London

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday told parliament that some 3.5 lakh undocumented Bangladeshi workers working in Malaysia will get the scope to work there since the Malaysian government has announced to issue temporary work passes for such workers. She said that following successful diplomatic efforts of the present government steps have been taken to provide legality to some 8 lakh undocumented expatriate Bangladeshi workers in Saudi Arabia, while 2.67 lakh in Malaysia and 10,000 in Iraq. She mentioned that the present AL government has taken a firm stance to check human trafficking through enacting of the Human Trafficking Deterrence and Suppression Act, 2012. She also said that her government had always taken all-out measures to ensure the fairness of all the elections held in the ...

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) yesterday approved eight projects, including one called the Local Governance Support Project-3 (LGSP-3) involving Tk 5,535 crore. The total outlay of the projects is Tk 12,550.78 crore. The ECNEC approved the projects at its weekly meeting held at the NEC conference room with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. Other projects approved in the ECNEC meeting are: Climate Tolerant Rural Infrastructures Project, Khulna Division Rural Infrastructure Development Project, infrastructural facility development of Military Institute of Science and Technology Mirpur Cantonment, Development of Ananna Residential Area (2nd phase) in Chittagong, building connecting road from Natore Road to Rajshahi Bypass, const...

The Cabinet yesterday approved the draft of the 'Dowry Prohibition Act 2017', "National Hajj and Umrah Policy2017", "Hajj Package 2017", 'The Bangladesh Ship Recycling Law,2017' and 'The Integrated Small-Scale Irrigation Policy, 2017' during its weekly meeting. The approval was given in the weekly meeting of the cabinet held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday released a commemorative postage stamp, a first day cover and a data card on the occasion of the International Customs Day 2017 at the beginning of the weekly regular cabinet meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday morning. Bangladesh Post Office issued the commemorative stamp of Taka 10, the first day cover of Tk 10 and the data card of Tk 5. The s...

    A London businesswoman has organised a pampering day for homeless  in a bid to empower them” and “boost their self-worth. Roxana Mohammadian-Molina, 34, said she organised the day with the Whitechapel Mission homeless charity in east London to help vulnerable women believe in themselves. Ms Mohammadian-Molina, who used to run a beauty business, said her team of beauticians would transform a room at the charity's headquarters in east London into a professional-style salon offering free hair, makeup and nail treatments. The pampering afternoon, which expects to host around 30 women on Friday, coincides with the Whitechapel Mission’s weekly women-only sessions where homeless women, victims of domestic abuse and prostitutes can come to talk about their unique problems. Ms Moha...

    Downing Street is being accused of a cover-up after a malfunction in Britain's Trident nuclear weapons deterrent in a test just weeks before a crucial House of Commons vote. The Sunday Times reports that a Trident II D5 missile experienced a failure after being launched from the British submarine HMS Vengeance off the coast of Florida in June last year. MPs are now demanding an inquiry and are calling for a Commons statement from Defence Secretary Michael Fallon on Monday. The cause of the failure remains secret, but a naval source told The Sunday Times that the missile - which was unarmed for the test - may have veered off in the wrong direction towards America. There was a major panic at the highest level of government and the military after the first test of our nuclear...

    The first ever direct freight train service from China to the UK has arrived in London after an epic 17-day journey. The East Wind service departed Yiwu City in China’s Zhejiang Province on 3 January and crossed ten countries on its 7,456-mile trip, before pulling into Barking rail terminal in East London on Wednesday afternoon. It crossed China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, Germany, Belgium and France before finally reaching Britain. The train, which is operated by Yiwu Timex Industrial Investments, arrived carrying 34 containers packed with £4 million worth of clothes and other goods and was greeted by a group of officials and local residents. The Chinese and British governments hope the new route will increase trade between the two countries. Transporting goods ...

    A suspected unexploded Second World War bomb found in the River Thames near the Houses of Parliament is being towed away for safe disposal, police said. The operation by the Royal Navy and Metropolitan Police to recover the bomb led to disruption in central London on Thursday. The Waterloo and Westminster bridges were forced to shut for several hours, Westminster underground station closed and river traffic halted after the device was dredged up near the Victoria Embankment. A Port of London Authority spokesman told the BBC that the suspected bomb measured around 2 ft by 1 ft (60cm x 30cm). A police cordon remained in place into the early hours of Friday morning as the device was removed. Large crowds of tourists and passers-by gathered at the police tape with some calmly ...

    Theresa May is ditching the big society agenda of her predecessor David Cameron, instead vowing to tackle "everyday injustices" and build a shared society for everyone. The Prime Minister will lay out plans for social reform in a speech on Monday, to build a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. The shared society is one that doesn’t just value our individual rights but focuses rather more on the responsibilities we have to one another. It’s a society that respects the bonds that we share as a union of people and nations, she is expected to say. The plans signal a break with previous Conservative leaders, including Cameron's Big Society platform of the 2010 election. May will seek to address voters who feel government is not working for them and the...

    After winning the hearts of countless viewers in France, United States, Canada and Australia Aynabaji has now amazed London of the United Kingdom. The first show in London went houseful and all of the tickets were completely sold out. Aynabaji like other places around the world also achieved tremendous success in the Capital of United Kingdom. The audiences were gathering around the cinema hall. Many of them were looking for tickets but the tickets had already been sold out. Audiences are standing in long queue to enter the cinema hall. Audiences were seen to be very excited throughout the film. According to the audience the blending of the story, scripting, acting, songs and everything made watching this film a unique experience. The psychological thriller is currently be...

    A police horse named Invictor standing outside a number 43 bus on Upper Street in Islington. Bemused passers-by stopped in their tracks when they saw a police horse looking as though he was about to get on a double-decker bus after a passenger collapsed. Cheeky Invictor was nosing around as an ambulance attended the number 43 bus in Upper Street in Islington, north London, on Tuesday. The Metropolitan Police said Invictor was showing he’s a team playe as he stood on the pavement outside Sainsbury’s and peered inside the bus. He was accompanying Pc Dan Smith. A London Ambulance spokesman said: We were called at 11.18am to reports of an unwell person on Upper Street. We sent an ambulance. We treated a man at the scene but did not take anyone to hospital.