Qulkhwani of A K M Fazlul Haque, former DESA official and father of Faiz-un-nesa Liza, sub-editor of the Dainik Ittefaq, will be held at his residence at Iqbal Road of Mohammadpur in the city after Asr prayers today, says a press release.
He passed away at a hospital in the city on Saturday.
He left behind his wife and four daughters.
Source : The Daily Star
Two people were arrested with three firearms and 12 bullets after a short exchange of gunfire at Sayedabad Koratitola area in the city yesterday.
The arrestees are Rifat alias Shuvo, 20, and Johnny, 22.
Sub-Inspector Sheikh Aminul Bashar of Jatrabari Police Station said he and three constables fired blank shots and caught the two after they shot at police when challenged.
Source : The Daily Star
A Dhaka court yesterday placed Mahmudul Bari, adviser of banned Islamist outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh, on a three-day remand in connection with a case filed under the anti-terrorism act.
Rapid Action Battalion arrested Mahmudul, also managing director of developer company Silver Sand Reality, from Shahjalal International Airport on Wednesday while he was trying to leave for Malaysia.
Metropolitan Magistrate Saifur Rahman passed the order after Sub-Inspector Farid Uddin produced Mahmudul with a 10-day remand prayer.
Source : The Daily Star
Eight people were killed and 11 others injured in separate road accidents in Gazipur, Jhenidah and Faridpur yesterday.
A correspondent from Gazipur reports: Four people were killed and 11 others injured in a collision between a bus and a truck at Kaliakoir upazila in Gazipur yesterday.
Police said the accident took place when the truck was overtaking the bus of Barnali Paribahan from Gaibandha on Dhaka bypass road at Sreefaltoli at about 4:30am.
The bodies were taken to Gorai highway police outpost.
The truck driver fled the scene along with the vehicle while the bus driver also went into hiding after the accident.
Our Jhenidah correspondent says: Three people were killed in separate road accidents in the district yesterday.
The deceased are Abdul Kader Mir, 45, son of Ramjan Ali Mir, of Agmundia village of Kaliganj upazila, Liakot Hossain Mlitha, 48, son of Monsur Ali, of Kulbaria village, of Harinakundo upazila, and Rahatunnessa, 35, of Garaganj village, of Shailkupa upazila.
Abdul Kader was killed on the spot when a Jhenidah-bound speeding truck run over him while he was going to Kaliganj bazar at Keyabagan bus stand of Kaliganj upazila.
Liakot Hossain Malitha, a trader, was injured as a nosimon hit him while he was returning home at Bherakhali bridge of Harinakundo upazila on Wednesday night.
He was rushed to Harinakundo Health Complex and later shifted to Kushtia General Hospital as his condition deteriorated, where he succumbed to her injuries yesterday morning.
Rahatunessa, a NGO worker, was injured as a Nosimon knocked her at Garaganj bazar of Shailkupa upazila.
She was admitted to Shailkupa Health Complex where she succumbed to her injuries yesterday morning.
Our Faridpur correspondent adds: A pharmacist was injured when a medicine-laden covered van hit a roadside tree while he was coming back from the Dhaka Central Jail with medicine as a part of his job on the Dhaka-Khulna highway at Muksudpur in Kashiani yesterday.
The deceased is Md Abdul Awal, 45, a pharmacist of Gopalganj District Jail.
He was first admitted to Kashiani Health Complex and later shifted to Faridpur Medical College Hospital but as his condition deteriorated, he was referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. On the way to DMCH Awal died.
Source : The Daily Star
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Col (retd) Oli Ahmad may meet BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia at her Gulshan residence today to discuss the latest political situation.
Leaders of the two parties said the meeting will be held as part of BNP's initiative to bring all political parties under a common platform protesting the scrapping of the caretaker government system.
Source : The Daily Star
People should become more aware about dengue and work collectively to destroy the breeding grounds of its germ carrier Aedes mosquito, speakers at a meeting said yesterday.
National Professor Dr MR Khan said Aedes mosquitoes stay in pots or containers in and around houses, which the city corporation staff cannot clean.
He emphasised that all should avoid blaming others and perform respective duties.
Addressing the advisory committee meeting on dengue as the chief guest, Syed Modasser Ali, primer minister's health adviser, urged the Dhaka City Corporation to hold such meeting towards the end of May so that the awareness campaign begins earlier. The DCC organised the meeting at Nagar Bhaban.
Ruling party lawmaker Kobori Sarwar criticised the mayor, saying he has failed to control the spread of mosquito in the city although money is being spent for it.
She said a minister's house is just behind hers in Gulshan, but DCC workers spray mosquito killing chemical in his house not in hers. If it happens to her, what about the common people, she asked.
Chairing the meeting, Mayor Sadeuque Hossain Khoka said his organisation has only 8,000 cleaners while it needs 20,000 people to clean the whole city.
Actor Ilias Kanchan, Urban expert Prof Nazrul Islam, lawmaker Habibur Rahman Mollah, filmmaker Chashi Nazrul Islam, Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, DCC Chief Executive Officer Abul Kalam Azad and Chief Health Officer Md Nasir Uddin, and a number of councillors also spoke at the meeting.
Source : The Daily Star
At least 10 people were injured as slum dwellers and Bangladesh Railway (BR) security personnel clashed for around one hour in the city's North Shahjahanpur Railway Colony yesterday when the personnel went there on an eviction drive.
Four of the injured were slum dwellers, among whom Mohammad Shahid, 18, and Tara Bibi, 55, sustained gunshot wounds and were being treated at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. They claimed the personnel opened fire on them.
The six others were BR security personnel.
Government Railway Police (GRP) detained four people in connection with the incident.
Witnesses said a team of GRP and BR security personnel led by a BR estate officer went to the colony around 11:00am to evict the slum dwellers.
When the team refused to give the dwellers time to shift their belongings, male and female slum dwellers armed with brickbats and sticks attacked the team, they said.
After one hour of chase and counter-chase, Motijheel police joined GRP, driving back the dwellers, they added.
One slum dweller Ilyas Akhand told this correspondent that the team launched the eviction drive without giving any consideration to the plight of the slum dwellers, who have been living there for a long time.
Ilyas claimed that the team charged baton and fired eight to 10 rounds of bullets, injuring 20 slum dwellers.
BR Divisional Estate Officer Ahmadul Haque denied the allegations of firing bullets and said the team, comprised of 30 GRP and BR security personnel and more than 100 hired labourers, left after demolishing 50 shanties.
Source : The Daily Star
Bangladesh and India are going to sign a border management agreement tomorrow with a view to bringing down incidents of killing and crime along the border.
The agreement styled Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) is expected to be signed during Indian Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram's 24-hour visit to Dhaka.
The Indian home minister is due to arrive here today at 9:00pm. He will hold a meeting at the home ministry with his Bangladesh counterpart Sahara Khatun tomorrow at 10:30am. The talks will be followed by the signing of the deal.
Chidambaram is also scheduled to call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Foreign Minister Dipu Moni.
Meanwhile, two joint secretaries of Indian home ministry -- Kamal Kanti Mittal and Shambhu Singh -- arrived in Dhaka yesterday to finalise the proposed deal and other issues to be discussed between the home ministers.
"We are going to sign the agreement with a hope to stop killing of innocent Bangladeshis at the borders. It will enable a mechanism which will help the border guards of both the countries exercise maximum restraint," a senior home ministry official told The Daily Star yesterday.
The proposed agreement also aims at stopping smuggling of arms and narcotics, activities of extremists and terrorists, insurgency and human trafficking. Both the countries have already identified nodal points for coordinated action against individuals, touts or agents involved in human trafficking, said the ministry officials concerned.
Bangladesh will hand over a list of vulnerable areas along the Indo-Bangladesh border to the Indian home minister. As per the new agreement expected to be signed tomorrow, border guards of both the countries will exchange information on the vulnerable areas to ensure joint patrolling in a coordinated way. None of the troops will cross the border during patrol.
Officials of home and foreign affairs ministries said the two countries will finalise the border related deals before the Indian Prime Minister's visit to Bangladesh.
Chidambaram's visit is apparently a part of a series of high profile visits to Bangladesh. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already announced to visit Bangladesh on September 6-7 while Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister SM Krishna already visited Bangladesh and had talks with the leadership here.
Source : The Daily Star
The government yesterday ordered inclusion of the case for killing of six students at Aminbazar in the home ministry's list for sensational cases.
The order was given at a meeting of the monitoring cell on sensational cases at home ministry with Home Minister Sahara Khatun in the chair.
The progress of sensational cases is discussed at the cell's meeting in presence of the investigation officers concerned, said an official of the Criminal Investigation Department present at the meeting.
The inclusion, however, does not guarantee rapid headway in a case, he added on condition of anonymity.
Usually, the cell sits every three months but the ministry can call the meeting any time, Sahara told reporters. However, its last meeting was held in December last year.
State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku confirmed the inclusion of the murder case of the six college and university students.
The six were beaten to death by villagers who took them for robbers on July 18 at Baradeshi of Aminbazar on the outskirts of the capital.
Yesterday's meeting discussed 12 sensational cases --11 for murder and one for kidnap.
Of them, charge sheets in Bashundhara Group director Sabbir killing case, freedom fighter Anwara Abedin Chowdhury murder case and Ramna Thana Mosque Imam Maulana Hafez Md Ishaque murder case have been submitted.
Asked about Juba League activist Ibrahim murder case, Sahara said police are likely to prepare the charge sheet before the next meeting of the cell.
Ibrahim was killed by a bullet "accidentally" fired from Awami League MP Nurunnabi Chowdhury Shaon's licensed pistol in the Sangsad Bhaban area on August 13 last year.
Bashundhara Group director Sabbir was killed in 2006.
During the current government rule, 396 cases were included in the list of sensational cases. Of them, trials of 157 cases have been completed.
Another 177 cases are under trial and 34 others under investigation.
Source : The Daily Star
Zambian President Rupiah Banda yesterday set elections for September 20, hoping a humming economy will help him win his first full term in office against an opposition whose alliance has already cracked.
"I have been informed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia that the logistics for holding elections are now in place. The final voter register is also in place," he said in a live address on national radio.
Banda, 74, will seek his first full term at the polls, after he took power in a special election three years ago to complete the term of Levy Mwanawasa, who died while in office.
Source : The Daily Star
The number of recent recoveries of tiger skin and bones in and around the Sundarbans apparently dooms the government initiatives to save the Bengal Tigers and their habitat.
Experts say though the government has created much hype about conservation of the mangrove forest and the Bengal Tigers, international demands for tiger trophies and its body parts for medicinal purpose remain the same for a long time.
Recent recoveries give a message that the government should increase monitoring on the forest to stop poaching. Besides, ports and the cities should come under vigilance to stop trade and trafficking, said Dr Monirul H Khan of Jahangirnagar University.
Police on Monday recovered four deer heads and 60 kilograms of venison preserved in ice and arrested three poachers in Rampal upazila in Bagerhat.
The poachers confessed to trading tiger skin alongside poaching deer.
In another instance on February 17, forest officials arrested poacher Jamal Fakir along with four tiger skulls, 138 bones and hides of two adult tigers and one adult tigress in Sharankhola upazila in Bagerhat.
Earlier in 2009, Rapid Action Battalion-1 recovered skin of an adult tiger and arrested three people on Moilapota Road in Khulna.
Nearly every part of a tiger including, flesh, fat, claws, eyeballs, tail, bile, teeth, whisker, penis and brain has a prescribed benefit according to the tenets of Chinese medicine.
Of all tiger parts, bones are the most valuable. Tiger bone is ground into powder before being made into pills, plasters and decoctions containing herbs. Tiger skin is also valuable in the international market for its ornamental value.
Tiger is treated as one of the most critically endangered animals fast disappearing from the world, with only 3,200 big cats [Penthera Tigris] surviving in the wild.
Back in 1900, there were around 100,000 tigers around the globe, says International Tiger Report. Experts predict the species will be extinct in the next century if strong measures are not taken.
The Bangladesh part of the Sundarbans, a stretch of 6,017 square kilometres of forest, is officially home to 450 tigers and is considered as the highest number of big cat habitation in a single forest.
The latest survey finds the number of big cats is ranging between 400 and 450.
The last pugmark survey by the forest department and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2004 estimated the number to be around 440 including 21 cubs.
Earlier surveys conducted by Guy Mountfort in 1969 estimated 50 to 100 tigers, Hendrichs 350 in 1975, Salter jointly with the Department of Forest 450 to 600 in 1984, while Gittins and Akonda found 430-450 tigers in 1982. Another survey referred as Jalil estimated 362 tigers in a report released in 1998 while the study was conducted in 1993.
The tiger had a wide distribution in overall Bangladesh.
According to a report of International Union for Conservation (IUCN) published on Bengal Tigers of the Sundarbans, the last tiger shot outside the Sundarbans was in Sal forest in 1956, in the Bhawals in 1970s, in the mixed evergreen forest of Kassalong in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in 1976 and in the mixed evergreen forest of Pathalia hills of Sylhet in 1985.
With the help of the Global Tiger Initiatives, Bangladesh, one of the Tiger Ranged Countries (TRC), has already developed a National Tiger Recovery Programme and Tiger Action Plan and also amended the Wildlife Conservation Act that ensures compensation for victim of a Tiger attacks in the Sundarbans.
Since 2000, tigers killed 193 people, while 30 tigers were beaten to death and some others were found dead in the forest, according to official records of the forest department.
Source : The Daily Star
Cracking the whip, India's right wing Hindu nationalist party BJP yesterday asked its Chief Minister (CM) of the southern state of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa to resign forthwith after an official anti-corruption watchdog indicted him in an illegal iron ore mining scam in the state.
The decision to show Yeddyurappa the door was taken at a meeting of BJP parliamentary board.
"The BJP parliamentary board unanimously felt that there should be a change of the party leadership in Karnataka and it advised Yeddyurappa to resign", BJP chief spokesman Ravishankar Prasad told media persons soon after the parliamentary board meeting at the residence of Gadkari.
He said a new chief minister would be chosen to replace Yeddyurappa tomorrow.
Yeddyurappa had made a last-ditch effort to persuade BJP national leadership to allow him to continue as chief minister when he met Gadkari Wednesday night.
The party's decision came a day after the Karnataka Lokayukta (anti-corruption body) recommended Yeddyurappa's prosecution under the Prevention of Corruption Act for illegal financial dealings relating to iron ore mining.
The report of the anti-corruption watchdog headed by Justice Santosh Hegde said that a company dealing in iron ore donated Rs 10 crore to a trust managed by Yeddyurappa's family for "reasons other than genuine".
The company bought one acre of land in Bangalore, the capital city of Karnataka and India's Silicon Valley, for Rs 20 crore from Yeddyurappa's children.
Besides Yeddyurappa, some other prominent ministers of the BJP government in Karnatka have also been named in the anti-corruption body's report.
"They were claiming all this time that they were not involved in illegal mining but we have enough evidence to prove otherwise", Justice Hegde had told mediapersons in Bangalore on Wednesday.
Source : The Daily Star
Law enforcers recovered 13,582 bullets and 13kg of explosives buried in Gozari forest in Kaliakoir upazila of Gazipur early yesterday.
The bullets, which are of small machineguns (SMGs) and rifles, and the bomb-making materials were hidden in Nishchintapur area of the forest, Lt Col Md Rashidul Alam, commanding officer of Rapid Action Battalion-1, told The Daily Star.
A team of Rab, following a tip-off, raided the area around 3:30am, he said. A dog squad helped Rab sniff out the stash.
The bullets (model -7.62) were kept in 50 packets, which were stashed in five sacks, said the Rab official. A trunk was also found which had bomb-making materials and explosives weighing 13kg, Rashidul added.
Quoting experts of Rab's bomb disposal unit, he said the explosives were made locally.
He said up to 100 small bombs could be made with the seized explosives.
He, however, said the explosives they recovered were different from those seized from militants earlier. Militants usually use stock foreign-made explosives, the Rab-1 chief said.
The Rab official said they could not ascertain the origin of the bullets, as they had no labels.
Source : The Daily Star