The home ministry has asked police officials to act strictly to curb crimes by Chhatra League activists or face disciplinary measures.

Overshooting the deadline by two years, the newly constructed Tongi overpass is a classic example of how development projects are delayed for bad designs and a lack of foresight, ultimately taking a heavy toll on the people.

Britain's opposition Conservatives won 306 seats to become the biggest party in parliament, but face power-sharing talks after falling short of an overall majority, final vote results showed yesterday.

The government yesterday listed 1,022 new non-government secondary and higher secondary educational institutions for receiving its monthly pay order (MPO) facilities.

The Prime Minister's Office is now dealing with the appointments of war crimes probe body members to avoid further controversy.

The BNP high command has asked organising secretaries of the party to complete pending elections of new committees of 16 district units to wrap up the ongoing party reorganisation.

Potential candidates in the upcoming Chittagong City Corporation election are busy lobbying for the support of both Awami League and BNP.

Bangladesh Noujan Sramik Federation called an indefinite strike from midnight rejecting the new wage structure announced yesterday for water transport workers.

Rushanara Ali has become the first Bangladesh-born Briton to get elected to the House of Commons (British Parliament) from Bethnal Green and Bow constituency creating a new history for both Bangladesh and Britain.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the people to remain alert against any plot by undemocratic forces to destroy the democratic process in the country in future.

A schoolteacher was chopped to death while his son and daughter were injured in an attack by a gang of armed robbers in Kachuadanga village of Tangail pourashava early yesterday.

Masked robbers forced a retired army officer to swear on the holy Qur'an for not filing a case after they had looted 50 tolas of gold ornaments and Tk 30,000 from his house in Dhaka Cantonment area in the small hours of yesterday.

A day after the clash between two BNP factions in Sylhet city, one of the factions yesterday claimed the dead who succumbed to his stab injuries at Osmani Medical College Hospital as one of their activists.

The 149th birth anniversary of Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore will be celebrated across the country today.

Sylhet division bus owners and workers went on an indefinite strike yesterday to press home their five-point demand.

Gamblers beat up two assistant sub-inspectors and a constable, and burnt down their motorbikes in Kaunia upazila of the district Thursday night.

An activist of outlawed Purba Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) Red Flag faction was killed by its rival group at Ataikula in Pabna Thursday night.

Police fired warning shots yesterday as thousands of protesters gathered in Nepal's capital to demand an end to a crippling general strike imposed by former communist guerrillas seeking the government's resignation.

Officer-in-Charge of Benapole Land Port Police Station Aslam Khan yesterday was suspended for his failure to properly investigate the two bomb attacks on a concert in a Baishakhi Mela.

North Korea's reclusive leader reaffirmed yesterday that he was willing to rejoin long-delayed nuclear disarmament talks while on a not-so-secret trip to China, but gave no firm date for restarting the process that Pyongyang abandoned more than a year ago.

In the British general election the incumbent Labour Party has lost massively in terms of both number of seats and popular vote to the Conservative Party in a marked reversal of fortunes since 1931. But essentially the British electorate has returned a hung parliament in which the Labour Party comes second, way behind the Conservatives who have emerged with the largest number of seats but not enough of a majority to form a government on its own.

Facing an existential threat in the eroding bank of river Kumar at Rajoir upazila in Madaripur district, local villagers has set an example of volunteerism which, incidentally, the UN has been trying to popularise around the world. Without looking up to the government, or even perhaps to the local elected body, but driven by the sheer instinct of survivability, they pooled whatever resources they could scrounge to lay a bamboo enclosure around the eroded portion of the bank and threw in logs to block further erosion.

Singapore proved their mantle as the team to beat when they thrashed their East Asian neighbours Thailand 5-2 in the Robi Asian Games Qualifying Hockey Championship at the Maulana Bhasani Hockey Stadium yesterday.

David Warner smashed a rapid 72 as Australia thrashed India by 49 runs in the teams' opening Super Eights match in the World Twenty20 at the Kensington Oval here on Friday.

Sheikh Russel KC returned to winning ways with a 2-0 win over visitors Beanibazar SC in their Citycell Bangladesh League encounter at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith was in a bullish mood ahead of his side's World Twenty20 Super Eights clash against England here on Saturday.

Bangladesh Rifles outclassed East End by straight sets in the National Bank Limited Volleyball Premier League at the Volleyball Stadium yesterday.

The departure of Moha-mmedan's coach Maruful Haque has raised many questions amongst the players of the famous Motijheel club.

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis made no attempt to hide his frustration after the defending World Twenty20 champions poor fielding played a major role in their six-wicket loss to England.

But then the Brazilian management made one of the craziest decisions in World Cup history when, having played those gruelling two matches with the Czechs, they decided to rest Leonidas and fellow striker Tim to keep them fresh for the final. Such over-confidence was their downfall as the Italians, with Giuseppe Meazza still starring, beat them easily. A late goal from Romeo was Brazil's only consolation.

Until Thursday afternoon, Umesh Yadav was a 22-year-old son of a coalmine worker from Khaparkheda village near Nagpur who had impressed with his pace for the Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League.

Albie Morkel's quickfire 40 helped take South Africa to a 13-run win in their opening Super Eights match against New Zealand at the World Twenty20 here on Thursday.

Suspended Indian Premier League boss Lalit Modi faced further trouble on Friday after it emerged he tried to divide world cricket by proposing a parallel event in England.

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori gave his side a stark warning to improve their performance or forget about reaching the semifinals of the World Twenty20.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic continued her return to form at the clay court Rome Open at the Foro Italico here on Thursday as she took her third successive seed's scalp.

South Africa have been fined for a slow over-rate during their 13-run win against New Zealand in the World Twenty20 Super Eights, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Thursday.

Manchester United's hopes of a record 19th English title lie in the hands of an injury-depleted Wigan squad that has nothing left to play for and has avoided defeat away from home just twice this year.

After cruising to the league title last season Barcelona must hold their nerve in the final two games of the season as they bid to fend off a Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Real Madrid team desperate for some silverware.

Former president Nelson Mandela welcomed the World Cup trophy to South Africa on Thursday before the coveted gold statue begins a tour of the country ahead of next month's World Cup.

Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli has accused AS Roma club captain Francesco Totti of racially abusing him during the Italian Cup final.

Bayern Munich's Dutch captain Mark van Bommel is set to make history on Saturday when he becomes the first foreign skipper of the German giants to lift the Bundesliga shield.

Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry faces a nervous wait to see if he makes England's World Cup squad after being ruled out for four weeks by an ankle injury.

Former Liverpool chief executive Rick Parry was handed a 4.295 million pounds (6.307 million dollars) pay-off when he left Anfield last year, according to club's accounts.

Liverpool claim boss Rafael Benitez's crunch talks with chairman Martin Broughton and managing director Christian Purslow over the future of the club were "constructive".

Chelsea and Nigeria's John Obi Mikel has undergone minor knee surgery with just over a month to go until the start of the World Cup.

Tottenham star Gareth Bale signed a new four-year contract with the Champions League qualifiers on Friday.

Arsene Wenger is "confident" Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh will become Arsenal's first signing of the close-season.

Increased awareness and strict implementation of the law are a must to curb use of toxic chemicals in food items, said speakers at a seminar yesterday.

Fourteen people were killed and 34 others injured in separate road accidents across the country in the last two days.

Dhammakaya Foundation, a Thailand-based Buddhist organisation, yesterday donated 250 Buddha statues to Bangladesh in a ceremony marking International Buddha Anniversary Celebration 2010.

Employees of Dhaka University (DU) gave a 15-day ultimatum to the authorities to cancel a decision of the university's finance committee delaying the construction of a residential building for them.

The upcoming national budget should focus on creating more investment-friendly environment in a bid to achieving the GDP growth target of over 6.5, said an economist.

Former home minister and Awami League leader Mohammad Nasim yesterday urged the government to show zero tolerance to the wrongdoings of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) as its violent activities are tarnishing the image of the ruling party.

The World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day will be observed in the country as elsewhere across the globe today with an aim to raise awareness about unplanned urbanisation, which is responsible for many diseases and social crimes.

The police again recovered 768 rounds of bullet of SLR from a pond at Shilmuri village in Barura upazila yesterday.

An unidentified caller, who claimed himself to be a cadre of an underground organisation, have threatened to kill the UNO of Paikgachha Md Sabur Hossain and all the members of his family.

The 6th death anniversary of former lawmaker and Awami League leader Ahsanullah Master was observed yesterday.

A mother committed suicide by taking poison after killing her two-year-old daughter by feeding poison to the child at Kanduria village in Ghior, Manikganj, yesterday morning.

Two people, including a housewife, were killed and another was injured when they were struck by lightning at Sonadanga village under Bagmara upazila of the district yesterday afternoon.

Classes and academic activities of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet) will resume on May 10 while the dormitories will reopen on May 9.

A high-powered government body has fixed the price of each acre of agriculture land at Tk 4 lakh and the price of each acre of commercial land at Tk 7 lakh for the affected people in Barapukuria coal mine areas.

The Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) yesterday celebrated its 62nd founding anniversary with a vow to work for the development of the country.

A young woman was found dead at a paddy field at Char Ishwardia Namapara in Mymensingh yesterday morning.

A teenage schoolboy committed suicide in the city yesterday.

The ruling grand alliance leaders yesterday alleged that BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia resorted to falsehood while addressing the divisional grand rally in Rajshahi on May 5.

Candidates of the 28th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations on Thursday placed a four-point demand before the government, including publishing the results by this month.

Four women and a man were killed when lightning struck them in Bogra and Rajshahi yesterday afternoon.

David Cameron has reached out to the Liberal Democrats in an effort to form a government - after the UK general election resulted in a hung parliament.

Britain faces a turbulent few months after the general election produced a parliament without one party holding an absolute majority -- and the answer may be another election, commentators said yesterday.

Germany's lower house of parliament has voted to approve a 22.4bn euro (£19bn) bail-out plan for debt-ridden Greece, despite widespread public opposition.

Thailand's beleaguered premier was fighting to keep his peace process alive in the face of growing opposition among rival protest movements to his "roadmap" to early elections.

In a surprise move, Iran invited all 15 UN Security Council members to dinner in New York, leading to one of the highest-level US-Iran contacts since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The election watchdog launched an investigation yesterday after queues of angry would-be voters were blocked from casting their ballots before polls closed in cliff-hanger elections.

The pound slumped to a 13-month dollar low yesterday on fears that Britain's election outcome would hamper the nation's ability to slash sky-high public debt, analysts said.

China yesterday opened its first office in Taiwan, hoping to boost tourism and calling it a "milestone" signalling improved relations between the two former rivals.

The death toll from fierce storms and torrential rains that ravaged southern China this week has risen to at least 58 people with tens of thousands left homeless, state media reported yesterday.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday he would let the opposition Conservatives and Liberal Democrats hold power sharing talks first, but offered to talk to the Lib Dems if they failed.

The leader of the top vote-getting coalition in Iraq's inconclusive March 7 elections insisted his bloc still has the right to form the next government despite an alliance forged this week between two rival Shia groups.

Japan's premier, under fire over a row about an unpopular US airbase, suffered another setback yesterday when three mayors from a remote southern island told him they do not want to host any American forces.

Gunmen attacked a police checkpoint in northwest Pakistan at dawn yesterday, killing four policemen before speeding away in a getaway vehicle, police said.

Two Indian army soldiers and five suspected Islamic militants were killed during a fierce gunbattle triggered by a raid in northern revolt-hit Kashmir, the military said yesterday.

Pakistan's interior minister said yesterday he believed the Times Square bombing suspect did not act alone, but he had seen no evidence suggesting the Pakistan Taliban were involved.

The pro-democracy party of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been disbanded after a registration deadline for elections expired.

India's Supreme Court has ruled in favour of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries in a dispute with his brother over natural gas prices.

The Turkish parliament narrowly approved yesterday a series of constitutional amendments that opposition parties say are designed to give the Islamic-rooted government leverage over the largely secular judiciary.

Americans are flooding back into the job market as the economy slowly improves, the Labour Department said yesterday, reporting a barn-busting 290,000 jobs were created in April.

“Rabindranath was one among the nearly seven hundred occupants at the Jorashanko Thakur Bari, and grew up with thirteen siblings: it was not that easy to be the shining star in an environment such as that,” says Tagore enthusiast and educationist Dr. A.B.M Nurul Anwar.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Rabindranath Tagore was one of the greatest Bengali playwrights. Apart from his poems, songs, novels and short stories, Tagore's mastery as a playwright is equally admired. Nearly 40 short and full-length plays by Tagore initiated a new era of Indian theatre.

Tagore's “Gitanjali” celebrates its centenary this year. There is confusion here, however. Noted writer, columnist and Chittagong Bureau Chief of the daily Prothom Alo, Abul Momen cleared the air.

“I have never seen a more kind-hearted man than our Jomidar (landlord) Rabindranath Tagore,” said Mohammed Jhoru Pramanik. Over 106 years old, Pramanik is only living person in Patisar village (Naongaon district) who had seen the Noble laureate poet at close quarters during his last visit to the area in 1937.

“Amar Hiyar Majhey” on Channel i

LAST May Day, as on every other such occasion in the past, workers worldwide reaffirmed their determination to keep united and fight for their unrealised rights wherever those are still unmet or denied. In Bangladesh, too, the workers expressed their solidarity with all other workers of the world and reiterated their demands for minimum wages.

THE political scenario in Thailand, more specifically in Bangkok, is generating lot of heat and tension on a scale hitherto unexpected, given that country's socio-political contour. Human casualties are already in double figures and political discourses have assumed an unprecedented acrimonious dimension. Events are taking sharp turn and a military coup is not ruled out.

THE High Court Division on April 13 declared the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Regional Council Act of 1998 unconstitutional and illegal. On the government's petition the judgement was later stayed for six weeks by the Appellate Division. Now the government has to seek leave to appeal, the granting of which would take the matter to the apex court.

THE members of the so-called "Tea Party" have several things in common; they are almost exclusively white, middle-aged, and Republican -- and none of them voted for Barack Obama in the presidential election of November 2008.

IF it is said that coffee is not good for health, then many people in the affluent society will raise their eyebrows and dismiss the observation. Again, if tea is labeled as a substance harmful to health, people from all strata of the society will raise a hue and cry, saying that the inference is completely unwarranted.

CLIMATE change issues in Bangladesh are generally viewed as the way issues are perceived at global scales. The activities and action plans those are currently in progress in Bangladesh are deeply influenced by the estimates and model predictions produced by IPCC. The most recent IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (IPCC AR4, 2007) states that climate is indeed changing and mentioned that this change took place over the decades as a result of human activities.

LANTANA is a native evergreen shrub to tropical America. It is now a major weed in many regions of the Palaeotropics where it invades natural and agricultural ecosystems. The plants can grow individually in clumps or as dense thickets, crowding out more desirable species. It may grow up to 6 ft high and may spread to 8 ft as a climber with the help of a support. Leaves and stems are rough, hairy and secrete an unpleasant odour like cat pee when crushed. In the tropics lantana is a non-stop bloomer. Flower colour ranges from white to yellow, orange to red, pink to rose in unlimited combinations. In addition, the flower colour usually changes with the change of age.

IN the recently concluded SAARC (the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Summit in Thimphu, the SAARC leaders called for focus to be laid upon water management and conservation and development of cooperative projects at regional level in terms of exchange of best practices and knowledge, capacity building and transfer of eco-friendly technologies. Also the Convention on Cooperation on Environment aims at promoting regional cooperation in preserving the environment and mitigating the impacts of the climate change (The Daily Star, April 30). This is a promising start and I am focusing my attention on how “SAARC can play an important role in reducing vulnerability to water-related disasters”.

Standing at the foot of the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas, Rabi felt an overpowering sense of freedom. This was the first time in his young life that he had ventured outside the protected confines of his princely home and was amidst the natural surroundings he loved. He was only eleven then. Strangely enough, this would also be one of those treasured periods of time he would get to spend with his father Maharshi Devendranath. Rabi, in his later life, would call his childhood a period of 'servocracy' since he had grown up more under the tutelage of family servants than his parents. This trip to Shantiniketan and the Himalayas with his father was, therefore, all the more special to him.

A presentation speech was delivered by Harald Hjärne, Chairman of the Nobel Committee of the Swedish Academy, on December 10, 1913, on the occasion of Rabindranath Tagore's receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature. We carry excerpts from the address ---

A daylong conference on children's literature in March this year came in combination with a creative writing workshop. Children from three English and one Bangla medium schools of classes three to five participated in creative writing, kids drawing and illustration. The result was the wallpaper made up of children's work later displayed in their respective schools. Support for the workshop came from children's story writers, illustrators, animation artists, performers in juvenile art, culture, cartoons, and choreographers.

My Song

On 25 Baishakh, the day Rabindranath Tagore was born, we celebrate the achievements of the Bard and his place in the lives of Bengalis and others across the globe.

FerriScan is a new technology for non-invasive measurement of liver iron concentration (LIC). It is done through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of a patient’s liver to accurately measure the liver iron concentration.

With the rapid urbanisation and increase in atmospheric pollution, there has been a striking rise of the number of people with asthma in recent years. An estimated 300 million people are currently living with asthma and another 100 million will be added by 2025. Majority of these numbers are attributed to children as asthma likely to develop in childhood. Knowing information and simple procedures can make a big difference to such children’s life. As a parent, caregiver, brother, sister, relative, we should help these children to lead a healthy life by controlling asthma.

Thalassaemia is a common genetic disorder in Bangladesh which requires lifelong regular blood transfusion at 2-4 weeks interval. Repeated blood transfusion results in toxic iron accumulation in the body, which in turn damages vital organs like heart, liver and pancreas. Therefore these patients require regular treatment with expensive iron chelating drugs. The overall treatment is burdensome, painful and destroys the economic prospect of an affected family.

U.N. Health bodies called for more research and clinical trials to close gaps in the market for children's medicines that cost millions lives in developing countries each year.

Climate change is the latest threat to the world's growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to a group of Australian experts. A leading professor of health and human rights, Daniel Tarantola of the University of New South Wales, has warned that global warming will indirectly make people of developing countries even more vulnerable to death and severe ill-health from HIV/AIDS.

Breast lump or swelling in the breast is a complaint frequently encountered by general surgeons. It is a common reason for the female patients to seek surgical consultation.

THE 16th SAARC Summit in Bhutan from April 26-28 marked the Silver Jubilee of the organization that was first launched in Dhaka in 1985 to become the biggest regional organization in the world. It brought together at present estimate 1.6 billion impoverished people with the promise of a better future through regional cooperation.

HISTORY taught us that through the passage of time hard earned sovereignty of a nation, state, empire, colony, union or even a republic could eventually crumble. We are not a union like the former USSR or a republic like the USA. We are a sovereign state with maximum homogeneity in terms of ethnicity and culture. However, it still remains vulnerable like all others, barely surviving or crawling towards maturity. To retain its sovereignty, a nation must possess a strong, tangible and intangible ideological platform. This is the area where feeble states perform poorly and eventually succumb. Enlightened leadership with sound civil and military bureaucracy and a professional and patriotic intelligence apparatus can strengthen the foundation and help keep a nation go forward.

The United States revealed for the first time May 3 that it has a total of 5,113 nuclear warheads in its stockpile, saying the move would bolster arms control efforts.

The Indian Army wants to equip its troops with missiles that can loiter over a target for 30 minutes, and it sent a global request for information (RfI) in March, Defence Minister A.K. Antony told the parliament here in a written response.

France wants Syria to guarantee security on its border with Lebanon, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Sunday after Israel accused Damascus of supplying missiles to Hezbollah.

THE growth of Bengali nationalism in pre-1971 Pakistan had a whole lot to do with the various struggles put up by students and teachers of Dhaka University. And that was clearly a reason why during the War of Liberation the university would be made the target of the Pakistan army's particular wrath. That, of course, is an obvious truth. But what Rangalal Sen, Dulal Bhowmik and Tuhin Roy have come forth with in this work is a comprehensive study of the role Dhaka University has played in the shaping of Bengali nationalistic aspirations, beginning especially with the Language Movement of 1952. That is quite a departure from the title of the work. At the same time, for all the stress on the role played by Dhaka University and Calcutta University during Bangladesh's war for liberty in 1971, information on the contributions of the latter does not much go beyond an enumeration of the efforts its academics and students made towards assisting the Bengali movement. But, to be sure, it is invaluable information, a necessary reminder to Bengalis inhabiting the people's republic of the powerful wave of support that had come their way in clearly the darkest moment of their collective life.

Kartography is a book about Karachi, the spider plant city where you might find, according to the narrator, fossilized footprints of Alexander the Great. It is a heartbreaking love story, depicts the ethnic conflict which pervades Pakistani society and yet at the same time the resilience of its people. The story revolves around four friends and their lives in Karachi during 1971, which they call the 'Civil War'. The couples Zafar and Maheen, Yasmin and Ali swap their partners. While they handle the situation somehow, it is their children who can't accept the fact that one of their parents had betrayed the other.