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The Dhaka City Corporation was forced to suspend its drive against ‘illegal and unauthorised’ hoardings in the city as the Dhaka Metropolitan Police stood in the way of the drive launched on Thursday night.
   The police prevented a corporation team, led by an executive magistrate, when the team about 10:00pm started pulling down the hoardings set up on the land of the Shahbagh police control room without any permission from the city corporation.
   Some representatives of AK Communications, an advertisement company, earlier requested the DCC executive magistrate, Khalil Ahmed, not to dismantle its hoardings claiming that they had obtained approval from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
   Some police officials, too, later entered into an altercation with the corporation officials over removal of the illegal hoardings.
   The corporation magistrate still continued with the drive arguing that the metropolitan police had no authority to give such permission. At one point, the police personnel, who were providing security, were withdrawn around 11:15pm.
   ‘As the police men were withdrawn, I became frightened and was compelled to suspend the drive,’ Khalil Ahmed told New Age on Friday. He, however, declined details.
   The corporation’s chief town planner Sirajul Islam, who was also present during the drive, alleged the DMP had ‘withdrawn police personnel illegally in the middle our drive to remove the illegal hoardings.’
   The DMP commissioner, AKM Shahidul Haque, said he was not aware of the circumstances under which the police forces were withdrawn.
   Asked if the metropolitan police could give permission to set up hoardings, he asked back, ‘Will you not lease out the space on the rooftop of your building?’
   ‘We gave the permission provided that advertisement companies would get the design of the hoardings approved by the city corporation,’ he said. ‘If they had not taken permission, the city corporation should have issued a notice before the drive.’
   The DMP commissioner said the advertisement company had already started pulling down their hoardings. ‘Why did not the city corporation give them time?
   Who has given the corporation the authority to confiscate the hoardings?’
   ‘There are hundreds of illegal hoardings in the city. Why did they need to start the drive by dismantling the hoardings set up on the DMP land? They conducted the drive with a bad intention,’ Shahidul Haque said.
   Sirajul Islam said no organisation other than the city corporation could give permission to set up any hoardings in the city.
   ‘The hoarding set up on the DMP land is completely illegal. Why was the DMP out to protect illegal hoardings? In whose interest have they been so desperate?’ he said.
   Khalil Ahmed said he had formally informed his higher authorities of the matter. ‘A decision on whether the drive would continue will be made on Sunday,’ he said.
   The city corporation on Thursday launched the drive to dismantle risky and illegal hoardings after two people were killed as a hoarding at Gulshan in the capital collapsed on them during storms on Monday.
   Before launching the drive, the corporation published advertisements in daily newspapers asking the owners to remove illegal hoardings.

An organisation cannot be stopped from holding political and other types of programmes simply because it is not registered with the Election Commission, jurists have said.
   They said that putting obstacles to political programmes anywhere in the country on such pleas would be contradictory to the constitutional clauses that guarantee the right to assemble and freedom of expression.
   Their opinion came after the Khagachari district administration slapped a ban on holding of political programmes by organisations not registered with the Election Commission. The district administration also decided that organisations registered with the Election Commission would have to seek permission at least a week before announcing the programme schedule.
    The deputy commissioner, Mohammad Abdullah, explaining the rationale for the decision said it was aimed at maintaining peace and harmony in the district where the Bengali settlers and ethnic minorities had clashed for about week about a month ago and it was not meant for suppressing any particular party or organisation.
   Shah Deen Malik, senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, said registration with the Election Commission was required for parties or organisations taking part in elections.
   ‘Right to association or freedom of expression is not restricted by the electoral laws. The deputy commissioner may have the right to restrict holding of programmes for a certain period of time for the sake of law and order. But such a general ban only for not being registered with Election Commission is contradictory to the right to association or freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution,’ he said. ‘Being unregistered with the Election Commission cannot be an obstacle to holding programmes.’
   Mizanur Rahman, professor of law at Dhaka University, said the Khagrachari administration’s decision was a blatant violation of the constitution and they were liable to face trial for such violation.
   ‘The law regarding registration with Election Commission has no relation with holding programmes. There are thousands of organisations unregistered with Election Commission and they cannot be barred from holding programmes on the plea that they are unregistered with Election Commission,’ he said.
   About permission for holding programmes, he said in an emergency situation the authorities might need to inquire about the programmes but it should a temporary measure and there should be a time limit for such measures.
   Supreme Court lawyer, Adilur Rahman Khan, also secretary of rights watchdog Odhikar, said the law on registration with the Election Commission had nothing to do with political activities. ‘The law says the unregistered parties cannot contest polls but it does not stop an organisation from carrying out political activities. Such an order is a violation of the constitution.’
   ‘Any organisation can run political activities until the state bans the politics of that party. The problems in the hills could never be solved this way. Our constitution does not recognise community land ownership and self-determination,’ he said.
   Dhaka University law professor Asif Nazrul said the decision of Khagrachari administration was contradictory to the constitution.
   ‘The constitution does not make registration with the Election Commission mandatory for holding programmes. The law on registration with the Election Commission has nothing to do with holding programmes. If the administration wants to curb the right, it has to impose a state of emergency or clamp section 144 of the code of criminal procedure. Such a decision cannot win a court battle if anyone challenges it,’ Asif said.
   The Rangamati district administration on Friday did not allow holding of a fundraising concert for the victims of arson attacks at Baghaihat of Baghaichhari in February 19-20.
   The concert was scheduled to be held on the premises of Rangamati Rajbabi organised by the committee for humanitarian assistance to Baghaihat arson attack victims where noted artistes were supposed to perform. Vocalist Lucky Akhand and others already reached there.
   The committee for humanitarian assistance to Baghaihat victims in a statement condemned the decision of the administration as an assault on humanity. The administration’s order has proved that they are not neutral and have no respect for rule of law, the committee said.
   The district administration said they did not allow staging of the concert on the advice of the police’s special branch which in a report said the programme should not be allowed considering law and order.
   Meanwhile, the Pahari Chhatra Parishad, Democratic Youth Forum and Hill Women’s Federation in a joint statement demanded withdrawal of Khagrachari deputy commissioner Mohammad Abdullah accusing him of being biased towards certain quarters.
   ‘The deputy commissioner’s decision not to allow organisations unregistered with the Election Commission to hold programmes was undemocratic and unconstitutional. It violates the basic rights guaranteed by the constitution. He has taken the step so that the hill people cannot speak out against oppression on them,’ the statement said.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has sought Chinese cooperation to construct a deep seaport in Chittagong and establish road link between Chittagong and Kunming.
   ‘China can be benefited by using the deep seaport while all neighbouring countries also can use it,’ she said as a key speaker at the Bangladesh-China Business Forum and Luncheon Reception at State Guest House Diaouthai on Friday.
   The prime minister invited Chinese investors to put money in Bangladesh’s promising sectors like textiles, small machineries, fertilisers, footwear and ceramics.
   She also encouraged investment in IT outsourcing, tourism, healthcare, education, power, telecommunications, infrastructure development, gas and energy, agro-based industries and pharmaceuticals.
   ‘I would urge you to invest in Bangladesh which would be lucrative as well as strengthen further our two countries’ relations,’ Hasina said.
   She expected bilateral trade between Dhaka and Beijing would increase to $5 billion in 2010 from $4.58 billion in 2009.
   The China Council for Promotion of International Trade and Bangladesh embassy in Beijing jointly arranged the reception.
   The director of the Chinese Council for International, Trade Zhang Wei, also spoke at the meeting. Foreign minister Dipu Moni, industries minister Dilip Barua and communications minister Syed Abul Hossain, among others were present.
   The prime minister stressed the need for ‘energetic’ efforts from both Bangladesh and China for increasing exports from Dhaka to Chinese markets in a bid to reduce the huge trade gap.
   Exports from Bangladesh to China are mainly leather, jute goods, chemical fertilisers, shrimps, tea.
   Hasina said though Bangladesh was now China’s third biggest trading partner in South Asia, currently, the trade balance was hugely in favour of China.
   ‘I, therefore, invite you to Bangladesh with the assurance of all possible assistance in your investment ventures,’ she said, adding ‘I hope my call to you would receive your favourable response and thus bring greater prosperity to our neighbourly countries and friendly peoples.’
   The prime minister said scope also exists for joint ventures with buy back arrangements for exports to Europe, and for equity participation in private sector.
   To facilitate bilateral trade and commerce, she said Bangladesh was agreeable to open multi-designations and multi-destinations arrangement for the two airlines.
   Replying to a question, Hasina informed the Chinese business leaders that her government was promoting public-private partnership for maximum flourishing of economy, trade and commerce.
   ‘Bangladesh will be happy if Chinese entrepreneurs come forward and utilise the scopes of public-private partnership by making investment in Bangladesh,’ she said.
   Hasina informed the Chinese entrepreneurs about the facilities and incentives being offered by Bangladesh for attracting foreign investments.
   She said Bangladesh offers immense investment potentials with high return for investors. The investment climate has been made attractive with liberal and fiscal financial policies.
   She mentioned about tax holiday, concessionary duty on imported machinery, avoidance of double taxation, remittance of royalty, technical know how, technical assistance fee, allowing 1005 foreign equity, unrestricted exit policy and full repatriation facilities of dividend and capital on exit.
   Moreover, the prime minister said attractions for foreign investment were the market of 150 million, labour at competitive cost, presence of home-grown entrepreneurs class, existence of a strong legal regime and GSP facilities in Europe and North America.
   In reply to power crisis in Bangladesh, Hasina assured the Chinese investors of uninterrupted power supply for production.
   She said already investors had been urged to invest in power sector and her government was taking measures for gas exploration. The government is also considering increasing power generation through setting up coal-based power plant, she added.
   Hasina told the Chinese entrepreneurs that measures were being taken to generate power through hydroelectricity, wind power plant and solar energy panel.
   She said to facilitate Chinese investment Bangladesh and China had already signed Agreement on Investment Promotion and Protection and Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation.
   As on January 2010, 186 Chinese investment proposals worth $320 million have been registered with Board of Investment.
   The prime minister said at present, 55 Chinese enterprises with proposed investment of $292 million had been invested creating job for over 45,000 Bangladeshis.
   Hasina described China as an economic power to be reckoned with saying that it has solidly weathered the recent worldwide recession, and also helped the world pull out of the crisis.
   She said Bangladesh, as in the past, always welcomed China’s engagement in its development endeavours.
   To encourage imports from Bangladesh, on July 2006, China declared zero tariff access for 84 Bangladeshi items, and preferential access under Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, Hasina noted.
   At the function the prime minister was presented with books and portrait of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
   The prime minister also met with the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, and sought Chinese assistance in facing the challenges posed by climate change.
   She also sought Chinese support to turn Bangladesh into a modern digital nation.
   The Chinese president assured Hasina of continued cooperation to Bangladesh for its socio-economic development.
   The prime minister invited Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao and other Chinese leaders to pay official visits to Bangladesh at mutually convenient time.
   The Chinese leaders expressed their appreciation and accepted the invitation with pleasure.

The Election Commission has asked three political parties to notify the commission about the affiliation with their respective student organisations.
   The EC Thursday issued letters to the political parties in this regard mentioning some press reports and speech of the leaders of the Awami League, the BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami.
   The letters issued from the office of the deputy secretary of the EC secretariat, Jesmin Tuli, was addressed to the general secretaries of the political parties asking them to inform the commission about the press reports immediately.
   It also reminded the political parties of section 90B of the Representation of the People Order (Amendment) Act 2009.
   The section prohibits formation of any organisation or body as its affiliated or associated body consisting to the teachers or students of any educational institution or the employees or labourers of any financial, commercial or industrial institution or establishment or the members of any other profession.
   In the letter sent to the Awami League general secretary, Syed Ashraful Islam, the EC letter said according to the section 25 (1) of the party constitution, the Bangladesh Chhatra League, Mohila League, Krishak League, Juba League, Swechhasevak League, Awami Ainjibi Parishad, Tanti League and Juba Mohila League should be associate organisations of the Awami League which would function as per their own constitution.
   ‘But, recent press report available from various dailies it was found that three Awami League leaders are looking into the organisational activities of Bangladesh Chhatra League, which is contrary to the Awami League’s own constitution,’ the letter said.
   Accordingly, in the letter sent to the BNP secretary general, Khandaker Delwar Hossain, the EC said Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal and Sramik Dal supposed to function according to their own rules. But, recent newspapers report showed that some central BNP leaders are directly involved with the organisations to guide them.
   The EC also mentioned the remarks of the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, made at the founding anniversary function of the JCD at Engineers Institute on February 17, last when she mentioned JCD as a wing of the BNP.
   The EC, in its letter to the secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, said it was appeared from different recent press report that that Islami Chhtra Shibir was directly related to politics and the Jamaat-e-Islami was operating the ICS as one of its organisational wings.
   The EC letter mentioned that amir of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Matiur Rahman Nizami, attended the last working committee meeting of the ICS as the chief guest and the new committee of the ICS was announced in his presence.
   Besides, the statement of some ICS leaders who recently steeped down from the party also came up with the fact that ICS is being operated by the advice of the secretary general of the Jamaat-e-Islami, which is clearly a violation of the registration rules.

The United States has a ‘special responsibility’ to help Iraq address a dire humanitarian crisis that sees huge numbers of displaced Iraqis struggle to survive, an aid group said Wednesday.
   In a report released on the eve of the seventh anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq, Refugees International said 33 per cent — or 500,000 people — of the 1.5 million internally displaced people forced from their homes in 2006 and 2007 ‘live as squatters in slum areas.’
   To compile the report, the group’s staff visited 20 squatter camps around Iraq, all lacking basic services like water and sanitation, and often built in precarious places — under bridges, alongside railroad tracks and atop garbage dumps.
   The Iraqi government is doing little, if anything, to help the displaced, the report said, urging the United States to step in and take up the slack because it ‘bears special responsibility’ for the looming humanitarian crisis.
   ‘Though Iraq is well positioned to generate vast sums of revenue from its oil, it will take many years before the government is able to rebuild the country’s infrastructure and provide basic services to its people,’ the report said.
   ‘Ongoing political and security concerns continue to challenge development efforts. It is thus critical that the US and other donors continue to support a strong and expanded humanitarian program, working hand-in-hand with a variety of community development initiatives.’
   In a Refugees International video clip of some of the camps, children played in front of their family ‘home’ — a rectangle of rusted jerrycans and breeze-blocks, with no roof.
   The landscape bore a grim resemblance to Port-au-Prince after a powerful earthquake devastated the Haitian capital in January, and seemed a far cry from images Westerners are used to seeing of Iraq’s bustling markets and busy streets dotted with US and Iraqi military camouflage uniforms.
   A man with a long white beard and glasses challenged the cameraman to find the front door of his ramshackle home in the Iraqi camp for displaced people.
   ‘There is no door,’ the man said.
   ‘This place isn’t fit for animals.’
   During an event unveiling the report in Washington, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States Samir Sumaidaie said his government needed to do more to help the masses of displaced Iraqis inside and out of the country.
   ‘A country built on a lake of oil shouldn’t have its people in these conditions,’ he said after watching the group’s presentation.
   Violence is rife in the squatter camps in Iraq and in communities of Iraqi refugees in Syria and Jordan, where a total of around two million Iraqis have fled after the war, Jordan’s Queen Noor said.
   Although Iraq’s war violence now rarely makes headlines in US newspapers or dominates television screens, Americans must not lose sight of the ‘injustice and violence that face the displaced men, women and children in Iraq,’ she said.
   Women and girls have been hit particularly hard by the refugee crisis, said the widow of Jordan’s King Hussein.
   Violence against women is on the rise in Iraq’s camps and among refugees in neighbouring host countries. When refugee families run out of money, they sometimes send out their young daughters to work as prostitutes.
   ‘If you know anything about our culture, you’ll know how desperate a situation they are in to do this,’ Noor said, urging the United States and other donor countries to help Iraq or risk the dangerous refugee situation further destabilizing an already volatile Middle East region.
   ‘It is vitally important to understand that this is global humanitarian and security issue,’ Noor said.

India is contemplating a unilateral ‘no-firing’ policy along its border with Bangladesh for one year in order to protect innocent civilian lives.
   The proposal comes against the backdrop of recent border shootings by the Border Security Force of India in which Bangladeshis have been killed or injured.
   The Indian home secretary, GK Pillai, at a joint security conference in the Indian capital on Friday, said New Delhi was considering the proposal of ‘unilateral no firing on the border for a year’.
   The modalities of the move were being worked out, he added.
   Pillai said India’s move was intended to address Bangladesh’s concern over deaths of civilians due to firing along the border between the two countries.
   He added that India was well aware of the fact that death of innocent citizens in cross-fire was a very sensitive issue in the neighbouring country.
   The Indian home secretary was delivering the inaugural lecture at the India-Bangladesh Security Conference jointly organised by the Observer Research Foundation and the Bangladesh Enterprise Institute in New Delhi.
   Pillai did not clarify if the declaration of no-firing would mean a blanket order to the Border Security Force personnel against opening fire along the border with Bangladesh.
   The home secretary also suggested expediting the bilateral process in order to resolve border disputes between the two countries by the end of this year or early next year.
   Bangladesh’s home minister Sahara Khatun told parliament just days before that the government was addressing the killing of innocent Bangladeshis by the Border Security Force.
   Replying to a question, she had said ‘diplomatic initiatives’ were on to reach a permanent solution.
   She mentioned that 14 Bangladeshis had been killed by BSF firing in 2010 so far.
   ‘The government has been trying its utmost to resolve the problem. We want a permanent solution,’ the minister said.
   Sahara also said the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, during her Delhi trip in January discussed border shootings and deaths by the BSF with her Indian counterpart, seeking a halt to loss of civilian lives.
   Director general-level talks also just concluded between the two border forces in New Delhi on March 11 with both sides vowing greater cooperation. The BSF gave full assurances to exercise restraint aimed at preventing loss of innocent lives on the shared borders.

Bangladesh and China have decided to establish a ‘closer comprehensive partnership of cooperation’ from the strategic perspective and on the basis of the principles of longstanding friendship, equality, and mutual benefit.
   A joint statement, issued Friday after prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s talks with Chinese president Hu Jintao and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, said the leaders of the two countries had an in-depth exchange of views and reached agreement on newer directions for taking China-Bangladesh relations forward.
   They also exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual interest and identified areas for collective initiatives to face contemporary global challenges.
   The joint statement said the two sides agreed to intensify cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, transportation and infrastructure development on the basis of mutual benefit.
   The two sides will take active measures to expand bilateral trade and ease trade imbalance. The Chinese side will provide preferential tariff treatment to more Bangladeshi products and continue to boost bilateral investment and trade activities.
   The Bangladesh side will encourage Bangladeshi enterprises to actively participate in the Shanghai World Expo 2010 and other commodity fairs in China to boost Bangladesh’s exports to China.
   The Chinese side expressed its commitment to continue to offer assistance to Bangladesh in support of the economic and social development of Bangladesh.
   The two sides signed the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation, the Framework Agreement on Providing Preferential Loan, the Protocol on Remitting the Bangladesh Interest-free Loan due 2008 and the Exchange of Letters on the Construction of the 7th Bangladesh-China Friendship Bridge at Kajirtek.
   They agreed to intensify efforts for the early start of such further projects as the 8th Friendship Bridge (2nd Meghna Bridge) and the construction of the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre to be undertaken by China.
   The two sides agreed to encourage and support their own enterprises to carry out two-way investment and mutually beneficial cooperation, and provide facilitation for enterprises of both sides in project contracting and labour service cooperation.
   The two prime ministers noted that October 4, 2010 marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and China. They agreed to hold various commemorative activities in Beijing and Dhaka, and take this opportunity to promote and further develop the existing friendly relations between the two countries.
   The two sides agreed to continue to exchange high-level visits, intensify friendly exchanges between government agencies, parliaments, political parties, armed forces, and non-governmental groups of the two countries; promote cooperation at the local government level, and enhance the cooperation mechanisms, including diplomatic consultations, the Joint Economic and Trade Committee and the Joint Agriculture Committee.
   The Bangladesh side welcomed the active involvement of Chinese enterprises in the energy, communication, transportation, industry and infrastructure sectors in Bangladesh.
   The Chinese side would encourage and support capable and reputable Chinese enterprises to explore and carry out investment cooperation in the above-mentioned fields in Bangladesh, and to provide possible facilitation and financing support for mutually agreed cooperation projects.
   The two sides agreed to enhance transport links and, to continue to discuss the possibility of building road and rail links between the two countries.
   The two sides, based on the MoU on Agriculture Cooperation signed in 2005, will actively carry out cooperation in hybrid rice cultivation technology, including hybrid rice seed production technology, agricultural machinery technology, exchange of germ plasm resources of crops, farm products processing and technical personnel training.
   The two sides will enhance exchanges between technical and managerial personnel of agriculture, and further explore specific ways and means of expanding agricultural cooperation.
   The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on water resources management, hydrological data sharing, on flood control and disaster reduction, based on the exchange of letters between the ministries of water resources of the two countries in 2005.
   At the request of the Bangladesh side, the Chinese side agreed to provide assistance for dredging of riverbeds and for capacity building through training of personnel.
   The two sides discussed the need for regular exchange of information and consultation on the use of the water resources of river Yarluzangbu/Brahmaputra to ensure sustainable and mutually beneficial cooperation in this regard.
   The two sides also agreed to examine, in near future, the possibility of setting up an institutional mechanism for such consultations involving all co-riparians.
   The Bangladesh side expressed its desire to launch a communication and remote sensing satellite in orbit in the near future. The Chinese side expressed interest to provide necessary assistance to Bangladesh in this field.
   In commemorating the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the two sides agreed to further widen people-to-people contacts and cultural exchanges and cooperation to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.
   The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Bangladesh-China People’s Friendship Association will jointly host the China-Bangladesh Friendship and Brightness (ophthalmic) trip. A team of Chinese medical experts will visit Bangladesh to offer free medical treatment to the Bangladeshi cataract patients.
   The Chinese side will continue to provide government scholarships to Bangladesh and welcome Bangladeshi students to China for study under other programmes and through other channels.
   At the request of the Bangladesh side, the Chinese side agreed to consider increasing the number of scholarships offered by the Chinese government for Bangladeshi students from 80 to 150 within the next three years.
   The two sides will strengthen exchange and cooperation for capacity building in Chinese language and human resources. At the request of the Bangladesh side, the Chinese side also agreed to consider offering special scholarships for two young Bangladeshi diplomats to undertake a 2-year Masters Degree course at the Foreign Affairs University of China.
   The two sides will actively expand exchanges and cooperation in culture, press, health, sports and tourism and promote contacts between media organizations, think tanks, scholars, friendship groups, women’s groups, cultural troupes, athletes and youths.
   The two sides agreed to consider negotiating and signing a bilateral consular agreement and will conduct consultations in this regard through diplomatic channels.
   The two sides also agreed to set up a bilateral consular consultation mechanism at an appropriate time to jointly discuss visa and other issues of mutual concern. They also agreed to explore measures for easing visa procedures for the genuine businesspersons and tourists.
   The two sides agreed to strengthen exchange and cooperation between the militaries and law enforcement departments at various levels and in various fields to safeguard respective national security and stability and promote peace and stability in the region.
   The Chinese side reiterated its respect for Bangladesh’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and its support for the efforts of Bangladesh to uphold national stability and promote social development.
   The Bangladesh side reiterated its support for the ‘One China Policy’ that the Chinese government is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan and Tibet are inalienable parts of the Chinese territory.
   The Bangladesh side also reiterated its support for China’s efforts in upholding sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.
   The two sides agreed to strengthen communication and coordination in regional cooperation. The Chinese side expressed appreciation for the active efforts made by Bangladesh to promote South Asian regional cooperation.
   The Bangladesh side expressed support for Chinese efforts to enhance cooperation with the SAARC community. The two sides agreed to actively participate in and promote the BCIM regional economic cooperation process.
   The two sides recognised the commonalities and shared perceptions of the two states in international and regional affairs, including the global financial crisis, climate change, energy and food security as well as issues relating to the aspirations and challenges of developing countries.
   The two sides agreed to maintain close coordination and cooperation to uphold the common interests of the two countries as well as that of the developing countries in general.
   The two sides also agreed to hold consultations on climate change at an appropriate time within this year. China will support Bangladesh in enhancing its capability to tackle climate change challenges.

Bangladesh will be hoping that the wicket will offer some assistance to their spinners when they face England in the second Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka from today.
   The Tigers were deceived by the Chittagong wicket in the first Test when they suffered a hammering on the first two days after opting to bowl first hoping for some turn that never happened.
   Coach Jamie Siddons expected the wicket in Dhaka to turn from day one and deteriorate towards the end of game. Siddons, however, confirmed they will not make the same mistakes and will bat if skipper Sakib al Hasan wins the toss.
   The home side retained their four-pronged spin attack led by left-handed Sakib and Abdur Razzak, but made two changes to the squad that played in Chittagong.
   Aftab Ahmed paid the price for his erratic shot selection in the first Test and was replaced by uncapped Jahirul Islam. Team insiders said Sakib played a key role in making the decision that looked obvious after the twin failures of Aftab.
   The other change was, however, a unanimous decision with Shafiul Islam taking the place of Shahadat Hossain, who lost his pace significantly in the recent times and posed no threat for the England batsmen in the first Test.
   England, however, have had some selection dilemma with off-spinner James Tredwell vying for a place as their second spinner. If he plays finally, one of their three quick bowlers will have to make room for him.
   Captain Alastair Cook, however, refused to reveal his plan.
   ‘If we think this (two seamers and two spinners) is the best way to go, we will do that. We’ll look at the wicket and pick a team to win the game,’ Cook told reporters on Friday.
    ‘We’ll consider all options and a second spinner is definitely one of those. It is very un-English though. It’s very unlikely to go out in England with less than three seamers. These are selection decisions that do come up in the sub-continent.’
   The tourists, who have already clinched the one-day series, are keen to complete a double under new captain Alastair Cook following their 181-run victory in the opening Test in Chittagong on Tuesday.
   ‘This is our last away Test before we go to Australia (for the Ashes),’ said Cook. ‘We discussed the issue this week about what it means to play for England and wanting to win, and how big it is to win 2-0.
   ‘We were 1-0 up going into the last Test in South Africa, but didn’t finish the job (in the recent drawn series). We didn’t perform to the standard we had set ourselves on that trip. We don’t want to let the thought of going home distraught with our performances,’ said Cook.
   The match will start at 9:30am.

More than 1.27 lakh out of about 7 lakh students enrolled in Class XI in the 2008–2009 academic session to take the HSC and equivalent exams of 2010 have dropped out.
   Of the total 1,27,844 lakh students who dropped out, 61,796 are female, according to statistics available with the education ministry.
   Under the 10 education boards, 5,71,327 regular students have registered to take the Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent exams scheduled to begin on April 1, but the number of students enrolled in the 2008-2009 session was 6,99,171.
   More than 7.32 lakh students, including more than 1.61 lakh students who failed the HSC exams in one to four years, have registered to take the HSC and equivalent exams this year.
   ‘Early marriage of female students and stipend for female students of higher secondary courses going to wrong hands have been identified by the education ministry as reasons for such a large dropout rate,’ said an education ministry official.
   Some students also failed to pass the HSC qualifying tests and some male students went abroad on job, according to ministry findings.
   Besides, there are a significant number of students, who passed the SSC and equivalent exams with poor GPA, are reluctant to continue with studies further.
   Statistics show 30,096 HSC students dropped out under the Dhaka board, 11, 611 under the Rajshahi board, 10,928 under the Comilla board, 12,834 under the Jessore board, 6,486 students under the Chittagong board, 7,105 under the Barisal board, 2,459 under the Sylhet board, 9,944 under the Dinajpur board.
   Besides, 18,940 students dropped out under the Madrassah Education Board and 17,441 students under the Technical Education Board.
   According to statistics available with the education ministry, more than 4.90 lakh students of Secondary School Certificate and equivalent exams of 2010 that began February 11 and ended in the past week, dropped out for various reasons.

The Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission on Friday shut down all operations of the Ranks Telecom Ltd, brand-named RanksTel, for its alleged involvement in illegal voice over internet protocol business and arrested three of its top executives.
   The arrested officials of RanksTel, a public-switched telephone network operator, are general manager (technical) Kamruzzaman, deputy general manager (sales and customer services) Karim Iqbal Bhuiyan and deputy general manager (technical) Mominur Rahman Chowdhury, according to BTRC officials.
   BTRC sources said the arrested were handed over to the Tejgaon police but both the police stations of the area said at 10:30 they were yet to arrest anyone in this connection.
   The commission chairman, retired major general Zia Ahmed, told New Age, ‘Our officials raided the company’s headquarters at Novo Tower in the Tejgaon industrial area and seized a server.’
   ‘We found a difference of at least 11,80,455 minutes between the total calls of Monday and Tuesday,’ he said.
   The Rapid Action Battalion assisted the BTRC officials during the raid, from Thursday 2:00pm to Friday 9:00am.
   Terming the raid ‘unfortunate,’ a RanksTel executive alleged three of their top managers had been arrested when the BTRC officials failed to prove the company’s involvement in illegal VoIP business.
   Ranks Telecom, the second largest PSTN operator after the state-owned Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd, is a member of the Rangs Group, and it launched its wireless phone services on April 14, 2005.
   Thirteen PSTN operators in Bangladesh had 16,92,777 subscribers at the end of January and RanksTel had 2,88,272 subscribers.
   A RanksTel executive challenged the BTRC authority to shut down the office and its operation. ‘Does the commission have the right to shut down operation, creating problems for thousands of our subscribers?’
   ‘We have important subscribers such as hospitals, corporate offices and banks, and they will all suffer because of the commission’s high-handedness,’ he said.
   An office bearer of the Association of PSTN Operators of Bangladesh told New Age the raid was caused by the recent comment of the BNP’s chief whip Zainul Abdin Farroque, who had alleged that the prime minister’s son, Sajib Wazed Joy, controlled illegal call termination business by using VoIP from the United States and Canada.
   The commission, in its ongoing operation against illegal VoIP and internet service business, on March 15 detained five executives of private land phone operator Dhaka Phone, including its chairman and general manager, on charges of providing illegal VoIP services. The company has about 75,465 subscribers.
   On March 17, the commission reportedly unearthed evidence of illegal VoIP operation by private land phone operator WorldTel Bangladesh, which had 14,261 subscribers in January.
   The commission on Tuesday night raided WorldTel Bangladesh’s switch room at Madhya Badda in Dhaka.
   ‘We do not want any established and reputed companies to be involved in any illegal business,’ said the commission chairman. ‘After I took office, at least 58 drives were launched against illegal VoIP and ISP business.’

The number of gibbons, listed as the most endangered species of primate in Bangladesh, has plunged from 3,000 to just 300 over the last two decades, wildlife experts say, while the existing population is at grave risk from continuing loss of their forest habitat.
   Experts believe gibbons, a highly social species of small ape that attract people with their exceptional look and behaviour, may disappear from Bangladesh altogether.
   The gibbon, recognised as at risk around the world, is the most endangered species in Bangladesh. Experts say eight species of apes and monkeys are at peril from habitat loss and climate change. The gibbon is the most endangered among these eight.
   Despite this, no government or non-government surveys have ever been undertaken to determine their exact population in Bangladesh.
   However, forest department conservator Tapan Kumar Dey told bdnews24.com that wildlife officials estimate there are just 200 to 300 gibbons remaining at present throughout the country.
   According to the forest department and Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh, gibbons are found mostly in the forests of greater Sylhet in the northeast and the Chittagong Hill Tracts in the southeast of Bangladesh — and also in India, Myanmar and China.
   Professor Md Anwarul Islam, executive chairman of the WTB, said on Thursday that the number of gibbons had fallen from 3,000 to 300 in 20 years.
   He said the main reasons were disappearing habitat and scarcity of food, and expressed concern that the small number of still surviving gibbons might soon be extinct.
   ‘Gibbons are totally depended on trees for their food and shelter. Their way of life is hampered if even parts of the forest in which they live become tree-less as they move around the forest through the treetops.’
   The small apes with exceptionally long arms are masters of their primary mode of locomotion, brachiation, or swinging from branch to branch, at speeds as high as 56km/h (35 mph). They can also make leaps of up to 8m (26 ft), and walk with their arms raised for balance.
   They are the fastest and most agile of all tree-dwelling, non-flying mammals.
   Gibbons are active during the daytime. They sleep in the high branches of trees and eat mainly fruit. They also like green leaves, flowers and insects.
   Female gibbons give birth to offspring every three years in the winter season. The white male babies gradually turn black as they become older, at 6-7 years, while the females are a lighter colour.
   Islam said about 50 gibbons live in the Lauachhara forest in Sylhet and another 80 to 90 live in the Kaptai National Park.
   But in other areas, these unique animals are being divided into much smaller groups, through habitat loss, which threatens their ability to survive.

Anti-government protesters on Friday rejected a conditional offer of talks by Thailand’s premier, saying they would not give up their struggle until they had toppled his administration.
   The ‘Red Shirts’ rallied for a sixth day in support of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with leaders of the dwindling Bangkok protest vowing there would be no negotiations until the dissolution of the lower house.
   ‘I am willing to talk but it should not be under this climate of intimidation,’ the prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said in an interview on an army-run national television channel.
   But leaders of the largely rural-based Red Shirts said they would hound Abhisit until he bows to their demands, beseeching supporters at the rally to remain and calling for a class war.
   ‘The Red Shirts are not refusing to negotiate but the prime minister has to dissolve the house first and all parties have to sign a pact saying they will respect the result of elections so the country can move ahead,’ Red Shirt leader Jatuporn Prompan told the crowd.
   Abhisit said he had not been able to return home to see his family since the rally began, as he and other members of his army-backed government have been holed up at a military barracks over security fears.
   The protesters picketed the army base on Monday and on Wednesday they threw bags of their own blood at the walls of his family home after staging the same stunt at his office gates a day earlier.
   Police said about 18,000 red-clad protesters remained on Thursday during the rally’s evening peak, less than a fifth of the number who turned out nearly a week ago when the group swept into the capital to call for snap elections.
   Bangkok and surrounding provinces remain under a strict security clampdown for the so-far peaceful rally, with a 50,000-strong force of soldiers and police on the streets.
   Protest reinforcements are expected to travel into Bangkok on Saturday to join a convoy around the capital in a bid to garner more support from city residents and spread their anti-elitist message.
   A military official said up to 30,000 more Red Shirts were expected to arrive and police have said they have prepared for the predicted traffic chaos.
   The protesters, whose numbers reached more than 100,000 when the rally began on Sunday, say Abhisit’s government is illegitimate because it came to power with army backing via a December 2008 parliamentary vote, after a controversial court ruling removed Thaksin’s allies.
   The next polls must be held by December 2011.
   The Reds say they
   are fighting Thailand’s privileged elites in bureaucratic, military and palace circles, whom they accuse of ousting elected governments.
   Twice-elected Thaksin, who was deposed in a coup in 2006, has been egging on his supporters via videolink and online postings from exile, as he avoids a two-year jail term for corruption at home.

Afghanistan is the hardest place in the world to be a child, the South Asia regional director for UNICEF said, with high child mortality rates, poor levels of nutrition and rampant sexual abuse.
   ‘The situation in Afghanistan as a whole is one of the most dramatic in South Asia and also in the world. Afghanistan is the most difficult place to be born as a child,’ Daniel Toole said on a visit to Afghanistan this week.
   ‘If I could take one challenge, it’s survival.’
   Three decades of war and a worsening insurgency have made it ever tougher for an Afghan child just to survive, Toole said during a visit aimed at highlighting what UNICEF calls the worst conditions for children on earth.
   One of the girls he had just met in a woman’s shelter was only nine years old when she was forced to marry a total stranger. Another was just 11.
   More than a quarter of Afghan children — 257 out of 1,000 — will die before they reach their fifth birthday and 165 out of every 1,000 will die in the first year of their lives, more than any place in the world, according to UNICEF data from 2008.
   Afghanistan also has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world after Sierra Leone, with 1,800 women per 100,000 live births dying during child birth, according to UNICEF estimates from 2005.
   ‘On top of that, we overlay the conflict, and so children are being displaced, their food production has been disrupted, so the chances of being yet further endangered by the security situation ... make it that much more dramatic,’ said Toole.
   Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst levels since a US-led invasion in late 2001 overthrew the Taliban. Since then, intense fighting between insurgents and foreign and Afghan troops has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes.
   An increasing number of children are also fleeing across Afghanistan’s borders, said Toole, with many turning up as far away as Western Europe without their parents.
   Last April, 24 Afghan children aged between 14 and 16 were found living on a sidewalk of a railway station in Rome. The Save the Children aid group said Afghan children now made up one of the biggest groups of unaccompanied minors in the city.
   Other major problems facing children in Afghanistan, particularly girls, said Toole, is underage marriage and sexual abuse. Forty-three percent of girls aged 20-24 were married before they were 18, according to UNICEF figures from 2009.
   Girls are often married against their will to men more than twice their age and are forced to have sex with their husbands before they reach puberty.
   Toole described a visit he made to a women’s shelter supported by UNICEF in the western city of Herat. The shelter is the only place in the city where girls who have been sexually abused or married at a young age can seek refuge.

The BNP leaders at a press conference on Friday said that the government had not allowed them to hold a divisional grand rally at the Outer Stadium of the city on March 27 as part of its conspiracy against the party.
   ‘We will hold the grand rally at the Laldighi Maidan on March 29 to avoid confrontation as BNP is a democratic party,’ said Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury, president of the BNP’s city unit, while reading out a written statement.
   Khasru, a former minister, said that they had wanted to hold the rally on March 27 as former President Ziaur Rahman had proclaimed the independence of the country from Chittagong on that day in 1971, but had failed to do so because of the government’s conspiracy.
   He also said that the Chittagong City Corporation had reserved the Outer Stadium for March 27; however, the administration had not allotted the venue to them when they agreed to hold the rally on March 29.
   He said that Khaleda Zia, the party’s chairperson, would announce an agitation programme in protest against the conspiracy centring on the Chittagong Port, turmoil in the hill tracts, failure of the government to ensure security of the people, threat against the independence and sovereignty of the country, perversion of history, and extortion and tender manipulation by members of the Awami League and its front organisations.
   BNP district (south) unit’s president Zafrul Islam Chowdhury MP, district (north) unit’s president Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury, former whip Syed Wahidul Alam, city unit’s general secretary Dr Shahadat Hossain, Professor Kamaluddin Chowdhury, Dastagir Chowdhury and SM Fazlul Huq were present, along with others, at the press conference in the Chittagong Press Club’s auditorium.

At least seven motor workshop workers sustained burn injuries and three-passenger buses were burnt after a gas cylinder explosion at the workshop at Bahaddarhat bus terminal under Chandgaon thana in Chittagong Friday.
   The injured persons were workshop technician Asharf Ali, 35, his assistances Tohidul Islam, 22, Ali Hossain, 20, Yousuf,25, Uttom Das, 20, Ruhul Amin,25 and Mahfuz,18.
   All the injured are the workers of Shah Amanat Motor Workshop in Bahaddarhat Bus terminal area. They are undergoing treatment at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
   But the condition of Ali Hossain and Ruhul Amin was stated to be critical.

A schoolboy was killed when his bicycle was hit by a human hauler at village Notidanga under Alamdanga upazila in Chuadanga Thursday night.
   The deceased was identified as Shojeeb, 11, son of one Abdur Razzak of the village. He was a Cass III student of Notidanga Government Primary School.
   The police, quoting the victim’s family’ said a human hauler had dashed the bicycle of Shojeeb when was returning to his residence.
   Seriously injured Shojeeb was rushed to the Chuadanga General Hospital where on-duty doctors declared him dead.