Bangladesh and India yesterday expressed firm optimism about signing of an interim agreement on water sharing of the common rivers Teesta and Feni, and a framework deal on land border during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka on September 6-7.Analysts and businessmen hope more Indian investments will flow into Bangladesh with the ratification of the agreement on promotion and protection of investments.All outstanding issues between Dhaka and New Delhi are expected to be resolved before the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh.The government is ready to sit with the opposition at any place--in or outside parliament--for a consensus over how to ensure a free and fair general election, ruling Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said yesterday.Law enforcers arrested dozens of opposition men, and mobile courts jailed several persons for disrupting public life across the country yesterday, the second day of the 48-hour countrywide hartal.Home Minister Sahara Khatun in parliament yesterday held Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and some other BNP lawmakers responsible for Wednesday's police assault on Farroque.The World Bank has finally given the go ahead for the Padma bridge construction tender process with five pre-qualified firms, communications ministry officials said.Despite having the approval of carrying 50 passengers, MV Madinar Alo that capsized in Shitalakhhya on Wednesday evening was carrying around 200.The government will award former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi posthumously for her "tremendous support" to the Liberation War, 1971.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday in parliament said the government will further strengthen the Election Commission to hold free and fair parliamentary polls.Ending her grim battle for life, dowry victim Shazia Begum succumbed to her burn injuries yesterday, four days after both her children had met the same fate in a classic example of human brutalities.The government is going to tighten visits of Bangladeshis to Malaysia following allegations about some jobseekers leaving for Kuala Lumpur as students and tourists to take advantage of an amnesty to the undocumented expatriate workers.Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday urged the government to immediately implement the High Court directives on ensuring that no extra-judicial punishments are given in the name of fatwa (religious edict) and social arbitration.A person or entity will be considered as a terrorist if the person or entity harms or helps harm another country while staying in Bangladesh, says a draft proposal aimed at bring changes to the Anti Terrorism Act, 2009.Two pirates, whose eyes were gouged out by a mob on Wednesday at Char Kukrimukri in Bhola district, died overnight at the local upazila health complex while police nabbed five more pirates from the area yesterday.A court here yesterday placed Khachu Marma, the prime accused in two cases for killing three people and setting houses afire in Ramgarh in April, on a three-day remand.Media mogul Rupert Murdoch dramatically ordered the closure of the News of the World tabloid yesterday as a spiralling scandal over illegal phone hacking threatened to taint the rest of his business empire.Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi yesterday said that Uttar Pradesh was being run by dalals (touts).VIEW THE PAGEEditorial
The way police last Wednesday pounced on the opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and beat him up mercilessly during hartal was most reprehensible.The furore arising over allegations of sexual assault on a female student by a teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College is of deep concern to citizens. One of course heaves a sigh of relief now that the alleged perpetrator of the crime, Porimol Joydhor, has been taken into custody. But the damage the incident has done to his victim and her family as well as to the reputation of the school itself is incalculable. And yet all this ugly publicity of the incident and a consequent fraying of the school's reputation could have been averted had the school authorities taken action immediately after the student in question and her schoolmates had filed a complaint with the head of the institution's Bashundhara branch.VIEW THE PAGESports
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club will be looking to put their league's match-fixing allegation behind them and prove themselves out on the pitch when the Bangladesh League champions face Brothers Union in the opening match of the Grameenphone Super Cup today.The lack of match practice can be an issue for the Tigers when they will make their return to Test cricket against Zimbabwe in August after more than a year's break.South Africa's Oscar Pistorius, the famed "Blade Runner", has only 12 days left to get the all-important qualification time that would allow him to compete in the world championships later this month.Seasonal rain washed away a large chunk of play, after Ishant Sharma helped India make early inroads into the frail West Indies batting in the third Test on Wednesday at Test cricket's newest outpost, Windsor Park in Dominica.Indian paceman Ishant Sharma on Thursday credited his return to form in the West Indies to him concentrating on bowling fast and not trying to copy the action of teammate Zaheer Khan.Misbahul Haq, the Pakistan captain, has come out in support of the ICC's decision to make the Decision Review System (DRS) mandatory in Tests and ODIs, saying the technology eases the pressure on the umpires. Misbah said he found the system to be useful whenever Pakistan have used it, including during the World Cup.Glenn McGrath's first two years in Test cricket were not much to write home about, averaging as he did in the 40s with the ball. It would have been far-fetched in the extreme to think that he would one day rival the one and only Dennis Lillee for the title of Australia's all-time greatest fast bowler.After a three-year gap, the JFA (Japan Football Association) Cup U-15 football tournament gets underway from Saturday with matches in eight venues across the country.Bahrain secured first and second places in the both men's and women's 10,000-metres on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships on Thursday.Europa Youth took the solo lead in the Citycell Premier Division Basketball League with a 113-50 win over Dhumketu in their penultimate match at the Dhanmondi Basketball Gymnasium on Wednesday.The Sixth Ascent Corporate five-a-side Soccer Cup gets underway from today at the Scholastica STM hall with a record number of corporate houses taking part.South Korea savoured success Thursday in its eight-year campaign to host the Winter Olympics, a victory which brings the event to Asia for only the third time in its history.The future of Brazil starlet Neymar is to be left on hold until after the Copa America opener amid rumours linking him with a move to Spain or England, media reports said Wednesday.England captain Alastair Cook's unbeaten 95 completed his side's crushing 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international at Trent Bridge here on Wednesday.Argentina on Wednesday failed to make up for their disappointing opening draw against Bolivia when they could only manage another stalemate against Colombia, compromising their bid to reach the Copa America quarterfinals.Dark horses Uruguay, thwarted by Peru, say they must go for the jugular as they come up against Group C pacesetters Chile on Friday.Manchester United defender John O'Shea is set to join teammate Wes Brown at Premier League rivals Sunderland, press reports said on Thursday.Brazil's Robinho appears to be fighting for a starting place as coach Mano Menezes ponders his options for Saturday's Copa America showdown with Paraguay.Football's governing body FIFA banned North Korean defenders Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim on Thursday after they failed a doping test.The fifth and final one-day international between India and England in October has been brought forward by a day due to a local festival, the Indian cricket board said in a statement on Thursday.Usain Bolt will be seeking to further hone his technique ahead of the world championships in South Korea later this month when he races the 200m at the Diamond League meeting here on Friday.Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has signed with new Tasmanian franchise Hobart Hurricanes for the Twenty20 Big Bash League, Cricket Tasmania said on Thursday.VIEW THE PAGEBusiness
Digitisation is the fear factor for corrupt and unskilled government officials. When the process of digitisation will ensure free flow of information, corruption will go away and that would be possible by the blessings of information technology, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.Bangladesh hopes to get duty-free access for long-awaited 61 products to Indian markets during the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh in early September, said Commerce Minister Faruk Khan yesterday.The government has again suspended the licence of BD Sea Foods Ltd on charges of exporting to Europe using forged certificates and seal of the Department of Fisheries (DoF), a senior official of the fisheries and livestock ministry said yesterday.Turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange hit a four-month high yesterday as investors went for fresh buying to offset their previous losses amid a 48-hour countrywide shutdown.The manufacture of low-priced laptops kicks off today in Bangladesh, Telecoms Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju said in parliament.BRAC Bank has recently organised an 'SME Night' to express gratitude to its customers as the bank celebrates its 10th anniversary.Interfab Shirt Manufacturing Ltd, a concern of leading garment maker Viyellatex Group, has signed an agreement with German brand Olymp to supply two million pieces of shirts in one year, said a top official of the group yesterday.Up to 140,000 Philippine workers could lose their jobs in Saudi Arabia due to a domestic helper ban and a programme to compel firms to employ more locals, the Filipino labour minister said Thursday.Shares of India's only listed lender to the poor, SKS, soared on Thursday after the government proposed new legislation to tighten regulation of the embattled microfinance industry.The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development accused ratings agencies on Thursday of aggravating the eurozone debt crisis by creating "self-realising prophesies."Greek inflation was flat at 3.3 percent in June on a 12-month basis, official data showed on Thursday.M Abul Kashem has been appointed as the fourth deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.Star Business yesterday printed on this page a picture of Saif Powertec at BIG Expo 2011 held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Wednesday. The picture was wrongly placed with a news item, headlined “Digital innovation on show”. The caption -- again wrongly -- carried information about "Digital Innovation Fair 2011" that took place at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre in the capital the same day. We regret the mistakes.We bring out today four pages instead of our regular eight, as business slowed for the last two days due to a countrywide shutdown. Stock pages have been trimmed down to one.VIEW THE PAGEMetropolitan
The new survey team could not start survey on Sylhet-Meghalaya border for the 2nd day yesterday in the face of agitation by local people who fear that their lands will be handed over to the Indians.The government is committed to hold trials of war criminals, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko even if BNP enforces hartal or resorts to vandalism, said Awami League (AL) General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday.Students of the Asian University for Women (AUW) yesterday demonstrated on the campus demanding immediate withdrawal of expulsion of their 12 fellows.A Dhaka court yesterday placed Porimol Joydhor, a sacked teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, on a five-day remand to learn if anybody else were behind his violating a class X student on June 17.With his luggage in four trolleys, migrant worker Mohammad Hanif was being stranded for two and a half hours at Shahjalal International Airport since he landed at 1:00pm there.Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna yesterday said India attaches highest importance to the relationship with Bangladesh.Scomi International, a joint venture company of Malaysia and India, has expressed interest to set up monorails in the capital Dhaka and in the port city of Chittagong under Public Private Partnership (PPP).A ward level Awami League leader was killed after being hit by a bus yesterday in the capital's Pallabi.Three people were killed and seven others injured in separate road accidents in Dinajpur, Brahmanbaria and Thakurgaon on Wednesday and yesterday.The Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday posted four additional deputy inspectors general (Adl DIG's) of police and transferred 10 superintendents of police (SP) to new places.Three youths including a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) were severely beaten allegedly by some locals of Chandantula area in Ward Number 17 in Sylhet on Wednesday.Bangladesh Ambassador to the US Akramul Qader has said e-governance can serve as a strategic tool in attaining goals of democratic-institution building.Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Ahmed Ataul Hakeem yesterday handed over annual audit report on spending from the state coffers to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.Supreme Court Bar Association president (SCBA) Khandker Mahbub Hossain yesterday blamed Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed for the current restive political situation in the country.The missing assistant inspector of Department of Explosives, Chittagong who slipped and fell into the Bay while boarding a scrap ship on Wednesday morning is still to be found till filing of this report yesterday afternoon.A housewife, her mother and her sister were tortured allegedly by her husband over dowry at Nagarkonda village of Savar on the outskirts of the city yesterday.Namaz-e-janaza of Sultana Ayesha Rouf, wife of former chief election commissioner Justice Mohammad Abdur Rouf, will be held at Gausul Azam Jame Mosque at Mohakhali in the city after Juma prayers today.A number of organisations and 1001 teachers of different private and public universities yesterday condemned the police assault on Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque Wednesday, the first day of BNP-led alliance's 48-hour hartal.The divisional committee on hill management here yesterday directed owners of 12 hills of Chittagong city posing a risk of landslide to make a list of people living on the hill slopes in 15 days.Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna yesterday visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.Golam Mahbub, senior officer of local office of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, passed away at Labaid Hospital in the city on July 4 due to cancer at the age of 34, says a press release.Md Mosleh Uddin, assistant officer of Lakshmipur branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, passed away at Delta Cancer Hospital in the city on July 3 due to cancer at the age of 28, says a press release.Today is the fifth death anniversary of Farid Uddin Ahmed, a former additional secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, says a press release.VIEW THE PAGENational
Erosion by river Teesta took a serious turn devouring homesteads and croplands in six villages of three unions under Sadar and Hatibandha upazilas in the last 4-5 days.At least 90 people were injured in post-UP poll violence in Brahmanbaria, Jessore and Gopalganj districts yesterday and on Wednesday night.The countrywide hartal enforced by BNP during the last two days meant untold sufferings for around 200 people who reached the customs check post at Burimari land port in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district to enter Bangladesh from India.A woman and her daughter drowned as a trawler capsized in Garai River in Shailkupa upazila of Jhenidah district yesterday afternoon.Pro-hartal BNP activists set fire to a mango-laden truck and injured two mango traders and the truck driver at Tebaria on Natore-Dhaka highway in Natore Sadar upazila Wednesday midnight.A court here yesterday sentenced a man to death for killing his wife in 2007. The convict, Jamil Sheikh, 25, is son of Nijamuddin Sheikh of Belkalua village in Kumarkhali upazila. According to prosecution story, Jamil used to torture his wife Fulmoti for dowry since their marriage. He strangled her on May 24, 2007. Victim's father filed a murder case against Jamil under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. After examining the records and witnesses, Judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Md Akbar Hossain Mridha pronounced the verdict.At least 50 people were injured, 10 of them seriously, in a clash between two groups of people over establishing supremacy at Mathpara village under Rajoir upazila on Wednesday. Following a scuffle between two villagers named Rezaul Karim and Alamgir Sheikh, their supporters equipped with lethal weapons attacked each others, leaving 50 people from both sides injured. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. The injured were admitted to Rajoir Upazila Health Complex.Police arrested a youth with a revolver and five bullets from Kathalbaria area in the town on Wednesday night. The arrestee, Sultan Mahmud, 24, is son of Taiyub Ali of Ulipur village under Junaidanga upazila of Kurigram. Locals caught Sultan with the revolver when he was moving suspiciously in the area. Being informed, police rushed to the spot and arrested him.Police arrested two robbers and recovered two firearms and ammunition from their possession in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district early yesterday. Acting on a tip-off, police raided Jhorpara Primary School where a gang of robbers were holding a meeting at around 1:30am. They arrested two of the gang named Abdul Kalam, 32, and Abdul Momin, 28, while the rest managed to flee. Contacted, Officer-in-Charge of Gangni Police Station M Motiar said Kalam and Momin are accused in two cases, one for robbery and the other for extortion. The robbers were yesterday produced in a judicial magistrate's court that sent them to jail.A former union parishad (UP) chairman, also a BNP leader, was injured as party rivals attacked him in Masumdia Sluice Gate area of Bera upazila yesterday, police said Shamsur Rahman, immediate past chairman of Masumdia UP, came under attack while he was coming to the area in the afternoon. He was admitted to Pabna Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.VIEW THE PAGELetters
Petra Kvitova is a difficult name to pronounce and if you are a critic, your criticism of the new Wimbledon Ladies' Champion will struggle to go beyond that. The 21-year-old athlete from Czech Republic has the most amazing tennis skills. Her unusually accurate forehands and the ability to hit the widest angels of the court remind us another Great of the bygone era, John McEnroe. Her opponent of the day, Maria Sharapova was completely confused by the long and accurate returns that the new winner inflicted on the Russian's usual long serves. Apart from a brief period at the early phase of the 2nd set, Sharapova had no answer to the relentless accuracy of theDhaka University celebrated its 90th anniversary recently, which is good news. But I think Dhaka University authorities and teachers should be more concerned about publishing results in time, preventing session jam and political chaos in the campus. They should emphasize more on quality of education. As the university is an asset of the country, the government and all political parties should be concerned about its well-being.Domestic violence is a matter of grave concern that needs to be handled with strict law. Every day we are alarmed to hear the gruesome deeds of torture and physical abuse by the husbands on their wives. The recent story is that of Rumana. The assaulters remain frivolous about their inhuman behaviour just to satiate their perverse frustrations on thousands of unaccountable reasons or simply to show that they are IN CONTROL. Most importantly, they feel some form of satisfaction that they can get away with anything as the law enforcers can never touch them. It is indeed extremely shameful for the government and for us as well that we let these criminals go unpunished.Following the intense pressure from the United States and Israel, Greece has announced that they will prevent the sailing of Freedom Flotilla II. To date Israel has breached more than 69 resolutions of UN. It has more than 20,000 political prisoners, has killed more innocent civilians than any other country, has rendered more civilians handicapped. On top of that, it has continued building the Apartheid Wall, destroyed 350 mosques and churches and has got 468,831 new settlers on an occupied land. Do our media substantially accentuate all this info enough? It's time we woke up and raised our voices for Palestine.There are many people who cross the road when the signal is green and the vehicles are moving. This increases the risk of accident and for the bike riders the incident may turn out to be a nightmare. Accident occurs mostly during haphazard passing of the roads by the pedestrians. The footpaths are occupied, and so people are forced to walk through the road creating obstacles to the vehicles. This compels the vehicles to slow down their speed wasting the valuable time of the commuters.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina travelled to Switzerland and Canada to attend two conferences recently. Whereas other nations never send their heads of state to such visits, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally attended those conferences costing Bangladeshi taxpayers a huge amount of money. Our Environment Minister and Health Minister could have represented our country in those events successfully.The landslide in Batali hill early in the morning on 1st July killed 17 people who could not arrange shelters in other places except for the bottom of the hill. Last year we also observed such mass killing by landslides in Chittagong. It is a common phenomenon in the hills but we have not done anything so far. The hills of Bangladesh are composed of soft earth, so when it rains for several hours landslide occurs. A TV channel has reported on 2nd July that at the bottom of 15 hills in Chittagong metropolis thousands of poor people are living with high risk of devastating landslides. Bangladesh is basically a country of plain land other than a part of Chittagong division and some areas of Sylhet division. But the weather, crop and culture are similar throughout the country. So, the government can consider erasing at least the 15 hills at Chittagong metropolis on urgent basis to save the valuable lives of poor Bangladeshis living at the bottom of those hills.Dhanmondi has become an area infested with educational institutions and private universities, which has not only created nuisance in the area, but also filled the hearts of the residents with terror as road rage has become a common phenomenon in the area. More and more youths are losing their lives as they indulge in this dangerous pastime. The police are at the receiving end for the failure in strict enforcement of laws to curb the menace. When you walk out of your home you will see the youths riding their bikes at least at 100- 120 km whizzing past you. You will also find some learners riding the bikes at highest speed. The police are tired of constantly devising new plans to deal with the issue as their every attempt to impart awareness among the bikers has fallen flat. Road no 4/A is a real threat to pedestrians during evening.Laylatul Bara'ah or Shab-e-Baraat is a very majestic night for the Muslims. Both the Arabic word 'Laylatul' and the Persian word 'Shab' mean night. And 'Barat' means freedom, relief etc. The preceding night of the 15th day of the month Shaban (a month of Islamic lunar calendar) is known as Laylatul Bara'ah or Shab-e-Barat. The almighty Allah accepts the prayers of this night. All sins are pardoned by Him this night. The month Shaban comes to us with the message of the arrival of the upcoming glorious month Ramadan. The great prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave priority on the prayers of this night. The Muslims offer the prayers of Shab-e-Barat to be free from all sins and be graced by the Almighty. May Allah give us the opportunity to lead a pleasant life on earth and in the hereafter!We can just sit back and watch the mayhem going on which has erupted from the political unrest centering the caretaker government issue. People were suffering from acute shortage of electricity, gas and water; spiralling prices of essentials and criminal activities. The government, instead of solving the existing problems, added another one, which is so unjust and objectionable that the country has been jolted by the impact. People have become stupefied by the government's decision to abolish the caretaker government system. Why has the government done it, knowing very well the consequences of this wrong decision? The move is despicable; the government has disclosed how afraid it has become of losing the next general election. We urge the government to change its decision of scraping the caretaker government system and save the people from further distress.Readers' instant comments on The Daily Star Online reports. Log on to thedailystar.net to leave your comments.VIEW THE PAGEInternational
A senior Libyan official yesterday accused Nato of intensifying its bombing campaign and backing foreign mercenaries to lay the groundwork for an advance by rebels trying to topple Muammar Gaddafi's regime.South Sudan's legislative assembly has ratified the nation-in-waiting's new constitution, the information minister said yesterday, denying that it put too much power in the president's hands.A second Indian cabinet member resigned yesterday over allegations of corruption within government, dealing another blow to embattled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.Up to 33 police and five civilians were killed in fighting after Taliban crossed over from Pakistan and attacked a remote region in eastern Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday.Days after Thailand voted for a new government led by the country's first woman prime minister, a determined doctor with a knack for rallying crowds is pursuing legal action to bring her down.The architect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program claims North Korea paid bribes to senior Pakistani military officials in return for nuclear secrets in the 1990s, the Washington Post said Wednesday.The world is on course to miss United Nations hunger reduction targets set in 2000, despite successes in curbing extreme poverty, a UN report said yesterday.China's official media yesterday strongly denied the reports claiming former president Jiang Zemin had died after days of intense speculation about his health.Yemen's acting leader has put forward a new plan to end the country's political stalemate, which would keep President Ali Abdullah Saleh in power longer than outlined in earlier initiatives, an opposition source said yesterday.At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 injured when armed men opened fire on two buses in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, officials said.A young man carrying a revolver was detained yesterday while trying to move close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his padayatra to Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.Thirty-eight people were killed and more than 30 were injured yesterday when a train slammed into a packed bus carrying a marriage party in northern India, local government officials said.Up to 13 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in a Nato air strike yesterday in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, provincial police chief Mohamad Zazai said.UN chief Ban Ki-moon called yesterday on the Syrian regime to stop the killings in its crackdown on anti-government protests, stressing that "we cannot go on like this."Canada ended its combat mission in Afghanistan yesterday, closing the curtain after nine years and the death of 157 men, saying it was "extremely proud" of gains made against the Taliban.Nearly 70 miners were trapped underground and at least eight have died in a spate of mining accidents that have jolted China's dangerous mine industry in recent days, state media reported yesterday.Two prominent Kremlin critics said yesterday they had been barred from leaving Russia over a pamphlet attacking a billionaire gas trader and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Former minister Boris Nemtsov and his political ally Vladimir Milov said they had learned of the decision by telephone Wednesday while attending a human rights panel in Brussels.Lebanon's government won a vote of confidence in parliament yesterday, as the prime minister vowed his cabinet would cooperate with a UN-backed court charging Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.Belarussian authorities arrested about 400 people in the latest country-wide opposition protests against President Alexander Lukashenko's regime, rights group Vyasna said yesterday.Malaysian police yesterday shot in the head a man who took 30 pre-school children and four teachers hostage at a kindergarten, ending a dramatic seven-hour standoff.Part of the roof of the FC Twente football stadium in the eastern Netherlands collapsed yesterday during building alterations, killing one person and injuring 14 others, a city official said.Armed officers arrested a suspected Basque separatist in Britain yesterday in connection with an attempt to assassinate Spain's King Juan Carlos in 1997, police said.Lebanon's government won a vote of confidence in parliament yesterday, as the prime minister vowed his cabinet would cooperate with a UN-backed court charging Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.VIEW THE PAGEArts & Entertainment
The phone at Star Arts & Entertainment started ringing off the hook before 3pm (the scheduled time). During the course of an hour, we received calls from almost all divisions. Majority of the callers were young men and the query from many of them: is the glamorous actress Sumaiya Shimu single? However, Shimu's popularity can't be justified by her looks alone; over the years the petite actress has demonstrated her acting chops in several plays and serials. Excerpts from Shimu's conversations with her fans:A solo Raku exhibition, titled “Contemporary Artefacts”, is on at the Zainul Gallery, Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), University of Dhaka. The exhibition features works of artist Ashim Halder Sagor. This is Sagor's 2nd solo Raku exhibition.Filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki recently signed a deal with German producer Christoph Thoke for his upcoming feature film “Television”. Christoph -- who is most notable for producing Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's (Dardenne brothers) art-house feature “Lorna's Silence” in 2008 -- will join a list of local producers including the director himself and Star Cineplex for the film.Mani Kaul, one of the pioneers of art house Indian cinema, died of cancer on Wednesday in Delhi. He was 66.A Pablo Picasso drawing, thought to be worth £100,000 has been stolen from an art gallery in San Francisco.7th International Inter University Photography Exhibition (IIUPE) by the North South University Photographic Society (NSUPC) begins today at Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi, says a press release.Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Goethe-Institut in Dhanmondi, Dhaka has been rescheduled, according to the organisers.The recent behaviours of some teachers in our society are ruining the reputation of this noble profession. A couple of days back, another incident took place where a student of class X of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College was sexually assaulted by a teacher named Porimol Joydhor. We should take proper steps to stop this crime; otherwise it will spread like an epidemic in our society. I earnestly request the Honourable PM and the Home Minister to look into the matter and instruct the law enforcing agencies to investigate the matter immediately and give the scoundrel capital punishment.VIEW THE PAGEOP-ED
Our finance minister said during a post-budget press briefing that black money accounts for as much as 48 to 82 percent of the country's economy. His estimate is on a wide range because it is apparently based on the lower and upper limits of three separate studies. If we take the average then black money roughly controls 65 percent of the economy. That much of our economic activities are in the hands of people with dubious means.A number of dignitaries from our big neighbour are visiting Bangladesh, probably to sign a few deals, transit through Bangladesh being the prominent one. Indeed it is necessary to cultivate 'live and let live' relationship with the neighbours, it is also imperative that people's mood is assessed before concluding any deal that can fuel resentment and agitation. The nation is aware of economic advantages that we could reap when deals are signed. At the same time we are not too sure that we will not have to bear the same kind of frustration of witnessing gross violations of the agreements signed with our mighty neighbour since 1974.THE prime minister has unwound herself through a recent article published in some Bangla national dailies under the title "Bhalor Poshra." This approximately translates as "merchandising for the better." What she basically conveys by the title of the write-up is the perceived insatiable thirst of columnists, TV talk show participants, civil society members, intellectuals in general, for still better performance on the part of Awami League government.Here's an unsolvable quandary -- why do most politicians view the world through the eyes of others when in power, but begin to see with their own wonderful eyes as soon as they are driven out of it?Withdrawing the existing 10% tax rebate facilities against investment in the share market, the NBR has proposed a 10% tax rebate on Deposit pension Scheme (DPS) up to Tk. 60,000/- per year in all scheduled and commercial banks. NBR has also brought income of mutual fund issuing companies under tax net from the upcoming fiscal year.July 8VIEW THE PAGEStarTech
It was a fair unlike any other.Facebook will add Skype video chat to its pages, aiming to spice up the appeal of the world's No. 1 Internet social networking service while fending off increased competition from Google.Forget everything you know about television, as the viewing experience is about to change and will not be limited to the box or the slim and slender LCD and LED TVs only. Ericsson, world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators, demonstrated how television experience could be delivered across multiple platforms to multiple devices.Huawei, a leading telecom solutions provider, introduced its MediaPad, a 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet in the CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore, which will be available in Bangladesh shortly, says a press release.To make video calls on Facebook users will require a webcam-equipped computer and then select a friend they want to video chat with. In the chat window that pops up, clicking on a small blue video icon brings up the video chat feature (or when a friend tries to make a video call to the user) and the first time the user will be prompted to download and run a 482KB .exe file. Once the setup downloads and downloads and installs the necessary files, the user is ready for a face-to-face chat.
Bangladesh and India yesterday expressed firm optimism about signing of an interim agreement on water sharing of the common rivers Teesta and Feni, and a framework deal on land border during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Dhaka on September 6-7.
Analysts and businessmen hope more Indian investments will flow into Bangladesh with the ratification of the agreement on promotion and protection of investments.
All outstanding issues between Dhaka and New Delhi are expected to be resolved before the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh.
The government is ready to sit with the opposition at any place--in or outside parliament--for a consensus over how to ensure a free and fair general election, ruling Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said yesterday.
Law enforcers arrested dozens of opposition men, and mobile courts jailed several persons for disrupting public life across the country yesterday, the second day of the 48-hour countrywide hartal.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun in parliament yesterday held Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and some other BNP lawmakers responsible for Wednesday's police assault on Farroque.
The World Bank has finally given the go ahead for the Padma bridge construction tender process with five pre-qualified firms, communications ministry officials said.
Despite having the approval of carrying 50 passengers, MV Madinar Alo that capsized in Shitalakhhya on Wednesday evening was carrying around 200.
The government will award former Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi posthumously for her "tremendous support" to the Liberation War, 1971.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday in parliament said the government will further strengthen the Election Commission to hold free and fair parliamentary polls.
Ending her grim battle for life, dowry victim Shazia Begum succumbed to her burn injuries yesterday, four days after both her children had met the same fate in a classic example of human brutalities.
The government is going to tighten visits of Bangladeshis to Malaysia following allegations about some jobseekers leaving for Kuala Lumpur as students and tourists to take advantage of an amnesty to the undocumented expatriate workers.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) yesterday urged the government to immediately implement the High Court directives on ensuring that no extra-judicial punishments are given in the name of fatwa (religious edict) and social arbitration.
A person or entity will be considered as a terrorist if the person or entity harms or helps harm another country while staying in Bangladesh, says a draft proposal aimed at bring changes to the Anti Terrorism Act, 2009.
Two pirates, whose eyes were gouged out by a mob on Wednesday at Char Kukrimukri in Bhola district, died overnight at the local upazila health complex while police nabbed five more pirates from the area yesterday.
A court here yesterday placed Khachu Marma, the prime accused in two cases for killing three people and setting houses afire in Ramgarh in April, on a three-day remand.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch dramatically ordered the closure of the News of the World tabloid yesterday as a spiralling scandal over illegal phone hacking threatened to taint the rest of his business empire.
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi yesterday said that Uttar Pradesh was being run by dalals (touts).
The way police last Wednesday pounced on the opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque and beat him up mercilessly during hartal was most reprehensible.
The furore arising over allegations of sexual assault on a female student by a teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College is of deep concern to citizens. One of course heaves a sigh of relief now that the alleged perpetrator of the crime, Porimol Joydhor, has been taken into custody. But the damage the incident has done to his victim and her family as well as to the reputation of the school itself is incalculable. And yet all this ugly publicity of the incident and a consequent fraying of the school's reputation could have been averted had the school authorities taken action immediately after the student in question and her schoolmates had filed a complaint with the head of the institution's Bashundhara branch.
Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club will be looking to put their league's match-fixing allegation behind them and prove themselves out on the pitch when the Bangladesh League champions face Brothers Union in the opening match of the Grameenphone Super Cup today.
The lack of match practice can be an issue for the Tigers when they will make their return to Test cricket against Zimbabwe in August after more than a year's break.
South Africa's Oscar Pistorius, the famed "Blade Runner", has only 12 days left to get the all-important qualification time that would allow him to compete in the world championships later this month.
Seasonal rain washed away a large chunk of play, after Ishant Sharma helped India make early inroads into the frail West Indies batting in the third Test on Wednesday at Test cricket's newest outpost, Windsor Park in Dominica.
Indian paceman Ishant Sharma on Thursday credited his return to form in the West Indies to him concentrating on bowling fast and not trying to copy the action of teammate Zaheer Khan.
Misbahul Haq, the Pakistan captain, has come out in support of the ICC's decision to make the Decision Review System (DRS) mandatory in Tests and ODIs, saying the technology eases the pressure on the umpires. Misbah said he found the system to be useful whenever Pakistan have used it, including during the World Cup.
Glenn McGrath's first two years in Test cricket were not much to write home about, averaging as he did in the 40s with the ball. It would have been far-fetched in the extreme to think that he would one day rival the one and only Dennis Lillee for the title of Australia's all-time greatest fast bowler.
After a three-year gap, the JFA (Japan Football Association) Cup U-15 football tournament gets underway from Saturday with matches in eight venues across the country.
Bahrain secured first and second places in the both men's and women's 10,000-metres on the opening day of the Asian Athletics Championships on Thursday.
Europa Youth took the solo lead in the Citycell Premier Division Basketball League with a 113-50 win over Dhumketu in their penultimate match at the Dhanmondi Basketball Gymnasium on Wednesday.
The Sixth Ascent Corporate five-a-side Soccer Cup gets underway from today at the Scholastica STM hall with a record number of corporate houses taking part.
South Korea savoured success Thursday in its eight-year campaign to host the Winter Olympics, a victory which brings the event to Asia for only the third time in its history.
The future of Brazil starlet Neymar is to be left on hold until after the Copa America opener amid rumours linking him with a move to Spain or England, media reports said Wednesday.
England captain Alastair Cook's unbeaten 95 completed his side's crushing 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day international at Trent Bridge here on Wednesday.
Argentina on Wednesday failed to make up for their disappointing opening draw against Bolivia when they could only manage another stalemate against Colombia, compromising their bid to reach the Copa America quarterfinals.
Dark horses Uruguay, thwarted by Peru, say they must go for the jugular as they come up against Group C pacesetters Chile on Friday.
Manchester United defender John O'Shea is set to join teammate Wes Brown at Premier League rivals Sunderland, press reports said on Thursday.
Brazil's Robinho appears to be fighting for a starting place as coach Mano Menezes ponders his options for Saturday's Copa America showdown with Paraguay.
Football's governing body FIFA banned North Korean defenders Song Jong-Sun and Jong Pok-Sim on Thursday after they failed a doping test.
The fifth and final one-day international between India and England in October has been brought forward by a day due to a local festival, the Indian cricket board said in a statement on Thursday.
Usain Bolt will be seeking to further hone his technique ahead of the world championships in South Korea later this month when he races the 200m at the Diamond League meeting here on Friday.
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has signed with new Tasmanian franchise Hobart Hurricanes for the Twenty20 Big Bash League, Cricket Tasmania said on Thursday.
Digitisation is the fear factor for corrupt and unskilled government officials. When the process of digitisation will ensure free flow of information, corruption will go away and that would be possible by the blessings of information technology, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith yesterday.
Bangladesh hopes to get duty-free access for long-awaited 61 products to Indian markets during the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Bangladesh in early September, said Commerce Minister Faruk Khan yesterday.
The government has again suspended the licence of BD Sea Foods Ltd on charges of exporting to Europe using forged certificates and seal of the Department of Fisheries (DoF), a senior official of the fisheries and livestock ministry said yesterday.
Turnover on the Dhaka Stock Exchange hit a four-month high yesterday as investors went for fresh buying to offset their previous losses amid a 48-hour countrywide shutdown.
The manufacture of low-priced laptops kicks off today in Bangladesh, Telecoms Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju said in parliament.
BRAC Bank has recently organised an 'SME Night' to express gratitude to its customers as the bank celebrates its 10th anniversary.
Interfab Shirt Manufacturing Ltd, a concern of leading garment maker Viyellatex Group, has signed an agreement with German brand Olymp to supply two million pieces of shirts in one year, said a top official of the group yesterday.
Up to 140,000 Philippine workers could lose their jobs in Saudi Arabia due to a domestic helper ban and a programme to compel firms to employ more locals, the Filipino labour minister said Thursday.
Shares of India's only listed lender to the poor, SKS, soared on Thursday after the government proposed new legislation to tighten regulation of the embattled microfinance industry.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development accused ratings agencies on Thursday of aggravating the eurozone debt crisis by creating "self-realising prophesies."
Greek inflation was flat at 3.3 percent in June on a 12-month basis, official data showed on Thursday.
M Abul Kashem has been appointed as the fourth deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, the central bank said in a statement yesterday.
Star Business yesterday printed on this page a picture of Saif Powertec at BIG Expo 2011 held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka on Wednesday. The picture was wrongly placed with a news item, headlined “Digital innovation on show”. The caption -- again wrongly -- carried information about "Digital Innovation Fair 2011" that took place at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Novo Theatre in the capital the same day. We regret the mistakes.
We bring out today four pages instead of our regular eight, as business slowed for the last two days due to a countrywide shutdown. Stock pages have been trimmed down to one.
The new survey team could not start survey on Sylhet-Meghalaya border for the 2nd day yesterday in the face of agitation by local people who fear that their lands will be handed over to the Indians.
The government is committed to hold trials of war criminals, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko even if BNP enforces hartal or resorts to vandalism, said Awami League (AL) General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday.
Students of the Asian University for Women (AUW) yesterday demonstrated on the campus demanding immediate withdrawal of expulsion of their 12 fellows.
A Dhaka court yesterday placed Porimol Joydhor, a sacked teacher of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, on a five-day remand to learn if anybody else were behind his violating a class X student on June 17.
With his luggage in four trolleys, migrant worker Mohammad Hanif was being stranded for two and a half hours at Shahjalal International Airport since he landed at 1:00pm there.
Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna yesterday said India attaches highest importance to the relationship with Bangladesh.
Scomi International, a joint venture company of Malaysia and India, has expressed interest to set up monorails in the capital Dhaka and in the port city of Chittagong under Public Private Partnership (PPP).
A ward level Awami League leader was killed after being hit by a bus yesterday in the capital's Pallabi.
Three people were killed and seven others injured in separate road accidents in Dinajpur, Brahmanbaria and Thakurgaon on Wednesday and yesterday.
The Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday posted four additional deputy inspectors general (Adl DIG's) of police and transferred 10 superintendents of police (SP) to new places.
Three youths including a student of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) were severely beaten allegedly by some locals of Chandantula area in Ward Number 17 in Sylhet on Wednesday.
Bangladesh Ambassador to the US Akramul Qader has said e-governance can serve as a strategic tool in attaining goals of democratic-institution building.
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Ahmed Ataul Hakeem yesterday handed over annual audit report on spending from the state coffers to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office.
Supreme Court Bar Association president (SCBA) Khandker Mahbub Hossain yesterday blamed Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed for the current restive political situation in the country.
The missing assistant inspector of Department of Explosives, Chittagong who slipped and fell into the Bay while boarding a scrap ship on Wednesday morning is still to be found till filing of this report yesterday afternoon.
A housewife, her mother and her sister were tortured allegedly by her husband over dowry at Nagarkonda village of Savar on the outskirts of the city yesterday.
Namaz-e-janaza of Sultana Ayesha Rouf, wife of former chief election commissioner Justice Mohammad Abdur Rouf, will be held at Gausul Azam Jame Mosque at Mohakhali in the city after Juma prayers today.
A number of organisations and 1001 teachers of different private and public universities yesterday condemned the police assault on Opposition Chief Whip Zainul Abdin Farroque Wednesday, the first day of BNP-led alliance's 48-hour hartal.
The divisional committee on hill management here yesterday directed owners of 12 hills of Chittagong city posing a risk of landslide to make a list of people living on the hill slopes in 15 days.
Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna yesterday visited Bangabandhu Memorial Museum.
Golam Mahbub, senior officer of local office of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, passed away at Labaid Hospital in the city on July 4 due to cancer at the age of 34, says a press release.
Md Mosleh Uddin, assistant officer of Lakshmipur branch of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited, passed away at Delta Cancer Hospital in the city on July 3 due to cancer at the age of 28, says a press release.
Today is the fifth death anniversary of Farid Uddin Ahmed, a former additional secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, says a press release.
Erosion by river Teesta took a serious turn devouring homesteads and croplands in six villages of three unions under Sadar and Hatibandha upazilas in the last 4-5 days.
At least 90 people were injured in post-UP poll violence in Brahmanbaria, Jessore and Gopalganj districts yesterday and on Wednesday night.
The countrywide hartal enforced by BNP during the last two days meant untold sufferings for around 200 people who reached the customs check post at Burimari land port in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat district to enter Bangladesh from India.
A woman and her daughter drowned as a trawler capsized in Garai River in Shailkupa upazila of Jhenidah district yesterday afternoon.
Pro-hartal BNP activists set fire to a mango-laden truck and injured two mango traders and the truck driver at Tebaria on Natore-Dhaka highway in Natore Sadar upazila Wednesday midnight.
A court here yesterday sentenced a man to death for killing his wife in 2007. The convict, Jamil Sheikh, 25, is son of Nijamuddin Sheikh of Belkalua village in Kumarkhali upazila. According to prosecution story, Jamil used to torture his wife Fulmoti for dowry since their marriage. He strangled her on May 24, 2007. Victim's father filed a murder case against Jamil under Women and Children Repression Prevention Act. After examining the records and witnesses, Judge of Women and Children Repression Prevention Tribunal Md Akbar Hossain Mridha pronounced the verdict.
At least 50 people were injured, 10 of them seriously, in a clash between two groups of people over establishing supremacy at Mathpara village under Rajoir upazila on Wednesday. Following a scuffle between two villagers named Rezaul Karim and Alamgir Sheikh, their supporters equipped with lethal weapons attacked each others, leaving 50 people from both sides injured. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control. The injured were admitted to Rajoir Upazila Health Complex.
Police arrested a youth with a revolver and five bullets from Kathalbaria area in the town on Wednesday night. The arrestee, Sultan Mahmud, 24, is son of Taiyub Ali of Ulipur village under Junaidanga upazila of Kurigram. Locals caught Sultan with the revolver when he was moving suspiciously in the area. Being informed, police rushed to the spot and arrested him.
Police arrested two robbers and recovered two firearms and ammunition from their possession in Gangni upazila of Meherpur district early yesterday. Acting on a tip-off, police raided Jhorpara Primary School where a gang of robbers were holding a meeting at around 1:30am. They arrested two of the gang named Abdul Kalam, 32, and Abdul Momin, 28, while the rest managed to flee. Contacted, Officer-in-Charge of Gangni Police Station M Motiar said Kalam and Momin are accused in two cases, one for robbery and the other for extortion. The robbers were yesterday produced in a judicial magistrate's court that sent them to jail.
A former union parishad (UP) chairman, also a BNP leader, was injured as party rivals attacked him in Masumdia Sluice Gate area of Bera upazila yesterday, police said Shamsur Rahman, immediate past chairman of Masumdia UP, came under attack while he was coming to the area in the afternoon. He was admitted to Pabna Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition.
Petra Kvitova is a difficult name to pronounce and if you are a critic, your criticism of the new Wimbledon Ladies' Champion will struggle to go beyond that. The 21-year-old athlete from Czech Republic has the most amazing tennis skills. Her unusually accurate forehands and the ability to hit the widest angels of the court remind us another Great of the bygone era, John McEnroe. Her opponent of the day, Maria Sharapova was completely confused by the long and accurate returns that the new winner inflicted on the Russian's usual long serves. Apart from a brief period at the early phase of the 2nd set, Sharapova had no answer to the relentless accuracy of the
Dhaka University celebrated its 90th anniversary recently, which is good news. But I think Dhaka University authorities and teachers should be more concerned about publishing results in time, preventing session jam and political chaos in the campus. They should emphasize more on quality of education. As the university is an asset of the country, the government and all political parties should be concerned about its well-being.
Domestic violence is a matter of grave concern that needs to be handled with strict law. Every day we are alarmed to hear the gruesome deeds of torture and physical abuse by the husbands on their wives. The recent story is that of Rumana. The assaulters remain frivolous about their inhuman behaviour just to satiate their perverse frustrations on thousands of unaccountable reasons or simply to show that they are IN CONTROL. Most importantly, they feel some form of satisfaction that they can get away with anything as the law enforcers can never touch them. It is indeed extremely shameful for the government and for us as well that we let these criminals go unpunished.
Following the intense pressure from the United States and Israel, Greece has announced that they will prevent the sailing of Freedom Flotilla II. To date Israel has breached more than 69 resolutions of UN. It has more than 20,000 political prisoners, has killed more innocent civilians than any other country, has rendered more civilians handicapped. On top of that, it has continued building the Apartheid Wall, destroyed 350 mosques and churches and has got 468,831 new settlers on an occupied land. Do our media substantially accentuate all this info enough? It's time we woke up and raised our voices for Palestine.
There are many people who cross the road when the signal is green and the vehicles are moving. This increases the risk of accident and for the bike riders the incident may turn out to be a nightmare. Accident occurs mostly during haphazard passing of the roads by the pedestrians. The footpaths are occupied, and so people are forced to walk through the road creating obstacles to the vehicles. This compels the vehicles to slow down their speed wasting the valuable time of the commuters.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina travelled to Switzerland and Canada to attend two conferences recently. Whereas other nations never send their heads of state to such visits, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally attended those conferences costing Bangladeshi taxpayers a huge amount of money. Our Environment Minister and Health Minister could have represented our country in those events successfully.
The landslide in Batali hill early in the morning on 1st July killed 17 people who could not arrange shelters in other places except for the bottom of the hill. Last year we also observed such mass killing by landslides in Chittagong. It is a common phenomenon in the hills but we have not done anything so far. The hills of Bangladesh are composed of soft earth, so when it rains for several hours landslide occurs. A TV channel has reported on 2nd July that at the bottom of 15 hills in Chittagong metropolis thousands of poor people are living with high risk of devastating landslides. Bangladesh is basically a country of plain land other than a part of Chittagong division and some areas of Sylhet division. But the weather, crop and culture are similar throughout the country. So, the government can consider erasing at least the 15 hills at Chittagong metropolis on urgent basis to save the valuable lives of poor Bangladeshis living at the bottom of those hills.
Dhanmondi has become an area infested with educational institutions and private universities, which has not only created nuisance in the area, but also filled the hearts of the residents with terror as road rage has become a common phenomenon in the area. More and more youths are losing their lives as they indulge in this dangerous pastime. The police are at the receiving end for the failure in strict enforcement of laws to curb the menace. When you walk out of your home you will see the youths riding their bikes at least at 100- 120 km whizzing past you. You will also find some learners riding the bikes at highest speed. The police are tired of constantly devising new plans to deal with the issue as their every attempt to impart awareness among the bikers has fallen flat. Road no 4/A is a real threat to pedestrians during evening.
Laylatul Bara'ah or Shab-e-Baraat is a very majestic night for the Muslims. Both the Arabic word 'Laylatul' and the Persian word 'Shab' mean night. And 'Barat' means freedom, relief etc. The preceding night of the 15th day of the month Shaban (a month of Islamic lunar calendar) is known as Laylatul Bara'ah or Shab-e-Barat. The almighty Allah accepts the prayers of this night. All sins are pardoned by Him this night. The month Shaban comes to us with the message of the arrival of the upcoming glorious month Ramadan. The great prophet Muhammad (pbuh) gave priority on the prayers of this night. The Muslims offer the prayers of Shab-e-Barat to be free from all sins and be graced by the Almighty. May Allah give us the opportunity to lead a pleasant life on earth and in the hereafter!
We can just sit back and watch the mayhem going on which has erupted from the political unrest centering the caretaker government issue. People were suffering from acute shortage of electricity, gas and water; spiralling prices of essentials and criminal activities. The government, instead of solving the existing problems, added another one, which is so unjust and objectionable that the country has been jolted by the impact. People have become stupefied by the government's decision to abolish the caretaker government system. Why has the government done it, knowing very well the consequences of this wrong decision? The move is despicable; the government has disclosed how afraid it has become of losing the next general election. We urge the government to change its decision of scraping the caretaker government system and save the people from further distress.
Readers' instant comments on The Daily Star Online reports. Log on to thedailystar.net to leave your comments.
A senior Libyan official yesterday accused Nato of intensifying its bombing campaign and backing foreign mercenaries to lay the groundwork for an advance by rebels trying to topple Muammar Gaddafi's regime.
South Sudan's legislative assembly has ratified the nation-in-waiting's new constitution, the information minister said yesterday, denying that it put too much power in the president's hands.
A second Indian cabinet member resigned yesterday over allegations of corruption within government, dealing another blow to embattled Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Up to 33 police and five civilians were killed in fighting after Taliban crossed over from Pakistan and attacked a remote region in eastern Afghanistan, an official said Wednesday.
Days after Thailand voted for a new government led by the country's first woman prime minister, a determined doctor with a knack for rallying crowds is pursuing legal action to bring her down.
The architect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program claims North Korea paid bribes to senior Pakistani military officials in return for nuclear secrets in the 1990s, the Washington Post said Wednesday.
The world is on course to miss United Nations hunger reduction targets set in 2000, despite successes in curbing extreme poverty, a UN report said yesterday.
China's official media yesterday strongly denied the reports claiming former president Jiang Zemin had died after days of intense speculation about his health.
Yemen's acting leader has put forward a new plan to end the country's political stalemate, which would keep President Ali Abdullah Saleh in power longer than outlined in earlier initiatives, an opposition source said yesterday.
At least 10 passengers were killed and 20 injured when armed men opened fire on two buses in Pakistan's port city of Karachi, officials said.
A young man carrying a revolver was detained yesterday while trying to move close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during his padayatra to Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.
Thirty-eight people were killed and more than 30 were injured yesterday when a train slammed into a packed bus carrying a marriage party in northern India, local government officials said.
Up to 13 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in a Nato air strike yesterday in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, provincial police chief Mohamad Zazai said.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon called yesterday on the Syrian regime to stop the killings in its crackdown on anti-government protests, stressing that "we cannot go on like this."
Canada ended its combat mission in Afghanistan yesterday, closing the curtain after nine years and the death of 157 men, saying it was "extremely proud" of gains made against the Taliban.
Nearly 70 miners were trapped underground and at least eight have died in a spate of mining accidents that have jolted China's dangerous mine industry in recent days, state media reported yesterday.
Two prominent Kremlin critics said yesterday they had been barred from leaving Russia over a pamphlet attacking a billionaire gas trader and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Former minister Boris Nemtsov and his political ally Vladimir Milov said they had learned of the decision by telephone Wednesday while attending a human rights panel in Brussels.
Lebanon's government won a vote of confidence in parliament yesterday, as the prime minister vowed his cabinet would cooperate with a UN-backed court charging Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
Belarussian authorities arrested about 400 people in the latest country-wide opposition protests against President Alexander Lukashenko's regime, rights group Vyasna said yesterday.
Malaysian police yesterday shot in the head a man who took 30 pre-school children and four teachers hostage at a kindergarten, ending a dramatic seven-hour standoff.
Part of the roof of the FC Twente football stadium in the eastern Netherlands collapsed yesterday during building alterations, killing one person and injuring 14 others, a city official said.
Armed officers arrested a suspected Basque separatist in Britain yesterday in connection with an attempt to assassinate Spain's King Juan Carlos in 1997, police said.
Lebanon's government won a vote of confidence in parliament yesterday, as the prime minister vowed his cabinet would cooperate with a UN-backed court charging Hezbollah members in the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri.
The phone at Star Arts & Entertainment started ringing off the hook before 3pm (the scheduled time). During the course of an hour, we received calls from almost all divisions. Majority of the callers were young men and the query from many of them: is the glamorous actress Sumaiya Shimu single? However, Shimu's popularity can't be justified by her looks alone; over the years the petite actress has demonstrated her acting chops in several plays and serials. Excerpts from Shimu's conversations with her fans:
A solo Raku exhibition, titled “Contemporary Artefacts”, is on at the Zainul Gallery, Faculty of Fine Arts (FFA), University of Dhaka. The exhibition features works of artist Ashim Halder Sagor. This is Sagor's 2nd solo Raku exhibition.
Filmmaker Mostafa Sarwar Farooki recently signed a deal with German producer Christoph Thoke for his upcoming feature film “Television”. Christoph -- who is most notable for producing Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's (Dardenne brothers) art-house feature “Lorna's Silence” in 2008 -- will join a list of local producers including the director himself and Star Cineplex for the film.
Mani Kaul, one of the pioneers of art house Indian cinema, died of cancer on Wednesday in Delhi. He was 66.
A Pablo Picasso drawing, thought to be worth £100,000 has been stolen from an art gallery in San Francisco.
7th International Inter University Photography Exhibition (IIUPE) by the North South University Photographic Society (NSUPC) begins today at Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi, says a press release.
Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Goethe-Institut in Dhanmondi, Dhaka has been rescheduled, according to the organisers.
The recent behaviours of some teachers in our society are ruining the reputation of this noble profession. A couple of days back, another incident took place where a student of class X of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College was sexually assaulted by a teacher named Porimol Joydhor. We should take proper steps to stop this crime; otherwise it will spread like an epidemic in our society. I earnestly request the Honourable PM and the Home Minister to look into the matter and instruct the law enforcing agencies to investigate the matter immediately and give the scoundrel capital punishment.
Our finance minister said during a post-budget press briefing that black money accounts for as much as 48 to 82 percent of the country's economy. His estimate is on a wide range because it is apparently based on the lower and upper limits of three separate studies. If we take the average then black money roughly controls 65 percent of the economy. That much of our economic activities are in the hands of people with dubious means.
A number of dignitaries from our big neighbour are visiting Bangladesh, probably to sign a few deals, transit through Bangladesh being the prominent one. Indeed it is necessary to cultivate 'live and let live' relationship with the neighbours, it is also imperative that people's mood is assessed before concluding any deal that can fuel resentment and agitation. The nation is aware of economic advantages that we could reap when deals are signed. At the same time we are not too sure that we will not have to bear the same kind of frustration of witnessing gross violations of the agreements signed with our mighty neighbour since 1974.
THE prime minister has unwound herself through a recent article published in some Bangla national dailies under the title "Bhalor Poshra." This approximately translates as "merchandising for the better." What she basically conveys by the title of the write-up is the perceived insatiable thirst of columnists, TV talk show participants, civil society members, intellectuals in general, for still better performance on the part of Awami League government.
Here's an unsolvable quandary -- why do most politicians view the world through the eyes of others when in power, but begin to see with their own wonderful eyes as soon as they are driven out of it?
Withdrawing the existing 10% tax rebate facilities against investment in the share market, the NBR has proposed a 10% tax rebate on Deposit pension Scheme (DPS) up to Tk. 60,000/- per year in all scheduled and commercial banks. NBR has also brought income of mutual fund issuing companies under tax net from the upcoming fiscal year.
July 8
It was a fair unlike any other.
Facebook will add Skype video chat to its pages, aiming to spice up the appeal of the world's No. 1 Internet social networking service while fending off increased competition from Google.
Forget everything you know about television, as the viewing experience is about to change and will not be limited to the box or the slim and slender LCD and LED TVs only. Ericsson, world's leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators, demonstrated how television experience could be delivered across multiple platforms to multiple devices.
Huawei, a leading telecom solutions provider, introduced its MediaPad, a 7-inch Android 3.2 Honeycomb tablet in the CommunicAsia 2011 in Singapore, which will be available in Bangladesh shortly, says a press release.
To make video calls on Facebook users will require a webcam-equipped computer and then select a friend they want to video chat with. In the chat window that pops up, clicking on a small blue video icon brings up the video chat feature (or when a friend tries to make a video call to the user) and the first time the user will be prompted to download and run a 482KB .exe file. Once the setup downloads and downloads and installs the necessary files, the user is ready for a face-to-face chat.
Six vehicles torched in capital
Unidentified people set fire to five buses and a covered van at different parts of the city on Tuesday on the eve of a countrywide 48-hour hartal called by opposition parties.
At least 20 people including four policemen were injured in a clash between BNP activists and the law enforcers in Chittagong Tuesday.
Online Edition
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Tuesday apprehended that the textile exports might face a setback due to continuous hartals called by opposition parties.
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Khandker Mahbub Hossain on Tuesday said the government may collapse at any time amid mass upsurge.
Online Edition
Fakhruddin Ahmed, chief adviser to the last caretaker government, and former army chief Gen Moeen U Ahmed got the last chance to defend themselves in connection with the 2007 Dhaka University campus violence.
Online Edition
Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna is flying in Wednesday on a three-day official visit to ‘fine tune’ the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who will visit Bangladesh September 6-7.
Online Edition
Undisclosed money which will be invested in the share markets cannot be withdrawn before June 2013, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said on Tuesday.
Online Edition
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has extended 'moral support' to the 48-hour nationwide hartal called by the opposition political parties.
Online Edition
Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) President Sultan Salahuddin Tuku was placed on a two-day remand on Tuesday in connection with the June 26 arson attack that killed a taxicab passenger in the city.
Front Page
BEFORE VISIT
Paper for deals* Transit
Tarique Rahman, senior vice-chairman of BNP and son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, will not return home to defend himself in August 21 grenade attack cases, his party colleagues and counsel say.
Law enforcers charged truncheons and lobbed teargas to foil a BNP procession brought out in the capital yesterday to protest the indictment of party Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman in the August 21, 2004 grenade attack cases.
The cabinet yesterday approved a proposal for annual submission of income and wealth statements of ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, and other people with similar status to the prime minister from now on.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman Koko, sons of opposition leader Khaleda Zia, are not "targets" of the present government as it does not believe in "personal vendetta".
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last night called his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina over the telephone and told her that New Delhi attaches the “highest importance” to relations with Dhaka.
A day after she led Pheu Thai party to a landslide victory in parliamentary elections in Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra has announced a new five-party coalition government.
Islami Ain Bastobayon Committee yesterday called a 48-hour countrywide hartal starting tomorrow to protest the removal of phrases "Absolute Faith and Trust in Allah” from the constitution.
Bangladesh Railway yesterday inked a $16.45 million deal with Indian company Texmaco Ltd, the first-ever contract under India's $1 billion credit to Bangladesh.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) yesterday filed separate cases against ruling Awami League lawmaker Abdul Mannan and his wife Shahad Ara Mannan on charge of possessing wealth worth about Tk 72 lakh which is disproportionate to their known sources of income.
The government spending on subsidy is likely to increase this fiscal year by 16 percent over FY 2010-11 due to a rise in global fuel price and import of additional petroleum products for quick rental power plants.
Leaders of 73 business organisations yesterday urged the opposition parties to withdraw their hartal programme for smooth running of businesses.
Rumana Manzur, who lost her eyesight in a brutal attack by her husband, has left for Canada early today to have surgery in her eyes.
The Department of Environment (DoE) yesterday fined four textile and washing factories in Keraniganj Tk 31.60 lakh in total for releasing untreated liquid waste into the river Buriganga.
The government has extended ban on rice export for another year in an effort to curb the price hike of the staple food in the domestic market, said an official of the commerce ministry yesterday.
India's Supreme Court yesterday ordered a special investigation into undeclared money stashed in foreign bank accounts, while accusing the government of "serious lapses" in handling the issue.
Noted jurist Dr Kamal Hossain yesterday said the repeal of caretaker government system will be a major barrier to free and fair parliamentary elections.
Activists of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) yesterday vandalised at least 25 buses of Islamic University in Kushtia following a clash with the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL).
Star Business brings out today a four-page colour supplement on the Bangladesh Business Awards 2010, organised by The Daily Star and DHL Express. Pages of stock data have been trimmed down to one page instead of a regular three.
VIEW THE PAGEEditorial
One can assume that with the submission of supplementary charge-sheets of the August 21 grenade attack case, the process of investigation has ended and the trial would commence soon. It has consumed nearly seven years for the investigation, into what was perhaps the most blatant act of violence in recent history of Bangladesh, to be completed. It has taken fourteen extensions, before the CID could submit the supplementary charge sheets accusing 30 new persons of involvement with the dastardly attack.
The conference of South Asian Women's Network (SWAN) which ended recently with the Dhaka Declaration has called for peace and a green economy, highlighting the role of women in South Asia in establishing both. For this, however -- as was pointed out by the participants at the two-day conference -- women must have equal access to resources and a greater role in development policy-making.
VIEW THE PAGESports
You may have a daunting 18-yard run-up, a pivot that needs tightening and a booming follow-through but as far as Geoff Lawson is concerned, only one thing matters.
Rafael Nadal insists Novak Djokovic cannot keep winning and he will be first in the queue ready to pounce when the Serb finally cracks.
Novak Djokovic insists he won't rest on his laurels after the Serb completed a dream double by winning his first Wimbledon crown just days after his coronation as the world's top player.
Serbian papers were in ecstasy on Monday after Novak Djokovic defeated Raphael Nadal to win his first Wimbledon crown and reach the world number one spot for the first time in his career.
The Bangladesh League Committee seeked more time to prepare the investigation report on the match-fixing allegation between Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club and Rahmatganj MFS.
With specialist coaches flying in to the GP-BCB National Cricket Academy this month, the Tigers too could take advantage of the experts.
Liverpool Football Club embark on a pre-season tour of Asia with a game in China against Guangdong Sunray Cave on July 13. The Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou will host the match.
Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic was confirmed as the new world number one when the ATP rankings were released on Monday.
Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan believes a one-day series win against England is within his side's grasp after a six-wicket victory at Lord's put the tourists 2-1 up with two to play.
It was the last day of a riveting game of cricket at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown. West Indies, who went toe-to-toe against a wounded Australian side, were 85 for three in their pursuit of 308. That they came this far in the game was a wonder in itself. After Australia had made 490, the hosts were down in the dumps before Curtly Ambrose, with a five-for in the second innings, put a big foot in the door before the Australians could shut up shop.
Struggling West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan has been dropped for the third and final Test against India in Dominica. Kieran Powell, a 21-year-old batsman from Leeward Islands, has been named as his replacement.
A brilliant hattrick from Shurovi Akhter powered Narayanganj to a comprehensive 7-0 win over Thakurgaon in the National Women's Football Championship at the MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong yesterday.
RTV moved into the final of the Kool-BSJA Media Cup football tournament with a single-goal win over Banglavision in the sem-final at the Handball Stadium adjacent to the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki remains on top of the women's singles rankings, which were released on Monday, in spite of her failure once again to land a Grand Slam title.
American swimming star Michael Phelps posted his second victory in two days, capturing the men's 100-metre butterfly at the Canada Cup swimming competition Sunday.
Euporpa Youth continued their winning spree in the Citycell Premier Division Basketball League as they recorded a massive 103-45 win over Bakshi Bazar in their sixth match at the Dhanmondi Basketball Gymnasium yesterday.
Brazil made a tame entrance into the Copa America on Sunday, missing a host of chances in a goalless draw with ultra-minnows Venezuela at the Estadio Unico in La Plata, outside Buenos Aires.
Now you see the jogo bonito; now you don't.
Ecuador were more or less satisfied but Paraguay felt irked after the pair fought out a goalless stalemate in Group B of the Copa America on Sunday.
French international midfielder Alou Diarra has completed his move from Bordeaux to Marseille, the first division runners-up announced on their website on Monday.
The head of Argentina's Football Association (AFA), Julio Grondona, on Sunday praised striker Lionel Messi, but criticised his squad mates in the wake of their disappointing opening Copa America draw with Bolivia.
Venezuelan players issued a get well soon message to ailing President Hugo Chavez after their surprise goalless draw Sunday with holders Brazil at the Copa America.
Paraguayan fans will be keener than ever for their team to land the Copa America after model Larissa Riquelme on Sunday promised to pose nude should they triumph.
VIEW THE PAGEBusiness
The overall deficit in seven state banks, which stands at Tk 3,930 crore, has raised concerns at the policy level. The situation was discussed at a high-level meeting of the finance ministry yesterday where the banks were asked to cut bad assets.
A widening gap in greenback prices between informal and formal markets is causing fears of a decline in remittance flow through the informal channel.
The remittance inflow crossed the $11 billion mark in the last fiscal year, according to official data. Economists said the money sent by the expatriates played a major role in alleviating poverty.
All the indices of Dhaka and Chittagong bourses fell yesterday amid some price corrections, as investors booked profit in most sectors.
The government has assigned the Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) as a capital issue manager of all state enterprises to offload shares in the stockmarket, an official of the finance ministry said yesterday.
Khurshid Irfan Chowdhury, executive director of Transcom Beverages Ltd, the franchisee of PepsiCo International, has recently received the PepsiCo President Ring of Honor award.
City Bank has recently entered into MasterCard business through the launch of the card at a programme in Dhaka, the bank said in a statement yesterday.
Chittagong Port posted 21.13 percent annual growth in container handling in fiscal 2010-11, the highest in 16 years.
Greece would likely be in default if it follows a debt rollover plan pushed by French banks, S&P warned on Monday, deepening the pain of a bailout that one European official said will cost Athens sovereignty and jobs.
Australia's minority Labor government will unveil plans for the biggest national emissions trading scheme outside Europe on Sunday, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard staking her future on a carbon price already worrying voters and business.
Hybrid rice faces a test in winning the hearts of farmers. In the last two seasons, both sales and acreage of hybrid rice, dubbed as a means to boost production and ensure food sufficiency, have dropped.
Farmers in the northern district of Bogra will count huge losses this season because of the government's delay in the food procurement programme.
Marico Bangladesh said in a clarification of the caption published on The Daily Star on July 3 that the company declared 45 percent dividends -- 20 percent cash and 25 percent interim cash divi-dends -- for its shareholders.
VIEW THE PAGEMetropolitan
Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) in association with Defense Institutions Reform Initiative (DIRI), USA is going to finalise a draft “National Counter Terrorism Strategy” to assist the government.
Bangladesh Railway in a drive demolished around 300 tin-shed and semi-concrete structures in the capital's Gopibagh yesterday.
British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Stephen Evans said the British government is committed to strengthening international borders through collaboration and cooperation with its global partners.
New Delhi has heaved a sigh of relief at Dhaka's decision on Sunday not to make any formal statement on Manmohan Singh's remarks after the Indian external affairs ministry had issued a clarification that the remarks should not be seen as “judgemental”.
The High Court yesterday issued a rule upon seven government officials to show cause within three weeks as to why their inaction to protect the hills of Chittagong would not be declared illegal and without lawful authority.
Primary design of the portion of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 that passes through Dhaka University (DU) was approved at a meeting between DU administrators and the project's officials concerned at DU administrative building yesterday.
President Zillur Rahman yesterday called upon the country's university students to shun any attitude devoid of humanity and negative mentality in order to build a beautiful and civilised society.
Eight people were killed and 48 others injured in road accidents in Gaibandha, Sylhet, Narayanganj, Chuadanga, and Kishoreganj yesterday.
A team of Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) yesterday pulled down around 250 hoardings and signboards of seven illegal housing projects in Dumni, Isapura, and Patira and in a part of the river Balu under Khilkhet Police Station.
Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) recovered five acres of Buriganga river at Baktaboli of Fatullah under Narayanganj sadar upazila during a drive to evict illegal structures yesterday.
The written test for appointment to different vacant posts in the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has been postponed due to unavoidable reasons, says a press release.
A schoolboy was wounded as a stray bullet hit him while crossing two feuding youths on his way home in the city's Demra yesterday.
Chittagong city unit BNP yesterday protested inclusion of the names of Tarique Rahman and other BNP leaders in the supplementary charge sheets in the August 21 grenade attack cases.
The executive committee of Smriti Ekattor, a pro-liberation social organisation, has been reformed through a meeting held at the public library auditorium in the city recently.
Two children were burnt to death in Sunamganj early hours of yesterday while their mother is fighting for life at the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) after her in-laws allegedly set them on fire for dowry in Jaggannathpur in Sunamganj on Sunday.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival, a three-day international film festival and competition, begins today at Goethe-Institut Dhaka (German Cultural Centre) in Dhanmondi in the city.
Abu Nasser Mohammad Saleh, a psychology teacher of Rajshahi University, passed away at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital due to a cardiac arrest yesterday at the age of 59.
Bangladesh Air Force Group Captain (retd) TAM Ashraful Islam, a valiant freedom fighter, passed away at Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka yesterday. He was 71.
Sarmin Reshmin, principal of Ramu Degree College of Cox's Bazar, passed away on Saturday (July 2) at Birdem Hospital in Dhaka at the age of 48, says a press release.
Today is the 16th death anniversary of renowned lawyer and Justice of Supreme Court Muhammad Ansar Ali.
Today is the 11th death anniversary of Dr AKM Shamsul Huda, a language movement veteran and former VP of Sir Salimullah Medical College.
VIEW THE PAGENational
Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) and Mohammed Ali Hospital in Bogra are struggling to provide treatment to a large number of patients due to shortage of doctors and other staff, lack of accommodation and equipment and inadequate allocation for medicines.
The probe body formed after the attack on the trainee nurses at Mymensingh Nursing College (MNC) by the fourth class employees of Mymensingh Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) on June 13, missed the third deadline as it could not submit its report on Sunday.
Road communications between Netrakona town and eight upazilas of the district have snapped on Sunday as onrush of water from hills across the border damaged a portion of the road linking pontoon bridge on the Kongsha River at Thakurakona under Sadar upazila.
Twenty one fishermen, who were abducted by pirates from Dublarchar area of the Sundarbans in Shoronkhola upazila on June 25 for ransom, were rescued from Harbaria area of the Sundarbans yesterday.
Khulna City Corporation (KCC) ward councillor Mohammad Hossain Mukta, who had a long criminal background, rejoined the Awami League along with a large number of his men on Friday night.
The fourth year first semester students of English department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) in Sylhet yesterday locked the office and rooms of the departmental teachers in protest against alleged under marking at a course examination.
A Bangladeshi detained by BSF in India near Darmagarh border under Ranishankoil upazila died on Saturday.
A housewife allegedly committed suicide on Monday by hanging herself from the ceiling of her house.
A housewife was killed allegedly by her husband for dowry at Bazar Char Chartola village in Ashuganj upazila Saturday night. The victim was identified as Lovely Akter, 18, daughter of Habibur Rahman of Char Lalpur village in the upazila. Sources said Kamrul Islam, son of Delwar Hossain, of Chartola village married Lovely two years ago and since then he often tortured her for dowry. They said, on the fateful night, Kamrul picked up a quarrel with her over the issue and at one stage beat her dead.
Falling from an under-construction building, two workers were killed and two others injured in Baushia area of Gozaria upazila Sunday. The deceased were identified as Tanus and Alam. The injured were Rubel and Alamgir. All of them hailed from Chapainawabganj district. Police and witnesses said the four workers were working at the under-construction building of Engineering Staff College on western side of Gumti bridge on Dhaka-Chittagong highway. Suddenly they fell from the third floor of the building, which left Tanus and Alam dead on the spot.
A court here on Sunday convicted nine people and sentenced them to life term imprisonment in a murder case. The convicts were identified as Joinal Bepari, Lokman Bepari, Razzak Bepari, Siraj Bepari, Mannan Bepari, Syed Ali Bepari, Shamsul Bepari, Mokhlesur Rahman Bepari and Osman Ali Bepari of East Rajargaon village in Hajiganj upazila. The court also fined them Tk 30,000 each, in default, to suffer one year more RI. According to the prosecution, the aforesaid people killed co-villager Mohammad Ali Bepari over previous enmity in front of a shop of one Taher of the village on February 29, 2000.
A 15-year-old girl was gang-raped in Zero Mile area under Sadar upazila on Sunday. Daughter of late Abdul Khaleq, she hailed from Bogachhari area of Naniarchar upazila in Rangamati district. According to the victim, she went to Zero Mile from Bogachhari by a bus at about 1:20am Sunday. There she was waiting for her brother Sagar to take her to Matiranga upazila of Khagrachhari district. Meanwhile, a gang posing as Sagar's friends asked her to go with them. But they took her to a lonely house in Zero Mile area and raped her. She was rescued by local police yesterday morning. Officer-in-charge (OC) of Khagrachhari Sadar police station Abul Kalam Azad said, they arrested one Md Jalil, 28, son of Ruhul Amin of Gangapara area in this connection.
VIEW THE PAGEInternational
The head of Libya's rebel council said yesterday that there is now no possibility of Moamer Gaddafi being granted internal exile in Libya, following an International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest.
Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic yesterday refused to enter a plea before a UN war crimes court and the judge ordered his removal from the courtroom for disruptive behaviour.
India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday hailed the country's success in slashing new HIV/AIDS infections by half in the past decade, but warned against complacency.
India's government will introduce a comprehensive new anti-graft bill in the next session of parliament beginning August 1, the country's home minister said yesterday.
The Pakistani military continues to support a variety of militant groups as part of a strategy of using proxies against its neighbours and US forces in Afghanistan, The New York Times reported yesterday.
Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi visited an ancient temple city in central Myanmar with her son yesterday, in a tentative first test of her freedom to travel following her release by the junta.
Hackers have taken over a Twitter account belonging to US broadcaster Fox News and declared President Obama dead.
At least 300 militants crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan and attacked a Pakistani checkpost, government and intelligence officials said yesterday, the sixth cross-border attack in a month that has raised tensions between the neighbors.
A Tunis court yesterday sentenced ousted Tunisian president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali in his absence to 15 years in jail for possession of arms, drugs, and archaeological artefacts.
Belarus yesterday jailed several among the almost 400 protesters arrested in a brutal police crackdown on Independence Day protests against strongman President Alexander Lukashenko's regime.
The European Union said yesterday it will deliver 10 million euros in emergency food aid to North Korea to help 650,000 people at risk of dying amid growing fears of a worsening hunger crisis.
British Prime Minister David Cameron made a surprise visit to Afghanistan yesterday but had to scrap part of the trip as forces hunted for a missing British soldier, an AFP reporter said.
Saboteurs bombed an Egyptian gas pipeline in the Sinai peninsula yesterday, sending flames shooting into the sky and cutting supplies to Israel and Jordan, a security official said.
Twenty-three people were killed and nearly 30 others injured in central China yesterday when a long-distance bus flipped over and caught fire after being shunted by a truck, state media reported.
Syrian security forces killed two anti-regime protesters near Damascus and deployed tanks in a town near Turkey's border, activists said yesterday, as the authorities eyed the recapture of Hama.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived yesterday at Maiquetia airport outside Caracas where he was greeted by government ministers upon his return from receiving cancer treatment in Havana, Venezuelan state television video showed.
Thailand's "Red Shirt" opposition protest movement yesterday urged their triumphant political allies to "find the truth" behind last year's bloody military crackdown on their mass rally.
A South Korean marine went on a shooting spree yesterday at a base near the tense maritime border with North Korea, killing four fellow soldiers before trying to blow himself up with a hand grenade, the military said.
VIEW THE PAGEArts & Entertainment
Renowned elocutionist Rupa Chakraborty has been away from limelight in the Bangladesh media. When I at last caught up with her, she was in Heidelberg, Germany. On her return to London we met at trendy restaurant, Kalapata, in White Chapel, London and had an interesting chat on Rupa's recent involvement in the cultural front as well as her profession.
A group watercolour exhibition featuring works of 16 painters is now on at National Art Gallery Plaza, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA).
Rainbow Film Society has organised a three-day contemporary Indonesian film festival at Sufia Kamal Auditorium, National Museum, in the city. Dr Gowher Rizvi, adviser to the Prime Minister, inaugurated the film festival on July 3. Former secretary Syed Margub Morshed; renowned filmmaker and TV personality Syed Salahuddin Zaki; Indonesian Ambassador to Bangladesh, Zet Mirzal Zainuddin, were present as special guests on the occasion.
Artistes of Udichi Shilpi Goshthi and Sangskritik Union performed at a cultural programme recently at a community centre in the town.
Bangladeshi dance troupe Nrityanchal is going to perform at 'Bangla Utshab', to be held on July 15 and 16 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A 12-member troupe led by celebrated dancers Shibly Mohammad and Shamim Ara Nipa will stage the Tagore dance-drama “Chitrangada” on the opening day (July 15) of the Festival. The dancer duo choreographed the dance-drama.
Baul songs are recognised as one of the oldest existing forms of traditional music in Bengal. However, the word 'baul' denotes more than just a genre. It's a philosophy that shapes the lifestyle of the singers and musicians. They are heterogeneous -- majority of them are Hindu ascetics and Muslim mystics. And their music and lyrics have retained old rhythmic idiosyncrasies and beats. Naturally, one can't always expect to hear something revolutionarily new at a Baul festival.
Tom Hanks takes on the roles of writer, director, producer and star for his new film “Larry Crowne”. After more than 30 years in the business, what does he really think of Hollywood?
VIEW THE PAGEOP-ED
On the heels of a day long hartal on June 5 across the country, BNP-Jamat alliance clamped down a 36-hourhartal on June 12-13 just after a breather of 6 days. On June 12 BNP Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir threatened the government, nay, the nation, that a 72-hour hartal could be clamped down any time soon if needed.
Greece's prime minister, George A. Papandreou, comfortably survived a confidence vote on Tuesday, momentarily stabilising his fragile Socialist government and clearing the way for a fresh infusion of financial assistance from the European Union.
In the budget for fiscal year 2011-12, the government has proposed Tk.19,873 crore for the education sector with Tk.10,850 crore for the education ministry and Tk.8,957 crore for primary and mass education ministry. The proposed volume is Tk.1725 crore more than that of the existing allocation of Tk.18,148 crore. This is good as investment in human capital in a proper manner is a must here.
The national budget for the financial year 2011-12 has been passed in the National Parliament on June 30, 2011. During pre-budget campaign and advocacy, a number of women's and human rights organisations demanded allocations in the national budget for implementing the National Women's Advancement Policy (NWAP) 2011.
The constitution of Bangladesh in its Article 15(d) clearly declares to introduce the Social Security Programme. The constitution spells "the right to social security that is to say, to public assistance in cases of undeserved want arising from unemployment, illness or disablement, or suffered by widows or orphans or in old age or in other such cases."
VIEW THE PAGEScience & Life
Proteins are, simply, the product of genes. Genes, the basic unit of information for the living systems, are the guide to create thousands of different types of proteins in a particular cell type to enable the cell to carry out its assigned function. It is the protein molecule that makes the different cell types different by having been created in certain combinations in a cell type specialized to perform a particular task. Hence, we get our arms, legs, eyes different from one another. Scientists, for long, have believed that the proteins need to have a rigid structure to play their roles inside the cell. In fact, the biochemistry text books will tell you that the genes encode proteins, which are simply the chain of different amino acids linked together by peptide bonds and after the formation of the polypeptide chains, they need to get a definite three dimensional shape which will react with the target molecules by lock-and-key system. However, recent research is revealing a new architectural design of the proteins. A host of proteins carry out their biological tasks without ever completely folding; others fold only as needed. Perhaps one third of all human proteins are intrinsically disordered carrying some unfolded or disordered regions.
After the spectacular discoveries in Madagascar, it is now the turn of New Guinea to display some of the magnificent arrays of new species of floras and faunas that the world has ever known. According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), from the years between 1998 and 2008, at the rate of twice a week, more than 1000 new species were discovered by the researchers of the reputed nature conservation organization. Published, very recently, in a report titled, “Final Frontier: Newly Discovered Species of New Guinea”, WWF, as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, proudly stated that New Guinea's forests and rivers are among the richest and most bio-diverse in the whole world. In this decade long study, a total of 1060 species of new life-forms were discovered and amongst them include 218 new plants (one of them is a flesh-like a orchid), 43 reptiles, 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, 2 birds and 71 species of fish.
A developmental biologist at New York Medical College is proposing a new theory of the origin of birds, which traditionally has been thought to be driven by the evolution of flight. Instead, Stuart A. Newman, Ph.D., credits the emergence of enlarged skeletal muscles as the basis for their upright two-leggedness, which led to the opportunity for other adaptive changes like flying or swimming. And it is all based on the loss of a gene that is critical to the ability of other warm-blooded animals to generate heat for survival
A team of Nepali and international researchers has developed a risk assessment method to manage the threat of devastating floods that can be triggered by a glacial lake outburst (GLOF).
Two new complete sets of Tasmanian devil genetic blueprints hold some good news and bad news for the species. The bad news is that the marsupial's genetic diversity is among the lowest known for any species. The good news is that the devil's low diversity has a long history and may not be reason for as much concern as once thought.
The rise of modern mammals, which came with a dramatic warming of the Earth, may be traced to hot magma, new research suggests.
The highest mountain on Earth is not Mount Everest, but Mauna Kea in the Pacific Ocean. This volcano rises to 10,203 m (33,476ft) from the sea floor to form one of the Hawaiian islands. Mount Everest is the highest mountain on land, at 8,848 m (29.029ft).
