PM sees no damage to JS complex Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the modified metro rail route would not ruin the main architectural design of the parliament complex. Hasina told the weekly cabinet meeting that the modified route would not cut through the preserved area of the structural masterpiece designed by Louis I Kahn ... Read more
Other Headlines
Myanmar to stop road construction
Bandarban Border Myanmar to stop road construction Assures it will remove barbed wire fencing from zero line Myanmar yesterday assured Bangladesh of postponing the construction of a road close to the zero line of Tambru frontier under Ghumdhum union of Naikkhongchhari upazila in Bandarban. The neighbouring country has also pledged to relocate the barbed wire ... Read more
Light not thrown on graft allegations yet
Muhith admits World Bank halts Padma Bridge funding; bins propaganda against Yunus The World Bank has “temporarily halted” funding the Padma Bridge project and is waiting for the government’s response to its allegations of corruption in the tender process for the project. The government has not yet made it clear what the graft allegations are, ... Read more
Stalkers on the rampage
Assault victim, mother, two brothers over protest A group of stalkers beat up an eighth-grader, her mother and two brothers for protesting harassment of the girl at Kalachandpur of the city’s Gulshan Sunday night. Police detained two persons including one of the alleged stalkers Jamal in this connection. The injured are Bipasha Rani Barman, 14, ... Read more
Bangladesh 5th most vulnerable country
Climate, Hunger Bangladesh 5th most vulnerable country Bangladesh among 28 developing countries ranked fifth most vulnerable to climate change and hunger, said a new report. The Action Aid research report styled ‘On the Brink: Who’s Best Prepared for a Climate Change and Hunger Crisis?” reveals that Bangladesh is more vulnerable than its neighbours India, Pakistan ... Read more
Ctg commuters suffer for strike
Bus services resume on CMP assurance Thousands of commuters in the port city suffered major disruption yesterday as a section of transport owners enforced a strike after some passengers vandalised two city buses over charging extra fares. They however called off the two-day halt yesterday evening. All modes of public transport stayed off the streets ... Read more
Meghna Bridge under threat
Riverbed scouring makes several piers vulnerable; overloaded trucks damage deck, expansion joints; experts suggest immediate repairs The Meghna Bridge is under threat as riverbed scouring has left several piers vulnerable while high traffic volume and overloaded trucks are damaging the deck. Experts who surveyed the bridge called for immediate repairs. The Meghna Bridge is crucial ... Read more
New scrap shipyards near Sundarbans
Govt eyes Baleshwar river bank in Barguna; environmentalists decry Although the Sitakunda ship breaking yards in Chittagong continue to wreak havoc on the environment, the government nonetheless plans to allow new yards on the bank of the Baleshwar river in Patharghata upazila of Barguna district. A team of top officials from different departments, led by ... Read more
Traders defy hilsa ban
Traders driven by greed have been forcing poor fishermen to catch hilsa during its breeding zone in the Bay of Bengal even as the authorities struggle to enforce an 11-day ban. The Oct. 6-16 ban is aimed at protecting the egg-carrying hilsa during the peak spawning season. Defying the ban, traders, most of whom are ... Read more
‘University colleges’ in shambles
Colleges offering bachelor (honours) course and master’s courses, popularly known as university colleges affiliated to the National University, are struggling to provide students with quality education for lack of quality teachers and inadequate infrastructure. Many of such colleges offering bachelor’s course are now in shambles for lack of proper
Courses prolonged as session jam continues
A long session jam continues to affect almost all courses, adding to the owes of students at the National University although the university was set up to save students the hassles of session jam. Students cannot complete any course on time as many of the courses have session jam up to three years. Officials said ... Read more
2,072 NGOs asked to involve govt officials
NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB), the regulatory body for foreign-funded non-government organisations (NGOs), has asked 2,072 NGOs in Bangladesh to involve officials from the regulatory body or local governments, in their activities. Md Nurun Nabi Talukder, director-general of NGOAB told The Independent, on Sunday, “To monitor the activities of foreign-funded NGOs, we have asked them to ... Read more
Pro-migrant law enacted in California
The governor of California, Jerry Brown, has signed into law legislation allowing illegal immigrants to receive state aid to attend college. Supporters of the California Dream Act, as it is called, say it will benefit the state economically. However, critics argue that it condones entry into the US without proper
Eroding for poor maintenance
Martyr’s Memorial at DU Eroding for poor maintenance Lack of maintenance is slowly eroding a memorial in Dhaka University (DU) built in memory of the martyred teachers, students and staffs of the university during the War of Liberation in 1971. The memorial, popularly known Buddhijibi Chattor (intellectual square), is situated in front of the vice-chancellor’s ... Read more
WB takes hard line on graft allegations
Padma Bridge Project WB takes hard line on graft allegations Says no funding if govt doesn’t take action The World Bank will not fund the proposed Padma Bridge project unless the government takes actions against alleged corruption in the project’s tendering process, and brings changes at the top level of the communications ministry, sources in ... Read more
Nobel Peace Prize goes to 3 women rights activists
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded jointly to three women–Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian Leymah Gbowee and Tawakul Karman of Yemen. They were recognised for their “non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building
LPG dealers fleece people as no regulation exists
Importers and dealers of liquefied petroleum gas in the country are charging the consumers extortionately high prices, cashing in on the absence of any market monitoring and control instituted by the government. The retail price of LPG has soared up to 25 per cent over the past eight months, although its global price has been ... Read more
Eleven lakh students worried about future
About 11 lakh students of National University are worried about their future as academic and administrative mismanagement, lack of supervision and corruption of the authorities are pushing their academic career into uncertainties. Students who are mainly from low and middle income groups said that they suffered at every
The cult of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs’s combination of success and secrecy endeared him to people across the world, who mourned his death in public. Even before Steve Jobs passed away, his cult of personality loomed large over Apple. When it was announced that he’d be stepping down, analysts worried that the company would flounder without him. But his death ... Read more
BAF defends revised route
Metro Rail BAF defends revised route Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has said the revised route of proposed metro rail, also known as Mass Rapid Transit (MRT)-6, is a right decision of the government. The revised route would in no way harm public interest, rather it would serve the very purpose of easing traffic congestion of ... Read more