Speaker says

Staff Correspondent

Speaker Jamiruddin Sircar on Thursday said that BNP will form the next government under the leadership of Khaleda Zia if the upcoming elections are fair.

The Kuwaiti prime minister has praised the contribution of Bangladeshi workers in his country to the foreign adviser, the foreign ministry said Thursday, reports agency.

At least 20 injured

Staff Correspondent

At least 20 people were injured Thursday after physiotherapy students at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedic Rehabilitation clashed with hospital doctors and staff, pressing authorities to establish a full fledged college, the NITOR director said.

Oil prices were little changed at just above $109 a barrel Thursday as investors waited for a weekly U.S. crude inventory report to see if slowing economic growth has cut demand., reports AP.

Desk Report

Eight more people seeking clemency gave statements to the Truth and Accountability Commission on Thursday, an official said.

BSMMU events

Staff Correspondent

Former BNP lawmaker Bilkis Islam, assaulted by party workers at BSMMU hospital Wednesday, has filed a case with Shahbag police accusing five persons.

Staff Correspondent

The Power Division on Thursday asked the people not to waste scarce power by using extra lights, air coolers and other electric appliances.

Bdnews24.com

Sell-offs for a third straight day led markets to end nearly flat Thursday along with the blue chip shares witnessing a sharp fall.

Private airlines United Airways launches a flight on the Dhaka-Kolkata route from Sept 24, chairman of the company Tasbirul Ahmed Chowdhury announced on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com

Obama support climbs to 50% in poll

Barack Obama has reached the 50% mark in polling of US voting intentions, giving him a clear lead in the race for the

Agencies

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice are visiting former pariah Arab states this week, signifying a thawing of relations that the west hopes will yield significant results.

REUTERS, WANA, Pakistan- Suspected US commandos from Afghanistan killed 20 people, including women and children, in a pre-dawn raid inside Pakistan, officials said, an attack branded as an assault on the nation's sovereignty.

Officials say leader unhurt after shots fired at car

Agencies

The Pakistani prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, survived an assassination attempt today, officials said.

Shots were fired at Gilani's car in the capital, Islamabad, but he was not inside. It was going to the airport to collect him.

NY Times

Two helicopters carrying American-led forces landed in a Pakistani village in South Waziristan near the border with Afghanistan in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the soldiers opened fire on villagers, killing seven people, according to a spokesman for the Pakistani military.

The Guardian Online

Thailand's Information and Communications Technology Ministry sought court orders yesterday to shut down about 400 websites and advised internet service providers to block 1,200 sites it considers a danger to national security or disturbing social order.

Reuters, Washington- The Nuclear Suppliers Group should stay firm in rejecting a US bid to lift a ban on nuclear trade with India, experts said on Tuesday as an official document underscored gaps between the Americans and the Indians on key aspects of their landmark atomic deal.

John McCain's aides dismiss revelations about Alaskan governor's past and insist she was right choice for running mate

Agencies

The Republicans will today attempt to rally behind John McCain's controversial choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate for November's presidential election amid a stream of embarrassing disclosures about her past.

Efforts to rescue flood victims have entered a "final and crucial" stage in the northern Indian state of Bihar, the senior official in charge has said, reports BBC

Ukraine's pro-western coalition government was today on the brink of collapse after its two ruling parties fell out over Russia's invasion of Georgia, reports agencies.

MiG-29 trial

Desk Report

Lawyers on Wednesday expressed no-confidence in the court trying former prime minister Sheikh Hasina and six other accused in the MiG-29 corruption case and appealed for a change of the trial court.

Hasina's counsel advocate Qamrul Islam told bdnews24.com, "The present court and its judge don't seem inclined to dispense justice in the case, we're afraid.