Staff Correspondent

BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain Wednesday wrote to the prisons authorities seeking permission to visit detained party chief Khaleda Zia, a BNP leader said.

The party's acting office secretary Rizvi Ahmed handed in the letter of the secretary general to the superintendent of the special jail, sited on the Jatiya Sangsad premises.

Staff Correspondent

The government has designed tight security measures to ensure peaceful celebrations countrywide on Pahela Boishakh, the Bengali New Year, a government official said Wednesday.

As many as 12,234 security personnel from the Rapid Action Battalion and Bangladesh Police will be fanning out across the country on Apr 14, with 2,500 being deployed for Dhaka city alone, home secretary Md Abdul Karim told reporters after a meeting on law and order at the home ministry.

US charge d''affaires Geeta Pasi Tuesday welcomed the planned government-political party dialogue, saying that party has a critical role to play in democracy and holding free, fair and participatory elections in Bangladesh, reports UNB.

She made the remarks to reporters after a meeting with BNP secretary general Khandaker Delwar Hossain at his NAM apartment. The meeting is part of her schedules to exchange views with major political parties ahead of the elections.

Awami League leadership Tuesday urged the caretaker government to hand over power to an elected government before the situation spins out of control, reports UNB.

"The seeds of a movement have already been sown with programmes like hunger strike and a signature campaign. We don''t want to take to the street to realise our demand.

BNP chairperson''s tough-talking adviser Brig Gen (retd) ASM Hannan Shah warned that a programme for movement would be announced soon for pressing home their demand for release of Khaleda Zia and immediate holding of fair election, reports UNB.

"BNP is ready for movement to press home the demands for release of BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and holding immediate elections," he told newsmen at the district court (Tuesday) during his appearance in a case.

Some 1,712 children were arrested and sent to jail in 2007 though the High Court ruled five years back that no children should be kept in jail, reports UNB.

Currently, some 380 children are languishing in 57 prisons across the country despite a High Court order to the government to transfer all accused juveniles to safe custody or Kishore Unnayan Kendra (KUK - juvenile development centre).

Saudi Deputy Minister for Labour Ahmed Abdulraham Al Mansour Tuesday urged the authorities in Bangladesh to send workers with adequate knowledge about Saudi culture, lack of which often embarrasses both the sides, reports UNB.

He also called for sending skilled workers in keeping with the changed labour market that prefers killed hands, holding out offer of assistance for skill training.

The Anti-Corruption Commission Tuesday sent back the draft of the proposed Truth and Accountability Commission with some recommendations after scrutiny, reports UNB.

"Some recommendations were sent to the Law Secretary after scrutinising the draft of the Truth Commission," ACC director general (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal told reporters in the afternoon.

The High Court Tuesday stayed for two months the graft-case proceedings against Dr Zobaida Rahman, wife of detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tariqure Rahman, reports UNB.

Responding to a petition, a division bench comprising Justice Khademul Islam Chowdhury and Justice M Emdadul Huque also issued rule upon the Anti-Corruption Commission to explain why the graft case against Dr Zobaida Rahman "should not be quashed". "The rule is made returnable in two weeks," says the court order.

Women and Children Affairs Adviser Rasheda K Chowdhury Tuesday stressed the need for increasing mass awareness of violence against women, reports agency.

“Violence against women increases during the natural calamity, including floods,” she said while addressing a seminar on ‘Violence against women during the flood and post-flood situations in Bangladesh’ at Jatiya Press Club in the city.

LGRD and Labour and Employment Adviser M Anwarul Iqbal Tuesday said laws would be formulated to make cooperative societies free from political influence, reports UNB.

The Adviser was speaking at the inaugural session of a national seminar titled ‘Cooperative Society Act and Modification and Upgrading of Cooperative Rules’ at the city’s Cooperative Bhaban.

Jordan Government has exempted over 6,040 workers from paying their accumulated penalties for illegal overstay, of which more than 80 percent are Bangladeshis, said a spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Tuesday, reports UNB.

The spokesman added that Bangladesh authorities have been lobbying with the Jordanian counterparts for months in this regard.

President Professor Dr Iajuddin Ahmed Tuesday underscored the need for developing our knowledge and skills at world standard to sustain in this age of globalization, reports agency.

“You know, Bangladesh is a country of immense prospect. It has huge human resources, fertile agriculture land and potential natural resources.

The Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore has invited applications for Masters in Public Management (January 2009) and financial support, said a press release of BNCU, reports agency.

The candidates must have at least eight years working experience in the public, people and private sectors in the area of good governance preferably in the field of policy making and public management, the release by Bangladesh National Commission for UNESCO (BNCU) added.

Staff Correspondent

Two days after his term as army chief was extended by another year, General Moeen U Ahmed Tuesday asserted that the army would not follow the examples of military takeover in neighbouring countries.

REUTERS, MUMBAI - Fruit and vegetable prices, up a fifth in the last one month and adding to rising inflation, are likely to climb further in the next three months on restricted supply, traders said.

Lack of irrigation across much of the cultivable land and a rise in temperature, usually lead to a fall in output in summer months in India. This year, unseasonal rainfall in March in key vegetable producing states badly affected

Agency

An Air Force training plane caught fire in midair and crashed in Tangail Tuesday, with the pilot ejecting with a parachute to land safely, according to witnesses.

A private television channel had initially reported the death of at least one person in the accident, but no casualties were confirmed.

Agency

A GMG Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok Tuesday after a man with a knife caused a panic among passengers and crew, officials said.

GMG spokesperson Shahadat Rahman told bdnews24.com that the flight Z5042, flying from Kuala Lumpur to Dhaka, requested an emergency landing at around 9.30am over the Thai capital, after an unruly passenger misbehaved with a member of the cabin crew.

Staff Correspondent

A gang snatched Tk 30 lakh from three employees of a British American Tobacco distribution company in Savar Tuesday, a company official said.

Hossain Brothers cashier Siraj Miah was shot in the incident and peon Arjun Karmakar was stabbed before the gang made off with the money, although accounts officer Golam Mostafa managed to escape without injury.

Agency

Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary, arrives in Dhaka last night on a two-day visit, the British High Commission said in a statement.

Smith is the first UK home secretary to visit Bangladesh, and the third senior British minister to visit Bangladesh in four months.