Hasina, five others indicted

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina along with five others was on Wednesday charged with corruption in the MiG-29 warplane corruption case.
Dhaka divisional special judge Golam Murtoza Majumder, in the makeshift courtroom on the Jatiya Sangsad complex, framed the charges against Hasina, also the Awami League president, and five others in the case.
The judge also posted for September 3 the beginning of the trial with the recording of the depositions of prosecution witnesses.
The court charged Hasina, now facing trial in a case of extortion and another of corruption, with criminal breach of trust under Section 409 of the Penal Code and criminal misconduct under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1947 causing a loss of Tk 720 crore to the state by buying eight MiG-29 fighter planes from Russia in 1999.
Former air chief Jamaluddin Ahmed, former defence secretary Syed Yousuf Hossain, former air force officer Mirza Akhtar Maruf, former joint secretary of the defence ministry Mohammad Hossain Serniabat and businessman Noor Ali were charged with abetting Hasina in committing the offences under Section 109 of the Penal Code.
If the charges are proved, Hasina may be jailed for life or 10 years for criminal breach of trust and for seven years for criminal misconduct. In addition, fine may also be imposed on her for both the offences.
The other five may also face similar sentences for helping Hasina to commit the offences.
The court framed the charges rejecting the defence counsels’ petition which sought adjournment of the proceedings for a month saying that Hasina, released on June 11 by an executive order for eight weeks and now in the United States for medical treatment, would return by September 8 and the charges should be framed in her presence.
The prosecution opposed the defence plea and said there was no scope for delaying the framing of charges as Hasina had been exempted from personal appearance in court and was represented by her counsels.
The other five were in the dock and all of them pleaded they were not guilty as the court read out the charges against them.
The court also relieved former army chief Mustafizur Rahman from the trial as he had died.
The prosecution on June 2 proposed framing of charges against the seven, including Mustafiz, in the case.
Abdullah Al Zahid, deputy director of the now defunct Bureau of Anti-Corruption, filed the case with the Tejgaon police on December 11, 2001, accusing Hasina and the six others of corruption in the purchase of the MiG-29 fighter planes, which, he said, caused a loss of Tk 720 crore to the state.
This is the third case in which Hasina has so far been indicted and to face formal trial.
The trial of Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim in the Tk 2.99 crore extortion case, stalled for about six months, was restarted on August 18.
M Ashraf Hossain, the judge of the special judge’s court 5 set up on the Jatiya Sangsad complex, began again the trial with recording the deposition of the plaintiff, Azam J Chowdhury, a local power company boss, amid protests of the defence counsels.
The East Coast Trading Private Ltd managing director, Azam J Chowdhury, filed the case with the Gulshan police on June 13, 2007 alleging the former prime minister, aided by her sister and cousin, had extorted Tk 2.99 crore from him for the award of a power plant installation contract in 2001.
The trial, which began on January 30, had been stalled since February 26 when the High Court quashed the case. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on May 8 turned down the High Court verdict and made room for the continuation of the trial.
Hasina is also facing trial on graft charges in the barge mounted power plant case. The trial, however, has been stalled as the High Court on July 7 stayed the trial and issued a rule on the government to explain the legality of the graft cases.
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on August 13 upheld the High Court orders that stayed the proceedings in the barge-mounted power plant case.
The full court of all the five Appellate Division judges disposed of the petition filed by the government seeking permission to appeal against the High Court order and asked both parties in the case to get the rule, issued by the High Court on July 7, heard by the High Court expeditiously.
Hasina was arrested on July 16, 2007.

RU closed for indefinite period

Rajshahi University was closed for an indefinite period following a clash between the students of the institution and businessmen of Binodpur Bazar that left 60 people injured Tuesday night.
The authorities concerned also decided to suspend all the classes and examinations for an indefinite period and asked the students to vacant their halls of residence by 12:00 noon on Wednesday. The students had left their dormitories within the deadline.
The syndicate at an emergency meeting Wednesday morning took the decision. Acting vice-chancellor ProfessorMamnunul Kerammat chaired the meeting.
‘We have decided to suspend all the classes and examinations to avoid untoward incident and ensure the security of the students,’ said Dr Shafi, member-secretary of the syndicate.
Campus sources said the clash erupted when the students vandalised the ticket counter of Hanif Paribahan at Binodpur.
The students attacked the counter after the supervisor had forced a third year student of management department to get down from the bus in Natore following an altercation over the arrangement of a seat.
On his return, the management student Humayun Kabir went to the ticket counter and asked its manager to refund him the price of the ticket.
As the manager refused to refund, Humayun informed his fellow students of the matter. Later businessmen, transport workers and local people attacked the students when they went to the ticket counter.
The businessmen of Binodpur Bazar along with local people also entered the campus and attacked the students. They ransacked the windows and doors of SM Hall and Medical Centre of the university.
The university authorities did not take any step to bring the situation under control, some students alleged.
The police reached the spot at 1:00am and fired 20 rounds of rubber bullet and teargas shells to disperse the angry people.
Riot police, members of Rapid Action Battalion and Bangladesh Rifles were deployed on the campus and its adjacent areas to fend off further trouble.
Rajshahi Metropolitan Police deputy commissioners Sajjadur Rahman and Mahbubur Rahman visited the spot early Wednesday.
Rajshahi City Corporation mayor-elect AHM Khairuzzaman Liton also visited the area Wednesday morning. During the visit, the businessmen placed 4-point demand, including resignation of proctor Enamul Haque, and compensation of Tk 50 lakh for damaging shops by the students.
Liton said that a group of criminals created such violence on the campus. He demanded immediate appointment of a vice-chancellor and resignation of the proctor, saying that the clash erupted due to failure of the proctor and acting vice-chancellor.

EC drops plan to keep parties

The Election Commission has finalised the draft of upazila electoral rules and code of conduct dropping its plan to keep political parties out of the process of the local government polls.
The EC is likely to send the draft to the law ministry today for vetting after which it will promulgate the rules exercising its power to do so under the Upazila Parishad Ordinance.
The interim government on June 30, 2008 promulgated the Local Government (Upazila Parishad) Ordinance-2008 that said the candidates must resign from their posts in political parties, if they held any, before taking oath to the elected parishads.
In the initial draft code of conduct and electoral rules for upazila polls the EC had made the upazila polls non-partisan and barred political parties from contesting the polls and participating in electioneering.
It brought changes in the draft after the High Court had scrapped similar rules prepared for city and municipal polls that barred political parties from participating in local government polls.
The EC’s plan to keep political parties out of the August 4 polls to four city corporations and nine municipalities fell through after the July 31 HC ruling that allowed the political parties to participate in local government elections.
According to the revised draft of upazila electoral rules and code of conduct, political parties will be able to contest the upcoming upazila elections.
EC sources said that the commission hoped that local government ministry would file an appeal against the HC ruling allowing political parties to contest the August 4 local government polls.
The EC is still sticking to its guns over holding polls to 300-250 upazilas in October though major political parties are strongly opposing the plan for holding any other elections before parliamentary polls the interim government has pledged to hold in December.
The Upazila Parishad Ordinance has introduced a number of provisions suggesting disqualification of certain types of candidates from contesting the elections to the local body. Bank loan defaulters and people employed in any private or semi-government schools will not be eligible to contest the elections.
Anyone who is convicted of fund embezzlement or other criminal offences, who is wanted by police and has been identified as a war criminal by any court will not be eligible for election to the upazila parishads.
The candidates must submit reports on their sources of income and account of the assets they own to the Election Commission. They must resign from the [posts of] political parties, if they hold any, before taking oath.

Bolt claims Olympic sprint double

Jamaican Usain Bolt became the first man in 24 years to claim the Olympic sprint double on Wednesday when he won the 200m in record-breaking style.
Bolt set a new world record time of 19.30 seconds to bag a double last achieved by American Carl Lewis at the Los Angeles Games in 1984.
The Jamaican, who will be 22 on Thursday, broke the record of 19.32sec set by American Michael Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Churandy Martina of the Dutch Antilles claimed silver in 19.82sec and defending Olympic champion Shawn Crawford of the United States took bronze in 19.96sec after team-mate Wallace Spearmon (19.95sec) was disqualified for running out of his lane.
The US team later launched two protests, the first against Spearmon’s disqualification, which they ultimately accepted, and a second against Martina for the same offence.

‘I feel good. I have just proved to the world I am a true champion and with hard work anything is possible,’ said Bolt.
‘This is more than I can handle really, I’m a bit overwhelmed. I didn’t think a 200m record was on because I felt tired after the heats.
‘But I told everyone I was going to come out here and leave everything on the track and I did just that.
‘I worked so hard to become champion and I will work harder to stay at the top,’ the former world junior champion warned.
He accelerated off his blocks in a perfect start and within 20 metres had tracked down Zimbabwe’s Brian Dzingai on his outside.
As he hit the final bend, Bolt was a metre up on Crawford on his inside and he entered the final straight looking majestic, launching his lithe 1.96m (6ft 5’) frame sprinting well clear of the field.
There was no easing up in the final 10 metres, as he had done in the 100m, the Jamaican dipping fiercely at the line with clenched teeth.
‘I got out good, I ran the corner as hard as possible and once I entered the straight I told myself to ‘keep it up, don’t die on me now’,’ Bolt said.
Martina said it had been a privilege to have raced Bolt in top form. ‘I felt good to be there during the race,’ said the 24-year-old whose time was 0.29sec quicker than his personal best.
Meanwhile the International Olympic Committee confirmed the 30-year-old Blonska had failed her A sample and the result of the B sample would be known Thursday.
Blonska faced a lifetime ban if both samples prove positive after serving a previous suspension for taking stanozolol, the anabolic steriod used by disgraced sprinter Ben Johnson.
International Athletics Federation president Lamine Diack confirmed an investigation was underway.
‘The procedure is running. The B-sample will no doubt be opened today and a decision taken tomorrow.’

Toxic ship banned from being

The shipping authorities have banned a foreign ‘toxic’ ship from being scrapped at Sitakundu ship breaking yard, the Chittagong port and shipping officials said on Wednesday.
Mongolian flag carrier New Atlantia, which global environmental watchdog Greenpeace described as hazardous, changed its name to MT Enterprise and entered the Bangladesh territory a few days back, they said.
It was waiting at the outer anchorage of the Chittagong port to be scrapped at Sitakundu ship breaking yard, they added.
Private ship breaking firm Madina Enterprise imported the scrap ship of over 16,000 tonnes for Tk 90 crores from Singapore recently, the officials informed.
Initially, the office of the director general (shipping) gave clearance for breaking up the ship here, but the same office cancelled the clearance on August 14 after learning that it was blacklisted as hazardous by Greenpeace, they also informed.
The authorities also ordered this ship to leave the Bangladesh water territory, they said.
‘We banned this ship after we became confirmed that it was toxic and blacklisted by Greenpeace,’ said Dr Mosarraf Asraf, chief chemist of the office of DG (shipping).
‘Initially, we gave clearance as we were not aware of the problem because our website was down. Singapore-based exporter firm Yalumba Incorporated also misled us with wrong interpretation in the documents submitted to us,’ he added.
Nazim Uddin, owner of Madina Enterprise, claimed that he had imported the ship for scrapping after obtaining due permission from the shipping authorities.
‘When the ship is ready for beaching at Sitakundu yard, the shipping department cancelled the permission with a plea of its name being on the list of toxic ships made by Greenpeace,’ Nazim said.
‘Then, we filed a writ with the high court and secured permission to break up this ship,’ he added.
But the chief chemist said the next course of action would be taken against this asbestos-laden ship after getting the copy of the court order.
Meanwhile, Young Power in Social Action, an NGO working on environmental and human rights issues, said it would organise a human chain in the port city today to protest against the arrival of this toxic ship and to demand its immediate departure.

Kuwaiti Labour Court rules in

A Kuwaiti Labour Court has ruled in favour of about 750 Bangladeshi workers who have been complaining of non-payment and underpayment of salaries.
The Arab Times, a Kuwait-based English language daily, Tuesday quoted a Bangladeshi embassy official as saying that the court under the ministry of social affairs had ruled on the complaints filed by the Bangladeshis who were employed with a local cleaning company and were placed at various government establishments.
It was pointed out that the company was irregular in payments to them and that the employer also failed to renew their residencies. The court ordered the company to pay the workers two months salary and other benefits, in addition to shouldering the cost of their repatriation, reports said.
Bangladesh embassy officials were also quoted as saying that a total of 233 cleaners of the company had already been sent back to Dhaka and that the rest of the ill-fated workers will also be sent home in next few days.
‘The ministry of social affairs and labour is doing everything in its capacity to repatriate the workers and senior officials of the ministry are regularly monitoring the situation of the workers,’ the Arab Times report said.
According to the complaints received by the embassy, some cleaners alleged that they were being paid as low as KD 6 in compensation, even as the embassy has called upon the company to pay the workers not less than KD 20 as temporary compensation. Out of the 750 workers, about 300 are female cleaners. Residency permits of most workers have expired, reports said. Earlier, victim workers told the Arab Times that the company had filed false cases against some of them accusing them of absconding from work in an effort to deport them. The move was aimed at denying them their unpaid salaries. The workers were being paid a monthly salary of KD 20.
The workers had also alleged that they were facing serious food shortage and that some community members were providing them supplies out of kindness.
The Bangladesh embassy in Kuwait has taken some concrete measures to curb the exploitation of its workers by unscrupulous employers. To this end, the embassy henceforth checks the antecedents of a company before giving green light for recruitment of Bangladeshi workers.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, who began fresh strike protesting non-payment as well as deduction of salaries since Sunday, reportedly called off their strike following a settlement between the workers and the companies.
The Arab Times on Monday reported that some 6,000 workers of two cleaning companies enforced the strike demanding fixation of minimum monthly wage at KD 40 as per the Kuwaiti government order.
Since the issuing of the order, Kuwait government so far took action against at least five companies as they were continuing to deprive their workers of their fair salary and other facilities.

Bangladesh police denies

The Bangladesh Police on Wednesday denied Indian press reports that the police had entered the Indian territory and arrested one, as published in the Economic Times of India on Tuesday.
Terming the report false, baseless and fabricated, the inspector general of police, Noor Mohammad, told New Age, ‘I have yet to hear the news, but I am confirmed that the Bangladesh police has never entered the Indian territory.’
Saying that the allegations are ‘baseless,’ the Kurigram deputy commissioner, Jalal Uddin, told New Age, ‘A team of the Bhurungamari police, led by assistant subinspector Abdul Latif, conducted a raid on Dakkhin Bashjani early Tuesday to arrest a convict named Hossain Ali.’
‘As Hossain and his associates attacked the police, the police fired six gunshots in which Hossain was injured. He was then arrested at a jungle,’ Jalal said, adding the Bangladesh Police never entered the Indian territory.
The Bhurungamari police officer-in-charge, Aslam Iqbal, told New Age, ‘Our team conducted the raid and fired on the criminals.’ ‘The arrested and the injured police officer were treated in Kurigram Health Complex and were later shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital,’ Aslam said.
Hossain Ali, 40, meanwhile, died from his injuries in Rangpur Medical College Hospital at about 1:30pm.

Faisal Morshed Khan jailed

Former foreign minister M Morshed Khan’s son Faisal Morshed Khan was on Wednesday jailed again for 10 years for amassing illegal wealth and hiding assets in the wealth statement submitted to the Anti-Corruption Commission.
AKM Arifur Rahman, the judge of the special judge’s court 10 set up on the Jatiya Sangsad complex, also ordered confiscation of Faisal’s wealth of Tk 1.66 crore found disproportionate to his legitimate sources of income.
The court also fined Faisal Tk 10 lakh and ordered him to serve one more year in jail in case of failure to pay the fine.
The court sentenced Faisal to imprisonment for two years for hiding assets in the wealth statement and rigorous imprisonment for eight years for amassing illegal wealth.
The court ordered consecutive execution of the sentences meaning Faisal will need to serve both the sentences.
The sentences, however, will come into effect after the arrest or surrender of Faisal as he is in hiding.
On April 13, another special court of AK Roy sentenced Faisal, also the AB Bank chairman, to rigorous imprisonment for seven years for helping former Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker Shajahan Chowdhury in amassing illegal wealth. The court also sentenced Shajahan to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years for amassing illegal wealth and concealing information about assets.
Faisal’s father M Morshed Khan, also a BNP stalwart, was on August 4 jailed for 13 years for amassing illegal wealth and hiding assets in the wealth statement. Morshed also went into hiding immediately after the declaration of the state of emergency on January 11, 2007.

45 killed in Madrid jet crash

A Spanish tourist jet carrying more than 160 people skidded off a Madrid airport runway and broke up in flames Wednesday, killing at least 45 people and injuring dozens, officials said.
The Spanair jet made an emergency landing just after taking off from the Madrid-Barajas airport heading for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, according to an emergency services spokesman.
Smoke billowed from the wreckage of Flight JK 5022 off the bottom of the runway. Helicopters dropped water to douse the flames of the jet and grassfires caused by the crash.
Regional authorities issued a provisional toll saying there were at least 45 dead and 40 injured.
CNN Plus television news gave a toll of 47 dead. El Mundo newspaper said the toll could exceed 100.
Reports said there were 166 passengers on the jet.
Spanair, a subsidiary of Scandinavian carrier SAS, is Spain’s second biggest airline after Iberia. Five passengers on a Spanair flight from Spain’s Basque region to Barcelona were injured in an emergency evacuation on January 9, 2006.
It was founded in 1986 and says it has carried more than 104 million passengers from about 100 European destinations to Spain since then.

Pakistan missile strike kills eight

Missiles fired from Afghanistan hit a militant hideout in Pakistan’s tribal belt Wednesday, killing at least eight people including some foreign extremists, security officials said.
Two missiles hit a house owned by a local tribesman with links to Islamic militants in Wana, the main town in the troubled South Waziristan tribal region, the officials said.
‘It was a known hideout for militants. At least eight people were killed and some foreign militants are among them.’ security official said.
Residents said the owner of the house, named as Haji Yaqub, was wounded and was pulled from the rubble of his house, but people were scared to stay in the area because aircraft were flying overhead. ‘The missiles came from Afghanistan,’ the official said.
There has been a series of missile attacks on militants in Pakistan in recent weeks.

Maradona to watch Argentina

Football legend Diego Maradona is expected to be present at the Beijing Workers Stadium to watch the high-profile semi-final match between Argentina and Brazil starting at 7:00pm BST today.
Maradona was present in the stadium to cheer Argentina during the quarter-final against the Netherlands. Argentina won 2-1 in extra time.
Argentina are the defending Olympic champions from the 2004 Athens Games but Brazil have never won an Olympic gold.
Lionel Messi of Argentina and his former Barcelona team-mate Ronaldinho of Brazil are regarded as the top players of the world and they will take on each other in the semis.
The match will see several club team-mates up against each other. Liverpool’s Javier Mascherano will play against his Brazilian club-mate Lucas, Marcelo of Brazil will find him in the same situation against his Real Madrid club-mate Gago.

BFF reveals probe report

The Bangladesh Football Federation on Monday revealed the probe committee report on Bangladesh’s failure in the AFC Challenge Cup and South Asian Football Championship.
The probe body, comprised of Harunur Rashid, Anwarul Haq Helal and Sirajul Islam Bachchu, held coach Abu Yusuf and captain Aminul Haq largely responsible for the twin failures.
Yusuf was also accused of inciting the players against the team leader and the team manager, which the probe body said was breach of code of conduct. He was also blamed for failing to make the players fit for the 90-minute game.
The probe body blamed captain Aminul Haq for failing to keep the team united and maintain discipline. He also failed to solve the senior-junior ego problems that nagged the side.
The probe body also warned assistant coach Golam Rabbani, vice captain Biplob Bhattacharya, defender Hasan Al Mamun, midfielder Aram Aziz and striker Jahid Hasan Emily.

Khaleda’s bail prayer in orphanage trust case rejected

A Dhaka court on Monday rejected a petition that sought bail for detained former premier Khaleda Zia in the latest case against her filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission on July 3, accusing her of embezzling Tk 2.1 crore from the Zia Orphanage Trust’s fund.
The Dhaka metropolitan sessions judge, M Azizul Haque, passed the order after hearing the petition filed by Khaleda, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s chairperson.
‘We will soon move to the higher court to appeal against the rejection of the prayer for bail,’ one of her counsels, Sanaullah Miah, told New Age.
On July 23, Khaleda and Tarique were shown arrested in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case filed by the ACC’s assistant director, Harun ur Rashid, with the Ramna thana. Khaleda was arrested on September 3, 2007 and Tarique on March 8.
The other accused in the case are Khaleda’s nephew Mominur Rahman, former BNP lawmaker Qazi Saleemul Huq and three of his associates, Syed Ahmed Sayeed, Giasuddin Ahmed and Sharfuddin Ahmed, for embezzling Tk 2.1 crore from the orphanage’s fund.
Khaleda, according to the First Information Report, during her tenure as former prime minister (1991–1996) opened an account in the name of the Prime Minister’s Orphan Fund with the Ramna branch of Sonali Bank. In the account she received $12,55,000, equivalent to Tk 4.44 crore, on June 9, 1991 as donation through demand draft of the United Saudi Commercial Bank.
Moving the bail petition for Khaleda, her counsels argued that the government had lodged the case to harass her politically as no member of the trust had filed the case. ‘If she could misappropriate the orphanage’s money, the case should have been lodged by the deprived people,’ argued Sanaullah Mia.
The metropolitan public prosecutor, Ahsanul Haque Shomoji, opposed the bail prayer, saying that the lower courts have no jurisdiction to entertain the petition, especially when it is for bail.

UAE sends back 18 workers

Eighty-two Bangladeshis, who were travelling to the United Arab Emirates as migrant workers, were sent back Monday as they could not present proper visas at Dubai airport, an immigration official said.
The UAE, a relatively new destination for Bangladeshi migrant workers, is the third country to send back Bangladeshis for various irregularities over the past month.
‘Eight-two Bangladeshis returned from the UAE on a Gulf Air flight,’ Zia International Airport’s immigration in-charge Tania told the news agency on Monday.
‘As the workers could not produce their original visas on landing at the airport, they were sent straight back,’ she said.
According to a Bangladesh-UAE agreement, all passengers must show ‘original visas’ — rather than the photocopies that overseas workers often receive from their employment agents — if they want to travel the Gulf emirates.
The provision for showing original visas has been made to prevent human trafficking as Dubai is one of the main hubs of the illegal activity. Most of those travelling with photocopied visas are suspected of being victims of traffickers.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have deported hundreds of Bangladeshi workers over the past for breaking laws of the host countries.

6 more govt officials appeal

Six more corruption suspects, including land sub-registrars and their families, appealed to the Anti-Corruption Commission willing to confess their offences voluntarily, said an ACC official on Monday.
ACC director-general (admin) Hanif Iqbal said that those applications would be placed before the commission soon for its decision.
He declined to give details of the applicants but said, ‘Most of them are sub-registrars and their families.’
The ACC earlier on August 14 sent a list of 17 government officials to the Truth and Accountability Commission.
The civil servants included a divisional forest officer and a former chief engineer of the Roads and Highways Department.
TAC chairman Justice Habibur Rahman Khan and his two deputies, Manjur Rashid and Asif Ali, are now scrutinising the case records of the graft suspects seeking TAC mercy, officials said.
The truth commission may start hearing of the appeals next week.
It started functioning on August 3 with a five-month tenure and set September 1 as the deadline for submitting mercy appeals.

Saudi univ to recruit 40

With the selection of 40 already completed, the foreign adviser, Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, said Monday Saudi universities were willing to recruit far more Bangladeshi teachers.
The foreign adviser, also in charge of the ministry of expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment, said this following a meeting in his office with Ali Mohammed Mussa Tobeigi of Jazan University in Saudi Arabia and Firoz Mahmood, a Bangladeshi English teacher in that country.
Tobeigi informed the foreign adviser that the selection of 40 teachers had already been completed for recruitment to Jazan University through BOESL. Sixty more would follow suit.
‘This is exactly in line with our policy. Bangladeshi academics have made a good name for themselves in Saudi Arabia. New Universities are being opened there,’ Iftekhar said.

Liu injury darkens Games

Chinese superstar Liu Xiang sensationally pulled out of the 110m hurdles heats injured Monday, putting a huge dampener on China’s celebrations at achieving their most successful Olympics.
Liu, the defending champion, is a national hero in China with his face on billboards everywhere, and his shock withdrawal with a foot injury after just a few strides in his hurdles heat stunned the nation.
The Bird’s Nest, packed with a capacity 91,000 fans waiting for Liu’s race, went silent in disbelief as he limped from the stadium.
The official athletics television coverage was halted for a hastily arranged press conference where a weeping Sun Haiping, Liu’s coach, explained a right heel injury, which has been a problem for years, flared up again.
The sudden withdrawal of the ‘Shanghai Express’, the first Chinese athlete to simultaneously hold a world record, a world title and an Olympic gold, stunned his legion of fans who see Liu as a symbol of China’s burgeoning success in the world.
It also took the shine off China revelling in its best Olympic gold medal achievement which some hailed as a potential end to US sporting supremacy.

China reaped another four gold medals Monday, three in gymastics and the men’s team table tennis, while the United States won two in athletics and one in equestrian.
After a series of athletics setbacks here, the United States fortunes turned when Angelo Taylor led home Kerron Clement and Bershawn Jackson to sweep the 400m hurdles final and Stephanie Brown-Trafton won the women’s discus.
But the star performance at the track belonged to reigning Olympic and world champion Yelena Isinbayeva of Russia who broke her own world record in the women’s pole vault.
Brimin Kipruto continued Kenya’s dominance of the 3000m steeplechase, winning their seventh consecutive title, while 18-year-old Pamela Jelimo became the first Kenyan woman to win an Olympic track gold when she won the 800m.
Mozambique’s Maria Mutola finished fifth in the 33-year-old’s sixth and final Olympics.
Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who won the 100m in world record time, continued his quest for an elusive sprint double, cruising into the semi-finals of the men’s 200m in another effortless display of sprinting.
He timed 20.29 seconds, with defending champion Shawn Crawford of the United States second fastest in 20.42sec.
Australia won three gold medals on the day starting with the women’s triathlon where triple world champion Emma Snowsill won by more than a minute from Vanessa Fernandes of Portugal.
Australia also won both the men’s and women’s yachting 470 class.
Great Britain ended a 100-year drought in cycling’s team pursuit, racing away with the title for the first time since 1908 and smashing their own world record on the way in 3min 53.314sec.

Musharraf resigns to skip impeachment

The Pakistan president, Pervez Musharraf, resigned on Monday, bringing down the curtain on nine turbulent years of US-backed rule to avoid the first impeachment in the nuclear-armed nation’s history.
The former army chief, who seized power in a 1999 coup, announced the move in a lengthy televised address. He rejected the charges against him but said he wanted to spare Pakistan a damaging battle with the ruling coalition.
‘After viewing the situation and consulting legal advisers and political allies, with their advice I have decided to resign,’ Musharraf, wearing a sober suit and tie, said near the end of his one-hour address.
‘I leave my future in the hands of the people.’
Celebrations erupted across the country after Musharraf bowed out, yet it was far from certain what would come next for a nation whose role in the ‘war on terror’ has been increasingly questioned by Washington.
The White House said the US president, George W Bush, thanked Musharraf for his commitment against extremism and he would keep working with Pakistan’s government.
Musharraf’s decision to quit came after the coalition said it was ready to press ahead with impeachment as early as Tuesday on charges that reportedly included violating the constitution.
It was not known if he had concluded a deal that would save him from either going into exile or from facing prosecution in the days ahead. The coalition made no comment on his fate.
Coalition leaders Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, and Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in 1999, were shown shaking hands and smiling after his speech but gave no immediate reaction.
The Pakistani prime minister, Yousuf Gilani, said it was a ‘historic day.’
‘Today we have buried dictatorship for ever,’ Gilani said in a special sitting of parliament. Pakistani stocks jumped more than four per cent on the news of Musharraf’s resignation.
But Musharraf, 65, appealed for reconciliation after his departure.
‘If we continue with the politics of confrontation, we will not save the country,’ he said. ‘People will never pardon this government if they fail to do so.’
Several close aides said Musharraf was not set to go into exile as several of Pakistan’s former leaders have done. ‘He is not going anywhere,’ one aide said.
Senate chairman Mohammedmian Soomro will act as caretaker president until an election, which is expected in the next few weeks.
Musharraf’s troubles began last year when he sacked senior judges who opposed him, clearing the way for his re-election while still holding a dual role as head of the country’s powerful armed forces.
The move set off mass protests in the streets that built into a national crisis which saw Musharraf declare a state of emergency in November.
But he was compelled to quit as army chief within weeks, and after the December assassination of Benazir, voters handed his opponents a massive victory in general elections in February.
‘After the martyrdom of my mother I said that democracy was the best revenge — and today it was proved true,’ said Benazir’s 19-year-old son, Bilawal.
In Musharraf’s speech, however, he strongly defended every aspect of his time in power — even the coup nine years ago.
He said he had improved a tottering economy, helped establish law and order, fostered democracy and burnished the country’s international stature.
‘On the map of the world Pakistan is now an important country, by the grace of Allah,’ Musharraf said.
The president was also backed into a corner by the resurgence of Islamic militants in the tribal areas along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, who launched a massive wave of attacks last year that left more than 1,000 dead.
Musharraf himself survived three assassination attempts while holding what some have called the most dangerous job in the world, and went from being a backer of the Taliban to a close US ally after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Cheering crowds poured into the streets in major cities across the country of 170 million people — the second most populous Islamic nation and the only one with an atom bomb — after he stepped down.
‘The nation is so happy,’ university student Saba Gul said in the eastern city of Lahore, as people embraced and handed out sweets.
World leaders from Britain to Japan urged stability and unity in Pakistan, and called on Islamabad to continue its fight against extremism.

Phenomenal Phelps rises again

Swimming phenomenom Michael Phelps claimed his sixth Beijing gold and sixth world record, and Polish shot putter Tomasz Majewski won the first athletics gold as the Bird’s Nest opened on Friday.
Three-time world champion Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopa won the first track race setting an Olympic record in winning the women’s 10,000m.
The world’s three fastest men of all time - American Tyson Gay and Jamaicans Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt - cruised through the first round heats of the men’s 100m, ahead of Saturday’s highly-anticipated final.
Day seven of the Beijing Olympics also saw two competitors thrown out of the Games after failing drugs tests - North Korean shooter Kim Jong-Su, who had won a silver and bronze medal, and unplaced Vietnamese gymnast Do Thi Ngan Thuong.

A day after drawing a golden blank, the United States staged a four-gold blitz raising spirits after the traditional sporting powerhouse had struggled through the first week.
But they made no inroads on China on the medal table as the hosts also won another four events to have 26 gold medals while the United States are second with 14, nearly half of them from Phelps as he moved within one of Mark Spitz’s record seven gold at one Games.
Majewski shocked the United States when he threw a personal best to win the shot put and launch the 10-day athletics competition.
Only a late effort by Christian Cantwell for the silver medal saved face for the United States who had been tipped to take all three medals.
Phelps’ world record in the 200m medley led a three-gold and three world record blitz in the pool by the United States and Nastia Liukin won their fourth gold breaking China’s grip on the gymnastics competition.
Phelps, whose current career haul of 12 Olympic gold medals is a record in itself, is set to overtake Spitz if he wins his remaining two races - the 100m butterfly and 4x100m medley relay.
Rebecca Soni, who underwent heart surgery two years ago, started a three-win US run in the pool when she upset Australia’s world champion Leisel Jones to win the 200m breaststroke gold in world record time.
Ryan Lochte followed with a world record win in the men’s 200m backstroke and 40 minutes later he was back in the pool to take the bronze medal behind Phelps in the medley.
Britta Steffen broke the US stranglehold taking the women’s 100m freestyle crown, and giving Germany their eighth gold to be third on the table.
Russian-born Liukin, whose father Valeri won two gold medals for the Soviet Union in 1988, led Shawn Johnson in a US one-two in the women’s all-around final leaving Yang Yilin of China third.
China continued to dominate weightlifting, having won eight of nine divisions after further success by Cao Lei and Lu Yong.
Cuba’s 5-4 victory over the United States in baseball ended in bitterness and accusations of targetted violence as American batter Jayson Nix was taken to hospital with a serious eye injury when an attempted bunt deflected into his face.
US manager Davey Johnson accused the Cuban pitcher of deliberately aiming at Nix’s head, a charge the Cuban manager Antonio Pacheco described as ‘a lack of respect’.
Tennis upsets continued when US number one James Blake was unable to back up from bundling top seed Roger Federer and lost a marathon semi-final to Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, the Athens bronze medallist, won the near three-hour encounter 4-6, 7-5, 11-9.
The women’s second seed and world number one Jelena Jankovic also exited early, beaten by Russian Dinara Safina 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
Britain won the first track cycling medal when they beat world champions France to the coveted team sprint gold.
The women’s football semi-finalists sorted themselves out with Brazil to play Germany and Japan will face the United States.

Russia used cluster bombs in

A US human rights group on Friday accused Russia of dropping cluster bombs in populated areas of Georgia during its military offensive that began last week, but Moscow denied the charge.
Human Rights Watch said Russian aircraft had used cluster bombs in two separate raids on the towns of Ruisi and Gori on Tuesday, August 12, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring dozens.
Asked about the report, the deputy chief of Russia’s general staff, colonel-general, Anatoly Nogovitsyn, told a news conference: ‘We never use cluster bombs. There is no need to do so.’
The Gori strike killed at least eight, Human Rights Watch said, including a Dutch cameraman. An Israeli journalist was among the wounded and an armoured vehicle belonging to Reuters news agency was perforated with shrapnel.
Reuters reporters on the ground could not immediately verify the cause of the rapid series of explosions near the main square in Gori, nor who might have been responsible.
The journalists were covering the aftermath of a Georgian pullout from the town after days of heavy fighting with Russian forces 25 km north in South Ossetia.
‘Cluster bombs are indiscriminate killers that most nations have agreed to outlaw,’ said Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch.
The rights watchdog cited interviews with victims, doctors and military personnel, as well as photos of craters and video footage of the Gori attack, to support its assertion that Russia had used cluster bombs.
It said video showed more than two dozen simultaneous explosions during the attack, characteristic of cluster bombs. The munitions contain dozens or hundreds of smaller sub-munitions or bomb lets and explode across a broad area.
Reuters journalists had witnessed Russian jets bombing what appeared to be Georgian artillery positions on hillsides above the town earlier the same morning.
More than 100 nations have agreed to ban the use of cluster bombs. Russia has not.
The group called on Russia to provide ‘precise date on its cluster attacks in order to facilitate clean up of the inevitable lingering contamination from cluster bomb sub-munitions that failed to explode on contact but remain deadly.’

Afghan forces lose remote

Afghan security forces withdrew early Friday from an eastern district after days of fighting with Taliban, allowing the rebels to move in and capture the area, officials said.
A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahed, claimed the government troops had withdrawn from Nawa district in Ghazni province under pressure after more than two weeks of attacks.
Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary confirmed police had pulled out of the remote district near the Pakistan border but did not give details.
The deputy provincial governor, Mohammed Kazim Allah Yar, said it was not clear why the security forces had pulled back.
‘Now the district is not under our control,’ he said, adding there were plans to redeploy to the area.
Mujahed said the security forces had left early Friday after days of heavy fighting, and rebels had torched a district administration building and blown up other structures.
‘The district is under control of mujahedin (holy fighters),’ he said.

Ex-Taiwan president quits party

Taiwan’s former president Chen Shui-bian on Friday quit the Democratic Progressive Party after money laundering allegations against him and his family surfaced this week.
‘I have to say sorry to DPP members and supporters with a heavy heart. I let everybody down and caused irreparable damage to the party. This was not my intention but I made mistakes,’ Chen said in a statement.
‘To show my deepest remorse, my wife Wu Shu-chen and I leave the DPP from now,’ he said.
The statement came hours after Taiwan’s premier, Liu Chao-shiuan, confirmed an investigation had been launched into the money laundering claims apparently implicating the Chen family, following similar moves by Swiss authorities. Swiss prosecutors ‘have requested assistance in their investigation and we have immediately started our own probe,’ Liu told reporters.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office sent a top official to Switzerland earlier this week ‘to exchange views’ with the authorities there, said spokesman Fred Lin.
The former president admitted that his wife Wu Shu-chen had wired abroad 20 million US dollars from his past campaign funds, saying she had done so without his knowledge.
Copies of Swiss documents obtained by Kuomintang lawmaker Hung Hsiu-chu showed that Chen’s son Chen Chih-chung and daughter-in-law Huang Jui-ching had transferred 31 million US dollars to Huang’s Swiss bank accounts in 2007.

Anniversary of attempt on

The Workers Party of Bangladesh will observe on Sunday the 16th anniversary of the attempt on the life of its president, Rashed Khan Menon.
The party, on the occasion, demanded that the culprits involved in the plot be brought to book.
On August 17 in 1992 gunmen opened fire on Menon when he came out of his party office on Topkhana Road at Segun Bagicha in the capital. Menon was first admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka and then flown to London for treatment. He returned home on January 9, 1993 after undergoing treatment in a Bangkok hospital.
The party expressed its resentment at the government’s failure to arrest the persons involved in the attack on Menon.
The party has chalked up programmes to observe the anniversary as ‘anti-terrorism day’.
The city committee of WP will hold a discussion meeting at its central office in the capital Sunday to mark the day.

Ex-MP’s presence in PSC

Presence of an ex-lawmaker, elected with a political party ticket, in a viva board at the Public Service Commission raised question about the fairness of selection process of the highest recruitment authority for government jobs.
About 50 candidates appeared in the qualifying test at PSC on August 13 for assistant professorship in dentistry.
Some of the candidates said that a senior physician, who was elected MP of Bangladesh Nationalist Party from a Shariatpur seat in the Jatiya Sangsad elections on February 15, 1996, was an examiner at one of the three viva boards for selecting five candidates for promotion.
They claimed that the presence of a ‘political person’ in the viva board undermined the neutrality of PSC recruitment process. ‘It also bears the legacy of politically-motivated recruitment during the past regime even after reforms at PSC,’ one of the aggrieved candidates said.

Eleven robbers held on

The law enforcers arrested 11 suspected robbers on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at Uttra in the city when they were getting away with cash and valuables looted from the passengers early Friday.
The arrested were Abul Kalam, 42, Mosharraf Hossain, 18, Arif Hossain, 20, Mohammad Shafiq, 18, Monir Hossain, 30, Sagar, 20, Jamal Hossain, 20, Mohammad Asad, 22, Arif Rahman, 24, Ripon Gazi, 25, and Monir 30.
The police said the robbers had boarded a minibus, bound for Gabtoli, in the guise of passengers from the Karwan Bazar area at about 1:30am.
At one stage, the robbers took control of the minibus and dropped other passengers from the bus when it reached the Farm Gate.
They tied up the driver Abdur Rahim and helpers Babul and Amzad and started driving the minibus towards the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway.
As driver Rahim informed his constable father of the incident over his mobile phone, his father sought help of the Uttara police.
On getting information, a team of the Uttara police intercepted the bus at Uttara and arrested the robbers, rescuing the driver and helpers.
A case was filed with the Uttara police in this connection.

PDP to complete unfinished

The Progressive Democratic Party said on Friday it would work to complete the unfinished works of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the first president of Bangladesh.
The party chairman, Ferdaus Ahmad Quarishi, said the past governments failed to materialise the dreams of war of independence in the last 37 years.
‘We will work for completing the unfinished works of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,’ Quarishi said while addressing a discussion organised its Segunbagicha central office marking National Mourning Day.
‘We want to build a corruption free society and establish good governance in the country,’ he added. ‘Sheikh Mujib tried to establish an exploitation and oppression-free society which still remained unfulfilled.’
Chaired by party’s central leader Rafiqul Hossain, the meeting was also addressed, among others, by its secretary general Noor Mohammad Khan, presidium member Abul Hasan Chowdhury and joint secretary general Golam Sarwar Milon.

Foreign adviser hails action by Kuwaiti authorities

The foreign adviser, Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, has welcomed the action taken by the Kuwaiti authorities against five agencies for exploitation of foreign workers, including Bangladeshis. ‘We welcome this action. We would urge upon the Kuwaiti government to do the needful step to bring relief to Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait,’ said the adviser, who is also in-charge of the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, in a statement on Friday.

Bangladeshi trade fair

The first ever-single country trade fair of Bangladeshi goods will be held in Greece in March next. The exposition will be held under the auspicious of Greek- Bangladeshi Commercial and Cultural Chamber and the Greece- Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Readymade garment, frozen food, tea, handicrafts, jute and jute goods, leather goods and other exportable items will be exhibited in the fair.

Sri Lanka poised for the kill

India (249 & 161/5) lead Sri Lanka (396) by 14 runs at stumps, day 3 Sri Lanka tightened the screw on injury-hit India with a superb all-round performance on the third day of the crucial third and final Test here on Sunday. The hosts were indebted to debutant fast bowler Dammika Prasad and Kumar Sangakkara for boosting their hopes of clinching the series as India struggled to 161-5 in their second innings at stumps. That meant India were just 14 runs ahead with five wickets in hand. Rahul Dravid was unbeaten on 46 and Venkatsai Laxman on 17 not out. The series is tied at 1-1, with Sri Lanka winning the opening Test by an innings and 239 runs and India posting a 170-run victory in the second match. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 396 in the afternoon in reply to India’s modest first-innings total of 249, with the left-handed Sangakkara making a solid 144 for his 17th Test century. Unorthodox Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis (2-39) broke Englishman Alec Bedser’s record of 24 wickets in a three-Test debut series. Mendis has bagged 25 wickets in the ongoing series. ‘It is a phenomenal achievement. He (Mendis) came in when Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) needed support and he rose to the occasion well. He has gone beyond our expectations and the important thing for him is to keep learning,’ said Sangakkara. ‘I am very happy to get a hundred. It was one of the most difficult hundreds to get. We now want to keep them (India) well below the 100-mark when we go out there tomorrow.’ Prasad ended India’s early flourish when he dismissed stroke-happy openers Virender Sehwag (34) and Gautam Gambhir (26) in successive overs. Sehwag was caught by Thilan Samaraweera at gully, while Gambhir inside-edged a delivery onto his stumps while attempting to pull. The pair added 62 off just 10.4 overs. India were without Ishant Sharma in the morning as the fast bowler was unfit to bowl after falling during his follow-through in Saturday’s last session. Injuries to Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman forced under-pressure India to change their batting order. Tendulkar batted down the order after suffering an elbow injury on Saturday and Laxman made his appearance with a runner (Gambhir) after twisting his ankle during practice before the second day’s play. ‘It’s disappointing that we have not performed as a batting unit. These are the guys who have won games for India. It’s just a matter of not clicking. I don’t know how it happened,’ said Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. ‘It’s a good wicket to bat on and I hope we bat well tomorrow. We are looking forward to a good partnership in the morning.’ Sourav Ganguly (18) batted ahead of Tendulkar, but did not last long as he was adjudged leg-before off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan by umpire Mark Benson of England. The batsman requested the official to review his decision under a new experimental rule which is on trial in the ongoing series. The rule allows a batsman or fielding captain to request a review of any decision by referring it to the third official monitoring television replays. Benson’s initial decision turned out to be correct when he consulted TV umpire Billy Doctrove of the West Indies. Tendulkar (14) also fell in a similar manner, off Mendis, to remain without a half-century in the series, like Ganguly. The match was evenly poised overnight but Sri Lanka gained the upper hand in the morning when they added 101 to their overnight total of 251-6 for the loss of just one wicket. Sangakkara, 107 not out overnight, added 80 for the seventh wicket with Prasanna Jayawardene (49) against a depleted Indian attack. He hit 14 fours in his 288-ball knock before being caught behind. India’s hopes of fighting back rested on early wickets, but their bowling options were limited in the absence of Sharma. The tourists struggled even against lower-order batsmen Jayawardene and Prasad (36), who batted defiantly to extend their team’s lead. India’s fielding also left a lot to be desired as extra runs were given away and a couple of run-out chances missed

Phelps’ golden record start

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps launched his quest for Olympic Games immortality on Sunday by smashing his own world record in winning the first of a potential eight gold medals. Phelps sparked an American charge which saw them win five medals in the pool for a Games total of eight including two gold. But China were steadily building a lead at the head of the medal table winning four further events to have six gold ahead of South Korea’s three as the weather broke in Beijing and torrential rain disrupted tennis and archery. In the women’s cycling road race, riders complained that they felt they were ‘drowning’ as they hurtled through the treacherous conditions. But at the pool, where the first four finals produced two world records, 23-year-old Phelps took centre stage as he opened his bid to break Mark Spitz’s 36-year record of seven golds at one Games by winning the men’s 400m individual medley. With US President George W. Bush applauding in the stands, Phelps carved 1.41 seconds off his world record 4:05.25 set last June, but admitted afterwards he didn’t have high expectations before the race. ‘I was in the ready room. I didn’t feel so good, I got these cold chills,’ he said. ‘Afterwards, I looked up and saw President Bush giving me the thumbs up and holding up the American flag. That was pretty cool.’ But the Olympics, with its theme of ‘One World, One Dream’, continued to be dogged by political reality. A series of bomb blasts, followed by gunfire, rocked a town in China’s mainly Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang, state media reported, adding eight people were killed with four injured. The bloody turmoil unfolding in the troubled, breakaway region of South Ossetia, meanwhile, came perilously close to sparking a walkout from the Games by Georgia’s 35-strong squad in protest at Russia’s role in the fighting. Crisis was only averted when Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili told the squad to stay and take out their anger and frustration in the sporting arena. Hours later, Russian and Georgian shooters embraced where Russia’s Natalie Paderina won silver in the women’s 10m air pistol final and Nino Salukvadze of Georgia took bronze behind Wenjun Guo who won China’s third gold. ‘I was very nervous today as it’s been very difficult for my people,’ Salulvadze said. ‘It was nice of Natalia to come up to me afterwards and give me an embrace.’ After Phelps won his first gold, Park Tae-Hwan won South Korea’s first ever Olympic swimming gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, Australia’s Stephanie Rice set a world record in taking the women’s 400m individual medley while the Netherlands were upset winners in the women’s 4x100 freestyle relay. The US relay team, anchored by 41-year-old Dara Torres at her fifth Olympics, finished second for her 10th career Olympic medal. The US men’s 4x100 relay team set a third pool world record winning their heat in the evening session where Phelps was again back in action cruising to second in his heat of the 200 metres freestyle. Phelps sat out the relay heat to conserve energy but will be in the final. As the deluge swamped the road cyclists and the temperature plunged, several riders fell on the rain-lashed course before Welshwoman Nicole Cooke prevailed in a sprint finish for Britain’s first gold. The silver medal went to Sweden’s Emma Johansson who was surprised by the severity of the rain and cold. ‘Sometimes I felt like I was drowning more or less. Coming down the climb the first time I was just freezing and I couldn’t stop shaking.’ Top women’s tennis seed Ana Ivanovic became the latest big name player to pull out of the Olympics, complaining of a sore thumb, as rain reduced the opening day on the courts to a handful of completed matches. US number one James Blake, one of the few to finish, said he drew inspiration from Phelps’ performance as he beat Australia’s Chris Guccione 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).

Phelps grabs his first gold

Michael Phelps electrified the Water Cube on Sunday, earning his first gold medal of the Beijing Games with a stunning world record in the 400m individual medley. The 23-year-old American, aiming to improve on swimmer Mark Spitz’s Olympic standard of seven gold medals at one Games, was cheered on by US President George W. Bush, who turned out to see Phelps outgun Hungarian Laszlo Cseh and fellow American Ryan Lochte in the first swimming final on the Beijing programme. Phelps didn’t disappoint, clocking 4min 03.84sec and slicing 1.41sec off the previous world mark of 4:05.25 that he set at the US trials in June. He admitted that Lochte and Cseh were too close for his comfort at the halfway stage - after the butterfly and backstroke legs. Lochte, swimming two lanes over, briefly edged ahead in the breaststroke, but Phelps asserted himself and closed out his rivals with a majestic finishing freestyle. ‘I came off the last wall and it was the same feeling as in Athens,’ Phelps said. ‘I saw myself out there and I smiled. I knew the first one (gold medal) was there.’ Cseh, lying a close third most of the way, overtook Lochte for the silver, clocking a European record of 4:06.16. Lochte took the bronze in 4:08.09. Resting at the pool wall, Phelps smiled and raised an arm in triumph. From his perch in the VIP section, Bush signalled congratulations. ‘It was cool,’ Phelps said of the presidential salute. ‘That was a cool feeling to have the President here and to say congratulations.’ ‘That was a pretty emotional race,’ said Phelps, the subject of intense scrutiny for months as he readied his assault on the record gold tally Spitz set in Munich in 1972. To break it, he’ll have to swim at least 17 times over the nine days of competition as he goes for gold in five individual events and three relays. ‘I think I am as prepared as I can be at the moment,’ he said. With his medley triumph, Phelps successfully defended one of the six titles he won four years ago in Athens. On Sunday night he turned in a conservative performance in the heats of the 200m freestyle, notching the fourth-fastest time heading into the semi-finals. ‘Tonight was just about getting to tomorrow,’ said Phelps, who was an underdog when he took bronze in the event in Athens but is now the world record-holder.

JCD-backed group at DU rallies

A group of students at Dhaka University backed by Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal went out on demonstrations and damaged several vehicles near Raju Memorial Monument Sunday night, demanding release of the BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia. The students teamed up as Nirjatan Pratirodh Chhatra Andolan brought out a procession at around 8:00pm, chanting slogans for Khaleda’s release and headed for Shahbagh. As the police stopped them in front of the Public Library, they went back to the Teachers-Students Centre and damaged three vehicles and started fires at different points in the area. Immediately, the police restricted traffic on the campus and diverted them to other directions form the entry points to the university. Contingents of police were deployed on the campus to avert further violence. The platform convener, Khomenee Ihsan, said they would continue with such programmes until Khaleda is freed.

Five fishermen missing after

A fishing trawler sank late Saturday in the River Meghna near Nijhumdwip under Hatiya upazila in Noakhali, leaving five fishermen missing, a police official said. The officer-in-charge of the Hatiya police said 13 fishermen from Nijhumdwip went to the river by the boat for fishing Saturday afternoon but it later sank amid tidal surge. Eight of the fishermen managed to swim ashore after the trawler had capsized. There was no trace of the missing till Sunday.

2 jailed for life, 3 for 10 years

A court in Jaipurhat on Sunday sentenced two persons to rigorous imprisonment for life and three to 10 years’ imprisonment in an attempt to murder case. The district and sessions judge, Abdul Hamid also fined the convicts Tk 10,000 each or, in default, to serve six more months in jail. The convicts sentenced for life imprisonment are Bedarul Islam Bedin, and Polson. Other convicts are Sahidunnabi, Jahangir Alam, and Babu. According to the prosecution, the convicts made an attempt to kill Hafijur Rahaman, 28, in the district headquarters on February 21, 2001, injuring him critically. Hafijur was admitted to Jaipurhat General Hospital the next day. A case was filed with the police against the convicts.

ACC presses corruption charges

The Anti-Corruption Commission on Sunday pressed charges against Basundhara Group chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan alias Shah Alam, his wife and four sons for amassing wealth worth Tk 107.81 crore illegally and hiding information of asset worth Tk 14.17 crore. The ACC deputy assistant director, Mahbubur Rahman, also investigation officer of the case, submitted charge sheet to the chief metropolitan magistrates’ court. Shah Alam’s wife Afroza Begum, sons Sadat Sobhan, Safiat Sobhan, Sayem Sobhan and Safwan Sobhan have been accused of abetting the business tycoon, said the investigation officer in the charge sheet. The IO prayed for issuance of warrants for the arrest of Shah Alam and others and an order to attach their property as they have been absconding since the case was filed. In the charge sheet, the IO mentioned that wealth belonging to Shah Alam and his family is worth about Tk 625.43 crore. Out of this, Shah Alam and his family members have amassed wealth worth Tk 606.66 crore illegally and given false information about wealth worth Tk 14.17 crore to the ACC, alleged the investigation officer. The charge sheet also mentioned that out of the total illegal wealth, Shah Alam and family members earlier whitened Tk 498.84 crore, which has not been brought under trial. ACC deputy director Abdullah Al Zahid lodged the case with the Ramna police station on December 9, 2007, against Shah Alam, his wife and their sons. Shah Alam has already been convicted for dodging income tax and money laundering in other cases. All five members of the family are absconding.