Padma bridge co-financiers ADB, Jica extend loan deal by a month; wait to see how govt acts on WB’s graft concern; failure to cost future donor funding The ADB and Jica have extended their Padma bridge loan effectuation date by a month with a clear message that during this time the government has to address ... Read more
bangladesh
HC orders injunction on BUET protests
The High Court on Tuesday ordered an injunction on the current movement of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology teachers, students and employees demanding removal of the vice-chancellor and the pro-vice-chancellor. The bench of Justice Naima Haider and Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar
Garment makers move to right labour wrongs
Share their steps with The Daily Star following international outcry Against the background of growing concern over labour rights violation in Bangladesh, garment makers yesterday said they had taken the issue seriously and started to improve work environment and maintain compliance in factories. They said garment makers have already engaged the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) “Better ... Read more
Petrobangla to give job to US firm without knowing details
Petrobangla is likely to award the US-based Astra Oil and Excelerate Energy a contract for installation of a floating LNG terminal at Moheshkhali in the Bay of Bengal, although the firm has not given the financial break-up or technical details in its bid document for project implementation, said officials. An Energy Division official told New ... Read more
Grameen Bank refutes PM’s remarks
Interest Rate Grameen Bank refutes PM’s remarks Grameen Bank yesterday refuted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s claim that the microcredit organisation charges 30 to 45 percent interest to the poor. The Nobel Peace Prize winning bank in a statement said it charges 20 percent interest at the most in any sector, which is 7 percent lower ... Read more
Eyes on hydropower
1,000MW to be imported from Nepal With an aim to import 1000 megawatt of electricity, Bangladesh has agreed to cooperate with Nepal in managing water resources and hydropower. The two countries also stressed the need for a trilateral discussion with India, in this regard, soon. At a foreign secretary level meeting yesterday, Bangladesh and Nepal ... Read more
Telecom policy up for review
The government is going to revise the existing telecommunications policy, by the end of this year, to adopt the state-of-the-art advancements in the telecommunications sector. The policy was formed in 1998, to chalk out a plan for the development of the telecommunication sector of Bangladesh. Sources with the ministry of post and telecommunications (MoPT) said ... Read more
Nepal’s 100 items may get duty-free entry to Bangladesh
Bangladesh may give Nepal a duty-free access for 100 of its products, especially vegetables and agricultural ones, as those have a higher demand in Bangladesh, said an official of the commerce ministry of Bangladesh yesterday. On the other hand, Bangladesh sought from Nepal a duty cut on exports of electronics goods, pharmaceuticals and agro-processed food items, said
WB failed to give graft evidence
Padma Bridge Project WB failed to give graft evidence PM tells BBC; says she didn’t mention anyone in her ‘bloodsucker’ comment Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the World Bank could not present evidence for the graft allegations over the Padma bridge project. Click here to watch the interview. Interviewed by Stephen Sackur for BBC ... Read more
‘Small cabinet’ during polls
PM invites BNP to join interim govt; Khaleda says ‘no’ Ruling out the restoration of caretaker government system, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has suggested forming a “small cabinet” including the opposition ahead of the next parliamentary polls. In an interview scheduled for broadcast today, Hasina told BBC Bangla Service that she would allow if the ... Read more
Chevron to pump $500m into Bibiyana gas field expansion
Production capacity to rise by 300m cubic feet per day US oil major Chevron announced, on Monday, that it would invest $500 million in the expansion project of Bibiyana gas field, in the north-west of the country. The new project would include expansion of the gas plant, to process increased natural gas volumes from Bibiyana, ... Read more
Bus operators worried about highway traffic management
Long-distance bus operators expressed concern about the current state management of highways and urged the government to improve it to make Eid time journeys comfortable for millions of passengers during the country’s biggest religious festival. They said that millions passengers would face problems reaching home unless
Fresh edn ministry meeting fails to end BUET stalemate
Another meeting of the education ministry, held on Monday on the crisis bedevilling the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, ended without making any major headway to end the stalemate. The BUET teachers, agitating for removal of vice-chancellor Professor SM Nazrul Islam and pro-vice-chancellor Habibur Rahman, decided to continue their sit-in programmes until their
Shopping malls, markets abuzz with Eid shoppers
Shoppers have started thronging shopping malls and markets in the capital, with the biggest religious festival for the Muslims, Eid-ul-Fitr, still more than three weeks away. All the major markets in the city are now experiencing huge rush of customers and salespersons are passing very busy time coping with the rush of customers. ‘Shoppers are ... Read more
Export to India drops in FY12
Bangladesh’s exports to India declined to $498.41 million in the just concluded financial year of 2011-12 from $512.51 million in the financial year 2010-11 despite slight increase in apparel exports. Export Promotion Bureau officials said that exports to the neighbouring country declined by 2.75 per cent in FY12, after year-on-year growth in two previous years, ... Read more
FBCCI wants fish export ban
The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Sunday requested the government to ban export of fishes till the end of Ramadan. The apex trade body in a press release said that its monitoring cell had observed that prices of all kind of fishes had increased and gone beyond the purchasing capacity of ... Read more
Implementation jumps to 92pc in unusual spending spree in June
ADP in FY 2011-2012 Implementation jumps to 92pc in unusual spending spree in June The implementation of annual development programme got an unusual extra pace in June, the last month of the just concluded fiscal year 2011-2012, and jumped to 92 per cent at the year end from 70 per cent in 11 months. The 54 ... Read more
Most troupes are inactive
Secretary general of Bangladesh Group Theatre Federation (BGTF) Jhuna Chowdhury tells New Age that most of the theatre troupes are inactive across the country. According to Jhuna Chowdhury just over 100 out of over 300 members of the federation are active at present. ‘Just imagine about a hundred troupes are completely inactive and another 100 more
Laxmipur Govt Women’s College faces problems
Campus Corner Laxmipur Govt Women’s College faces problems Education of students is being hampered at Laxmipur Government Women’s College due to shortage of teachers and lack of academic building since long. Sources said that there are three tin-shed buildings for a large number of students that are not sufficient to accommodate the huge number of ... Read more
HC questions Operation Clean Heart indemnity
The High Court on Sunday asked the government and the army to explain the legality of the indemnity given to the army-led joint forces involved in Operation Clean Heart conducted between October 16, 2002 and January 9, 2003. The bench of Justice Mirza Hussain Haider and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo also asked the authorities to ... Read more