In the dead of night, fire tore through the Bera Market slum at Chaktai in Port City Chittagong, killing 9 people and destroying hundreds of shanty homes, police said. The blaze broke out at about 3.30 a.m. and raced through the mess of bamboo, tin and tarpaulin homes, said local police chief. "At least 470 shanties were destroyed by the fire. So far 9 people have died. They included four members of one family," fire brigade officials revealed.

Speculation that the fire may have been an act of arson has been remarkably casual and unperturbed. Reportedly the slum was listed for eviction as part of plans to revive the Karnaphuli that flows by it, oir rather it had encroached upon. Many residents had submitted to that fate and left, against the owner/landlord's protestations. Acts of sabotage by developers seeking to free up property to construct multi-storey buildings are not unheard of in Bangladesh.

The BGB said measures would be taken as per recommendations of an investigation committee over the shooting incident that left 4 people dead and 16 others injured (BGB insists it killed 3) in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon on February 12. Speaking at a press conference at Thakurgaon Circuit House, BGB Director General Maj Gen Shafeenul Islam said it was an "untoward" incident for both the border force and the villagers.

Both BGB and the villagers would remain alert to make sure that such an "untoward" incident didn't happen again, General Shafeenul told reporters. Asked whether the BGB could have avoided opening fire on innocent people, he said he would not make a comment on the matter as it was under investigation. In this connection, the BGB chief said the paramilitary force carries out its duties to protect 4,427 km border by maintaining congenial relationship with the people.

A total of 102 yaba dealers and smugglers have officially surrendered to police with 350,000 yaba tablets and 30 firearms in front of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal at an event in Teknaf upazila, Cox's Bazar. The unprecedented event, aimed to help the criminals pay their debt to society and return to normal life, was organized at the Teknaf Pilot High School grounds.

The conditions for the surrender of illegal narcotics dealers were to leave the drug trade forever, and to act as confidential informants. They will have to participate in coordinated initiatives performing special role in curbing yaba trade from their own area. Those who surrender, will however have to face legal action for their past crimes, and were sent to jail.They will. Start by submitting wealth statements to ACC, CID (money laundering unit), NBRand some other relevant agencies.

Gas supply remained suspended in one-third of Chittagong city for three consecutive days, intensifying public distress and forcing many to buy food from restaurants.. Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) published an announcement in local daily newspapers on the first day about the supply suspension but they did not mention when they will be able to resume the supply. For some it just went on and on and on.

The gas supply was suspended after an excavator of Chattogram City Corporation mistakenly made a hole in the pipeline while digging in the Maitteli canal beside Akmal Ali Road on February 16 afternoon. Remarkably, the gas panic seemed to have spread to Dhaka as well, as different parts of the capital began experiencing outages or "low -pressure" from the start of the week. The capital's residents though, in most cases, had received prior notice of the interruptions, which Titas Gas informed were necessary to carry out repairs on the pipeline network.