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A senior Bangladesh police officer has been arrested for failing to properly investigate allegations made by a teenage girl, who was later burned to death, that she had been sexually harassed by a teacher, officials said. The killing of Nusrat Jahan Rafi in April sparked protests across the South Asian nation, with the prime minister promising to prosecute all those involved. At least 16 people -- including the teacher -- have been charged in connection with the killing and could face the death penalty if convicted. Rafi was lured to the rooftop of an Islamic seminary she attended where her attackers asked her to withdraw a sexual harassment complaint filed with police against the head teacher. When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. She died five days later, her death highlighted an alarming rise in sexual harassment cases in Bangladesh. An investigation by authorities later found Moazzem Hossain, the police chief of the town where Rafi was killed, had not properly dealt with the complaint the teenager made. Bangladesh police spokesman Sohel Rana confirmed in a text message to AFP that Hossain had been arrested. He and two other inspectors have been suspended by the police department. Rafi went to the police in late March to make allegations of sexual harassment against the head teacher. A leaked video showed Hossain registering her complaint, but dismissing it as "not a big deal". Hossain was accused of illegally filming the video, which was later circulated on social media platforms. He went into hiding after a court issued a warrant for his arrest. At least five people -- including three of Rafi's classmates -- tied her up with a scarf before setting her on fire. The plan was to pass the incident off as a case of suicide. Rafi suffered burns to 80 percent of her body and died in hospital on April 10. She recorded a video before her death, repeating her allegations against the teacher.

* Hammond: no-deal Brexit would imperil economy * US President Trump praises PM candidate Boris Johnson * Election, referendum options still alive * UK car production slumps Britain's finance minister on Thursday warned those in his party vying for Prime Minister Theresa May's job that a no-deal Brexit would endanger the economy, as frontrunner Boris Johnson earned praise from US President Donald Trump. May's departure deepens the Brexit crisis as a new leader, who should be in place by the end of July, is likely to want a more decisive split, raising the chances of a confrontation with the EU and potentially a snap parliamentary election. Johnson, the bookmakers' favourite to succeed May, has said the United Kingdom should leave the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal. Finance Minister Philip Hammond disagreed. ‘We need to get the spectre of a no-deal exit off the table,’ he told the BBC. ‘Leaving with no deal would be a very bad outcome for the economy.’ In Washington, ahead of a state visit to Britain next week, Trump told reporters he had great respect for Johnson and considered him a friend, but declined to say he supported him to succeed May. He also praised anti-EU campaigner Nigel Farage, of the rival Brexit Party. Hammond, underlining his view on a no deal, indicated he could be prepared to vote to collapse his party's government if he felt it was heading in the wrong direction. The United Kingdom was supposed to have left the EU on March 29 but its politicians are still arguing over how, when or even whether the country will leave the club it joined in 1973. That political failure caused car production to collapse last month as factories shut down in expectation of a Brexit that never came, according to data published on Thursday. No deal means there would be no transition so the exit would be abrupt. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said that could be akin to the 1970s oil shock. May's government has repeatedly warned of the disruption a no-deal Brexit would cause for everything from pet tourism to the import of crucial medicines and supply chains that criss-cross Europe and beyond. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the danger of such an outcome had risen with May's departure announcement, and pledged to do everything he could to stop it. Brexit supporters admit there may be some short-term disruption but that in the long term the United Kingdom would thrive outside what they cast as an undemocratic and excessively bureaucratic project dominated by Germany. Trump's national security adviser John Bolton told reporters in London that the president would do whatever he could to help Britain with Brexit, downplaying its long-term consequences. ‘You know America declared its independence once - we made out okay,’ he said. LEADERSHIP AMBITIONS Eleven Conservative lawmakers to have declared they are running for May's job. Hammond, asked if he could be a candidate, said his Brexit views had made him unpopular with some sections of the party but did not rule out entering the contest to argue his case. ‘I hope this contest does not degenerate into a competition to see who can make the biggest spending or tax cutting pledges,’ he said. ‘The Conservative Party has a very strong reputation, well deserved, for being fiscally responsible.’ Ireland's foreign minister said the EU would not renegotiate a withdrawal agreement with the next British prime minister, but that there would be ‘scope for new thinking’ on the wider Brexit package. Nevertheless, May's successor will be bound by most of the constraints that saw her fail three time to get parliamentary backing for an exit deal, leaving open the option of a national election or a second referendum to resolve the country's future. Labour is also divided over what happens next. Corbyn said on Wednesday any new referendum could not be a simple re-run of the 2016 Remain or Leave vote.

Police have charged 16 people over the murder of a teenage girl who was set on fire at an religious seminary in eastern Bangladesh last month after accusing the headmaster of sexual assault, police said on Wednesday. Nusrat Jahan, 19, died in hospital on April 10, five days after she was attacked at the Sonagazi Islamia Madrasa. The case sparked a nationwide outcry against sexual abuse and harassment. She was taken by two classmates to the rooftop of the madrassa where the accused asked her to withdraw the case against headmaster Siraj Ud Dawla, according to Banaj Kumar Majumder, the head of the Police Bureau of Investigation. When she refused, a group of five people poured kerosene on her and set her on fire, he said, adding that the accused had confessed. Police submitted the charges against the headmaster and 15 associates to a court in the district of Feni, officer Mohammad Iqbal said, adding that he hoped the court would soon pass an indictment order to begin the trial. Five of the accused were directly involved in the murder while the others helped them carry out their plan, he said. Investigators were seeking the death penalty for all of them. At a news conference on Tuesday, Majumder said the headmaster had plotted the killing from jail after he was arrested in late March when Jahan's family filed a sexual harassment complaint against him.

Hundreds of Bangladeshi fishermen staged a protest in the country’s south yesterday, police said, after the government imposed an unprecedented two-month long fishing ban on the Bay of Bengal. Carrying placards and banners, the fishermen marched to Cox’s Bazar city from coastal villages days after the government’s 65-day long fishing embargo came into effect. “This is wrong. This is injustice. No other country in the world has ever imposed such a long ban,” said union leader Kolim Ullah through a loudhailer during the protest. Ullah said the ban has hit the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in Bangladesh’s coastal districts, home to about 20mn people, most of whom depend either directly or indirectly on fishing. “The embargo has especially hit the poor fishermen hard. They don’t know any other work,” he said. Bangladesh imposed the ban on fishing in the Bay of Bengal last week in an effort to replenish depleted stocks. Bangladesh Minister for Fisheries Ashraf Ali Khan said the ban would run from May 20 to July 23, and that navy and coast guard vessels would patrol the bay to prevent boats from putting to sea. Bangladesh frequently slaps seasonal bans on fishing in deep seas and coastal rivers, but authorities said this was the longest-ever imposed for shallow waters near the coast. It covers all types of fishing boats. Ullah said the protesters submitted a memorandum to the administrator in Cox’s Bazar demanding the ban be shortened to one month and the government stop foreign fishing vessels from entering Bangladeshi waters. As part of compensation measures, the Bangladesh government has announced it will provide free rice for nearly half a million families of badly affected fishermen. But S M Nazrul, another union leader, said the aid is promised only for the registered fishermen, while “the number of unregistered fishermen is eight times more than the registered ones.” Fishermen have also threatened to march towards the capital Dhaka if the embargo is not shortened. “The ban is slapped on just before Eid,” said fisherman Mohammad Rafique, referring to the largest Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr. “How will we celebrate Eid when we don’t have a penny in the pocket?”. The ban has also hit Rohingya refugees, nearly a million of whom have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar and found shelter in squalid camps near Bangladesh’s Teknaf and Ukhia fishing towns. The refugees are not permitted to work outside the camps but thousands have secretly found work in the sea-going fishing trawlers owned by Bangladeshis. “Thousands of Rohingya work as crew members in a bid to find a better life. This ban would throw these Rohingya back on the streets,” Abdus Salam, a boat owner in Shamlapur fishing village, said. Every year Bangladesh imposes a weeks-long ban on the fishing of Hilsa - a popular Herring-like staple - and has created six sanctuaries in its network of coastal rivers to allow spawning. The bans have boosted the Hilsa catch by more than 150% since 2004 and turned it into a $2bn industry.

Bangladesh's counter-terrorism police have arrested a suspected Islamic State member who returned to the country after fighting for the militant group in Syria, police said Wednesday. Dhaka launched a major crackdown against homegrown extremist outfits following an attack by a local outfit on a cafe in the capital in 2016 that killed 22 people, including 18 foreigners. Police said Motaj Abdul Majid Kafiluddin Bepari, 33, joined IS in Syria after he travelled to the war-torn country from Saudi Arabia, where he was born to a Bangladeshi parent. He returned to Bangladesh in February and made contact with a new faction of local IS-inspired Islamist extremist outfit Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), blamed for a series of attacks, including the 2016 cafe attack, counter-terrorism official Wahiduzzaman Noor told AFP. Officers arrested Bepari near a mosque in Dhaka's Uttara neighbourhood on May 5, and he has been charged under anti-terrorism laws for alleged plans to establish a caliphate in the moderate Muslim-majority country, Noor added. "He went to Syria in 2018 and fought for the IS." Bepari's arrest came after counter-terrorism police alerted airport authorities about the possible return of more than 50 Bangladesh-origin IS extremists after the group's defeat in Syria, deputy commissioner of Dhaka police Mohibul Islam Khan told AFP. This is the latest in a series of IS-related security incidents in Bangladesh. Last week, Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said the British-born Shamima Begum, who married an Islamic State militant in Syria and whose parents held Bangladeshi citizenship, would "face the death penalty" for terrorism if she came to the South Asian country. And in April, Bangladeshi security forces raided a suspected extremist hideout in Dhaka, killing at least two militants. But on the same day, IS jihadists claimed their first attack in Bangladesh in more than two years, an attack on a group of policemen, the SITE Intelligence Group reported.

Bangladesh security forces on Monday killed at least two people suspected of belonging to a militant group behind a deadly cafe attack in Dhaka in 2016, police said after a raid at a tin-shed hideout in the capital. Police cordoned off the area after receiving information about the presence of suspected members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh, a home-grown militant group that killed 22 people in the cafe attack. ‘When our forces knocked on the door, the residents of the house fired at our people instead of opening it,’ Mufti Mahmud Khan, director of the legal and media wing of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), told reporters. ‘Then members of the RAB responded. There is still huge amount of explosives and our special force are trying to remove it.’ Khan said three people, including the owner of the house, had been detained for questioning. Bangladesh launched a crackdown on militancy after the cafe attack as part of what Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calls a ‘zero tolerance’ policy. Militants attacked the cafe in July 2016, taking 22 hostages, mostly foreigners, who were killed over 12 hours.

Bangladesh has ordered some 27,000 schools to set up committees to prevent sexual violence, an official said yesterday, after a teenager who accused a teacher of sexual harassment was burned to death. The killing of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi has sparked outrage across the South Asian nation of 165mn people and put police action in the case under the spotlight. Protesters in the capital Dhaka staged demonstrations for an 11th day yesterday, seeking “exemplary punishment” for the killers of the girl. Police say she was lured to the rooftop of the seminary she attended in Feni, south of the capital, where her attackers ordered her to withdraw a police complaint against the head of the school.  When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. Rafi died in hospital on April 10 after suffering 80 percent burns. At least 20 people, including the head teacher, have been arrested. Activists say the murder has exposed a “culture of impunity” surrounding sex crimes against women and children, and that fact that those who report harassment often suffer a backlash. Amid nationwide protests, the Bangladesh government has ordered more than 27,000 schools and colleges to form five-member committee to prevent sexual  violence, an official said. “The committee will be led by female teachers. They will take steps to prevent sexual harassment and take up any complaints,” the director of the Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Shahedul Khabir Chowdhury, said. He said the committees were being formed by an order from the country’s high court, which in 2009 laid down a set of guidelines to prevent sexual harassment of women and children at workplaces, schools and on the streets. Rafi went to police in late March to report the harassment and a leaked video shows the local police station chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as “not a big deal”. Police said at least five of those under arrest, including three of Rafi’s classmates, tied her up with a scarf before setting her on fire. They had planned to pass off the death as a suicide.  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed that all those involved will face action and police say they are investigating why more was not done to protect Rafi. More than 100 protesters at the country’s elite Dhaka University held hands to form a human chain as part of continued demonstrations over the grisly murder. “I joined the protest because Nusrat Rafi’s murder was a wake-up call for all our women,” Dhaka University student Antara Labiba said. “I am also a victim of sexual harassment. I think most women in Bangladesh face sexual harassment in their families, schools, markets and workplaces,” she said. The Manusher Jonno Foundation, a non-government group, says there have been at least 39 cases of children under 18 being raped in Bangladesh since  April 2. Another eight have been subjected to sexual harassment, the group says.

Demonstrations were held across the Bangladesh capital yesterday for the 10th consecutive day after a teenager who accused a head teacher of sexually harassing her was burned to death. The killing of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi has sparked outrage across the South Asian nation and put police action in the case under the spotlight. Protesters in Dhaka chanted slogans demanding the death sentence for the killers of the girl, who police say was lured to the rooftop of the seminary she attended in Feni, south of the capital. Police said the attackers then ordered her to withdraw a police complaint against the head of the school. When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. Rafi died in hospital on April 10 after suffering 80 percent burns. Eighteen people, including the head teacher, have been arrested. Her death has set off demonstrations in several cities across the Muslim-majority country of 165 million. Many believe the murder has exposed a “culture of impunity” surrounding sex crimes against women and children, while those who complain often feel a backlash. “Rapes and sexual assaults have risen alarmingly in the country,” protester M. Rahman Apu said. “Nusrat Rafi’s murder proves that the even the bravest of girls do not get justice. “Instead she was murdered for daring to lodge a complaint against the perpetrator. Had police and the administration worked properly, she could have been protected,” Apu said. Garment union leader Kamrun Nahar, who had also joined the protests, said Rafi’s murder has awakened the nation’s conscience. “We won’t stop protests until the killers of Nusrat, and other perpetrators, are brought to book,” Nahar said. “We don’t want any more of these grisly murders.” The 18 arrested include the seminary headmaster. One of those accused of the attack told a closed court earlier this week that the principal ordered the killing. The local head of the ruling Awami League party has been detained for allegedly helping the killers. Rafi went to police in late March to report the case. A leaked video shows the local police station chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as “not a big deal”. Police said at least five of those under arrest, including three of Rafi’s classmates, tied her with a scarf before setting her on fire. They had planned to pass off the death as a suicide. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed that all those involved will face action and police say they are investigating why more was not done to protect Rafi. The Manusher Jonno Foundation, a non-government group, says there have been at least 39 cases of children under 18 being raped since April 2. Another eight have been subjected to sexual harassment, the groups says. “Our system has failed,” said Shipa Hafiza, executive director of Bangladesh rights group Ain O Salish Kendra. “Often we see that when there are rapes or sexual abuse of women or children, all the powerful people become a group to protect the perpetrators,” she said.

Demonstrations were held across the Bangladesh capital Saturday for the tenth consecutive day after a teenager who accused a head teacher of sexually harassing her was burned to death. The killing of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi has sparked outrage across the South Asian nation and put police action in the case under the spotlight. Protesters in Dhaka chanted slogans demanding the death sentence for the killers of the girl, who police say was lured to the rooftop of the seminary she attended in Feni, south of the capital. Police said the attackers then ordered her to withdraw a police complaint against the head of the school. When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. Rafi died in hospital on April 10 after suffering 80 percent burns. Eighteen people, including the head teacher, have been arrested. Her death has set off demonstrations in several cities across the country of 165 million. Many believe the murder has exposed a ‘culture of impunity’ surrounding sex crimes against women and children, while those who complain often feel a backlash. ‘Rapes and sexual assaults have risen alarmingly in the country,’ protester M. Rahman Apu told AFP. ‘Nusrat Rafi's murder proves that the even the bravest of girls do not get justice. ‘Instead she was murdered for daring to lodge a complaint against the perpetrator. Had police and the administration worked properly, she could have been protected,’ Apu said. - Party chief held - Garment union leader Kamrun Nahar, who had also joined the protests, said Rafi's murder has awakened the nation's conscience. ‘We won't stop protests until the killers of Nusrat, and other perpetrators, are brought to book,’ Nahar said. ‘We don't want any more of these grisly murders.’ The 18 arrested include the seminary headmaster. One of those accused of the attack told a closed court earlier this week that the principal ordered the killing. The local head of the ruling Awami League party has been detained for allegedly helping the killers. Rafi went to police in late March to report the case. A leaked video shows the local police station chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as ‘not a big deal’. Police said at least five of those under arrest, including three of Rafi's classmates, tied her with a scarf before setting her on fire. They had planned to pass off the death as a suicide. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has vowed that all those involved will face action and police say they are investigating why more was not done to protect Rafi. The Manusher Jonno Foundation, a non-government group, says there have been at least 39 cases of children under 18 being raped since April 2. Another eight have been subjected to sexual harassment, the groups says. ‘Our system has failed,’ said Shipa Hafiza, executive director of Bangladesh rights group Ain O Salish Kendra ‘Often we see that when there are rapes or sexual abuse of women or children, all the powerful people become a group to protect the perpetrators,’ she said.

The death of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi last week sparked protests across the South Asian nation, with the prime minister promising to prosecute all those involved. Rafi was lured to the rooftop of the seminary she attended where her attackers asked her to withdraw the sexual harassment complaint she had filed with police. When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. Police said yesterday that one of the 18 people arrested in connection with her death had accused the school’s principal of ordering the attack. The teacher “told them to put pressure on Rafi to withdraw the case or kill her if she refused”, senior police superintendent Mohammed Iqbal, who is  leading the investigation, said. Rafi had gone to police in late March to report the sexual harassment, and a leaked video shows the local police station chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as “not a  big deal”. Iqbal said at least five of those under arrest, including three of Rafi’s classmates, had tied her up with a scarf before setting her on fire. “The plan was to pass the incident off as a suicide. But it fell through after Rafi managed to come downstairs while on fire because the scarf burnt and freed her hands and feet,” he said.  Rafi suffered burns to 80% of her body and died in hospital on April 10. But she recorded a video before her death, repeating her allegations against the principal. “The teacher touched me, I will fight this crime till my last breath,” she said. She also  identified some of her attackers. Rafi’s brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman said people close to the principal had also put pressure on the family to  withdraw the case against him. “They told us that it was a conspiracy against him and that it was fabricated,” he said. The case has caused outrage in Bangladesh, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowing that “none of the culprits will be spared legal action.” A police official said that they had also arrested the ruling party’s local chapter head, over allegations he advised one of the prime suspects to flee. Scores of protesters from campaign group Student Community Against Rape and Sexual Violence rallied in central Dhaka yesterday demanding a judicial probe into the role of the police in the killing.  “Police are not guilty of negligence but are rather involved in the murder of Nusrat. The (sexual harassment complaint) was filed on March 27, but police took no prompt action,” the group’s convener Shibly Hasan said, according to the online edition of the Daily Star  newspaper. Rights groups say the number of rape and sexual assault cases has increased in Bangladesh because authorities have failed to prosecute attackers. “The horrifying murder of a brave woman who sought justice shows how badly the Bangladesh government has failed victims of sexual assault,” Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said in a statement. “Rafi’s death highlights the need for the Bangladesh government to take survivors of sexual assault seriously and ensure that they can safely seek a legal remedy and be protected from retaliation,” she added. The local Manusher Jonno Foundation, a non-governmental group, says at least 39 children under the age of 18 have been abused in the country since April 2. Another eight have been subjected to attempted or sexual harassment, the groups says.

A schoolgirl was burned to death in Bangladesh on the orders of her head teacher after she reported him for sexually harassing her, police said Friday. The death of 19-year-old Nusrat Jahan Rafi last week sparked protests across the South Asian nation, with the prime minister promising to prosecute all those involved. Rafi was lured to the rooftop of the Islamic seminary she attended where her attackers asked her to withdraw the sexual harassment complaint she had filed with police. When she refused, she was doused in kerosene and set on fire. Police said Friday that one of the 18 people arrested in connection with her death had accused the school's principal of ordering the attack. The teacher "told them to put pressure on Rafi to withdraw the case or kill her if she refused", senior police superintendent Mohammad Iqbal, who is leading the investigation, told AFP. Rafi had gone to police in late March to report the sexual harassment, and a leaked video shows the local police station chief registering her complaint but dismissing it as "not a big deal". Iqbal said at least five of those under arrest, including three of Rafi's classmates, had tied her up with a scarf before setting her on fire. "The plan was to pass the incident off as a suicide. But it fell through after Rafi managed to come downstairs while on fire because the scarf burnt and freed her hands and feet," he said.  Rafi suffered burns to 80 percent of her body and died in hospital on April 10. But she recorded a video before her death, repeating her allegations against the principal. "The teacher touched me, I will fight this crime till my last breath," she said. She also identified some of her attackers. Rafi's brother Mahmudul Hasan Noman said people close to the principal had also put pressure on the family to withdraw the case against him. "They told us that it was a conspiracy against him and that it was fabricated," he told AFP. The case has caused outrage in Bangladesh, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina vowing that "none of the culprits will be spared legal action." A police official told AFP that they had also arrested the ruling party's local chapter head, over allegations he advised one of the prime suspects to flee. Scores of protesters from campaign group Student Community Against Rape and Sexual Violence rallied in central Dhaka Friday demanding a judicial probe into the role of the police in the killing.  "Police are not guilty of negligence but are rather involved in the murder of Nusrat. The (sexual harassment complaint) was filed on March 27, but police took no prompt action," the group's convener Shibly Hasan said, according to the online edition of the Daily Star newspaper. Rights groups say the number of rape and sexual assault cases has increased in Bangladesh because authorities have failed to prosecute attackers. "The horrifying murder of a brave woman who sought justice shows how badly the Bangladesh government has failed victims of sexual assault," Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. "Nusrat Jahan Rafi's death highlights the need for the Bangladesh government to take survivors of sexual assault seriously and ensure that they can safely seek a legal remedy and be protected from retaliation," she added. The local Manusher Jonno Foundation, a non-governmental group, says at least 39 children under the age of 18 have been raped in the country since April 2. Another eight have been subjected to attempted or sexual harassment, the groups says.

Police in Bangladesh said Sunday they had arrested the owners of an office tower in Dhaka that caught fire earlier this week, killing 26 people and renewing the country's debate over lax safety standards. The latest deadly blaze to hit Bangladesh's congested capital tore through the 22-storey FR Tower on Thursday, leaving some of the hundreds trapped inside screaming for help as horrified onlookers massed outside. Police said they had detained two men, S.M.H.I. Faruque and Tasvir Ul Islam -- who is district leader of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) -- in the capital, after filing charges against them for criminal negligence. ‘We arrested Faruque just after midnight. He is the 45 percent owner of the building. He also owns the land on which the building was constructed,’ deputy commissioner Mashiur Rahman told AFP. Senior police official Shahjahan Saju told AFP that Islam, who contested the parliamentary election in December and lost, was arrested at 11pm (1700 GMT) Saturday over allegations he owns part of the FR building -- which authorities have said was extended illegally and lacked adequate fire safety measures. Police said they were also looking for the owner of the construction firm which built the tower in the 1990s. Some of those stuck inside the burning building, in the upmarket Banani commercial district, made it to safety by sliding down cables on the side of the building, but others took their chances and jumped in a bid to escape the smoke and heat. Six people leaped to their deaths. Firefighters backed by military specialists -- some in helicopters -- tackled the flames, lowering ropes to help people escape, while rescuers on long ladders smashed through windows. The arrests came as a senior minister called the fire an act of murder amid growing public clamour for better building safety standards. ‘Definitely this is murder. It is not an accident... Nobody will escape the law,’ housing and public works minister Rezaul Karim told reporters on Friday. Authorities have ordered an investigation into safety measures at the tower. Fire officials said the blaze-hit building lacked fire exits and sprinklers, while access to its emergency staircase was padlocked. The city's housing authority later said five upper floors in the building were illegally added without official permission. According to a 2012 study by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, most high-rise buildings in 15-million-strong Dhaka have inadequate fire safety measures. Experts said inspections of buildings in the city frequently found fire stairs blocked with stored goods and exit doors locked.

A fire at a kitchen market in Dhaka destroyed almost 150 makeshift stores on Saturday, two days after another blaze in the Bangladeshi capital killed 25 people. Fire fighters and members of the armed forces needed two hours to put out the fire in the affluent neighbourhood of Gulshan, Shakil Newaz, a director at the Fire Service and Civil Defence Department, said. The fire is believed to have broken out at a perfume store early in the morning and spread quickly to other shops, according to Atikul Islam, mayor of the Dhaka North City Corporation. No casualties were immediately reported. The makeshift stores were built using corrugated iron sheets next to the popular two-storey DCC Market after a fire devastated the market in January 2017. Back then the authorities bulldozed part of the market and replaced it with the makeshift stores. Talal Rizvi, a leader of the market's traders association, said Saturday's fire had destroyed all 150 of them. On Thursday, a fire at the 22-storey Faruk Rupayan Tower in Dhaka's upmarket Banani neighbourhood, less than two kilometres from the kitchen market, killed at least 25 people and injured 70.

The death toll from a terrifying blaze that ripped through a Bangladesh tower rose yesterday to 25, as authorities vowed tough action to improve lax safety standards. The latest deadly blaze to hit Bangladesh’s congested capital Dhaka tore through the 22-storey FR Tower on Thursday, leaving some of the hundreds trapped inside screaming for help as horrified onlookers massed outside. Some of those stuck inside made it to safety by sliding down cables on the side of the building, but others took their chances and jumped in a bid to escape the smoke and heat. Six people leaped to their deaths. Firefighters backed by military specialists – some in helicopters – tackled the flames, lowering ropes to help people escape, while rescuers on long ladders smashed through windows. But fire fighters were hampered by not having ladder cranes big enough to reach the top floors, officials said. The fire was later extinguished and yesterday fire fighters completed the process of combing through the gutted and blackened floors of the building. The fire department initially put the death toll at 19 but police said yesterday that six more had perished. Another was in a critical state in hospital. There was no immediate indication if others are missing, but more than 70 people were treated in hospital in the wake of the blaze. Fire disasters regularly hit Bangladesh’s major cities where safety standards are notoriously lax.  Last month at least 70 people were killed in Dhaka apartment buildings where chemicals that were being illegally stored exploded – unleashing a blaze that took more than 12 hours to control. Following Thursday’s fire, in the upmarket Banani commercial district, authorities have ordered a probe into safety  measures at the building. “There was no fire exit in the building. There was an alternative stairs. But access to the stairs was closed or padlocked in some of the floors,” fire brigade official Saleh  Uddin said. He said the fire department had sent several notices to the building to “implement fire safety measures in the building,” but the owner did not comply. “There were no sprinklers. Fire exits existed only in name,” fire department director Shakil Newaj said. Housing Minister Rezaul Karim saying a murder case would be filed against those to blame for the tragedy. “Definitely this is murder. It is not an accident... Nobody will escape the law,” he said. The mayor of Dhaka north, Atiqul Islam, promised a “zero tolerance” policy in building safety, especially in high-rise buildings. According to a 2012 study by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, most high-rise buildings in 15mn-strong Dhaka have inadequate fire safety measures. “We found only two buildings fully compliant,” BUET professor Mehedi Ahmed Ansari said of the survey on 112 buildings, adding that some they looked at were little more than  “death traps”. A June 2010 fire in the nearby neighbourhood of Nimtoli, one of the most densely populated districts of the capital, killed 123 people. In November 2012, a fire swept through a nine-storey garment factory near Dhaka killing 111 workers. An investigation found it was caused by sabotage and that managers at the plant had prevented victims from escaping. Experts said inspections of buildings in the city frequently found fire stairs blocked with stored goods and exit doors locked.

Desperate workers leaped to their deaths as a huge fire tore through a Dhaka office block yesterday, killing at least 19 people and trapping others in the latest major inferno to hit the Bangladesh capital.   Rescue workers warned the death toll could rise sharply as fire fighters recovered charred bodies from the complex where an unknown number of office workers were engulfed by intense smoke and flames.  At least six people died after jumping from the 22-floor building, officials said. Dhaka police chief Asaduzzaman Mia told reporters at least 73 people were injured and being treated in hospitals across Dhaka.   People were seen screaming for help as hundreds of panicked onlookers crowded the streets of the upmarket Banani commercial district. Some workers slid down a television cable on the side of the building. Others grabbed ropes lowered by emergency service helicopters which pulled them out of the blaze.  The inferno erupted barely a month after at least 70 people were killed in Dhaka apartment buildings where illegally stored chemicals exploded.  The latest disaster brought new scenes of horror amid fears that the toll would rise. More than 100 ambulances were parked in streets around the building. Shoikot Rahman heard colleagues raise the alarm and ran to safety before smoke and flames engulfed the building.  “When I heard a fire broke out in the building, I quickly rushed out,” he told AFP. “Many of my colleagues are still trapped in the office.”  Firefighters on long ladders smashed windows to create escape routes. More than one hour after the blaze erupted people could still be seen on the 13th and 14th floors desperately waving for help amid clouds of black smoke.  Army helicopters dangled ropes that victims grabbed so they could be lifted to safety, with crowds below cheering and applauding every time someone was rescued. Three hospitals reported that six men and women had died or arrived with fatal injuries after jumping from the office block. They included a Sri Lankan man whose body was taken to the army’s Kurmitola Hospital. Dilkhosh Ahmed at the Banani Clinic said one of the victims had attempted to use the television cable to climb down, but slipped and fell around the eighth floor.  A seventh death from burns was recorded at the Dhaka Medical College hospital.  Helicopters were deployed to drop water on the blaze as scores of firefighters backed by navy and air force specialists struggled to bring it under control. A top fire official said the flames had been stopped from spreading to adjoining buildings. “Teams have entered the building and they are scouring the floors for any remaining victims. The building did not have fire fighting equipment,” said Lieutenant Colonel Julfikar Rahman of the Dhaka fire service told reporters.  Rescue crews were soon discovering bodies and carrying them out one after the other in white bags. Some workers told of risky escapes. “My uncle and two more people jumped from their floor. His hand and leg are broken and his eye is damaged,” one man said without giving his name. A man who gave his name as Jico said he had been working on the 19th floor. “The fire started in a restaurant on the sixth floor. We ran to the roof as soon as we heard about it and then used a wooden plank to get over to the next building.” Fire disasters regularly hit Bangladesh’s major cities where safety standards are notoriously lax.   A massive blaze in Dhaka’s old quarter on February 21 killed at least 70 people and injured 50 others. Fire service officials said chemicals illegally stored in an apartment building exploded and set alight five buildings and nearby streets. That blaze took more than 12 hours to control.   A June 2010 fire in the nearby neighbourhood of Nimtoli, one of the most densely populated districts of the capital, killed 123 people.  In November 2012, a fire swept through a nine-story garment factory near Dhaka killing 111 workers. An investigation found it was caused by sabotage and that managers at the plant had prevented victims from escaping.  Experts said inspections of buildings in the city frequently found fire stairs blocked with stored goods and exit doors locked.

Desperate workers leaped to their deaths as a huge fire tore through a Dhaka office block Thursday, killing at least 19 people and trapping others in the latest major inferno to hit the Bangladesh capital. Rescue workers warned the death toll could rise sharply as fire fighters recovered charred bodies from the complex where an unknown number of office workers were engulfed by intense smoke and flames. At least six people died after jumping from the 22-floor building, officials said. Dhaka police chief Asaduzzaman Mia told reporters at least 73 people were injured and being treated in hospitals across Dhaka. People were seen screaming for help as hundreds of panicked onlookers crowded the streets of the upmarket Banani commercial district. Some workers slid down a television cable on the side of the building. Others grabbed ropes lowered by emergency service helicopters which pulled them out of the blaze. The inferno erupted barely a month after at least 70 people were killed in Dhaka apartment buildings where illegally stored chemicals exploded. The latest disaster brought new scenes of horror amid fears that the toll would rise. More than 100 ambulances were parked in streets around the building. Shoikot Rahman heard colleagues raise the alarm and ran to safety before smoke and flames engulfed the building. ‘When I heard a fire broke out in the building, I quickly rushed out,’ he told AFP. ‘Many of my colleagues are still trapped in the office.’ Firefighters on long ladders smashed windows to create escape routes. More than one hour after the blaze erupted people could still be seen on the 13th and 14th floors desperately waving for help amid clouds of black smoke. Army helicopters dangled ropes that victims grabbed so they could be lifted to safety, with crowds below cheering and applauding every time someone was rescued. - Rescuers kept at bay - Three hospitals reported that six men and women had died or arrived with fatal injuries after jumping from the office block. They included a Sri Lankan man whose body was taken to the army's Kurmitola Hospital. Dilkhosh Ahmed at the Banani Clinic said one of the victims had attempted to use the television cable to climb down, but slipped and fell around the eighth floor. A seventh death from burns was recorded at the Dhaka Medical College hospital. Helicopters were deployed to drop water on the blaze as scores of firefighters backed by navy and air force specialists struggled to bring it under control. A top fire official said the flames had been stopped from spreading to adjoining buildings. ‘Teams have entered the building and they are scouring the floors for any remaining victims. The building did not have fire fighting equipment,’ said Lieutenant Colonel Julfikar Rahman of the Dhaka fire service told reporters. Rescue crews were soon discovering bodies and carrying them out one after the other in white bags. Some workers told of risky escapes. ‘My uncle and two more people jumped from their floor. His hand and leg are broken and his eye is damaged,’ one man said without giving his name. A man who gave his name as Jico said he had been working on the 19th floor. ‘The fire started in a restaurant on the sixth floor. We ran to the roof as soon as we heard about it and then used a wooden plank to get over to the next building.’ Fire disasters regularly hit Bangladesh's major cities where safety standards are notoriously lax. A massive blaze in Dhaka's old quarter on February 21 killed at least 70 people and injured 50 others. Fire service officials said chemicals illegally stored in an apartment building exploded and set alight five buildings and nearby streets. That blaze took more than 12 hours to control. A June 2010 fire in the nearby neighbourhood of Nimtoli, one of the most densely populated districts of the capital, killed 123 people. In November 2012, a fire swept through a nine-story garment factory near Dhaka killing 111 workers. An investigation found it was caused by sabotage and that managers at the plant had prevented victims from escaping. Experts said inspections of buildings in the city frequently found fire stairs blocked with stored goods and exit doors locked.

A young Bangladeshi architect has earned fame after his digital drawing of footballer Lionel Messi was matched in real life six years later. Suhas Nahian's 2013 artwork shows Messi dribbling past a group of players in green and white, leaning his head forward as one of the defenders grabs his red-and-blue Barcelona jersey. Photos of Messi shot during a recent match against Real Betis show him in an almost identical pose, complete with one defender on the ground as the Argentinian charges through. ‘I painted something 6 years ago, and football gods made the image come true,’ Suhas, 29, said on Instagram. He told AFP that he watched the La Liga match, which saw Messi score a hat-trick as Barcelona won 4-1, but noticed nothing exceptional until a friend phoned him and excitedly pointed out the striking similarities. ‘I looked back and found those are actually very similar.’ he said. ‘It was fascinating. I was surprised.’ Suhas, who now owns an architecture firm, said the digital painting he drew as a student in 2013 was shared by a football fan page called Plaantik at that time. ‘I am glad my only painting brought me so much fame, as it has been published in many Spanish, Argentine and Indian media,’ he said. Suhas said he did not choose Betis's white and green jersey for his artwork consciously. ‘Barcelona's jersey is very vibrant with blue and red, so from the point of colour I wanted to paint the rest of the painting in green so that Messi stays in focus,’ he said. ‘So I chose this green and white jersey, not specifically thinking of Betis but from the sense of colour.’ Suhas said his artwork was part of a football-themed series that he wanted to do including Messi's dribbling, Cristiano Ronaldo's header and Xavi's turn. ‘I am a Barcelona fan but I admire all great players. This is why I wanted to draw this football series. But after the painting on Messi's dribbling, I could not complete the rest,’ he said.

Two Bangladeshi cricketers who narrowly escaped last week’s deadly mosque attacks in New Zealand have married their fiancees. Mehidy Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman were among 17 members of the Bangladesh Test cricket team touring New Zealand who were driven up to a Christchurch mosque as the shooting began.  They later watched as blood-soaked victims staggered from the building, according to team manager Khaled Mashud, who said if they had arrived just a few minutes later the team could have been caught up in the massacre.  Off-spinner Mehidy announced that he had married his long-term sweetheart Rabeya Akhter Priti on Thursday in a ceremony in the southwestern Bangladeshi city of Khulna. “I am starting a new journey in my life today. I would like to request the blessings of all my fans and well-wishers for my new beginning. May the Rahmat of Allah always shower upon us,” Mehidy said in his official Facebook page. Meanwhile, pace bowler Rahman married his cousin, psychology student Samia Parvin Shimu, in their rural home yesterday, his brother said. “We were looking for a suitable time for his marriage... Now if it can help him overcome the shock, we will be really happy,” Mahfuzur Rahman said. The team was in Christchurch for their third and final Test match against the home side scheduled to begin last Saturday, which was promptly cancelled to allow the cricketers to return home. Fifty people died in attacks on two mosques in Christchurch in what is believed to be the worst assault on Muslims in a Western country. Five Bangladeshis were among those killed.

Thousands of students demonstrated in Dhaka yesterday to demand improved road safety after a university student was run over by a bus, in a city that only recently saw protests against poor road safety. The protesters, many of whom wielded placards, blocked intersections at various places in the city, causing severe traffic jams. They also sat down on the streets under the scorching sun and chanted slogan “we want justice.” “Won’t let my brother’s blood to go in vain,” read one of the placards. A passenger bus ran over Abrar Ahmed Chowdhury, 20, a first-year student of Bangladesh University of Professionals, at a pedestrian crossing on Tuesday. The driver had no license to run the bus, said Atiqul Islam, mayor of the Dhaka South City Corporation. He promised legal action against the driver, and the owner of the bus company. The protesters have a seven-point charter of demands that includes ensuring safety and discipline on roads, and the proper application of traffic rules. “We don’t want to return home until the demands are met,” Fahad Hossain, one  protester, said. He noted that similar demands by students a year ago had been forgotten.  In 2018, hundreds of thousands of students took to the streets demanding improved road safety after two people were crushed by a bus on Dhaka’s busy airport road. The protests lasted from July 29 to August 8. “We are not pleased only on assurances, now.” said Hossain. Lax implementation of law, poor infrastructure, reckless driving and lack of road awareness have all left Bangladesh among the countries with the highest road fatality rates. More than 7,000 people were killed and more than 15,000 others injured in road crashes in 2018, according to a report by civic group Bangladesh Passenger  Welfare Organisation.

The train station on the Vietnam-China border where Kim Jong-un is expected to arrive by rail was closed to the public and surrounded by armed guards yesterday, days ahead of the North Korean leader’s summit with Donald Trump. Kim boarded his trademark olive-green train in Pyongyang on Saturday and its armoured carriages were later spotted crossing a bridge into China. The train apparently bypassed Beijing and is now thought to be chugging south en route to Vietnam, which is hastily preparing for the second meeting between Kim and US President Trump after their historic first summit in Singapore last June. Sources in Vietnam said Kim could arrive at the Dong Dang border station in the early hours of today following his epic 4,000km (2,500 mile), two-and-a-half-day journey. His motorcade is likely to drive from Dong Dang to Hanoi and in an unprecedented move, the entire 170km stretch of road will be completely closed from 6am to 2pm today. An AFP reporter at the scene saw armed guards stationed at Dong Dang station yesterday morning, while workers tended to the rail tracks. “(The station) is closed, no public access. We don’t know when it’s closed until but around tomorrow,” a guard said, requesting anonymity. Kim’s route through China remained a tightly guarded secret. Ifeng, the online Chinese-language news website of Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, posted a video on its Twitter-like Weibo account showing what it described as Kim’s special train passing through Wuhan in the central province of Hubei at 7:15am local time yesterday. Vietnam said on Saturday that Kim would make an official visit to the country “in the coming days”, but did not say whether that would be before or after the Trump-Kim summit on February 27-28. Two sources said yesterday that Kim would stay at a modern hotel in downtown Hanoi, about 1km (mile) from the colonial-era Government Guesthouse where the summit could take place. The Melia Hotel boasts of its “elegant interiors with gorgeous views of the city” and is connected to Hanoi’s only Rolls-Royce dealership catering to the city’s growing class of super-rich. A staff member said this week the hotel was fully booked until early March, but would not be drawn on any VIP guests. The White House press centre will be set up at the same hotel, and North Korean security personnel were seen entering the building yesterday. During his trip Kim is also expected to visit industrial zones in Vietnam’s provinces of Quang Ninh and Bac Ninh, which is home to a Samsung factory. Trump and Kim’s first meeting ended with a vaguely worded statement to work towards the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula, and both sides are under pressure to walk away from this week’s summit with concrete deliverables.