Finance minister AMA Muhith, on Sunday, said the government is planning to export rice, as the country is now being able to meet the domestic demand. “Although the final decision is yet to be taken, we’ll explore the market for exporting rice,” he told reporters, after presiding over an inter-ministerial meeting on food and poultry ... Read more
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Bangladesh’s commitment to TICFA absolute: FS
Bangladesh’s commitment to the Trade and Investment Cooperation Framework Agreement with the United States is ‘absolute’, said foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes on Sunday. Quayes made the remark in response to a question about Dhaka’s stance on TIFCA at a regular press briefing in the foreign affairs ministry’s headquarters
Dhaka presses for fast-track implementation
Bangladesh has requested India for fast-track implementation of the commitments made at the highest political level to conclude the Teesta water deal and ratify the protocol on the 1974 Land Boundary Agreement. Returning from the annual Foreign Office Consultation in New Delhi, foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes told reporters here on Sunday that issues of cross-border ... Read more
5 workers killed as cement bags fall on them
Five labourers including three of a family died in their sleep when cement bags, piled up in an under-construction amusement park in Narayanganj, fell on them yesterday. Police identified the deceased as Aku Munshi, 50, of Rajbari, his son Rakib, 20, nephew Asiruddin, 20, Zahid, 22, and Nazmul, 27, of Kurigram
Worker killed in Ctg ship breaking yard
A worker of a ship-breaking yard was killed yesterday falling from a ship. The deceased, Jamal Uddin, 45, son of Jalil Sarder, hailed from Kalkini in Madaripur. The accident happened when Jamal was working at a yard in Baro Awlia area around 3:30pm. He was rushed to Chittagong Medical College Hospital where the on-duty
Tremor jolts Bangladesh
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale jolted some parts of the country, including Dhaka and nearby areas, yesterday morning. No incident of casualties or damage due to the quake that was felt in Dhaka at 08:21:15am has been reported. Mahmudul Kabir, meteorological assistant of Dhaka Seismic Centre told
Rising noise pollution falls on deaf ears
Dhaka city remains exposed to serious sound pollution due to lax enforcement of law. The pollution is caused by construction work using brick crushers and mixing machines and uses of heavy equipment in factories and loudspeakers in and around the capital. Needless honking by motorists also contributes to the pollution largely
Shooting bubble bursts
Bangladesh hope Sharmin Akhtar Ratna finished a disappointing 27th out of 56 participants on Saturday’s opening medal event of the London Olympics at the Royal Artillery Barracks. Her combined score of 393 included impressive scores of 99, 100 and 99 in the last three shots, but her first effort of 95 had left her too ... Read more
We cannot take in any more Rohingya
PM tells Al Jazeera about 3 lakh refugees already living in camps Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said Bangladesh could not afford to allow in any more Rohingyas fleeing persecution in the neighbouring Myanmar. She said her country was already overpopulated and it was not its responsibility to help all those coming in from across ... Read more
Deadly 50km
210 road crashes in 5 months occurred on part of Dhaka-Ctg highway; reckless driving blamed The 50-kilometre long Mirsarai-Chittagong stretch of Dhaka-Chittagong highway has become a dreaded route as 82 people have been killed in 210 road crashes here in the first five months of this year. About 200 more sustained injuries in these accidents, ... Read more
1,288 acres in Dhaka, Ctg up for grabs
MOVE TO DIVEST SOE LANDS 1,288 acres in Dhaka, Ctg up for grabs The Privatisation Commission has identified 1,288 acres of ‘unutilised and additional lands’ under 39 state-owned enterprises as part of the government’s plan to lease them out to private investors, officials said. It has identified the lands after a survey of the SoEs ... Read more
Expert body for open-pit mining at Barapukuria
The experts group, formed to provide an opinion on how coal should be extracted from the discovered fields at Barapukuria North and Phulbari, has suggested that the government should follow open-pit mining to maximise gains. In its draft recommendation, the committee has prepared an extensive outline of the methodology of coal extraction from these two ... Read more
Dhaka to seek TAPI gas details from ADB
Bangladesh will seek details from the Asian Development Bank, secretariat of the four-nation transborder gas pipeline, on the prospect of gas import from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, officials said. An Energy Division official told New Age that they had recommended that the Economic Relations Division should seek the details from the Asian Development Bank ... Read more
Bangladesh on ‘blue-green food revolution’
The idea is simple for a country with 700 rivers, many rice farms, and a taste for fish and rice: cultivate fish in the rice fields, reports ABC News. Bangladesh’s population is projected to grow from 164 million to 220 million in just under 40 years, with demand for food soaring. But the hope is ... Read more
Anti-counterfeiting campaign launched
Demand for fake currencies rises Demand for counterfeit currency has increased across Bangladesh with profit margins increasing from Tk. 10,000 to Tk. 30,000 per lakh of false notes produced. Concern among banks, businesses and the general public has risen, as well, say sources at the Bangladesh Bank.According to the Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Branch ... Read more
Faulty teaching method keeps students at bay
English and maths: two biggest worries A report, prepared by a 16-member government committee, headed by University Grants Commission member Prof. Atful Hye Shibly, has stated that English is usually being taught through Bengali in classrooms, and that the practice hinders proficiency in English. The committee was assigned the task of identifying the obstacles to ... Read more
English-medium schools continue charging extra fees
English-medium schools continue charging annual charges, readmission fees and value-added tax from students as the government is yet to take any step to implement High Court directives in this regard. The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Farid Ahmed on June 20 asked the education secretary, the directorate of education director general and the ... Read more
Mobs kill 6 thieves
Mobs beat to death six thieves and injured seven others in Mymensingh and Kushtia districts yesterday. In Mymensingh, four transformer thieves were beaten to death while six others wounded by villagers of Balipara in Trishal upazila around 2:45am. Of the deceased, only the identity of Sabuj, 18, could be ascertained immediately,
The show is on
At 8:12 am on Friday morning, all the bells in England rang. Martin Creed’s signature “Work Number 1197” rang in the 30th Olympiad to the only city that has so far played host to it thrice. In the evening, another bell rang. This, the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world, part of Danny Boyle’s ... Read more
Extortion rampant on waterways
Extortion from launches and other river vessels has reached a stage in the absence of effective steps by law enforcers that it has become impossible for vessels to ply without paying such money, owners and workers alleged. River transport workers and owners are now virtually kept hostage by criminals and goons. The situation has put both the ... Read more