The government has made changes in the posts of eight deputy secretary- level officials and a senior assistant secretary, reports bdnews24.com.

AL alleges

Staff Correspondent

Bdnews24.com

The government is considering raising a major portion of the cost for construction of the Padma Bridge through the capital market, finance and planning adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam said Saturday.

Says his lawyer

Desk Report

Prison authorities say the administrative procedure for Tarique Rahman's release will not be completed before Monday, while a lawyer for the BNP senior joint secretary general said copies of all bail documents will be sent to them by Sunday.

AP, NEW YORK  -- Gold prices fell slightly Friday as a stronger dollar prompted selling from investors seeking commodities as an inflation hedge.

Our Correspondent

Authorities of Bogra Shahid Ziaur Rahman Medical College were forced to close the college indefinitely Saturday, following clashes between activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League and Islami Chhatra Shibir.

REUTERS

Radovan Karadzic today accused the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague of being a "Nato court" that intended to "liquidate" him and refused to enter pleas on the 11 charges against him.

Oath-taking ceremony on Sep 11

Staff Correspondent

]Khulna and Rajshahi mayors-elect Talukder Abdul Khaleque and AHM Khairuzzaman Liton resigned their Awami League posts on Thursday ahead of their oath-taking ceremony to take place by Sep 11, government officials said.

REUTERS, BANGKOK- Protesters trying to overthrow Thailand's government launched an attack on Bangkok's police headquarters on Friday as demonstrations against Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej spread from the capital.

REUTERS, KATHMANDU- The sale, abduction and trafficking of children is rife in Nepal and the government should do more to encourage adoption by domestic families, a U.N. study released on Friday said.

Agencies

Tropical Storm Gustav today drenched Jamaica and threatened the Cayman Islands as the US Gulf coast made preparations to be hit by a possible hurricane next week.

REUTERS, DENVER- Republican presidential candidate John McCain has chosen Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, a senior McCain campaign official said on Friday.

Announcement likely to fuel western fears about nuclear weapon capability

Agencies

Iran today said it had stepped up its uranium enrichment programme in an announcement likely to fuel western fears about the country's nuclear weapon capability.

Foreign ministry says it rejects international condemnation of invasion as EU appears to be backing away from sanctions

The Guardian Online

Russia bitterly accused the west of "bias" and "double standards" today, following international criticism of its actions in Georgia, and amid signs that the European Union is backing away from sanctions against Moscow.

REUTERS, BAGHDAD- Rania is only 15-years old, but in the past week the softly spoken Iraqi girl has been drugged, strapped with explosives, arrested by men she nearly blew up and then shoved into a detention centre.

REUTERS, HARARE- South Africa said Zimbabwean power-sharing talks would resume on Friday despite comment from President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party that there was no need for further negotiations.

REUTERS, SRINAGAR- Police detained on Friday a prominent Kashmiri separatist leader wh o led some of the biggest protests in two decades against India's rule in the Himalayan region, police said.

REUTERS, BEIRUT- A Lebanese army helicopter that was hit by gunfire in south Lebanon was targeted by Hezbollah fighters who thought the aircraft was Israeli, the Lebanese newspaper as-Safir reported on Friday.

Anwar tells meeting

Staff Correspondent

BNP vice president MK Anwar on Friday said party chief Khaleda Zia would be freed through legal process, not compromise.

Says her personal physician

Staff Correspondent

Awami League president Sheikh Hasina is likely to fly back home on Sept 22 or 23, her personal physician said on Friday.