Bangladesh Navy Chief receives guard of honour in New Delhi

New Delhi, 23 July : Bangladesh Navy Chief Rear Admiral Zahir Uddin Ahmed, who is in India on a week-long visit, was presented a guard of honour here on Thursday.
Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta received him at the South Block of Rashtrapati Bhavan. During his visit, Rear Admiral Zahir will have meetings with the Indian Chief of Naval Staff and other senior naval officers including the Principal Staff Officers at the Maritime Operations Centre (MOC). Rear Admiral Zahir is also scheduled to visit Mumbai and Cochin.
Rear Admiral Zahir assumed the duties of Chief of the Naval Staff of Bangladesh on 29 January, 2009. န Photo : Reuters

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SW Railway will run Special train from Goa to Howrah
PTI, Hubli (Karnatak), 23 July : South Western Railway will run a special train - Vasco-Da-Gama-Howrah Express Special (No. 0785) - on 25 July to clear extra rush of passengers.
The train will depart Vasco-Da-Gama at 7.20 am that day and arrive at Howrah at 10.45 pm on Sunday. En route, the train will touch Madgao, Sanvordem, Kulem, Castle Rock, Londa, Hubli, Annigeri, Gadag, Koppal, Munirabad, Hospet, Tornagallu, Bellary, Guntakal, Maddikkere, Pendekallu, Dhone, Betamcherla, Cement Nagar, Nandyal, Giddalur, Cumbum, Tarlupadu, Markapur, Donakonda, Kurichedu, Vinukonda, Narasaraopet, Guntur, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry, Samalkot, Duvvada, Vizianagaram, Berhampur, Khurda Road, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Balasore and Kharagpur.
The train will have 18 coaches, comprising one AC two-tier coach, one AC three-tier coach, eight second-class sleepers, four general second-class coaches, two second-class luggage-cum-brake vans and two parcel vans.

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B'desh power demand reduces after Time advancing

Dhaka, 23 July : Advancing the time by an hour has helped Bangladesh reduce power demand by 150 to 200 megawatt (MW) in the evenings, marginally easing the persistent electricity shortage. Factories have also begun to run past midnight to avoid power cuts. "This means that the never-ending power shortage has forced large power consumers like the industrial sector to be innovative," a senior official of the Power Development Board (PDB) was quoted as saying by The Daily Star newspaper Thursday.
Joining several other nations, Bangladesh last month advanced the clock by an hour, utilising more daylight hours. Schools, offices and other establishments have altered their timings.

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Private "United Airways" starts direct 'Dubai' flights

Dhaka, 23 July : United Airways launched direct flights to Dubai on Thursday.
"United Airways respects hardworking Bangladeshi migrant workers who earn valuable foreign currency for the country - we want to do something for them," UA chairman and managing director, Tasbirul Ahmed Chowdhury said.
The Dhaka-Dubai-Dhaka flight to be run with a 155-seat MD-83 aircraft is offering a special introductory one way fare at $250, excluding taxes and surcharges. The new flights will initially operate every Thursday and Sunday, said the airline in a statement.
The private airline started its operations in Bangladesh on the 10 July 2007, with its maiden flight from Dhaka to Sylhet. UA now owns two of these aircraft and one Jet Aircraft MD-83 and operates daily flights from Dhaka to Chittagong, Jessore, Cox's Bazar and Kolkata.

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24 kids die after taking paracetamol in Bangladesh

BBC News, IANS, Dhaka, 23 July : A private pharmaceutical firm in Bangladesh was ordered to be sealed after 24 children died on consuming paracetamol suspension, an official said.
The drug administration ordered the firm to suspend manufacturing and marketing of their products including vitamin and paracetamol suspension, New Age said Thursday.
The government ordered a seven-member committee to probe the cause of deaths. READ MORE

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Congress supporters go on rampage in Serampore
Srirampore, 23 July : Angry Congress supporters set a police jeep on fire, damaged buses and blocked the Grand Trunk Road in Serampore, Hooghly, on Thursday morning. The incident occurred after a Congress supporter was arrested for heckling the manager of Srirampore jute mill.
One person was arrested for rioting and police are looking for a few others involved in the arson. District Congress leaders were quick to distance themselves from the incident, after drawing flak for last week's violence and bandh. On Wednesday night, a team from Serampore police station went to Serampore's De Bagan area looking for Biswanath Ghosh and another Congress supporter who were named in a complaint filed by the jute mill manager. The police team managed to arrest Ghosh, but the other person was snatched away by a mob.
On Thursday morning, residents of De Bagan blocked Grand Trunk Road at Maniktala, causing a traffic jam. The situation was finally brought under control after another police team reached the spot and lathicharged the crowd.
Srirampore SDPO Ajay Kr Thakur told Bengal Newz "We have received a complain against the policemen. Investigation is on. We are also looking for some more people who were involved in the attack". န News and Photos : Sanjay Bhaduri

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At least 25 fall ill from Ammonia gas leak in Ashuganj

Brahmanbarhia, 23 July : Excessive ammonia gas leakages at Zia Fertiliser Factory at Ashuganj caused at least 25 people to fall unconscious in adjacent Charchartala village Wednesday night.
Osman Ghani, managing director, Zia Fertiliser Factory, admitted that gas leakages had occurred at the factory. The sick were admitted to Zia Fertiliser Factory Colony Hospital and local facilities. Protesting such gas leakages, the locals staged demonstrations on Thursday at the factory gate.
It is alleged that ammonia gas leakages have caused widespread pollution in the surrounds, inflicted damages to public health and cropped lands.

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Truck rams into house, kill sleeping three in Tripura
Agartala, 23 July : A sleeping woman and her two daughters were killed when a loaded truck rammed into their road-side house in Tripura, police said Thursday.
"Soma Saha (35), and her two young daughters died on the spot Wednesday night when a loaded truck rammed into their residence where the victims were sleeping at Amtali, located on the outskirts of Agartala," said Deputy Inspector General of Police Nepal Das. "The accident took place due to rash and negligent driving of the truck driver, who fled immediately after the accident," Das told reporters.