BANGLADESH

Prof U A B Razia Akther Banu of the department of Political Science of Dhaka University (DU) has passed away. She was 63.

She died at the Cancer Research Institute of Singapore National Hospital on Thursday morning while undergoing treatment, said a DU media release.

Razia is the wife of Talukder Moniruzzaman, a retired professor of the same department of the university.

She leaves behind her husband, two sons and one daughter to mourn her death.

Razia joined the department as a lecturer in 1980 and was promoted to the position of professor in 1995.

Her namaz-ejanaza (funeral prayer) will be held at the DU Central Mosque after the 'juma' prayer on Friday and then she will be buried at her family graveyard at Tongi in Gazipur district.

The High Court has granted anticipatory bail for six weeks to Liberal Democratic Party president Oli Ahmed in two separate cases.

The bench of justices Syed Muhammad Dastagir Hossain and Gobinda Chandra Tagore passed the order on Wednesday in connection with the cases filed over his alleged involvement in a clash with Juba League in Chittagong city and not submitting his wealth statement to the Anti-Corruption Commission.

Barrister Moudud Ahmed argued for the LDP chief during the hearing while barrister Anwarul Islam Shahin assisted him. Deputy attorney general Mohammad Selim stood for the state.

A total of 17 out of 18 accused including Chittagong district's Chandnaish upazila chairman Abdul Jabbar Chowdhury and vice-chairman Abdur Rahim Badsha secured bail on Wednesday in a case filed over the attack on Oli Ahmed at Chittagong court premises on Nov 24.

Chandnaish upazila Awami League leader Aftab Ahmed Shimul filed the case with the Chandnaish Police Station.

The High Court also granted anticipatory bail for six weeks to a total of 18 accused in connection with a case filed by Awami League leader Wahiduzzaman over the same incident.

The LDP chief came under attack at Chittagong court premises on Nov 24 when he was leaving the court after obtaining bail in a case filed for making derogatory remarks against prime minister Sheikh Hasina and a female lawmaker.

Oli Ahmed secured the other six-week anticipatory bail in a case filed by ACC deputy director Mohammad Golam Mostafa on Nov 28 for not submitting his wealth statement to it.

In 1998, the ACC had served a notice on the LDP chief asking him to submit his wealth statement to it.

A Dhaka court has fixed Dec 15 to pass the verdict in the sensational case over murder of Humayun Kabir Sabbir, a director of a Bashundhara Group concern.

Judge Mohammad Motahar Hossain of the Fourth Speedy Trial Tribunal fixed the date at the end of the hearing, special public prosecutor of the tribunal S M Rafiqul Islam told .

There are 29 witnesses in the case.

Sabbir, a director of Bashundhara Telecommunications Network Ltd, was killed at a house owned by Bashundhara Group at Gulshan in the city on July 5, 2006.

There are five accused in the case. They are Bashundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan's son Shafiyat Sobhan Sanvir, Group director Shamsuddin Ahmed, two guards Nure Alam and Humayun Kabir, and Sanvir's bodyguard Khairul Hassan Uzzal.

Sanvir, Nure Alam and Humayun Kabir are absconding since the case was filed.

Sabbir's brother-in-law A F M Asif had filed the case on July 7, 2006 while assistant superintendent of Detective Branch police Mohammad Arman submitted charge-sheet in the case on May 12, 2008.

Earlier, the case was sent to two sessions judge's courts, but the proceedings remained suspended due to a High Court stay order on the case.

Finally, the case was forwarded to the tribunal on March 7 last year and the trial resumed on Jan 16 with deposition of the complainant.

The court on Wednesday also rejected the bail petitions of Shamsuddin Ahmed and Khairul Hassan Uzzal and sent them to jail.

The five candidates nominated by the ruling Awami League for the new reserved seats for women in parliament are going to be elected unchallenged.

The Election Commission will make an official announcement to this effect on Thursday.

Returning officer Mihir Sarwar Morshed told  that none of the five withdrew their nomination until 2pm Wednesday – the deadline for withdrawal. As per laws, the five candidates nominated by Awami League have been elected without contest, he said.

"We've some formalities. The commission will formally announce them elected on Thursday," he added.

The candidates are 's social affairs editor A N Mahfuza Khatun Baby Maudud, AL's women's affairs secretary Fazilatunnesa Indira, Women AL acting general secretary Pinu Khan, its Chittagong unit chief Hasina Mannan, and deputy attorney general Fazilatunnesa Bappy.

The commission on Dec 1 declared the nomination papers of the five candidates valid after screening.

Parliament passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the constitution on June 30, increasing the number of reserved seats for women from the existing 45 to 50.

The Awami League got all five new seats with its majority, under the proportional representation (PR) system.

The ruling alliance has 256 seats in the ninth Parliament, while the opposition led by the BNP has 32 directly elected MPs from territorial constituencies.

Earlier, AL got 36 of 45 reserved seats for women, with BNP getting five and Jatiya Party four.

At a meeting held at Ganobhaban on Nov 26, the Awami League Parliamentary Board nominated the five as party representatives for the newly carved out women's reserved seats. With prime minister Sheikh Hasina the chair, the ALPB picked the five from a total 179 aspirants.

Hours after a Supreme Court directive, the Dhaka University has announced that fresh admission test for 'Ga' unit or business faculty in 2011-'12 academic sessions will be held on Dec 20.

The university syndicate took the decision on Wednesday evening, arts faculty dean Sadrul Amin told .

The admission test will be held from 3pm to 4pm, he informed.

The candidates who had appeared at the admission test on Oct 28 will be able to appear for the fresh test on their previous admit cards.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court ruling on the admission test for 'Ga' unit and ordered the University of Dhaka to re-administer the exam.

A full bench of the top appellate court, led by the chief justice, in the ruling said the university will hold the test by Dec 21 for only those who had sat for the original exam on Oct 28.

The order came after hearing an appeal for an injunction on the High Court order to re-evaluate results of the first test.

The Appellate Division also ordered the premier university to keep the business faculty dean away from the re-examination.

Chamber judge Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain on Monday had forwarded the appeal of Dhaka University for temporary injunction to the full bench.

Results of 'Ga' unit admission test were published on Oct 31. The authorities re-evaluated the results after requests from examinees poured in, since a total of eight mistakes were found in the test paper. The number of successful candidates had trebled after re-evaluation of the scripts.

The university had initially decided to re-evaluate exam scripts but later said would conduct fresh test on Dec 9 upon complaints from the 'Ga' unit examinees.

Twelve candidates, who passed the test according to the first result, moved the High Court on Nov 22. The court ruled that the scripts should be re-evaluated instead of holding fresh examinations.

The High Court gave the ruling after it heard suggestions from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology professor Dr Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, and president of Dhaka University Teachers' Association Mohammad Anwar Hossain.