Vol. 5 Num 1046 Sat. May 12, 2007       Home  News Today's Index Front Page Business Sports Metropolitan National International Culture Views Point-counterpoint Editorial Write to Editor Sections StarTech Literature Others About Us Contact Advertisement Supplements Archives WWW thedailystar.net Today's Index Front Page Demands for allowing indoor politics, specific poll date growing Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed's caretaker government steps into its fifth month today amidst growing demands for lifting ban on indoor politics and a clearer timeframe for general elections.   Khaleda asks leaders not to create confusion Brig Gen (retd) Hannan Shah, an adviser to BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia, yesterday said the party chief had asked party leaders not to give any speech which might give rise to confusions in the party.   Shibir's secret training of DU students A group of 13 Dhaka University (DU) students were awakened at dead of night on May 4 in a shabby two-storey building near the Kantaban slope in the capital to swear their allegiance to militant Islamist   Dismantling of illegal billboards begins The Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) has taken an initiative to remove all illegal billboards especially those on top of buildings and the ones that are hazardous to city dwellers.   Crucial second ODI today Tigers' pace spearhead Mashrafe Bin Mortaza is expected to play in the all-important second one-day international against visiting India at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium today.   AL demands election schedule Awami League (AL) yesterday demanded that the caretaker government hold election as early as possible to hand over power to an elected government.   Evidential materials worth crores of taka decaying Evidential materials worth crores of taka seized by police in connection with various cases and kept under supervision of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's (CMM) Court, Dhaka, are getting damaged causing   Tasneem freed The Daily Star staff, Tasneem Khalil, picked up by the joint forces early yesterday from his residence in the city for questioning, was freed around 11 last night.   Khaleda attends dinner hosted by Reaz Rahman BNP Chairperson and former prime minister Khaleda Zia yesterday had dinner with former US Congressman Gregory Laughlin at the Basundhara residence of former foreign affairs adviser Reaz Rahman.   Risky life...   Locals must actively help resolve problem Active and effective participation of the locals of Bhabadaha area in Jessore is must for the implementation of any project to solve the area's persistent water-logging problem, speakers at a seminarsaid   4,500 domestic fowls culled in Jaldhaka More than 4,500 four thousand five hundred domestic fowls were killed and buried from all of the 454 households of West Gulmonda Master Para village in Jaldhaka upazila on Thursday night and yesterday.   Another extortion case against Ilyas Ali Another extortion case was filed against former lawmaker and Sylhet district BNP chief M Ilyas Ali and five others with Sylhet Kotwali Police Station yesterday.   US congressmen for fair, early election in Bangladesh US congressmen have expressed their desire to see a free and fair election in Bangladesh at the earliest possible time.   Rental power project in Bogra may be retained The Power Division is going to request the government's purchase committee to revoke its decision on cancellation of a 20 megawatt rental power project in Bogra to avert possible hassles of litigation.   'Criminal' killed in encounter with Rab A listed criminal was killed in an encounter with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in Raozan upazila of the district early yesterday. The dead was identified as Wahid Murad, 28.   Bombs recovered in Satkhira Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) on Thursday evening recovered eight live bombs, bomb making powder and four bullets from a house at Ellarchar in Sadar upazila.   Brown vows to learn from Iraq mistakes Gordon Brown launched his campaign to become Britain's next prime minister yesterday, pledging to learn from the mistakes of the Iraq war while honouring "our obligations to the Iraqi people.   Mayawati's party back to power in UP The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), led by school teacher-turned-politician Mayawati, yesterday back to power in India's most populous and politically key state of Uttar Pradesh virtually on its own as Samajwadi   Pakistan arrests scores ahead of pro-judge rally Pakistani authorities rounded up scores of opposition activists and deployed 15,000 police and paramilitary troops Friday ahead of a rally led by the country's suspended top judge, officials said.   NPT conference urges Iran to stop enriching uranium A conference on fixing the 189-nation nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) urged Iran to comply with UN calls to stop enriching uranium, in a summary of the two-week meeting ending yesterday.   4 more US soldiers killed in Iraq Four more US soldiers have been killed in Iraq, the military announced yesterday, as an increased pace in combat operations kept the average rate of American deaths at three per day so far this month. Business Govt plans direct air link with Myanmar The government plans to introduce direct flight services with Myanmar to increase exports especially of pharmaceutical products to the southeastern Asian neighbour.   Citigroup wants to help Bangladesh develop domestic bond market A larger domestic bond market can reduce a country's dependency on short-term foreign currency borrowing and also help the country accelerate its economic activities, said a high official of Citigroup's   Why US should design an LDC-friendly duty-free, quota-free offer list A global duty-free, quota-free (DF-QF) market access for all exports from all LDCs has been a longstanding demand of the LDCs in the context of the multilateral trade negotiations in the WTO.   Int'l investors' confce ends on high note The first-ever international investors' conference ended yesterday with foreign institutional investors showing keen interest to invest in the country's pharmaceuticals, financial services and textiles   Last leg of safe workplace fair begins In a bid to create awareness of safety, health and environment issues among the workers and factory owners, different safety-related products are being displayed at a two-day safe workplace and safety   US Congress, Bush clinch trade standards deal The US Congress and the White House agreed a bipartisan trade deal Thursday that sets social and environmental standards for free-trade agreements.   US starts campaign for more foreign investment The US government launched an initiative Thursday to show America welcomes foreign investment despite recent flaps about takeovers of US companies. The effort announced by President George W.   ROK to build 5m autos in '07 South Korea's auto production at home and overseas will surpass five million this year for the first time, Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo predicted Friday.   Dollar edges up in sluggish Asian trade The dollar edged upward Friday in sluggish Asian trade as the market looked ahead to US data after the US and European central banks left their monetary policies unchanged, dealers said.   Weekly Currency Roundup May 06-May 10, 2007 Local FX Market The demand for US dollar was stable in the week. Sports Cricket: Tigers charged up A good game slipped away from their hands but the Bangladesh team were not ready to latch on repentance rather seemed charged up to bounce back in the three-match series against India when the two meet   Cricket: Rafique in Asian XI Mohammad Rafique was the only Bangladeshi face in the Asian XI that will take on Africa in the second Afro-Asia Cricket Cup to be held in India next month.   Cricket: Howard 'jammed' on Zim tour Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Friday he was 'jammed' on how to stop the country's cricketers from touring Zimbabwe later this year.   Cricket: 'A shocker'! Just better performance would not be good enough for Bangladesh to win the second match against India today. Because there is an umpire named Asoka de Silva.   Cricket: Jennings declines BCB offer Ray Jennings, the former coach of South Africa, says he has declined an offer to coach the Bangladesh national team stating his South African loyalties as the reason.   Football: Ctg Abahani blank Farashganj Chittagong Abahani ended the first leg of the B.League second from bottom but reduced the gap with teams above with a 2-0 home win against Farashganj yesterday.   Cricket: Sarwan admits Windies 'turmoil' Ramnaresh Sarwan believes the tour of England is the perfect opportunity for West Indies, who he admitted were "in a bit of a turmoil", to launch a new era.   Hockey: Aussies in Azlan Shah final Olympic champions Australia extended their supremacy over Asian Games gold medallists Korea scripting a 6-2 win to enter the final of the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup eight-nation hockey tournament, here   Football: Jittery Schalke on the brink Schalke 04 stand on the brink of being crowned German champions for the first time in 49 years this weekend, but midfielder Hamit Altintop warned they must focus on clearing the final hurdles.   Cycling: Landis in shock Armstrong claim Embattled Tour de France champion Floyd Landis said Thursday that US anti-doping officials offered early in his case to go easy on him if he provided evidence incriminating former champ Lance Armstrong.   Football: Ghaly in hot water Tottenham boss Martin Jol has made it clear he will come down hard on Hossam Ghaly after the Egypt midfielder threw his shirt at the feet of the manager after being substituted in the club's 1-1 drawwith   Football: Getafe's wonder comeback Getafe trounced Barcelona 4-0 on Thursday to overcome a three-goal deficit and advance to the first Copa del Rey final in their history.   Football: No favours for Hammers Manchester United will parade the Premiership trophy to a jubilant Old Trafford on Sunday but manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists it will be business as usual as soon as the whistle goes against relegation-threatened   Night racing in Singapore Singapore will stage a Formula One Grand Prix next year, with the race set to be the first in the sport's history to be held at night.   Football: Barca looking to history League leaders and reigning champions Barcelona will be hoping that history repeats itself against Real Betis on Sunday.   Football: Defoe dashes Rovers dreams A second-half equaliser from Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe ended Blackburn's hopes of a direct route entry into next season's UEFA Cup on Thursday.   Football: Relegation battle heats up The battle to avoid joining Ascoli and Messina on the relegation scrapheap could not be tighter with eight Serie A teams involved in the survival dogfight.   Football: Latics meet Abahani in last friendly The youth side of Oldham Athletic will look forward to end their tour of Bangladesh with a win when they take on Dhaka giants and current B. League joint-leaders Abahani.   Cricket: Cork calls for Flintoff captaincy Andrew Flintoff should be named as England captain if Michael Vaughan is ruled out through injury, says Lancashire teammate Dominic Cork.   Cricket: Dhoni savours knock Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who defied cramps to fashion an Indian victory in the first of the three-match one-day cricket series against Bangladesh, yesterday termed his unbeaten 91 as one of the most memorable   Cricket: SL wants elected body for cricket Sri Lanka's sports minister said Friday he wants a new committee elected to run the island's cricket administration, which is currently managed by political appointees.   Tennis: Philippoussis in US reality show Two-time Grand Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis is reportedly set to become the star of a US reality television show as his tennis career continues to hit the skids.   Football: Zidane to visit Indonesia French football star Zinedine Zidane will visit Indonesia in July to promote the sport among children, the tour's sponsors said Thursday.   Cricket: Vaughan, Pietersen boost for England England have received a boost in the build-up to the first Test at Lord's which starts next Thursday (May 17) with the news that Michael Vaughan may recover in time to play.   Football: England call-up for Owen Michael Owen will pull on an England shirt for the first time in 10 months as part of a 20-man squad for a 'B' international against Albania on May 25.   Football: Former star Rincon arrested Former Colombian footballer Freddy Rincon has been arrested here by federal police at the behest of authorities in Panama as part of a probe into international drug trafficking and money laundering.   Football: Gunners sign goalkeeper Poland international Lukasz Fabianski will be competing with Jens Lehmann for the Arsenal goalkeeping gloves next season, manager Arsene Wenger revealed on Friday.   Tennis: Nadal on course for Rome title Second seed Rafael Nadal, Rome champion for the past two years, eased into the quarterfinals with a straightforward victory over Mikhail Youzhny. Metropolitan Political will needed to solve indigenous people's problems Speakers at a roundtable yesterday called for political will to solve the problems of indigenous people including the problems prevailing in forest areas of the country.   Economic zone to be set up in Sylhet soon Adviser to Foreign Affairs Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has said about one thousand acres of land would be acquired soon to set up an economic zone in Sylhet where expatriate Bangladeshis will be given   Take steps to preserve wetlands Speakers at a press briefing urged the government to take necessary steps to preserve wetlands and coastal areas of the country for the sake of ecology.   Five killed in road accidents Five people, including two children, were killed and 36 others injured in separate road accidents in Faridpur, Sirajganj and Mymensingh in the last two days.   'A Golden Age' launched Speakers at the launching ceremony of a novel titled 'A Golden Age' by Tahmima Anam yesterday said it is the first novel published in English internationally depicting our liberation war, which will reach   BRRI develops two new hybrid varieties of rice Scientists of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) have developed two more hybrid varieties of rice suitable for Boro season.   1 gets life for rape A man was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court here on Thursday in a rape case.   Rape, teasing of teenaged girls condemned Karmojibi Nari, a rights organisation, in statement yesterday condemned rape of a retarded adolescent girl in Akhaura and teasing of some derailed youths at Shyampur in the city that compels another teenaged   'Increase budget for people with disability' Pratibandhi Kallayan Society (PKS) in a statement yesterday urged the government to increase budget allocation for development of the physically challenged people.   10 business establishments gutted in Habiganj At least 10 business establishments were gutted by a devastating fire in Khoaimukh area of the district town in the early hours of yesterday.   Clash leaves 17 injured At least 17 people were injured in a fierce clash between two rival groups over capturing a land at west Khuksia village in Kazipur upazila on Thursday.   Anti-smoking rally...   BBC Bangladesh Sanglap today The 30th episode of the BBC Bangladesh Sanglap will be held at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in the city at 5:45pm today.   Four arrested with smuggled medicine Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), in a sudden drive, arrested four smugglers with huge Indian medicine from Ramchandrapur in frontier Panchbi upazila in the early hours of yesterday.   Uncovered drainage line...   Three fake examinees held in Netrakona Three false examinees were arrested at Kendua and Mohongonj in the district yesterday while they were acting as proxy for their brothers at the Mathematics exam of SSC 2006 under Open University.   Criminal held with firearm, bombs Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested a suspected criminal with a firearm, three improvised bombs, two bullets and Tk 2 lakh when he went to collect tolls from a medicine market near Mitford   Mason dies as brick falls on his head A mason died when a brick fell on his head from the top floor of a six-storied under-construction building in the city yesterday. National Workers reject BJMC offer for voluntary retirement Workers and employees of eight state-owned jute mills in Khulna -Jessore industrial belts have rejected a BJMC offer to go on voluntary retirement to get their arrear wages and other benefits and threatened   Tk 865 for filing GD, Tk 5,313 to avoid torture on remand Sixty-eight per cent of complainants had to pay a bribe of Tk 865 on an average for filing a general diary (GD) with Mymensingh Kotwali police station.   Govt funds gobbled up in Gaibandha Joint forces have detected corruption and irregularities in implementation of the ongoing Char Livelihood Programme (CLP) in Sunderganj upazila in Gaibandga district.   Property attachment of 8 ordered A court here has ordered attachment of property of eight absconding accused including the bother of city Mayor and a BNP leader and ward commissioner in a case for alleged misappropriation of cores of   5 AL, BNP men held in Khagrachhari Police in separate drives yesterday arrested five activists of BNP and Awami League including Khagrachhari district Jubo Leauge office secretary for their alleged involvement in terrorism and other crimes.   UP Chairman held in Kurigram A Union Parishad (UP) chairman of Nageswari upazila in Kurigram district was arrested with a smuggled motor cycle on Thursday night.   JMB suspect placed on 3-day remand in Habiganj An expatriate, who was arrested for his suspected link with outlawed JMB, was granted a three-day police remand by a court here on Thursday. Point-Counterpoint The awesome fight against corruption A reputed academic cum activist of Bangladesh has very aptly remarked that fighting corruption is not a faint-hearted liberal's job and the same also is not a 'nine to five' assignment.   Change for good, or is it? On 26th April a number of national dailies carried the news: the Government of Bangladesh has decided to turn Biman Bangladesh Airlines into a public limited company upon recommendations from the 'high-powered'   Death of a traffic police Woe betide the country! What a bad luck! Where the traffic police is overrun by a truck! Who made whose life miserable? Did the traffic police make himself insufferable? Please tell us, please Culture A unique array of superb compositions The ongoing group exhibition at Saju's art gallery, gathering the works of 100 artists, is indeed an impressive one.   'The Birthday Party': An academic production As part of their 'Western Acting Method' curriculum, MA students of Department of Theatre and Music of DU staged four shows of Nobel laureate litterateur Harold Pinter's play The Birthday Party.   Aruna Chanda: Plight of a committed theatre artiste Aruna Chanda, 64, a popular name in the Mymensingh cultural arena, has worked in theatre for over 50 years with effect. But a brain stroke has rendered Aruna, popularly known as 'Arunadi', disabled.   Amar Chhobi celebrates 350 episodes Weekly cine magazine Amar Chhobi, which channel-i airs at 6:30 pm on every Thursday, crossed 350th episode on May 10.   'Ronin': Another Frank Miller creation to go on big screen Following on from the phenomenal success of 300, Warner Bros has snapped up the rights to Frank Miller's graphic novel Ronin, with an eye to giving it the same high-gloss movie treatment. International Lanka needs time to down flying Tigers Sri Lanka needs time to neutralise the air strike capability of Tiger rebels, a state-run daily said yesterday as the international airport shut down at night fearing guerrilla air raids.   House votes to handcuff Bush on war funds US lawmakers Thursday voted to fund the Iraq combat in instalments of just a few months, defying President George W Bush's veto vow in the latest tussle of a political feud over control of the war.   India salutes 'martyrs' who battled British rule 150 yrs ago India paid homage with full pomp and honour yesterday to the "martyrs" who battled British rule 150 years ago in the country's "first war of independence.   16 killed in fresh Afghan violence Four policemen and a dozen Taliban were killed in fresh violence in southern Afghanistan, officials said Friday.   Both Koreas adopt military agreement South Korea adopted a military agreement Friday enabling the first train crossing of their heavily armed border in more than a half-century, the South's Defence Ministry said.   'Curbing deforestation by half key to global warming battle' Tropical developing nations can help drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming by reducing the rate of deforestation by half, climate researchers said Thursday.   Baghdad to push for US support Worried Congress' support for Iraq is deteriorating rapidly, Baghdad dispatched senior officials to Capitol Hill this week to warn members one-on-one that pulling out US troops would have disastrous consequences.   Kosovo to become independent by end of month, says US Kosovo could be granted independence from Serbia by the end of the month, US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said here yesterday.   India bus plunge kills 20 A bus plunged nearly 30 feet into a riverbed in eastern India early yesterday, killing at least 20 people and injuring 12, an official said.   Scientists announce cancer drug breakthrough Australian scientists yesterday said they have developed a cancer treatment which could deliver lethal doses of drugs to tumours without the usual harmful side-effects such as nausea and hair loss. Editorial Editorial: A dynamic Chittagong port A sudden change for the better has come into the workings of Chittagong port. We are heartened by the development.   Editorial: Faulty signalling equipment Random malfunctioning of signals in the city is causing hindrance to movement of traffic.   Restoring policing as an institution I have never been a member of the police force. I have however watched the functioning of this important arm of governance with great care over the last four decades.   Yes prime minister, no I do not know why Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is once again seeking entry into parliament through the back door, the Rajya Sabha. This is an Upper House.   Tata's investment proposal: A layman's observation Tata's Dhaka office has of late been knocking the doors of the Advisers of the caretaker government to press home their demand for taking a decision on their "investment proposal". StarTech Hassle free transmission Wow! At last the power transmission goes wireless. Yes, it is not a rumour but an astonishing fact that will embellish the existing power distribution technology in your premise.   Lenovo unveils notebooks in Bangladesh Lenovo launched its 3000 series notebooks for the first time in the Bangladesh market on May 10 through a gala evening at a city hotel.   NSN Village Connection brings affordable connectivity to rural areas Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) recently introduced its new solution, Village Connection, for affordable rural connectivity and coverage in new growth markets.   Yahoo offers web-based instant messaging Yahoo on Thursday launched a web-based version of its free instant messaging service for Internet users who want to stay connected while away from their home computers.   I-Unit Literature "Ticket and Passport, Please!" "Can I have your ticket and passport, please?" "Yes, just give me a second." I'm sure they are with me; otherwise, how could I have come to the airport.   Doing the MLA conference My pet peeve is that the MLA conference always comes around Christmas. My problem is that I am usually not done with my gradings by then and thus exacerbate my stress level by traveling with a job undone.   The Wandering Jew Indianized The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers by Sarnath Banerjee; Delhi: Penguin India; 2007; Rs. 395; 263 pp. The Barn Owl's Wondrous Capers is a graphic novel.   Pilgrims* In biting cold began our journey, A terribly long one too- And at the worst time imaginable, The roads all circuitous, Winds sharp and blustery- An utterly   © thedailystar.net, 2007. All Rights Reserved.