HOME AND ABROAD

Case Finally Filed, Culprits Still Absconding

The country waited with bated breath for the main culprits to be caught and put behind bars. But as the days gave way to months and then a year passed by, people began to forget about the devastating fire that killed 112 garment workers in Savar. After over a year of the gruesome incident, charges have finally been pressed on December 22 against 13 people including Delwar Hossain, the managing director of Tazreen Fashions Ltd, in a case filed for killing 112 garment workers in the factory fire in 2012. The lone arrestee in the case is security-in-charge Anisur Rahman. Of the accused, owner Delwar, chairman Akter, factory manager, quality manager and production manager are on the run while others have sought bail from the High Court. 

ACC's Refusal

Dhaka. There have been newspaper reports on how Awami League contestants of the upcoming polls have amassed huge amount of wealth in the last five years. There's enough proof to carry out an investigation but the Anti-Corruption Commission seems to think that corruption is not really a top priority issue at the moment. The ACC said on December 19 that it won't launch an inquiry into the matter, as according to the organisation, such a move may hamper the election.  ACC Comissioner Mohammad Shahabuddin went on to add that the ACC shouldn't take “steps immediately after a report is published in a newspaper”, as if they do so the “situation will worsen.” 

The Gopibagh Murders

Gopibagh, Dhaka. The gruesome murder of six people on December 21 in the capital's Gopibagh area was added to the list if brutal crimes. In an interesting turn of events, a case was filed against 10 to 12 unnamed persons the day after the horrifying killings took place. Lutfar Rahman Faruque, who claimed to be a 'pir' and described himself as a follower of Imam Mahdi, was one of the six people killed. Faruque's younger son Abdullah Al Faruque had earlier claimed that his father and elder brother came under attack several times at different places of the capital following disputes between religious sects. The killers, however, spared Faruque's wife Salma, four other women, two children and Faruque's relative Golam Mostafa who were inside the house at that time. Seven people have been detained on suspicion of their involvement with the murders so far. 

Demand for Compensation Not Charity

Dhaka Medical College Hospital. How can they hope to survive? 
Arson victims of the ongoing hartals called by the opposition are asking this question to the government, as they demanded that their families be given immediate monetary compensation for survival. Victims say that only free medicines are not enough for their families to recover from the financial blow, as they are faced with increasing debts, and are forced to face an uncertain future as they spend day after day in the hospital without adding anything to their income. The prime minister paid a visit to the Burn Unit on November 30 and directed the authorities to introduce free medication for the arson victims. Until then, most of the patients' families had to spend a lot for medicines.

Putin Got Scared? 

Moscow, Russia. Pussy Riot punk band member Maria Alyokhina walked free from jail on Monday, immediately dismissing the Kremlin's amnesty that granted her early release as a stunt that would not change her attitude to President Vladimir Putin. Alyokhina, 25, one of two women serving two-year sentences for a profanity-laced protest against Putin in a Russian Orthodox church in 2012, was released under the amnesty the president has said would show the Russian state is humane. The two women were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred for their "punk prayer" criticising Putin's ties to the Church, and had been due for release in March.

Tupac Katari Launched

La Paz, Bolivia. Bolivia launched a telecommunications satellite in China on December 20, an unprecedented event which the government in La Paz had encouraged citizens to follow via live broadcasts. President Evo Morales was in China for the Friday launch of the satellite of the Tupac Katari satellite, named after an indigenous leader who fought against Spanish colonial rule. The satellite, which is expected to be operational in March 2014, has cost $300 million and has been 85 percent financed by a loan from the Chinese Development Bank. According to the space agency, it will deliver telecoms services to 30 percent of the 10 million Bolivians who live in rural areas, though the satellite's cost has been criticized in light of the country's high poverty rate.

Murder and an Apology 

Sanaa, Yemen. Al-Qaeda's regional commander for the Arabian Peninsula, Qasim al-Rimi, has offered a rare public apology for an assault on a hospital that killed 52 people. “We rid ourselves of what our brother did,” Qassim al-Rimi said in a videotaped message posted to militant websites on Saturday, December 21. He said that the target of the attack was a Defense Ministry compound in Sanaa, Yemen, and that a stray gunman had stormed into an adjacent hospital against his orders. “We accept full responsibility for what happened in the hospital and will pay blood money for the victims' families,” al-Rimi said. Public outrage peaked when horrific surveillance videos of the attack aired on state television. However, al-Rimi said despite the group making a mistake, "we are continuing with our jihad." 

Decriminalising Sex Work

Toronto, Canada. The Canadian Supreme Court in Ottawa on December 20, 2013 struck down a key portion of a law that effectively criminalised prostitution by banning brothels and soliciting on the streets, declaring this disproportionate. However, it stayed its unanimous 9-0 ruling for a year to allow the parliament to consider whether or not to impose other limits on where and how prostitution may be conducted. This case was “not about whether prostitution should be legal or not,” Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin said in the landmark decision. “They are about whether the laws Parliament has enacted on how prostitution may be carried out pass constitutional muster. I conclude that they do not.”