HK freeze bank accounts of pro-democracy leader

The Bangladesh Road Transport and Bridges Minister and ruling Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has warned that those who vandalised the under construction sculpture of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib in Kushtia will face severe legal punishment. Addressing a meeting of the Awami League through Video Conferencing, Obaidul Quader said that the government will not spare any one making derogatory remarks, comments or behaviour against the country's constitution and laws, reports the official news agency BSS. He said that display and preservation of Bangabandhu’s portrait is a statutory matter under the constitution. Defaming Bangabandhu’s sculpture amounts to defamation of the country’s constitution.The warning comes in the wake of an incident on Friday night when an under construction statue of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was vandalised in Kushtia town of Bangladesh. Subsequently, based on the CCTV footage, the police arrested two local madrasa students for the act along-with two others for hatching the conspiracy. On Friday, a group of protestors clashed with the police after the Friday prayers at the Baitul Mukarram mosque in Dhaka. They attempted to block the road in support of the demand to demolish all sculptures in the country. Police thwarted the demonstration as they had no permission from the authorities. In another incident, the statue of ‘Madhu da’ inside the Dhaka university campus was partially damaged a few days back. Madhusudan Dey, popularly known as Madhu Da, was killed by Pakistani 1971 during the infamous Operation Searchlight inside Dhaka University Campus.

-In Hong Kong, authorities freezed bank accounts of former pro-democracy lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung after he fled to Britain with his family.Briefing a news agency via social media on Sunday the pro democracy activist said that bank accounts belonging to him, his wife and his parents at Bank of China Hong Kong, HSBC and Hang Seng Bank were frozen.Reports said , conditions have worsened in Hong Kong after China imposed security legislation in June, making anything Beijing regards as subversion, secession, terrorism or colluding with foreign forces punishable by up to life in prison.Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing have moved swiftly to quash dissent after anti-government protests erupted last year and engulfed the city.No reason was spelt for freezing bank accounts of Hui . However, Hong Kong police said that they were investigating for suspected money laundering and possible violation of the new national security law  by the absconding person.

-Central Pollution Control Board, CPCB has raised concern on pollution and frothing in river Yamuna. The CPCB has asked Delhi and other states for effective sewage treatment.  It has also sought action taken report(ATR) from all concerned agencies by 15th of this month.In the past, CPCB observed froth formation and increase in ammonia levels in river Yamuna. It issued directions to Delhi Jal Board to submit time bound action plan to ensure compliance to norms by sewage treatment plants.Delhi Pollution Control Committe has been directed to take action against non-complying Common Effluent Treatment Plants and industrial units. Directions have also been issued to State Pollution Control Boards of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

-The mysterious disease that began spreading in Eluru city in Andhra Pradesh claimed one life on Sunday even as about 292 residents fell sick. More than 140 of the patients have returned home after treatment at hospital while the condition of others was stable, the West Godavari district medical and health officials said.Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy spoke with AP Chief Secretary Nilam Sawhney over phone and enquired about the situation and said the Centre was ready to extend any possible help.The Union Home Ministry was also in touch with the Governor's office over this, official sources said. Nothing has yet been established as to what caused the disease that saw people suddenly falling unconscious after suffering from symptoms of fits and nausea.Health authorities could not yet establish the cause of the sudden disease though blood tests and CT (brain) scan were performed.Cerebral Spinal Fluid tests also turned out to be normal.The probable cause could become evident only after the culture test results came in.

-Describing rival political parties as family-centric, BJP president J P Nadda on Sunday said the BJP is the only ideology-based party where the whole organisation is "one big family".Nadda was addressing a booth committee of the Pradesh BJP on the third day of his four-day tour of Uttarakhand to galvanise the party's organisational structure.Apparently referring to the new Agriculture Infrastructure Fund announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August, Nadda said Rs one lakh crore is to be spent in the agricultural sector."Rs one lakh crore is to be spent in the agricultural sector and the important thing is that the money will not be spent by agricultural officials but by farmers producers organisations," he said. Nadda said the BJP is the only ideology-based party where the whole organisation is family. "Our cadre base is our speciality and it is built through booth committees," Nadda said at the meeting where he shared the dais with Pradesh BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat, district president Sita Ram Bhatt, Mandal president Vijendra Thapliyal and booth president Sonia Verma.