bangladesh4u

Opposition parties brought Bangladesh to a near-standstill as they enforced a one-day national shutdown to press demands for electoral reforms, police said.



Cars were off the streets and schools, colleges and private offices were closed in the capital Dhaka and other main cities, district police chiefs told on Thursday.


A 14-party alliance of opposition parties including the main opposition Awami League wants the removal of the chief election commissioner and his two deputies whom it accuses of being pro-government.

In Dhaka, police and picketers clashed in several parts of the city and four people were arrested although no injuries were reported, said Dhaka police commissioner Mizanur Rahman.


On Wednesday police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse opposition party activists trying to stage a mass rally outside Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's office.


The alliance also wants the head of any future caretaker government to be appointed with the agreement of both main political parties -- the Awami League and Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).


Under the Bangladeshi electoral system a caretaker governemnt, selected by the outgoing administration, takes over three months before parliamentary elections which it oversees. The next caretaker government is due to begin work in October with elections scheduled for January 2007.



Zia heads a four-party Islamic-allied coalition government with a large parliamentary majority. It has held power since 2001 when it ousted an Awami League administration led by Sheikh Hasina Wajed.


The strike is the fifth this year. Last year the opposition called 18 strikes despite pleas from business leaders and aid donors who say the stoppages cost the impoverished country tens of millions of dollars each year.

Scoreboard at close of play on the fifth and final day in the second and final Test between Bangladesh and Australia on Thursday in Chittagong, Bangladesh Bangladesh 1st innings 197 (R. Saleh 71) Australia 1st innings 581 for 4 decl (J. Gillespie 201no, M. Hussey 182,

P. Jaques 66, R. Ponting 52)

Bangladesh 2nd innings (Overnight: 195-4) J. Omar lbw b Lee 19 S. Nafees c Gilchrist b Warne 79 H. Bashar c Hayden b Warne 49 R. Saleh c Ponting b Warne 5 M. Ashraful b Warne 29 A. Ahmed c Gilchrist b MacGill 18 K. Mashud lbw b MacGill 11 M. Rafique c Warne b MacGill 65 M. Mortaza c Gillespie b Warne 1 A. Razzak c Ponting b MacGill 0 S. Hossain not out 3 Extras (b-7 lb-11 nb-5 w-2) 25 Total (all out, 80.2 overs) 304

Fall of wickets: 1-25 2-127 3-137 4-187 5-201 6-229 7-230 8-233 9-235

10-304

Bowling B. Lee 11 - 3 - 35 - 1 (nb-4 w-2) J. Gillespie 4 - 0 - 14 - 0 S. Warne 36 - 4 - 113 - 5 S. MacGill 22.2 - 3 - 95 - 4 (nb-1) D. Cullen 7 - 0 - 29 - 0

Result: Australia won by an innings and 80 runs

Bangladesh police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse thousands of opposition supporters trying to march towards the prime minister's office in the capital Dhaka, police said.

Police erected barricades covered in barbed wire to prevent several mass processions from different parts of the city from converging outside the premier's office Wednesday.


Violence, however, broke out at several points when opposition supporters broke through the barriers and pelted police with stones and bricks, deputy commissioner of Dhaka police Mazharul Haq told AFP.

"They became unruly. We fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells to disperse them. Things are now under control," Haq added.

Hospital emergency department staff said they had not treated any injured protesters.


Some 12,000 soldiers and police have been drafted in to the capital to thwart the mass demonstration by a 14-party opposition alliance including the main opposition Awami League.

Police earlier slapped a ban on the holding of all rallies, demonstrations and processions within a large area of the city.

The opposition alliance is demanding reform of the electoral system.



At a rally on Tuesday, the opposition leaders vowed to break the ban to press their "legitimate" demands for election reforms, including removal of the chief election commissioner and his two deputies whom they accuse of being pro-government.

The alliance also wants the head of any future caretaker government to be appointed with the agreement of both main political parties -- the Awami League and Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Under the current system the government hands over to a caretaker government, which it has selected, at the end of its term. The next caretaker government is due to take over in October with elections scheduled for January 2007.


Zia heads a four-party Islamic-allied coalition government with a large parliamentary majority. It has held power since 2001 when it ousted an Awami League administration led by Sheikh Hasina Wajed.

Despite the praise of the impressive local IT talents and young successful software outsourcing organizations, nation's software development market is quite small. At present scenario, the nation has only a 12 million American dollar of stake in offshore software outsourcing. The total international market size for software outsourcing in year 2005 was estimated at 40 billion dollar and it is being expected to multiply by triple up to year 2009. After the much-waited arrival of submarine cable, it should expand nation’s present market size of Offshore Outsourcing development with market of cell phone being boosted.


Software Outsourcing Development

As per the Danish Information Technology experts, who visited Bangladesh, as far as the software outsourcing is concerned it’s a sleeping giant. The sleeping giant could wake up with the launch of the submarine cable. At present time, software outsourcing development industry can not take off on big scale, simply due to bandwidth is quite expensive. So the submarine cable is perfect answer for problem like this.

However, with the big bang investments in IT development that ran high in Bangladesh follows the visit. Many of international organizations are now showing interest for investing multi-million of money into nascent high technical sector of Bangladesh'. The world's biggest software company, Microsoft is getting annual sales revenues around 40 billion dollar. With already handed over of proposal by Intel to the Science and Information & Communications Technology Ministry in last year as affiliated government partner. The real thing was the Gates' visit; it paved the way of outsourcing as Bill Gates wanted for exploiting the potential of local Information Technology professionals. The Microsoft had unveiled big plan for imparting the training for 10,000 Bangladeshi teachers & nearly 0.2 million students in IT over the next 3 years. With this announcement a local non-government company has been given one million American dollars as Gates- Melinda Award for the training purpose.

Last year for a small period of time, Bill Gates accompanied by Melinda, her wife visited Bangladesh. The visit by chief of worlds biggest Software Development Company gave a positive signal to the other nations that Bangladesh was becoming an emerging destination for software outsourcing investment. During that visit, Bill Gates signed numerous agreements with the Bangladesh government and some of the private sector organizations. He assured the local leaders of business to reducing the price on original software so it would help to stop pirated copy uses in Bangladesh.

Gates was very optimistic about the software outsourcing development and human resources by skilled people for the Bangladesh IT industry. He added in one of speech that India has been creating such a big number of Information Technology talents due to establishing a lot of institutes for the training and teaching for IT subject, so he thinks that Bangladesh should do the same things. For setting up such institutes Microsoft might not be able to help Bangladesh, but its organization can absorb the IT-professionals of Bangladesh to be trained in such Software Outsourcing institutes.

Tajikistan clinically disposed of Sri Lanka 4-0 to clinch the AFC Challenge Cup at the Bangabandhu National Stadium on Sunday. The Central Asians used their pace, control and skills to lay claim to their first international title since emerging as a sovereign nation.

The Tajiks needed just 50 seconds to go in front after Sri Lankan defender Sanjay Amarsingha lost possession very easily to Ibraguim Rabimov whose grounder was blocked by Lankan keeper Tilakaratne but Zdomikhoin Muhidinov pounded the rebound into the net.

Muhidinov and Yusuf Rabiev both missed a defence-splitting through from Numodzhon Hakiomov in the 29th minute with no one except the open net in front of them.

The islanders got their only scoring chance just on the stroke of half-time when Mudiyansilage’s header off Dudley Steinwall’s free-kick missed the crosspiece by a few inches.

But from the resulting counter-attack when the fourth referee had just indicated two minutes of extra-time, Khurshed Makhmudov blasted the ball home with cracker from the top of the box.

Numodzhon Hakiomov scored the third off an Odil Irgashev free-kick after the rampant Tajiks gave Tilakratne no time to react. Zdomikhoin Muhidinov scored his second in the 70th minute as he was set free by a superb solo effort of Yusuf Rabiev.

Sri Lanka twice should have scored on 72nd minute and in the injury time but Siyaguna Koskodade and Jayasuriya squandered their efforts shooting wide.

Sharif Nazarov, the Tajikistan coach, was ecstatic afterwards. ‘I think this title will help us develop our game in the country and we have proved that Tajikistan is capable to play in the higher level,’ he said.

His Lankan counterpart Sampath Perera however wanted to focus upon the future. ‘We have played a final after 11 years and we are happy with the runners-up trophy. The youngsters have gained valuable experience from the tourney.’

Cricket took a back seat on the opening day of the second Test between Bangladesh and Australia as police swung into an uncalled for action against the on-duty journalists, injuring at least 20 media-men of different national dailies and satellite televisions at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium yesterday.
Of the injured, Anurup Titu of Dainik Purbokon was admitted with a serious head injury to the Royal Hospital and underwent a surgery after CT scan in the afternoon. His condition was learned to be critical.


Two more journalists, Ruhul Amin Rana of Jai Jai Din and Rabi Shankar of Ajker Kagoj were also wounded and were taken to the hospital for treatment.


Trouble brewed in the morning when in an unprecedented incident in international cricket the start of play was delayed by ten minutes due to a sit-in protest by on-duty journalists in the middle of the ground for merciless beating of fellow photojournalist Shamsul Haq Tanku of Bengali daily Prothom Alo.


However, that incident at the entrance of the stadium in the morning was only the tip of the iceberg.


Scenes of pandemonium enveloped the field of play during the lunch break as the police led by DC (Port) Ali Akbar set themselves upon journalists, who were demanding unconditional apology from Sergeant Anwar -- the man in uniform responsible for beating up Tanku in the morning.



The assault for a second time started as Akbar suddenly punched veteran photojournalist Jahirul Haque on his face and kicked him continually. As Jahirul fell down on the ground, the cops became more furious and launched a full-scale attack on the reporters and photographers present there.


The situation turned so scary that the journalists ran into the Bangladesh dressing room for safety where the members of the cricket team provided them with first aid and tried to console them in any way possible. Australian captain Ricky Ponting also expressed his sympathy while video-taping the injured journalist in what was for him a unique incident.



Interestingly during the ugly episode no Bangladesh Cricket Board high officials including the media committee chairman Riazuddin-al Mamun or general secretary Mahbubul Anam were present. BCB president Ali Asghar claimed that he only heard about the incident in the afternoon and assured that the culprits would be brought to justice.



Meanwhile, protesting the police attack, the journalists at a meeting at the Chittagong Press Club decided to boycott the coverage of the cricket match today (Monday). The boycott will continue until the perpetrators are punished accordingly.



Leader of the Opposition Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh Sports Journalists Association, Bangladesh Sports Writers Association, Bangladesh Sports Journalists and Writers Community, Bangladesh Photo Journalists Association, former national cricket captains, Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh and former Cricket Board directors condemned the incident.


The full fury of the law enforcers during the lunch break not only embarrassed the whole nation but also cast a gloomy prospect for the port city to hold any future international matches.

Pahela Baishakh is a momentous occasion. To every Bangalee, irrespective of age, social strata and education, it is a time for joyous celebration. As in previous years, the colourful festival was celebrated in Dhaka with fervor through fairs, cultural programmes and concerts.
Here's a run down of the major events in the city to mark Pahela Baishakh:




Ramna Park
The 'Botomul' at Ramna Park is a popular venue for the celebration of Bangla New Year. Every year, Chhayanaut holds a cultural function here. This year too, the dawn of the first day of the Bangla New Year was ushered in with young students of Chhayanaut rendering the Tagore song that has become the "anthem of Pahela Baishakh" -- Esho hey Baishakh esho esho. Choral renditions of other songs followed. Men and women of all ages were clad in bright coloured attire, many were getting their faces painted with enthusiasm and singing along.


Dhaka University campus
Students of Dhaka University (DU) celebrated Pahela Baishakh, 1413 in style with a massive turnout. Students of the Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) brought out their rally from the IFA premises. The highlight of the rally was huge replicas of birds, horses, masks and more. Numerous other organisations went around Ramna Park and the DU area in a rally, holding banners and festoons. Programmes also included Baul songs, merry-go-round, puppet show and jatra among others. To mark the first day of the Bangla New Year Channel 1 organised a concert titled Borsho Boron Concert with leading bands, Souls, Feedback, Jonmobhumi, Miles and popular artiste Habib at DU gymnasium.

BUET campus
The students of Bangladesh University and Engineering Tecnology (BUET) celebrated Pahela Baishakh with zeal. The campus roads were intricately designed with Alpana. Groups of students, teachers and other people gathered at the BUET campus and brought out a rally. People had a feast of delicacies for breakfast and lunch free of cost that ranged from Panta Bhaat (rice soaked overnight in water), fried Hilsha fish, singara, bakorkhani and sugarcane juice. The food was provided by the students of the Department of Architecture. The cultural programme went on till the wee hours.

Dhaka Sheraton Hotel
To welcome the Bangla New Year Rupkotha Production organised a Baishakhi Fair at Dhaka Sheraton Hotel. The fair kicked off at Sheraton in the morning. The programme featured daylong performances of traditional Baul songs and puppet show.


Wonderland, Gulshan
Wonderland, a well-known amusement park celebrated the day with gaiety. To commemorate this day, a special concert titled Virgin-Arshee Baishakhi Matom Dola was held. The musical show included performances by Bappa Mazumder, Fahmida Nabi and musical bands, Face-to-Face, Obscure, Parthibo and Prohor.