13th JS session starts; Speaker nominates chair panel

Earlier, Speaker Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury nominated a five-member panel of chairmen to preside over the ongoing parliament session in absence of her and the deputy speaker The five are Mir Shawkat Ali Basdha, Sagupta Yasmin Emily, Mahbub Ali, Fakhrul Imam and Nazrul Islam Chowdhury. They are supposed to perform their duties as per the numerical order. Speaker Shirin Sharmin placed a condolence proposal at the demise of former minister ASM Hannan Shah, former state minister Ziaul Haque Zia, three parliament members Mozahar Hossain, Mahbubur Rab Sadi Chowdhury, Mokhlesur Rahman and parliament secretariat official Mohammad Humayun Kabir. The House also expressed deep shock at the deaths of former Cuban president and revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, litterateur Syed Shamsul Haq, Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej, politician Ajoy Roy, paediatrician MR Khan, freedom fighter doctor Moazzem Hossain and Concert for Bangladesh artist Leon Russell. Besides, the parliament extended the condolence for the dead in recent Kanpur rail accident and the plane crash that claimed 75 people including some Brazilian footballers.