Major parties yet to file poll returns
March 31, 2009
Only nine of 39 political parties have submitted election expense returns with the deadline for submission expiring on Tuesday, said an election official on Monday. “The major political parties, including Awami League, BNP, JP and Jamaat, have yet to submit returns,” Farhad Khan, EC senior secretary, told bdnews24.com. Article 44 of RPO states all political parties contesting in national polls elections shall submit their expense returns within 90 days of the election date. The EC posted letters on Jan 27 to all parties asking them to submit their returns within the deadline. Read more
Australian National University
March 31, 2009
THE Australian National University, commonly abbreviated to ANU, is a public teaching and research university located in Canberra, Australia and has a motto of Naturam Primum Cognoscere Rerum. (Latin for ‘First, to learn the nature of things’). This university was established by an act of the Parliament of Australia on 1 August 1946, with the legislated purpose of conducting and promoting research in Australia. Today, the university is consistently ranked as the best university in Australia, and is one of only three Australian universities in the top 50 worldwide in several international surveys, including the Newsweek Top 100 and the annual Times Higher Education Supplement rankings. Read more
Border fencing: Bangladesh seeks official version from Myanmar
March 31, 2009
Bangladesh yesterday sought official version from Myanmar on its planned fencing along the border professedly to stop smuggling, as confusion arose over the move. State Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Hasan Mahmud told reporters that they sought the official version about the construction site of the fencing as Yangon gives varied versions about the location of the border fencing. On Sunday, Myanmar Ambassador in Dhaka U Phaethoan met with Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain and verbally communicated his government’s plan undertaken to stop illegal cross-border trade. Read more
Painting competition
March 31, 2009
To celebrate the 25 years of Actionaid Bangladesh a children painting competition was held at the Central Public Library premises at Shahbagh in the city on March 29. A huge number of children took part in the painting competition. Earlier, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury inaugurated the two-day programme. She lauded ActionAid’s development activities and its right-based approach and said the organisation has become successful to make unreachable groups reachable. Former adviser to the Caretaker Government Sultana Kamal was present as special guest on the occasion. Read more
Fresh water and economic recovery
March 31, 2009
Investing in the world’s freshwaters could be one of the keys to aiding global economic recovery. A key also to accelerating a response to multiple emerging crises from the impacts of climate change and a shrinking natural resource base to the need to find jobs for two billion under-employed and unemployed people over the next ten years. This week we launched a UNEP-commissioned report entitled a policy brief for a Global Green New Deal aimed at world leaders attending the G20 summit in London next month. Read more
Huawei’s showcased digital technologies at BCS expo
March 31, 2009
Huawei Technologies (Huawei), a telecommunication equipments supplier company around the world, showcased a number products and solutions at the BCS Digital Expo 2009 that ended on Saturday at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre (BCFCC) in the city. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on March 25 inaugurated four-day BCS Digital Expo 2009, jointly organised by Bangladesh Computer Samity (BCS) in cooperation with ICT Business Promotion Council of the Ministry of Science and ICT (Information and Communication Technology). The theme of this year’s expo was ‘Towards a digital Bangladesh.’ Read more
Dutch-Bangla bank relocates its DEPZ branch
March 31, 2009
Dutch-Bangla Bank Ltd has relocated its Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) branch to the Bank’s own building newly constructed at Baipail, DEPZ Area, Savar, Dhaka. On March 29, the relocated branch was formally inaugurated by Md. Yeasin Ali, Managing Director of the bank, while local elites, businessmen, bankers, educationists and local journalists were present. The inaugural ceremony of the relocated branch started with Milad-Mahfil. Among others, Additional Managing Director. ARM Nazmul Quadir, Deputy Managing Director (Administration). Read more
DSE-CSE joint budget proposals likely
March 31, 2009
The prime bourse in Dhaka has invited the Chittagong Stock Exchange to go for joint budget proposals, instead of doing it separately, which will be the first of its kind. The two bourses sit today at the DSE to reach a consensus on this new move, DSE board members said. “Usually, we submit budget proposals separately. But we are on the same floor and we can submit uniform proposals,” said Saiful Islam, DSE’s senior vice-president.“If CSE accepts our invitation, we will prepare a set of budgetary recommendations,” he said.
Vietnamese rice exports rise more than 70pc in Q1
March 31, 2009
Vietnam exported 1.74 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter of this year, earning US$785 million, the General Statistic Office said. The exports increased 71.3 per cent in volume and 76.2 per cent in value over the same period last year, the office said. In March, rice exports fell by 50,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes and by $35 million in value to $315 million compared with last month. The price of unhusked rice to be processed for export increased by VND100-200 per kilo to VND5,400-5,600 per kilo. However, the export price dropped $20 per tonne for 5 percent-broken rice to $435-460 per tonne and remained at $400-410 per tonne for 25 percent-broken rice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Trade Information Centre said. Read more
Too little sleep may raise diabetes risk
March 31, 2009
People who get fewer than six hours of sleep at night are prone to abnormal blood sugar levels, possibly putting them at risk for diabetes, U.S. researchers said recently. They said people in a study who slept less than six hours were 4.5 times more likely to develop abnormal blood sugar readings in six years compared with those who slept longer. “This study supports growing evidence of the association of inadequate sleep with adverse health issues,” said Lisa Rafalson of the University at Buffalo in New York, who presented her findings at the Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in Palm Harbor, Florida. Read more