First Bangladeshi woman scales Everest

BANGLADESH NEWS

Nishat Majumder has become the first Bangladeshi woman to scale Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain.

She reached the summit at 9:39am Bangladesh time on Saturday, Enam Ul Haque, the president of Bangla Mountaineering and Trekking Club, told .

The club organised the adventure while Plan Bangladesh, a non-government organisation (NGO), co-sponsored it under a campaign titled "Because I Am a Girl".

Another Bangladeshi mountaineer, MA Mohit, accompanied Nishat during her adventure, Enam Ul Haque said.

Mohit is the first Bangladeshi who scaled the Everest twice, he added.

Musa Ibrahim is the first Bangladeshi who conquered the Mount Everest on May 23, 2010.

Nishat, a 31-year-old accountant, on April 9 started the adventure from Kathmandu to the base camp of the Mount Everest to hoist Bangladeshi flag atop the highest mountain.

On April 6, Nishat flew from Dhaka for the adventure, a press release of Plan Bangladesh said earlier.

Wasfia Nazreen, another Bangladeshi girl, has also reached the Everest base camp to scale the highest mountain.

Three Sherpas – Lakpa Sherpa, Premba Sherpa and Mingmaa Sherpa – helped Nishat conquer the Everest, said Enam Ul Haque.

Nishat and her associates stayed a while at the peak of the Everest and have started descending to the base came, the president of the club said.

The mountaineers are expected to reach the base camp in a day or two, he added.

Finance Minister AMA Muhith spots two barriers to good governance

BANGLADESH NEWS

Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Saturday identified corruption and lack of proper enforcement of law as two key elements standing on the way of good governance.

He also said that application of information technology and Right to Information (RTI) Act are mandatory to curb corruption and establish good governance in the society.

He was addressing the inaugural session on "Good governance: Leveraging initiatives that work" as chief guest at Hotel Sonargaon in Dhaka.

Asian Development Bank and Cabinet Division organised the programme.

Muhith also branded police department and land management system as the highly corrupted organisations of the country.

Cabinet Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan delivered the welcome speech.

Asian Development Bank country director to Bangladesh Teresa Kho also spoke on the occasion.

Journo stabbed in Pabna,Bangladesh

PABNA NEWS

Unidentified criminals stabbed a journalist in Pabna on Saturday, leaving him critically injured.

ABM Fazlur Rahman, 48, a staff reporter of the daily Shamokal, who also works for the ntv, came under the attack around 11:30am allegedly for some corruption reports.

He has been undergoing treatment at Pabna Medical College Hospital.

“Getting call from an unknown person, I rushed to Pabna Edward College dormitory for covering an incident where some unidentified criminals stabbed me with sharp weapons. They chopped my right wrist,” the victim said.

Fazlur, also chief editor of a local news agency, said, “I had been receiving threats over phone for publishing some news reports on obscene dancing in the name of cultural programme arranged on Pabna Edward College campus.”

The assault sparked protest. Angry journalists staged demonstrations at Pabna Press Club.

They also besieged State Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku on the road near the club demanding punishment to the culprits.

Tuku, however, assured agitating journalists of taking immediate steps to bring the culprits to book, reports our Pabna correspondent.