DHAKA ? Bangladesh has launched a vaccination drive in its northern dairy farming region to contain an outbreak of anthrax that has affected more than 100 people this week, an official said Tuesday.

Another 62 infections have been reported in the last 24 hours, taking this week’s toll to 114, Mahmudur Rahman, a health ministry director, told . No-one has died.

“We have sent medical teams to all anthrax-affected areas. The livestock department has also launched a major vaccination drive in the region,” he said.

Anthrax is a potentially lethal bacterium that exists naturally in the soil and commonly infects livestock which ingest or inhale its spores while grazing. It can be transmitted to humans who handle or eat infected animals.

Anthrax does not spread directly from one infected human or animal to another but is spread through spores.

Anthrax spores can be produced in vitro and have been used in biological warfare. Weaponised anthrax has not been part of Western countries’ military stockpiles for decades but has been used in bioterrorist attacks.

Bangladesh’s current outbreak — one of nine this year — has spread in the dairy farming districts of Sirajganj and Pabna due to diseased cows being slaughtered and then sold on, Rahman said.

All of the current cases in Bangladesh are cutaneous — or skin — anthrax, which can cause wound-like lesions, he said.

“The farmers were not aware of anthrax. They slaughtered sick cows without knowing that it could transmit the disease to humans,” he said.

Along with the vaccination drive, local authorities have launched an awareness-raising campaign in the region, urging farmers not to kill infected animals and sell the meat.
Sources

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Bangladeshi labour leaders said Wednesday they were in hiding after a police crackdown on protesters in the textile industry that has seen trade unionists and thousands of workers targeted.

“Most of us are now on the run, living in fear as we are getting threats from the police,” said Mosherefa Mishu, head of a leading union which rejected a recent pay rise offered to workers in the sector.

Another union leader, Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, said that the police were making nightly raids on slums where garment workers live. The labourers are the worst paid clothes-makers in the world.

“At least 5,000 workers have been sacked for involvement in the protests. Hundreds are just leaving their jobs and going back to their villages,” he said.

More than a dozen union leaders have criminal cases filed against them and three have gone into hiding, Ismail told AFP, as part of a crackdown that has been condemned by a leading international rights group.

Police have confirmed that 20 people, including four union leaders and seven female garment workers, have been arrested in the past two weeks following a string of violent protests over a new pay offer on July 27.

The government raised the minimum monthly wage from 1,662 taka (25 dollars) to 3,000 taka, but the deal fell short of the 5,000 taka that some unions had demanded, and a delay in implementation, until November 1, provoked mass worker unrest.

Thousands of garment workers, who stitch clothes for top Western brands like Tesco, H & M and Wal-Mart, took to the streets on July 30 in the capital Dhaka, with unrest quickly spreading to key manufacturing zones across the country.

“Protesters are wanted on charges of committing violence, vandalism, arson and looting — union leaders are wanted for instigating the unrest,” police deputy commissioner Molla Nazrul Islam told AFP on Wednesday.

He added that police were using television footage and newspaper photographs to identify anyone involved, and said police had filed cases — the first stage of filing criminal charges — against “several thousand” workers.

Union leaders claim that at least 100 workers have been arrested and say cases have been filed against 12,000 workers.

New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch has condemned the crackdown on union leaders, saying arrests, intimidation and a “harsh rhetorical campaign against the protesters” have been used to prevent further unrest.

The government must “publicly guarantee the safety and security of labour rights activists (and workers) who lawfully protested against their conditions of employment,” the statement said.

Garments account for 80 percent of Bangladesh’s annual exports. The country’s 4,500 garment factories employ some three million workers, around 40 percent of its industrial workforce

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After signing a multi-billion dollar deal with Pakistan, Iran is planning to take Bangladesh on board its proposed gas pipeline project, and sources say Dhaka has shown keen interest in the proposal.

In a letter written to the Finance Ministry’s Economic Relations Division (ERD), the Iranian envoy in Dhaka has extended his country’s helping hand and said Bangladesh could “join the IPI pipeline project” to augment its energy requirements.

A top ERD official said on condition of anonymity that the letter had been forwarded to the energy division. “The division will now chart its own course,” the official was quoted as telling a Bangla newspaper. The Iranian envoy has reportedly said in his letter that since the pipeline would stretch as far as the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, Bangladesh could be easily linked to the grid.

The ‘Peace Pipeline’, as it is being formally called, will traverse over 1 724 miles (2,775 km) from Iran’s South Pars gas fields to the Pakistani city of Khuzdar. From the Pakistani border area, one branch will go to Karachi, while the other will reach India via Multan

Iran has vast untapped oil and gas resources with experts estimating the natural gas reserves at around 1,045 trillion cubic feet, which is second only to Russia.

A top Bangladesh government official said Iran had assured that if Dhaka gave its approval to the project, the pipeline would be extended till Kolkata. “It is really a great opportunity for Bangladesh as the country’s recoverable gas reserve would start drying up from 2013,” the official said.

Nearly 87 per cent of the country’s electricity needs are met by natural gas generation, and Bangladesh’s national oil company, Petrobangla, has said resources could dry up by 2015.

“Kolkata is very close to Bangladesh. It will be easier for the government to bring the pipeline to our border,” the official said

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Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Jis Nay Ki Justuju
Mil Gaya Usko Tu
Sab Ka Tu Rehnuma

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Jis Nay Ki Justuju
Mil Gaya Usko Tu
Sab Ka Tu Rehnuma

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda

Yeh Zameen
Yeh Falak
In Say Aagay Talak
Jitni Dunyaeen Hain
Sub Main Teri Jhalak

Yeh Zameen
Yeh Falak
In Say Aagay Talak
Jitni Dunyaeen Hain
Sub Main Teri Jhalak

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Jis Nay Ki Justuju
Mil Gaya Usko Tu
Sab Ka Tu Rehnuma

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda

Har Sehar Phoot’ti
Hai Naye Rang Say
Sabza-o-Gul Khilay
Seena-e-Sang Say

Har Sehar Phoot’ti
Hai Naye Rang Say
Sabza-o-Gul Khilay
Seena-e-Sang Say

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Jis Nay Ki Justuju
Mil Gaya Usko Tu
Sab Ka Tu Rehnuma

Aye Khuda

Har Sitaaray Main
Aabaad Hai Ek Jahaan
Chaand Sooraj Teri
Roshni Kay Nishaan

Har Sitaaray Main
Aabaad Hai Ek Jahaan
Chaand Sooraj Teri
Roshni Kay Nishaan

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Jis Nay Ki Justuju
Mil Gaya Usko Tu
Sab Ka Tu Rehnuma

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Jis Nay Ki Justuju
Mil Gaya Usko Tu
Sab Ka Tu Rehnuma

Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda
Aye Khuda

Artist: Adnan Sami
Song: Aye Khuda
Album: Kisi Din

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A parliamentary body yesterday assured cellphone operators and telecommunications and ICT-based entrepreneurs of taking necessary steps to remove growing anxiety over proposed amendments to the telecom laws.

On their concern and objections to the proposed amendments, the parliamentary standing committee on post and telecommunications ministry said it would carefully examine those and bring amendments to the bill, if necessary.

Representatives of the telecom operators also opposed the proposed amendments that provide the government with sweeping authority by curtailing jurisdiction of Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

The telecom industry is among the largest contributors to growth, accounting for approximately 6 percent of GDP. Under Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission regulations, the industry shares 5.5 percent of revenue collected in the form of rent and call charges as well as pays for the lease of Bangladesh Railways’ fibre optic network. Not to talk about the large money the government realises in the form of SIM tax. During the caretaker government’s time, owners were forced to pay additional fees for transfer of ownership too. Altogether it is around 10 percent of the government’s revenue collection.

As mentioned earlier, on June 13, 2010, the Bangladesh Telecommunication (amendment) Bill 2010 was placed before parliament for review by the parliamentary standing committee on posts and telecommunication ministry. The Mobile Operators Association (AMTOB) highlighted a few key provisions in the new regulatory framework that are detrimental to the future growth of the industry and against the spirit of free markets.
The new law proposes raising the maximum fine for offenses from Tk 10 lakh to an astounding Tk 300 crore, higher than any comparable fines in the region; Pakistan currently has the highest with a maximum fine of PKR 35 crore (approximately BDT 28 crore). Given the industry’s high rate of taxation, mandatory revenue sharing and strict regulatory framework, this incentive adds an incremental contingent cost on industry players, discouraging further domestic and foreign investment. While our government is trying hard to market overseas investment, this will obviously send a wrong message to the rank and file. Especially when nobody less than our prime minister is continuously focusing on policy continuity, despite political changeover.
Against the spirit of due process, the new law provides no scope for appeal against expanded powers given to regulators. Telecom-related offenses are now made cognizable under the law, allowing the arrest of industry professionals without warrants, against all tenets of the Criminal Procedure Code. I thought we live in a respectable democratic country, known for its hospitality to the foreign guests. The other day, a minister was speaking high about the country’s potential as a ‘business process outsourcing’ (BPO) hub, with growing and reasonably priced IT savvy and English literate young men and women.
The new law also gives the regulator unilateral power to amend licence conditions at any time. The current cost of renewing a licence represents a significant investment in a capital intensive and highly competitive industry. The potential for abrupt and/or unfavorable changes in licence conditions in light of the high cost of renewal is a significant barrier towards future growth and casts a pall over the business and investment climates in Bangladesh.
The telecom industry is among the largest contributors to growth, accounting for approximately 6 percent of GDP. Under Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission regulations, the industry shares 5.5 percent of revenue collected in the form of rent and call charges as well as pays for the lease of Bangladesh Railways’ fibre optic network. Not to talk about the large money the government realises in the form of SIM tax. During the caretaker government’s time, owners were forced to pay additional fees for transfer of ownership too. Altogether it is around 10 percent of the government’s revenue collection.
Mobile phone operators have been very serious in implementing measures and technologies in the spirit of Digital Bangladesh. Among other things, the industry has brought mobile connectivity to over 90 percent of Bangladesh, introduced data and Internet services to mobile users, provided valuable services such as the facilitation of inward remittance from Bangladeshis living abroad, and generally introduced among the lowest cost mobile phone services in the world.
The industry has promoted significant foreign investment in Bangladesh, sparked growth in Bangladesh capital markets and brought the gift of communication to far-flung corners of rural Bangladesh. The industry is the epitome of a healthy, competitive market and fostering growth for the sector and will continue to provide benefits for the people of Bangladesh.
The people of this country voted this regime, because we wanted change, change for better, biased towards a forward-looking Bangladesh, more technology-driven solutions. No going back, look forward with confidence. If one looks at the telecom bill put up in the parliament, s/he will obviously doubt the sincerity of purpose of the change. I know many ministers, many parliament members who truly believe Bangladesh has a future, based on better education, access to information and shared vision. And that can only happen with better connectivity, using technology for poverty alleviation, investing more in agricultural and tropical health research. Professor Jeffrey Sachs (the author of ‘End of Poverty’) mentioned in 1999 ‘the future of Bangladesh depends on – how fast it can reach technology to rural masses, how better they can use technology for poverty alleviation’. Let’s not kill the golden goose, let’s not send a wrong message to the rest of the world. I am convinced senses will prevail among our people’s representatives, they are the listening people, they represent the toiling masses, and they in togetherness can give us a better Bangladesh. They are the change ambassadors.? can they kill change!

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emocracy is the most perfect policy ,It has established with confirmation. to reach the heal of democracy we must have to enter the real democracy.MOST of the democracy-loving people are divided among one political camp or the other. There are, however, others who do not follow any particular party, but during elections they vote for the candidate they think would be able to deliver best for their consistency.

But apart from their choice of a candidate, be that from partisan or personal considerations, the very opportunity of the electorate to exercise its franchise in a free and fair manner is what constitutes democracy. From that point of view, can we then claim that the just held mayoral election in Chittagong bore the hallmark of a thriving democracy in Bangladesh?

And since, unlike most other elections held earlier — whether parliamentary or local government — the Chittagong poll was conspicuous by the absence of violence, can we not also say that our democracy is also getting more mature by the day?

Whomever the credit for the just held impartial election may go to — the Election Commission’s competence, the ruling party’s respect for democracy or the winning candidate’s popularity with the constituents — the result of the election has definitely gone to enhance the nation’s image in a big way.

But before rushing to such conclusions, one needs also to think in retrospect. What really has happened only about two months after the Bhola by-election that all the parties involved in the Chittagong mayoral poll have buried their differences and the electorate could be weaned from their attachment to their parties overnight?

It cannot be gainsaid that in Bangladesh, elections are highly partisan, though the advocates of the different political camps would like to call it political. And the voters’ choice for their candidates is determined more by their blind partisan allegiance than by any critical judgement of their party programs or the candidate’s merit. And the supporters’ allegiance to their party is comparable with the bond between the members of a clan and its guardians.

As a result, the leaders and activists of the different parties, especially of the most influential one’s such as Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), consider their sway over their supporters for granted. That is more so because it is the personal charisma of the top leadership of the contesting parties that outweighs other considerations in the choice of their candidates.

Even then, if there is ever any exception to this tradition and if that becomes evident from the party activists’ assessment of the pulse of the people in a constituency, then the likelihood of violence in that constituency gets higher. The power of muscle and money then prevails over that of logic and persuasion.

Now if one reflects on the result of the Chittagong mayoral poll, it may appear that some established notion about the voters’ loyalty to their favourite party or the leadership might have gone through a sea change. Otherwise, why this exception in the electorates’ behaviour as manifested through the outcome of the election in question?

Oddly enough, so far, neither of the major political parties throwing their weight behind their candidates has brought any allegation of rigging against the other. Even the prime minister and supreme leader of the ruling Awami League has congratulated the mayor elect from the second biggest city Chittagong. And the victor from the major opposition has even sought the cooperation of the defeated mayoral candidate from the ruling party in running his office once he takes charge.

Have then all the earlier calculations on the result of the election been proved wrong, or is it that we are witnessing a major shift in the pattern of the voters’ loyalty to their parties? At least, the winning party in the election would like to evaluate the polls outcome in such light.

One may recall here the parliamentary by-election in Bhola was held in the fourth week of April. The behaviour of the contending parties and their candidates was predictably different in that election as it was marked by serious instances of violence and charges and counter-charges of rigging and all kinds of criminality levelled against one another by the contending Awami League and the BNP.

One explanation may be that widespread violence and charges of rigging that dominated the electoral scene during and after Bhola election were due mainly to the fact that it was a parliamentary one and that it was a prestige constituency for both the ruling and the opposition party.

It would be worthwhile to point out what one of the prominent leaders of the ruling Awami League, Obaidul Kader, said in his post-election reaction when he warned the opposition saying that they should not go overboard with this election result simply because it was concerned with a local government and hence it had no political significance.

At the same time, he advised the opposition party to remember a similar victory that their just-defeated mayor had won during the four-party alliance government between 2001 and 2006. In the same breath, he also suggested that the defeat of their mayoral candidate in Chittagong was something that they themselves wanted to happen.

The ruling party leader’s view of the election result cannot be dismissed out of hand either. In fact, a strange combination of factors, including the disillusionment of a section of the electorate with the erstwhile Chittagong mayor, together militated against him to influence the polls result.

Despite the strangeness of the factors playing their part, it cannot be denied that, after all, the electoral result reflected the people’s choice. But then, such uniqueness of circumstance does also come into play in the case of national elections! Had it not been so, all the election results would become predictable.

So, once the parties, both in power and in opposition, started to reflect on this uniqueness of every election, they would not behave so violently to manipulate the results of various other elections. And they should already be wiser by now, if they consider the results of the previous national elections, notwithstanding all their efforts to influence those

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Bangladesh – Bulgaria to develop interactivites in possible sectors.President Zillur Rahman has urged Bulgaria to import more Bangladeshi products and also recruit skilled and semi- skilled manpower from the country with a view to further increasing bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The President made the call when newly appointed Delhi-based Bulgarian Ambassador to Bangladesh Borislav Kostov presented his credentials to him at Bangabhaban on Monday.

During the meeting, Zillur Rahman said the Bulgarian businessman could import world standard Bangladeshi products like readymade garments, leather and jute goods, ceramic and pharmaceuticals considering their very competitive prices.

He also said the Bulgarian entrepreneurs might come forward for individual or joint investments in the fields of RMG, textile, energy, petroleum, leather ceramic, pharmaceuticals and agro- processing in Bangladesh.

The President mentioned that Bangladesh and Bulgaria have enormous possibilities for expanding their ties in trade, commerce and cultural sectors but the volume of trade between the two countries does not reflect the true potential.

Saying that Bulgaria was one of the countries who recognized Bangladesh immediately after its independence, Zillur Rahman said Bangladeshis are grateful to Bulgaria in this regard.

Zillur Rahman also congratulated Bulgarian leadership for their efforts in ascending to the European Union as a full-fledged member sate.

The new envoy appreciated the achievement of Bangladesh for maintaining a ‘high’ 5-6% percent of GDP growth rate over the years amid ongoing global economic crisis.

He also appreciated Bangladesh for playing the leading role in raising its voice against the adverse effects of climate change worldwide.

Kostov emphasised increasing high level political, business and cultural visits between the two countries for further increasing the bilateral relations between Bangladesh and Bulgaria.

The evoy sought President’s cooperation in discharging his new responsibilities and assured the president that he would do this to his level best to bring the trade and commerce relations between the two countries to new heights.

Secretary to the President’s office M Safiul Alam, Press Secretary AKM Nesar Uddin Bhuiyan and Additional Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Ministry Mostafa Kamal were present during the meeting.

Earlier, the Ambassador was given a guard of honor by a contingent of the President’s Guard Regiment.

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Despite medical advances and improved health systems, hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by health care-associated infections (HCAI) every year. HCAI can be prevented through the simple yet vital act of good hand hygiene at the point of patient care – cleaning hands at the right times and in the right way. On 5 May 2010, the WHO “Save lives: clean your hands” campaign celebrates its second annual global call to action.

The First Global Patient Safety Challenge team is extremely pleased to announce that the 2010 call to action has been answered and the results are far beyond expectations. Although a goal of 10 000 was set, more than 11 500 health-care facilities have registered their commitment with WHO to improve hand hygiene at the point of patient care!

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The central bank of Bangladesh will complete its transformation to computerization by the end of 2011, officials told Media Sunday.

The World Bank has urged the central bank of Bangladesh to coordinate and speed up implementation of information technology and to formulate a comprehensive project plan that identifies all the dependencies.

?The current global financial crisis has underscored not only the importance of a sound legal and regulatory framework, but also the need to have legal rules for cross-border insolvency and crisis management,? the World Bank said in an Information Note issued in Dhaka on Sunday.

The Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) findings show that the Bangladesh Bank Order (BBO) and Banking Companies Act (BCA) do not have adequate provision to cope with a changing global financial situation.

?There is thus an urgent need to improve the provisions of BBO and BCA,? the World Bank said, adding that the Bangladesh Bank needs to ensure that it has legal powers to own and supervise payment systems including the automated clearing house and securities depositor
“We’re now working to implement the ongoing Central Bank Strengthening Project (CBSP) along with IT components within the stipulated timeframe,? a senior official of the Bangladesh Bank, the country?s central bank, told in Dhaka.
There is no alternative but to implement the automated system in the central bank to bring dynamism in its overall activities, the bank official added.

The World Bank-funded project began in 2003 and was scheduled to take four years. Unable to complete the major components of the project on time, the central bank had received a two-year extension from the World Bank, which is providing US$ 37 million of the total project cost of $46.13 million.

The Washington-based multilateral lending agency had also agreed to extend the timeframe of the project to the end of 2011, another Bangladesh Bank official said, adding that networking of the central bank has almost completed under the CBSP.

The World Bank is supporting the government initiative to enable the central bank to play its role as country?s monetary authority, bank regulator and supervisor

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Sources :Bangladesh seeks financial help as imported oil bill to meet growing energy needs.State-run Bangladesh Petroleum Corp is seeking help to pay for an estimated $4.3 billion of oil imports in the next fiscal year to run new power plants to meet growing energy needs, a top executive said on Monday.

BPC, Bangladesh’s only fuel importer and distributor, normally buys up to 3.8 million tonnes of refined and crude oil annually at costs between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion, its chairman Anwarul Karim said.

“But for the next fiscal year our import may rise to 4.4 million tonnes as the government plans to set up several oil-fired power plants,” he told.
Bangladesh now imports oil from Vietnam, Malaysia, Maldives, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India and United Arab Emirates.

But officials said it was also looking for other sources to buy the additional fuel.

To meet the rising fuel bill, Bangladesh has asked the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to provide more funds, Karim said. The IDB gives Bangladesh about $1.2 billon a year now to pay for oil imports.

“We have also asked Bangladesh’s central bank to allocate additional funds for oil import,” Karim added.

The new power plants fuelled by diesel and furnace oil will add more than 1,350 megawatts of power to the national grid, a partial fulfilment of promises by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to ease a nagging power crisis that affects households and industries.

But BPC, which sells many fuels below cost as part of a complicated subsidy programme, has accumulated losses of $2.83 billion that may rise to $3.05 billion at the end of the current fiscal year ending in June 2010

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