The Cabinet yesterday gave the final approval to the draft of “The Cantonments Act-2017” that proposed increasing the fines and punishments manifold for violating the law. The draft was prepared bringing changes to the existing Cantonments Act-1924 to keep up with the times.
Fines for 43 offences were increased substantially in the draft law as the amounts of the fines in the 93-year-old law were very small. The Cabinet also approved a proposal for ratification of “The Agreement between the Republic of San Marino and Bangladesh on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations” between the two countries. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the Cabinet meeting.
President Abdul Hamid yesterday asked the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to extend its activities to the grassroots level to create awareness among general people and ensure their rights. He came up with the call when a five-member NHRC delegation, led by its Chairman Kazi Reazul Hoque, met him at Bangabhaban.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said the sitting lawmakers will make a great mistake if they take for granted that they will get the nominations of Awami League for the upcoming parliamentary election.
The MPs who have no acceptability and popularity in their respective constituencies, have made divisions among of grassroots leaders and activists, abused powers and have complaints from people of their areas won’t get nomination in the next election, she said in an unscheduled discussion at the regular Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat yesterday.
The government yesterday began open market sale of five key essential commodities to keep their prices stable in the lead-up to Ramadan, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) said in a statement. The commodities are: sugar, soybean oil (cooking oil), lentil, grams and dates. TCB will sell the essential items at subsidized prices using 187 roaming trucks.
The German government will provide 7 million euros as grants to Bangladesh to enhance the capacity of selected commercial banks to better address the funding needs of garment factories for their ongoing remediation work.
The Economic Relations Division and the German embassy in Bangladesh yesterday signed an agreement to roll out a project to this effect. Muhammad Alkama Siddique, additional secretary of the ERD, and Thomas Prinz, German ambassador, penned the agreement for the project – Financing of Environment and Safety Retrofits in the Bangladesh Readymade Garments (RMG) sector.
Dhaka has urged Kuala Lumpur to address the huge trade gap between the two countries and widen the duty- and quota-free access of Bangladeshi products to the Malaysian market. Bangladesh made the call at the first ever bilateral consultations between the foreign ministries of Bangladesh and Malaysia, held at the state guesthouse Meghna in Dhaka yesterday. Malaysia stressed the need for starting negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), which would help reduce the trade imbalance.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon yesterday said the government has embarked upon a mega tourism development project centering the picturesque Patenga sea beach in Chittagong and the beach town of Cox’s Bazar.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has a dream to create jobs for everyone and this dream can be materialized largely through the tourism sector, he told a press conference jointly with Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu. The press conference was called at Chittagong Circuit House on the eve of the launching of a three-day United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) meeting in Chittagong.
The government has undertaken various measures to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply across the country during the upcoming Ramadan. “We will put in our best efforts to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply during the holy month of Ramadan across the country,” State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told yesterday. He said some 9,212 MW power is being generated presently in the country, while the generation capacity reached to 15,351MW.
Bangladesh yesterday expressed deep concern at the launching of ballistic Missile by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). By launching the Missile, DPRK has violated its obligation under the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement mentioning that Bangladesh is deeply concerned.
While reaffirming its commitment to the maintenance of peace and stability, Bangladesh urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to refrain from any activity which can potentially escalate tension in the region and beyond.
During the first 10 months of the current fiscal year Bangladeshi export to India increased by 5.40 percent over the same period of last year. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) statistics showed that the export to India stood at $581.10 million in July-April period of FY17 while the amount was $551.31 million in the same period of the last fiscal year.
Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has come forward to digitize the Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence Directorate (FSCD).The Korean grant aid agency will provide US$ 7.59 million under a project ‘Strengthening Ability of Fire Emergency Response (SAFER)’ in this process. To this effect, a Record of Discussion (RD) has been signed between KOICA and the Economic Relations Division (ERD) at the ERD Conference Room in Dhaka yesterday.
Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) will build a mega sewerage treatment plant for treating waste water of a big part of the capital city. The water supplying and management authority signed an agreement in Dhaka yesterday with Hancock Engineering Consultant, a South Korean consultancy firm, to supervise the construction work of the treatment plant. Hydro China Corporation will build the plant by 2019 in Dasherkandhi, Khilgaon of the city at an estimated cost of Taka 3,317 crore 77 lakh.
Bangladesh signed two agreements with China under the ‘One Belt, One Road (OBOR)’ initiative in the global forum that concluded yesterday in Beijing with a message of not pushing any political agenda among the participating countries. Under the couple of deals, China will enhance industrial investment, trade connectivity and finance power-grid upgrading, thermal power, coalmine modernization, tyre-factory projects in Bangladesh, one of China’s key OBOR locations.
– Press Wing London, 16 May 2017