| Corruption, both political, social
to be uprooted :Seminar told |
Staff Correspondent
Participants at a seminar here on Monday observed that the political corruption can not be wiped out incoherently without keeping social corruption alive .
"The interim caretaker government's crusade is though mostly concentrated apparently against top VIP politicians but the alarming increase of social corruption and containing it is not up to the expectation" the said .
They were in the opinion that corruption has taken a deep root at almost all spheres of social and national life and this could only bbe stamped out by an integrated approach of the people of all walks of life
Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) organized the seminar on " Anti-Corruption: Origin and its prevention" to mark one year of the present caretaker government.
Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University (CU), Prof. Dr. M Badiul Alam was chief guest at the inaugural session of the seminar held at Chittagong Press Club auditorium.
Prof. Mohammad Yahiya Akhter of Political Science Department of CU presented key-note paper while Director General of PIB, Nazrul Islam presided over it and Prof. Gazi Saleh Uddin, Dean of Social Science Faculty of CU moderated. |
|
| Pry scholarship
exam begins |
|
Chittagong District Education Officer Md. Nurul Amin and Kotwali Thana Education Officer Md. Mamun Kabir yesterday visited the Primary Scholarship examination centre at Chittagong Municipal Model High School. Photo-SK Morshed |
Staff Correspondent
The first day of the 2-day long primary scholarship examination -2007 which has been deferred for tropical cyclone Sidr ended peacefully in the city and elsewhere in the district yesterday .
A total of 1,24,495 students including 63,277 girls from 11 districts under Chittagong Division though are scheduled to appear in the examinations but the attendance was not above 90 per cent, sources in the primary education department said. Of the total, 29,302 students including 15,480 girls have appeared from Chittagong city and 14
upazilas of the district.
According to statistics available to the Primary Education Department here revealed that this year the number of the girls examinees than the boys are higher in Chittagong division apart from Chittagong district.
|
|
| Best Air starts journey
with Boeing 737 |
|
P View desk
Best Air, a private airliner, started its journey on Monday morning with a Boeing 737 flight from Dhaka to Chittagong. Starting with one plane two more Boeing 737 will be added to the fleet shortly, chairman of the airliner Haider Uzzaman told newsmen at Shah Amanat Airport in Chittagong, UNB reports from Dhaka.
"The first leg of operations is Dhaka-Chittagong and the others will follow shortly," he said. In the first phase the Best Air plans to operate flights between Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Kolkata, Madras, Bangkok, and Kunming.
Haider said the second phase will include flights to the Far East, the Middle East, Europe and USA by using wide bodied aircraft. |
|
| Expansion of
British, Lankan
Cos in EPZ |
P View desk
M/s. Kenpark Bangladesh (Pvt.) Ltd, a British and Sri Lankan company, will expand their project in Chittagong Export Processing Zone with additional investment of US$ 3 million.
With the additional investment, the total investment of the foreign company will stand at US$ 18 million, UNB reports from Dhaka.
Through this expansion the company will create new job opportunity for additional 1497 Bangladeshi and three foreign nationals.
|
|
National News |
| Polls won’t be held under
emergency : CEC Huda |
|
P View desk
Chief Election Commissioner Dr ATM Shamsul Huda Monday said the national election would not be held under the state of emergency even though the Election Commission has not yet taken any decision what would be its strategy in this regard.
"No, no, that won't happen," CEC Huda told reporters at a briefing in response to a question if the elections this time would be held under martial law as the CEC himself referred to 1970, 1979 and 1986 elections held under martial law, and
termed that of 1970 as "nice elections".
The journalists were briefed as the Commission today finalised the district-wise delimitation of parliamentary seats, raising the number in four divisions and keeping it unchanged in two others, UNB reports from Dhaka. |
|
| Regional coop can help
remove poverty : CA |
P View desk
Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Monday said Bangladesh firmly believes that SAARC and regional cooperation and sharing of resources among the member countries can help remove poverty from this region.
He said the majority of the people living below the poverty line are in South Asian region, UNB reports from Dhaka.
The Chief Adviser made the remarks when outgoing Secretary General of SAARC Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji made a farewell call on him at his office.
Dorji said Bangladesh has been playing a major role in promoting the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
|
|
Arrest warrant against 8 in power- plant scam
Bail petition filed for Khaleda |
P View desk
A metropolitan court here yesterday (Monday) issued warrant of arrest against detained former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, along with seven other accused, for a power-plant scam.
Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Azizul Hoque issued the warrant accepting the charge-sheet filed earlier against the eight high-profile accused in the graft case involving the Siddirganj barge-mounted power plant.
The Awami League chief, Sheikh Hasina, who was already indicted Sunday for taking kickbacks from the deal on another barge-mounted power plant in Khulna, has been made principal accused in the charge-sheet, UNB reports from Dhaka.
They have been subpoenaed to appear in the court on January 16.
|
|
| Drama doyen Selim
Al-Din passes away |
P View desk
Playwright Selim Al-Din died in hospital from cardiac complications Monday at the age of 58, a LabAid spokesman said. The critically ill playwright was scheduled to be transferred to a Thailand hospital Monday for better treatment.
LabAid media coordinator Mesbah Azad said Selim died at 2:10pm at the coronary care unit of the hospital. Selim's condition deteriorated Sunday.
The Jahangirnagar University
drama and dramatics professor was rushed to BIRDEM Friday evening after he suffered respiratory trouble. He was transferred to LabAid after doctors diagnosed cardiac problems.
|
|
| Inflation surged 5 percentage
points in one year :BB report |
P View desk
Inflation surged by more than 5 percentage points over one year, from Dec 2006 to Nov 2007, a recent Bangladesh Bank economic situation report said.
The rate of inflation rose to 11.21 percent by Nov 2007 from 6.13 percent in Dec 2006, said the BB report that was sent to the chief adviser on Jan 9.
Central bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed, however, said that inflation will fall in the coming months thanks to policies adopted by the government and Bangladesh Bank.
The central bank reported that the crucial economic index has spiralled over the past year chiefly due to global inflation in fuel and consumer prices and recurrent floods and the devastating Cyclone Sidr last year in the country. The rate of inflation, measured point-to-point, which was 6.13 percent in Dec 2006, increased to 9.20 percent in June 2007, 10.02 in July and 10.12 in August, the report said.
|
|
Global News |
| Bhutto's party says it may work with Musharraf after poll |
ISLAMABAD, (AP/UNB)
Benazir Bhutto's political party said Monday it may work with Pakistan's president after elections next month despite the leader's apparent unpopularity and allegations elements within his government may have played a role in her death.
Bhutto's party and the other major opposition grouping are expected to do well in the Feb. 18 parliamentary polls, but few analysts expect either will gain enough votes to form a government. Fears of widespread vote-rigging have also led to speculation that
the parties may not accept the results, triggering political turmoil.
Bhutto's Pakistans Peoples Party did not rule out cooperating with President Pervez Musharraf after the polls.
|
|
| Indian leader calls for expanded business opportunities with China in construction, tourism |
BEIJING, (AP/UNB)
India's prime minister called for expanding business opportunities with China in construction, education, financial services, and tourism in a speech Monday to business executives at the start of a state visit. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's three-day visit to China, the first by an Indian prime minister in five years, seeks to inject new vitality into the sometimes strained relationship between the two nations, whose booming economies are increasingly driving world trade. Together, their population of nearly 2.4 billion accounts for one-third of humanity. "Our two countries will need to work together to ensure that we contribute to ... the economic resurrection and the interrelations of Asia," he said at a business conference here.
|
|
|
|
|
