UNB, Abu Dhabi (UAE), 18 January : UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his satisfaction for, and lauded Bangladesh’s progress towards attainment of the MDGs.
He also praised the government’s efforts at facing the adverse impacts of climate change, and the contribution of Bangladeshi contingents in UN peacekeeping missions across the globe. Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed reporters after the meeting.Ban Ki-moon expressed this while paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Hotel Emirates Palace. The UN Secretary General gladly accepted Bangladesh’s offer of committing more forces to the UN peacekeeping missions. Bangladesh is the largest contributor, in terms of troop numbers, to UN peacekeeping, concentrated mostly in war-torn African states.
Ban Ki-moon also praised the initiatives taken by the government for the socioeconomic development of the people. န Photos : AFP, Reuters
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Mahasweta Devi to join mass sit-in for Binayak Sen' release
Kolkata, 18 January : Jnanpith award winning writer Mahasweta Devi and several other intellectuals will stage a mass sit-in demonstration here Thursday to demand the release of rights activist Binayak Sen and Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal.
Theatre personality Bivas Chakraborty, writer Tarun Sanyal, pro-Maoist activists and various civil rights groups will take part in the six-hour demonstration at Metro Channel in the city hub from 1 pm. Addressing the media, civil rights group Bandi Mukti Committee official Choton Das urged people to join the protest that will also demand release of other political prisoners.
Kolkata, 18 January : Jnanpith award winning writer Mahasweta Devi and several other intellectuals will stage a mass sit-in demonstration here Thursday to demand the release of rights activist Binayak Sen and Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal.
Theatre personality Bivas Chakraborty, writer Tarun Sanyal, pro-Maoist activists and various civil rights groups will take part in the six-hour demonstration at Metro Channel in the city hub from 1 pm. Addressing the media, civil rights group Bandi Mukti Committee official Choton Das urged people to join the protest that will also demand release of other political prisoners.
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Dr Muhammad Yunus in court for defamation case
Dhaka, BBC News, 18 January : Microfinance pioneer Dr Muhammad Yunus has appeared briefly in a Bangladeshi court accused of defamation.The founder of Grameen Bank is charged over comments he made about Bangladeshi politicians in a 2007 media interview. The Nobel peace laureate had been quoted as telling AFP news agency: "Politicians in Bangladesh only work for money. There is no ideology here."
The case was filed by a local politician, who said he had been defamed by the remarks. Prof Yunus's interview with AFP was published at the time in several newspapers. On Tuesday, the banker was granted bail with a surety of 5,000 Bangladeshi Taka (£50; $80). He appeared for about 10 minutes at a court in the town of Meymensingh.
Court inspector Shahid Shoqrana told the BBC: "He need not appear in person in future hearings. The court has allowed his representative to appear in court in the future."... READ FULL STORY န Photo : AFP
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Maoists offer support to TMC, urge Mamata to resign UPA
Kolkata, 18 January : Offering full support to the Trinamool Congress in the coming West Bengal Assembly polls, a statement, purportedly issued by the underground Communist Party of India (Maoist), has urged Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to resign from the Union Cabinet of the Congress-led UPA government.
Purportedly signed by CPI (Maoist) state committee member Bikram and dated 12 Junuary, the faxed statement reached media houses today with a promise that the banned outfit would not boycott elections.
Kolkata, 18 January : Offering full support to the Trinamool Congress in the coming West Bengal Assembly polls, a statement, purportedly issued by the underground Communist Party of India (Maoist), has urged Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee to resign from the Union Cabinet of the Congress-led UPA government.
Purportedly signed by CPI (Maoist) state committee member Bikram and dated 12 Junuary, the faxed statement reached media houses today with a promise that the banned outfit would not boycott elections.
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Gorkha J Morcha shutdown paralyses life in Darjeeling hills
Darjeeling, 18 January : Normal life was paralysed in the three hill sub-divisions of Bengal's Darjeeling district Tuesday as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) began a week-long shutdown demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.
The shutdown forced traffic off the roads and people remained indoors in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. The winter chill and heavy fog added to the hill towns' gloominess.
With the tourists having left for the plains due to the disturbances, the picturesque Darjeeling town was deserted with landmark eateries like Glenary's and Keventers remaining closed.
Darjeeling, 18 January : Normal life was paralysed in the three hill sub-divisions of Bengal's Darjeeling district Tuesday as the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) began a week-long shutdown demanding a separate state of Gorkhaland.
The shutdown forced traffic off the roads and people remained indoors in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. The winter chill and heavy fog added to the hill towns' gloominess.
With the tourists having left for the plains due to the disturbances, the picturesque Darjeeling town was deserted with landmark eateries like Glenary's and Keventers remaining closed.
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Four died & three fall sick after taking toxic liquor in Bogra
UNB, Bogra, 18 January : Four people died and three fell sick after taking toxic alcohol in separate incidents in Shibganj and Admadighi upazilas on Tuesday.
Locals said Lokman, Shahjahan and Azizar fell seriously ill after taking toxic liquor at Mahastan Bandar on Monday night. They were rushed to Shahid Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital (SZRMCH) at 8pm where they died late at night after admission.
UNB, Bogra, 18 January : Four people died and three fell sick after taking toxic alcohol in separate incidents in Shibganj and Admadighi upazilas on Tuesday.
Locals said Lokman, Shahjahan and Azizar fell seriously ill after taking toxic liquor at Mahastan Bandar on Monday night. They were rushed to Shahid Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital (SZRMCH) at 8pm where they died late at night after admission.
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Chopper, anti-mine vehicles to further aid BSF troopers
IANS, Agartala, 18 January : To further strengthen vigil along the border with Bangladesh, India's border troopers are to use Dhruv light helicopters, mine protected vehicles (MPV) and other modern gadgets and devices, a top Border Security Force (BSF) officer said here Tuesday."Considering the vulnerability and other security perceptions, we have to strengthen the surveillance along the international border with Bangladesh," BSF's Tripura frontier Inspector General Ashok Kumar Jain told IANS.
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According to the senior Indian Police Service officer, some MPVs have already been introduced in a number of BSF units along the border while the choppers would be pressed into service by next month."The light chopper would provide a lot of aid to the troopers for quick deployment during any emergency and to supply foodstuff to the BOPs (border outposts) situated at inaccessible locations, besides also to interceptmovement of militants of separatist outfits," he stated.
Over 80 percent of the 856-km India-Bangladesh border in Tripura has already been fenced and work on the remaining portion is on. The ongoing construction of barbed wire fencing is expected to be completed by March2012. "Our close watch and guarding would be mainly along the unfenced, porous border," the BSF official stated.
India and Bangladesh share 2,979-km land border and 1,116 km of riverine boundary in the Indian states of West Bengal (2,216 km), Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (262 km).
Besides using night vision devices, the BSF is to introduce non-lethal weapons like batons, rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas along the border by next month.
"The specially made rubberised bullets would also be used on intruders, smugglers or miscreants. There is no chance of death, but the injured person would suffer severe pain," he said.
According to the official, security forces are currently using non-lethal weapons only in Jammu and Kashmir to disperse violent mobs. Security personnel have also been using non-lethal weapons to deal with internal security troubles and crowds.
To ensure effective border management, the BSF authorities have also decided to establish more BOPs and deploy extra border guards along the border with Bangladesh.
"By setting up new BOPs to reduce the gap between two border stations from 4.5 km to 3.5 km and deployment of additional BSF troopers the vigil would be further tightened," Jain added.
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