BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Swimmer Michael Phelps demolished his own world record to win a first Olympics gold on Sunday in the quest for an unprecedented eight, but conflict in Georgia and a dozen bomb attacks in west China spoiled the party mood.

UNITED NATIONS, Sun Aug 10,(bdnews24.com/Reuters) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is alarmed by intensified fighting in Georgia and worried about the violence spreading, his office said on Saturday evening.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - China, hoping for their first Olympic hockey medal, went back to the drawing board immediately after winning their opening women's pool A match on Sunday.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - China leapt and twisted to gold in the women's synchronised 3 metre springboard on Sunday, claiming the first diving medals in a sport which the host nation hopes to dominate.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - A crash landing off the asymmetric bars by He Kexin failed to stop China from upstaging an injury-hit United States team in women's qualifying at the Olympics on Sunday.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - David Kostelecky of the Czech Republic won the Olympic gold medal in the men's trap shooting on Sunday.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - A doping controversy surrounding the Spanish women before the Olympic hockey hit the team badly and they discussed not going to Beijing, coach Pablo Usoz said.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Guo Wenjun of China won the gold medal in the women's 10m air pistol on Sunday in a stirring final that produced an Olympics medals showdown between Russia and Georgia against the backdrop of a military conflict back home.

BEIJING, Aug 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Zimbabwe's Kirsty Coventry, who won silver in the Olympic 400 metres individual medley on Sunday, said she would never compete for another country.

Agency

The government alone cannot meet the growing demands of the infrastructure sector, finance and planning adviser AB Mirza Azizul Islam said Sunday, adding that it was in the private sector's own interests to expand road and power networks.

Alabama: Aug. 1-3 -- clothing, computers, school supplies, books

Connecticut: Aug. 17-23 -- clothing and footwear

District of Columbia: Aug. 2-10 -- clothing, school supplies; Nov. 21-Dec. 7 -- clothing

Source: Federation of Tax Administrators

REUTERS, TEHRAN- Iran and Algeria are expected to discuss the formation of an OPEC-style gas group during a visit by Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to Tehran, Iran's ambassador to Algeria said in remarks published on Sunday.

REUTERS, NEW YORK- World sales of major commercial properties fell 49 percent to $306 billion in the first six months of 2008 from the same period last year, as sales in developed countries were hit hard by the credit crisis and slowing economies, a report released on Friday said.

Speakers at a discussion recently said that the government is practically not giving priority to the country's agriculture sector in clear negation of its own commitment . One of the speakers, a former adviser to the caretaker government Dhiraj Kumar Nath said if production of food grains is not doubled by 2030, more than one crore people will stand below the poverty line.  64 agriculture extension officers from 64 districts spoke of the problems in improving agricultural production.

Warns Delwar

Staff Correspondent

The BNP-led four-party alliance on Sunday vowed to wage a tough movement in case BNP chief Khaleda Zia was not released within 72 hours.

Upazila polls

Staff Correspondent

The Election Commission has formulated rules fixing candidates' electoral and personal expenditure for the upcoming upazila parishad, election commissioner M Sakhawat Hossain said Sunday.

IWM and Bangladesh Water Development Board have started a joint experiment to tackle water logging in the port city, says a press release.

This was disclosed at a meeting in the office of acting CCC Mayor Alhaj Monzur Alam yesterday where officials of both the organizations participated.

Bdnews24.com

A four-day long training course 'Durjog Durnibar-2008' to prepare for disaster operations, such as post-earthquake disaster management and humanitarian assistance, began Sunday, the Inter Service Public Relations Directorate said.

EPR case

Desk Report

The High Court on Sunday granted bail to former Awami League minister Mosharraf Hossain in an EPR breach case.

Says Quader

Staff correspondent

Another adviser has said Khaleda Zia's release is "at final stages" and that the government will not impose any conditions.