BANGLADESH

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has said Bangladesh's rights over 460 nautical-mile area in the Bay of Bengal will be secured from India and Myanmar.

"Both Myanmar and India will have to accept that we have rights in that part of the sea. We have our rights over the resources. Inshallah, we will secure the rights," she told parliament on Wednesday during the question-answer session.

Replying to a supplementary question of Naogaon-2 constituency MP Sahiduzzaman Sarkar, she said: "We have rights over the amount of sediment going to sea from Bangladesh and the area created by that sediment."

"We have rights over that 460 nautical-mile area of the Bay of Bengal. In the sea, Bangladesh has an area which is larger than its (Bangladesh) size," she added.

Bangladesh placed its 'position paper' on its maritime claim in the Bay of Bengal to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in New York on Feb 25. It claimed that Bangladesh owns that area.

But Myanmar on Mar 31 and India on Jun 20 last year placed their 'objection letters' to the UN over Bangladesh's claim.

The hearing on Bangladesh's claim began on Aug 24 last year at the UN.

Moreover, a case is also running at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) between Bangladesh and Myanmar to settle a dispute over degrading maritime border. The hearing of the case started last September.

Applications for cadre service jobs have to be submitted online from the next Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations, an official has said.

Public Service Commission (PSC) controller of examinations (cadre) I E M Nesaruddin told : "Job applications have to be sent online starting the 33rd BCS examinations. Likewise, admit cards can also be collected online."

"Sufferings of the job aspirants will get immensely with the introduction of online application system," he said.

Nesaruddin said PCS has signed a contract to this effect with public-sector mobile phone operator Teletalk."

The agreement was inked with the consent of the finance minister, he said adding: "Application forms can be filled up through the PSC and Teletalk websites."

The PSC official said there would be instructions for filling up various parts of the forms. Applicant's copy will be seen and each applicant given an invoice number on filling up the form.

"The applicant can pay the exam fee through Teletalk mobile phone using the invoice number. Once the fee is paid, the aspirant will get a registration number. Then the applicant can download admit card using the invoice and registration numbers."

If anyone loses the admit card, it can be downloaded again, Nesaruddin said.

He hinted that circular for the 33rd BCS exams could be published late February or early March.

The PSC official said colour photos of the examinees would be affixed to the attendance book apart from the admit cards.

Those sitting the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations in 2014 will have to deal with creative questions for 12 subjects.

In the HSC examinations of 2013, questions of Bangla, political science, chemistry and business entrepreneurship will be creative ones, chairman of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Dhaka, Fahima Khatun told on Wednesday.

Only Bangla will see creative questions in 2012, she added.

Apart from the four subjects to see creative questions in 2013, questions of physics, biology, accounting, business entrepreneurship and practical management, history, Islamic history, social science and social welfare, will be creative, an education ministry circular issued earlier in the day said.

In 2014, physics and biology students will have to answer creative questions of 40 numbers, multiple choice questions of 35 numbers and practical questions of 25 numbers.

Accounting, business entrepreneurship and practical management, history, Islamic history, social science and social welfare will see creative questions of 40 numbers and multiple choice questions of 60 numbers.

The government has issued a gazette on the appointment of former CSP officer Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed as the new chief election commissioner.

In a formal announcement on Wednesday evening, the Cabinet Division also issued gazettes on appointment of four others as election commissioners.

Retired additional secretary Mohammad Abu Hafiz, retired joint secretary Abdul Mobarak, retired brigadier general Mohammad Jabed Ali and retired sessions judge Mohammad Shahnewaz were appointed as Rakib's deputies and they will work with him for the next five years.

Earlier in the day, president Zillur Rahman's press secretary A K M Nesar Uddin Bhuiyan had confirmed about Rakib's appointment as the new CEC.

Following the gazette issuance, the EC secretariat would now make arrangements for their swearing-in by the chief justice.

EC secretary Mohammad Sadique had told that they would ask the chief justice for time to schedule the oath administration once the gazette is issued.

Islami Chhatra Shibir has called a half-day general strike for Thursday in protest at the deaths of two of its members in a clash at Chittagong University.

The lockdown will be enforced from 6am to 12pm in the port city, Shibir's metropolitan unit (north) president Mohammad Ismail told around 6:30pm on Wednesday.

Ismail said both south and north units of Chhatra Shibir have called on the strike with the support of Jamaat-e-Islami's Chittagong metropolitan unit.

Jamaat's metropolitan unit chief A N M Shamsul Islam MP has also confirmed his party's support for the shutdown.

Two pro-Jamaat-e-Islami students had died earlier in the day in clashes with pro-Awami League students over distribution of invites for the university's Islamic History department first-year orientation programme.

According to police and witnesses, the clash left at least 35 injured including CU proctor Nasim Hasan while police have arrested 10 Shibir activists from the campus.

Doctors at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) had declared zoology second-year student Mohammad Mojaheed and English final year student Masud Bin Habib dead around 3:30pm after they were taken there with fatal injuries.

Meanwhile, the university authorities have ordered all students to vacate the dormitories and postponed academic activities until Feb 16 following the clashes.

Pro-government Bangladesh Chhatra League has claimed that one of the two who died in the clash with Islami Chhatra Shibir at Chittagong University was a BCL member.

Earlier, claiming both deceased as their members, the pro-Jamaat-e-Islami student organisation called a half-day general strike on Thursday in the port city.

"Deceased Mohammad Mojaheed was a BCL activist," CU BCL unit senior vice-president Abul Mansur Shikder told a press briefing at 8pm on Wednesday at a private hospital Medical Center in the city's GEC Intersection area.

Zoology second-year student Mohammad Mojaheed and English final-year student Masud Bin Habib died earlier in the day in clashes between BCL and Chhatra Shibir activists over the distribution of invites for the university's Islamic History Department first-year orientation programme.

However, right after the clash, Shibir's CU unit president Badiul Alam claimed that Habib was the general secretary of university's Suhrawardy Hall unit and Mojaheed was a member of his organisation.

Doctors at Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) declared Mojaheed and Habib dead around 3:30pm after they were taken there with fatal injuries.

Meanwhile, the university authorities have ordered all students to vacate the dormitories and postponed academic activities until Feb 16 following the hour-long clashes which also left at least 35 injured, including CU proctor Nasim Hasan.

BCL held the press briefing at Medical Center where some of the injured were admitted.

Blaming Shibir for the clash, Mansur said at least 50 BCL activists were injured in the clash and five of them were in critical condition.

He claimed, "This was a planned assault. Chhatra Shibir also held show-down programme on Tuesday night. Wednesday's assault took place as the CU BCL unit president and general secretary were not present on the campus."

He further alleged that police were also not effective during the clash.

Asking the CU authorities to resume university activities, the ruling party student wing leader said BCL will file a case with Hathazari Police Station over 'Mojaheed murder'.

He also announced at the briefing that his party will hold a human-chain programme and demonstrate in the city's Sholoshohor area on Thursday to protest 'Mojaheed's murder and assault'.

If the chief justice agrees, the newly-appointed chief election commissioner and the four election commissioners will be taking the oath of office on Thursday, the Election Commission secretary says.

"We have received the gazette on the appointment of the new CEC and four commissioners. We will request the chief justice to make arrangements for their swearing-in on Thursday," Mohammad Sadique told Wednesday evening.

If everything goes fine, the oath administration ceremony will take place on Thursday afternoon, he said.

President Zillur Rahman appointed former CSP officer Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmed as the new CEC. Retired additional secretary Mohammad Abu Hafiz, retired joint secretary Abdul Mobarak, retired brigadier general Mohammad Jabed Ali and retired sessions judge Mohammad Shahnewaz were appointed as Rakib's deputies.

The EC received the gazette in the afternoon following its issuance by the Cabinet Division.

When asked about the administration of oath, Supreme Court registrar A K M Shamsul Islam told arrangements will be made after they receive EC Secretariat's letter.

"If they request to conduct the swearing-in on Thursday, the time will be fixed in line with the chief justice's schedule," he said.

The president on Jan 22 formed a search committee, following a series of dialogues with political parties having representation in parliament, to reconstitute the top polls panel as the tenure of the incumbent commission ends in the middle of this month.

Zillur Rahman accepted recommendations from the search committee headed by a Supreme Court judge, who submitted a list of 10 names, including two for the CEC's post, and he finalised the five on Wednesday from that list.

Meanwhile, EC officials have said that one of the new commissioners' swearing-in could be postponed as the term of election commissioner M Shakhawat Hossain is due to end on Feb 14.

Parliament on Tuesday passed the 'Wall Writing and Poster Sticking (Prevention) Bill-2012' allowing poster pasting and graffiti only in designated spots.

According to the bill, anybody violating the new law could be fined a maximum of Tk 50,000 and 30 days of imprisonment if the offender fails to pay the fine. Mobile courts will also be able to try the violators.

The bill was passed after speaker Abdul Hamid put it to voice vote.

The endorsement came after state minister for LGRD Jahangir Kabir Nanak tabled the bill on Nov 28 last year on. The cabinet on July 11 that year had approved the bill's draft copy.

The only mobile-phone operator on the stock exchange, GrameenPhone (GP), has declared another 65 percent cash dividend for 2011.

A GP source familiar with the company's financial details confirmed about the decision of the GP board of directors.

This announcement comes on top of a 140 percent dividend given earlier.

Also the largest telecom operator in Bangladesh, the company's board took the decision in a meeting on Tuesday evening, said the source who declined to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue.

In July last year, GP declared the 140 percent interim cash dividend or Tk 14 per share of Tk 10 each for 2011 based on its half-yearly performance.

The interim dividend was much higher than that of 2010's 35 percent interim dividend and even higher than full year's 120 percent dividend of 2010.

he home minister has claimed that the main opposition's Mar 12 rally in Dhaka is aimed at 'saving war criminals', so the government will 'thwart' the bid 'peacefully.'

"They (BNP) will not succeed at any cost," Shahara Khatun, also a ruling Awami League's presidium member, vowed while speaking at a massive human chain programme organised by the 14-party Grand Alliance on Tuesday.

The human chain, stretching from one end of the capital to the other, was formed to protest what they called "conspiracy to foil war crimes trial and throttle democracy".

BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia declared the programme 'to topple the government' from a rally at Chittagong on Jan 9.

Joining hands around 3pm, the ruling coalition supporters formed the chain from Gabtoli to Jatrabari, lasting over an hour.

It stretched through Shyamoli, Asad Gate, Russell Square, Panthapath, Karwan Bazar, Shahbagh, National Press Club, Noor Hossain Square, Gulistan, Tikatuli and Sayedabad.

"BNP declared the Mar 12 programme to save war criminals. But, they will not succeed at any cost. On that day, our leaders and activists will peacefully keep them [the opposition] off the streets," Shahara said taking part in the programme at Gabtoli.

Syed Ashraful Islam, the LGRD minister and Awami League general secretary, had earlier announced the decision to form the 12-kilometre human chain between Gabtali bus terminal and Jatrabari crossing. The decision was taken at a meeting of the leaders of the 14-party alliance at the Awami League president's political office in Dhanmondi on Jan 29, he had said.

Ashraful had said that the human chain is an attempt to raise voice against a "conspiracy" at home and abroad to foil the trial of war criminals.

Among those who attended the meeting on Jan 29 were Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president Hasanul Haque Inu, Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon and party member Shirin Akther, Ganotantri Party leader Nurur Rahman Selim, Samyabadi Dal leader Harun Chowdhury and NAP leader Ismail Hossain.

An Awami League media release earlier in the said the party's leaders would take part in the human chain programme at different points of the city on Tuesday.

Former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam, party's present chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, its secretary-general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, central executive committee member Delwar Hossain Sayedee, and assistant secretaries general Muhammad Kamaruzzaman and Quader Molla are facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed during the 1971 war.

They are all currently behind bars.

Facing similar charges, senior BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury is also in jail, pending trial, while former member of late president Ziaur Rahman's cabinet Abdul Alim is out on conditional bail.

The government formed the International Crimes Tribunal, lawyers' panel and an investigation committee on Mar 25 last year to try those involved in crimes against humanity during the Liberation War.

The search committee, formed to suggest names for election commissioners, submitted their recommendations to president Mohammad Zillur Rahman on Tuesday.

The recommendations were handed in around 6:30pm to at Bangabhaban.

Following a meeting of the committee earlier in the day at the Supreme Court Judges' Lounge, cabinet secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told journalists around 6:10pm: "We have finalised the recommendations. Now we are going to the president with the names."

Asked who names have been proposed, he said, " You will get to know about that there (in president's office)."

The Cabinet Division provided secretarial support to the panel headed by the Appellate Division's justice Syed Mahmud Hossain. The other members of the committee are High Court Division justice Md Nuruzzaman, Public Service Commission chairman AT Ahmedul Haque Chowdhury and comptroller and auditor general Ahmed Ataul Hakim.

The committee is to propose two names against each vacant post of election commissioners, including the chief of the constitutional body to the president who will have the final say as per constitutional provisions.

It received the names from political parties until last Tuesday. Ruling Awami League, Workers' Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had sent names to the committee. But Jatiya Party, a key component of the ruling alliance, suggested no names.

The BNP-led four-party alliance snubbed the committee, calling it unconstitutional.

The president on Jan 22 formed the search committee, following a series of dialogues with political parties having representation in parliament, to reconstitute the commission.

The tenure of the incumbent commission ends in the middle of this month.

The BNP on Tuesday termed immediate past chief election commissioner A T M Shamsul Huda 'biased' and said it will not accept his reappointment.

"He (Huda) tried to break a large political party. This person is biased, not impartial. He doesn't tell the truth," acting secretary general of the party, Mirza Fakhrul islam Alamgir told a discussion in the city.

He urged the government to revive the caretaker government system, saying the 'ongoing political crisis' will not be overcome if the constitutional provision is not reinstated before constitution of a new Election Commission (EC).

"You (government) still have time. Come away from the path of violence and vengeance," the spokesperson said.

The BNP leader termed 'unconstitutional' the search committee, which officially proposed names of election commissioners later in the evening.

President Mohammed Zillur Rahman had formed the committee after talks with political parties last month as the terms of Huda and the other election commissioners M Sakhawat Hussain and Muhammed Sohul Hussain were expiring this month.

The issue of Huda's reappointment was discussed when some political parties proposed during the presidential dialogue that he be reappointed and several experts on the constitution said there was no legal bar.

The panel was to propose two names against each vacant post of election commissioners, including the chief of the constitutional body, to president who will have the final say as per constitutional provisions.

Ruling Awami League, Workers' Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had sent names to the committee. But Jatiya Party, a key component of the ruling alliance, suggested no names.

The BNP-led four-party alliance has been saying from the beginning that they would not give any names to the committee, calling it unconstitutional.

The main opposition has dubbed the recommendations for election commissioners, handed over to the president by the search committee, as 'meaningless'.

"We feel, forming a new election commission is not the answer to the prevailing political crisis, instead formation of a non-partisan caretaker government holds the key," the party's standing committee member Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told as his instant reaction to Tuesday's submission of names.

"So, who mans the new EC or whom the search committee recommended is of no concern to us. We find it meaningless," the BNP leader added.

The search committee, formed to suggest names for the new election commissioners, in the evening recommended to the president that either former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder or ex-home secretary Kazi Rakib Uddin Ahmed be made the chief election commissioner.

The committee also proposed eight other names against the remaining four vacant posts of election commissioners to the president who will have the final say as per the constitutional provisions.

"We told the president during the dialogue that the announcement to hold the polls under a caretaker government has to come before formation of the new Election Commission," Musharraf pointed out.

"...there is no alternative to the polls being held under a non-partisan caretaker government to ensure fair and acceptable elections."

He added that this was one of the key reasons why his party did not contribute to the formation of the new EC.

"A neutral poll is no longer only BNP's demand, it has become a national demand. If anything is done bypassing this, then the people will not accept. On the contrary, it will only worsen the political crisis."

The president on Jan 22 formed the search committee, following a series of dialogues with political parties having representation in parliament, to reconstitute the commission. The tenure of the incumbent commission ends in the middle of this month.

It received the names from political parties until Dec 31. Ruling Awami League, Workers' Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had sent names to the committee. But Jatiya Party, a key component of the ruling alliance, suggested no names.

The BNP-led four-party alliance had snubbed the committee, calling it unconstitutional.

Detective branch police have detained Mohammad Nurul Islam, general secretary of Narsinghdi district's Sadar upazila unit of BNP, at the jail gate as he moved to walk free hours after securing bail in the case over the murder of Narsinghdi municipality mayor Lokman Hossain.

DB police inspector Gaurachandra Majumder told that the Tuesday evening arrest was carried out in line with "depositions of accused arrested over the murder of Narsinghdi Government College student union general secretary Billal Hossain Rony".

On Mar 15 last year, Chhatra Dal leader Rony was chopped and shot dead on the college premises in broad daylight and it is alleged that the murder was the result of a factional clash in BNP.

Rony's elder brother Abul Fazal had filed a case against 14, though Nurul did not find a mention there. Later, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was assigned to probe the case.

Earlier in the day, the court of Narsinghdi district and sessions judge Mohammad Shahjahan granted him bail after chief judicial magistrate Nitai Chandra Saha ordered him back to jail on being produced before the court after a three-day remand.

Following the chief judicial magistrate court's order, lawyers for the accused moved to the district and sessions judge's court for his bail.

Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) had pronounced Lokman, 43, dead about three hours after he was shot by a masked gunman around 8pm in front of the Awami League office at Sadar Road in Narsinghdi on Nov 1.

Lokman's younger brother Kamruzzaman filed a murder case on Nov 3 accusing telecommunications minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju's brother Salahuddin Ahmed Bachchu and 13 others, mostly leaders and activists of Awami League.

Nurul, the number five accused in the murder case, was arrested at the Shahjalal International Airport in the capital by the immigration police on Jan 29 on his arrival from Malaysia.

He had gone to Malaysia before the murder was committed.

The search committee has recommended that the president pick either former CSP officer Kazi Rakib Uddin Ahmed or former secretary Ali Imam Majumder a the chief election commissioner.

It suggested eight more names against the four positions of commissioners, one being that of a woman.

The committee members handed their recommendations for the new election commissioners to Mohammad Zillur Rahman on Tuesday

The president received the recommendations around 6:30pm at Bangabhaban.

Cabinet secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan revealed the names to journalists at Bangabhaban.

The BNP has brushed off the recommendations 'meaningless' while ruling coalition ally Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JaSad) said the candidates are 'honest' and 'competent' even though the names put forward by political parties were not there

CEC contender Kazi Rakib retired as the education secretary in 2003. He had also been the home secretary and was chairman of different corporations in his career.


The other man in the fray, Ali Imam, was thrust into the office of cabinet secretary in December 2006 during the caretaker government led by president Iajuddin Ahmed. He held the post during the entire rule of the military-backed caretaker government. After his retirement, the 1977 Bangladesh Civil Service batch officer was reappointed for another year on contract and finally retired in November 2008, a month before the general elections.

A Comilla resident, he discharged duties as the establishment secretary under the past BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami coalition government.

The committee proposed eight other names, including a woman and a retired army officer, against the remaining four vacant posts of election commissioners to the president who will have the final say as per constitutional provisions.

They are retired additional secretaries Mohammad Abu Hafiz and Shah Mohammad Monsurul Haque, retired joint secretary Abdul Mobarak, former police chief Hadis Uddin Ahmed, retired brigadier general Jabed Ali, former Supreme Court registrar Fazlul Karim, former sessions' judge Mohammad Shahnewaz and chief executive officer of NGO Broti Sharmin Murshid.

BNP policymaker Khandker Mosharraf Hossain told in his instant reaction to the submission of names that who manned the new Election Commission or who the search committee recommended was of no concern to the opposition.

"We feel, forming a new Election Commission is not the answer to the prevailing political crisis, instead formation of a non-partisan caretaker government holds the key," he added.

JaSad president Hasanul Haq Inu told reporters that the names suggested by the panel have worked with 'integrity' and 'proficiency' and hoped that they will deliver in the EC as well.

The Cabinet Division has been providing secretarial support to the panel headed by the Appellate Division's justice Syed Mahmud Hossain. The other members of the committee are High Court Division justice Md Nuruzzaman, Public Service Commission chairman AT Ahmedul Haque Chowdhury and comptroller and auditor general Ahmed Ataul Hakim.

It received the names from political parties until Dec 31. Ruling Awami League, Workers' Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had sent names to the committee. But Jatiya Party, a key component of the ruling alliance, suggested no names.

The BNP-led four-party alliance snubbed the committee, calling it unconstitutional.

The president on Jan 22 formed the search committee, following a series of dialogues with political parties having representation in parliament, to reconstitute the commission.

The tenure of the incumbent commission ends in the middle of this month.

The government has prepared the draft of a law to control the activities of the multi-level marketing (MLM) companies and sent it to the ministries of finance and public administration for their opinion, the commerce minister tells parliament.

"The draft law--'Direct Sales Act-2012'--will be placed in the cabinet for approval when the ministries give their opinion on it," minister G M Quader said while replying to a supplementary question from ruling Awami League MP Tazul Islam during the question-answer session on Monday.

The minister said some MLM companies have been cheating people, alluring them by promising good profits. A total of 69 MLM companies have been given registration so far.

The government has stopped registration of more MLM companies in the wake of allegations against some of them, he said.

Stating that it was possible to take action against them under the existing law, Quader said, "Steps will be taken after discussion with all relevant ministries on the type of legal measures possible," he added.

2800 TCB DEALERS

Responding to a query from ruling party MP A B M Golam Mostafa, the commerce minister said that a total of 2,800 dealers have been appointed across the country by the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).

Quader said some 13,782 metric tonnes of sugar, 7,382 metric tonnes of lentil, 600 metric tonnes of gram, 600 metric tonnes of date and 353,434 litres of soybean oil were distributed among the consumers through the dealers over the last six months.

BILATERAL PACTS WITH 40 STATES

In reply to a starred question from Monirul Islam MP, he said that Bangladesh has so far signed bilateral agreements with 40 countries. "Bangladesh has also signed SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Area) pact with India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan and Afghanistan."

The country has signed ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement with India, Sri Lanka, China, South Korea and Laos, and BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) accord with Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan, the commerce minister informed.

Quader, in reply to the question of Jatiya Party MP Mujibul Haque, said that the government has taken some initiatives to meet the trade gap with China.

China has granted duty-free and quota-free (DFQF) access to 4,788 products of Bangladesh to its market in the 2010-2011 fiscal, he said.

Consumer inflation rate has soared in January to 11.59 percent from 10.63 percent at December-end.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) gave the figures at a press briefing on Monday.

BBS director Shahjahan Ali Mollah attributed the inflation rate hike to the rise in prices of essentials including rice, pulse, fish, eggs, fruits, edible oil and packaged milk.

In other sectors, BBS identified rise in rent, transport expense, price of garment and household costs as the key factor behind the swelling inflation.

The media was also informed that the food inflation in January stood at 10.9 percent while inflation in other sectors was 13.16 percent.

However, inflation in rural areas has gone down during the period, with the rate falling to 11.15 percent at January-end from 13.25 percent in December. Food inflation in the rural area stood at 10.18 percent and in other sectors, 13.23 percent.

Overall inflation in urban areas is on the rise, with the rate at 12.73 percent in January-end, which was 11.62 percent at the end of December. Food inflation in urban areas was at 12.56 percent and in other sectors, the inflation was 12.97 percent.

The average inflation over the past one year has been 10.91 percent.

Even though the finance minister claimed that there is no economic crisis in the country, he sees reining in inflation a big challenge for the government.

Increase in fuel prices in December 2011 caused January's hike in prices of fuel and fuel-related commodities, Shahjahan said.

The inflation rate was recorded 9.6 percent in February 2011, which rose to 10.4 percent within a month and it has stayed in double digits since then.

The highest inflation on point-to-point basis was 11.97 percent in September 2011. Overall inflation rate was recorded 11.42 percent in October 2011.

BBS published the inflation data taking 1995-1996 as the base year.

Even though the rate of inflation is in double-digit figure (over 10 percent), Shahjahan Ali claimed that the consumers are not in trouble.

"Their purchasing power has increased," he said.

"Prices of all imported goods have risen as US dollar appreciated against taka," he elaborated the cause of inflation in the non-food sector.

Asked whether it will be possible to keep the rate of inflation within 7.5 percent, a goal set in the budget for the current fiscal, Shahjahan said, "It's not the duty of BBS to control prices. Our duty is to collect data and pass them on to the authorities concerned."

BBS has been gathering data on the prices of various goods and services regularly since 1973-74. It publishes Consumers Price Index (national, urban, rural) and the rate of inflation after analysing those.

The rate of inflation is worked out taking into account three different indexes – national, urban and rural.

The search committee, formed to suggest names for election commissioners, will submit its recommendations to president Mohammad Zillur Rahman on Tuesday.

According to the circular given out on Monday, the decision was taken at a meeting of the committee at the Supreme Court Judges' Lounge earlier in the day.

The committee will hand its recommendations to the president at 6:30pm after holding its sixth and final meeting at 5pm at the Judges' Lounge.

The submission will follow a media briefing at the Bangabhaban's Credential Hall where the cabinet secretary will brief journalists, the circular further said.

The president formed the four-strong search committee on Jan 22 to reconstituting the Election Commission.
It winnowed the suitable candidates at its fourth meeting. Headed by the Appellate Division's justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, the other members of the committee are High Court Division justice Md Nuruzzaman, Public Service Commission chairman AT Ahmedul Haque Chowdhury and comptroller and auditor general Ahmed Ataul Hakim.

The committee will propose two names against each vacant post of election commissioners, including the chief of the constitutional body to the president who will have the final say as per constitutional provisions.
It received the names from political parties until last Tuesday. Ruling Awami League, Workers' Party and Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal had sent names to the committee. But Jatiya Party, a key component of the ruling alliance, suggested no names.
The BNP-led four-party alliance snubbed the committee, calling it unconstitutional.
The president on Jan 22 formed the search committee, following a series of dialogues with political parties having representation in parliament, to reconstitute the commission.
The tenure of the incumbent commission ends in the middle of this month.

Two bills to tax salaries of the speaker and other members of parliament were presented in parliament on Monday.

The bills are The Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Remuneration and Privileges) (Amendment) Act 2012 and The Member of Parliament (Remuneration and Privileges) (Amendment) Act 2012.

State minister for law Qamrul Islam presented the bills on behalf of law, justice and parliamentary affairs minister Shafique Ahmed.

These bills have been sent to the parliamentary standing committee on the law, justice and parliament affairs which will submit a report within 15 days after scrutiny.

If the bills are passed, they laws will take retroactive effect from July 1 of the previous year.

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina had announced in the last budget session of parliament that salaries of ministers, state ministers, deputy ministers, and MPs will no more remain tax-free.

The cabinet approved the bills on Nov 28 last year in a step towards implementing that announcement.

Generally, everyone's income beyond a certain range is taxable. But, in line with a 1973 act, lawmakers' remunerations are above taxation and so are the parliament speaker and deputy speakers' in line with another law framed in 1974.

The taxation system has long discriminated in favour of MPs. The bills have been presented to remove the disparity.

Bangladesh will receive 12 buses in its first consignment of double-deckers from India on Feb 12.

"We ordered 290 double-deckers and will get the first consignment of 12 buses on Feb 12," Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation chairman M M Iqbal told on Monday.

The procurement was done under the $1 billion Indian credit line that was announced during the visit of prime minister Sheikh Hasina to New Delhi in 2010.

"Each bus will cost about Tk 65 to Tk 70 lakh and has performance guarantee from the manufacturer," he said. "We hope to get all the buses by July."

Ashok Leyland is the manufacturer and the estimated cost of the buses is $23 million.
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When asked where the buses will ply, he said, "It is yet to be finalised but we are planning to send some buses to divisional headquarters."

Dhaka and New Delhi signed the deal on $1 billion line of credit with Indian EXIM Bank in August 2010. Bangladesh has so far undertaken 20 projects under the credit line.

The Indian credit bears 1.75 per cent interest a year and it will have to be repaid in 20 years with a five-year grace period.

Under the loan deal, Bangladesh will have to procure at least 85 percent of goods, works and services from India while 15 percent can be procured from Bangladesh if the contractors fail to source it from India.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) has secured a place in the list of top 30 international development think-tanks.

University of Pennsylvania prepared the list in January under its '2011 Global Go to Think Tanks Rankings', a BIDS press statement said on Monday.

The ranking considers policy influence, research quality and evolving character of research organisations.

According to the statement, BIDS was placed 28th in the category of international development think-tanks of the 5,329 nominated organisations in 2011.

Brookings Institution of the USA secured the top-most rank. The list includes three think-tanks from Asia – one each from China, India and Republic of Korea.

A group of 200 disgruntled Bangladeshi workers went on a seven-hour sit-out on Monday morning in Singapore's largest residential area Tampines over a dispute involving unpaid salaries.

According to Yahoo! News Singapore, the workers from Sunway Concrete Pte Ltd and TechCom Construction gathered in an empty field at Tampines Industrial Street 62 instead of starting work at 10am (Bangladesh standard time).

Sunway is the main contractor and Techcom is the sub-contractor hired by Housing and Development Board (HDB) to fabricate building materials for flats.

The workers have not been paid for four months running, since November last year. Quoting some unnamed workers, it also said it is not the first time the company has fallen behind payments for its foreign workers.

In addition, the Bangladeshi workers also complained about the poor quality of food served in the canteen. One of them, Samid Siddek, 35, said even a cow would not want to eat the food.

Currently, about Singapore $150 is deducted each month from their salaries as food expenses, and another $20-50 for utilities, with 1 Singapore dollar equalling Tk 67.36.

The Bangladesh mission in Singapore, however, is unaware of the incident. "We have no idea. It's (such kind of protest) very unusual here. It's a regulated place. The government informs us if anything happens," Kamrul Ahsan, Bangladesh high commissioner in Singapore, told by telephone.

Expatriates' welfare and overseas employment secretary Zafar Ahmed Khan told that they were yet to receive any information.

"We will tell the labour wing to monitor this," he said and added that never before had he heard of such incident in Singapore. "It's a very unusual event," he also said.

Nearly 0.2 million Bangladeshi are working and living in this Southeast Asian city-state, according to the secretary.

One protestor K Ravhkumar told Yahoo: "All men same problem, all men no pay for four months." The 35-year-old said his usual working hours are from 8am to 10pm.

However, he said that workers would be made to work until midnight on busy days, without overtime pay. An average worker earns a basic salary of $18 per day.

The strike slowly dissipated at about 3pm as workers were told by representatives of the company that they would receive their November pay on Monday and their December pay next Friday.

The report could not confirm when they will receive their salary for January.

A spokesman for Sunway, who declined to be named, claimed that the sit-out originated from a core group of about 10 Bangladeshi workers.

"A few of them took some weapons and threatened the others. Some don't know what is going on but just joined in…Majority of the workers do not dare to speak because they are scared they will get hamtum (beaten up)," he said.

TechCom officials declined to comment to Yahoo! Singapore, when contacted.

Jolovan Wham, a representative from the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics, told Yahoo that: "From my experience, workers usually resort to such actions when they are desperate and fed up. I believe they must have reached the tipping point for them to decide not to work."

A Singapore ministry of manpower spokesperson told Yahoo that its officers responded to the incident immediately after they were alerted by the police and went down to the worksite.

Its interim investigations revealed that the employers had not paid their workers since November 2011.

The spokesperson also said that MOM will continue investigations and follow up with the workers to ensure that they receive their December 2011 and January 2012 salaries promptly.

With its almost record-low birth rate of 1.2 from last year, former prime minister Lee Kuau Yew on Friday apprehended that Singapore would need to depend on immigrants as he said the downward trend of population growth is 'damaging to its economy'.

Only 2.6 million people were without job in Bangladesh in 2010 – the latest figures available – which was around 4.5 percent of the country's total economically active population, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

However, according to surveys of private organisations in the country, the number is 'far higher'.

The figures of the survey on the labour force – the 11th in Bangladesh and done in May 2010 – were revealed at a press briefing on Monday. The previous survey was carried out in 2005-6.

According to the latest survey, there were more jobless people in the towns and cities than they were in villages.

The Labour Force Survey-2010 collected information from a total 1,500 sample areas – 325 in urban areas and 1,175 in the rural areas.

LFS 2010 was carried out in 34,226 thanas in village areas across the country and another 9,325 thanas in city areas.

When asked why the number of unemployed persons is lower than expected, BBS officials said the number of unemployed persons was determined as per the definition and ideas of International Labour Organisation (ILO).

In the survey, BBS defined 'employed' as those who have worked at least for a single hour in the last week in his private farm, any company or institution with or without pay.

It labelled those as 'unemployed' who had not worked or could not find any job in the last four weeks.

According to BBS definition, total number of employed persons in the 2010 LFS stood at 50.41 million out of an economically active population of 50.67 million.

According to the survey results, labour in between 2002-3 and 2005-6 increased by a 3.2 million, of which, 3.1 million were employed.

The labour force increased by 7.2 million from between 2005-6 and 2010. There were around 500,000 unemployed persons during this time.

The survey says the rate of labour force increase from 2005-6 to 2010 was 3.39 percent with a 3.10 percent rise in the towns and 3.48 percent in villages.

Based on gender and areas, the percentage of unemployment was higher in the towns than in villages. Among the 4.5 percent unemployed of the total active population, 4.1 percent were male and 5.7 percent female.

In the towns, of the 6.5 percent unemployed, 5.7 percent were males and 8.3 percent were females. In the villages the respective percentages were 3.6 and 4.9.

A parliamentary watchdog on Monday submitted a report on the 2007 student-teacher torture in Dhaka University blaming then chief advisor Fakhruddin Ahmed and army chief Moeen U Ahmed.

The standing committee on the education ministry also recommended bringing to trial to those 'responsible', including former military intelligence chief major general A T M Amin, brigadier general Fazlul Bari and colonel Shamsul Alam, under the existing laws to prevent a repeat of 'untoward' incidents.

Committee chairman Rashed Khan Mennon placed the 383-page report, along with a CD containing the details of the events, in parliament. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina was present when the report was placed as the day's session chaired by deputy speaker Shawkat Ali started around 4:45pm.

Awami League chief Hasina was detained on a raft of corruption charges by the 2007-08 military-installed caretaker government. The deputy speaker accepted the report but said a decision about discussion will have to wait.

Menon, president of Bangladesh Workers' Party – a ruling coalition ally – called upon the MPs to discuss the report and the government and relevant authorities to implement the recommendations made in the report.

"The student-military clash at Dhaka University and other educational institutions was not only unwanted, but a shameful and unfortunate incident for the whole nation," the report centering the August 2007 clash at the universities said.

The report also includes 13 suggestions and 11 observances including taking appropriate steps to ensure such incidents never recur.

Army men, camped on the campus, beat up students on Aug 20, 2007 following an altercation with some students on the university playground during a football match.

The students also assaulted some senior army officers, rampaged through the capital, burning and damaging dozens of vehicles as they clashed with police.

The army men then launched a ruthless assault on the students for next several days.

The violence spilled onto the streets of the capital and spread across the country, shaking the caretaker government backed by the influential army. A large number of students, along with four teachers, were arrested and were accused in a number of cases.

Student leaders in May last year blamed political ambitions of the caretaker government and 'recklessness' of the army for the violence.

They made the observations in their testimonies before a parliamentary sub-committee on the education ministry that interviewed 16 student leaders and three students of that time.

The standing committee dubbed the student-teacher uprising as an inevitable protest against the move to establish military rule by declaring a state of emergency in the country.

Gen Moeen denied having any decision-making role in the torture of students and teachers in and outside the custody in the wake of the violence five years ago.

Moeen, now in the United States, on Sept 13 last year in a tele-conference with a parliamentary sub-committee, however, said that the incidents in August, 2007 were 'unfortunate' and 'unwanted'.

SUGGESTIONS

The standing committee, initially holding 'responsible' Fakhruddin and Moeen for the atrocities on students-teachers, recommended that they be 'tried under the existing laws'.

Besides, the committee also suggested that 'regulatory' steps be taken against then police chief Nour Mohammad for 'failing' to 'carry out his responsibilities'.

It also dubbed essential to stop 'interference' of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) in 'civilian matters', especially those political.

The committee demanded abolition of the 'Task Force for Interrogation (TFI)' or joint forces' questioning cell, terming 'torture' conducted there as 'unacceptable in a civilised and democratic' country.

It also suggested holding regular polls at the central student unions of all universities, including the DUCSU.

AN INEVITABLE REACTION

The report contains 11 observations of the committee.

It dubs the clash as an 'inevitable reaction' against the initiative to 'establish military rule by declaring the state of emergency', and highlighted the role of courageous DU students and teachers in the past against autocracy and military rule, including the language movement, liberation war, the anti-autocracy uprising in 1991.

The report also points out that the initiative to set up a military camp inside DU campus without the permission of the authorities was a step to subdue students' uprising and this sparked off the clash.

It also marks that the 'armed forces', including Police, RAB, military and their intelligence, has a 'tendency' to disregard civil administration during 'emergency situations', which is 'unwanted' in a 'civilised' country.

The committee also said that the then caretaker government and army heads – Fakhruddin and Moeen – 'intentionally' did not act 'adequately'.

"The law-enforcers acted on their direct and indirect instructions. Specially, in arresting the teachers, dilly-dallying their release, sentencing them to prison terms and then in getting them pardoned by the president — they were involved in all these," the report read.

"Then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nour Mohammad cannot also avoid the blame in any way as he made no attempt to control the situation."

LONG-TERM CONSPIRACY

The committee also said that there was a long-term plan behind the violence as the teachers tortured in the TFI cell were repeatedly asked questions like whether they had any ties with the then prime minister, if there were any such signs in the student uprising, whether they have received any funding from the neighbouring country, etc.

The report says there were attempts to make debatable a specific political party and a neighbouring country. "At the same time, an opportunist faction formed a party named the King's Party and attempted to politically rehabilitate them."

A security officer at New York's John F Kennedy International Airport has been arrested after being accused of stealing $ 5,000 from a Bangladeshi traveller's coat.

Alexandra Schmid, 32, arrested on Wednesday night (local time), is a baggage screener for the airport's Transportation Security Administration.

Helen Peterson, spokesperson for Queens County district attorney Richard A Brown, told on Thursday evening that the theft took place around 8pm Thursday (local time) at JFK's Terminal 4 security check point.

"The man who had retrieved his coat from an X-ray machine belt told authorities a short time later that $5,000, which was in an envelope, was missing from its pocket," she said.

JFK port authority police spokesman Al Della Fave said when investigators checked surveillance camera videos, they saw screener Alexandra remove the envelope, wrap it in a latex glove, and depart for the bathroom. However, when investigators found the woman, she did not have the money on her.

"We assume she may have passed it off to an accomplice, so the investigation is continuing," he said.

Schmid was a 4 1/2-year old employee of the airport. She was charged with theft and violation of discipline in Queens criminal court.

Baggage-theft arrests have been on the rise in airports.

In Texas last Tuesday (local time), a Dallas airport screener was arrested with eight stolen iPods.

On Feb 1, a Memphis airport screener was sentenced to eight months in jail for stealing a laptop last year.

The health minister on Saturday warned demonstrators who have stood against a government move to turn the Dhaka Medical College into a university.

AFM Ruhal Haque said the government's move was right and any effort to disrupt that effort would be handled 'very seriously'.

The government move has sparked protest in the country's oldest medical college and hospital campus and also on social networking site Facebook.

"They will not be able to do so (protest)," he said, as he believed 'a quarter is active to embarrass the government by propagating misconceptions.'

The minister, however, did not say what sort of action would be taken against the protestors.

He made the statement as he opened a scientific seminar in the city.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Jan 17 at a function said the government was going to upgrade Dhaka Medical College to a university amid protest.

Grade III and IV employees at DMCH have long been protesting against such any move while some doctors and students recently voiced their concern.

A Facebook post argues 'it would shrink the opportunities of poor people's treatment as it happened in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, which was upgraded from a post-graduate institute in 1998.'

In Facebook post they also say the government move would disrupt the emergency services of the hospital.

The health minister opening a gastroenterologists' scientific seminar in the capital on Saturday said, "They don't have any idea."

Terming Dhaka Medical College Hospital's emergency services 'best' in the country, he said "Who is that mad in the government to disrupt this system?"

Earlier, the prime minister had said: "Some are protesting (against the move) due to their ignorance."

"Similar protests were seen when we turned PG Hospital into Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University," she said. "But I did not hear anyone facing any difficulty later on."

"Instead, people are getting modern treatment (from the university)," she claimed.

Pro-government doctors have been demanding more medical universities for quite some time in different discussions pointing to the fact that other disciplines like agriculture have many universities.

The minister at different functions of Dhaka Medical College in 2011 had asked them to demand more medical universities.

Experts on medical education suggested quality assurance of medical colleges under a single autonomous authority could be a better option in Bangladesh where doctors had already earned a bad name for not staying at rural facilities.

Local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam has said stating anything about the country's share market situation will not be a 'right thing' to do until this government's tenure expires.

"It won't be right to say anything about the share market now. Right after the government's term expires, it will be clear how the share market was in the last five years," the ruling Awami League general secretary said at the party's central working committee meeting on Saturday evening.

"Neither the government nor anyone else is controlling the share market. It's a free market," Ashraf said during his introductory speech at the meeting at Awami League president and prime minister Sheikh Hasina's official residence Ganabhaban.

He said, "No government of any country is the share market regulatory body. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the market regulatory body."

"The price of the shares will rise and fall eventually. Economists are yet to determine the actual cause behind the fall and rise in the share market," Ashraf added.

The meeting at Ganabhaban had begun at 6:45pm.

Ruling Awami League will sell nomination forms from Feb 7-10 to select the party's candidate for upcoming Shariatpur-3 by-election.

"The decision was taken at Awami League's parliamentary party meeting on Sunday evening," prime minister Sheikh Hasina's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad told journalists.

The Shariatpur-3 constituent became vacant with the death of Awami League veteran Abdur Razzak on Dec 23 last year. The next meeting is slated on Feb 12 to finalise the party's candidate for the parliamentary seat.

Deputy parliament leader Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, presidium member Amir Hossain Amu, advisory council member Tofail Ahmed, communications minister Obaidul Quader, presidium member Kazi Zafarullah and party's general secretary and local government minister Syed Ashraful Islam were present in the meeting.

Communications minister Obaidul Quader said on Sunday people are scared to see those involved in student politics.

"During our times, girls rushed to see us whenever we passed in front of the common room. And now, they run off in fear," the former Bangladesh Chhatra League president during in 1978-81 said at a workshop.

The workshop was organised on the occasion of the ruling Awami League's student wing's 64th anniversary and reunion where Quader was speaking.

He said now some so-called Chhatra League activists are spoiling the organisation's image.

"The images of Chhatra League and Awami League will shine if these [so called Chhatra League activists] are marked out and thrown out of the organisation."

"Wherever [Chhatra League supporters] commit misdeeds, committees there are being dismissed," Quader remarked.

But, he said, "This is not the solution. Disciplinary measures should be taken following investigation against those committing the misdeeds."

Replying to one of Quader's question, Chhatra League president H M Badiuzzaman Shohagh said there are 84 Chhatra League committees in 87 units in the districts and educational institutions.

Three committees have been dissolved.

Quader called for change in strategy and asked them to form a new committee before dissolving the old one. "Because, there is no scope to avoid responsibilities for the offence by saying that there is no [Chhatra League] committee here."

The minister said now-a-days, wherever he goes, he comes across a large number of Chhatra League supporters. "Where did so many Chhatra League [supporters] come from?" he wondered.

Former president of the student wing Enamul Haque Shamim, general secretary of the incumbent committee Siddique Nazmul Alam and leaders and supporters of various levels were present at the workshop.

The BNP spokesperson Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said on Sunday warned of a deepening 'political crisis' if the constitutional provision of caretaker government for overseeing general elections is not restored.

The acting secretary-general also came down hard on the government party's planned programmes on the same day as the opposition's and alleged that the ruling Awami League was deliberately pushing the nation towards conflict

"We have been saying time and again that the only solution to the existing political crisis in the country is to reinstate the caretaker government system. No solution can be reached by reconstituting the Election Commission," the acting secretary-general told journalists at Mahakhali.

He reiterated that the government has to decide on the interim government system first.

Replying to a journalist's query, he said, "No impartial polls are possible under a party-led government."

He disagreed with the immediate past chief election commissioner A T M Shamsul Huda's contention that fair balloting was possible under a political government if EC gets more power. Fakhrul said the CEC's statement is devoid of reality.

When his attention was drawn to Awami League's counter-programme announcement in the first week of March, he said, "Our March 12 programme is pre-announced. Khaleda Zia announced the programme on Jan 9 in Chittagong. In spite of knowing this, the ruling party announced programmes on the same day."

Criticising the ruling party, Fakhrul said, "It is a reflection of their undemocratic face. Listening to the statements of the ministers and leaders [of Awami League] it seems that they do not care about democratic practices."

He called on the ruling party to call off their programmes and alleged that the ruling party wants to make the country 'unstable' to establish 'a one-party rule'.

Fakhrul went to Metropolitan Hospital at Mahakhali to visit Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal Chandpur's leader Enamul Haque who was shot in the head on Jan 29 during the party's mass procession, allegedly during police fire.

Enamul was admitted to the private hospital the same day and has undergone a surgery.

During the mass procession programme, BNP and Chhatra Dal supporters Abul Hossain Gazi and Limon Shayal died on the spot in Chandpur.

Fakhrul said the doctors had told him that Enamul's condition is critical and prayed for quick recovery.