Not only the river Padam but also The Daily Star shines with World Bank come back news.
The Star published 14 items including a picture on Saturday in front page. Out of them 11 items were on Padma bridge revive project as World Bank announced to come back. Apart from this, they also published an editorial item. The Daily Star published news analysis in front page titled `Better late than never’.

On Padma, the other headlines were, Target clean project (lead item), Padma shines, Of theories zeroes, Cost to go up by 145 US dollar, Loss of time loss of money, Bangladesh loses some points, AL thanks WB, Govt wasted 10 months, Padma timeline.

Except Padma news in front page of the Star the other three headlines were, PM flies to US for UNGA, Grameen director protests, McCullam crushes tigers (sports). The Daily Star gave credit Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizv and LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam for returning WB in the project. The Star also tributes former communications minister Syed Abul Hossain and PM's Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman. The report titled `Of theories, zeroes’ wrote, On the other hand, former communications minister Syed Abul Hossain and PM's Economic Affairs Adviser Mashiur Rahman themselves portrayed their image as self-loving. They too had every possibility to be heroes by resigning on their own to fulfil the WB conditions for reversal of the loan cancellation.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Prime Minister's Foreign Affairs Adviser Gowher Rizvi had never given up on the World Bank fund for the Padma bridge constriction, facing sometimes harsh criticism.
The finance minister -- officially and personally -- tried to persuade Mashiur into sacrificing for the sake of the bridge and helping the ruling Awami League honour one of its key election promises. One of his close aides said a frustrated Muhith even threatened to step down over his “failure” to change the government's mind.
"It will prove that the disrepute that was given to the country is not right. At last the project is rolling on again," he told the BBC Bangla.
The minister did not conceal his emotion. He said, "It is a day of joy." Another key player was Gowher Rizvi. He shuttled between Dhaka and Washington at least thrice this year, taking his government's message to the WB to bring the key lender to the negotiation table.
He was able to convince countries like the US, India, Japan and Britain to talk to the WB on the loan revival. His efforts intensified in the last few weeks.

In the editorial item The Star wrote `Congratulations are due for both the government and the WB in being able to overcome months of impasse to reach an agreement due to be announced sometime on Friday. We would like to put in an added word of appreciation for the Minister of Finance, who in the face of tremendous pressure kept his faith in the project specially at a time when the highest public officials of the government had engaged themselves in a tirade of abuse against the WB.’
New Age published only two reports on padma. One lead item and another single column side story titled `Good for economy but not graceful for govt’. Their lead titled was `WB agrees to revive Padma loan, sets new condition. The Daily Independent and the Daily Sun published three and four news on Padma bridge respectively.

The Independent report titled `WB experts due soon to help ACC’ says, World Bank (WB) panel of experts will arrive in the city very soon to assist the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate allegation of corruption in appointing a consultancy firm for the Padma Multipurpose Bridge (PMB) project. ACC Chairman Ghulam Rahman disclosed this on Friday night, while talking to The Independent a day after the WB's decision to revive its funding for the PMB project.

The long-cherished Padma bridge project will now be implemented with a new approach as the WB released a statement from Washington on Thursday to come back in the project on conditions. The statement said, `The government agreed to a series of measures as a pre-requisite for any renewed implementation. These include new procurement arrangements with enhanced oversight, to ensure transparency and clean construction of the bridge; investigations proceeding in a full, fair, and expeditious manner; and an independent External Panel to review the Government's investigation and report their findings to the Government and the World Bank. ‘ On June 29, the WB cancelled the loan deal after the government had failed to meet two of the four conditions set by the bank to release the fund.

The conditions were (i) placing all public officials suspected of involvement in the corruption scheme on leave from government employment until the investigation is completed; (ii) appointing a special inquiry and prosecution team within the Bangladeshi Anti-Corruption Commission to handle the investigation; (iii) agreeing to provide full access to all investigative information to an external panel of internationally recognised experts so that they can give guidance to the WB and co-financiers on the progress, adequacy, and fairness of the investigation, and; iv) agreeing on new implementation arrangements that gives the bank and co-financiers greater oversight of project procurement processes. On Saturday in New Age front page another important news was `50 injured as protests erupt in Narsingdi ‘

With picture the New Age report says, More than 50 people, including the Narshingdi mayor, were injured as police used batons and tear gas to quell violence that erupted on Friday over the labour and employment minister’s planned visit to the town. A series of violent clashes took place in the town as supporters of the slain mayor Lokman Hossain vowed to prevent the minister, Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, from entering Narsingdi, who planned to visit the town on September 23.

Lokman Sangram Parishad had announced demonstrations in Narsingdi on Friday to resist the minister’s visit and press for death penalty for the killers of Lokman. Witnesses said police charged batons and fired tear gas to disperse the protesters who gathered at Shapla Chattar in the afternoon.

The angry demonstrators blocked Dhaka-Sylhet highway with logs and by burning spent tyres for two hours from 4:15pm. The mob torched about eight buses and trucks and damaged an Agartala-bound Moitree Express bus.

The activists also put barricades on railway by burning logs forcing suspension of train services between Dhaka and Sylhet and Dhaka and Chittagong.
The police said bus service on Dhaka-Sylhet highway was also suspended. The Lokman Sangram Parishad called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the town for Saturday and Sunday to protest against the police action and resist the minister’s visit.

Among The Daily Star, New Age, Independent and The Sun, The sun did not published the Narshindy clash news neither front page nor back page. `17 die in Pak film protest’ was second lead in new age front page while The Daily Star published it in back page. New Age published a huge 4 column picture of protest with the news. The other dominating news in the last week were (1) Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in Sunday night released its full verdict declaring illegal the constitutional provision for a non-party caretaker government system. (2) Prime minister’s economic affairs adviser Moshiur Rahman has gone on leave.
The Opposition Leader in Parliament and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) chair person Begum Khaleda Zia arranged a press conference in her Gulshan office on Thursday to give BNP’s formal reaction to the full text of the Supreme Court judgment that scrapped the 13th amendment to the constitution which contained the provision of the non-party neutral caretaker government.

On Friday The New Age made Kaleda’s reaction 2nd lead titled `Khaleda says PM’s desires reflected in SC verdict .’ The Daily Star did double column news titled `Khaleda rejects SC full Verdict, Terms it distorted, politically motivated’ The New Age report says, The Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda
Zia, on Thursday said the prime minister was plotting to hold a ‘managed election’ by staying in power.
She termed yet another ‘evil design’ the prime minister’s statement in parliament that the president would take all necessary decisions on an election-time government. ‘Our position on this issue is very clear. There is no alternative to a non-party neutral government to hold the next polls to protect the voting right of the people,’ Khaleda said at a crowed press conference at her Gulshan office.

Khaleda, also the leader of the opposition in parliament, said the democracy-loving people under no circumstances would accept a ‘managed’ election under a ‘partisan government’. The BNP chief said her party believed that the people were sources of all power. ‘People’s movement has never failed and this time too it will not.’ The press conference was arranged to give BNP’s formal reaction to the full text of the Supreme Court judgment that scrapped the 13th amendment to the constitution which contained the provision of the non-party neutral caretaker government.

Khaleda said the judgment was ‘biased and unacceptable and hence worth being scrapped’, as, she claimed, it could lead to an ‘unwarranted situation’ and ‘deepen’ the political crisis.
To justify her statement, Khaleda the judges took oath to deliver fair judgments remaining neutral. ‘After going into retirement the judges don’t
remain under the oath.’ She said that a retired judge could not sit in court, conduct hearing and write a verdict in any case or sign a judgement.
The BNP chief said former the chief justice (ABM Khairul Haque) on May 10, 2011 in the open court pronounced the verdict that the next 10th and 11th parliamentary elections could be held under the provision of non-party caretaker government as envisaged in the 13th amendment.
But in his recent full-text judgment, Justice Khairul Haque has switched from the short verdict he had pronounced and proposed for holding parliamentary elections under a partisan government instead of a non-party caretaker government, she said.
Khaleda said such ‘inconsistencies’ between the short verdict and the full-text judgment were ‘unprecedented’.
She alleged that it was done under an ‘evil political design’.

Khaleda said, ‘The proposals the former CJ in his judgment has made to form the caretaker government with the elected representative is simply a reflection of the prime minister’s statement and is clearly inconsistent with his previous verdict.’ ‘This biased conduct of the former CJ is a serious judicial misconduct,’ she said adding that it would undermine not only the judiciary but the entire nation
Khaleda said the former chief justice in an interview with a television channel had said that he had submitted his signed verdict on March 29, 2012. While on Sunday he told journalists that he had taken back the judgment for changes and again submitted it after a few months, the BNP chief said adding that it meant that he had written twice the judgment and signed it twice.

Khaleda also noted that Justice Khairul Haque had taken back his judgment to rewrite it as per desires of the government which had become clear in his various proposals in the rewritten judgment.
In her long written statement, the BNP chairperson referred to the Awami League’s movement in 1995 for caretaker government, Sheikh Hasina’s assurance to give legitimacy to the last military-back caretaker
government and the present socio-economic condition.
During the press conference there was load shedding for about nine times which disrupted the programme.
Asked whether she thought the face-off between the two top leaders of the ruling and the opposition parties could lead to a situation like that of January 11, 2007, Khaleda said her party wanted continuation of the constitutional rule. The government will have to be changed through election, she said, adding that scope would have to be created so that people could exercise their franchise freely. She said BNP wanted holding of elections under a non-party caretaker government to ensure people’s voting rights.

Asked whether BNP had any preparations either for participating in or resisting an early general election if held, Khaleda iterated that polls would definitely be held under a non-party government. She said her party would not allow holding of the polls under a partisan government. She said the people would resist elections under a partisan government. BNP leaders Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, RA Gani, Khandaker Mosharraf
Hossain, , Hannan Shah, Rafiqul Islam Mia, Mirza Abbas, Gayeshwar Chandra Roy, Nazrul Islam Khan, TH Khan and Khandaker Mahbub Hossain, among others, were present at the press conference.

The Daily Star report says, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday categorically rejected the Supreme Court's full verdict declaring the caretaker government system illegal, saying her party won't accept the "illogical, contradictory [to its earlier short order] and politically motivated verdict". She also made it clear the main opposition party won't participate in any election based on this verdict. The full text of the verdict, released on Sunday, reflects the prime minister's recent statements on polls-time administration, and is inconsistent with the short order, the BNP chief said at a crowded press conference at her Gulshan office in the capital.

"This unethical and politically motivated verdict is ineffective due to logical grounds. It will create instability and aggravate political crisis," said the leader of the opposition in parliament. The verdict will not be able to hamper the ongoing movement against the government, she added. Khaleda accused former chief justice ABM Khairul Haque (chief justice when the short order was given) of bringing "unethical changes" in the full text of the verdict on the constitution's 13th amendment cancellation. "Differences are clear between the short order and the full text of the verdict, and this amounts to judicial misconduct. A retired judge cannot write a verdict but Khairul Haque did that. The verdict is biased, unacceptable and cancelable," she said.

Khaleda added, "In the recent verdict [full text] the former chief justice gave the directive for a caretaker government with elected representatives, which is a direct reflection of the prime minister's statement and contradictory to his previous order. Such biased attitude of the judge is a serious judicial misconduct."
In the full text of its verdict, the SC said the next two elections may be held under caretaker government comprising lawmakers.

On May 10 last year, the then chief justice Khairul Haque gave the short order declaring the caretaker government system illegal. Later, the government removed the system from the constitution through an amendment, which triggered a spate of political controversy.

BNP strongly protested the move and declared that they won't take part in any election if it is not held under a non- party neutral government. The government said it won't restore the caretaker government system, and election would be held as per constitutional provisions. And the BNP-led alliance threatened to go for tougher movement to compel the government to restore the caretaker system. Khaleda once again asserted this at yesterday's press conference. Recently, during her UK visit, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proposed formation of a small cabinet, that would also include BNP representatives, to oversee the election. And on Wednesday, she announced in parliament that the next election would be held after dissolution the House.

On Hasina's latest statement, Khaleda said it is nothing but an attempt to mislead the people. "She [PM] is planning to hold a stage-managed election while staying in power. But our position is clear. There is no alternative to a non-party neutral government. People will not accept election under a political government."
Asked about the consequence of the rigid stances of both the Awami League and the BNP, Khaleda said they want a peaceful handover of power, and that is why they demanded restoration of the caretaker government to ensure people's right to vote.
Bitterly criticising the former chief justice, Khaleda said in the May 10 (last year) short order, he said the 10th and 11th parliament elections can be held under caretaker government, but in the full text he changed his stance and proposed holding election under a political government. "Such dissimilarity between the short order delivered in the court [SC] and the full text [of verdict] is unprecedented. Undoubtedly, it has been done to implement an ill political motive," said the former prime minister.

Khaleda alleged that the proposals in favour of the government stance showed that he [Khairul Haque] has rewritten the verdict to fulfil the government's desire.
"Contradictory proposals were made in the verdict to implement the government's desire, and such a heinous example of politicisation won't be found in any court in the world," she said. The BNP chief warned that agitation will be tougher day by day to foil the government's "conspiracy to hold a farcical election under a political government."
Senior BNP leaders including acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir were present at the press briefing. Electricity went off at least 10 times during the briefing.