Tarana among 3 new ministers

Asaduzzaman, Yeafesh made full ministers; no portfolios reshuffled
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday inducted three new faces into her council of ministers and promoted two state ministers to the post of minister.
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Yeafesh Osman were elevated to full ministers and reassigned the portfolios of home affairs and science and technology.

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PM reaffirms Dhaka’s commitment to global peace, security

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said her government is firmly committed to continuing its efforts to establish global peace and security.
“Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman set ‘Friendship towards all, malice towards none’ as the country’s foreign policy on the basis of which

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Opposition tried to topple govt on May 5: Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday alleged that foreign and local quarters conspired to topple an elected government on May 5. “But they did not succeed eventually as people of the country are with the Awami League. I firmly believe that no conspiracy will work as long as the public support remains with us,” Sheikh Hasina, also the AL president, said.

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PM for yearly salary hike of RMG workers

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged the BGMEA leaders to evolve an institutional mechanism to enhance the salaries of garment workers by a certain percentage every year to help them maintain a descent life. “The RMG workers’ salaries need to be increased by a certain percentage each year, and a mechanism to this end should have to be developed,” she said.

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PM urges BNP, Hefazat to postpone programmes

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday urged the opposition BNP and Hefazat-e-Islam to postpone their planned protests in Dhaka scheduled for March 4 and 5 respectively taking into consideration the ongoing rescue operations for the Savar victims. “It is their democratic rights to hold peaceful rallies anytime anywhere in Bangladesh. However, I request

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Hasina warns Khaleda of stern action

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday warned the main opposition leader and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia of stern actions if she does not stop killing and destroying public properties in the name of saving war criminals. Responding to a supplementary question of lawmaker M Shahiduzzaman Sarker, the PM, during her question-answer

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Strengthen Nam for lasting peace

Urges Hasina at summit plenary
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for a strong and effective Non-Aligned Movement (Nam), saying the 120-member alliance today needs to be a united, strong and effective body to ensure sustainable global peace and security.
“The founding fathers of Nam envisaged a world order based on mutual respect, sovereign

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Deal ‘as soon as feasible’

Manmohan assures Hasina of Teesta waters; Nam summit starts today
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday assured his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina of India’s firm commitment to ink the proposed Teesta water-sharing deal “as soon as feasible”.
During their meeting at Grand Azadi Hotel in Tehran ahead of the Non-Aligned Movement (Nam) Summit, Manmohan also said the land boundary agreement would happen at the same

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Aug 21 culprits must be tried

Vows Hasina on 2004 grenade attack anniversary
Accusing the previous BNP-Jamaat coalition government of being behind the 2004 grenade attack on an Awami League rally, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has reiterated that those who conspired, masterminded and executed the attack would be brought to book.
No one can escape punishment the way the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman

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Ask Myanmar to settle it

PM tells UK, other countries not to put pressure on Bangladesh on Rohingya issue
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called upon the United Kingdom and the countries concerned about Rohingya refugees to talk to the Myanmar government instead of pressuring Bangladesh.
She said this when British Secretary of State for International Development Affairs Andrew Mitchell called on the prime minister at her hotel suite in London on Sunday evening, reports

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PM for global actions to end poverty

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday called for concerted efforts of the international community to fight against poverty and hunger as the two issues had global origins and implications.
“The whole world needs to mobilise its resources, share experiences, research findings and technology, and fully commit themselves to implementing global and national plans and

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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 HARDtalk, Hasina also said she would hold office

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Remit more to help build Padma bridge

PM urges expatriates
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said it will not be difficult for her government to construct Padma bridge if Bangladeshi expatriates living in various countries remit more spontaneously.
“We don’t need to collect toll or go for subscriptions … if you remit more and more, it won’t be a tough job for us to construct the bridge,” she said at an Iftar party hosted by the

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PM seeks more contacts among parliamentarians

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today underlined the importance of greater institutional contact between the parliamentarians of Bangladesh and Britain to further strengthen historic relations between the two countries.
The Prime Minister, now in London to attend opening ceremony of Olympic Games 2012, expressed this view when leader of the opposition and Labour Party leader Edward Samuel Miliband

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Hasina trusted by 77 percent

Gallup poll survey of 2011 ranks her 7th among Asian leaders
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has 77 percent approval rating, according to a Gallup poll.
Washington-based Gallup, renowned for predicting US election results and conducting the US presidents’ approval ratings, ranked Sheikh Hasina seventh in its survey conducted in 21 countries of Asia and the Pacific Rim in 2011

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PM exchange Eid greetings at Ganobhaban

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday exchanged Eid greetings with foreign diplomats, judges, senior civil and military officials, party leaders and cross-section of people at her official residence Ganobhaban.
At first, she exchanged greetings with cross-section of the people from 10:00am as the main entrance of Ganobhaban was opened on the

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Hasina critical of demonstration at Shaheed Minar

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was critical of the people who staged demonstration at the Central Shaheed Minar on Wednesday instead of going home to celebrate the Eid.
“How much time would have needed to go their village homes?” she posed the question while exchanging greetings with reporters alongside her scheduled program for exchanging the

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