Himu's Window

Weary of the scorching heat, buffalos stream in towards the Padma River to quench their thirst and have a relishing bath. The photo was taken from Sreerampur in Rajshahi yesterday.   Heat wave, water-power crisis disrupt life in northern dists Mercury rises to 39.4 degree Celsius in Rajshahi: Weathermen say no respite in sight Anwar Ali, Rajshahi   The persisting heat wave, coupled with power load shedding and water crisis have disrupted life in northern districts. The hear wave may continue a couple of days more, weather men said yesterday. The mercury rose to 39.4 degrees Celsius in Rajshahi while humidity in air was recorded at 12 per cent yesterday, sending people on streets panting for water and cool air. Shahidul Islam, a senior weather observer said, "Such low humidity reduces possibility of rain". Meteorologist Sadekul Islam at the Met office here said, "Possibility of rain in next three days is bleak". Quoting from monthly weather repor

Father kills 2 babies, makes suicide attempt A father drowned his two infant daughters in a pond and made a suicide attempt afterwards at Paschimbhag village in Puthia upazila yesterday. Locals retrieved the dead bodies from the pond and found the father, Bablur Rahman, 35, beside the pond in a critical state. He is currently undergoing treatment for poisoning at Puthia Health Complex. The victims are identified as Rehana, 1-½, and Sohana, 3. Bablu used to be a day labourer until he sustained back injury a few months back. As the injury rendered him incapable of supporting his family -- wife, a son and two daughters, he had been staying at his mother-in-law's house at Dasmaria, said his relatives and locals. The living child, Shajib, 10, is a student of local Brac School, they added. They also said remorse and guilt for not being able to provide for the family might be behind Bablu's actions. Asela, Bablu's wife, said he looked distressed in the past severa

11 JMB men get life for sedition A Rajshahi divisional court yesterday awarded life terms to all 11 militants of Jama'aul Mujahidin, Bangladesh (JMB) in a sedition case filed for taking combat training to fight against the state in 2005. Judge M Sajedul Karim of the first court of Rajshahi divisional special judge also fined the accused Tk 20,000 each, in default of which they are to spend two more years in jail. The convicts include Enamul Haque and Golamur Rahman alias Golam Mostafa, both regional JMB commanders and followers of executed militant leader Siddikul Islam Bangla Bhai and arrested militant kingpin Asadullah Al Galib respectively. The others sentenced are – Rajshahi University Arabic student Ibrahim Hossain, madrassah teacher Jaharul Islam, madrassah students Merajul Islam, Shah Wali Ullah, Zakir Hossain, Mansur Rahman, Biplob Hossain, Abu Zafar and Mozammel Hossain. They were arrested from Mozammel's house at Puthiapara in Paba upazila on July 18,

Barely making ends meet Anwar Ali, Rajshahi "Life goes on somehow…a bit better than many others," Islam, a philosophy teacher at a government college, blurted in a choked voice with tears welled up in his eyes. Islam, who represents the middleclass and lives in a rented house in the Ghoramara area with his wife and their two-year-old child, has already reduced his family spending and stopped attending social events only to survive the spiralling prices of rice and other commodities. "I no longer can afford to maintain my status as a first class government official. I cut back on several necessities, yet the monthly deficit is increasing so fast that it's about to drive me crazy," said Islam, unwilling to give out his full name. "Nevertheless, I feel relieved when I see that the conditions of my lower level colleagues and the ones at private colleges are even much worse," he added. Even a year ago, he could save a little money af