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Finance Minister Abul Mal Abdul Muhith said yesterday that the government would assist in the development of the information technology (IT) sector by providing incentives and necessary policy support. “The government will provide policy support and incentives for infrastructure development to help flourish the IT sector,” he said as the

Hunted regularly; meat sold openly Critically endangered worldwide, marine turtles are regularly hunted and their meat sold openly in village markets around the country’s Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. A local market in Bajua adjacent to Dangmari Forest Beat Office is one such place where meat of a marine turtle species — ... Read more

The death of Faruk Hossain at Rajshahi University shattered the hopes of a poor family who was dreaming to come out from the vicious poverty cycle with the achievement of their only son. Faruk, born in 1984 in Khord-Shaguna village under Joypurhat Sadar upazila, was a final year student of RU’s

Arsenic remains a serious threat to Kalia Upazila people in Narail District, posing a big challenge to the government in achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for ensuring “safe water for all” by 2013. More than one lakh people of the Kalia Upazila, home to 41610 families, have been drinking arsenic contaminated water for a

The government on Monday decided to expand its social safety net programme to urban areas in the form of rice sales to the ultra poor in Dhaka and other cities at a ‘fair price’. The decision came at a meeting of the food planning and monitoring committee at the secretariat with food and disaster management ... Read more

Countrywide junior terminal examination for class-VIII students will be held simultaneously across the country with same question paper from this year. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid came up with the discloser at a press briefing at his office yesterday. The decision came after holding the maiden primary terminal examination at the end of last academic

The government will prepare a list of non-government educational institutions on the basis of index system for MPO (monthly payment order) allocation. Education minister Nurul Islam Nahid said this at a press briefing held in the ministry yesterday. New MPO allocation would be under index system, he said adding, “A total of 100 points will ... Read more

A team of surgeons has successfully separated Siamese twin girls in a two and a half hour operation yesterday at the  Dhaka Shishu Hospital. After separation, Moni and Mukta, aged six months, have been taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit with  the next two-days considered crucial for their survival. Doctors,however, said signs were good ... Read more

A joint venture agreement between Indian hydro power producers NHPC Ltd and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN) and the government of Manipur to develop the Rs 8,138-crore Tipaimukh power project in the north-eastern state is likely to be signed by the end of the current financial year ending in March, The Business Standard reported

Extortion and threat to high profile people using cell phones is going unabated as law enforcers could hardly trace the criminals who manage their SIM cards without following proper registration procedure. Sources observe that the menace has reached an intolerable level as even Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her nephew lawmaker Fazle Noor Taposh could

The government has taken initiative to send 18,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year by ship so people can perform the holy Hajj at lower expenses than airfares. Meanwhile, a private shipping corporation has made some proposals to the government for carrying the pilgrim passengers at 40 percent less than the cost of travel by ... Read more

Vehicles already 7 times the road capacity The number of vehicles is around seven times the capacity of the roads in the capital. In last six years, the volume of motorised and non-motorised vehicles has almost doubled, while the city has seen only two new thoroughfares–Doyaganj-Jurain and Bijoy Sarani-Agargaon–built in last two decades, said traffic

Lafarge cement plant in Chhatak to be affected The Indian Supreme Court yesterday restrained the French cement giant Lafarge from carrying out mining of limestone in Meghalaya for its cement plant in Bangladesh saying mining cannot be allowed in the eco-fragile area, reports The Daily Star. The 255-million dollar Lafarge Surma Cement project at Chhatak, ... Read more

Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim, the senior-most Judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, was yesterday appointed the Chief Justice of the country. As per Article 95(1) of the Constitution, President Md Zillur Rahman gave the appointment. Justice Mohammad Fazlul Karim, the 18th Chief Justice of the country, will replace the incumbent Chief Justice ... Read more

The 11th South Asian Games got underway with a dazzling opening ceremony at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday with thousand of athletes and performers taking part in the three-and-a-half hour programme, reports The Daily Star. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina declared the 12-day regional sports extravaganza open. Bangladesh had hosted the event in 1985 and

Bangladesh Railway will introduce SMS ticketing service through mobile phone next month to ease sufferings of commuters. “Initially, the service will be launched on the Dhaka-Chittagong route. If successful, it will be expanded to the countrywide rail network. All necessary technical aspects have been checked and duly completed. We hope to launch the service at ... Read more

Six players and a Nepalese official were injured yesterday when a lift crashed at a hotel in the city, three-and-a-half hours before the launch of the South Asian Games, reports The New Nation. The injured players are Radha Devi Rai, Debu Thapa, Kulu Man Tamang, Ramesh Magar, Gyan Bahadur Shrestha and Gopal Shrestha. The injured ... Read more

The 4th convocation of the Jahangirnagar University (JU) will be held on the university campus today. Chancellor of the university president Md Zillur Rahman will preside over the function and hand over certificates and medals to the students, reports The Independent Chief justice Mohammed Tafazzal Islam will address the convocation as a convocation

HC vacates 9-year injunction The High Court in a verdict yesterday cleared the way for exploration of oil and gas from the country’s onshore blocks by vacating its nine-year old injunction on such exploration. The court also discharged a 12-year old writ petition that challenged the government move to sign production-sharing contract (PSC) with foreign ... Read more

Sea Boundary With India Three arbitrators’ hiring discussed India and Bangladesh yesterday discussed the appointment of three arbitrators to a five-member tribunal, which would deal with the issue of maritime boundary dispute between the two countries. The over-an-hour-long meeting held at the South Block here also discussed the disputes and issues relating to Bangladesh’s approaching ... Read more