Fri Exims men sent to jail

The law enforcers and fire fighters who got food poisoning on Tuesday while on ICC Cricket World Cup duty in Dhaka have started to recover, officials said on Wednesday.

The ICC Cricket World Cup management has terminated the food supply order given to Fri Exims and gave it to Trade International and Spice, security chief of the local organising committee Mesbahuddin told New Age.

The Motijheel police officer-in-charge Tofazzal Hossain said they had filed a case under the Special Powers Act against six people.

Of the accused, Fri Exims managing director Saidul Islam and manager Mashiur Rahman, and Al-Rahmania Tehari and Kabab manager Shuvash Chandra Haldar were sent to jail on a court order.

Around 120 uniformed law enforcers who were on duty at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium and Dhaka Sheraton Hotel, fell sick after eating the lunch supplied by Fri Exims Bangladesh Limited.

Of them, 105 patients, mostly suffering from dehydration caused by non-stop vomiting and diarrhoea, were admitted to Central Police Hospital, said CPH superintendent AKM Nizam Uddin.

'We are going to release some of the patients,' he said on Wednesday.

Samples of the victims' stools and vomit were sent to National Institute of Public Health, the hospital sources said.

'No reason for their getting sick has yet been confirmed but we suspect it was food poisoning,' said Chowdhury Mahmuda Akhter Shewly, a physician at the police hospital.

The police, meanwhile, formed a five-member committee led by Dhaka Metropolitan Police additional commissioner (administration) to probe into the incident.

A RAB mobile court on Tuesday sentenced Mohammad Kazal, 25, one of the owners of Al-Rahmania Tehari and Kabab, to one year and three months in prison and the cook of the restaurant, Sultan, 55, to three month in jail.

But, the other owner of the restaurant, Babul Miah, has been absconding since the incident, said Tofazzal.

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Dhaka wants ‘legally equitable’ resolution of dispute with Myanmar

Shahidul Islam Chowdhury

Bangladesh has called for a 'legally equitable' resolution of its dispute with Myanmar over the maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.

Dhaka made the appeal in it reply filed with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea over Myanmar's claims concerning delimitation of maritime boundary between the two countries, according to ITLOS.

The foreign ministry said it had filed the reply on March 14 for a 'legally equitable' resolution of the dispute.

When his attention was drawn to the issue, additional foreign secretary M Khurshed Alam, also Bangladesh's deputy agent to ITLOS confirmed the filing of the reply.

'The reply was submitted as per the schedule set by the ITLOS,' he said.

Bangladesh was scheduled to file her reply by on March 15.

The ITLOS is a judicial body created by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas. Bangladesh and Myanmar, on mutual consent, invited ITLOS in 2009 to exercise its jurisdiction over the maritime boundary dispute between the two countries.

Bangladesh submitted a 'memorial' on her claims in the Bay on July 1, 2010. Myanmar submitted a 'counter-memorial' on December 1, 2010.

Myanmar is scheduled to file its rejoinder on July 1, 2011 concluding the written proceedings of the case.

The tribunal is likely to start taking oral proceedings by the end of this year [2011].

The two countries, which had held prolonged negotiations over the dispute since 1974, failed so far to reach a settlement. 

It would take at least two years to settle the case concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal, ITLOS president Jose Luis Jesus said at the UN headquarters in New York on October 25, 2010.

The ITLOS president described the case, which has been registered with the tribunal as 'Case No. 16' on disputes between Bangladesh and Myanmar as 'a milestone' for the tribunal since 'it is its first case on maritime delimitation'.

Bangladesh on February 25 this year submitted its claims to the United Nations in New York on the country's legitimate authority over 450 nautical miles from the coastline in the Bay of Bengal.

Foreign minister Dipu Moni, who is also the 'agent' for the country with ITLOS, handed over Bangladesh's 'position paper' to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) for demarcating the outer limits of its continental shelf.

A country is supposed to enjoy its rights to fishing and exploring and extracting other marine resources in its 12–24 nautical miles of territorial sea from the coastline, 200 nautical miles of exclusive economic zone and a maximum 350 nautical miles of continental shelf from the baseline.

Bangladesh has, however, long-standing disputes with India and Myanmar on the issue of 'starting point' on how to mark the coastline to draw its marine boundary, with apparently overlapping claims of the three neighbouring countries because of the funnel-like coastline of the Bay of Bengal.

Under the UN provision, no claims submitted by a country should be taken for final consideration before settling the objection raised by a neighbouring country, which might have overlapping claims.

Establishing legal maritime boundaries would create scope for Bangladesh to undertake systemic programmes for utilising resources in the Bay, experts said.

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15 injured as BCL factions clash at Jagannath University

At least 15 people were injured as two factions of the Bangladesh Chhatra League, associate student body of the ruling Awami League, clashed at Jagannath University in the capital on Wednesday.

During the clash, the police arrested 20 people, including three BCL

leaders.

The police and the university authorities filed two cases against 200 BCL activists.

Eyewitness said the clash started when BCL activist Liton, loyal to the university unit president, beat up Arafat, loyal to the unit general secretary, on the campus at about 11:00am.

Informed, general secretary loyalists, led by Arif, Faruk, Bulbul and Maksud, chased the president group activists at about 12:00pm.

When the president group activists made a counter-chase, a clash took place that lasted for two hours and left 15 people injured.

Of the injured, Bulbul, Ashok, Liton, Pratyai, Jasim, Rajib, Sahadat, Arafat, Saim, Suman, Zahir, Rasel and Rifat were admitted to a local clinic.

During the clash, the BCL activists vandalised the university departments and cafeteria and a serious traffic jam ensued around the campus.

Later, acting proctor Asoke Kumar Saha, with the Kotowali police, brought the situation under control.

During the clash, the police arrested 21 BCL men for vandalising the university valuables. Of the arrested, nine were identified as Faruk, Shamim, Sohag, Najmul, Tarek, Shibbir, Milon, Jakir and Debashish.

The Kotowali police officer-in-charge, Salauddin Khan, told New Age, 'Some students often create disturbance on the campus, so we are taking stern action against them. We have filed a case against those who vandalised the university property.'

Acting proctor Asoke Kumar Saha said, 'We have filed a case against 200 BCL activists with the Kotowali police for vandalising university valuables.

'A probe body has also been formed with JnU science faculty dean Prof Hasna Hena Begum as its convener and the committee will submit report within seven working days,' he added.

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Election schedule for 571 UPs finalised

The schedules for the union council elections have been finalised for 571 coastal upazilas.

The Election Commission on February 24 announced the schedules for 574 union councils under 72 upazilas of 12 coastal districts to be held in March 29-April 3.

Three of the councils were left out due to legal and other complexities.

District and upazila officials finalised schedules for the rest of 571 Union Parishads, EC secretariat senior assistant secretary (municipality and rural) Abdul Baten told reporters on Wednesday.

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Indo-Bangla talks on drug control begins

A two-day director general-level talks between drug control nodal agencies of Bangladesh and India began at Regency hotel in Dhaka on Wednesday.

Sources said issues, such as sharing information on routes and spots of drug trafficking came up for discussion.

Director General of Department of Narcotics Control Khandaker Mohammad Ali is leading a 15-member Bangladesh delegation while his counterpart the director general of Narcotics Control Bureau, OPS Malik, is leading an 11-member Indian delegation.

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