Archive for November 26th, 2007
Monday, November 26th, 2007The government has told donors that it needs at least two lakh metric tons of foodgrains in assistance since the cyclone and floods have caused extensive damage to crops leading to a shortfall of 10 lakh metric tons.It wants the grains to be procured from the international market as aid as there's already a supply shortage in the local market.The food and disaster management ministry has recently apprised the donor agencies of the stocks of food with the government. It said food could be a problem till March and April [next year] but things will begin to change for the ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007Most of the political parties expressed their unwillingness to join the Election Commission's (EC) planned conference on electoral reforms -- scheduled for next month, if Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh, the anti-liberation force that had committed war crimes, is invited to it.The EC is planning to hold a daylong conference where the top leaders of the parties that separately sat with the commission in the ongoing first round of electoral reform talks since September 12, would gather together.According to the EC's plan, the participating parties would give their final opinions on the final draft of the EC proposed electoral reform scheme that ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007The government has decided to lend Tk 130 crore from the fund of the finance ministry in soft credit to cyclone-stricken small traders and fishermen as well as for livestock and poultry for the revival of shattered livelihoods.A regular weekly meeting of the Council of Advisers, chaired by Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed, took the decision on the special lending scheme, as part of a massive post-cyclone rehabilitation programme.The finance ministry will disburse the funds through PKSF, which will operate the fund through micro-finance providing organisations.While thoroughly reviewing the relief and rehabilitation operations in the cyclone-battered southwestern region, the meeting ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007 The High Court (HC) yesterday stayed functioning of the notice issued by Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia asking her to submit wealth statement.Following a writ petition filed by Khaleda, the HC division bench comprising justices Shah Abu Nayeem Mominur Rahman and Zubayer Rahman Chowdhury also issued rule on the ACC to explain in eight weeks why the notice should not be declared illegal."As it is a legal matter now, the issue must be faced legally and flawlessly. The issue must sustain and there was no weakness in our work," said ACC ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007Wholesale price of Aman rice at Rangpur rice markets during this harvest season has shot up unusually and traders are blaming it on Cyclone Sidr.A bag of Aman rice is now Tk 150 to 200 costlier than the price a week ago on the local markets.Deputy Commissioner of Rangpur Khondker Atiar Rahman told this correspondent that Cyclone Sidr might have an impact on the Aman prices, but the situation is likely to improve when the Aman harvest gets into full swing.Rice dealers of Rangpur's Mahiganj, one of the largest rice markets in the north, claimed that Aman prices are escalating ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007The business community yesterday pledged relief in cash, food and clothing, which the government estimates to be worth about Tk 20-25 crore, for distribution among Sidr-affected people in 12 southern districts.Mentioning that already received donations and commitments of food may mitigate food crisis to some extent, leaders of the trade bodies and government officials said problems of clothes, shelters and water-borne diseases remain as key issues.A number of business leaders proposed collecting a contribution from export-import consignments through the years to constitute a permanent fund to tackle natural disasters like cyclones.The commitments and views came at an opinion-sharing ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007In a clear show of lack of coordination in relief distribution, many cyclone-affected people living in upazila headquarters are receiving more food than they need while many on the outlying areas are starving without any food.People living alongside roads and river ways near the upazila sadars of the cyclone-torn southern districts are receiving most of the relief materials, reported our correspondents in the affected districts.Government officials and businessmen who had visited the areas also said relief distribution was being done haphazardly due to lack of coordination.Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Division, Lt Gen Masud Uddin Chowdhury, ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007One person died and several others suspected missing after an overcrowded trawler and two engine boats sank in the Bay of Bengal off Shah Parir Dwip in Teknaf in the early hours yesterday.The incident occurred as the engine boats were ferrying people to a trawler allegedly preparing to take them to Malaysia illegally. Most of the passengers are believed to have been Rohingyas. It's been reported that the trawler turned over and sunk because it was overloaded.The panicking passengers then swam out to the engine boats causing them to sink too.Police have so far recovered only one body from ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani prime minister ousted in a coup eight years ago, returned from exile yesterday to a nation under emergency rule and a raucous welcome from supporters.A special plane lent by Saudi King Abdullah touched down at Lahore airport carrying Sharif, family members and some of his closest aides at 6:25 pm (1325 GMT), an AFP reporter witnessed.Television footage showed Sharif, accompanied by his brother Shabaz, beaming and waving to a chanting crowd in the arrivals lounge.Thousands of other supporters, chanting "Long live Sharif!" and waving flags and banners, massed outside the airport and along ...
(read more) Monday, November 26th, 2007The government is issuing 25.9 lakh Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) cards in the coastal districts to feed the cyclone victims for the next four months from December.Briefing reporters at PID conference room, the acting secretary for food and disaster management ministry, Mohammad Ayub Mia, said the administration has directed the authorities concerned to complete issuing the cards among the victims within this week.He said the government would hold a meeting with donor representatives tomorrow to finalise operation plan for relief and rehabilitation programmes.Besides, he said a coordination cell headed by Communications Adviser MA Matin has been set up at Barisal ...
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