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The private educational institutions are thriving across the country and making hefty profits which are being used to enrich the directors and increase the number of their assets rather than being invested for improving the quality of teaching which is poor to say the least, said experts while quoting a public survey.
   A recent survey of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics revealed that the number of private schools and colleges in the country rose to 78,679 in 2004-05 from 54,360 in 1995-96, registering a tremendous growth rate of 44.73 per cent.
   The number of universities rose to 54 in 2005-06 from 16 in 1995-96, colleges to 3,148 from 1,521, junior schools to 17,862 from 13,110 and madrassahs to 25,698 from 13,822.
   The private universities, colleges and English medium schools amassed profits of Tk 423.2 crore in one decade, mainly from fees for tuition, admission, session, development and extra-curricular activities which have often been increased arbitrarily without taking into account the difficulties faced by the guardians.
   Another large source of income of these private educational bodies is donations from the government and the people, added the survey.
   Experts said lack of investment by the successive governments in public sector education was helping the private sector educational bodies, whose teaching quality is not up to mark, to increase in number by leaps and bounds.
   They criticised the private educational institutions because the sordid pursuit of profit seems to have been their one and only purpose. They sought the government’s intervention in order to tackle the problems of these mushrooming private schools and colleges.
   Private sector institutions may satisfy the demand for higher education in the emerging upper middle-class but they are motivated solely by profit, said the Bangladesh Economic Association’s president, Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed.
   Ahmed, who is the co-chairman of the recently formed Education Policy Formulation Committee, said, ‘Education should not be treated as a commodity.’
   A former adviser of the caretaker government, Akbar Ali, said many private colleges and universities were not sticking to the rules, which lowers the quality of teaching and deprives the students of a proper education.
   Professor Sirajul Islam Chowdhury of Dhaka University said the main aim of the private educational institutions was to do business in the name of education.
   He hoped that the committee working on the new education policy would come up with suggestions to solve the multifarious problems, and address the numerous shortcomings, of private education in the country
   The government in the past had planned to impose income tax on profit-making private educational institutions, but failed to do so due to pressure from ‘vested quarters.’
   Former secretary of the Private University Association, AK Qureshi, admitted that the private educational bodies had made considerable profits but said that they were being reinvested for the improvement of educational quality and expansion of their activities.
   There was nothing wrong with making profit if it can be gained by adhering to the existing rules and regulations, he said.
   Experts said the private educational institutions are investing their profits to increase the number of their assets and properties, and are even in indulging in unnecessary expenditures, but are doing little or nothing to improve the standard of teaching.
   The BBS’s survey said the income of the private educational institutions stood at Tk 6,038.9 crore against the operational expenses of Tk 1,577.8 crore in the above-mentioned nine-year period.
   The lion’s share of the private educational bodies’ expenses went for house/office rent (27.18 per cent). Admission, registration and examination fees given to the government education board and university (10.18 per cent) and repairing and maintenance costs (8.98 per cent) are the other major heads of expenditure.
   Besides, they spent 7.54 per cent to purchase teaching materials and research books, 5.32 per cent to hold the annual sports competitions and the milads, and 3.58 per cent to pay for advertisement.
   A good amount, or nearly 6 per cent of the total expense, is spent for entertainment, maintenance of vehicles and cost of fuel, said the BBS’s survey.
   Some 38 per cent of the total income of these private institutions was generated from tuition fees (28.36 per cent from students and 8.41 per cent from the government), and donations contributed 28 per cent (9.73 per cent from person/institutions and 15.11 per cent from the government).
   Admission fees (3.83 per cent), session fees (2.90 per cent), development fees (4.98 per cent), examination fees (4.32 per cent), extra-curricular fees (0.44 per cent) and income from other heads (20.20 per cent) account for the rest of their income.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday demanded immediate ‘withdrawal’ of the Indian high commissioner in Dhaka, Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, for his meddling in Bangladesh’s internal affairs.
   The party, however, did not categorically mention with whom it raised the demand — Bangladesh government or New Delhi.
   The BNP strongly condemned his ‘audacious’ statement about the party and the water resources specialists of Bangladesh in the presence of the foreign minister, Dipu Moni.
   ‘We demand immediate withdrawal of Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty as his statements are concocted and made to interference in the internal affairs of Bangladesh. His statements will also damage relations between the two countries,’ the opposition chief whip, Zainul Abdin Farroque, said at a briefing organised on behalf of the BNP parliamentary party in the parliament media centre Tuesday.
   Pinak Ranjan had called the Bangladeshi water experts who opposed India’s Tipaimukh dam project ‘so called experts’ in the presence of the foreign minister at a seminar on South Asian connectivity on June 21 in Dhaka. Signalling India’s rigid stance, he said there was no international law that could stop New Delhi from implementing the project.
   Zainul Abdin said the high commissioner had been making statements for a long time in violation of the diplomatic norms and etiquette.
   ‘His [Pinak’s] behaviour and attitude have become audacious after the present [Awami League-led] government came to power,’ he said. ‘But the foreign ministry does not feel the need for warning him.’
   He said the foreign minister had committed an unpardonable offence as she did not take any step in connection with the high commissioner’s statement.
   The opposition chief whip said the foreign minister had failed to safeguard the dignity and sovereignty of the country. ‘It has proved that the country will not be safe in her hands.’
   When asked whether the party will formally lodge any complaints against the high commissioner with the government of India, he said the party high command was the appropriate authority to make any such decision on the matter.
   The leader of the opposition in parliament, Khaleda Zia, on Monday wrote a letter to the Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh, apprising him of the concerns and anxiety of the people of Bangladesh over India’s plan for the construction of a dam, which will be located some 200 kilometres upstream the Bangladesh frontiers at the confluence of the Borak and Tuivai rivers at Tipaimukh in Manipur.
   The River Borak feeds Bangladesh’s Surma and Kushiyara rivers in the north-east, eventually flowing down into the Meghna, one of the three main rivers of Bangladesh.
   Water experts and environmentalists in both India and Bangladesh gave a warning that the multipurpose dam upstream would have adverse impact on people, their livelihood and biodiversity, in the Meghna river basin. It would cause desertification of a vast area downstream Bangladesh, they feared.
   Green activists in the two countries have been holding rallies and bringing out processions demanding an end to the construction of the dam since 2003.
   Asked why the opposition lawmakers do not join the parliament and discuss the issues there, he claimed they were ready to join the house. ‘We will return to the house if we [the opposition] are provided with a respectable number of seats and problems of the leader of the opposition Khaleda Zia are addressed.’
   Lawmakers of the BNP have been abstaining from participating in the parliament since the budget session started on June 4.
   BNP lawmakers Barkatullah Bulu, Mahbubuddin Khokan, Shahid Uddin Chhowdhury Annie, Ashraf Uddin Ahmed Nizan, Jainul Abedin, Syeda Asifa Ashrafi Papiya and Shammi Akhtar were present at the briefing.

Bangladesh Navy has put forward an ambitious plan to turn itself into a three-dimensional force inducting a submarine and sophisticated aviation unit to its fleet by 2019, according to a draft proposal sent to the armed forces division.
   ‘The navy will turn into a three dimensional force if an aviation unit and a submarine are added to its fleet in next ten years,’ reads the proposal submitted to a parliamentary panel seeking its support for implementation of the plan.
   To implement the plan to make the force operational on the surface (on the water), underwater and in the air would require purchase of equipment worth over Tk 5,000 crore, according to a defence estimate, which was also sent to the armed forces division along with a draft proposal.
   The navy says that the government had earlier approved in principle to procure a submarine for the naval fleet by 2012, but Bangladesh Navy manned with a force of 17,000 could hardly develop infrastructure and manpower to maintain a self-propelled underwater weapon as of now.
   A scheme has been taken up for infrastructure and manpower development by this time.
   ‘If the preparation goes well, Bangladesh Navy will get a submarine for its fleet by 2019,’ said a document which is expected to be sent as a supplementary proposal to the government seeking establishment of a naval base on St Martine island in the Bay of Bengal, establishment of complete naval depots in Dhaka and Khulna and a submarine base.
   The parliamentary standing committee on the ministry of defence at its meeting on Monday underscored the need for strengthening the naval fleet to establish Bangladesh’s claim on the disputed territorial waters and safeguard the un-demarcated maritime boundary, besides continuing a dialogue with neighbouring India and Myanmar.
   The Navy plan said that its fleet should be equipped with a total of 108 vessels of different types, aircraft and submarine in the coming years.
    The force reported that most of its ships in its surface fleet are old and they need replacement. It said that three old-aged frigates –Abu Bakar, Omar Faruk and Ali Hyder – need immediate replacement. Some of patrol vessels need commissioning of new missiles on them.
   In the next ten years, the navy would need to raise the number of its frigates to four. It will also need to add three corvettes, replace three large patrol crafts and 12 patrol crafts. The navy must add one hydrographical and salvage vessel in its fleet, according to the navy proposal.
   To enhance oceanic surveillance and to back the surface fleet, the navy proposed for maritime patrol aircrafts and choppers. The navy also wants increased training facilities and bases for maintenance of its military hardware.
   The force is also in favour of formation of a special command called ‘SWASD command’ to counter the rapidly growing militancy, piracy, smuggling and gun running during peace time. Besides, it will help the two other forces –army and air force – during the war time, it said.
   To increase capacity of the force, the navy proposed establishment of new naval bases or rehabilitate the old ones. It suggested setting up of a base for naval commandos, divers and salvagers, a naval aviation base, improvement of Mongla naval base and construction of basin or harbour in Chittagong naval zone.
   The navy also emphasised the need for setting up a complete office for a hydrographer, which is learnt to have been under active consideration of the government. The hydrographer will have the task help establish the claims on Exclusive Economic Zone and the extended continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
   Bangladesh has disputes over territorial water with its neighbours – India and Myanmar. Both of its neighbours have already established the office of hydrographer to backup their claims on their respective territorial waters.
   The navy sought support from the parliamentary standing committee to go ahead with its plans prepared in line with the Forces Goal 2020, formulation of a defence policy and a national maritime policy. It also sought support to increase the number of naval soldiers in the United Nations peacekeeping operations and make the defence purchase policy a compatible one.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board sacked national skipper Mohammad Ashraful on Tuesday and replaced him with Mashrafee bin Murtaza, who will lead the team on tour of the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
   The decision was made in less than two weeks after the Tigers’ inglorious first round exit from the ICC World Twenty20 when Bangladesh lost to India and Ireland in both of their group matches.
   The cricket board, however, refused to link the sacking with this exit and said the decision was made to relive Ashrfaul from the burden of captaincy and help him to improve more as batsman.
   ‘The decision to replace him was made to relieve Ashraful from the burden of captaincy so that he can play his natural game,’ the board’s spokesman Jalal Yunus said in a statement.
   ‘We all know his quality and what he is capable of as a batsman. We are confident that without the burden of captaincy his batting would improve and he would contribute more to the team.’
   Sakib al Hasan won the race against Mushfiqur Rahim to be nominated as the vice-captain.
   ‘We believe we have picked the ideal person as captain. Apart from his obvious match-winning ability, Murtaza is a proven fighter and has the experience. He can inspire and motivate the team. This is a new challenge for him and we all know that he loves challenges,’ added Yunus.
   Ashraful was appointed captain in July 2006, replacing Habibul Bashar.
   Bangladesh failed to win a single Test under him, losing 12 out of 13. The only draw came against New Zealand when the first three days of the Test match were washed out by rain.
   In 38 ODIs under his leadership, Bangladesh managed to win only eight games, with a majority of those against the minnows. The significant victories were against Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
   He also performed insignificantly as a batsman in all three forms, averaging 22.58 in Tests, 25.60 in ODIs and 17.18 in Twenty20 Internationals. He made only 25 runs in the two matches of the ICC World Twenty20.
   Ashraful congratulated the new captain Mashrafee and vice-captain Sakib after accepting the board’s decision which was conveyed to him by BCB cricket operations chief Enayet Hossain Siraj over telephone from England.
   ‘I congratulate Mashrafee. We have been playing together for quite a long time and are always good friends. I will do my best to help him to bring success as a captain,’ Ashraful told reporters.
   Bangladesh leave next week to play two Tests, three one-day internationals and a Twenty20 international against the West Indies.
   Fast bowler Mashrafee and new vice-captain Sakib are also to lead the side on their five-match one-day tour of Zimbabwe in August.

The education minister, Nurul Islam Nahid, has said the full text of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s March 7 speech is to be included in secondary school textbooks from the next session.
   ‘Mujibur’s declaration of independence, according to the constitution, and some other new writings are also to be included in the books,’ Nahid told a press conference on Tuesday after receiving the recommendations of a committee tasked to settle the secondary school syllabus.
   His remarks came also in the wake of a landmark High Court ruling that said Mujib, not Zia Rahman, proclaimed the country’s independence and any alternate version of the proclamation should be erased from history and textbooks.
   ‘We have to entirely revise the textbooks to provide a world class education, and it warrants more time,’ said Nahid.
   ‘As a matter of urgency, we have decided to print new textbooks for the upcoming session containing accurate accounts of the Bangladesh Liberation War,’ he said.
   The committee chairperson, Momtajuddin Ahmed, said: ‘We were on the wrong track. The father of the nation and the history of Bangladesh were presented in a distorted way.’
   ‘We have recommended the inclusion of the March 7 speech of Bangabandhu in Bengali literature books for class eight. The declaration of independence, according to the constitution, will be included in social science books,’ said Momtajuddin.
   Elaborating on the changes, committee member Professor Ratan Siddiqi said some new textbooks would replace others in the syllabus for students of classes six to nine.
   These include, ‘Rokte Lekha Muktijuddher Golpo’ (Stories of the Liberation War Written in Blood), while ‘Charupath’ will be replaced by committee recommended ‘Ekjon Muktijoddhar Chithi’ (Letter of a Freedom Fighter).
   In the book Anandopath for class seven, we suggest replacing Ibrahim Khan’s ‘Bhanga Kulor Golpo’ (Story of a Broken Winnowing Fan) with Ronesh Dasgupta’s ‘Mallyadan’ (To Garland), said Professor Ratan.
   The nine-member committee was formed on April 30 to look into accounts of the War of Independence in secondary level textbooks.

Facing offensive from security forces at Lalgarh, Maoists said they were ready for talks with the Centre and the state government, but demanded ceasefire as a pre-condition for the negotiations.
   ‘We are ready for talks with the Centre and West Bengal Government if the intellectuals, who visited the troubled Lalgarh area last Sunday, arrange for a meeting,’ CPI (Maoist) leader Sagar said in a statement.
   However, the naxal leader said the meeting could be possible only if the central para-military forces were withdrawn immediately from Lalgarh and a ceasefire is declared by the state police, outfit’s spokesman Gour Chakraborty said.
   Chakraborty said they were putting these conditions to create an atmosphere of peace before the talks could take place.
   Maoists on Tuesday exploded bombs and opened fire on a court premises in Bihar, injuring an officer and two policemen, and launched attacks in Jharkhand and West Bengal on the second day of their bandh in five states to protest at the Lalgarh action.
   They blew up a panchayat building in Jharkhand and a community centre and a mobile phone tower in Bihar. They also made an abortive bid to disrupt the supply line of the security forces involved in the Lalgarh operation by detonating a landmine at Chara village between Midnapore and Kirakata in West Bengal.
   Heeding Centre’s advice, West Bengal on Tuesday agreed to implement the ban on Maoists notwithstanding reservations voiced by the CPI-Marxists and the Left Front in the state.
   ‘This (the ban) is applicable for the entire country, all states and we have accepted it. But how to implement it is the government’s business,’ the chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, told reporters in the state capital after a cabinet meeting.
   As the West Bengal government dithered over banning the Maoists, the Centre on Monday proscribed it as a terror outfit. Shortly after the ban, the CPI-M general secretary Prakash Karat said proscription might not work because such outfits might re-emerge with a different name. The state Left Front had also taken a similar line.
   Over the weekend, the home minister, P Chidambaram, had advised the chief minister that the state government should ban the Maoists.
   Chidambaram had said on Monday the fresh ban was to avoid any ambiguity following the merger of CPI-ML (People’s War Group) with the Marxist Coordination Committee. ‘It was always a terrorist organisation,’ he had added.
   Bhattacharjee said during his discussions with Chidambaram in Delhi, he had come to know the Centre was initiating the measure.
   He added the Maoists could be tackled through a slew of initiatives along with administrative measures.
   Bhattacharjee said the ban had become necessary as the PWG and the MCC had merged to form the CPI(Maoist).
   ‘We have to ensure socio-economic development of areas where they (Maoists) are active, isolate them politically and initiate administrative measures against them,’ he added.
   Noting that the Centre had been insisting on states raising their own forces to combat terrorism and also Maoists, he said his government would raise a new combat force to counter terrorist activities.
   The Kolkata police would be entrusted with this task, while the strength of existing forces would be increased and their training updated, Bhattacharjee, who holds the home (police) portfolio, added.
   Left Front chairman Biman Bose too had voiced his reservations over Centre’s decision saying such outfits which follow ‘misguided politics’ cannot be countered by banning them.

Independence war sector commander Hamidullah Khan on Tuesday filed a petition with the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court seeking permission to appeal against the High Court verdict that had ruled Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and not Ziaur Rahman, was the proclaimer of the country’s independence.
   The provisional petition, which also sought a stay order on the High Court verdict, may be heard today, Hamidullah’s counsel Nasiruddin Asim told New Age after filing the petition.
   The High Court of bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice M Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed delivered the verdict on Sunday after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by freedom fighter MA Salam of Mirpur.
   In the verdict, the court observed the government might take legal action against the people involved in distorting the history of independence on charge of violation of the constitution and deception with the people.
   The court ordered a ban on sales, marketing, stocking and printing of the book titled ‘Documents of the War of Independence,’ reprinted by the BNP-led alliance government in 2004 portraying the party’s founder chairman Ziaur Rahman as the proclaimer of independence.
   It also ordered confiscation of all the copies of the books at home and withdrawal of them from abroad.
   The court also asked the government to ensure mandatory inclusion of ‘true history’ of the independence war in textbooks for students in all education systems.
   The government was also asked to preserve the true history of the independence war in the national archives in order to avoid any further confusion.
   Retired wing commander Hamidullah Khan, also a Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader, was an added party to the case.

Iran ruled out cancelling the disputed presidential vote on Tuesday, issuing a new warning to the leader of the opposition and lashing out at UN ‘meddling’ as it battles the most serious challenge to the Islamic regime in 30 years.
   As international alarm over the crisis mounted, Britain said it was expelling two Iranian diplomats after a similar move by Tehran while other European nations hauled in envoys to protest at the election and the repression of the opposition protests.
   But the top election watchdog, the Guardians Council, insisted the vote would stand.
   ‘We witnessed no major fraud or breach,’ spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodai said on English-language state television Press TV. ‘Therefore, there is no possibility of an annulment taking place.’
   The opposition has been staging almost daily rallies to protest at alleged fraud and widespread irregularities in the June 12 election which returned hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power for another four years.
   Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader who was defeated by a landslide according to official results, plans to issue a ‘full report of electoral fraud and irregularities,’ a statement posted on his official web site said.
   But the interior ministry warned Mousavi, who was premier in the post revolution era, ‘to respect the law and the people’s vote’ after his presidential election defeat, the state-run IRNA news agency said.
   World leaders are calling for an immediate halt to state violence against the protesters, but the Iranian authorities have fired back, accusing Western governments particularly Britain and the United States of interfering.
   In the latest outburst, the foreign ministry took aim at the UN chief, Ban Ki-moon, over remarks it said smacked of ‘meddling’ in its affairs, the state broadcaster reported.
   ‘These stances are an evident contradiction of the UN secretary general’s duties, international law and are an apparent meddling in Iran’s internal affairs,’ ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said
   On Monday, Ban called on the Iranian authorities to stop resorting to arrests, threats and the use of force against civilians.
   The state media said at least 17 people have been killed and many more wounded in the unrest that has convulsed the nation for 11 days, shaking the very pillars of the Islamic republic.
   Hundreds of protesters and prominent reformists and journalists have been rounded up by the authorities — even figures close to top regime officials including former president and powerful cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
   In the latest crackdown on the media, Iran has arrested a journalist of Greek origin working for the Washington Times, the Fars news agency said.
   ‘I call on foreign reporters to work within our laws when travelling to Iran for news coverage... because if they act against national security and spy, they will be arrested by security institutions and handed over to the judiciary,’ culture ministry official Mohsen Moghadaszadeh warned.
   Foreign media have been restricted in their reporting of the crisis, with bans on covering demonstrations, and some Western outlets have been accused of fomenting the violence and acting as the ‘mouthpiece of rioters.’
   Iran has already expelled the BBC’s Tehran correspondent and ordered the closure of Al-Arabiya television’s office while Newsweek said a Canadian journalist working for the magazine has been detained without charge.
   The streets of Tehran remained tense the day after hundreds of riot police armed with steel clubs and firing tear gas, backed up by the Basij Islamic militia, broke up an opposition rally of about 1,000 people.
   Demonstrators had gathered in defiance of the Revolutionary Guards, the elite force set up in the wake of the 1979 revolution, which warned of a ‘decisive and revolutionary’ riposte to protests.
   The 27-member European Union on Monday rejected Iran’s claims of interference as ‘baseless and unacceptable’ but voiced deep concern about the continuing violence.
   And in the latest European moves, France, Finland and Sweden summoned the Iranian ambassadors in their capitals, with Paris protesting at the ‘brutal repression’ of demonstrators.
   Iran has singled out Britain, as well as the United States, as one of the leading instigators of the post-election unrest, with supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week describing it as the ‘most evil’ of its enemies.
   An Iranian lawmaker was quoting as saying by the official IRNA news agency that Tehran’s ambassador to London would be recalled for consultations, but this was later denied by a foreign ministry source to AFP.
   Mousavi has urged his supporters to continue demonstrating but to adopt ‘self-restraint’ to avoid more bloodshed.
   Defeated reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi called for a ceremony on Thursday to mourn slain protesters.
   The Guardians Council, which has acknowledged there were more votes cast than eligible voters in 50 of 366 constituencies, is due to make its final ruling on Wednesday.
   The defeated challengers have listed 646 irregularities and are insisting on a new election, not a recount.
   Despite the media restrictions, images of police brutality have spread worldwide via amateur video over the internet.
   Dramatic footage of the final moments of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman whose death during protests in Tehran has made her a symbol for the opposition, has been flashed around the world.

The Awami League government will enact a fresh law to ensure security for the children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country’s founding president.
   The preparation of a draft bill proposing enactment of the law is going on and ‘The Father of the Nation’s Family Members’ Security Bill 2009’ will be placed before the cabinet soon for approval, said home affairs minister Sahara Khatun.
   ‘We are framing a new law to ensure the security of the family members of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,’ she told reporters at the secretariat on Tuesday.
   She claimed that the government’s initiative was a response to repeated threats by militant outfits to kill Sheikh Mujib’s daughters — Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister Sheikh Rehana.
   The minister said many attempts were made earlier to kill Sheikh Hasina, also the Awami League president, and her sister Sheikh Rehana.
   ‘People want the government to enact a separate law to ensure security for Sheikh Hasina and her other family members as numerous threats have been made on the life of Bangabandhu’s daughter,’ said the home minister.
   The previous government of Awami League (1996-01) enacted ‘The Father of the Nation’s Family Members’ Security Act 2001’ on June 21, 2001, which was repealed by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government the same year after it assumed power.
   The new law will be framed in line with the provisions stipulated in the 2001 Act but with some changes, said Sahara.
   The 2001 Act said the government would provide Sheikh Hasina and Sheikh Rehana with special security forces for their lifetime.
   They will be entitled to security meant for ‘very important persons’ under the Special Security Force Ordinance 1986, said the 2001 Act.
   The government will give priority to the opinions of Hasina and Rehana in providing the kind of security they want, said the Act.
   It even said that the government would also provide them with housing accommodation and other facilities.
   According to the 2001 Act, the Awami League government in 2001 allotted Ganabhaban to Hasina and a house in Dhanmondi to Rehana.
   The BNP-led alliance government, however, repealed the 2001 Act on December 2, 2001 and then cancelled the allotments of both the houses.
   The government’s initiatives for conducting the much-awaited war crimes trial and fighting militancy have now increased the threats to Hasina and other family members, according to Sahara.
   Referring to the grenade attack on an AL rally in the capital that left 23 people dead and over 200 injured, she said Sheikh Hasina’s life has been under threat for a long time.
   According to the draft of the Act, Hasina’s family members will get full-time security from the members of the Special Security Force and other security personnel during their movement and also in their residences.
   Residences will also be allotted to Hasina and Rehana after enactment of the proposed law, said sources.

The total rainfall amounted to 4,136mm till June 21 against the normal average of 10,933mm in the country at a time when the South-Western Monsoon is sitting still on the north-eastern Bay of Bengal, not moving onshore with its welcome cargo of showers.
   Instead a paltry amount of rainfall, accompanied by a mild heat-wave, has left everyone wondering what has gone wrong. Are we witnessing the first sign of global warming and climate change?
   Yes, says Dr Ainun Nishat, country representative of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
   ‘There has been a couple of local cautionary signals [number three] for ports given by the Met office after cyclone Aila departed on May 25. It’s a strong indicator of climate change. Instead of a rainy season it’s been a dry one so far,’ the environment expert told the New Age on Tuesday.
   However, a meteorologist at the Dhaka Met office, Abdul Mannan, offered some solace. He thinks that sometimes the monsoon behaves in an unusual manner.
   A westerly low pressure, hanging strong at the lower level over the Bangladesh atmosphere, along with a temperature gradient in the ocean and the land, is another factor that is holding back the monsoon winds from sweeping Bangladesh, said Mannan.
   If the monsoon remains weak over the north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal and is not rejuvenated soon, the heat and humid weather may prevail for some time, he added.
   But he expects some rainfall, though not heavy, in the next 2 to 3 days.
   There has been 20mm of rain in Sylhet in the past 30 hours, ending at 12 noon on Tuesday. Rangpur had 6mm of rain and Syedpur and Dinajpur had 3mm each, according to the Met office.

A parliamentary panel on Tuesday has assigned its subcommittee to investigate yet another alleged irregularity by former shipping adviser MA Matin, said an official.
   A meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on the Ministry of Shipping was informed that Matin, a former adviser of the military-backed interim government, unilaterally increased the retirement age of the pilots of the Chittagong Port Authority to 60 from 57.
   The adviser did not take the approval of the ministries of finance and establishment when he made his unilateral decision on November 9, 2008. The increase in the age-limit of the government officials involves additional spending from the public exchequer and needs approval from the ministries concerned, said shipping ministry officials.
   ‘This action might have an ulterior motive. It requires an investigation,’ the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee, Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, told reporters after the meeting at the Sangsad Bhaban.
   He said that subcommittee, headed by Awami League lawmaker Mohammad Shah Alam, was also asked to investigate this alleged irregularity as its deadline to report back to the main committee was extended by another month.
   The subcommittee has been investigating alleged corruption by the former adviser who had reportedly awarded a deal hastily to a little known firm for container handling at Chittagong Port on the last day of his office.
   The committee in principle decided to summon the former adviser to its next meeting.
   Tuesday’s meeting was also informed that the previous Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government had purchased two tug boats, in clear violation of the Public Procurement Rules, at a cost of Tk 45 crore. The project was not even approved by the National Economic Council.
   The meeting was attended by shipping minister Md Afsarul Amin and committee members Mohammad Shah Alam, Md Mazharul Haq Prodhan, Habibun Nahar, Shamsul Haq Chowdhury, Md Nazrul Islam and Golam Kibria Tipu.

Bangladeshi student Golam Wafi Chowdhury was stabbed and critically wounded by Australian hooligans in Australian city of Melbourne.
   The attack on a Bangladeshi is the first since the ongoing racist attacks broke out in Australia about a month ago.
   Numerous Indian and Sri Lankan students have become victims of racist attacks in Australia in last one month.
   On Monday morning, Wafi parked his car at the Brougham Street, North Melbourne, on his way to the Charles Stewart University where he is an undergraduate student of Bachelor in Business Studies.
   As soon as he came out of the car, someone from his back hit his face hard on his car’s windshield. Wafi suffered a blackout.
   ‘Two men aged between 43 and 45 attacked me as soon as I came out of my car after parking it,’ said Wafi. ‘One of them held my left hand from my back while the other swiped with a knife on my right arm and then stabbed into my stomach,’ says the 22-year-old, who survived the attack because of fast medical response.
    The man pushed his knife inside Wafi’s stomach as he tried to resist the stabbing by holding the man’s hand. As he screamed for rescue, the men ran away leaving him badly wounded. He reported the attack to Melbourne police.
   The same day, Mir Raza Ali Khan, an Indian, was attacked by two other men in Melbourne. They hit him and ran away as Raza came out of a salon.
   ‘It was a racist attack because they did not take any money,’ said Raza to CNN-IBN. He was admitted to a Melbourne hospital where his condition was stated as stable.
   Beginning in May, many Indians and other nationals of the subcontinent have become victims of violent hate crimes.
   On May 7, Upkar Singh Babbal, an Indian student and a cousin of Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, was killed as part of the racial attacks. The IBNLive reported some 16 Indians came under racial attacks in the past one month.
   The attacks are believed to be a rage against races of the sub-continent who hold a significant number of jobs in Australia, even at a period of global recession while many whites in the country are laid off.
   Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd regretted the ongoing attacks that are racially motivated and promised stern actions earlier in June. But no significant efforts have so far been made to contain the such racial crimes.

The High Court on Tuesday ordered closure of all tanneries at Hazaribagh in Dhaka by February 28 and all other industries across the country if they fail to install effluent treatment plants and other appropriate pollution-fighting devices by June 30, 2010.
   The High Court bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Momtaz Uddin Ahmed asked the environment department to ensure the compliance with the directives without any exception.
   It also asked the police and the home ministry to assist the department in this regard.
   The court has also expressed its concerns about the fact that the industries are dumping their wastes without treatment into the adjacent river, polluting the rivers, contaminating the ground water, destroying the aquatic life and biodiversity and putting the lives and livelihood of the people at stake.
   The court posted for July 31, 2010 further direction and asked the parties to the case to approach the court for further necessary intervention if and when needed.
   The court passed the orders in a public interest litigation writ petition filed by the Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association in 1994 seeking relief against indiscriminate pollution of air, water, soil and environment by 903 identified industries.
   In its judgement delivered on July 15, 2001 in the writ petition, the High Court asked the government to ensure installation of effluent treatment plants and other appropriate pollution-fighting devices at each of the polluting industries and to allow establishment of no new factory without installation of the devices.

The deadline for the political parties to ratify the changes made in their constitutions by holding council sessions expires tomorrow though the major political parties are yet to take any initiative to hold their respective council sessions.
   The Election Commission had in principal decided to extend the timeline by two months for the political parties to ratify the changes made in their constitutions if the parties formally sought time extension.
   If the parties failed to ratify their constitutions and would not seek time extension then the commission would issue letters asking the parties to explain the reasons of their failure.
   ‘The parties have to submit their permanent constitutions by July 25. If they fail, the commission would send letters to them, asking them to explain the reasons of their failure,’ the chief election commissioner, ATM Shamsul Huda, said on June 15 at a press conference.
   Freedom Party and two factions of Jatiya Party led by Anwar Hussain Manju and Abdul Matin have already applied for time extension and Jatiya Party led by HM Ershad verbally requested the CEC to extend the time, according to officials of the EC secretariat.
   The Awami League spokesperson, Syed Ashraful Islam, who is also the LGRD and cooperatives minister, recently told reporters that they would request the commission to extend the time for submitting party constitution.
   The commission had earlier sent letters to the general secretaries of the political parties to remind them that they needed to ratify, by holding council sessions, the changes they made in their constitutions before registering with the EC.
   According to the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Act 2009, the parties must submit their ratified constitutions in six months after the first sitting of the ninth parliament.
   The first session of the ninth parliament began on January 25. Thirty-nine political parties registered with the Election Commission till November.

Rescue workers searched through a mangled mess after a Washington metro train rammed into another one during rush hour, killing at least nine people and injuring 76, officials and media said Tuesday.
   The Washington mayor, Adrian Fenty, described the Monday evening collision as the deadliest in the subway system’s 33-year history, as local media reported that nine people were found dead.
   Rescuers used powerful blades to cut through the wreckage to find any more people trapped after a train slammed into a stationary one, forcing one subway car on top of the other and sending passengers hurtling through the air.
   Fenty suggested the moving train may have been travelling too fast when it hit the stationary one.
   The rear car of the lead train compressed like an accordion before leapfrogging on top of it on an above-ground portion of track on the heavily-used Red Line.
   Fenty confirmed six people had died, but local media reported later that three more bodies were found.
   The collision involving the six-compartment trains took place at 5:02pm (2102 GMT) near the Fort Totten Metro station, said Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority general manager John Catoe.

A Holland flag carrier vessel hit a jetty at Chittagong Port on Tuesday in which a portion of the jetty was damaged, causing a loss of an estimated Tk 2 crore.
   Port sources said the MV Kempt Legislation hit Jetty No 8 when it was taking berth at about 1:20pm.
   The vessel laden with more than 10,000 tonnes of steel bars arrived at Chittagong from Durban Port of South Africa, port sources said.
   The acting Chittagong Port Authority chairman Captain Jobair said they had formed a three-member committee, headed by harbour master Captain AKM Jafarullah Chowdhury, to investigate the incident and establish the extent of damage.
   The committee was asked to submit the report in three days.

Seven people were injured when Bangladesh Chhatra League activists attacked Islami Chhatra Shibir activists at the Islamic University in Kushtia on Tuesday.
   Campus sources said the clashes began when Chhatra League activists after a procession at about 11:30am attacked Shibir activists in front of the arts faculty building with iron rods, stones and other weapons. They chased Shibir activists out of the campus.
   The Chhatra League activists also damaged
   the motorcycle of the university unit Shibir president and tore off the posters and banners of Shibir.
   The university unit Shibir president Asad Uddin, Saddam Hossen hall unit Shibir president Bulbul Ahmed and three others were injured in the attack.
   The Chhatra League activists also attacked Liton, a university employee reportedly a Jamaat supporter, who was passing by the faculty building to the library.
   Shibir supporters later regrouped in front of the four halls. The Shibir activists then beat Chhatra League activist Mamun inside the Ziaur Rahaman Hall. Mamun was later
   rescued by the administration.
   The vice-chancellor, Professor M Alauddin, with other administration officials reached the place at about 2:00pm and controlled the situation, promising steps after investigation.
   The Chhatra League activists later held a
   rally in front of adminis-tration building where their leaders accused Shibir activists of provocation.
   The Shibir activists brushed aside the allegation. They accused Chhatra Leagu8e activists of attacking them.

The authorities on Tuesday closed the Home Economics College in Dhaka for an indefinite period over students rallying for their demands and police action against them.
   The authorities closed the college at around 3:00pm and asked the students to vacate their hostels by 7:00pm.
   The police picked 12 students of the college from protests. They were later released at around 8:30pm.
   Protesting at the announcement of closure, the students were on demonstrations at the Central Shaheed Minar till 10:30pm.
   The students alleged the authorities had called in the police to stop them from rallying against some ‘illegal decisions’ of the authorities.
   They said the police, instigated by the college authorities, charged at them with truncheons in which at least 15 students were injured.
   They also alleged the authorities had asked them to vacate the hostels by 7:00pm and they were forced to go out on demonstrations in front of the Shaheed Minar.
   Subinspector Atiqul Islam of the Lalbagh police told New Age, ‘We picked six students to control the situation and released them at around 8:30pm as the college authority did not lodge any complaints.’

The government on Tuesday appointed two former diplomats and a serving army official as ambassadors and high commissioner to three strategically important overseas missions—United States, India and Myanmar.
   Former diplomat Akramul Qadir and Ahmed Tariq Karim have been appointed as ambassadors to US and high commissioner to India respec-
   tively while senior army official Maj Gen Anup Kumar Chakma has been made ambassador to Myanmar.
   Former diplomat and a member of the subcommittee on international affairs of the Awami League, Akramul Qader has been appointed to be the next ambassador to the United States. He had earlier served as the country’s envoy in South Africa and Thailand.
   The Awami League-led grand alliance government appointed Ahmad Tariq Karim high commissioner to India. He had earlier served as Bangladesh ambassador to Washington.
   Ahmad Tariq Karim, who joined government service in 1967, took optional retirement on January 1, 1999. He was Ambassador of Bangladesh to Washington between March 14, 2001 and January 15, 2002, said an official announcement.
   During his diplomatic career, Ahmad Tariq Karim also served in the Foreign Ministry of Bangladesh and Bangladesh Missions in Bangkok, London, India, Tehran and South Africa, said the announcement.
   Maj Gen Anup Kumar Chakma, serving as Master General of the Ordnance at Army Headquarters, was made ambassador to Myanmar.
   He was commissioned in the Infantry Regiment on December 25, 1977.

Time for the Hajj fee deposit for 2009 has been extended to July 15, instead of July 2.
   The last date will be applicable for both the Hajj pilgrims under private and public managements, said an official press release Tuesday.

Nine more additional judges were appointed at the High Court on Tuesday, taking the number of High Court judges to 83.
   The president, Zillur Rahman, made the appointments in accordance with Article 98 of the constitution for two years.
   ‘The appointments will come into effect from their swearing in office,’ said a gazette notification.
   The appointed, seven from among practicing lawyers and two judicial officers, are Supreme Court lawyer M Moazzem Hossain, Tangail district and sessions judge Showmendra Sarker, Supreme Court registrar Abu Bakar Siddiqui, deputy attorney general M Nurunnazzaman Nani, Supreme Court lawyers Mainul Islam Chowdhury and Obaidul Hassan Shaheen, additional attorney general M Enayetur Rahim, deputy attorney general Naima Haider and Supreme Court lawyer MR Hassan.
   In March and May, the Awami League-led government appointed 11 High Court judges, who had been deprived of permanent appointment despite being recommended by the chief justice after completing two-year tenure as additional judges during the BNP-led alliance government.

A Dhaka court on Tuesday granted the police five days to grill two alleged members of outlawed Islamist outfit Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.
   BUET graduate Emranul Haq Rajib, 30, and Abu Bakr Siddique, 20, were arrested on Sunday.
   Dhaka metropolitan magistrate Rokhsana Begum Happy sent the two into remand upon the case investigation officer Kamaruzzaman’s plea.
   Kamaruzzaman, the sub-inspector at the Pallabi police station, said they were leaders of JMB’s suicide squad and involved in sabotage acts.
   The police charged Rajib and Siddique in two cases — one under Anti-Terrorism Ordinance-2008 and another under Explosives Act.
   They were remanded in the ant-terrorism ordinance case and hearing on the other case will be held on June 28.
   The Rapid Action Battalion arrested four including the two in two raids at Muktagachha in Mymensingh and Dhaka.
   The other two arrestees were named as Saiful Islam, 28, and Shirin Shapla. However, they were not placed before the court on Tuesday.
   RAB said BUET student Rajib was IT chief as well as main expert on bombs and explosives.

Channel 1 was back on air on Tuesday afternoon, 21 hours after it stopped transmission after the private television station promised to pay five months’ fees for the satellite transponder.
   The channel resumed its transmission after SingTel, the owner of the satellite that beams its programmes, restored the link around 2:30pm local time, a SingTel official in Dhaka said.
   The SingTel official told the news agency that the station committed to clearing one and a half months of fees by June 29 and another three months ‘as soon as possible’.
   The official warned that failure to pay in time would result in stoppage of transmission again.
   A Channel 1 official on Monday claimed that transmission had stopped at around 5:00pm ‘due to technical reasons’.
   But a SingTel representative said the station defaulted on payments to the tune of $106,000, fees accumulated since January 15.
   The Channel 1 general manager, Abul Kashem, told the news agency on Monday: ‘Transmission is suspended temporarily. We have been trying to contact the SingTel authorities in Singapore. We hope we’ll be back on air soon.’
   Channel 1 rented the transponder space for $21,200 a month and has not paid SingTel, the satellite owner, since January 15 this year.
   ‘It has happened before and we have always tried to help them (Channel 1),’ a SingTel official in Dhaka said, requesting anonymity.

Forest officials recovered timbers worth over Tk 5 lakh early Tuesday after exchange of fire with the forest plunderers for four hours in Rangamati.
   The incident took place while the robbers were extracting timbers illegally from the reserved forest adjacent to Bangladesh Forests Research Institute at Kaptai Khalermukh of Karnaphuli range in Kaptai upazila of the district, said sources in the forest department.
   The raid, led by Kanaphuli range officer Dipak Ranjan Saha, continued till 6:00am.
   The recovered timbers were brought to the premises of Karnaphuli range office to dispose them off through open auction as per the forest rule, said forest officials.