BANGLADESH

No classes took place even on the second day at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) that reopened after a 44-day shutdown following protests by teachers and students.

The teachers are not attending classes through there is no programme of agitation while the students are unwilling to return to classroom until the standoff among the teachers is over.

No classes were held at the university on Saturday, the first day of resumption of academic activities at the university.

Admission test to BUET for the 2012-2013 academic session has also become uncertain as the protesting teachers have been boycotting classes and other academic activities for more than a month.

In the wake of movement demanding resignation of the VC and Pro-Vice Chancellor, the BUET authorities had advanced the Eid-ul-Fitr vacation to close it on July 10. The decision, however, failed to deter the protesters from going ahead with the movement.

Some of the demonstrating teachers said they pressed on with their protests at personal level by skipping classes but without any formal declaration of any protest plan to avoid facing contempt of court charge.

The High Court on Aug 14 in a rule ordered authorities to start the admission process of the first-year students amid the teachers' protests.

Students' presence on the campus was very thin on Sunday.

Sudipto Shaha, a student of the Department of Medical Engineering, was one of the very few who came to the campus.

"We will not return to the classes until the standoff ends. We are also demanding removal of the VC. The Eid vacation has just ended and we will decide the next course of action once all returns," said Saha.

Aked why classes were not being held, the VC Prof Nazrul Islam said, "It has to be discussed with teachers why they are not coming to classes."

He observed teachers not taking classes is also a kind of agitation in violation of the court order and accused them of contempt of court.

The VC, who faced harsh protest from his colleagues and students recently, had earlier threatened to continue the university's academic activities by appointing new teachers.

Brushing aside the allegation, BUET Teachers Association General Secretary Prof Ashraful Islam told bdnews24.com: "It is the interpretation of the Vice Chancellor. The teachers are not in any kind of agitation. So, there is no question of contempt of court. If any teacher does not take class, it is completely his personal decision."

The Teachers Association had started abstaining from work on Apr 7 demanding the removal of the VC and Pro-VC Habibur Rahman and continued with the movement for a month. After the Prime Minister had promised to consider their demand, they had postponed the strike. But as their demand was not met within July 7, they started work abstention for two hours from 11am.

The BUET authorities shut the university on July 10, a month in advance for Ramadan and Eid-ul-Fitr, until Aug 24 and the teachers and students erupted in protest.

On July 11, 24 teachers holding administrative posts resigned and the Teachers Association announced that the teachers would resign en masse on July 22 if there demand was not met.

They, however, postponed the 'resignation decision' until July 30 after Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid had said a solution would be worked out after discussions with the Prime Minister and the President, days before the court slapped the ban on any protests on the BUET campus.

Dhallywood, which was recently declared an industry, is on its 'death bed', say those tied to it.

Filmmakers, directors, producers and critics have pointed out that along with the fall in audience, the number of cinema halls has also shrunk and the crisis of talents, investment-scare and the lack of attention from the authorities have left the field barely breathing.

The fall in vitals

The slump in the industry is most evident through the fall in the number of releases on Eid, the largest festival of the Muslim community, which has traditionally seen the highest releases each year.

The overall releases each year have also slumped to barely 10 percent over the last seven fiscals, records of Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC) show, with the last fiscal registering the highest level of inactivity.

A hundred films were released in FY2005-06, only two more than the output in the following fiscal.

The same fall was observed over the FY 2007-08, followed by a 32-release fall taking the number down to 64 in the FY2008-09. The industry seemed to have stabilised going down by only one release in FY2009-10.

However, the stability was a short-lived one as the number slumped by 11 releases in FY2010-11, followed by the largest annual fall in the seven-fiscal period, a whopping 34 releases, to stand at only 11 in FY2011-12.

Why this?

The number of audience falling due to lack of production of quality films and continuous closing down of movie theatres had embedded fears of losses in the producers leading to a fall in investments, pointed out film-related professionals.

On the other hand, lack of patronisation and technical training is creating a crisis of artists and crew, and the low-quality productions are not fit to compete in the markets abroad, negating the scope of earnings from there, creating a vicious cycle of poverty in every aspect of the arena.

"Bengali films lost its glory a long time back, the industry is now on its death bed," said Bangladesh Film Producers-Distributors Association President Masud Parvez.

Parvez, who is also a renowned actor known by his alias Sohel Rana, claimed that the fall saw its start in the nineties.

Vulgarity, recreation of Bollywood and Tamil cinemas instead of original productions, low budgets and repetition of same story lines have pushed away the audiences since then, seeing in fact, the loss of a lion's share of the fan base.

Target: Quick bucks

However, Dhaka University mass communications Associate Professor Fahmidul Haq puts the blame on the 'business-like mentality' of producers and directors.

"With this mentality, many come and take their places behind the camera without any prior preparations and many unneeded films are made every year."

He also questioned the professionalism of directors and producers: "They do not have any clear concept about what recreational movies are, and they keep on making the films based on same type of scripts written on the old formula of stars-songs-fights-love."

Parvez pointed out that even though violence and vulgarity had been somewhat put on a leash over years, questions over the quality of films remain.

He continued that in the past, the film business was profitable and even the artistes, who worked along with the directors and producers, were dedicated.

"But now, even the directors, producers and artistes are here just to make a quick buck. They have neither long-term plans nor experience."

The film arena veteran continued that filmmaking had become like betting on a horse race. "Who wins, wins. The rest lose."

Lack of government interference

He also pointed out that there was a lack of government patronisation and help in the field. "None of the governments since independence took special care of the film industry.

"Instead, wrong steps and lack of support have in many cases held back the industry from booming."

Bangladesh Film Directors Association Chairman Mohammad Hannan also agrees with Parvez about the state of Dhallywood.

"If we make movies, where will we screen them? Cinema Halls are closing down one by one, and there are no government initiatives to save them."

According to statistics of the Information Minister to the parliament this year, nearly two-thirds of Bangladesh's movie theatres have shutdown.

"Many say there is a crisis of talent in and behind the silver screen. I agree. But we also do not have the necessary environment for making films," Hannan vented.

Silver screen's home in tatters?

BFDC's Managing Director has changed 40 times over the last four decades, which Hannan believes sped up the fall of the arena.

"The film industry is a vast area. The overall performance is essentially dependent on internal understanding. However, by the time a new MD manages to develop the understanding, he is transferred. It's FDC's bad luck."

Parvez, the distributors' platform stalwart, points out: "Most of these appointments are political. That would not have mattered if they were tied to films. I have repeatedly advocated for the appointment of someone who understands cinema."

He continued that three appointments were made over the last six months out of which two were 'from theatre' while one of them is 'up to an extent' tied to films.

"They might understand stage drama. But it is not possible to make them understand the totality of films."

Run-down equipment

Parvez also highlighted the desolate state of the technical side of the corporation. "Most of the work is carried out using equipment from the sixties. Besides, those operating them do not have proper training."

"A sound capturing machine was brought in 1990. Of the 40 knobs on the panel, the operators do not know how to switch on most of them. They do not know their functions.

"And the chemicals used to develop negatives in the lab are very low standard. Much better results are gotten when they are developed outside."

Hannan pointed out that despite being a film development corporation, most of the floors were rented out for television programmes throughout the year. Even though the filmmakers were supposed to get separate benefits now that the arena has been declared an industry, film-making is becoming tougher due to various charges being imposed every now and then.

Fahmidul Haq adds that no new equipment entered the BFDC after FY2005-06. The Telecine machine has been out of order for the last three years which is a similar scenario about the sub-title machine and the digital dubbing system.

"Anyone who wants to make a good film and get them to last more has to get his editing done in Madras after finishing off their shoot here.

However, the incumbent MD and drama icon, Pijush Bandopaddhay, is still enthusiastic about the BFDC. "FDC has nine shooting floors along with its own editing panel, lab and sound system, facilities which many South Asian countries do not have."

Information Secretary Hedayetullah Al Mamun said that the government had been undertaking short-term, middle-term and long-term plans for the development of the film industry. "Under the short-term planning, FDC will be given Tk 580 million to bring the organisation up to date."

"It is a misery that the decision-takers do not discuss with us about what we need. This fund will be disbursed over five years, which means that every year, we will get funds a little over Tk 100 million," Parvez said.

"But to buy 12 cameras, we need Tk 480 million, the developing machine will cost Tk 30 million while the digital sound complex will require another Tk 100 million. That is leaving many other things out," he added.

Bandopaddhay agreed that the fund was not enough. "If we want to fully digitalise FDC from the manual system, this fund is in no way enough. But we also have to keep in mind the various limitations of a developing country."

Home Minister Shahara Khatun on Sunday said her government would not hesitate to go tough on opposition leaders when required and said the people were not afraid of BNP's threat of movement.

She made the comment at a discussion organised at Dhaka Reporters Unity by Dhaka Metropolitan Bangabandhu Academy marking the eighth death anniversary of senior Awami League leader Ivy Rahman.

Her remarks came hours ahead of opposition chief Khaeda Zia meeting policymakers of the BNP on Sunday night. The main opposition party has been threatening the government with launching tougher agitation after Eid-ul-Fitr and is expected to discuss the future course of anti-government movement at the meeting.

"The people of Bengal are not afraid of the BNP's threat. If necessary, they (the opposition protesters) would be resisted with a strong hand for ensuring progress of the country," she said.

"Nobody would be able to protect them (BNP leaders) when the people will file cases against BNP leaders and activists."

The ruling Awami League's Presidium Member also urged all to stand united so that the 'war criminals' could not fly national flag riding on the shoulders of the BNP.

"The evil powers that were at play on Aug 15 and Aug 21 of 1975 and 2004 respectively come from the same source," said Khatun.

Ivy Rahman was among the 24 killed in the Aug 21 attack on an Awami League rally at Bangabandhu Avenue.

The first prosecution witness against Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami on Sunday said he had led the Al Badr vigilante militia during the 1971 Liberation War.

Himself a former member of Jamaat's student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha, Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury, currently heading a faction of Islami Oikkya Jote, told the first war crimes tribunal of Bangladesh that Al Badr was set up with Jamaat student cadres.

The vigilante groups like Al Badr, Razakar and Al Shams are said to have been widely responsible for war crimes during the Liberation War.

The 57-year old witness said Al Badr was not like other anti-liberation militia groups. "The members were trained by the Pakistani Army and they were, in a way, above the other groups."

The International Crimes Tribunal-1, set up to try crimes against humanity during the nine-month War of Independence, indicted Nizami on May 28 for 16 war crimes.

The witness said the Jamaat chief's current number two, the party's Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, was also his number two during the War in Jamaat's student wing and also within Al Badr.

Misbahur Rahman also placed Jamaat guru Ghulam Azam, also a former party chief (during 1971), at the court of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia after the Liberation War where the witness had gone to visit the Saudi King as a young leader of a Muslim students' organisation.

"I saw that Ghulam Azam and his brother Moazzem were already there and the professor (Ghulam Azam) was telling the king that freedom fighters had destroyed mosques."

He said he heard the Jamaat guru tell the Saudi king that madrasas had been closed and Qurans had become scarce and asked for funds for rehabilitation and reconstruction.

"Afterwards, I protested what Ghulam Azam had stated pointing out to the king that most of the freedom fighters were Muslims and thus would not have damaged or destroyed mosques."

Misbahur Rahman Chowdhury told the court that his father had whisked him out of his native Moulvibazar where a local Sangha leader urged him to join the Al Badr.

The witness was then sent off to London, England. "It was very risky at that time to denounce or quiet the Chhatra Sangha."

However, the witness had to return to Bangladesh within two months as his mother was sick while the war still raged on. He again went to the Great Britain after the war and studied at a college in Wales where he founded a Muslim students' organisation.

Earlier the first war crimes tribunal rejected a bail petition for acting Jamaat Secretary General A T M Azharul Islam saying that it had previously rejected other bail applicants whose health condition was 'far worse' than that of the instant applicant.

The tribunal, however, directed the jail doctor to perform an MRI and a CT scan as recommended earlier and make sure that all medical treatment is accorded to Azharul Islam. The court directed that if needed Azharul Islam be taken to the medical university hospital, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Medical University.

At the second tribunal, Shahriar Kabir, a long time activist calling for the trial of suspected war criminals, testified as the first prosecution witness against Jamaat Secretary General Mujaheed.

A platform of medical and dental college admission-seekers on Sunday announced that they were resuming their protests against the new enrolment system from Monday.

The students said at a press conference at the Dhaka Reporters' Unity that they would assemble at the Central Shaheed Minar at 9am for 'peaceful' demonstration.

Farzana Afrin, representative of the platform, claimed students of various medical colleges, universities, schools and colleges across Bangladesh have thrown their weight behind them.

She said a 'civil assembly' would take place at 11am and a memorandum will be submitted to the Prime Minister's Office at noon.

"We'll be compelled to wage tougher agitations from Aug 28 if no announcement comes [from the government] within Monday," Afrin warned.

On Aug 12, Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said the government had decided to enrol students at the medical and dental colleges based on their SSC and HSC GPAs from this year in lieu of admission tests.

The Minister's announcement triggered off protests by admission seekers and guardians.

The admission-seekers had staged daylong demonstrations on Aug 13 and 14 Dhaka's Central Shaheed Minar, the National Press Club and the Shahbagh intersection resulting in huge tailbacks across the capital.

The students put off their protest on Aug 14 and on the same day the government decision was challenged in the High Court. The court ordered authorities to explain why the new system would not be declared illegal.

Amid the ongoing protests, the Health Minister had said the medical and dental admission 'coaching centres were instigating' the demonstrations.

At Sunday's press conference, the student demonstrators demanded closure of all coaching centres claiming no one was instigating their demonstration or was associated with it. They also argued against the new enrolment system.

On Aug 23, another petition was filed in the High Court in a bid to secure an order to start admission process like previous years.

The online admission process for the first year honours courses under 2012-13 academic session of Dhaka University (DU) will begin from one minute past Saturday midnight.

Vice-Chancellor Professor A A M S Arefin Siddique will inaugurate the online admission process at the central admission office in the university's administrative building at 00:00am, DU public Relations Officer Ashraf Ali told bdnews24.com.

The application forms and related information will be available online at www.admission.univdhaka.edu till Sep 15. The forms have to be submitted online during the period.

The last year's price of Tk 300 for each admission form will remain the same this year. Students, however, will have to pay an additional Tk 20 for bank charge this year.

Students will be required to fill in and submit admission forms as per directions available on the website.

They will have to download a three-part pay-in-slip, fill that up, and deposit Tk 320 with the slip to any branch of Agrani, Rupali, Sonali, and Janata banks across the country.

Admit cards for admission tests will be available on the website as well after 48 hours of depositing the money. The applicants will have to download the admit cards and get them printed.

Students, who successfully completed the HSC examinations in 2011 and 2012 and fulfil other requirements set by the DU authorities, will be eligible to take the admission tests.

Admission test of 'Ka' unit (Science Faculty) for the first-year Honours course will be held on Oct 12, 'Kha' unit (Arts and social sciences) on Oct 19, 'Ga' unit (Business Studies) on Nov 23, 'Gha' unit (changing discipline) on Nov 9 and 'Cha' unit (Fine Arts) on Nov 16.

Police have arrested four suspected robbers while the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) held one on Saturday in connection with the murder of the Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA) leader Dr Narayan Chandra Datta Nitai.

Despite his family's belief that it was a premeditated murder over recruitment in a hospital, the law enforcers insisted that the incident took place during a burglary.

At a press conference, where the four detainees were produced, Deputy Commissioner (South) of the Detective Branch of Police Monirul Islam said the law enforcers had recovered looted gold ornaments and the knife used for killing the 48-year-old doctor.

They had been detained from Dhaka and adjacent areas over the past two days, Islam said.

"We are preliminarily confirmed that the murder was conducted during the robbery," he said.

"But," he added, "this isn't final. We are giving similar priority to the other chances, including the talks over politics."

Those detained are Masud alias Peda, 28, Saidul, 38, Pichchi Kamal, 35 and Faisal, 32.

Faisal said one of his associates, barred during the burglary at the house, knifed a person.

"We heard later in the morning that the victim has died," he said.

Four of the seven robbers, including Faisal, entered the house after cutting the window grill, he said.

"He (Nitai) was asleep when we entered [the house]. Getting awake, he scuffled with us. We wanted to tie him up but he resisted. Then Mintu knifed him and we fled after looting some things," he added.

RAB arrested another member of the gang, Kamal. RAB spokesman M Sohail said he would be handed over to the police.

Dr Nitai, an Executive Committee member of BMA, was knifed to death in the early hours of Thursday at his home in Mahakhali's National Institute of Disease of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH).

On the fateful night, he was alone in his room and his octogenarian mother Manju Dutta was on the floor below. On the first floor, police found household items scattered all over the place, leading them to suspect the killing was part of a robbery.

A case filed by the father of the deceased, Tarit Kanti Datta, over the incident with the Banani police mentioned Tk 500,000 has gone missing.

But DR Nitai's brother-in-law Surash Chowdhury claimed after the murder that it was premeditated.

He alleged Nitai was being threatened over recruitment of third and fourth-class employees at NIDCH.

"Everything is false. It is a staged drama. If it was an incident of burglary, it would have been carried out after tying his hands, legs and mouth, and he would not have been killed. Though money and gold ornaments were looted, I would still say it was a premeditated murder," said Surash.

Surash, however, could not name any of those threatening Nitai.

Superintendent of the NIDCH Dr Bashir Ahmed said Dr Nitai never talked about receiving any threats.

According to Ahmed, the 55 newly appointed NIDCH staffs included Nitai's brother Goutam and Gautam's wife. The appointment was formalised on Aug 1.

"Narayan (Nitai) was superintendent of the NIDCH even six months ago and the possibility of killing him to avenge previous enmity cannot be brushed aside," said one of his colleagues, preferring anonymity.

Jahangirnagar University is slated to resume academic activities from Sunday after a 24-day closure in the wake of violent clashes between ruling Awami League student wing Bangladesh Chhatra League and police.

Authorities say dormitories would be opened from Saturday afternoon.

A media release from the university said students would have to present their identity cards at the hall gates. Teachers would examine the cards, it said.

Students residing at halls would be allowed to enter their dormitories only between 8am and 11pm every day, the press release added.

University Vice-Chancellor Professor Anwar Hossain hoped that academic activities would go unhindered after the reopening.

On Aug 1, Tahmidul Islam Likhon, a post-graduate student of Economics and leader of a Chhatra League faction, was stabbed by assailants. The pro-government student wing's activists responded violently when the law enforcers went to detain a student in connection with the attack.

Five students were injured when police fired rubber bullets as the agitated students vandalised Mir Mosharraf Hossain Hall Provost's residence and smashed a vehicle of the law enforcers.

Students had to leave their dormitories within Aug 3 when the university authorities announced Eid vacation in advance apparently to avert further violence.

Jurors felt Samsung Electronics Co Ltd should pay significant damages in the landmark patent trial against Apple Inc, even though they viewed Apple's demands as too high, according to the foreman.

Apple won a sweeping victory against Samsung on Friday in a federal courtroom in San Jose, California.

A nine-member jury found the Korean company had infringed on several Apple features and design patents and awarded the iPhone maker $1.05 billion (664 million pounds) in damages, which could be tripled because the jury also decided the Korean firm had acted wilfully.

Apple said it intends to seek sales bans against Samsung mobile products, which Samsung will oppose.

In an interview on Saturday, jury foreman Velvin Hogan, 67, said Apple's arguments about the need to protect innovation were persuasive in the jury room. He also said video testimony from senior Samsung executives made it "absolutely" clear to them that the infringement was purposeful.

"We didn't want to give carte blanche to a company, by any name, to infringe someone else's intellectual property," Hogan told Reuters a day after the verdict.

However, Hogan said Apple's damages demand of up to $2.75 billion were "extraordinarily high," partly because it was unclear whether Apple had enough component supply to sell more phones even if it had wanted to.

FIGURING DAMAGES

Apple's damages expert testified that Samsung earned margins of roughly 35.5 percent on the products at issue in the lawsuit, on $8.16 billion in revenue. However, Hogan said they thought Apple's percentage did not properly take into account many other costs identified by Samsung.

Samsung's damages expert testified the margin should be closer to 12 percent, and the jury picked a number slightly above that, Hogan said.

"We wanted to make sure the message we sent was not just a slap on the wrist," Hogan said. "We wanted to make sure it was sufficiently high to be painful, but not unreasonable."

Hogan worked as an engineer for decades before he retired, and holds a patent of his own. He said jurors were able to complete their deliberations in less than three days - much faster than legal experts had predicted - because a few had engineering and legal experience, which helped with the complex issues in play.

Once they determined Apple's patents were valid, jurors evaluated every single device separately, he said.

"We didn't just go into a room and start pitching cards into a hat," he said.

At one point during the second day of deliberations, jurors turned off the lights in the room to settle a debate about the potential influence screen brightness might have on Apple's graphics interface. Their verdict: Apple's designs were unique.

"All of us feel we were fair, that we can stand by our verdict and that we have a clear conscience in that we were totally not biased one way or another," Hogan said.

The case in US District Court, Northern District of California, is Apple Inc v. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, No. 11-1846.

Gultekin Khan, the estranged wife of virtuoso writer Humayun Ahmed who died on July 19, visited her former husband's grave at Nuhashpalli in Gazipur for the first time on Thursday, and prayed for the departed soul.

Sculptor of Nuhashpalli, favourite retreat of the popular Bengali fiction writer, Asaduzzaman said Gultekin accompanied by her in–laws arrived at the grave around 10am.

The in-laws accompanying Gultekin were her mother-in-law Ayesha Fayez, her two sons Zafar Iqbal and Ahsan Habib, and their three sisters Sufia Haider, Mamtaz Shahid and Rokhsana Ahmed. Humayun's nephew and nieces also went there along with their families.

Humayun's fan visiting the grave that time also joined the prayer.

The celebrated writer was buried at Nuhaspalli on July 24.

Humayun's second wife Meher Afroz Shaon visited the grave along with her two sons a day before the Eid.

Myanmar on Thursday told the Prime Minister it had formed a high-powered commission to investigate the causes of recent sectarian violence between Muslim Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists at Rakhine State.

Myanmar's Ambassador to Bangladesh U Myint Than informed Sheikh Hasina of latest situation of Rakhine state after the riot at a meeting at her office, PM's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad said.

The envoy said the tension in violence-hit Rakhine state had eased after the Myanmar government sincerely tackled the situation, which was now under control of the authorities.

"The high-powered commission will dig out the cause of the violence and recommend necessary measures,' Azad quoted him as saying.

Hasina hoped the Yangon will soon start repatriating refugees from the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Other bilateral interests were also discussed at the meeting.

Ambassador at-Large M Ziauddin, PM's Principal Secretary Sheikh Wahid-Uz Zaman and Office Secretary Mollah Wahiduzzaman were present.

A relative of Dr Narayan Chandra Datta Nitai is refusing to take the incident as a robbery and believes the murder was premeditated.

Brother-in-law Surash Chowdhury claims Dr Nitai was being threatened over recruitment at the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH).

Unnamed assailants had stabbed him to death at the residential building of NIDCH in Mohakhali on Thursday.

Police found everything on the house's first floor in a disorderly manner and suspected the killing was part of a robbery.

"Everything is false. It's an organised drama. Robbers would only take away things. They would not kill," Surash said.

"Even if money and gold were looted, I'll take it as a planned murder," he added.

He said the NIDCH had been plagued with problems during the past several days over appointment of the third and fourth-class employees.

"One of the doctors and his associates often threatened him," Surash said without naming anyone.

However, Superintendent of the NIDCH Dr Bashir Ahmmed said Dr Nitai never talked about receiving any threats.

He said Dr Nitai's brother Gautam and his wife Korna Das were among the 55 employees appointed to third and fourth-class posts on Aug 1.

Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) of the Banani Police Station Moinul Haque told bdnews24.com that the incident took place in the wee hours.

An Executive Member of Bangladesh Medical Association (BMA), spokesperson for medical profession, was also an Assistant Professor at the NIDCH.

"The assailants entered Dr Nitai's residence breaking the window grill and stabbed him to death. He was rushed to the hospital in the morning where doctors declared him dead," the police officer said.

Two knives and a crowbar were found at the scene of the murder, he said.

"Most probably the miscreants entered the house to steal. They knifed Dr Nitai as he would have sensed them," he added.

Moinul Haque said one "Saidul" had been nabbed in connection with the murder.

Dr Nitai's wife, Dr Lucky Chowdhury, who and her husband are leaders of pro-government Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad, had gone to her village home in Chittagong on holiday. She came back around 1pm after learning about her husband's murder.

Dr Nitai's octogenarian mother Manju Dutta lived on the floor below him, according to police who believe the assailants entered the residence to commit burglary and fled killing Nitai when he noticed them.

Mother Manju Dutta told journalists that around Tk 500,000 in cash and 30 tolas of gold ornaments had gone missing.

Night guard in the hospital area Abdur Rauf told journalists he had gone to the first floor of the building hearing Dr Nitai's mother's scream in the morning. There, he said, he had found the doctor in a blood-stained state.

He said, "Sir's (Dr Nitai) face was covered with a lungi. When I removed the lungi, Sir said, 'Call in a doctor'. He did not make any more noise."

Rauf said 17 night guards were appointed for the area and that his colleagues had asked him to take up the "duty" in front of the quarter during night as he was old.

The night guard added that assailants often chased guards there.

Dr Nitai's body was taken to his residence around 2pm after autopsy. His brother-in-law said Nitai's funeral would take place at Kalipur village in Chittagong's Banshkhali Upazila.

He will be cremated at the Great Crematorium in the Baluar Dighir Parh.

Health and Family Welfare Minister A F M Ruhal Haque rushed to the hospital soon after hearing the news. The minister, President of Swadhinata Chikitshak Parishad, expressed his deep shock and told the law-enforcing agencies to nab the killers at the earliest.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina ordered quick arrest of the murderers.

Former U.S. astronaut, Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, has died at the age of 82, his family said on Saturday.

Armstrong underwent a heart-bypass surgery earlier this month, just two days after his birthday on August 5, to relieve blocked coronary arteries.

As commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. As he stepped on the dusty surface, Armstrong said: "That's one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind."

Those words endure as one of the best known quotes in the English language.

Neil Alden Armstrong was 38 years old at the time and even though he had fulfilled one of mankind's quests that had loomed for centuries and placed him at the pinnacle of human achievement, he did not revel in his accomplishment. He even seemed frustrated by the acclaim it brought.

"I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work," Armstrong said in an interview on CBS's "60 Minutes" program in 2005.

He once was asked how he felt knowing his footprints would likely stay on the moon's surface for thousands of years. "I kind of hope that somebody goes up there one of these days and cleans them up," he said.

A VERY PRIVATE MAN

James Hansen, author of "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong," told CBS: "All of the attention that ... the public put on stepping down that ladder onto the surface itself, Neil never could really understand why there was so much focus on that."

The Apollo 11 moon mission turned out to be Armstrong's last space flight. The next year he was appointed to a desk job, being named NASA's deputy associate administrator for aeronautics in the office of advanced research and technology.

Armstrong's post-NASA life was a very private one. He took no major role in ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the moon landing. "He's a recluse's recluse," said Dave Garrett, a former NASA spokesman.


"Howard Hughes had nothing on him," he said, speaking of the reclusive aviator.

Hansen said stories of Armstrong dreaming of space exploration as a boy were apocryphal, although he was long dedicated to flight. "His life was about flying. His life was about piloting," Hansen said.

He left NASA a year after Apollo 11 to become a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

The former astronaut lived in the Cincinnati area with his wife, Carol.

"We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures," the family said in a statement. "Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.

The government has moved to evict hawkers and remove banners, festoons, posters and billboards from footbridges and underpasses in Dhaka City to ensure safe roads.

The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives on Wednesday directed the authorities of Dhaka City Corporation (North) and Dhaka City Corporation (South) to remove banners, posters and festoons.

State Minister for Local Government Jahangir Kabir Nanak told bdnews24.com on the evening, "The chief executives of the two city corporations have been given directives. They've also informed me that on getting the directives, they asked the officials concerned to take measures to this effect."

The junior minister said the foot-over bridges encroached upon by hawkers make it difficult for the pedestrians to move on the bridge. Pedestrians avoid most of the foot-over bridges and underpasses since billboards and banners leave them dark. As a result, muggers, bag-snatchers and pickpockets enjoy thrive in those places.

According to the Local Government Division and the Dhaka City Corporations, there are currently 52 foot-over bridges in the city while eight more under construction.

Of the three foot-underpasses built in the busiest areas in the city to facilitate movement of pedestrians, barring the one in Karwan Bazar, the two others have become unusable. Security risk, shabby environment and dark underground path in the city subways discourage people from taking them.

Hawkers have taken their control of the two other foot-overpasses at Gabtoli and Gulistan. The makeshift shops installed by the hawkers and presence of beggars add to the sufferings of the daily commuters.

As both sides of most of the foot-over bridges in the city remain covered with billboards, banners, festoons and posters, hawkers occupy the foot-over bridges during the daytime and at night-time, muggers and prostitutes prowl around.

The government has not been fully successful in previous attempts to rid the foot-over bridges of banners and billboards.

Nanak said this time the government will strictly monitor the eviction drive begun from Wednesday.

People have started coming back into the capital after spending a long vacation.

But there was no traffic rush on the city streets on Wednesday and crowds of people were mostly seen in the bus and ferry terminals and railway stations.

Mohammad Mahmud, Traffic Inspector of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA), told bdnews24.com that 50 passenger launches reached Sadarghat ferry terminal from the southern districts while only 12 launches left Dhaka on Wednesday.

He added the outbound launches were crowded but the flow of passengers in the incoming ones was mostly normal. However, the pressure of passengers coming to Dhaka will go up in the next couple of days.

This year, government and private employees enjoyed a weeklong holiday on the occasion of Eid, National Mourning Day, Shab-e-Qadr and weekends.

The government, semi- government and private offices, banks and other institutions reopened on Wednesday after the extended weeklong holiday. But attendance of employees in the offices was thin as thousands of people who streamed out of the capital are yet to return.

It is believed that the city will be brimming with residents from Sunday.

Railway's Transportation Officer (Dhaka zone) M Salahuddin said that 14 trains reached Kamalapur Railway Station from other parts of the country on Wednesday.

Nurul Islam Nuru, Manager of Ilish Paribahan at Sayedabad bus terminal, told bdnews24.com that holidaymakers already started flocking back to the capital.

"The pressure of passengers will rise on Saturday and Sunday," he added.

A 12-year-old boy from Moheshkhali drowned at Cox's Bazar sea beach on Wednesday.

Mohammad Sohel, son of Shamsul Alam from Amtoli village, had come to the resort town with his cousin Saiful Islam aged 12 years, too, to spend Eid holiday with their aunt's family at Bharuakhali, Saiful told bdnews24.com.

They went to the beach's Laboni Point along with their cousin (aunt's son) Mohammad Faisal f same age in the afternoon.

"We were taking pictures. Suddenly Sohel ran into the sea. When he was drowning, Faisal and I went to rescue him," Saiful said.

"All of us were downing then. Lifeguards rescued the two of us at once but Sohel was found after a long time," he added.

"The boy (Sohel) went to swim with a tube but drowned when the tube turned over around 3pm," Robi Lifeguard Director Syed Noor said.

He was rescued after around half an hour and rushed to a hospital where the doctor declared him dead, he said.

The lifeguards rescued at least 14 tourists on Wednesday, he said. One of them, 'Rubel', was admitted to the Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, he added.

Yasir Lifeguard Director Mostafa Kamal said they rescued at least 20 tourists throughout the day.

Dhaka is the second most vulnerable city to serious flooding among nine coastal cities around the world and will remain so until 2100 unless measures to counter the threat are taken, suggests an international study.

The finding is the result of a new method developed by a team of researchers from the Netherlands and the University of Leeds for assessing flood vulnerability. The team also developed a Coastal City Flood Vulnerability Index (CCFVI) based on exposure, susceptibility and resilience to coastal flooding.

Dhaka sits only 4 metres above the current sea level and is regularly hit by tropical cyclones and floods and yet it has few defences in place and little resilience, the study says.

While evaluating a city's physical attributes, the study also considers social and economic factors as they prepared the rating using 19 indicators.

According to the rating, the Chinese city Shanghai is considered the most exposed to the risk of flooding. Shanghai is particularly vulnerable because it is exposed to powerful storm surges and the land is subsiding as sea levels rise.

The rest of the rating order is Kolkata (India) and Manila (Philippines), Casablanca (Morocco), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Marseille (France), and Osaka (Japan).

The cities were picked up as these are built on river deltas.

The social vulnerability to floods of Shanghai, Dhaka and Manila will double by 2100, it says.

"The population close to the coastline and the number of cultural heritages exposed to floods will increase, so there is an urgent need for action towards adaptation measures by raising the anticipatory mentality of local population," finds the research that has appeared in the European journal Natural Hazards.

The analysis, the journal reports, reveals that the highly prosperous megapolis of Shanghai is more vulnerable than much poorer cities such as Dhaka,

Nigel Wright, from the University of Leeds' School of Civil Engineering, who led the study, said, "Vulnerability is a complex issue."

"It is not just about your exposure to flooding, but the effect it actually has on communities and business and how much a major flood disrupts economic activity," he added, according to a university statement.

He told BBC News current methods to determine vulnerability to flooding tends to be two dimensional.

"Very often we look at these sorts of things in a very deterministic way," he explained.

"We still use the physical ones but also economic and social ones, such as how much attention is given by local or national governments to protect citizens and citizens' property through investing in various forms of resilience," he added.

These included the percentage of a city's population living close to the coastline; the amount of time needed for a city to recover from flooding; the amount of uncontrolled development along the coastline, as well as the volume of measures to physically prevent floodwater entering a city.

The indicators that led to the measurement include measures of the level of economic activity in a city, its speed of recovery, and social issues such as the number of flood shelters, the awareness of people about flood risks, and the number of disabled people in the population.

"Our index looks at how cities are prepared for the worst — for example, do they have flood defences, do they have buildings that are easy to clean up and repair after the flood? It is important to know how quickly a city can recover from a major flood," Wright said.

Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, National Project Director of the government's Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme, however, ruled out the risk of coastal flooding in Dhaka.

"I did not see the study, but if they are talking about the risk of coastal flooding, then I'll say 'no'," he told bdnews24.com.

"Dhaka is not a coastal area. It has the risk of urban flooding."

Qayyum said as a country Bangladesh had the greatest risk of flooding. "But if I pinpoint an area of the country, then Dhaka is not the most at-risk city."

"We have mechanisms to identify the flood vulnerability even of a small village," he said.

The Project Director explained: "Dhaka is very much susceptible to urban flooding and even monsoon floods may enter from the eastern side as about 50 percent area is not protected by embankment."

He attributed unplanned urbanisation and lack of proper drainage system to the risk of Dhaka's urban flooding.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday vowed not to leave the path of her father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, though she had to face death several times in the past.

"I've continued working with the spirit of War of Independence to fulfil Bangabandhu's dreams despite several attempts to kill me," she said.

She said, "I'm working so that Bangladesh doesn't fall in the hands of any unconstitutional and undemocratic power."

Hasina made the promise after placing wreaths at a makeshift memorial at Bangabandhu Avenue in the capital on the occasion of the eighth anniversary of the grisly grenade attack on an Awami League rally.

On Aug 21 in 2004, at least 24 people, including President Zillur Rahman's wife and senior politician Ivy Rahman, were killed in the blasts in front of the Awami League central office and some 200 others were injured.

Investigations found Sheikh Hasina, then the opposition chief, was the prime target of the attack, but survived with permanent hearing impairment. Her bodyguards and several senior party members formed a human wall to save and escort her to the car. Rapid brushfire riddled the bulletproof car as it sped off.

The chargesheet in the case filed over the blasts said the Aug 21 attack was planned after several attempts to kill her had failed.

BNP Chairman Khaleda Zia's elder son and party's Senior Vice-Chairman Tarique Rahman, Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary-General and then Social Welfare Minister Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujaheed, and former State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar were also charged in the case along with others.

Remembering those who perished in the attack, Hasina on Tuesday held the then BNP-Jamaat alliance government responsible for the incident.

She said, "We had planned to stage a demonstration at Mukgtangon to protest an attack on the British High-Commissioner. We didn't get the permission. But then again, the permission was given late in the night."

"We had cancelled the programme. But why the permission was given?"

Hasina, also the Awami League President, continued, "Thirteen grenades blasted one by one right after I finished my speech. Those who threw the grenades had left the scene, but police shot teargas shells and charged baton on those trying to rescue the dead and injured."

She also claimed that evidences found at the scene of crime were also destroyed.

"I promise you, trials of the conspirators will be held in this land," she said promising that justice for all killings including the grenade attack would be served.

Hasina placed wreaths on the memorial at Bangabandhu Avenue at 11am as the Prime Minister and then placed another wreath as the party's President along with other Awami League leaders.

She also talked to the family members of those injured in the attack and enquired about their wellbeing.

Awami League Advisory Council member Amir Hossain Amu, General Secretary and LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) President Hasanul Haque Inu, Workers Party President Rashed Khan Menon, and Samyabadi Dal General Secretary and Industries Minister Dilip Barua, also spoke on the occasion.

Syed Ashraful Islam said, "Those who run newspapers with funding from ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam), land grabbers, and people who don't believe in the spirit of the Liberation War, have united to thwart democracy."

He also asked everyone to be united to stand against those who were conspiring to foil democracy in the country.

Six youths were killed on Tuesday when a bus rammed a human haulier at Gorhmati Botdhor area under Borhaigram upazila in Natore.

Police said the accident took place around 12pm on the Natore-Pabna highway when a Rangpur-bound BRTC bus rammed the smaller vehicle of the youths.

The human haulier was part of a procession brought out to celebrate the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr by a group of local youths.

Identity of the deceased is yet to be found.

Following the accident, agitated residents of the area blocked the road and vandalised a second BRTC bus and an ambulance, Bonparha Highway Police Station Inspector Din-e-Alam told reporters.

Police had arrested the bus driver responsible for the accident, along with the bus, from Bonparha area, he said.

Alam said four of the youths died on the spot while the other two died on their way to hospital.

Police were trying to control the situation, he added.

3 children killed in Keraniganj

In another incident, three children were killed and five others were injured as a bus and an auto-rickshaw collided head-on in Rajendrapur area in Dhaka's Keraniganj.

Police said the accident took place around 12pm Tuesday.

The deceased were identified as Milon, 10, Abdul Baten, 14, and Sajib, 10.

South Keraniganj Police Station OC Shakhawat Hossain told bdnews24.com the Maoa-bound Sirajdikhan Paribahan bus collided head-on with the auto-rickshaw killing the first two minors on the spot.

Sajib was declared dead by the doctors after he was taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The injured, Kawsar, 30, Sharmin, 25, Farhad, 12, Shahin, 10, and Aviron had been sent to the Mitford Hospital earlier.

But later they were admitted to the DMCH and the Dhaka National Orthopaedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Institute, better known as Pangu Hospital, OC Hossain said.

All the deceased were passengers of the auto-rickshaw.

The police official said they seized the bus but the driver somehow managed to flee.

1 dead in Hathajari

A woman, Yasmin Akter, 35, was killed on Tuesday after the auto-rickshaw carrying her hit a roadside pole in Hathajari's Katirhat area in Chittagong.

She, wife of one Abdur Rahman of Dholoi village of the upazila's Katirhat, was badly injured in the accident.

Doctors at the Chittagong Medical College Hospital declared her dead as she was taken there, a CMCH Police Camp constable, Ismail Hossain, told

The body of an eight-year-old schoolboy was recovered on Tuesday, 45 days after he was abducted from Kashiani upazila in Gopalganj district.

Locals alleged that after the abduction, the police action to find out the boy was not satisfactory.

Mahfuzur Rhaman Mahfuz, who was kidnapped in the night of the holy Shab-e-Barat on July 5, was the son of an expatriate Rezaul Molla of Barashur village of the upazila, and a student of the Kashiani Railway Ekota Kindergarten.

His body was found in a garden beside their home on Tuesday.

After his abduction, some callers identifying them as kidnappers had demanded Tk 7 million as ransom from his mother Swapna Begum.

After recovering the body, police on Tuesday arrested five people for interrogation. However, the locals expressed their dissatisfaction with police over release of Shamim Sheikh, a major suspect behind the abduction, soon after his arrest.

After Mahfuz's abduction, his classmates along with the locals observed various protest programmes in the upazila town.

Apprehending that the agitated locals could attack the police station after recovering the body, the main entrance of the Kashiani Police Station was closed, and some senior high police officials from the district headquarters rushed there to tackle the situation.

Mahfuz's uncle Jafar Mollah told reporters that they had a land dispute with Shamim Sheikh of neighbouring Mukundapur village. Shamim and one Billal Sheikh might have committed the abduction to take revenge, he said.

Sub-Inspector of the Kashiani Police Station Nizamuddin said that Mahfuz went missing after he left for the nearest mosque to offer special Shab-e-Barat prayer on July 5.

The victim's family told police that a group of people, including Hossain and Saddam, had abducted the child upon instigation from Shamim and Billal.

Jafar Mollah said Sub-Inspector Ful Mia arrested main suspect Shamim Sheikh on the next day of the abduction, but released him later, thus helping the other accused to go into hiding.

Refuting the allegation, Officer-in-Charge of the Kashiani Police Station Syed Mannan Ali said they had arrested five people, including Bellal, Hossain and Saddam, following the abduction. "They also gave confessional statement in the court."

He, however, admitted that they failed to find out the child despite conducting operations at various places upon the information given by them.

A general diary (GD) has been filed in connection with Monday's attack on maimed college student Limon Hossain and his mother at their village home in Jhalakathi district.

Limon's mother Henuara Begum filed the GD with the Rajapur Police Station on Tuesday afternoon, Officer-in-Charge Tafazzal Hossain told bdnews24.com.

"The allegations include beating and making threats. They were brought against Ebrahim who is known as a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) source," he said.

Limon and his mother were injured in an attack near their house at Saturia village allegedly by 'Leader Ibrahim', son of Abdur Rashid of the same village and "a RAB source", in Rajapur Upazila of the district on Monday afternoon when they were on their way back to Kaukhali Upazila of Pirojpur district after meeting their relatives on the occasion of the Eid festival.

Limon currently stays at a rented house on the Bus Stand Road in Kaukhali to attend his college.

He and his mother were admitted to Rajapur Upazila Health Complex following the attack.

Ebrahim, who is also the 17th witness in the case filed against Limon by RAB, was also admitted to the same hospital.

Hours after Monday's attack, police recovered the body of one 'Forkan' (35), brother-in-law of Ebrahim.

Meanwhile, the deceased's wife Lili Begum filed another case with the local police station on Tuesday morning accusing Limon's brother and their relatives in the village of killing her husband in a counter attack.

OC Tafazzal Hossain said they registered the complaint as a case of unnatural death.

Sub-Inspector of Police Abdul Alim told bdnews24.com, "The autopsy of Forkan's body has been conducted. Measures will be taken after the report is available."

Henuara Begum said Forkan was not present on the spot when they came under attack and claimed that false allegations were being levelled against them.


Ebrahim told bdnews24.com at the hospital that he did not attack Limon and his mother on Monday afternoon, rather Limon's brother and their relatives attacked him.

"Limon's relatives swooped on Forkan when he came to my aide after hearing about the attack on me. He was critically injured [in the attack] and succumbed to his injures."

Meanwhile, Jhalakathi district's Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mohidul Islam told bdnews24.com on Monday night that Forkan's body was recovered about one kilometre away from the place where the incident had taken place. "No injury marks were found in his body."

Dr Abul Khair Russell of Rajapur Upazila Health Complex, where both Henuara Begum and Ebrahim are undergoing treatment, said their injuries were not serious and that Limon was released on the Eid night after being given first aid.

India's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday alleged that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants played a major role in the Aug 11 violence where two people were killed in protests against alleged atrocities on Muslims in Assam and Myanmar.

Despite police permission only for a rally, he led more than 50,000 people on a march along Marine Drive to Azad Maidan, bringing all of South Mumbai to a halt, said The Times of India in a report on Wednesday.

Waving what appeared to be a Bangladeshi passport and warning that illegal migration from the eastern neighbour would destroy Mumbai, Thackeray on Tuesday addressed a massive pro-Hindu rally in answer to the Aug 11 gathering of Muslims to protest attacks in Assam.

Slamming the violence during the Muslim rally, which like the one on Tuesday paralysed South Mumbai, he said, "There is a boundary which no one should cross. There should be no physical assaults on policemen and officials."

"My party will always stand by the cops whenever such cases happen."

Thackeray said the influx of illegal Bangladeshi migrants posed a threat to Mumbai. "They have safe havens in UP and Bihar. From there, the illegal migrants come to Mumbai to foment trouble."

He also accused Bangladeshi migrants of playing a major role in the Aug 11 violence.

He denied playing the Hindu card and said his only "dharma" was the "Maharashtra dharma".

"Any person who tries to take law into his hands, beats up cops, media persons and molest women cops deserves the severest condemnation from me and my party," The Times of India quoted the MNS leader.

Thackeray blamed the Congress-led DF government and Home Minister R R Patil for creating an administrative hurdle for the MNS rally. "Similar queries were not asked when the Raza Academy held protest rally on Aug 11 at Azad Maidan. Raza Academy has a dubious track record."

He said, "Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi had delivered a provocative speech in Bhiwandi at the Raza Academy rally few years ago. At the end of the rally miscreants slaughtered two cops. Why was such an organisation given permission to hold a rally on Aug 11?"

South Mumbai creaked under its second political rally in 10 days, which derailed traffic and disrupted the city's first working day after an extended weekend. Over 50,000 MNS men gathered at Chowpatty and marched in a show of strength along the Marine Drive-Princess Street-Dhobitalao stretch to the rally venue at Azad Maidan.

Police, who had granted permission only for a meeting at the Azad Maidan, initiated action against the party.

Mumbai Police booked the MNS for organising the rally at Girgaum Chowpatty without permission.

Protesters shouted slogans outside her hotel in London as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was about to meet her British counterpart David Cameron at 10 Downing Street on Sunday.

Some 200 gathered outside the hotel in central London and denounced the Bangladesh Prime Minister for not letting Rohingya Muslims, allegedly fleeing persecution in neighbouring Myanmar, enter her country.

Hasina was scheduled to meet Cameron, host of the global hunger summit at his official home, at 4pm (9pm BdST).

Senior politicians from Kenya, India and Brazil will be present at the summit. A group of athletes were expected to attend the hour-long summit including British double gold medalist Somali-born Mohammed Farah.

During the summit, the UK will pledge to spend £120 million on researching crops that can survive in droughts and a hunger alert system for Kenya.

Hasina is expected to leave Downing Street at about 5:00pm and will leave Foreign Minister Dipu Moni to make a presentation.

The Prime Minister is meeting the UK International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, at 8:00p Sunday night at her hotel.

Standard Chartered Plc and New York state regulators have discussed a settlement amount to resolve an inquiry into whether the British bank's records improperly hid transactions tied to Iran even as the bank prepares for a hearing to defend its New York license, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The dual tracks highlight the uncertainty of the situation facing Standard Chartered (STAN.L) as it enters a second week at odds with New York's Department of Financial Services, which alleged August 6 the bank hid transactions tied to Iran. The state agency, headed by Benjamin Lawsky, ordered the bank to explain why it shouldn't lose its license at a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Standard Chartered vehemently disagrees with the agency's allegation the bank improperly processed $250 billion tied to Iran, which Lawsky cited in his order issued August 6. The heart of his order, however, alleges the bank violated state laws when it concealed records of transactions from bank examiners.

The talks could still collapse, and the hearing also could be postponed to allow more time for negotiations, according to the sources familiar with the matter.

The bank, meanwhile, already was cooperating in a separate probe dating to 2010 that included the US Justice Department and Manhattan district attorney. That investigation is aimed at determining whether Standard Chartered violated US sanctions laws and a settlement discussion has been occurring separately from the state discussions.

A settlement with New York would end a period of turmoil for the bank and law enforcement officials and likely would result in a multimillion-dollar fine for Standard Chartered. A settlement with federal officials also could result in a multimillion-dollar fine.

Officials for the Justice and Treasury departments and the Manhattan district attorney either weren't available for comment or declined to comment.

Lawsky's order cited communications between Standard Chartered officials about the reputational and legal threats to the bank if it kept doing business with Iranian clients.

Spokespersons for Lawsky's department and Standard Chartered declined to comment.

Faced with similar accusations, some banks prefer to quietly settle. Barclays Plc(BARC.L), Credit Suisse Group(CSGN.VX), Lloyds Banking Group(LLOY.L), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.(JPM.N) and ING Bank NVINGBK.UL had agreed in prior years to settlements totalling nearly $2 billion into how those banks allegedly processed money or assets tied to sanctioned countries.

Standard Chartered, by comparison, said last week that Lawsky's "interpretation" that the bank had improperly handled Iranian transactions was "incorrect as a matter of law."

Lawsky's office alleged the bank had hidden from regulators some $250 billion in improper transactions tied to Iran. The bank said that total amount that didn't adhere to US sanction laws was less than $14 million.

More recently, the bank has gone quiet. Chief executive Peter Sands was scheduled to appear on CNBC on Thursday but that appearance was postponed. The network said at the time the bank had emailed to say Sands couldn't appear because of "logistical reasons."

A domestically financed Padma bridge could slow down economic growth by drying up funds for crucial sectors like health and education, says a monetary economist who has worked for central banks and the UN.

Currently Chairman of the Department of Economics at Marquette University in Milwaukee, US, Abdur Rahim Chowdhury said diverting funds for bridge would also compel stiff austerity measures and hinder social development.

He said that even though Bangladesh had witnessed a steady six percent growth, this growth was yet to be inclusive.

In an email interview with bdnews24.com, the former researcher for the Finnish central bank also warned that high inflation was in the offing due to a likely food price hike triggered by a draught.

"Second, the quick rental plants have increased our import bill for petroleum products. This will gradually pass through to domestic inflation rate," says Chowdhury.

Also a former chief economist for the United Nations Economic Commission in Europe, the international finance specialist does not take well to the central bank's contractionary monetary policy as it "is not helping the economy very much".

The former member of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank's academic advisory council said, "The contractionary monetary policy would lead to a drop in economic growth and further increase the fiscal mismanagement."

While he acknowledged that this might help 'contain inflation', "Continued government borrowing would result in increased domestic debt which will crowd out private investment. It may also create a liquidity crisis in the banking sector."

The economist said he believed that Bangladesh Bank could have taken a more selective approach as regards 'import demand for raw materials, intermediate goods and capital goods; and also increase the flow of credit to productive sectors such as garments'.

A former visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University, Chowdhury raised a couple more concerns for building the Padma bridge with own funds.

He said this would likely result in a weaker taka against the dollar since most of the investment would have to be in that currency. Furthermore, he said, foreign aid could shrink as donors become cautious fearing corruption in the 6-km mega structure to bridge the Padma.

Asked about Bangladesh's challenges ahead, Abdur Rahim Chowdhury reeled off a number of points.

Referring to Bangladesh's moderately high growth level, he said, "We should emphasize more on the quality of growth rather than the rate of growth. Our economic growth should be inclusive so that a larger proportion of the population could enjoy the fruits of growth. Also growth should be environmentally sustainable."

He noted that Bangladesh government still lived off taxes paid by the entire populace rather than the richer sections. "There should be more emphasis on direct tax collection including avoidance of tax evasion. In Bangladesh, the rate of increase in income tax collection is less than that of the domestic VAT."

Chowdhury cautioned that Bangladesh may not be able to sustain its current economic growth since there has not been enough investment in infrastructure.

The National Board of Revenue filed another tax dodge case on Sunday against Ekushey Television Chairman Abdus Salam.

Deputy Tax Commissioner Mohammad Bazlur Rahman charged Salam with concealing Tk 1.76 billion of earnings during the 2006-07 and 2008-09 fiscals and dodging tax on them.

The court of Dhaka's Senior Special Judge Mohammad Jahurul Haque recorded the statement of the plaintiff after the case was filed. Salam, also a director on the board of the private TV, was told to appear before court on Sep 11.

On Mar 20, the revenue watchdog filed another case against Salam and ETV Managing Director for not filing returns of the television channel between 2007 and 2009. They did not even respond to the notices.

Judge Bazlur Ranman on June 7 framed the charges against them and ordered the trial to start.

However, the witness deposition could not be heard after the High Court stayed the proceedings of the case in the lower court, Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court's Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu told

Medical and dental colleges will enrol students based on their GPAs in the SSC and HSC examinations from this year as the government has decided to do away with admission test.

Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque told bdnews24.com that there would be no admission test from this year.

"We have taken this decision after discussing with all," he said, "students will be enrolled based on their GPAs in public examinations –SSC and HSC."

Altogether there are 8,493 seats in all medical and dental colleges in Bangladesh.

The number is 2,811 in 22 government medical colleges while 4,245 in 53 private medical colleges.

The nine public dental colleges and medical colleges' dental units have 567seats while 14 private dental institutes have 870 seats.

The minister, however, said they were yet to outline the technical details of how those seats would be filled up by thousands of top-graders.

"We will finalise it shortly," he said.

Thousands of Bangladeshi female workers, working for a readymade garments factory in Jordan, have claimed to be suffering from acute sense of insecurity, raising allegations that 23-24 of their colleagues have gone 'missing' over the last one year.

The workers also alleged that the Indian owner of 'Classic Fashion' and the Bangladeshi authorities there are tied to the 'disappearances' and 'killings'. The female workers are also unable to return home as their passports have been taken by the owners.

After failing to elicit positive response from the office of the Bangladeshi honorary consul there, they have, in a desperate attempt for a resolution, resorted to abstaining from work for the last three days. Allegations have also been levelled against the Bangladeshi authorities that instead of taking steps, they are 'pressuring' the workers to rejoin work.

However, the government has refuted the claim, dismissing the accusations of killings and forced disappearances of the workers.

Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Jafar Ahmed told bdnews24.com, "We have already talked to the parties concerned about the workers' issues. They have taken steps and the problems have been solved. They have accepted the demands of the workers, including providing security. They will be joining work from Sunday."

But when asked about the workers' allegation of forced disappearances and killings, he denied them and said, "These charges are baseless. None of our workers has been killed or gone missing there. "

Classic Fashion is owned by Sanar Kumar, who hails from Kerala. It is located in Jordan's Al Hasan area and employs over five thousand worker, of which, nearly three thousand are Bangladeshi women.

Champa Akhter, a Bangladeshi worker who works for the factory, alleged that criminals recently abducted one of their co-workers, Nazma Akhter. Another of their colleague, Polly, also went missing a few days back. But the complaints did not cut ice with the factory authorities. Instead, the owners claimed that Nazma and Polly have fled the factory to work for another organisation.

She added that the office of Bangladesh's Consulate General there also did not act to protect the workers. A number of her colleagues also alleged that some of the Bangladesh officials and their Indian allies were tied to the occurrences and that the 'abducted' female workers could have been 'raped' and 'murdered'.

When pressed about the problems of the female workers, Jafar Ahmed said, "Our girls also create problems. They have gone to work for that factory on a two-year contract. But they are violating the terms and fleeing to work for other organisations. As a result, the organisation is facing losses."

The Bangladeshi Consul General in Jordan, Tawfique Islam, could not be reached for his comments on the issue.

Communications and Railways Minister Obaidul Quader has blamed negligence of the railway officials for the murders of 12 people whose corpses were found beside the rail tracks in Gazipur over the past month.

The minister visited Mirer Gaon area under Sadar Upazila of the district on Saturday following a report published by bdnews24.com on Thursday that five corpses were found in the last seven days and 12 in a month in the 1.5 kilometre area.

Though any motives behind the deaths are yet to be found, local residents believed incidents of hijacking were allegedly linked with the deaths.

Obaidul Quader blamed rail officials for their negligence over retrieval of the corpses. "What they do sitting there is corruption."

At one point, the visibly irate minister called a railway official over mobile phone and said, "You are celebrating Eid at the office! People are dying here, and you don't have any initiative?"

He ordered the officials to investigate the incidents while saying allegations of link between the hijacking racket and railway staff would also be looked into.

The Railways Minister also said a police check post would be set up in that area.

Quader also suggested Tangail and Gazipur district administrations to take immediate measures.

While on his way back to Dhaka, the minister was annoyed after seeing kitchen markets and temporary shops set up beside the Dhaka-Mymensingh road in Gazipur. He ordered the police to evict those.

Police have arrested three students for posting 'distorted' pictures of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the popular social networking website, Facebook.

Mrinal Chowdhury, Tushar Chowdhury and Shuvo Hasan are all higher secondary students of the Brahmanbaria Government College.

Brahmanbaria's Superintendent of Police Jamil Ahmed told  that the trio was arrested from the college's hostel on Saturday.

"Cases have been filed against them under the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006 and the pornography act."

The police official, however, declined to provide any further details.