BANGLADESH

The biggest exhibition of Bangladesh's software industry, BASIS SOFTEXPO-2012, is set to start on Wednesday.

To be held at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre, the exhibition will remain open from 10am to 8pm every day until Feb 26.

A total of 140 local and foreign companies will participate in the event, convenor of the exhibition's organising committee, Tamzid Siddique, said at a media conference on Saturday.

Tamzid, also joint secretary-general of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), organisers of the event, said more than 80 seminars, technical sessions, open sessions and business matchmaking presentations will be held during the fair.

The expo will have seven zones: business software, outsourcing, mobile application, cloud and communication, IT-enabled services, IT education and e-commerce.

This year, more than 100 new IT inventions will be displayed as part of the exhibition, Tamzid said. Code Warriors' Challenge, IT Innovation Search Programme, Job Fair, BASIS Freelancer of the year award and the gala award night would be the highlights of Soft Expo, he added.

The entry fee has been set at Tk 50. There will be no entry fees for students.

BASIS is organising the expo since 2003.

A group of people has attacked a function organised to mark the 'Amar Ekushey' – the Language Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day – at Sakhipur in the district.

They chanted 'Naraye Takbir' [shout out loud] during the attack made when a dance competition was in progress at the function on Dak Bungalow premises on Tuesday evening.

Prof Aleem Mahmud, convenor of the cultural sub-committee of the programme organising committee, told : "30-40 people attack all of a sudden chanting Naraye Takbir."

"They vandalised chairs, loudspeakers and sound boxes," he added.

A discussion, poetry recitation, and music and dance competition were organised marking the Amar Ekushey.

Sakhipur upazila chairman Shawkat Shikder, also ruling Awami League's upazila unit committee general secretary, said the police have been asked to take action against the people responsible for the incident.

Sakhipur police station inspector (investigation) Mizanur Rahman told journalists that preparation was on to file a case in this connection.

A witness, preferring anonymity, said a group of people saying the Maghrib prayer at a nearby mosque got infuriated due to the use of 'disturbing' loudspeakers, and hence, the attack.

SHAHEED MINAR VANDALISED

A Jamaat-e-Islami leader allegedly vandalised a makeshift Shaheed Minar at Patharghata in Barguna on Monday evening.

Witnesses said local youths built the Shaheed Minar at the playground of a madrasah at Patharghata to pay homage to the language martyred.

But superintendent of the madrasah and local Jamaat-e-Islami leader Gazi Shahadat Hossain vandalised it.

The Shaheed Minar was, however, rebuilt with the help of at police in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Transport workers in eight districts under Rajshahi division enforced a 72-hour strike on Wednesday morning to demand that authorities end extortion by police, issue appointment letters to the workers and ease licence renewal conditions.

They have been demanding those for months but the authorities' reluctance to pay heed to their eight-point charter of demand has forced them to stop running vehicles, said Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Shramik Federation's Rajshahi division president Abdul Latif Mandal.

He said their demands had not been met despite repeated assurances from the authorities.

"For this, the 72-hour strike has been enforced from Wednesday," he told .

No buses were seen leaving the central terminal in the division headquarters on Wednesday.

Transport workers of Jaipurhat, Chapainawabganj, Natore, Pabna and Sirajganj have expressed solidarity with the protest, he said.

The strike put passengers in grave trouble. Many were seen waiting at the bus station on Wednesday.

Bogra's deputy commissioner Sarowar Mahmud, police superintendent Humayun Kabir and Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) assistant director Gias Uddin on Tuesday sat with the transport workers' federation and other workers' platforms in an attempt to convince them to call off the planned strike but failed.

"We had sat with the government and the local administration a few times with our demands but all went in vain. We had no choice but to go on with the strike," Bangladesh Sarak Paribahan Shramik Federation's Rajshahi divisional committee general secretary Kamal Hossain Robi said.

With the clock striking a minute past Monday midnight, the nation started paying homage to the martyrs of the historic Language Movement of 1952 to mark 'Amar Ekushey' – the Language Martyrs Day and International Mother Language Day.

President Zillur Rahman led the nation in paying tributes to the martyrs by placing wreath at the altar of Central Shaheed Minar at 00:01am Tuesday, followed closely by prime minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina, along with cabinet members, her advisors, lawmakers and party leaders, also placed wreath on behalf of her party. Thereafter, deputy speaker Shawkat Ali paid tribute on behalf of Parliament.

BNP chairperson and leader of opposition in Parliament Khaleda Zia placed wreaths along with the party's acting secretary-general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and other leaders around 20 minutes after midnight.

Chiefs of the three services, the attorney general, members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of UN organisations, and Dhaka University vice-chancellor Prof Dr A A M S Arefin Siddique also paid their tributes to the martyrs.

Various political parties and their front organisations as well as numerous socio-cultural organisations continued paying homage to the language martyrs by placing wreaths all through the day.

MORNING OF EKUSH

In the morning, chief justice Mohammad Muzammel Hossain placed wreaths at the altar of Shaheed Minar, followed by members of Bangladesh Judicial Service Commission.

Ruma Azad, a resident of Lalbagh, brought her son Toufiq-ul-Islam Siam, a nursery student, to show him the traditional programmes of Ekush.

"He (Siam) will be able to discover his identity by seeing this," Ruma said. She said they would return home after visiting the Amar Ekushey Book Fair at Bangla Academy.

"I offered flower at the school; now I've come here. I feel happy," little Siam said.

Dhaka University student Romana Akter, meanwhile, said she found more people in the morning on Tuesday than the last few years.

"I stood in a line in front of S M Hall at 7am but could place a flower only at 1pm," she said.

Besides law enforcement agencies, members of Bangladesh National Cadet Corps and Rover Scouts were at work at the venue to maintain order in the area.

MESSAGES

President Zillur in his message recalled with profound reverence the unfading memories of the language martyrs, namely Barkat, Rafiq, Salam, Jabbar, Shafique and many others unknown, who made the supreme sacrifice in 1952, and prayed to the Almighty for the salvation of the departed souls.

"The great language movement is a historical and significant event in our national history. This movement not only achieved the demand of mother tongue but also revealed the sense of Bangalee nationalism and inspired tremendously to achieve independence. This spirit of Bangalee nationalism paved the way for the long-cherished independence in 1971."

He also recalled with deep respect Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and then member of Legislative Assembly Dhirendra Nath Dutta, whose undaunted courage and indomitable inspiration finally helped Bangalee achieve the status of mother tongue.

"Language movement inspires us to protect and bring up our own language and heritage as well as reminds us to oppose all injustice and unfairness. Therefore, the 21st Feb not only inspires the growth of our own language, literature and culture, but also encourages to preserve and promote the language and cultures of various nations around the world," he added.

Prime minister Hasina in her message extended her best wishes to the Bangla-speaking people at home and abroad, and people of all languages and cultures across the world on the occasion of the glorious International Mother Language Day.

"The greatest Ekushey is the symbol of grief, strength and glory in the life of every Bangalee. On this day in 1952, many valiant sons of the soil, including Rafiq, Shafique, Jabbar, Barkat, Shafiuddin and Salam, sacrificed their lives for protecting the dignity of the mother tongue."

"I pay my highest respect to the memories of the martyrs. I also pay homage to the greatest Bangalee of all times, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who steered the language movement." She also recalled with great reverence contributions of all other language veterans.

She said that the International Mother Language Day is now a source of inspiration for all the people of the world in establishing the truth and justice. She said she has already placed the demand in the UNGA to make Bangla, spoken by 250 million people of the world, as one of the official languages of the UN.

Hasina further said the government established International Mother Language Institute for carrying out research on all languages of the world and preserving those. An International Mother Language Institute Act has also been enacted.

"The greatest Ekushey is the symbol of our democratic values, Bangalee nationalism, spirit of liberation struggle and secularism. We have made good progress towards realisation of the pledges made to build a modern digital Bangladesh free from hunger, poverty, terrorism, communalism and illiteracy in the last three years' journey of our government."

The prime minister urged the countrymen to make a fresh vow to work together to improve the lot of the people sinking all differences.

BACKGROUND

On Feb 21, 1952, students at Dhaka University took to the street in protest against the then government's denial of Bangla as the national language and imposition of Urdu as the sole official language of Pakistan.

Salam, Barkat, Rafiq, Jabbar and a few other brave sons of the soil were killed in a police firing on this day in 1952 when students moved out in a procession from the Dhaka University campus, breaching Section 144, demanding recognition of Bangla as a state language of the then Pakistan.

The Pakistan government was ultimately compelled to incorporate an article in the constitution on Feb 29 in 1956 that declared "the state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali".

The protest sparked on Feb 21, 1952 culminated into the long-drawn struggle that eventually led to the birth of independent Bangladesh in 1971.

On Nov 17 in 1999, the UNESCO declared Feb 21 as the International Mother Language Day. Since then countries across the globe observe the day to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, and raise awareness about cultural traditions based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

The president of the Narail Bar association has put Jamaat-e-Islami leader Delwar Hossain Sayedee at the scene of his elder brother's murder in 1971.

Also elected MP in 1986 and 1988, Saif Hafizur Rahman told the war crimes tribunal on Monday that Jamaat executive council member Sayedee was directly involved in the murder of his elder brother and two others during the independence war.

The International Crime Tribunal, set up to try crimes against humanity during the 1971 war, has indicted Sayedee on 20 counts of such crimes including murder, rape, loot and arson.

The 65-year old, 27th that the prosecution has produced, said that his brother, Saif Mizanur Rahman, who was a magistrate of Pirojpur in 1971, which was then a 'sub-division', the sub-divisional police officer Faizur Rahman and the acting sub-divisional officer Abdur Razzaque were picked up by Razakars and murdered on the bank of the nearby Baleshwar River.

Hafizur Rahman said he had heard of the incident from Khan Bahadur Syed Mohammad Afzal, a collaborator of the Pakistan Army.

The Razakars were one of the platforms set up by the Jamaat-e-Islami, besides other platforms like the Al Badr and Al Shams, to actively thwart the freedom struggle and oppose the pro-liberation forces. They were notorious for their atrocities and extent of collaboration with the Pakistani occupation forces.

Mizanur Rahman's widow, Hafizur Rahman's sister-in-law, had informed the family of the murder. Hafizur Rahman had gone to Pirojpur with his father and sister and heard about what had happened first hand from Afzal.

"He told us that my brother was collaborating with the freedom fighters and was actively supporting the liberation forces. So he was killed along with others."

Afzal had taken his brother away in a car along with one Munnaf Razakar. Hafiz said Delwar Hossain was present in that car. "I heard later that this Delwar Hossain later became known as Delwar Hossain Sayedee."

Mizanul Islam began cross-examination and is set to continue for at least another hour after when the court returns from lunch recess.

FIRST CASE TO TRIAL

Sayedee's is the first case to proceed to the trial stage at the tribunal. The prosecution on Sept 4 proposed framing of charges against him on 31 counts for crimes against humanity and genocide.

On Oct 3, the tribunal indicted Sayedee on 20 counts.

The tribunal also sent Jamaat's former chief Ghulam Azam to jail on Jan 11. His indictment hearing began on Feb 15 and the tribunal is expected to rule on a second bail petition on Feb 23.

Besides Sayedee, Jamaat chief Matiur Rahman Nizami, secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed and assistant secretaries general Mohammad Kamaruzzaman and Abdul Quader Molla, and Bangladesh Nationalist Party's standing committee member and MP Salauddin Quader Chowdhury have been detained on war crimes charges.

The tribunal granted conditional bail to former BNP lawmaker and minister Abdul Alim on March 31 last year. The bail was extended further on Jan 16, ordering him to be present in the court on Mar 15 when the prosecution has been directed to submit formal charges against the BNP leader.

Nearly 1100 employees of the National University are going to lose their jobs as the High Court on Monday declared illegal their appointments made during BNP-led coalition government's tenure.

Appointed between Nov 17, 2003 and Aug 31, 2004, the staff, however, will be able to apply if any circular on new appointment is issued.

The two judge bench of justices Hasan Foez Siddique and Jahangir Hossain delivered the verdict and added that the condition of age of service may be relaxed for them.

Today primary scholarship result has been published.

goto this link and get your result

http://dpe.teletalk.com.bd/scholarship.php
(passing year will be 2011)

GOOD LUCK

Bangladeshi teachers and students of the United State's Oklahoma University have expressed their concern as no 'substantial' progress have been made in the investigation into the journalist couple's murder.

In a media statement issued by the Students' Association of Bangladesh (SAB), they demanded immediate arrest of the killer.

"SAB members are deeply grief-stricken after losing a friend (Runi)," the statement added.

ATN Bangla senior reporter Meherun Runi and her husband Sagar Sarowar, who was news editor with Maasranga Television, were found murdered at their rented flat in west Rajabazar in the capital early last Saturday.

Runi and some other journalists went to the university in 2009 and the association organised a programme to honour all the Bangladeshi journalists, the statement added.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has complained to Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh that 80 per cent of the water from the Farakka Barrage goes to Bangladesh.

India's private television channel NDTV reported the interaction based on a letter the Trinamool chief sent to Singh.

Quoting a government official the report said, "Bangladesh was to get 35,000 cusecs during the dry season as per the water agreement between the two countries but was getting 82,801 cusecs due to the drainage of water from the barrage."

"The excess outflow of water from Farakka barrage through two damaged sluice gates has reduced its water level by three metres and is posing a threat of erosion at Jangipur area of Murshidabad district."

''The water level at the barrage, which should remain 21.90 metres has come down by three metres as gate numbers 13 and 16 have broken down,'' hydrologist Kalyan Rudra said.

The Ganges water-sharing agreement was struck with India during Awami League's tenure in 1996. A deal over sharing Teesta river's water was to be struck during Manmohan Singh's trip to Bangladesh last September, but the signing was stalled due to opposition from Mamata.

Scheduled to accompany the Indian prime minister on the tour, the West Bengal chief minister pulled out at the last moment saying that the amount of water to be given to Bangladesh was not disclosed to her earlier.

Head of the state government's experts' body studying the Teesta water-sharing issue, Rudra pointed out to the television channel that the excess outflow was causing scarcity of water at NTPC's Farakka plant as the feeder canals were also running out of water.

The barrage, commissioned in 1975, has 109 sluice gates, he said pointing out their annual maintenance was not carried out properly.

Mamata has been taking 'strong' stances against the Indian central government recently. She last declined to attend a function in her state that was inaugurated by central government's home minister P Chidambaram on Friday.

Her snub came a day after she lodged her protests against the home minister's new counter terrorism body - National Counter Terrorism Centre – a brain child of Chidambaram.

The Department of Livestock Services (DLS) has ordered relocation of its poultry farm adjacent to the National Zoo at Mirpur to Savar to protect the precious birds of the zoo from bird flu.

Director-general of DLS Ashraf Ali and the chief of the farm have been ordered to find out land for the farm in the outskirt of the city, livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas told on Saturday.

"The farm has been affected by bird flu several times in past few years, putting the precious animals and birds of the zoo in danger," he said.

Farm chief Kalidas Sarker, a DLS deputy director, said they had been asked by the ministry recently to shift the farm.

"We are yet to start the work," he added.

According to Kalidas, the farm has properties worth about Tk 3 billion on a 21-acre land worth nearly Tk 2 billion.

It will take around Tk 15 billion for the government to shift it, he said.

The farm, built with financial aid of UN's World Food Programme in 1976, has a capacity to annually raise 1.8 million chickens, including 19,000 that lay eggs. It is possible to get 4.5 million eggs from the farm a year if it is run properly.

"But now only 700,000 chickens are raised and as many as eggs come annually," he said.

"The average production is 35-40 percent of the total capacity," Kalidas said.

He said the farm cannot be maintained properly due to lack of fund.

It needs Tk 35 million a year to maintain it in full pace, he said.

"But the government allocates only Tk 6-7 million. So it can't be used commercially."

The farm chief, however, admitted that it is risking the zoo animals.

The International Crimes Tribunal on Sunday declared a New Age article contemptuous but acquitted the accused with a strongly worded caution considering their image in the society.

The tribunal, formed to try crimes against humanity committed during the 1971 Liberation War, had on Oct 3 issued the contempt notice against the newspaper's publisher A S M Shahidullah Khan, editor Nurul Kabir, and special reports editor David Bergman.

All three, who were asked to respond, had decided to defend the article "A crucial period for the International Crimes Tribunal", written by Bergman.

After the daily newspaper's editor Nurul Kabir finished his statement in response to the contempt notice on Jan 19, the tribunal set the date to issue the verdict.

Bergman's counsel Mustafizur Rahman Khan also made a brief submission after Kabir finished his reply on Thursday.

CONTENTIOUS ARTICLE

The litigious New Age article primarily deals with the tribunal taking into cognisance charges against Jamaat-e-Islami's executive council member Delwar Hossain Sayedee.

One paragraph that had caught the attention of a tribunal member stated: "First, the tribunal seems to have taken cognisance for many of these twenty offences on the basis of looking at just one witness statement. It is difficult to see, unless the statements were extremely strong, how the tribunal could come to the conclusion that there is 'prima facie' evidence for the commission of an alleged 'crime against humanity' which took place forty years ago just on the basis of one witness statement."

Another part of Bergman's article reads, "What appears to have happened is that the tribunal did not look in detail at each and every alleged offence and consider how witnesses or other evidence supported the different elements of the offence."

In a later part of the article, Bergman wrote, "Moreover, there is a separate issue about whether the tribunal even had, in its hand, all the witness statements when it took cognisance."

The benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange rose again on Wednesday, coming a day after Tuesday's fall broke a four-day rising spell.

The DSE general index rose to 4289.7 points, gaining 112.48 points or 2.69 percent.

Shares and mutual funds worth Tk 2.53 billion changed hands, with prices of 234 issues gaining, 17 declining and five remaining unchanged.

The benchmark index was 4235.79 points, with a gain of 58.56 points or 1.4 percent, at 1:08pm; and 4323.78 points, advancing 146.55 points or 3.5 percent, at 2:08pm.

On Tuesday, the DSE general index slipped to 4177.22 points, losing 113.31 points or 2.64 percent.

The key index posted a gain of 64.37 points or 1.52 percent and rose to 4290.54 points on Monday. The premier bourse opened the week gaining 5.37 percent to 4226.18 points on Sunday.

Only last week, the bourse saw the index plummet to the lowest since December 2010. Despite undergoing topsy-turvy trading all through the week, DSE ended last week with a 201.03 points or 5.28 percent rise on Thursday.

The slide on Feb 6 set a new record with the DGEN plummeting to 3616.24 points—the lowest it has touched so far since December 2010. However, the rise on Thursday and an above 9-percent hike on Feb 7 saw the week closing at 4010.8 points, after gaining around 165 points.

Although the market stabilised a little in December 2011 after market regulator SEC declared a package of incentives, the stocks started taking a battering from the first week of the new year.

The foreign exchange reserve of Bangladesh Bank has increased on the back of falling import cost over the last three months.

The number of letter of credits (LCs) opened in January was 27 percent less than LCs opened last January, and 24 percent in December and 23 percent in November.

The foreign exchange reserve of the central bank was $9.8 billion on Tuesday, nearly $1 billion more than what it was a month ago.

BB governor Atiur Rahman expressed hope that the reserve will become satisfactory if import cost remains low.

"Banks have been directed to avoid giving loans for unnecessary and luxury products, which has impacted the entire economy positively," he told .

Zaid Bakht, researcher director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said there will be no problem if import of luxury and less necessary products decreases. But it will be a cause of concern, he added, if import of capital machineries and raw materials for industries also shrinks.

"Growth in the industrial sector will also drop if import of capital machineries and industrial raw material declines. In that case, the expected economic growth (GDP growth) may not be achieved," Bakht warned.

He also expressed his satisfaction over low import of food.

According to data provided by Bangladesh Bank, goods worth $17.82 billion were imported in the first half of the current 2011-2 fiscal. The amount is 16.91 percent higher than that of the previous financial year.

In July-December period of 2010-11 fiscal, import costs rose 36.59 percent over the same period of the previous year. The rise in the whole fiscal was 42 percent.

Importers opened 35 percent less LCs to import capital machineries, and 62 percent less LCs to import food (rice and wheat) in July-December period of the current fiscal, BB data says.

LCs to import industrial raw material also decreased by 9 percent, though LCs for fuel oil import increased 103 percent.

LCs to import food shot up 88 percent, capital machineries 86 percent and industrial raw materials 69 percent in the first half of 2010-11 fiscal. The amount of LCs to import fuel oil, however, decreased 3 percent.

Both Rahman and Bakht said import of fuel oil rose due to extra fuel needed for power plants.


FOREX RESERVE, VALUE OF TAKA

The BB governor Rahman said taka is getting stronger against dollar and the supply of dollar to the local market increased in recent days as flow of remittance and export earnings increased and import cost decreased.

"The pressure on foreign exchange reserve (has) dropped… Taka is strengthening against dollar. I hope the trend will continue."

He said value of taka is rising in the kerb market as well.

Expatriates remitted $ 1.22 billion in January, the highest in a month in the country's history.

The lowest inter-bank exchange rate of dollar on Thursday was Tk 83.4. On Jan 29, dollar was exchanged at a record high of Tk 84.84.

Rahman said the demand of foreign exchange was high in the last few months as expenses to buy fuel oil, machineries, fertiliser and consumer products increased. "So taka devaluated against dollar," he said.

Export earnings increased 15 percent in first seven months (July-January) of current fiscal. The flow of remittance grew 12 percent.

Less foreign aid has been released than usual in the ongoing 2011-2 fiscal year and it put pressure on supply of foreign currency, the finance minister told parliament on Wednesday.

And the shortage of foreign currency in the market resulted in depreciation of taka, AMA Muhith said, responding to a question of AL MP Mohibur Rahman Manik.

"The net foreign aid in the first five months of 2011-12 fiscal was only $68.9 million which was $322.7 million in the same period of the last fiscal."

The letter of credit settlement amount during July-Jan period of the current fiscal stood at $20.6 billion while export receipts was $11.77 billion and remittance inflow $7.28 billion, Muhith added.


LIQUIDITY PRESSURE

Steps have been taken to reduce pressure on liquidity by using different instruments including repo, reserve repo and liquidity support, the finance minister told MPs.

In reply to a question of treasury bench colleague Jafrul Islam Chowdhury, he said call rate is now less than 20 per cent and in future, it is likely to come down to a reasonable level.


WIDER TAX NET

The minister said the government has taken steps to widen the scope for levying value added tax and supplementary duty.

In reply to a question of Jatiya Party legislator Salma Islam, he said digitalisation at the revenue department is going on and by 2016 customs, VAT and income tax departments would be modernised.

In reply to another question AL lawmaker Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, the minister said the Modernisation of VAT Environment project has been undertaken.

"Under the project VAT return can be submitted online," he said.

SOE DEBTS

The minister said until November last year, state-owned enterprises (SoEs) had a total of Tk 316 billion in dues.

In reply to a question of Jatiya Party lawmaker Nasrin Jahan Ratna, Muhith said Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation owed Tk 163 billion followed by Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation with Tk 53 billion.

CITY BANK ANOMALIES

Employees at the City Bank can lodge complaints with the central bank if there is any anomaly in promotion or discrimination in salary packages, the minister said.

Mostaque Ahmed Ruhi in a question asked the minister whether the allegation about promotion and salary discrimination in the bank is true. In reply, Muhith said City Bank is a private commercial bank and it has its own guidelines on appointment, salary package, promotion and transfer.

"If there is any anomaly in promotion, salary discrimination or yearly increment, the aggrieved employees can lodge complaints with the board of directors of the bank and if they don't get any solution, they can take turn to the central bank."

"If the allegation is proved, the central bank will take necessary action," Muhith said.

After losing a court battle against Grameenphone, the telecoms regulator is writing to the top mobile-phone operator asking for nearly Tk 4 billion, including late fees, to renew its 2G licence.

"The account of Grameenphone's dues in licence renewal and spectrum fees and dues [in late fees] since 2010 have been finalised," Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) chairman Zia Ahmed told on Tuesday.

"A letter asking them to pay the dues will be sent to Grameenphone [Wednesday]," he added.

The BTRC chairman said the work to finalise accounts of dues of other operators Banglalink, Robi and Citycell is underway. "Letters will be sent to them, as well."

Their licences will not be renewed until they pay up the dues, Ahmed, a retired brigadier general, said.

A senior BTRC officer, seeking anonymity, said the amount of Greenphone's dues totalled Tk 3.965 billion.

He said the amount includes Tk 2.492 billion, including late fees, in dues for first instalment for fees for licence renewal and spectrum allocation and Tk 1.47 billion in dues as late fees from 2010.

The late fee for the first instalment of Grameenphone's licence renewal and spectrum allocation is Tk 95.6 million and the late fee for the dues from 2010 is Tk 151.6 million, the officer said.

"Grameenphone gave the first instalment of fees for spectrum and licence renewal, excluding 15 percent tax at source, in November 2011. The dues totalled Tk 2.492 billion as late fee was charged from then," he said.

The operator has been paying annual licence renewal fees, revenue and spectrum fees, excluding 15 percent tax at source, since 2010, he said. "So it will have to pay dues of Tk 1.47 billion, including late fees."

The BTRC chairman said on Monday that Grameenphone's licence will be renewed once it pays Tk 2.4 billion.

Grameenphone moved the High Court when the BTRC in a letter on Oct 17 asked the leading telecom operator to pay dues in spectrum fees.

The operator said the regulator claimed Tk 2.36 billion 'extra' fees for 7.4 MHz spectrum for the year 2008. The High Court on Monday said Grameenphone's assertion was legal.

The court, however, declared valid the BTRC claim of dues in fees for 14.6 MHz spectrum.

Asking all not to drift in swirling 'rumours' about the journalist couple's murder, the home minister on Tuesday said the 48-hour deadline she had set was only a ploy to introduce a sense of urgency in the investigation into.

"Do not listen to the rumours. The RAB (Rapid Action Battalion), police and CID (Criminal Investigation Department) are working (on the case)," she told journalists at Bangladesh Coast Guard headquarters at Agargaon on Tuesday.

The home minister also said "good news" might come soon.

When attention was drawn to her earlier announced 48-hour deadline to nab the culprits in the twin murders of journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi, Shahara said the time was fixed so that the incident is probed with more urgency.

Three days into the twin murder, police are yet to name or arrest any suspect. While visiting to offer condolences to the bereaving families, Shahara had said she ordered the police to search out and arrest the killers within 48-hour.

A few unconfirmed reports were published by some sections of the media, referring to police sources claiming that investigators suspect more than one journalist to be behind the twin murders.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) deputy commissioner (Tejgaon zone) Imam Hossain said police have not come across any evidence yet to indicate the involvement any media person in the murders.

An amendment to the anti-terrorism law was tabled in Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) on Tuesday with death sentence topping punitive measures.

Anyone funding terrorism or militant activities will get up to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment along with fines.

The bill placed by home minister Shahara Khatun was forwarded for scrutiny to the parliamentary standing committee on her ministry, which has been told submit a report within three days.

The cabinet gave the go-ahead to the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill-2011 on Dec 26 last year. However, without the parliament in session, the bill was passed as an ordinance. The ordinance was tabled on Tuesday to make it a law.

An ordinance has to be tabled for approval at the parliamentary session following its passing as it will automatically lose validity within 30 days of the next session.

The US assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs Robert O Blake met with prime minister Sheikh Hasina at the parliament building on Tuesday.

"No terrorists or extremists would be allowed to use Bangladesh's land," her deputy press secretary M Nazrul Islam quoted her as telling the US diplomat in the meeting that focused on bilateral issues.

She pointed out that a number of laws to this end have been passed and added that her government was showing 'zero-tolerance' towards terrorism.

Hasina also said that the Bangladeshi government has decided in principle to open an embassy in Afghanistan.

"Nothing like the bombings that occurred when the BNP-Jamaat government was in power has happened in this government's tenure," she reportedly said.

The issue of killings at the Bangladesh-India border also came up in the meeting, the spokesperson added.

"We are continuing our efforts to stop border killings. Some incidents took place even after India's top leadership gave their assurance. We are trying to solve them," he quoted the prime minister as saying.

She asked Blake for his help to get quota-free entry for Bangladeshi apparel products to the US market without duty.

Prime minister Hasina declined a request from Blake to write to the US government to deploy US Peace Corps in Bangladesh. She reasoned that Washington withdrew them during the BNP-led regime on security reasons even though theywere here in 1998 during her previous tenure.

The US ambassador to Dhaka Dan W Mozena and ambassador-at-large M Ziauddin were present.

A final decision on financing the Padma bridge project is yet to be taken, the finance minister said Tuesday, even though the government is scheduled to sign a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia.

"If we decide to go for PPP (public-private partnership scheme) all previous agreements with others will have to be cancelled," A M A Muhith told journalists at the Secretariat, reiterating that the Malaysian government is keen on taking up Bangladesh's biggest-ever infrastructure project to date.

"Talks with the World Bank (WB) regarding the Padma bridge are not over yet. But they have extended the effectiveness of loan by six months. But it is unacceptable" he said.

"Now we have to do some job. If the funding is to be sourced from a new channel four agencies including World Bank will be asked, 'How can you do that'."

He noted that there are two ways – the first one is direct loans and the second is PPP.

"But PPP is quite expensive. Since it's a big project, we'll need to see if it can be done directly with more investors," the minister added.

He said Malaysia's interest in investing in the Padma bridge project is a "different issue". "It is a PPP offer. I know about it. They (communications ministry) know about it," he said.

There will be discussions with the World Bank and other donor agencies before taking a final decision about the new way of funding the bridge, Muhith said.

Apart from the $ 1.2 billion pledged by the global lender, the government signed deals with Asian Development Bank for a $ 610 million fund, Japan International Cooperation Agency $ 400 million and Islamic Development Bank $ 140 million.

After the World Bank suspended the fund following allegation of corruption in the project, Malaysia expressed its eagerness to build the 6.15 kilometre bridge.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HHAAPPYY
>>>>>VVAALLEENNTTIINNEE''SS
>>>>>>>>>>&DDAAYY

............................HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY...................................

An alleged extremist has been shot dead in a so-called gunfight with Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

RAB said they arrested two more of the terror group along with firearms, bullets and bombs during the shootout that took place at 8pm Monday at a field at Padmadi under the district's Islamic University Police Station.

RAB-12 Kushtia camp commander major 'Mahfuz' told : "The extremists started firing on the RAB-12 team which went to that village to arrest them on a tip-off."

He said that one .9 mm pistol, two shot-guns, one one-shooter gun, two bombs, 15 rounds of bullets and eight cartridges were seized from the scene.

Mahfuz, however, said the identity of the deceased was yet to be known.

Though the Appellate Division has ordered to hand over the entire 7.09-acre land, the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) wants to give the Supreme Court only 0.67-acre of it.

After receiving an RHD letter to this effect, undersigned by supervising engineer Mohammad Faridul Alam, Supreme Court registrar A K M Shamsul Islam on Monday termed the move as contempt of court.

Legal notices had been sent to Sharak Bhaban and Shishu Academy by advocate Manzill Murshid asking them to hand over the occupied estates and establishments to the registrar within 15 days in line with a Supreme Court decision.

The legal notices, quoting a decision of the High Court on March 10, stated the two properties in question, on which Governor House and East Pakistan Court had been established, belong to the Supreme Court.

After the High Court order, both Shishu Academy and RHD approached the Appellate Division, but the pleas were dismissed.

The notice also said proper action would be taken for contempt of court if the property was not handed over to the Supreme Court within 15 days.

Shishu Academy has 2.37 acres of land in its possession.

Within a week of appointment, communications minister Obaidul Quader met the chief justice and sought time.

Murshid on Monday said, "The entire land is of the Supreme Court. To hand over only a part is misinterpretation of the verdict.

"We'll file a contempt of court suit in this regard."

Shamsul said, "They sent me a letter to hand over 0.67 acre land, let alone executing the court order."

"There was a caretaker building, Ansar building, pump house and two store rooms on the land. They took away the doors and windows of the building today (Monday)."

"None has the right to damage the properties to be handed over to the Supreme Court," he added.

Bangladesh and India have agreed to form a joint committee to look into the possibility of transhipment of Indian goods from deeper draft vessels to shallow draft vessels at any point in Bangladesh.

"We have taken the decision today," said joint secretary of shipping ministry Mohammad Alauddin after a meeting of the standing committee of Protocol on Inland Water Trade and Transit (PIWTT) Monday.

He led the Bangladesh delegation at the meeting, held after 14 months, that continued for over 24 hours in two days and signed the agreed upon minutes.

Under the existing system, Sherpur and Ashuganj are the transhipment points where vessels or mode of transport can be changed for goods destined from one part of India to another.

"The committee will submit its report as soon as possible," Alauddin said.

BANK GUARANTEE

The bank guarantee clause in PIWTT has been retained and will be applicable to transhipment of goods, the joint secretary said.

"Indians opposed the provision but we will retain it," he said.

National Board of Revenue issued a circular in August last year under which bank guarantee is needed for all transhipment goods.

ASHUGANJ PORT

The joint secretary said the government is interested to operationalise Ashuganj river port for transhipment-related activities, but due to infrastructural problems, it is difficult to happen now.

"We don't have any infrastructure at Ashuganj port. For transhipment activities, we need to develop it," he said.

Bangladesh allowed three commercial cargo transhipments on trial basis last year and before that over dimensional cargoes for Palatana power plant went from Kolkata to Tripura through Ashuganj.

NEW TRANSHIPMENT POINT

In the meeting, Indian side proposed to declare Chattak as a new transhipment point but Bangladesh side asked for a formal proposal from the neighbouring country, Alauddin said.

"After receiving the formal proposal, we will look into the matter," he said.

Sherpur was the first transhipment point since 1972 and Ashuganj was declared second point in 2010.

MAINTENANCE CHARGE

India has agreed to increase the maintenance charge to Tk 100 million from existing Tk 55 million, Alauddin informed.

The Indian government every year provides Bangladesh Tk 55 million for maintaining transit routes in the country, he said.

Alauddin said the next meeting of the standing committee will be held in July this year.

The issue of transit and transhipment has become a thorny one between Bangladesh and India when Delhi failed to sign an interim Teesta agreement during the visit of Indian premier Manmohan Singh to Dhaka last year.

Bangladesh signed PIWTT under Bangla-Indo trade agreement in 1972 and it will expire on March 31 this year.

The next renewal meeting of PIWTT will be held in March.

Miscreants have beaten a person to death at Gobindaganj as he protested his minor daughter's rape.

They also vandalised the house of the 55-year-old deceased, Habibur Rahman, of Raghabpur village, on Monday.

Abul Bashar, 25, alias Chhoto Milon of Baluabazar village raped Habibur's daughter, a Grade-six student, when she was on her way back from her sister-in-law's house in an adjoining village on Monday, Gobindaganj police chief Abu Akkas said.

Milon tried to stop the victim's guardians, who on knowing of the incident, were on their way to the police station to file a complaint around 5pm, Akkas said.

Local people nabbed Milon at once but his associates snatched him away. Later, they rampaged Habibur's house and beaten him and his brother Shah Alam, he said.

Habibur died while being taken to Gobindaganj Upazila Health Complex around 7:30pm, the police official said.

"We've taken the body to the police station. A case will be filed," he added.

Actor Humayun Faridee's favourite quote was 'live and let others live.'

After keeping audiences entranced for 25 years with his acting prowess in television dramas, movies and theatres, the 60-year-old Faridee finally made his concluding bow to the world stage on Monday.

The popular actor who graced television dramas, movies and theatres with his varied performances died at her daughter's residence in Dhanmondi on Monday.

He had been ill for quite a few days.

A pall of gloom descended upon entertainment personalities who had celebrated his 60th birth anniversary on May 29 last year.

Winner of the National Film Award for his sterling performance in the film 'Matritwa' in 2004, Actor-director Faridee was born on May 29, 1952 in Dhaka's Narinda to ATM Nurul Islam and Begum Farida.

Passing his intermediate exams from Chandpur Government College, Faridee studied economics at Jahangirnagar University. He used to stay at the university's Al-Beruni Hall during his university days.

His acting career started on the stage, with Dhaka Theatre.

He acted in Bangladeshi cinema for over a decade. But it was on television that Faridee really left his indelible mark, appearing in countless dramas and series that became the staple diet of Bangladeshi audiences.

Patronised by filmmaker and director Nasiruddin Yousuf Bachchu, Faridee, a fifth batch student of economics department of Jahangirnagar University, started his career on the stage around the 1980s. Legendary playwright Selim Al-Din also ushered on his career on the stage.

He was one of the main organisers of the university's first ever drama festival in 1976.

Faridee brought to life a huge gallery of characters, and he went on to enjoy many successes on television and in the theatre. Being a member of Bangladesh's Village Theatre, his talents sparked throughout the whole country.Some of the most famous productions he took part in includes Selim Al-Din's Montasir Fantasy, Kirtonkhola, Keramot Mongol.

Making his debut with Atiqul Haque's "Nikhoj Shongbad", he went on to perform in TV plays like Nil Nakshar Shandhany (1982), Durbin die dekhun (1982), Bhangoner shabdha suni (1983), Bakulpur koto Dur (1985), Mohuar Mon (1986), Sat Ashmaner Shiri (1986), Akdin hohat (1986), Chanmiar negative positive (1986), Ojattra (1987), Songsaptak (1987-88), Pathar Shomoy (1989), Dui bhai (1990), Kothao Keu Nei (1990), Shiter Pakhi (1991), Shomudre Gangchil (1993), Tini Akjon (2005), Chandragrasto (2006), Kachher Manush (2006), Mohona (2006), Vober Hat (2007), and Srinkhal (2010).

His role as 'Kankata Ramzan' in a drama serial telecast on BTV, brought him enormous fame. He was equally versatile in roles of both protagonist and antagonist.

His last directed drama serial was 'Hemanta' and became ill while working in his last drama, 'Purna Chader Opurnatay.'

In the tele-play "Bhangoner Shobdo Shuni" his line "Ami toh jomi kini na, fani kini" ( I don't buy land, I buy water) became a favourite with the audience. His characterisation of Ramzan in "Shongshoptok" achieved legendary status.

Faridee also left his mark on the silver screen. Movies he acted in include: Hulia, Dohon, Shontrash, Bachelor, Joy Jatra, Shamolchaya, Bhohubrihi, Ekattorer Jishu, Mayer Morjada, and Aha!.

Anu Muhammad, a professor at economics department at Jahangirnagar University and a fellow classmate of Faridee, told on Monday that Faridee was a very talented and amiable person.

"His theatrical career basically started with the encouragement of Selim Al-Din," Anu said. During Faridee's student life, he and Selim Al-Din together organised drama festivals, published magazines, and arranged study-circles, he added.

Sad news all bangladeshi people.one of our Actor-director Humayun Faridee died. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina condoled on Monday the death of versatile actor Humayun Faridee.

Her press secretary Abul Kalam Azad quoted her as saying, "Bangladesh will always remember his contributions in drama and culture".

He added that the prime minister prayed for the departed soul and expressed condolences to Faridee's family members.

The popular actor who graced television dramas, movies and theatres with his varied performances died at his Dhanmondi residence on Monday, aged 60. Faridee was ill for quite a few days and was even admitted to a hospital around two weeks back.

Actor-director Faridee was born on May 29, 1952 and studied economics at Jahangirnagar University. His acting career started off on the stage, with Dhaka Theatre.

He acted in numerous television dramas and was in Bangladeshi cinema for over a decade.

VERRY VERRY SAD NEWS for bangladeshi people.After 25 years of keeping audiences entranced with his acting prowess in television dramas, movies and theatres, Humayun Faridee finally made his concluding bow to the world stage on Monday.

He was 60.

Actor-director Faridee was born on May 29, 1952 and studied economics at Jahangirnagar University. His acting career started on the stage, with Dhaka Theatre.

He acted in Bangladeshi cinema for over a decade. But it was on television that Faridee really left his indelible mark, appearing in countless dramas and series that became the staple diet of Bangladeshi audiences.

Faridee brought to life a huge gallery of characters, and he went on to enjoy many successes on television and in the theatre. Some of the most famous productions he took part in includes Montasir Fantasy, Kirtonkhola, Keramot Mongol, and Durto wee.

Among his TV plays were Nil Nakshar Shandhany (1982), Durbin die dekhun (1982), Bhangoner shabdha suni (1983), Bakulpur koto Dur (1985), Mohuar Mon (1986), Sat Ashmaner Shiri (1986), Akdin hohat (1986), Chanmiar negative positive (1986), Ojattra (1987), Songsaptak (1987-88), Pathar Shomoy (1989), Dui bhai (1990), Kothao Keu Nei (1990), Shiter Pakhi (1991), Shomudre Gangchil (1993), Tini Akjon (2005), Chandragrasto (2006), Kachher Manush (2006), Mohona (2006), Vober Hat (2007), and Srinkhal (2010).

In the tele-play "Bhangoner Shobdo Shuni" his line "Ami toh jomi kini na, fani kini" ( I don't buy land, I buy water) became a favourite with the audience. His characterisation of Ramzan in "Shongshoptok" achieved legendary status.

Faridee also left his mark on the silver screen. Movies he acted in include: Hulia, Dohon, Shontrash, Bachelor, Joy Jatra, Shamolchaya, Bhohubrihi, Ekattorer Jishu, Mayer Morjada, and Aha!.

Patronised by filmmaker and director Nasiruddin Yousuf Bachchu, Faridee, a fifth batch student of economics department of Jahangirnagar University, started his career on the stage around the 1980s. Legendary playwright Selim Al-Din also ushered on his career on the stage.

Anu Muhammad, a professor at economics department at Jahangirnagar University and a fellow classmate of Faridee, told on Monday that Faridee was a very talented and amiable person.

"His theatrical career basically started with the encouragement of Selim Al-Din," Anu said. During Faridee's student life, he and Selim Al-Din together organised drama festivals, published magazines, and arranged study-circles, he added.