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Why Me Mom? - Death of an Innocent

I went to a party, Mom, I remembered what you said.You told me not to drink, Mom, so I drank soda instead.I really felt proud inside, Mom, the way you said I would.I didn't drink and drive, Mom, even though the others said I should.I know I did the right thing, Mom, I know you are always right.Now the party is finally ending, Mom, as everyone is driving out of sight.As I got into my car, Mom, I knew I'd get home in one piece.Because of the way you raised me, so responsible and sweet.I started to drive away, Mom, but as I pulled out into the road, the other car didn't see me, Mom, and hit me like a load.As I lay there on the pavement, Mom, I hear the policeman say, the other guy is drunk, Mom, and now I'm the one who will pay.I'm lying here dying, Mom.. I wish you'd get here soon.How could this happen to me, Mom? My life just burst like a balloon.There is blood all around me, Mom, and most of it is mine.I hear the medic say, Mom, I'll die in a short time.I just wanted to tell you, Mom, I swear I didn't drink.It was the others, Mom. The others didn't think.He was probably at the same party as I.The only difference is, he drank and I will die.Why do people drink, Mom? It can ruin your whole life.I'm feeling sharp pains now. Pains just like a knife.The guy who hit me is walking, Mom, and I don't think it's fair.I'm lying here dying and all he can do is stare.Tell my brother not to cry, Mom. Tell Daddy to be brave.And when I go to heaven, Mom, put "Daddy's Girl" on my grave.Someone should have told him, Mom, not to drink and drive.If only they had told him, Mom, I would still be alive.My breath is getting shorter, Mom. I'm becoming very scared.Please don't cry for me, Mom. When I needed you, you were always there.I have one last question, Mom, before I say good bye.I didn't drink and drive, so why am I the one to die?

Inspiring & Heart Touching Story "Love your Mother always "

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.

He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother.

But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."

The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."

He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.

She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, cancelled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

Moral of the Story:

Mother is always a blessing,motivation and inspiration to all those who are having mother. and my advice is to please respect and love her if she is with you then you are lucky and try to make her happy and smiling and take her blessing this is one of the best gift in this life and here after.

Some of the Inspiring Quotes which tell not to give up in life so you can learn something from these Quotes

1) Never expect things to happen..struggle and make them happen. never expect yourself to be given a good value..create a value of your own

2) If a drop of water falls in lake there is no identity.But if it falls on a leaf of lotus it shine like a pearl.so choose the best place where you would shine..

3) Falling down is not defeat...defeat is when your refuse to get up...

4) Ship is always safe at shore... but is is not built for it

5) When your successful your well wishers know who you are when you are unsuccessful you know who your welwishers are

6) It is great confidence in a friend to tell him your faults; greater to tell him/her

7) "To the world you might be one person,
but to one person you just might be the world

8) "Even the word 'IMPOSSIBLE' says 'I M POSSIBLE' "

9) Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference.

May ALLAH / God Bless You All,

Never take some one for granted,Hold every person Close to your Heart because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones." Remember this always in life.

The Monument is the symbol of Bangladesh Nationalism

Began in 1948 and reached its climax in the killing of 21 February 1952, and ended in the adoption of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan. The question as to what would be the state language of Pakistan was raised immediately after its creation. The central leaders and the Urdu-speaking intellectuals of Pakistan declared that URDU would be the state language of Pakistan, just as Hindi was the state language of India. The students and intellectuals of East Pakistan, however, demanded that Bangla be made one of the state languages. After a lot of controversy over the language issue, the final demand from East Pakistan was that Bangla must be the official language and the medium of instruction in East Pakistan and for the central government it would be one of the state languages along with Urdu. The first movement on this issue was mobilised by Tamaddun Majlish headed by Professor Abul Kashem. Gradually many other non-communal and progressive organisations joined the movement, which finally turned into a mass movement. Meanwhile, serious preparation was being taken in various forums of the central government of Pakistan under the initiative of Fazlur Rahman, the central education minister, to make Urdu the only state language of Pakistan. On receipt of this information, East Pakistani (Bangladeshi) students became agitated and held a meeting on the Dhaka University campus on 6 December 1947, demanding that Bangla be made one of the state languages of Pakistan. The meeting was followed by student processions and more agitation. The first Rastrabhasa Sangram Parishad (Language Action Committee) was formed towards the end of December with Professor Nurul Huq Bhuiyan of Tamaddun Majlish as the convener. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was in session at Karachi-then the capital of Pakistan-from 23 February 1948. It was proposed that the members would have to speak either in Urdu or in English at the Assembly. Dhirendranath Datta, a member from the East Pakistan Congress Party, moved an amendment motion to include Bangla as one of the languages of the Constituent Assembly. He noted that out of the 6.9 Billion population of Pakistan, 4 .4 Billions were from East Pakistan with Bangla as their mother tongue. The central leaders, IncludingLiaguat Ali khan, prime minister of Pakistan, and Khwaja Nazimuddin, chief minister of East Bengal, opposed the motion. On receiving the news that the motion had been rejected, students, Intellectuals and politicians of East Pakistan became agitated. Newspapers such as the Azad also criticised of the politicians who had rejected the motion. A new committee to fight for Bangla as the state language was formed with Shamsul Huq as convener. On 11 March 1948 a general strike was observed in the towns of East Pakistan in protest against the omission of Bangla from the languages of the Constituent Assembly, the absence of Bangla letters in Pakistani coins and stamps, and the use of only Urdu in recruitment tests for the navy. The movement also reiterated the earlier demand that Bangla be declared one of the state languages of Pakistan and the official language of East Pakistan (Bangladesh). Amidst processions, picketing and slogans, leaders such as Shawkat Ali, Kazi Golam Mahboob, Shamsul Huq, Oli Ahad,Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (Leader of Bangladesh Awami League), and others were
Arrested By Pakistani Police. Student leaders, including Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Abdul Matin and Abdul Malek Lawyer, also took part in the procession and picketing. A meeting was held on the Dhaka University premise. Mohammad Toaha was severely injured while trying to snatch away a rifle from a policeman and had to be admitted to hospital. Strikes were observed from 12 March to 15 March. Under such cir*****stances the government had to give in. Khwaja Nazimuddin signed an agreement with the student leaders. However, although he agreed to a few terms and conditions, he did not comply with their demand that Bangla be made a state language. Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the governor general of Pakistan, came to visit East Pakistan on 19 March. He addressed two meeting in Dhaka, in both of which he uncared for the popular demand for Bangla. He (Muhammed Ali Jinnah) reiterated that Urdu would be the only state language of Pakistan. This declaration was instantly protested with the Language Movement spreading throughout East Pakistan. The Dhaka University Language Action Committee was formed on 11 March 1950 with Abdul Matin as its convener. By the beginning of 1952, the Language Movement took a serious turn. Both Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan were dead-Jinnah on 11 September 1948 and Liaquat Ali Khan on 16 October 1951. Khwaja Nazimuddin had succeeded Liaquat Ali Khan as prime minister of Pakistan. With the political crisis, the economic condition in East Pakistan also deteriorates. The people of East Pakistan started losing faith in the Muslim League. A new party, the Awami Muslim League-which would later become the Awami League-was formed under the leadership of Maulana Abdul Hamid Khan Bhasani in 1949. There was a growing sense of deprivation and exploitation in East Pakistan and a realisation that a new form of colonialism had replaced British imperialism. Under these cir*****stances, the Language Movement got a new momentum in 1950.On 27 January 1952; Khwaja Nazimuddin came to Dhaka from Karachi. Addressing a meeting at Paltan Maidan, he said that the people of the province could decide what would be the provincial language, but only Urdu would be the state language of Pakistan. There was an instantaneous, negative reaction to this speech among the students who responded with the slogan, “Rashtrabhasha Bangla Chai” (We want Bangla as the state language). A strike was observed at Dhaka University on 30 January. The representatives of various political- and cultural organisations held a meeting on 31 January chaired by Moulana Bhasani. An All-Party Central Language Action Committee was formed with Kazi Golam Mahboob as its convener. At this time the government also proposed that Bangla be written in Arabic script. This proposal was also vehemently opposed. The Language Action Committee decided to call a hartal and organise demonstrations and processions on February 21 throughout East Pakistan.As preparations for demonstrations were underway, the government imposed Section 144 in the city of Dhaka, banning all assemblies and demonstrations. A meeting of the Central Language Action Committee was held on 20 February under the chairmanship of Abul Hashim. Opinion was divided as to whether or not to violate Section 144. The students were determined to violate Section144 and held a student meeting at 11.00 a.m. on 21 February on the Dhaka University campus, then located close to the Medical College Hospital. When the meeting started, the Vice-Chancellor, along with a few university teachers, came to the spot and requested the students not to violate the ban on assembly. However, the students, under their leaders - Abdul Matin and Gaziul Huq - were adamant. Thousands of students from different schools and colleges of Dhaka assembled on the university campus while Pakistani armed police waited outside the gate. When the students emerged in groups, shouting slogans, the Pakistani police resorted to baton charge; even the female students were not spared. The students then started throwing brickbats at the Pakistani police, who retaliated with tear gas. Unable to control the agitated students,the Pakistani police fired upon the crowd of students, who were proceeding towards the Assembly Hall (at present, part of Jagannath Hall, University of Dhaka). Three young men, Rafiq Uddin Ahmed, Abdul Jabbar and Abul Barkat (an MA student of Political Science) were fatally wounded. Many injured persons were admitted to the hospital. Among them Abdus Salam, a peon at the Secretariat, subsequently suc*****bed to his wounds. A nine-year-old boy named Ohiullah was also killed from Pakistani police. At the Legislative Assembly building, the session was about to begin. Hearing the news of the shooting, some members of the Assembly, including Maulana Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish and some opposition members, went out and joined the students. In the Assembly, Nurul Amin, chief minister of East Pakistan, continued to oppose the demand for Bangla. The next day, 22 February, was also a day of public demonstrations and police reprisals. The public performed a janaza (prayer service for the dead) and brought out a mourning procession, which was attacked by the Pakistani police and Pakistani army resulting in several deaths, including that of a young man named Shafiur Rahman (Leader of Bangladesh Awami League) Many were Killed, injured and arrested by the Pakistani army and police. On 23 February, at the spot where Pakistani police had killed lots of students in Dhaka.

Memorial was erected. In 1963,the temporary structure was replaced by a concrete memorial, the Shaheed Minar (martyrs' memorial). The East Bengal Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the recognition of Bangla as one of the state languages of Pakistan. The language movement continued until 1956. The movement achieved its goal by forcing the Pakistan Constituent Assembly in adopting both Bangla and Urdu as the state languages of Pakistan. (16 February 1956). Both Bangla and Urdu were thus enacted to be the state languages of Pakistan.

Since 1952, 21 February has been observed every year to commemorate the martyrs of the Language Movement. With UNESCO adopting a resolution on 17 November 1999 proclaiming 21 February as International Mother Language Day. It is an honour bestowed by the international community on the Language Movement of Bangladesh.

Abir Ahmed
Tursday,16 October 2007

8.2 Quake Strikes Indonesia

Michelle Vu

Christian Post Reporter

Wed, Sep. 12 2007 01:39 PM ET

A powerful magnitude-8.2 quake struck the west coast of Indonesia Wednesday evening, triggering a small tsunami and sending hundreds of people in affected cities fleeing into the streets. Early reports indicate seven people killed, 100 injured, buildings badly damaged in several cities, and downed phone lines and electricity, according to The Associated Press. The quake reportedly generated a wave of up to 9 feet that hit the city of Padang on the island of Sumatra.“The city is in complete chaos. Everyone is heading to higher ground. I saw one house collapsed to the ground. I'm trying to save my family," said a witness in Padang, according to Reuters.The quake could be felt 375 miles away in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta where office workers reportedly gushed down the stairways of tall, swaying buildings. High rises in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand also swayed due to the earthquake.“People rushed from tower blocks into the street [in Jakarta], terrified that the quake could be a repeat of the massive earthquake that triggered the South Asia tsunami in 2004,” reported Hendro Suwito, World Vision’s communications manager in Indonesia."Many, many people rushed out of the high-rise buildings in Jakarta, and one TV station broadcast the lamps swinging from the station ceiling," Suwito said. "Over the last two months, we have felt shaking several times, but this one was bigger than all those."Christian humanitarian organizations World Vision and Catholic Relief Services both announced they are ready to respond in the aftermath of the quake.World Vision’s director in Indonesia, Trihadi Saptoadi, and WV’s humanitarian emergency assistance manager, Jimmy Nadapdap, are monitoring the situation to see if a rapid emergency response is required.Meanwhile, Catholic Relief Services, which has worked in Indonesia for 50 years, said it is in touch with local partners and communities and is positioned to respond.Indonesia is often hit by quakes, lying on an active seismic belt on part of what is known as the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” The world’s largest archipelago has suffered 15 earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.3 or higher since the tsunami in December 2004, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington.In 2004, a massive quake off of Sumatra Island triggered the historic tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries. Wednesday’s quake was about 10 times smaller than the 9.0-magnitude temblor in 2004.Both quakes struck near religious holidays with the 2004 quake occurring on Dec. 26 – a day after Christmas – and Wednesday’s quake striking a day before the beginning of Ramadan – the holiest month in Islam – in Indonesia. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world.Wednesday’s undersea quake hit at about 6:10 p.m. (7:10 a.m. EDT), according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its epicenter was 80 miles southwest of Sumatra Island at a depth of 18.6 miles.

Saints given a final warning

Aug 23 2007

by John Lawless, Liverpool Echo

ST HELENS boss Daniel Anderson's coaching mantra is "take one game at a time".

But even the phlegmatic Australian admits his charges have been affected by having Saturday's Carnegie Challenge Cup Final against Catalans Dragons in their sights.

Saints, of course, are no stranger to big games - this will be their fifth appearance in the final in seven years - but this time the climax to the world's oldest rugby league cup competition has added significance.

It marks the return of the final to Wembley Stadium - the new improved Wembley - which first hosted the big game in 1929.

Anderson told the Echo: "It's been difficult, but we've been striving to maintain our position in Super League.

"I'm okay at maintaining my focus on the two competitions, but it's different for the players.

"If you don't get up to the right level in the game you're playing, you get your backside spanked.

"It's happened to us.

"Our form has been scratchy since the semi-final.

"We were poor in France when we lost 21-0 to Catalans although we were pretty solid against Salford last week.

"The biggest concern for us is the amount of turnovers we're coming up with.

"It's something we'll have to remedy for the final."

Cup final fever has taken over the town of St Helens and it's been difficult for those directly involved not to get caught up in the excitement as Anderson explained.

"The logistics have been enormous.

"The football staff, coaches and players have bought not far short of 500 tickets between them.

"I've got people coming from Australia myself to see the game - mum and dad, my father-in-law, and a couple of brothers-in-law.

"With all that going on it's pretty difficult to ignore."

For many years the blue riband event of the British rugby league calendar has been beamed Down Under.

Anderson himself watched the game on TV as young man in Sydney and has vivid memories of the classic final of 1985 which featured a pair of Australian greats going head-to-head.

However, he also acknowledges he still doesn't fully understand how deeply ingrained in their psyche the Wembley final is for some of his men.

"The biggest Challenge Cup final for people in the southern hemisphere was the Wigan-Hull game when Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling were in opposition.

"I watched it back home and it was truly a magnificent game.

"But I still haven't quite fathomed the relationship between the players here and the Wembley final.

"I can sense it, and I don't think anyone's wanted to speak about it in the dressing room.

"I'm sure there's going to be an outpouring of excitement in the build up, especially for the British players."

Anderson isn't reading too much into the result in Perpignan a week last Saturday which saw Saints nilled for the first time this season by their Wembley opposition.

He is aware of the dangermen in the French team's ranks who have the potential to cause problems in the wide open spaces of Wembley.

But he is backing his own men to rise to the occasion.

Anderson continued: "I know the Catalans have got people in their side who've played State of Origin, Test matches and Grand Finals.

"But it's pretty insignificant compared to the collective amount of big-game experience we've got.

"Even some of our young players like James Roby and James Graham have experienced Grand Final and Challenge Cup success.

"Then there's players who've played in upwards of ten trophy finals like Keiron Cunningham and Sean Long.

"You get to a level where you're quite calm in your preparation.

"That's a real asset to us as a team.

"The loss in France hasn't detracted from our level of confidence.

"It was a very disappointing and poor performance against a very sprited side that played well.

"But it won't affect our preparation or demeanour going into the game on Saturday.

“We'll just have to play a lot better than we did a couple of weeks ago."

YouTube: Sharing Digital Camera Videos

Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, Jawed Karim

Steve Chen remembered a regular dinner with friends Jawed Karim and Chad Hurley that, unknowingly at the time, would lead to business success.

Using his digital camera's video feature, Karim recorded the dinner. Later, at home, Chen said he remembered his, and Karim's, surprise that there was no easy way to share it over the Internet. They devised a plan.

"We took it upon ourselves and started expanding a service to let everyone do the same thing," Chen said.

Chen, Karim and Hurley's plan eventually led to the February 2005 creation of YouTube, a company that lets users post and share videos over the Internet for free. The San Mateo, Calif., based company is the solution to all the problems the three founders encountered in attempts to post the dinner video, Karim said. Hurley became the company's CEO. Karim, who graduated in 2004 from computer science, acts as an adviser and Chen, who attended the University for 3.5 years before dropping out in 1999, became chief technology officer.

Chen said YouTube seeks to give users a simple and fast means to share their digital camera videos to wider audiences. And with a video capability becoming standard on many digital cameras, the phenomenon is gaining in popularity. USA Today reported that in 2005, 34 million gigabytes of video were shot versus 24 million in 2004, according to research firm IDC.

The YouTube concept is simple. Users register on the website and they can begin uploading videos. The quantity is unlimited-the only restrictions are that single videos cannot exceed 100 megabytes in size and content cannot be copyrighted or offensive. When uploaded, all videos are converted to Flash video, a format that allows anyone to watch regardless of the media player they use.

Anyone is free to peruse the site and the videos of the nearly 200,000 registered users the site serves. Registered users can also leave comments for any video.

Currently, the site shows more than 12 million videos per day - a number that is "doubling on a month to month basis," Chen said.

"It's an extremely viral product. When you upload a video, you want to send it to your friends, your family," Chen said. "When people come on, they spend time looking at other videos and then they sign up."

It is the largest of all video sharing websites, even beating out video services from Google, Yahoo! and competitors Sharkle and ClipShack, Chen said.

Andi Lusha, junior in Aviation, uses YouTube to watch videos in between classes. He said one of his favorites involves "battles" between break-dancers. He is surprised with the company's success.

"YouTube seems to be doing pretty well," Lusha said.

Lusha said he isn't registered on the site, but he said he plans to when he records more videos.

The founders and users are not the only ones who see potential in the company. Last November, Sequoia Capital invested in YouTube with $3.5 million in venture capital. Venture capital is money often given to promising start up companies in exchange for some form of ownership stake.

That money, Chen said, will go towards feeding a growing infrastructure, hiring new workers and other marketing efforts. With growth, he said, there are numerous "technical hurdles" that follow, especially with bandwidth, or storage space.

"When we're talking about doubling in size every month, at each step along the way, we're analyzing whether some of the current systems can handle that scale," Chen said.

Chen added that another challenge is copyrighted and offensive material. The company cannot possibly review each video. Therefore, Chen said, the company relies on YouTube users to flag potentially problematic material.

On the other hand, to cope with problems of growth, YouTube is currently aggressively hiring, Chen said. The company has 28 to 30 employees working now. The company's first employee, Yu Pan, graduated from the University in 1998.

Karim said finding talented employees was easy in the beginning. Most, including all three founders, were involved in developing PayPal, an Internet money transfer system currently owned by EBay. The PayPal project recruited from the University, because Max Levchin, PayPal co-founder, also graduated from the University in 1997. Karim said YouTube in turn recruited from PayPal.

He said the lessons learned from PayPal "were instrumental in developing YouTube."

Despite these challenges, the company plans to continue to offer its services for free. Chen hinted at a future "core revenue project" that would be advertising-based, but could not comment further. Currently, the site has advertisements that are visible to unregistered users.

Chen said the company's growth potential for 2006 is positive and expects the YouTube community to keep expanding.

"We're already seeing a good response from the general community," Chen said. "(YouTube) just works; once you make the technology easier for people, it becomes natural."

Bangladeshi strikes fortunes as Google acquires YouTube at $1.65b

NEW YORK Oct 13: The Bangladeshi diaspora here are agog with excitement as they received the news of Dr. Mohammad Yunus receiving the Nobel Peace prize for 2006.

Another equally exciting news for Bangladesh is that Jawad Karim, a Bangladeshi-American, one of the three co-founders of video site YouTube hit the headlines here.

There was a four column spread story on Jawad Karim in the New York Times (NYT) on Thursday. YouTube, com pany owned by Jawad Karim has been acquired by Google at a cost of $1.65 billion. Karim's two other partners -- Chad Hurley and Steven Chen -- busied themselves to build the company as Karim began his pursuit of an academic career. Hurly and Chen are internet and media celebrities now.

Jawad Karim did his masters from Stanford. The tuition fee for doing the masters degree was around $100,000. He was not daunted by the exorbitant figure. He got his master's degree in computer science. Jawad is one of the largest shareholders of YouTube. Karim was overwhelmed by the Google deal and said the deal was enormous.

Karim now teaches computer science and still lives in a dorm. 'Nothing in his understated demeanour suggests he is anything other than an ordinary graduate student and he attracted little attention on the campus,' NYT in report said. He is not overawed by his fame and fortune.
He wants to be nothing more than a professor. He simply hopes to follow the footsteps of other Stanford academics who struck fortunes in Silicon valley and went back teaching. Karim's first love despite his riches and fame is an academic career.

David Dill, a professor of computer science at the Stanford said: 'Mr. Karim's choice was unusual.'

Incidentally the owners of both Google and Yahoo were students at the Stanford. Karim, Hurley and Chen first started PayPal. It was acquired by e-Bay at a cost of $1.5 billion Jawad was born in East Germany in 1972. His father Naimul Karim is a researcher and his mother Christina Karim is a professor of bio-chemistry at the university of Minnesota. Asked what he thought of the acquisition price Jawad said: It sounded good to me'.
When a reporter looked puzzled Jawad raised his eye brows and added 'I was amazed'.

Taslima faces charges of offending Islam ....

Bangladesh, Tuesday, August 14, 2007:

The controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin will face criminal charges for her ‘anti-Islamic’ views, which have provoked attacks against her by Muslim activists, the police said Monday.

A police official in the southern city of Hyderabad, where outraged Islamic activists flung a bouquet, a satchel and other items at Nasreen Thursday during a press event, said the author faces a charge of hurting Muslim feelings.

‘A case was booked against Taslima Nasreen that her anti-Islamic views and writings hurt Muslim sentiments,’ city police official LK Shinde told the news agency.

Under the Indian penal code, promoting ‘disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will’ between groups on the basis of religion is punishable by up to three years in jail.

More than a third (38 per cent) of Hyderabad’s 6.5 million population are Muslims.

The police said they filed the case against Nasreen, living in self-imposed exile, at the request of a leader from the regional Muslim party behind the outburst at a release of a translation of the novelist’s latest book Shodh (Getting Even).

Television footage showed activists of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul-Muslimeen party, aligned with India’s ruling Congress party in the state, hitting Nasreen with flowers and threatening to lob chairs.

A visibly shaken Nasreen was shielded by several organisers and escaped when the police arrived and bundled her into a car, witnesses said. They reported slight bruising. Three legislators from the party were charged with rioting, Shinde said.

Senior party member Akbaruddin Owaisi registered a case against Nasreen hours after the attack, saying she had made rude remarks about Islam.

But on Saturday Owaisi was charged with ‘intimidation’ for calling for a fatwa — a religious ruling — against Nasreen.

‘A fatwa is existing against Taslima Nasreen,’ Owaisi told the news agency on Monday. ‘It is a religious responsibility of religious Muslims to abide by it.’

In March, an Indian Muslim group from northern Uttar Pradesh state offered a 500,000 rupee (11,319 dollars) bounty for Nasreen’s execution.

Homage paid to martyrs of Aug 21 grenade attack...

Bangladesh, Wednesday, August 22, 2007:

Hundreds of people from all strata, particularly those belonging to the Awami League-led 14-party combine and their associate bodies, yesterday paid glowing tributes to the martyrs of the August 21 grenade attack of 2004 taking a renewed vow to build a secular, democratic and prosperous Bangladesh free from terrorism and militancy.

On this day in 2004, some 24 leaders and workers of Awami League including its women's affairs secretary Begum Ivy Rahman were killed and 300 others sustained splinter injuries in a grisly grenade attack on the anti-terrorism public rally of the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina in front of AL central office at Bangabandhu Avenue.

Sheikh Hasina though miraculously escaped grenade attack, she had suffered ear injuries.

Sheikh Hasina though miraculously escaped grenade attack, she had suffered ear injuries.

Marking the third anniversary of the grenade attack, the 14-party combine observed the day with a daylong programme starting with placing of wreaths on the temporary memorial of the martyrs at the place of occurrence.

Amid an unprecedented security measures in the morning, acting president of Awami League Zillur Rahman along with most of the party stalwarts and leaders of 13 other parties in the 14-party combine placed wreaths on the memorial erected on the place of occurrence at Bangabandhu Avenue paying homage to the martyrs.

Party central leaders including Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Abdur Razzak, Tofail Ahmed, Begum Matia Chowdhury, Ataur Rahman Khan Kaiser, Mukul Bose, Abdul Mannan, Akhteruzzaman, Sultan Md Mansur Ahmed, AKM Jahangir Hossain, Abdul Latif Siddiqui, Prof Abu Sayeed, Maj Gen (Retd) Subid Ali Bhuiyan, Dr Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Prof Nazma Rahman, Advocate Sahara Khatun, Habibur Rahman Siraj, Advocate Abdul Mannan Khan, Dr Deepu Moni and other leaders of AL's associate bodies also placed wreaths there.

On behalf of the Workers Party its president Rashed Khan Menon, general secretary Bimal Biswas and central leader Haider Akbar Khan Rano, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president Hasanul Huq Inu, its general secretary Syed Zafar Sajjad and central leader Sharif Nurul Ambia, Samyabadi Dal secretary Dilip Barua and central leader Shafiqur Rahman, Ganatantri Party president Md Nurul Islam, CPB (Communist Party of Bangladesh) Mujahidul Islam Selim and other leaders of the left-leaning political parties also paid homage to the martyrs placing wreaths at the memorial in which photographs of those killed were pasted.

Family members of those killed or wounded in the grenade attack three years back also turned up at the site of the memorial to pay their homage. Some crippled or wounded persons of the tragic incident also assembled at the memorial site on wheel chairs or on crutches. Soon the memorial was bedecked with wreaths and flower petals.

Special prayers (munajat) and doa were also offered by the mourners for eternal peace of the departed souls of the martyrs.

Later, talking to reporters after placing wreaths at the memorial, Zillur Rahman, Acting president of AL who lost his wife and AL women's affairs secretary Begum Ivy Rahman in the grenade attack, alleged that the previous BNP-Jamaat alliance government didn't carry out proper investigation into the carnage and destroyed all the evidences during its five-year rule as it was involved in the murder attempt on Sheikh Hasina on that day.

He, however, hoped that the present caretaker government (CG) would immediately initiate the investigation process to nab the real perpetrators of the grenade attack, try them and award them exemplary punishment.

A strong contingent of riot-gear law enforcers was deployed surrounding Bangabandhu Avenue since early morning. Security archways with metal detectors were installed on both the entry points of Awami League central office as a precautionary measure.

Marking the day, AL leaders and workers wore black badges as a mark of respect to those martyrs.

AL and its associate bodies have also chalked out a daylong programme on the third anniversary of death of their central leader Begum Ivy Rahman, who suc*****bed to splinter injuries of the August 21 grenade attack at Dhaka Combined Military Hospital on August 24.

As part of the programme, wreaths will be placed at her Banani grave at 9-30 am, special prayers and doa will be offered there while a milad mafil will be organised at her Gulshan residence after Asr prayer for peace of the departed soul on the day.

Flood Emergency : Govt seeks $150m from donors

Bangladesh, Monday, August 20, 2007:

The government yesterday asked the donors for $150 million additional budgetary support and food aid to tackle the post-flood situation. High officials of the finance ministry at a meeting with the Local Consultative Group (LCG) comprised of representatives from multilateral and bilateral donors sought the financial assistance to cope with the emergency caused by the devastating floods that have blighted millions of lives across the country.

Finance Secretary Dr Mohammad Tareq briefed the development partners on budgetary allocations for different sectors and the potential impact of floods on implementation of the budget for current fiscal year.

He told the meeting that the government would divert resources from the low priority projects in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) to medium- and long-term rehabilitation requirements.

When the donors asked if the government would make any formal plea to the world community for help to face the floods, the officials replied in the negative, said sources.

"We have sought additional budgetary supports from the donors as it would be quite difficult for us to implement the current budget due to the floods," a finance ministry official said.

He said the government has also asked for food aid as there is a scarcity of food grains in the international market while prices of essential food items are spiralling upwards due to disruption of supply chains.

"Suppliers did not respond to repeated tenders for procuring rice from the international market," Economic Relations Division (ERD) Secretary Aminul Islam Bhuiyan told the reporters, explaining the rationale for seeking food aid.

At the meeting, representatives of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) pledged additional support for Bangladesh, considering the fallout of flooding.

"The World Bank has already had a plan to provide $300 million and ADB $150 million in budgetary supports by December. During the meeting, they pledged to provide funds in addition to those," said a source.

World Bank country director Xian Zhu told reporters, "We have agreed to help Bangladesh with additional aid. But size of the assistance hasn't been determined yet."
"We are also assessing the flood damage on our own," he said, adding that the amount of additional assistance would be announced after integrating the flood damage data.

Sources said the government would submit the flood assessment report by the end of this month, given that in the meantime no fresh flooding occurs.

The finance secretary said the initial assessment suggests that the extent of damage is around 50 percent of that caused by the floods in 2004. "The worst affected are agriculture, communications, education, and health sectors," he said.

He told the donors that the government is planning to reallocate Tk 2,100 crore to meet immediate relief requirements and another Tk 2,100 crore for post-flood rehabilitation.

Dr Tareq also said that budgetary allocations amounting to 0.8 percent of the GDP will be shifted to flood rehabilitation.

He, however, identified some possible impact on the economy due to the diversion of funds. "Budget deficit will increase to keep momentum of the planned activities. It means more bank borrowing, fuelling already high inflation further, slowing down growth further due to reduced private sector investment, and downsizing of ADP that may affect development activities," he added.

The food and disaster management ministry officials apprised the donors of the damage wrought by the current floods. According to the ministry report, the floods have affected 1.05 crore people in 39 districts with the death count standing at 554 as of August 18.

Standing crops on 7.55 lakh acres were totally destroyed while crops on another 7.62 lakh acres were partly damaged. Over 2,800 kms of highways, motorways and roads were badly damaged while 72 bridges and culverts washed away.

As per the ministry report, the government and NGOs so far have received $6.20 million relief aid from different external sources like the DFID, UNDP, USAID, CIDA, WFP, OPEC and the AUSAID. Saudi Arabia alone gave $56.20 million as emergency aid.