Headlines

Swine flu can infect cells deeper in the lungs than seasonal flu, thus helping to boost the severity of the illness, a study released on Thursday said. The paper provides the first laboratory corroboration of reports from front-line doctors that some patients with A(H1N1) virus suffer worse symptoms compared to those with run-of-the-mill seasonal flu. ... Read more

Maritime Boundary Dhaka protests at UN against Yangon claim Similar protest against Indian claim soon Bangladesh has sent a ‘diplomatic protest note’ to the United Nations against the claims of Myanmar over the extended ‘continental shelf’ in the Bay of Bengal while it will register such protest against the sea boundary claims of India soon. ... Read more

Finally, the government kick-started the process of installing eight rental power plants having an aggregate generation capacity of 530 megawatts as the state-owned Power Development Board (PDB) on Thursday invited tender for the schemes conceived in a crash course to mitigate a nagging electricity crunch. Of the 8 plants, 4 will be high-speed diesel (HSD)-based ... Read more

The government has planned to recruit teachers at non-government educational institutions by repealing the existing qualifying test for NTRCA certificate, made mandatory for candidates for teaching positions since March 2005. The BNP government in early 2005 made it mandatory for people to pass a qualifying test to become candidates for teaching positions in non-government secondary ... Read more

Home minister tells JS Home Minister Advocate Sahara Khatun told the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday that some 2,279 people were killed across the country over the last eight months. Dhaka metropolitan area alone had 201 murders during the said period. Responding to star-marked question of Zafrul Islam Chowdhury during the question-answer session, she said 873 cases ... Read more

A ruling party lawmaker Thursday moved two private members’ bills, including one seeking protection against torture, cruelty and custodial deaths, in parliament to help ensure rule of law in line within constitutional framework. Saber Hossain Chowdhury piloted the bills styled Oppression and Custodial deaths (Prevention) Bill 2009 and Eviction of Slum Dwellers from

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday said Bangladesh would remain isolated from rest of the world without being linked with the proposed Asian Highway. Replying to both main and supplementary questions raised by the lawmakers in the House during the Prime Minister’s question-answer session, she made it clear that her government doesn’t believe the country’s sovereignty ... Read more

Environment ministry blames industrialists, seeks help from the top to end river pollution After over four years’ futile negotiations with factory owners on preparing an action plan on setting up effluent treatment plant (ETP), the environment ministry is now seeking intervention from the highest level of the government. State minister for forest and environment in ... Read more

The government is yet to make any significant progress in retrieving the money, which was smuggled out of the country by a section of people including some politicians. It is widely believed that the corrupt goons have siphoned off a huge amount of money and kept it illegally in different countries, including Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland, ... Read more

It is none but the traffic police who violate the automated traffic signal themselves in the city, which encourages drivers and commuters to disobey the rules. The encouragement further comes from the total inaction of traffic police in stopping and penalising violators, especially public motor vehicles that stop to drop and pick passengers at traffic ... Read more

The government plans to construct subway in the city to ease the acute traffic congestion and reduce transportation costs. The subway project proposal is likely to be placed at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs today for approval, sources in the Ministry of Communications said. This will be the second project under ... Read more

8 Rental Plants PDB tender goes online The Power Development Board debuts in floating its tender notice online today for eight rental power projects totalling 530MW capacity on its website www.bpdb.gov.bd. Power Secretary Mohammad Abul Kalam Azad inaugurated the launching of the online tender yesterday evening at the PDB office. PDB Chairman ASM Alamgir Kabir ... Read more

Extortion in the transport as well business sectors continues ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr, despite various measures taken by the law enforcing agencies, according the transport owners and businessmen of different city markets. The transport owners and employees alleged that they have to pay tolls regularly to extortionists at different spots on the highway. Traffic police ... Read more

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is to appoint a two-member team within a week to investigate the allegations of corruption brought by a JS body against former shipping adviser Maj Gen (retd) MA Matin and eight others in the Tk 9-crore container handling deal for Chittagong Port. “We received the findings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee ... Read more

As many as 30,000 children, who were engaged in various hazardous works, have been imparted training on non-formal education (NFE) and skill development training (SDT) after withdrawing them from their workplaces in the country. They were also given six-month skill development training under a five-year project titled ‘Elimination of Child Labour in Hazardous Works Phase-II’ ... Read more

Pak troops kill 24 extremists A US missile strike from a drone aircraft Tuesday killed at least 10 militants in a tribal area of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan while 24 other militants were killed in fighting in Khyber district, Pakistani officials said. “The strike targeted a Taliban compound in Dargamandi village of North Waziristan, killing 10 ... Read more

ORPHANAGE TRUST FUND CASE Court accepts charge against Khaleda A Dhaka court on Monday accepted the charge sheet against the Bangladesh Nationalist Party chairperson, Khaleda Zia, her eldest son Tarique Rahman and four others in the Zia Orphanage Trust fund embezzlement case. Dhaka metropolitan senior special judge ANM Bashir Ullah accepted the charge sheet rejecting ... Read more

90 pc Swine flu patients don’t need drug: 1242 receive treatment in DMCH People panicked by swine flu continue to throng different hospitals of the capital seeking remedy. About 1,242 patients were given treatment in Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) till Monday morning. Though the government has taken initiatives to make the anti-viral drug ‘Oseltamivir’ ... Read more

As the ongoing operation clean street has failed to produce any tangible result, not to speak of disciplining the chaotic traffic, nation’s capital Dhaka is increasingly feeling the pain of a traffic system gone awry. Traffic police, embedded Ansars and ‘community police’ are routinely out on the streets to ‘control traffic’, but what is noticeably ... Read more

Saudi govt yet to clarify decision on barring elders, children, people with chronic illness from hajj Confusion mounts among the hajj pilgrims and agencies, as Saudi Arabia has not yet clarified Arab health ministers’ decision to restrict the elders and children to travel to the holy land in fear of a spread of H1N1 virus. ... Read more