HOME AND ABROAD

Still Occupied

Pabna: Suchitra Sen may have passed away earlier this week but her memories will forever remain fresh in the hearts of the millions who adored her. Sadly, the silver screen legend's first home in Pabna is still in the hands of others. Her home in Gopalpur of Pabna has been occupied by the Jamaat backed institution Imam Gazzali Institute. The little that the government had done to free the house from the said institution got caught in legal tangles. However, there is an organisation in Pabna that wants to preserve the home and memories of Suchitra. Sen was born on April 6, 1931 at her grandfather's home at Vangabari of Belkuchi upazila of then greater Pabna, but her first home was in Gopalpur, her father Karunamoy Dasgupta's house.

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Spirit Wins Against All Odds

Tangail: It was willpower that gave him the strength to overcome all setbacks and move on with his life as he was supposed to before the Rana Plaza disaster. Saddam Hossain Laskar took his master's exams less than two months after he had lost his right hand to the worst ever industrial disaster on April 24 last year. But his result, just 19 marks short of the first class distinction, in no way reflects what he has been going through. The 27-year-old had graduated in economics from Tongi Govt College taking the help of a proxy writer in the exams.

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Century-old Tradition

Phulbaria: When most age old traditional games are disappearing from our urban culture, people of some localities of the country are passionately preserving a century-old traditional game called 'Hoomguti Khela'. Like every year, on the last day of Bengali month Poush (Tuesday), the game was held at Laxmipur and Dewkhola villages last week. The players of the game have to send the 40-kg brass-made ball – locally called guti – to its destination, and the group that succeeds is declared the winners. People in thousands from adjacent areas flocked at the venue to enjoy the traditional game.

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No Place For Self Expression

Moscow, Russia. Russia is once again under fire for its rigid stance against the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered) community of the country.  A gay Russian protester has been detained for unfurling a rainbow flag during the Olympic torch relay as it passed through his hometown of Voronezh, 560 miles (910 kilometers) north of Sochi, where the games will begin February 7. Photos uploaded by his friends show Pavel Lebedev pulling out the flag and then being detained by security employees, who wrestle him to the snow as they wait for police to arrive. Lebedev said he was protesting the hosting of the Olympics in Russia, where a bill banning homosexual propaganda was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin in June.

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A Terrible New Record

South Africa. More than 1000 rhinos were killed in South Africa for their horns. This disturbing number is a new record for poaching in the African nation, as it represents more than a 50 percent increase in poaching of rhinos from the year before. South Africa is home to the majority of the world's rhino population, so mass killings of this volume is a dire warning for conservationists. The black rhino is considered "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), while the white rhino is classified as “near threatened.” Rhino horns are most in demand in Asia for their alleged medicinal value. Ground up rhino horn can be sold as a cure for everything from cancer to diabetes for up to $100,000 per kg.

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Power of the Masses

Istanbul, Turkey. This is good news for all the fans of the 'woman in red' who came into limelight after a Turkish police officer tear gassed her at last year's Gezi. Officer Fatih Zengin, 23, who sprayed Ceyda Sungur in the face from less than three feet (one meter) away, without warning, and continued after she had turned away to protect herself, may ultimately face time behind bars, stated Turkish media reports. The image of Sungur, known as the 'woman in red' after images of the incident went viral, being sprayed so violently has become to symbolise police violence against protesters. Prosecutors say Zengin used excessive force, and are seeking a three-jail term and his dismissal from the police.