The World Bank approved on Wednesday $292 million in loans to finance two infrastructure projects in Bangladesh, through its Investment Promotion and Financing Facility (IPFF).

The IPFF, operating since 2006, has helped boost Bangladesh's electricity generation capacity by 5 percent by adding 178 megawatts electricity to the national grid and two special economic zones at Dhaka and Chittagong.

Bangladesh currently faces up to 2,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity shortage a day that causes severe sufferings as well drastic fall in industrial production.

The IPFF operates under the oversight of Bangladesh's central bank and funds are allocated to local financial institutions for on-lending to private-sector infrastructure projects.

"Bangladesh has an enormous investment need in infrastructure," said Zafrul Islam, World Bank's acting country director for Bangladesh.

"We expect this financing ... will be used to increase infrastructure supply in the power sector - renewable energy and energy savings - as well as bridges, ports, container terminals, water treatment plants, waste disposal projects, and others," a World Bank statement quoted him as saying.

The credits from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank's concessionary arm, have 40 years to maturity with a 10-year grace period; they carry a service charge of 0.75 percent.

The lead investigator at Bangladesh's new war crimes tribunal, set up to prosecute perpetrators of atrocities during the 1971 independence war against Pakistan, resigned Wednesday, an official said.

Abdul Matin, a former top bureaucrat, submitted his resignation in the wake of allegations by senior officials that he had ties to the country's main Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which sided with Pakistan during the war.

"He resigned citing personal reasons," the home ministry's senior information officer Mohammad Sahenor Miah said.

Matin was named the head of the seven-member investigation team for a special tribunal, set up in March this year, to prosecute Bangladeshis who sided with Pakistan and committed murder, rape and arson during the war.

Leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami have been accused of both committing and facilitating the murder of freedom fighters and many of the country's intellectuals during the nine-month struggle.

Last month Alauddin Ahmed, an advisor to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, accused Matin of being a key activist for the Islamic Chhatra Sangha -- the now defunct student wing of Jamaat.

Matin has vigorously denied being a member of the student wing, saying that he was neither a freedom fighter nor an activist for any group which opposed the liberation struggle in 1971.

Today is World Press Freedom Day. In an exclusive interview with VOA, Abed Khan, well-known journalist and columnist of Bangladesh, spoke about the freedom of press in Bangladesh.

Reporters Without Borders says this year, nine journalists have been killed around the world and nearly 300 are in prisons. Recently, Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization that supports the expansion of freedom around the world, reported that Bangladesh is one of those countries that have advanced in the field of press freedom. Abed Khan speaks about this and explains the reasons behind it.

Abed Khan speaks about the different media sources that the country now benefits from. There are various newspapers and tv channels that allow journalists to give their reports allowing the public to make more informed opinions and decisions. Media owners, competing with each other, have now adopted new approaches to spread the news. Though it is challenging sometimes, the future looks optimistic.

Abed Khan is the editor of the daily newspaper Kaler Kantho (Voice of Age). Before this, he was an editor for Samakal, Jugantor, and Bhorer Kagoj, three well-known media houses of Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government is contemplating importing cotton yarn directly from a few African countries, in a bid to contain the recent flare-up in cotton yarn prices. This was announced by Commerce Minister Lt Col (retd) Faruk Khan, at the inauguration of a textile training programme at a hotel in Dhaka. He also suggested setting up of a warehouse to stock raw cotton and cotton yarn to help weavers and clothing producer’s access them at affordable prices.
He also blamed the unprecedented increase in raw cotton prices, which have shot up by 30-40 percent, in the last few months for the rise in cotton yarn prices.

Bangladesh have recalled former skipper Mohammad Ashraful to their Test squad for the forthcoming tour to England.

The 25-year-old was left out for the series between the two sides in Bangladesh earlier this year.

But he hinted at a return to form by making 65 off 49 balls against Pakistan in a World Twenty20 match on Saturday.

Bangladesh have named uncapped paceman Robiul Islam, 23, in a 15-man squad for the tour to England, which features Tests at Lord's and Old Trafford.

"He brings a lot of energy and has brisk pace," said chairman of selectors Rafiqul Alam.

"Robiul is strong and aggressive and we feel he can be a handy option in English conditions."

There is also a place in the squad for 26-year-old medium-pacer Mahbubul Alam, who made the last of his four Test appearances in December 2008, with all-rounder Aftab Ahmed and left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr omitted.

Bangladesh, who will again be captained by Shakib Al Hasan, are due to begin their tour with a three-day game against Surrey at the The Oval, starting on 9 May.

They will then have two further warm-up fixtures before the opening Test at Lord's on 27 May.

It will be only the second time they have played Test cricket in England, having lost 2-0 in 2005, when neither match lasted beyond the third day.

To avoid a similar fate on what are likely to be seamer-friendly pitches, they will need their batsmen to show far greater discipline than they have in the past.

And the selectors are hoping that Ashraful can finally live up to the potential he first showed in 2001 when he became the then youngest player to hit a Test century.

He has managed four more since then but only averages 22 overall.

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Bangladesh squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Zunaed Siddique, Jahirul Islam, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Mahbubul Alam, Robiul Islam.

The prime minister’s adviser, Alauddin Ahmed, on Friday said that Abdul Matin, the chief of the investigation body that is probing crimes against humanity during the War of Independence, was an activist of Islami Chhatra Sangha, the student front of Jamaat-e-Islami, in 1971.
   ‘The chief investigation officer, Abdul Matin, was the candidate for the presidency of a college unit of Chhatra Sangha. If such persons are chosen as investigators, what will be the fate of the trial?’ said Alauddin at a roundtable meeting organised by Vision24 at the Dhaka Reporters Unity.
   The Islami Chhatra Sangha, which changed its name in 1976 to Islami Chhatra Shibir and declared itself to be a new organisation, is accused of forming the notorious Al Badr and killing intellectuals at the fag end of the independence war.
   Alauddin said that war criminals are ensconced in different parts of the administration and are secretly hindering the trial process at every step. ‘They are even obstructing issuance of circulars,’ he added.
   Alauddin also said the Bangladesh missions abroad were not trying to create a global consensus in favour of trying the war criminals in Bangladesh. He also called on the younger generation to continue to pressure the government not to be lax in going ahead with the war crimes trials.
   The government on March 25 formed a tribunal to hold the trial of war criminals and also a seven-member investigation committee headed by former additional secretary Abdul Matin. Alauddin said that one of the members of the committee did not join office, expressing no confidence in Matin.
   Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal’s president Hasanul Huq Inu, Dhaka University’s former vice-chancellor AK Azad Chowdhury, Jatiya Party’s secretary-general Sheikh Shahidul Islam, HM Ershad-led faction of Jatiya Party’s presidium member Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu, former minister Zafar Imam, former BNP lawmaker Akhtaruzzman, former ambassador Waliur Rahman, Bhorer Khagaj’s editor Shyamal Dutt and journalist Nayeem Nizam also addressed the roundtable on ‘Trial of war criminals in the context of Islam, law and international world’.

Source: new age

Every year May Day is observed in our country with some known ceremonies, promises, meetings and seminars. The oldest history of the Day is just reminded and discussed. The day ends and the promise disappear gradually. The woes of our workers remain as their constant companion. Our jute industries witnessed the rich chunk of labourers which now sees a moribund state and many industries have died totally. Garment sector has emerged with promising aspect. Hence, the workers of this sector become the focal point of May Day.
Job opportunities for women in Bangladesh are limited because of cultural barriers and limited mobility. They also lack access to education, skill development opportunities and productive resources, aside from bearing the burden of household responsibilities. With the expansion of the ready-made garment industry in the 1980s, jobs were created for poor Bangladeshi women. About 90%of the estimated 1.8million workers in the 3500 garment factories in Bangladesh are women. Bangladesh presently exports ready-made garments to about 30 countries around the world. The smiling of these workers will make Bangladesh smile. It's a plain truth. But what we see? The crying of these workers, unrest in this sector and the rift between the workers and owners has thrown this vibrant economic sector into a threatening situation.
It is true that financial constraint grabs both the owners and the workers. So, there should be a reasonable negotiation between these two entities. A good management can ensure it. In absence of these phenomena garment industries see turmoil, catching fire, sudden closure and what not. There are labour laws and factory laws but mostly in theory not much in practice. Only the government or only the owners cannot ensure it. Two sided sincere initiatives can bring calmness here.

In the rainy season or hot summer days or even in the period of natural calamities the garment workers reach their working places walking four or five kilometers. They must reach there by 8:00 am. Six or often seven days a week they are to work. The workers get soaked in the heavy downpours between June and October and suffer from fever and other diseases. Many cannot afford two sets of clothes to change after getting soaked. The situation gets worse at night because of the fear of being raped. The big garment workers or their association may arrange cheap rated transport for picking up and making them get down at some particular spots. In almost all the garment factories very unhygienic toilets diffuse very obnoxious smell. It discourages women workers to drink necessary amount of water to avoid visiting toilets incurring serious physical as well as mental ills. Primary medical care must be arranged for the workers who are the backbone of this industry. Taking these small steps can win the heart of the garment workers and even without big salaries they will digest the small problems. Nothing of this kind is ensured and untoward incidents are just followed by meetings and suggestions.
Another side of the coin is also grim. Our agricultural sector faces serious labour scarcity. During the harvesting seasons, labourers become scare and thus a huge amount of crops are wasted because they cannot be brought home in time. Labourers pay becomes abnormally high crossing the harvesting cost. To minimize this situation more harvesting machineries need to be developed and imported. Our jute industries need to be revived. The problems of the cotton workers are not heard so intensely. The principal sector occupied by our vibrant labouer class is garments industry. This sector needs meticulous designing and planning in the greater interest of our national economy. Making it practical let us see the better days ahead taking oath on this august day.
The Haymarekt affair is related to this day. The Haymarket affair occurred during the course of a three-day general strike in Chicago, Illonis, United States that involved common laborers, artisans, in which police opened fire and killed four strikers at the MacCormick Harvesting Machine Co. plant. A rally was called for the following day at Haymarket Square. The event remained peaceful, yet towards the end of the rally a police moved in to disperse the event, an unknown assailant threw a bomb into the crowd of police. The bomb and resulting police riot left at least a dozen people died, including seven policemen. A trial followed which hanged another four anarchists. Nowadays this sort of Haymarket event has become almost a daily affair in our garment sector. It started several years back. Even during the time of caretaker government. Now it has turned a dangerous shape. What is its next course is uncertain as no pragmatic solution is addressed yet.
May Day has become an international celebration of the social and economic achievements of the lbaour movement . The Day is called International Worker's Day or Labour Day as it commemorates the fight for the eight hour day. Still our women workers work for more than eight hours. The labour union can address the woes lying in this filed but labour leaders work like middlemen . They extract benefit both from the owners, governments, donor and also from the deprived labourers. These stories are not new. So, despite many problems garment workers are reluctant to unionize and instead have developed their own coping strategies in this sector. Now the reality is the workers are on the streets, in the market, in the cinemas around the roadside ,tea stalls and in the city transports . Everywhere they are. This regular visibility of the labourers calls for organized labour system. Let us vow to extend economic emancipation and social security for them.

T20 World Cup Schedule: Indian vs. Afghanistan and Pakistan vs. Bangladesh: There are 2 matches slated for the day in the ongoing T20 Cricket World Cup.

t20-world-cup-schedule-indian-vs-afghanistan-and-pakistan-vs-bangladesh

The first match would begin 7.30 Indian Standard Time, where Team India would be taking over Afghanistan.

And the second match is going to take place at the same ground of St. Lucia between Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Earlier, Team India Skipper Dhoni had said that their team won’t take any chance against Afghanistan.

The Indian Skipper had said that T20 format is quite different game, and one can do better, even Afghanistan.

T20 matches are available via Star Sports. So, stay tuned with the matches.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Friday signed a follow-on bill approved by Arizona legislators that make revisions to the state's sweeping law against illegal immigration — changes she says should quell concerns that the measure will lead to racial profiling.

The law requires local and state law enforcement to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally, and makes it a state crime to be in the United States illegally.

The follow-on bill signed by Brewer makes a number of changes that she said should lay to rest concerns of opponents.

"These new statements make it crystal clear and undeniable that racial profiling is illegal, and will not be tolerated in Arizona," she said in a statement.

The changes include one strengthening restrictions against using race or ethnicity as the basis for questioning by police and inserts those same restrictions in other parts of the law.

Another change states that immigration-status questions would follow a law enforcement officer's stopping, detaining or arresting a person while enforcing another law. The earlier law had referred to a "contact" with police.

Another change specifies that possible violations of local civil ordinances can trigger questioning on immigration status.

Stephen Montoya, a Phoenix lawyer representing a police officer whose lawsuit was one of three filed Thursday to challenge the law, said the changes wouldn't derail the lawsuit because the state is still unconstitutionally trying to regulate immigration, a federal responsibility.

Montoya said the strengthened restriction on factoring race and ethnicity makes enforcement "potentially less discriminatory" but that the local-law provision is troubling because it broadens when the law could be used.

Both the law and the changes to it will take effect July 29 unless blocked by a court or referendum filing.

Lawmakers approved the follow-on bill several hours before ending their 2010 session.

The sponsor, Sen. Russell Pearce, unveiled the changes at a House-Senate conference committee Thursday. He later said the revisions would not change how the law is implemented but provide clarifications on intent and to make the bill more defensible in court.

"There will be no profiling," Pearce, R-Mesa, said in an interview.

Pearce said the change from the "contact" wording doesn't require a formal arrest before questioning but helps make it clear that racial profiling is not allowed.

"You have to have a real legitimate reason based on some violation or some suspicious activity based on some legitimate reason. It cannot be just on how you look."

There was little debate by lawmakers when the bill was considered, but Democrats opposed to the law criticized the new bill, too.

Rep. Ben Miranda, an attorney who is helping representing a group of Latino clergy who are behind one of three lawsuits filed Thursday to challenge the law, said the Republican-led Legislature's approach to illegal immigration is misguided.

"All parts of Arizona cry out for law enforcement that is reasonable and directed at the most serious crimes that we have in the community," the Phoenix Democrat said Thursday night. "The racial profiling element is real."

Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, said the new wording regarding local civil ordinances could spur complaints of racial profiling based on complaints about cars parked on lawns and debris in yards.

Organizers of two referendum campaigns challenging the original law have said they will adjust their filings to reflect new provisions added by the Legislature.

Filing of referendum petitions by July 29 would put implementation of the legislation on hold pending a vote. That vote would either be in November or in 2012, depending largely on when the petitions are filed.