Climate change to hurt food security

Bangladesh must improve financial management to get int’l fund to fight its impacts, say experts
Bangladesh must improve its financial management to obtain a significant share of funds available globally to combat climate change impacts and ensure food security, said an eminent climatologist yesterday.
“The developed countries are ready to release billions of dollars to the affected countries. It is not impossible for Bangladesh to collect $2 to 3 billion, as the country is in the forefront of the fight against

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BASIS honours IT innovators

A platform for software and ICT developers, BASIS, yesterday awarded 31 companies, professionals and students for their innovations and extraordinary performances in their respective fields.
Of the awards, 26 were given on the basis of competition and five were awarded in recognition of the winners’ contribution to software development and the ICT

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Explosive Pollard delivers easy win

Kieron Pollard played a hurricane knock after Imran Nazir’s blitzkrieg as Dhaka Gladiators bounced back strongly with a five-wicket victory against Barisal Burners in the crucial match of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) T20 at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
Smarting from a 13-run defeat in their previous match, a low-scoring encounter against

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Royals’ 2nd win

Sylhet Royals spoiled Chittagong Kings’ chance for an early entry into the semifinals of the BPL T20 with a 35-run win yesterday. It was the second win for the struggling franchise in nine games but more importantly, the loss in the evening game at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium keeps Chittagong on ten points with a game in hand

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Cheats target mobile users

Sending junk SMS, call to mint money
You have dealt with junk e-mails but how do you deal with junk calls and texts?
In recent weeks, mobile phone users have been complaining that they were noticing missed calls on their handsets from certain seemingly overseas numbers on a regular basis. Many said they were getting alluring text messages

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Nation pays homage to language heroes

People in bare feet started streaming along the roads leading to the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka and monuments across the country a minute after midnight past Monday as the nation is paying homage to the martyrs of the language movement of 1952.
As the clock struck one minute past midnight, people in their thousands with flowers in hands

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Living gets tough

Inflation dwarfs wage growth
All’s not well when it comes to cost of living and wages in the country.
According to the data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), due to high inflation the real wages of the working class people suddenly marked a sharp drop last fiscal year.
As the inflation has exceeded 10 percent this year, the common people should expect more

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Aamra Technologies’ IPO approved

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday approved the initial public offering prospectus of Aamra Technologies Ltd (ATL) to raise Tk 51.77 crore from the public.
The approval came at a meeting of the stockmarket regulator with SEC Chairman M Khairul Hossain in the chair. Using the fixed price method, ATL will float 2.15 crore ordinary shares of

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Junaed breaks local duck

A mightier explosion from Junaed Siddiqui eclipsed the one from Phil Mustard as Duronto Rajshahi chased down a formidable total quite comfortably to script a massive 9-wicket victory against Barisal Burners in the BPL T20 at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium yesterday.
The tournament had been crying out for an innings like Junaed’s as the foreigners have been

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Telcos seek more time to pay licence renewal fees

Four mobile operators will not pay outstanding fees for their licence renewal before they receive the certified copies of the High Court’s verdict on the Grameenphone versus BTRC case.
Officials of Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi and Citycell yesterday met Zia Ahmed, chairman of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and expressed

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Stranded cats rescued

Firefighters rescued two cats stuck on two high rises in the city’s New Eskaton and Mohakhali DOHS area in the last two days.
The Eskaton cat was stuck on a ledge between the 8th and 9th floors on the outer surface of the 16-storied building, Queen’s Garden Homes, informed the feline’s owner

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Yunus banks on youths

Says they will change politics
Prof Muhammad Yunus yesterday called for an alternative political stream in the country, saying politicians were failing to fulfil the aspirations of the people.
He said frustration over politics was deepening among the people. “People are not satisfied with the politicians. So, politics has to be pursued in new ways. Alternative political stream has

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Awards go to 10

Bangla Academy yesterday announced its literary award for 2011 in nine fields of literature.
Dr Shamsuzzaman Khan, director general of the academy, named the 10 winners of Bangla Academy Sahitya Award 2011 at its premises.
The awardees are Ashim Shaha and Kamal Chowdhury for poetry, Anisul Hoque for literature

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Talent Unplugged

In conversation with Rizia Parvin
Rizia Parvin is a popular name on the music scene, busy with both playbacks and modern music. She recently talked about her life and hectic schedule.
Tell us about your latest album?
Rizia Parvin: My last album was “Abar Hobe Toh Dekha”, featuring 12 songs by Manna Dey. I admire his music very much, and the album was a tribute to the great singer

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InterContinental agrees to take over Ruposhi Bangla

After a gap of 29 years, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a leading global hotel chain, has agreed to take over the operations and management of Ruposhi Bangla Hotel in Dhaka, officials said yesterday.
At a ceremony today, the UK-based hotel group will sign a deal with Bangladesh Services Ltd (BSL) that owns Ruposhi Bangla, one of the country’s top hotels, said Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister

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Shilpakala Academy Celebrates 38th Anniversary

Two-day programme begins today
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy–the premier cultural organisation of the country– celebrates its 38th founding anniversary this year. To practice and uphold local culture and to manifest and evaluate the artistes, the academy was established under the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Act 1974.
Now the Academy is functioning under the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Ordinance 1989. To

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Unchecked dumping in Gulshan lake

Despite the High Court’s (HC) directives, on January 25, 2011, to demarcate the city’s Gulshan Lake and remove all illegal structures from it within the next two months, rampant encroachment on the lake continues unabated in the area under the Banani-Gulshan Bridge II. Some unscrupulous people, in the dark of the night, had been dumping landfill in the lake under the bridge, thereby choking the

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21 Bangladeshis on death row abroad

Another 31 facing murder trials in 6 Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian countries
At least 21 Bangladeshis are facing death sentence and 31 undergoing trial for murder in six Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian countries — Bangladesh’s major labour markets.
The cases involve 43 murders, including those of 28 Bangladeshis, over trading of visas and involvement in “immoral” activities, according to reports sent by Bangladesh missions

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House rent increase outstrips inflation

Tenants living in Dhaka continued in 2011 to face above inflation increases in house rents, with slum dwellers paying higher than the rich, according to a report published by the Consumers Association of Bangladesh
In 2011, average rents increased by 16 per cent, according to the report, whilst in the same period, inflation rose by less than 11 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics

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