Inflation revised at 7pc from earlier 9pc Staff Correspondent The government has decided to stick to the initial projection of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal, despite negative forecast by a lending agency. The decision for sticking to the initial projection, set by the immediate-past interim ... Read more
News
Border market and banking transactions to be discussed
BANGLADESH-MYANMAR TRADE Border market and banking transactions to be discussed Khawaza Main Uddin Dhaka is sending a technical team to Yongon next week to work out the modalities of banking transactions and of making the planned ‘border market’ operational to increase trade between Bangladesh and Myanmar, a pariah state with huge business potential. According to ... Read more
Land commission to resolve CHT problems soon
Staff Reporter The government will form a land commission to resolve land problem issues for all aboriginal communities in Chittagong Hill-Tract districts as the ownership of land was not established on the basis of birthright. Food and Disaster Management Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said this to a delegation at Secretariat. The seven-member delegation was led ... Read more
No concrete plan to tackle power, gas crises
UNB, Dhaka There is no concrete action plan in sight to tackle the looming power and gas crises even though the country has started seeing load-shedding well before the summer. Power and Energy Ministry officials said the country is set to face a severe energy crisis as the policymakers of the new government are now ... Read more
DUJA demands removal of fine arts teacher
DU Correspondent Dhaka University Journalists’ Association (DUJA) demanded immediate removal of DU Fine Art teacher Shishir Bhattacharya for allegedly provoking students to beat up it’s five reporters over ragging a female admission seeker Sunday. The association also demanded expulsion of the attacking students, treatment for the injured reporters and return of the snatched cameras, mobile ... Read more
Demand for sci-fi books on rise
Rakib Ahammed Three boys of class X — Russell, Mithun and Jewel — were moving from one stall to another to find some newly arrived science fictions at the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. The boys have been saving money for last couples of months. “We have bought three science fictions by Muhammad Jafar Iqbal and ... Read more
India goes for big defence budget
Mumbai attacks prompted govt to a 34pc hike Our Correspondent, New Delhi India today announced a 34 percent hike in its defence budget keeping in view the security scenario in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks last year. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who presented the interim budget in parliament, said the allocation has been increased ... Read more
Special economic zone in Sylhet can attract more FDI from expatriates
BSS, Dhaka A special economic zone on 1000 acres of land in Sylhet district could attract more FDI from expatriate Bangladeshis to help set up industrial projects there. Talking to BSS on Sunday, Sylhet Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Junnun Mahmud Khan said that the business leaders of the district have planned to take ... Read more
SMEs need crisis mitigation fund
Staff Correspondent The country’s small and medium enterprises in a pre-budget discussion on Sunday suggested setting up an economic crisis mitigation fund to help them grow. The growth of the country’s SMEs has slowed down in the last few years, an expert of the Central for Policy Dialogue told the discussion at the National Board ... Read more
Huawei, Intel develop new WiMAX test lab : Global leaders join forces to drive interoperability and WiMAX-ready devices
Huawei Technologies (Huawei), a leader in providing nextgeneration telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, together with Intel Corporation, on Wednesday (February 11) announced the launch of a new WiMAX Interoperability Testing (IOT) laboratory in Beijing. Jointly designed and built by Huawei and Intel, the completion of the testing lab represents another milestone in ... Read more
Rupayan set to offer 800 low-cost flats in N’ganj
Kawsar Khan Rupayan Housing Estate Ltd has constructed around 800 small and medium-sized apartments at a satellite township in Narayanganj that the company officials said were built targeting the middle-class families as clients. The apartments are housed in 28 buildings over a 19-bigha land in Bhuigar area of the district, a nine-kilometre ride from the ... Read more
BTI constructing major building project in city
NATION BUSINESS REPORT BTI (Building Technology and Ideas) on Saturday said it is constructing country’s one of the largest building projects in the city, which will accommodate at least 117 houses and shopping complex with modern architectural design. BTI is implementing the project styled Premier Plaza on 400,000 square feet land area at Rokeya Sarani, ... Read more
Crisis leaves Dubai migrant workers out in the cold
AFP, Dubai Low-paid Asian workers who toil long days to build the skyscrapers of Dubai have become the latest victims of the global financial crisis as companies run short of business and money. For many years, the Gulf emirate was a magnet for South Asian workers who fed the booming economy with cheap manpower-from cleaners ... Read more
Verdict in Kazi Aref murder case not executed in 10 yrs
Our Correspondent, Kushtia Verdict in Jatyia Samajtantrik Dal (JSD) president and freedom fighter Kazi Aref Ahmed murder case could not be executed 10 years into the killing as the appeal hearing of the case remains pending with the Appellate Division. Kazi Aref along with four leaders of JSD Kushtia district unit was killed by an ... Read more
CHT peace treaty still cries out for implementation
MN LARMA MEMORIAL VOLUME LAUNCHED CHT peace treaty still cries out for implementation Staff Correspondent Jyotirindra Bodhipiray Larma, president of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti who signed the Chittagong Hill Tracts Treaty in 1997 on the party’s behalf, on Sunday said that even 11 years after signing the deal the country’s ruling class has ... Read more
Bamboo-based cottage industry suffers setback in Kurigram
Our Correspondent, Kurigram The traditional bamboo-based cottage industries are facing setback in Kurigram. A large number of people were engaged in different bamboo-based industries in nine upazilas of the district, including the Sadar upazila, which make different household articles. But these industries are various problems putting the poor people into difficult situation. Usually the rural ... Read more
Ershad may nominate Rawshan in bye-election
Rangpur Correspondent Jatiya Party President H. M. Ershad might nominate his wife Roushan Ershad in the by-election in one of his two vacated constituencies to take her to Parliament, sources said, though a number of Jatiya Party leaders have begun lobbying with the high ups of the party for getting nomination in the by-election at ... Read more
15 NGOs demand retention of Local Govt Commission
Staff Correspondent A number of non-governmental organisations at a press conference on Sunday demanded continuation of the Local Government Commission for strengthening local bodies and decentralising the administration. They urged the AL-led government to take necessary steps for approval of the Local Government Commission Ordinance 2008, promulgated by the interim administration of Fakhruddin Ahmed. The ... Read more
Divisional soil testing lab suffers for man power crisis
Our Correspondent, Barisal Eleven out of 14 posts in Barisal divisional soil testing laboratory have been remaining vacant for a long time and it has become almost inactive for working with only three persons. Md. Iftikharuddin, Scientific Officer-in-charge of the laboratory, said that higher authority regularly has been kept in touch with hampering of works ... Read more
Call for govt to make human rights pledges in JS
Staff Correspondent The Human Rights Forum on Universal Periodic Review, a coalition of 17 rights organisations, on Sunday called on the government to make specific pledges to ensure human rights through discussions in the parliament. At a briefing at the Dhaka Reporters’ Unity, they also alleged the foreign minister, Dipu Moni, failed to describe the ... Read more