Sourav to play for Bengal in Ranji Trophy Super League

Kolkata, 7 November : Former India captain Sourav Ganguly will be seen in action in the Ranji Trophy Super League tie between Bengal and Vadodara to be held here from 10 November.
Ganguly, who retired from international cricket in October last year, confirmed his participation in the match, Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) Joint Secretary Biswaroop Dey told reporters here. 37-year-old Ganguly was recently named captain of the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Kolkata Knight Riders of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Assam Police unveils Ulfa leaders caught in Dhaka
Guwahati, 7 November : Assam police today produced in court Ulfa leaders Chitrabon Hazarika and Sasha Choudhury, partly taking the veil off an undeclared operation that began unfolding earlier this week across the border in Bangladesh.
The special operations unit of Assam police booked Hazarika, the “finance secretary” of the outfit, and Choudhury, its “foreign secretary,” on charges of possessing illegal arms and cash. The case was registered with the unit in 1998. Kamrup chief judicial magistrate Robin Phukan remanded the two to 10 days’ police custody. Ulfa has called a 12-hour Assam bandh on Monday demanding that the two leaders be produced before the media.
Choudhury told reporters on the court premises that they had not surrendered and expressed ignorance about the identity of the persons who had detained them in Bangladesh. They were handed over to Assam police on Thursday, Choudhury said. န Photo : Eastern Projections

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Former CPI(M) legislator shot by Maoists in Gopiballavpur
Midnapore, 7 November : Former CPI(M) legislator Subhas Soren was shot by unidentified men in West Midnapore district Saturday evening, police said, amid speculation that the assailants may be Maoists.
The incident occurred at Gopiballavpur in West Midnapore district, wracked by Maoist violence. Soren, who represented Nayagram constituency, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said. Soren is a member of the CPI(M)’s West Midnapore district committee.

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Jyoti Basu unable to vote again
PTI, Kolkata, 7 November : Nonagenarian CPI(M) stalwart Jyoti Basu, who had appealed to Congress supporters to vote for the Left in the assembly bypolls, could not cast his vote today due to failing health.
"Basu, who is a voter in the Belgachia (East) assembly constituency here could not go to the polling booth because of his health condition," his personal assistant Joykrishna Ghosh said. In the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, Basu could not cast his vote due to the same reason. The 95-year-old leader has for quite some time been confined to his residence at Salt Lake and is unable to take part in any political programme.
By-elections were held today to ten assembly seats. Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee cast her vote at the Alipur constituency in South Kolkata.

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West Bengal bypolls peaceful, 65 % polling recorded
Kolkata, 7 November : Sixty-five per cent polling was recorded today in the byelections to 10 Assembly seats in West Bengal which passed off, by and large, peacefully.
"The final percentage of voting will be higher and known later as queues were reported in many booths beyond the end of polling at 5 pm," state's Chief Electoral Officer Debasish Sen said. Altogether 45 companies of central paramilitary forces and 75 companies of state police personnel were deployed. Rajganj in Jalpaiguri district registered 75 % votes, the highest, and Alipore in Kolkata the lowest of 45 %, Sen said. According to him, 12 people were arrested from West Midnapore and North 24-Parganas districts for electoral malpractices and on charges of impersonation.
The byelections are considered to be a dress rehearsal for the 2011 state Assembly elections, with the contest confined to the CPI(M)-led Left Front and the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine. န Photo : Reuters

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PM Hasina talks dev, climate issues with Bhutan king

UNB, Thimphu, 7 November : King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck sought Bangladesh’s support for hosting the 16th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had an audience with the monarch discussing ways of bolstering bilateral cooperation.
The king of the landlocked Himalayan kingdom sought the support when the visiting prime minister met him at his office, Tashichodzong, on Saturday morning amidst royal ceremonies. He also sought Bangladesh’s cooperation in expediting socio-economic development of Bhutan. Regarding the SAARC summit, Prime Minister Hasina assured the king of providing all possible supports to Bhutan for holding the annual conference of the regional grouping, said Deputy Press Secretary to the Prime Minister Nazrul Islam.
About the socio-economic issues, Hasina said her government would always stand by Bhutan for helping it in attaining the development targets. န Photo : PID

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Black day observed as Buddhadeb visits WMidnapore
Kolkata, 7 November : Hundreds of school students, teachers and villagers took out rallies and observed a black day Saturday as West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee reached West Midnapore district on a two-day visit.
According to police sources, the students and villagers took out protest rallies demanding withdrawal of security forces from all school buildings in and around Lalgarh region as it was affecting their studies. Police said the People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) activists, backed by Maoist rebels, blocked roads near Lodhashuli of Jhargram sub-division by felling big trees. Later the road was cleared by the police.

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Polling begins in West Bengal
Kolkata, 7 November : Polling began peacefully for by-elections to 10 West Bengal assembly seats Saturday amid heightened security, an official said. Long queues were seen in front of various polling booths as enthusiastic voters, including women, lined up to cast their franchise.
No untoward incident has been reported so far, a police officer said soon after polling started at 8 a.m. It will continue till 5 p.m. Around 40 companies of paramilitary forces and state armed police have been deployed to maintain security across all 10 constituencies - Bealgachia (East), Kalchini (ST), Rajganj (SC), Sujapur, Goalpokhar, Bongaon, Kanthi South, Egra, Serampore and Alipore in Kolkata. In view of the surcharged political atmosphere in the state, the election commission has decided to post paramilitary personnel in all the booths of the 10 constituencies. Close circuit cameras have also been installed in some sensitive booths to monitor the situation during the polling process.
Nine seats fell vacant as the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha, while CPI(M)’s popular leader Subhas Chakraborty’s death necessitated by-polls to the Belgachia (East) constituency. The CPI(M) and Trinamool are contesting in five and seven seats respectively. The others have been left for the Left Front allies and the Congress. န Photo : PTI

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Mamata sacks all Railway recruitment board heads
New Delhi, 7 November : In yet another blow to her predecessor Lalu Prasad's legacy, Indian railway minister Mamata Banerjee has removed the chairmen of all railway recruitment boards (RRBs).
The drastic decision to revamp the recruitment process has come at a time when RRBs, located in 20 cities across the country, are mired in controversy and accusations of largescale corruption, irregularities and question paper leak. Recently incidents of paper leak were reported from RRBs in Allahabad and Ajmer.

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Maoists kill 3 in W Midnapore dist ahead of CM's visit
Midnapore, Kolkata, 7 November : Maoists have killed three on Friday night in the jungles of Kushbani, barely 40 kms away from Midnapore town where Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is supposed to reach on today afternoon for a two-day visit. The bodies of Lakshmi Das, Manoranjan and Joyram, apparently in their twenties and thirties, were found lying on the state highway connecting Jhargram and Belpahari. The spot of the crime was in Binpur I block, bordering Jharkhand. Maoists posters were found near the bodies. "They have been given the ultimate punishment for being police informers," claimed one of the posters. Ironically, it was on Friday itself that three additional companies of CRPF were deployed in and around Lalgarh, raising the total count to 30 companies. Three more companies have been retained in Midnapore town for security cover during the Chief Minister's visit. န Photo : AP

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Outlaw, journalists arrested in Chuadanga, Meherpur

Kushtia, 7 November : Bangladesh Police arrested a top cadre of outlawed Lal Pataka, one of the factions of Purbo Banglar Communist Party (PBCP-ML), after shooting and injuring him at Laxmipur in Damurhuda upazila, Chuadanga early Saturday.
As per his statement, police also arrested two local journalists from Chuadanga and Meherpur districts. According to police, a team of Damurhuda Police Station chased Suja Uddin alias Joy Babu, hailed from Laxmipur village in Damurhudra upazila as he was roaming the street suspiciously. Suja in the name of Joy Babu had been threatening people for extortion for long in Chuadanga and Meherpur, police said.
Acting on a tip-off given by Suja, police arrested Atiar Rahman Atiq from Karpasdanga in Chuadanga and Mohsin Ali from Courtpara in Meherpur. Both of them are local correspondents of Chuadanga based daily Mathabhanga.

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Andaman's Jolly Buoy Island reopens for tourists

UNI, Port Blair, 7 November : Andaman and Nicobar Administration has reopened the Jolly Buoy Island situated inside Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Wandoor for tourists.
Jolly Buoy Island is world famous for under water corals beds and the pristine clear beach, where tourists can also go for snorkelling and scuba diving. It is located about 50 km from here in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ''The Island had been closed for the past few years to protect the Island's ecology and also for regeneration of underwater coral beds,'' sources in Andaman’s tourism department told UNI today. Island will be open for tourist with valid entry permit till 15 May, 2010.
Since 2004 tsunami, Andaman and Nicobar Administration allowed tourists in the coral Island, Jolly Buoy, only for a few months so that the highly sensitive coral beds could be preserved.

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Centre gives Rs 300 crore to W Bengal for Tiger conservation

PTI, New Delhi, 5 November : The Centre has released over Rs 300 crore to West Bengal for conservation of tigers in Sunderban and Buxa sanctuaries of the state.
The fund was released soon after the West Bengal Government signed the tripartite pact in mid-October with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) on behalf of the Centre and directors of the two tiger reserves. A senior NTCA official said that around Rs 260 crores and Rs 38.58 crores were provided to Sunderban and Buxa sanctuaries respectively to make the parks free from human interference and their better management.
Under the government's rehabilitation policy, Rs 10 lakhs is being offered to each family to move out from the parks to make it safe for the endangered tigers whose number has declined to around 1,400 against 10,000 just a decade ago according to a recent official estimate.

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PM calls for more US investment, continued support

Dhaka, 5 November : Prime minister Sheikh Hasina called for more US investment in Bangladesh on Thursday and hoped for continued US support in development efforts.
US ambassador James F Moriarty visited the prime minister after returning from a trip to his country. During the meeting Hasina said freeing people from the curse of poverty was the first step for ensuring human rights, the prime minister's deputy press secretary Mahbubul Haque Shakil told reporters after the meeting.
"The ambassador said the US State Department is very optimistic about the present Bangladesh government and its steps for poverty reduction, economic growth and stability."

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Maoists ready for talks, but with conditions: Kishenji

PTI, Kolkata, 5 November : Faced with an impending security force operation, a top leader of the Maoists on Thursday said the they were ready for talks with the Centre provided some of their conditions were met, including withdrawal of paramilitary forces deployed in Maoist-hit states.
Detailing the conditions, top Maoist leader Kishenji told PTI over phone that the Centre would have to first withdraw para-military forces deployed in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal and secondly the problems of tribals would have to be treated in a sympathetic way. "Also both the Centre and the state governments will have to apologise to the tribals for the prolonged torture meted out to them and the consequent suffering from the time of Independence," Kishenji said.
Asked about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement yesterday in which he referred to the systematic exploitation and social, economic abuse of tribals over the years while emphasising on change of ways of dealing with them in the battle to win their hearts, Kishenji said, "It as nothing but an eyewash". န Photo : AFP

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Centre should caution West Bengal : State Congress
Kolkata, 5 November : West Bengal Congress today said the Centre should caution the state over repeated violence there but did not favour immediate imposition of President's Rule as demanded by Trinamool Congress.
State Congress working presidents Pradip Bhattacharya and Subrata Mukherjee told reporters here that they were not immediately demanding imposition of President's Rule, but the Centre should take some measures to caution the state government.

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Bomb explosion injures four in Bangladesh capital

Dhaka, 5 November : At least four people, including two political leaders, were injured in a bomb explosion in Bangladesh's capital Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, police said.
Officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police station in Dhaka Md. Rezaul Karim told Bengal Newz on Thursday, "The small bomb exploded near the office of the country's ruling party Awami League (AL) at around 2 p.m.(BDST)" All the three injured, including two district level leaders of the AL and a pedestrian, sustained minor injuries and have been rushed to a city hospital.
"There is so far no information in our hands who, why exploded the bomb in Gulistan, one of the city's main commercial hubs," Karim said, adding they will investigate to find out the culprits responsible for bomb explosion. န Photo : Firoz Ahmed

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West Bengal govt. to bans unauthorised entry into Filmfest venue
Kolkata, 5 November : Stepping up security measures for Nandan Cultural complex, the main venue for Kolkata Film Festival, West Bengal government has decided to ban unauthorised entry into its premises where many foreign delegates among others are scheduled to visit the annual film show beginning 10 November.
"This time, we have decided to ban entry of persons not holding valid entry passes or tickets. Parking of cars within and around the main venue will also be restricted," Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty told newsmen. "We must tighten security. There will be so many foreign delegates," the chief secretary said.

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Apparel exhibition kicks off

Xinhua, Dhaka, 5 November : The three-day Bangladesh Apparel and Textile Exposition (BATEXPO)-2009, the South Asian country's largest garments export fair, kicked off in capital Dhaka Thursday.
Bangladeshi Prime minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the annual event, hosted by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), at a hotel in Dhaka Thursday. The BGMEA said it is staging the fair this year with great expectation to bolster exports in the wake of global economic downturn which already squeezed export market for ready-made garment items to some extent.
"Our primary goal is to boost the market of apparel items in view of the fading recession," said the BGMEA chief Salam Murshedi while speaking at a press conference on the eve of the fair Wednesday. န Photo : Abira Basu READ FULL STORY

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Taxi strike in Kolkata likely from on 12 November

Kolkata, 5 November : Taxis in the metropolis are likely to go off the roads from 12 November, with an umbrella organisation of taxi unions calling an indefinite strike.
Taxi Bachao Committee president Bimal Guha said that the strike was being called due to non-delivery of new vehicles to replace old ones. Guha said that following Kolkata High Court order banning 15-year old vehicles, more than 7000 taxis went off the roads since June this year. "Accepting the direction, owners of old vehicles applied for replacements, but most are yet to get delivery of vehicles," he said. Thousands of owners and drivers are starving and could not meet basic necessities like payment of school fees of children and medical treatment, Guha said. Of the 7000, applications, only about 1,800 vehicles have been delivered by the manufacturers, leaving the rest in lurch, he claimed.
Guha led a protest in front of the head office of Hindustan Motors, which manufactures Ambassador cars used as taxis in the metropolis.

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WB serious about law and order, says Biman Bose

Kolkata, 5 November : West Bengal’s ruling Left Front chairman Biman Bose Thursday said that the state government was “seriously looking” into the law and order situation against the backdrop of spiralling violence following growing Maoist activities and recurring political clashes.
Asked to react to Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s statement about the state’s law and order situation, Bose said: “Law and order is the state’s subject. I think our government is seriously looking into it. And it’s doing quite well in that. If the state government seeks any help from the centre, I think, the centre should also step forward and help them out,”.
Chidambaram Thursday asked the state government to strictly ensure the law and order in the state, irrespective of provocation for political violence.

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Sri Lanka to merge with Andaman Islands : Sri Lanka's National paper
The Daily News, Colombo, 5 November : Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Parliament that the Indian owned Andaman Islands will come within the area that Sri Lanka hopes to make a claim to as part of its sea bed rights, to the UN Commission on the limits of the continental shelf.
The Minister said that the Government will discuss with India on this issue before making the final submissions to the UN Commission. The Minister was responding to a question raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake about Sri Lanka’s claim for its sea bed rights. READ FULL STORY

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Militant activities to feature in BSF-BDR talks today
Sylhet, Agartala, 5 November : The BSF will hand over a list of around 100 camps of different militant groups located in Bangladesh and seek action against them during a four-day meeting with top BDR commanders in Sylhet beginning on Wednesday, officials said.
The camps are basically “permanent in nature” and belong to outfits, including ULFA, NDFB, KLO and PLA, an official in the Tripura sector of BSF said.The meeting, coming ahead of DG-level talks between both the border-guarding forces, is the first such high-level meet after the mutiny in BDR headquarters earlier this year.BSF’s Tripura sector Inspector General S K Mishra will be leading the 17-member Indian side which will also include the IGs of Assam-Meghalaya Frontier and Mizoram-Cachar Frontier besides a representative from Union Home Ministry. The Bangladesh side will be headed by the Deputy Director General (DDG) of BDR, the official said.
The BSF, during the meeting, would also take up the issue of illegal poaching of natural resources from Bangladesh side along the border areas.

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Extremist groups' rivalry led to 285 killings in B'desh
Dhaka, 5 November : Rivalries between Bangladesh’s Left extremist groups operating in districts bordering West Bengal state have led to 285 people being killed this year, a media report said Thursday.
Retributive killings are carried out against group rivals and suspected police informers for which “the dons call the shots from India”, The Daily Star newspaper claimed in a detailed report from Kushtia, a border town. Bangladesh media has been reporting on the government’s operations against ‘outlaws’ - as the Left extremists are called amid efforts by the West Bengal government to fight similar groups, clubbed together as ‘Naxalites’, a name they acquire from Naxalbari village from where the movement was launched four decades ago by Charu Majumder.
The newspaper said the network of different outlawed outfits in 10 southwestern districts of Bangladesh, especially in Kushtia, Jhenidah, Chuadanga and Meherpur, is very strong.

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Despite ban, "Bullfight" goes on in Purulia district

Purulia, 5 November : What is common between Spain and Purulia ? The answer is : bullfight.

But there is a major difference between the fight in these two vastly different places. While the human beings themselves take on the angry bulls in the European country, in Purulia two buffaloes are made to clash while people enjoy the fight betting on them. The dangerous game which has claimed several lives of animals as well as human beings continues unabated in the rural areas of the district despite being banned by the state government. The owners of these animals rear the buffaloes for fights for quick money and in the name of honour. Two buffalos are made to fight for their lives, while thousands gather and bet on who will come out of it alive and on top. If the losing animal is lucky, it gets away alive.
A villager Apu Singh says, "It is a dangerous game and it gives pleasure to the public who are deprived. The bets are to the tune of Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000 and the fights are prestige issue as if one loses then it hurts our ego." န Photo : Avik Mukherjee

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Two top ULFA leaders arrested in Dhaka’s Uttara area

Dhaka, Kolkata, 4 November : The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), an influential separatist group has claimed that two of its top leaders were arrested in Bangladesh and then handed over to India, a spokesperson for the outlawed group said. There is, however, no confirmation from Dhaka or New Delhi.
ULFA said armed men in civilian dress entered their safe house in Dhaka and took away the two men at gunpoint. Dhaka has arrested ULFA leaders in the past. Separatist commander Anup Chetia served almost 12 years in jail there. The group was founded on 7 April 1979. The rebels are fighting for a separate homeland for the Assamese people.
ULFA's finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika and foreign secretary Sasha Chaoudhary were taken from a house in Dhaka’s Uttara area just past midnight on 2 November, senior Ulfa leader Raju Barua said in an e-mailed statement. READ BBC News STORY

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Hasina vows retrial of those who killed leaders in '75
Dhaka, 4 November : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said, her government will seek retrial of former army officers responsible for killing four leaders who were part of the country's government-in-exile during the 1971 freedom movement.
At a function on their death anniversary Tuesday, Hasina accused opposition leader Khaleda Zia and her husband and slain former president Ziaur Rahman of 'rewarding' the killers.
The four leaders - Syed Nazrul Islam, acting president of 1971 Bangladesh government-in-exile, Tajuddin Ahmed, prime minister of the same government, M. Mansoor Ali, finance minister, and A.H.M. Quamruzzaman, minister for home affairs, relief and rehabilitation - were killed inside the Dhaka Central Jail 3 November in 1975, less than three months after the assassination of country's founding father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

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Indian mission introducing E-token from 15 Nov.
Dhaka, 4 November : The Indian High Commission in Dhaka is introducing a new system for visa applicants - 'E-token' from 15 November.
The system would allow applicants to confirm their date and location of submission of papers beforehand on the net, says a press release issued on Wednesday. The applicants will have to browse www.ivacbd.com and log in to the 'E-token' service. The service will be available three days prior to the effective date of the E-token system. After filling up all mandatory fields, the applicants can choose date of submission of visa application from a list of available dates and any one of the Indian Visa Application Centres (IVAC) located at Gulshan and Motijheel.

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Mamata Banerjee predicts early polls in West Bengal
Khanakul, 4 November : Trinamool Congress chief and railway minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday predicted early assembly elections in West Bengal and asked her party workers to hold their patience for some more months to see the end of CPI(M)’s misrule.
Mamata’s observation on early assembly elections in the state is significant as she is now an important minister of the Union cabinet and an integral part of the UPA government.
Addressing a Trinamool Congress gathering at Arambagh in Hooghly district, where her party activists and CPI(M) supporters had clashed in many areas like Khanakul in the past few days, Mamata said, "Who can predict that elections to the state assembly would not take place within the coming two to six months. I am telling you that we will have an early assembly elections this time and I request you to fight the CPI(M) politically."

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CPI(M) Importing Maoists from Nepal : Mamata
Khanakul, 4 November : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today claimed that the CPI(M) was importing Maoists from Nepal and providing them with arms to terrorise the people.
"The CPI(M) is bringing Maoists from Nepal and supplying arms to them. The CPI(M) and the Maoists are twin brothers. They were resorting to killings to terrorise people. Both of them are killers and both have no place in the land of West Bengal," she told a party rally here. The railway minister before concluding her speech asked her party supporters to shout in chorus with the slogan Lal Hatao, Desh Bachao, Mao Hatao Desh Bachao (Remove both the Left parties and the Maoists to save the country).

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WB civil service split over armed security for BDO

Kolkata, 4 November : The two associations of West Bengal Civil Service Officers are divided on the issue of providing personal security officers for Block Development Officers (BDOs) in Maoist-affected areas of Purulia, West Midnapore and Bankura in the state.
The state government had yesterday announced it would provide security to BDOs in view of the recent abduction of Sankaril officer in-charge and subsequent intelligence inputs that more such abductions could be carried out by the Maoists in remote tribal belts as a bargaining tool. While one association says they want more officers to be covered by the state security, the other association says the present arrangement is enough and that no security is enough if Maoists target someone in the remote pockets of the state.
In West Bengal there are 342 BDOs, all WBCS officers and of them 70 are posted in the three Maoist-hit districts. Yesterday, Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen had said 10 BDOs in that area would be provided with armed escorts.

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Dismantle 90 camps of northeast militants, BSF to tell Bangladesh
Agartala, 4 November : India’s Border Security Force (BSF) will ask its Bangladesh counterparts to dismantle around 90 camps and hideouts set up by northeastern Indian militants on their territory, officials said here Wednesday.
A four-day meeting between senior officials of BSF and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), that began Wednesday in Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh, will also seek to adopt strategies to jointly tackle infiltration, border crimes and other border related problems.
“Though BDR and Bangladeshi security forces have of late taken some action against the Indian militants taking shelter in their territory, there are about 90 camps existing in Chittagong Hill Tracts of southeast Bangladesh and Sylhet besides other regions,” a BSF official told newspersons before leaving for Bangladesh.

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Dada Sourav regales physically challenged cricketers
Kolkata, 4 November : Batting on a different turf, former India captain Sourav Ganguly today appeared to be a tentative starter but displayed the same elegance of his heydays as he enthralled the physically challenged cricketers of Bangladesh and West Bengal here.
After inaugurating an exhibition cricket match between physically challenged cricketers of Bengal and Bangladesh today, Ganguly faced two overs and he was caught at the mid-on in the first over of the visiting side. But, from there on the left-hander got his exquisite timing back as he charmed the thousand-odd school children who turned up at the Eden Gardens.
"It's a good cause to come and I am really happy to be a part of it.

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One nabbed with a UK-made pistol in Agartala town
Agartala, 4 November : One person has been arrested with a foreign made loaded pistol from Kunjaban area near the state capital, police said today.
Two persons, speeding past the locality, were intercepted by residents last night. While the pillion rider ran away, the motorcyclist was apprehended and the UK-make loaded pistol found in his possession. The man, who was later handed over to the police, was involved in incidents of snatching of gold ornaments from women which had been witnessing a spurt in such cases.

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High Court Bar Association criticised for ceasework

Kolkata, 4 November : The Bar Council of West Bengal today criticised the Kolkata High Court Bar Association for going ahead with a week-long ceasework demanding filling up of vacant posts of judges.
"Their grievance is justified, but the method of protest is wrong," Bar Council chairman Arun Kumar Sarkar told reporters on the ceaswork by the association from 3 to 10 November. Stating that the ceasework has caused harassment to thousands of litigants, Sarkar said "the strike will not solve the problem."
There are 40 judges at present apart from two judges who sit at the Andaman and Nicobar circuit bench, while the stipulated strength is 58 posts, officials said. High Court Bar Association president Sardar Amjad Ali said that Chief Justice S S Nijjar had invited him today for a discussion on the issue and asked for withdrawal of the ceasework.

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Bhutan may give free trade facility for most Bangladeshi items

Dhaka, 4 November : Bangladesh is likely to enjoy free trade facility for most of the items imported from Bhutan when the bilateral trade agreement is renewed during the four-day visit of the Bangladesh Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit the monarchy country on 6 November where commerce ministers of Bangladesh and Bhutan will sign the agreement on behalf of the respective countries. “Both sides examined the free trade agreement issues and Bhutan has already agreed to give the facility for their products exported to Bangladesh,” said an official preferring anonymity.
Though Bhutan is likely to seek similar facility from Bangladesh during the prime minister’s visit to that country, no decision has been made yet.

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Northeast to have new mechanism to tackle militants

IANS, Agartala, 4 November : To tackle guerrilla groups operating in India's northeast more effectively, a Regional Cooperation Mechanism (RCM) would soon be set up under which the police of the eight states, the central paramilitary forces and intelligence agencies would work in close coordination, a senior official said here Wednesday.
The proposed RCM will be of help to the security agencies since guerrilla groups have developed links with each other and were using each other's territory to move about easily.
"Under the proposed RCM, district police chiefs of all the eight northeastern states, intelligence and Central Para Military Force (CPMF) officials would work in close coordination and share information among each other," Tripura Director General of police (DGP) Pranay Sahay told IANS.

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36 Rohingyas held at Roangchhari in Bandarban
Bandarban, 4 November : At least 36 Rohingyas were arrested at Betchara bazarpara in Roangchhari upazila in Bandarban early Wednesday.
Acting on secret information that a large number of Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh territory, Roangchhari police raided Betchara bazarpara and caught them. The arrested Rohingyas include 18 children, 14 female and four male. They will be taken to Roangchhari Police Station, police said.

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"Air Zaidi" shoe is top seller in Bangladesh's market

AFP, Sylhet, 4 November : It isn't really called "Air Zaidi," but it is damn popular in Bangladesh, apparently. The "Zaidi shoe," a black and brown lace-up named after the reporter who threw similar footwear at former US President George W. Bush in 2008, is apparently all the rage in Sylhet.
"It's the latest fad in Sylhet - everyone wants to be wearing the Zaidi," a shoe-store owner with absolutely no motive to exaggerate told AFP News. "It looks like your average men's dress shoe but it's been sold for up to 2,200 taka (30 dollars) which is at the very top end of the market in Bangladesh." The cost of the shoe may be explained by the fact that it is carefully weighted to stabilize it when thrown at Bush.
The shoe-thrower himself, Muntader al-Zaidi, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for each shoe he flung at JW Bush, but was released early for good behavior. န File Photo : AFP

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Patuakhali MP Moula Rony sues 4Editors, 7Journalists
Patuakhali, Dhaka, 4 November : Awami League (AL) lawmaker from Patuakhali-3 Golam Moula Rony yesterday sued editors of four national dailies and their seven journalists for defamation, and claming Tk 100 crore in damages.
His counsel Mizan Sayeed lodged the case with the Third Joint District Judge's Court, Dhaka. The defendants in the case are Manabjamin Chief Editor Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, its Editor and Publisher Mahbuba Chowdhury, two reporters Abu Zafar and Zia Shaheen, Jugantor Editor and Publisher Salma Islam, its Executive Editor Saiful Islam and Barisal Bureau Chief Akhter Faruque Shaheen, Samakal Editor Golam Sarwar, its Publisher AK Azad and Patuakhali district correspondent Mufti Salahuddin, and Prothom Alo Editor and Publisher Matiur Rahman.
The plaintiff said he was hurt and defamed by a series of defamatory news and editorials published in the four dailies on different dates.

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Buddha embarrassed by poster of 15th Kolkata Film Festival

Kolkata, 3 November : The official poster of 15th Kolkata Film Festival had West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee embarrassed when it was pointed out that it had only miniature images of two iconic filmmakers of the city Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak.
"I havent seen the poster. I shall find out why this happened," Bhattacharjee, in charge of the Information and Cultural Affairs Department which is organising the festival, told a press conference here. What raised the hackles of the cineastes is that the poster while relegating Ray and Ghatak to the background, boldly depicts the back of a semi-clad woman from waist to neck. The festival will be held from 10 to 17 November.
Asked about his thoughts in having the festival organized in these times of political turmoil, he said "cinema reflects the travails and tribulations of contemporary society. Good cinema teaches us how to overcome the disturbances and complexities of society." The chief minister said the festival this time was being organised with a `smaller` budget of Rs 1.25 crore. "We have cut down on the number of foreign delegates and on the banquets." န Photo : Avijit Mondal

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Tigers bowl Zimbabwe out for 44
BBC Sport, Chittagong, 3 November : Zimbabwe were skittled out for just 44 as they slumped to a six-wicket defeat by Bangladesh in Chittagong.
The tourists lost their first four wickets for just eight runs as they equalled the fifth lowest total scored in one-day internationals by any team. Malcolm Waller and Stuart Matsikenyeri offered some resistance with 11 and 13 respectively but wickets tumbled again. Tamim Iqbal hit 22 in Bangladesh's 49-4 as they opened up an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
Bangladesh knocked off the total inside 12 overs, although left-arm spinner Raymond Price took two wickets for the tourists, including that of Tamim, who was caught at square leg by Graeme Cremer. Zimababwe were in danger of posting their lowest-ever one-day score after slumping to 8-4, but Waller and Matsikenyeri helped take them beyond the 35 they recorded against Sri Lanka in 2004.
The final match of the series takes place in Chittagong on Thursday, before Zimbabwe travel to South Africa for two one-day internationals. န Photo : AP

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TMC blockades Kolkata street over Nanoor clashes
Kolkata, 3 November : The clashes between the CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress supporters at Nanoor in Birbhum district had a spillover effect in the metropolis today with TMC activists blocking an arterial road in Esplanade area in protest.
Traffic was stalled on Dharamtolla Street for three hours as police moved in and arrested some Trinamool supporters. TMC general secretary Madan Mitra alleged that the police lathicharged supporters near Bentinck Street adjacent to Dharamtolla Street.

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Congress-called shutdown hits some parts of Tripura

Agartala, 3 November : Over 400 Congress activists were arrested in Tripura Tuesday as they tried to enfore a 12-hour shutdown in parts of the state to protest an alleged attack on their legislator by cadres of the ruling the CPI(M), police said.
Many shops and businesses establishments, government offices and educational institutions remained closed, while traffic was thin in Sabroom and Sonamura sub-divisions in south and western Tripura, according to police. "The shutdown was more or less total and successful," said opposition Congress leader Ratanlal Nath.
Police arrested from various parts of the two districts over 400 Congress supporters who tried to enforce the dawn to dusk strike, said police spokesman Nepal Das. The Congress alleged that CPI(M) cadres attacked their legislator Subal Bhowmik Sunday.

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CPI(M), TMC supporters clash in WB, 20 Wounded

Kolkata, Suri, 3 November : Following a clash between activists of CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress in Khanakul in Hooghly district in a turn battle, Nanoor in Birbhum district saw a repetition this morning.
Police said that widespread clashes occurred at villages like Satra and Basapara in the Nanoor police station area since morning in which muskets and bombs were freely used. TMC alleged that in the attack by CPI(M) activists, four its party workers were wounded. Police, however, said that nobody had been hospitalized from the affected villages.
On Monday six Trinamool activists and a constable were injured after armed men, allegedly the CPI(M) supporters, raided houses of Trinamool Congress workers at Ishanpara, Katapukur and other adjacent villages with bombs and firearms.

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Moderate 5.4 quake strikes off Andaman Islands

AFP, Port Blair, 3 November : A moderate earthquake struck north of India's remote Andaman Islands early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The 5.4-magnitude quake hit at 3:35 a.m. (2135 GMT Monday) at a depth of 32 kilometers (21 miles). The quake's epicenter was 266 km (124 miles) north of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an Indian territory which lies in the Bay of Bengal, the USGS said. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties and no tsunami warning was immediately issued.
A huge 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck off the archipelago in August, triggering panic as people fled their homes amid initial warnings of a possible tsunami. The Andaman Sea area witnesses frequent earthquakes caused by the meeting of the Indian plate with the Burmese microplate along an area known as the Andaman trench.

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Sharmila, Soha share screen 1st time in Life Goes On

Mumbai, 3 November : Veteran Bengali actress Sharmila Tagore has starred with her daughter Soha Ali Khan for the first time in Life Goes On, a film on British Indians that was screened at the ongoing 11th Mumbai Film Festival.
"This is the first time Sharmila Tagore and Soha are sharing screen space. I have known Sharmila Tagore for a long time and from the very beginning I have imagined her in the character she is playing," said Sangeeta Datta, who has made her directorial debut with the film. "I have worked with Soha while I was associate director in Rituparno Ghosh's Antar Mahal," she said. The story of Life Goes On revolves around the cultural conflict between a father and his youngest daughter, with different sub-plots shown in flashback.
The story, script and screenplay are by Sangeeta and detail the prejudices and Islam-phobia still deep-rooted among certain sections of immigrant Indians in London. It is a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear but it has a hopeful ending.

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Dr Dipu Moni at Developing-8 Council of Ministers Meeting :

န 2 November : Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, left, walks with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu during a break at the 12th Session of the Developing-8 (D-8) Council of Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur Today. န Photo : AP

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Darjeeling farmers erect fence
To save crops from Elephants
ANI, Kolabari village (Darjeeling), 2 November : Farmers are erecting fences in an attempt to save their crops from elephants menace in Kolabari village of Darjeeling district.
Herds of elephants going on rampage and destroying agricultural fields, is a common site here. The Terai belt of Darjeeling is spread up with massive tropical rainforest and is the home to a number of wild animals. Of these the elephant is the most common. The forestlands in the area are inhabited by tribals and forest dwellers who mostly depend on the agricultural activities. Mostly paddy and maize are the principal crops raised by the people of this region. But, at the time of harvesting, the elephants often trample their well-tended crops. Farmers said that the forest department officials are insensitive to their losses.
“Forest department has taken no step, they even oppose fencing saying that elephants do come in forest areas. They say they will take steps to prevent elephants entering agricultural fields but don’t help and leave soon after the animals have fled from the fields,” said Sunil Ghosh, secretary of a forest protection committee.

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Maoist leader Sharma claim corporates funding them

Sumon K Chakrabarti / CNN-IBN, New Delhi, 2 November : Maoists have been reportedly receiving funds from some of the top corporate houses some of which are even listed on the stock exchange.
An arrested Maoist leader in Bihar has reportedly told the authorities that the companies regularly pay the rebels. The Maoist leader, Narla Ravi Sharma, a top leader in Bihar and Jharkhand, was arrested in October. The companies are big players in the metals, mining, steel and manufacturing sectors. But investigators fear these revelations could just be the tip of the iceberg. Sharma has alleged that many big companies regularly pay a levy to the Maoists in both Bihar and Jharkhand. The companies named by the Maoist leader have huge interests in mining, steel and manufacturing and are prominent on India's stock markets. In his confession, Sharma reportedly claims that the Maoists spend nearly Rs 80 lakh every year to run the organisation in Bihar and Jharkhand.
Analysts say that corporate groups usually pay up to avoid disruption in their business or abductions of their employees. Sharma reportedly admitted that during the Nandigram agitation in West Bengal, the Maoists had backed Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress.

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Hartal in Kishoreganj to press for its undivided status

Kishoreganj, 2 November : People from all walks of life today joined a day-long hartal throughout Kishoreganj district demanding retention of the district's 'undivided status'.
While taking part in a procession, one Mokbul Hossain of Bazitpur died of cardiac arrest. The shopkeepers kept their shutters down and government offices, educational institutions, banks and other financial organisations remained closed during the day-long hartal called in protest against move to include three of its upazilas with proposed Bhairab district. People joined protest rallies and demonstrations throughout the district as leaders and workers of all the major political parties participated in the hartal.
All types of vehicular movement remained suspended while six train services could not operate as the agitating people put barricades on rail tracks at different places of the district. Picketers also put burning objects on roads. Locals put up barricade at Manikkhali rail track, preventing running of Kishoreganj-Dhaka intercity Egarosindur Express and Bhairab-Mymensingh local train service.
Black flag was also hoisted at places in protest against the move to include a part of Kishoreganj with proposed Bhairab district. န Photos : STAR

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Northeast will continue pre-paid mobile connections
IANS, Agartala, 2 November : Prepaid mobile telephone services will continue in northeast India though the union home ministry has banned it in Jammu and Kashmir over "serious security concerns", officials said here Monday. Like Kashmir, many areas of the northeast are also beset with insurgencies.
"The union home ministry has asked Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and the state governments of the northeastern states to send reports on the use or misuse of pre-paid mobile services by the militants or any unauthorised elements," said BSNL general manager (operations) Deb Kumar Chakraborty. "We do not have specific reports that pre-paid cell phone connections are being misused by any elements in the region. However, we are maintaining a close watch on this," he said.
The union home ministry has recently decided that no prepaid mobile connection would be issued and existing prepaid SIM cards would not be renewed in Jammu and Kashmir with effect from 1 November.

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40 NLFT recruits in Chittagong Hill Tracts for training
Agartala, 2 November : The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) has started a fresh drive to recruit tribal youths to launch a new offensive in the run-up to the Autonomous District Council elections slated for April 2010, according to Telegraph. Sources in the Special Branch (intelligence wing) of Tripura Police said as the first step towards strengthening the outfit, it had recruited 40 tribal youths and sent them to the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh for training in guerrilla warfare.

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No plan to use army against Maoists : AK Antony

PTI, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), 2 November : Indian defence minister A K Antony on Monday ruled out the use of Army against Maoists but said violence perpetrated by them would be dealt with firmly.
"The army is the last resort in internal security measures and the government does not intend to use it against Maoist activities," he told reporters here. He said law and order was mainly a state subject, but the Centre was prepared to extend any support, including providing paramilitary forces to deal with any internal security problem. Maoists have been operating in states like West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and their ideology of violence would be dealt with firmly, Antony said.
"No one including Maoists, will be allowed to take law into their own hands," Antony said. န Photo : The Hindu

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Maoists, major parties in WB helping each other : Amar Singh
PTI, New Delhi, 2 November : Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh today said Maoists and "some major parties" in West Bengal were complimenting each other to gain a foothold in the state.
"Some major parties in Bengal, I would not like to name them, are also behind encouragement of this violent politics because the Maoists do not have base in urban areas and these parties don't have base in rural areas," Singh said indicating Trinamool Congress. He said these parties and the Maoists have "complimented" each other.

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Buddhadeb Bhattacharje to visit Maoist-hit Midnapore
Kolkata, 2 November : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will pay a two-day visit to the Maoist-hit areas in West Midnapore district from next Saturday to review the situation and development work, in what is being seen as a morale-boosting exercise.
Home secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters after a high-level meeting with the chief minister that 'zila sabhadhipatis' and other officials of Bankura and Purulia, two other Maoist-affected districts, would also be present during the review meeting in Midnapore. On being asked whether Bhattacharjee's visit would be a moral-boosting exercise since the people in the Maoist-hit districts were concerned about security, he said, "We are concerned about security. Naturally they (people) will also have that concern."
Admitting that development work in the districts had suffered, Sen said the Maoists were hindering development work and "we have to increase security cover at the block level to overcome this.

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Congress rejects Basu's appeal to vote for CPIM in Assembly by-polls
Kolkata, 2 November : The West Bengal Congress on Monday rejected the appeal by nonagenarian CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu to Congress supporters to vote for the Left in the upcoming by-elections to 10 Assembly seats in the state on 7 November.
Describing it is an absurd and unacceptable proposal, PCC working president Pradip Bhattacharya said, “This is a clever ploy on the part of the CPI(M) leadership to divide the Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance votes.” "After successive debacles at the hustings, the CPI(M) is now desperate to break the opposition's unity," he said.

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Bill placed in Bangladesh JS to curb TU 2006 rights

Dhaka, 2 November : Bangladesh government placed a bill in parliament yesterday seeking to amend the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 to limit the number of trade unions at the Chittagong and Mongla ports for ensuring better management.
Labour and Employment Minister Eng Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain placed the bill, which was sent to the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry concerned for scrutiny and placing report in parliament. Once the proposed law is enforced, employees of the ports will be allowed to collectively form only one trade body at their work places.
Similarly, other workers and employees appointed by different berth-operators, ship handling operators and other organisations concerned to the two ports can collectively form one trade union at each port of Chittagong and Mongla.

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AndamanNicobar coasts may lose reef-building corals

New Delhi, 2 November : Climate change and a rise in sea temperature may result in the disappearance of reef-building corals along the Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep coasts in 10 to 50 years. The distribution and harvest of different fish species in the Indian seas and major river systems may also alter perceptibly.
Sea surface temperature is anticipated to rise about three degrees by the end of this century. This is likely to impact marine flora and fauna in a major way. This has been indicated by studies conducted under an elaborate “national network project” on assessing the impact of global warming and climate change on the Indian agro-ecosystems, launched by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Around 15 research institutes are studying how agriculture, fisheries, livestock and other sectors will be affected and what can be done to mitigate the effect.
Coral reefs are known to be highly sensitive to climate influences and are among the most vulnerable of all marine living beings to temperature changes. Reef-building corals are currently the dominant creatures in the coral diversity in the Indian seas.

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