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More than 200 whales stranded on a remote beach in New Zealand on Saturday have refloated themselves and returned to sea. But conservation officials have warned that they could still turn back to the beach at Farewell Spit, South Island. Earlier, volunteers managed to refloat some 100 of the more than 400 pilot whales which beached on Thursday. However a human chain, with volunteers wading neck-deep into the water, failed to prevent a fresh pod making landfall. "The 240-odd whales that had stranded between Puponga and Pakawau late on Saturday have mostly refloated themselves on last night's high tide and are milling around in shallow water," conservation spokesman Herb Christophers said. Seventeen of the group which remained stranded were refloated by rescuers and volunteers who were working on the spit. The environmental group Project Jonah, which is assisting with the rescue, has a plane flying over the bay to keep track of the whales' movements. The whale stranding is one of the worst ever in New Zealand. Dozens of volunteers have turned out to help since the incident was first reported on Thursday. More than 300 of the 400 original arrivals died while medics and members of the public tried to keep survivors alive by cooling them with water. Media captionOne volunteer said "people from all over the world" were helping to try to save the whales It is not clear why the whales continue to arrive on the 5km-long (three mile-long) beach next to Golden Bay. One theory is that they may have been driven on to land by sharks, after bite marks were found on one of the dead whales. Herb Christophers of New Zealand's department of conservation told the BBC that the whales were trying to get round the top of South Island, but if their navigation went wrong they ended up on the beach. In the shallower waters, the animals' use of echo location was impaired. "It's a very difficult place if you get lost in there and you are a whale," he said. Experts say that whales that become beached will send out distress signals attracting other members of their pod, who then also get stranded by a receding tide. Sometimes the whales are simply old, sick, or injured. Andrew Lamason, from New Zealand's department of conservation, said those refloated had been tagged, whereas the latest arrivals were not, indicating that they were a new group. He said 20 whales had been humanely killed by conservation workers as they were in a poor condition. Officials have also been looking into how best to dispose of the whale carcasses. Mr Lamason said that simply towing them out to sea could be problematic as they may become gaseous and buoyant and float into populated bays. The latest incident in New Zealand was first reported on Thursday evening, but conditions were too dangerous at the time to launch a rescue operation. New Zealand has one of the highest stranding rates in the world, with about 300 dolphins and whales ending up on beaches every year, according to Project Jonah. Many of these incidents happen at Farewell Spit. In February 2015 about 200 whales beached themselves at the same location, of which at least half died.       ....

Published at: 2017-02-12 00:00:06

A stone quarry worker was killed and two others were injured when part of a hillock collapsed on them while lifting stones from Shah Arpin in Companiganj upazila under Sylhet on Saturday.  The deceased was identified as Anis, 36, son of Kamar Uddin, a resident of Ahmadbad village in Sadar upazila of Sunamganj district, reports UNB. Ruhul Amin, officer-in-charge (Investigation) of Companiganj Police Station, said part of the hillock collapsed on some workers while lifting stones from Shah Arpin stone quarry in the area around 4.30pm, leaving Anis dead on the spot and two others injured. The injured were admitted to Companiganj upazila health complex.  ....

Published at: 2017-02-12 00:00:06

A total of 30 million (3 crore) people living under poverty line will be brought under ‘Ektee Bari Ektee Khamar' (EBEK) project to root out poverty. "As it is one of the brands and special initiative of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina; all of us should come forward with the positive attitude to implement the project properly to build a poverty-free country", Secretary of Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Dr Prosanto Kumar Roy said in Gaibandha on Thursday. He was speaking at a views-exchange meeting on the role of the EBEK project at the conference room of Gaibandha District Collectorate Building. – source BSS  ....

Published at: 2017-02-11 00:00:07

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has signed separate agreements with 10 more private banks to facilitate fund for a long-term financing under the "Green Transformation Fund for Export-oriented Textile and Textile Products and Leather Manufacturing Industries". Under the deals, the ten banks - Al-Arafah Islami Bank Limited, Bank Asia Limited, Exim Bank Limited, Modhumoti Bank Limited, Mutual Trust Bank Limited, NCC Bank Limited, NRB Bank Limited, Dhaka Bank Limited, South Bangla Agriculture and Commerce Bank Limited and Trust Bank Limited - would provide the long-term financing for transforming the export-oriented industries into green industries. – source BSS  ....

Published at: 2017-02-11 00:00:07

Members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) arrested six people, including three women, while they were entering the country illegally from India through Benapole border point on Friday. The arrestees were identified as Pabitra Kumar Mridha, 55, and his wife Sabita Rani, 45, Kanchan Mala, 40, Dipa Rani, 25, Uttam Majumder, 30, all residents of Kajipara village in Moksedpur upazila of Gopalganj and Nikhil Ray, a resident of Rajoir upazila in Madaripur district, reports UNB. Acting on a tip-off, the border guards conducted a drive in the area and arrested the six while entering the Bangladesh without any valid documents, said sources at Benapole Port Police Station. The arrestees were produced before a court later in the afternoon.  ....

Published at: 2017-02-11 00:00:07