Bangladesh

    Bangladesh is at low risk of Zika virus as American Continent is too far from it where the Zika epidemic is spreading, said the Director of government's disease monitoring wing Institute of Epidemiology, Dis-ease Control and Research (IEDCR) Prof Mahmudur Rahman. "We have the vector (for Zika) but we don't have the virus ...we are alert as we always remain but there are issues to be worried," he told BSS. "But it is of concern that Aedes species mosquito which quickly transmitted Zika virus, a little-known, untreatable virus to people primarily through the bite of an infected, is more available in Bangladesh. These are the same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya viruses," he said. Recently the Zika virus has been spreading quickly in South and Central America. I...

Dr Abdul Momen: Month of February is our month of pride and resolve. In this month, we struggled valiantly and shed blood to protect and preserve our Mother Language, Bangla. In this month, we talk of promotion of Bangla everywhere. Unfortunately, in everyday life, do we care much about promotion of Bangla language? For example, I was travelling by Emirates Air from Casablanca to Dhaka on 28th January, 2016. From Dubai to Dhaka segment, most of the passengers were Bangla speaking. The Airline was making announcements again and again in English and Arabic and never ever in Bangla. When I asked them whether do they care for their passengers? They replied ‘we do care for our customers’. I asked them, although overwhelming majority of their passengers are Bangla-speaking in the flight and many...

    The International Crimes Tribunal, in an observation today, said that there is no scope to question the number of martyrs in the Liberation War because the issue has already been resolved. A three member bench of the tribunal, comprising Justices Shahinur Islam and Mohammad Suhrawardy, and led by Justice Anowarul Haque, made the observation this morning. The tribunal said that it is sad that many people still question the figure given for the number of martyrs in the liberation war. BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia has come under severe criticism for questioning the number of peo-ple killed in the Liberation War.

    The cabinet today gave its final approval to the draft of "The Citizenship Law, 2016" by expanding the existing provision of getting "dual citizenship" by the expatriate Bangladeshi nationals. "The proposed law has been framed by amulgating the existing 'The Citizenship Act 1951' and 'The Bangladesh Citizenship Temporary Provisions Order 1972'," Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam told newsmen at briefing after a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. He said the proposed law addressed several "back dated issues" and "incompleteness" of the two exist-ing laws limiting the provisions of dual citizenship. The top bureaucrat of the government briefed the newsmen emerging from the meeting at the Prime Minister's office. Alam said that the draft law has six chap...

    Bangladesh Tigers today secured a huge 114-run win over Scotland to move to the quarter-finals of ICC U19 World Cup. After winning the toss at Cox's Bazar, Scottish skipper ND Flack sent Bangladesh to bat first. Dew on the pitch gave Scotland a good start: maiden over at the beginning and a wicket in the second over. However, Bangladesh opener Saif Hassan built a timely 101-run partnership with Nazmul Hossain Shanto. Saif went very slowly to keep the hosts in the match. He went back to the pavilion just one run short to his fifty in the last ball of 33rd over. His 49 came from 108 balls. On the other hand, Shanto maintained a better strike rate and built another brilliant 100-run stand with skipper Mehedi Hasan Miraz. Shanto remained unbeaten on 113 from 117 balls. Miraz c...

    Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reassured all the local and foreign investors of her government's highest level of commitment to quickly facilitate their pragmatic proposals and simplification of investment procedure so that they can make the best use of their money. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged foreign investors to invest in Bangladesh and to become a part of the country's development. She said that any kind of investment is safe in Bangladesh. After inaugurating the two-day Bangladesh Investment and Policy Summit 2016 at a city hotel, she also said the government is going to establish 'Bangladesh Development Authority' to facilitate their business. Mentioning that security and profitability of investment are guaranteed in Bangladesh, Hasina repeated the poets' ver...

    India is all set to deliver as it wants to hand over the first lot of 20 coaches by this month, according to sources in the Bangladesh Railway (BR). On January 21 last year, the BR signed an agreement with RITES Ltd., a Government of India enterprise, to purchase 120 BG coaches under the project “Procurement of 120 BG coaches” under the first Indian LoC. The RITES Ltd. submitted a delivery schedule under which 120 coaches will be delivered in six equal lots to Bangladesh, starting from January 2016 and the sixth lot will be delivered in July 2016. The BR allocated Tk. 563.52 crore in the Annual Development Programme in line with that delivery schedule. However, The RITES Ltd. recently has sent another schedule where it mentioned that the tentative de-livery of coaches woul...

Rezaul Haque: Sylhet and its adjacent areas have been emerging as a hub of illegal foreign cars plying without any au-thorisation from the Bangladesh government. These vehicles enter the country through different borders by dodging immigration and customs offi-cials. Though several are later impounded by law enforcers, many of them manage to hoodwink the au-thorities concerned. According to the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) office in Sylhet, there are as many as 111 foreign luxury vehicles in the city, which have been running without paying taxes. Several of these vehicles, including some belonging to top global brands, are gathering dust in many police stations after being impounded. Such actions, however, have failed to deter these car owners. On their part, the authorities ...

    Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday said Abdur Rauf Daud Merchant, an associate of mafia don Daud Ibrahim, who has been in Bangladeshi jail since his arrest in 2009, will be sent back to his country. “A process is on to send back Daud Merchant following the expiry of his jail term,” said the minister while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. The government has taken an initiative to send back foreign criminals, including Daud Merchant, he said. In 2009, Bangladesh police arrested Daud Merchant, a resident of Sharifa Road in Mumbai, India for intruding into Bangladesh without valid documents. He is in jail since then. Later, in 2012, he secured bail from the court. Meanwhile, a DB team rearrested Daud Merchant from the city's Khilgaon intersection on December 2, 2...

    A writ was filed with the High Court on Sunday seeking a judicial inquiry into alleged torture on Bang-ladesh Bank official Golam Rabbi by some policemen. Supreme Court lawyers Barrister Ehsanur Rahman, Advocate Julfikar Ali Junu and Jahid Hasan, a journalist of Radio Dhoni 91.2 FM, filed the writ petition with the relevant section of the High Court. An HC bench comprising Justice Syed Mohammad Dastagir Husain and Justice AKM Shahidul Huq will hear the writ on Monday. The petitioners also sought issuance of a rule upon the government seeking explanation why a directive would not be issued to arrest the accused police officer immediately and why the authorities concerned would not be directed to pay the victim’s family Tk 3 crore in compensation. Secretaries of Home Ministr...