Employers in UAE pay Bangladeshi workers much less than amount mentioned in job contracts Before leaving for the United Arab Emirates in early 2008, Shakil Hossain signed a job contract that offered him a monthly wage of 1,200 dirham (1 dirham equivalent to Tk 22). It was quite lucrative for the plumber although he had ... Read more
Other Headlines
School health programme only does ‘paper work’
School health programme aimed at providing primary medical treatment and health education to school children is in disarray and barely operational, according to a senior official of the directorate general of health services. Since its inception in 1951, the coverage of school health programme has not expanded,
Danger lurks on roads
Wild driving inspired by poor enforcement of traffic rules and soft penalty have made the highways across the country and the streets of the capital death traps. Fifteen people died in road accidents across the country yesterday alone. Last year, the number of road casualty in the country was 2,467 while the number of the
A sacrifice and a family in trouble
Ten-year-old Tanvir was sitting in front of his computer, looking at his father’s photo set as desktop background. “I try to find him in his photograph,” said the boy, a class-four student of Manipur High School’s Rupnagar branch. He got the computer as a gift from his father a few days before the last Eid-ul-Fitr. Tanvir’s ... Read more
Tremor jolts Bangladesh
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale yesterday jolted the capital and other parts of the country. A good number of structures in different areas of the country shook heavily due to the tremor that hit around 6.41pm when people out to the street in panic. However, there was no immediate report of damage or
Over Tk 100cr tax anomalies found
Destiny Group Over Tk 100cr tax anomalies found 5 more bank accounts frozen The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has detected anomalies of over Tk 100 crore in tax and VAT dodging by two concerns of the Destiny Group, officials said. Destiny Tree Plantation was found to have dodged tax over Tk 70 crore while ... Read more
EU presses for talks
Says political unrest sending devastating signal to investors abroad Bangladesh’s image abroad faces a serious crisis because of political violence, hartals, corruption and disappearances, European Union envoys said yesterday. They said incidents of street violence, killings and disappearances in Bangladesh give a negative signal to the outside world and discourage foreign investments in Bangladesh despite ... Read more
Bangladesh exposed to security risks
Says UK climate security envoy Visiting UK Climate Security Envoy Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti yesterday said Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters, is also exposed to potential security risks. Such risks may come in the form of higher criminal activities and terrorism, said Morisetti, who was on a two-day visit in ... Read more
DU teacher reappears
Cops, colleagues bin his claim of abduction A Dhaka University teacher reappeared on his own at a Khagrachhari police Station yesterday, 42 hours after his alleged abduction from Dhaka, giving rise to more questions than answers. On his appearance at Dighinala Police Station around 1:30pm, Nuruddin Alo, a lecturer of political science department, claimed to ... Read more
Bottled water safety come into question
Bottled drinking water in Bangladesh is no longer safe as it does not comply with international safety standards, thus becoming a threat to public health. Supply of bottled drinking water is a rapidly growing business in the country. A large number of people have turned to bottling drinking water, reflecting the diminishing confidence of people ... Read more
They beg but don’t like to be called beggars
Title of rehabilitation programme to be changed Beggars in the capital who are being rehabilitated by the government under a social safety net programme will not be identified as beggars. Finance minister AMA Muhith at a meeting yesterday asked the social welfare ministry to change the title of the programme — formerly referred to as ... Read more
DU teacher goes ‘missing’
Kidnap feared A Dhaka University teacher has been missing since Monday night. The teacher, Dr Nuruddin Alo, is a lecturer of political science department. Several of his students said that on Monday night they had an SMS from Alo that read, “They have kidnapped me. Please do something for
Higher pass rate, more GPA 5 scorers
SSC results Higher pass rate, more GPA 5 scorers Results of the Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations this year reflected a significant improvement on all indicators compared to the results of the past years. The pass percentage, the number of highest grade scorers and the number of institutions where all the students passed have ... Read more
Rajuk razes Wonderland
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakhha began an eviction drive on Monday to demolish Wonderland amusement park at Gulshan in the capital. Tearing down the main entrance to the amusement park, Rajuk started the drive, led by magistrate Rokon-ud-Doula, following a court order that declared illegal the lease of the land by the
Hillary meets Yunus today
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Nobel Laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus would hold a meeting early today at the residence of the US ambassador to Dhaka. The meeting between Prof Yunus and Clinton, an ardent supporter of the pioneer of microcredit, comes almost a year after Prof Yunus resigned from Grameen Bank, which
Massive rise in eye damage among Asians
Up to 90% of school leavers in major Asian cities are suffering from myopia – short-sightedness – according to a study published yesterday. Researchers say the “extraordinary rise” in the problem is being caused by students working very hard in school and missing out on outdoor
Migrant workers remain neglected in host countries
Bangladeshi migrant workers remain deprived in terms of protection from violation of rights, safety and security as most of them do not enjoy trade union rights in the receiving countries. The government and labour rights groups at home are also found indifferent on protecting rights of the migrant workers abroad
Former army chief Harun resigns as SCF secy gen
Former army chief and member of board of director of much talked about DESTINY-2000 Ltd, retired Lieutenant General M Harun-Ar-Rashid, on Wednesday resigned as the secretary general of Sector Commanders’ Forum. ‘I handed in my resignation letter to the chairman of the Sector Commanders’ Forum
Historic May Day today
The International Labour Day, widely known as May Day, will be observed in Bangladesh as elsewhere around the world today commemorating the uprising of the working class people who fought for their rights. All industries and factories would remain closed on the day. Red flags will be hoisted at the offices of the political organisations
Crash kills 2 brothers
A Swiss expatriate and his brother died when an ambulance rammed into a CNG-run auto-rickshaw at Banani on New Airport Road in the capital yesterday morning, during hartal hours. Deceased Ilias Miah, 44, and his brother Nasiruddin Munshi, 42, were heading towards Nawabganj district in Dhaka in an auto-rickshaw as they considered it too risky ... Read more