BANGLADESH

A leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Wednesday expressed his conviction that relations between CPC and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) would be further strengthened in the future.

Vice-Minister of CPC's International Department Chen Fengxiang expressed the firm belief at a formal meeting between the visiting BNP delegation, led by its Chairperson Khaleda Zia, at CPC International Department in Beijing.

Fengxiang agreed to Khaleda's suggestion that there should be more exchanges of visits and engagements between the representatives of the two parties at different levels.

Khaleda said Bangladeshis always considered China as a special friend. She recalled with gratitude the contributions China made to the economic and infrastructural development of Bangladesh and expressed confidence that it would be furthered.

The former Prime Minister reiterated that BNP believed in 'One-China' policy.

Vice-Minister Chen mentioned the contributions of Khaleda to consolidation of the bilateral relations, which were started by BNP founder late President Ziaur Rahman.

During the talks, Khaleda was accompanied, among others, by BNP Standing Committee members Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain and Mahbubur Rahman, party Vice-Chairpersons Selima Rahman and Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury and Khaleda's Press Secretary Maruf Kamal Khan.

The meeting was followed by an official lunch in honour of the visiting BNP delegation.

The Inspector General of Police on Wednesday told the High Court the police had immediately ordered reinforcements on being informed about last month's hate attacks on Buddhist settlements in Ramu.

Hassan Mahmood Khandaker came up with the claim in the report after the higher court wanted to know what the police had done when one of the worst communal riots in decades had broken out.

The report, however, did not mention exactly when the police first received the news, amid allegations that they were too late to react to the violence.

Deputy Attorney General Al Amin submitted the report, prepared by Senior Assistance Superintendent of Police (Law) Md Mizanur Rahman on behalf of IGP, to the bench of Justices Mirza Hossain Haider and Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo.

On Oct 3, the court asked the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs to report in 15 days detailing what they had done to protect the lives and property of the minority Buddhists.

The riot that began on Sep 29 night lasted for two days, leaving houses, shops and temples of Buddhists and Hindus looted, ravaged and burnt.

Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, a resident of Ramu, moved the court. The Home Secretary was also asked to respond but he failed to turn in his version and prayed for more time.

According to the report, immediately after receiving the news of riot from the Cox's Bazaar district's Superintendent of Police, the IGP had made arrangements for additional police deployment at Ramu, and contacted other stakeholders of the government for ensuring security of the minority community.

"He along with the Home Minister visited the area the day after the incident. At that time he ordered Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the area to take immediate action against those involved in the incidents at Ramu and other places," said the report.

"The DIG himself monitored the overall situation and performances of RAB, police, Armed Police Battalion and BGB deployed in the affected areas.

"A three-member team led by the DIG of the Chittagong range has been formed to investigate the Sep 29 incident at Ramu, alongside the probe initiated by the government," the report continued.

"As many as 16 cases were filed with four police stations in Cox's Bazaar following the incidents at Ramu and its adjoining areas and 211 suspects have been arrested."

The report continued, the police had also been directed to secure the lives and property of all minority communities, their places of worship including pagoda, temple, and church in line with the High Court order.

It further said precautionary measures were taken to prevent a repeat.

"The Inspector General of Police is also holding meetings with local leaders of all religious communities, politicians, and members of the civil society in the affected areas. The Inspector General of Police visited Cox's Bazaar district on Oct 15 for evaluating the latest situation there," it clarified.

The riot broke out over the allegation of denigrating Islam by a Buddhist youth. At least seven Buddhist temples, 30 houses and a number of shops were set afire during the riot.

The hate attacks spread to Cox's Bazaar's Ukhia and Teknaf and Chittagong's Patia the next day.

Ramu Police Station's Officer in-Charge Nozibul Islam was removed after the incident amid allegations that the riot would have been avoided had police gone into action immediately.

Train services on the Dhaka-Chittagong route resumed after a nine-hour halt due to derailment of the engine and two vans of a container train in Kasba of Brahmanbaria on Thursday.

Rail operations resumed only minutes before the noon, Assistant Station Master of Brahmanbaria Shoyeb Ahmed told bdnews24.com.

The Kasba derailment took place in less than 24 hours of restoration of rail link with Chittagong after a derailment in Feni, snapping the link again.

Earlier, another Assistant Station Master at Brahmanbaria, Moinul Islam, told bdnews24.com, "The Dhaka-bound train from Chittagong derailed around 3am when it neared Kasba station, snapping rail link of Chittagong with Dhaka and Sylhet."

He added that a rescue train from Akhaura was at work to remove the derailed engine and the vans.

Dhaka-bound Turna Nishita and Dhaka Mail were stuck midway as the lines were closed since dawn.

Rail link of Chittagong and the rest of the country was snapped on Wednesday dawn also after a similar accident near Feni. A container train had derailed and blocked the lines hampering train operations.

Speaker Abdul Hamid on Tuesday cast doubt of the Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) survey that said at least 97 percent Members of Parliament are involved in 'negative activities'.

He also questioned the identities of the 600 participants based on whose opinion the TIB made the claim.

Speaking with the journalists, Hamid said the TIB report meant only to dishonour Parliament and its members.

"Seeing this kind of report, even I have been offended as a Member of Parliament."

After conducting a 'survey' on 149 MPs, the Berlin-based anti-corruption organisation's Bangladesh chapter on Sunday published the report. It said 97 percent of these MPs were directly involved in 'negative activities', seven of whom are reserved seat women MPs and five are MPs from the opposition.

The Speaker said, "This cannot be called a survey in any way."

"There are 160 millions of people in 64 districts in the country. TIB conducted the survey by taking opinions from only 600 people at 42 districts. Based on their words, they concluded that 97 percent MPs are bad. Is it right?"

About the participants of the survey, he said, "My question is – who are these 600 people whose opinion TIB has taken? Do they work for TIB? If this is the case, then the survey was not conducted scientifically."

"Ninety-seven percent bad MPs means only nine are good among a total of 300 MPs. Doesn't it mean that 291 MPs have established a reign of anarchy across the country?"

"The people would have protested if that had happened. Because people of this country are conscious enough. But nothing like that has been seen or has happened anywhere," he added.

The Awami League on Monday brushed aside the TIB findings saying the report was prepared to make way for unelected people to assume power.

Main opposition BNP, on the other hand, said the survey was applicable only in case of the ruling party MPs.

Speaker Hamid on Tuesday was speaking with the journalists after inaugurating a tree plantation programme at Parliament building premises.

He also blamed the 'culture of being late' for the quorum crisis in Parliament, which the TIB report mentioned.

"Bangladesh's culture is like this—the programme scheduled to start at 9 will begin at 9:30. But Parliament session never begins half an hour behind schedule, maybe it starts five or 10 minutes late. It happens all around the world. But I don't get it in what way this raises the cost to run Parliament?"

Acting Secretary to Parliament Mahfuzur Rahman and the Speaker's Personal Secretary Zainal Abedin were also present during the tree plantation programme.

The FBI on Wednesday arrested a Bangladeshi man in a sting operation on charges he attempted to blow up the New York Federal Reserve Bank with what he believed was a 1,000-pound (450-kg) bomb, federal authorities said.

Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, 21, faces charges of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to provide material support to al Qaeda, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

The FBI said the public was not in danger because the explosives provided to Nafis were never in working condition and the suspect was closely monitored by the undercover agent - highlighting a script law enforcement has employed several times this year in similar cases, including one in Washington and another in Ohio.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama had been briefed about the arrest.

"Attempting to destroy a landmark building and kill or maim untold numbers of innocent bystanders is about as serious as the imagination can conjure," said Mary Galligan, FBI acting assistant director-in-charge. "The defendant faces appropriately severe consequences."

In an initial appearance in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Nafis wore a plain brown crew-neck T-shirt, dark-colored jeans and sneakers. He barely spoke during the brief hearing, mumbling answers of "yes" to questions from US Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann.

According to the criminal complaint, Nafis traveled to the United States in January 2012. Once in New York, he claimed to be in contact with al Qaeda members overseas, although federal agents found no evidence that he was working for al Qaeda or that he was directed by the organisation, according to a US official who declined to be named.

Nafis considered several targets for his attack, including the New York Stock Exchange and a high-ranking government official, whom the US official identified as Obama.

In the end, the criminal complaint said, Nafis decided to focus on the Federal Reserve Bank in lower Manhattan, which stands like a limestone and sandstone fortress atop what is believed to be one of the world's largest stockpiles of gold.

RECRUITS

To create a cell to help him carry out the bombing, Nafis began to seek out recruits, eventually bringing on board an undercover agent working for the FBI.

The two met on Wednesday morning and traveled by van to a New York warehouse, where Nafis assembled what he thought was a 1,000 pound bomb, before driving to the Federal Reserve Bank, among the most secure and guarded buildings in Manhattan.

After parking near the bank, Nafis walked to a nearby hotel and recorded a video statement in which he said, "We will not stop until we attain victory or martyrdom," according to the FBI.

Nafis was arrested in the hotel as he repeatedly attempted to detonate the inert bomb, the FBI said.

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, whose department was part of the operation, objected to suggestions that Nafis' plans were crude and bumbling.

"I don't see how you characterise (him as) unsophisticated, I mean he was arrested, but he clearly had the intent to create mayhem here," Kelly told reporters.

Other FBI sting operations this year have netted at least one foreign suspect, as well as some from the United States.

In February, a 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested near the US Capitol wearing a vest he believed was full of al Qaeda-supplied explosives, and charged in an attempted suicide bombing of Congress.

Five self-described anarchists in the Cleveland area were arrested in May and accused of plotting to blow up a four-lane highway bridge. An undercover FBI agent had sold the men inoperable detonators and plastic explosives.