Grenade attack case

HC orders grilling of Babar at jail gate

A metropolitan court Wednesday sent detained former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar under police remand in the August 21 grenade-attack case and soon retracted his order following a prompt High Court order, reports UNB.
He was whisked away into Criminal Investigation Department (CID) custody from the court and then sent to Dhaka Central Jail in the evening as the higher-court order reached the lower court, in the meantime, asking the investigators to interrogate him at jail gate, officials and lawyers said.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate M Ehsanul Huq placed Babar on a 5-day remand following a petition submitted by the CID police for quizzing over the August 21 grenade attack on the present ruling party''s rally five years ago, as fresh investigations into the case reportedly found his complicity.
As Babar''s counsel meanwhile moved to the High Court, the HC directed the authorities concerned to interrogate him at jail gate, "if necessary".
An HC division bench comprising Justice Syed M Dastagir Husain and Justice M Rais Uddin passed the order following Babar''s petition.
Judge M Ehsanul Huq stayed his remand order till Sunday when the copy of HC order traveled fast to his court amid scrambles over Babar remand.
Earlier, the metropolitan court permitted the investigating plainclothes police to take their former boss under custody after a "hurried" hearing on the remand petition, apparently to the anguish of defense lawyers.
"A host of his lawyers from the BNP block left the courtroom en-block and staged protest outside," says a firsthand report by a UNB correspondent.
Senior Assistant Police Super of the CID and Investigating Officer of the case Abdul Kahar Akand petitioned the court on Monday for taking the ex-home minister on ten days'' remand for interrogation in connection with the attack on the Awami League rally.
In the petition the IO said Lutfozzaman Babar "should be arrested as his involvement in the incident was proved during the depositions by prosecution witnesses in the case".
He also said the former State Minister of the BNP government has to be interrogated for proper investigation into the case.
Babar was produced before the court on Wednesday at about 12:30pm from Kashimpur Central Jail amid tight security.


Grenade attack case
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At the beginning of the hearing on the remand prayer, his lawyers sought time saying that there weren''t enough documents in their hand and also their senior lawyers, including Barrister Rafique-ul Haque, would join in the hearing session.
But the court rejected their plea and passed the order placing the former State Minister on a 5-day remand.
Out of anger, over a hundred BNP lawyers who took part in the hearing left the courtroom and brought out a procession on the court premises.
Earlier on Monday, he was shown arrested in the case by an order of the metropolitan court.
In the deadly grenade attack on the Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue on August 21, 2004, addressed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, then Leader of the Opposition, 23 people were killed and 300 injured. Hasina narrowly escaped.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had earlier submitted charges against 22 persons, including Huji chief Mufti Abdul Hannan and former deputy minister and BNP leader Abdus Salam Pintu.
Earlier on March 5 this year, a metropolitan magistrate''s court in Dhaka sent him to jail after he surrendered and sought bail in an arms case in which he was earlier sentenced to 17 years'' rigorous imprisonment.
That was for a second time Babar was put behind bars. He was earlier arrested on charge of corruption on May 28, 2007 amid a crackdown on the political arena following the 1/11 changeover. He was released on a higher court bail and contested the December 29 polls as an independent candidate.
The HC granted Babar a six-month bail on health grounds in the arms case on October 16 last following a pending appeal against the trial court verdict.
However, the SC on October 23 revised the HC order and granted him bail for three months and directed him to surrender before the trial court within the time.
After his arrest by the joint forces on May 28, 2007 from his residence he was shown arrested under the Emergency Power Rules and placed on a four-day remand for interrogation.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a graft case against Babar on October 4 for taking Tk 21 crore in bribe to save Bashundhara Group chairman''s son from murder charges.
He was also accused of amassing wealth by illegal means and concealing wealth information from the anti-corruption watchdog.

Car bomb kills 91 in Peshawar

PESHAWAR, Oct 28: A car bomb tore through a busy market in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 91 people as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the country and pledged American support for its campaign against Islamist militants, reports AP.
More than 200 people were wounded in the blast in the main northwestern city of Peshawar, the deadliest in a surge of attacks this month. The government blamed militants seeking to avenge an army offensive launched this month against al-Qaida and Taliban in their stronghold close to the Afghan border.
The bomb destroyed much of a market selling bangles, dresses and toys that was popular with women and children.
It collapsed buildings, including a mosque, and set shops on fire in an old part of the city crisscrossed with narrow alleys and clogged with stalls. Wounded people sat amid burning debris and body parts as a huge plume of gray smoke rose above the city. Crying for help, men grabbed at the wreckage, trying to pull out survivors trapped beneath.
One two-story building collapsed as firefighters doused it with water, triggering more panic. "There was a deafening sound and I was like a blind man for a few minutes," said Mohammad Usman, who was wounded in the shoulder. "I heard women and children crying and started to help others.
There was the smell of human flesh in the air."
Clinton, on her first visit to Pakistan as secretary of state, was a three-hour drive away in the capital, Islamabad, when the blast took place. Speaking to reporters, she praised the army''s anti-Taliban offensive in South Waziristan and offered U.S. support. "I want you to know this fight is not Pakistan''s alone," Clinton said. "These extremists are committed to destroying what is dear to us as much as they are committed to destroying that which is dear to you and to all people. So this is our struggle as well." Appearing with her, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the violence would not break his government''s will to fight back.
"The resolve and determination will not be shaken," Qureshi said. "People are carrying out such heinous crimes - they want to shake our resolve. I want to address them: We will not buckle. We will fight you. We will fight you because we want peace and stability in Pakistan."
No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but that is not unusual, especially when the victims are Pakistani civilians. Sahib Gul, a doctor at a nearby hospital, said 91 people were killed and more than 200 injured. Many of the victims were women and children.
Three bombs have exploded in Peshawar this month, including another one that killed more than 50 people, part of a barrage of at least 10 major attacks across the country that have killed some 250 people. Most have targeted security forces, but some bombs have gone off in public places, apparently to undercut support for the army''s assault on the border and expose the weakness of the government.
The Taliban have warned Pakistan that they would stage more attacks if the army does not end a new ground offensive in the South Waziristan tribal region, where the military has dispatched some 30,000 troops to flush out insurgents. South Waziristan is a major base for the Pakistani Taliban and other foreign militants. North West Frontier Province Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain blamed the militants for Wednesday''s attack.
"We are hitting them at their center of terrorism, and they are hitting back targeting Peshawar," he said. "This is a tough time for us. We are picking up the bodies of our women and children, but we will follow these terrorists and eliminate them."

PM spells out action plan for jam-free city

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday spelt out her government''s a massive action plan for building a traffic-jam free modern Dhaka as the apposite capital city of Bangladesh, reports UNB.
Replying to a scripted question of Abul Khayer Bhuiyan (Laxmipur-2), she said the government is implementing 27 projects to improve the living standard of the city-dwellers, electricity and gas situation and transport infrastructures.
The projects include expansion of roads from Bijoy Sarani to Tejgaon Industrial area, introducing orbital roads and waterways surrounding the capital, upgrading Zia International Airport, construction of Link Bridge from Tejgaon Arang to Gulshan Shooting Club, integrated development project in Begunbari-Hatirjheel area, infrastructure development on the Buriganga riverbanks to stop grabbing.
Besides, to free the capital city from traffic congestion, the government has plans for setting up more flyovers, including some over the railway crossings, underground rail lines and sky-rail service, Sheikh Hasina told the House.
"There will be scope for expanding the city when the Dhaka Integrated Flood Control Embankment Cum Eastern Bypass Multipurpose Project will fully be implemented," she said.
The PM further said construction work of the 3rd Buriganga Bridge at Basila, Mohammadpur, and 2nd Shitalakhya Bridge at Demra is on under the city-uplift plan.
Also, measures are being taken to remove 20-year-old commercial vehicles from the capital city.
Besides, implementation of a project for increasing the number of buses capable of carrying large numbers of passengers is in the final phase.
The number of commercially operated three-wheelers is also being decreased in a bid to reduce the traffic congestion, she said.
bdnews24.com adds: Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has urged people of the country to be more aware to combat the difficulties wrought by climate change, as she addressed parliament Wednesday on her return from a development conference in Stockholm earlier this week.
"I''ve called on the international community to raise a viable global fund so that we and other vulnerable countries can fight losses we that climate change will bring," she said in a question-answer session as it resumed after a two-week break.
"Bangladesh is the one to face losses, but it is the industrially developed countries, not we, are responsible," she said.
Citing a large part of the country''s south will go under water if sea levels rises by a metre, as predicted by some scientists, Hasina spelled out a number of measures that her government has undertaken including major river dredging and raising river banks.

Withdraw cases against Tarique

AL vitiating atmosphere in and outside JS, alleges Delwar

BNP leaders today demanded withdrawal of all cases against its senior joint secretary general Tarique Rahman, reports UNB
Speaking at a function marking the 31st anniversary of Jubo Dal, youth wing of BNP, at Mohanagar Natya Mancha they claimed that the cases are false and politically motivated to harass Tarique, son of party chairperson Khaleda Zia.
Khandaker Delwer Hossain, Gayeswar Chandra Roy, Mirza Abbash and Jubo Dal leaders Barkatullah Bulu, Mozammel Hossain Alal and Khairul Kabir khokan spoke at the function.
Delwer urged the party men to remain united to strengthen the hands of party chairperson Khaleda Zia for foiling all sorts of conspiracy against the party.
Gayeswar Chandra Roy said the government filed false cases against Tarique Rahman with a motive to destroy the promising leader of the party. "We have to foil the conspiracy" he said.
bdnews24.com adds: The chance of the main opposition joining parliament are dwindling due to the ruling party''s ''autocratic attitude'', BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain said Wednesday.
BNP would not attend as the third session resumes today (Wednesday)," Delwar told a press conference.
"Our parliamentarians cannot attend," Delwar said at the party chairperson''s Gulshan office.
"They (the ruling party) are so disrupting the environment inside and outside parliament through their autocratic attitude with our leaders and MPs that the chances of us joining the parliament are falling."
He said, "In view of the hostile attitude of the government towards the opposition it seems that they have no belief in democracy. They are thinking theirs is the one and only, the last government."
"Presenting colourful dreams of ''changing days'' they are in fact revealing the face of fascism." The third session of the ninth parliament
resumed Wednesday afternoon after a break of 14 days.
The main opposition party has been abstaining from parliament, except for a few occasions, since the first session in January.
Their abstention stemmed from a dispute with the ruling party over front row seating. Later the main opposition party brought allegations against the government of oppression and harassment of BNP leaders and supporters.
On the seating dispute, Delwar said "Accepting the fabricated results of made-up polls, BNP attended the parliament on the first day but the autocratic Awami League did not let us remain there."
He also said prime minister Sheikh Hasina''s comments about the distribution of seats for her opposition coalition in the eighth parliament, under BNP''s tenure, were "untrue".
"In fact, all ten seats of the front row on the left side of the speaker were allocated to the then opposition. Among those, Awami League had eight and Jatiya Party had two. None of the ruling party MPs was allocated any of those seats," said Delwar, also the chief whip of the eighth parliament.
He went on to say, "Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has also spread misinformation on poverty, education, autarky and price hikes at the anti-poverty conference on Oct 17."
The information on the percentage of people living under the poverty line under the present and past governments was misleading, he said.
"The government has chosen the way of lying and swindling. When a prime minister speaks such lies we feel ashamed."

He criticised the government''s failure in maintaining law and order, and accused it of repression of opposition leaders and workers, filing cases anew against them and the government''s interference in the upper courts.
He said the consequence of lying, conspiracy, repression and fascism "are never good".
BNP vice president MK Anwar, former education minister Osman Faruq, MP Barkat Ullah Bulu, the BNP chairperson''s press secretary Maruf Kamal Khan and others were present in the press conference.

More militant bodies likely to be banned

The government appears to ban more suspected militant organizations, as different intelligence agencies are closely monitoring their activities, reports UNB.
Official sources said the government will declare those originations illegal if their links are found with militant outfits or activities.
Earlier, the government banned five militants organizations -- JMB, JMJB, HUJI-Bangladesh, Sahadat-e-Al Hikma Party Bangladesh and Hijbut Tahrir Bangladesh.
Among them, Sahadat-e-Al Hikma Party Bangladesh was banned on February 9, 2003, while
JMB and JMJB on February 23, 2005, HUJI-B on October 17, 2005 and Hijbut Tahrir Bangladesh on October 22 this year.
Home Ministry has already listed several Islamic organisatins, including Islamic Democratic Party, Touhid Trust, Tamira Ad-din Bangladesh, Ulama Anjuman al Baiyanat and Allahr Dal for their alleged involvement with militant groups or activities.
Without mentioning the names of suspected militant organizations, State Minister for Home Affairs Advocate Shamsul Haq Tuku said intelligence agencies are closely monitoring their activities.
"The government will declare illegal those organizations which are working against the country''s independence and sovereignty," he said replying to a question after a meeting of a committee on prevention of militancy and its remedy at his ministry.
Replying to a question, he said the committee asked the department providing passports and law-enforcing agencies to take measures so that those involved in militant activities do not get Bangladeshi passports.

Official sources said the meeting was informed that a total of 1935 militants, including 1324 of the banned Islamic outfit JMB, were arrested by the police and RAB in the last four months.
The meeting was also told that the militant organizations are now under control following anticrime drives conducted by the police and RAB.
Senior officials of the Home Ministry and intelligence agencies were present in the meeting.

Energy, transport crises block FDI

German team for prompt coalmining development

News Report
The visiting German business delegation leader Peter Clasen has identified energy crisis and transportation problem as the major impediments to attracting foreign investment in Bangladesh.
Addressing a press conference at Lake Shore Hotel in the city on Wednesday, Clasen attached great importance to the energy and inland water transports sectors and indicated German investors'' cooperation in this regard.
The German business leader laid emphasis on coalmining development and said the government should take immediate decision on mining method of Fulbaria coal field.
Coal-fired power generation can resolve the ongoing power crisis in Bangladesh, he said.
Pointing to the bureaucratic red tape, another impediment, Clasen said: "Decision makers have to change their attitude to encourage economic life instead of regulating it. Essentially this means reducing red tape and wiping out excesses of bureaucracy with the government focusing much more than hitherto on improvements of infrastructure."
German Ambassador to Bangladesh Holger Michael, who was also present at the press conference, said the government should send unambiguous signals about Bangladesh''s openness to foreign investment and that it maintains political framework conditions, which are conducive to long-term invest. He said functioning of Parliament is of vital importance and all political parties represented and all elected MPs should contribute to make it effective.
Asked whether the current political and economic situation is conducive to attracting foreign investment, Michael said: "Bangladesh is on a good way to a stable democracy, but we want the government put emphasis on the implementation of the ''charter for change."
The German business leader lauded the quality of Bangladesh shipbuilding industry and said: "Quality and cheap labour have attracted Europeans to buy ships from Bangladesh."
He laid emphasis on skilled manpower development and said mere cheap labour would not be the sufficient for attracting foreign investment, "technical quality of Bangladeshi labourers should have to be improved."
He suggested developing more vocational training institutions.
Clasen said German companies would invest in development of small-scale power generation plants and also in development of the renewable energy.
The German companies in collaboration with the local partners would also invest in production of different electrical appliances.
Md Saiful Islam, president of Bangladesh Germany Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chairman of Western Marine Shipyards, was also present at the press conference.
The eight-member German business delegation, arriving in Dhaka on October 25, will be staying in Bangladesh till October 30.
UNB reports: The German business and investment delegation Wednesday apprised Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of their keen interest in investing in Bangladesh in sectors like gas exploration, coalmining, and renewable energy.
Meeting the Prime Minister at her office Wednesday, the delegation led by Peter Clasen, Head of Bangladesh Section of OAV, the Network of German companies doing business in the Asia-Pacific countries, said they are especially interested to expand their trade and business in Bangladesh.
The Germans prefer Dhaka and Chittagong as their chosen places of investment, Prime Minister''s Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad told newsmen after the meeting.
The delegation also expressed their willingness to help Bangladesh in modernising its agriculture system by building modern technology-based farms and imparting training to the farmers on processing organic food items.
Regarding renewable energy, the German team said Germany as an expert country in the sector can help Bangladesh introduce solar energy and biogas system in the country on a massive scale.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her happiness following the German delegation''s interest in making investment in Bangladesh.
She told the delegation that following the restoration of democracy in Bangladesh through the December 29 parliamentary polls in 2008, a congenial atmosphere for investment is prevailing here now.
She said Germany can import ceramics, leather products and pharmaceuticals from Bangladesh.
In this context, the Prime Minister mentioned that Bangladesh has already started exporting ships to Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, opening up a new vista for the country''s external trade.
Sheikh Hasina observed that Bangladesh could not achieve its development at required level as its democracy could not run uninterruptedly in the past.
"Now the people have their own government and the democratic government is working relentlessly to ensure economic emancipation of the people," the Prime Minister told the Germans.
Sheikh Hasina said though Bangladesh has faced electricity crisis for the last seven years, the present government within the last few months has been successful in improving the situation through proper management and hard work.
"But the climate issues have appeared as a major threat to the development process of Bangladesh," the Prime Minister observed.
Sheikh Hasina said the government has chalked out various plans, including the launch of capital and maintenance dredging in the rivers, setting up embankments and land reclamation to face the challenges stemming from the global warming.
She said though the government is taking all possible preparations to protect its people from the natural calamities, it is not possible to face the climate-change challenges alone.
Hasina also reaffirmed her promise to turn Bangladesh into a food-sufficient country again the way the previous Awami League government did it.
The German delegation lauded Sheikh Hasina''s leadership in the international forums and hoped that she would be able to free the people of Bangladesh from poverty and all other socioeconomic problems.
Hasina thanked Germany for its continuous support and assistance to Bangladesh since its independence in 1971 under the leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister MA Karim, Prime Minister''s Office Secretary Mollah Waheeduzzaman, Ambassador Ziauddin and German Ambassador in Dhaka Holger Michael were present.

JS panel for shifting Kamalapur rly station toTongi

Lawmakers suggest measures to ease traffic snarl

A parliamentary panel Wednesday recommended fining the transgressors minimum Tk 1,000 if anyone creates traffic jam violating the traffic rules, be they MP, Minister or any other else, reports UNB.
The lawmakers also suggested making a system of canceling driving license for fault or wrongdoing more than thrice in driving car, as traffic hit a veritable impasse especially in the capital.
A meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Planning Ministry chaired by its chairman Dr Oli Ahmad discussed a bundle of matters and put forward a package of recommendations for removing the existing problems in different areas, including in traffic system, law and order, passport issuance, dealing with expatriates, management of airports and Bangladesh missions abroad.
On the question of nagging traffic congestion, particularly in the capital, the committee meeting observed that traffic jam on various streets of Dhaka and Chittagong and the Chittagong-Dhaka Highway has become a usual phenomenon and presently turned intolerable.
The committee thinks that police administration will have to be stricter to overcome this situation.
Its recommendations include restricting car parking here and there, fixing car-parking areas with provision of parking with fee and free parking, keeping free footpath on different roads, including VIP roads of Dhaka and Chittagong, on an urgent basis freeing those from hawkers and traders.
The committee also recommended shifting Kamalapur rail-station to Tongi or constructing overpass rails from Kamalapur to Tongi by selling the lands around the rail line between the two stations.
"If this step is taken, 30 to 35 percent traffic jam will be resolved," the parliamentary committed opined.
Referring to the Prime Minister''s decision for constructing flyover from Tongi to Saydabad, the committee thinks that through appointing more than one contractor both the flyover and overpass rail line could be completed in one year.
For maintaining a sound law-and-order situation,
the standing committee made some recommendations that include intense monitoring of activities of each police station to ensure transparency and supply of specific model forms in each thana for filing case which would be filled in either by a litigant itself or by responsible police officer.
The lawmakers also recommended stopping involvement of political activists as brokers in thanas during each government regime as they unnecessarily harass people and realize big amounts of money by implicating people in cases.
They suggested increasing logistic supports for each thana and providing computer, fax and installing internet connections.
The meeting also recommended providing protocol by Bangladesh missions abroad to visiting Bangladeshi distinguished citizens, high government officials, MPs and Ministers, extend the duration of diplomatic and other passports, issuing note verbal to MPs during their foreign trips and issuing diplomatic passport to MPs.
They asked for issuing electronic passport instead of machine-readable passport (MRP), identification of new areas of jobs by Bangladesh missions and extending quick cooperation to the problem-stricken expatriate Bangladeshis in Mauritius and Libya.
Besides, the meeting recommended installing close-circuit camera in various airports and good behaviour with passengers in airports, particularly with expatriates.
Instead of police verification during the first issuance of passport, the lawmakers recommended accepting testimonial certificate from member and chairman of the respective area or mayor and councilor of respective pourashava mentioning that the applicant is a permanent residence of the area, fixing same rate for renewal of passport, quick renewal of expatriates'' passports, providing security to expatriates and showing them appropriate honor.
Members of the Standing Committee Planning Minister AK Khandaker, Reza Ali, M Nazrul Islam, Azizul Huq Chowdhury, Nawab Ali, Abbas Khan and Hamida Banu Shova attended the meeting.

US to help decrease carbon emmissions in Bangladesh

US Ambassador James Moriarty Wednesday said Bangladesh could use carbon financing to invest in greenhouse gas emission reduction projects to support the conservation and co-management of protected areas and other natural resources in the country, reports UNB.
Speaking at a US government-funded carbon financing workshop in the city, he said as part of a series of activities to improve the environment, the U.S. government is working with other donors to help restore thousands of hectares of forest land in Bangladesh.
"We will collaborate on other ways to decrease carbon emissions in the region. We work in partnership with the government of Bangladesh and local communities in 26 major wetlands and forest protected areas. We also work in numerous smaller ecologically-important freshwater wetlands throughout the country," the Ambassador told the opening session of the workshop.
The two-day workshop on "Global Climate Change and Carbon Financing:
Opportunities for Bangladesh" has been organized by USAID''s Integrated Protected Area Co-management (IPAC) project and the US Forest Service in partnership with the Bangladesh government, Jahangirnagar University and Independent University of Bangladesh.
Ambassador Moriarty and State Minister for Environment and Forests Dr. Hasan Mahmud jointly inaugurated the workshop where participants will explore opportunities for carbon financing in Bangladesh as means to reduce emissions, increase adaptation and improve land use while alleviating poverty and conserving biodiversity.
The Ambassador said that U.S.-funded activities help improve natural resources management through collaboration with local communities and the government.
These initiatives, he said, will help restore degraded areas, raise awareness through public education, and create alternative income opportunities for thousands of people who live in and around forests and wetlands.
Moriarty said carbon financing can be a new and innovative source of sustainable support for the conservation and co-management of this national network of Protected Areas including important wetlands, forests and coastal areas.
He said the U.S. government will continue its productive working relationship with the Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. "We are encouraged by the steadily growing commitment to action," he noted.
The Ambassador said that world leaders and the leadership of Bangladesh are committed to mobilizing additional resources to address climate change, including by adjusting and adapting existing programs.
Plans call for managing emissions, reducing vulnerability, and increasing adaptation to the effects of climate change, he said, adding that in the carbon-constrained world today, emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) carry a price which can be quantified and traded.
Moriarty said the United States is working to reduce the threat of global climate change. Recently, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Obama ratified into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will invest $80 billion in clean energy.
He said the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which is pending final approval in Congress, would cut U.S. carbon emissions from 2005 levels by 17% by 2020 and by 83% by 2050.
In addition, the U.S. has substantially increased automobile fuel-efficiency standards, and there are new incentives for conservation.
Moriarty said the U.S. recognizes that while strong domestic action is necessary, it would not be sufficient to reduce carbon emissions. This is a crisis that demands a global solution.
He said over 80% of future greenhouse gas emissions will come from developing countries and the U.S will support other nations as they adapt to the problems that climate change causes while helping them travel a path of clean development.
The Ambassador said the United States encourages developing countries to create low-carbon development plans. "We know that without emissions reductions by both developed and emerging economies no solution to climate change is possible."
"The U.S. supports the fundamental right of nations to develop. We believe sustainable development future is only possible through a low-carbon pathway," he told the workshop.

20 injured in BCL-JCD clash at JN University

At least 20 students were injured in a clash between the rival activists of Chhatra League and Chhatra Dal at Jagannath University on Wednesday, reports UNB.
Campus sources said the clash ensued at about 12:30pm when university-unit BCL president Kamrul Islam Ripon and his supporters attacked a group of JCD leaders and activists.
Ripon and his men launched attack when the JCD group, led by its convenor Golam Mawla Shaheen, went to the room of VC Mesbah Uddin Ahmed for distributing sweets on the occasion of formation of a new JCD committee.
Some 20 students, including Chhatra Dal leaders and activists, were injured in the campus rioting that ensued following the attack.
Eight of the injured, including JCD convenor Shaheen, were admitted to the National Hospital.
During the hour-long fighting between the pro-government and pro-opposition student groups, angry Chhatra Dal workers damaged five passenger buses and three auto-rickshaws in front of Victoria Park nearby.
Police filed two cases with Sutrapur and Kotwali thanas. A Chhatra Dal activist was arrested in connection with the clash.
Additional police were deployed to fend off further violence.
Another report from Kushtia adds: At least sixteen people were injured in clashes between two groups of Chhatra League activists in Kushtia and Khulna on Wednesday.
In Kushtia: At least nine people were injured in a clash between two groups of Chhatra League activists at Kushtia Government College here on Wednesday.
The clash erupted between the supporters of college unit BCL president Nurul Amin Rajan and general secretary Abdullah Al Mamun in the morning.
College sources said Mamun and his supporters were holding a meeting with Vice-principal Hasanuzzaman in his room over paying their unpaid admission fee. At that time, Rajan and his followers entered the room, creating agitation.
Both the groups then locked into altercation, brought out separate processions on the campus and got locked in a clash, leaving five injured including Rajan.
The injured were rushed to Kushtia General Hospital and other local hospitals.
On information police rushed in and brought the situation under control.
In Khulna: At least seven people were injured in a clash between two groups of Chhatra League activists at Khulna Polytechnic Institute in the city on Wednesday.
Police said the clash began at about 12:30pm as the two groups of BCL men locked into an altercation on the institute premises over establishing supremacy.
At one stage, they attacked each other with iron-rods and sticks, leaving seven people injured from both sides.
On information, police rushed in and brought the situation under control.
Police also arrested Sumon, a student of the institute, in this connection.
Additional police have been deployed at the institute to avoid further trouble.

No time-extension for income tax return

National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman Dr. Nasiruddin Ahmed categorically said Wednesday that there will be no time-extension for the submission of income tax return, reports UNB.
The deadline for submitting the income tax returns for the individual taxpayers ends on November 1.
The taxpayers who will fail to submit returns by November 1 will have to face the actions as per rules and regulations, the NBR chairman said at a press briefing at the NBR conference room in the afternoon.
"We already extended the time by one month," he added.
Dr Nasir, who recently got two-year extension of his job, said: "We have to get out from the culture of submitting tax returns at the eleventh hour."
Replying to a question, he said that the response from the taxpayers so far was encouraging and the number of tax returns received already exceeded 50 percent of the last year''s number.
Last year, 740,906 out of around 2.4 million taxpayers identification number (TIN) holders submitted returns.
Replying to a question about the disclosure of undisclosed money under the amnesty given in the budget for current fiscal (2009-10), the NBR chairman said response so far was not significant.
But, he said that as per the relevant provision such disclosure will come in the tax return for the next year (2010-11).
"We are trying to convey the message to the people that they take this opportunity," he added.
About the recently published newspaper report that the Election Commission sent some names of MPs who do not have TIN, the NBR chairman said they are yet to receive such a list from the Commission.
He said that they had talked with the government to introduce designated benches in the Supreme Court to handle the NBR related cases.
Dr Nasir said that on October 18 they had a meeting with the Law Minister in this connection and the Law Ministry informed that they would request the Chief Justice for constituting two separate benches in the High Court for hearing the NBR related cases.

French Dy PM due today

French Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Land pPlanning, Jean-Louis Borloo, will arrive in Dhaka today (Thursday) on a one-day visit to Bangladesh for bilateral talks with the Bangladesh government in the context of the upcoming Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in next December, says a press release.
Jean-Louis BORLOO will lead a 12-member delegation to Bangladesh. During his brief visit he will make courtesy calls on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Foreign Minister Dr. Dipu Moni, Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr. Abdur Razzak, and State Minister for Environment and Forest Dr. Hassan Mahmud.
On this occasion Jean-Louis Borloo, number two of the French government, will present the French position regarding Climate Change negotiations, particularly for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as Bangladesh plays a very important role in this group.
He will notably expose the absolute necessity for Copenhagen to agree on a "Climate Justice plan" to finance adaptation and sustainable development for the developing countries.
The Copenhagen Agreement must be an opportunity to go one step further on the way to solidarity-based development for the least developed countries. The "Climate Justice plan" places economic development and poverty eradication at the heart of the fight against climate change

Defamation suit

Court summons Amar Desh editor, publisher

The acting Editor, the publisher, the chief reporter and the reporter concerned of the Daily Amar Desh have been summoned to appear before a metropolitan court on November 30 in a defamation suit filed Wednesday by Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) over a news report, reports UNB.
Judge AM Zulfikar Hayat of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court issued the summons upon acting Editor Mahmudur Rahman, publisher Alhaj M Hasmat Ali, Chief reporter Syed Abdal Ahmed and reporter Oliullah Noman of the vernacular daily.
Tarique Hasan Siddiqui, Deputy Director of BTRC, filed the case against them for publishing a "defamatory" news report on October 2.
In his complaint, Tarique said the Daily Amar Desh tarnished the image of BTRC by running the story headlined ''BTRC in the clutches of Indian citizens''.
He said the daily wrote that five Indian nationals have been appointed advisers to the BTRC, creating scope for leaking confidential information out of the country.
Terming the story "false", the BTRC Deputy Director said the commission did not appoint them. "Instead, the World Bank appointed them under a project."
After hearing, the court ordered the accused to appear before it.

World''s tigers facing extinction

KATHMANDU, Oct 28: Tigers could become extinct in the wild in two decades unless the world ramps up conservation efforts to halt the decline in their population, wildlife experts said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.
Barely 3,500 tigers are estimated to be roaming in the wild in 12 Asian countries and Russia compared with about 100,000 a century ago, experts and conservationists said.
Tigers are being illegally killed for their body parts and Asia is a hotspot for the illegal wildlife trade which the international police organization Interpol estimates may be worth more than $20 billion a year.
Skins sell as rugs and cloaks on the black market, where a skin can fetch up to $20,000 in countries like China.
Habitat destruction and depletion of prey base were other perils facing the "Asian heritage", conservationists said.
"A business as usual approach in tiger conservation will doom the tiger population in the next 15 to 20 years," Mahendra Shrestha, program director of the Washington-based Save the Tiger Fund told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference on tiger conservation.
He said law enforcement, patrols to stop poaching and the preservation of remaining habitat would improve the situation.
"There is hope. We can do it. It is not rocket science. It does not require a lot of new activities," Shrestha said.
"But there has to be strong political will to conserve tigers and also strong global international support for the activities of the tiger range countries."
Tigers still roam terrain in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.
John Seidensticker, chief scientist at the Smithsonian National Zoo''s Conservation Ecology Center, said tiger habitat had declined by 40 percent in the last decade due to destruction of forests.
"Our challenge is to make landscapes with tigers alive worth more than landscapes where tigers have been killed," Seidensticker said. "I think we have a decade from where we will slip from being caretakers to undertakers."

Six JMB cadres held in Naogaon

NAOGAON, Oct 28: Police arrested six suspected JMB cadres while they were allegedly plotting to carry out subversive acts at Bashbaria village in Raninagar upazila early Wednesday, reports UNB.
The arrested persons were identified as Masud Rana, son of top JMB leader Khabir Sheikh of the upazial, Rajikul Islam Rocket, Belal Hossain, Manjur Rahman, Saiduzzaman Ratan and Mirza Mia, the latter five hailed from neighboring Bagmara upazila in Rajshahi district.
District police super Mofazzel Hossain said on information that five JMB cadres from Rajshahi gathered at the house of Khabir Sheikh for planning subversive acts, police raided the house and arrested them along with Khabir''s son.
They were being interrogated till the time when this report came at about 3pm.
The arrests were made amid an anti-militant drive across the country in which a number of suspects have been booked in the last few days. The government scaled up action through the banning of another Islamist outfit, Hizb-ut-Tahrir.

1 crore families to get VGF rice for Eid

The government will distribute 10 kg of rice each among one crore families of 481 upzillas that have Vulnerable Group Feeding cards before Eid-ul-Azha, reports bdnews24.com.
Public communications officer of the food ministry, SM Golam Kibria, told bdnews24.com, "One lakh metric tonne of rice has been allocated for implementing this project.
"Allotted rice under district authorities will have to be collected by Nov 15. Costs covering transportation of rice and other activities have been allocated."
He said a circular has been issued asking the district administrators to take necessary steps informing local MPs.
The circular also urges strict compliance with VGF project regulations. It says it has to be ensured that two members of same family do not get VGF cards.

40 injured in Bhairab clash

BHAIRAB, Oct 28: At least 40 people were injured, 11 of them bullet-hit, in a clash between two groups of people at Bhabanipur village here Wednesday, reports UNB.
Locals said Jainal Member and Humayun Kabir of the village had been at loggerhead since long over establishing supremacy in the area.
As a sequel to the enmity, their supporters locked into a clash at about 7am on Wednesday with firearms and lethal weapons.
A chase and counter chase took place during the two-hour long melee leaving 29 injured.
Eleven people also sustained bullet wounds the feuding groups fired gunshots.
Fourteen of injured were rushed to Bajitpur Zahurul Islam Medical College Hospital where the condition of eight was stated to be critical. The rest were admitted to the Upazila Health Complex.
Police have been deployed in the area to avert further trouble.
Earlier on Monday, 12 people sustained bullet injuries in a clash between the two groups.
Yet in another clash on June 26, some 26 people were hit by bullets.

Bangabandhu murder case

Mohiuddin victim of mistaken identity, claims defense counsel

The defense counsel for condemned ex-army officer AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed Wednesday claimed before the apex court dealing with the appeal hearings in the Bangabandhu murder case that his client was a victim of mistaken identity, reports UNB.
"Mistaken identity of my client was carried through the whole trial process as there were two Mohiuddins--one from Lancer unit and the other from Artillery unit--accused in the case," Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun told the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.
He made the observation while submitting his argument after another defense counsel for condemned prisoner Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan concluded his submissions.
Mamun''s client, Maj (retd) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed of lancer unit, was tried in absentia. He was deported from the United States and brought back home on June 18, 2007.
Later, Mohiuddin was produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate''s Court, Dhaka. From there, he was sent to jail.
At the outset of his argument, Barrister Mamun told the court that his client earlier did not get any legal support to defend him.
Interrupting his plea, the court posed a question as to how it could be since the convict remained absconding deliberately for a long period of time.
"Your client would not have turned up if he was not deported from the USA," the court quipped.
Sensing the court mood, Barrister Mamun remained calm and confined to his further argument.
The defense counsel argued that Mohiuddin''s name was not mentioned anywhere in the First Information Report (FIR) in the case.
Even which Mohiuddin along with his troops swooped on the Dhanmondi residence of Bangabandhu on August 15, 1975 was not specifically clarified in the judgment, the lawyer argued.
Referring to the evidences of the prosecution witnesses, Barrister Mamun said Mohiuddin along with his troops brought Bangabandhu from the first floor onto stairs at gunpoint and later he moved aside when Bangabandhu was gunned down.
"The prosecution witnesses'' evidences were contradictory and didn''t corroborate each other in identifying his client during the predawn operation on August 15, 1975," the defense counsel said.
Claiming his client innocent, Barrister Mamun said Mohiuddin did not participate in the killings at Bangabandhu''s residence. He might have joined the perpetrators to facilitate them otherwise, added the defense counsel.
At this stage, the court asked Barrister Mmmun: "Were your client innocent, why then he did not face trial?"
The defense counsel again kept silent over the court query.
Earlier, Abdur Razzaque Khan, the defense counsel for condemned prisoner Lt Col (retd) Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, concluded his argument.
The hearing session was adjourned till today (Thursday).

Transport strike called in Ctg on Nov 1

CHITTAGONG, Oct 28: Five transport associations called a transport strike on Chittagong-Rangamati and Chittagong-Khagrachhari roads for November 1 as part of their move to realize their 3-point demand, reports UNB.
Chittagong-Khagra-chhari Bus-Minibus Owners Association,
Chittagong-Rangamati Motor Owners Association, Chittagong Bus-Minibus Workers Union, Chittagong District Bus Workers Union and Nazirhat Transport Workers Union from a joint press conference at the local press club announced their decision to enforce the strike.
The demands include construction of a permanent bus terminal at a convenient place of the city for vehicles of North Chittagong and hill districts, stopping of the plying of vehicles without road permit in the port city and widening the road from Oxygen Crossing to Hathazari.
Manjurul Alam Manju, president of Chittagong-Khagrachhari Bus-Minibus Owners Association, in his written statement threatened "tougher movement" if their demands were not met.