Bangladesh shipping minister dies of heart attack

Bangladesh shipping minister Akbar Hossain has died after suffering a heart attack, an official said on Monday. Hossain, 65, went to hospital in the capital Dhaka late last night complaining of chest pain. “Shipping minister Akbar Hossain, a veteran freedom fighter, died after a massive cardiac arrest in Shikder medical college in Dhaka late Sunday”, said shipping ministry spokesman Shafiqul Islam. Hossain, a retired lieutenant colonel, received one of country’s highest wartime gallantry awards for his role in Bangladesh’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.