Report places Bangladesh at 45th place in Commonwealth New Zealand is the best place in the Commonwealth to be born a girl, while Sierra Leone and Nigeria are among the worst, says a report published yesterday in London on the occasion of the Commonwealth Day. Bangladesh has tied with Gambia, Pakistan, Solomon Islands and Tonga ... Read more
Other Headlines
Japan toll to exceed 10,000 in one state
The quake, tsunami-torn country scrambles to avert nuclear meltdown; millions without power and drinking water The death toll in Japan’s earthquake and tsunami will likely exceed 10,000 in one state alone, an official said yesterday, as millions of survivors were left without drinking water, electricity and proper food along the pulverized northeastern coast. “This is ... Read more
Listen to 80 lakh owners
Rehman Sobhan urges govt about Grameen Bank at micro-credit roundtable The government should heed the calls of 80 lakh Grameen Bank shareholders and let a democratic process determine how the organisation will be run, eminent economist Rehman Sobhan said yesterday. “If you respect democracy, the prime ownership rests with the principal shareholders of the organisation. This ... Read more
Tigers’ Dutch test today
With half the equation out of their control, Bangladesh are expected to do their bit against minnows Netherlands in their fifth Group B game of the ICC Cricket World Cup in a day game at the Zohur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium here today. A win against the Netherlands would help the Tigers immensely in their quest for ... Read more
Yunus is a political victim
Say some British MPs, academics Lord Avebury, vice-chair of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group, has said the removal of Grameen founder Prof Muhammad Yunus by the government from his post raises serious concerns about the creeping politicisation of development work and civil society in Bangladesh. In a joint statement in London issued on March 11, ... Read more
FM faces agitating stranded Bangladeshis
Foreign minister Dipu Moni faced agitating Bangladesh nationals stranded at border points between Libya and Egypt for delay in relocating them from politically volatile and strife-torn Libya on Sunday, according to diplomatic sources. They criticized the government for its lukewarm attitude in repatriating people stranded in
Grass, vines saved his life
Bangladeshi worker Liton had to eat grass and shrubs to stay alive in Libya. He returned home yesterday ending his ordeal in the north African nation. Mohammad Liton, 40, was taken straight to Dhaka Medical College Hospital after landing at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport
Heft ransom secures release of Jahan Moni, crew from Somali pirates
A hefty ransom secured the release of Bangladeshi cargo liner M V Jahan Moni from Somali pirates with the negotiations brokered by foreigners, shipping sources said Sunday. On December 5, the armed pirates had captured the ship with its 26 crew including the wife of the chief engineer, from the sea off the Indian port ... Read more
Girl kills herself
A teenage girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in the city’s Manikdi under Cantonment on Saturday night, after being scolded by her father. Police recovered the body of Jannatul Ferdous Nova, 17, an HSC student of BAF Shaheen School and College from her study room at her residence in Manikdi
Celebrations all over
Jubilant cricket lovers brought out victory processions and motorcycle rallies all over the country after Bangladesh cricketers snatched a sensational win against a strong England in the Group B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong on Friday. The capital Dhaka witnessed wild celebrations with thousands ... Read more
Jahan Moni hostages to be freed soon
Claim ship owners The 26 Bangladeshis held hostage aboard the hijacked ship MV Jahan Moni are set to be freed in three to four days. Meherul Karim, general manager of the operating company Brave Royal Ship Management, told this to The Daily Star, adding they had agreed to pay a ransom to Somali
One killed in ‘shootout’
An alleged criminal was killed in a ‘shootout’ between his accomplices and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) in the old part of the capital, early yesterday. The deceased identified as Russel Ahmed alias Bhutto, 35, was son of one Nasiruddin and resided in Proshonno Poddar Lane
Dyeing factory fire kills 8
Eight people died early yesterday when a raging fire swept through five rooms of a roof-top shed of a garment-dyeing factory. Deputy Commissioner Mohibul Haque of Dhaka said the fire intensified after it came in contact with dyeing chemicals stored in the shed of the four-storey Sonargaon Fancy Printing and Dyeing Ltd
Came for job, went home with body of brother
Mohammad Ibrahim came to Dhaka from Mehendiganj of Barisal Wednesday looking for a job but he had to returned home yesterday with the body of his brother. His brother Abdul Aziz, 20, was a worker of Sonargaon Fancy Dyeing and Printing Factory Ltd at Shyampur in the capital. He died in the blaze along with ... Read more
5 months on, no trace of the missing
Since her father went missing after the October 23, 2010 clashes between the villagers and security forces at Roopganj, the life of 9-year old Mrittika Rahman Meghla, daughter of Abdul Alim Masud of Bariachhani village, has changed a lot. With the family almost ruined in the absence of its only bread earner, the little girl ... Read more
More support for Yunus from abroad
The world’s best-known microfinance institutions and over a dozen Bangladeshi scholars living abroad condemned the government move to remove Prof Muhammad Yunus from Grameen Bank. In a statement, Tilman Ehrbeck, chief executive of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and Vijay Mahajan, chair of the CGAP board, said, “We are deeply concerned by ... Read more
Abed, Yunus among world’s top 100
Two renowned Bangladeshis have been included in a list of ‘Top 100 Individuals’ who have committed themselves to improve the lives of girls and women around the world. Founder of Grameen Bank and Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus and Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairperson of Brac, were included in the list prepared by ... Read more
Bodies of four evacuees reach Dhaka
The bodies of four Bangladeshi expatriates, three of whom had died while being evacuated from the strife-torn Libya, arrived at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the capital on late Wednesday and Thursday night, airport officials said. The bodies of three evacuees, who had drowned in the Mediterranean as they jumped off the
No plan yet to evacuate Bangladeshis still in Libya: foreign secy
The government is yet to take a plan for the evacuating Bangladeshis still in Libya where the situation is getting bad to worse by the day with the rebels seeking change fighting fiercely against the supporters of the 42-year old ruling regime. ‘We still have no evacuation plan to bring back all the Bangladesh citizens ... Read more
Grameen Bank on Joy’s letter
Sajeeb Wajed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, has riddled Grameen Bank with allegations of tax evasion, fraud and illegal activities under its founder Muhammad Yunus, prompting the microlender to issue a firm rebuttal. In a statement yesterday, the “Bank for the Poor” disputed Joy’s letter, published in a section