A scene from Harjag staged at the Experimental Theatre Hall on Monday. — Ali Hossain Mintu

Members of an Islamic rights group hold signs reading ‘’France, get out of Mali’’ as they gather outside the French embassy to protest against France’s military intervention in Mali, in Ankara, on Tuesday. — AFP photo

Day-labourers carry sand for construction work at Gabtoli in Dhaka on Tuesday. The World Bank on Tuesday in a new estimate said that Bangladesh’s GDP growth would decline to 5.8 per cent in the current fiscal year. — Indrajit Ghosh

Abhijit Kumar Sarker (2nd-L),the general secretary of Bangladesh Basketball Association, speaks at a press conference at the Bangladesh Olympic Association auditorium on Tuesday. — New Age photo

The BNP-led opposition alliance holds a long human chain in Dhaka on Tuesday in protest at the alleged killing and enforced disappearance of individuals. The photo was snapped near the Supreme Court building. — New Age photo

The BNP chairperson, Khaleda Zia, comes out of the metropolitan sessions judge’s court in the capital after appearing in court in the the Zia Charitable Trust corruption case on Tuesday. — Indrajit Ghosh

A picture illustration taken with the multiple exposure function of the camera shows a one Euro coin and a map of Europe recently. — Reuters photo

The police use chloropicrin-enriched pepper spray to contain protests of teachers rallying for MPO enlistment at Dhanmondi in the capital on Tuesday. — Sourav Laskar

Serena Williams of the US hits a return to Edina Gallovits-Hall of Romania during their women’s singles match of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Tuesday. — Reuters photo

Pep Guardiola

MAIN NEWS

Pak court orders PM arrest

Pakistan’s top judge Tuesday ordered the arrest of the prime minister over graft allegations, threatening to worsen turmoil as thousands of protesters demanded parliament be dissolved. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry gave authorities... Full story

Deals signed with Russia

Bangladesh and Russia on Tuesday signed three vital agreements on financing the long-awaited Rooppur nuclear power plant and purchase of $1 billion defence equipment, redefining their bilateral ties after 40 years. The two countries also penned six... Full story

18-party human walls slam killings, enforced disappearances

The opposition alliance led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Tuesday formed human walls in the capital and elsewhere of the country in protest against killings and enforced disappearances of opposition leaders and activists under... Full story

WB concerned about scope for probe

The World Bank’s external panel of experts assessing the Anti-Corruption Commission’s investigation of the Padma Bridge project corruption on Tuesday expressed concern about the scope for a fair investigation. Full story

NATIONAL

Govt decides MPO for 14,000 schools librarians from Jan

The government has decided to bring about 14,000 librarians of non-government secondary schools under its regular payroll from January, finance ministry officials told New Age on Tuesday. Full story

3 lawyers of Jamaat leaders pardoned

METRO

Experts stress integrated transport system

Local and foreign experts at a workshop on Tuesday emphasised the need of an integrated transport system to put on track the ever-problematic traffic in the capital. The Dhaka Transport Coordination... Full story

Govt urged to initiate dialogues with teachers

BUSINESS

WB’s new estimate shows GDP to grow by only 5.8pc

In another blow to the government projection, the World Bank on Tuesday in a new estimate said that the country’s GDP growth would decline to 5.8 per cent in the current fiscal year. The WB earlier in October projected that Bangladesh’s... Full story

NBR in search for new sectors to allow investment

INTERNATIONAL

France strikes new Mali town

French warplanes hit a town newly-seized by Islamists in Mali as African troops on Tuesday prepared to join the offensive which has sent the jihadists fleeing from their northern strongholds. France on Monday secured UN backing for its campaign... Full story

Lanka president picks ally as chief justice, lawyers protest

SPORTS

PCB plays the BPL card finally

After keeping Bangladesh waiting for days Pakistan has finally played its Bangladesh Premier League card on Tuesday confirming that it is unable to send its players for the Twenty20 tournament. The decision puts the future of the tournament in... Full story

Laziness gets better of Aftab

EDITORIAL

Yet more controversy in power sector

THE approval of the cabinet committee on government purchase of a... Full story

Police excesses against public protests take a new form

OP-ED

The plight of human rights

AFTER the brutal public murder of Bishwajit Das, the issue of human rights seem to have taken a front seat in our national discussions. It needs to be mentioned that before this reprehensible act even took place, the year 2012 saw inestimable... Full story

Al Gore-Al Jazeera alliance runs into American wall

TIMEOUT

National Film Award-2011 announced

The war of independence based film Guerrilla wins 13 awards in 10 categories including the best film according to government’s gazette notification of the National Film Award 2011 published on Monday. The gazette named 30 winners in... Full story

Peers evaluate Al Deen at BSA

LETTERS

On the new textbooks

FIRST of all, I would like to thank the authorities for being able to distribute textbooks to students on time. The design of the textbooks will surely help our next generation to go far ahead in future. Those who design... Full story