UNB, Dhaka, 3 November : A joint exercise by Special Forces of Bangladesh and Indian Army will be held 4-15 November in India, said an ISPR press release.A 23-member team of Bangladesh Army led by Lt Col Md Anwar Hossain left Dhaka today for Kolkata to take part in the exercise. Commando Battalion of Bangladesh Army and the members of 21 Parachute Brigade of Indian Army will take part in this exercise. It includes parachute jump training, small team activities and using of helicopter in the training activities.
The main objective of the joint exercise is to establish goodwill and mutual cooperation between the two armies.
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Trawler capsize toll rises to 80 persons in South 24Pargana
PTI, Kakdwip, 3 November : The death toll in the trawler capsize in Hoogly river here shot up to 80 today with three more bodies retrieving from waters as search operation for the missing continued."Three bodies were found in the morning," South 24 Paraganas SP L N Meena said, adding that efforts are on to hoist the sunken trawler. Additional District Magistrate Sandilya Nilanjan said the position of the trawler had shifted due to tides. Meanwhile, Navy, Coast Guard, Kolkata Port Trust are Civil Defence are continuing search operation for the missing.
Of the 220 persons on board the trawler, which sank on 30 October while sailing from Hijli Sharif in East Midnapore district to Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas, 93 had swum to safety or were rescued. န Photo : PTI READ BBC STORY
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Police discover North-Eastern's elephant smuggling racket
Subir Bhaumik, BBC News, Kolkata, 3 November : Police in India's north-eastern Assam state have discovered an elephant smuggling racket which is suspected of selling scores of animals in India and Nepal.
Police said five traders were arrested and some animals due to be taken out of the state were rescued. The sale and purchase of elephants is illegal in India but police say the trade is flourishing. READ FULL STORY
Subir Bhaumik, BBC News, Kolkata, 3 November : Police in India's north-eastern Assam state have discovered an elephant smuggling racket which is suspected of selling scores of animals in India and Nepal.
Police said five traders were arrested and some animals due to be taken out of the state were rescued. The sale and purchase of elephants is illegal in India but police say the trade is flourishing. READ FULL STORY
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Bangladesh's Rohingya refugees eye Myanmar elections
IRIN, Cox's Bazar, 3 November : Despite restrictions on movement, marriage and education, Rohingya in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State have been given the right to vote in Myanmar’s 7 November elections, and many of the over 200,000 Rohingya refugees in neighbouring Bangladesh see in this a semblance of hope.“We didn’t come to Bangladesh to make a life. We came here for justice,” Shira Banu, an undocumented Rohingya who arrived in Bangladesh 15 years ago when the Burmese army seized her land, said. “If the government in Burma removes the restrictions and if the Jatishanga [UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR] comes with us, then we would like to go home,” the 50-year-old said. “Our only hope is if Aung San Suu Kyi comes to power. Her father was a good leader so she will be too,” said Banu.
IRIN interviewed over 20 Rohingya from the Cox’s Bazar area who expressed similar opinions...READ FULL REPORT န Photo : Misha Hussain
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40 shops gutted in fire, 20 injured while extinguishing fire
Barisal, 3 November : Over 40 shops were gutted in a fire which broke out at Ulania Bazaar in Mehendiganj upazila early Wednesday.Local sources said 20 people were also injured while trying to extinguish the flame. Alamgir Hossain, president of Ulania Bazaar committee, said the fire originated from electric short circuit in a grocery shop of Abdul Jabbar and soon it engulfed other shops at about 1am.
As there was no fire service office in the upazila, local people tried to extinguish the flame and the fire came under control at about 4am (BDST). န Photo : UNB
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Bru repatriation begins in TripuraPTI, Aizawl, 3 November : The repatriation of Bru refugees from six relief camps in Tripura began today with 35 families returning to Mizoram's Mamit district.
State home department officials said that 36 families have returned till now (one family crossed over to Mizoram yesterday). Around 17 families are likely to return tomorrow. The Tripura government provided vehicles to these families who returned to their native place. The transport expenses would be reimbursed by Mizoram with funds received from the Union Home Ministry, they said. The repatriation process began with protests from anti-repatriation hardliners who demanded a series of commitments from the Centre and the Mizoram government.
Around 31,000 Bru refugees are presently sheltered in the six camps in North Tripura district, officials said.
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Dipu urges EU to increase its support to BD’s development
Dhaka, 3 November : Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni Wednesday urged the European Union (EU) to increase its support to the development of Bangladesh.
Dipu made the appeal when EU outgoing ambassador Dr Stefan Frowein called on her at the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Minister said the EU is not only the largest trading partner of Bangladesh but the governments of the EU countries are also prominent partners of Bangladesh’s development cooperation. She hoped the ‘rules of origin’ regulation being considered by the EU for last several years would address Bangladesh’s concern.
Dhaka, 3 November : Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni Wednesday urged the European Union (EU) to increase its support to the development of Bangladesh.
Dipu made the appeal when EU outgoing ambassador Dr Stefan Frowein called on her at the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Minister said the EU is not only the largest trading partner of Bangladesh but the governments of the EU countries are also prominent partners of Bangladesh’s development cooperation. She hoped the ‘rules of origin’ regulation being considered by the EU for last several years would address Bangladesh’s concern.
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CM Gogoi discusses dam issue with Union Power Minister
PTI, Guwahati, 3 November : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today asked Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to examine Subansiri lower hydro-electric project in Arunachal Pradesh in a holistic manner.
Gogoi met Shinde in Delhi and requested him to set up a multi-disciplinary expert committee at the earliest to examine "the entire ramification of the project in a holistic and comprehensive manner", official sources said. The union minister assured Gogoi to examine the issues raised by him in the wake of concerns in certain quarters regarding the downstream effects of the hydro electric project, they said.
PTI, Guwahati, 3 November : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today asked Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to examine Subansiri lower hydro-electric project in Arunachal Pradesh in a holistic manner.
Gogoi met Shinde in Delhi and requested him to set up a multi-disciplinary expert committee at the earliest to examine "the entire ramification of the project in a holistic and comprehensive manner", official sources said. The union minister assured Gogoi to examine the issues raised by him in the wake of concerns in certain quarters regarding the downstream effects of the hydro electric project, they said.
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PM places wreath at portrait of Bangabandhu marking the Jail Killing DayBSS, Dhaka, 3 November : Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina placed wreath at the portrait of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in front of Bangabandhu Bhaban here this morning marking the Jail Killing Day.
Sheikh Hasina, also the president of Bangladesh Awami League, placed the wreath at the portrait of Bangabandhu first as the Prime Minister and then as the chief of the party. Later, the Prime Minister placed wreath at the graves of national leaders Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed and Captain M Monsur Ali at the Banani Graveyard. After placing wreath, the Prime Minister stood in solemn silence for sometime and offered Fateha at the graves seeking divine blessings for eternal peace of the martyrs.
The four national leaders-Syed Nazrul Islam, Tajuddin Ahmed, Captain M Monsur Ali and AHM Qamaruzzaman, who played a pioneering role in the country's War of Liberation, were brutally killed inside Dhaka Central jail on November 3, 1975. န Photo : BSS
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Microcredit 'death trap' for Bangladesh's poor -James Melik
BBC Business, 3 November : Joba Rani was a solvent farmer in the north east village of Jamlabaj, but her world turned upside down when early floods swamped her land in April.
Like 20 million other people in Bangladesh, most of them women, Ms Rani had turned to microcredit in an effort to lift herself out of poverty. Microfinance offers small loans to people who do not normally qualify for traditional banking credit, to encourage entrepreneurship. READ FULL STORY
BBC Business, 3 November : Joba Rani was a solvent farmer in the north east village of Jamlabaj, but her world turned upside down when early floods swamped her land in April.
Like 20 million other people in Bangladesh, most of them women, Ms Rani had turned to microcredit in an effort to lift herself out of poverty. Microfinance offers small loans to people who do not normally qualify for traditional banking credit, to encourage entrepreneurship. READ FULL STORY
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Trade through Akhaura land port to be stopped for 7-days
UNB, Brahmanbaria, 3 November : Trade through Akhaura Land Port to be stopped for seven days from Thursday to Wednesday (4-10 November) due to early start of repair of dilapidated `Land Port Road` in India`s Tripura state.
Badly damaged for long, the 16-kilometer road from Dharkhar of Agartala in Tripura to Akhaura in Brahmanbaria district has remained unfit for plying of vehicles, especially heavy ones, for long.
UNB, Brahmanbaria, 3 November : Trade through Akhaura Land Port to be stopped for seven days from Thursday to Wednesday (4-10 November) due to early start of repair of dilapidated `Land Port Road` in India`s Tripura state.
Badly damaged for long, the 16-kilometer road from Dharkhar of Agartala in Tripura to Akhaura in Brahmanbaria district has remained unfit for plying of vehicles, especially heavy ones, for long.
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Nagaland : Ruling NPF opposes continuation of "AFSPA"
PTI, Kohima, 3 November : The ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) today took exception to the Centre's decision to continue the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland for another eight months.
The regional party alleged that the Central government had chosen to turn a blind eye to peace prevailing in the state and extended the tag of disturbed area and AFSPA for eight months.
PTI, Kohima, 3 November : The ruling Naga People's Front (NPF) today took exception to the Centre's decision to continue the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Nagaland for another eight months.
The regional party alleged that the Central government had chosen to turn a blind eye to peace prevailing in the state and extended the tag of disturbed area and AFSPA for eight months.
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DU students to get free Internet on campus by next year
BSS, Dhaka, 3 November : The Dhaka University (DU) students will enjoy free internet accessibility on the campus by next year as part of digitalising the varsity.Vice Chancellor of the university Professor Dr AAMS Arefin Siddique told BSS here today about the internet connectivity in the DU. "We have already discussed the matter with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)," DU VC said.
The Teacher-Student Centre area of the university has already been brought under Wi-Fi technology aiming at giving users free access to internet , DU VC said and added the university itself financed the project and this facility would be extended to all the halls, institutes and faculties soon. "We hope the government will help us in expanding the use of this technology as we have already sought assistance from the UNDP in this regard," he added.Wi-Fi access is now available in front of Razu Monument, TSC field and part of 'TSC island' and will be extended soon to other places of the university including central library, Mall Chattar and the field in front of Shamsunnahar Hall, university sources said. Dhaka University introduced online admission facilities from the 2010-11 academic session. "We have already introduced online admission process and taken the initiative to digitise the university's academic and administrative activities," said the DU VC. He said the online system eases students' sufferings in buying and submitting admission forms .
With funding from UNDP, the central and science library have been brought under the automation project at DU. The university authority has launched the programme for easy excess to library. Prof Arefin said necessary initiatives have been taken to turn Dhaka University Library into digital one. He laid emphasis on increasing the number of computer literate people to make into reality the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's vision of building digital Bangladesh.
The Dhaka University would provide leadership in building the Digital Bangladesh said the VC expressing his conviction. န File Cartoon Courtesy : Dobangla
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