Bangladeshis forced to stop fishing near St Martin’s island Nasaka, the border security force of Myanmar, opened fire on a group of Bangladeshi fishermen in Batirdia sea channel under Teknaf upazila near Saint Martin’s Island, Thursday morning, leaving 11 fishermen wounded, according to a delayed report. Bangladeshi fishermen have not been able to go fishing ... Read more
Dhaka Mirror
Govt plans to curb trade union activities
The government is planning to impose strong control over trade union activities at government, semi-government and autonomous bodies. A government plan and policy, in this regard, is expected to be reflected in the coming budget speech of the Finance Minister on June 11, it has been learnt. Sources in the Ministry of Labour and Employment ... Read more
Tk two lakh crore lost in red tape: 20 Padma bridges could have been built with this money: Study of a former CAG says
Successive governments could have recouped up to Tk 200,000 crore had they taken measures on the thousands of audit objections brought against public servants since independence, according to a new research published Thursday. “With this money, Bangladesh could have constructed 20 Padma bridges,” said a former comptroller and auditor general, who carried out the study ... Read more
Commissioners aggrieved by EC Secretariat Law
They demand its amendment The Election Commission (EC) is not going to sit with the political parties soon to discuss further amendments to the amended Representation of People Order, 1972 (RPO, 1972), as demanded by the parties. The law wing of the EC is working on preparation of the agenda of meeting with the political ... Read more
The Daily Star honoured for environment campaign
The Daily Star has received the National Environment Award 2009 in environment education and campaign category, for promotion of environmental awareness. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the award to Mahfuz Anam, editor and publisher of the newspaper, at the launching ceremony of a two-day programme marking World Environment Day yesterday in the capital’s Osmani ... Read more
Police detect 50 members of Indian mafia syndicate
Law enforcers have retrieved a list of 50 members of an Indian mafia syndicate of Dubai-based underworld don Daud Ibrahim by conducting raids at the rented residences of Zahid Sheikh alias Muzahid, at Shekerhat of Mohammadpur in the city on Thursday. A high official of Detective Branch police preferring anonymity told The Independent, “We recovered ... Read more
Pak suicide mosque blast kills 38
A suicide bomb ripped through a mosque packed with worshippers in northwest Pakistan Friday, killing 38 people and wounding dozens more in the deadliest such attack in more than two months. The bomb exploded at the mosque in the remote, mountainous village of Hayagai Sharqai in Upper Dir, which borders the district of Swat, where ... Read more
Chittagong Port city faces environmental hazards
The overall natural environment of the port city Chittagong is under threat due to the pollution, rampant hill and tree cutting and inadequate drainage and sewerage system for discharging clinical, industrial and household waste. As a result, Chittagong is increasingly exposed to high risk manmade and natural disasters. Pollution of environment, indiscriminate hill cutting and ... Read more
Men ‘live longer’ if they marry a younger woman
Men are likely to live longer if they marry a younger woman, new research suggests. A man’s chances of dying early are cut by a fifth if their bride is between 15 and 17 years their junior. The risk of premature death is reduced by 11 per cent if they marry a woman seven to ... Read more
Symonds let Australia down: Ponting
T20 World Cup Symonds let Australia down: Ponting London: Australian captain Ricky Ponting says allrounder Andrew Symonds let himself and the team down with his latest off-field troubles. Symonds was sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup on Thursday for what Cricket Australia described as an alcohol-related breach of team rules and other violations. Ponting ... Read more
Team won’t miss Symonds and neither should cricket fans
You hypocrite. Cast your mind back to the World Cup in South Africa in 2003. The one where Ricky Ponting had begged for your inclusion because he could see the good in you. The one where Shane Warne returned a positive drugs test the morning of the first match against Pakistan. The scandal that left ... Read more
Sony Ericsson unveils ‘greener’ phones
Cellphone maker Sony Ericsson unveiled on Thursday two handset models it said are more eco-friendly, adding that the company will push greener features across its product line in the next two years. The new models, C901 GreenHeart and Naite, will be sold in smaller packages and have user manuals that are electronic. The devices use
Citycell offers roaming facility in Japan
Bangladeshi travellers can now use their regular Citycell handset while roaming in Japan. KDDI Corporation, Citycell’s roaming partner operator in Japan, recently introduced a network to support regular CDMA roamers from around the globe, a news release said. Citycell chief executive officer Michael Seymour announced the service at a ceremony held at its head office ... Read more
$75,000 software export order received
Bangladesh has received software export orders of 75,000 US dollar and potential orders amounting to 12.25 lakh from a three-day software exposition titled ‘Software Development Exposition’ held in Tokyo, Japan. The country, for the first time, participated in the Software Development Exposition from May 13 to 15, said a EPB press release on
Out of Shape and Into Yoga: One Man Discovers the Relief of Exercise After Years on the Couch
As a dedicated couch potato who would eat potatoes on the couch if my wife would let me, I firmly believe exercise can kill you. After decades of being ridiculously sedentary, I still have not only my boyish figure but, on most mornings, a pulse. Lately, however, I have begun to think that, at 55, ... Read more
Piece of Mind: Could I Have a Girlfriend as Hot As the Pussycat Dolls?
Skin-baring outfits, curvaceous physiques and vampish choreography combine to define the Pussycat Dolls. As a 24-year-old unmarried male, it was philosophically, socially and biologically inconceivable to reject a free pass to the group’s concert in Jakarta last Tuesday. I pretty much got what I went for and I’ll be frank — it wasn’t the foxy ... Read more
Poison River Threatens Millions in Bangladesh
It was once the lifeline of the Bangladeshi capital. But the once mighty Buriganga River, which flows by Dhaka, is now one of the most polluted rivers in Bangladesh because of rampant dumping of industrial and human waste. “Much of the Buriganga is now gone, having fallen to insatiable land grabbers and industries dumping untreated ... Read more
Polluted rivers, risky water
Prof Mustafizur Rahman Tarafdar The water of Buriganga, Balu, Sitalakhya and Turag are severely polluted. No biological survival can occur there as oxygen is depleted and might have reached nearly O level! Oxygen level in fresh river water is 9mg/l at 20ºc and 7.6mg/l at 30ºc (Summer). BOD5 (consumption of oxygen for decomposition of microbs) ... Read more
Tigers welcome ICL rebels
It needed only a few phone calls to take India and Ireland out of their minds for some hours. The Indian Cricket League had replaced the two Group A opponents in Bangladesh players’ minds as all the 13 remaining cricketers, who had joined the rebel league for money, have decided to return. The decision of ... Read more
ICL duo seeks BCB amnesty
Banned Indian Cricket League (ICL) duo Mosharraf Hossain and Monjurul Islam have submitted proof of their terminated contracts to Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) acting CEO Nizam Uddin Chowdhury yesterday for availing the amnesty offered by the board. Mosharraf and Monjurul, who played for Dhaka Warriors, turned in copies of e-mails from the organisers of the ... Read more