News 24 Hours

British scientists have successfully revived mosses that have been frozen under the Antarctic ice for 1,500 years. The researchers thawed out the ancient vegetation and were surprised to see new shoots rapidly appear. While bacteria of a similar age have been recovered before, the scientists say these are the oldest plants to be brought back to life. The research has been published in the journal Current Biology.

The fate of around 16,000 students at 228 primary schools in the Chittagong Hill Tracts hangs in the balance, as the process of nationalising these institutions remains stuck due to land registration complicacy. These non-government schools in some remotest parts of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban were set up by locals at different times. But they could not run those due to financial constraints. In 2009, international development partners started funding the schools through the UNDP under its Support to Basic Education in CHT project, a component of the UN body's programme in the hill districts. The funding will expire in December. And if the UNDP does not extend it and the government does not nationalise the schools, those will be closed, said teachers and project officials

President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed a decree formally recognising Crimea as an independent state following its vote to secede from Ukraine and join Russia, news agencies quoted a Kremlin statement as saying. Russian news agencies quoted the decree as recognising "the Republic of Crimea, in which the city of Sevastopol enjoys special status, as a sovereign and independent state."

The first turn to the west that diverted the missing Malaysia Airlines plane from its planned flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was carried out through a computer system, according to senior American officials. It was most likely programmed by someone in the plane’s cockpit who was knowledgeable about airplane systems, reports The New York Times quoting the officials. Instead of manually operating the plane’s controls, whoever altered Flight 370’s path typed seven or eight keystrokes into a computer on a knee-high pedestal between the captain and the first officer.

A third accused in a case filed for attacking the motorcade of ruling Awami League lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor in December last year has been learnt to have been killed. The body of Mohidul Islam, 26, son of Munshi Anwar Hossain in Sadar upazila of Nilphamari, was found lying beside a road in Mokamtola of Bogra on February 1.

The High Court today dropped the bail petitions from cause list of three accused in journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi murder case. The court also refused to hear the latest status of the case from the investigation officer.Assistant Superintendent of Rapid Action Battalion Jafarullah, also the IO of the case, appeared before the bench of Justice M Shawkat Hosssain and Justice Mustafa Zaman Islam with progress report this morning in compliance of an HC order.

At present, a school run by the Dhaka City Corporation is on the land of the ‘Shahid Bazlur Rahman Hall’ located in old Dhaka’s Bangshal. The land was occupied following a clash with locals in 1985. Shariful Islam, convener of a body demanding return of the dormitories, made the announcement on Wednesday after a protest rally at the university’s Shahid Minar intersection. Around 11.30am, several hundred students staged a sit-in for the third day by blocking the main entrance of Bangladesh Bank’s Sadarghat branch.

Former State Minister for Education ANM Ehsanul Haq Milon has been indicted in a hijacking and extortion case. The BNP leader was present when Chandpur’s Additional District and Session Judge Mahbubur Rahman gave the order on Wednesday. He and 18 others, accused in the case, have pleaded not guilty to the charges by Alamgir Hossain, who was president of Jubo League at Kachua Upazila’s Srirampur Union in 2010. They allegedly snatched Alamgir’s phone and motorcycle after beating him up on Jan 5 of 2007 during the caretaker regime.

Apolice constable shot dead one of his colleagues at one stage of brawl in Baghaichhari upazila of Rangamati this morning. The incident took place at a police camp in Baghaihat around 9:45am, reports our Rangamati correspondent. According to Azizul Haque, officer-in-charge of Sajek Police Station, constable M Anwar, 24, and constable Muktadir locked in an altercation over a personal matter at the camp this morning.   At one state, Muktadir fired several shots at Anwar from his rifle, the OC said, adding: "One bullet hit his abdomen."