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20 December 2012

The World News Headlines This Week Iraq president suffers stroke

Jalal Talabani, the Iraqi president, is in “stable condition” having suffered a stroke and a hardening of his arteries this morning, Iraqi state television says. Talabani is being treated in the intensive care unit of a Baghdad hospital after being rushed there on Tuesday morning, a statement from his office said. “Tests show that his bodily functions are normal and his excellency’s condition is stable,” the statement said. “He is under intensive medical supervision.”

Aid workers shot dead Japanese commuters, particularly those living in Tokyo, know what it’s like being packed like sardines on trains, but congestion on the Bangladesh transport system is somewhat worse

Japan to finance metro system in Bangladesh Japan has agreed to provide the majority of the funding requirements of a new metro rail service in Bangladesh

he Bangladesh government on Tuesday approved the overland metro rail service project – Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Line-6 – involving Tk 219.85 billion to ease

the city’s cluttered traffic. The approval was given at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) with the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. She is the ECNEC’s Chairperson. Briefing reporters after the meeting, Member of the Planning Commission Abdul Mannan Hawlader said that the much-talked-about Dhaka Metro project would be implemented with the financial assistance from the Japanese government.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Of the total cost, the Japan International Cooperation Agency will provide Tk

165.95 billion while the Bangladesh Government will take care of the remaining funds. The Japanese had funded the Kolkata Metro Rail project in the 1990s. The 20-kilometer MRT Line-6 will begin from Uttara Third Phase and pass through Pallabi, the west side of Rokeya Square and Farmgate, Hotel Sonargaon, Ruposhi Bangla, TSC of Dhaka University, Doel Intersection, Topkhana Road and Bangladesh Bank. Later, the route will be

extended up to Saidabad from Bangladesh Bank point through Atish Dipankar Road. Hawlader said that the present design of the metro rail would not cause affect the parliament complex when the project is implemented. “The Roads and Highways Division has its own land beside the Parliament Complex. The metro rail service will pass through its area. But this will not affect the main design of the Parliament that was done by Louis Kahn,” he said.

Unemployment disproportionately affecting local Bangladeshis

he economic downturn is affecting almost every part of society to a greater or lesser degree, but as always, it is the poorest groups that are having to cope with the worst pressures. The Bangladeshi community in the UK – long believed to be one of the most economically deprived – is facing particular difficulties and there seems no end to the downturn. And the recent labour figures have shown no signs of any improvement in the employment market. Responding to the latest labour market figures, Rushanara

Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, which has a high Bangladeshi population, condemned the failure of the Conservativeled Government’s Work Programme to tackle long term unemployment in Bethnal Green and Bow. She said: “Here in my constituency, long term unemployment has gone up by 26% over the past year, and long term youth unemployment has increased by 55% over the same period. But the government’s Work Programme is comprehensively failing to help my constituents. “Last month we found out

Rushanara Ali MP that the Work Programme is getting fewer people into jobs than if the Government did nothing at all. Only 2% of people referred onto to the Work Programme

have been placed into jobs in Bethnal Green and Bow. “While I welcome the overall recent fall in unemployment, this Government is failing to create jobs and growth, and is failing on the deficit. The coalition must wake up to this crisis, take action now and they should start with Labour’s Real Jobs Guarantee to get our young people back to work.” At Prime Minister’s Questions last week, Rushanara Ali exposed the Government’s economic failure by highlighting that the Autumn statement revealed that borrowing is now £212 bil-

lion more than previously planned. Tower Hamlets is one of the most multicultural boroughs in UK, with more than 50% of residents considered to be non-white British. A recent report by London Centre for Social Impact indicated that the Bangladesh community has the highest number of unemployed adults not in paid work by ethnic origin in London. “As we know that Bangladeshi community is the biggest local ethic group, these two facts lead us to conclude that the Bangladeshi community contribute largely to the local unemployment rate,” the report said.

Gunmen in Pakistan have shot dead six health workers associated with an anti-polio campaign in a string of attacks, officials say. It was not clear who was behind the shootings in the southern city of Karachi and northern city of Peshawar on Tuesday, but Taliban fighters have repeatedly denounced the anti-polio campaign as a “Western plot”. The government’s immunisation campaign against the crippling disease was suspended in Karachi following the attacks.

Syrians surround refugees

Syrian troops have surrounded a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus a day after air raids killed at least eight people sheltering in a mosque there. Many residents on Monday fled the area amid clashes between Palestinian factions loyal to and opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Rasim Abu Thawra, an activist who lives close to Yarmouk, said the neighbourhood has been bombarded again on Monday.

Egypt opposition rallies

Egypt’s opposition has called for mass protests in Cairo and elsewhere on Tuesday over alleged polling violations during the first round of a referendum on the country’s draft constitution. The National Salvation Front (NSF), the opposition coalition, urged Egyptians to “take to the streets on Tuesday to defend their freedoms, prevent fraud and reject the draft constitution”.

Messi to stay at Barcelona

Lionel Messi has agreed a new contract with Barcelona, keeping him at the Spanish club until 2018. The Argentina international, 25, has enjoyed a record-breaking year for club and country, scoring 90 goals so far in 2012.

20 December 2012

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News Council cracks down on louts This Week

NASA crashes into moon

A pair of NASA robotic twins that have been diligently mapping the moon this year went out with a bang Monday. As scheduled, the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory probes Ebb and Flow crashed into a mountain on the moon, ending a fruitful mission to study the surface and composition of the celestial body. “The two probes were sent purposely into the moon because they no longer had enough altitude or fuel to continue science operations,” NASA said.

Oldest person in world dies

The American woman named the world’s oldest living person this month has died, according to her family. Dina Manfredini died overnight at the retirement center where she lived after suffering a fever, her granddaughter Lori Logli said Monday. She was 115 and apparently died in her sleep, Logli said. Guinness World Records identified Manfredini as the world’s oldest person on December 5, a day after the death of 116-year-old Besse Cooper of Georgia. Manfredini was born in Pievepelago, Italy, on April 4, 1897, and moved to Des Moines in 1920 with her husband, according to her Guinness biography.

China rounds up cult group

Members of a fringe Christian group in China have been rounded up for spreading rumors of an impending apocalypse, pegged to the Mayan calendar. Known as the “Almighty God” cult, the group latched on to the Mayan doomsday scenario to predict the sun will not shine and electricity will not work for three days beginning on December 21, an official with the Department of Public Security in the northwest province of Qinghai told CNN. Group members would spread doomsday rumors door-to-door or at public venues and claimed only they could save people’s lives, according to authorities.

Gun sales in US ‘astronomical’ Gun sales in the US are reported to be increasing at a phenomenal rate in the wake of the mass school shooting in Sandy Hook in which 20 children were shot dead along with six teachers. Retailers are reporting “astronomical” sales.

esidents on the Isle of Dogs can sleep easier in their beds thanks to crackdown on anti-social behaviour. Two successful arrests were made on the Samuda Estate as a result of the council’s Community Safety Walkabouts. The walkabouts launched in October were aimed at raising awareness of community safety issues and tackling problems in the borough. Residents, professionals, police officers and councillors took part in a walkabout in Blackwall and Cubitt Town on November 23, where issues around drug dealing and anti-social behaviour on the Samuda Estate in Manchester Road were highlighted. The Tower Hamlets Enforcement Officers, who were then patrolling Reef House on November 28 spotted a group of youths drinking, smoking drugs, littering and spitting in the stairwell. The THEOs approached the youths and detained them whilst waiting for the police who arrested one for being in possession of can-

Mayor Lutfur Rahman nabis and another for being in possession of an offensive weapon. Both have been bailed to appear at court. Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman said: “I am pleased the walkabouts are having a real impact on the community by making our streets safer. This is an excellent example of the council and its partners working together to make residents lives better.”

‘Due to intelligence we have received, we have been able to target troublemakers in the borough’

Cllr Ohid Ahmed, deputy mayor added: “The feedback and information we have gained from the walkabouts has been invaluable. Due to the intelligence we have received we have been able to target troublemakers in the borough.” Also, joint working with the council, police and housing association has resulted in four ASB injunctions being granted against four males who were involved with drug and alcohol related anti-social behaviour on the Cleveland and Bancroft Estates. These injunctions help to respond to issues raised at the walkabout in Bethnal Green. The four males were well known on the estates for intimidating residents whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The court granted two year ASB injunctions, which prevents them from entering both estates and will help the police in taking further action against these individuals if they breach their injunction. The walkabouts take place every fortnight with the last one on May 24.

Mayor helps raise flag in Islington to mark Bangladesh Victory Day

n December 16, 1971, the Pakistani Army surrendered to the Bangladeshi High Command in Dhaka, ending the 1971 Bangladesh atrocities in which millions of Bangladeshis were massacred at the hands of the Pakistani Army. Bangladesh gained inde-

pendence after nine months of a long and bloody struggle and became the newest country in the world. To mark this occasion the first Bangladeshi Mayor of Islington, Cllr Jilani Chowdhury planned to raise the Bangladeshi flag above the Town Hall at 11.00am on Sunday 16 December.

Three Brick Lane restaurants fined for using ‘touts’

hree Brick Lane restaurants have been prosecuted and fined for premises license breaches over the use of touts to generate custom. Mr Elias Miah, the premises licence holder, and Mr Abdal Ahad, the manager, of the City Spice restaurant, 138 Brick Lane, E1 pleaded guilty to breaches of Section 136(1)(a) of the Licensing Act 2003 for touting. Mr Miah was fined £110 and ordered to pay £465 costs and Mr Ahad was fined £50 and ordered to pay £315 costs. The defendants were sentenced at Thames Magistrates Court on 22 November 2012. Mr Aktar Miah, the premises licence holder of the Sheba

Brick Lane restaurants have been using touts to attract customers Restaurant at 136 Brick Lane, E1 was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £822 costs for two offences under the Licensing Act 2003 for breaches of his licence. Mr Aktar Miah did not attend the hearing and was convicted in his absence. Mr Muhib Miah, premises

licence holder of the Cinnamon Restaurant at 134 Brick Lane, E1 was fined £666 and ordered to pay £515 costs for licensing offences under the Licensing Act 2003. Mr Muhib Miah pleaded guilty via a letter from his solicitor. Mr Aktar Miah and Mr

Muhib Miah were sentenced at Thames Magistrates’ Court on 6 December 2012. Deputy Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Cllr Ohid Ahmed, said: “Brick Lane is an exciting and vibrant area that is enjoyed by thousands of visitors every week. But curry touts’ persistent and aggressive behaviour causes an obstruction to both visitors and local residents, and can create an unpleasant environment for everyone. “These further prosecutions demonstrate that we are prepared to take swift and decisive action against individuals and restaurants that are found to be flouting the rules and continuing to tout for business.” The council is continu-

ing to encourage restaurants in the Brick Lane area to sign up to its ‘Anti-touting Code of Practice’ which was launched in September 2011. Under the code restaurant owners sign a pledge agreeing: > not to use touts to approach anybody to persuade them to eat at their business > not to make false or misleading claims about free or discounted offers > to have the ‘500 metre’ condition added to their licence (if relevant) > to display the ‘Anti-touting Code of Practice’ window sticker in a prominent place so it can be seen from the street to work in partnership with the council to identify businesses using touts.

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20 December 2012

News Labour councillors lose appeal against expulsion

Labour Party appeals panel has upheld the decision to expel 5 councillors from the Labour Party following their support for opposition candidates at a by-election earlier this year. The five councillors, Kabir Ahmed, Rofique Ahmed, Shahed Ali, Abdul Asad and Shafiqul Haque all appealed their expulsions but failed to turn up to the appeals panel meetings last week. After reviewing the evidence the panel this week announced that the expulsions should stand stating that there was “no reason to challenge the convincing evidence that had led to the original decision.” All five were found to have violated numerous Labour Party rules by actively campaigning against the Labour Party candidate during the Spitalfields by-election earlier this year. They will now be expelled from the party for a period of five years. A sixth man, Motiur Rahman was also expelled for campaigning against the Labour Party candidate. Responding to news of the expulsions, Leader of the

Winter bug cases up 83%

Latest figures show there has been an increase in cases of norovirus – often known as the winter vomiting bug. The Health Protection Agency estimates there have been about 880,000 cases in England and Wales since the summer, 83% more than in the same period last year. There have been just over 3,000 lab-confirmed cases. But the HPA says these reported cases are the tip of the iceberg and for each one, there will be around 288 that go unreported.

Judge may rule on surgery

Mayor Lutfur Rahman congratulates some young people after they achieved technical qualifications Labour group, Cllr Joshua Peck, said: “The case against the five was always very clear: they consistently voted and campaigned against the Labour Party and they are now paying the price.

“I hope that today’s ruling will send a crystal clear message that the Labour Party rules cannot just be ignored. You cannot campaign against the Party and expect to remain a member.”

‘The case against the five was always very clear: they consistently voted and campaigned against the Labour Party’

Chris Weavers, Chair of the Tower Hamlets Labour Party, said: “Tower Hamlets Labour Party has learnt from the mistakes of the past and is 100% committed to playing our part in cleaning up local politics in the borough. “Residents need to know that when they vote for a Labour councillor that’s what they will have for the whole four years of a council - not some-

one who will switch loyalties and views as it suits them. “Earlier this year residents had the opportunity to elect a Labour team - people who would really help the people of our borough. Instead of working with us to secure this, these councillors chose to support Labour’s political opponents. Local people deserve better and Labour is committed to doing the right thing.”

Muslims demand same protection on gay marriage M uslim leaders have called for the same legal exemptions as the Church of England in gay marriage legislation. The Muslim Council of Britain said it was “appalled” by the government’s “utterly discriminatory” proposals. These would allow faith groups to conduct gay marriages but ban the Church of England and the Church in Wales from doing so. Plans to allow same-sex marriage are

This Week

due to be introduced before the next election, due in 2015. MCB secretary-general Farooq Murad said his organisation had strongly opposed gay marriage alongside other religions. He said he was seeking an urgent meeting with Culture Secretary Maria Miller to express the concerns of the Muslim community over the proposals. “No-one in their right mind should accept such a discriminatory law,” he said. “It should be amended to

‘No-one in their right mind should accept such a discriminatory law. It should be amended to give the same exemption to all the religions’

give exactly the same exemption to all the religions.” Last week, Mrs Miller told the House of Commons she would impose a “quadruple lock” of measures to guarantee religious organisations would not have to marry same-sex couples against their wishes. Under the plans, no religious organisation or individual minister could be compelled to marry same-sex couples or to permit this to happen on their premises. It would be unlawful for religious organisations or their ministers to marry same-sex couples unless their organisation’s governing body had expressly opted in to provisions for doing so. The Equality Act would be

The Church of England is exempt from the new law, but Muslims are not amended to ensure no discrimination claim could be brought against religious organisations or individual ministers for refusing to marry a same-sex couple. And the legislation will also explicitly state that it will be illegal for the Church of England and the Church in Wales to marry same-sex couples, she said.

As the established Church, Church of England vicars must marry any eligible couples regardless of their faith. The Church of England and Roman Catholics, among other denominations, have voiced opposition to same-sex marriage and are expected to oppose the bill, even with its caveats.

A judge may have to decide whether a boy with cancer should undergo more surgery, against his mother’s wishes. Neon Roberts had a brain tumour removed last year and his mother, Sally, has taken legal action to prevent him having to undergo more radiotherapy. Ms Roberts, 37, is at the High Court trying to prevent her son from getting more of this cancer treatment.

Met warning on ‘plebgate’

The Met police chief has warned against assuming initial accounts of the “plebgate” incident were wrong after a police officer was arrested on suspicion of leaking details. “There is more to this than meets the eye. When people hear the full story they will support what we’ve done,” Mr Bernard Hogan-Howe said. The Met Police Federation has suggested the arrest may be disproportionate. The incident led to Andrew Mitchell losing his cabinet job as chief whip.

Comet stores to close down

Comet stores are to close their doors for the last time on Tuesday, bringing the failed electrical retailer’s 79-year history to an end. Of the 236 stores the firm presided over when it went into administration last month, only 49 are still open. On Monday, administrators Deloitte said unsecured creditors would get back less than 1% of the money owed to them. The chain’s collapse will also cost the government £49.4m in redundancy payments and foregone tax revenues.

20 December 2012

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Features Bangladesh cricket team agree to tour Pakistan

angladesh have agreed in principle to tour Pakistan and become the first team to play international cricket there since an attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus nearly four years ago, officials said on Monday. Pakistan have had to play their ‘home’ matches in venues ranging from Dubai to London ever since gunmen shot dead eight people and wounded seven Sri Lankan players in an audacious attack near the stadium in Lahore in March 2009. But their exile status now looks set to end as early as January 12 after the Bangladeshi board (BCB) said it would take up an invitation to play two games in Lahore, as long as there were no lastminute objections on security grounds. “We have in principle agreed to tour Pakistan. It’s a commitment made by former BCB president Mustafa Kamal. We are keeping his word,” Enayet Husain Siraj, the board’s head of cricket operations, told AFP. “The tour is subject to security clearance,” he added. Bangladesh had also accepted an invitation to tour Pakistan last April for a short limitedover series but the Dhaka High Court blocked the tour on security grounds. Officials have said they see no judicial bar this time. Jalal Yunus, a spokesman for the BCB, said the board on Sunday night received a security plan from their counterparts in Pakistan, which would be discussed before signing off on the tour. “We’ll sit with our stakeholders, including players and concerned government officials, very soon,” he told AFP. Yunus said Pakistan had proposed two matches to take place in Lahore from January 12-13, one of which would be a 50-over international game and the other a Twenty20 contest. Pakistani cricketers are hugely popular in Bangladesh and 20 of them - including stars such as bighitting Shahid Afridi and the spinner Saeed Ajmal - played in the inaugural edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) last year.

Bangladesh is blessed with almost year-round sunshine, which would enable the overwhelming majority of households, even those in remote rural areas, to be self-sufficient in energy

Bangladesh solar power reaches 1 million homes The sun always shines on Bangladesh, and an increasing number of Bangladeshis are taking advantage of that fact. Report by Justin Guay, Washington Representative of the Sierra Club

few months back Nancy Wimmer told us about Bangladesh’s solar success. In one of the poorest countries on earth a renewable energy company, Grameen Shakti, is busy installing nearly 1,000 solar home systems each day. It turns out all that small solar has achieved something quite big. In November Grameen Shakti hit 1 Million Solar Home Systems (SHS) installed. The company’s milestone reinforces a lesson that is increasingly clear. Whether it’s Germany, the US, or even China distributed solar installations are driving the solar revolution. The Bangladesh story however, is particularly exciting because Grameen has singlehandedly shattered the energy ‘axioms’ on which the international policy community has relied for decades: Renewable energy is too expensive: Wrong. Even if solar makes sense the poor can’t afford it or they won’t pay: Wrong. The grid will come regardless so off grid, decentralized energy is a waste of time, money, and effort: Wrong, wrong, wrong. What Bangladesh does prove is that Carl Pope is right: deploying solar makes the most sense for off-grid areas where

« The Bangladesh story … is particularly exciting because Grameen has singlehandedly shattered the energy ‘axioms’ on which the international policy community has relied for decades: renewable energy is too expensive – wrong »

the economics are compelling and the need is great. That’s what makes the next phase of the solar revolution even more exciting. That’s because today we are talking about 1 million solar home systems in Bihar, but tomorrow we could easily be talking about tens of millions in either Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, Indian states that have off-grid populations larger than most European nations. But why would either of these states be able to replicate such an awe inspiring feat? Because they have the exact same ingredients for success: a robust rural banking sector (Micro Finance through Grameen Shakti for Bangladesh, State Banks for India), a demonstrated need (large numbers of un-electrified people), and policy support (World Bank finance for Bangladesh, Chief Ministers whose political futures are increasingly reliant on clean energy access in India). The last ingredient being reliant on policymakers understanding that energy’s presence, not price, changes lives. In fact the next phase is already here; A distributed clean energy revolution is brewing in Bihar and the next distributed solar hotbed is developing in UP. While billions are squandered on a failed grid extension approach that is destroying the climate, and displacing local communities, the political leaders of these states, responsible for hundreds of millions of un-electrified people, are getting very serious about off grid, decentralized clean energy solutions. So here’s our policy lesson in a nutshell: Bangladesh is the world’s demonstration case for an off-grid clean energy access plan that delivers. Bihar and UP are the next phase that will take this approach to scale. Maybe, just maybe, 1.3 Billion people later, the message, small solar is big, will finally sink in.

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20 December 2012

Features Investigation into factory fire calls incident ‘sabotage’

A Despite being a Muslim country, Bangladesh Islamists are under fire

A virtual ban is reportedly already in place against pro-Muslim students in Bangladesh

Total ban on Islam in Bangladesh The government crackdown on opposition parties in Bangladesh – especially on Islamic parties – is continuing. And now leftists have called a general strike to try and pressure the government to ban the Islamists altogether

general strike to demand that Muslim-majority Bangladesh ban Islamic political parties has disrupted traffic in Dhaka, the capital. A coalition of five leftist parties was enforcing Tuesday’s dawn-to-dusk nationwide strike, a common tactic in Bangladesh to highlight demands. Authorities deployed about 10,000 police and security forces in Dhaka as hundreds of protesters took to the streets, blocking roads and halting traffic. But there were no immediate reports of violence. More than two dozen Islamic parties in Bangladesh want the country to be governed by Sharia, or Islamic law. The leftists say the Islamic parties should be banned because they oppose the constitutional provision that Bangladesh be governed by secular law. The government has apparently responded by cracking down on – in some reported cases – Muslim women’s study circles. Pro-Muslim media outlets such as IslamOnline are claiming that the massive government crackdown on activists and supporters of the opposition Islamic parties is fueling unrest in Bangladesh, which is a Muslim-majority South Asian country.

“This type of action by a democratically elected government is unwarranted and a major blow to the fundamentals of democratic principles,” Abdul-Latif Masum, a professor of political science, told IslamOnline. “It appears that the ongoing oppression of the opposition, especially Islamic forces, is quite ill-conceived by the present government and mainly targets to eliminate the Islamic forces from Bangladesh.” Thousands of opposition activists have been arrested in a massive security crackdown over the past three weeks. The unrest is the first since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Awami leader, returned to power after a December 2008 parliamentary election that ended a two-year period of rule by an army-backed interim government. Professor Masum warned that the government crackdown would trigger chaos in the country. “This should not be the character of any democratic government and it shows intolerance of Awami League government,” he said. “Therefore, government should open all window of democracy for the sake of democracy itself.” But the government defended its crackdown against the opposition, saying it was part of efforts to prevent chaos in the country. “Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladesh Jamaat-E-Islami (BJI) are trying to destabilize the country to halt the trial of war criminal indictment process which is election agenda of present government,” Mahabub-Ul-Alam Hanif, Joint General Secretary of the ruling Awami League, told IslamOnline. Opposition groups say the latest crackdown is a standard policy of the Awami League. “As a political party whenever Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) got hold of the power it never tolerated any opposition party,” Abdul-Kader Mollah, Assistant Secretary-General of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, told IslamOnline. “The present oppression and torture of the opposition by the Awami League government is their normal practice as evident from its past historic records of activities.” Mollah cited the government ban of all political parties in the country in 1973. “BAL got the brute majority in 1975 and banned all political parties not only the Islamic political parties and established the ill-fated one party state with the formation of Bangladesh Krishak Sramik League (BAKSAL) and started the era of one party regime in Bangladesh.” He urged the government to stop treating the opposition as the enemy. “Opposition is a part of government in a democratic country. So, the government should refrain from undemocratic and dictatorship attitude against opposition,” said Mollah. “Our apprehension is that such type of attitude toward the opposition as rooted in the mind of present government is not good sign for the country. Its consequence will be very bad.” Mohammd Jafrullah Khan, Secretary-General of the Khelafat Majlish Islamic party, warned that the crackdown could trigger a backlash. “BAL government is losing its good image through torture and suppression of the opposition and creating a terrible atmosphere,” he said. “This will lead to a decline in the public support for the government. So ultimately government will be destabilized within a short time.”

n investigation into the fire that killed more than 100 workers at a Bangladesh garment factory has found that it was an act of sabotage and that managers at the plant prevented victims from escaping. Main Uddin Khandaker, who conducted the inquiry, told the AFP news agency on Monday that the owner of the factory, Delwar Hossain should face murder charges for “gross negligence and unpardonable crime”. “We have suggested legal action against him and nine of his mid-level managers who barred the workers from leaving the burning factory,” he said. The Tazreen factory fire was the most fatal Bangladesh has seen. The factory, located on the outskirts of Dhaka, was supplying clothes to a variety of international brands including US giant Walmart, Dutch retailer C&A and ENYCE, a label owned by US rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs. Khandaker said: “There was no possibility of the fire originating due to an electric short-circuit or any other reason,” without suggesting who might have triggered the fire or why. He said the fire in the middle of the factory warehouse in the ground floor was initially small when it broke out on the night of November 24. “But there was no attempt to douse it. We suggested that the government set up a taskforce to find out the people responsible for this heinous act.” The owner told reporters after the blaze that he believed it was started deliberately but gave no details.

Factory supplied items to P Diddy