MK Narayanan unfurls tri-colour as W Bengal celebrates R-Day

Kolkata, 26 January : Amid stepped-up security, newly appointed West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan unfurled the tricolour and took the salute as the state celebrated India’s 61st Republic Day Tuesday.
Military parades, march pasts, cultural functions and blood donation camps marked the day which was celebrated in cities, towns and villages across the state. The Republic Day parade was held on the arterial Red Road in the city hub with the armed forces showcasing an impressive array of weapons, including F.H. 77 BO2 Bofors guns, Igla 1 M missile and anti-tank guided missile Flame. Smartly turned out armed forces units, police personnel, fire brigade units, schoolchildren and dance troupes regaled spectators during the 90-minute parade in the presence of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, state ministers, bureaucrats, diplomats corps and other dignitaries.
The day was also celebrated at central and state government offices, including the Kolkata Port Trust, South-Eastern Railway and Eastern Railway, civic bodies and educational institutions. န Photos : Avijit Mondal

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Scholarships to girl students who continue to study after 8
Kolkata, 26 January : The West Bengal government will provide scholarships to girl students who continue to study after Class 8 in a bid to reduce the drop-out rate among girls, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here Tuesday.
“Most of the girls are not able to continue their studies after Class 8 due to lack of financial support. So, we have decided to provide scholarships to girl students who continue their studies after class 8,” Bhattacharjee said on the closing day of the Vidyasagar fair.

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Bangladesh condemns spiralling arms expenditure : Moni

Dhaka, 26 January : Bangladesh Foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni has urged the international community to take genuine steps towards a world free of nuclear weapons, expressing concern at the spiralling expenditure on arms by powerful countries.
Dr Dipu Moni made the call Tuesday addressing the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, of which Bangladesh assumed the presidency this month. The foreign minister referred to "the positive environment prevailing at the global level" and urged the member states "to seize this opportunity to establish a world free from the scourge of nuclear weapons," said a statement by the Bangladesh foreign ministry.

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Missing security personnel found dead in Bankura
Bankura, 26 January : An IRB personnel who was suspected to be abducted by Maoists from this district last night was on Tuesday found dead in a nearby jungle while search was on for his colleague, police said.
Superintendent of Police Vishal Garg said Sanjoy Ghosh was found dead in Bhusakana jungle near the Satnala camp. His body has been brought to the camp. Another IRB personnel Ajoy Pande is still missing and suspected to be abducted by Maoists.

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Kishenji's laptop has pictures of Maoist groups : DGP

Kolkata, 26 January : Maoist leader Kishenji's laptop, which was seized along with his diary and cell phone in a raid recently, has pictures of the banned group, the state police chief said.
"A lot of interesting things have been found in the laptop of Kishenji. Some information has been retrieved and some remains locked as yet. We are trying to open it," DGP Bhupinder Singh said. The elusive Maoist leader's laptop, diary, mobile phone(+91 9775204358) and SIM card were seized in a raid at a place between Dumurkota and Hatiashole villages in the 'Jangal Mahal' area recently.
"There are video-clippings in the laptop showing pictures of the organisation, personal photos and some details," Singh said, but refused to elaborate.

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Hasina announces hefty cash awards for Bangladesh contingent in SAG

APP, Dhaka, 26 January : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday announced hefty cash awards for members of the Bangladesh contingent if they earn “historic” result for the nation in the 11th South Asian (SA) Games to be held in Dhaka from 29 January - 9 February.
Hasina made the announcement in a meeting with players and officials of the Bangladesh contingent for the SA games at the official residence of the Prime Minister. READ FULL STORY

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Tripura CPI(M) identifies administrative bottlenecks
Agartala, 26 January : The CPI(M) in Tripura has identified administrative bottlenecks in implementation of government decisions for well being of the common masses while urging party members to intensify mass movements.
Talking to mediapersons CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar said an intensive review was made of the directives of the party central committee on the issues including rectification measures during an extended meeting of the party last week in presence of CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat.

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2 'National Liberation Front of Tripura' insurgents surrender in Tripura
Agartala, 26 January : Two insurgents of banned outfits have surrendered to Assam Rifles in Tripura on the eve of the Republic Day, police said today. One of them, Belaram Reang, belonging to the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), surrendered at Chhamanu in Dhalai district.
He deposited many live cartridges and some documents of the outfit, they said. The other extremist, identified as Pradip Debbarma, a self-styled Corporal of All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) surrendered at Kaikanbai, a tribal hamlet in West Tripura district.

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Andaman govt gets permission for acquiring 17new vessels

Port Blair, 26 January : The Government of India has permitted Andaman and Nicobar Administration to acquire 17 new small and medium size vessels for strengthening inter-Island connectivity, Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands Bhopinder Singh said today.
Addressing the Republic Day parade at Port Blair, the Lt Governor said shipping services were the lifeline of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and this is the reason why the administration was giving special emphasis on shipping services. ''We have already acquired many vessels and Government of India has now given permission to acquire 17 new vessels, which will be pressed into foreshore sector service,'' he said. The Lt Governor added that one 500 passenger capacity and one 400 passenger capacity vessel will soon join the fleet of Andaman's Shipping Services.
Earlier, the Lt Governor unfurled the National Flag at 8.35 AM at Historic Netaji Stadium after which he presented medals, gallantry awards and distributed LG's Commendation Certificates.

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Sachin Tendulkar to attend former Bangladesh cap Ashraful's wedding

Dhaka, 26 January : Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar will top the list of invitees when former Bangladeshi skipper Mohammad Ashraful gets married next year, his father has revealed.
"Sachin will be on top of our invitee list when my son decides to marry. Sachin asked my son what should be brought as a family gift but his visit to our home itself will be the biggest gift for us," The Nation quoted Abdul Matil, as saying. Although several other players have visited Ashraful's house, including former Pakistani player Saeed Anwar and Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh, but Tendulkar's visit stands out in Matil's memory.

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28cm sea-level rise to drown Sunderbans : WWF

PTI, New Delhi, 26 January : The increasing global temperature may spell doom for the Sunderban tigers as a WWF study has cautioned that rise of 28 centimetre in sea levels will engulf 96 percent of their habitat.

The findings, though specific for Bangladesh, may be a cause of concern for India as well because the Sunderbans are spread across India and Bangladesh having same ecosystem and tiger population. The increase of 28 cms from the sea levels of the year 2000 will cause 96 percent decline in tiger habitat of Sunderbans in Bangladesh while the number of breeding tigers would be reduced to less than 20, Colby Loucks of WWF-United States said in a paper. "We find that the Sunderbans, and its biodiversity, may be vulnerable to much lower increases in sea level than previously thought," he said.
The researcher say the situation may come in about next 50-90 years if Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimation of sea level rise is taken into consideration. "The Sunderbans are spread across India and Bangladesh with about 5,000 sq kms in Bangladesh and 4,000 sq kms in India. Although the political boundaries define the region, the entire area has similar ecosystem. Any environmental change taking place will have effect on both sides," Joint Director Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve Raju Das told a news agency.
However, some leading tiger experts are not convinced by the study as tides in the area drown considerable part of the reserve in both sides on regular basis. There are estimated 350 Royal Bengal Tigers in the Bangladesh Sunderbans, according to UNESCO. As per estimates of Project Tiger in India, there were 245 striped cats in 2001 census on its Indian side.
On the Indian side, the situation may not be as bad as in Bangladesh as mangrove covers are still safe on Indian coastline in comparison to the other side, experts say.

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