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Seven bordering villages at remote Sajek in Baghaihat of Chittagong Hill Tracts wear a desolate look after the April 20 arson attack that erased 123 houses.

A team of politicians, teachers and social workers from Dhaka visited the area on April 27 and disclosed their findings from a press conference Friday. Unidentified arsonists burnt the houses, leaving a trail of devastation.

Political parties including Bangladesh Awami League, Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jatiya Party on Wednesday expressed fear that the delimitation of parliament constituencies by the Election Commission may hamper the roadmap to elections, according to ATN, a private TV channel.

UNB adds: Awami League leadership Wednesday urged the Election Commission (EC) to cancel the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies as it might hamper the holding of national elections in line with the electoral roadmap.

The ''controversial'' Pre-shipment Inspection system is likely to get the go for another 12 to 18 months with the restructuring of the blocks as the agreement with the three PSI companies will expire in August, reports agency.

The reappointment will take place as the Customs is yet to be ready for taking over the place of the PSI companies due to full-scale implementation of automation system and shortage of manpower in Customs department, according to a highly placed National Board of Revenue (NBR) official.

The Anti-Corruption Com-mission has constituted a special team to investigate corruption in the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and its different departments as part of the commission''s campaign to combat institutional corruption, reports agency.

ACC director general (admin) Col Hanif Iqbal said in a press briefing Wednesday that the special team, headed by a deputy director, will look into matters like issuance of government orders, irregularities in tender process and misuse of money with faulty tender process, maintenance of T&T, submarine cable, transport and mobile phone project.

Staff Reporter

Four JMB militants, including its Chittagong divisional commander Javed Iqbal alias Mohammad, were sentenced to 26 years'' rigorous imprisonment by a speedy tribunal here Wednesday in an explosives case.

Javed and two other JMB men, Abdul Malek Laltu and Shahadat Ali, were in the dock while another JMB member, Zahidul Islam alias Boma Mizan, was tried in absentia.

Barrister Shafique Ahmed and Nurul Islam Sujan were elected president and secretary respectively of the executive committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for 2008-09, reports agency.

Shafique secured 589 votes to beat Khandaker Mahbub Hossain who got 431 in the election held on April 28-29. Shafique was earlier elected president of the SCBA for the 1999-2000 term.

Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury Wednesday lauded UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for setting up the high-level Task Force on global food crisis, as Dhaka is very pleased that the world body has responded to Bangladesh''s wake-up call, reports agnency.

"We are in touch with his office and will provide him fullest support," the Foreign Adviser said to the media at his office Wednesday, a day after the UN Secretary General announced the formation of the Task Force in Berne, Switzerland, in response to his call made in Accra on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDC).

A Bangladeshi cattle trader was shot dead by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) while two others received bullet wounds on Chapsar frontier in Haripur upazila on early Wednesday, reports angency.

Locals said BSF of Moshagaon camp opened fire on the three cattle traders when they went near the pillar no 346/3s killing Abdul Jalil, 40, of Rautnagar in Ranishangkoil upazila on the spot.

In the wake of a raise in CNG price, the government Tuesday formed a three-member committee to recommend the rates of CNG/Diesel-run bus fares, reports agency.

The government''s road-transport authority requested the passengers to commute at previous fares until the government reviews the recommendations to be placed by the committee for re-fixing the fares.

BNP secretary general Khandkar Delwar Hossain has termed inhuman police obstruction to distribution of food among the distressed people by the party in different areas of the country, reports agency.

The three-day programme of giving cooked food to the poor ended today. "Our party members spent money from their pockets to feed the poor across the country at this crisis.

Awami League presidium member Begum Matia Chowdhury Wednesday night said her party will seek permission for the planned hunger strike in the capital on May 5, reports agency.

She stated this to UNB in response to the DMP Commissioner''s press release that said it is contrary to the Emergency Power Rules, 2007 to hold such programme without prior permission.

Cyclone Nargis that brewed in the Bay of Bengal bypassed Bangladesh's coasts and moved towards Myanmar Friday, according to a storm warning

NIKO cases

The Anticorruption Commission Wednesday approved chargesheets against former prime ministers Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina in separate Niko scam cases, an ACC official said, reports bdnews24.com.

In a press briefing at the commission's Segunbagicha office, ACC director general colonel Hanif Iqbal said the twin chargesheets involve about 20 people The graft watchdog filed separate cases against the accused on Dec 9 last year.

Working class asked to contribute to nat’l economy

Acting CCC Mayor in a message on May Day said, working class of people are one of the builders of human civilization.

It is through their labor, activities that human civilization has come to exist, he observed.

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed is expected to speak about the upcoming elections, the state of emergency and political dialogue in an address to the nation 'very soon', an adviser said Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

"The chief adviser will make the issues clear in his speech to the nation," communications adviser Ghulam Quader told reporters after submitting a report on pre-dialogue talks to the chief adviser.

Dhaka, April 30 (bdnews24.com) - Barrister Shafique Ahmed was elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association with a huge lead over his nearest contender advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, according to official results released early Wednesday.

Barrister Shafique won 589 votes, with Mahbub trailing behind with 431. But the polls results on the election of SCBA secretary ran into controversy.

The severe cyclonic storm Nargis over the west central and southwest Bay of Bengal has moved northeastwards, according to a special weather bulletin issued Wednesday morning, reports agency.

The cyclonic storm was centred at 0900 about 1,075 kms southwest of Chittagong port, 1,015 kms southwest of Cox's Bazar port and 960 kms south-southwest of Mongla port, the meteorological department said in its bulletin.

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed Wednesday asked related agencies to take preparation and remain alert against cyclone Nargis, feared to intensify further, reports bdnews24.com.

The directive came from a cabinet meeting at the Chief Adviser's Office after defence secretary Kamrul Hasan briefed advisers on the Bay cyclone in detail, CA's press secretary Syed Fahim Munaim told reporters.

A Dhaka court deferred the expected verdict in a graft case against former president HM Ershad, former state minister AKM Mosharraf Hossain and four others Wednesday, as the judge was absent due to illness, reports agency.

Bench clerk Md Rafiqul Islam of Dhaka Divisional Special Judges' Court set a new verdict date od May 12 in the judge's absence. Ershad appeared in court around 11.30am but police failed to produce AKM Mosharraf Hossain from Kashimpur jail.

Barrister Shafique Ahmed was elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association with a huge lead over his nearest contender advocate Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, according to official results released early Wednesday, reports bdnews24.com.

Barrister Shafique won 589 votes, with Mahbub trailing behind with 431. Barrister Abdullah Al Mamun was elected secretary of the lawyers' association with 519 votes.