Kolkata, 20 May : Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee was on Friday sworn-in as the eighth West Bengal Chief Minister.
Mamata Banerjee, who set off from home after touching the feet of her mother Gayetri Devi, arrived at the Raj Bhavan in a black Santro car shortly before 1pm after visiting the Kalighat Temple close to her Kalighat's Harish Chatterjee Street residence en route.Alighting at the North gate of the Raj Bhavan she walked in amidst cheers and slogans from the people waiting outside in thousands.
Union Ministers P. Chidambaram, A K Antony, Pranab Mukherjee, and the outgoing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose were present during the swearing-in ceremony.
43 ministers also taking oath today. Out of the total ministers, 36 will be from the Trinamool Congress and remaining seven from Congress.
Giant screens have been set up at various locations in Kolkata for live telecast of the ceremony for commoner to have the glimpse of the event.
The Trinamool Congress on Monday formally staked the claim to form the next government in West Bengal shortly after Mamata Banerjee was unanimously elected Leader of the Trinamool Congress Legislature Party (TCLP).
The TMC-Congress combine had won 227 seats out of 294 in the legislative assembly, while the ruling Left Front, led by the CPI(M), only garnered 62 seats. န Photo : AFP, Avijit Mondal
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Deep convection taking place over Bay, maritime ports advised to hoist signal No. 3Dhaka, 20 May : Bangladesh’s three maritime ports have been advised to hoist cautionary signal No. three as deep convection is taking place over the north Bay.
Squally weather may affect the north Bay and adjoining coastal areas of the county, said a special bulletin of Met Office.
Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Mongla have been advised to hoist local cautionary signal number three.
All fishing boats and trawlers over the north Bay have been advised to proceed with caution till further notice.
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Denmark court rejects Kim Davy's plea on expired warrant
PTI, New Delhi, 20 May : The Danish High Court, which is hearing the extradition case of Purulia arms drop case accused Kim Davy, has rejected his plea that since the warrant produced by the CBI was an old one it cannot not be the basis for handing over him to India.Facing criticism for the blooper in the extradition case after it was pointed out that warrant issued by Kolkata court was an old one, the CBI managed to convince the high court with the help of local officials that as per Indian law a warrant issued by a competent court remains in force till it is executed or it is cancelled by the same court.
On Monday, advocate for the accused Niels Holck alias Kim Davy made a submission that the warrant against his client was old one after which the CBI got it extended from the special court in Kolkata.
As per section 70(2) of CrPC, a warrant issued by a competent court remains in force till it is executed or it is cancelled by the same court. There is no question of a warrant getting expired as reported in a section of media, CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra said in a statement.
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ADB to provide BD $23 Ml as fund to regional connectivity
UNB, Dhaka, 20 May : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged to provide $23 million to Bangladesh as a technical assistance loan for theproposed Sub-regional Transport Project Preparatory Facility.The proposed technical assistance loan will provide the facility to prepare a series of regional cooperation and integration (RCI) transport projects in roads and railways.
The facility will focus on priority transport corridors identified in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Regional Multimodal Transport Study, said officials at the resident mission of ADB.
Transport corridors linking with the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) countries-such as the Asian Highway Network and the Trans-Asia Rail Network-will also be targeted.
The facility will cover 8 percent of Bangladesh's major roads and 12 percent of its railways. Development of these corridors would complete the sub-regional land transport network, which will stimulate both sub-regional trade and the Bangladesh economy.
The facility is projected to cost $27.59 million, including taxes and duties, physical and price contingencies, and interest and other charges during implementation. န File Photo
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Orphan tiger cub moved from Assam to V Natl Park Bhopal
PTI, New Delhi, 20 May : A tiger cub, which was rescued in a critical condition in 2007 and hand-raised at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Assam, is now being moved to near-wild environment at the Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal.
The cub, named Vivek, was barely six months old when found poisoned in a tea estate in Assam in December 2007 by a team of veterinarians from International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
PTI, New Delhi, 20 May : A tiger cub, which was rescued in a critical condition in 2007 and hand-raised at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation in Assam, is now being moved to near-wild environment at the Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal.
The cub, named Vivek, was barely six months old when found poisoned in a tea estate in Assam in December 2007 by a team of veterinarians from International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Wildlife Trust of India (WTI).
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A bookshelf on entire range of Rabindranath Tagore's works
PTI, New Delhi, 20 May : Now, here is a chance to possess a bookshelf with the entire range of works of and on Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.
Penguin India has launched a special selection of 21 books by and on the poet, writer and philosopher and named it the Penguin Tagore Bookshelf as part of his 150th birth anniversary commemoration.The prolific writer's works include some 60 collections of verse, nearly a hundred short stories, several novels, plays, dance dramas, essays on religion, society and literature, and over 2,500 songs, including the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.
Tagore was awarded the Nobel for Literature in 1913.
He reinvented the Bengali novel with "Farewell Song" and the translation by Radha Chakravarty is considered a must -read for those who love classics.
"Gora", also translated by Radha Chakravarty, is Tagore's most ambitious work.
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