BANGLADESH

The government has announced to provide food support for the victims of a storm that rolled through the southern districts on Wednesday.

Disaster Management Minister A H Mahmud Ali on Sunday told a conference at the Press Information Department that each victimised family will get 20 kilograms food grains a month for three months.

The government also allotted Tk 200,000 to build houses urgently in Bhola and Noakhali, he said.

More help will be provided to rehabilitate the victims of the storm, if they need, he added.

At least 27 people died in the storm. Many went missing and are yet to be found.

The government has launched an investigation to find out as to why the weathermen failed to forecast the storm.

The first war crimes tribunal ordered the prosecution to submit a progress report or the full investigation report against Jamaat-e-Islami assistant secretary general A T M Azharul Islam on Dec 2.

The prosecution submitted a progress report of investigations into the Jamaat leader's alleged war crimes.

The prosecution said in its report that it had already collected some material but needs more time to collect more materials and consult witnesses regarding some new allegations that have come up.

The three-judge International Crimes Tribunal – 1, set up to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 Liberation War, said it was 'also of the view that some more time is required to complete the investigation'.

Azharul Islam has also been ordered to be present at the court on Dec 2 and the court ordered that an appropriate production warrant be at hand.

In another war crimes case against Jamaat chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, the tribunal ordered the prosecution to bring its first witness Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury on Oct 21 for the remainder of his cross-examination.

The prosecution witness, according to prosecutor Mir Iqbal Hossain, had taken ill and was not in a position to testify. The prosecution had brought Zahiruddin Jalal for deposition but the tribunal chairman, Justice Mohammad Nizamul Huq, said the tribunal was not inclined to introduce another witness without completing another cross-examination in progress.

Jamaat guru and former chief, Ghulam Azam's war crimes investigator Matiur Rahman took the stand for being cross-examined for the rest of the day till lunch.

In over nine months since its formation, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission's anti-cyber crime cell has received over a thousand complaints, most of which centre around the popular social networking site Facebook and are lodged by female students.

Bangladesh Computer Security Incident Response Team (BD-CSIRT), which has been working since Jan 25, has also received complaints including uploading of objectionable videos on YouTube, e-mail threats and websites being hacked.

"We are letting the Facebook authorities know after we get the complaint. The objectionable contents are then being removed from the Facebook pages," the regulatory body's acting chief Gaisuddin Ahmed, also the cell's convenor, told bdnews24.com.

Various complaints are also being lodged against posts on YouTube and other video sharing sites. The sites are urged to remove the posts after complaints are received, one of the cell's cybercrime specialist told bdnews24.com. "Or else we block those sites."

YouTube is currently blocked in Bangladesh after its mother company, Google Inc, refused to pull-down a video, which sparked worldwide protests from muslims for derogatorily representing Prophet Muhammad.

The cell, headed by three cybercrime specialists (given Assistant Director status), has been working since its inception against contents on various websites that spreads national, social, political and religious hatred.

It has been receiving complaints and suggestions from Apr 22 through its e-mail address contact@cirsrt.gov.bd, and have been taking immediate steps on a priority-basis.

Facebook

One of BTRC's cybercrime specialist told bdnews24.com that most of the complaints are being lodged about fake Facebook profiles.

Many have complained that their identities are being used to harass them by opening fake accounts in their name or using their pictures.

To address such allegations, the CSIRT takes a two steps. First it identifies the complainant, if they have Facebook ID, through a copy of photo-IDs sent over mail and then informs the Facebook authorities, who removes the fake accounts within 2-3 weeks.

In case, the complainant does not have Facebook ID, then they have to file a general ID with their local police and send a copy to the cell. The cell then informs the Facebook authority, the BTRC specialist added.

He added that most of the complainants are girls studying in schools and colleges and that most of it is about fake profiles and objectionable pictures.

According to checkfacebook.com, the amount of Facebook users in Bangladesh stand around 1.6 million.

Immediate action

BTRC takes immediate steps to takedown Facebook profiles which spread political and religious hatred. The cybercrime specialist added that the Facebook authorities also takes such matter seriously and reacts immediately.

There are allegations that the recent communal violence in Cox's Bazaar Ramu was sparked by a Facebook post allegedly defaming the Quran. The picture was downloaded and circulated spreading the communal hate.

Police have already arrested an youth for circulation the picture and it was immediately taken off the social networking site due to initiative by the BTRC.

Facebook was first blocked by the Bangladesh government on May 29, 2010. It was reopened after a number of days.

State-run mobile phone operator Teletalk is set to introduce the much-awaited third generation (3G) mobile technology, for the first time in the country, on Sunday that provides video calling, mobile TV, high-speed download.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the service on an experimental basis, Mujibur Rahman, Managing Director of the state-owned cell phone operator, told bdnews24.com.

The official said that they have completed all the preparations in this regard and that the government's aim is to provide 3G technology to Teletalk subscribers very soon.

3G is a term used to represent the third generation of mobile telecommunications technology. It is fully a wireless broadband which is technically called high-speed packet access (HSPA), and it can be enjoyed through 3G- enabled handsets, smartphones and modems. 3G technologies enables faster data-transmission, greater network capacity and more advanced network services.

After installing the 3G technology, the mobile user would enjoy the Real-Time Video Calling, Live Mobile TV, High-Speed Download, HD gaming, e-education, public health, tele-medicine and e-shopping.

A senior official of the Teletalk said that Teletalk Bangladesh Limited would publish advertisements in the newspapers about 3G service this month.

Initial price for a 3G-enabled SIM ((Subscriber Identification Module) will be Tk 1,000 while existing users will get preference. Preparations are over to provide the services to over 300,000 subscribers in the capital initially after the inauguration.

According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, untill August, Teletalk had nearly 1.4 million subscribers of which only 25,000 subscribers are using its internet connection while the six mobile-phone operators had a combined 99.5 million subscribers.

Being the state-run operator, Teletalk was given the opportunity to launch 3G experimentally before other operators. It was supposed to launch the service in March for six months but deferred the launch for 'technical reasons.'

The recently approved 3G licence draft says the spectrum would be auctioned by this year. Teletalk will have to take the 3G spectrum spending the same amount of money like others even if it does not take part in the auction.

Apart from Bangladesh's private operators Grameenphone, Banglalink, Citycell, Airtel and Robi, foreign companies will also be able to take part in the auction.

A Dhaka court on Sunday allowed law enforcers to grill in custody for five days four other suspects of the murder of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi.

The four – Kamrul Hassan Arun, 'Rafique', 'Bakul' and 'Syed' – are also accused for the murder of BMA leader Dr Narayan Chandra Nitai. Arun was Nitai's driver while the rest were dubbed as 'professional robbers' by the police.

Dhaka's Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Keshab Roy Chowdhury approved the remand following Oct 10 petition by RAB's Investigation and Forensic Wing officer Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mohammad Zafar Ullah.

He asked for 10 days to grill them after they were shown arrested for the journalist couple's murder.

On Oct 9, Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir claimed at a press conference to have identified eight persons associated with the killing.

He said one of them, Tanvir, was a family friend of the slain couple. The security guard of the building in which the journalist duo lived, Rudra alias Palash, had also been arrested, he added.

Five of the arrested seven people are also accused in a case filed over the killing of Dr Narayan Chandra Datta Nitai.

The Minister said another person, Humayun alias Enamul, who worked as a security guard in the building Sagar-Runi lived, was also found to be tied to their killing. A Tk 1-million reward for his arrest has been declared.

Maasranga Television News Editor Sagar Sarowar and ATN Bangla's Senior Reporter Meherun Runi were killed at their rented West Rajabazar flat on Feb 11.

The World Bank's three-strong panel to review the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) investigation into alleged corruption in the Padma Bridge project has arrived in Dhaka Sunday morning.

The fate of the $2.9 billion project now depends on the panel's findings, as its report will decide whether the largest financier in the project will return with its $1.2 billion promised fund.

A Bank official in Dhaka, asking not to be named, told bdnews24.com: "The three members of the panel arrived early this morning (Sunday). They will stay until Oct 16."

The panel is led by former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo. The two other members are Timothy Tong, former Commissioner of the Independent Commission against Corruption in Hong Kong, and the former director of the UK Serious Fraud Office, Richard Alderman.

The team is expected to have a meeting with the ACC Chairman Ghulam Hossain and other top officials of the graft watchdog Sunday.

When contacted, Ghulam Hossain on Saturday also confirmed bdnews24.com about the meeting over phone. "We will have a meeting with them at the ACC headquarters after lunch."

Officials from both the ACC and the global lender's Dhaka office said the three-member panel will hold several meetings with the anti-corruption body officials.

The WB official in Dhaka said the panel will also meet Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, who is currently in Tokyo, if the minister can make it to Dhaka in time before the delegation's departure.

The Finance Minister is supposed to return to the country at around noon on Oct 16.

The Washington-based multi-national lender on Oct 5 had constituted the panel to review the ACC investigation on the alleged corruptions on the Padma Bridge project.

The government and the ACC have already assured the panel led by former ICC Chief Prosecutor Ocampo of providing all necessary assistance in carrying out the enquiry.
The World Bank on June 29 had cancelled its pledged fund, claiming to have found 'credible evidence' of high-level corruption by government officials, SNC-Lavalin executives and private individuals for the project. But the government has been refuting the allegations.

Amid the government's persuasion, the Bank announced revival of the agreement on Sept 20 but said the final decision would be taken based on its enquiry supervision panel's report.

The Bank's graft probe panel is assigned to supervise the anti-graft watchdog's current investigation into the corruption allegations from outside as per the condition set by the bank.

Ocampo , the 61-year old Argentine criminal law specialist, was vocal against the 'corruption' and 'violation of human rights' by the autocratic government in his own country.

A former member of the advisory board of Transparency International, Ocampo was also an associate professor of Criminal Law at the University of Buenos Aires and a visiting professor at Stanford University and Harvard Law School.

He was appointed as the first prosecutor of the ICC following its formation in 2003.

WB President Jim Yong Kim on Saturday expressed his hopes that the lender's review panel will ensure transparent investigation into the alleged corruption in the project, which is currently being investigated by the ACC.

Bangladesh signed a loan agreement with WB, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development and Japan International Cooperation Agency last year to construct the six-kilometre long bridge, biggest ever infrastructure project in Bangladesh.

However, the implementation of the project was clouded in uncertainty after the World Bank announced that it was pulling out from it.
The global lender earlier suspended its promised fund soon after graft allegations surfaced in the project in September last year. They said they had to scrap the loan agreement as the government did not meet all of their conditions.

After the World Bank decided to cancel funding for the project, former Communication Minister Syed Abul Hossain resigned and the Bridges Division Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan was sent on leave, as part of an understanding with the global lending agency.

Besides these moves, the government also agreed to allow the ACC to supervise the investigation into the alleged corruption later.