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At least five people, including two children, were killed and two others injured in a landslide triggered by incessant rain at Jangal Salimpur in Sitakunda upazila of Chittagong district early Friday. The identities of the deceased could not be known immediately. Sitakunda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Nazmul Islam Bhuiyan said the incident took place early in the morning when a chunk of mud from the hill collapsed on a house, leaving five people dead and two others injured. They were asleep during the incident, reports UNB. He said firefighters were on their way to the spot to carry out the salvage operation. "The incessant rainfall for the last three days caused the landslide," the UNO added.....

Published at: 2017-07-21 00:00:05

A strong earthquake in the Aegean Sea has killed at least two people on the Greek island of Kos, officials say. The 6.7-magnitude quake hit 12km (seven miles) north-east of Kos, near the Turkish coast, with a depth of 10km, the US Geological Survey said. Several others were injured on Kos, mayor George Kyritsis said. A small tsunami was reported on the Turkish coast. Pictures on social media showed people walking with water lapping their ankles.   ....

Published at: 2017-07-21 00:00:05

CHITTAGONG, July 20: The investigation committee formed by the office of the DG Shipping today seized related papers and documents regarding irregularities in issuance of registration for four coastal oil tankers allegedly. The registration was done on the basis of fake certificates of the classification society and survey certificates issued to two passenger vessels, despite those being declared unfit for plying. The three-member investigation team headed by additional secretary of the Ministry of Shipping Abdul Quddus Khan conducted the enquiry in the office of the Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department in Chittagong on Thursday.   Regarding enquiry, the additional secretary told the FE this afternoon he was taking all relevant papers to Dhaka for scrutiny and would submit the findings as per rule. He further said he had no meeting with people from the shipping circle during his investigation. He said he had met with Shafiqul Islam, PO, MMD of Chittagong and other officials and had copies of the related documents. The committee was formed following allegations from Rivers, Roads and Railways Protection Committee at Purana Paltan Dhaka that the office of the Principal Officer, MMD, Chittagong recently registered four coastal tankers of a company on fake certificates of the classification society. The registration allegedly on fake certificates of the classification society DNV-GL issued for coastal tankers are Khushnagar-2, Khushnagar-3, Khushnagar-4 and Khushnagar-5, sources said adding this is a serious breach of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1983. Shipping circles in Chittagong said the office of the Principal Officer, MMD in a gross violation of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance registered four coastal oil tankers with fake certificates of the classification society. Sources said that 'unfit' coastal tankers are engaged in carrying most vulnerable commodities by violating the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1983 and Inland Shipping Ordinance 1976. Around 140 coastal tankers and 85 inland tankers are carrying fuel oil throughout the country's river and coastal routes. Sources quoting previous observations made by international maritime agency said report on poor inspection of ships plying through different waterways poses a serious threat to environment, loss of human life and raises the scope of being blacklisted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) on grounds of breaching global shipping regulations.   Sources said that the said office had earlier issued survey certificates for two passenger ships - LCT Kutubdia and LCT Kajol - plying on the Teknaf-St Martins route.   The findings of an enquiry team on November 01, 2016 detected 19 lapses in the LCT Kajol, seven of which were identified as serious. Another survey on November 13 last year also detected same lapses. Despite such lapses the PO, MMD office issued permission for plying of the 700- passenger ship for another three months. Such lapses were found in LCT Kutubdia, sources said.   The Director General of Shipping (DG Shipping) in Dhaka Commodore Arif told the FE over cell phone that he has constituted a three member investigation committee with Md Abdul Quddus Khan, additional secretary (commercial) as its head. A notice issued by the DG Shipping and signed by deputy secretary SM Shah Habibur Rahman Hakim dated July 03, 2017 said there are allegations against Md Shafiqul Islam, Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department, Chittagong of registering four coastal tankers with fake certificates of a classification society. The complainants said as per Department of Shipping regulations all coastal ships require classification certificates at the building stage before registration by the Mercantile Marine Department under the Ministry of Shipping. But in the case of four coastal tankers forgery of classification certificates has been noticed and the office of the PO, MMD has registered those four vessels without valid classification certificates. Sources said that two coastal ships of the same company built earlier had valid classification certificates and were duly registered by the MMD, Chittagong. But it is alleged the said four vessels got registration from the MMD producing fake certificates of the classification society. Sources further said an amount of Tk 1.8 million to Tk 2.0 million is required as supervision fee of a class surveyor to supervise a ship at the building procedure. When contacted, chief engineer Md Shahed of DNV-GL, concerned class society, said he was not responsible for survey but other engineers in the company were responsible for survey of the coastal tankers. pankajdastider@gmail.com....

Published at: 2017-07-21 00:00:05

North Korea is facing severe food shortages after being hit by its worst drought since 2001, a report from the United Nations says. Crop production in the country has been hampered by a prolonged dry period and food imports are now urgently required to fill the gap, the UN has warned. The most vulnerable, such as children and the elderly, will be worst hit. In the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are believed to have died during a widespread famine. The latest drought is serious, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Thursday, because bilateral food aid to the country has dramatically fallen in recent years. This is due in part to sanctions implemented to punish North Korea over its weapons development programme. The UN's World Food Program (WFP) has also seen a steep drop in contributions, the agency says. WHAT'S HAPPENING? A persistent lack of rainfall in North Korea in recent months has decimated staple crops such as rice, maize, potatoes and soybean, which many of the country's citizens depend on during the lean season that stretches from May to September. In key crop-producing areas, rainfall from April to June 2017 was well below the long-term average. This severe dry spell disrupted the early stages of the agricultural process, according to experts from the FAO quoted in the report. The harvesting of crops from the early season, including wheat, barley and potatoes, has also been affected, the FAO said. The FAO estimates that the production of 2017 early season crops has plunged by over 30 per cent from the previous year's level of 450,000 tonnes to 310,000 tonnes. WHY IS THIS DROUGHT SO BAD? When the rain finally came in July, it was too late to boost crop production as the planting and growth period for food to be harvested in October and November had already passed. This also means that any rainfall from now on will not make up for the dry weather of the last few months, a crucial period for the country's agrarian economy. The key regions affected include the major cereal-producing provinces of South and North Pyongan, South and North Hwanghae and Nampo City, which normally account for about two-thirds of overall cereal production, the FAO said. With forecasts of a reduction in crops overall this year, the food security situation is expected to further deteriorate in the coming months and demand for imports is likely to increase. WHAT'S THE POSSIBLE EFFECT? Inefficient food production means that large parts of the North Korean population face malnutrition or death. As key crop planting and production periods for 2017 elapse, the country requires food imports for at least the next three months to ensure that it has an adequate supply, the FAO said. North Korea's ability to stave off famine has also been hampered in recent years by flooding, which destroys crops, along with homes and villages. The cumulative effects of flooding, combined with inefficient food production, have led to a stagnation in the country's ability to deal with food shortages and malnutrition. A series of regeneration projects are now needed, the FAO said, including upgrading the country's irrigation systems to help reduce water losses and increase water availability. HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE? North Korea suffered serious famine in the 1990s. It began in 1996 and in 1998 the WFP mounted what it said was the biggest emergency operation in its history to help avert a further escalation of the crisis. That year, the agency said it planned to provide aid to about a third of the population, or nearly seven-and-a-half million people. Children between the ages of one and two who were surveyed at the time were described as acutely malnourished, with some families having to rely on leaves and twigs to stay alive. In 2001, after North Korea suffered its worst winter in 50 years, the country faced a serious lack of corn and wheat. In the period between 1996 and 2001, the WPP said it had supplied food to about eight million of the country's citizens. North Korea's government controls one of the world's most secretive societies which, until the food crisis emerged in the mid-1990s, resisted seeking help from international bodies. Changes in North Korea's economy over the past 20 years make a repeat of the disastrous famine of the 1990s much less likely. Agriculture is still controlled by the state but reforms have been quietly introduced to allow farmers to keep more of their produce, leading to an increase in production. Foreign access to the country, however, is still tightly controlled.   ....

Published at: 2017-07-21 00:00:05

Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington has died aged 41, Los Angeles County Coroner says. The coroner said Bennington apparently hanged himself. His body was found at a private home in the county at 09:00 local time (17:00 GMT) on Thursday. Bennington was said to be close to Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell, who took his own life in May. Formed in 1996, Linkin Park have sold more than 70 million albums worldwide and won two Grammy Awards. The band had a string of hits including Faint, In The End, Crawling, Until It's Gone, and collaborated with the rapper Jay-Z.....

Published at: 2017-07-21 00:00:05