Mashrafe, Ashraful in
March 31, 2010
There was no surprise and experiment when the national cricket selectors announced a 15-member squad on Tuesday recalling Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mohammad Ashraful for the ICC World Twenty20 in West Indies in April-May.
The Rafiqul Alam-led selection panel made the team for the shortest version of the game in line with their thinking for the Test and one-day games as they focused on recent performance, fitness and future prospect.
G-8 nations press Iran sanctions drive
March 31, 2010
Top diplomats from the world’s leading economies are ramping up pressure on Iran to prove its nuclear ambitions are peaceful, renewing calls for the country to be hit with new international sanctions if it fails to comply.
In meetings outside the Canadian capital yesterday, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her fellow Read more
Solar power lights up BB
March 31, 2010
Central bank governor Dr Atiur Rahman yesterday urged banks, business organisations and households to go for green power systems to make their respective offices and residences environment-friendly.
Rahman made the call while addressing the inaugural ceremony for installing an eight-kilowatt solar power system on the Bangladesh Bank (old building) rooftop.
A master inspirator sings live
March 31, 2010
Eminent Indian singer Pratul Mukhopadhyay’s musical journey started nearly four decades ago with an aim — after all discussions and arguments have ended, music will stand for humanity.
Invited by Bangladesh Udichi Shilpi Goshthi to attend the recently ended Satyen Sen Gano Sangeet Utshab, Mukhopadhyay came to Dhaka on March 26. It is his first visit to Bangladesh though this was his ancestors’ home, according to the artiste.
Call for effective, transparent governance in S Asian states
March 31, 2010
A two-day workshop on government performance management (GPM) for senior lawmakers of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (Saarc) countries began in New Delhi yesterday.
Indian Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar inaugurated the programme, which is being attended by Saarc Secretary General Sheel Kant Sharma and senior officials of India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The workshop faculty comprises a mix of practitioners and academicians, including Arun Maira, member of Planning Commission, Prof Raghuram and Prof Pangotra of IIM Ahmedabad.
Among the senior government officials, secretary, performance management, cabinet secretariat and joint secretaries in the ministry of power and rural development are participating along with senior representatives of National Informatics Centre.
The workshop, which is being organised by India, aims to share the knowledge and experience on GPM practices in the Saarc countries.
It has been reported that the brainstorming session will focus on building mechanisms towards effective, efficient and transparent governance.
It will also seek to provide an overview of international trends in public-sector management and tools and techniques for implementing a results-based management framework in the governments of Saarc countries.
The workshop is also expected to explore institutional arrangements for sharing the best practices in GPM across the Saarc countries on an on-going basis.
The workshop is being organised in response to a decision taken at a meeting of cabinet secretaries of Saarc Countries in November last.
It is the result of considerable interest shown on India’s swift implementation of a sophisticated performance monitoring and evaluation system (PMES) for government departments.
Origins of India’s widely acclaimed GPM system can be traced to the announcement made in the president’s address to both houses of the parliament on June 4, 2009.
Pursuant to this announcement, the prime minister approved the outline of PMES for government departments on September 11, 2009.
The essence of PMES is as follows: At the beginning of each financial year, with the approval of the Minister concerned, each department prepares a results-framework document (RFD) consisting of the priorities set out by the ministry concerned and the minister-in-charge decides the inter-se priority among the departmental objectives.
In order to achieve results commensurate with the priorities listed in RFD, the minister-in-charge approves the proposed activities and schemes for the ministry/department.
The ministers in charge also approve the corresponding success indicators (Key Result Areas-KRAS or Key Performance Indicators-KPIs) and time-bound targets to measure progress in achieving these objectives.
The deliberations over the next two days are expected to go a long way in learning about the best practices and the experiences in the government PMES for the benefit of Saarc member countries towards effective, efficient and transparent governance.
PM receives ASOCIO Special Recognition Award
March 31, 2010
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been awarded the prestigious “ASOCIO Special Recognition Award-2010″ for her “unique vision and tremendous efforts” to turn the country into a modern ICT-based digital Bangladesh.
Asian-Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) President Looi Kien Leong handed over the award to Sheikh Hasina at the opening ceremony of BCS Digital Expo-2010 at Sheraton Hotel here this morning.
Ctg port dockers stage sit-in
March 31, 2010
Dock Bandar Sramik Karmachari Federation Wednesday morning staged a sit-in for one and a half hours outside the entrance of Bandar Bhaban, administrative building of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA).
After the sit-in, dockworkers and employees submitted a memorandum to the prime minister through CPA Chairman Commodore RU Ahmed to realise their demands, reports our staff correspondent in Chittagong.
Lawmakers fear agitations for water
March 31, 2010
Lawmakers from different constituencies in Dhaka on Wednesday feared public agitations and sabotages if the government fails to resolve the city’s persisting water crisis immediately.
The deputies expressed their concerns at a meeting with LGRD Minister Syed Ashraful Islam at his ministry in the wake of severe water crisis in different parts of the capital.
They said the crisis is mounting day by day and it should be addressed immediately to avert public agitations against the government.
They also suggested distributing water through tanker lorries by Dhaka Wasa to the worst affected areas of the capital.
Currently Wasa produces 185 to 190 crore litres of water a day, whereas the demand goes up to 220 crore litres during the season.
Meanwhile, the government is deploying army personnel from April 1 in aid of Dhaka Wasa to help ease the unbearable water crisis in city.
Source: thedailystar.net
668 asked to appear in Pilkhana court
March 31, 2010
A special court dealing with mutiny cases asked the prosecution Wednesday to haul 668 jawans of 24 Rifles Battalion before it at 10:00am Thursday after their arrests.
The court, led by BDR Director General Maj Gen Mainul Islam, sat at BDR Pilkhana headquarters in the capital at about 10:20am.
Mojaheed can’t recall his role in ‘71
March 31, 2010
Jamaat-e-Islami Secretary General Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed on Wednesday said he could not recall many things he did in the country’s Liberation War and claimed that he was not involved in any kind of crimes like killing and looting in 1971.