Agartala, 10 November : Bangladesh will allow South Asian nations, including India, to access its Chittagong and Mongla ports and is keen to revive connectivity in the region, the country’s foreign minister said here Wednesday.
“Bangladesh government wants to revive the decades old rail, road and air connectivity with all south-east Asian countries, specially India, for the expansion of trade and economic activity,” Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni said while addressing a business summit here. Countries like India, Nepal, Bhutan, among other South Asian nations, will benefit the most, she said.Earlier, access to these ports was denied to India and a few other countries due to security concerns raised by some opposition parties in Bangladesh. The minister also stressed on greater economic cooperation between India and Bangladesh.
“The Southeast Asian region is the most poorly coordinated region in the world. Our mutual cooperation and coordination must be improved to a large extent to remove the common enemy - poverty,” Moni stated. န Photos : Parthajit Dutta
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Tata Motors to recall some Nanos, numbers yet undecided
PTI, New Delhi, 10 November : Tata Motors today said it will be recalling some of its small car Nano to install safety measures to prevent the vehicle catching fire."Yes, customers have been informed. Some have been already recalled," Tata Motors Managing Director (India Operations) P M Telang told PTI. There are about 70,000 Nanos on the roads now, he added. When asked how many vehicles would be recalled, Telang said: "We don't know exactly how many vehicles will be recalled as we have to check how many Nanos have to be rectified."
Yesterday, Tata Motors Group CEO and Managing Director Carl-Peter Forster had said that the auto maker planned to introduce additional safety features in the small car in the wake of reports of the car catching fire.
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Calcutta HC's judge guilty of corruption, impeachment next
PTI, New Delhi, 10 November : Decks were cleared on Wednesday for impeachment proceedings against Calcutta High Court judge Soumitra Sen with a judicial committee set up by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari finding him guilty of misappropriating "large sums" of funds and making false statement regarding it.The report of the three-member committee, placed in both Houses of Parliament, said it was of the opinion that Justice Sen was "guilty of misbehaviour' under Article 124(4) read with proviso (b) to Article 217(1) of the Constitution of India." The Committee, headed by Supreme Court Judge B Sudershan Reddy, said the charges of "misappropriation of large sums of money" which Sen received in his capacity as receiver appointed by the High Court of Calcutta and misrepresenting facts with regard to it were "duly proved".
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PM urges Khaleda to abide by court verdict, vacate house
Sunamganj, 10 November : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has again urged opposition leader Khaleda Zia to vacate her cantonment house abiding by the High Court verdict.
She said that when the army officers are suffering from accommodation crisis, it is possible to provide housing facilities to at least 200-250 army officers on the land of the cantonment house now occupied by Khaleda Zia. Hasina was addressing an opinion-exchange meeting with local MPs and Awami League leaders at the conference room of Tahirpur Upazila Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
Sunamganj, 10 November : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has again urged opposition leader Khaleda Zia to vacate her cantonment house abiding by the High Court verdict.
She said that when the army officers are suffering from accommodation crisis, it is possible to provide housing facilities to at least 200-250 army officers on the land of the cantonment house now occupied by Khaleda Zia. Hasina was addressing an opinion-exchange meeting with local MPs and Awami League leaders at the conference room of Tahirpur Upazila Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
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Jetlite flight makes emergency landing NSCB Intl airport
Kolkata, 10 November : A Kolkata-bound Jetlite flight coming from Port Blair, today made an emergency landing at NSC Bose international airport here after its right engine developed a technical fault, airport sources said. The plane, carrying 180 passengers on board landed safely at 2:55 PM, they said.The technical fault arose mid-air this afternoon. The pilot immediately contacted the air traffic control at the airport here and all emergency preparations were made ready, the sources said.The aircraft is being repaired in the parking bay, they added.
Kolkata, 10 November : A Kolkata-bound Jetlite flight coming from Port Blair, today made an emergency landing at NSC Bose international airport here after its right engine developed a technical fault, airport sources said. The plane, carrying 180 passengers on board landed safely at 2:55 PM, they said.The technical fault arose mid-air this afternoon. The pilot immediately contacted the air traffic control at the airport here and all emergency preparations were made ready, the sources said.The aircraft is being repaired in the parking bay, they added.
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2 Cong MPs oppose TC demand on anti-Maoist operations
PTI, New Delhi, 10 November : Two Congress MPs on Wednesday openly distanced themselves from the Trinamool Congress demand for withdrawal of joint security operations against Maoists in West Bengal .
The MPs, Mausam Noor (Malda Dakshin) and Abu Hassen Khan Chowdhury (Malda Uttar), told reporters that the demand for withdrawal of Central and state security forces "by Trinamool Congress chief (Mamata Banerjee) is a matter between the state government and the Centre".
PTI, New Delhi, 10 November : Two Congress MPs on Wednesday openly distanced themselves from the Trinamool Congress demand for withdrawal of joint security operations against Maoists in West Bengal .
The MPs, Mausam Noor (Malda Dakshin) and Abu Hassen Khan Chowdhury (Malda Uttar), told reporters that the demand for withdrawal of Central and state security forces "by Trinamool Congress chief (Mamata Banerjee) is a matter between the state government and the Centre".
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Report on West Bengal's image makeover by month-end
Kolkata, 10 November : Saffron Consultants, which is positioning London for the 2012 Olympics and employed to boost the image of West Bengal battered by the Nandigram and Singur episodes, will be submitting its plan report by November end, months before the Assembly elections is due in June 2011.
The diktat from the state government is that there should be no political overtone or undertone in the brand building exercise, state secretariat sources said.
Kolkata, 10 November : Saffron Consultants, which is positioning London for the 2012 Olympics and employed to boost the image of West Bengal battered by the Nandigram and Singur episodes, will be submitting its plan report by November end, months before the Assembly elections is due in June 2011.
The diktat from the state government is that there should be no political overtone or undertone in the brand building exercise, state secretariat sources said.
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Solar heating system installed in Nagaland secretariat
PTI, Kohima, 10 November : For the first time in the Northeast, a solar heating system has been installed at the Nagaland secretariat, replacing room heaters, as part of an initiative towards utilising renewable energy sources.
Installed at a cost of Rs 58 lakh, the solar power heating system covers 16 rooms, including the Chief Minister's secretariat, chief secretary's office, conference hall and chambers of ministers.
PTI, Kohima, 10 November : For the first time in the Northeast, a solar heating system has been installed at the Nagaland secretariat, replacing room heaters, as part of an initiative towards utilising renewable energy sources.
Installed at a cost of Rs 58 lakh, the solar power heating system covers 16 rooms, including the Chief Minister's secretariat, chief secretary's office, conference hall and chambers of ministers.
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Border settlement key issue between India, B'desh : Envoy
IANS, Agartala, 10 November : Resolving the long-pending boundary disputes between India and Bangladesh is the core issue between the two neighbours, Bangladesh High Commissioner Tariq A. Karim said Wednesday."Besides the 6.5-km disputed boundary, there are undemarcated enclaves and adverse possession of land along the border with India and Bangladesh," Karim told IANS. "There are borders which are peculiarly configured. Without knowing the social and cultural history, Sir Cyril Radcliffe (then Border Commissions chairman) demarcated the border," he said.
Five Indian states - West Bengal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura - share a 4,095-km border with Bangladesh. This include 2,979 km of land border and 1,116 km of riverine. According to Karim, the Joint Boundary Working Group of Bangladesh and India is holding talks in New Delhi to broadly address long-pending boundary disputes.
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Indian North East region gets its first-ever scout battalion
PTI, Shillong, 10 November : With the raising of the Arunachal Scouts here today, the Northeastern region got its first-ever scout battalion.
"It is a long felt demand of the state which has been realised today. And since the battalion is born out of the Assam Regiment, it will be a living symbol of martial strength and traditions of the North East," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said at Assam Regimental Centre here. The new battalion will be gradually deployed in Arunachal Pradesh, which shares boundaries with China, Myanmar and Bhutan, and would work in coordination with the army command.
PTI, Shillong, 10 November : With the raising of the Arunachal Scouts here today, the Northeastern region got its first-ever scout battalion.
"It is a long felt demand of the state which has been realised today. And since the battalion is born out of the Assam Regiment, it will be a living symbol of martial strength and traditions of the North East," Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu said at Assam Regimental Centre here. The new battalion will be gradually deployed in Arunachal Pradesh, which shares boundaries with China, Myanmar and Bhutan, and would work in coordination with the army command.
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Coal India may miss 2011 FY production target: Exec
Reuters, Kolkata, 10 November : State-run Coal India Ltd may miss its target to produce 460.5 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal year ending March 2011, the firm's technical director N. C. Jha told reporters.
"During the first seven months of this fiscal, the total shortfall (versus the target) was around 22 million tonnes," he said.
Reuters, Kolkata, 10 November : State-run Coal India Ltd may miss its target to produce 460.5 million tonnes of coal in the current fiscal year ending March 2011, the firm's technical director N. C. Jha told reporters.
"During the first seven months of this fiscal, the total shortfall (versus the target) was around 22 million tonnes," he said.
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Chinese navy hospital ship Peace Ark arrives in Chittagong
Xinhua, Chittagong, 10 November : Chinese navy hospital ship Peace Ark arrived in southeastern Bangladesh port city Chittagong on Tuesday to start one-week goodwill visit and medical service to the local people.
A red cross was seen on the hospital ship which was easy to differentiate it from many other ships anchored at the jetty. Peace Ark left China on August 31 to set out the mission code named "Harmonious Mission-2010"... READ FULL STORY
Xinhua, Chittagong, 10 November : Chinese navy hospital ship Peace Ark arrived in southeastern Bangladesh port city Chittagong on Tuesday to start one-week goodwill visit and medical service to the local people.
A red cross was seen on the hospital ship which was easy to differentiate it from many other ships anchored at the jetty. Peace Ark left China on August 31 to set out the mission code named "Harmonious Mission-2010"... READ FULL STORY
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NDFB ultras violence toll rises to 24 in Assam's two districts
Guwahati, 10 November : Violence by the banned NDFB entered the third day today as a Hindi-speaking woman was shot dead in Kokrajhar district taking the toll to 24, even as the ultras fired at the security forces in Sonitpur, police said.
A group of NDFB (Anti-talk) faction rebels knocked on the door of one Kalabati Chauhan's house around 1.30 am at Jamguri. As she opened the door, they pumped bullets into her and fled, they said.
Guwahati, 10 November : Violence by the banned NDFB entered the third day today as a Hindi-speaking woman was shot dead in Kokrajhar district taking the toll to 24, even as the ultras fired at the security forces in Sonitpur, police said.
A group of NDFB (Anti-talk) faction rebels knocked on the door of one Kalabati Chauhan's house around 1.30 am at Jamguri. As she opened the door, they pumped bullets into her and fled, they said.
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Indian Idol Prashant Tamang become Nepali matinee idol ?
IANS, Kathmandu, 10 November : This is going to be a critical week for former ‘Indian Idol’ Prashant Tamang. He is now aiming to become the new matinee idol of Nepal, the country that helped him win the popular Indian reality show three years ago.The 27-year-old former constable from West Bengal Police Force starts his new innings as an actor with his debut film, ‘Gorkha Paltan’, running in almost 60 theatres across the country. Though the film on a poor boy from the hills who joins the British Army to escape poverty was released Friday, the actual commercial run started Tuesday because the festivities kept the viewers away and the absence of newspapers meant no critical reviews of the movie.
Directed by Nepali singer Narayan Rayamajhi, ‘Gorkha Paltan’ brought two unexpected visitors in Kathmandu to promote the film. One of them is Prashant himself, who reportedly cut short a concert in the US to attend the premiere. The other is his mascot, who had boosted his morale in 2007 when he participated in the music reality show on Sony Television in India.Prashant’s mother Rupa Tamang, who had crowned him with a traditional Nepali cap during the ‘Indian Idol’ grand finale in 2007, flew in from Darjeeling to wish her son luck once again. ‘My son is now transforming into an actor from a singer,’ the proud mother told Kantipur daily. ‘I have come to give him my blessings. Let thisjourney of his too be crowned with success.’ As mother and son watched the film at the Ashtaranayan multiplex in Kathmandu’s busy industrial area Balaju, an overcome Rupa wept during the screening. At the end of the film, she said it was the story of her son, indeed, of their entire family. Prashant’s father, who was with Kolkata Police, died when his son was still a teenager. The tragedy forced the teen to leave school and step into his father’s shoes to look after his mother and sister.
Though Prashant has two more films in the pipeline – ‘Angalo yo mayako’ and ‘Kino mayama’ – to buck up his career, ‘Gorkha Paltan’ will play a decisive role in making or marring his new avatar. The media has already started comparing him to other singers who also tried their hands at acting, but returned to singing.
Nepal’s best-known example is golden-voiced singer Udit Narayan Jha, from the Terai plains, who despite his acclaimed role in the blockbuster Nepali film ‘Kusume Rumal’, failed to carve a niche for himself as an actor in the Hindi film industry. Though Bollywood rejected him as a hero, it opened its arms wide to him as a playback singer.
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