Archive for November 29th, 2007
Thursday, November 29th, 2007After the economic hay day, brace for a chill following the Sidr that battered a swath of the coasts.The news around is not very heartening--global cereal prices are expected to remain high for the coming year due to production shortfall in major exporting countries and world stocks running low. For a cyclone-battered people, this means they will have to buy food at higher prices, leading to more inflation.Oil prices are flirting with $100 a barrel. And this puts the country on the critical choice of whether to adjust prices at the risk of a knock-on effect on boro cultivation or ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam yesterday ruled out the possibility of any food crisis before March next year while the European Commission assured that it would lend support in case of any food shortfall.Referring to the economists' apprehension of a possible food crisis following the devastating floods and cyclone Sidr, Azizul told journalists that several quarters are trying to create panic among the people although there is no shortage of food.Mentioning the latest report of the food ministry, he said the present domestic food stock is higher than that of the same period of previous year.The finance adviser was ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007The Election Commission (EC) has started the task for selecting polling stations for the upcoming national and local government elections with the help of army although the existing system entitles the returning officers to do it.In defence of the move, the EC said the initiative was taken to avoid any "controversy".According to the existing electoral laws, the list of the polling stations is supposed to be finalised after the announcement of the election schedule."Now we want to finalise the list much before the announcement of the election schedule to avoid all sorts of controversies," Election Commissioner Muhammed Sohul Hussain told ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007The country's livestock sector suffered a loss of around Tk 300 crore in the recent cyclone Sidr.According to the Department of Livestock Services, over one lakh cattle and 21.5 lakh poultry birds were killed in the four severely affected districts.The department estimated that infrastructures of over 800 cattle farms and 2,000 poultry farms were destroyed in the November 15 cyclone.Besides, over 45 lakh cattle and 2.7 crore poultry birds were affected in the devastating cyclone in 12 south and southwestern districts. And a large number of cattle and poultry are feared to have died due to various post-cyclone infectious ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed again put emphasis on well-coordinated relief and rehabilitation efforts yesterday to fulfil the real needs of the cyclone-affected people.He expressed the view while receiving donations from different government organisations, private bodies and individuals at his office yesterday morning.The chief adviser said though situations have improved in many affected areas, many things still need to be done to bring the people back to normal life.He said the government has started immediate and long-term efforts, primarily putting emphasis on ensuring safe drinking water and resolving housing problem of the victims.Fakhruddin said he has seen in the worst-hit areas ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007The trial of Tk 2.99 crore extortion case against Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina, her sister Sheikh Rehana and their cousin Sheikh Selim will start on December 3 at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban complex on security grounds.Judge Mohammad Azizul Haque at Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court set the date yesterday and asked the jail authorities to produce Hasina and Selim, both behind bars, on the scheduled date.Rehana, who earlier flouted the court's surrender order, will be tried in absentia.Hasina and Selim, however, were not produced at yesterday's proceedings even though the court had directed the jail authorities to that end.Defence lawyers ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007The cabinet committee on purchase yesterday approved a proposal to import 12 lakh metric tons of crude oil at a cost of Tk. 7,335 crore.The committee approved the Energy Division proposal to procure 6 lakh tonnes of crude oil from Saudi Arabia and a further 6 lakh tonnes from the United Arab Emirates for next year.Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam chaired the meeting at the Cabinet Division.The crude oil will be imported from countries with which Bangladesh has government deals. They will be then refined at the Eastern Refinery to produce diesel, kerosene and petrol.Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) sources ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007BNP's pro-Khaleda faction Secretary General Khandaker Delwar Hossain yesterday sharply criticised the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) for his remarks over the constitution of BNP, saying that the CEC is trying to exclude the Khaleda Zia-led "mainstream BNP" from the election process."His [CEC] neutrality has come under question and I think he should join a [political] party after retirement if he wants to talk about BNP constitution," he said while talking to reporters at his NAM flat in the capital.Delwar alleged that the CEC is being talkative rather than performing his constitutional duties."It's not his duty to decide what the constitution ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007The UK announced a new contribution of $4 million, while a US aircraft that had arrived at Zia International Airport (ZIA) with relief materials worth $290,000 on Tuesday, began transporting those to Barisal for distribution yesterday.Responding to the urgent need for food in the cyclone affected south and south-western region of Bangladesh, Japan yesterday decided to provide 750 metric tons of rice worth $480,000, to be channelled through United Nations World Food Programme.Chinese Ambassador Zheng Quingdian handed over a cheque of $1 million, and different types of seeds worth another $1 million to Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury in the ...
(read more) Thursday, November 29th, 2007A Special Court yesterday sentenced former BNP lawmaker M Rashiduzzaman Millat to six years' imprisonment for evading taxes.Meanwhile, a Dhaka court sentenced former Awami League (AL) lawmaker Rafiqul Anwar to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for possessing illegal firearms.Former BNP lawmaker M Rashiduzzaman Millat was handed his sentenced for evading taxes amounting Tk 1 crore by concealing information and also filing false information about his wealth in tax returns submitted to the National Board of Revenue (NBR).The court also fined Millat Tk 22 lakh, or in lieu to serve an additional one year and three months in jail.Judge Mohammad Ashraf ...
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