Tribunal sets deadline to finish probe against Hasina
DHAKA, Nov 18: A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Monday told investigators they have one month to complete their work on ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her close aides who face charges of crimes against humanity after hundreds of people were killed in a mass uprising this summer. Golam Mortuza Majumdar, the head judge of the three-member International Crimes Tribunal, set Dec 17 for investigators to finish their work, as the tribunal heard updates Monday from police about what the country’s security agencies have done to arrest Hasina and her close aides. The decision came after prosecutors sought more time for the investigation. Hasina has been living in exile in India since Aug 5 when she fled the country amid the student-led protests. The Dhaka-based International Crimes Tribunal on Oct. 17 issued arrest warrants for Hasina and 45 others including former Cabinet ministers, advisors and military and civil officials. The country is now being run by interim government headed by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus. (PTI)
Israeli strikes leave 8 dead in Gaza
Jerusalem, Nov 18: Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed eight people, including two children aged 7 and 9 and their parents, Palestinian officials said Monday. A third child, 10 years old, was wounded in an overnight strike on a tent where displaced people were sheltering in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Civil Defence, first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government. An Associated Press reporter saw the children’s bodies at nearby Nasser Hospital. A separate strike early Monday killed four, including a woman and a child, in Nuseirat refugee camp. (PTI)
Chlorine gas leakage poisons 60 in Iran
Tehran, Nov 18: Sixty people were poisoned due to chlorine gas leakage in the central Iranian province of Isfahan, the official news agency IRNA reported. At 13:40 local time, on Sunday it was reported that a semi-trailer truck carrying chlorine gas cylinders had overturned on an intercity road in Shahreza County, 80 km south of the provincial capital Isfahan, Xinhua news agency reported. Following the accident, rescue teams were immediately sent to the scene, Mansour Shishehforoush, director general of the provincial crisis management department, was quoted as saying. Due to the chlorine gas leakage from one of the cylinders, 60 people in nearby areas suffered pulmonary toxicity and were immediately transferred to medical centers, said Shishehforoush. (IANS)