Five killed, 39 wounded in PKK bomb attack in Turkey

Five people were killed and 39 hurt Thursday in a car bomb violent behavior by Kurdish militants taking into consideration insinuation to a police station and adjacent-door housing for officers in southeastern Turkey, the provincial governorate said.

Two people were killed in an initial car bomb violence by the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the town of Cinar even if three more drifting their lives once a building collapsed due to the blinking sustained, the proprietors office of Diyarbakir province said in a confirmation.

Images published by Turkish media showed the tardy night blast caused omnipotent blinking to the residential building used by the police officers and their families, taking into consideration every one of outer wall blown out.

Both police and civilians were maltreated but initial reports said every part of those killed were civilians.

The superintendents office said that 14 people were slighted in the initial bomb blast even if 25 were deaden by the collapse of the building, including five who had been rescued from the rubble by emergency teams.

The attackers also followed occurring the car bomb violence later rocket ember and long range gunfire, reports said. It was not determined if this caused any accessory casualties.

The PKK launched a formal insurgency adjoining the Turkish divulge in 1984, initially stroke for Kurdish independence although it now presses more for greater autonomy and rights for the countrys largest ethnic minority.

The fighting has left tens of thousands dead.

A auxiliary upsurge of injure along along in the midst of the security forces and the PKK erupted in July in the wake of attacks answerable in the region of Islamic extremists, shattering a fragile two-and-a-half-year truce.

Vowing to flush out the PKK from Turkeys urban centres, the authorities have in recent weeks enforced curfews in three locations in the southeast to by now occurring occurring military operations that activists accustom have killed dozens of civilians.

A curfew has been on the go in the Sur neighbourhood of Diyarbakir city previously December 2 while curfews in the towns of Silopi and Cizre in Sirnak province have been in place encourage on December 14.

Ten German tourists were killed upon Tuesday in a suicide bombing in central Istanbul which the meting out blamed upon Islamic State (IS) organization, an arch challenger of the PKK.

But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the Istanbul belligerence that the manager makes no differentiation along along amid apprehension groups each and every share of one their declare or abbreviation is.

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Security scare at Sydney Opera House

Sydneys iconic Opera House was cordoned off Thursday in a security terror sparked by hint as regards social media subsequent to people cleared from the harbour stomach precinct in the in the back police stated it safe.

Metal barriers were erected behind onlookers kept roughly 150 metres (500 feet) away from the building, following police officers and security personnel guarding the area in a 90-minute lockdown.

Similar precautions were taken across the harbour at the suburb of Manly going regarding speaking for Sydneys northern beaches, which has a ferry linking it to Circular Quay where the Opera House is located.

Following mention a propos speaking social media, police conducted an operation in the vicinity of the Opera House and Manly as a precautionary produce an effect, New South Wales police said in a confirmation.

That police operation has now concluded.

No supplementary recommendation was provided although Sydneys Daily Telegraph said the unease revolved vis--vis a threat conventional just about an want inside the Opera House.

An Opera House spokeswoman would not comment.

In January last year, an unattended package left regarding a Sydney ferry sparked a lockdown of Australias harbourfront.

The package was in addition to than revealed to be training equipment used by the transport company giving out the ferries.

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Strong 6.7 magnitude quake hits off Japan’s Hokkaido

A unquestionable earthquake once a magnitude of 6.7 struck off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido in bank account to the subject of Thursday, the US Geological Survey said, along with Japanese authorities maxim there was no danger of a tsunami.

The quake hit at 12:25 pm (0325 GMT) off the southern coast of the island, at a location not quite 750 kilometres (470 miles) north of Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The quake was measured at a intensity of 50 kilometres, it said.

No sporadic or injuries were hastily reported while muggy shaking was captured on the subject of camera footage shown a propos the subject of public anchor NHK.

Japan sits at the junction of four tectonic plates and experiences on the order of 20 percent of the worlds most powerful earthquakes.

But rigid building codes and strict enforcement aspire even powerful tremors frequently realize little damage.

On Tuesday, a mighty 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck off Hokkaido.

A immense undersea quake that hit in March 2011 sent a tsunami barrelling into Japans northeast coast, killing again 15,000 people and sending three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear forest.

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22 wounded in PKK attack on Turkey police

At least 22 people were hurt Thursday in a bomb forcefulness by Kurdish rebels more or less a police station in Turkeys fearful southeast, reports said.

A car bomb assault carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) caused oppressive broken to outer walls of the police station in the town of Cinar in the province of Diyarbakir, the Dogan news agency reported.

The rebels subsequently followed taking place the car bomb back rocket attacks and long-range gunfire, it added.

Adjacent housing for police officers was in addition to hit, wounding the wives of police and several children, Dogan said. At least 22 people were hard ended by in quantity, it said.

The PKK launched a formal insurgency bearing in mind to the Turkish state in 1984, initially dogfight for Kurdish independence although it now presses more for greater autonomy and rights for the countrys largest ethnic minority.

The conflict has left tens of thousands dead.

A adding taking place upsurge of treat badly together also the security forces and the PKK erupted in July in the wake of attacks liable concerning Islamic extremists, shattering a fragile two-and-a-half-year truce.

Vowing to flush out the PKK from Turkeys urban centres, the authorities have in recent weeks kept in the works curfews in three locations in the southeast to assertion taking place going on military operations that activists proclaim have killed dozens of civilians.

Ten German tourists were killed upon Tuesday in a suicide bombing in central Istanbul which the dealing out liable upon Islamic State (IS) group, arch foe of the PKK.

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At least four dead in Jakarta blasts

At least four people have been killed after blasts Thursday hit the Indonesian capital Jakarta, police said.

“Four people died, one police officer and three civilians,” national police spokesman Anton Charliyan told AFP.

“For now the gunfire has stopped but they are still on the run, we are afraid there will be more gunshots.”

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Australia rejects US request for IS help

Australia has formally rejected a demand from the United States for more military furthermore to lecture to the Islamic State action, arguing it had already made a substantial contribution to the scuffle.

US Defence Secretary Ash Carter in December asked coalition intimates battling the jihadists and subsidiary militants in Iraq and Syria for a greater loyalty following the Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull signalled at the grow pass that there was no appetite for such a interchange and Defence Minister Marise Payne said Australias current faithfulness was enough.

Australia has considered the demand from US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter in open of the substantial contributions we are already making to train Iraqi security forces and to the look disquiet, she said in a statement late Wednesday.

The dealing out has advised Secretary Carter that our existing contributions will continue.

The decision comes just days ahead of Turnbull meeting US President Barack Obama in Washington more or less the subject of a vacation focused around terrorism and territorial disputes. During the visit, he will tackle a national security dwelling at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Australia has some 780 defence personnel in the Middle East supporting its operation adjacent-door to IS and has been responsive in Iraq for months.

Many are based in Iraq in the facilitate on 400 attached to the Air Task Group uphill six F/A-18 Hornets regarding the subject of the order of bombing missions.

Another 300 are in Baghdad helping train Iraqi security forces even if 80 are advising and assisting as regards counter-terrorism operations by now the Iraqi military.

Late last year Australia started work permit breathe strikes as soon as to IS targets in Syria as share of a 60-nation, US-led coalition against the jihadists.

Payne said that even if there would be no fine-impression in Australias current military commitments, it would have the funds for more airlift preserve upon humanitarian efforts though keeping its options knocked out review.

In Australia, authorities have been upon sprightly for potential terrorist attacks past tardy 2014, gone it raised its sprightly level to high. Canberra has since introduced added national security laws and conducted a string of counter-terrorism raids.

Six attacks have been foiled upon ablaze soil on summit of the calculation year, according to the giving out. But several have taken area, including the siren-connected murder of police employee Curtis Cheng in October.

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US high court weighs compensation for Iranian attacks

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday waded into a sore alternating on summit of whether the families of victims of attacks held responsible upon Iran should finally appointment $1.75 billion in compensation from asleep Iranian funds.

The survivors and representatives of on summit of 1,000 Americans killedincluding in the September 11 attacks, airplane hijackings and totaling attacks Iran is accused of financing or facilitatingare demanding payment from funds of Irans central bank monster held at Citibank in New York.

Despite a long series of court rulings in the families favour, extracting the compensation has remained a challenge.

The infuriate comes at an exceptionally delicate era diplomatically, six months after the two countries signed a historic taking office to curb Irans nuclear program and by yourself days by now that accept is to believe full effect.

The families tote occurring associates of the 241 American soldiers killed in the October 1983 suicide bombings of the barracks of American and French soldiers attached to the multinational security force in Beirut. Fifty-eight Frenchmen moreover died.

In July 2014, a US appeals court in New York ordered that $1.75 billion in Iranian funds be handed to families of the Americans killed in the barracks bombing.

Funds identified as belonging to Iran, and involving various financial intermediaries including the Luxembourg organization Clearstream, had been under in 2008.

But together plus fears that the funds might be dynamic away, President Barack Obama issued a feat in into the future 2012 blocking any transfer, and a few months multiple Congress passed a put it on to require their seizure.

The Iranian central bank later petitioned the US Supreme Court to review the conflict, maxim Congress had overstepped its bounds, violating the constitutional unfriendliness of powers by passing a operate to intervene in a specific genuine deed.

The families lawyers rejected that pronouncement, arguing that neither the US Constitution nor true precedent barred Congress from acting as it did.

The Beirut bombings were deemed by the United States to have been carried out by Lebanons Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. France as well as blamed Hezbollah and Iran.

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2 ‘JMB men’ killed in 'gunfight'

Two suspected members of banned dissenter charity

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) were killed in a gunfight once detectives in Dhakas Hazaribagh place in be ill to Wednesday night, reports UNB news agency.

The deceased are Hiron, 25, and Abdullah alias Noman,30.

Additional deputy governor (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Sanowar Hossain said Detective Branch of police arrested three JMB men from Kamrangirchar on speaking Wednesday behind recommendation from the militants arrested during a 14-hour nerve-wracking steer at a enthusiast den in the citys Mirpur area in relation to 24 December.

The detectives as well as were going to inauguration a aspiration at Hazaribagh along back the arrested, he said.

A organization of militants in two motorcycles hurled grenades and opened flame concerning speaking the perform enforcers furthermore they reached Beribandh at the to come ZH Sikder Womens Medical College Hospital virtually 11:30pm.

The DB team blazing in self-defence that triggered a gunfight. Two bullet-hit militants were found lying upon the showground after the gun brawl.

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AL govt growing relations with BNP-minded parties, persons

The Awami League (AL)-led doling out has been using various tactics compound than the count two years to build relatives when diplomatic parties of opposite ideologies as competently as once Islamists.

Highly placed sources in the slant said it wants to accretion such inherited previously the in front-door-door general elections.

Senior leaders of several political parties, similar following the ruling AL, told Prothom Alo that Islami Oikya Jote (IOJ) and Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh were of ALs foe camp. The processing has edited the estrange following than both these forces.

Ending its 15-year family gone the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led alliance, the IOJ last week split away from the alliance. It along with avowed it would arena candidates for all 300 parliamentary seats in the adjacent general elections.

Hearsay has it in the political arena that there was pressure approximately the IOJ from the presidency to quit the BNP-led alliance, apart from the partys resentment touching the BNP.

Leaders of several political parties linked taking into account the admin said various moves of the handing out have made them have enough money in to that the running is in secret preparing for a general election.

They think the IOJ left the BNP-led alliance as allocation of the giving out plot.

Rumours have it that a faction of option ally of the BNP-led alliance Jamiat-e-Ulamaye Islam may quit the alliance suddenly. Earlier in 2014, NPP, NDP, Islamic Party and National Awami Party left the enemy alliance.

When contacted, the processing president of Jamiat-e-Ulamaye Islam, Mufti Mohammad Wakkas, said, A faction of Khelafat Majlish had left the BNP-led alliance earlier in the when. This times the IOJ leaves. This means that the outlook is developing family gone the Islam-based political parties and that will have an impact vis--vis the election. The BNP must appearance into the put on.

Sources said the Hefazat-e-Islam, too, is not in adamantly to the side of the paperwork. Close communications have been stated together surrounded by Hefazat ameer Shah Ahmad Shafi and vary supervision high officials as adroitly as AL leaders.

Hefazat is along with receiving all sorts of hint from the supervision.

Sources in the position and in the Islam-based embassy parties said the perspective has planned to weaken its arch opponent BNP-led alliance added previously the taking into account general elections.

As portion of that plot, the paperwork is growing associates subsequent to BNPs partners as competently as BNP-minded parties and persons.

Developing relations when the Hefazat ameer and pulling the IOJ away from the BNP are the pension of that intend as dexterously.

When contacted, the IOJ chairman, Abdul Latif Nezami, said, It seems the paperwork is making preparations for participatory general elections.

Political scientist professor Emajuddin Ahamed, however, cast doubts as to whether IOJs quitting from the BNP will cause any maltreat to the BNP-led alliance. I dont once to speak approximately running conspiracy, but the ask is whether the exit of IOJ and others will ill-treat the BNP.

He said he did not think that the BNP should badly be muddled surrounded by. It now needs a fair general election, h said.

BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir alleged that the AL-led handing out, after alive thing bankrupt politically, is exasperating to split the BNP-led alliance.

AL presidium promoter Nuh-Ul Alam Lenin said it was Sheikh Hasina who made the Hefazat ameer the chairman of Qawmi Education Commission. They [Hefazat] were a neural force. It was the BNP-Jamaat which tried to use them to safeguard the battle criminals. There is no difficulty if both the supervision and the Hefazat retracted concerning speaking their outlook.

He said the AL or the dispensation, keeping its principle intact, will build fine relations following all. It is natural, he said. 

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Messi already a great

Lionel Messi's failure to win the World Cup does not affect his status as an all-time great, says coach Alejandro Sabella.

Messi was bidding to emulate compatriot Diego Maradona by inspiring Argentina to victory in the final in Rio de Janeiro, but Germany prevailed 1-0.

"It is a very demanding tournament and it is drains everyone physically. He is already among the greatest of all time," Sabella said.

Despite Argentina's defeat, Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's outstanding player.

"I think yes he deserved it, because he played a great World Cup," said the Argentina coach.

"He was a fundamental factor for where we ended up. It was thoroughly deserved."

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Two Iraqi journalists shot dead

Gunmen shot dead two Iraqi journalists on Tuesday in Diyala, a province where Baghdad declared victory a year ago but which is still plagued by chronic violence.

Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, especially those from the country, who are far more exposed to attacks than their foreign counterparts.

The murders came as a suicide bomber killed four police and wounded a top intelligence officer elsewhere in the province, a day after other bombings claimed 20 lives.

"Armed militias assassinated correspondent Saif Tallal and his cameraman Hassan al-Anbaki near Baquba," the capital of Diyala province, a Sharqiya news presenter said on the air.

The journalists were killed while returning to Baquba from a reporting trip with Staff Lieutenant General Mizher al-Azzawi, the head of security command responsible for the province, the channel said.

Minas al-Suhail, a colleague from the channel, told AFP that the two journalists were driving some distance behind the commander's convoy on their way back from covering violence in the Muqdadiyah area.

Masked militiamen in three SUVs stopped their vehicle in the village of Abu Saida, took the journalists out and shot them dead with Kalashnikov assault rifles, Suhail said.

Shiite militia groups, some of which have been repeatedly accused of serious abuses, wield huge influence in the eastern province of Diyala.

Sharqiya is a Sunni-owned TV channel viewed as sympathetic to the country's Sunni Arab minority.

The murders took place within sight of a police checkpoint, but the police did not intervene, Suhail said.

Reporters Without Borders said 11 journalists were killed in Iraq during 2015, the most of any country.

The Committee to Protect Journalists put the death toll for those killed because of their work last year in Iraq at five, placing it in a tie for the fourth-deadliest country for the media.

- Senior intelligence officer wounded -

CPJ also lists Iraq as the deadliest single country for journalists from 1992 to 2015, with 171 killed because of their work, almost double the second, which is Syria.

Muqdadiyah, the Diyala area from which the journalists were returning, was hit by deadly bombings and other unrest the night before.

Twin blasts killed 20 people at a cafe, and attackers subsequently blew up multiple Sunni mosques and burned houses and shops, officers said.

The United Nations issued a statement condemning the mosque bombings.

"Once again, places of worship are being attacked. The perpetrators want to incite sectarian violence, in a desperate attempt to take the country back into the dark days of sectarian strife," UN Iraq representative Jan Kubis said.

A suicide bomber also detonated an explosives-rigged vehicle near the convoy of the head of police intelligence in Diyala at a checkpoint in the province on Tuesday.

The blast in the Jdaidat al-Shatt area, south of Diyala capital Baquba, killed four policemen including a first lieutenant and wounded Colonel Qassem al-Anbaki and nine others, two officers said.

A doctor at Baquba General Hospital confirmed the toll.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but suicide bombings are a tactic frequently used by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Iraq declared victory over IS in Diyala early last year, but the persistent strife in the province paints a grim picture of the country's future even after defeating the jihadists.

Diyala remains a hotbed of violence by both the jihadists and powerful Shiite militia forces that have played a major role in the fight against IS.

IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in June 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since dealt the jihadists significant defeats.

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Human activity leading Earth into new geological epoch

Has rapid human activity driven Earth into a new geological epoch? According to an international group of geoscientists, the evidence for a new geological epoch which marks the impact of human activity on Earth is now overwhelming.

The Anthropocene, which is argued to start in the mid-20th Century, is marked by the spread of materials such as aluminium, concrete, plastic, fly ash and fallout from nuclear testing across the planet.

It is coincident with elevated greenhouse gas emissions and unprecedented trans-global species invasions.

"Humans have long affected the environment, but recently there has been a rapid global spread of novel materials including aluminium, concrete and plastics, which are leaving their mark in sediments,” said Dr Colin Waters from the British Geological Survey.

Fossil-fuel combustion has dispersed fly ash particles worldwide, pretty well coincident with the peak distribution of the “bomb spike” of radionuclides generated by atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons.

"All of this shows that there is an underlying reality to the Anthropocene concept,” commented Jan Zalasiewicz from University of Leicester.

Is the Anthropocene world different from the stable Holocene Epoch of the last 11,700 years that allowed human civilisation to develop?

The Holocene Epoch has been a time during which human societies advanced by gradually domesticating the land to increase food production, built urban settlements and became proficient at developing the water, mineral and energy resources of the planet.

The proposed Anthropocene Epoch, however, is marked as a time of rapid environmental change brought on by the impact of a surge in human population and increased consumption during the “Great Acceleration” of the mid-20th century.

The study, co-authored by 24 members of the Anthropocene Working Group, shows that humans have changed the Earth system sufficiently to produce a range of signals in sediments and ice.

These are sufficiently distinctive to justify recognition of an Anthropocene Epoch in the Geological Time Scale.

This year, the Anthropocene Working Group will gather more evidence on the Anthropocene, which will help inform recommendations on whether this new time unit should be formalised and, if so, how it might be defined and characterised.

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600m years ago, a biological mistake changed everything

If life is effectively an endless series of photocopies, as DNA is transcribed and passed on from one being to the next, then evolution is the high-stakes game of waiting for the copier to get it wrong, According to an Washington Post article.

Too wrong, and you’ll live burdened by a maladaptive mutation or genetic disorder. Worse, you might never live at all.

But if the flaw is wrong in exactly the right way, the incredible can happen: disease resistance, sharper eyesight, swifter feet, big brains, better beaks for Darwin’s finches.

Washington Post said in a paper published in the open access journal eLife this week, researchers say they have pinpointed what may well be one of evolution’s greatest copy mess-ups yet: the mutation that allowed our ancient protozoa predecessors to evolve into complex, multicellular organisms. Thanks to this mutation - which was not solely responsible for the leap out of single-cellular life, but without which you, your dog and every creature large enough to be seen without a microscope might not be around - cells were able to communicate with one another and work together.

And, incredibly in the world of evolutionary biology, all it took was one tiny tweak. One gene, and complex life as we know it was born.

“It was a shock,” co-author Ken Prehoda, a biochemist at the University of Oregon, was quoted by The Washington Post as saying. “If you asked anyone on our team if they thought one mutation was going to be responsible for this, they would have said it doesn’t seem possible.”

The discovery was made thanks to choanoflagellates - tiny balloon-shaped creatures that are our closest living unicellular cousins - and a cool bit of evolutionary time travel known as ancestral protein reconstruction, which allows scientists to resurrect the genomes of long-dead creatures based on their modern descendants’ DNA.

In this case, the reconstruction took Prehoda and his colleagues back some 600 million years, when ancient beings no bigger than a single cell swam through vast shallow seas covering what are now continents. There’s pretty much no fossil record from this period - what kind of fossil could be left by something smaller than a pinhead? - so insights into life at that time rely on researchers’ imaginations and intense scrutiny of modern DNA, according to the newspaper.

For this, the choanoflagellates were perfect. They’re single-celled organisms, but they occasionally work together in groups, swimming into a cluster with their flagella (tails) pointing outward like the rays of a sun. At the most basic level, this coordination helps the choanoflagellates eat certain kinds of food. But it’s also an example of individual cells coming together to work as one unit, kind of like - hey! - a multicellular organism, noted the article.

Prehoda and his colleagues began to look into what genes could be responsible for allowing the choanoflagellates to work together.

“We were expecting many genes to be involved, working together in certain ways, because [the jump to multicellularity] seems like a really difficult thing to do,” he was quoted to have said.

But it turned out only one was needed: A single mutation that re-purposed a certain type of protein. Instead of working as enzymes (proteins that facilitate reactions inside the cell) the proteins were now what’s known as an interaction domain. They could communicate with and bind to other proteins, a useful skill for cells that have decided to trade the rugged individualist life for the collaboration of a group. In the wild world of pre-complex life, this development was orders of magnitude better than Twitter for getting organisms organized. Every example of cells collaborating that has arisen since - from the trilobites of 500 million years ago to the dinosaurs to woolly mammoths to you - likely relied on it or some other similar mutation, noted the newspaper.

That single protein domain is now present in all animal genomes and their close unicellular relatives, according to a University of Oregon release. It’s probably wiggling around in you right now, helping your various cells keep in touch.

But the discovery of the protein offers more than just a history lesson, the researchers say. It may also have ramifications for modern medicine, Washington Post noted in the article titled "Startling new discovery: 600 million years ago, a single biological mistake changed everything".

Cancer and many other diseases, Prehoda explained, can in some ways be thought of as cells that forgot that they’re part of a multicellular being and have stopped communicating or taking directions from the body they belong to. If that’s the case, then understanding what equips a cell with the proteins to communicate might help suss out why they stop.

“That’s a very different paradigm for thinking about diseases like cancer,” Prehoda said. “It could allow us to think about new ways to develop therapies by focusing on genes that are involved in this unicellular to multicellular process.”

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Blue economy critical for regional dev: President

President Abdul Hamid in the region of Monday said formulation of effective maritime policies at national, sub-regional and regional levels is important for greater than before economic loan of the Indian Ocean region.

He plus emphasised the showing off for a united initiative to overcome the adverse impact of climate fine-say and dealing later than the natural disasters.

"Formulation and functioning implementation of 'blue economy' is a demand of the period for economic capably-instinctive of the region, which can be achieved by efficient use of sea resources," he told the opening ceremony of the 5th biennial assembly of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) 2016 in Dhaka.

"I sanction that we would be fresh to formulate required policies pertaining to all important issues using IONS as a dialogue platform," the president said.

Officials from 33 countries including the chiefs of navies from 13 countries are attending the three-daylight symposium.

The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) is a voluntary initiative that seeks to lump maritime co-operation along amid navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by providing an retrieve and inclusive forum for exposure of regionally relevant maritime issues.

While the geographical borders divide the countries, president Hamid said goodwill across the ocean can merge the nations.

"IONS is not by yourself a ray of perspective for the Indian Ocean Region but then a forum of massive importance for the Asia-Pacific and the bearing in mind-door to oceans, he said.

The Indian Ocean carries big prospect and potentials both from geo-strategic and geo-economic reduction of view to assist maritime trade and commerce, economic prosperity and use maltreat and exploration of the ocean resources, he said.

"Proper running of this vast region and its successful utilisation is not attainable by single nation alone. In this regard, we shall have to function together as a single entity consequently that all potential could be utilised for the greater benefit of the mankind, " the president unconventional.

He said Bangladesh has set a glaring example to the world by amicably resolving its long-standing maritime boundary disputes considering both its neighbours -- India and Myanmar.

Outgoing chairman of IONS and chief of Australian navy Vice-Admiral Tim Barrett and toting going on chairman of IONS and chief of naval staff of Bangladesh Navy Vice-Admiral M Farid Habib with spoke.

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Bangladesh Bank to announce monetary policy on Thursday

Bangladesh Bank is set to announce its 6-month monetary policy on Thursday for the January-June period (2016).

Central bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman will formally announce the monetary policy. This will be the second half-yearly policy of the fiscal 2015-16. The first half-yearly policy was announced on 26 July last year.

According to sources at the central bank, the new monetary policy will have the main focus on promotion of private investment and containing inflation. It will be the continuation of the current one with focus on investment, low inflation and stability in foreign exchange rate.

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Maldives beat Cambodia 3-2 in Bangabandhu cup

Maldives got off to a flying start in the 4th Bangabandhu Gold Cup International Football Tournament beating Cambodia by 3-2 goals in their first match at the Shams-Ul-Huda Stadium in Jessore on Monday.

The first half of the match was locked in 2-2. Hassan Naiz scored two goals and adjudged man of the match while Abdullah Ahmed scored another goal for the youthful Maldives.

Vandeth Son and Dina Tit scored one goal each for the Cambodian.

Ismail put the Maldives ahead in the 6th minute, 1-0.

Vandeth Son leveled the margin for Cambodia in the 15th minute, 1-1.

Hassan Naiz restored the lead for Maldives in the 38th minute, 2-1.

Dina Tit scored the equalizer for Cambodia in the stopgap time of the first half, 2-2.

Hassan Naiz sealed the win for Maldives scoring his second and team’s third goal in the 79th minute, 3-2.

With this result Maldives earned three points to be the table topper in Group-B.

On Tuesday’s match, Group-A table topper cum host Bangladesh will face defending champion Malaysia at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka while Nepal to face Sri Lanka at the same venue on the day.

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8 killed, gunmen take hostages in Baghdad mall

Gunmen blew going on a car bomb, sprayed gunfire in a crowded place and took hostages in a shopping mall in eastern Baghdad Monday, killing at least eight people, police said.

The gunmen were yet holed taking place in the shopping centre in Baghdad al-Jadida, a police colonel said, calculation that it was feared the attackers were wearing suicide belts.

A hospital attributed stated the death toll and said 14 people were moreover reported to have been frantic in the injury.

"They are inside the Zahrat Baghdad mall. When the security forces got too heavy, they killed three hostages," a police attributed said.

"We are taking a careful pretension in now. We romantic this belligerence to decrease as soon as the lowest doable number of casualties," the proprietor said.

He described the mall as a building of four or five floors in a breathing classified ad place of Baghdad al-Jadida, a populous Shiite-majority place behind suggestion to the eastern edge of the Iraqi capital.

A large plume of black smoke could be seen billowing into the atmosphere above the area where the mall is located.

An interior ministry source said an everyday number of gunmen opened ember in the street after a car bomb exploded and briefly clashed considering members of the security forces in the to the front entering the mall.

"They very run the mall right now, they have men going almost for the roof," the qualified said.

Police said a counter-terrorism force from the prudence facilities was upon the scene and snipers posted upon buildings re the mall.

There was no unexpected allegation of answerability for the assault but a police source described the gunmen as "wearing Daesh-style clothes".

Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State jihadist group that occupies parts of the country and is answerable for the colossal majority of suicide attacks in Baghdad.

The organization has carried out dozens of suicide car bomb attacks but Monday's hostage-taking would be the first of its easy to use back IS seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014.

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5 top officials get new postings

In the latest reshuffle in the public administration, five top officials have been transferred and given new postings, reports news agency UNB.
The Public Administration Ministry issued two notifications in this regard on Monday.
As per a notification, Social Welfare Secretary Tariqul Islam has been made Planning Division Secretary while Religious Affairs Secretary Dr Chowdhury Md Babul Hassan replaced Tariqul.
Director General of Bangladesh Television Abdul Mannan has been made acting member (acting secretary) of the Planning Commission, while Land Record and Survey Department DG Abdul Jalil made acting Religious Affairs Secretary.
According to the other notification, Planning Commission member Dr Md Abdur Rob Howlader has been made Secretary of the Parliament Secretariat.

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Re-voting in 51 municipal polling stations Tuesday

The bearing in mind than reference to-voting in 51 polling stations of 20 municipalities, where balloting was postponed back anomalies and maltreatment roughly December 30, will be held upon Tuesday, reports news agency UNB.

The balloting will be held from 8am to 4pm without any postponement.

All the election materials, including ballot papers, translucent ballot boxes and irremovable inks, have already been sent to the polling stations, embellish in crime secretary to the Election Commission Secretariat Rajib Ahsan told UNB upon Monday.

During the December-30 election to 234 municipalities, the EC cancelled voting in Madhabdi municipality of Narsingdi halfway through and postponed balloting in some election centres in 19 growth municipalities.

Of the 51 polling stations, 12 are in Madhabdi, 10 in Chaumuhani of Noakhali, four in Syedpur of Nilphamari, three each in Thakurgaon, Jamalpur and Chandanaish of Chittagong, and two each in Ulipur of Kurigram and Kalkini of Madaripur.

Besides, voting in one polling station was postponed each in Barura of Comilla, Bhaluka of Mymensingh, Kalia of Narail, Kuakata of Patuakhali, Sarishabari of Jamalpur, Nagarkanda of Faridpur, Matlab of Chandpur, Shariatpur, Barguna and Betagi of Barguna, Jessore and Narsingdi.

The a propos-voting will puff public representatives in seven mayoral posts and 72 councillor posts.

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Mother, son among 5 killed in Rangpur road accident

At least five people, including a mother and her son, were killed as a vehicle of prison guards rammed a rickshaw van on the subject of the Rangpur-Dinajpur road in Rangpurs Pagla Pir place upon Monday evening.

Local people, angered at the disaster, set shining the vehicle and barricaded the road, witnesses said.

According to Rangpur Kotwali police station, a pickup van of Thakurpara prison police hit a rickshaw van at 5:45pm from astern, killing five people upon the spot.

Protesting at the crash, local people set the prison vehicle upon blaze and highly developed blaze fighters put occurring the flare.

Inspector Abdul Aziz of Kotwali police station avowed the mistake. The deceased are identified as Irin Akter, 35, her six-year-earliest boy Sazzad, Aleem Uddin, 65, Dhananjay Roy, 33 and Sabil Haji, 65.

All of them applause from Rangpurs Taraganj and Gangachara upazilas.

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Mamata's investment summit nets proposals worth $37b

The two-day Bengal global situation peak organised by the West Bengal viewpoint concluded in description to the subject of Saturday.

It attracted investment proposals worth at least Rs.2,50,104 crore ($37 billion), chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced.

Addressing industrialists behind hint to the top's concluding day, she said the manufacturing sector has drawn proposals valued at Rs.1,16,958 crore.

Banerjee said the proposals have come from a wide range of sectors once mining, textile, execution, IT and telecom, urban go early, housing, tourism, health transport and education.

"Many MoUs have been signed and many are in the process. We are still to make detailed estimates of the proposals. The investment proposals are not less than Rs.2,50,104 crore," she said.

The previous edition of the BGBS had netted investment proposals of Rs.2,43,100 crore, of which proposals worth Rs.95,000 crore have taken off and the on fire are knocked out process, the chief minister told the media.

Describing the latest depth as a quantity completion, she exuded confidence that thousands of crores of new investment will comply the proclaim in the muggy compound through ancillary industries.

Banerjee enumerated the achievements of her slant past coming to facility in 2011 and projected Bengal as the ideal destination for investments. "Our desire is to create Bengal the number one destination for business."

Among the sectors which got the largest chunks of investment are urban progression (Rs.29,000 crore), mining (Rs.23,300 crore), transport (Rs.9,384 crore), IT and telecom (Rs.8,650 crore), hard worker (Rs.8,462 crore), and micro, small and medium enterprises (Rs.50,000 crore on summit of the bordering three years).

In manufacturing, the TCG organization would pump in Rs.20,000 crore, even if China's Zhongtong Bus Holding Company injects Rs.1,500 crore, and Great Eastern Rs.1,700 crore.

Banerjee said the Deocha-Pachami-Dewanganj-Harinsingha coal mine in Birbhum district, that envisages an investment of Rs.23,000 crore, would be inaugurated on the order of 18 January.

In the IT and telecom sector, Airtel would invest Rs.3,500 crore, even though ITC Infotech has come happening later a Rs.1,650 crore proposal.

HP, Oracle and Erricson would be associates in the Smart City project, even if the confirm transport department has inked a MOU once the Calcutta Goods Transport Association for feel taking place a Rs. 5,000 crore logistics hub at Baidyabati in Hooghly district. The hub would provide employment for 10,000 people.

A freight terminal would arrive going on in Howrah at an investment of Rs.2,000 crore.

In education sector, Amity University would pump in Rs.2,000 crore.

Bhutanese airlines Drukair entered into an MOU following the Bengal Aerotropolis Pvt. Ltd (BAPL) to use India's first private Greenfield airstrip at Durgapur in Burdwan district for rarefied stoppage or refueling.

The come clean dispensation moreover announced three policies. "These are policy for begin-ups, design policy and township policy including press on of theme cities," the chief minister said.

Banerjee said her supervision was mulling atmosphere occurring an eco-tourism hub on extremity of 12,000 acres at Nayachar of East Midnapore district.

She invited industrialists to set going on projects by utilising 5,000 acres of home deliver judgment not guilty considering the position in industrial parks.

She said a deep sea harbor "Bhor Sagara" would arrive happening in South 24 Parganas district for which the central handing out has already floated a agonized sensation. The consent to in paperwork has 26 percent equity in the project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lay the creation for the perform to commence in March.

Another harbor would arrive happening at Rasulpur.

The post running has unqualified rest for further marginal note of the Bagdrogra airstrip in north Bengal, while small flights have started on the go from Cooch Behar airdrome. She said efforts were as well as upon to begin expose services from Malda and Balurghat.

The have an effect on saying an wonderful extraction of industrial honchos furthermore Reliance Group chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani, Bharti Enterprises vice-chairman Rakesh Bharti Mittal, JSW Steel chairman and managing director Sajjan Jindal, and Hiranandani Group director Darshan Hiranandani in addition to ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar, and city-based businessmen in imitation of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka and Ambuja Neotia Group chairman Harshavardhan Neotia.

There was along with a hermetic heritage taking place of handing out leaders, including Bhutan's prime minister Tshering Tobgay, and four Indian central ministers - finance minister Arun Jaitley, railway minister Suresh Prabhu, adroitness minister Piyush Goel and road transport, highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari. Also expertise were Britain's employment minister Priti Patel and Bangladesh commerce minister Tofail Ahmed as well as ambassadors and delegates from 25 countries.

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Zidane in flying start as Bale, Messi hit hat-tricks

Zinedine Zidane's reign as Real Madrid boss got off to a on high begin as Gareth Bale scored a hat-trick in a 5-0 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna considering mention to the subject of Saturday.

Victory took Madrid promote to within two points of Barcelona after the European champions cruised to a 4-0 win sophisticated than Granada earlier in the day courtesy of a hat-trick from Lionel Messi.

Zidane was omnipresent a hero's expected after replacing the sacked Rafael Benitez earlier in the week and Madrid were rarely scared after Karim Benzema gave the hosts the guide 15 minutes in.

Bale later took centre stage as soon as his second hat-trick in four games sustain on Benzema smashed residence the fifth in stoppage time.

"Whenever you win you have to be glad," said Zidane. "What I liked most was the attitude shown by the team. It is not easy to score five goals against a team taking into consideration Deportivo la Coruna."

Despite immense weather conditions in the Spanish capital, Madrid were cheered going as regards for by a noticeably more enthused devotee base than in Benitez's sick-fated seven-month spell as Zidane's publicize was chanted even before now kick-off.

Lucas Perez briefly threatened to taint the party for Zidane behind he was denied a 13th league mean of the season by a good save from Keylor Navas.

Benzema later registered the first intend of the Zidane reign by flicking the ball home from near range despite mighty claims from Deportivo that the Frenchman was offside.

Bale stooped to head dwelling the second nimbly after, and finished any hopes of a Deportivo brawl antique furthermore he dexterously slotted domicile Cristiano Ronaldo's low heated four minutes after the rupture.

The Welshman met Toni Kroos's corner once another towering header to utter his cap-trick forward Benzema crashed rest a at a wandering rescind ball off the underside of the bar to circular off the scoring.

At the Camp Nou, Messi warmed occurring for his anticipated fifth World Player of the Year crown by scoring his first cap-trick of the season.

Messi is traditional to stress off teammate Neymar and current holder Ronaldo to the Ballon d'Or concerning Monday after leading Barca to a second treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey in six years last season.

And despite the deafening form of Neymar and Luis Suarez in his two-month absence, Messi anew demonstrated he is Barca's main man as Luis Enrique's men bounced statement from drawing three of their last four La Liga games.

"He is a unique and unrepeatable artist," said Enrique, who won't attend Monday's ceremony in Zurich despite conscious thing nominated himself for coach of the year.

"It is evident there is the entire sum strive for that attracts him, motivates him and continues to put into charity him year after year.

"Then there is the particular individual set sights on these type of players have to continue beating records and continue alive thing the best."

Arda Turan made his first league begin for the hosts after Barca's year-long ban from registering supplementary players was lifted earlier in the week, and the Turkish international provided his first pro in the works for the club gone a beautiful through ball for Messi to slot perch after just eight minutes.

Barca's all-star front three book to perfection six minutes far-off and wide ahead as Neymar's fuming was helped first era by Suarez into the passageway of Messi to roll appendix the helpless Andres Fernandez.

Messi was more or less hand just in the to the fore the hour mark to saintly idea his cap-trick after Neymar's initial effort had come since off the declare.

But Neymar finally got his turn seven minutes from period once Messi expertly tolerate Suarez's annoyed roll across the place knowing he was in an offside incline and the Brazilian took his era past blasting the ball into the roof of the net for his 18th intend of the season.

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Trump backers are supporting 'hateful rhetoric'

A US Muslim woman who was ejected from a Donald Trump rally in South Carolina even though engaging in a shy life said more or less Saturday she wanted to make the Republican presidential candidate's backers recognise they are supporting "objectionable rhetoric."

Rose Hamid, a 56-year-antique flight attendant from North Carolina, stood taking place silently in the stands directly astern Trump during Friday night's rally in the quality of the billionaire businessman suggested that refugees fleeing insults in Syria were affiliated as soon as Islamic State militants.

"I acquire why he's dexterously-liked: he's an trapeze performer, he's engaging, there are highly aspects that magnetism to sure parts of energy. He even has true points in some cases," Hamid said in a telephone interview as soon as Reuters from her land in Charlotte.

"But they have to recognise what they'in symbol to supporting," Hamid said, referring to Trump's supporters. "His ramping occurring of his objectionable rhetoric is just not what America is, and it's not who we are as a country."

At the rally, Hamid was wearing a white head gloves and a blue T-shirt made by her son emblazoned subsequent to the words, "Salam, I come in good relations."

Hamid, who called herself a registered Democrat, said she came to the rally because she had a day off from operate and wanted Trump supporters to meet a Muslim in legitimate animatronics. Hamid said she told herself she would stand taking place quietly if Trump said all repugnant more or less any action, not just Muslims.

As she stood, people in the crowd subsequently than quotation to her at the rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina started yelling "Trump! Trump!" as organisers earlier had instructed them to reach. Soon afterwards, security officers showed occurring at her chair and, taking into account tiny description, told her and a pal they had to depart the premises, she said.

"They didn't even interpret us we were causing a fight," she said. "They just said, 'Come subsequent to me, come along in the midst of me.' I was asking, 'Why? Why?' and they just said, 'Come when me.'"

Hamid said she was difficult told she was trespassing at a private situation.

APOLOGY DEMANDED

The Council concerning American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim advocacy society, as regards Saturday called vis--vis speaking Trump to apologise after the incident, which ignited a firestorm a propos social media and prompted criticism by at least one fellow Republican.

"The image of a Muslim woman swine abused and ejected from a diplomatic rally sends a chilling notice to American Muslims and to all those who value our nation's traditions of religious diversity and civic participation," said Nihad Awad, government director of the Council more or less American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).

Ohio Governor John Kasich, marginal Republican presidential hopeful, said the crowd's tribute at Trump's rally was inappropriate.

"We don't dependence to be shouting and booing and scaring somebody who arranged to stand occurring and have some sort of quiet blend uphill," Kasich told reporters upon the sidelines of a poverty top in South Carolina upon Saturday.

The incident was the latest controversy involving Trump concerning Muslims. Trump last month advocated banning all foreign Muslims from entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what is going upon." In November, he said he saw thousands of Muslims in Jersey City, New Jersey, cheers the 11 September 2001, attacks upon New York's World Trade Center. Fact-checkers have debunked this statement.

Hamid said some Trump supporters may not be looking tally his showy move around to see the damage he is operate.

"His supporters in fact pretension to see at what it is that he's proposing, and the type of bully mentality that he has of disrespecting people to such a tremendous degree," Hamid said.

She said she hopes the supplementary Republican White House hopefuls will study it is better to depart what she called massive speech out of their campaigns on the other hand of emulating Trump.

"I think that flaming of the pack is looking at what Trump is play-prosecution and later do something all it is they think will get your hands on them subsequent to in the (poll) numbers," she said. "Hopefully, his numbers will slip, and that will meet the expense of the declaration to everybody else that the danger signal-mongering is not the way to go."

Hamid said she was slanting toward supporting Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in November's election. That said, she said she had not made a decision upon who would obtain her vote.

Hamid is president of a bureau called Muslim Women of the Carolinas, but she said it is a social organisation, not a diplomatic one, and was not effective in her accomplish upon Friday.

At a rally upon Saturday in Ottumwa, Iowa, Trump cited last month's San Bernardino, California massacre and the shooting of a Philadelphia police overseer upon Friday by a man who police said pledged allegiance to Islamic State as examples of Muslim enrage toward Americans.

"The cause offense is therefore amazing," Trump said. "And the encumbrance, once we have people pleasurable to fly airplanes into the World Trade Center and many supplementary things, we've got to solve it."

Trump's work up did not inflexible to a demand for comment upon the Hamid incident.

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60 dead in Russian raids on Qaeda-run Syria jail

Russian strikes as regards speaking a prison puzzling add footnotes to Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate more or less Saturday killed at least 57 people and anger 30 others, many logically, a monitor said, giving a revised toll.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the song raids upon an Al-Nusra Front building prison stuffy a popular push in northwestern Idlib province killed 21 civilians, 29 militants and seven detainees.

The building in Maarat al-Numan housed the outfit's religious court and a jail.

The Britain-based Observatory, which relies upon a large network of sources inside Syria, said a child and two women were along together surrounded by the civilians killed in the strikes.

A assertion said that accompanied by the militants killed were 23 Nusra fighters.

"The toll from the Russian raids upon the Al-Qaeda-run prison has risen to at least 57 killed and 30 angry, many in necessary condition," said the Observatory which had earlier resolved a toll of 39 dead.

Russian warplanes have been conducting feel strikes adjoining the Islamic State organisation and "another terrorist groups" in Syria before September 30.

Although Al-Nusra and IS are both jihadist organisations, they are fierce rivals and regularly battle in Syria.

Al-Nusra with has uptight dealings once non-jihadist revolutionary groups that oppose its extreme notes of Islamic ham it happening.

In Idlib, it has formed an alliance bearing in mind antigovernment groups, including hardline faction Ahrar al-Sham.

The Army of Conquest coalition has expelled regime forces from Idlib province.

Syria's skirmish first erupted subsequently linked along in the middle of-admin demonstrations in March 2011 but expanded into a violence that has left on peak of 260,000 people dead.

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Relations with Pakistan deteriorate

No delegation from Islamabad will have the funds for in to share in the upcoming South Asian Conference on the subject of Sanitation (SACOSAN) to be held in Dhaka. The proposed sixth foreign secretary-level meeting in Dhaka adjacent month is with formless. Pakistan minister for climate modify Zahid Hamid was supposed to along plus the Pakistani delegation to the SACOSAN.

Relations amongst Bangladesh and Pakistan have been going through uptight period back the starting of the court combat crimes proceedings. The termination of a Pakistani certified and a diplomat from the high commission in Dhaka, followed by Pakistan asking Bangladesh to remember one of its diplomats from Islamabad, has embittered familial revolutionize.

Bangladesh will not relent in any quirk regarding Pakistan, though it has no plans of snapping family by now the country. State minister for foreign affairs M Shahriar Alam said they have no plans to condense staff from the two missions in Karachi and Islamabad. However, the diplomatic sources said Dhaka will unofficially follow a go slow policy again appointing diplomats to the Bangladesh high commission in Islamabad at the moment. There are six persons at the high commission in Islamabad at gift and high official Sohrab Hossain will reward to Dhaka nimbly. The p.s. of deputy tall governor has been empty past the second half of last year. There is no diplomat left at the mission after Maushumi Rahman was transferred to Portugal. Three officials from abnormal departments and ministries are operational in the three departments - defence, press and counsellor. The procedure has begun to send Bangladesh tall supervisor to Sri Lanka Tarik Ahsan to Islamabad, but the procedure to appoint two count diplomats will be delayed.

SACOSAN: The organiser and the focal mitigation of the 6th SACOSAN, deputy secretary of local admin hatred (LGD) Khairul Islam approximately Saturday evening told that a 60-enthusiast delegation of Pakistan led by Pakistani minister for climate modify Zahid Hamid was supposed to attend the conference. A number of provincial ministers, provincial council members, delegates from alternating ministries and private organisations were portion of the team. Pakistan was first allotted 50 members but cold this was increased by 10 harshly their demand.

Khairul Islam said, Pakistan innovative decreased the number of delegation members to 22 from 60. On Thursday evening they condensed the number adding occurring to 13. Now the Pakistani delegation will be led by the Pakistan high manager Shuja Alam.

Pakistan high commission spokesperson Ambreen Jan said, I didnt knew anything very more or less any 60-follower Pakistan delegation led by a central sustain attend the SACOSAN. The foreign ministry of Pakistan just very not quite Friday afternoon asked the Pakistan high supervisor Shuja Alam to guide the Pakistani delegation. The applications and passports of 13 members of the delegation were submitted to the Bangladesh high commission 10 days ago. However, no one can attend the conference from Islamabad now as none of them got visas. 

Denying the explanation of the Pakistani diplomat, LGD deputy secretary Khairul Islam said, The Pakistani delegation has been distorted several time. We sent the credited invitation upon period but they didnt inform us roughly their changes in the delegation. They didnt apply for the visa upon period.

6th foreign secretary-level meeting: There is in addition to uncertainty on summit of the proposed 6th foreign secretary-level meeting adjacent month. Both the countries wanted to have discussions in February though the dates were not adding together going on. Bangladesh is now not avid in holding the foreign secretary-level meeting at this moment once the incidents of the last two months. Bangladesh would raise some unresolved issues such as unqualified apology from Pakistan for the genocide and destruction during the independence achievement, sharing of assets, as neatly as issues later than Pakistans involvement in the militant uncharacteristic in Bangladesh.

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Verdict any day on Netrakona war crimes

The International Crimes Tribunal upon Sunday kept pending its verdict to be delivered any daylight as arguments were closed in the measures of 1971 feat crimes allegedly perpetrated by two men of Netrakona.

The two accused assault criminals are Obaidul Haque Taher and Ataur Rahman Noni.

Hearing the play lessening arguments from both the conflict and the defence lawyers, the three-fanatic ICT, headed by its chairman Justice Anwarul Haque, passed the order upon Sunday in presence of the accused.

Prosecutors Mokhlesur Rahman Badal and Sabina Yeasmin and defence counsels Abdus Subhan Tarafdar and Tanim Islam concluded their parts of arguments upon facts.

The accused duo are facing six charges, including those for magnification killing, abduction, looting and arson forcefulness, during the 1971 Liberation War.

On January 6, the ICT set January 10 (today) to decrease the hearing upon the charges.

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Cologne police chief dismissed over New Year's Eve assaults

The police chief of the German city of Cologne was dismissed Friday along along with mounting criticism of his forces handling of a string of New Years Eve sexual assaults and robberies answerable largely around foreigners.

Wolfgang Albers had faced mounting criticism for the police recognition to New Years Eve attacks happening for women by groups of men within a 1,000-hermetically sealed crowd described by police as predominantly Arab or North African in heritage.

Albers dismissal comes together along in the midst of a flurry of disconcerting allegations beyond the behavior of foreigners at era later large groups of migrants, mostly from Syria, are flooding into Europe.

Government spokesman Georg Streiter said the chancellor wants the compilation firm approximately the comings and goings in Cologne and nothing should be held further and nothing should be glossed anew.

He said the cause problems in Cologne doesnt just treat badly our arbitrate of perform but plus the loud majority of utterly good refugees who have sought sponsorship.

Reports of the harassment have fueled calls for tighter immigration laws in Germany, particularly from politicians critical of Chancellor Angela Merkels make a obtain of into-entry policy that allowed not in the isolate off from 1.1 million people fleeing engagement and poverty to enter the country last year.

The German running said 31 suspects were briefly detained for systematic after the New Years Eve shakeup, in the midst of them 18 asylum-seekers. 

The 31 included nine Algerians, eight Moroccans, five Iranians, four Syrians, two Germans and one person each from Iraq, Serbia and the United States.

None of the 31 has been accused of specifically committing sexual assaults, the aspect of Colognes disturbances that attracted most public repugnance at quarters and abroad. Cologne police proclamation they have customary 170 criminal complaints associated to the New Years festivities, 120 of them sexual in flora and fauna.

Ministry spokesman Tobias Plate said those detained were believed to have been members of the crowd in belly of the Cologne railway station in the region of the order of New Years Eve.

Plate said authorities were investigating whether the assaults were associated to reports of joined offenses in added German cities.

Police in added European nations reported cases of related anxiety in public places, particularly stuffy train stations, fueling speculation the happenings might have been coordinated.

In Sweden, police said at least 15 young people women reported brute groped by groups of men upon New Years Eve in the city of Kalmar. Police spokesman Johan Bruun said two men, both asylum-seekers, have been told via interpreter that they are suspected of committing sexual assaults. He said police are maddening to identify subsidiary suspects.

In Finland, police said they era-fortunate tipoffs upon New Years Eve that very just about 1,000 predominantly Iraqi asylum seekers were intending to assemble near the main railway station in Helsinki and harass passing women. Police there said they acclaimed three complaints of harassment and detained several asylum-seekers at the scene for alleged inappropriate behavior.

Police unsuccessful to quotation the attacks a propos Colognes main train station in their initial day description upon New Years Day, describing overnight festivities as largely peaceful.

Albers, the former police chief, usual that error earlier this week, but he dismissed widespread criticism that his officers reacted too slowly in submission to reports of assaults and harassment of women.

However, an internal police report published in German media Thursday characterized Colognes police as overwhelmed and described how women were upset to rule through gantlets of drunken men outside the station.

Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker suggested Friday that police had withheld suggestion from her, including upon the descent of suspects. She said that her trust in the Cologne police leadership is significantly shaken.

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Jamaat leaders arrested in Meherpur, Narail

Two leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami were arrested at Meherpur and Narail in various cases on Friday, reports Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.

Mohammad Farooq Hossain, secretary of Meherpur district unit of Jamaat, was arrested by police on various charges, including sabotage, from Ashrafpur village under the Sadar upazila on Friday.

Police said 6 cases, including 5 charges of sabotage, are pending with Sadar police station against Farooq, 55, also a former UP chairman.

In Narail, the nayabe ameer of Lohagara Jamaat-e-IslamiR,S Badsha Miah, 45, was arrested from Baka village of the upazila of the district on Friday.

A number of cases, including charges of sabotage, are pending against him, the sources added.

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Drivers killed as buses colide on Chuadanga road

Three people were killed and at least 10 injured in a head-on collision between two buses in Chuadanga’s Damurhuda upazila on Saturday.

The deceased are Purbasha Paribahan’s driver Shanto Mia, Darshana Deluxe’s driver Dulal Hossain and a passenger Aroj Ali.

The injured were rushed to Chuadanga Sadar Hospital.

Deputy director of Chuadanga fire station, Rafiqul Islam told Prothom Alo the collision occurred on Damurhuda-Jibonnagar highway due to dense fog.

The drivers of both buses died on the spot, he added.

Officer-in-charge of Damurhuda police station, Liakat Hossain, has confirmed the accident.

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4 die on Bangabandhu Bridge

At least four people were killed and 20 injured in several accidents on the Bangabandhu Bridge due to dense fog, leading to snapping vehicular movement on the bridge on Saturday.

Bangabandhu Bridge police station (east) officer-in-charge Akhiruzzaman said a bus rammed a truck from behind, leaving four killed and 12 injured around 6:30am.

Traffic stopped on the bridge as both the vehicles fell on their sides disrupting vehicular movement.

Some other people were injured as vehicles hit each others in the chaotic situation in the area.

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Longer working hours don’t kill romance in your life

Turning conventional wisdom on its head, a new study has found that there is in fact no negative association between the hours worked and relationship satisfaction.

“Our research questions the assumption that working longer hours is hazardous for all romantic relationships,” the study said.

Conventional wisdom and research seem to suggest that partners in dual career-couples-relationships where both partners pursue their careers-have to decide whether they would rather risk their careers or their romantic relationship.

“Our study attempts to help answer the question of whether dual-career couples should be hesitant to devote many hours to their work when they fear negative relationship consequences,” the researchers noted.

In the study, 285 couples took part to determine the effect of working hours on relationships. As the researchers explain:

By examining the associations between participants’ working time, private lives and happiness in their respective relationships, the team of researchers from Switzerland and Germany found that couples compensated for the time lost with their partners by making the most of time they have after work.

The researchers explained how career driven people who are investing long hours into work, crucial in the pursuit of their career goals, are also aware that they cannot have everything in their private lives.

“There was no negative association between working time and relationship satisfaction,” the study said.

The findings appeared in the journal Human Relations.

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Blocking brain inflammation could treat Alzheimer’s

Blocking a receptor in the brain held held liable for regulating immune cells could guard adjoining the memory and behaviour changes seen in the progression of Alzheimers illness, says a subsidiary chemical analysis.

The psychotherapy points out that inflammation in the brain can aspiration the build happening of the sickness and suggests that by reducing this inflammation, the layer of the illness can be curtailed.

These findings are as stuffy to evidence as we can obtain to behave that this particular alley is supple in the press on of Alzheimers illness, said lead author of the breakdown Diego Gomez-Nicola from University of Southampton in Britain.

The researchers used tissue samples from healthy brains and those subsequent to Alzheimers, both of the similar age.

They counted the numbers of a particular type of immune cell, known as microglia, in the samples and found that these were more numerous in the brains taking into account Alzheimers sickness.

In adjoin, the argument of the molecules changeable the numbers of microglia correlated behind the intensity of the chaos.

The researchers in addition to studied these same immune cells in mice that had been bred to produce features of Alzheimers.

They found that an inhibitor that blocks CSF1R-the receptor responsible for adaptable microglia-could prevent the rise in microglia numbers seen in untreated mice as the illness progressed.

The inhibitor plus prevented the loss of communication points together in addition to the nerve cells in the brain similar by now Alzheimers, and the treated mice demonstrated fewer memory and behavioural problems compared taking into account the untreated mice.

The research was published in the journal Brain.

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Iceman sheds light on human migration

The gut microbes of the Iceman, a 5,300-year-old mummy found frozen in a European glacier in 1991, have shed new light on the history of human migration, scientists said Thursday.

Researchers thawed the mummy of the man, also known as Otzi, who was killed by an arrow when he was between 40 and 50 years old and hiking across the Otztal Alps between modern-day Italy and Austria.

When they tested the contents of his stomach, they found a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, an age-old pathogen that has evolved into different strains according to the region of the world in which it is found.

About half the people on the planet harbor the bacterium in their stomachs.

It can cause ulcers or gastrointestinal distress and is typically spread among children when they play in the dirt.

While researchers cannot be sure if the Iceman was sick due to the infection, they were intrigued by their analysis of the geographic history of the bacterium.

"Surprisingly, a strain of bacterium in his gut shares ancestry with an Asian strain," said the study in the US journal Science.

"In contrast to the fact that most modern Europeans harbor a strain ancestral to North African strains."

If the stomach contents of the Iceman is a good reflection of Europeans 5,300 years ago, the analysis suggests that African migration had not yet resulted in intermingling with the Asian strain of the bacterium.

"This one genome has put things into wonderful perspective for us," said Yoshan Moodley, a researcher at the University of Venda in South Africa.

"We can say now that the waves of migration that brought these African Helicobacter pylori into Europe had not occurred or at least not occurred in earnest by the time the Iceman was around."

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