HEALTH

Coconut works wonders for your skin

Kajal Agrawal on how to keep your skin smart and radiant…

Skin-tillating

Make up mantraf stress on it. To re-vitalise my skin, I prefer using natural, fruit-based moisturisers. Coconut-based products are fantastic as they penetrate right into the skin giving it a hydrated, quenched look all day long. Be it on the sets or the red carpet, I make sure my skin is moisturised. I also ensure that I use a dual protection, broad spectrum sun screen before stepping out. Last but not least, my diet includes lots oys made me use natural ingredients for my skin and hair. This has stood me in really good stead in keeping my hair and skin healthy and beautiful from within. Honey, lime juice and yoghurt is my favourite skin cleansing pack with its anti-bacterial properties, while coconut is another great skin nourisher that moisturises and hydrates the skin in unique ways. For my hair, whenever I’m having a bad hair day, a quick oil massage with a hot towel treatment gives my hair deep conditioning to rejuvenate its shine. When washing my hair, in the last rinse I squeeze a dash of lemon to get instant shine! (click here for more )

TRAVEL

Naturally Narail

WE were supposed to visit Narail months ago. But then many moons moaned by and all our plans collapsed one after another for one reason or another. Finally when we found time, it began with a disaster.

On a perfectly nice winter morning, we parked our car at the Mawa police station for two nights and went over to the speedboat terminal. On the other side of the Padma would wait a microbus. This arrangement would have been the quickest to Narail. With a heavy backpack and the jacket wrapped round my hand, I first stepped on the front deck of the speedboat. As I was about to step inside the canopy, two more halfwit fellow travellers with no knowledge of a speedboat’s behaviour jumped in.

It took a second for the boat to rock vigorously, like a bucking horse; and the next second I found myself floating on the Padma. My backpack felt like a tonne of brick and impossible to dislodge. My jackets were fitted tightly. Somehow I swam against a current that was trying to carry me out to the middle. Then I found the white hull of the speedboat above my head. I grabbed its edge and calmed myself.

Then I was laughing manically. All those birdbrains responsible for the mayhem and my watery state were also in water. All with their backpacks and one of them swimming like a rat thrown into the pond.

There were people stretching out their hands to me and I caught a few of them, or they rather caught me and pulled. Try to climb onto a speedboat from the river and find out how difficult it is. Almost when I was thinking the rest of my life would be spent on the Padma bobbing like the float of a fishing rod, they landed me on the deck. The rest were rescued as well.

Drenched, we sat like some catfish and chattered teeth as the speedboat roared through the Padma for half an hour. I tried to see the best of the river view — the seagulls dancing on the waves, the long sandy beaches and wonderful squirt of silts thrown up by dredgers looking like whales spraying water.

Thankfully, the chilly ride was over, but not our indignation. All the fools on the other side of the bank — from village morons to newly-wed girls going to in-law’s house — asked if we fell over the speedboat. Our answers varied — No, we were scuba-diving, only we forgot to change clothes; No, we were up in the sky too high and got drenched by the clouds; No, we are Argentinean pearl fishers.

……………………………………….

Once on the other side, the journey transformed into one of bliss and wonderment. The road was wide and empty eerily empty for Bangladesh . For minutes we traveled before meeting another vehicle. The roadside view also changed dramatically. The fields spread away to the horizon and uncountable palm trees gave that special feature to the landscape. Then I realized all those tals we have in Dhaka must have come from here. Jute sticks were piled up along the road in the most interesting fashion. The stacks looked like witches’ hats.

In exactly four and a half hours from our journey in Dhaka we found a narrow side road and followed it to a beautiful river. The narrow river meandered very gracefully through bright yellow mustard fields. Not a ripple in it. Its marbled water looked almost blue. Only occasionally a jute-laden boat would appear lazily and sail away.

A few blackened figures stood knee-deep in the river and used buckets to throw water onto their saplings on the slanted paddy fields. We looked at the cotton-balling clouds above and inhaled the utterly village smell — of water, mud, mustard and paddy — and knew heaven is here.

There was a strange ferry here — a private one inscribed “Arunima Modhumoti Ferry” on it. Its triangle shape made us to research out that it was in fact the sawed-off front of a steel boat, probably a cargo ship. A Chinese diesel engine has been fitted to its side in a watchtower like room.

It took us a few minutes to cross the ferry. Here we had to board a rickshaw-van. A ten-minute trip through a village took us to the resort Arunima Countriside. The tree-frilled wide road welcomed us inside the sprawling resort to a cosy bungalow.

It’s a beautiful place full of tall trees and big ponds. There was a beel as well — a water body so huge that the end part of it had been turned into a bird sanctuary. Amid thousands of red lotus were nesting the winter birds, mostly whistling teals, cormorants, egrets and herons.

On the bank of the beel is the dining place. We watched the birds cackling and whistling and rising above the water and dropping again as we had our lunch.

I took a stroll around the resort. It has many promises. The whole place has been turned into a golf course as well. We were told that a team from Dhaka Club had recently come here to play. The landscaping has been outstanding at places. So close to the Dhaka city, it could be anybody’s dream retreat. With conference rooms and all, a corporate attraction.

The bamboo rooms with ACs and all by the beel are interesting. Only their balconies are too narrow for any meaningful lazing.

………………………………..……….……..

There was this big field behind our bungalow and a high ground for the golf tee. We sat there in the after we wondered. First I thought they were tourists enjoying the Padma cruise. But what interests should tourists find here? Then th it was a good ndg sun. A long stretch of tall trees lined round the field like a looming forest.

Suddenly the sun died down and a fine layer of mist settled in. A little girl in a red frock limped along the field. The sun was now hanging very low, looking like a pink fireball. The horses neighed. The cackling of the birds peaked as their nesting time neared.

We watched the whole Dalisque transformation of nature and felt content. and flooded the river silver. We could see as far as the farthest bend. The river lay there prattling some mysterious songs to the universe.

We listened as a perfect night closed in.

…………………………………………….

It was time to come back. This time at Mawa we were extra cautious while getting on the speedboat. One after another we filed ourselves. No rush. Ah. All safe.

After about fifteen minutes we were in the middle of the Padma and something queer caught our eyes. Lots of speedboats were moored in the mid-river. What are they doing, we wondered. First I thought they were tourists enjoying the Padma cruise. But what interests should tourists find here? Then they must be some year. The rain had lifted the crops in time and the pests were few.

Then I heard the unmistakable hoots. Our searching eyes found two owlets sitting in the gathering dusk on the electric line passing over the barren field. They were waiting for the field mice to come out.

We left them to their own affairs and walked to the Modhumati river. A half moon had cast a magic spell and flooded the river silver. We could see as far as the farthest bend. The river lay there prattling some mysterious songs to the universe.

We listened as a perfect night closed in.

…………………………………………….

It was time to come back. This time at Mawa we were extra cautious while getting on the speedboat. One after another we filed ourselves. No rush. Ah. All safe.

After about fifteen minutes we were in the middle of the Padma and something queer caught our eyes. Lots of speedboats were moored in the mid-river. What are they doing, we wondered. First I thought they were tourists enjoying the Padma cruise. But what interests should tourists find here? Then they must be some kind of geological surveyors looking for minerals. But then why so many women and children?

Just then our speedboat passed by one stationary boat. To our surprise we found that the outboard engine had been taken apart and the boatman was fiddling with it. Then we passed another boat and its engine was also dismounted. We passed another and another. And then we realized what had happened. The river was so shallow here that the boats were all stuck.

Hardly a second went by before our boat suddenly stopped with a sudden jerk and three of us just simply tumbled over into the river. The same three. I stood up sheepishly, all wet once again. But then I again started laughing maniacally.

Whoever has ever heard of the Padma flowing just ankle deep in midstream?

Source : The Daily Star

BUSINESS

Stocks swing to the black in choppy trade

Investors take to the streets to protest a huge fall in early trading on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Motijheel in the capital yesterday. The benchmark index closed higher later in the day. Photo: STARStar Business Report

Stocks bounced back yesterday, breaking a losing streak of seven days, on the back of a buying pressure from institutional investors.

DGEN, the main gauge of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, dropped around 150 points by midday, only to recover enough to pull the index back in the black by the close of the trading session.

The price-earnings ratio fell below 13 -- meaning it was a good time to buy -- which persuaded institutional investors to get in the act, market insiders said.

The DGEN eventually finished with 4,077 points, after gaining 88 points from the previous day.

IDLC, City Brokerage, ICB Securities, Salta Capital and NCCB Securities topped the list of net buy, their figures being Tk 8.75 crore, Tk 6.32 crore, Tk 4.12 crore, Tk 3.56 crore and Tk 1.84 crore respectively.

“Opportunist investors, who have reduced their portfolio exposure earlier and waited for favourable conditions, became active as prices looked rewarding for most of the investment grade stocks,” IDLC Investments Ltd said.

The merchant bank's Managing Director Md Moniruzzaman said an investment opportunity was created when the market fell below the 4,000-level, which, the investors grabbed with both hands.

Akter Hossain Sannamat, managing director and chief executive officer of Union Capital, said investors' low confidence led the market to fluctuate dramatically.

The market made a dramatic u-turn, thanks to the institutional investors, said Sannamat.

“They went on a buying spree as most of the good stocks became lucrative for long-term investments.”

He asked institutional investors to continue to be active in the market as it will enhance the confidence of small investors.

He also urged the government to take stockmarket-friendly actions to increase the flow of money.

Turnover, volume and trade were up by 8.81 percent, 12.51 percent and 18.31 percent respectively.

A total of 5.1 crore shares were traded, generating a turnover of Tk 201 crore.

On the DSE, 228 shares gained, 28 declined and 10 remained unchanged.

Source : The daily star

Govt urged to bust market syndicate in Ramadan

Economists, business and consumer rights leaders on Monday demanded that the government should take proper steps to crack down syndicates to keep the prices of essential commodities within the purchasing capacity of consumers in the month of Ramadan.
At a dialogue with commerce minister GM Quader, they also suggested the government to strengthen Trading Corporation of Bangladesh for making it capable to intervene into the market to keep it stable.
Private satellite channel Desh TV and Prime Bank Ltd jointly orssociation of Bangladesh, said, ‘Consumers are helpless and no one listens to them.’
‘The prices of essential commodities have increased abnormally ahead of Ramadan. So, the government should take steps to bring down the prices to the level of consumers’ purchasing capacity,’ he said.
He also emphasised on forming a strong, powerful and independent commission soon to implement competition law to ensure a healthy competition in business practices by breaking cartels and syndicates.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce of Industry president AK Azad suggested strengthening monitoring system and consumers’ awareness to protect their rights.
Manusher Jonno Foundation executive director Shaheen Anam said that the prices had alre come down in the coming days as the government would make several interventions to keep the prices within the purchasing capacity of consumers.
‘We have already opened import of eggs for all and imposed restriction on export of green chilli, onion, garlic and aubergine to bring the soaring prices down in Ramadan,’ he said.
He said that though the consumers were suffering because of exorbitant prices of commodities ahead of Ramadan, they would start to get benefits of the government’s interventions in coming days.
Quazi Faruque, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh, said, ‘Consumers are helpless and no one listens to them.’
‘The prices of essential commodities have increased abnormally ahead of Ramadan. So, the government should take steps to bring down the prices to the level of consumers’ purchasing capacity,’ he said.
He also emphasised on forming a strong, powerful and independent commission soon to implement competition law to ensure a healthy competition in business practices by breaking cartels and syndicates.
Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce of Industry president AK Azad suggested strengthening monitoring system and consumers’ awareness to protect their rights.
Manusher Jonno Foundation executive director Shaheen Anam said that the prices had already increased by 40 per cent though the government declared that businessmen could not make profit more than 10 per cent.
Former adviser to the caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan, Bangladesh Krishi Bank chairman Khondkar Ibrahim Khaled and Nijera Kori coordinator Khushi Kabir, spoke, among others.
TCB chairman Sarwar Jahan Talukder, Bangladesh Tariff Commission chairman Mozibur Rahman and National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate director general Abul Hossain Mia were present.
Desh TV managing director Asaduzzaman Noor moderated the programme.

Source: The New Age

ENTERTAINMENT

Kate and Pippa Middleton Have a Girls’ Day at Wimbledon

The Middletons had a girls’ day out at the men’s final at Wimbledon today. Duchess Kate and her ultra popular sister Pippa sat front row in the royals box (yes, it really exists) at the London event Sunday.

Prince William was unable to make the event because of a prior engagement, so it was just the gals at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. They seemed to enjoy themselves while rooting for Britain’s Andy Murray over Swiss pro Roger Federer, but, let’s get to the good stuff: They both looked fabulous. Pippa looked great in a light-blue print dress while Kate wore a cream jacket from Joseph over her dress by the same brand.
The sisters chatted with Victoria and David Beckham, who apparently got a babysitter and scored seats in said royals box, and didn’t seem to take Murray’s loss too hard. Federer won the title for the seventh time.

Source: Zimbio

SPORTS

Tigers leave for Europe

ANOTHER FEATHER ON HIS CAP: Shakib Al Hasan (R) chats with Tigers teammate Tamim Iqbal at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport yesterday ahead of their flight to Belfast. Shakib has now remained the No. 1 ODI all-rounder for 432 matches, equalling Jacques Kallis's record at the top.Photo: STARSports Reporter

The Tigers left Dhaka yesterday to play five T20 internationals during their Europe trip as part of preparations for the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 to be held in Sri Lanka in September this year.

Mushfiqur Rahim's men will open the tour with a practice match against an Ireland XI at Belfast on July 16. They will play the three-match T20 internationals series against Ireland on July 18 and play the remaining two games on July 20 and 21.

Afterwards, they will travel to the Netherlands to play one T20 international against Scotland on July 24 and their last game against Netherlands on July 25.

Bangladesh's record in T20 cricket is not good and due to a lack of international matches they are not even in the ICC T20 international rankings. As a result, this tour is important for the Tigers as there is a chance for them to break into the table if they can win matches on this tour.

Bangladesh have so far played 18 T20 internationals, winning only four and having lost their only T20 match against Ireland -- a six-wicket defeat at Trent Bridge in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20s.

Meanwhile left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak, who recently got married, will fly for Ireland on July 14 along with chief selector Akram Khan and head of delegation and BCB's vice-president Ahmed Sajjadul Alam.

Iniesta ties the knot in Barcelona studded affair

Andres Iniesta married his long-time partner – and mother of his daughter, Valeria – Anna Ortiz on Sunday in a relatively ‘Barca’ studded affair at the Tamarit Castle, a lovely tucked away venue he had booked months in advance. Felicitats!
Guests poured in to celebrate the phenomenal player’s big day with him and Gerard Pique, who drove into the venue which was surrounded by fences, couldn’t help but compare the spectacle of cheering fans to the ‘Tour de France’.
The ceremony was held in the castle gardens and Iniesta was escorted into the venue by his dear mother as the theme song from ‘Gladiator‘ (his favourite film) played out in the background. A few minutes later, Anna, accompanied by her dress designer, Teresa Helbig, walked in to the tune of the late Whitney Houston’s ‘I will always love you’ from the ‘Bodyguard’ film. Anna opted for the vintage look complete with her Amelia Earhart inspired headwear.
Wedding guests included many of Iniesta’s club team-mates including Leo Messi, Victor Valdes and partner Yolanda, Gerard Pique (alone, as Shakira is now recording her new song in Portugal),Cesc Fabregas and the stunning Daniella Semaan, Pedro and his girlfriend, Puyol and Gabi Milito. One of the first guests to arrive at the Tamarit Castle was Iniesta’s best friend, Xavi. Emotional!
Pep Guardiola did not attend the wedding ceremony but joined the banquet at the Mas d’en Ros restaurant with his wife afterwards, where he obviously offered a toast to the new couple.

Source : New Age

World

Clinton on historic Laos visit

Clinton's landmark visit to Laos is part of a trip signalling growing US interest in Asia

Hillary Clinton is due in Laos as the first US secretary of state to visit the country in 57 years.
She is expected to discuss plans to build a controversial Mekong River dam, which critics say would impact the environment and millions of lives.
The effects of Agent Orange, a defoliant used during the Vietnam war, are also likely to be on the agenda.
Clinton, who arrives in Vientiane from Vietnam, will then head to Cambodia for an Asean meeting.
The last top US diplomat to visit Laos was John Foster Dulles in 1955.
The $3.8bn (£650m) hydro-electric dam project at Xayaburi has caused tension among Mekong region countries - Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.
In April, a multi-billion dollar contract was signed for a Thai company, CH Karnchang, to build the dam.
The Lao government has pledged not to go ahead with the project until environmental issues have been resolved.
However, activists say work on the project has already begun, with reports and photographs emerging of construction vehicles in the area.
'Pivot toward Asia'
Clinton's trip is part of a tour of Asia which analysts say signals the United States' growing interest in the region.
"My trip reflects a strategic priority of American foreign policy today," she told reporters in Mongolia earlier this week.
"After 10 years in which we focused a great deal of attention on the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States is making substantially increased investments - diplomatic, economic, strategic and otherwise - in this part of the world. It's what we call our pivot toward Asia."
At the Asean regional forum later this week in the Cambodian capital, where she will join counterparts from the 10-nation bloc and other Asian countries, including China, tension in the South China Sea is expected to top the agenda.
She had earlier urged progress on a code of conduct for resolving conflict in the disputed waters between China and several South East Asian nations.

Source : BBC Online

Official: Hong Kong drug operation hauls $98 million worth of cocaine

A joint drug investigation in Hong Kong hauled a record cocaine shipment worth an estimated street value of U.S. $98 million, customs officials said.

The Customs Drug Investigation Bureau of Hong Kong seized 649 kilograms (about 1,425 pounds) of cocaine from a shipping container that arrived from Ecuador, Lee Cheung-wing, the head of the Custom Drug Investigation Bureau, said in a statement released Friday.

Three people, described by Lee, as “local men” were arrested in connection with the seizure, which occurred Wednesday and was made public Friday.

The drug operation began in April when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began tipping Hong Kong authorities to the arrival of containers from South America, Lee said.

The tips that continued through June came as a result of a joint drug investigation, codenamed “Surfing Coke,” that saw Hong Kong customs authorities partner with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to combat drug trafficking, Lee said.

Neither the DEA nor Customs and Border Protection released details on the drug operation, and their respective Washington offices did not immediately respond to request for comment early Saturday.

Hong Kong customs officials visited three South American countries where they met with their respective counterparts during the investigation, trips that were aimed at “enhancing the mutual anti-narcotics cooperation and intelligence exchange,” Lee said.

The cocaine was in a shipment that arrived this week in Hong Kong from Guayaquil, Ecuador, according to Lee.

“Customs officials found inside the container 22 nylon bags containing a total of 541 slabs of cocaine,” he said.

“In the afternoon on the same day, a container truck took the container and delivered it to a designated location for collection by two other men.”

The 52-year-old driver and two other men, ages 34 and 37, face charges of drug trafficking. The three men were scheduled to appear in court to answer the charges on Sunday, Lee said.

Source: CNN

Assad proposes gradual steps to end Syria violence

BAGHDAD, July 10 (bdnews24.com/Reuters) - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has suggested ending Syria's conflict on a step-by-step basis, starting with districts that have seen the worst violence, international mediator Kofi Annan told a press conference in Tehran on Tuesday.

Annan met Assad in Damascus on Monday at the start of a round of shuttle diplomacy to try to revive his moribund plan for ending Syria's 16-month-old crisis.

He said Assad had suggested "building an approach from the ground up in some of the districts where we have extreme violence - to try and contain the violence in those districts and, step by step, build up and end the violence across the country".

Annan, who represents the United Nations and the Arab League, said he needed to discuss the proposal with the Syrian opposition and could not give further details.

It was not clear how or where he planned to do this. After talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Annan flew to Baghdad.

The French Foreign Ministry said he would present the conclusions of his tour to the Security Council in New York on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Syria's major ally Russia proposed what sounded like an alternative to the Western-backed, anti-Assad "Friends of Syria" forum, with an offer to visiting Syrian opposition groups to host regular meetings of Annan's "action group" of countries, which is more balanced between pro- and anti-Assad influences.

"We would welcome the organization of a regular session of an 'action group' in Moscow ... In any case we see the relevance in carrying out such an event," Interfax news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.

The Syrian National Council - the main opposition umbrella group in exile - is due to hold talks on Wednesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Its delegation of 10 members is led by the group's head, Abdelbasset Sida.

BIG POWER DIFFERENCES

Major powers agreed at a meeting with Annan onal-Zor, on the road to Iraq, a volunteer medic was killed and at least four soldiers died in fighting.

Clashes were also reported obr />Russia says the plan cannot pre-suppose that Assad will step down, but Western powers say he must go, and the Syrian opposition say that is their basic condition.

At least 17,129 people have been killed in Syria's 16-month-old revolt, according to the activist Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

It said 11,897 civilians or armed insurgents had been killed by Assad's forces, but that it could not determine how many fell into each category. It also estimated that on. Locals said they were under fire for five hours overnight, following sporadic shelling in the area for days.

It was the second fatal attack in Lebanon in three days. Three people were killed on Lebanese territory by mortar fire from Syria at the weekend

Source: bdnews24

Bangladesh

   Buet plunges into crisis

Deans of all faculties, heads of depts, institutes resign en masse protesting 'irregularities'; Syndicate for judicial probe

Teachers, students, and employees of Buet hold a rally in front of its administrative building in Dhaka yesterday demanding resignation of the VC and pro-VC.Photo: STARStaff Correspondent

Heads of all faculties, institutes and departments of Buet yesterday resigned en masse expressing no-confidence in the university administration over “irregularities” in promotions and appointments.

They submitted a resignation letter at the VC's office, hours after the teachers began an indefinite sit-in to press home their demands that include the resignations of the vice-chancellor and the pro-vice-chancellor.

The deans of five faculties, directors of three institutes and chairmen of 17 departments of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology signed the letter addressed to the vice-chancellor.

Those who quit their posts, however, still remain in the institution as faculty members and will continue to take part in the ongoing agitation under the banner of Buet Teachers' Association.

The resignations came a day after the Buet authorities declared a 44-day vacation amid teachers-students agitation. With yesterday's developments the leading engineering university of the country plunged into a major crisis threatening the academic activities of students.

In the letter, the teachers who resigned said they had no confidence in the activities of the VC and pro-VC who had committed “irregularities” in promoting a teacher to the registrar's position and creating the post of pro-vice-chancellor.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Nazrul Islam, however, termed the mass resignations "improper" and "unacceptable".

"The way the teachers resigned was improper as they gave signatures on a piece of paper and sent it to my office. It was a symbolic resignation and it was done to mount pressure on me and to get media attention," he told The Daily Star.

Meanwhile, an emergency syndicate meeting of the university yesterday decided to ask the chancellor of the university, President Zillur Rahman, to form a judicial enquiry commission to probe the teachers' allegations against the VC and pro-VC.

After the meeting, VC Nazrul Islam told the media that the syndicate had also decided to consult with the agitating teachers on finding an amicable solution to the crisis. It also approved the 44-day vacation the university went into yesterday, added the VC.

Some of the teachers who resigned told The Daily Star yesterday that they had done so for the sake of the students' and the institution's future. "There is no atmosphere to work under the incumbent administration. The vice-chancellor has been involved in controversial activities one after another since he assumed office," said Prof Shakil Akhtar, chairman of the department of Urban Rural Planning.

According to the teachers, the university authorities' appointment of Habibur Rahman, a professor of the civil engineering department, to the post of pro-VC was based solely on his political affiliation.

The university authorities violated the Buet custom of maintaining seniority regarding promotions and appointments, claimed the teachers' association, adding that the VC had begun a massive restructuring of the university administration since he took over on August 31, 2010.

They claimed that Deputy Registrar Kamal Ahmed had been appointed to the post of interim registrar through violating university convention. They also charged that the administration had changed the scores of two students.

The teachers' association has been agitating for several months demanding the removal of the VC and pro-VC. They observed a 28-day work abstention from April 7 but suspended their programme on the assurance of the prime minister and education minister that their demands would be looked into.

On May 9, the Buet authorities formed a probe committee to look into the allegations made by the teachers' association. The committee submitted its report on June 12 but the association rejected the probe report.

Buet, considered by many as the best educational institution in the country in terms of quality, went on a long summer, Ramadan, Shab-e-Qadr and Eid-ul-Fitr vacation yesterday. It will remain closed for 44 days at a stretch.

The announcement of the closure of the university came at a time when the teachers' association had given an ultimatum for the VC and pro-VC to resign by Saturday.

Yesterday, the teachers' association announced the indefinite sit-in following the announcement of the closure. The teachers' association members, Buet officials and employees brought out a silent procession on the campus around noon.

Around 1,000 students of the institution holding banners expressed their solidarity with the agitating teachers. Parading the campus streets, they gathered in front of the administrative building and held a rally there.

Prof Mujibur Rahman, president of the teachers' association, said the authorities had closed the institution unethically and without consulting with any forum. "But we will continue our movement until the VC and pro-VC resign," he said.

He said although teachers had gone back to taking classes on the assurance of the prime minister, the problems were yet to be taken care of.

Terming the demands of the teachers' association absurd, the VC said all the allegations they had raised against him were false and baseless. "It's the sole aim of the agitators to take control of the chairs of Buet VC and pro-VC," he told The Daily Star.

Earlier in the day, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid expressed concern over the latest developments and said the situation was hampering students' studies and academic environment.

"I have asked that a syndicate meeting be called immediately to review the entire situation and find a peaceful solution," he told The Daily Star.

He asked the senior teachers to sit and talk to find a solution. “…Buet is one of the best institutions of the country and we should not make any decision that ruins the students' future," Nahid said.

About the VC and pro-VC, Nahid said a probe was going on and they would definitely take action against them if they were found guilty.

With the resignations, the ongoing crisis at Buet has taken a turn for the worse and students, arguably the cream of the country, fear that they will have to bear the brunt of the conflict.

Source : The daily star

PM outlines jobs to do

Staff Correspondent

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday directed the deputy commissioners and divisional commissioners to make a master plan for formulating a land policy that would increase arable land and discourage people from heading for big cities.
“There should be a master plan for the use of land in every district and upazila. The plan should detail where establishments such as public housing, industries, schools, colleges and hospitals can be built in a way that does not affect farmlands,” she said at the inaugural session of the DCs' conference at the Prime Minister's Office in the capital.
“You [DCs] must contribute to the expansion of agricultural land by converting barren ones into arable ones.”
The premier also advised the DCs to see if houses could be built around union centers across the country with modern facilities.
“If we can do that in the upazila and district level too, people can live there. They can thus be discouraged from coming to the city,” Hasina said, adding that such policies were important with a growing population.
“You must work on it so that we can make plans in future based on the master plan.”
Stressing the need for decentralisation, Hasina said her government wanted to make district-wise development plans and provide budgetary allocations based on its population and productivity.
Also, the government has a plan to create seven economic zones in the seven divisions of the country as a way of infusing dynamism into the rural economy through setting up factories and specialized industries, especially the food processing ones, she said.
The prime minister also directed the DCs to create jobs at the district, upazila and union levels to stop the influx of rural people into the big cities.
Referring to the government plan of digitising land records, Hasina asked the DCs to ensure correct recordings of land so that the actual owners were not deprived.
She said she had received many complaints of such deprivation, and directed the deputy commissioners to implement the Vested Property Return (amendment) Act 2011 properly.
On the DCs' recommendation regarding the construction of more warehouses, the premier said the government was planning to construct modern warehouses to store adequate food grains for up to three years.
Hasina also directed the DCs to introduce school feeding programmes in their districts to increase enrolment and prevent dropouts.
She asked the DCs to discharge their jobs sincerely with special emphasis on rural development and job creation.
"Remember, our salaries, cars, houses and allowances come from the income of the common people. So your main objective should be to work for them.”
On the Padma bride project, Hasina said: “We'll stand on our own feet…. We've already decided in the cabinet to begin the Padma bridge construction with our own money. If the donors come forward by this time we'll take their assistance.”
She said she had received numerous phone calls from people of different categories. Teachers, students and upazila parishad chairmen and members have expressed their interest in giving parts of their savings and income for the job.
“Despite all the criticisms, we'll continue working for the welfare of the country,” she said.
Hasina, also president of the ruling Awami League, renewed her commitment to turn Bangladesh into a "middle income country" by 2021 when the country will observe its golden jubilee of independence.
Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan delivered the welcome speech on the occasion.

Source : The Daily Star

Highway Robbery: Truckers' 48-hr strike begins

Truck and covered-van owners enforced a 48-hour countrywide token strike from Wednesday morning to press home their 14-point demand that include an end to highway robbery, extortion and police harassment.
Rustom Ali, convener of Bangladesh Truck-Covered Van Transport Agency Malik Sramik Oikya Parishad, said the trucks and covered-vans remained off all roads as per its decision taken on Sunday.
In support of the strike, Rustom told The Daily Star last evening, “Till now, no one from the government side has contacted us to address our demands. So, we will observe the strike.”
However, trucks and covered-vans that will carry relief materials for flood-affected people will remain out of the purview of the strike, he said.
The association convener also threatened to go for tougher movement, if their demands were not addressed.
The 14-point demand of the association also includes stopping extortion in ferry ghats, easing the process of issuing driving licence, allowing trucks and covered vans to ply city streets during daytime.

source : The daily Star