Vol. 5 Num 459 Fri. September 09, 2005       Home  News Today's Index Front Page Business Sports Point-counterpoint Metropolitan Culture Views Editorial Letters to Editor Write to Editor Sections World Others About Us Contact Advertisement Supplements Archives Today's Index Front Page Bombs, 200 detonators seized at militant dens Rab and police yesterday seized 20 time bombs, firearms and a huge quantity of bomb making materials resembling to those used in the August 17 serial blasts from two houses of suspected militants, including   Nucleus of anti-state plot to be unearthed Prime Minister Khaleda Zia said in parliament yesterday those who want to brand Bangladesh a 'religiously extremist country' and cannot take it as a 'Muslim majority liberal democracy' have staged the   No IMF loan if suppliers' credits continue International Monetary Fund (IMF) will not give any money to Bangladesh if the country continues to take suppliers' credit to implement different projects.   Lube oil still used in food Despite a series of drives on city bakeries and confectioneries, bakers are still using burnt lubricants and unsafe chemicals in chanachur and bread, and also mixing rotten products with good ones.   Real damage greater than estimate Bangladesh Economic Association (BEA) yesterday rejected the Tamim Committee's report on the damage of Tengratila gas field blowouts, terming it completely 'unacceptable and mysterious'.   Khaleda off to NY to attend World Summit Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday left for New York to attend the World Summit 2005, one of the largest United Nations (UN) gathering of world leaders, which will review the implementation of the Millennium   Bangladeshi expat gunned down in Iraq A Bangladeshi expatriate was gunned down in Iraq in mid-August allegedly by Iraqi guerillas, according to a delayed report.   Saifur to attend WB, IMF meet in Washington Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman leaves Dhaka tomorrow for the US on a three-week official visit.   JS unlikely to hold discussion on Aug 17 blasts The parliament session that began yesterday amid continued boycott by the main opposition Awami League is unlikely to hold discussion on the August 17 serial bomb blasts as the Business Advisory Committee   Bangladesh may get trade sops for pipeline nod India has agreed to consider Bangladesh's request for additional trade facilities as a least developed country in exchange for permission for a natural gas pipeline from Myanmar to India to pass through   Two shot dead in Manikganj Criminals shot dead two people including a Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal leader in Manikganj town last night.   Evacuation showdown looms in New Orleans The prospect of Hurricane Katrina survivors being dragged from their homes loomed larger yesterday while lawmakers in Washington locked horns over probing the federal response to the disaster.   Oikya Mancha, BDB for all-party talks Jatiya Oikya Mancha and Bikalpa Dhara Bangladesh (BDB) yesterday demanded that the speaker should hold an all-party dialogue to rid the country of the current situation marked by "crimes, corruption and   Jute workers block road for arrears Several hundred agitating workers laid a siege to Amin Jute Mills at Panchlaish in the city, forcing suspension of work for around seven hours yesterday.   Ittefaq staff slaughtered in office A machine operator of the Daily Ittefaq was slaughtered by unidentified assailants at the newspaper's office on RK Mission Road in the capital yesterday.   Rallies cancelled in fear of militant attack Processions to mark the International Literacy Day yesterday were cancelled in Rangpur and neighbouring districts in fear of attacks from the Islamist militants.   2 PBCP outlaws killed in 'crossfire' Two leaders of outlawed Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP) were killed in 'crossfire' between their accomplices and police at Keshail in Badalgachhi upazila in Naogaon in the early hours yesterday.   7 children back to parents Seven children used as camel jockeys in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were handed over to their parents at Raipura in Narsingdi yesterday.   Holiday spree...   C'nawabganj Govt College closed after BCL-Shibir clash Chapainawabganj Government College was yesterday declared closed sine die following a clash between Islami Chhatra Shibir (ICS) and Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) that left two students injured.   Eight killed in road crashes Three road mishaps in Sylhet and Chittagong yesterday killed eight people and injured six. Business Relocate sick industries to Bangladesh Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan yesterday urged Japanese investors to relocate their sick industries from other countries to Bangladesh to make them more profitable.   Businesses urge govt to review two-day holiday The country's business leaders yesterday urged the government to review the two-day holiday.   Japanese keen to help govt build metro rail Japanese private sector has shown interest to help Bangladesh construct an underground railway network in the capital to ease traffic congestion.   ADB raises '05 Asia growth forecast to 6.6pc Developing Asian economies should grow by 6.6 percent this year despite surging oil prices that will clip prospects in Southeast Asia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday.   EU anti-dumping moves worrying India European Union anti-dumping actions against Indian products are a major concern for New Delhi, which feels they are neither rational nor fair, India's trade minister said Wednesday.   Oil prices rise ahead of key US inventories report World oil prices rebounded on Thursday before a key report on US crude stockpiles expected to show a sharp drop in energy supplies, owing to severe disruption to production in the Gulf of Mexico caused   US calls for greater yuan flexibility US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt called yesterday for greater flexibility in the yuan after China revalued its currency by 2.1 percent in July.   Hartal hinders FDI in Bangladesh Hartal is one of the major impediments to discourage foreign direct investments (FDI) in Bangladesh.   2 shows of textile machinery, accessories from Sept 12 Two separate three-day exhibitions of textile machinery and accessories will begin here on September 12.   Vietnam food festival begins The Vietnam Food and Cultural Festival began at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday to mark the 60th Independence Day of Vietnam.   Sino-US textile talks expected ahead of NY summit China, fresh from clinching a deal with Europe, is likely to hold another round of textile talks with the United States ahead of next week's Sino-US summit in New York, political sources said yesterday.   Singapore Airlines to raise fuel surcharge Singapore Airlines (SIA) Thursday said it will raise its fuel surcharge again by as much as five US dollars to cope with higher oil bills, boosting its highest levy to 50 dollars per passenger. Sports Cricket: Injured Mashrafee sent home Bangladesh suffered a major setback with only three days to go before the first Test against Sri Lanka when their strike bowler Mashrafee bin Mortuza had to be sent home after failing to recover from   Football: Brothers, MSC face off in Premier Friday finale The on-going war of words between Mohammedan and Brothers Union will take the back seat when the two giants of Dhaka football lock horns in the virtual final of the Premier Bank Premier Football League   Cricket: A tough second day Bangladesh would hope that they did not get a taste of things to come when a third string Sri Lankan side forced them to stay on the field for almost the entire second day of the three-day match at the   Cricket: Strauss, Warne acts Andrew Strauss's unbeaten 92 helped England recover from a superb spell of bowling from Shane Warne to 213 for four at tea on the first day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at The Oval here Thursday.   Football: Russel KC finish 5th Last year's runners-up Sheikh Russel Krira Chakra finished fifth in the Premier Bank Premier Division Football League with a 3-2 victory over relegated Dipali Juba Sangha in their last match at the Bangabandhu   Cricket: Nehra out of Zim Tests Fast bowler Ashish Nehra, suffering from a back injury, has been ruled out of India's two-Test series with Zimbabwe, an Indian cricket official said on Thursday.   Football: School soccer Emarat Hossain High and Kamarpar High moved into the final round of the Pran-Cola School Football Tournament yesterday. Both the matches were held at the Uttara Armed Police Battalion Ground.   Football: 6 selected for FIFA refs test Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) selected three referees and six assistant referees for a two-day test for FIFA referees which begins on Monday.   Cricket: England 288-5 Andrew Strauss raced to his seventh hundred as England reached 288 for five an hour before schedule close of play on the first day of the deciding Ashes Test at The Oval on Thursday.   Tennis: Agassi epic rolls on In the end James Blake, like the rest of Flushing Meadows, had no choice but to embrace the legend.   Cricket: India's poor shows to be looked into Stung by the Indian cricket team's recent string of reverses, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said it would initiate a "thorough and complete review" of the performance of the players   Football: Northern Ireland do the unthinkable to England England's World Cup qualifying bid was stalled by a stunning 1-0 loss to Northern Ireland on Wednes-day night, while Thierry Henry revived France's chances of making it to next year's tournament in Germany.   Football: 'Go Sven' Gutted England fans demanded to know where was Sven Goran Eriksson's passion after Wed-nesday night's disastrous World Cup result.   Football: Bulgarian Football Union sorry for Stoichkov outburst The Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) has apologised to UEFA following "scandalous" remarks by national team coach Hristo Stoichkov against the the body's president Lennart Johansson.   Cricket: Howard orders 'holiday' for cricket fans! Australian Prime Minister John Howard, a self-confessed "cricket tragic", has called on bosses to cut their workers some slack so they can follow the crucial final Ashes Test against England through the   Cricket: Betting set for records One of Britain's leading bookmakers has said that for the first time in the country over one million pounds will be gambled on a single cricket match in a single day when the fifth Ashes Test betweenEngland   Cricket: Rolling Stones bowled over Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger may have a concert to play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday night but he can't get no satisfaction for thinking about cricket.   Football: Mexico Germany bound Mexico duly qualified for the World Cup on Wednesday by demolishing Panama 5-0 while Costa Rica appear set to follow them after beating Trinidad & Tobago 2-0.   Cricket: BA's Ashes British Airways heightened tensions ahead of the climactic fifth Ashes Test Thursday by offering hundreds of flights between England and Australia at a price set by the combatants' first innings scores. Metropolitan Politicisation cripples administration Speakers at a seminar yesterday said the civil administration has totally collapsed due to its politicisation by the four-party alliance government.   Economic independence crucial for acid survivors Asma Akhtar of Kishoreganj fell victim to acid violence for her refusal to accept a marriage proposal in August 1999 when she was only an eighth-grader.   Let's put education above all: PM Prime Minister Khaleda Zia yesterday renewed her call to all, irrespective of party and opinion, to work together for spreading education and maintain its quality.   35pc of govt aid does not reach Monga-hit people Around 30 to 35 percent of government assistance for the people affected by Monga, a near-famine situation in northwestern region of the country, is misused due to weakness of the local government, said   All accused acquitted of bomb blast charges A Dhaka court yesterday re-fixed September 15 for the verdict on the killing of Sub-Inspector (SI) Farhad.   Forge nat'l consensus to stop Indian river-link project Leaders of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa) yesterday said India is going ahead with its Inter-River Linking Project with an uncompromising attitude as the political parties in Bangladesh remain divided   Rural information centres to be set up in 4 dists Speakers at a workshop yesterday said the information technology can play an important role in developing human resources and alleviating poverty.   Khatme Nubuwat divided over movement The International Khatme Nubuwat Movement Bangladesh, a forum of Islamist bigots, faced a serious rift yesterday after one of its leaders postponed its movement against the Ahmadiyya community in thewake   US accepts Bangladesh's offer for $1m donation The US said it has accepted Bangladesh's offer for $1 million donation for the Hurricane Katrina victims and the Chairman of the Bangladesh Caucus termed the contribution "humbling" as the Asian country   Reform EC to make it free autonomous body Bangladesh Mahila Parishad yesterday urged the government to reform the Election Commission (EC) to make it a free and autonomous body.   5 die in boat capsize Five people died after a boat capsized in Chalan Beel under Shahjadpur upazila of the district yesterday morning.   Girl raped by neighbour in city A seven-year-old girl was raped allegedly by her neighbour at Jafrabad at Mohammadpur in the city yesterday. The incident occurred when the girl, a student of class-1, was playing in her house.   EWU orientation programmes held The East West University (EWU) held orientation programmes for newly admitted students under graduate and undergraduate programmes at its auditorium in the city on Wednesday and yesterday, says a press   Effigy of SQ Chy burnt Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad (BMS), at a rally in the city yesterday, burnt an effigy of Salauddin Qader Chowdhury, advisor to prime minister on parliamentary affairs, for making derogatory remark about   Govt hospitals open on Saturdays All government hospitals will work on Saturdays and will follow the existing work schedule. Indoor and outdoor of all government hospitals will remain opened on Saturdays.   Students threaten strike on Sept 15 Leaders of Student Organisations against Terrorism and Comm-unalism yesterday threatened the government with a call for strike in all educational institutions on September 15.   Arrestee tortured by DB An arrestee in the Indian businessman murder case yesterday told the court that Detective Branch (DB) of police severely tortured him during interrogation in remand.   SC office timing The office timing of the Supreme Court will be from 8:00am to 3:00pm from Sunday to Thursday as the government declared two-day weekly holiday.   New archbishop takes over today New Archbishop of Dhaka Paulinus Costa will take over during an ordination ceremony at St. Mary's Cathedral at Kakrail in the city today, says a press release. He succeeds Archbishop Michael Rozario. Point-Counterpoint Making a mockery of democracy The people of Bangladesh have a long history of struggle; struggle against unfairness, disparity, deprivation and discrimination; struggle for secularism, establishment of social justice, and fair distribution   The Katrina apocalypse As one presses the TV remote control, it is hard to take one's eyes off from the evidence of Titanic ineptitude of the federal officials which compounded the devastation of the over 500,000 thousand poor Culture The regaling voice The song Hayre manush rangin phanush from the film Bado bhalo lok chhilo is perhaps the most appealing and widely rendered song of Andrew Kishore.   Chitrangada Song, dance and recital came together in an impressive performance of Tagore's dance- drama, Chitrangada.   Aggrojo turns the spotlight on the elderly Pragna Laboni juggles her many interests with ease. The part time teacher in North South University is also a TV anchor, scriptwriter and reciter.   Bollywood bonds with James First it was Pakistani singers and now it's over to a Bangladeshi singer to bond with Bollywood.   Million Dollar Hilary "One thing I've learned: You never know where life is taking you, but it's taking you." -- Hilary Swank Life certainly took Hilary somewhere.   Cross-current Bipasha, Mahfuz and Tarin together again Popular artistes Bipasha Hayat, Mahfuz Ahmed and Tarin will be seen together again in another TV play Jekhaney Shimanto. Editorial Editorial: Tightening the belt From oil price hike the government is moving towards austerity.   Editorial: Backing from finance ministry imperative Cash-strapped Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) which saw 12 out of the 22 mills under its wings going into forced hibernation for lack of funds to purchase raw jute has taken a bold initiative   Business as usual One would have hoped that the bomb blasts of August 17 would, at the very least, have had the effect of encouraging the political parties to rethink their approach to politics as usual.   Drop a dime on them We curse other people, but don't criticise them enough. First it was a cultural thing, now it's a cult. Anybody we like, we overlook his vices. Anybody we hate, he is dirt. First it was a social thing.   Weekly holidays From 1982 onwards there have occurred a number of changes in weekly holidays. Letters to Editor Naqvi to Lifschultz (Below is the text of a letter written to American journalist Lawrence Lifschultz by Pakistani journalist and The Daily Star columnist MB Naqvi, following the recent publication of Mr Lifschultz's four-part   Hasina's stand Mr Shahabul Mujib writes (Wed Aug 31) that the leader of the opposition, among her many crimes, is out to tarnish "secular democratic values that we cherish since 1971".   Challenge of religious militancy Some observations on Gen.   DU campus The situation on Dhaka University campus is deteriorating day by day. It was much better when I took admission here more than four years ago. But matters have worsened.   Indian TV shows These days our youngsters & also adults are quite addicted to Indian TV shows. Watching Indian dramas, entertainment shows gives them immense pleasure.   Our security What happened on 17/8 was an early warning to all of us. They tried to send us a message that they have become much more powerful than we think.   Dhaka Cantt. Of late Dhaka Cantt has become a nightmare for the civilians. A lot of civilians are living in DOHS Banani and DOHS Mohakhali.   BNP's dilemma It seems August is the cruellest month for Bangladesh. First, 15 August 1975,then 21 August 2004 and now 17 August 2005.   Intellectual sovereignty Bangladesh is running a high risk of losing intellectual sovereignty in near future.   London bombing This is a response to the letter by Nur Jahan (London bombing) published on 31 August 2005.   Generic names of drugs Thanks a lot to Dr. M. Karim Khan for expressing his views about generic names of drugs on Sunday August 28 in the health page.   Bombs So far we have witnessed three major bomb attacks in the western world: 9/11 attacks in the United States, railway bombing in Madrid, Spain and recent subway bombing in London.   SSC syllabus Many of you already know that our education system is about to undergo a change. From the next year, the students of class IX will study a common syllabus. There will be no separate groups i.e.   Why don't we listen? Kausar Islam Ayon's article "Jatka ban effective on papers only" - covered all the aspects to paint a grim picture of destruction.   Another wake-up call One after another, incidents like August 17 are happening, and we are letting them go without nabbing and bringing to justice the real perpetrators. World South Asia: India backs Britain on terrorism at talks Britain won India's support yesterday for its bid to crack down on incitement of terrorism as UK corporate chiefs pushed for new business in the emerging market powerhouse.   South Asia: Tigers reject truce talks at Lankan airport Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas yesterday rejected as "totally unacceptable" a call by peace broker Norway to hold talks on salvaging their fragile truce at the island's only international airport.   South Asia: Angry Afghans ransack UN office in Pakistan Hundreds of Afghan refugees attacked a United Nations refugee agency office in northwest Pakistan in protest at delays in repatriating them, police and officials said yesterday.   South Asia: Nepalese parties to keep up protests Nepal's political parties yesterday vowed to protest against King Gyanendra for another week, defying police who have arrested activists and broken up several rallies using tear gas and batons.   South Asia: India approves multi-billion dollar French sub deal The Indian government has approved a long-pending multi-billion dollar arms deal to buy submarines from France, a defence official said yesterday, three days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits   Official mismanagement exacerbates Katrina toll Hurricane Katrina's destruction was worsened by a catalogue of official mismanagement, neglect and ineptitude, much of it preventable, critics said Wednesday.   Mystery of Arafat death takes new twist French medical records show it is highly unlikely that poisoning or Aids caused the death of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in a Paris hospital last year, The New York Times reported yesterday.   Storm bares racial gulf The gaping racial divide in the United States was laid bare by Hurricane Katrina, but many social policy experts say the disaster is unlikely to prompt any sustained effort to combat black urban poverty.   Saddam did not confess to mass killings: Lawyer Saddam Hussein's chief attorney denied yesterday that the ousted leader had confessed to ordering executions and waging a campaign against Kurds in which thousands of people are said to have been killed.   Israeli troops await order to leave Gaza Israel sealed off the main crossing out of the Gaza Strip yesterday as the army awaited final orders to leave the territory it has occupied for the past 38 years.   Nursing home horror in New Orleans A horrific glimpse of Hurricane Katrina's wrath emerged Thursday, as more than 30 patients were reportedly found dead in a suburban New Orleans nursing home overcome by floods.   UN probe paints Annan's son as big-spending liar You can choose your friends but not your family.   © thedailystar.net, 2005. 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