it goes against the government, it is labelled as an act against the party in power, Justice Nozrul said.
   The Supreme Court judge said that being a sitting judge it was not wise for him to deliver speeches on political issue, but they were concerned about human rights.
   He said that the judges and media personalities should not be partisan and urged media men to stay away from party politics.
   Justice Amirul Kabir Chowdhury, chairman of the national human rights commission, urged the government to conduct neutral and independent investigations into the all crossfire incidents.
   He said that investigations by the police were not sufficient and suggested formation of probe bodies comprising police officers, representatives of civil administration and members of civil society.

The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, on Saturday praised the deal at the Copenhagen climate summit as an 'essential beginning' but admitted it did not achieve all that was hoped.
   'It may not be everything we hoped for, but this decision of the Conference of Parties is an essential beginning,' Ban told reporters in the Danish capital. 'Many will say that it lacks ambition,' Ban said. 'Nonetheless, you have achieved much.'
   Ban pointed to pledges on financing by wealthy nations to developing states and said that the Copenhagen Accord would be 'immediately operational' as of January 1.
   'We will try to have a legally binding treaty as soon as possible in 2010,' he said.
   Ban has made climate change a key priority and convened a summit of leaders in September at the United Nations in hopes of boosting Copenhagen's chances of success.
   Ban said that he personally helped ease last-minute disputes that could have scuttled the conference and said he had neither slept nor eaten full meals in the past 24 hours.
   'The leaders of the world came and showed what leadership means - they went to the brink and pulled back,' he said.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Saturday demanded an investigation into the alleged corruption by prime minister Sheikh Hasina's son Sajib Wazed Joy.
   'We demand an investigation to the alleged corruption,' said the party's new senior joint secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He also condemned the 'threats' issued by ministers and leaders of the ruling Awami League on the journalists who reported the alleged graft.
   Fakhrul also asked the government to refrain from its plan to rename the installations named after late president Ziaur Rahman, particularly the Zia International Airport. 'We condemn such fascist attitude of the government. If they do not desist from such activities we would go for tougher protests along with the people,' Fakhrul said at his first news conference at the party's central office after being made the party's senior joint secretary general on December 8.
   Fakhrul said the government was out to portray the country as a fundamentalist country, which to him, was a matter of serious concern for the country's independence and sovereignty.
   He came down heavily on the ruling party for its 'smear campaign' against the party's new senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, party chairperson Khaleda Zia and the late president Ziaur Rahman.
   'A certain quarter in a concerted way has been spreading canards against late president Ziaur Rahman, Khaleda Zia and Tarique Rahman. Attempts were made to involve Zia in the Bangabandhu murder case. They also circulated posters maligning Tarique Rahman,' he said.
   He said that when Tarique had been placed at the forefront of party leadership by the BNP's council session, the ruling party launched a fresh campaign to malign him,' he said.
   Fakhrul asked the ruling party to stop 'such heinous activities' and warned that otherwise the BNP would initiate a movement going by laws and give it a tougher shape.
   'The past caretaker government had indulged in false propaganda against politicians alongside unleashing oppression. We had expected that after assuming office the Awami League would change the practice and run the state in a democratic manner. But the government is continuing the evil practices,' he said.
   Replying to a question, Fakhrul said no installation was renamed during the rule of BNP saying that such allegations were baseless. 'This government has triggered controversies by initiating the politics of renaming installations.'
   The party joint secretaries general Amanullah Aman, Salahuddin Ahmed and Ruhul Kabir Rizvi were present at the briefing.

Works of feasibility study to initiate dredging in the River Padma has been launched to bring back navigability in the river.
   An expert’s team of Water Resource Directorate carried out an extensive feasibility study at Godagari point of the Padma on Thursday last.
   According to the sources, navigability in the river has been declined due to emergence of numerous shoals in the dry season and the river turns into various confluents affecting the river ways and irrigation system.
   To get rid the adverse situation, various social organisations including Rajshahi Rakkha Sangram Parishad and Godagri Nagorik Committee staged various demonstrations.
   They also sent applications to the Prime Minister’s Office and water resource ministry demanding immediate step to bring navigability in the river through necessary dredging.
   In response to the petition, the water resource ministry issued a directive to the Water Resource Directorate to prepare a ground level feasibility study on how to bring back navigability in the river.
   The team members comprising sub-divisional engineer (dredging) of Water Development Board Mohsin Ali, WDB sub-divisional engineer Muhammad Ali, sub-assistant engineer Tafiz Uddin and sub-assistant engineer Amzad Hossain carried out a daylong study and found many submergible sand-beds on the Godagri and Mohananda points.
   In this regard, they recommended immediate dredging of the river points, otherwise, they apprehended that the water conservation system in the river may be affected badly.
   Besides, they revealed that the groundwater table in the Barind tract has been declined abnormally due to unusual fall of water level in the River Padma.
   On completion of the river visit, the expert team held a views- sharing meeting with the local elite.

India’s Hindu nationalists completed a leadership change Saturday, naming a new party chief after appointing Sushma Swaraj as parliamentary opposition leader in a bid to revive their political fortunes.
   Nitin Gadkari, 52, was greeted with bouquets and garlands as outgoing Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party, BJP) president Rajnath Singh announced his successor at the group’s headquarters in New Delhi.
   ‘There was complete unanimity on Gadkari’s name for president,’ Singh told reporters as the BJP attempts to bounce back from a trouncing in elections this year.
   Gadkari, who joined the student wing of the BJP in 1976, rose through the ranks to head the party’s regional chapter in western Maharashtra state in 2004.
   ‘Cultural nationalism is the inspiration,’ Gadkari was quoted as telling reporters by the Press Trust of India news agency.
   ‘I will follow the nationalist ideology of the party... I will not do anything which will let the leaders down.’
   His elevation follows the appointment on Friday of 57-year-old Sushma as opposition leader in place of 82-year-old former deputy prime minister and home minister Lal Krishna Advani.
   The appointments end months of suspense over a long-awaited leadership change following the BJP’s heavy defeat at the hands of the ruling Congress party in the April-May national polls.
   The BJP, which governed India between 1998 and 2004, won just 116 seats in the 543 directly elected lower house of India’s parliament under 58-year-old Singh’s leadership.
   It also lost out to the Congress party in key state polls in October.
   Political commentator and author Rasheed Kidwai said Gadkari and Swaraj would first have to focus on quelling dissidence within the BJP.
   ‘The BJP is down but not out and by infusing fresh blood, senior leaders are hoping to arrest the decline in the party,’ said Kidwai, who has authored a biography of Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

A father and his only son committed suicide by hanging themselves down the ceiling of their house using the same rope on Friday night reportedly over a family quarrel at village in Khulna district.
   The victims were identified as Jagadish Bala, 56, and his son Shridham Bala, 16, of village Jorabottala under Dumuria Upazila.
   Jagadish was a farmer and Shridham was a class X student of Rangpur Kulitala High School in the Upazila.
   Dumuria thana police, quoting the family members and local people, said Jagadish used to quarrel with his wife very often over family affairs and on Friday afternoon he had an altercation with his only son Shridham over quarrels of his [Shridham’s] parents.
   After the altercation, Shridham committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling of their house with a rope on Friday evening. After some time, when Jagadish saw the hanging body of his son, he also committed suicide using the other end of the rope, said police and their neighbours.
   Their neighbours, seeing the hung body of father and son, informed Dumuria thana police who recovered the bodies the next day.
   The bodies were sent to Khulna Medical College Hospital for post mortem.

The police recovered 120 rounds of bullet in an abandoned condition at Sohagpur village in Kapashia upazila of Gazipur Saturday.
   The police said Belal Hossain of the village found the bullets of SMG wrapped in a polythene bag while cutting earth in the morning.
   Receiving information, the police went to the spot and recovered the bullets.
   The police suspected that the bullets might have been put under earth during the War of Liberation in 1971.

The third trial in connection with the BDR mutiny on February 25-26 will start in Feni today.
   The BDR Special Court-3 would conduct the trial under the BDR Order-1972 at 19 Rifles Battalion headquarters in the district.
   The BDR director general, Moinul Islam, will conduct the third trial.
   A representative nominated by the attorney general and two public prosecutors would stand for the state in the court.
   The BDR personnel of 19 Rifles Battalion revolted on February 25-26, 2009 at the headquarters of the border force.
   The mutineers are now in Feni jail hajat following their arrest on May 14, 2009.
   Lt Col Gazi Mohd Salahuddin psc, commanding officer of 19 Rifles Battalion will act as public prosecutor and Subedar Major Jalal Ahmed, company commander of Battalion headquarters and plaintiff of the case will act as a prosecutor.
   This was disclosed at a press briefing held at the Battalion headquarters of 19 Rifles Battalion, Jaylasker Saturday afternoon by battalion commander Lt Col Gazi Mohd Salahuddin.

The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has revoked the expulsion order on former state minister for home affairs Lutfozzman Babar, also the party’s former secretary on publication affairs.
   The party’s joint secretary general on charge of office, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi Ahmed, in a letter dated December 17 informed Babar that the party had revoked the expulsion order on his appeal following directives of the party chairperson and according to 5 C clause of the party constitution.
   ‘The party expects that you would contribute to strengthen the party politically and organisationally by your sincerity and expertise,’ the letter said.
   The party on December 26, 2008 expelled Babar, for his involvement in activities against the party.
   He had contested the December 29 elections from Netrakona 4 constituency with pineapple symbol ignoring the party decision and lost it to the Awami League candidate.