COMMENT: Remembering The Master Jul 11, 2009
They also directed Abhimaan, Trishagni, Aandhi, Saudagar, Meghe Dhaka Tara, Amaanat, Teesri Kasam, Kabuliwala. works whose glow of human warmth gave rise to the term Bimal Roy school of film-making, an institution worth commemorating on Roy's birth centenary on July 12. (India Times, India)
World's mega cities expand as millions quit the countryside Jul 11, 2009
Sixteen other cities are expected to exceed the 10m mark, including Bombay (Mumbai) 18m, and Dhaka in Bangladesh, 15m. Two cities in Africa are expected to go mega - Lagos in Nigeria and Cairo in Egypt. (Yahoo News -- Population Issues)
Buzz of KLO chief's arrest in Bangladesh Jul 10, 2009
Senior police officials in Kolkata have reasons to believe that Bangladesh Police rounded up this fugitive during a raid at a hotel in Jamalpur, near Dhaka, on Wednesday ... In 2008, Bangladesh CID had claimed that Jibon was involved in the Nobel theft case and confirmed that Jibon had stayed for a few months near Dhaka. (India Times, India -- Community News)
'India less threatening to neighbours' Jun 26, 2009
DHAKA: India will be less threatening to its neighbours because of Washington's overlapping interests involving the countries in the region, US envoy to Bangladesh has said and urged Dhaka to negotiate with New Delhi to settle the dispute over Tipaimukh dam project. Ambassador James F Moriarty's observation at a discussion here Thursday came as part of his assurance to Bangladeshis that "special ties with New Delhi" will not be at the cost of Dhaka or any of the other South Asian neighbours ...... (India Times)
Daylight Saving Time in Bangladesh Jun 21, 2009
DHAKA: Grappling with a power crisis, Bangladesh has decided to begin its days an hour earlier in a move to save electricity by utilising daylight ... A.A.M.S. Arefin Siddique, vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, said the varsity's classes, libraries, laboratories and examinations will be held according to the new time. (India Times, India)
Lead India ambulance man wanted in Bangladesh May 29, 2009
"Yunus was there to talk to us about social entrepreneurship. He told me later that even Dhaka does not have an emergency medical service, let alone the rest of Bangladesh," Das told TOI. "Yunus has invited me to Bangladesh next month to try and replicate our Highway Rescue Project in Bangladesh. He wants it to go beyond highways and reach out to victims of all kinds.". Yunus has also shown interest in replicating Das's Medical Appliance Bank, the first-of-its-kind service, which ensures use of... (India Times, India -- Community News)
Cyclone toll hits 126 May 27, 2009
About 430000 people were marooned, and military and civil defence teams were struggling to deliver food, water and emergency shelters, government officials in Dhaka told AFP.. Bangladesh's disaster management minister Abdur Razzak said people on remote islands had been worst affected and could not be reached because of rough seas. (iAfrica.com)
Crooks fall for drag cops May 20, 2009
The specially formed teams across Dhaka, nicknamed "burka squads" after the Muslim female garment, are helping to catch muggers, bag snatchers and pickpockets, which are on the increase in the city. Some male officers wear full burkas, while others opt for wigs to disguise themselves as women at busy intersections and crowded places where most of the crimes occur, Hossain said. (iAfrica.com)
Militants threaten Canadian mission in Bangladesh May 9, 2009
DHAKA Bangladesh tightened security on Friday around diplomatic zones after an Islamist militant group threatened three missions including the Canadian High Commission in the capital Dhaka, a senior police official said on Friday. The High Commissions of Canada and Australia and the U.S. embassy informed police they had received identical threatening letters faxed to the missions by an unknown Islamist group, Jameaah Islamiyah al-Qaeda, said A.K.M. Shahidul Haque, the police chief of Dhaka. (Globe and Mail -- International)
Bangladesh remittances up May 5, 2009
DHAKA: Bangladeshis working abroad sent home more money in April than in the same month last year, an official said Tuesday, despite warnings that remittances would take a hit from the global slowdown. Bangladesh Bank executive director Khandakar Muzharul Haque told AFP that 857 million dollars were sent back last month, up from 782 million dollars in April 2008. (India Times)
TB affects one-third of HIV+ people May 5, 2009
DHAKA: Tuberculosis has emerged as a major threat to people in Bangladesh killing around 70,000 of them annually. "Bangladesh ranks five among the 22 high burden TB countries in the world," says Professor Dr Pravat Chandra Barua, Line-Director of National TB and Leprosy Elimination Programme. (India Times, India)
Bangladesh river gypsies moving to mainstream May 2, 2009
When the monsoons end, the Bedes return to land to live in tarpaulin tents or bamboo huts in places like Lauhajang, a village of 150 families 44 miles from the capital, Dhaka ... A 2007 report by the Grambangla Unnayan Committee, a nongovernmental organization in Dhaka that works closely with the Bedes, said 98 percent live below the poverty line and 95 percent are illiterate ... "Getting them to become part of the mainstream will take time," said Helaluddin Khan Afreen, professor of... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Islam in Britain and South Asia: A single space May 1, 2009
The passions generated by the Bangladeshi variety of Islamism are as lively in London as they are in Dhaka. Anybody who hopes for stability and social peace in the Muslim parts of South Asia has to keep an eye on the Islamic scene in Britain. (The Economist)
Bangalore best Indian city but lags behind globally Apr 29, 2009
Dhaka ranks among the lowest in the Asian region at 197, while Baghdad ranks the lowest in the world. The annual survey by the New York-based human resources company ranks the world's major cities for their quality of life, with New York as 00004000 its base city. (India Times)
Bangladesh deaths probe backed Apr 28, 2009
More than 1,000 BDR members were detained following the mutiny at the regiment's headquarters in Dhaka. Dozens of soldiers were killed, allegedly by members of the paramilitary unit responsible for guarding the country's borders, during the mutiny. (BBC News -- South Asia)
* World News Quick Take Apr 19, 2009
Police chief Masudul Haque Nuruzzaman, from Kushtia district 100km west of the capital Dhaka, said the men were members of the Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir. Among the 31 arrested was the groups chief of the Kushtia district who trained and fought in Afghanistan, Nuruzzaman said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
6 named for $150K Goldman Environmental Prizes Apr 19, 2009
Rizwana Hasan, Dhaka, Bangladesh. An environmental attorney, Hasan led a legal battle to reduce the impact of Bangladesh's environmentally damaging industry of breaking down ships for scrap. (USA Today)
Cyclone hits Bangladesh coast Apr 18, 2009
DHAKA A cyclone battered the Bangladesh coast with heavy rain and winds of up to 100 km/h on Friday, forcing the storm-prone country to evacuate thousands of people, officials said. Thousands of mud-walled and bamboo-constructed houses, vast areas of crops, trees, electricity and telephone poles were damaged, leaving parts of the Cox's Bazar and Chittagong areas without power and telecommunications. (Globe and Mail)
DPP detained for corruption Apr 18, 2009
All of them, who had no travelling documents, were scheduled to catch a connecting flight to Dhaka from Bangkok. A source said the syndicate was part of an international ring dealing in transborder human trafficking activities. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Mass evacuation in cyclone-hit B'desh Apr 18, 2009
DHAKA: The outer edge of Cyclone Bijli began lashing southern Bangladesh on Friday night, officials said, as the government ordered the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents from the country's low-lying coast ... The Meteorological Department in Dhaka late Friday said the storm was moving across the southern coastal districts of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar area and was expected to head away from Bangladesh early Saturday ... Cox's Bazar is 185 miles (296 kilometers) south of the capital,... (India Times, India)
Bangladesh fights rampant corporate corruption Apr 2, 2009
Dhaka, Bangladesh - For years corporate corruption has thrived as an open secret in this poor congested nation, a force as destructive as the cyclones that ravage the coastline and the arsenic that poisons people's drinking wells ... "Many of the [multinational companies] don't care who they're giving money to. They don't try to find out what effect it will have on the life of ordinary people," contends Sultana Kamal, the director of Ain O Salish Kendra, a leading human rights group based in... (Christian Science Monitor)
British Airways ends flights to Dhaka Mar 28, 2009
DHAKA: British Airways ended its direct flights between the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and London today because the 34-year-old route was no longer profitable, the carrier said ... The first Dhaka to London service was in January 1975, according to BA, and was operated on a VC10 aircraft ... British woman Usha Mistry, who lives in Dhaka and was among the 233 passengers on the last London-bound flight, told AFP she would miss the direct route. (India Times, India)
Travel ban on Bangladesh suspects Mar 23, 2009
By Mark Dummett BBC News, Dhaka. Guerrillas attack Pakistani militiamen in newly-independent Bangladesh. (BBC News -- South Asia)
AirAsia plans more stops in India soon Mar 10, 2009
AirAsiaX is currently gearing for its inagural flight to London via Stanstead on March 11 while Dhaka is next on AirAsias list. AIRASIA. (The Star Online, Malaysia -- Business)
B'desh-India to renew transit, trade Mar 5, 2009
Dhaka, Delhi to renew transit, trade deal in March- Foreign Trade-Economy-News-The Economic Times ... Dhaka, Delhi to renew transit, trade deal in March5 Mar 2009, 1154 hrs IST, IANS ... DHAKA: Bangladeshi and Indian officials will meet here later this month to renew their inland water transit and trade deal. (India Times)
Storm Blasts Northeast, Tangling Travel Mar 3, 2009
"" SHEIKH HASINA, prime minister of Bangladesh, on rescinding the amnesty she had offered to border guards who staged a Feb. 25 mutiny in Dhaka, during which 73 were killed and more than 70 are still missing. U.S.. (Time.com)
Women at prayer Mar 3, 2009
State funeral for Dhaka officers. Wilson and Aniston hit the red carpet. (BBC News -- Africa)
Army hunts mutineers Mar 2, 2009
A soldier from the Bangladesh Rifles, wearing a red bandana, stands guard at the military unit's headquarters in Dhaka on 25 February ... The soldiers fled the Dhaka headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on Thursday, apparently dressed as civilians, after a 33-hour mutiny which turned the capital into a battle zone. (iAfrica.com)
Bangladesh: mutiny dealt serious blow to country's security Mar 2, 2009
DHAKA, Bangladesh - They were found lying in ditches by the dozens ... Over the weekend, police in Bangladesh discovered 50 bodies in three mass graves at the BDR headquarters in Dhaka, bringing the total death toll of officers killed in to 63 ... Days after the mutiny, Dhaka remains a city captive to fear and rumors. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Bangladesh army reaffirms support for government Mar 1, 2009
DHAKA Bangladesh's powerful army has reaffirmed its support for the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina after a mutiny by paramilitary troops killed at least 80 people, mostly army officers ... The mutiny ended late on Thursday when the rebels laid down their arms after an amnesty offer, made by Ms. Hasina late on Wednesday, was followed by threats of stronger action as regular troops, backed by tanks, surrounded the BDR complex in Dhaka ... In Dhaka, activity on the streets appeared... (Globe and Mail -- International)
'Mutiny could boil into revenge' Mar 1, 2009
DHAKA: Seething anger in Bangladesh's army over a deadly mutiny by border guards could boil over into bloody revenge, threatening further instability in a country only recently returned to democracy, analysts warn. At least 76 corpses of mainly senior army officers have been recovered so far in shallow mass graves and stuffed into drains and sewers at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in the capital Dhaka ... Ataur Rahman, a professor of politics at Dhaka University, said the... (India Times)
Mutineers name tycoon with Pak links Mar 1, 2009
Trouble continues to brew in Dhaka, where the army cadres, particularly mid-level officers, are spoiling for a fight with the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) cadres. So far, the Bangladesh army leaders, led by army chief Moeen Ahmed, have kept the officers in check, which is making the present situation slightly different from 1975. (India Times)
Bangladeshi troops hunted Mar 1, 2009
A soldier from the Bangladesh Rifles, wearing a red bandana, stands guard at the military unit's headquarters in Dhaka on 25 February ... Ataur Rahman, a professor at Dhaka University, said the new government could not afford to ignore the underlying causes of long-term discontent in Bangladesh, especially the twin scourges of poverty and corruption. (iAfrica.com)
Bangladesh's bloody mutiny Feb 28, 2009
Soldiers and sniffer dogs scoured the grounds of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) compound in the capital Dhaka and dug up 20 bodies in one grave alone ... He said checkpoints have been set up at all routes leading out of the capital Dhaka and surrounding the BDR barracks, with four suspected mutineers arrested in northern city of Bogra ... As calm returned Friday to Dhaka, one regular army officer held hostage by the guards told AFP of his escape as his captors opened fire indiscriminately. (iAfrica.com)
Bangladesh revolt tests civilian rule Feb 27, 2009
Surrendering: Bangladesh border guards prepared to stand down after their deadly mutiny that started in Dhaka Wednesday and spread throughout the country ... DHAKA, BANGLADESH - Bangladesh was supposed to be back on track, with a newly elected civilian government and a re-invigorated commitment to rooting out corruption and militancy ... a security analyst in Dhaka. (Christian Science Monitor -- World)
Bangladesh: Mutiny ends after tanks arrive Feb 27, 2009
Bangladesh: Mutiny ends after tanks sent in. Border guards surrender after two-day revolt left at least 18 dead. (MSNBC -- International)
BDR-BSF talks may be put off Feb 27, 2009
Sources in BSF, BDRs Indian counterpart, indicated that most senior officers may have met the same fate as their DG. With this, the BSF-BDR talks scheduled to be held on March 27 may have to be postponed, as Dhaka waits for the situation to settle down and appoints a fresh BDR brass ... The dead, the police in Dhaka have confirmed to the agencies, include BDR deputy director-general, Brigadier Abdul Bari, and operations director, Colonel Anis. (India Times)
Mutiny in Bangladesh Feb 26, 2009
A soldier from the Bangladesh Rifles, wearing a red bandana, stands guard at the military unit's headquarters in Dhaka on 25 February ... Weeping women and children emerged from the headquarters of the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) in Dhaka early on Thursday after the rebels began laying down their arms under an amnesty offer from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. (iAfrica.com)
Letter from America Feb 26, 2009
Andrew Biraj/Reuters IN BANGLADESH A mutiny by paramilitary forces that erupted in Dhaka, the capital, on Wednesday was spreading to several towns by early Thursday. In Opinion: More Headlines. (International Herald Tribune)
50 feared killed in Bangla siege Feb 26, 2009
DHAKA: At least 50 Bangladeshi army officers are feared dead in a mutiny after rebellious Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops opened fire on them over a pay dispute even as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. "We talked to the BDR troops and they said some 50 officers have been killed," deputy Law Minister Kamrul Islam told reporters outside the BDR Headquarters here. (India Times)
US to donate '$900m in Gaza aid' Feb 25, 2009
Gun battle breaks out in Dhaka. Obama: 'We will recover. (BBC News -- Africa)
China closes Tibet to foreigners Feb 25, 2009
Gun battle breaks out in Dhaka. Swedish princess to marry. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
One dead as Bangladesh soldiers mutiny Feb 25, 2009
Gun and mortar fire echoed across Dhaka, Bangladesh s capital, this morning as border guards mutinied against their superior officers and seized a shopping mall, apparently over a pay dispute ... A military helicopter was also seen hovering over the camp in Dhaka s Pilkhana district as traffic ground to a halt in the immediate area, and panic spread across the entire city. (Times Online)
Troops 'at last Tamil Tiger town' Feb 25, 2009
Gun battle breaks out in Dhaka. Cardboard city for Italy migrants. (BBC News -- South Asia)
Right name, wrong place Feb 13, 2009
Tales included an army recruit being flown to Lisbon, Portugal, rather than Lisburn, Northern Ireland, and how a family living in Dhaka, Bangladesh, invited a friend over from Britain - who flew to Dakar, west Africa. Then there are the stories - apocryphal perhaps - of visitors regularly pitching up in the historic Oxfordshire village of Woodstock with a frown on their faces. (BBC News -- UK)
More sky marshals on domestic flights Feb 7, 2009
Sky marshals are also deployed on Air India flights to Kabul, Lahore, Dhaka and Kathmandu on a regular basis. But domestic flights - private as well as Air India - on other sectors get the commandos only on a random basis, leaving those routes vulnerable most of the time. (India Times)
