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.