The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

President Professor Dr. Iajuddin Ahmed has stressed the need for enhancing bilateral trade and commerce between Bangladesh and China and urged the Chinese government for taking initiatives in narrowing the trade gap, heavily tilted in favour of China.

The remarks came when a 14-member Chinese Parliamentary delegation, led by Wang Zhongyu, senior most Vice-President of the 10th National Commitee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), called on the President at Bangabhaban on Thursday. Welcoming the delegation, the President expressed satisfaction at their visit to Bangladesh.

He thanked the government of China for granting duty-free access to 84 products from Bangladesh under the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement and urged to provide more facilities to Bangladeshi products under the provision of the Agreement

He also called for more Chinese investment in Bangladesh. President Iajuddin stated that both the countries might work together to materialize the Kunming initiatives (Bangladesh-Myanmar-China road link), which will help to boost economic and tourism facilities among the connecting countries.

He apprised the delegation that Bangladesh believe in "One China Policy."

Bangladesh is commited to holding a free, fair and credible election in the country by the end of 2008, he told the delegation and invited international observers to observe the upcoming general election.

BSS, New York

Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Bin Haji Ahmad Badawi has assured Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed of looking into the problems the Bangladeshi workers have been facing in Malaysia.

The assurance came during a bilateral meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed on Wednesday on the sideline of the ongoing 62nd UN General Assembly session. The Malaysian Prime Minister said the Bangladeshi workers are welcome in Malaysia. But both the governments should work together to ensure that each of the workers is in possession of legal documents, he added.

Adviser for Foreign and Expatriate Welfare Affairs Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, who was present during the meeting, informed the two leaders that Bangladesh was awaiting a visit from the Malaysian Home Minister to hold detailed discussions to address the problems.

Ahmad Badawi stated that he would ensure that these discussions took place soon. Dr Fakhruddin said the present conditions in Bangladesh are very congenial for further investments from Malaysia. Both the leaders agreed that greater economic cooperation between the two countries would result in a 'win-win' situation for both.

It was also agreed that Bangladesh and Malaysia will cooperate in the international arena including the United Nations, OIC and the Commonwealth as they share many common values.

Cabinet Secretary Ali Imam Majumdar, Press Secretary to Chief Adviser Syed Fahim Munaim and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ismat Jahan were present on the occasion.

Abdul Muqit Chowdhury

Prayer, worship and supplication should be with Durud and Salam to Hazrat Muhammad (SM). Acceptability of any worship depends greatly on the believer's love and salutations to him.

The Quran reveals: "Allah and his angels shower blessings on the Nabi, O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him and salute him with all respect" (Sura Ahzab : 56)

We feel proud of the highest praises of Allah for the beloved Messenger. The greatest personalities of the world, irrespective of caste, creed and colour, have also offered their best praises on his unique, unparalleled personality, who opened the greatest era of peace and prosperity for mankind by preaching the universal ideal of brotherhood and equality.

The Muslims have to express their allegiance to Rasulullah (SM). By practicing patience and self restraint in fasting, they submit to the Will of Allah and recognise their allegiance to the noble ideals of the Messenger of Allah to atain emancipation in this world and salvation in the hereafter. Offering of salams to the most respected Messenger of Allah, on whom 'Allah and his angels send blessings' -is a great virtue, specially in the month of Ramzan. It is to be remembered that Allah has directed the believers to send 'blessings on him and salute him with all respect'

So, all prayers and worships, including fasting, should be made with durud and salam.

Staff Reporter

Liberal Democratic Party led by former president Dr AQM Badruddoza Chowdhury started talks with different political parties to forge a greater unity among the political parties.

Yesterday Dr B Chowdhury and other LDP leaders held talks with Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) leaders led by Hasanul Haque Inu at the KC memorial Clinic at Baridhara.

A series of talks will also be held with some other political parties to forge a greater unity. But the LDP leaders had refused to hold any talks with the BNP or Jamaat-e-Islami.

In the first week of the next month Dr B Chowdhury will hold talks with Gano Forum led by DR Kamal Hossain and Workers Party led by Rashed Khan Menon. LDP mainly formed with deserter leaders of BNP will organise an Iftar party at a city hotel on September 7 or 8 in which they will invite every party but BNP and Jamaat, sources said. After a two-hour long meeting Secretary General of LDP Major (retd) Abdul Mannan said they were holding talks to create a unity on the issue of political and electoral reforms as stagnation in the country's political arena and political parties were going on.

He said they would hold talks with all the pro-liberation forces and parties but they would not sit with Jamaat as it was hated by the people for their anti-liberation stance and involvement in militancy.

Hasanul Haque Inu said, "The pro-liberation and likeminded political parties in the past has resisted the stalled January 22 election and they are now trying to create an united platform on the issue of political and electoral reforms, registration of political parties by the EC, resisting any communal politics and punishment of war criminals."

He said they would extend all-out cooperation to the EC to implement the election roadmap and to make the election free from corruption, terrorism and black money.

Presidium Members of LDP Brigadier General (retd) Giasuddin Bir Bikram, Joynal Abedin Bir Protik, central LDP leader Mahi B Chowdhury, Abdur Rauf, General Secretary of JSD Syed Zafar Sajjad, Executive President of JSD Mainuddin Khan Badal were present at the meeting.

UNB, New York

Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has called for Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands as a pre-requisite to the solution of the Palestine question. "The cause of the Palestinian people is always close to Bangladesh's hearts", he said at a NAM Ministerial Meeting of the Commitee on Palestine held Wednesday in New York on the sidelines of the current UN General Assembly (UNGA) session.

Bangladesh is a member of the 10-person Ministerial Commitee. Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury said the result of Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Arab lands is a sovereign independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital and it will bring peace to both the Palestinians and the Israelis and "calm to that sad and troubled part of the world."

He also called upon the Palestinian parties to cease their differences and come together to unite in their common aspirations. "All their friends expect this of them," he said.

The Foreign Adviser also called upon the UN to play a key role in ending the conflict

Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has said that Bangladesh supports inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding throughout the world. He stated this at a Ministerial Meeting on 'Alliance among Civilizations' held at the United Nations headquarters on Wednesday morning. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon was present on the occasion. "This is particularly because in our own country Bangladesh we have achieved through our own efforts a harmonious relationship between different religions," Dr. Iftekhar Chowdhury said. This year, Bangladesh delegation at the UN would table a resolution on a 'Culture of Peace' which he hoped would receive universal support

The Foreign Adviser further stated that Bangladesh would contribute to the results of the first ever forum on the 'Alliance of Civilizations' to be held in January in Madrid, Spain next year.

Staff Reporter

Applications for the 2009 Diversity Visa (DV) Lotery will be accepted between noon Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4) (10:00 pm Bangladesh Time), Wednesday, October 3, 2007 and noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5) (11:00 pm Bangladesh Time) Sunday, December 2, 2007.

Applicants may get access the electronic Diversity Visa entry form at www.dvlotery.state.gov during the registration period. Paper entries will not be accepted, said a US Embassy release.

Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the last week of the registration period to enter. Heavy demand may result in website delays. No entries will be accepted after noon EST (11:00 pm Bangladesh Time) on December 2, 2007.

The congressionally mandated Diversity Immigrant Visa Program is administered on an annual basis by the US Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

Section 203(c) of the INA provides a maximum of up to 55,000 Diversity Visas (DV) each fiscal year to be made available to persons from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

The annual DV program makes diversity immigrant visas available to persons meeting the simple, but strict, eligibility requirements. A computer-generated random lotery drawing chooses selectees for diversity visas.

The visas, however, are distributed among six geographic regions with a greater number of visas going to regions with lower rates of immigration, and with no visas going to nationals of countries sending more than 50,000 immigrants to the United States over the period of the past five years.

Within each region, no one country may receive more than seven percent of the available Diversity Visas in any one year.

The Diversity Visa application instructions in Bangla are available on the Embassy's website at dhaka.usembassy.gov.

Court Correspondent

First Information Report of the case filed against detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman, his wife Dr. Zubaida Rahman and mother-in-law Iqbalmand Banu for concealing facts about wealth was yesterday submited to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court and Metropolitan Magistrate Mizanur Rahman fixed October 27 for submission of the inquiry report

Wednesday Anti-Corruption Commissioner's Deputy Director Md Nurul Huda filed the case with Kafrul Thana of the city against the accused under Sections 26(2) and 27(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2004, section 109 of the Penal Code with section 15(gha) of the Emergency Power Rules 2007.

It has been alleged that Tarique submited his wealth statement to the ACC on June 10, claiming to have assets worth Taka one crore 37 lakh in the name of himself, his wife and his daughter.

Zubaida Rahman and her mother Iqbalmand Banu were accused of abeting Tarique in concealing facts about his illegal income and wealth.

Meanwhile, the CMM Court fixed October 28, the next date of the case filed by Joint Stock Co against Dinkal Prakashana Limited for non-submission of annual return. On June 12 Abdul Mannan, Deputy Registrar of Joint Stock Co. filed the case with the CMM Court

Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, former Minister Barrister Najmul Huda, former speaker Sheikh Razzak Ali, Tarique Rahman, Giasuddin-Al-Mamun and eight others were made defendants in the case.

UNB, Dhaka

Flow of information can be a strong weapon in curbing corruption, Anti-Corruption Commission chairman Lt Gen. (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury said Thursday expecting that the government would take measures in establishing right to information. He, however, said that only right to information could not check corruption in a society where the "root of corruption reached to the deepest level."

The ACC chairman was addressing a roundtable titled 'Good Governance and Right to Information' as chief guest at the LGED auditorium. Former adviser to the caretaker government Adv Sultana Kamal was the special guest at the function.

Ain O Shalish Kendra, BNNRC, D-Net, Massline Media Centre (MMC), Manusher Jonno Foundation and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) jointly organized the discussion marking the 'International Right to Information Day'.

Mashhud expressed the hope that the government would take necessary measures to establish people's right to information. "People expect that they will get this right soon," he said.

About the much-talked issue of disclosing the defense budget, he said there is no more need to beat the dead horse again and again. "Nothing big will be found if it is made public.

UNB, Chitagong

Charge sheets against five people, including Chief Engineer of local WASA head office Mohammad Shafiqul Islam, in a corruption case were submited to the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court on Thursday.

Mohammad Jahangir Alam, Assistant Director of Anti-Corruption Commission, Chitagong, submited the charge sheets accusing them of misappropriating huge money in implementing a WASA project Judge AKM Anwar Hossain accepted the charge sheets and ordered to hand over the case to Special Divisional Judge's Court for speedy trial, fixing October 3 as the next date of the case.

Four other accused in the ACC-submited charge sheets are:

Superintendent Engineer Mohammad Shafiullah, Assistant Engineer MA Kuddus, former Assistant Engineer Quazi Abu Taher and AN Faruk Ahmed, owner of the project contract farm.

According to the case, the accused misappropriated Tk 16.90 lakh in implementing a PVC pipeline project in 2002 from Panchlish Primary School to Hajipara.

Mominul Islam, inspector of the then Anti-corruption Bureau, filed the case with Panchlaish thana on June 17 in 2004 on charge of corruption.

Following the case, a joint team of RAB and ACC, led by Major Mohammad Sharif, arrested the three Engineers in a raid at the WASA head office here on Wednesday.

Later, they were sent to jail when produced before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court on Wednesday afternoon.

Staff Reporter

BNP Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday neither free and fair election nor smooth transition to democracy would be possible keeping two senior leaders of the two major political parties, including BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina in prison.

"The BNP and the Awami League are the two largest political parties of the country. I don't understand how a free and fair election will be held and smooth transition to democracy will take place keeping senior leaders of these two parties, including the chiefs-Begum Zia and Sheikh Hasina-behind the bar," he told journalists at his NAM Building apartment

Protesting filing corruption case against Tarique Rahman, his wife Dr Jubaida Rahman and his mother-in-law Iqbalmand Banu on Wednesday, Khandaker Delwar alleged cases were being lodged one after another under a design to prevent all members of the Zia family from taking part in the coming elections. "All members of the late President Ziaur Rahman were arrested under a blueprint to prevent so that they cannot take part in the upcoming elections," he said, asserting the people are very much suspicious of this move.

The BNP Secretary General said anybody could contest the elections from the jail in the past But the system has been changed now.

"Cases are filed one after another against the Zia family invoking the emergency rules to harass them," he observed.

Referring to the case against Tarique Rahman's wife and mother-in-law, he said it was illogical to accuse and prosecute them for the purported offence of Tarique Rahman.

"How come one could sensibly consider that someone will inform his wife and mother-in-law or any member of his family after commiting a crime?" he posed the question.

Khandaker Delwar said it would be inhuman to take into custody all but a minor girl, the daughter of Tarique Rahman.

"Who will take care of the minor girl (daughter of Tarique) if all of them arrested?" he posed a pertinent question. The BNP Secretary General urged the government to withdraw the cases against Tarique's wife and mother-in-law on humanitarian ground.

Staff Reporter

A vast area of the Dhaka City including Ram Krishna Mission Road area, a part of Motijheel, Mugda, Manik Nagar, Gopibagh and Hatkhola were under load-shedding for about three hours yesterday evening.

When contacted Power Development Board officials said a circuit at Manik Nagar yesterday went out of order and those part of the city could not be provided electricity. It did not affect the Bangabhaban and power was restored after about three hours after being paralised.

Officials said though in the past week the power generation reached all time high it came down due to lack of gas pressure in Chitagong and few units were out of order including ShikolBaha unit of 60 MW and Ashuganj Unit of 64 MW.

Total generation of electricity yesterday was 3571MW while the demand officially was about 4300MW. It may be mentioned that the generation of electricity hit all time records on September 17 generating 4130MW.

However the amount of load-shedding yesterday in the city could not be known, as concerned officials of DESA did not respond to the phone calls of The New Nation.

UNB, Dhaka

Awami League will observe the 61st birthday of its President and former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday.

Hasina, the eldest daughter of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was born at her ancestral home in Tungipara in Gopalganj on this day in 1947.

She was elected President of the party in an AL council session on February 1981 while she was in exile and returned to Bangladesh on May 17, 1981. In 1968, the AL chief got married to eminent nuclear scientist M Wazed Miah. They have a son and a daughter.

This is first time while leaders and workers of her party would observe her birthday in her absence. She will not cut the birthday cake as she is now under detention in an extortion case. The AL chief was arrested on July 16 from her Sudha Sadan residence. The party would observe her birthday in a low key manner under the state of emergency.

AL would arrange milad mahfil and doa at its Dhanmondi office seeking divine blessings for her long life and immediate release from jail. Zillur Rahman urged leaders, workers, supporters and admirers across the country to observe Sheikh Hasina's birthday and demanded of the present caretaker government to release Sheikh Hasina immediately.

Staff Reporter

Housewife Shirin Akhter Shilpy, 35, of the city's Matuail under Jatrabary thana was allegedly strangulated to death by her driver husband early Thursday while college girl Nazia Huq commited suicide by hanging herself at their Sutrapur residence in the morning.

Jatrabari police said, Shilpy's husband Mohammad Hasmatullah hailing from Narsinghdi district killed her by strangulating at their Matuail residence early hours of Thursday.