When the country’s major export earning sectors are showing downward trend owing to the impact of the current global financial crisis, plastic sector shows a significant export potential. The sector sets on the 12th row of the country’s export earners’ listing with an earning of Tk 1,200 crore annually, is going to get a boost ... Read more
News
Footwear exports buoyant
Industry leaders say growth may not sustain in recession Footwear exports have marked a 20 percent rise during July-March this fiscal year, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics show. The country fetched $144.69 million from exports of the item in nine months, a sharp rise from $131.52 million in the July-February period. However, the industry leaders ... Read more
TeleTalk to get Tk 2,000cr development fund
The government has finally paid heed to struggling TeleTalk’s cry for development fund. A Tk 2,000 crore will soon be allocated for the state mobile phone operator to reach out its network to additional 55 lakh customers in the next couple of years. “The fund will be spent for adding 55 lakh customers to our ... Read more
Former finance adviser suggests diesel price cut
Former caretaker government adviser Akbar Ali Khan has suggested the government reset diesel price in line with the global market and increase allocation for infrastructure by reducing spending on unproductive sector in the upcoming budget. The government should consider it with priority to reset the price of diesel in the budget, he told a roundtable ... Read more
Noted nuclear scientist Dr M A Wajed Mia passes away
Noted nuclear scientist and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s husband Dr M A Wajed Mia passed away at the city’s Square Hospital yesterday afternoon at the age of 67 following protracted illness, hospital officials said. “He passed away at 4.25 pm on Saturday,” Square Hospital director Dr Sanwar Hossain
Fresh plan to replace job scheme with lesser coverage
Economists term the move unwise After dithering over the 100-day employment generation scheme for about three months, the Awami League-led government is set to replace it with a programme of lesser coverage — a move that economists term a backward journey in view of the necessity of wider coverage of areas and population. Sources in ... Read more
Secret burial of BD swine flu victim at home
The body of the ill-fated Bangladeshi expatriate who died of swine flu in Mexico a few days back arrived in the country four days ago and even laid to eternal rest at his village in Tangail but the government is maintaining mysterious silence about the matter. This was confirmed on condition of anonymity by government ... Read more
Meghnaghat IPP unit trips
Causes drop in generation by 300MW Power crisis turned severe in the country again on Saturday as electricity generation was dropped by 300MW when one unit of the 450MW Meghnaghat independent power plant was shut down after it developed technical faults. The 225MW steam turbine unit of the combined cycle IPP tripped at around 4:00pm ... Read more
Gas emission posing risk for 4 years but no remedial step yet
Emission of natural gas continues through six tube-wells and hundreds of holes at Shyampur and Anandapur villages, Titas River and Loiska Beel near Location No 3 of Brahmanbaria Titas Gas Field, posing serious risk for the locals. After such emission started noticeably about four years ago, a number of holes
Khaleda hugs Hasina in consolation
A heart rendering scene emerged when the leader of the main opposition and the BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia embraced her arch political rival Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to condole latter at the sad demise of her husband nuclear scientist Dr Wazed Mian. The former prime minister arrived at the Sudha Sadan at 8.55pm with a ... Read more
BCB offers amnesty to ICL cricketers
The Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday offered an amnesty to the Indian Cricket League players asking them to terminate their contracts with the unofficial Twenty20 competition by June 15 if they want their bans to be withdrawn. ‘The players have to terminate their contracts by June 15 to apply for withdrawal of their bans,’ Jalal ... Read more
Brisk coaching business in city
Low quality of education frustrates students The number of coaching centres in our country has increased rapidly like mushrooms. Most of the coaching centres try to influence the students claiming to be the best. The HSC exam will be over very soon. At this time these coaching centres try to attract students through various leaflets. ... Read more
Organised gangs active in begging
Several organised gangs are active in Dhaka city to earn money by forcing the physically challenged poor men and women to take to begging on the streets of the capital. The leaders of these gangs take away bulk of the money earned by the beggars defying scorching heat of summer, braving blinding rainfall and ignoring ... Read more
Int’l Mother’s Day today
International Mother’s Day is being celebrated today when children will pay homage and shower love to their mother who brought them to the earth and nourished. Mother gets a special treatment from her children on this day. BNP chairperson and opposition leader Khaleda Zia in a message on the eve of the Mother’s Day has ... Read more
Landslide hinders flow of Sangu
The flow of water in Sangu, one of the prime rivers of Bangladesh has been affected due to heavy landslide in Ruma upzila of Bandarban. The authorities could not remove the debris from the river till this afternoon. A large chunk of a hill comprising stones and earth collapsed in the river Sangu on Wednesday ... Read more
Climate change impact-2: Livelihood of fishers under pressure
Subol Hori, a sexagenarian fisherman of village Koirbottyapara at Borghop, Kutubdia, an island in Cox’s Bazar, the southeastern coastal area of the country, can no more maintain his 20-member family. He is exhausted. All of his four sons, who could not cross the boundary of secondary school, are also fishermen. They use to go for ... Read more
Govt moves to issue e-passports at last
The Awami League government, ending its indecision on how to upgrade passports, has now decided to introduce electronic passport, or e-passport, from the next year in compliance with international requirements for ‘transparent’ identity of Bangladesh citizens. The e-passport project involving an estimated Tk 283 crore will be implemented by the Bangladesh army with logistics support ... Read more
Over 140 Taliban killed in Swat offensive
Army ordered to ‘eliminate’ militants; one million displaced in northwest Pakistan Pakistan said yesterday an air and ground offensive to crush the Taliban in the northwest killed more than 140 militants and seven soldiers in an escalating conflict that has displaced hundreds of thousands. Warplanes bombed rebel hideouts in the Swat valley, an ex-ski resort, ... Read more
Landslide blocks Shankha flow
Sand and stone from an unprecedented landslide created a natural dam on the Shankha river at Bandarban, completely obstructing its flow for over 60 hours since early hours Wednesday. Communication through the river has remained snapped because of the 20-foot long blockade across the 25-foot width of the river at Galenga in Ruma upazila of ... Read more
Security of diplomatic zones in city beefed up
Security measures have been beefed up in the diplomatic enclaves at Gulshan, Banani and Baridhara in the city, following threats issued to the US, UK, Australian and Canadian embassies in Dhaka reportedly by an overseas militant organisation on Thursday. Four separate messages of the threats were faxed to the embassies in Dhaka by a militant ... Read more