Three persons were killed and nine injured in a road accident on the Natore-Bogra Highway at Bakshore in Natore early Wednesday.
   The police said a truck carrying potato and heading for Kushtia fell into a roadside ditch at Bakshore in the Natore district headquarters.
   Potato traders Abdul Matin, 42, of Chowdhury Para at Pirganj in Rangpur, and Abed Hossain, of Barobaria in Lalmonirhat, died on the spot.
   Another unidentified person died on his way to hospital.
   Nine others injured were taken to Natore General Hospital.
   A case was filed with the Natore police.
   The Gazipur correspondent of New Age adds: About 25 passengers were injured in a road accident.
   Local people said 25 persons injured as a Dhaka-bound bus fell into a road side pond
   when it tried to avoid a head-on collision with another bus
   heading towards Tangail on
   the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road under the district headquarters at about 12:30pm.
   On information, members of the Bangladesh Army, Rapid Action Battalion, and the
   police and fire fighters went to the spot and took part in
   the rescue operation for
   about four and a half hours. Communi-cation on the Nabinagar-Kaliakoir road remained suspended during
   the rescue operation.

Speakers at a workshop in Chittagong on Wednesday stressed the need for increasing psychosocial care to the children by showing positive attitude to them in all respects.
   They said this while addressing the two-day divisional-level workshop on ‘psychosocial care and support for the children and young people’.
   Qualitative development of children is not possible without meeting nutritional requirements, providing psychosocial care to them, the speakers told the function.
   They also urged the parents as well as guardians to ensure necessary psychosocial care for their children.
   The director of health department of Chittagong, Dr Mohammad Saidur Rahman, inaugurated the workshop chaired by executive director of BITA, Shishir Dutta.
   Organised jointly by some local NGOs in cooperation with Save the Children, Sweden and Denmark, the workshop is aimed at highlighting the existing facilities of psychosocial care and forging strong network among the psychosocial
   support providers for the children.
   Professor dr Serajul Islam of Chittagong Medical College Hospital, dr Mahamood A Chowdhury Arzu of Chittagong Ma-O- Sisu Hospital and Save the Children, Sweden- Denmark Representative Salena Ahmed also spoke.

The deputy commissioner of Sirajganj, Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, said stern action would be taken against those to be found involved in irregularities in distribution of fertiliser.
   ‘Irregularities in ditribution of fertilizer will be strictly handled’, the deputy commissoner said.
   He made the warning while speaking at a news conference at deputy collectorate office on Wednesday.
   The deputy director of Agriculture Extension Depart-ment, Khandaker Hashibur Rahman, was also present at the conference.
   Meanwhile, the police arrested one person identified as Tamas Barai and seized 48 sacks of urea in his possession at Bhangarhat Bazar of Kotalipara in Gopalganj Wednesday.
   The police said Tamas purchased the urea from a dealer at Kotalipara and was trying to sell in the black market.

The Rapid Action Battalion seized 150 bottles of Phensidyl (codeine syrup) in the Chandana Chawrasta area under Gazipur district headquarters Wednesday morning.
   On information, the law enforcers raided the area and seized the contraband drugs from a papaya basket. None was arrested in this connection. A case was filed.

The Khulna City Corporation chief engineer, Liakat Ali Ashraf, now temporarily suspended, has been threatened by unnamed callers.
   In a general diary filed with the Khulna police Tuesday night, Liakat’s wife Syeda Parvin Akhter said unnamed persons made a phone call at about 11:00pm Monday. The caller threatened to kill her and her husband as Liakat has been working against the mayor, Sheikh Tayebur Rahman, she said.
   The mayor was arrested at his house at Gulshan in Dhaka on November 2 and was sent to jail. He faces six extortion cases, one arms case and a narcotics case.
   Liakat, along with corporation official Hafizur Rahman, was earlier temporarily suspended by the mayor for their alleged involvement in misappropriating Tk 44 lakh of the Municipal Services Project by forging bills and vouchers.

An advocacy meeting titled as 'Counter-Trafficking Interventions in prevention, Protection and Prosecution for Victims of Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh' was held in Gopalganj Tuesday.
   Ministry of Home Affairs and International Organisation for Migration with the assistance of USAID/ Bangladesh jointly organised the meeting which was held at deputy commissioner's conference room. Additional district magistrate Mahmud Hossain presided over the meeting while the deputy commissioner AMA Rahman was present as chief guest.
   Programme officer of National Prosecute Legal of IOM Sayeeda Munira Sultana addressed the inaugural speech. Gopalganj civil surgeon Rezaul Karim, additional deputy commissioner Narayan Chandra Devnath also participated in the meeting.

An alleged extortionist was beaten to death by a mob at village Pirahati under Santhia upazila in Pabna on Wednesday.
   The deceased was Abdul Halim, 22, of village Nurdaha of the upazila.
   Quoting locals, the police said a gang of extortionists went to the house of one Muktar Hossain of the village for taking tolls Tuesday night.
   They also tried to abduct Muktar when he refused to pay toll to them, the police said.
   Hearing his screams, local people came in aid and chased the criminals. They caught one of criminals identified as Halim. They beat up him mercilessly and hand over him to the police, they added.
   He was taken to Santhia Upazila Health Complex where he died at about 4:30pm on Wednesday.
   A case was filed with police.