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Four
north-eastern dists experience flashflood amid monsoon
rain
UNB, Dhaka
Low-lying areas of several districts have been inundated
by flashflood amid heavy rain and onrush of hill waters
from across the border, too soon after an untimely heat
wave across the country.
Reports from UNB correspondents on Friday said the
low-lying areas of northeastern districts of Netra-kona,
Sunamganj and Sylhet, southeastern Feni and the southern
greater district of Barisal were flooded.
A bulletin of the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC)
on Friday said "heavy to very heavy rainfall" continued
over northeast and southeastern parts of the country and
adjoining Indian state of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.
"The situation is likely to slightly deteriorate as the
meteorology departments of both Bangladesh and India
forecast further heavy rainfall over the regions for next
24 hours," the bulletin added. Out of 73 river stations
monitored, water level at 49 stations marked rise, at 13
stations marked fall while rivers were flowing above
danger level at three points.
The River Surma was flowing 36cm above danger level at
Sunamganj while the Muhuri 45cm at Parshuram and the
Kangsha 35cm at Jariajanjail.
UNB Netrakona correspondent says: flashflood inundated
low-lying areas of five unions in Durgapur upazila, four
in Kolmakandi upazila and one union in Sadar upazila.
In Sylhet, some 50,000 people in 60 villages of Goainghat,
Jointapur and Companyganj upazilas were marooned due to
sudden flooding amid rain and onrush of water from the
hills across the border. In Barisal, sudden onrush of
upstream waters into the downstream triggered flashflood
and erosion in southern districts.
The low-lying areas in the city and elsewhere have been
flooded due to last few days' torrential rain. Met office
recorded 80.3 mm and 76.5 mm rain on Thursday and Friday
respectively.
Rainwater inundated the low-lying areas in Pals-ahpur,
Balur Math, Port Road, Bandh Road, Dap-dapia areas of the
city and its outskirts. The river Kirtonkhola was flowing
only 8 centimeters below the danger level on Friday.
Erosion by Kirtonkhola River on its east bank took a
serious turn because of the strong current.
Alleged
occupation of properties
Police looking for ex-adviser Geeteara, her husband Kamran
granted bail
UNB, Dhaka
Nazim Kamran Choudhury, husband of former adviser to
caretaker government Gee-teara Shafiya Choudhury, and his
two kinsmen, arrested on Thursday night, were set free on
bail from court on Friday afternoon.
Magistrate Kanika Biswas of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan
Magistrate's Court passed the order granting them bail in
a case of encroachment on a Gulshan house.
Police produced Nazim Kamran Choudhury, a former MP, his
younger brother Mukim Choudhury and son-in-law Adit Bhagat
before the court at about 3:30pm. After hearing, the court
granted them bail.
The law enforcers arrested the three from a house in
Gulshan-2 area around 11pm in the case filed with Gulshan
Police Station on charge of forcibly occupying their
rented house.
Dr Mahbubul Islam, the owner of the building at 7/A, Road
No 41, Gulshan-2, sued a total of 11 persons, including
Geeteara.
Police were looking for Geeteara who served as industries
adviser to immediate past caretaker government.
The other accused are their daughter Nazim Farhana
Choudhury, Abu Rushd Tareq, Shamsun-nahar Tareq, Sakhawat
Hossain alias Shahadat, Ripon Chandra Saha, Bipul Hossain
and Yar Ali.
Textile
University soon to create skilled manpower: Nahid
UNB, Dhaka
Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid on Friday said the
government has plan-ned to upgrade the Textile College
into a full-fledged university soon in a bid to create
adequate skilled manpower for textile and readymade
garment sectors.
"The government will also set up vocational school in
every upazila for turning the country's huge unemployed
youths into skilled human resources," Nahid said
emphasizing the need for vocational education to achieve
the country's development goal.
He was speaking as chief guest at a seminar titled
'Acceleration of a Nation's Prosperity through Voca-tional
Skills' Acquisition' at a city hotel. The Education
Minister said only 3-4 percent of secondary and higher
secondary students study in vocational institutions, while
only two percent of the total education budget is spent on
vocational education.
Scholars Bangladesh, an organization working with
non-resident Bangladeshis (NRBs), organized the seminar in
association with Human Capital Develo-pment Limited.
Director General of Technical Educational Board Prof Dr
Nitai Chandra Sutradhar, Director General of Manpower,
Employment and Training Bureau (BMET) Masud Ahmed, Dhaka
University teacher Dr Muhammad Ibrahim, human resource
development consultant Mehbubur Rahman and manpower
businessman Nur Ali, among others, spoke at the function.
Canadian immigration consultant M Kaysarul Haq, an NRB,
presented the keynote paper.
They urged all to change their attitude towards vocational
education as it can help reduce the number of the
country's unemployed youths as they can get jobs both at
home and abroad with their skills.
The experts also urged the government to introduce
vocational education in madrashas too to involve them into
the mainstream of development works.
BMET director general Masud Ahmed said the country has
huge opportunities in exporting skilled manpower but they
face job-specific problems abroad.
HRC law will be passed before July
9: Suranjit
bdnews24.com, Dhaka
The parliament will pass an ordinance before July 9 to arm
the National Human Rights Commission with judicial powers
to address violation of human rights of Bangladeshis both
at home and abroad, the chief of a parliamentary watchdog
said on Friday.
"We want to constitute an active and effective Human
Rights Commission to deal with all human rights violation
cases-be they committed in the country or abroad," said
Suranjit Sengupta, the chairman of the parliamentary
standing committee on law, justice and parliamentary
affairs ministry.
"The commission will be vested with necessary judicial
authority too so that the damages can be redressed, "Sengupta
said at a seminar on the second day of the 'First NRB
Manpower Development and Oppo-tunities Conference 2009' at
Hotel Sheraton.
The national HR watchdog will have its district chapters
too, who will receive complaints on violations, carry out
primary investigation and commission necessary trials, he
added.
On June 17, HRC member Muneera Khan after meeting with law
minister Shafiq Ahmed told reporters that the hands and
feet of the HRC were tied because of a lack of necessary
rules and regulations.
Anti-US protest marks start of
Biden’s Iraq trip
AFP, Baghdad
A fiery protest marked the start on Friday of US Vice
President Joe Biden's visit to Iraq, with supporters of
the Shiite anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr burning
the Stars and Stripes.
Biden met General Ray Odierno, the top US officer in Iraq,
and Christopher Hill, Washington's ambassador in Baghdad,
who briefed him on the military and political situation,
three days after a major US troop pullback.
The vice president's trip, aimed at bridging Iraq's
sectarian divide ahead of a complete American military
pullout in 2011, comes just after President Barack Obama
tasked Biden with overseeing the US departure.
A stark reminder of the legacy inherited by Obama's
administration, however, came in Sadr City, where hundreds
of supporters of Sadr, who is in self-imposed exile,
chanted anti-US slogans. "No, no America, no, no
occupation. Yes, yes Iraq," they shouted as an American
flag was reduced to ashes in the sprawling Baghdad Shiite
district.
The White House said Biden, who landed late on Thursday,
would visit American troops, now stationed on the
outskirts of Iraqi cities following their June 30
withdrawal from urban centres.
Bangladesh trying to eradicate hunger and poverty
Chief Whip tells seminar in Rome
UNB, Dhaka
Chief Whip M Abdus Shahid said Bangladesh is actively
trying to eradicate hunger and poverty, end gender
discrimination, increase endowment for primary education
and support human development.
"Due to climate change Bangladesh will be the worst
affected country and additional initiatives are needed to
cope with this challenge." he said while addressing an
inter-parliamentary seminar on "The Role of National
Parlia-ments in achieving of Millennium Development
Goals"organized by the MDG's parliamentary sub-committee
of Foreign Affairs and UN Millennium campaign in Rome,
according to a message received here on Friday.
As the only representative from the South Asian
parliaments, he briefly discussed how the present
parliament of Bangladesh under the leadership of Sheikh
Hasina has taken initiatives to strengthen the
parliamentary committees so that they can play an active
role in achieving MDGs.
Expressing concern that many countries will not be able to
meet the MDGs due to current economic recession, he said
global support will be required with trade labialization,
official development assistance, greater market access and
creation of climate change fund.
He added that LDCs like Bangladesh will require more
resource flow, duty and quota free access, elimination of
all kinds of tariff and non-tariff barriers, external debt
cancellation, collaboration among government, civil
society and other stakeholders is necessary to increase
awareness so that the targets for MDGs can be met.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian
Parliament Stesano Stesani as well as members of
parliament of Italy, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria,
Philippines, Sweden, Spain and Zambia addressed the
seminar.
The founder of UN Millennium campaign Evelyn Herfkens also
spoke on the occasion while deputy speaker of the Italian
Chamber of Deputies Antonio Leone chaired the closing
session. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, who
made the closing remarks, had a brief exchange of views
with the Chief Whip.
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