The New Nation - Internet Edition

The city's Monipur High School has achieved the 2nd place in recently published results of the evaluation examination of class Eight held under the Department of Secondary and Higher Education this year.

After establishing the school in 1969, it put on the crown as the best school in the country two times, says a press release.

This year the first place was occupied by the Razuk Uttara Model College, while third placed by Motijheel Ideal School and College.

Some 10,500 students now are studying at the school.

Staff Reporter

SS Rishad, son of Rotarian Addl. District Secretary Rahimul Haque and Inner Wheel past President Syeda Aktari Banu, will represent Bangladesh at the 'International Student Leadership Conference 2008' which begins today in Sydney, Australia.

The programme will be held from 13th January to 20th January 2008. Rishad has been awarded a full scholarship to attend the 8-day long conference from among a large number of applicants worldwide.

At the conference, Rishad will present a paper on 'Student Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh', according to a press release.

The leadership programme is being organised by the Lucca Leadership Australia, in partnership with United Nations.

Young leaders from all over the world will gather to discuss leadership, diplomacy and global development issues.

Rishad, who previously participated in the International Model United Nations debate in the Netherlands and in the UN Asia Youth Summit in Singapore as Bangladesh's student delegate, is an A-Level student of the Aga Khan School, Dhaka.

DU Correspondent

General meeting of Bangladesh Human Rights Council held at the Nawab Nabab Ali Chowdhury Senate Building of the Dhaka University yesterday.

Vice Chancellor of the University Prof SMA Faiz inaugurated the meeting releasing balloons.

President of the organisation Barrister Jamiruddin presided over the programme while secretary general Sheikh Fariduddin, Dr Nechher Uddin and Jasim Uddin Masum, among others, spoke.

About 200 representative from across the country participated in the programme.

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Awami League has taken an agriculture rehabilitation programme, involving Tk 12,48,000, to help the farmers of three Sidr-hit upazilas recoup their crop losses. The upazilas are Golachipa of Patuakhali, Taltali of Barguna and Sharankhola of Bagerhat districts.

A total of 1,860 farmers (6,20 in each upazila) would get assistance under the rehabilitation programme, AL leaders Saturday told journalists at a press briefing at its Dhanmondi office. They said Golachipa would get Tk 4,33,400, Taltali Tk 3,98,100 and Sharankhola Tk 4,16,500 from the total amount of Tk 12,48,000. The farmers would be provided with seeds and fertilizers apart from cash for purifying pond water, cultivating fish and rebuilding the damaged betel-leaf fields and poultry farms.

Under the programme, exhibition plots of corn and watermelon would also be set up to popularise the farm produces.

Awami League will launch the rehabilitation programme on January 15, 16 and 17 in Golachipa, Taltali and Sharankhola upazilas respectively. "It's just a token programme with limited resources compared to the necessity… We hope that the government, NGOs and donor agencies would come up with necessary measures following our rehabilitation programme and recommendations that we made based on a field survey," AL agriculture and cooperative secretary Dr Abdur Razzak told the journalists.

He, however, said the fertilizer crisis, which in fact surfaced during the previous government, worsened in the last 7-8 months, creating a panic among the farmers across the country. "No programme to rebuild the country's agriculture sector would be successful if the farmers cannot be assured of the smooth supply of fertilizers and other agri-inputs," Dr Razzak said.

UNB, Dhaka

Chief Justice M Ruhul Amin Saturday paid rich tributes to late veteran lawyer M Ozair Farooq and said his death has caused an irreparable loss to the judiciary of the country. The Chief Justice said this while addressing a meeting arranged to condole the death of the former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) at its hall room.

"Farooq was completely a professional man. Whatever might be the result of a case he fought for, he was always careful of the code of court conduct. Newcomers should follow in his footsteps," he said. Former SCBA president Ozair Farooq, a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday.

The meeting, organised by NLF Lawyers' Solidarity Association, a welfare body of the lawyers of Noakhali, Laxmipur and Feni, was addressed, among others, by former SCBA president Mahbubey Alam, Bar Council leader Yusuf Hossain Humayun, Subrata Chowdhury, Humayun Hossain Khan, KM Saifuddin, Shahara Khatun, Bashir Ahmed and Azhar Ullah Bhuiyan. Association president ATM Taher Ullah presided. The meeting was followed by a milad mahfil.

BSS, Gaibandha

A cheque of Taka one lakh was handed over to Shahnaj Begum at the office of Deputy Commissioner (DC) here on Wednesday.

Office sources said, Shawkat Ali, husband of Shahnaj Begum, has been serving at Palashbari upazila Relief and Rehabilitation Office in the district for long as an office assistant.

He went to the Director General (DG) office in Dhaka on October 22, 2000 and left Dhaka for Palashbari to join there. Since then he has been missing till yesterday.

Since then Shahnaj Begum has been passing hardship with one son and one daughter.

In response to her request, Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed allotted Taka one lakh from his welfare fund for Shahnaj Begum.

DC Quazi M Anwarul Hakim formally handed over the cheque to Shahnaj Begum at his office on Wednesday, sources said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (revenue) Abdur Rashid, ADC (general) M Abul Bayes Miah, ADM Siddiqur Rahman and district relief and rehabilitation officer Mrinal Kanti Dey were also present on the occasion.

BSS, Narayanganj

A group of dacoits looted gold ornaments and money at a house at Duptara, Nagarpara under Araihazar upazila in the district in the early hours of yesterday.

Four inmates including a woman were also injured as dacoits beat them with rods and pistol butt.

The injured were identified as Narayanchandra Poddar, 45, a teacher of Duptara Central Coronation Bilateral High School, his wife Alpana Rani Poddar, 35, Narayan's two younger brothers Gopal Chandra Poddar, 40, and Khokon Chandra Poddar, 35.

Police sources said a group of armed dacoits numbering six to seven stormed into the house by breaking open the main gate at around 3.00 am yesterday.

The dacoits tied up the two younger brothers of Narayan Chandra Poddar and beat them by iron rod and pistol butt.

At one stage they entered into the bedroom and hit Narayan Poddar on his head and cut off a finger of Alpana Rani Poddar with a sharp weapon as she came to save her husband.

They broke open an almirah and looted about twenty vories of gold ornaments and Taka about twenty thousand.

Hearing some sort of commotion local people came forward and tried to gherao the dacoits, but they managed to escape the scene with the booty.

Narayan Chandra Poddar and his wife were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

On information, Arihazar police visited the spot this morning.

BSS, Dhaka

Speakers at martyred intellectual memorial lecture here yesterday called for discussing contemporary agrarian question in the structured context of globalisation, national industrialisation and urbanisation.

Recalling the great contribution of the martyred intellectuals in the making of Bangladesh, they also emphasized the need for partonising the role of small and medium farmers in productive investments to help propel the national economy and achieve economic emancipation.

They were addressing the memorial lecture organised by the department of History of Dhaka University (DU) at R C Mujumder auditorium here.

Chaired by the Chairman of History department Prof A H Ahmed Kamal, the memorial lecture was attended as the chief guest by DU Vice chancellor Prof S M A Faiz.

In his address, Prof Faiz recalled the great contribution of the martyred intellectuals and suggested setting up of a research cell by the history department for the identification of different social problems in Bangladesh.

The function was also addressed by, among others, Pro VC AFM Yusuf Haider, Prof Shapan Adnan of National University of Singapore, teachers of deferent departments and family members of martyred intellectuals.