Thursday, January 1, 2015 - New Year Special

new year special January 1

2015

Looking back and leaping forward

O

ur cover photo serves as a reminder of the heart-stopping beauty of the Sundarbans, and hopefully as inspiration for the way forward.

The year ended on a muted note with news of an oil spill that threatened to wreak havoc on the delicate flora and fauna of this spectacular forest, the pride of Bangladesh.

But as the new year dawns, we must remember that this is a time for renewal, a time to dry our tears and face the future, with courage and confidence.

Together, we can restore the pristine splendour of the Sundarbans, and together we can solve all that ails us as a nation. We just need to square our shoulders and make it happen.

Nothing is beyond us. Nothing is irreparable. We can do it, if only we believe.

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january 2014

new year special

Jan 5

Awami League wins national election In the face of nonparticipation by the opposition alliance, the 10th parliamentary election held in 147 constituencies is marked by significantly low turnout in many centres, and deadly violence in some places outside Dhaka.

There are allegations of vote rigging, irregularities and mismanagement at many voting centres.

Jan 8

Temperature dips to

record low

The country experiences the lowest temperature of the year as the mercury falls down to 6C in Ishwardi. “At least 125 children have been admitted in Kurigram District Sadar Hospital with cold related complications,” said Dr Nazrul Islam, residential medical officer of the hospital.

Jan 8

Jan 7

Suchitra Sen breathes her last

BNP-Jamaat-led opposition alliance men vandalise, torch and loot valuables from the houses of Hindu citizens in the northwestern districts of Dinajpur and Thakurgaon, reportedly for not boycotting the election and voting for the Awami League. The High Court labels the post-election attacks on Hindus in 12 districts as “terrorism against the state.”

Bangali screen goddess Suchitra Sen dies of cardiac arrest at 9am at Belle Vue Clinic in Kolkata, India, at the age of 82. The legendary actress was often paired onscreen with superstar Uttam Kumar, making them the darlings of the Bangla film industry at the time. She was the first to portray the character of Paro in Bollywood in the 1955 film Devdas.

Suchitra was given a gun salute by the West Bengal government.

Attacks on Hindus for voting

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‘Top 10 globally inspiring Bangladeshis’ Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus was listed among the 10 inspirational Bangladeshis

Bangladeshi transgender model wants to be Miss World The 23-year-old hails from a strict Muslim family

Saudi woman divorced for Kim Kardashian look Kim Kardashian became the talk of Hollywood after losing 25kg following the birth of her baby

Big 3 proposal: BCCI threatens Bangladesh The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has threatened Bangladesh for its position against the Big 3 proposal on test cricket to the International Cricket Council, reports Indian Bangla daily Anandabazar

Shahzaman Mozumder: King of Dhaka A dapper blogger reigns in cyberspace

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february 2014

new year special

Feb 7 World’s largest South Asian art fair lands in Dhaka The second edition of the Dhaka Art Summit, an initiative of the Samdani Art Foundation, begins today at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. Featuring over 250 artists from South Asia, the summit is organised with the aim to support the development of South Asian art, bring museumquality exhibitions to Bangladesh and promote international artistic exchange. The three day festival includes: solo projects, curated exhibitions, an ambitious public art project, a talks series, performances, experimental film screenings, and presentations by 33 local and international galleries.

Feb 18

Feb 23

Feb 22

Ukrainian revolution Open warfare breaks out on the streets of Kiev. The days to follow will be filled with blood, smoke, fire and screeching ambulances – as violence erupts between police and the Euromaidan protestors, demanding a closer European integration and resignation of the then current president. On February 22, Ukranian parliament votes to oust Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Hackers loot $250,000 from Sonali Bank

At least $250,000 has been looted from Sonali Bank since the middle of 2013 by hacking password, a top government official disclosed today. The revelation came at the annual conference of the bank this morning at Hotel Sonargaon in the capital.

Ambush frees JMB convicts A guntoting gang ambushes a prison van at Trishal on the Dhaka– Mymensingh highway in broad daylight, and manages to free three high-profile convicts – Salahuddin, Mohammad Rakib Hasan Russell and Jahidul Islam – of the banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) – only to be arrested again three days later. Of the three, two were sentenced to death while the other was sentenced life imprisonment.

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A Bangladeshi’s million dollar gift to Berkeley The newly established Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies

UCBL to sell Asia Cup tickets United Commercial Bank Limited named the official ticketing partner of the 12th Asia Cup

Dhaka’s storied roads Slave bazars and unruly elephants lie behind the names of our roads and neighbourhoods

A dream come true for Rabbi The second-year RUET student has outclassed 3,176,644 players from all over the globe

Grace under fire An interview with Rumana Monzur, as part of our weekly series on One Billion Rising Bangladesh, in support of justice for violence against women

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march 2014

new year special

Mar 26 Bangladesh sings itself into Guinness Book of World Records Bangladesh sets a new world record as more than 250,000 people sing the national anthem in chorus – the largest number till date. They surpass last year’s Indian record that saw 121,653 people singing their own Tagore anthem. The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Armed Forces Division organised the event to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of Independence Day at the National Parade Ground in Dhaka.

Mar 8

Mar 31

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanishes

Contact with Flight MH370, which took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:40am, is mysteriously lost at 1:40am. It vanishes from radar when flying over the Ho Chi Minh air traffic control area in Vietnam. It was expected to land in Beijing the same day. Rescuers still have not been able to find any traces of Flight MH370 or its 239 passengers and crew, despite an unprecedented international search effort.

Awami League regains foothold in upazila polls

The candidates backed by the ruling Awami League win the chairman posts in six upazilas in the fifth and last phase of upazila polls held today. At least 55 candidates, including 17 chairman aspirants, boycotted voting in 13 upazilas. All of them – mostly affiliated with BNP – are bring allegations of vote rigging against the ruling party. AL claims that the elections have been peaceful, and hailing the Election Commission for necessary steps to avert violence.

Mar 16

Bangladesh hosts ICC T20 World Cup The first match of the season opens with the Tigers playing against Afghanistan. As host, Bangladesh welcomes cricketers and spectators from around the world with extravagant decorations. The local youth are staging flashmobs all over the city and dancing to “Char Chokkha Hoi Hoi,” the official theme song. On April 6, Sri Lanka will take home the champions trophy in a match against India.

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Not a cultural hijack Op-ed by Matthew Islam: Can the non-religious elitists amongst you please explain to me how perhaps having Shakira or Justin Timberlake would make you less angry?

The real ‘Made in Bangladesh’ The cover of this Friday’s Weekend Tribune is a response to the the American Apparel ad that stirred controversy in the Bangladeshi community.

Bangladesh Bank’s separate pay scale gets law ministry’s clearance The government can implement it through issuance of a circular

A referendum in Rakhine state?

Op-ed by Zeeshan Khan: A solution can be sought in a referendum to separate Sittwe and Muangdaw from Rakhine state and join them to Chittagong division

AR Rahman and Akon in BCB Celebration Concert today If the two renowned international celebrities are not enough to satisfy the music lovers, celebrated bands of Bangladesh will also be present at the concert

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april2014

new year special

Apr 27

RAB behind 7 murders in Narayanganj

Today seven people have been abducted from the Fatullah area in Narayanganj, including Narayanganj panel mayor Nazrul Islam, his three associates and his driver.

Three days later, the bodies of six people, including those of Nazrul and Chandan, are to be recovered from the Shitalakkhya River, and on May 1 the body of Nazrul’s driver is found.

Three former RAB officials, including Lt Col Tareque, Major Arif Hossain and Lt Commander MM Rana, will be arrested and confess to their involvement in the sensational seven murders.

Nur Hossain, the prime suspect of the murder, will be arrested from Kolkata on June 14.

Apr 14

Apr 24

Nigeria: Boko Haram

Hottest day in 54 years

kidnaps 276 girls

Dhaka experiences the highest temperature in 54 years as the mercury reaches 40.2C. The highest temperature recorded in the country is 42.4C in Jessore. The previous highest recorded temperature in the capital was 42.3C on April 30, 1960, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

The terrorist organisation Boko Haram kidnaps around 276 schoolgirls from the Government Secondary School in the Nigerian town, Chibok. On May 3-4, protest of the kidnappings will be held in London and Los Angeles when the social media hashtag campaign #BringBackOurGirls unites the world demanding the release of the girls.

Apr 16

Bela chief’s husband abducted in Narayanganj Abu Bakar Siddique, husband of awardwinning environmental lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan, executive director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers’ Association (BELA), is abducted from the Fatulla area on the DhakaNarayanganj link road. Siddique is rescued after 36 hours, but the police are yet to find the perpetrators.

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A letter to Shakib Al Hasan Op-ed by Ekram Kabir: You call yourselves ‘tigers.’ We would naturally expect tiger-like performances

Who will form the next government in India?

Don’t believe everything you read about a BJP landslide

Son dies for onlineaddicted father A two-year-old boy starved to death while his father playing online games in South Korea

Facebook restricted content access in Bangladesh India has requested to restrict 4765 contents, which is the highest among the countries

AUST students protest ‘media falsehood’ Students of the 25th batch of computer science department sent an e-mail to Dhaka Tribune on the act of different media over the recent demise of their classmates at Saint Martin

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may 2014

new year special

May 15

Munshiganj

launch capsize claims 55 lives

At least 55 people drown as a passenger launch capsizes with more than 200 passengers onboard during a heavy monsoon storm on the Meghna river near Munshiganj.

The launch was heading towards Shureshwar from Dhaka.

May 16

India: Narendra Modi wins landslide victory Narendra Modi thunders to victory in India’s election. The pro-business Hindu nationalist and his party crushed the ruling Nehru-Gandhi dynasty in a seismic political shift. Back in April, one of his campaign promises was to halt illegal immigration from Bangladesh, drawing distinction between Hindu and Muslim migrants, and raising eyebrows here at home.

May 20

May 11

Thailand: Army declares martial law

Since the collapse of Rana Plaza building in April 2013, two compliance bodies have been conducting inspections for fire and structural safety: the Accord, a platform of 150 European retailers, and the Alliance for Workers Safety in Bangladesh, a North American group. A total of 174 ready-made garment factories have been closed to date, due to lack of customer orders and non-compliance. At least 95,000 workers, mostly women, became jobless following the closure of the garment factories.

Thailand’s army declares martial law, deploying troops in the heart of Bangkok before dawn in an attempt to end months of political turmoil and violence that has claimed 28 lives to date. The army’s commander, General Prayuth Chan-ocha says: “We ask all sides to come and talk to find a way out for the country.”

Accord and Alliance pressure shuts down 174 RMG factories

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World Cup broadcast uncertain in Bangladesh A ‘status quo’ order provided by a Dhaka court has thrown the FIFA World Cup, Brazil, 2014’s live transmission in the country in jeopardy

Cut the Gordian knot Op-ed by Nur-al-Deen Zia: It is high time to take the sternest decision regarding this rogue force known as RAB

Jinnah made a mistake and I am ashamed of being Pakistani Oped by Mahwash Badar: A reproduction of an article written for Pakistan’s Express Tribune Blogs which, due to the invisible hand of the ISI, later vanished along with her Twitter profile.

Who hired RAB: Shamim or Nur? Nazrul was once picked up by RAB in 2011 when he was contesting city polls

2,000 entry-level doctors to be promoted The public health sector currently has less than 4,000 vacancies at the entry-level

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june 2014

new year special

Jun 11

Hundreds of migrants rescued in the Bay of Bengal The Bangladesh Coast Guard recovers a trawler that was stranded for 10 days in the Bay of Bengal near St Martin’s Island. At least six people were killed and 140 others injured when armed traffickers fired on the trawler, which was carrying illegal Malaysiabound passengers including 318 Bangladeshis, two Thai nationals and one from Myanmar.

Jun 14

Jun 24

10 killed in Bihari camp violence

Ten people, including eight members of a family, are burnt alive as locals set several houses on fire at Kalshi Bihari Camp in Mirpur.

It started with a petty incident that turned into a bloodbath. Some youths, allegedly of the local Jubo League, blasted crackers in front of a mosque inside the “stranded Pakistanis’ slum” during Fajr prayers, which triggered sporadic clashes that turned violent.

8 Huji men to die for Ramna Batamul killings

Jun 21

Fruit merchants urge end to drive against formalin Wholesale fruit traders in Dhaka shutter their shops in protest against the government’s ongoing anti-formalin drive, which they consider an overzealous attempt to mitigate public panic about food adulteration. The formalin detection method has been shown to be misleading and unscientific, resulting in massive waste of fruit, mostly mangos and litchis, causing losses in several crores of taka.

Chief of the banned militant outfit Harkat-ulJihad-al Islami Mufti Abdul Hannan and seven of his aides are given the death penalty for killing 10 people in two bomb blasts at Dhaka’s Ramna Batamul during Bangla New Year programme in 2001, where thousands of people gather annually with family and friends. Six other Huji members are given a life sentence.

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Rape equals victory?

Op-ed by Rashaam Chowdhury: Getting a goal through a penalty box surely is not similar to rape

Three arrested for making child porn Popular author of children’s literature among arrestees

30 Bangladeshi students caught in RussiaUkraine fight There is no Bangladesh mission in the country to arrange their evacuation

Jaago claims threat from AL leader ‘They also threatened that no project officer can work there if Sabuz is not recruited’

Muhith places 2014-15 budget The annual budget proposal is around Tk250,506 crore for the 2014-15 fiscal year

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july 2014

new year special

Jul 13

Germany win World Cup Beating Argentina 1-0, Germany win the FIFA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, concluding the month-long tournament of 32 national teams from six continents.

The result marks Germany’s fourth World Cup title, and striker Miroslav Klose becomes the top scorer in World Cup history, breaking the record previously held

by Brazilian player Ronaldo.

Germany also crushed host Brazil 7-1 in the semifinal.

The final match was billed as a faceoff between the world’s best player, Argentine Lionel Messi, and the world’s best team, Germany.

Jul 9

Gaza and Israel’s 50-day war Israel launches a military operation, designated as Operation Protective Edge, in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Their stated aim is to stop rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, which increased after an Israeli crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank was launched following the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers by two Hamas members.

Jul 17

Jul 7

295 killed as Malaysian aircraft ‘shot down’ over Ukraine

Bangladesh Cricket Board hands Shakib Al Hasan a six-month ban from all forms of cricket for “indiscipline” after the star allrounder left for Barbados for the Caribbean Premier League without clearance from the board. BCB noted that he had also misbehaved with new coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and had an altercation with a spectator during a recent ODI in Mirpur Stadium.

Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 is shot down over eastern Ukraine by militants, killing all 295 people aboard. Ukraine accuses pro-Russia rebels for the attack, which they deny. The area is 40km from the Russia border, and has been the scene of fighting in the four-monthold conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and carried 189 Dutch nationals, 44 Malaysians, and other nationalities including Australians, Indonesians and Britons.

Shakib slapped with ban

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PM unhappy with Messi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the remarks while chairing a regular cabinet meeting at the secretariat yesterday

Doctor asks Obama to spend night at Gaza hospital Describes the Israeli offensive as ‘merciless’ and ‘murder’

Emma Watson to visit Bangladesh She will now work for the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign which calls for men and boys to stand up against inequalities faced by women and girls around the world

Bangladesh wins 40-year-old legal battle in the Bay Bangladesh gains 19,467sqkm in the Bay of Bengal

Beware of muggers in private cars!

A campaign against such muggings by using private cars has been launched on social networking websites including Facebook

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august 2014

new year special

Aug 7

Police drive out hunger striking RMG workers

Around 30 workers are injured when police use rubber bullets, teargas and water canons to drive workers out of the Tuba Group’s garment factory in Dhaka, where they had been on an indefinite hunger strike for the last 11 days, demanding their overdue wages and Eid bonuses. A strike on Aug 9 is called for RMG factory workers nationwide, but it will go largely ignored.

Aug 18

Cabinet okays amendment to impeach Supreme Court judges

Aug 13

HSC pass rate going up, up and up

The cabinet approves a draft of the controversial 16th amendment to the constitution to restore parliament’s authority to impeach judges of the Supreme Court in cases of “misconduct or incapacity.” Under the proposed amendment, a two-thirds vote by the MPs can impeach any SC judge with the president’s approval, effectively enabling a party with majority MP seats to impose their political agenda on the judicial system.

The pass rate in the Higher Secondary Certificate exams breaks all previous records, rising to 78.33% this year from 74.3% last year and 28.41% in 2001. In addition, the number of GPA 5 scorers and the number of colleges that had a 100% pass rate are also higher compared to last year’s results.

At 84.54%, the Dhaka Board has the highest pass rate among the regional boards, followed by Sylhet at 79.16% and Rajshahi at 78.55%

Aug 19

US: Do ‘black lives matter’ in Ferguson?

Police arrest 31 people while two have been shot during another night of racially charged protests in Ferguson, Missouri, USA, sparked by the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, by a white policeman 10 days ago. The violence is raising questions about the state of US race relations, nearly six years after Americans elected their first black president.

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Ahle Sunnat leader Faruqi slaughtered Faruqi also served as the Presidium member of Islamic Front Bangladesh

PSC plans to introduce detailed syllabus for BCS The authorities will publicise the new syllabus for the preliminary test ahead of the upcoming 35th BCS examination

Singer Nancy attempts suicide Popular singer Nazmun Monira Nancy is undergoing treatment at MMCH and she is out of danger, doctor says

‘We give appointment dates for Indian visa application’ People who got Indian visas recently told the Dhaka Tribune that there are alternate ways

Saudi men can’t marry Bangladeshis Saudi men have also been prohibited from marrying expatriate women from Pakistan, Chad and Myanmar

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september 2014

new year special

Sep 30

Telecom minister sacked for anti-Hajj remarks The government decides today to remove telecommunications minister Abdul Latif Siddique from the cabinet amid controversy following his comments on Hajj. “Hajj is a waste of manpower,” Latif said two days ago during a speech in New York, where he was accompanying the prime minister for the UN General Assembly. “Those who perform Hajj do not have any productivity. They deduct from the economy, spend a lot of money abroad,” he said. Six separate cases have been filed against the minister for hurting the religious sentiments of the people.

Sep 10 Singer Feroza Begum dies

Sep 23 US and Arab allies launch first strikes on IS militants in Syria

Considered the most prominent Nazrul sangeet singer in the subcontinent, Feroza Begum dies of natural causes in her late 80s.

Feroza is credited with reviving the popularity of the Nazrul sangeet genre. She has recorded about 1,600 songs and received many awards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. She was married to Kamal Dasgupta, a renowned singer, composer and music director. Their sons Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed are also famous singers of the country.

The United States and five Arab allies (Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) bomb Syria jointly for the first time, killing dozens of Islamic State fighters and members of a separate al Qaeda-linked group, pursuing a campaign against militants into a war at the heart of the Middle East. The action pitches the US into the three-year-old Syrian civil war, which has killed 200,000 people and displaced millions.

Sep 19 Scots reject independence, vote to stay in UK Scotland choses to stay in the United Kingdom, spurning independence in a historic referendum that had worried allies and investors. Despite the nation’s longstanding ambivalence towards the English, supporters of the UK have won 54% of the vote. Closer to home, the referendum inspires Kashmiri separatist leaders to demand that India follow through on a promise to grant a similar vote in the disputed Himalayan region.

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National University degree results tonight The results will also be available on www.nu.edu. bd and www.nubd.info, says the release

Radio Foorti app launched The app opens the door to a world of possibilities for showcasing Bangladeshi brands

DU ‘Kha’ unit result out, pass rate 9.55% The admission test result for the Dhaka University held on September 19 passed 3,874 of 40,565 students

General good fortune Nazmul got licence for two firearms last year as a ‘special person of the state’ as party posts were like magic lamps for many Chhatra League leaders

Kolkata scientists rewrite earth’s evolutionary history books Micro-organisms were certainly present before three billion years ago

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october 2014

new year special

Oct 5

Teenager assaulted and murdered by mentor

Police recover the body of Zubair Ahmed, 17, from a shallow pond in Uttara, after Abuubaida Kadir lead them to it.

The O-level student was sexually assaulted and strangled to death by Kadir, an Algerian national living in Bangladesh illegally for the last 14 years, using his role as a swimming coach and language teacher to prey on teenage boys.

Oct 10

Pakistani and Indian activists win Nobel peace prize

This year’s joint honour of Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai and India’s Kailash Satyarthi awoke scepticism, as the arch-rival countries exchanged fire on the Line of Control this week instead of celebrating peace.

The Nobel Committee said it regards the award “as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism.”

Kailash, 60, has saved has saved 80,000 children from slavery. Malala, 17, is an education campaigner who was shot by a Taliban gunman two years ago, and is the youngest ever Nobel Prize recipient.

Oct 14

Hong Kong: Pro-democracy protestors clash with police

Oct 23

Ghulam Azam dies a convicted war criminal

Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters are in a standoff with police near Hong Kong’s government headquarters, as the “Umbrella Revolution” stalemate continues. The clashes are the worst in over a week of conflicts between police and the largely student protesters. The movement was triggered by a recent proposal of “reforms” to the Hong Kong electoral system, whereby a pro-Beijing committee would prescreen candidates for the territory’s first direct elections in 2017.

War criminal and former Jamaat-e-Islami chief Ghulam Azam, 92, dies at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. Believed to be the “greatest traitor in Bangladesh’s history,” he had been serving a 90-year jail sentence since being convicted last year by the International Crimes Tribunal on 61 incidents of crimes against humanity during the Liberation War. Though his crimes were punishable by death, the ICT commuted the sentence due to his age and health.

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Medical college admission test results today Public and private medical and dental colleges have a total of 9,623 seats, with 3,708 at 28 public medical colleges and nine dental colleges

Can slaughter be religion?

Op-ed by Ranier Ebert: ‘We should look for alternative ways to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha, and make it a joyous time not only for humans, but all animals’

World’s first ‘halal’ whisky goes on sale Scottish whisky manufacturers product are in disagreement over which of their ‘alcohol free’ products is going to be the first to hit the market

Gay and (un)married Bangladesh’s gay men walk delicate tightrope on marriage

Piash Karim passes away Controversial BRAC University professor has died of cardiac arrest at Square Hospital in the capital

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november 2014

new year special

Nov 10

First Hijra pride festival A rally of approximately 1,000 members of the Hijra community gathers in front of National Press Club, marking the one-year anniversary of legal recognition of the third gender. Simultaneous rallies are being held in the six other divisions, drawing 200-400 participants across the country.

On November 11, 2013, a cabinet meeting decided that Hijras would be considered a separate gender in Bangladesh, and given priority for education and other rights. The Hijra community still awaits a bill to be passed in parliament.

Nov 1

Nov 26

Tigers clinch ODI Test series, land 9th in ICC rankings

Nationwide blackout An 11-hour blackout overtakes the country, when the national grid collapses at 11:30am due to excessive electricity supply from India, which triggers a technical glitch at Bheramara substation. It is the worst blackout since November 2007, when Cyclone Sidr knocked out the national grid for several hours.

Host Bangladesh makes an emphatic victory against the visiting Zimbabwe cricket team, with Anamul Haque and Arafat Sunny emerging as the stars of the tournament. After a disappointing year, the Tigers gave fans something to cheer about with their first ODI (One Day International) victory of 2014.

Nov 4

War criminal Kamaruzzaman gets death penalty The Supreme Court gives the death sentence to Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former al-Badr man Mohammad Kamaruzzaman for the Sohagpur mass killing during the Liberation War, for which he was found guilty in May 2013 by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT).

Earlier this week, the ICT awarded the death sentence to two other notorious war criminals: Mir Quasem Ali, leader of the Daleem Hotel “deathfactory” in Chittagong, and Motiur Rahman Nizami, an al-Badr leader involved with the systematic abduction and killing of intellectuals in 1971.

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Chhatra League say they own DU campus In a shameless act of hooliganism on the Dhaka University campus, Chhatra League activists yesterday foil a peaceful rally at the Shaheed Minar

Veena Malik gets 26 years in jail Pakistan actor along with the owner of Pakistan’s biggest media group Geo TV are jailed on blasphemy charges

Car crash just the beginning of nightmare ordeal A young woman has been in jail indefinitely in connection with a ‘plain and simple’ road accident

Registration starts for Bengal Classical Music Festival 2014 The festival will present a broad variety of classical music genres

Marriage and the minister’s age Op-ed by Taslima Nasrin: When a 67-year-old man gets married, he is applauded. When a 67-year-old woman does it, she is hated by society

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december 2014

new year special

Dec 9

Oil spill in the Sundarbans endangers wildlife A vessel with more than 357,000 litres of furnace oil capsizes in Sela River, spilling oil along 20km of the area and causing widespread pollution to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest on earth.

The Unesco-listed world heritage site is home to globally several endangered species, and it is feared this incident could put the region’s fauna at severe risk, particularly the sweetwater Irawaddy and brackishwater Ganges dolphins.

Bengal tigers, the mangrove forests and the health of people who live and depend upon the Sundarbans are in shambles.

Dec 10

Dec 27

Time names Ebola fighters ‘Person of the Year’

The most widespread epidemic of Ebola virus in history is currently raging, with nearly 20,000 reported cases and more than 7,500 dead. It began with an outbreak in West Africa in December 2013, and by August, the World Health Organisation declared an international public health emergency.

It became increasingly difficult to find doctors and relief workers to help, as Time Magazine says: “Anyone willing to treat Ebola victims ran the risk of becoming one. Which brings us to the hero’s heart.”

Volunteers retrieve Jihad’s body from 500ft well

The body of four-year-old Jihad is recovered from a nearly 500ft abandoned well in Dhaka, around 23 hours after the boy had fallen and gotten trapped at a depth of 256ft. Locals bring the child out just 10 minutes after the fire service had suspended its rescue operations.

Mishandling by government authorities – including dismissal by home minister Asaduzzaman Khan that the trapped boy is merely a rumour – draws widespread criticism.

Dec 16

Taliban attacks Pakistan school, killing 132 children In a revenge attack over a military offensive on Taliban havens in Pakistan’s North Waziristan, seven Taliban gunmen storm a military-run school in the city of Peshawar, killing 141 people, including 132 children. The men gun down students and burn female teachers alive. Army commandos fight the Taliban in a daylong battle until all the attackers are dead.

The massacre horrifies a nation already weary of unending terrorist attacks.

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Meet the new wolf The super hyped story of Mohammad Islam, a 17-year old boy who acquired $72 million trading stock, has proved to be a hoax

Woman raped when collecting marriage certificate Police arrested the accused rapist at the kazi office

Actress sues cricketer Rubel ‘When I asked him to marry me he began to distance himself from.

That is why I filed the case. I want justice as per the law’

‘Sex’ most searched word on Google in Bangladesh Bangladesh has swiftly moved to 3 in the list of countries having searched for the word in recent years

Tahsan excited about Uddeshyo Nei concert ‘I plan to arrange a tour following the release of my album,’ Tahsan said

N EW YEA R SPEC IA L th u rsDAY, JAN UARY 1 , 2015