5 ‘robbers’ Killed in Sundarbans Gunfight

KHULNA NEWS

Five alleged robbers were killed in a gunfight with a team of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) at Morabhola Canal of Sundarbans on Friday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Rab-8 led by Major Sabbir Rahman Osmani conducted the drive at the canal under Sharankhola range of the mangrove forest around 9:00 am, reports our Bagerhat correspondent.

Sensing presence of Rab, a gang of robbers opened fire prompting the law enforcers to retaliate, said Major Sabbir.

After the gunfight, law enforcers searched the spot and found the bullet-hit bodies of five robbers whose identities could not be known immediately.

They also recovered 11 firearms including one pistol, one rifle, two airguns, two three-not-three rifles and five single-barrel guns

Parliaments to Work to Address Climate Challenges

DHAKA NEWS

Lawmakers have launched a unique network to engage parliaments and their members across the world in advocating policies that help climate victims address global warming challenges.

The declaration came on Friday at the closure of a three-day International Meeting of Parliamentarians on Climate Change: Beyond COP 17 at Hotel Radisson in the capital.

The new platform for the MPs titled “Parliamentarians for Climate Justice” will promote strategic alliances of parliaments and parliamentarians, working through cross-party groups and parliamentary networks, sharing knowledge, information and best practices.

“The network will be unique in that it will focus its resources on the people most vulnerable to climate change – wherever in the world they may be,” said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, chairperson of All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change.

Bangladesh’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Environment and Forest organised the meeting with support from UNDP.

Parliamentarians from Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, the East African Legislative Assembly, Indonesia, the Maldives, Mali, the Netherlands, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Scotland, Senegal, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda attended the meeting.

Reading out the “Dhaka Parliamentary Declaration”, Saber Hossain Chowdhury said all the MPs endorsing the Declaration can join the network whose action plan and statement of principles will be elaborated by the steering committee by the end of April 2012.

Its immediate actions will include forming a steering committee to decide policy priorities and seek funding to organise gatherings and employ a small secretariat, he said.

The parliamentarians at the meeting committed to collaborate across party-political boundaries to work for the welfare of those most affected by climate change and establish parliamentary committees to monitor and oversee climate-related policies.

The members of the parliament will work for their capacity building, develop integrated local, national and regional frameworks for climate change adaptation, mitigation and disaster risk reduction, prioritising funding for energy efficiency projects and renewable energy, says the declaration.

Commonwealth Nations Cultural links can Forge Commonality: Speakers

DHAKA NEWS

Cultural connections could forge a commonality among the commonwealth nations, said speakers at a seminar yesterday marking Commonwealth Day, observed on March 12 this year.

Commonwealth Society Bangladesh (CSB) organised the seminar, “Connecting Cultures”, at Dhaka Club. The CSB, founded in 1993, advocates for democracy and poverty alleviation in Bangladesh.

Commonwealth Day is observed on the second Monday of March.

An eminent writer, Hasnat Abdul Hye, while presenting a keynote, said culture encompasses an entire way of life of a people and it is as old as and has profoundly benefited evolution of the human civilisation.

Cultural dissemination takes place through people to people contact. Traveling throughout the ages was the earliest mode of cultural connectivity and different religions too played a vital role in connecting cultures, he added.

Farooq Sobhan, president of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute and a former foreign secretary, said the 54-member Commonwealth makes it a family of around two billion people, two-thirds of which are youths.

The process of connecting cultures should be inclusive and democratic, he said.

British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert W Gibson said the Commonwealth constitutes one-third of the world population with 500 million Muslims and one-fourth of the governments.

A prime goal of spending the UK aid in Commonwealth member countries is to alleviate poverty, he said.

CSB Vice-President Taleya Rehman read out a message of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, head of the Commonwealth, on the occasion of 63rd anniversary of Commonwealth Day.

“Our circumstances and surroundings may vary enormously, for example in the food we eat and the clothes we wear, but we share one humanity and this draws us all together,” read the message.

Information and Cultural Affairs Minister Abul Kalam Azad and a former high commissioner, Prof Selina Mohsin, spoke at the seminar, presided over by CSB President Enam A Chaudhury.

Deal inked to Import rice From Thailand

DHAKA NEWS

Bangladesh signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thailand on Thursday to import 10 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice annually from the Southeast Asian rice-exporting nation.

Under it, Bangladesh can import up to 1 million tonnes of Thai standard parboiled rice subject to production situation in both the countries at an agreed price prevailing at the time of contract.

The MoU will remain effective until February 28, 2013 and might be extended further through mutual consent.

Thai Commerce Minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and Bangladesh’s Food Secretary Barun Dev Mitra penned the deal on behalf of their governments, says a press release of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management.

Last year, Bangladesh purchased 2 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice from Thailand under a state arrangement.