Out in the chilling cold in the early hours yesterday, a man in front of the capital's Bangladesh Film Development Corporation prepares bhapa pitha, a must-have winter delight, while another man relishes the freshly baked ones. People come to the shop, which remains open till the morning, at all hours in the night to have the delicious rice cake. Photo: Anisur Rahman
Amena Khatun's wish is finally fulfilled. She does have a son now, but the only exception is that the mother is not genetically connected to the boy. The newborn, presumably a day old, was found abandoned early yesterday, inside a sack in a bush in Gopalpur village of Jhenidah's Kaliganj upazila where Amena lives with her husband and two school-going daughters. Officer-in-Charge of Kaliganj Anwar Hossain said as the child needed immediate care and Amena was very willing to adopt, they handed him over to her. A doctor examined the boy and he is in good health. The 35-year-old said she was happy to have a son. She named the boy, Aranya, meaning jungle. The story is reminiscent of the famous saying, "The wild are beautiful at the wilderness and children in their mothers' arms," written by Bangalee writer Sanjib Chandra Chhattopadhyay in late 19th century, in his popular travelogue "Palamou". Photo: Azibor Rahman
Boats of fishermen are seen on the dried Poopo lakebed in the Oruro Department, south of La Paz, Bolivia, on Thursday. Lake Poopo in Bolivia, the Andean nation's formerly second largest after the famed Titicaca, has dried up entirely. With the water now gone, animals have died off in the millions, according to studies. And the local families, having lost much of their sustenance, have been forced to migrate. Photo: Reuters
