Friday, January 24, 2025

Govt won’t allow even an inch of land for terrorism

Says prime minister  Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said the present government will not allow anyone to use even an inch of land of the country for terrorism. “My government is always against terrorism. We won’t allow any space to the terrorists; we won’t allow an inch of land of the country to be used ... Read more

Nokia browser-enabled handset hits market

Nokia yesterday launched its first series of dual sim handset with built-in Nokia browser in Bangladesh, the company said in a statement. The phone — Nokia C2-03 — is priced at Tk 7,900. It is S40-based slider with advanced features, including 2.6 inch QVGA resistive touch screen display, GSM / GPRS / EDGE connectivity and ... Read more

Food adulteration rings alarm bell

STAR-RDRS roundtable told most food items adulterated, pose lethal risks to public health Food adulteration with poisonous chemicals has reached a dangerous proportion posing serious health hazards in the country, said experts and government officials yesterday at a discussion jointly organised by The Daily Star and non-government development organisation RDRS Bangladesh. Basic food items on ... Read more

2/3 of foods not certified

In absence of a national food control system, two-thirds of the total food items hit the market without any quality check, according to facts revealed at a discussion organised by The Daily Star and RDRS Bangladesh yesterday. Some 150 food items that include everything from rice to fish, vegetable to meat and from edible oil to baby ... Read more

847 charged with BDR carnage

A Dhaka court on Wednesday posted for August 24 the beginning of the trial of the 847 people after the the court on the day had completed their indictment with murder and other criminal offences committed during the rebellion at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles, now renamed as Border Guard Bangladesh, in Dhaka in ... Read more

Finger pointed at JU teacher

Student commits suicide after being ditched by him Jahangirnagar University student Majria Jannat Sumi committed suicide after a teacher at the university backed away from his decision to marry her, her family and friends alleged yesterday. Sumi, a master’s student of history department, was found dead Tuesday, her body hanging from a ceiling fan at ... Read more

GPS made must

Vehicle owners surprised at govt’s unilateral decision The government has made installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) mandatory in all vehicles as part of an initiative to prevent car jacking and track fleeing vehicles from road crashes. The decision came at an inter-ministerial meeting on road safety held at the Secretariat yesterday. GPS entails an ... Read more

Four city colleges in the dock for flouting admission norms

Selling forms at a premium An education ministry probe has found that four renowned city colleges violated a government order by not following the admission rules set by the ministry. The ministry probe team has also found that these colleges followed their own rules to admit students and sold admission forms at a much higher ... Read more

Mobile cos’ licence fees decreased to Tk 7,500cr

Govt to hold open auction for 3G licence The government has slashed the licence renewal fee of four mobile companies to around Tk 7,800 crore from the proposed Tk 12,118 crore. A high-powered meeting on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair, decided to set the renewal fee for 2G (second generation) licence ... Read more

Monsoon grips country

Life reels from incessant rain, gridlocks, waterlogging Heavy rains and gusty winds severely disrupted life in the capital yesterday causing waterlogging and traffic gridlocks. Dhaka recorded 56mm of rainfall yesterday, according to met officials. They said the non-stop downpour that began on Monday is the result of an active monsoon. The weather in the city ... Read more

World Indigenous Day: Celebration amid commotion

Leaders of the indigenous communities yesterday termed the government a “promise breaker” and vowed to continue movement until their demand of constitutional recognition as “indigenous” is met. Expressing solidarity with them, rights defender Prof Mizanur Rahman hinted the decision of recognising indigenous people as “tribal” or “ethnic minorities” was wrong. He added the National Human ... Read more

3G starts journey next month

Teletalk launches pilot project in Sept For the first time in the country, state owned mobile phone operator Teletalk Bangladesh Limited is going to introduce third generation (3G) mobile technology from September this year, according sources in the Prime Minister’s office. From January 2012, the government will issue licences to all the private mobile phone ... Read more

Call drops irk mobile users

Mobile phone users have been facing bad voice services, like call drops, for quite some time. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) logged a number of complaints from subscribers of mobile operators, said an official of the commission. As the mobile operators are providing services beyond their capacity, call drops are ocurring — both

Lalon’s songs can educate the most educated of minds

Fakir Lalon Shah (1774-1890), was a Bengali philosopher poet. He lived in the village of Chheuria in the district of Kushtia,Bangladesh. Lalon composed numerous songs and poems which describe his philosophy. Among his most popular songs are: khachar bhitor auchin pakhi, jat gelo jat gelo bole, dekhna mon jhokmariay duniyadari, paare loye jao amay, milon ... Read more

Fresh water for Buriganga

Project underway to get Jamuna water into the highly polluted river during lean period  The government has finally started dredging the Turag river in efforts to bring fresh water to the highly-polluted Buriganga river. The dredging is part of the government’s Tk 945-crore project to connect the Buriganga with the Jamuna river through Turag-Bangshi-Pungli and ... Read more