M Moneeruzzaman The Anti-Corruption Commission on Thursday claimed that it had spent Tk 7,74,41,566 to pay retainers to 51 lawyers engaged to deal with more than 500 graft cases filed by it in the last two years. Some newspapers have alleged that it paid the lawyers more than Tk 14 crore to punish 156 corruption ... Read more
Dhaka Mirror
RMG workers passing inhuman life
Work in miserable environment Staff Correspondent Around 20 lakhs workers work in the city’s at least three thousand garment factories in harmful environment about 12 hours per day to earn livelihood. As a result they are being affected with various disease including jaundice, gastric, heart disease, reproductive health problem, sexual, ear and eye related diseases. ... Read more
Google Earth reveals secret history of US base in Pakistan
From The Times Jeremy Page The US was secretly flying unmanned drones from the Shamsi airbase in Pakistan’s southwestern province of Baluchistan as early as 2006, according to an image of the base from Google Earth. The image — that is no longer on the site but which was obtained by The News, Pakistan’s English ... Read more
Geography professor claims to have found Osama bin Laden
A Californian geography professor has used techniques for hunting endangered species to pinpoint three houses in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden could be hiding. By Ben Farmer in Kabul Using patterns of how animal species spread, the world’s most wanted terrorist can be tracked down to a town in the tribal region of North West ... Read more
Milk of Sorrow takes top nod
Berlin International Film Festival Milk of Sorrow takes top nod Shaheen Dill-Riaz, Berlin With the applauses of 1600 guests and the announcement of award-winners, the Berlin International Film Festival 2009 (also known as Berlinale) closed the ten-day-long celebration of world cinema on February 14. The international jury of Berlin Film Festival has surprised the audience ... Read more
Jatiya Kabita Utsab begins
Staff Correspondent With the slogan ‘Joy Janatar Joy Kabitar’, Jatiya Kabita Utsab began on the Dhaka University Central Library premises yesterday. Poet Syed Shamsul Haq inaugurated the three-day festival organised by Jatiya Kabita Parishad by hoisting the national flag
DOHS shock MSC to fly level with Biman
Staff Correspondent Old DOHS and Bangladesh Biman continued their unbeaten run in the Dhaka Premier Cricket League with the defending champions Abahani hot on their heels after playing their respective fourth matches on Wednesday. A fine 96 runs by skipper Mehrab Hossain Jr helped DOHS hand Mohammedan Sporting Club a 38-run defeat while Mashrafee bin ... Read more
Wang advances quarters in Dhaka Bank junior tennis
Sports Correspondent Wang of China reached the quarterfinal of the boys’ singles competition of the Dhaka Bank 23rd Bangladesh International Junior Tennis Championship defeating Indian Sumeet Shinde at Ramna National Tennis Complex, Dhaka on Wednesday. Wang scored a 6-2, 6-2 win over his Indian counterpart in the third round competition to make it to the ... Read more
Fertiliser shortage worries Moulvibazar farmers
Boro saplings threatened for scanty supply Our Correspondent, Moulvibazar Boro farmers in Rajnagar upazila under Moulvibazar district are worried as supply of fertiliser is too scanty to meet their requirement. Boro saplings are now turning reddish for want of fertiliser, said farmers of Kawadighi Haor areas in
Separate ministry and separate budget indispensable for dev of railway
A.T.M.Nurun Nabi Separate ministry and separate budget are indispensable for development of Bangladesh Railway (BR) and time has arrived to reintroduce the tradition of presenting separate railway budget in the Parliament and to have a separate ministry named ‘Ministry of Railway’. In India, there is separate ministry and separate railway budget for ages and that ... Read more
Bold steps emphasised to adapt to climate changes
Int’l conference on climate begins Staff Correspondent Bangladesh must take bold steps to adapt to the climate change at the community level to reduce the risks and vulnerability of the common people, said speakers at an international conference on Wednesday. The six-day conference on community based adaptation to climate change aims at educating the Bangladeshi ... Read more
Indian Hilsa importers demand price-cut of Bangladeshi Hilsa
Our Correspondent, Barisal The Indian Hilsa importers of West Bengal have demanded price-cut of Bangladeshi Hilsa or to face stoppage of export from Bangladesh. Ajit Das alias Monu Babu and Md. Yunus Sikdar, President and Secretary of Bangladesh Fish Exporters Association of Barisal, informed this correspondent that their counter part Atul Das, Chairman of Hilsa ... Read more
SCC organogram finally okayed after 4 years
Iqbal Siddiquee, Sylhet At long last, the ministry of LGRD has approved the organogram of Sylhet City Corporation (SCC), four years after submission of the same. However, the approved organogram allows a 650-strong manpower for 31 departments and sections of the SCC while the SCC had proposed for 850 staff to manage matters related to ... Read more
Fake examinees flee scene
Our Correspondent, Kushtia Fifty-six fake Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinees under Jessore board fled examination hall and did not turn up yesterday at Daulatpur (D-pur) centre. Thirty-five of them were giving proxy at the centre on Tuesday as examinees from Kamalpur High School while 21 others as examinees from Kalyanpur High School. Two headmasters, Abdus ... Read more
Bhutan offers Bangladesh surplus power
United News of Bangladesh . Dhaka Bhutan offered Bangladesh opportunity of importing surplus electricity from the Himalayan country to feed its power-hungry national grid in the wake of huge demand. As the Bhutanese ambassador in Dhaka made the offer Wednesday, the commerce minister, Faruk Khan, said Bangladesh would sign trade agreement with Bhutan within May ... Read more
Prospect of broccoli farming bright in northern districts
BSS, Rajshahi Agronomists, researchers and scientists revealed that there has been a bright prospect of broccoli farming commercially everywhere in the northwestern region of the country. They said the prolonged winter climate being experienced in the region is suitable for cultivation of the non-conventional crop that is commonly known as green cauliflower. Its plant and ... Read more
Call centres face hurdles
Md Hasan The nascent call centre industry is facing policy hurdles and a shortage of skilled human resources that are posing a threat to nip the promising industry in the bud. Only seven out of 300 call centre licence holders in the country are inching towards grabbing a share of the $450 billion global
Recession hits garment sector: BGMEA
Staff Correspondent Garment exporters have admitted that the global recession has started affecting their businesses as orders are falling and importers are puting pressure for more price cuts. They, however, said that the government frustrated them more as it so far had not taken any decision on a stimulating support which
SOBs target 231 loss-makers for changing status
Asif Showkat Three state-owned banks, among four have targeted 231 loss-making branches to make them profitable by this year. The SOBs are Sonali, Janata and Agrani banks. Sonali Bank, the largest of the SOBs with 1,181 branches, had the most 439 loss-making branches in 2007 and the reform measures brought the number down to 191, ... Read more
Concord to expand Foy’s Lake resort
Kawsar Khan Concord Entertainment Company Limited (CECL) plans to invest Tk 15 crore over the next one and a half years to expand its resort facilities at Foy’s Lake in Chittagong, in a bid to cash in on a steady inflow of tourists. In the next five years, CECL, a concern of Concord Group, will ... Read more