Kolkata's East Bengal lifted its sixth Federation Cup title

Guwahati, 3 January : Kolkata's East Bengal club lifted its sixth Federation Cup title with a 3-0 win over Lajong via penalties in an evenly contested final at the packed Nehru Stadium here in Assam Sunday.

Newcomers Lajong did well to hold goalless the big boys in Indian football for 120 minutes but the Shillong side couldn’t hold their nerves when it mattered the most in the penalties. Lajong’s Anil Gurung, Samson Ramengmawia and Kyrshan Lyngshing failed to convert their spot-kicks. Ghanian Yusuf Yakubu, Nirmal Chettri and Sanju Pradhan were on target for East Bengal while Harmanjot Khabra hit the woodwork as East Bengal also qualified for the AFC Cup, the second-tier club competition in the continent. န Photos : Chinmoy Roy

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Nineteen missing in Kolaghat's Rupnarayan boat capsize
IANS, Kolkata, 3 January : Around 19 people, including women and children, were missing after a boat carrying a picnic party capsized in Rupnarayan river in West Bengal’s East Midnapore district Sunday.
“As per a rough estimate, 19 people travelling on the boat are still untraced. A majority of them are children,” East Midnapore district Superintendent of Police Bastab Baidya told IANS. “Some of those who had fallen into the river have been rescued,” he said but could not give the exact figure of those who had boarded the boat or had swum to safety. The Hindi speaking picnickers from Ultadanga in the northern part of the city were having a joyride on the boat when it capsized. According to East Midnapore district police sources, the Coast Guard and the disaster management team of Kolkata Police have been requested to launch rescue operation in the river.

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Bangladesh mission in Delhi fears retaliation by ULFA

Anisur Rahman, PTI, Dhaka, 3 January : Bangladesh's envoy to India has sought immediate steps for upgrading the New Delhi mission's security fearing retaliation by ULFA in the wake of BSF arresting two top militant leaders, who were reportedly earlier, detained in his country.
Bangladeshi High Commissioner to India, Tariq A Karim, in a recent letter to Dhaka, said a possible backlash from ULFA and religious extremists in Bangladesh has made the mission's compound at the Chanakyapuri diplomatic enclave in New Delhi extremely vulnerable, 'The New Age' reported. "These developments have meant that the High Commission and its personnel have become extremely vulnerable as targets for retaliatory attacks in India aimed at humiliating the government of Bangladesh," it quoted the letter as saying.
The letter sought immediate government steps to upgrade the High Commission's security apparatus calling it the "most pressing problem" and suggested installation of closed-circuit television cameras along its boundary wall, besides security barriers and fire-fighting equipment.

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Bangladesh has withdrawn ban on Raw Jute exports

Reuters, Dhaka, 3 January : Bangladesh has withdrawn a ban on the export of raw jute with immediate effect amid protests by importers, in an effort to ensure a reasonable price to growers, a senior official said on Sunday.
"The ban has been lifted to boost income of the jute sector and ensure the growers get a reasonable price," said Saifuddin Majumder of the ministry of jute and textile. READ FULL STORY

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Death warrants issued for five 'Bangabandhu killers'

Dhaka, 3 January : A Dhaka court on Sunday issued death warrants against five convicts in condemned cells in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman assassination case.
Judge Md Abdul Gafur of the District and Sessions Judge's Court passed the order after he received the final verdict of the Supreme Court. The court sent the death warrants in a red envelop to the senior jail super of Dhaka Central Jail directing him to take necessary steps to execute the convicts between 21st and 28th day as per the jail code.
The five convicts are Lt Col Syed Farooq Rahman, Lt Col Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Maj Bazlul Huda, Maj (Lancer) AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed and Lt Col (Artillery) Mohiuddin Ahmed.

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Car with Pak sticker sparks panic in central Kolkata

Kolkata, 3 January : A car abandoned in central Kolkata with a Pakistan marking on it sparked tension in the area on Sunday, forcing the police to break its window panes to see if there was a bomb inside.
According to police, the car was parked near the Indian Museum on the Jawaharlal Nehru Road since Saturday night. Panicky shopkeepers alerted the police when they found the Toyota Land Cruiser parked at the same spot Sunday morning too. Policemen broke open the window panes, only to find a driving licence, documents, books and articles of daily use. An officer said the car owner was an Oxford University student, Alexander Henry Parcel.
"Maybe, he had gone to Pakistan sometime back and hired the car there and brought it to India. He has all the proper documents," the officer said.

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India eye top ranking ODI in Dhaka triangular series

AFP, Dhaka, 3 January : India will be keen to extend their impressive run in a triangular series starting in Dhaka on Monday and boost their hopes of becoming the top-ranked side in one-day cricket.
They have won six of their last seven bilateral one-day series under Mahendra Singh Dhoni and a title-triumph here against a new-look Sri Lanka and a resurgent Bangladesh would ensure them the number-one ranking. India, already the top-ranked side in Test cricket, are currently behind leaders Australia in one-day rankings. The tournament opens with a day-night clash between Sri Lanka and the hosts. Each team will play four league matches before the top two qualify for the final on 13 January.
India vice-captain Virender Sehwag said ahead of the series his team were focused on maintaining consistency. "If we win the series, the rankings will look after themselves," he said. န Photo : Reuters

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Jatiya Party's position is weak in grand alliance: HM Ershad
Dhaka, 3 January : Bangladesh Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad on Sunday said his party's position in the Awami League-led grand alliance was weak, but he denied any misunderstanding among the allies.
At a view exchange meeting with journalists at Sonargaon Hotel in the afternoon, Ershad hoped his party's grand rally on 6 January would strengthen its position. "Jatiya Party wants to remain a strong partner of the grand alliance since it joined the alliance to protect the interests of the people and democracy," he added.

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CID seeks 4 more months to

probe 21 Aug grenade attack
Dhaka, 3 January : Bangladesh's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Sunday filed an application before a Dhaka court seeking four more months to submit the probe report on the 21 August grenade attack case.
ANM Bashir Ullah of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court set 4 January to hear the appeal. Abdul Kahar Akond, the senior assistant superintended of police (ASP) of CID and also investigation officer of the case, filed the application as 3 January was the last date to submit the investigation report in the case.
On 21 August, 2004, the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on the Bangabandhu Avenue killed 23 and maimed over 300 party leader and workers. Awami League President Sheikh Hasina narrowly escaped the attack.

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CPIM patriarch Jyoti Basu's condition improving on Sunday
Kolkata, 3 January : The condition of CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu, who is being treated for pneumonia at a hospital in Kolkata, has improved on Sunday and is relatively stable.
"He has shown much improvement compared to yesterday. His condition is now relatively stable," Dr Debashish Sharma, Superintendent of AMRI Hospital told Bengal Newz here.

However, the 95-year-old former West Bengal chief minister would be kept under observation for the next 48 hours in ICU, he said. "Besides lung congestion due to pneumonia, all other health parameters are okay," the doctor, said. The veteran leader was admitted to the hospital with chest infection on Friday and he was found suffering from pneumonia following CT-scan and X-ray tests.

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Again three CPIM activists killed near the Lalgarh belt

Midnapore, 3 January : Three CPI(M) activists were killed by suspected Maoists in the troubled West Midnapore district, police said on Sunday.
While Jhantu Patra was killed at Bamal area near the Lalgarh belt on Saturday night, the bodies of Hiteshwar Singh and Ananth Singh were found at Belpahari on Sunday afternoon. According to police sources, Patra was called out by a group of miscreants Saturday night and later killed. Both Hiteshwar Singh and Ananth Singh were hacked to death by the Maoists when the two were returning home after attending a funeral of a relative in the district.
Police officials said the CPI(M) activists were killed by Maoists as they suspected them of being police informers. On Saturday, at least two suspected Maoists were also killed and one was injured in a gunbattle with police in Lalgarh. န File Photo

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Fire breaks out in Dhaka's dyeing and knitting factory
Dhaka, 3 January : A fire broke out at a dyeing and knitting factory in Dhaka's Postagola area early Sunday.
Police and locals said the fire broke at Ali Dyeing and Knitting Factory at about 5:30am(BDST) and burnt valuables of the factory. Fire fighters rushed to the spot and exhausted the flames at about 7:00am. Officer in-charge of Kadamtali Police Station said the cause of the fire could not be known immediately. More details about the fire were not available instantly.

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Eden Gardens to host India-S Africa cricke test
PTI, New Delhi, 3 January : Test cricket will return Kolkata's Eden Gardens after a two-year gap after BCCI on Sunday named Kolkata and Nagpur as the venues of the two-match India-South Africa Test series scheduled next month.
Kanpur, Jaipur and Ahmedabad would host the one-day internationals, BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement today. The exact dates of the matches would be announced in a day or two, Srinivasan added. Last time Kolkata hosted a Test was in November-December 2007 when India played Pakistan. South Africa was initially scheduled to arrive here next month for a five-match one-day series.

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Bangladesh tries to save 'coral islands' from tourism boom

AFP, Dhaka, 3 January : Bangladesh has ordered a building freeze on its lone coral island in a bid to save its wildlife and natural beauty from a boom in construction fuelled by tourism, its environment minister said Tuesday.
Hasan Mahmud told AFP his government had declared the eight square kilometre (three square mile) St Martin's island an ecologically critical area and had banned new buildings there. "We have also ordered an inventory of the existing infrastructure that threatens the island's ecology," he said, adding that any buildings that harm the environment would be demolished. St Martin's island, situated 400 kilometres (250 miles) south of the capital Dhaka, is Bangladesh's lone coral island and attracts tens of thousands of tourists during holiday periods.
The island is home to some rare flora and fauna, including 182 wildlife species. In recent years, the island has witnessed a building boom due to a huge rush of tourists. န Photo : AFP

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