Daily Jugantor's Dy Editor Ahmed Faruq Hasan (48), died

Dhaka, 6 September : Ahmed Faruq Hasan, deputy editor of the Daily Jugantor, died on Sunday. He was 48.
He died of cardiac arrest at around 11pm(BDST). "He suffered a heart attack while he was in the office. He died on the way to hospital," Rafiqul Islam Ratan, chief correspondent of the Daily Jugantor, said. Doctors at Dhaka Medical College Hospital declared him dead on arrival.
Known throughout the Bengal's news world, Faruq was founding news editor of the Daily Ajker Kagoj. He also held the post of news editor at the Daily Bhorer Kagoj, Banglabazar and Manabjamin.

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Second hub for Air India flights in NE India : Agartala
Agartala, 6 September : Making Agartala as second hub in the North East after Guwahati, the Air India (AI) officials today said AI will introduce daily return flight at the Agartala Airport, from some important destinations of the country.
As part of intra-connectivity between NE states and rest of the country, authority had contemplated to increase the number of flights and shift aircraft to Guwahati and Agartala stations daily, the sources informed. As part of the mission to provide national and international connectivity to the region the AI authority had planned to expand its operations over the next three years, taking the number of weekly flights from the present 65 to about 1,000 besides, connecting to Bangkok, officials underlined. Referring to the statement of AIs Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Arvind Yadav, officials pointed out that the expansion would be implemented with the assistance of Ministry of Civil Aviation.
The CMD had also held meeting with Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) last week and announced that improvement in connectivity in the region was a part of AIs programme to provide better connectivity to Tier-II cities, they added.

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Dangerous piranha sale in Tangail
Tangail, 6 September : Carnivorous piranha is openly selling as Thai Rupchanda at different fish markets in 12 upazilas of Tangail district although there is a ban on import, sale and farming of the dangerous fish native to South American rivers including the Amazon.
With its sharp teeth and voracious appetite for meat, the small freshwater fish is a dangerous predator when attacking any animal in a group. A team from the Fisheries Department led by Upazila Fisheries Officer Mohammad Emdadul Haque on Tuesday seized 69 piranha weighing about 40kg from a market at Nagarpur upazila sadar, sources said. Due to lax monitoring by the authorities concerned and absence of awareness campaign, the fish is gaining popularity as an 'eatable' item as a section of unscrupulous fish traders are selling it at Tk 120 per kg, sources said.
“Most of the supply of piranha come from Sirajganj and Bogra districts,” several piranha traders at Karatia market in Sadar upazila. They sell the fish as middle class people like it. We do not know about any restriction on sale of this fish as no one has told this," they said. န Photo : STAR

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Bharti, Reliance Communications seek
Telecom corridor through Bangladesh
Dhaka, 6 September : Two Indian telecom majors have sought a corridor through Bangladesh to reach the isolated north-eastern region and in return offered a stand-by submarine cable.
Indian telecom giants Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications (RCom) have submitted a joint proposal in this regard to Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), according to The Daily Star newspaper.
In return for allowing access to the north-eastern states, Bangladesh will get a wider link as the Indian companies have already connected with Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan and have offered to link with Myanmar, the daily quoted officials as saying. READ FULL STORY

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Micro finance will empower NE India, says Tripura FM
Agartala, 6 September : Micro-finance and banking support to self-help groups (SHGs) could help financial empowerment in the north-east, according to Tripura Finance Minister Badal Chowdhury.
“The SHG movement promises to be an attractive income generation option in the north-eastern states, but the desired level of support from the banks and financial institutions is lagging,” Chowdhury said here in an address at a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seminar over the weekend.
As part of its platinum jubilee celebrations, the RBI has been organising programmes such as seminars, awareness campaigns and financial outreach camps across the country to intensify the process of financial inclusion.

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2 CPI(M) men shot dead in Lalgarh
Lalgarh, 6 Septembr : Again Two CPI(M) men were shot dead allegedly by the Maoists in Lalgarh last night.
Police said that the CPI(M) man, Satish Singh was shot dead in front of his house at Talpukuria in the Belpahari police station area last night. A group of armed miscreants entered his house and took him out of his house and shot him dead. The Maoists suspect that Singh was the police agent giving information regarding Maoists in the area. In another village of Lalgarh, a CPI(M) supporter Sasanka Shekher Ray was also shot dead in front of his at Bagchutla village in the Salboni police station area.
The police came to know and rushed to the spot. The bodies have been sent for post mortem. The incident sent shock waves among the CPI(M) men. The villagers remained indoor fearing trouble.

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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returns from Geneva
UNB, Dhaka, 6 September : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina returned home today after attending the World Climate Conefrence-3 in Geneva.
Deputy Leader in Parliament Syeda Sajeda Chowdhury, Finance Minister AMA Muhith, Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, Health Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Huq, Chief Whip Abdus Shahid, chiefs of the three services, diplomats and high civil and military officials were present at the airport to receive the prime minister who alighted from Biman Bangladesh Airlines.
Hasina went to Geneva on 1 September. On 3 September she made a country statement at the conference seeking financial and technological assistance from the rich nations to help Bangladesh adapt to climate threats.

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Depression passes by :

Alipore Met off says worst over but rain to continue

Kolkata, 6 September : The Met department today assured Kolkata that a deep depression near the coast would dissipate but heavy rain continued late at night causing waterlogging in several areas. Officials in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said their staff were already working the pumps to clear waterlogged areas.
“The deep depression moved past Digha. It is continuing to move in the north-northwesterly direction towards Jharkhand. The good news is, it is weakening steadily and things will only improve,” said Gokul Chandra Debnath, the director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore. As a precaution, the government began preparations in the Surderbans to move people to safer shelters, chastened by its experience of cyclone Aila that had devastated the area.
Rainfall in most places over Gangetic West Bengal is likely to be “heavy to very heavy” in the next 24 hours, the Met office said. “It is safe to say the worst has passed. Things will steadily get better, though most parts of Gangetic and south Bengal (East and West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia) will get heavy rain till noon tomorrow,” Debnath said. န Photo : Indrajit Dutta

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Poor navigability hits Maowa-Kawrakandi ferry service
Madaripur, 6 September : The Maowa-Magurkhanda-Nauduba channel, an important river channel on Maowa-Kawrakandi route in the southwestern region, may close anytime as the waterway has lost its navigability due to continuous deposition of silt.
Now all kinds of vessels, including ferries, are plying the 16 km long channel with a great risk. Only six feet water now exists instead of normal nine feet on three spots of the channel, including Magurkhanda crossing. The ferries and launches are being stuck in the hidden chars for hours together even in the season when the deepwater is found in the channel, sources said.

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Three new departments open in Comilla University

BSS, Comilla, 6 September : The authorities of Comilla University has decided to open three new departments from 2009- 2010 academic year aimed at enrolling more students in the newly established university.
The University Grants Commission approved the departments at a meeting held recently. The newly created departments are Bengali, Anthropology and Communication and Information Technology. Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof AHM Zehadul Karim told BSS today that the number of seats of the departments is yet to be fixed.
He said, the academic council of the university will decide the number of seats.The VC said that more new departments will also be opened in the future.

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Development, Security of Andaman and Nicobar complementary

Port Blair, 5 September : Vice-Admiral Vijay Shankar, Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), said at Port Blair on Saturday that the issues of security and development of the Andaman and Nicobar islands are two sides of the same coin.
Speaking at a two-day seminar on the topic, the Vice-Admiral said that security without development was pointless while development without security would be like an able boxer with his guards down. “The ANC has always been a catalyst in the development of these islands. We will ensure that security and development (of these islands) is achieved while maintaining the ecological balance”.
The seminar on the islands’ development was inaugurated by former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Friday. Deliberations on topics ranging from the strategic and geopolitical overview of the region, evolution of strategic concerns, determinants of security of the islands and the interests of China and other regional powers in the region were held during the seminar. န Photo : Andaman Chronicle
SEMINAR ON SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT CONCLUDES AT PORT BLAIR ON A PURPOSEFUL NOTE. Read PIB Press Release

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Deep depression crossed WB coast
Kolkata, 5 September : Kolkata and neighbouring areas experienced intermittent rain following a a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal, which was crossed the West Bengal coast this evening.
Depression is equivalent to tropical storm in intensity and comprises large low-pressure centres and numerous thundershowers. In a low-pressure centre, there is cloud formation and precipitation.
"The depression in the northwest bay was lying 150 km south west near the sea resort of Digha in East Midnapore district," Regional Meteorological Centre director G C Debnath said. As a result, very to very heavy rainfall was likely in gangetic West Bengal, Orissa coast and Jharkhand in the next 48 hours, Debnath told Bengal Newz. Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea, he said.

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Low-pressure in Bay intensifies into Deep Depression
UNB, Dhaka, 5 September : The well marked low over northwest Bay and adjoining area intensified into a monsoon depression over the same area. It was centred at 10:00am(BDST) about 400 kms west-southwest of Chittagong port, 390 kms west-southwest of Cox’s Bazar port and 210 kms south of Mongla port.
“It is likely to move in a northwesterly direction,” a special bulletin of the Bangladesh Met Office said. Under its influence squally weather may continue to affect the maritime ports and adjoining coastal regions of Bangladesh. Maximum sustained wind speed within 44 kms of the depression centre is about 40 kph rising to 50 kph in gusts or squalls. Sea will remain rough. Under its influence the low-lying areas of the coastal districts of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Noakhali, Laxmipur, Bhola, Patuakhali, Barisal, Chandpur, Barguna, Pirojpur, Jhalakati, Bagerhat, Khulna, Satkhira and their offshore inlands and chars are likely to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall and inundated by wind driven surge of 2-4 feet height above normal astronomical tide.
Maritime ports of Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar and Mongla have been advised to keep hoisted local cautionary signal number three.

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Former Bangladesh finance minister dies in car crash
AFP, Dhaka, 5 September : Former Bangladeshi finance minister credited with setting the impoverished country on the path to economic reform died Saturday in a car accident, police said.
M. Saifur Rahman, the second-highest official of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), was travelling to the capital Dhaka when his car spun out of control and veered into a ditch, police said. "He was pulled out unconscious from the car crash and was declared dead after being rushed to a hospital," police superintendent Mukhlesur Rahman told AFP. The 77-year-old politician was Bangladesh's longest-serving finance minister.

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RBI to provide banking services in remote villages

Agartala, 5 September : The Reserve Bank of India has adopted a business correspondence model, acting as an agent of a commercial bank, to provide banking services to the people of remote areas where there is no banking outlet.
The model would be ideal for northeastern states like Tripura, a state full of terrains and scattered population, said Usha Thorat RBI deputy governor here in a seminar. Under the model, post offices, cooperatives, NGOs, financial institutions, self help groups, retired employees of state or central government may act as an agent of the banks and provide services to people.
Thorat said any significant breakthrough in financial development could be achieved if the state government and bankers work together and identify the issues properly. န Photo : Parthajit Dutta

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Elephants enjoy grooming sessions in Jalpaiguri camp

ANI, Jalpaiguri, 5 September : Visit the Dhupjhora Elephant Camp of Gorumara National Park in Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, and one might come face to face with an elephant getting its nails done! The forest department organises a camp for cleaning and decorating the jumbos each year.

The elephants’ are thoroughly scrubbed, nails cut, their teeth brushed, and elaborate chalk designs made on them. Their bodies are even anointed with mustard oil for ‘that extra glow’. Every day in the morning these elephants are taken to the forest for a safari from the Dhupjhora camp. They are brought back late in the afternoon and then taken to the nearby Murti River for routine cleaning. The mahouts said that the elephants need to be kept well groomed. Hence they are given these beauty parlour like treatment. “We feed them well, bathe them. Like in a beauty parlour. Their bodies are scrubbed, nails cut and teeth cleaned,’ said Arun Mandal, a mahout.
The whole process is quite a sight. The tourists are especially amazed seeing the jumbos lying calmly in the river.

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Five people killed in Dhaka's Truck-Taxicab collision

Dhaka, 5 September : Five people, including a one-year old baby, were killed as collison between a truck and a taxicab at Berulia in the capital's Mirpur area on Saturday.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner, Mirpur zone, Shah Iftekhar Ahmed said a truck laden with brick fragments, collided head-on with the cab in front of Eastern Housing gate at around 12:45pm(BDST). All the dead were taxicab passengers but could not be identified immediately, he said. Police seized the truck but the driver managed to flee.

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Soil erosion poses grave threat to wildlife sanctuary

Sevoke, Siliguri, 5 September : Continuous erosion by Teesta River poses a grave threat to the Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and the National Highway along with numerous settlements on its way in Sevoke.
The river Teesta as it flows along the forestland makes meandering channels and the down current is so heavy that it erodes away huge tracts of land every year. The Mahananda sanctuary has already lost large tracts of forestland to the river water.
“Regarding the river Teesta, it poses two threats, one is, for the forest, the Mahananda wildlife sanctuary, along most part of the sanctuary and the other is to the national highway 31 along with the settlements,” said Subir Sarkar, meteorologist, Siliguri.

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3 killed in Bangladesh drive against 'Left extremists'
Dhaka, 5 September : Security and defence forces in Bangladesh early Saturday killed three “outlaws” belonging to Left extremist organisations in a drive demanded by lawmakers in the wake of a deteriorating security situation in the southwestern districts bordering India.
Khalishpur in Khulna city and a day-care school in Kushtia were the scene of action by the police and the elite paramilitary Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). The dead were identified as a pirate in the Sundarbans area, a leader of outlawed Gono Bahini and Hassan Ali alias Hasan Kasai, a cadre of Janajuddha, the Star reported. The killings comes even as a parliamentary panel, meeting against the backdrop of dipping law and order in the country’s southwest, Thursday recommended special drives against Left extremists, the New Age newspaper said.
Armed Left extremists in at least 14 southwestern districts have become active this year.

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Film "Paran Jaye Jalia Re" pays Rs. 75 lakh to play

Paran Jaye Jalia Re strikes out-of-court deal with Namastey London

Kolkata, 5 September : The screening of Bengali blockbuster Paran Jaye Jalia Re will continue, with the litigants in the plagiarism case telling Kolkata High Court on Friday that they had entered into an out-of-court settlement (for Rs 75 lakh) and wanted to withdraw the case.
On Tuesday, a division bench of Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh and Justice I P Mukherjee had stayed the screening of Paran on the charge of plagiarism. The order was to take effect from Friday. Acting on a suit filed by Bollywood filmmaker Vipul Shah, Justice Nadira Patheriya had, on 10 August, passed an interim order stopping the screening of Paran. Shah alleged in his suit that Sri Venkatesh Films, makers of Paran, starring Dev and Subhashree, had "copied the film, frame by frame", from his 2007 Hindi blockbuster Namastey London.
On Friday, lawyers of both parties appeared before the division bench and placed a written agreement. Both sides submitted that they had settled the dispute out-of-court. They disclosed that the amount of the settlement was Rs 75 lakh.

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Buddhists celebrate the "Pang Lhabsol" festival :

န Rabangla, 4 September :

A Buddhist woman spins prayer wheels at Manelhakhing monastery in Rabangla town. Buddhists in the region will celebrate the "Pang Lhabsol" festival on Friday by offering the first harvested fruit of the season to Lord Buddha and Mountain Khangchendzonga to get their blessing for peace and prosperity.

န Photo : Reuters

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Tipaumukh, Trade, Transit to top India-B'desh talks

IANS, New Delhi, 4 September : India is keen to bridge differences with Bangladesh over sensitive issues like the Tipakimukh hydrolectric project and move ahead on trade and transit as Foreign Minister Dipu Moni arrives here Monday on a four-day trip, ahead of Sheikh Hasina’s visit here later this year.
This will be Moni’s first official visit to New Delhi after Sheikh Hasina rode to power in Dhaka on the strength of landslide victory in December polls last year. Moni will hold talks with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and also call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. She will discuss an entire gamut of bilateral issues, including security, cooperation in combating terrorism, illegal migration, trade and investment.

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UN chief assures continued support to boost BD's democracy
UNB, Geneva, 4 September : United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon assured Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of continued support for further strengthening parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh. He also gave the assurance that the United Nations would give all necessary support to Bangladesh to cope with the challenges of global climate change.
The assurances came when the Bangladesh Premier met with the UN Secretary General at the Palais des Nations here on Thursday evening. Press Secretary to prime minister Abul Kalam Azad briefed newsmen after the meeting. During the meeting, the UN secretary general invited Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to attend a special UN conference of heads of government and state of 25 countries to be held on 22 September in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly session. Ban Ki-moon highly appreciated the Bangladesh prime minister for her hectic efforts to improve the living standards of her country’s people and restoring democracy there. The UN secretary general recalled that he had an opportunity to meet Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in 1972.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni, State Minister for Environment Dr Hasan Mahmud, Principal Secretary M A Karim, Foreign Secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes and Permanent Representative to the UN offices in Geneva Md. Abdul Hannan was present on the occasion. န Photo : PID

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Nuke Sub, Aircraft Carrier in Kalam’s vision for A & N
Port Blair, 4 September : Former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on Friday unveiled a vision document for the strategic development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the year 2020.
Inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Security and Development of the Andaman and Nicobar islands’ here, Dr Kalam said that a 250 mw nuclear power station on one of the islands would form the core of the development programme. Dr Kalam said the islands being a vital part of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) would have “enhanced significance” in the next decade. He further said that the ANC should have bases for static aircraft carrier and a nuclear, Dr Kalam also called upon the Armed Forces to evolve an effective security plan for underneath the sea, at sea level and in air. “The security plan which you evolve should ensure that there is no unauthorised occupation of the vacant islands,”said Dr Kalam.
Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of the ANC, Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, said that the location of these islands confers a geostrategic advantage. “Its economic and forest potential dictates a sound security presence,” he added.
Top defence and security experts, including Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt, former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India R Chidambaram, are attending the two-day seminar. န Photo : AP

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Special trains on Eid-ul-Fitr
BSS, Dhaka, 4 September : Bangladesh Railway (BR) will run seven pairs of special trains on various routes on the occasion of holy Eid-ul-Fitr. The special trains would be introduced three days before the Eid to help the homebound passengers reach their destinations smoothly.
The routes to get special trains are: Dhaka-Dewanganj, Dhaka-Mymensingh, Chittagong-Comilla, Chittagong- Chandpur (two pairs) and Joydevpur-Santahar. Bangladesh Railway Additional Director General (Operations) Kazi Asadullah said the special trains on the Joydevpur-Santahar route will carry the working people, particularly garment workers, along with general passengers.
Besides, additional compartments would be added to inter-city, express, mail and other passenger trains. The inter-city trains will ply on weekly holidays too.

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SAIL waiting for tax sops from W Bengal government

New Delhi, Kolkata, 4 September : Steel Ministry sources are disappointed with the West Bengal’s delay in offering tax incentives to SAIL.
The steel maker has taken up expansion at ISP Burnpur with an investment of INR 14,434 crore to raise capacity of the erstwhile Indian Iron & Steel Company to 2.5 million tonnes of crude steel. It is a Greenfield plant that SAIL is building and wants the State’s support. SAIL had wanted a sales tax and VAT deferral for 10 years. In a letter to the State Government last year, it had sought exemption from electricity duty payment, royalty and cess among others for a further period of five years from April 2008. It has written to the State again this year. It wants this exemption before the introduction of Goods and Services Tax which is expected to come into force next year. Under the GST regime, a tax exemption will not be possible.
Ministry sources said tax benefits have been offered to other steel makers such as Adhunik Metaliks and JSW Steel, which plan to set up an integrated steel plant in the State.

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Radio High back on air in Siliguri after five months

Radio and Music, Mumbai, 4 September : Siliguri based Radio High is back on air after staying off the airwaves for over five months.
Radio High, a broadcasting venture of Syntech Informatics, resumed operations on 25 August after shifting its studio to a different location and having sorted its differences with licensing bodies like the PPL and IPRS. Radio High managing director Milon Chakrabarty says the hiatus helped the station to refurbish itself with a new studio set up for both video and audio recordings in a location which helps it to reach a wider audience. READ FULL STORY

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Dunlop to resume Sahaganj factory production soon

Kolkata, 4 September : Kolkata-based tyre manufacturer Dunlop India will resume production at its Sahaganj factory in West Bengal around the Durga Puja festival in late September, a top company official said here in a statement Thursday.
"The Sahaganj plant will resume production either just before the Puja, or right after the Puja. Resumption of production will take about 15 days from the restoration of power supply, which may take three to four days," said Dunlop chairman Pawan Kumar Ruia in a statement."At the moment, we are evaluating whether to restart production before the Puja and then close again for the Puja holidays, or to start right after the Puja holidays and move ahead with uninterrupted production. We are open to both possibilities and look forward to an early restoration of power."
West Bengal State Electricity Development Co has disconnected power connection to the Dunlop unit on account of an outstanding bill of Rs.15.4 crore for the period when work remained suspended from last November because of the meltdown. Dunlop has re-inducted 250 workers out of its 1,100 work force after re-opening.

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Tk 68 lakh gold ornament found at Chittagong airport

Chittagong, 4 September : Customs officials found 283 tolas of gold ornaments worth around Tk 68 lakh beneath a seat of an Oman flight at Shah Amanat International Airport in the port city of Chittagong yesterday.
Sources said cleaners found four packets wrapped with polythene and black tapes beneath a seat No. 28 of an Oman air flight (No. WY895) that landed at the airport from Muscat around 9:00am. Suspecting explosives in the packets, the cleaners informed the customs and immigration police, who later called explosive experts of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).

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Tripura state assembly mourns...

AP CM YSR Reddy's death
Agartala, 3 September : Cutting across party lines, members of ruling Left Front and the opposition Congress in the Tripura assembly Thursday mourned the death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
Responding to the proposal of Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and opposition leader Ratan Lal Nath, Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath briefly highlighted the life and work of YSR, as the chief minister was known. Later, the house observed silence for two minutes as a mark of respect to YSR died along with four others when their helicopter crash in a forest in Andhra Pradesh Wednesday.
A major loss : WB Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
Kolkata, 3 September : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said here on Thursday that he was deeply saddened by the sudden death of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.
Conveying his condolences to the bereaved family, Bhattacharjee said he had known Dr. Reddy well and on several occasions discussed a variety of issues with him in New Delhi and Hyderabad. န Photo : AP

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PTTI students move court against WB's recruitment amendment rule
Kolkata, 3 September : Students who have done primary teachers training from various institutes filed their petitions in the Kolkata High Court on Wednesday, challenging the Primary Teachers Recruitment Amendment Rule and the notification for recruitment of primary teachers by the government. The case is likely to come up for hearing this week.

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Microchip selects Kolkata 4 embedded designer forum
EE Herald, 3 September : Microchip is actively engaged in conducting training session for embedded system developers in India and around the world. For it's worldwide event named Embedded Designer's Forum, it has selected Kolkata city in the Indian region. The date of the event is 14 December, 2009 and the venue is ITC Hotel Kolkata.
The topics to be covered are, eXtrem Low Power Technology (Nanowatt XLP), enhanced PIC16F1 Architecture, 32-Bit microcontrollers, USB applications and mTouch Sensors as well as Graphics Control Libraries in 6 technical presentations and demonstrate practical examples. READ FULL STORY

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B'desh JS body suggests 2 routes for Asian Highway
Dhaka, 3 September : The parliamentary standing committee on communications today recommended the government to connect both Benapole-Dhaka-Tamabil and Banglabandha-Dhaka-Tamabil routes with the proposed Asian Highway.
After a meeting at the parliament complex, committee chief Sheikh Muzibur Rahman told reporters that the recommendation was made in view of connecting maximum land ports of the country with the highway. Nazrul Islam Manzu, lone member of the committee, later at a separate press briefing said he opposed the recommendation as it would not benefit the country. Muzibur Rahman said opposition parties were opposing Benapole-Dhaka-Tamabil and Banglabandha-Dhaka-Tamabil routes just for political reasons. "We want to connect maximum land ports of the country with the Asia Highway to get trade and tourism benefit and therefore the committee have recommended Benapole-Dhaka-Tamabil and Banglabandha-Dhaka-Tamabil routes. Most of our land ports are on these two routes, he added.
The entry and exit of the highway would be in India from Bangladesh. The government wants it enter from Myanmar to Bangladesh and exits through India.

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Tripura hikes 35% salaries of ministers, legislators
Agartala, 3 September : A bill was passed in the Tripura assembly Thursday increasing the salary of ministers and legislators by 35 percent.
The salaries and allowances of the chief minister, ministers, opposition leaders and legislators and pension of the former members of the legislative assembly will be increased by 35 percent. Tripura Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tapan Chakraborty said: “Salaries of the chief minister would be increased from 9,200 to Rs 12,500. Salaries of the speaker, ministers, chief whip and leader of opposition would be increased from Rs.9,000 to Rs.12,300 while that of the legislators would go up from Rs.8,500 to Rs.11,500.” The salary of the deputy speaker and minister of state would go up from from Rs.8,700 to Rs.12,000.
“It is true that the Tripura chief minister, ministers and legislators are getting the lowest salary in India,” Chakraborty said.

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PCPA supporters gherao Pirakata police outpost
PTI, Midnapore, 3 September : People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) supporters along with two women who were allegedly raped by security personnel today gheraoed the Pirakata police outpost in West Midnapore district.
"Two women were raped by the joint forces on Monday night. When they went to lodge a complaint at the Pirakata police station, their FIR was not taken," PCPA sources said. One of the victims said that she was raped by security personnel when her husband was away from home. The police said they would conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Meanwhile, Maoist leader Kishenji alleged that two persons - Jaladhar Mahato and Hemonto Deb Singh, residents of Singhla - were shot dead by the joint forces when they were visiting relatives in Madhupur, while two others were arrested.

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BD to push duty free access at upcoming WTO meet

Dhaka, 3 September : Bangladesh will negotiate with rich countries to incorporate major exportable products in the duty-free and quota-free category at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Summit, due in Geneva on 30 November-2 December.
It also plans to join other least developed countries (LDCs) in raising a common voice to resolve different issues in the Geneva meet, the seventh of its kind. The developed countries in 2005 promised at the Hong Kong meet of the World Trade Organisation a zero tariff benefit for around 97 percent products from the LDCs, but the majority of the items are not produced in those countries. Consequently, a few LDCs could reap such a benefit offered by rich countries, Amitava Chakraborty, director general of the WTO Cell at the commerce ministry, said in a press briefing in Dhaka.
Bangladesh will also speak at the plenary session on WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global Economic Environment at the summit, he said. န Photo : AP

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Fire breaks out in illegal petroleum products godown

Siliguri, 3 September : A blazing fire broke out in an unauthorised godown in Siliguri on Thursday, where thousands of illegal petroleum products were stored for long.
The fire broke out in the Niranjan Nagar area of Siliguri at around 8.30 in the morning, and within minutes spread to the two adjacent houses in the vicinity. Seven fire engines were immediately pressed into service and it took more than three and a half hours to contain the flames.
We can't say how the fire broke out, but it did break out in an unauthorized godown where diesel, petrol and kerosene were illegally stored in a barrel. The whole godown was engulfed in flames. We called for the fire brigades and it took seven of them to control the fire. Had they not been arrived on time then the whole village would have been engulfed in flames, said Tapan Ghosh, the divisional officer of fire brigade. န Photo : Sanjit Mitra

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16 injured in gas cylinder blast at a cold storage at Sutrapur area
Dhaka, 3 September : At least 16 people were seriously injured in a gas cylinder explosion at a cold storage at Gudaraghat Farashganj in the city's Sutrapur area last night.
Sub Inspector Ashraful Islam of Sutrapur Police Station told reporters the injured were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and other city hospitals. The reason behind the explosion could not be known immediately.

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B'desh 'model' state in South Asia : US Deputy Secy of State

UNB, Dhaka, 2 September : US Deputy Secretary of State James B Steinberg on Tuesday said Bangladesh is a model in South Asia and has the potential to become a middle-income country soon.
He made the remarks when he received a copy of the Credential Papers from Akramul Qader, ambassador designate of Bangladesh to USA, in a simple ceremony at the State Department in Washington, said a message received here. By virtue of this ceremony Qader becomes functional as 'ambassador-appointed' till presentation of the original Credential Papers to President Obama at the White House.

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Two suspected Maoist killed in Lalgarh
PTI, New Delhi, 2 September : Two suspected naxalites were today killed in an encounter with the CRPF in the trouble-torn Lalgarh area in West Bengal.
"Two suspected naxalites have been killed in the jungle of Mamul in West Midnapore district during the gun battle that lasted for nearly three and half hours. Forces have recovered the bodies of the duo," a senior CRPF official here said. He said a weapon has also been recovered and the troops were carrying out combing operations.

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Dhaka to get $130m WB loan for solar power system
Dhaka, 2 September : World Bank will give 130 million US dollars for installation of affordable solar home systems in rural areas of Bangladesh for ensuring access of the people to electricity.
An agreement was signed at the Economic Relations Division (ERD) in the city on Wednesday. Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Secretary of the ERD, and Tahseen Sayed, acting country director of the World Bank, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective sides.

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Emami to sponsor Kolkata Fashion Week for next 4 Y
New Delhi, 2 September : Indian FMCG major Emami Ltd today said it has entered a contract for sponsoring biannual event, Kolkata Fashion Week for the next four years. The company has been tied up for the second session of the fashion week as its title sponsor, Emami said in a statement.
"Kolkata Fashion Week shall henceforth be known as Emami Kolkata Fashion Week (EKFW)for the next four years (eight seasons)," the company said. The second season of Emami Kolkata Fashion week was flagged off by cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the brand ambassdor for the event at a function held in the city, it added.
"We are indeed happy to be associated with an event like EKFW which, since its inception has become the talk of the town and being billed as the most glamorous," Emami Group of Companies Director Harsh V Agrawal said. It gives Emami right platform and medium to effectively post its message to the target audiences, Agrawal said. န Photo : AP

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2 All Tripura Tiger Force militants surrender in Tripura
Agartala, 2 September : Two All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) extremists surrendered with arms separately before Assam Rifles and police today.
According to official sources, one Bijoy Debbarma (31) of Paijabari in West Tripura surrendered before 15 Battalion of Assam Rifles at Nonacherra and deposited 36 hand grenades. On the other hand, Manesh Debbarma (18), 'self-style Colonel' of ATTF of Musraipara in West Tripura surrendered before police. Both were accused of number of kidnapping, murders and mayhem in various parts of the state, police said.

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President Z Rahman emphasizes ensuring people's right to information
UNB, Dhaka, 2 September : Bangladesh President Zillur Rahman on Wednesday emphasized on ensuring people's right to getting information in line with the spirit of constitution and simultaneously enhancing accountability and transparency in all government and non-government institutions by the role of the newly formed Information Commission.
"I think the Information to Right Act and the Information Commission are one of the important Acts and Commissions formulated in our country after the independence," he said.

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New India foreign trade policy expected to boost...
Indian tea exports
Silliguri, 2 September : Tea exporters in Siliguri are upbeat, as the new provision bringing the tea industry under the Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana (VKUY) scheme in the new foreign trade policy, is expected to give a boost to its export in the global market.
As per the VKUY scheme, the export of tea will be eligible for duty scrip equivalent to five percent of FOB (freight on board) value.ea exporters said this will help them import capital goods and will facilitate value addition. “Suppose we have sent tea worth some rupees, previously it (duty scrip equivalent) used to be 4 percent now it will be five percent, which will be given in the form of a certificate, which you can easily trade, or you can import certain capital goods, capital goods means better machinery. We can now import machinery from Europe,” said Rajib Lochan, tea exporter, Siliguri. The new trade policy also reduces the minimum value addition under advance authorisation scheme for tea exports from 100 per cent to 50 per cent, while the DTA (domestic tariff area) sale limit of instant tea by EOU (export oriented units) will be increased from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
India exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) tea mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the UK and the premium orthodox tea to Iraq, Iran and Russia. န Photo : Ahijit Das

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Assam CM sets 15 Sept surrender deadline for "Black Widow" group
Guwahati, 2 September : Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday set a 15 September deadline for the Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) a.k.a. the “Black Widow” terror group to surrender.
Talking to reporters here, Gogoi said that the state government would not extend the cease-fire deadline set earlier for the group. “No extension of cease-fire deadline with Black Widow beyond 15 September,” Gogoi tersely said. Gogoi’s tough stand was reiterated three days fater he had undertaken a four-hour whirlwind tour to Haflong, the headquarters of North Cachar Hills district where the DHD (J) is active.

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Tata Motors to return Singur's Nano land if compensated

Kolkata, 1 September : Tata Motors is willing to return the original site for its ultra-cheap Nano car if the state government compensates for the investment on the land, its chairman said on Tuesday.
The company was forced to pull out its factory from Singur last October following protests by farmers who lost land, after investing about $350 million. "We do not wish to sit on the land for an indefinite period and we are willing to co-operate with the state government if any proposal suits us," Ratan Tata told reporters on the sidelines of a shareholders meeting of group company Tata Tea.
"We are willing to transfer the land to the state government only if they compensate us with the investment we have made on the ground," he said. န Photo : Avijit Mondal

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Sylhet Medical College Doctor infected with swine flu
Sylhet, 1 September : A physician of Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College in Sylhet has been tested positive for swine flu. "It is the first case in the region," Civil Surgeon of Sylhet Dr M Foyez Ahmed told reporters today.
The physician is being given required treatment and he has been improving fast, said Foyez. Dr Md Idris, medical officer of Jalalabad Ragib-Rabeya Medical College, had been admitted to hospital of the college last morning. Later, the hospital authority sent him to his house where he was kept in an isolated room. College Principal Md Nazmul Islam said Idris was recovering fast and he was allowed to stay in an isolated room in his house.

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Tripura assembly to sent All party delegation for HC

Agartala, 1 September : Tripura Assembly today unanimously resolved to send an all party delegation to Delhi asking the Centre to set up a separate High Court for the state.
Replying to a notice brought by ruling CPI(M), MLA, Pabitra Kar, Chief Minister, Manik Sarkar said, before the princely state Tripura joined India on 15 October, 1949 there was a judicial commission court in the state which was equivalent to a High Court.
In 1987, the then Union Law Minister, had informed all the Governors of the North Eastern states that separate High Courts would be set up in all the North Eastern states and on 10 September, last year a delegation of the lawyers of the state met Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, who reportedly assured the delegation to see the matter, he said.

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Next round of talks with Gorkhaland activists in Dec

IANS, New Delhi, 1 September : The next round of talks with Gorkhaland activists will be held 21 December after a “positive outcome” of the previous rounds, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said here Tuesday.
Three rounds of talks have been held between the central government, the West Bengal government and the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). The third round 11 August was chaired by the home secretary. “I may point out that the GJM leadership has been positive about the outcome of the talks. The next round of talks is planned 21 December at Darjeeling,” Chidambaram told reporters here.

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Britain based Bengali body plans S Asian conventions

Dhaka, 1 September : London-based Bengali International (BI) plans to organise a South Asian convention here in December, its chairman Shams Hoque has said. The organisation last week unveiled a mural of Raja Rammohun Roy in Rangpur. A school is also planned to be set up in Rangpur.
Besides Kolkata, BI has branches in Spain, Italy, Switzerland and France. "We also have branches in the US - in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and in the Oklahoma state. We hold cultural programmes on special events in the Bengali calendar - on Pahela Baishakh (Bengali New Year), Borshaboron Utshob (welcoming the monsoon), celebrating the season of winter and so on. Special programmes are also held to observe Nazrul and (Rabindranath) Tagore birth and death anniversaries." said Hoque.
Such programmes not only give the Bengali expats a taste of home but also introduces our culture to the non-Bengalis.

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Maoist leader Kis'ji refutes charge of spreading terror

PTI, Kolkata, 1 September : Maoist leader Kishenji today refuted WB Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's allegation that they were spreading terror in West Midnapore district and instead charged the government with neglecting people in tribal dominated areas.
He told PTI from an undisclosed location that the administration was hardly bothered about the scarcity of food and provisions prevailing in the districts because of the ongoing indefinite bandh (called by the tribals).
Reminded of the government's and political parties' inability to enter the area where there was a bandh going, Kishenji said, "The bandh has been called by the people and they are ready to compromise. They are ready to talk, but the government is turning a deaf ear."

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Bangladesh Tourism rides on Eid & Durga Puja spirits

A night-time view of a restaurant in Cox's Bazar, a popular destination for Eid vacationers.
Cox's Bazar, 1 September : Advance bookings for hotels and airlines have piled up, as local travellers prepare to celebrate Eid at tourist destinations both at home and abroad. Industry insiders hope the domestic tourist flow will increase this year, as most people are likely to get a weeklong holiday, when Eid and Durga Puja, the two major religious festivals, will be observed back to back.

But outbound travels may falter due to a looming scare of swine flu. The tourism industry boomed in the past decade, fuelled by a growing habit of the urban middle-class to travel during festivals, supported by their financial solvency. This year, the number of tourists, mainly outbound travellers, might be deterred by the swine flu threat, he said. “The global tourism industry is soon likely to face the consequences of swine flu as it spreads." Industry leaders said tourists on the home front would mainly head towards Cox's Bazar and the Chittagong Hill Tracts to celebrate Eid, as the peak time to go to the Sundarbans is yet to come. Most hotels and resorts in Cox's Bazar, the country's main tourist destination, are already fully booked in advance, said industry people. Motel Shoibal, the biggest motel of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation in Cox's Bazar, has been booked in advance for a week after Eid. “Usually, the rush of tourists begins by mid-October. Nevertheless, we are fully booked because of the long Eid and Durga Puja holiday this year,” said Sujit Barua, general manager of the motel.
There are around 200 hotels, motels and guesthouses in Cox's Bazar providing both five-star and budget accommodation. န Photo : STAR, AP

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