Mahasweta steps in, Kabir Suman delays resignation plans

Kolkata, 31 March : Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman, who had sent a text message to his party chief on Monday night announcing his resignation from the party and the Lok Sabha, postponed the decision by a week on Wednesday following a request by noted writer Mahasweta Devi.
The decision was announced by Suman himself after a three-hour meeting with Mahasweta Devi at her South Kolkata home. According to sources, Suman has demanded the removal of Sobhan Chatterjee from the post of Trinamool Congress South 24 Parganas district president.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Indian North East region : fallen off the National media map
New Delhi, 31 March : Foundation for Media Professionals, Delhi in its eleventh series of media dialogue organized a panel discussion today on 'North East: Fallen off the Media Map?' in collaboration with Nehru Memorial Museum and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.
The panels comprised of Subir Bhaumik, BBC Eastern India Correspondent and Bengal Newz columnist, Pradip Phanjoubam, Editor, Imphal Free Press, Syed Zarir Hussain, Managing Editor, News Live, Assam, Dibang, former Managing Editor, NDTV India, Sanjoy Hazarika, Centre for North East Studies and RS Pandey, Interlocutor Naga Peace Talk and Former Chief Secretary, Nagaland with session moderator Sevanti Ninan, Editor, thehoot.org.
Hundreds of students and people from the North east residing in the capital attended the session.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chidambaram-Buddha talks on Saturday, to visit Lalgarh
Kolkata, 31 March : Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram will meet West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday and visit Lalgarh in West Midnapore district the next day.
The home ministry contacted the state home department about Chidambaram's visit, state's Under-Secretary (Home) Tanmoy Chakraborty told reporters at Writers' Buildings on Wednesday. The meeting comes amidst speculation that top Maoist leader Kisenji was either injured or killed in a recent encounter with joint forces in West Midnapore.
Bhattacharjee had attended the meeting of chief ministers in Kolkata on February 9 convened by Chidamabaram to review the Maoist situation. Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and the deputy chief minister of Jharkhand also attended it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Labourers vandalise jute mill, torch godown, union offices
Howrah, 31 March : Labourers today torched staff quarters, trade union offices and godowns after authorities of Delta Jute Mill at Manikpur in Howrah district announced suspension of work, police said here.
A notice in this regard was pasted on the mill's gate. When workers saw it in the morning they got agitated and forcefully entered the mill premises. They set afire jute godowns, vandalised several residential quarters and four trade union offices of various party affiliation, officials said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rapid Action Battalion seizes 3,300 unregistered SIM cards
Dhaka, 31 March : Bangladesh's Rapid Action Battalion on Wednesday seized 3,300 unregistered mobile phone connections from a shopping mall in city and held five persons in this connection.
Sources said a team led by squadron leader Khalid Shams raided different shops at Motalib Plaza near Hatirpool Bazar and seized the SIM cards.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interpol to launch campaign to net 73 fugitive Bangladeshis
BSS, Dhaka, 31 March : Interpol is set to launch a simultaneous campaign in 188 countries from May this year to net 73 fugitive Bangladeshis including the six absconding 1975 killers under a drive called Operation Infra Red, 2010.
The six absconding killers are lieutenant colonels Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, AM Rashed Chowdhury, HBM Noor Chowdhury, captain Abdul Majed and risaldar Moslehuddin. Officials said the planned campaign was finalised at the end of the three-day sixth annual conference of the Heads of National Central Bureaus (NBC's) of the Interpol at its headquarters in France earlier this month. "The government will formally request the concerned countries to extradite the fugitives once they are tracked down under the Interpol operation," said Additional Inspector General of Police and head of Bangladesh NCB Nabo Bikram Kishore Tripura. Tripura, who led a three-member police delegation to the conference, said the police forces of the Interpol member countries would launch the drive to track down several thousand of wanted criminals while "every member countries provided a special list of their 'top 20' or most wanted fugitives".
He said of the apart from the six convicted Bangabandhu killers, others were gangsters or absconding convicts.
Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Interpol Hasib Aziz and Additional Superintendent of Police (Adi-SP-Interpol) Ashfaqul Alam were two other members of the Bangladesh delegation to the conference joined by 250 senior officials of 188 countries.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Assam Assembly passes bill making healthcare basic right
Guwahati, 31 March : The Assam Assembly on Wednesday passed the Assam Public Health Bill, 2010 that guarantees the right of every citizen to health and well-being. The bill was tabled on 11 March, making Assam the fist state to do so.
The Assam Public Health Act makes it mandatory for all nursing homes and hospitals, government or private, to provide free healthcare to an emergency patient of any kind for the first 24 hours. "This Act is the first step in India towards making healthcare a fundamental right and we hope it would revolutionize our health sector," said Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "Rules would be framed to define emergency under the legislation, " he added.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WB govt to reserve 50 % seats for women in panchayat
Kolkata, 31 March : The West Bengal government announced its decision to reserve 50% seats for women in panchayat bodies before the 2013 civic polls.
Reading out the government's decision suo motu in the state Assembly yesterday, Panchayat Minister Anisur Rahaman said necessary amendments to the rules would be made. ''This has become necessary since the present policy of 'not less than one-third' reservation for women is not adequate,'' he said. Operationalising the decision will require amendment of the appropriate provisions of the West Bengal Panchayat Act, 1973, West Bengal Panchayat Elections Act, 2003, West Bengal Panchayat (Election) Rules and some other rules, he said.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sheikh Hasina receives ASOCIO Special Recognition Award
BSS, Dhaka, 31 March : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been awarded the prestigious "ASOCIO Special Recognition Award-2010" for her "unique vision and tremendous efforts" to turn the country into a modern ICT-based digital Bangladesh.
Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) President Looi Kien Leong handed over the award to Sheikh Hasina at the opening ceremony of BCS Digital Expo-2010 at Sheraton Hotel here this morning. Later, the prime minister dedicated the award to the young generation of the country, who are playing an effective role in implementing the government's vision for building an ICT-based modern Bangladesh. "It is a great honour for the people of Bangladesh and the award will further increase the country's image and help building an ICT- based modern Bangladesh," the prime minister said after receiving the award.
Among the countries of Asia Oceania, previously, former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad (1998), former prime minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra (2002), former prime minister of Vietnam Phan Van Khai and former ICT minister of India Promod Mohajon were awarded the prestigious ASOCIO Award. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the first head of the government in the South Asia who received the award.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tripura government offers over 4,700 govt jobs in the state
Agartala, 31 March : Tripura has decided to fill up 4,712 government job vacancies in one go to tackle growing unemployment in the state, a minister said here Wednesday.
"The school education department has issued 4,712 job offers in the past one week," School Education Minister Tapan Chakraborty told reporters. "We will offer several hundred government jobs in May for the unemployed youths." Currently, Tripura has 550,000 registered (matriculation and above) unemployed youths. "As Tripura, like most of the northeastern states, has no big industries government jobs are the main opportunity for the unemployed," the minister added.
The Tripura government last provided bulk employment in 1996.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------www.bengalnewz.com-----