A Bangladeshi reporter was killed in a bomb attack today in an incident that spurred newsmen to call a one-day strike to protest against rising lawlessness in the country's southwest.
Manik Saha, was a senior reporter for Sangbad, a Bengali-language newspaper based in Dhaka, and was known for his vigorous writing on crime and against gangs that stalk people in the region, his colleagues said.
Witnesses said an unidentified assailant threw a bomb at Mr Saha while he was riding in a rickshaw.
Journalists in Khulna staged a street protest and blamed the deteriorating law and order situation for turning the southwestern region into a "valley of death". They called for a day-long general strike on Saturday.
Mr Saha, who also worked for the Bengali service of broadcaster BBC, was the fourth journalist among the hundreds of people, including politicians, killed in the region over the last three years, police and reporters said.
Police have blamed "outlaws" for most of the deaths but have prove unable to stop the killing.