Thousands of Cyclone Aila victims will have to remain in their makeshift homes at least until the next dry season.

Food and disaster management minister Abdur Razzaque admitted on Thursday that the government would not be able to return 70,000 victims of 14,000 families to their homes for several months more.

Law minister Shafique Ahmed on Thursday firmly said it was possible to try war crimes in a transparent and impartial manner by ensuring international standards under the 1973 act.

His assertion came in response to Wednesday's bdnews24.com report that said Jamaat-e-Islami was involved in organising a seminar at the House of Lords, which discussed whether the 1973 act was consistent for trial of war criminals in accordance with the international standards.

Spanish star midfielder Xavi says his team is feeling the pressure of what is likely a must-win World Cup match against Chile on Friday in order for the reigning European champions to advance.

"There's a great deal of pressure because we have to win," the Barcelona playmaker said. "We have to take control of the ball and assert our personality on the pitch."

Labour minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain has stressed the need for enhancing skills of workers for overseas employment.

"A skilled labourer earns three times higher than an unskilled one does… There is no alternative to enhancing workers skills for transforming manpower into skilled labour force," he said.

As long as unemployment is high, there will be pressure to keep protectionist trade measures in place, the director-general of the World Trade Organization said on Thursday.

When asked why there has been no big trade war, Pascal Lamy, who was speaking at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said it had to do with existing structures, such as "strong international disciplines."

Ittefaq, one of the oldest daily newspapers of the country, has started publishing from its new offices at Jatrabari's Kajla.

The Bengali daily is set to hit the stands with its new printer's line with an address of Kajlar Paar, Demra Road, Dhaka-1205 from Friday.

Distinguished for its voluminous classified section, the hugely successful daily will maintain commercial offices at 40 Karwan Bazar and another one in Motijheel.

Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid has asked students to wage a social movement against stalking to ensure a congenial atmosphere at the educational institutes.

He made the call while administering an oath to hundreds of students at the premises of the Central Shahid Minar Sunday, which marked Anti Stalking Day.

Bashundhara Group boss Ahmed Akbar Sobhan on Sunday laid it heavy on the state minister for public works at a government meeting with realtors.

The row broke out during a discussion on the Detailed Area Plan (DAP), the capital's real estate blueprint of sorts, developed by the city development regulator Rajuk, at the Secretariat.

Pakistani military intelligence not only funds and trains Taliban fighters in Afghanistan but is officially represented on the movement's leadership council, giving in significant influence over operations, a report said.

The report, published by the London School of Economics on Sunday, said research strongly suggested support for the Taliban was the "official policy" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI).

Diego Maradona celebrated his first victory as coach at a World Cup finals, but dismissed as premature talk of him emulating Franz Beckenbauer by winning the World Cup as a player and a manager.

Maradona's Argentina saw off Nigeria 1-0 in their opening Group B clash and with Lionel Messi looking in fine touch, the South Americans showed enough to highlight their credentials as potential champions.

The port city of Chittagong has taken a festive mood with mayoral and ward councillor candidates in CCC election going full steam ahead with their campaigns for votes on June 17.

The candidates have been making all out efforts to woo voters with banners, posters and festoons bearing their respective election symbols.

Bangladesh will spend Tk 1321.70 billion or US$ 19 billion next fiscal, hoping to grow nearly 7 percent banking on a post-recession positive world economic outlook.

Finance minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith proposed the budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year in the parliament on Thursday, accounting for 16.9 percent of the GDP.

An Election Commission official on Thursday night sued senior BNP MP Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury for making 'false allegations' on voter roll.

Farhad Hossain, assistant returning officer for the Chittagong city polls, filed the complaint with the Kotwali police at around 11:30pm, the bdnews24.com Chittagong correspondent Mintu Chowdhury said.

Dhaka stocks fell sharply on Monday after a two-week high. Mohammad Shakil Rizvi, president of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), told bdnews24.com that the market had reacted to a newspaper report on taxing profits from stock market.

Some newspapers reported that the government was planning to impose five percent tax from the next fiscal on investors profiting more than half a million taka annually.

Election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain on Monday said they are embarrassed at the frequent visits of ministers to Chittagong ahead of the city corporation polls.

He said if they did not stop visiting Chittagong city at the request of the Election Commission, law-enforcement agencies would not allow them to enter the city anymore.

Spain are favourites to be crowned World Cup champions, narrowly ahead of Brazil, according to a global field of 74 soccer fan economists polled by Reuters.

Twenty-four respondents said Spain would shed their reputation for perennial disappointment this year and clinch the title for the first time, a tad more than the 23 who expected Brazil to add to their record tally of five trophies.

The government has sued Amar Desh acting editor Mahmudur Rahman for sedition.

Airport Police Station officer in charge Abu Saleh Mohammad Shamsuddin confirmed bdnews24.com that the former energy adviser to the ex-prime minister Khaleda Zia had been charged.

The former head of the Board of Investment was arrested on June 1 in a fraud case filed by the paper's publisher Hashmat Ali Hashu.

The government is preparing to form two taskforces, one to prevent the illegal storage of chemicals in residential buildings in Old Dhaka and the other to identify those responsible for building unauthorised structures and high-rises across the city.

"The industries ministry and public works ministries will separately form the two taskforces in a few days," disaster management minister Abdur Razzaque told reporters on Sunday.

ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury and M Manzur Alam will face off in an open debate on Tuesday.

The debate between the major contestants in the June 17 Chittagong City Corporation elections will be aired by the BBC Bengali Service in collaboration with the Election Commission.

Former mayor Mohiuddin is backed by ruling Awami League and its allies and Manzur has opposition BNP's support behind him.

Jamaat-e-Islami has formally decided to back the June 27 hartal called by the main opposition BNP.

Party secretary general Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed told reporters at its Moghbazar office on Sunday evening that the decision came from a meeting of the executive committee in the morning.

But the active participation of the Jamat supporters has yet to be decided, he added.