Headlines

US president accepts her invitation to visit Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina met US President Barack Obama and exchanged views on the adverse impacts of climate change on developing countries in a major event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. This was the first encounter of the new Bangladesh premier with the ... Read more

US President Barack Obama Wednesday urged world leaders to move in a new direction saying they “must embrace a new era of engagement” in his first speech to the annual UN General Assembly. “It is my deeply held belief that in the year 2009 more than at any point in human history, the interests of ... Read more

The holy Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the greatest religious festivals of the Muslims, was celebrated in the city and elsewhere in the country on Monday amid enthusiasm and with due solemnity, seeking divine blessings for the continued peace, progress and prosperity of the country as well as the Muslim Ummah. In most places across the country, ... Read more

Frequent earthquakes have caused grave concern among the people, especially those living in Dhaka as they are believed to signal the possibility of a big earthquake. Experts told The Independent yesterday that big quakes follow the cyclic order. No big quake has rocked this region for the last 70 years. On September 21, on the ... Read more

Contraceptives are feared to be in short supply as the government’s current stocks of some major drugs and devices to prevent pregnancy are enough for meeting only three to four months’ requirements. Having 12 months’ stock in hand is considered safe as procurements of contraceptives take 18 to 24 months from global sources through a ... Read more

Rain dampens Eid holiday celebrations Dhaka city dwellers had to endure ankle to knee-deep stagnant water in many areas yesterday as torrential downpour flooded many streets since Monday. Rain also affected Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations and many had to offer their Eid prayers in the rain. The day after Eid was also wet. The spell may continue ... Read more

The overall swine flu situation in Dhaka city improved during the Eid vacation but the number of patients with dengue fever increased, said the Institute of Epidemiology, Diseases Control and Research on Wednesday. ‘Generally, we can say the overall swine flu situation is better in the city. We can confirm the real picture after analysing ... Read more

Hasina says on gas exploration The government will not do anything that goes against the interest of the country and the people regarding gas production and exploration, said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “Have faith in me, I will not do anything going against the people,” she told newsmen after exchanging Eid greetings with people of ... Read more

The national committee to protect oil, gas, mineral resources, power and ports will go out on demonstrations with black flags in front of the Petrobangla office in Dhaka today, demanding that the government plan for leasing out two offshore gas blocks to international oil companies should be scrapped. The leaders and activists of the group ... Read more

Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzaq yesterday said the government would train volunteers on rescue and disaster management and earthquake operation in the major cities of the country. “We will train 62,000 volunteers to tackle earthquake havoc in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet. Work on identifying the buildings at risk in

The holy Eid-ul Fitr, the greatest religious festival of the Muslims will be celebrated across the country with due solemnity and religious fervour tomorrow (Monday) if the shawal moon is sighted today (Sunday). However, if the moon is not sighted today, Eid-ul- Fitr will be celebrated on Tuesday. Meanwhile, people from all walks of life ... Read more

DMP lists 344 buildings with no parking space or misusing space Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) will take action against 198 buildings located on busy city roads, the authorities of which occupy the roads for car parking while using their own parking spaces for other purposes. Dhaka Metropolitan Police identified the buildings through a recent survey ... Read more

As one of the biggest festivals of the Muslims-Eid-ul-Fitr-is knocking at the door, the homebound passengers were leaving the capital ignoring hassles and sufferings for celebrating the occasion with their near and dear ones Bus, train and ferry terminals witnessed heavy crowd yesterday as homebound people were desperate to go to their respective destinations. The ... Read more

Tuesday, if moon not sighted today Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims, will be celebrated across the country tomorrow if the moon of the holy month Shawal is sighted today. If the moon is not sighted today, the Eid will move to the next day [Tuesday] ending the month-long fasting of Ramadan. Muslims ... Read more

President Zillur Rahman, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Leader of the Opposition Khaleda Zia felicitated the people of the country and the Muslim Ummah on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr, coming as a happy occasion at the end of daytime fasting and abstinence for a month. They have issued separate messages on this occasion. In his ... Read more

Garment factory workers lay siege to BGMEA headquarters for salaries and festival allowances Owners of a garment factory at Savar went into hiding Saturday after giving its workers false hope that their dues would be cleared before Eid. Before going into hiding, the owners of Season Sweater also made a pledge to the Bangladesh Garment ... Read more

Patients are set to suffer during Eid holidays as most of the doctors, nurses and persons linked to medicare and emergency services will go on vacation to celebrate the festival. Health services will be disrupted as understaffed public and private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centres will keep their outpatient services

WFP says on Bangladesh Millions of impoverished Bangladeshis are barely sustaining a hand-to-mouth existence that would be wrenched from their grasp by any fresh “economic shock,” according to the UN food aid agency. World Food Programme (WFP) country head John Aylieff said two million children aged under five in Bangladesh are suffering from acute malnutrition, ... Read more

With Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the two great Muslim festivals, set for tomorrow or the day after, and Durga Puja, the major Hindu festival, only days away, the last-minute shopping spree seemed to have reached its zenith in the city markets yesterday. Braving the scorching late-Sharat Bhadra sun after drizzle over the last few days whipped ... Read more

Jhau Plundering 4 forest staff suspended Four forest staff have been suspended for negligence in discharging duties and aiding the plunderers of some 30,000 Jhau (tamarisk) trees on Teknaf beach in Cox’s Bazar early this month. They are Teknaf Forest Range Officer Golam Mostafa, Beat Officer Manash Kumar Chakma, forest guard Hanif Majumdar and the ... Read more