DHAKA: Eight Bangladeshi villagers were injured after border guards from Bangladesh and India traded gunfire over the weekend, a Bangladeshi commander said Monday.

DHAKA: Eight Bangladeshi villagers were injured after border guards from Bangladesh and India traded gunfire over the weekend, a Bangladeshi commander said Monday.
Maj. Kohinoor Alam, a border guard official of Bangladesh, said the skirmish occurred Sunday after Indian border security forces opened fire on Bangladeshi villagers along northeastern Jaintapur frontier.
He said the injured were being treated for bullet wounds, but none of them are in serious condition.
Alam said the Indian guards fired as the Bangladeshi villagers tried to prevent dozens of Indian villagers from fishing in a pond inside Bangladesh territory. Bangladeshi guards responded with fire.

Bangladesh and India share a 2,500-mile (4,000 kilometer) porous border. Clashes between the border guards of the two neighbors are common, often over villagers crossing over into each other’s territory for farming or fishing.
The latest clash occurred three days after heads of both border forces held talks in New Delhi, India and agreed to scale down violence.

DHAKA: Bangladesh will persuade China to use Chittagong port as a commercial outlet for its southern Yunnan province, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said on Sunday.

DHAKA:  Bangladesh will persuade China to use Chittagong port as a commercial outlet for its southern Yunnan province, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said on Sunday.
The Bangladesh stance was announced nearly three months after Bangladesh had agreed to allow India, Nepal and Bhutan to use its two sea ports mainly Chittagong port.
“It will be a great achievement if China agrees to use our Chittagong port, which we want to develop into a regional commercial hub by building a deep seaport in the Bay of Bengal,” she told a news conference.
The offer for Chittagong port to Beijing will be discussed when Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina visits China from Wednesday on a five-day itinerary, Moni said.
The impoverished south Asian country has taken plans to build an $8.7 billion deep-sea port in three phases to raise bulk cargo handling capacity to 100 million tonnes and container handling to 3.0 million twenty-feet equivalent unit (TEU) containers annually by 2055.
Presently the port handles 30.5 million tonnes of bulk cargo and 1.1 million TEUs annually.
Port officials said when built the port would serve Nepal, Bhutan, southern China, Myanmar and the northeastern region of India.
To use Chittagong port China will need a road or railway link or both between Kunming, the capital of southern Yunnan province with Chittagong via Myanmar, Moni said.
Myanmar last year had agreed to expand a planned road project with Bangladesh to link up with China in a tri-nation network, another foreign ministry official said.
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a deal in July 2007 to construct a 25 km (16 mile) road to connect the two countries and construction will begin soon, officials at the Communication Ministry said.
The road project between Myanmar and Bangladesh is nearing completion, a senior foreign ministry official said on Sunday.
Chinese investment for Bangladesh’s energy and IT sectors, boosting trade and seeking assistance for building a $9 billion deep seaport and a $2.5 billion river bridge will be on top of Hasina’s agenda.
China is Bangladesh’s biggest trade partner with annual turnover worth more than $4 billion — with the balance heavily in Beijing’s favour.
After bilateral talks with her Chinese counterpart and signing of probable agreements for financial assistance, Hasina will visit Kunming on March 20.

Yong Vui Kong, We’re back from Rwanda with plenty of photos and stories to share. But all that will just have to wait. Because right now, there’s something far more urgent we have to tell you about.

We’re back from Rwanda with plenty of photos and stories to share. But all that will just have to wait. Because right now, there’s something far more urgent we have to tell you about.
It’s about the imminent death of a boy called Yong Vui Kong. You might have already heard his name. Read his sorry tale somewhere. That stupid kid who at 19, got busted for trafficking drugs into Singapore.
Vui Kong was caught with 47.27 grams of heroin – he was a runner taking instructions from his so-called ‘Big Brother’. He sits in a prison cell now, waiting to pay for his crime, with his life.
We saw the boy in court last Wednesday. A pale, skinny thing surrounded by four policemen. He had been scheduled to hang on Friday. And his lawyer was trying to convince the judge to stay the execution pending an appeal. The judge agreed. It was a decision no one, least of all Vui Kong, expected. He broke down and cried as he was being led out of the room.
Does Vui Kong deserve to die? The mainstream media in Singapore has been strangely silent about the matter. But there’s been plenty of debate online. We won’t rehash what’s already been said (for more please read this and this). We will instead, share with you, an interview we did with Vui Kong’s older brother, Yun Leong. Please listen to what he has to say:

COLOMBO: Police raided the office of Sri Lanka’s defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka and arrested 15 of his workers Friday, his lawyer said, after he disputed this week’s election result and the government alleged he was planning a coup.

The government has also claimed that Fonseka, a former army chief and the opposition’s main candidate in the vote, was planning to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Police commandos raided Fonseka’s office in the capital Colombo, saying they were looking for army deserters, said Mano Ganeshan, an opposition lawmaker.

A government spokesman confirmed the report, but did not give details.

A press photographer saw members of the police Special Task Force deployed near the office.

Fonseka was at his house elsewhere in Colombo at the time of the raid, Ganeshan said.

Fifteen ex-military personnel who worked at the office were detained, said Shiral Laktilaka, Fonseka’s lawyer.

Fonseka led the government’s military offensive that defeated the Tamil Tigers in May, ending a 25-year separatist rebellion, but then resigned as army chief and joined the political opposition.

He was beaten in Tuesday’s bitterly contested presidential poll by Rajapaksa, but has disputed the official result and plans to challenge it in court. On Thursday, he alleged the government stole more than 1 million of his votes during the tallying process.

The government has denied Fonseka’s allegation, and in turn accused him of wanting to organize a coup and of being involved in an alleged attempt on Rajapaksa’s life.

Following his defeat in the presidential poll, Fonseka said the government arrested some of his associates and removed his 80-strong state-provided security force, a move he says has put his life in danger.

He also said authorities put his name on the list of people who cannot leave the country, a charge denied by the government.

Separately, detectives questioned an editor of a pro-opposition newspaper, said opposition lawmaker Vijitha Herath.

Chandana Sirimalwatte of the Lanka newspaper was asked to report to the Criminal Investigations Department on Friday, Herath said, adding that officials were preparing to obtain an order from the government that can allow for a 90-day detention under the country’s wartime emergency laws.

Herath said he does not know why the editor was summoned for questioning. However, the newspaper backed Fonseka in the election and has in the past reported alleged government corruption.

US Jails Nigerian Terror Suspect, A Nigerian man charged in the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound Northwest Airline flight on Christmas day was moved from a hospital to a federal prison, his lawyer said.
Attorney Miriam Siefer told media in Detroit that the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has apparently not been allowed to speak with anybody, including his family, since his detention on Friday.
Abdulmutallab was arraigned Saturday at the University of Michigan Medical Center, where he was being treated for burns sustained while trying to bring down Northwest Airline’s Flight 253 by detonating explosives sewn into his underwear.
Siefer said Abdulmutallab, who sustained burns during his bombing attempt, was transferred from the hospital located in Ann Arbor, near Detroit, to a federal prison in the town of Milan, some 15 miles (24 kilometers) to the south.
The lawyer said a hearing is scheduled for Monday in a US district court in Detroit to address a request by US authorities of a DNA sample from Abdulmutallab. She said that her client is not expected to attend. US investigators are trying to piece together any terrorism connections of 23-year-old Abdulmutallab, who reportedly confessed that he had been trained by Al-Qaeda in Yemen.
In another incident, a confrontation with a passenger sparked another security scare Sunday at Detroit’s Metro Airport involving the same Northwest Airlines flight that was the target of an in-flight bombing attempt two days earlier, officials said. The flight crew became concerned after the man, identified as a Nigerian, became sick and spent about an hour locked in the bathroom. When he came out, he became verbally abusive.
The US Transportation Security Administration said the airline alerted authorities to a “disruptive passenger” aboard flight 253 from Amsterdam and the pilot requested emergency assistance upon arrival.

MUMBAI: An Indian judge on Friday decided against dismissing the lawyer of the only surviving gunman in last year’s Mumbai terror attacks, avoiding possible lengthy delays in his trial.

Judge M.L. Tahiliyani said he accepted an apology from defense lawyer Abbas Kazmi after a minor courtroom squabble and hoped the decision would help bring the trial to a swift conclusion.

Finding a replacement for Kazmi could have led to months of delays. He was appointed by the court to defend Mohammed Ajmal Kasab after several other lawyers refused to represent him.

Kasab is on trial with two Indian co-defendants accused of helping plot the attacks on Mumbai, India’s financial hub. They have been charged with 12 criminal counts, including murder and waging war against India. If convicted, all three could face the death penalty.

Thursday’s dispute arose after Kazmi accused the prosecutor of improperly handing him copies of witnesses’ statements without submitting them to the court first. The judge stated that the court had already been informed in Kazmi’s presence of the decision to submit the statements and accused the defense attorney of lying.

“How can I trust such a person,” the judge said.

Thursday was the first anniversary of the attacks, which began on Nov. 26 and lasted three days, killing 166 people.

The militants targeted 10 city landmarks, including two five-star hotels, a crowded train station and a Jewish center.

Witches of Eastwick, I’ll admit, I didn’t have high expectations for ‘Eastwick’, a series based on movie more than 20 years old. But I think I love it more than chocolate brownies.

I don’t know if Veronica Cartwright is reprising her role from the movie, as they call her by the nickname “Bun”, but if she starts vomiting cherry pits, I might dedicate my devotion to this show. We may have to settle for cherry Jello, because she winds up in the hospital ten minutes into the show, victim of a violent red ant attack during the “Founders Day” celebration in Eastwick. Where they apparently celebrate how they used to burn women at the stake for witchcraft. Yay?

Roxie is the first future witch we meet. She’s the artist with a fertile, earth goddess motif to her work, a teenage daughter and a just beyond teenage boyfriend. Who she refuses to acknowledge as her boyfriend. Then there’s Kat, who has 5 kids, an alcoholic jerk for a husband and one heck of a green thumb. And rounding out the group is Joanna, a mousy writer who is afraid to speak up for herself. Unless you count inserting both feet firmly in her mouth, as she variously informs her workroom crush that she named her vibrator Will (which happens to be his name), has a yeast infection, or threw up this morning.  All three women find a coin at the celebration and make a wish at the same time, and guess who rolls into town?

Despite the odds and a history of borderline contempt for each other, the witches find themselves drawn to each other. And just as quickly drawn to the stranger in town who has caused a stir by buying the Lennox mansion, the Eastwick Inn, the candle factory and the newspaper. Not to mention that he gets right to the business of making their wishes come true.

For Roxie, this means the hint of dangerous sex, a $50,000 commission for a sculpture due to his huge…appreciation for art. Kat is tired of being a wife, mother and nurse and wants someone to take care of her for a change. Joanna wants to find the courage to speak up for herself and get what she really wants. Roxie is the easiest (see what I did there?) as Darryl van Horne invites her over and asks her to sculpt…him. For $50,000. Oh, and spend some time in his bed to get to know his…body. But Roxie remains loyal to Chad.

Shortly thereafter, he invites Joanne to lunch, because he wants her to write an article about him. but what he spends most of his time talking about is how hypnotic her eyes are and if she would just allow herself to claim her own power, she would be able to get just about anything she wanted from men. Joanna soon puts it to the test and is getting everything from promotions to jelly donuts. But when she gets Will to kiss her, she realizes it’s not as real as she wants it to be.

Lastly, he meets Kat as the girls all meet for dinner at the Inn and he joins them, providing them with the special bottled water from the spring under his new house. It gets them all a bit tipsy, enough so that hopping in the fountain outside sounds like a grand idea. Until Kat’s jerkface husband Ray sees them and spoils the party by yelling about her being drunk and how she needs to be a better mother. At their home, she confronts Ray about his disrespect towards her and tells him he has “No spark, no electricity!” – which is when he gets struck my lightening. It echos an earlier scene when she asked if the earth would have to move for him to get off his backside, and sure enough there’s an earthquake that has him jumping to his feet.

Darryl appears at the hospital later, peeking in on Bun, but tells Kat he was there to check on her. She admits that she’s told Ray she wants a divorce and she’s afraid she’ll lose her kids. Which seems unlikely, since he’s the unemployed alcoholic. Either way, Darryl tells her that his fancy New York lawyer is now her fancy New York Lawyer, because it’s time someone took care of her.

Roxie has several precognitive dreams in the episode, including one about her daughter nearly being raped by her boyfriend Gus. At her insistence, Darryl goes with her to the dock where she thinks it is happening and sure enough there is the horrifying scene. Darryl tosses Gus to the mud and threatens to kill him as Roxie comforts Mia. The last dream Roxie has is of a man she’s never met, but feels like she knows intimately…who is trying to kill her. Looks like we have to stay tuned next week for that one!

The cast seems to work well, with the adorable Sara Rue as Joanna’s friend Penny – she has golden comedic timing for the dry zinger and is a joy to watch. Veronica Cartwright is, as always, superb. And Rebecca Romijn (Roxie), Lindsay Price (Joanna) and Jamie Ray Newman (Kat) each seem admirably cast. The one with the real big shoes to fill, of course, is Paul Gross. Can he live up to the Devil no one expects? I can’t wait to find out. How about you?

LONDON: The death of Diana, Princess of Wales, was not an accident, according to the memoirs of lawyer Michael Mansfield who represented Mohamed Fayed at the inquest into the crash, www.telegraph.co.uk reported Wednesday.

The 1997 accident in the Alma Tunnel in Paris still poses unanswered questions despite lengthy inquest at the High Court, he claims in his book, Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer.

The 67-year-old QC, who has represented clients in high profile cases ranging from the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence to the Birmingham Six, insisted the inquest had not been a waste of time and that Mr Fayed was entitled to the procedure as “a grieving father”.

In the book, which is being serialised in The Times, he wrote: “I found it difficult simply to accept that what happened in the Alma Tunnel in Paris was ‘just one of those tragic things’. Of course it might have been, but then that’s what “they” always hope we will think.

“Judging whether a hidden hand is at work is always difficult, but I prefer a healthy and inquisitive assessment of the authorised version, and for me it was mere serendipity to be approached a year after the crash and asked to represent Mohamed Al Fayed for the purposes of an inquest.”

He added: “There is still a widespread belief that the inquest was a waste of time and money and came to no different conclusion than previous investigations and inquiries. This is a serious misconception.

“On April 7, 2008, the jury did not decide it was just a tragic accident but returned a verdict of unlawful killing by the drivers of both the Mercedes and the following vehicles. The ‘following vehicles’ element in the verdict was an aspect that very few commentators picked up on, or bothered with.”

The book also reprises other issues set out in the trial but were not “resolved by evidence, or reflected in the verdict”. These included the box of missing personal papers belonging to Diana, the missing driver of the white Fiat, the three hours on the evening of August 30, 1997, during which the movements of Dodi’s chauffeur Henri Paul could not be established and the unexplained regular and sizeable sums of money going into Henri Paul’s several bank accounts over the three months before the crash.

He also expresses “real sympathy” for Mr Fayed, who had been “unceasingly and erroneously attacked for wanting what any parent would have wanted: answers to why and how their loved one had died”.

Liskula Cohen Photos, Liskula Cohen’s latest achievement came in the courtroom.
Horrified by the hateful words of an anonymous blogger, Cohen took Google to court in hopes of forcing the company to reveal the writer’s identity — and won.

“Why should anybody let it go? If somebody attacks somebody on the street, you’re not going to let it go … why should I just ignore it?” Cohen told “Good Morning America” exclusively today. “I couldn’t find one reason to ignore it.”

Google initially refused to unmask the unidentified writer, who Cohen, 36, claimed defamed her by posting words like “skanky,” “ho”, and “whoring” below her photographs. The IP address turned over by Google revealed that the blogger was an acquaintance of Cohen’s.

Cohen said it was a woman she hadn’t seen in about a year, but who was a regular fixture at dinners and parties, but she was not, as Cohen had feared, someone who was close to her.
“Thank God it was her… she’s an irrelevant person in my life,” Cohen said. “She’s just somebody that, whenever I would go out to a restaurant, to a party in New York City … she was just that girl that was always there.”

In August 2008, the unnamed blogger wrote five different posts entitled “Skanks of NYC” on the Google-owned website Blogger.com.

There were two photographs posted on the blog that show Cohen and an unidentified man in sexually suggestive positions. The captions below described her as the “Skankiest in NYC” and a “psychotic, lying, whoring … skank.”
One post read “desperation seeps from her soul, if she even has one.”

The blog was eventually taken down even though Google continued to refuse Cohen the IP address until the court ruled in her favor.

Cohen, who described herself as a “serial monogamist” and has a “zero tolerance drug policy,” said the words were defamatory and harmful to her career. Prospective clients would question her about the blog and what she was doing in the photos, she says.

“Finding new clients this year has not been a walk in the park,” she said. “I’ve worked very long in this industry.”

Cohen and her lawyer, Steven Wagner, said they are now planning a defamation suit against the blogger.

“We’re not in it to make money,” Wagner told “Good Morning America.” “We’re in it because something was done that was wrong.”

Original Story

After wearing those tight-fitted corsets for ‘Young Victoria’, British actress Emily Blunt is now set to don slippers to play a dancer in new film ‘The Adjustment Bureau’.

In the sci-fi thriller, the enchanting 26-year-old actress is set to play a ballerina who throws the life of a congressman, played by Matt Damon.

However, Blunt has said that while her clothes in the film are comfortable, the part still has its challenges.

“I”m going to dance boot camp. I”ll never be at the same standard as a professional, but hopefully I”ll be able to do a little bit,” the Telegraph quoted Blunt as saying.

She added: “I didn”t do ballet when I was a child. I gave it up when I was three – in some sort of bratty rage, claiming it hurt my feet.”