The government yesterday decided to invite tenders in February for construction of the Padma Bridge as international donors pledged to provide almost 100 percent funding for the project.

Most of the new power generation initiatives for a total of 2,600 megawatt are facing long delays and uncertainty mainly due to interference from different quarters and indecision of the implementing agencies.

A mobile court of the Department of Environment in a drive in Tongi and Konabari yesterday found the effluent treatment plant (ETP) of an industry inoperative and another running without any ETP.

Breaking away from the recent trend, the government paid back huge sums of loan to the banks in the last six months instead of borrowing from the banking system.

The BNP may have to amend its constitution again to make the provision on its foreign chapters comply with the Representation of the People Order (RPO).

Pakistani prosecutors were reviving graft cases yesterday against Interior Minister Rehman Malik and hundreds of officials, setting the stage for a showdown with a shaky government.

The Supreme Court authorities yesterday sent the records of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case to the trial court to start the process of executing five convicts who are now in the condemned cells.

The government for the first time initiates withdrawal of an extortion case against BNP Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman on grounds that it is 'politically motivated' and meant for 'harassment'.

A special court of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday fixed January 24 next year for framing charges against 62 accused BDR men in a mutiny case of the district.

Formerly conjoined Bangladeshi twins Trishna and Krishna left hospital yesterday, after Australian doctors who separated their fused brains decided they should celebrate their third birthday at home.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home yesterday afternoon after attending the UN-sponsored global climate conference in the Danish capital.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has decided to issue case slips to traffic rule violators after examining video footages taken by patrol police teams.

The South Korean government has offered to provide assistance to Bangladesh in meeting an international deadline for the introduction of machine-readable passport (MRP), machine-readable visa (MRV) and e-passports.

The death toll from winter storms across Europe rose to at least 80 yesterday as transport chaos grew amid mounting anger over the failure of Eurostar high-speed trains.

Amnesty International announced yesterday the appointment of a new secretary general, Salil Shetty, an Indian national who has been director of the UN's Millennium Campaign for the past six years.

Come next January it will be one year of the new parliament. And by all indications emanating from the BNP, it may continue to abstain from joining the next session starting from 4th January 2010. The prospect of the parliament continuing without the opposition comes as bad news, and the excuse as usual is that the atmosphere is not conducive to the BNP rejoining the Jatiya Sangsad.

Campus violence, a festering wound that shows no sign of healing, once again brought academic life at Bogra Azizul Haque University College to a standstill on Sunday, when BCL and Shibir activists got embroiled in a bloody clash. Apparently, the whole thing was triggered by the two student groups taking out processions and counter processions following a news item in a Bangla daily, a copy of which was burnt by BCL elements.

The fear lurks within many of us that politics in Bangladesh, once again, despite all our hopes and prayers, despite all their promises and prophecies, is about to make a 180 degree turn. The language is back. The innuendoes are back. The insinuations are back. The allusions are back. The polemics are back. The harangues are back. The tirades are back. The blame game is back. And the name game is back. These are all in the elementary books of politics. But none has graduated beyond that.

Although the debate on the impact of global warming is not yet fully resolved, as scientific evidence failed to capture the extent of the adverse effects of the global warming, potential deleterious impacts are well recognised by the international community. The world leaders had gathered in Copenhagen to find out lasting solutions to the problems of global warming by reducing the emission levels of the polluting nations and providing financial compensation to the victim nations.

In a match that is set to go down in the annals of league history, Mohammedan clinched a last ball thriller against arch-rivals and defending champions Abahani to confirm their first Premier Division Cricket League title in eight years.

Time flies fast, but fortunes fly faster. Barely two months ago, Abahani's veteran all-rounder Mohammad Rafique was the toast of the Abahani players after he played an astonishing knock to single-handedly win his side the season's first cricket event -- the Twenty20 Premier League. Memories of that match are still very much fresh in the mind of every cricket fan and journalist alike.

It couldn't have been any better for Biman as their consistent performance earned them a second-place finish after an entertaining last day of the Ispahani Tea Premier Division Cricket League yesterday.

After a one-day break, the Bangladesh League resumes today with all matches being shifted to the Birshreshtha Shaheed Sepoy Mostafa Stadium in Kamalapur from Bangabandhu National Stadium following renovation work at the country's premium venue.

Ravindra Jadeja led a disciplined spin attack with a career-best 4-32 as India dismissed Sri Lanka for 239 after a blazing start in the third one-day international here on Monday.

Former Pakistan captain Younus Khan returned to first-class cricket on Monday after a month-long absence, raising hopes for a swift international comeback by the big-hitting batsman.

Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan kept their hopes of playing the final alive when they played out a 2-2 draw in the Victory Day Hockey Tournament at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.

Chelsea were left four points clear at the top of the English Premier League table after a hard-fought 1-1 draw away to London rivals West Ham on Sunday.

Juventus suffered a serious Serie A title setback on Sunday when rock-bottom visitors Catania clinched a 2-1 win, handing the Turin giants a third straight defeat.

Misfiring Lyon extended their run of indifferent form with a 1-1 draw at Monaco on Sunday that leaves them in fourth place in the French top flight, 10 points behind league leaders Bordeaux.

Ten-man Hamburg beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in the north Germany derby on Sunday to go fourth in the Bundesliga and put themselves back in the title race behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the world's most expensive footballer, believes Real Madrid are perfectly-placed to snatch the Spanish title from bitter rivals Barcelona.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi, the favourite to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award on Monday, has hit back at critics in his native Argentina who are angered over his failure to translate his club form to the international stage.

Mali midfielder Sidi Yaya Keita was on Sunday ruled out of the African Nations Cup because of a knee injury, a team official said.

Roberto Mancini may have got the Manchester City manager's job but there has been little pomp and fanfare back in his homeland.

Spain's status as one of the favourites to win the 2010 World Cup could end up hurting the squad's chances, Liverpool's Spanish international Fernando Torres said in an interview published Sunday.

Slovenia will be based in Johannesburg for the 2010 World Cup finals, the country's football federation announced on Sunday.

Almeria have sacked their Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez following the Spanish club's 2-0 defeat away to Espanyol on Sunday which left it just one point above the relegation zone.

Last man Graham Onions played out a tense final over from Makhaya Ntini as England escaped with a draw on the fifth and final day of the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park on Sunday.

Phillip Hughes has won a recall to the Australian squad and is on standby for Ricky Ponting while Peter Siddle has also been included in the 13-man outfit for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan. Hughes has not played a Test since being dropped after two games in the Ashes series, but the opening batsman has convinced Andrew Hilditch's panel he is the man to replace Ponting if he does not recover in time from the left elbow problem suffered in Perth.

Anil Kumble, the former India captain, has said the International Cricket Council's (ICC) match referees don't seem to punish the instigators of on-field spats severely enough. He feels that too often the provocateurs escape with a light censure while players who react strongly are penalised severely.

The stock market regulator has asked banks, other financial institutions and insurers to form separate subsidiaries to run brokerage and dealer activities.

Rubber price almost doubled in the past one year riding on the significant rise in domestic and foreign demand, private and public producers said.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has recorded 14 percent growth in revenue in the July-November period of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year, thanks to an improved taxation.

Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman yesterday called upon microfinance institutions (MFIs) to determine interest rate at reasonable level through a transparent process.

Inland water transportation shadowed by other modes of transportation for years is now likely to emerge as an important mode of inland cargo movement, with the private sector strengthening its presence in waterways infrastructure.

Trade analysts yesterday underscored immediate implementation of the ATA Carnet System to help Bangladeshi businessmen compete on an equal footing with rivals.

Indian gem and gold jewellery businessmen see Bangladesh as a growing market as the demand for such precious items is increasing here.

Update International Ltd and Transcom Digital Bangladesh jointly launched a new handset -- Lenovo ET 660 Mobile -- in Bangladesh yesterday.

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA said Monday it has agreed to buy US health-care company Chattem Inc for about $1.9 billion in cash in a deal it said would create the world's fifth-largest consumer healthcare company.

Bangladesh signed an agreement with Mauritius to avoid double taxation and fiscal evasion, at Port Louis yesterday.

The snowstorm that blanketed the East Coast, closing malls and snowing in shoppers, spelled trouble for retailers, but elsewhere in the country stores saw a strong turnout on the last weekend before Christmas.

Today in the developing world private sector is considered the driving force behind economic advancement. Private sector development is also relevant to the all-inclusive growth of a nation. With tremendous growth potential in various sectors of the economy, Bangladesh now is considered an “emerging economy”. Increasing participation of the private sector along with required support from the public sector in terms of maintaining economic stability and taking effective policy measures can lead us to the next trajectory of growth. In order to achieve the same, we need to focus on the following:

The German government will unveil a major savings plan by mid-2010 to put the country back on the road to fiscal health, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in an interview published Monday.

Britain's biggest employers' organisation said Monday that the country's economy would finally emerge from recession by the end of the year, but faces a "fragile path of slow growth" ahead.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. on Monday announced a business tie-up with Malaysian Maybank Investment Bank Berhad targeting corporate clients, part of a push by Japanese banks to expand overseas.

French aerospace and defence industries group Safran on Monday will sign a five-billion-dollar contract to provide engines for China's first large passenger jet, group president Jean-Paul Herteman said.

Asian markets were mostly down during quiet trade on Monday as dealers stuck to the sidelines in the final days before the end of the year.

Oil prices traded mixed on Monday as Opec's crude-producing nations signalled that they would decide against making changes to output levels at an upcoming meeting.

The government is considering imposing a ban on construction of launches with more than two decks with a view to prevent launch disasters, which cause huge loss of lives every year.

About 17,000 children die in drowning in the country every year and about 46 children everyday, speakers said at the inaugural ceremony of a procession organised to create awareness among parents and children about the importance of swimming in Mirpur in the city yesterday.

Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said Justice Nozrul Islam Chowdhury might have made a comment on lawmakers due to his ignorance of the process of making laws.

Bangladesh national Ameerah Haq has been appointed Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Timor-Leste and Head of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT).

Draft voter list for Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) area will be published on January 3, allowing voters to file complaints against errors if any, the Election Commission (EC) announced yesterday.

The government may shift the war crimes trial venue from 14 Abdul Gani Road as the space for setting up tribunal and other offices is not sufficient, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said yesterday.

The result of the Primary Education Terminal Examination will be published simultaneously at 3:00pm today.

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday dismissed the allegation raised by Awami League General Secretary Syed Ashraful Islam that BNP is hatching conspiracy to eliminate Sajeeb Wazed Joy from politics to bring him at the same level with Tarique Rahman.

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), Sachetan Nagorik Committee (Sanak) and members of Agrani YES Friends, Savar recently held a ten-day signature campaign to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.

A three-day exhibition of rare photographs taken during the liberation war by freedom fighter and journalist Haroon Habib began at the National Museum in the city yesterday.

Results of the admission test of Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University have been published, says a press release.

Eleven Asian labour sending countries will frame a common policy to address problems in the overseas employment process, said Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain yesterday.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) last night arrested a man at Sarail in Brahmanbaria on charges of demanding Tk one crore as extortion from Ziaul Haque Mridha, a Jatiya Party lawmaker in the district.

A Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activist was caught red handed while snatching a mobile phone from a pedestrian on the Dhaka University (DU) campus yesterday.

Lekhak, Pathak, Prakashak Sanghati Parishad, a platform of writers, readers and publishers, will launch a signature collection campaign today demanding expansion of the Amar Ekushey Book Fair, says a press release.

Namaz-e-janaza of Dipika Kamrunnessa, wife of former navy chief Admiral (Retd) Abu Taher, will be held on the premises of House No. 192/B, Road No. 1 at DOHS, Mahakhali at 10:00am today, says a press release.

Outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) pasted posters and distributed leaflets at Katagari Bazaar in Tarash uazila of Sirajganj district on Sunday night, threatening to kill five people if they stand against their 'movement'.

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) on Sunday night filed a case against 150 members of Islami Chhatra Shibir in connection with the clash that led to the closure of Government Azizul Haque University College in Bogra.

Authorities have finally decided to rehabilitate ailing and poverty-stricken freedom fighter Aku Mia.

Two leaders of a faction of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) Rangpur Medical College unit were seriously injured by their rivals on the campus on Sunday night.

City mayor Talukder Abdul Khaleque yesterday inaugurated the Charichara canal digging programme in a bid to resolve the waterlogging problem in Khulna city.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate's court here yesterday issued warrant of arrest against the editor of the daily Amar Desh and two others following filing of a $10,000 crore defamation suit against them for publishing 'false report' about prime minister's energy adviser Towfiq Elahi and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion on Sunday night seized 1,620 primary textbooks meant for free distribution from a house in Pabna town and arrested one person.

Townspeople yesterday noon brought out a procession, held rally and submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner (DC) demanding punishment to the driver who crushed a woman under the wheels of his truck Sunday afternoon.

Police on Sunday arrested a fugitive lifer from his house at Nununagar village in Bagha upazila .

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) activists foiled a cultural programme in Kishoreganj on Saturday and assaulted a hall official at Rajshahi University (RU) on Sunday.

A huge sensation has been created among the people of Chilmari upazila in Kurigram following continuous emission of 'natural gas' with cracking sounds from the soil in recent days, officials and locals said.

Former lawmaker and presidium member of Jatiya Party (Ershad) Maulana Sakhawat Hossain was granted bail on Sunday in an extortion case. The court of additional chief judicial magistrate granted the bail prayer at noon. Sakhawat was released from jail in the evening. Sakhawat was arrested from his residence in Keshabpur of Jessore on Thursday night on charge of extortion and swindling. Earlier, principal of Masud Memorial College Masiur Rahman filed a case against him with Keshabpur police station on the same day. In the case, he alleged that Maulana Sakhawat had extorted around Tk 18 lakh from the college teachers at different periods between 2004 and 2007.

Chhatra League (BCL) body at Dinajpur Textile Institute was dissolved on Saturday following factional clashes between two Chhatra League groups which left one student critically injured. The injured student identified as Nuruzzaman Pathan Tuktuk is a fifth year student of the institute. Sources said that district Chhatra League unit recently formed a committee in presence of district leaders despite a ban on student politics at the institute. It created division among the activists resulting in several clashes on the campus on Saturday. Sources said, a faction led by Forhad dragged out Nuruzzaman and stabbed him mercilessly. He was an examinee. The BCL boys attacked him as he protested massive copy by the students of Chhatra League. Nuruzzaman was sent to Dinajpur Medical College and Hospital on Saturday and later shifted to Dhaka as his condition worsened.

Body of Sarowar Morshed, area manager of Protity Pharmaceutical Limited, was recovered from a hotel room Sunday morning. Delwar Hossain, manager of Hotel Magpie said, Sarwar who came from Dhaka, went to bed on Saturday night at about 12:00. The next morning his colleagues came to hotel and tried to contact him over mobile phone. Getting no answer, they opened the room with the help of a duplicate key from the hotel management and found the body lying on the floor. Officer-in-charge of Jessore police station Abdul Kadir Baig said they are unable to say anything before a medical examination whether it was a case of heart attack or murder.

A five-day long inter-college debate competition organised by BRAC advocacy and human rights unit began on Saturday on Sayed Ator Ali Public Library premises in the town. Sixteen teams from different colleges in four upazilas of the district are participating in the competition. The colleges are: Amaresh Bose Degree College, Shatrujitpur College, Buzruk Srikundi College, Hazipur Sammiloni College, Rawtara Hridynath School and College, Magura Adorsho Degree College, Government Technical School and College, Al-Amin Technical College, Magura Technical College, Arpara Mohila College, Arpara Degree College, GK Ideal Degree College, Sreepur Degree College, Government Hossain Shahid Suhrawardy College, Nakol Sammiloni Degree College and Nowapara Sammiloni College.

Agitated subscribers on Saturday morning attacked the Power Development Board (PDB) sub-station at Shambhuganj Bazar in Sadar upazila. Two employees of the sub-station were injured in the attack. Sources said, a PDB transformer on Mymensingh-Netrakona road in Shambhuganj Bazar area was stolen on November 30 night. Following the incident, the subscribers of the area informed it to the authorities concerned several times but no transformer was installed there. As their demand went unheeded, the agitated people besieged the sub-station at around 10:00 am and ransacked the office. During the attack, PDB sub-station operator Basit Ali, 35, and security guard Afar Uddin, 45, were injured.

The call for fresh general elections in Pakistan by Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan in the wake of the Supreme Court's verdict against the NRO has been rejected by all major political parties in the country.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown yesterday accused countries of holding the UN climate summit to ransom as bitter recriminations swirled over the outcome of the negotiations.

The federal government was closed yesterday after a record-breaking snowstorm swept across the northeastern United States and put a damper on one of the biggest shopping weekends of the year while freezing weather ravaged the whole Europe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top ministers on Monday debated whether to approve an emotionally charged deal to trade 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier held by Gaza militants for more than three years.

As the world takes stock of the 11th-hour climate deal hammered out in the Danish capital, many diplomats and experts are asking if injecting leaders into the negotiating process was, on balance, a boon or a blunder.

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator called for a global nuclear weapons ban on Monday but insisted all nations including his own have a right to develop nuclear energy.

President Barack Obama's planned reform of healthcare, his top domestic goal, cleared a key Senate hurdle yesterday with no room to spare and seemed set to pass by his self-imposed Christmas deadline.

An alarmed UN called for restraint as the general strike enforced by Nepal's former Maoist guerrillas entered the second day Monday amidst reports of widespread violence.

A Russian rocket blasted off from a cosmodrome in Kazakhstan lighting up the frigid Central Asian steppe Monday, shuttling an American, a Russian and a Japanese to the International Space Station.

Thousands of mourners on Monday attended the funeral of Iran's top dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, websites said, amid reports proceedings were violently disrupted by hardliners.

Myanmar's supreme court began hearing an appeal yesterday against the extended house arrest of detained opposition leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

In the wake of a fragile security situation in the country, the Pakistan Government has ordered all mosques in Islamabad to be closed after Esha prayers to ensure that terror suspects don't stay in them at night.

Five militants armed with guns and suicide vests attacked a building in an eastern Afghan city early yesterday, officials said, sparking a battle with police that left at least three of the attackers dead.

Sri Lanka's military said Monday it had seized a cargo ship suspected of being an arms smuggling vessel used by the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels at an undisclosed foreign port.

Alcohol can be as fatal as LSD and ecstasy, according to an expert.

An Iraqi minister responsible for Baghdad Airport was sentenced to eight years in prison for trying to extort 500,000 dollars from a security firm for a contract, a judicial official said yesterday.

A commuter train hit a buffer at Zagreb's main railway station Monday injuring 50 people, at least one seriously, police and doctors said.

Children's Film Society Bangladesh will hold the weeklong 3rd International Children Film Festival from January 23, says a press release.

The traditional horse race competition was held at Shaldaga village under Debigonj upazila in Panchagarh on Friday afternoon.

“Court Martial”, a popular play written by eminent Indian playwright Swadesh Deepak was staged at Kobi Jasimuddin Hall in Faridpur recently.

To mark victory day 2009, a daylong children's art competition titled "Ja Ichchhey Aanko" was held at Shishu Mela, Shyamoli, in the city recently, says a press release. KIDZ Club and Shishu Mela jointly arranged the programme.

A weeklong Victory Fair ended in Pabna recently. The speakers in one voice demanded the trial of the war criminals to honour the values and sacrifices of Liberation War. The fair included a discussion, cultural programmes and honouring of ten Freedom Fighters posthumously.

Marking the deaths of Naib Uddin Ahmed, a pioneering photographer of the country and his brother Dr. Nowazesh Ahmed, a scientist, researcher, photographer and a naturist, a memorial programme was held at the training gallery of Alok Chitra Shilpi Sangsad (Ashis) here on December 19 evening. Ashis organised the meeting. The late Naib Uddin was the founder president of Ashis.

A three-day theatre festival ended in Tangail on Monday with a vow to build a prosperous Bangladesh after rooting out corruption and corrupt elements from society.

THE relationship between teachers and students in our education system is similar to what Paulo Freire, a famous Brazilian educator and writer, calls "banking concept of education." In this type of education, a teacher is a depositor and students are the depositories. Students are considered empty accounts to be filled by their teachers. Freire suggests that the dichotomy between teacher and student be eliminated. Both teachers and students should be equal participants in classrooms. A teacher should teach and learn; a student should learn and teach. Thus, Freire's view on education and pedagogical practices is very democratic.

PRIMARY education in Bangladesh is compulsory by law and, according to the constitution, the government is responsible for providing such education to all. Bangladesh is committed to achieving the second MDG by providing quality primary education. Both the government and the non-government agencies initiated programs to achieve this.

ISLAM is a religion of peace. By no mean does it promote violence or hatred, rather it promotes pluralism, human rights and peaceful co- existence in a society. Moreover, Islam promotes democratic values in governing systems since establishing Adl (justice) in a society by engaging in dialogue is a very important part of Quranic teaching.

THE discovery of a 4.4-million-year-old skeleton, humankind's oldest known ancestor, was the greatest scientific breakthrough of 2009, the prestigious journal Science said on December 17.

Honeybees are the main collector of honey. The most accurate architecture of Nature can be seen in a beehive. The wax in hives is produced by the glands on the underside of a bee's body. They use the hive as their abode and most of the compartments are stocked with honey. In each hive there is only one queen-bee and she can lay as many as thousand eggs in one day.

Some 20 self-taught scientists gathered on December 11 and 12 at the Udvabon Mela (Invention Fair) on the premises of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), also known as Science Laboratory in Dhaka. Jonobiggan (People's Science) Foundation organized the event. Technologist came from far-flung places of the country along with their inventions for display and demonstration. Most of the participants were engaged in agriculture, so were their inventions. The various devices they developed are made of locally available materials.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Thursday, December 17, declared that attempts over the past two years to save the endangered Kootenai River white sturgeon had failed.

Two common forms of cancer have been genetically mapped for the first time British scientists announced, in a major breakthrough in understanding the diseases.

Quiz 1
The inspiration for this invention occurred after a hunting trip.