Japan, EU working to comply with Iran sanctions

Says Hillary Clinton

Reuters, Washington

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday pledged to aggressively implement new US sanctions on Iran but noted that some allies such as Japan face "unique situations" as they seek to reduce Iranian oil imports.

President Barack Obama on December 31 signed into law the harshest in a series of US sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program, targeting foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank or other blacklisted Iranian financial entities.

The new US sanctions have set off a scramble among countries with significant Iranian oil imports to voluntarily reduce such purchases so they would be exempted from the penalties.

For non-petroleum transactions, from February 29 the law requires the president to punish private banks that "knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran" or other blacklisted entities.

For oil-related transactions, from June 28 the law allows the president to punish foreign banks that carry out financial transactions "for the purchase of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran" provided several conditions are met.

Obama has until March 30 to decide whether the price and supply levels of non-Iranian oil and fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in global markets are sufficient for countries to "significantly" reduce their Iranian purchases.

"We are implementing the new Iran sanctions aggressively," Clinton told a Senate panel, outlining steps aimed at hobbling Iran's ability to make an atomic bomb by squeezing revenues from its oil exports. Iran says its nuclear program is geared purely to develop power stations and for medical purposes.

Clinton repeated that US intelligence assessments held that Iran had not yet decided to pursue a nuclear weapon. But she said it was important to work with other countries to keep up the pressure.

"I think that there's a very clear-eyed view of Iran and Iranian objectives and that's why the president's policy is so clear and adamant that the United States intends to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," she said.

Japan, the world's third-biggest oil importer, last year bought almost 9 percent of its crude from Iran and its dependence on fuel imports has increased because almost all its power-generating nuclear reactors have been shut after the Fukushima nuclear disaster a year ago.

Japan's Nikkei business daily reported last week that Japan could cut its Iranian oil imports by a more-than-expected 20 percent in its drive to win a US exemption.

Dhaka take BPL title

 

Star Online Report

Dhaka Gladiators won the first Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 championship defeating Barisal Burners by eight wickets at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Wednesday.



Imran Nazir scored highest 75 off 43 for Dhaka.



Earlier Barisal Burners scored 140 runs losing seven wickets after in 20 overs. BJ Hodge scored a brilliant 70 off 51 balls while Ahmed Shehzad scored 28 off 20 balls.



Dhaka won the toss and invited Barisal Burners to bat first.



Dhaka Gladiators have reached into final stunning Khulna Royal Bengals by 9 runs in the second semifinal at Mirpur on Tuesday.



On the other hand, Barisal Burners sealed their position in the final defeating Duronto Rajshahi by eight wickets in the first semifinal on the same day.



Barisal Burners : Ahmed Shehzad, Alauddin Babu, Kabir Ali, Al-Amin Hossain, Farhad Hossain, SM Harwood, BJ Hodge (Captain), Kamrul Islam Rabbi, Mithun Ali, Mominul Haque, P Mustard, Nazmul Islam, Rameez Raja (2), Shahriar Nafees, Sohag Gazi, Suhrawadi Shuvo and Yasir Arafat.



Dhaka Gladiators : Aftab Ahmed, Anamul Haque, Awais Zia, Azhar Mahmood, Dhiman Ghosh, Elias Sunny, Imran Nazir, Mashrafe Mortaza (Captain), Mehrab Hossain jnr, Mohammad Ashraful, Mosharraf Hossain, Naved-ul-Hasan, Nazimuddin, Nazmul Hossain, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, DI Stevens and Tanveer Haider

Pictures of the day: 29 February 2012

Daredevil Dave MacLeod perches on a rock face 1,000 feet up the world's hardest sea cliff climb. The Scotsman became the first person to freeclimb St John's Head on the Isle of Hoy, Scotland - widely believed to be the world's hardest sea cliff climb. He took time out half way up to check out the breathtaking views from a two-foot wide ledge.

Kohli keeps India alive

India batsman Virat Kohli leaps in the air after scoring a scintillating century against Sri Lanka in their CB one-day international series match in Hobart yesterday.Photo: AFPAfp, Hobart

Virat Kohli blasted an unbeaten 133 off just 86 balls as India's stunning seven-wicket bonus point victory over Sri Lanka kept them alive in the tri one-day series in Hobart on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old right-hander produced his highest ODI score to propel the World Cup champions to a remarkable 321 for three off just 36.4 overs and secure the extra point with 20 balls to spare.

The bonus point enabled India to draw level with Sri Lanka on 15 points. The World Cup runners-up now need to beat Australia in Friday's last round-robin game in Melbourne to reach the best-of-three match finals.

Australia are already in the finals, which get under way in Brisbane on Sunday.

Kohli was the stand-out man-of-the-match with 16 fours and two sixes in an ODI featuring three century-makers and a combined total of 641 runs off 86.4 overs.

"That was the best one-day innings I've played in my career because we needed to pull off a win with a bonus point and we were able to do that so I am really happy with the performance," Kohli said.

"With the partnership with [Gautam] Gambhir we knew the run-rate was coming down and we knew it would become a Twenty20 game for us.

"I have been believing in myself every day and waking up and thinking I belong here and that I can score runs at international level and that's the biggest thing that has kept motivating me on this tour."

India came into the Hobart match on the back of three defeats and a tie and their problems were magnified when in-form Sri Lanka appeared to set a daunting target of eight runs an over for them to claim the vital bonus point.

Tillakaratne Dilshan equalled his best one-day score of 160 and Kumar Sangakkara smashed a ton to push Sri Lanka's total to 320 for four off 50 overs.

Dilshan took just 165 balls to reach his total, battering 11 fours and three sixes.

He equalled his highest ODI score, also set against India in 2009, and shared a 200-run second wicket stand with Sangakkara to leave India with it all to do.

Sangakkara's 105 came off 87 balls -- with eight fours and two sixes -- at the small Bellerive Oval.

He flayed the Indian attack and has now scored 10,152 runs in the limited overs game at 37.88.

Openers Virender Sehwag (30 off 16 balls) and Sachin Tendulkar (39 off 30 balls) gave India a flying start and Gambhir chipped in with 63 off 64 balls.

It was Gambhir and Kohli's third-wicket stand of 115 runs that accelerated India's run-rate and they were well in the hunt when Gambhir was run out with the score at 201 for three.

Raina (40 not out) carried on the big hitting with Kohli and the pair added a further 120 runs off just 55 balls to see India cruise to an unexpected comfortable victory.

Kohli smashed Lasith Malinga for two, six, four, four, four and four to plunder 24 runs off the 35th over and leave India just 18 runs away from a sizzling bonus-point victory.

"They had the licence to go for it today, there was nothing left for them to do but to go for it which they did," Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said.

"The wicket played pretty well, we didn't pick up wickets up front and they batted exceptionally well.

"It's tough to try to stop somebody [Kohli] going like that, everything he hit was pretty solid today."

Dhaka keen on hydro plant

Sits with Delhi today to review electricity venture

Pallab Bhattacharya, New Delhi

Bangladesh is expected to propose setting up of a joint-venture hydropower plant in north-eastern region of India in a Joint Steering Committee (JSC) meeting on power sector cooperation in New Delhi tomorrow.
If India agrees in principle to Bangladesh's proposal, then other steps will be taken in this regard including choosing a site for the plant, from which Bangladesh could import electricity to meet its growing demand, a senior official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry told The Daily Star yesterday.
Dhaka is also likely to come up with a proposal to import power from Nepal and Bhutan through Indian territories.
Bangladesh was keen on getting power from the gas-based Palatana power project in neighbouring Tripura state, for which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, during her visit to Agartala earlier this year, had even expressed her government's interest to buy a stake.
But sources said the deals for sale of power from Palatana project had been firmed up even before Bangladesh made the offer.
Senior officials from Bangladesh and India will sit here today in a meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on power sector cooperation, to do the groundwork for tomorrow's JSC meeting headed by power secretaries of the two countries.
Both sides will also review the progress in implementation of the deals inked between the two countries on power sector at the JWG meeting, said the foreign ministry official, who is already in New Delhi in connection with the meeting.
The two meetings are follow-up actions by the two sides in the light of the Joint Communique issued after Hasina's visit to New Delhi in January, 2010, in which concrete bilateral cooperation in power sector was an important component.
This is the first time the two countries have moved in to diversify their cooperation in power sector.
So far, Bangladesh and India have signed a number of deals including import of 250 megawatt power by Bangladesh and setting up of a 1,320-MW coal-fired joint-venture power plant in Khulna.
A final deal on the Khulna plant was signed in Dhaka last month between Bangladesh's state-owned Power Development Board and India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation.
But on the issue of power import, there has not been much progress and the Delhi meetings will try to settle the issues of tariff at which electricity will be exported to Bangladesh, and the power plant from which India will supply electricity.
Officials from Bangladesh finance ministry and commerce ministry will be in the Bangladesh delegation for tomorrow's JSC meeting.

Bpl Pak 'fixer' arrested

 

Sports Reporter

Sajid Khan, a Pakistan national, was put on a two-day remand yesterday for questioning in his alleged involvement with match-fixing in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 tournament.

Assistant commissioner of DB (North) Mishuk Chakma told The Daily Star that a Dhaka court granted the remand after the Detective Branch of police produced Sajid, a 35-year-old resident of Karachi, before the court.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) handed over Sajid to the police on Sunday night after their security unit observed dubious activities of the Pakistani national near the players' enclosure and VIP grandstand of the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on the same evening.

“His (Sajid Khan) activities raised serious concern and that's why he was taken for questioning and later handed over to the law enforcers. Now the police are conducting an investigation and we will lend our full support whenever they want. But right now we are not forming an investigation team,” said BCB's spokesman Jalal Yunus yesterday.

It was learnt that Sajid's mobile phone was seized where bank account number of a Pakistani player (reportedly Nasir Jamshed) and e-mail address of another (reportedly Navedul Hasan) were found and it was also traced that he rang a number in Pakistan continuously during the match on Sunday.

BCB's security team kept vigilance on Sajid from Chittagong where his suspicious movements reinforced their watch. Finally the BCB security staff captured Sajid in the restricted zone of the stadium where he should not have entered while he was trying to take the mobile number of Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq.

When asked whether the BCB would question Jamshed, Yunus said: "I also learnt that he (Jamshed) faced questions but I'm not sure. On the other hand, we will definitely take action if the police ask us to bar the departure of any player."

An official of the Chittagong franchise, requesting anonymity, told The Daily Star that Sajid had been found talking to some of their foreign players during the tournament, eliciting suspicion after sitting directly on top of the players' dugout and dressing room during the matches held in Mirpur.

In preliminary interrogations, Sajid claimed he is an import-export businessman and was visiting the country for same purposes. But the DB found in his passport that this is his first visit to Bangladesh when he flew in on February 9, the night before the BPL began.

The unprecedented arrest comes just two weeks after Mashrafe Bin Mortaza reported to his franchise that he had been approached by a fellow cricketer regarding potential spot-fixing during the BPL. A four-member inquiry committee formed by the BCB has already submitted their report to the board president.

Spot-fixing became the biggest story in cricket when in 2010, three Pakistani cricketers -- Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif -- were found guilty and punished by the British government as well as the ICC.

Shortest man on Earth from Nepal

Chandra Bahadur Dangi poses with his certificates.Photo: AFPAfp, Kathmandu

A 72-year-old man from a remote valley in southwestern Nepal yesterday was declared the shortest man ever documented after being measured by Guinness World Records officials.
Chandra Bahadur Dangi stands just 54.6 centimetres (21.5 inches) tall, measurements confirmed, 5.3cm shorter than Filipino Junrey Balawing, the previous holder of the "world's shortest man" title.
"It feels very good -- I'm very happy," Dangi told reporters. "I will work on promoting my country all over the world."
Dangi, who weighs 12 kilogrammes (26.5 pounds), was brought to the attention of the world only three weeks ago after Nepali researchers looking into the history of the Dangi people were introduced to him.
He has also been declared the shortest human adult ever recorded, taking the accolade from India's Gul Mohammed, who was measured at 57cm before he died in 1997 aged 40.
"I'm continually amazed that this record keeps getting broken," Guinness World Records editor-in-chief Craig Glenday said in a statement after the adjudication in the Nepali capital Kathmandu.
"Just when you think it's impossible for the record to get any smaller, Mr. Dangi comes along and astonishes us all.
"What I find equally remarkable is his age -- if he really is 72, he is by far the oldest person to be awarded the shortest-man record in Guinness World Record's 57-year history."
Dangi told AFP in his first interview with Western media earlier this month that recognition at the end of his life would be some compensation for years of hardship.
The pensioner, who was orphaned at 12, says relatives used to display him at freak shows to make money for themselves and that he has never experienced romance or found his soulmate.
"Until now, Chandra's stature has been a burden; he is acutely aware of the difficulties of fitting into an average-sized world and is disappointed at having missed out on the chance to find a wife," Guinness World Records said yesterday.
"He is hopeful, though, that his new title will see a change in his fortunes."
The cause of Dangi's stunted growth remains a mystery as he has never seen a doctor, Guinness said, although many holders of the "world's shortest man" crown have suffered from primordial dwarfism.
"It is hoped that the exposure he receives as a result of his new record will lead to medical advice and support," the statement read.
Dangi earns a sparse living weaving jute headbands and has only ever left his village in poverty-stricken Dang district, 350 kilometres (220 miles) from Kathmandu, a handful of times.
Guinness quoted Dangi, who visited Kathmandu for the first time to be measured, as saying he was too old for marriage but would still like to travel.
"I want to visit foreign countries and meet people from around the world," he said.
Another Nepali, Khagendra Thapa Magar, claimed the title in 2010 after being measured at 67 cm.
Magar's stint as the world's shortest man saw him travel to more than a dozen countries and make television appearances in Europe and the United States.
He was also the official face of Nepal's tourism campaign, which featured him as the smallest man in a country that is home to the world's highest peak, Mount Everest.

National tourism agency misses typo in multi-million pound global advertising campaign

 

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, may be advised to switch on the spell check for its next multi-million pound campaign to promote Britain abroad.

 

Image 2 of 3

The advert is part of VisitBritain’s new £25 million push to attract more foreign visitors to holiday in the UK 

 

Image 2 of 3

The mis-spelling of the Brecon Beacons was spotted by an eagle-eyed tourist on a New York subway advertisement 

Nelson Mandela taken to hospital

Former South African leader Nelson Mandela, 93, was admitted to hospital on Saturday after doctors advised specialist medical attention for a long-standing abdominal complaint.

Nelson Mandela has been taken to hospital suffering from a long-standing stomach complaint Photo: REUTERS

By Aislinn Laing, Johannesburg

8:58AM GMT 25 Feb 2012

Mac Maharaj, a spokesman for President Jacob Zuma, said: "Former president Nelson Mandela was admitted to hospital today, the 25th February 2012."

"Madiba has had a long-standing abdominal complaint and doctors feel it needs proper specialist medical attention."

The health of the increasingly frail anti-apartheid icon, who is affectionately known as Madiba, sparked national fears after he was taken to hospital early last year for an acute respiratory infection.

The hospital he has been admitted to was not specified, although it is likely to be in Johannesburg, where Mr Mandela returned to live last month while his home in Qunu, in the rural Eastern Cape, is rennovated.

"We wish him a speedy recovery and assure him of the love and good wishes of all South Africans and people throughout the world," the statement from the presidency said.

Animal pictures of the week: 24 February 2012

 

A white stoat throws shapes in the snow of the Swabian Alps in German. Amateur photographer Rolf Mueller captured the display of agility. Retired Mercedes worker Mr Mueller, who lives near Stuttgart, said: "It was really difficult to photograph the stoat as it was in motion all the time. They are really fast. They jump back and forth and suddenly stop. You have to be lucky and patient to get a perfect shot."

Air strikes hit Gaza after rockets fired

ISRAELI warplanes have struck the Gaza Strip hours after Palestinian militants fired two rockets at southern Israel.
"Israeli army aircraft thwarted an attempt by a terrorist squad to fire rockets at Israel from the northern Gaza Strip," an army statement said.
Palestinian sources said two residents of the Zeitun neighbourhood suffered minor injuries.
Hours later, the army said it carried out another strike on northern Gaza.
On Thursday night, Palestinian militants fired two rockets at Israel, neither of which caused casualties or damage.
Palestinian militant group the Popular Resistance Committee (PRC) said it had launched a Grad rocket at Israel.
A brief statement said it was "in defence of Al-Quds," the Arabic name for Jerusalem, as recent days have seen a rise in tensions in the Old City compound that houses the Al-Aqsa mosque.
A demonstration in support of Palestinian sovereignty in Jerusalem was to be held in Gaza later on Friday.
The PRC statement comes as the other Palestinian factions were in Cairo, where talks on forming a unity government between Fatah and Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, have been postponed.
The PRC is not part of the Cairo process for Palestinian unity.
Last weekend, four Palestinians were wounded in Israeli air strikes on Gaza, which came after four rockets hit southern Israel.
Since the beginning of the year, Palestinian militants in Hamas-controlled Gaza have fired more than 40 rockets at southern Israel, according to army figures.
Hamas has maintained a tacit truce with Israel, but other armed groups regularly fire rockets across the border, usually sparking retaliatory air strikes.

Animals captured in mid-air by wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein

 

Paul says: "For the money shot there must be no part of the animal attached to a tree/branch/ice or rock. It does not matter if it is an 'air's breath' away, but just nothing touching."

The Big Picture photography competition: round 192

 

This week's Big Picture winner – and recipient of a Nikon Coolpix S9100 camera worth £249.99 – is Oliver Dixon of East Horsley, Surrey, for this image of a double-decker bus crossing Waterloo Bridge, in London

Animals captured in mid-air by wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein

 

Wildebeest, Mara River, Masai Mara, Kenya

Celebrity sightings

Eddie Redmayne, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Mario Testino at Burberry Prorsum Show Autumn Winter 2012, London Fashion Week

Pictures of the day: 21 February 2012

 

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has released images of plasma shifting back and forth above the sun's surface for 30 hours. On February 7th - 8th an active region rotating into view provides a bright backdrop to the gyrating streams of plasma. The particles are being pulled in various directions by competing magnetic forces. They are tracking along strands of magnetic field lines. This kind of detailed solar observation with high-resolution frames and a four-minute cadence was not possible until SDO, which launched two years ago on February 11th, 2010.

Pictures of the day: 21 February 2012

 

A rocket flies through the aurora borealis after lifting off from the University of Alaska's Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks, Alaska. The mission was launched by a NASA funded group of 60 researchers studying electrical activity in the aurora borealis and the likelihood it is interfering with GPS and other signals. Cornell University says the 46-foot rocket sent back data as it flew through the aurora at an altitude of 217 miles.

Bollywood's 'most expensive' film Ra.One to hit cinemas

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India's superhero film Ra.One, billed as the most expensive Bollywood film to date, releases on Wednesday to coincide with the Hindu festival of Diwali.

The film, which premiered in London on Tuesday evening, will open in about 5,000 screens worldwide.

The movie stars Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role, which appears to be a cross between Spider-man and Iron Man.

Initial reviews praised the film's ambitious special effects, but said the plot was underwhelming.

Khan, who is also the producer, is engaged in an aggressive marketing blitz to promote the $30m (£21m) film.

Some trade analysts say the production, which will be screened in around 3,500 cinemas in India, has already recovered 70% of its costs.

Full-page newspaper advertisements, film merchandising, video and online games, and iPhone-iPad applications have been used to publicise it.

It remains to be seen if the film will live up to the hype

Speaking to the BBC at the film's London gala, Khan denied that its superhero content is an immediate attempt to take on Hollywood at its own game.

"If the technology goes ahead, we'd be able to compete with Hollywood later on in terms of quality. Unless we have the quality and the length, we won't be able to compete."

"We're trying to increasingly make Bollywood films that are seen in Hollywood, so we're going there," he added.

Early reviews have been mixed. The Times Of India called Ra.One a "classy sci-fi film" that "sets the viewers' adrenalin soaring".

But Indian entertainment website Rediff Movies branded the film "Shah Rukh Khan's most expensive midlife crisis", describing the story as "one long disjoined chain of events" with the "sole purpose of being able to show the (almost) 46-year-old actor performing some breathtaking stunts".

Hindi broadcaster Zee News, meanwhile, praised the "thrilling action sequences, mind blowing special effects [and] foot tapping numbers", while being critical of the "hollow script".

Regardless of critical opinion, the film is expected to be a lucrative box office hit.

Director Anubhav Sinha has in the past described it as a "sci-fi, comedy, romance, father-son relationship, superhero, good over evil fight to save the world".

The film also stars actors Kareen Kapoor and Arjun Rampal. The musical score has been composed by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani.

The film, initially scheduled for release in June, has suffered delays due to the extensive special effects and 3D production work.

Pictures of the day

Pictures of the day: 20 February 2012

A mantis appears to have struck up an very unlikely friendship with a tiny insect. Photographer Nordin Seruyan took several shots of the unusual pairing after finding them in his back garden in Borneo, Indonesia.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2012

Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2012: the first night of parades in the Sambadrome

Rio de Janeiro's annual Carnival kicked off as top samba schools paraded sumptuous allegorical floats and hundreds of exquisitely costumed performers to thumping drum beats. Seven top schools showed off their best performers in the city's renovated Sambodrome's 720-metre-long (2400-foot) avenue in front of a capacity crowd of 72,500 people. Six other schools are to parade on Monday night as part of the hotly contested event to pick the Carnival champion, judged on choreography, music, dancing and creativity.
Members of Beija-Flor samba school perform during the first day of parades of Carnival of Rio de Janeiro at the Sambadrome

Road crashes in two dists kill 10

Onlookers gather after a bus plunged into a roadside ditch in Mirzapur upazila of Tangail Sunday morning, killing six people and injuring 30 others. Photo: Star Star Online Report

Ten persons including two policemen were killed and 32 injured in separate road crashes in Rajbari and Tangail early Sunday.



Among the deceased, four died in Rajbari and six died in Tangail.



In Rajbari, four persons including two policemen were killed and two injured as a BRTC bus hit a microbus carrying law enforcers from Madaripur Sadar Police Station.



Our Faridpur and Manikganj correspondents reported quoting police that a Madaripur-bound microbus from Rajshahi skidded off the Rajbari-Kushtia highway as an oncoming BRTC bus rammed it at Afra in Rajbari Sadar upazila around 6:30am.



Abdul Mannan Molla, sub-inspector of Madaripur Sadar Police Station; constable Selim of the same police station and Shamsuddin, a court clerk (Muhuri); and driver of the microbus, Lal Miah Majid, died on the spot, said Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Pangsha Police Station of Rajbari.



Injured constables – Ashraf Ali and Nurjahan – were admitted to Rajbari Sadar Hospital.



Our Tangail correspondent reported that a passenger bus plunged in a roadside ditch in Mirzapur upazila around 12:15am.



Quoting injured passengers, Sanwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gorai Highway Police Station, said a Pabna-bound bus of 'Mahanagar Paribahan' from Dhaka veered off the highway as its driver lost his control over the steering and fell into a 30-foot deep ditch.



The bus, carrying about 40 passengers, was crossing a speed breaker when the accident took place in Savulla area of the upazila, he added.



Five passengers including the driver of the bus died on the spot while 31 injured. Another passenger succumbed to his injuries after admitting to Mirzapur Kumudini Hospital.



Hearing announcement made from a local mosque, locals rushed to the spot and managed to rescue the injured. Highway police and firefighters also joined locals in the rescue.



Nine injured bus passengers were admitted to the hospital. Of them, condition of two was stated to be critical.



The deceased are: Shokjan Begum, 50, of Sadar upazila, Abdul Hamid Sardar, 45, of Sujanagar upazila, Jamal Mondol, 35, of Ataikula upazila, Hafizur Rahman, 36, of Sujanagar upazila of Pabna district; Saiful Mollah, 25, of Shahjadpur upazila and Jahirul Islam, 45, of Ullapara upazila of Sirajganj district.



Mirzapur police recovered the bodies and sent those to Tangail General Hospital morgue for autopsy.



Most of the injured are from different upazilas of Pabna district, hospital sources said

PM seeks int’l support for war criminals’ trial

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina UNB, Dhaka

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday sought all-out support and solidarity of the international community towards Bangladesh’s initiative for holding the trial of the war criminals to establish truth and justice.



“I hope the world Bengali community will carry out their duty to this end,” she said at the inaugural function of the First International Bengali Conference at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city.



Renowned British poet and researcher on Bengali language and culture William Radecchi spoke as special guest at the function organised by London-based Bengali International.



President of Bengali International Shamsul Haque and Dr Benu Bhushan Chowdhury, among others, also spoke at the function. Cultural personality Nasir Uddin Yusuf Bachchu gave the welcome address.



Addressing the function as chief guest, Sheikh Hasina said the entire nation is indebted to three million martyrs and uncountable number of oppressed people of liberation war for holding the trial of the war criminals.



She said the present government brought the war criminals under the purview of law in keeping with its election pledge, as it was a popular demand during the last general elections.



The Prime Minister said that her government wants continuation of the democratic process in the country in a bid to ensure proper nurturing of the Bengali language and culture.



She mentioned that in the last three years some 5,500 elections including union parishad, upazila parishad and municipalities were held in the country, and none could raise any complain even against one such election.



“We’ve strengthened the election commission and there was no interference from the government,” she said.



Hasina said that her government has been able to introduce a fair electoral process in the country, as its goal is to ensure basic and constitutional rights of the people of Bangladesh.



She said: “Bangalee, Bangla and Bangladesh are tied with a single string and is complementary to each other. A nation, a language and a country in one is a rare example in the world. It is our unique characteristic and pride.”



The premier went on saying that the Bangalee nation proved their strength sixty years ago through establishing its right of language in exchange of blood in 1952.



The great language movement had led to the flourishing of a non-communal spirit, and the people of all religions, caste and creed forged unity with the identity of Bengali language and culture, she said.



She also mentioned the partitioning of British India in 1947, the Language Movement in 1952, and the emergence of a language based independent country through the war of liberation in 1971 under the stewardship of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujbur Rahman.



Hasina said Bangabandhu, who braved many obstacles, used to say `I am a Bangalee, and the realization of the rights of Bangalees is my dream’.



“And under his firm leadership the Bangalee nation stood up with their heads held high in 1971,” she said.



The premier said it was unfortunate for the nation that the assassination of Bangabandhu along with most of his family members in 1975 led to the emergence of anti-liberation forces in the country.



“Secular and non-communal spirit of the constitution was removed and militancy created through misinterpretation of Islam,” she lamented.



Hasina said the spirit of the liberation war got back the constitutional recognition as her government restored the non-communal and secular spirit of the constitution through necessary amendments.



She recalled the contribution of all expatriate Bengalis in all achievements of the nation including establishing February 21 as the International Mother Language day.



She said the litterateurs and historians at home and abroad portrayed the characteristics of Bengalis in different ways - an emotional Bengali is soft like clay, but also firm and courageous, ready to make supreme sacrifice for the nation in times of need.



The premier said the Bengali nation did not retreat during the Pakistani military rule in 1958, and the unique role that Bangabandhu had played for realizing the democratic rights has become a glorious chapter in the history of national freedom movement of the Third World.



“Bangladesh and Bengali society flourished in different ways over the 40 years of independence. There are a huge number of immigrant and expatriate Bengalis, and there are both challenges and opportunities.”



She said: “I hope the Bishwa Bangalee Samaj (international Bengali community) will be able to turn these challenges into opportunity.”



Hasina also said that the present government is trying to establish Bangla as one of the official languages of the United Nations.

Death penalty for terrorism

BSS, Dhaka

The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2012 was passed in the Jatiya Sangsad on Thursday, keeping a provision for capital punishment (death sentence) as the maximum punishment.



The House passed the bill by voice vote with Deputy Speaker Col (retd) Shawkat Ali in the chair.



Home Minister Shahara Khatun proposed the bill titled 'Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2012 in the parliament for passage.



Earlier, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on

Home Ministry Maj Gen (retd) Abdus Salam placed the scrutinised report on the bill.



The home minister said the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill was brought to resist various criminal activities and to safeguard the sovereignty of Bangladesh.



The Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009 has been amended to stop use of Bangladeshi land for conducting any terrorist activities inside the country or other countries, all types of illegal arms, carrying explosives and creating panic among the people through any terrorist activity.

Ghulam Azam trial may cause political instability, says Al Jazeera

The screenshot of the online report of Al Jazeera on ex-Jamaat chief Ghulam Azam's trial.Star Online Report

The Al Jazeera television has reported that the trial of former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam for crimes against humanity may throw Bangladesh into further political instability.

The observation came in a report the Qatar-based television carried Wednesday.

In a tone seemingly downplaying the need of the trial, the report said Ghulam Azam is being tried for crimes against humanity committed more than 40 years ago.

“The 89-year-old Azam cannot walk, cannot see, nor can he really hear. Yet he has 10 armed police officers watching him at all times,” said the report.

Saying that the prosecution of war criminals was part of Sheikh Hasina’s election manifesto, it said the incumbent government is determined to fulfil the pledge.

Quoting officials as saying that three million people died in the nine-month “conflict” in 1971, the report said “the country's war crimes tribunal believes he collaborated with Pakistan's army, orchestrating mass killings during Bangladesh's 1971 war of independence with Pakistan”.

The reporter identified Ghulam Azam as “like no other detainee”, adding that he led the Jamaat until 2000.

The Al Jazeera report said a recent hearing by the UN working group on arbitrary detentions concluded the detention of Ghulam Azam and others as “arbitrary and in breach of international law”.

Talking to the TV, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed rejected the accusation.

He said: “This tribunal is not an international war crimes tribunal, this is a domestic tribunal.”

“Those who have been arrested are facing trial. So it’s not an illegal detention,” added Ahmed.

If found guilty Azam will face the death penalty, the report said.

“Whatever decisions this court (International Crimes Tribunal) comes to, it will have dramatic consequences. It may bring justice to many but at the price of throwing Bangladesh into further political instability,” said the report.