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The first swine flu death officially confirmed Monday and refusal of designated hospitals to do initial diagnosis caused a wave of panic among people with cold and fever and left them in confusion over where to go, patients and relatives said.
    A 35-year woman died at the city’s private hospital, LabAid Sunday night and the government confirmed it as the first swine flu death since the country’s first H1N1 virus infection was detected on June 18.
   ‘A swine flu positive patient died last (Sunday) night at LabAid hospital,’ Professor Mahmudur Rahman, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told New Age on Monday.
   The victim, Mitali Chakravarty, 35, died at LabAid Hospital around 10.30pm on Sunday night.
   Mitali was admitted to Savar’s Enam Medical College Hospital on August 16 with suspected dengue and was transferred to LabAid hospital in Dhanmondi when her symptoms matched with H1N1 virus infection.
   Relatives of the victim instantly told the media Sunday night that she died of swine flu, but hospital authorities kept mum while the government authorities waited until the next day to speak out.
   ‘Subsequent tests at IEDCR confirmed that she had contracted H1N1 virus,’ said the IEDCR director, who has been telling the media almost everyday about the government’s preparedness to combat the disease.
   The lack of preparedness of the designated city hospitals surfaced as suspected swine flu patients were seen shuttling between hospitals in frustration and panic as they were denied tests for H1N1 and referred to IEDCR.
   The lone government institute was grappling with the rush of patients queuing for hours.
   The first victim Mitali was not among the swine flu patients detected so far, with IEDCR authorities keeping the patients’ locations secret but claiming that all of them were recovering or fully cured meanwhile.
   The institute diagnosed 14 new cases on Monday taking the number to 213 until the evening. Three infected patients were admitted to hospitals in critical condition.
   IEDCR sources suspect some swine flu patients might remain beyond their knowledge and surveillance.
   After the highest single day detection of 31 cases on Saturday, the health authorities announced that 13 hospitals in Dhaka had been geared towards treating swine flu patients and physicians at general hospitals in all districts had been trained to diagnose and treat the H1N1 virus carriers, if found any.
   But most of the designated hospitals were found ill-equipped to tackle the patients. Some have beds readied, but are not admitting any patient or not even doing the initial diagnosis, patients and relatives complained.
   Some public and private hospitals were found turning away the patients even if they were in critical condition.
   Yet, health minister AFM Ruhal Huq advised the people to go to hospitals for check if they suffer from high fever with respiratory problems.
   Physicians of a private clinic in Mirpur referred Iva, 20, a suspected swine flu patient, to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University for treatment. ‘We took her to the BSMMU hospital Monday morning but the security turned us away saying that there was no arrangement to receive swine flu patients’, her relative Sabuj told New Age at the BSMMU hospital.
   She was suffering from fever and respiratory problems, he said.
   Failing to find out the swine flu ward at the BSMMU Hospital, they took her to Shaheed Suhrawardi Hospital, but the hospital authorities suggested them to take her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
   The ‘flu ward’ of Dhaka Medical College Hospital turned Iva away saying that it only receives H1N1 ‘confirmed’ patients, he said.
   The family took her to IEDCR for H1N1 test. ‘We have taken her to a Mirpur clinic again after the test. The IEDCR said that it will inform us about the report over telephone tomorrow (Tuesday),’ Sabuj said.
   BSMMU vice-chancellor Professor Pran Gopal Datta and hospital superintendent M Abdul Majid Bhuiyan claimed Monday that the hospital was ‘fully’ ready to treat suspected swine flu patients at level 11 at the D-block of the hospital.
   ‘We have trained 15 doctors and physicians at all outdoors were asked to inform me if there is any swine flue patient,’ he said.
   The level 11 at the D-block of the hospital was not found ready to receive patient as there was no bed, physicians and staff until 1:00pm Monday. Cleaners were only removing the dusts at a section of the level 11.
   The Dhaka Medical College Hospital authorities set up a 10-bed flu ward although no patient was admitted there.
   It was learnt that some eight potential swine flu patients went to the DMCH for treatment, but the authorities concerned asked them to go the IEDCR for tests, source said.
   ‘We received some patients at the outdoor,’ a physician at the flu ward said. ‘But the ward is empty.’
   When asked about the allegation that the hospital was turning away the patients, DMCH director Bazle Rashid told New Age, ‘I’ll not contest the allegation. Write whatever the patients have said.’
   He reportedly misbehaved with the reporter and camera crew of a television channel in his office as they questioned about the treatment of swine flu at the hospital.
   Some private hospitals were making contradictory statements about providing treatment to patients with swine flu-like symptoms.
    Dr Mirja Nazimuddin, a consultant of Square Hospital, claimed they did not receive patients as it was not a government-designated hospital for swine flu treatment.
   However, a confirmed swine flu patient was undergoing treatment at the hospital, he said. ‘The patient, who was admitted to the hospital on August 24, is undergoing treatment in a separate intensive care unit,’ he said.
   LabAid Hospital authorities claimed they were not admitting swine flu patients although Mitali, a confirmed patient, died there Sunday night.
   Health minister AFM Ruhal Haq on Monday advised people not to be panicked about the spread of swine flu, reports BDnews24.com.
   ‘There is nothing to panic if one contracts the virus. We have sufficient stock of vaccine, Oseltamivir capsule,’ the minister told reporters at the secretariat. ‘Many companies in our country are manufacturing the medicine.’

The World Health Organisation has guidelines for individuals to protect against the A(H1N1) virus, what symptoms to look
   for and when to seek medical help.
   What can I do to protect myself from catching swine flu, or influenza A(H1N1)?
   The main route of transmission of the new influenza A(H1N1) virus seems to be similar to seasonal influenza, via droplets that are expelled by speaking, sneezing or coughing.
   You can prevent getting infected by avoiding close contact with people who show influenza-like symptoms (trying to maintain a distance of about 1 metre if possible) and taking the following measures:
   Avoid touching your mouth and nose; clean hands thoroughly with soap and water, or cleanse them with an alcohol-based hand rub on a regular basis (especially if touching the mouth and nose, or surfaces that are potentially contaminated); avoid close contact with people who might be ill; reduce the time spent in crowded settings if possible; improve airflow in your living space by opening windows; practise good health habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active.
   What about using a mask? What does WHO recommend?
   If you are not sick you do not have to wear a mask.
   If you are caring for a sick person, you can wear a mask when you are in close contact with the ill person and dispose of it immediately after contact, and cleanse your hands thoroughly afterwards.
   If you are sick and must travel or be around others, cover your mouth and nose.
   Using a mask correctly in all situations is essential. Incorrect use actually increases the chance of spreading infection.
   You will not be able to tell the difference between seasonal flu and influenza A(H1N1) without medical help. Typical symptoms to watch for are similar to seasonal viruses and include fever, cough, headache, body aches, sore throat and runny nose. Only your medical practitioner and local health authority can confirm a case of influenza A(H1N1).
   If you feel unwell, have high fever, cough or sore throat:
   Stay at home and keep away from work, school or crowds; rest and take plenty of fluids; cover your nose and mouth when coughing and sneezing and, if using tissues, make sure you dispose of them carefully. Clean your hands immediately after with soap and water or cleanse them with an alcohol-based hand rub; if you do not have a tissue close by when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth as much as possible with the crook of your elbow; use a mask to help you contain the spread of droplets when you are around others, but be sure to do so correctly; inform family and friends about your illness and try to avoid contact with other people.
   If possible, contact a health professional before travelling to a health facility to discuss whether a medical examination is necessary.
   Should I take an antiviral now just in case I catch the new virus?
   No. You should only take an antiviral, such as oseltamivir or zanamivir, if your health care provider advises you to do so. Individuals should not buy medicines to prevent or fight this new influenza without a prescription, and they should exercise caution in buying antiviral over the Internet.
   When should someone seek medical care?
   A person should seek medical care if they experience shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or if a fever continues more than three days. For parents with a young child who is ill, seek medical care if a child has fast or laboured breathing, continuing fever or convulsions (seizures).
   Supportive care at home — resting, drinking plenty of fluids and using a pain reliever for aches — is adequate for recovery in most cases. (A non-aspirin pain reliever should be used by children and young adults because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome.)
   Details of these guidelines updated on June 11, 2009, can be found at:
   http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ swineflu/guidance/individuals/en/ index.html.

At least 28 people were diagnosed with anthrax in Pabna after consuming beef infected with the Bacillus anthracis, according to IEDCR.
   ‘Twenty patients were clinically diagnosed with anthrax in Pabna,’ Mahmudur Rahman, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told New Age Monday.
   ‘There was no casualty and the patients are improving,’ he claimed.
   An anthrax infected cow was slaughtered in Choto Pathailhat village under Santhia upazila and sold on August 26, leaving at least 28 locals infected with the bacterium after they consumed the contaminated meat, according to our correspondent in Pabna.
   Physicians confirmed the cases of anthrax infection when a number of the victims went to Santhia upazila health complex seeking treatment.
   A team of experts rushed to Pubna from the capital after knowing about the anthrax infection in human body, according to Dr Bidhan Chandra Das, assistant director at the Department of Livestock Services in Dhaka.
   They inspected both the persons and the cattle with anthrax in the village and took necessary arrangements for treatment, he said.
   Of the patients, Abdus Sattar, 60, Mabia, 40, Banya, 5, Idris, 18, Afiz Uddin, 60, Manjil, 29, Sarifa, 55, Morjina, 20, Asha, 12, Bulbuli, 17, Hassan, 35, Masud, 13, Mongolia, 18, Mizan, 33, Saleka, 55, Azam, 28 and Afzal, 35, were in critical condition, according to physicians.
   Anthrax commonly infects both wild and domesticated mammals which ingest or inhale the bacterium while grazing, according to experts.
   Sick animals can then spread anthrax to humans, either by direct contact or through consumption of the meat, they said.
   A four-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident, headed by Dr Ranjit Kumar, a specialist in epidemiology at the health directorate.
   District livestock officer M Abdul Hamid told New Age that at least three cows infected with anthrax died in the area.
   Dr Dipak Kumar, deputy civil surgeon of Pabna, said there was no reason to panic. ‘We hope that the persons infected with the disease will recover in a few days.’
   He said the victims should stay in hospital until they get fully cured.
   ‘We, however, need to remain alert as the disease is contagious,’ he said.
   Dr Bidhan Chandra Das said the livestock department was monitoring the situation round the clock.
   He advised the people to contact livestock officials if any cattle head dies. ‘Infected cattle should not be buried before examination,’ he said.
   He added that there are sufficient stocks of vaccines for treatment of the cattle.

Students of class V will have to face a public examination like SSC exams from this year as the cabinet on Monday endorsed the plan to improve the quality of education right from the elementary level.
   Centrally controlled by the Directorate of Primary Education, the public examination will mark the end to five years of formal schooling of nearly 20 lakh children, who will converge on exam centres across the country simultaneously with the same question papers.
   This will eventually overtake Secondary School Certificate exams as the country’s biggest public examinations. More than 10.5 lakh students appear in the SSC and equivalent exams this year, education officials said.
   The cabinet also decided to abolish primary scholarship exams introduced in 1952, prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said after the cabinet meeting Monday.
   At present, only 40 per cent Class V students of a school can appear in the 400-mark primary scholarship exams.
    ‘Teachers at primary schools take extra care for only those who take scholarship exams. By canceling the scholarship exams, the government wants to ensure equal care for all the students,’ primary and mass education secretary Badrul Alam Tarafdar said.
   At present, primary schools need to arrange two exams for class V students —-primary completion exam and scholarship exam — which are considered as a burden on both teachers and students.
   Students having high scores in the public exams will be chosen for Class V scholarship as in the cases for SSC and HSC examinees.
   ‘We are preparing to hold the largest public exams this year on November 22, 23 and 24. The Directorate of Primary Education will prepare question papers and results will be published simultaneously,’ the secretary added.
   Another official in the primary and mass education ministry said nearly 20 lakh students are expected to take the first public exams for class V this year.
   A government primary schoolteacher in Dhaka said the event would be too big for the authorities to manage and too stressful for under 12 children to bear.
   He also expressed his doubt about the authorities’ ability to arrange the exams of such a massive scale and publish results of some 20 lakh students smoothly, since publication of results of primary scholarship involving less than 7 lakh students takes nearly four months now.
   ‘I think the students of Class V are to brace themselves for a bad experience this year. The admission process at class VI and start of classes may be delayed significantly this year,’ he feared.
   M Saidur Rahman, publicity secretary of the Bangladesh Government Primary School Teachers’ Association on Monday welcomed the government’s decision to abolish separate exams for scholarship and introduce public exams for Class V students.
   There are more than 1.62 crore students in 80,401 elementary schools offering education from Class I to V, according to government statistics.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday directed the concerned officials to formulate an action plan for fixing separate time schedules for government and semi-government offices, schools, banks and markets to ease traffic congestions in the capital city.
   Hasina’s gave the instruction during a regular cabinet meeting in view of the worsening traffic situation in the city ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.
   At the meeting, she stressed the need for strict enforcement of the traffic laws, meeting sources said.
   Briefing reporters after the meeting, PM’s press secretary, Abul Kalam Azad, said the cabinet approved a proposal to sign the Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (IOMOU), formation of Small Enterprise Development Project (SEDP) and Agrani SME Financing Company Ltd, run by state-owned Agrani Bank Limited.
   Hasina expressed her annoyance for not appointing new officials to the top posts of the state-owned commercial banks, meeting insider said.
   She asked commerce minister Faruk Khan to strengthen TCB, saying that if TCB could supply daily essentials to the market, prices of those items would have reduced, sources said.
   When Hasina asked the Finance minister why his ministry sent back a proposal for formation of industrial police, Muhith replied that he did not know anything about this, the meeting insider said.
   At the meeting, shipping minister Shajahan Khan gave a proposal for constructing car parking spaces in Dhaka to ease road congestion.
   About IOMOU, Azad said eight countries have signed it to work together to ensure security on water routes and curb marine pollution. ‘The memorandum should be signed in the interest of the country,’ Hasina was quoted by her press secretary.
   About Small Enterprise Development Project, Azad said SEDP is currently providing facilities to farmers of Mymensingh and Faridpur districts. Now the prime minister has asked the authorities to extend its services to the farmers across the country. She instructed for lowering interest rates on SEDP loans, he said.
   Hasina also congratulated two Bangladeshi players for achieving gold medals in the 5th Korean Open International Taekwondo Championship in Korea.
   At the meeting, information and cultural affairs minister Abul Kalam Azad placed the report of the Bangladesh delegation which participated the Asian Cultural Ministerial Roundtable meeting and 11th Asian Art Festival in China on August 17-20.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, on Monday asked HT Imam, her adviser for establishment and administrative affairs, to appear in the parliamentary standing committee on law ministry to explain his action in sending two district judges into forced retirement, sources said.
   She gave the instruction at a meeting behind closed doors with HT Imam, finance adviser Mashiur Rahman, law minister Shafique Ahmed and his deputy Quamrul Islam, said a meeting insider.
   The prime minister sat with them after a cabinet meeting against the backdrop of a fierce debate between the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on law, Suranjit Sengupta, and HT Imam, over the standing committee’s decision to hear Imam on his role in sending the two judges into forced retirement.
   At the meeting, Hasina also asked her advisers and cabinet colleagues to be cautious while making statements in public, said the meeting insider.
   She told them that irresponsible statements of some advisers and ministers had embarrassed the government, the source said.
   The parliamentary standing committee on Thursday unanimously decided to hear Imam and law and establishment secretaries about their role in sending the two judges into forced retirement, an action subsequently reversed.
   HT Imam on August 28 said that the government’s July 30 decision on sending two district judges into retirement had in no way violated the constitution. He said the decision had come from the highest level of the government and that the prime minister was aware of it.
   He had also challenged the committee’s jurisdiction over summoning him.
   In a sharp reaction to Imam’s remarks, Suranjit, also a ruling Awami League leader, said on Sunday that the remarks were indecorous, unconstitutional and undemocratic.
   At Monday’s meeting, Hasina told Imam that he should respond to the standing committee’s call as the parliamentary standing committees were tasked with monitoring the activities of the government and that he should not question the committee’s jurisdiction, the meeting insider said.
   She also told Imam that he should have restrained emotion while addressing the press on the issue, the meeting insider said.
   Hasina, however, observed that it was wrong on Suranjit’s part if he had used the word summon. ‘He [Suranjit] should have said “Imam has been called by the standing committee to explain his position,” the meeting insider quoted Hasina as saying.
   Hasina also observed that the removal of the two judges was a wrong decision.
   The government on July 30 sent the two judges – Dhaka District and Sessions Judge Abdul Gafur and Gazipur Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal judge M Shahjahan – into forced retirement after judges staged noisy demonstrations inside the secretariat on July 27.
   The decision was made public through an official handout saying that in order to maintain discipline in the public service; the government sent the two judges into retirement in accordance with Section 9(2) of the Public Servants (Retirement) Act, 1974. The order was, however, withdrawn on August 3.

Ziaur Rahman entered into the political arena, incidentally. But his arrival was inevitable. His coming was necessitated by the demands of the nation and the time to fill the void in the leadership. His did not come to join politics through any tortuous path by means of conspiracy in the dark, but his ascent in the political arena at an auspicious dawn on November 7, 1975 was anointed by crores of people from all walks of life and patriotic soldiers, amid incessant slogans and sprinkling of flowers. The country’s leadership came to him.
   When Ziaur Rahman came to power, there was no political party in the country. Banning all other parties, a party called Bakshal was created under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman to initiate the rule of a single party in the country. People were stripped of their democratic and fundamental rights. Freedom of newspapers and judiciary was forfeited. After promoting Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from the post of the prime minister to that of the president, he was handed over the power and authority to decide on the fate of the nation. The tenure of the government was increased by three years without holding any election. Although a veteran who had fought for independence and democracy for long, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman appeared as the head of the Bakshali totalitarian regime. But these tyrannical activities ran counter to the spirit of our great war of liberation. These activities had greatly shocked and enraged the people, immediately after the hard-earned independence. It was the rivals of Sheikh Mujib, who chose Khondokar Mushtak Ahmed, a close political associate of Sheikh Mujib, to seize power, resorting to a bloody coup, with the help of a section of army officials loyal to him. After seizing power, Mushtak banned the Bakshal. But Mushtak did not succeed in overcoming the crisis stemming from a tumultuous political unrest. He was also dethroned by another military putsch. Another group seized power and imposed Martial Law all over the country. It was against this backdrop that a revolutionary movement was spearheaded on November 7, with the historic people-military solidarity. This change was for the independence and sovereignty of the state, for the multi-party democracy, for people’s freedom and democratic rights, for liberal politics and for development and growth. This movement epitomised a transition to democracy from Martial Law, which was spearheaded by Ziaur Rahman, the man who declared the war of independence. He brought back politics and democracy and gave opportunities to form political parties in order to make this transition meaningful. He restored people’s fundamental rights and freedom of speech, of newspapers and of the judiciary. To advance this politics of change, he himself floated the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
   The Muslim League led the Pakistan movement, but it could not meet the aspirations of the momentous era afterwards. The Awami League was in the forefront of Bangladesh movement, but later it failed miserably as a political party. Against the backdrop of this failure, the BNP came into being with a commitment to do politics commensurate with that of an independent country. This party has given rise to a political system, weathering vicissitudes of fortune, both during peace and struggle, over a period of long 31 years. This party is now a balanced organisation with lots of experiences. Our commitment and dedication have become sanctified with the blood of martyrs. We are moving along against the politics of rivalry, division and confrontation, holding high the national flag – a symbol of unity. We, the people of plain land and hilly region, irrespective of religion, caste, class and profession, have built an integrated nationhood. We shall resist any movement by religious bigots, keeping our social and religious values intact. We shall extend our hand of friendship to all across the globe on the basis of equality, but we shall never accept any camaraderie at the cost of our sovereignty and freedom. We are to remain absolutely uncompromising over our national interest and dignity, and that too at any cost. We are neither leftists nor rightists. Those who are on our right are rightists and those who are on our left are leftists. We are on the left of the rightists and on the right of the leftists. We exist at the centre and we are the centre of the country’s politics. The Bangladesh Nationalist Party is the main stream in this country. It is the BNP, which is the national political institution of Bangladesh.
   [Translated from the article written in Bangla]

A record 54 women won seats in Japan’s weekend election but female parliamentary representation still remains low by developed world standards at 11 per cent, results showed Monday.
   The opposition Democratic Party scored a historic win over the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Sunday’s vote fielding a high-profile group of female candidates to take on elderly ruling-party bosses.
   Female lawmakers held just nine per cent of seats in the outgoing House of Representatives, giving Japan the developed world’s lowest level of female representation in politics, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
   Women secured 43 seats in the 2005 elections — a record at the time — when then-prime minister Junichiro Koizumi won a landslide victory by tapping women candidates in a media-savvy campaign.
   This time around, the DPJ deployed a group of female candidates the media dubbed the ‘Princess Corps’ against heavyweights of the LDP and its sole coalition partner New Komeito, which also experienced big losses.
   The DPJ scored a major victory with former singer and television reporter Ai Aoki, who defeated New Komeito’s 63-year-old leader Akihiro Ota in Tokyo.
   ‘I was relieved to be able to produce the result,’ Aoki later told reporters. ‘It’s very significant that I won in a constituency that was symbolic for the coalition government.’
   In southern Japan, former defence minister Fumio Kyuma, 68, lost against Eriko Fukuda, 28, who gained prominence in a legal battle against the state over tainted blood products that made many people contract hepatitis.
   Kyuma stepped down as minister in 2007 after sparking anger by suggesting the US atomic bombings of Japan were inevitable to end Second World War. His district included parts of Nagasaki, one of the two cities bombed.

Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus has been invited to deliver the second Professor Hiren Mukerjee Memorial Annual Parliamentary Lecture in Indian parliament during its winter session this year.
   Yunus will deliver his lecture on December 9 at the central hall of Parliament House in New Delhi, according to a message received Monday from Yunus Centre.
   Professor Hiren Mukherjee, a prominent member of the West Bengal Communist Party, was member of the Lok Sabha for five times from 1952 to 1977, deputy leader of the Communist Party in Parliament (1952-64) and then its leader from 1964 to 1967. He died in 2004.
   The first Professor Hiren Mukherjee Memorial Parliamentary Lecture was delivered by Nobel laureate Professor Amartya Sen in 2008.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party will celebrate its 31st founding anniversary today with a hope to reorganise and strengthen the party after its debacle in the last general elections.
   The party leaders said it was time to rejuvenate the party taking lessons from the past for the sake of the party as well as the nation.
   The party standing committee member, Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age, ‘We have to bring about positive changes in the party, reorganise the units and inspire grassroots activists to fight plots against the nation.’
   A joint secretary general of the party, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, said holding a meaningful council session in December would help the party overcome past weaknesses and unite nationalist forces.
   ‘The biggest mistake committed by the party was its failure to identify conspiracies against the country or ignoring them which resulted in two years’ of sufferings for the nation,’ said Gayeshwar.
   Many of the leaders said the party was suffering because of the steadily waning role of the politicians in its policymaking and degradation of political culture.
   Late president Ziaur Rahman founded the BNP, a right-of-centre political party, on 1 September, 1978. The party ruled the country for more than one and a half decades in the 38 years of independent Bangladesh.
   For the first time in its history, the BNP has the lowest representation in the parliament in its 31st year and the party and its front organisations are preparing for reorganising the units and holding national council session in December.
   Although the council session is supposed to be held every year, the last national council of the party was held in September, 1993 in Dhaka.
   The party and its front organisations have chalked up programmes, including placing of wreaths at Zia’s grave and discussion meeting to mark its founding anniversary today.
   The party leaders and activists will offer prayers at the grave of its founder at 11:00am. National and party flags will be hoisted at the party offices. A discussion will be held at the Institution of Engineers at noon.
   The party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, will attend the founding anniversary celebrations after a two-year interval and is likely to address the discussion.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, again on Monday requested the ministers and high government officials to wear shirts and pants instead of suits to save electricity.
   She made the request after seeing many of the cabinet colleagues and some secretaries attending meeting in suits forgetting about her earlier request in this regard.
   She said if office-goers wear shirts and trousers, use of air-conditioners will be reduced and consumption of power would decline.
   Hasina at a previous cabinet meeting on August 24 advised the people, particularly government officials and executives of different offices, to wear casual dresses and avoid suits between March and November to save power curtailing the use of air-conditioners.
   The PM further directed the officials not to press office temperatures down under 24 degrees Celsius in order to save electricity at the offices of government, non-government and semi-government.
   ‘With this dress, the hot weather will not be felt…and the weather of the country is also naturally comfortable,’ Hasina was quoted by her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad as saying.
   Azad, who used to put on suits, also avoided the warm dress. But some ministers, including prime minister’s adviser Alauddin Ahmed, law minister Shafique Ahmed, land minister Rezaul Karim Hira, health minister AFM Ruhal Huq attended the cabinet meeting in suits. Cabinet secretary M Abdul Aziz and prime minister’s secretary Molla Waheeduzzaman were, however, found without suits while they came out of the meeting.
   Most of the secretaries of the education, primary and mass education, economic relations division and finance ministry who attended the Monday’s cabinet meeting avoided suits, said an official at the Cabinet Division.
   Home secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder, finance secretary Mohammad Tareque, additional law secretary Shahidul Haque were in suits while attending their offices.

The 91st birth anniversary of General Mohammad Ataul Gani Osmani, commander-in-chief of liberation forces, will be observed in a befitting manner today.
   Bangabir Osmani Smriti Parishad has chalked up elaborate programmes to observe the day, a press release of BOSP said in Dhaka Monday.
   The programmes include offer fateha and placing wreaths at 10:00am at Osmani’s grave on the premises of Hazarat Shahjalal (RA) shrine in Sylhet and a discussion on ‘National Unity and Today’s Expatiation’ will be held at Osmani Memorial Hall at 4:00pm today.
   The main paper will be read out in the discussion by secretary general of BOSP Sheikh Akhtar ul Islam.
   The social welfare minister, Enamul Huq Mostafa Shaheed, Gona Forum president Dr Kamal Hossain, Dewan Farid Gazi, MP, Abdur Razzak ,MP, Fazle Rabbi, MP, KM Shafiullah, M Azizur Rahman, Abadur Rahman Chowdhury and Syed Abdul Muktadir will addressed the discussion.
   The birth anniversary will also be observed in the UK, the USA, Canada, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, the press release added.

The Election Commission on Monday notified ruling Awami League lawmaker Shafiqul Azam Khan asking him to explain why he should not be stripped of parliament membership for contesting polls while holding a public office of profit.
   Azam, elected MP for Jhenaidah 3 constituency, is one of the three lawmakers who run the risk of losing their membership of the 9th parliament as a High Court verdict has declared mayors and municipal chairmen disqualified from being elected lawmakers, according to the Election Commission secretariat.
   The two other lawmakers are Kabirul Huq of Awami League for Narail 1 and Nasrin Jahan Ratna, wife of Jatiya Party’s Ruhul Amin Hawlader, elected for a reserved seat. They, however, took interim stay order from the High Court against the EC decision.
   According to constitutional provision and electoral laws, they have been disqualified from being members of the parliament after the court verdict as they were elected mayors of three municipalities – Maheshpur, Kalia and Bakerganj – respectively and holding offices of profit.
   Joint secretary (law) of the Election Commission secretariat, Nurul Islam Khan, on Monday said that Azam had been asked to reply to the notice in 10 days.
   Azam is to explain why he should not be declared ineligible and a gazette should not be published cancelling his membership in the parliament.
   He continues to holds the mayoral post of Moheshpur municipality, even after being elected an MP in the December 29 parliamentary elections.
   According to Article 67(1) (d) of the constitution, a lawmaker should vacate his seat ‘if he has incurred a disqualification under clause (2) of Article 66.’
   Article 66(2) says that a person shall be disqualified from being a member of parliament who holds any office of profit in the service of the Republic other than an office which is declared by law not to disqualify its holders.
   Article 12(1) (a) of the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Act, 2009 says, ‘a person shall be disqualified from being elected as, and from being, a member, if he is a person holding any office of profit in the service of the Republic or of a statutory public authority.’
   The Dhaka city mayor, Sadeque Hossain Khoka, filed a writ petition challenging the decision taken by the EC on November 17 declaring city and municipal mayors disqualified from the national polls, considering their posts to be offices of profit in the service of the Republic or of a statutory public authority.
   The High Court, however, on December 4 rejected the petition upholding the commission’s decision and declaring that the position of city mayor was an office of profit.
   Sadeque, however, contested the December 29 national election after obtaining a stay order from the Appellate Division on the High Court verdict. Accordingly, the three municipal mayors also contested the election and were elected lawmakers.
   The Appellate Division had asked Sadeque to file a regular petition seeking permission to appeal against the High Court verdict. But he did not file such petition, presumably because he lost the election.
   The office of the Supreme Court registrar on May 6 sent an office order to the Election Commission secretariat, informing it that the period of time to file a regular petition seeking permission to appeal against the High Court verdict had expired, but no parties concerned turned up.
   People leaving offices of profit in the service of the republic or of a statutory public authority can contest polls.
   Independent candidate Sajjatuz Jumma appealed to the Election Commission against acceptance of Azam’s papers by the returning officer. Jumma also appealed to the speaker for cancellation of his parliament membership.

A CNG-run auto-rickshaw driver was stabbed to death at Trimohini under Khilgaon police station in the capital city Sunday night and the body of a security guard was found at a garment factory near the Shah Ali Plaza at Mirpur-10 under the Kafrul police station Monday morning.
   The victims were Kamruzzaman, 22, auto-rickshaw driver, and Ahmed Hussain, 55, security guard of the Arnep Garment Factory at Mirpur-10. Khilgaon police said auto-rickshaw driver Kamruzzaman was locked into a heated altercation with local transport workers at the Trimohoni auto-rickshaw stand at about 9:30am over payment of toll money.
   At one stage, angry transport workers charged knife on Kamruzzaman indiscriminately leaving him critically injured.
   He was rushed to the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital where the attending physician declared him dead.
   Kafrul police said guard Ahmed Hossain was found dead on the first floor of the apparel factory at about 8:30am. He was beaten to death as multiple marks of injury were found on different parts of the body, they added.
   But the reason behind the killing could not be known immediately.
   Two separate cases were filed with the respective police stations.

More than 400 children were being held in British immigration detention centres with their families, a report said Monday, citing official figures.
   The Guardian newspaper said 470 children, many from countries suffering poverty and conflict such as Zimbabwe, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Democratic Republic of Congo, were locked up after arriving in Britain.
   The figures from the Home Office were provided for a single day, on June 30 this year.
   Most of the children were aged under five, and almost one-third were held for longer than 28 days, the newspaper said.
   Out of 225 children released from detention in the second quarter of this year, only 100 were then removed from Britain.
   Critics quoted by the left-of-centre daily said the statistics showed the UK Border Agency was failing in its duty to detain children only ‘as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.’
   The Home Office said: ‘The UK Border Agency fully recognises its responsibilities towards children but these responsibilities have to be exercised alongside our duty to enforce the laws on immigration and asylum.’

Japan’s Democratic Party Monday began talks on forming a new government, faced with the challenge of reviving the struggling economy and reshaping ties with key allies after its crushing election win.
   Yukio Hatoyama’s centre-left Democratic Party of Japan is under heavy pressure to get to work quickly on addressing the huge hurdles facing this fast-greying country and pulling it out of its long economic malaise.
   His team huddled to select cabinet ministers and work on a smooth transition from the government of the prime minister, Taro Aso, who conceded defeat and said he would step down as president of the Liberal Democratic Party.
   The DPJ won 308 seats in the powerful 480-member lower house in the Sunday poll, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule, according to collated official results.
   Hatoyama, 62, who is expected to be confirmed by parliament as prime minister in about two weeks, is set to form a coalition with smaller partners such as the Social Democratic Party and the People’s New Party.
   The US-trained engineering scholar, the scion of a wealthy political dynasty, promised to build consensus and avoid ‘arrogance’ in government after ousting Japan’s conservative old guard.
   ‘We will not just bulldoze our policies,’ he told public broadcaster NHK. ‘We must exercise patience and seek people’s understanding because we have been given such latitude.’
   Japan’s usually risk-averse electorate, frustrated with the country’s worst post-war recession, punished Aso at the polls and forced the business-friendly LDP from office for only the second time since 1955.
   Aso said Monday that he would resign as party head, admitting that the ‘outcome of the election was extremely severe for the LDP.’
   ‘We must start anew,’ a stern-faced Aso added. ‘To take back the government, I strongly feel that we must regenerate the party.’
   His right-hand-man, chief cabinet secretary Takeo Kawamura, said the election defeat was a call for the LDP to change and an ‘extremely harsh result for the ruling party and the government,’ while vowing a smooth transition.
   The DPJ has signalled a solid but less subservient partnership with traditional ally the United States and a desire to boost its regional ties, promoting a European Union-style Asian community and common currency.

A parliamentary panel Monday suggested that the term ‘freedom fighter’ be redefined to include members of armed forces who had fought the war of independence in 1971.
   The parliamentary standing committee on the liberation war affairs ministry at a meeting also recommended an amendment to the definition of ‘martyr’s family’ as many of the martyred freedom fighters were not covered by the present definition.
   The chairman of the parliamentary panel, Rafiqul Islam, also a veteran freedom fighter, said the present definitions of ‘freedom fighters’ and ‘martyr’s
   family’ did not cover many who had fought the war and made supreme sacrifice for the country’s liberation.
   Members of defence and other forces are not included in the present definition of freedom fighters.
   ‘We believe that everyone who took part in the independence war is a freedom fighter – no matter whether they came from any force or not,’ said the head of the parliamentary panel suggesting inclusion of all who had fought the war.
   The post-independence government made the definitions given the reality at that time.
   The freedom fighters belonging to any of the armed forces – defence, police, Ansar or the then East Pakistan Rifles – will have to be recognised as freedom fighters, Rafiq said.
   In the other case, the 1972 definition of a martyr’s family specified a family that had lost an earning member in the war.
   The parliamentary committee observed that there were many families, non-earning members of which had laid down their lives in the war. Students of schools, colleges and universities took part in the liberation war and died but their families were never called families of martyrs.
   ‘We have recommended that such families be recognised as families of martyrs,’ the chairman said.
   The parliamentary committee also suggested correction of the national list of freedom fighters to include those who were left out. It also recommended ridding the list of alleged fake freedom fighters after proper investigations.
   The liberation war affairs ministry said that over 2,18,000 people had submitted applications seeking to be enlisted as freedom fighters.
   A committee of five or seven members comprising local commanders and public representatives at upazila level will be formed shortly to scrutinise the applications. Genuine freedom fighters will be included in the national list.
   There will also be an appeal board at the district level to hear any rejection or approval, Rafiq said.
   The meeting also asked the authorities concerned to appoint an industrial and financial consultant to assess the liabilities of the Muktijoddha Kalyan Trust, which runs many a venture for welfare of the freedom fighters. The consultant will suggest measures for turning the sick units into profit-making ventures.

The prime minister and Awami League president, Sheikh Hasina, said they don’t want to see Bangladesh Chhatra League earn any bad name as this student organisation had a long glorious tradition and history of playing the most significant role in every democratic movement of the country.
   ‘It’s not for Bangladesh Chhatra League to commit terrorism and extortion-ism. This is the organisation which has glorious contribution to every democratic movement, including the 1952 language movement and the 1971 liberation war,’ she said.
   The prime minister made the forbidding remarks while addressing a discussion meeting Monday afternoon at the city’s Bangabandhu International Conference Centre. Her reminder on the Chhatra League’s glorious track record came in the wake of reports involving the name of the organisation.
   Chhatra League arranged the discussion in memory of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Fazilatunnesa Mujib — both assassinated along with three of their children and other relations in the month of August in 1975.
   With BCL president Mahmud Hasan Ripon in the chair, the discussion meeting was also addressed by Abul Barkat and Mamtaj Latif.
   Hasina urged all the BCL supporters to be attentive in studying and dedicate themselves to the betterment of the country’s people. ‘Only a well educated and brave leadership can uphold the glorious history of Chhatra League,’ she told the BCL gathering.
   She also laid emphasis on maintaining congenial atmosphere in every educational institution of the country.
   Hasina said success of the present government-sponsored Vision 2021 mainly depended on young community of the country, and in this case, BCL could play the most successful role.
   She said to build up a developed Bangladesh, the rural economy would have to be given the top-most priority.
   ‘After examinations, every worker of Chhatra League can go to the rural areas and involve themselves in educating the illiterate people,’ she said.
   Hasina said if one believes in ideology of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, one could indulge in corruption or any other crime.
   She asserted that the verdict of Mujib Murder Case would be executed on the soil of Bangladesh.
   She deplored that the killers of Mujib and their collaborators introduced politics of corruption and terrorism in the country. But the corrupt force
   did not know that everything cannot be bought with money and muscle power.

Healthy people taking a daily dose of aspirin to prevent heart attacks may be doing themselves more harm than good, according to a new study by British scientists.
   Researchers found that the risks of bleeding from taking aspirin were such that its routine use in healthy people ‘cannot be supported’ — although they did not dispute its use in patients with a history of vascular problems.
   The results of the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis study add to a long-running debate about whether the potential dangers of taking aspirin could outweigh the benefits from reducing the risk of clots.
   ‘We know that patients with symptoms of artery disease, such as angina, heart attack or stroke, can reduce their risk of further problems by taking a small dose of aspirin each day,’ said professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation which helped fund the research.
   ‘The findings of this study agree with our current advice that people who do not have symptomatic or diagnosed artery or heart disease should not take aspirin, because the risks of bleeding may outweigh the benefits.’
   The study was led by professor Gerry Fowkes from the Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases in Edinburgh, Scotland, and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona Sunday.
   It involved 3,350 men and women aged 50 to 75 years who tests revealed may have a condition where the arteries in their legs were furred up — but who had no symptoms of heart disease or history of heart attack.
   They were given either a daily 100 mg dose of aspirin or a placebo (a dummy pill) and monitored over eight years.
   While there was no difference in the number of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular events suffered, major bleeding occurred in two per cent of the aspirin group compared to just 1.2 per cent of the placebo group.

Babul Chandra Das looked desolate as he rowed his empty fishing boat back to the small village of Mallikpur while it drizzled continually.
   On a typically cloudy afternoon in mid-August, Mallikpur looked like a tropical island in the middle of Dingapota Haor in Mohanganj.
   About 195 kilometres north of Dhaka, it takes about 10 hours—by bus, rickshaw and then boat—to reach this lush green village.
   Although at the height of the fishing season, his catch refused to improve, he said, unloading the empty wicker baskets from atop a large fishing net. ‘We sold the day’s catch for just Tk 300.’
   Five men, including Babul, invested Tk 30,000 barely a month ago on the boat and the net. The rains came late this year so there is not enough fish, he said. ‘The real monsoon, as we knew it, begins much later than we expect.’
   That was two weeks ago. There has been a steady deluge of heavy rainfall since then. Reports have it that up to 150,000 hectares of arable land went under water after the third week of August.
   Waving his tanned muscular arms, still glistening with raindrops, Babul said the water level would be much higher this time of the year. ‘And it is only recently that we got some rain.’
   People living in the floodplains switch between fishing during the monsoon and farming during the dry winter months when the water recedes.
   But fishing is proving to be very difficult these days, said Abhilas Das, the sexagenarian general secretary of a local fishermen cooperative.
   Echoing Babul, Abhilas said, ‘The seasons seem to be shifting and it has made things more difficult. The monsoons seem to be shorter.’
   Although national statistics do not indicate a negative trend in the volume of fish production, the rate growth has a negative trend. Bangladesh’s fish production growth declined from a high of 7.2 per cent in 2000-01 to 4.79 per cent in 2006-07, followed by a marginal improvement last year.
   As far as rainfall is concerned, there are no conclusive trends if monthly or yearly data are considered.
   But very interesting trends emerge with deeper analysis, says Ahsan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Centre for Global Change, who is also a climate expert currently working on Bangladesh’s rainfall data analysis.
   He said even when there is no marked difference in rainfall, the number of extremely rainy days are higher while the number of average rainy days may be on the decline.
   Ahsan said the recent trend had shifted from the sustained periods of consistent rain towards prolonged dry spells interspersed by heavy showers. ‘So the spikes would be higher and the lows more prolonged.’
   Referring to the record rainfall in Dhaka on July 28, Ahsan pointed out that Dhaka’s average rainfall for July is 373mm but it received 333mm of rain on that single day.
   Records from Mymensingh, adjacent to Netrakona, show similar trends that would validate Babul’s perception of the delayed monsoon.
   Average rainfall for August in Mymensingh is 396mm and this year’s records show it to be 425mm. ‘Although there is no major fluctuation, the bulk of that rain came on just three days,’ said Ahsan.
   Again for July, when the average was 589mm, there was 422mm of rain. The bulk of it came on July 2 and July 27/28.
   Kurigram, which saw large tracts of arable land go under water in the last ten days or so, received about 800mm of rainfall against its average of 350mm for August. Almost 500mm of that rain came in the last 10 days.
   In contrast, it recorded 143mm of rain in July when about 530mm would have been normal.
   Sadrul Alam, a teacher at a school under Jatrapur Union in Kurigram, about 400km north-west of Dhaka, told New Age that together with a few other farmers he had invested in a water pump due to the drought. ‘The land was still dry although the calendar said it was monsoon!’
   Sadrul’s small patch of land near the bank of Dudhkumar river was then deluged with rain in the last few days. ‘On top of that, the river swelled submerging large tracts.’
   Akhil Chandra Roy, another small farmer of Dikhai Union in Bogra, also had a similar experience. He had just planted the seedlings preparing his 66 decimals with the help of pumped irrigation. ‘But almost within days, there was so much rain that all my land went under water. The Aman crops are becoming more and more unpredictable because of this erratic rain.’
   ‘Aman, mainly rainfed, has always been dependent on weather and thus vulnerable to such fluctuations,’ said M Asaduzzaman, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies.
   Still quite significant in terms of the economic gains, this crop remains very important in terms of the country’s food security, he said. Its rate of return against the low investment, compared to the boro crop gives farmers an added boost.
   ‘But if this crop fails then farmers are faced with a daunting fate. The boro crop would be harvested in about eight months.’
   Aman crops constitute a third of the country’s rice production of about 29 million tonnes. Records also show a significant dip in its total yield every time there has been a flood in Bangladesh.
   Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, one of the authors of the National Adaptation Programmes of Action, also president of the Bangladesh Economic Association, said such fluctuations were fallouts of climate change.
   He said such pattern would continue for years. ‘There is not really much we can do in the short term other than raising awareness and providing some economic assistance to the affected.’
   Kholiquzzaman suggested alternative sources of employment that would reduce people’s vulnerability to weather fluctuations in the longer term.
   ‘But we can’t change the weather. We will simply have to cope with it as best as we can.’

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, leaves Dhaka for Geneva today on a five-day official visit to attend the World Climate Conference-3.
   The prime minister and her 44-entourage members including her security and media team will fly for Geneva at 8:00am today by a Biman Bangladesh Airlines flight.
   Headed by the prime minister, the Bangladesh delegation include foreign minister Dipu Moni, state minister for environment and forest Hasan Mahmud, former ambassador M Ziauddin, principal secretary to the prime minister MA Karim, foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, prime minister’s press secretary Abul Kalam Azad and director general of Department of Environment Zafar Ahmed Khan.
   Besides, journalist and columnist Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, journalists Suvas Chandra Singha Roy, Shah Alamgir and Kalayan Saha will also accompany the prime minister.
   During her stay in Switzerland, Hasina will deliver Bangladesh statement in the conference on Thursday.
   Apart from these, Hasina will attend high-level segment of the World Climate Conference-3 and co-chair a session of the high-level segment in the WCC-3.
   On the sidelines of the conference, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral talks with Swiss president Hans-Rudolf Merz, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of World Meteorological Organisation Michel Jarraud, vice-president of Colombia Francisco Santos Calderon, minister for environment and former president of Switzerland Moritz Leuenberger and UNDP administrator Helen Clark.
   She will also attend a lunch to be hosted by minister for environment and former president of Switzerland Moritz Leuenberger in honour of heads of state and government at Hotel Intercontinental in Geneva.
   Hasina, also the president of Bangladesh Awami League, will attend a Bangladeshi community programme and a dinner hosted by Bangladesh ambassador in Geneva on Friday.
   The theme of the upcoming WCC-3 being organised by the World Meteorological Organisation is ‘Climate prediction and information for decision making’.
   The First World Climate Conference was held in February 12-23 in 1979 in Geneva and the second one on October 29 to November 7 in 1990 again in Geneva.

The Bangladesh Telecom-munications Regulatory Commission has blocked 113,880 SIMs of different phone operators for using illegal call termination.
   Of the total number, 46,032 SIMs are of Banglalink, 30,152 of Warid, 22,140 of Grameenphone, 5,750 of AKTel, 532 of CityCell and 9,274 of Ranks Tel, according to a BTRC press release.
   It said the number of incoming calls from abroad using legal channel has increased due to various steps taken by the BTRC, giving a boost to revenue earnings of the BTRC.
   The number of legal incoming call has increased 36.20 per cent since February. The duration of international calls in February was 60.3 crore minutes while 67.2 crore minutes in March, 67.3 crore minutes in April, 70.3 crore minutes in May, 70.9 crore minutes in June, 77 crore minutes in July and 81.6 crore minutes in August (mid-August).
   With these incoming calls, the BTRC posted revenue earning of Tk 45.3 crore in February, Tk 53.11 crore in March, Tk 55.28 in April, Tk 51.18 crore in May and Tk 50.72 crore in June.

Comilla University was closed for a month from Monday following a factional clash of Chhatra League on the campus.
   The authorities, in an emergency meeting of the academic council at noon, made the decision to suspend all classes and examinations till October 1.
   Campus sources said a BCL man, Jitu, was beaten up by rival group on the campus on August 25.
   As a sequel to the incident, the rival groups were locked in the clash at 10:00am Monday. A chase and counter chase took place that left 10 students injured.
   The unruly students also ransacked the academic building and locked it.