Monday, April 29, 2024

BNP express concern about upazila polls

Staff Correspondent The leaders and workers of BNP and its associate organizations on Monday observed 73rd birth anniversary of late President Ziaur Rahman, founder of the party, in a befitting manner throughout the country. After placing floral wreath and offering prayer at Zia’s grave, Khandaker Delwar Hossain and Jamiruddin Sircar told journalists separately that BNP ... Read more

Ruling party plans two dy speakers in JS: Ashraf

Nazrul Islam The election of the deputy speaker from the opposition, as offered by the ruling Awami League, is unlikely in the first sitting of the ninth parliament, going into its first session on January 25. ‘There might be two posts of deputy speakers in the parliament and making the provision to accommodate one from ... Read more

Wealth Stashed Abroad ACC to get more UK help

Staff Correspondent Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will work with foreign countries to detect and recover the money siphoned off and assets made abroad illegally. “We are determined to detect the illegal money stored abroad and assets made outside the country…We will work with foreign countries and make necessary arrangements both bilaterally and multilaterally to detect and ... Read more

State lawyers asked to resign by today

Senior lawyers term attorney general’s directive ‘contemptuous’ Star Report Attorney General (AG) Mahbubey Alam yesterday asked all attorneys recruited by the immediate past caretaker government to submit their resignation letters to him by Tuesday, sources at the AG office told The Daily Star. The top law officer of the state told the attorneys at a ... Read more

Textbook shortage continues to hamper secondary education

Five to six houses behind the crisis, plan to print more copies shelved Siddiqur Rahman Khan Short supply and higher prices of textbooks continue to hamper secondary education across the country, according to the findings of an official investigation. Against the backdrop of acute supply shortage, the education ministry on January 11 decided to print ... Read more

BTRC to award licences for IP telephony service operators soon

Second draft guideline published BTRC to award licences for IP telephony service operators soon Staff Correspondent The telecom regulatory body will award licences to private operators for providing Internet Pro-tocol (IP) telephony services in the country very soon to help Internet users make domestic and overseas calls at a cheaper cost, officials said. To this ... Read more

Consultant appointed for Padma Bridge

Design by next year Staff Correspondent The government in the first meeting of the cabinet committee on purchase yesterday appointed a consultant for construction of the Padma Bridge in line with the ruling Awami League’s one of the major election pledges. New Zealand-based Maunsell AECOM Ltd has been appointed as consultant for preparing design of ... Read more

Winter keeps us warm

Staff Correspondent An accumulation of clouds, sailing from Eastern ghat in Orissa, has spoilt the winter at its peak making the weather a bit warmer, met office sources said. The presence of clouds and associated moisture-laden air have not only pushed up the mercury but also contributed to recent spell of fog clouding the visibility, ... Read more

10 secretaries transferred

Staff Correspondent The newly elected government yesterday transferred 10 secretaries and five joint secretaries in a major reshuffle in the administration. Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Syed Ataur Rahman has been transferred to the Ministry of Education, according to an official announcement. Privatisation Commission member ABM Abdul Huq Chowdhury has been made secretary of textile and ... Read more

Shaheed Asad Day today

Staff Correspondent Shaheed Asad Day will be observed today, commemorating his martyrdom this day in 1969 during the mass uprising against the Pakistani rulers that led the nation to independence. On this day 40 years ago, Asaduzzaman was killed in police firing in front of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital while leading a protest demonstration. ... Read more

I will be back with a bang in 2009: Sushmita Sen

Agencies New Delhi: Model-turned-actress Sushmita Sen, who has been in and out of films, now plans to return with a bang with three back to back film releases this year. The former Miss Universe admits that the year 2008 has been a bad phase in her life. “Unfortunately, we all go through bag phases. I ... Read more

Govt blanks TCB, puts faith in businesses

Staff Correspondent The Awami League-led government has expressed unwillingness to kick-start the ailing Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, a public sector arm for market intervention, in a marked shift from its pre-polls pledge for a ‘multi-pronged approach to control prices and monitor the market’. Making public the government’s position on the corporation, the commerce minister, Faruk ... Read more

Expert body advises no blanket ordn ratification

Shahiduzzaman The expert committee formed to examine the ordinances made in the past two years on Sunday finalised its report recommending that 30 ordinances should be approved, 53 should be scrapped and 39 others should be left for the parliament to decide. ‘The expert committee has finalised its report, which will be placed in the ... Read more

Recession fears loom over shrimp exports

Sajjadur Rahman The shrimp industry foresees the toughest time this year on a continuous fall both in the price and demand in the troubled developed economies, main consumers of the item, according to industry people. They said buyers in the US and Europe are

BAIRA urges govt to raise migration cost

Raheed Ejaz Manpower recruiting agents Sunday submitted a 28-point proposal to the government that includes increasing the migration cost from Tk 84,000 to Tk 1,40,000 to stop cheating as well as maintaining growth in this sector. A delegation of the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agents met labour and employment and expatriates’ welfare and overseas ... Read more

Withdrawal of duties on solar equipments to help expansion of SHSs

BSS, Dhaka The new government’s decision of withdrawal of all duties on equipments of Solar Household System (SHS) will significantly boost up the expansion of renewable energy in rural parts of the county, experts said. Prof NC Bhowmik, director of Renewable Energy research Centre (RERC) told BSS that the vast areas of rural people mostly ... Read more

Broiler chicken soars 51pc

Sohel Parvez The prices of broiler chicken have jumped over 51 percent because of short supply as fears over probable bird flu attacks slowed farming last month. Low returns over chicken last month also prompted farmers to cut farming, leading retail prices to rise as high as Tk 139 a kilogram. The overall prices of ... Read more

United Airways cuts 30pc fuel surcharge

United Airways, one of the private airlines in Bangladesh, has announced 30 per cent fuel surcharge cut on all routes as world oil prices marked a sharp fall. The cut in fuel surcharge comes into effect on January 20, reports UNB. Considering the passengers’ right to benefit from the decline in world fuel prices, United ... Read more

Dhaka stocks drop for 3rd day

Staff Correspondent Dhaka stocks finished down on Sunday, the third consecutive trading day, in a market that saw continuous price fluctuations amid a downtrend for the last couple of weeks. The general index of Dhaka Stock Exchange lost 18.39 points, or 0.68 per cent, to close at 2677.19, while its blue chips index, DSE20, shed ... Read more