Archive for July 15th, 2009
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009An authoritative committee of the armed forces has started probing alleged irregularities in forced-retirements, promotions and punitive measures in the armed forces during the last seven years.Following an order from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who also holds the defence portfolio, the committee began its enquiry."A committee is investigating the irregularities that took place in the armed forces during the tenures of BNP and the caretaker governments," M Idris Ali, chief of the parliamentary standing committee on the defence ministry, yesterday said after its meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.He said the army chief informed the meeting about the ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009The High Court yesterday issued a set of directives to the government for preserving and protecting Gulshan-Baridhara and Gulshan-Banani lakes in the capital from illegal encroachments and structures and to shield the environment.The HC said surveys should be conducted to demarcate the lakes. It asked the government to identify and evict all illegal occupants and temporary and permanent structures on the lakes. The court ruled that the surveys and evictions must be done by January 31, 2010.It, however, said, "If there are legal and authorised occupants, they should either be provided with plots or alternative rehabilitation along with ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009The central bank yesterday announced an agriculture credit policy to revamp rural economy and set a target of Tk 11,512 crore agriculture loan disbursements for this fiscal year.This year's loan disbursement is going to be 22.74 percent higher than that of last fiscal year, say the bank officials."These initiatives will help offset the impact of global recession and make rural economy vibrant," Bangladesh Bank Governor Dr Atiur Rahman said at a press conference in the conference room of his office.Deputy Governor Nazrul Huda told reporters the central bank has asked banks to hold the moral obligation of keeping interest rates ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009The chief of Border Security Force (BSF) yesterday assured Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) of putting an end to killings of innocent Bangladeshis on the borders.ML Kumawat, director general of the Indian border guards, also vowed to show zero tolerance to human rights violation on the frontiers.Speaking at a joint press briefing on the concluding day of the three-day director general-level conference of the border forces at Bangladesh Rifles headquarters, BSF director general said 85 percent of the killings take place at night.Bangladesh Rifles DG Maj Gen Md Mainul Islam informed the press briefing that they told the BSF about the killings ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009Mahmudullah completed a memorable debut Test, when he cruelly exposed West Indies' frailty to spin, and bowled Bangladesh to a historic 95-run victory in the opening Test here on Monday.The 23-year-old off-spinner captured five wickets for 51 runs from 15 overs, as West Indies, chasing 277 for victory, were dismissed for 181 in their second innings about 20 minutes before the scheduled close on the fifth and final day at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex.Shakib Al Hasan formalised Bangladesh's second Test victory ever, when he trapped Tino Best lbw plumb in front for nine with a dipping full toss, and ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009Health experts and government policymakers yesterday said the health sector needs strong monitoring with people's participation at local levels to efficiently utilise the budgetary allocation.Apart from comparatively small budgetary share, bureaucratic tangle, shortage of skilled manpower and political clout to recruit staffs are major bottlenecks to improve the country's health sector scenario, they said at a roundtable.Health Minister AFM Ruhal Haque said the government had taken initiatives to appoint more doctors and nurses to reach healthcare service to the doorsteps of people and make monitoring stronger through local level committees.The observations came at a roundtable on “Health Budget 2009-10: ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) is buying the major part of the country's oil needs at a very high premium rate from Malaysia, although it has the option to slash this expense and save the nation Tk 60 to 70 crore worth of wasteful expense this year.According to BPC data, it is importing 12 lakh tonnes of diesel and 1.5 lakh tonnes of jet fuel from Petronas Trading Corporation (Petco) of Malaysia till December this year--paying it a premium of $5.98 per barrel diesel and $6.6 per barrel jet fuel.But the BPC is also buying 3.6 lakh tonnes of diesel ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009An inter-ministerial meeting will be held at the shipping ministry in Dhaka today to review the draft final report of techno-economic feasibility study on the proposed deep seaport.Pacific Consultant International, a Japanese consultancy firm, submitted the report in February. It had started the study in June 2006.The firm conducted the study for setting up the deep seaport on Sonadia channel at the offshore island of Moheshkhali in Cox's Bazar.As per the draft final report, the deep seaport would be constructed on over 220 hectares of land in three phases, involving an estimated budget of Tk 60,000 crore, sources said, adding ...
(read more) Wednesday, July 15th, 2009The metropolitan public prosecutor (MPP) has recommended withdrawal of 21 cases against former Awami League lawmaker Haji Mohammad Selim considering those "politically motivated" and meant for "harassment".MPP Mohammad Abdullah Abu on Monday made the recommendation after scrutinising the case dockets and documents, sources say.The MPP also asked the authorities to send the cases to the district magistrate of Dhaka for his opinion in this regard.Selim, who is facing a staggering 120 cases on various charges, had earlier filed petitions for withdrawal of 85 of them, the highest number of appeals filed by an individual.His counsel Pran Nath told The Daily ...
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