Portal:Current events/Bangladesh

General elections are scheduled to be held in Bangladesh by late 2008. They were originally scheduled for 21 January 2007, but postponed by two days due to demands by the opposition made in December 2006.^[1] They were put back by one day to 22 January,^[2] and subsequently postponed for an extended period due to opposition protests and boycott threats.

On April 5, the county's chief election official declared that the elections would need to be pushed back at least eighteen months.^[3] Subsequently on April 12 Fakhruddin Ahmed, the Chief Advisor, announced in a televised speech to the nation that the next parliamentary elections would be held before the expiry of the year 2008.^[4] On July 15, 2007 the Election Commission of Bangladesh published a roadmap for the election, promising a compilation of voter lists by October 2008 and an official election call before the end of that year.^[5]

After the election, the parliament will have to elect the next President of Bangladesh; this should have taken place by 5 September 2007, when Iajuddin Ahmed's term expired, but was postponed due to the lack of an elected parliament.^[6]

On September 9, 2007 Fakhruddin Ahmed addressed the nation and recalled indoor politics with strict conditions to facilitate preparation for the election and reaffirmed his commitment to hold the election on time or earlier.^[7]

In early October, the Chief Electoral Commissioner stated elections could be held by October 2008, if the electoral roll could be compiled by July 2008.^[8] (more)

Highly pathogenic H5N1
	→  Birds killed by H5N1.
	→  Humans killed by H5N1.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species.^[9] A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1", is the causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly known as "avian influenza" or "bird flu". It is endemic in many bird populations, especially in Southeast Asia. One strain of HPAI A(H5N1) is spreading globally after first appearing in Asia. It is epizootic (an epidemic in nonhumans) and panzootic (affecting animals of many species, especially over a wide area), killing tens of millions of birds and spurring the culling of hundreds of millions of others to stem its spread. Most references to "bird flu" and H5N1 in the popular media refer to this strain.^[10] (more)

Pohela Baishakh celebration in Dhaka

Poila Boishakh (Bengali: পহেলা বৈশাখ Pôhela Boishakh or পয়লা বৈশাখ Pôela Boishakh) is the first day of the Bangla Calendar. Poila Boishakh is celebrated in a festive manner in both Bangladesh and West Bengal, as well as by Bengali people in Tripura. Hence, Poila Boishakh connects all ethnic Bengalis irrespective of religious and regional differences. In Bangladesh, Poila Boishakh is a national holiday and in West Bengal it is a public holiday. It falls on April 14 or April 15 of the Gregorian calendar depending on the use of the new amended or the old Bangla calendar respectively. In Bangladesh, it is celebrated on April 14 according to the official amended calendar designed by the Bangla Academy.

Poila Boishakh is also known as Nôbobôrsho (নববর্ষ), or Bengali New Year, as it is the first day of the first month of Boishakh in the Bengali calendar. This day is a very festive time for Bengalis. (more)