Binpur students locked up police personnel in school
Binpur (West Medinipur), 10 July : Students locked up police personnel at Binpur near Lalgarh in West Bengal’s West Medinipur district on Friday in protest against their school being used as a police camp. A clash ensued between protesting students and policemen who went to the spot to rescue their colleagues, who were subsequently released. No one was arrested.
Resentment has been simmering among the 2500-odd students of the Binpur High School since 15 June when the school was converted into a police camp, three days before the start of the operation by security forces to flush out Maoists and activists of the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birdohi Janasadharaner Committee (PSBJC) from the area. The students complained that their studies were affected and staged demonstrations in front of the school. န Photo : ABP
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Workshop on "Rabindra Sangeet" begins in Barisal
Barisal, 10 July : A two-day workshop on Rabindra Sangeet began at the BNDN auditorium in the city on Friday. Cultural activist Nikhil Sen inaugurated the workshop organised by Jatiya Rabindra Sangeet Sammilan Parishad, Barisal unit. Apart from Lily Islam and Tapan Bhattacharya, a total of 122 Rabindra Sangeet singers are taking part in the workshop, said Shamima Masud Munni, secretary of JRSSP, Barisal unit.
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Sirajganj under threat as embankment washed away
Sirajganj, 10 July : Sirajganj town has been under threat after around 150 meters of a flood protection embankment on the Jamuna River at Sashanghat was washed away this morning.
While the town is under apparent deluge threat, locals, army, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), workers of the Water Development Board (WDB) and activists of different political parties have been making a frantic effort to repair the dam. Situation took a serious turn due to heavy rain and onrush of water from the upstream of the Jamuna as it was flowing above the danger mark last night.

န Photo : Aminul Islam Khan Rana

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Indefinite strike called in Darjeeling
Darjeeling, 10 July : Darjeeling shut down after reports of alleged police high handedness on a peaceful procession of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha supporters in Panighatta. Though no specific report has reached Darjeeling Hills, indefinite strike has been called. However, people are of the opinion that the market could remain open tomorrow.
Darjeeling offered a deserted look as people remained indoors suspecting unrest. A poster appeared at Chowk Bazaar declaring indefinite strike until stern actions were taken against people who were responsible for injuring GJM supporters in Panighatta. န News & Photo : Barun Roy
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6 people including child die in Cox's Bazar road crash
Cox's Bazar, 10 July : Six people including two children and one woman were killed and at least 14 injured on Friday in a road accident on Cox's Bazar-Chittagong Highway at Chokoria, police said.
A Jeep headed for Chittagong carrying at least 20 passengers fell about 50 feet down the road, breaking the railing of a bridge, having had a head-on collision with another bus of Shah Amin Paribahan at around 4pm(BDST), Mohammad Jashim Uddin, officer in charge of Chokoria Police Station said. Of the injured, two were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, two to Chokoria Health Complex and another 10 received initial treatment at local hospitals.
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Over 50 canals in Bangladesh capital near death
ANN, Dhaka, 10 July : Although over 50 affluent canals once used to flow through Bangladesh capital Dhaka and added to its lifeline, most of the water channels have been fully or partially choked, while the rest are under serious threat thanks to unabated encroachment.
The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) had earlier taken initiatives in line with a decision of the last caretaker government to recover 26 out of 43 canals from encroachers. However, the initiatives have so far yielded very little success. Besides, once the recovery drive is over, many of the canals again get encroached due to lack of excavation, proper demarcation and monitoring, experts say. READ MORE န Photo : Waterways News
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Turkey-Bangla chamber keen to reopen Rajshahi Tex
BSS, Rajshahi, 10 July : Turkey-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI) showed interest in reopening the Rajshahi Textile Mills, which remained non-functional for the last couple of years. The interest was shown when a TBCCI delegation called on Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) Mayor AHM Khairuzzaman Liton at the latter’s office.
The delegation members during the discussion expressed their keen interest in further development of trade and business relations between Bangladesh and Turkey and establishment of educational institutions and hospitals in Rajshahi city. There is a large demand of garments and different other fancy products especially handicrafts and silk items in the Turkish markets and the region can earn a huge amount of foreign currency through exporting the items, they mentioned.
The RCC mayor urged the local and foreign entrepreneurs to invest in the region as it had requisite facilities including sound law and order and road, rail and air communication and low labour and management cost. န Photo : AFP
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Bus services in Howrah district hit due to Bus protests

Howrah, 10 July : Thousands of commuters faced a harrowing time as buses in over 25 local routes kept off the roads to protest against alleged harassment by authorities. Bus operators said they were protesting against the authorities’ alleged drive to force them to take fresh fitness certificates.
They would meet West Bengal transport minister later on Friday and threatened to withdraw service indefinitely if their demands were not met. The authorities have been conducting checks on buses since the accident on Bankim Setu last week to find if their tyres have been resoled.
14 people were killed in the accident on Saturday when a speeding minibus fell off the bridge on to the railway line at Howrah station. The bus was found to have resoled tyres. န File Photo : Outlook

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"United Airlines" formally commissions new plane

Dhaka, 10 July : Private United Airlines owned by non-resident Bangladeshis celebrated its second year in operation on Friday by introducing a 155-seater airplane. Bangladesh civil aviation minister GM Quader formally commissioned the plane at a ceremony in the afternoon.

The company, launched on 10 July, 2007, recently bought the airplane, MD-83 of the Boeing Company, from the United Kingdom. The plane will fly the Dhaka-Dubai route from 16b July, the company's public relations officer Kamrul Islam said. Two 37-seater Dash-8-100 airplanes are currently fly the domestic routes to Dhaka, Chittagong, Jessore, Sylhet, Cox's Bazar and Barisal and Dhaka-Kolkata and Chittagong-Kolkata international routes.
Islam said, soon, another airplane will start operating from Dhaka to Kathmandu, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

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Make English optional medium : Tripura's ruling Left

Agartala, 10 July : The Left Front government in Tripura Friday demanded that regional languages be reintroduced alongside English as a medium of learning for all degree level courses in the ongoing academic session.
"The union government should introduce English as an optional medium of learning along with other recognised local and regional languages in higher education across the country," Tripura Higher Education Minister Anil Sarkar said in a statement. "The Tripura Central University has introduced English as a medium of learning and it would be a dangerous impediment for students in obtaining higher education." This comes after the Tripura Central University, following a directive from the central government, made English the mandatory medium of learning in its honours courses and the decision is being implemented in the current academic session.
The Students Federation of India (SFI), which is the student wing of the state's ruling CPI(M), has been demanding for the past week that the university decision on English not be implemented in colleges. However, opposition parties, including the Congress, have supported the university decision to give priority to English as a medium.

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Modernisation of Port Blair's VSI Airport on the cards
Port Blair, 10 July : A 450-crore plan to upgrade the terminal building of Veer Savarkar International Airport of Port Blair was discussed at a meeting of Secretary, Civil Aviation, Government of India, MM Nambiar held in the conference hall of Secretariat on Thursday.
According to official sources, the discussion centered around airport modernisation. Apart from Chief Secretary Vivek Rae, the meeting was also attended by other senior officers of the administration, Airport Authority of India and representatives of the Andaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Highly placed sources further informed that the issue relating to airport development with the Coast Guard had been amicably resolved paving the way for modernisation in a big way.

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Howrah-Dehradun Express derails in Bihar, 12 hurt
PTI, Gaya (Bihar), 10 July : At least 12 passengers were injured when two coaches of Howrah-Dehradun Express derailed in Bihar's Gaya district on Friday.
"The SLR van and guard's coach of the train jumped the rails near Bilwa station about 50 km from here at about 3.55am," PRO of East Central Railway U K Jha said. Eye witnesses said the passengers received minor injuries as the train was moving at a slow speed. The derailed coaches were detached from the train, which resumed journey at 5.55am, Jha said.

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A special episode of BBC Sanglap on education today

Dhaka, 10 July : BBC Bangla is going to organise a special episode of its flagship Bangladesh Sanglap programme on education in the city today. A four-member panel will directly answer to questions raised by a live audience on the pros and cons of the current education system, says a press release.
The panel at this week's programme will feature Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid, former adviser to a caretaker government Rasheda K Chowdhury, former vice chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Moniruzzaman Mia and President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Annisul Haq.
The hour-long Bangladesh Sanglap provides a unique platform on radio and television, where ordinary citizens ask questions to, and debate issues with the country's political leaders and civil society personalities.

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West Bengal officials seize Antiques worth millions Rs
Dinajpur, 10 July : Customs officials here have seized antiques of Hindu Gods and Goddesses worth million of rupees. The idols date back to the fourth and fifth centuries AD. They were seized during a raid on Jabragachi village in South Dinajpur district. No arrests have been made so far, an official said.
“This is a part of a big racket. We are investigating it further. These things are coming into India from Bangladesh and Nepal,” said R. Mungababu, Additional Commissioner of Customs, North Bengal and Sikkim. The demand for Indian antiques in international markets is huge.

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Tripura becomes third peaceful state in North East
Agartala, 10 July : Tripura has set a record in containing insurgency in the trouble-torn Indian Northeastern region and the state did not trace any casualty in militancy-related incidents so far this year even though killing of 126 civilians and 27 security personnel were reported from the region.
The latest MHA report revealed that Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram were in the same status in terms of casualty in insurgency-related incidents in the past six months.
Tripura stood third lowest in insurgency-related incidents in the region after Mizoram and Meghalaya, a report said, adding Tripura had recorded only 10 incidents so far this year.
But there was no report of killing of any security personnel in 2008 and so far in 2009 though civilian casualty was recorded at seven and four in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the report stated.