The New Nation - Internet Edition

Students demand relaxation of age bar in BCS exam

General students of Dhaka University organised a
press conference at Modhu's Canteen yesterday demanding the
relaxation of the age bar in BCS examinations. Focus
Bangla

DU Correspondent

Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), student wing of Awami League, demanded the release of Sheikh Hasina and ensuring her proper treatment.

While addressing a rally at the Aparajeyo Bangla of the Dhaka University yesterday, BCL DU Unit president Sohel Rana Tipu said their leader, (Sheikh Hasina) would have been freed many days ago if they get proper justice.

They will continue the movement until their demand is met.

Meanwhile, they staged a demonstration on the campus.

A good number of activists of the organisation from different halls of the university participated in the demonstration.

Earlier, general students of the University held a press conference at the Modhu's canteen demanding relaxation of the age bar in the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination.

They said the age requirement of public university students, who were to appear in the BCS examination, has already expired due to session jam.

Ohio, Texas uphill climbs for Hillary

AP, Washington

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's must-win states of Ohio and Texas are no cakewalk for her, largely because independents and crossover Republicans are welcome to vote in their Democratic primaries.

The political calendar of late winter has been less than kind to the embattled presidential contender, who once figured that a big day in early February would affirm her march to the presidential nomination and the rest would be icing.

Instead, it's been slippery ice at every turn, and Ohio and Texas contests on March 4 matter greatly, crucial tests in her big-state fallback strategy.

The field in both states could be tilted to Sen. Barack Obama, despite Clinton's presumed advantage among some voting groups and long-held if diminished leads in the states' opinion polls. Obama has displayed strengths dating to January among different voting groups that would normally be in tension with each other, and his drawing power has become more pronounced in his 11-contest winning streak heading into March 4.

The Illinois senator has mobilized his party's left wing, a big help in caucus races where party activists and fired-up newbies are key. And he's drawn crossover Republicans and independents to primaries in which they are allowed to vote.

Ohio and Texas make it easy for them to do so. If they do, it could boost Obama's vote.

Among independents, Obama is leading Clinton by 14 percentage points in Ohio and by 13 in Texas, according to a Washington Post-ABC News telephone poll taken Feb. 16-20. And the settling of the GOP race in John McCain's favor is an enticement for Republicans to come out for the Democratic election that still matters.

Moreover, both states let people vote early. Obama, fresh from his Wisconsin victory on Tuesday, didn't wait for the dust to settle before exhorting Texans to vote right away. "I don't want you to wait until March 4," he said. Clinton, with a head start in campaigning in Texas, also appealed for an early lock on votes.

In the 22 contested Democratic primaries so far, independents made up 22 percent of the vote and they supported Obama by an overwhelming margin of 64 percent to 33 percent. Crossover Republicans, a far smaller percentage in the Democratic primaries, backed him 55-33.

Yet Obama has had the left flank covered, too: a 52-44 advantage over the New York senator among those who consider themselves very liberal.

Pennsylvania on April 22 offers the biggest remaining delegate prize in a primary limited to Democrats - 158. Even there, Clinton and Obama are opening a pitched competition to bring many of the state's nearly 1 million independents into the party in time to vote, an opportunity now accorded about 4 million Democrats.

That means money, swarms of volunteers and a March 24 deadline to wrap up paperwork from those they can get to join. It's the kind of grunt work where Obama's forces have excelled, but Clinton's are giving no quarter. No such barriers exist in Texas and Ohio, where any voter can show up. Texans can vote while shopping for their corn flakes, in grocery and chain stores doubling as polling stations since Wednesday.

Polls point to a deadlocked race in Texas, where health care tops the concerns of Democrats in one poll and where Hispanics could make up more than a quarter of voters - two Clinton pluses.

Obama's counterweight: A confounding delegate allocation system that awards more delegates to urban areas with high concentrations of black and young voters. The Texas contest, a primary followed by limited same-night caucusing, will yield 193 delegates.

Clinton's lead in Ohio polling has slipped into single digits, less than half of what it was only weeks ago. Union households, a considerable presence in the state, so far are behind her, and she is more trusted to deal with the economy in a state that is struggling on that front.

In 22 primaries, voters who named the economy as their main concern marginally favored her, according to interviews with them. But the trend has been in Obama's direction. Not only did he win strongly among such voters in Wisconsin, but he won overwhelmingly among them the previous week in Maryland and Virginia.

She has narrowly outperformed him in union households, another eroding advantage.

Ohio has 141 delegates at stake. Rhode Island and Vermont primaries March 4 offer 21 and 15 respectively.

Obama's delegate total stands at 1,362, Clinton's at 1,266.5, with 2,025 needed to claim the nomination. The awarding of half a delegate comes from expatriate and U.S. territorial Democratic contests.

Experts detecting cause of epidemic : Observance of safety precautions key to containing bird flu

Syful Islam

Bangladeshi scientists so far could identify existence of H5 avian and H9 swine influenza virus in Bangladeshi chickens that have been culled fearing outbreak of bird flu in the country.

Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute and Central Disease Investigation Laboratory are working to identify the viruses that have affected Bangladesh's poultry sector and producing appropriate vaccine to protect the Tk 8,000 crore industry, sources said.Bangladesh has so far culled near about 7 lakh chickens as preventive measure against the spread of bird flu virus from one farm to another. Density of poultry farms in Bangladesh is higher than in other countries that forced culling of huge number of chickens, experts said.

Chief Veterinary Officer of the Central Veterinary Hospital Dr Mosaddique Hossain said a high-powered committee will be formed soon comprising local and foreign scientists to inquire into the cause of the outbreak.

He said there is a common thinking that avian influenza has come to Bangladesh through migratory birds. But the government is trying to identify the carriers of the virus through scientific studies. Dr Mosaddique said avian influenza spread through faeces, sneezing and eggs of chicken. There is no example that bird flu spreads through flesh of chicken. Eating of flesh and eggs through proper boiling is safe to eat.

He said appropriate safety measures by raising awareness among the poultry industry workers and owners can help save the sector from destruction. Common people are also in the same risks if they come in touch with the virus while handling poultry materials, he added.

The Chief Veterinary Officer said sellers of chicken and egg in the markets are also at high risk if they handle those without wearing aprons and hand gloves.

Dr Mosaddique laid emphasise on taking bio-safety measures in the farms and adjacent areas so that no bird can enter from outside. People should clean hands and shoes before entering farms.

"Unless people are aware of the virus and take appropriate safety measures, all the steps of the government will fall into ditch and yield no result," he said.

Poultry consumers should press the sellers to use masks and other virus preventive gadgets and help prevent the spread of bird flu, which is the responsibility of buyers, too, Dr Mosaddique said.

Govt considering gas import from Myanmar

BSS, Chittagong

The Chief Adviser's Special Assistant on Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr M Tamim, yesterday said the government was actively considering to import gas from Myanmar to solve the severe crisis and ensure the country's economic growth.

The energy ministry, he said, would take further initiative to expedite the process of gas import from Myanmar "on the basis of outcome" of the foreign secretary's just-ended visit to Myanmar.

Tamim was speaking at a meeting of senior government officials and business leaders at the Chittagong Circuit House. The government, he said, took some measures, both interim and long term, like proportionate distribution of available gas to manage and overcome the current gas crisis. At the meeting the stakeholders were informed about the government's steps to overcome the shortage.

New wells have been drilled at the existing gas fields and steps sped up to make arrangements with local and foreign companies for the exploration of new gas and oil fields including in off-shore areas, said the special assistant.

These efforts, he said, could have started at least 3 years back. Delays in taking decisions on such crucial issues, he said, was causing enormous sufferings in many areas.

Import of gas from Myanmar, he said, was important for energy security and for having alternative source even if fresh oil and gas exploration efforts "give us" sufficient proven reserve. The special assistant said successful drilling of news wells at existing gas production facilities could provide 270 mmcft of gas per day.

"Our current daily shortfall is over 100 mmcft against the demand of over 1800 mmcft," he said. As the entrepreneurs expressed worries following the government's decision to stop new gas connections in the greater Chittagong region, Dr. Tamim said "new gas connections would depend on the availability of adequate gas at hand as there is no short-cut solution until new reserves were found."

New gas connections would be provided by February 2009, he said, to the industrial enterprises, but only against the commitments given earlier.

For energy diversity, in the backdrop of shrinking gas reserves across the world, he said, there was no alternative to nuclear power plants for large scale power production.

"I am not going to discard nuclear power plant, we should have at least one such plant for ensuring energy and power security," he said.

The government, he said, would certainly consider the option if there was a good proposal at hand.

Due to some effective steps taken to generate additional power, he said, the power shortage or load-shedding in upcoming summer would not be as severe as it was in during the last year

Total power generation, he said, was expected to reach around 4000 megawatts during upcoming peak summer against the predicted demand of 4700 megawatt, as the national grid would get an additional supply of 600 megawatts following overhauling of the existing production facilities.

An additional 350 megawatts of power was expected to get into the supply line by March, he said. Commissioner Hossain Jamil Deputy Commissioner, Ashraf Shamim, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) President Saifuzzaman Chowdhury and BGMEA First Vice President M A Salam also spoke.

Job-seekers warned against illegal travel: KSA biggest job market for Bangladeshis

BSS, Dhaka

Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment yesterday issued a strong appeal against illegal travel in search of jobs to other countries, including Europe.

A spokesman of the ministry said the government is making all efforts to organise new markets for legal Bangladeshi expatriate workers.

"At this time, illegal migration will adversely affect reputation, and must be avoided. This will only jeopardize the government's effort," he added.

The Ministry said Saudi Arabia is currently the biggest job market for Bangladesh abroad as majority of the 15 lakh work visas issued by Saudi Arabia in 2007 were obtained by the Bangladeshi workers. In terms of percentage, Bangladeshis got 23.5 percent of the visas issued for the foreign workers last year, a spokesman for the ministry said in a statement.

It said the activities of a handful of Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia created a negative image of the country, endangering its job markets in other Middle Eastern countries.

The spokesman urged Bangladeshi workers to inform about their problems to the embassy or consulate there or to the Expatriate Welfare Ministry in Dhaka so that initiatives could be taken to solve them through diplomatic means.

"Despite being unfortunate, of late some Bangladeshi workers engaged them in activities like illegal telephone business, stealing of manholes from roads and footpaths, theft of electrical and telephone cables, foreign currency counterfeiting and selling of prohibited CDs," the spokesman said.

Besides, he said, according to media reports some Bangladeshi workers also launched prohibited campaigns like strikes, sieges, violent protests defying the Saudi laws exposing Bangladesh to an "image crisis" in the oil-rich Middle Eastern country.

"The other Arab countries having wide job market prospects are also likely to observe the incidents in Saudi Arabia while we have to keep it in mind that the job markets in these countries are very competitive," the spokesman said.

Due to illegal activities of some Bangladeshi workers, he said, the image of the country is being harmed which cannot be acceptable in any way while the manpower flow was already disrupted in some countries due to lack of awareness of the Bangladeshi workers there.

The ministry in another statement advised the Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia to abide by the laws of that country as Saudi authorities launched a campaign against illegal immigrants and foreign workers there.

"Saudi Arabia is likely to be cautious enough in appointing foreign workers in future and the ministry hopes there will be a growing demand for Bangladeshi workers there if their skills could be increased," the ministry said in a statement last week.

Unity to protect democracy urged

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a discussion meeting yesterday called for forging strong national unity to safeguard the Constitution and democracy.

They were taking part in a programme organised by the Bangladesh Labour Party on the spirit of the Ekushey at the Jatiya Press Club in the morning.

The function, presided over by Shamsul Haque, acting president of the party, was addressed by Mohammad Kamaruzzaman of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, Abdul Latif Nizami of Islami Okya Jote, Mostafa Kamal Majumder, the Editor of The New Nation, Veteran Freedom Fighter Ismail Hossain Bengal, Mohiuddin Khan Mohon of daily Dinkal and Dr Mostafizur Rahman Iran of Labour Party, among others.

The speakers said the people of the country waged the historic language movement to safeguard their cultural, economic and democratic rights.

They underscored the need for unity of nationalist and Islamic forces to carry forward that movement to consolidate democracy and improve the economic well being of the people.

Those who opposed democracy and constitutional rule actually worked against the spirit of the historic language movement, they said.

The speakers cautioned against violation of provision of the constitution because this could only lead to anarchy.

25 Bangladeshi peacekeepers leave for Congo

Staff Reporter

A contingent of 125 members of Bangladesh police yesterday night leaved the Zia international airport to join the peacekeeping mission in Congo (MONUC) Through a chartered flight of United Nations, says a press release.

The contingent, led by police super Mir Shahidul Islam, will re-establish the BANFPU-2 in Congo. The assistant police inspector Md.Ekramul Habib and other senior officer of police Were present at airport to see off the team.

It should be mentioned that Bangladesh police force performed duties with proper Sincerity and honesty in peace keeping mission of different countries including Congo, East Timur, Ivory Coast and Sudan.

Egeneration signs deal with Swiss Contact-Catalyst: Significant changes in agriculture sector likely

Staff Reporter

With a view to bringing about significant changes in the agricultural sector and raising the skills of farmers for proper application of fertilizers, Swiss Contact-Catalyst has signed an agreement with the country's leading software company Egeneration recently.

The software will be used at all the unions of Bangladesh. If the farmers of any area of the country describe the locations and types of soil, the software will be able to tell them correctly about what kinds of fertiliser and what amounts of fertiliser they are required.

It is expected that all the farmers of Bangladesh will be benefited by using the software and substantial improvement will take place in the country's agriculture sector through the use of appropriate types and amounts of fertilizer.

The farmers will be able to collect information through the software at different telecentres and union offices in the country.

Egeneration CEO Shamim Ahsan and Swiss Contact-Catalyst Deputy Manager Sadruddin Imran signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organizations.

Aksadur Rahman, Project Coordinator of Egeneration, Shahiduddin Akbar, ICT Consultant of Catalyst and Khaled Khan, Business Consultant of Catalyst were present at the agreement signing ceremony.

People should not be panicked for bird flu situation

Staff Reporter

Experts at a roundtable in the city said everybody should not be panicked for the present bird flu situation. But people have become panicked due to wrong presentation of different types of information.

Till now nobody in the country was infected by bird flu virus after having chicken or egg, they said.

"If the farm owners would become more aware about the virus of bird flu, it could not spread so rapidly. In case of cooking, our traditional system is appropriate to prevent the bird flu virus," they said.

More than Tk 4,000 crore has been lost so far in the poultry sector. The government should give more compensation to the affected poultry farm owners, they urged. The roundtable on 'Bird Flu and Solution' jointly organised by Watchdog Bangladesh and Breeder's Association of Bangladesh (BAB) at the National Press Club yesterday.

Prof Dr Md Mansurul Amin of Dept of Microbiology and Hygiene of Bangladesh Agriculture University, presented a keynote paper, while Prof SD Chowdhury, poultry science expert, Prof Dr Sattar Mandal, agriculture economist, Dr Jahangir Alam, Director General of Livestock Research Institute, Moshiur Rahman, General Secretary of BAB, Sazzad Hossain, CEO of Watchdog Bangladesh, among others, spoke on the occasion.

Prof Mansurul Amin in his paper said though bird flu virus has affected over 40 districts in the country, but there is no evidence of attacking it to human body. There is nothing happened to be panicked till now.

Prof Sattar Mandal said within two to three months eating of chicken meat would reach at normal stage. Prof SD Chowdhury urged the government and media to play vital role to create awareness among people about bird flu virus. Prof Habibul Islam said if any chicken would be infected with bird flu, its chick or eggs could not be infected. If there were any virus in eggs or chicks, it would be easier to destroy them. Bird flu virus would be destroyed by spraying or boiling in five to 10 minutes. Dr Jahangir Alam said at present, there are about Tk 10,000 crore investment in poultry sector in the country. About 40 per cent investment has already faced lose due to detection of bird flu virus. The government should give more compensation to the affected farm owners to overcome the matter.

BSF kills 4 Bangladeshis on Thakurgaon, Satkhira border

UNB, Dhaka

Four Bangladeshis were shot dead and another was wounded by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) troops on Satkhira and Thakurgaon borders yesterday.

UNB Thakurgaon correspondent reported that two cattle traders were killed and another was wounded in BSF firing near Mondumala border in Baliadangi upazila early in the day.

The deceased were identified as Afajuddin, 28, son of Rahimuddin of Barsa Ratnai village in Baliadangi upazila, and Faruk Hossain, 25, son of Shawkat Ali of Rasulpur village in Kaharol upazila of Dinajpur district.

BDR and local sources said BSF members from Sonamoti camp sprayed bullets on a group of cattle traders at about 4am when they crossed the border, killing Afajuddin and Faruk on the spot and wounding Fajir Ali.

Fajir, who somehow managed to return home, was admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital in critical condition. Officials of 20 Rifles Battalion of the district protested the shootings and wrote a letter to their counterpart for return of the bodies.

Last month, seven Bangladeshi people were killed in BSF firing in the district, BDR sources said.

In Satkhira, two Bangladeshi cattle traders were gunned down by BSF on Rudrapur frontier in the morning.

The deceased were identified as Abdul Majed, 32, of Rudrapur village and Hasan Ali, 30, of Bhabanipur village in Sharsha upazila of Jessore.

BDR sources said BSF troops of Tetulbunia camp fired on the two cowboys when they were returning with the cattle from India, killing them on the spot.

BSF also took away the bodies of the ill-fated cowboys to their camp.

Major Kamrul Hasan of Satkhira BDR 41 battalion said, "In protest against the killing, we have already dispatched a letter to BSF and demanded immediate return of the bodies."

Thousands of languages face extinction: UN

PTI, New York

More than half of the world's 6,700 spoken languages face extinction and on an average one language disappears somewhere in the world, the United Nations warned as it kicked off the International Year of Languages.

The year is being observed under the shadow of experts estimate that currently 96 percent of the languages are spoken only by four percent of the world population with globalisation placing many under grave threat.

In a message marking International Mother Language Day, UNESCO Director-General Ko
"Far from being a field reserved for analysis by specialists, languages lie at the heart of all social, economic and cultural life," Matsuura said, stressing UNESCO'S slogan for the year-'Languages matter!'

The agency held a series of events - including a round table, a seminar, several presentations and an information workshop - at its Paris headquarters to mark the Day and launch the International Year.

International Mother Language Day has been observed every year since 2000, and this year UNESCO said it had placed special emphasis on international instruments and standards that encourage multilingualism.

The agency warned that when a language fades, so does a part of the world's cultural tapestry. "Opportunities, traditions, memory, unique modes of thinking and expression - valuable resources for ensuring a better future are also lost," UNESCO said in a statement.

Kamal urges political parties to hold dialogue among themselves

Staff Reporter

Gano Forum president Dr Kamal Hossain once again urged the political parties to hold dialogue among themselves before holding the proposed dialogue with the government.

He urged this yesterday at a discussion meeting on the occasion of Amar Ekushey and International Mother Language Day.

"The political parties should hold dialogue among themselves and come to a consensus on some issues," said Dr Kamal.

He said an evil force is active in the country and they did not want holding of a free, fair and credible election.

He urged the political parties to practise the honest trend of politics of the 60s, when politicians used to keep their promises.

The eminent jurist of the country said the country had lost the achievements of the Liberation War due to corruption. People have regained it through the changes on January 11, 2007. Presidium members of the party Pankaj Bhattacharya, Saidur Rahman Saeed, Mokabbir Khan, Whip Abdur Rauf, SM Altaf Hossain, central leaders Mostafa Mohsin Mantu and acting General Secretary Subrata Chowdhury, among others, spoke at the meeting.

They said the election should be held according to the roadmap.